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Nicole is living every parent’s worst nightmare.
Holly left for a New Year’s Eve party with Tate, wearing Nicole’s dress and a huge smile on her face, only for Nicole to receive a call on Days of Our Lives during the week of 1-04-24 that her daughter had overdosed and was hovering between life and death.
It’s a powerful, relatable story — but is Days of Our Lives missing the opportunity to bring someone back that would make the drama even stronger?
We think so. Days of Our Lives has already failed to tie the overdose drama to Theresa’s past other than acknowledging that she was an addict.
But Theresa once overdosed, leaving a teenage JJ to call on his worst enemy to help save her life. Imagine the potential if JJ Deveraux came back to Salem now!
JJ, Theresa, and Brady have a complicated history. Theresa blackmailed JJ into continuing to get her drugs after the overdose, and Brady was busy relapsing himself at the time and used a chance run-in with JJ at a meetup spot to cause trouble and deflect suspicion off himself.
All of that history is relevant now. JJ’s presence could lend an extra layer to the drama, no matter what side he took, because it would bring back painful memories for everyone.
And since JJ had become an EMT before he left Salem, if he had returned shortly before this incident, he could have been called to the scene to administer aid to Holly.
That would have put him in a position to defend Tate, which would have upped the drama for everyone. Brady might appreciate the help while also worrying that JJ was trying to make moves on Theresa, and EJ might try to discredit JJ so he can continue his vendetta against Tate.
JJ also had a history with Nicole that was never fully acknowledged. She helped cover for him when Theresa overdosed, and Daniel insisted on claiming to be the one who was with her at the time.
It would be fantastic to use that old history now. JJ could try to intervene with EJ for Tate’s sake, reminding Nicole of that past and trying to convince her that this was a similar situation or asking her to get EJ to back off.
He could also stumble upon the truth about Nicole’s baby, which would give him a chance to repay her for that good deed she did for him.
This twist could also require JJ to confront Leo or get info out of him, which could lead to some comic relief while moving the story along.
JJ was always far better suited to being an investigative reporter than Abigail was. He had great instincts, persistence, and no fear of breaking the rules or acting impulsively to get what he wanted.
Nowadays, we have Everett in that role, but JJ’s unofficial investigation as an EMT-turned-detective would put him in the middle of Chad and Everett’s conflict.
Abigail was JJ’s sister, so Chad, in his grief, might expect loyalty from him, leading to dramatic confrontations if JJ struck up a friendship with Everett.
Chad is currently working with Everett to find the source of the drugs, but many fans have speculated that Chad secretly hopes that Everett will be hurt or killed so that he’s out of Stephanie’s life.
Would Chad go that far? Hopefully not! But if he did have plans to eliminate his rival, JJ stumbling upon them would lead to compelling drama.
The biggest reason for Days of Our Lives to bring JJ back is his history with Clyde Weston.
JJ worked undercover for the Salem PD after Roman recruited him to stop him from continuing down a destructive path with alcohol after losing Paige to Eve in 2015. That silly setup could only happen in Salem and led to JJ’s career as a cop, which was a total mismatch for his character.
But it also led JJ to singlehandedly take Clyde and his drug empire down. And now, Clyde is behind the drug dealing that led to Holly’s overdose.
That puts JJ in a compelling position. He has the experience and the history to figure out Clyde’s involvement, but EJ wants to prosecute Tate for giving Holly the drugs, and Stefan and Ava are the ones doing Clyde’s bidding.
JJ would have to stand up to the most powerful people in Salem — and all of these people could either try to make him disappear or recruit him to do their dirty work for them.
Stefan is desperate for someone to take Clyde out for him, and he’s as ruthless as they come. He’d do anything to force JJ to be the one to neutralize Clyde.
Plus, one of the people Clyde is threatening to keep people in line is Tripp — JJ’s cousin who fought with him for Haley Chen’s heart shortly before her death.
JJ working to protect Tripp would naturally lead him to work with his Uncle Steve, with whom he never shared enough screen time when he was in Salem.
And Steve and John working with JJ to unmask Clyde, protect Tripp, and stop the drug sales would be a far better use of their time than this silly Konstantin story. So this would be a win all around.
What do you think, Days of Our Lives fanatics? Should Days of Our Lives find a reason to bring JJ back to Salem during this overdose story?
Hit the big, blue SHOW COMMENTS button and let us know your thoughts. And for more Days of Our Lives chat, check out the latest Days of Our Lives spoilers.
Days of Our Lives streams exclusively on Peacock. New episodes drop on weekday mornings at 6/5c.
Jack Ori is a senior staff writer for TV Fanatic. His debut young adult novel, Reinventing Hannah, is available on Amazon. Follow him on X.