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Days of Our Lives and daytime fans were hit by a shock over the weekend when we learned Drake Hogestyn had passed away, just one day shy of his 71st birthday. The tributes have been pouring in and the mourning is just beginning. We just weren’t expecting to say goodbye to our beloved John Black. Because soon enough, we’ll have to face the prospect of what life in Salem will be like without John Black.

In the short term, we won’t be seeing much of a change, though sadly, we’ve already seen Hogestyn’s final scenes on the show. It’s not clear how the sudser will write around his absence, especially in light of all his family is going through right now. But we’re already seeing some of it play out onscreen.

Eric, rather than John, was Brady’s confidant and investigator, digging into what really happened with Sarah and clearing his name. And when his name was cleared, Marlena got the call to celebrate, with Brady’s step-mom filling in for his dad. Then there’s Steve, who’s pretty much been on his own in investigating “Abigail,” without his partner to bounce ideas off of. And John, we just learned on today’s episode, is out of town with his dad.

And that, we have a feeling, is going to be happening a lot until John is officially sent off into the sunset. The bad news is that Days of Our Lives shoots so far ahead, we may not get his farewell next summer. But there is something comforting, perhaps, that it’ll take place during the show’s 60th anniversary season.

The show has been hit by some heartbreaking deaths in the last few years with John Aniston and Bill Hayes passing recently. And while both actors were also deeply beloved and respected, Bill and Doug had already cut their appearances down a great deal by the time their portrayers passed.

Hogestyn’s passing, though, to put it in the baseball terms that he so famously loved, came out of left field — at least for those of us watching Days of Our Lives. Pancreatic cancer can hit you fast and hard, but it wasn’t a sudden accident. And with the time between his last scenes and Hogestyn’s death, hopefully, the show had time to prepare a proper sendoff for John onscreen.

Family Man

It’s going to shake the entire town. There isn’t a single family who won’t be hit by the news. The DiMeras will certainly feel it. John and Stefano were at war for years as the villain made Marlena’s beau his literal Pawn. But on top of that, John is Johnny’s grandfather (not through blood, but that didn’t make their relationship any less strong) and Kristen’s ex/former obsession. And the Kiriakis family, too, will be hit hard. John has a son, Brady, with Victor’s daughter Isabella and he had a… complicated relationship with the late businessman and mob boss.

And while John was not, in fact, a Brady, he’s always been closely tied to the family, even after he learned he wasn’t a resurrected Roman.

Marlena and John have been through the wringer and back time and time again, but they had finally reached that fabled status in daytime where their relationship was settled until death do they part. Sadly, that time came far sooner than any of us would have imagined. The grief ahead for Marlena is set to be heartbreaking. And whether or not she’ll ever find or even want to find love again after losing John is up in the air. But at least she has her family to lean on.

And we may forget because a lot of them are out of town these days, but there’s a lot of family. Marlena, John and Roman’s clans were intertwined, and outside of Sami’s teenage rebellion years when she tried to sell off John’s only daughter, Belle, to the black market (no, we’ll never let her live that down), they’re all part of the same loving family.

We can almost definitely expect to see Marlena’s kids back, Belle, Sami and Eric (because yes, he will be leaving town eventually again after this Brady drama), and there’s no way Carrie won’t return with Austin to say goodbye. Paul’s also got to return for his dad, and we’d be surprised if he didn’t come back with Andrew to lean on. Then there are the grandkids — Claire, Will, Allie, maybe even Sydney once again.

A number, we know, will be returning for Doug’s farewell in about a month, but hopefully at least a couple of Marlena’s kids stick around after John’s passing to be there for their mom. That could be one bright spot in all of this.

And Brady… This is going to hit him hard. His current bout with alcoholism has been tough enough, and we can only hope he’s not pushed towards the bottle once again. But perhaps all that he’s going through now is good because it’ll steel his resolve going forward and he can handle his dad’s death from a stronger place because of it.

Man of Mystery

On a lighter note, the SPD is in some serious trouble. Half their cases they had to turn to Black Patch and their ISA contacts — if not outright rely on the private eyes to find and rescue folks. Steve’s still a force to be reckoned with all his own, but losing John is going to hit him hard. And it may even make him question whether he wants to keep the practice going. We hope he does, if for no other reason, than to honor his dear friend. (You can see Stephen Nichols own beautiful tribute to his friend here.)

Maybe Steve will find another partner to work with but we’ve got a feeling he’ll instead be flying solo for a bit. You can’t just replace John in the blink of an eye. Hopefully, this isn’t the end of Black Patch, though. And if Steve does find someone else to work with, it would be lovely if the show brought Paul back to follow in his father’s footsteps. The two worked together as private investigators before, and he’d be just about the best person to fill in now. Plus, his beau Andrew would be darn useful if he stayed in the ISA and gave the news partners a direct line!

There’s virtually no one in Salem who’s life hasn’t been touched by John Black over the years. The long and the short of it is Days of Our Lives will never be the same without Hogestyn and his legendary character. But even in the darkest of times, life goes on, and so do the Days of Our Lives.