Lexie’s (Nikki Crawford) pain and agony may have ended on Days of our Lives when she passed away, but the devastation for those she left behind, Abe, her husband, and Theo, her son, is just beginning.
James Reynolds and Tyler Joseph Andrews, delivered poignant tour de forces as their characters, Abe and Theo, dealt with Lexie’s death, earning the duo TV Insider’s Daytime Performers of the Week honors.
Whether it’s because they knew it was coming and got to say goodbye in person or because Abe had been through this before (characters in Salem tend to die more than once), both performers brought a serene calmness to their performances. But the duo’s devastation was clearly evident.
More than any other soap, DAYS tends to have characters do the Lazarus bit, even when their deaths are shown on camera. That made Reynolds and Andrews’ acting all the more impressive, as they brought a grounded, stoic realism to their performances within a situation — Lexie came back from the dead only to die again — that’s utterly surreal.
Lexie’s mother, Celeste (Tanya Boyd), wasn’t on the canvas, but DAYS knew that viewers would be wondering about her, so they had Theo do a one-way phone call with his grandmother. “I’m grateful for you, too, Grandma,” Theo said to Lexie’s mom. “Love you.”
“She’s worried about us,” Theo told Abe when he asked how she was doing. “But she’s leaning on her faith.”
Abe shared his grief with his Paulina (Jackée Harry), the woman he fell for long after he thought Lexie was gone the first time.
“When Lexie returned to Theo and me, I had just had no idea that our time together would be so, so brief,” Abe said to Paulina.
While grieving, Abe kept Theo’s well-being uppermost in his mind. “It’s hard for him to process complex emotions,” Abe shared with Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) and Steve (Stephen Nichols) about his son, who has high-functioning autism. “Nothing can be more complex than this.”
According to Embrace Autism, individuals with autism, “process grief profoundly yet non-linearly, frequently coping through predictable routines, special interests, and internal shutdowns rather than traditional neurotypical emotional displays.”
Abe returned to Lexie’s room just as Theo was hanging up the phone with Claire, his ex-girlfriend, who had called to give her condolences.
Next, Abe informed Theo that Chanel (Raven Bowens) and Johnny (Carson Boatman) had just had their baby girl, prompting Theo to say that he should go check in on them.
“Oh, good,” he said with joint realization that yes, it was good that they had had their baby, but also, he was deeply aware that his world was never going to be the same again as his mom was no longer in it. Andrews played Theo as a man trying to grasp that two realities – one joyful, the other painful – could exist at the same time.
After Theo left to check in on the new parents, Abe was left alone in Lexie’s hospital room. When he looked down and saw his late wife’s jewelry on a table, the realization that she was truly gone struck him like a tidal wave. Alone, Abe nearly collapsed with grief.
Abe flashed back to a joyful moment, renewing his wedding vows with Lexie. Remembering the words “until death do us part” brought Abe out of his memory and into the painful present. Alone, he wept silently. We could feel the man’s heart breaking in this moment.
When Theo visited Chanel and Johnny and newborn Olivia, he recalled his mother referring to the circle of life, when one life ends, another begins, to try to process the enormity of his mother’s passing. He tried to make sense out of her loss, as we all do when we lose someone.
“It’s all connected,” Theo said, as he focused on the newborn, he added, “She said it warmed her heart, knowing that you were going to have such a loving family, Olivia, my dad and I included. She wanted us to know that she was OK with that…more than OK with that.”
Peacock
Then, Theo informed Johnny and Chanel that Lexie was gone. He hastened to add that his mom knew that Olivia was coming into the world as she was in her final moments. As Theo delivered this painful and expository information, we saw Andrews brilliantly use the words to help his character, and perhaps the audience, too, make sense out of Lexie’s passing.
“That’s really great,” Theo responded to Olivia’s parents giving their newborn the middle name “Alexandra” (Lexie) after his mother. “I’m sure my Mom would love to hear that. Maybe she does?”
Back in Lexie’s room, Theo informed his father of the blessing that Chanel and Johnny bestowed upon them in Lexie’s memory. Then, Abe produced two letters from Lexie, one for him and the other for Theo.
In her note to her son, Lexie, who had planned to go off and die alone, asked Theo not to be angry over how she left, and she promised to watch over him “all the days of our life,” a nod to the show’s title.
In Lexie’s note to Abe, she shared the miracle of being reuniting with Abe and Theo. In an act of true love, Lexie expressed gratitude that Abe found a woman to love him in Paulina, while Lexie promised never to stop loving him. “Please have a slice of almond cake on our anniversary, and think of me, Love, Lexie,” Abe tearfully said out loud, reading the note’s final words.
Next, Abe talked to his longtime pal Roman (Josh Taylor) on the phone and, in person, connected with Marlena (Deidre Hall), thanking her for being a role model to him as she has handled losing the love of her life, John Black (Drake Hogestyn), with such strength and courage.
At the end of this powerful episode, Abe and Theo returned Abe and Lexie’s apartment, the place still decorated with festive Christmas decorations, which had allowed Lexie to experience one last holiday. The impact of Lexie being gone hit home again, as it will continue to in the weeks, months, and years into the future.
DAYS fans accept surreal situations – like characters coming back from the dead – because they know talented pros like Reynolds and Andrews will bring to life reactions that are real, relatable, poignant, and heartbreaking. Bravo to these two actors for their performances!
Days of our Lives, Daily, Peacock