Days: Theresa Leaves Salem

On Friday, November 18, 2016, Theresa Donovan (Jen Lilley) left Salem for Mexico due to an ex-boyfriend threats. Below are my thoughts on this development.

Due to how far in advance "Days of Our Lives" tapes, we knew for months that the character of Theresa was going goodbye. It had been rumored incorrectly that she'd be a victim in the prison escape story, but that was not the case. Theresa and Brady (Eric Martsolf) were to be married, but it was ruined by Xander (Paul Tefler) who tried to hurt her sister Eve. Anyway, none of it mattered in the end, because Xander survived though is out of Salem again. Orpheus (George DelHoyo, who back in the 80s used another last name Deloy) had been going under the alias Milo Harp helped, and ended up dead again. Clyde (James Read) got caught, and was returned to prison in the Dimera story, which I'll write about someday.

Theresa used the ordeal she had with Xander, as an excuse of her going back to drugs. She was sober, but Brady didn't know the truth. Theresa even went to Victor (John Aniston) for help, but he said the Mexican drug cartel was even too powerful for him to cross. As part of the story, her parents Kim (Patsy Pease) and Shane (Charles Shaughnessy) visited. Shane actually was the person who told Theresa she was in danger, while pretending to be a priest. Considering Shane's spy ties, he would know what was going on in the underworld.

Theresa acted as if she didn't love Brady, because she couldn't doom him and their son Tate to a life on the run. This was awful, as she had to everyone except her parents. It got too much for her, and she OD'ed, but her Aunt Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) was able to keep her alive. Eventually Theresa said goodbye to Brady, and it was all a lie. She said she didn't love him or their son. Before departing, Victor told her that she would remain a part of the family in Greek, which is the nicest thing he ever said to her. Perhaps Victor appreciates her sacrifice to keep others from harm.

The character's departure left things wide open. All Theresa has to do is free herself from a drug cartel, or make the guy Mateo fall out of love with her and let her go. If she is successful, and brings the bad guys down, she could come back. That said, she doesn't know if she would have a reason to return as everyone could have moved on with their lives. Due to it being Days, we'll see what happens if Theresa is ever mentioned again or if the part is recast in the future.