It’s never easy to say goodbye to people you love, even fictional characters.
Fans and stars alike were heartbroken when the legendary John Aniston passed away on November 11, 2022. He had graced our screens for so many years that it felt like losing a beloved grandparent.
Days of Our Lives spoilers for the week of 12-26-22 promise a tribute to Aniston and his last on-screen appearance.
In the last few years, Victor appeared only sporadically. His final appearance happens to be part of the Christmas celebration, extending through the week.
On Monday, Victor will deliver his final snarky remarks to Leo, unhappy that the man who caused Sonny so much trouble is back in Sonny’s life.
Days of Our Lives will offer a special tribute to Victor and the actor who played him after those scenes air.
Instead of a traditional spoiler video, this week’s promo features Wally Kurth (Justin Kiriakis) saying a few words about Aniston’s legacy and encouraging viewers to tune in for the tribute.
Victor’s final scenes are sure to be bittersweet. No one could deliver a scathingly sarcastic barb like Aniston, and his last lines are sure to be memorable — and hilarious.
That’s probably the way Victor Kiriakis would want to be remembered if he were a real person, but that doesn’t mean we won’t need tissues nearby as the reality of Aniston’s death sinks in.
Although this circumstance will dampen the Christmas spirit, the week will be far from depressing.
Days of Our Lives promises its traditional Christmas Day reading of the Gospel of Luke, a dramatic celebration at the Kiriakis mansion, and the unraveling of a few people’s plans.
Specifically, Bonnie will accidentally raise Sarah’s suspicions about Xander, while Gabi and Li’s wedding is the latest to end in disaster.
Please scroll down to check out all the spoilers for the week of 12-26-22.
Victor and Sonny clash over Leo during John Aniston’s final appearance.
Leo causes drama at the Kiriakis mansion. Gwen wasn’t kidding when she said she didn’t know how he scored an invite!
Victor, protective of his family til the end, doesn’t want Leo involved with his favorite nephew, while Sonny seems to have jumped aboard the Leo Forgiveness train.
Sonny’s attitude toward Leo doesn’t make much sense, but will Victor’s words give him food for thought or push him and his ex closer together?
Bonnie inadvertently raises Sarah’s suspicions about Xander.
Bonnie realized that Xander was the creepy clown who kidnapped her but gave up on the idea after Xander’s fakeout.
Will she tells Sarah how wrong she was about her earlier suspicions, making Sarah wonder if Bonnie could be right?
Sarah’s already aware that Xander’s been acting strangely and that he and Gwen have a secret, so it seems this marriage is on the fast track to implosion.
Paulina gets a visit from Eli and the twins.
Yay! I hoped Eli would stick around long enough to visit Lani’s family.
Hopefully, Abe will be there too.
Abe and Eli’s friendship has survived the end of Abe and Valerie’s relationship and is often a show highlight.
Will demands answers from Sonny about Leo.
Victor’s not the only one who will have a problem with Leo’s presence at Christmas.
Will doesn’t have much to say. He pulled an Eric and told Sonny he was staying in Los Angeles to work and hasn’t communicated much with him.
That doesn’t mean Sonny should cheat on him, but considering that Will did a disappearing act (and was the one to cheat on Sonny the last time this happened!), it’s understandable if Sonny looks elsewhere.
Nancy pressures Chloe about her love life.
Getting together with Mike hasn’t changed Nancy’s tendency to put her nose in Chloe’s business.
Her comments will probably push Chloe and Stefan closer together, just in time for Stefan to regain his memories and leave Chloe for Gabi.
But since we get to join Chloe on her visit to New York, can we have a glimpse of Parker and Joy? Please?
Rafe and Jada have a tense encounter with Nicole.
This will be yet another round of everyone using Nicole as their punching bag.
Rafe, along with all of Salem, insisted that Nicole had feelings for Eric and is now acting hurt that his gaslighting led to her believing she had those feelings. In addition, Nicole did not force Jada to have an abortion, nor is she having sex with EJ. (Not yet, anyway.)
Plus, it’s not Rafe or Jada’s business now. Nicole seems to have moved on, so how about they keep the jerky comments to themselves?
Wendy reaches her breaking point about this secret.
Wendy reached her breaking point a while ago. Every time she sees Johnny, they have the same conversation about how guilty she feels and how unwilling Johnny is to blow up EJ’s life.
But now that the wedding is here, maybe Wendy will find her voice and tell the secret instead of continually venting to Johnny and finding no satisfaction.
Secrets always come out at Salem weddings, so why should this one be any different?
Li and Gabi’s wedding doesn’t go as planned.
Li is excited for his big day, but he’s new to Salem and doesn’t know how these things go.
Gabi looks horrified, so she must find out somehow that Li brainwashed Stefan into hating her.
Will Wendy tell? Or will the memory-altering drug Rolf gave Gabi wear off somehow?
Your turn, Days of Our Lives fanatics. Hit that big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button, and let us know what you’re looking forward to and what you think will happen!
Check out the latest Days of Our Lives reviews and Days of Our Lives Round Table discussions if you’d like to chat about already-aired episodes.
Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekdays at 6 AM EST / 3 AM PST.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on Twitter.