Brilliant! Last week's "Days of Our Lives" episodes were brilliant from storyline to acting to production values. First, the plot. As Marlena fought for her life, daughter Belle found a DNR. John is horrified and thinks it is akin to murder. Belle explains it was her mother's last wishes. DNRs are tricky. You usually apt for one when you are perfectly healthy. Maybe when you are close to death, you would want to fight. At a fairly young age, my mom had a brain stem stroke. She was in a coma for eight months, six of which she spent at home. I knew my mom would never want to give up. We had talked about it. She really was "where there is life, there is hope" kind of person. On the day she died, she had four codes. With the fifth, I told them not resuscitate. I got to tell her how much I loved her and that if she wanted to be with my father, who had died a decade before, she should. I told her that I would miss her but would be fine. After all those months of no communication, a tear slid down her cheek and she was gone.

"Days" allowed all of Marlena's loved ones to say goodbye. The acting was masterful. Everyone brought his or her A-game. Drake Hogestyn (John Black) was amazing. For years, his acting has been underestimated. The sitcom "Friends" even made fun of him. He has the last laugh. It is Emmy time for him. Greg Vaughan (Eric) who won best supporting actor last year will have bookend Emmys next year. There were so many tears on the screen and from viewers that Kleenex should have had a product placement.

The cliffhanger on Friday had Kayla take Marlena off the ventilator. Wait a minute. Marlena has been through much worse and survived. The person in the hospital bed wakes up, but she sounds like Hattie, Marlena's doppelganger. There were a few clues that Marlena might not be Marlena: Her desire for a gala wedding, her wedding dress and the gloves. The gown was too glitzy. Hattie would think that a rich person would wear gloves for her wedding. Marlena never. Nothing is better on a soap than a twist. The show that NBC almost canceled is on fire. That is what is wonderful about soaps. They can go from "I can't stand to watch this" to "I can't miss this." "Days" is climbing in the ratings, too. The CBS shows it is up against are sliding. "The Young and the Restless" and "The Bold and the Beautiful" are painful to watch. Like "Days," they could turn around and, to steal a phrase from NBC, be "must-see TV."

Maurice Benard (Sonny on "General Hospital") has landed a Lifetime movie. He is set to play mobster John Gotti on the "Victoria Gotti Story." Hopefully, it will fare better than John Travolta's recent turn as Gotti in a feature film. For the first time ever, Rotten Tomatoes gave a movie a zero. Yes, nada. It appears to be on track for a Razzie.

To find out more about Lynda Hirsch and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: at Pixabay