Kristian Alfonso surprised many soap fans when she announced that she would be leaving her long-running role as Hope on NBC’s “Days of Our Lives.” Her final scenes aired on October 14, and they were full of heartbreak. Could her farewell from the show earn her a long-overdue Emmy?
Alfonso’s last scenes were mournful, with Hope coming to terms with the belief that her daughter Ciara (Victoria Konefal) has been murdered, and she expressed her grief while looking at a framed photo of Ciara. SoapHub named the actress the performer of the week for “Days,” praising her for her “understated elegance,” through which “viewers could feel her heart breaking into a million pieces.”
This wasn’t the first tragedy to befall Hope. She and her longtime love Bo (Peter Reckell) lost their son Zack in a hit-and-run accident. Then Bo died from a brain tumor. Losing another child on top of all that is almost unthinkable. But this wasn’t originally planned to be Alfonso’s farewell from the show. “Days” typically filmed several months in advance, so she shot these scenes before the COVID-19 pandemic shut down production earlier this year. Production eventually resumed, but Alfonso decided it was time to move on.
Alfonso first joined the cast of “Days” in 1983, but her only nomination to date was Best Younger Actress in 1985. However, “Days” has been a regular fixture in the Best Actress race in recent years, winning in 2014 (Eileen Davidson) and 2016 (Mary Beth Evans).
And it’s never too late for an overdue performer to win. Davidson’s victory was the first of her career after decades in daytime. And fellow “Days” star James Reynolds was honored for the first time in 2018 after he too had spent decades in the industry. So while it’s hard to say goodbye, perhaps Alfonso will receive her own parting gift.
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