Days: Marlena Poisoned (Near Death Story)

Days of our Lives did another near death story for Marlena (Deidre Hall) below are my thoughts.

So Marlena was poisoned this time by Diana (now played by Judith Chapman). Diana wanted John (Drake Hogestyn) all to herself. With Victor's (John Aniston) help, she lied about Leo (Greg Rikkart) and said he was John's son. Diana dosed Marlena with penicillin in cookies, and later went after her IV. The doctors were able to save her, but not before she went to the afterlife, where she saw Andre posing as Tony and Princess Gina. We got some flashbacks to the pas, and an alternative future, where Will accidentally killed Leo, and John married Hattie. Marlena decided she needed to live, and she did. Diana's lies were revealed and it looks like she will go to prison (she stated that Kristen was back with the help of nurse Shelly). Leo gave Sonny his annulment, and left town sad that John wasn't his family after all though he gave Will the equivalent to the Greek evil eye.

This was a mini-arc for John and Marlena giving them a short-term conflict, and then allowing them to be happy again. Tying Diana and Leo together gave another layer as Leo was in the Will and Sonny plot. Of course the casting of Rikkart and Chapman seemed to be for the possibility of disgruntled fans of Young and the Restless to tune into Days.