Days of our Lives fans have had a couple of months to get used to the fact that longtime Salemite Kristian Alfonso is leaving the canvas. But having time to process her exit news won't make her final episode any easier to handle! Unfortunately, the sad moment is drawing near. Very near.
Alfonso answered a series of fan questions on social media over the weekend, one of which was if she knows her final DAYS airdate. She responded with, "I've been told that my last air date on Days will be October 14th."
I've been told that my last air date on Days will be October 14 th . https://t.co/8trAbDNXLy
- Kristian Alfonso (@kristianalfonso) September 27, 2020
As Soap Central previously reported, due to the timing of Alfonso's decision to leave, DAYS writers didn't get the chance to write a proper sendoff for the character, as she had already filmed her final episode prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. Therefore, Hope will sort of just disappear without any fanfare.
"Because [my exit] was just only decided, nothing was planned in terms of story," Alfonso explained to Soap Opera Digest. "I would have liked to have given the fans that have been so devoted to Days of our Lives all these years a final goodbye and not, 'Oh, she's out looking for someone,' or 'She's upstairs cleaning her room,' or 'She's taken a trip.'"
Alas, that's the way the cookie crumbles, and fans will last see the actress on the canvas in a little over two weeks.
As for what prompted Alfonso to leave DAYS after 37 years in the role of Hope, she revealed that she was "taken aback" when DAYS head honcho Ken Corday told her that her character would be written off of the show for four to five months.
"It was not something that had ever been discussed, but that's what it was, and to come back in five to six months, or four to five months -- whatever that timeframe was -- I just thought, you know what, it's time to really write a new chapter," Alfonso explained in July. "I've had an incredible run there. I've had so many amazing friends and memories. I cannot say enough how I'll miss so many people working there and working with them, but they are in my life, and we do socialize, but like I said, I think it's time."
Alfonso has been playing Hope Williams Brady since 1983, outside of two brief breaks in the late 80s and early 90s. The character was originally introduced as Hope Williams, the daughter of Doug Williams (Bill Hayes) and Addie Horton (Patricia Huston/Patricia Barry), who eventually fell in love with and married Bo Brady (Peter Reckell). Hope's had many front-burner storylines over the past three and a half decades, including a popular romance with Bo, a presumed death, being brainwashed to believe she was Princess Gina Von Amberg, and murdering DiMera patriarch Stefano (Joseph Mascolo).
How do you feel about Kristian Alfonso's exit coming near? What do you think will be her last scene? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
