Days of our lives reveals it Johnny DiMera (Carson Boatman) is concerned about Chanel Dupree (Raven Bowen’s) cancer, and he wants to make sure she and their unborn baby get through this health crisis safely and in one piece. So Johnny will do anything to save Chanel. Risking absolutely everything for her.
We need to talk about whether Johnny is living up to his grandfather John Black’s (Drake Hogestyn) legacy and do something heroic.
Days of Our Lives: Johnny’s Legacy – Living Up to John Black
And now let’s get into what’s to come as Chanel’s health crisis gets even worse. So although Johnny was probably too young at the time to remember much of it, Days of our lives fans know that Johnny is also a cancer survivor. He had eye cancer. It’s eye cancer when he was about four years old and he actually lost an eye to that disease. He must have a glass eye. If you don’t remember, they just don’t refer to it. And apparently both of his eyes are already real.
His wife Chanel has the terrible health scare if you remember when she was exposed to her mother Paulina Price (Jackée Harry) radiation from her thyroid cancer treatment. Therefore, Chanel was warned not to get pregnant. And that’s why she assumed it was actually cancer symptoms, not pregnancy symptoms. She was really surprised then Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) said she was pregnant. And now with this breast lump that Johnny felt in Chanel’s breast, which turned out to be breast cancer, they are honestly facing one of the toughest battles of their lives.
She and Johnny were already expecting a high-risk pregnancy test, and the breast cancer just made everything riskier. On top of all that, they are raising their adopted infant son, Trey, aka John Roman DiMera III. On the other hand, Chanel runs Sweet Bids Bakery and Johnny tries to keep his head above water as CEO of DiMera Enterprises. And luckily Theo Carver (Tyler Joseph Andrews) is there helping him.
Days of Our Lives: Parallels to John Black’s story
And recently, social media had fans pointing out the similarities between Johnny’s current history and the late history John Black’s story. Looking back on history, he lost his wife Isabella to cancer five months after she gave birth to their son Brady Black (Eric Martsolf) then. And knowing that Carson Boatman, who plays Johnny, and Raven Bowens, who plays Chanel, were fired and are leaving sometime this fall, a tragic turn could happen for Johnny and Chanel during this major health battle that she’s going through.
However, Johnny’s story could parallel his grandfather Johns in second ways. Not only was he a super spy who fought villains in Salem, e.g Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo), and around the world for ISA, but John was a shrewd businessman. He created Basic Black, the fashion label Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) is now driving. And John also started Black Patch with his best friend Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) and they were a top notch PI agency. It still works now. Currently, Johnny is the CEO of DiMera Enterprises, and he and co-CEO Theo hope to make the company something their children can be proud of one day.
Days of Our Lives: Johnny’s Moral Path and the DiMera Legacy
Both Johnny and his cousin Theo wanted nothing to do with Stefano’s company regarding the shady side of the business. EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) and Christian DiMera (Stacy Haiduk) and Stefano himself had no problem with and kept as a thriving criminal sideline. However, Johnny’s role as CEO makes him want DiMera Enterprises to be better. He wants it on the right side of the law. And of course, EJ’s channeling of Stefano following in his father’s footsteps. But Johnny is not interested in following along in the footsteps of EJ or Stefano.
And this week we saw Paulina come to Johnny and Chanel and talk to them about Ralph’s (William Utay) Miraculous Resurrection Serum. Paulina told Johnny that he needs to get a dose of the super serum to treat Chanel’s cancer right away. And then immediately Johnny called his phone to call EJ and demand a dose of it.
Days of Our Lives: Chanel doesn’t want DiMera drama
He thought it was a good idea. Except Chanel stopped him and said, “No, I want nothing to do with this.” She doesn’t want to put their unborn baby at risk as she told Johnny and her mother. But Chanel also doesn’t want to depend on her father-in-law, EJ, for anything.
But that doesn’t mean Johnny won’t back down Chanel is back and ask EJ or Dr. Ralph about either that treatment or another miracle cure for Chanel’s cancer. You know, Johnny is not a fan of how EJ and Ralph do their secret sick science, but I think Johnny would do anything to protect those he loves, just like John Black always did. Johnny is not power hungry and neither was John. But Johnny’s grandfather crossed lines earlier when it came to helping those he cared about. So yes, Johnny can cross lines, as John did at times on his quest to save Chanel and baby Quattro’s life.
Days of Our Lives: Johnny’s sacrifice and rejection of Stefano’s inheritance
We know Johnny is up to something soon, because in the summer promo, Theo questions Johnny about what other heinous things he’s covering up, and it could have something to do with Johnny going to great lengths. trying to save Chanel. I expect to soon see Johnny lean more on Theo at work and turn to spiritual resources for support. And this sort of withdrawal from things mirrors John Black’s time as a pastor, if you remember.
And it can lead Johnny to deep emotional growth as he navigates Chanel’s health crisis. While worrying about baby number two, which is on the way, Johnny is already struggling to wrap his head around possibly being a single father to two young children. if Chanel ultimately loses her battle with breast cancer, which is always a possibility.
And this is no doubt tapping into Johnny’s childhood cancer memories and trials, even though he was so young he may not remember the details but he absolutely knows how terrifying a cancer diagnosis can be. and he’s been super supportive of Chanel while still pushing her to carefully consider all her options because Johnny wants her to value her life, even though Chanel values their unborn baby’s life more than her own.
Days of Our Lives: Johnny risks it all?
And already we can see that Johnny is a much better father than many fathers who tend toward absenteeism and manipulation, if not outright evil. Chad DiMera (Connor Floyd) is another notable exception as a good father. Now we know for sure Johnny doesn’t want to be the type of person his father EJ is. Johnny would much rather emulate John Black as a parental role model. Even when EJ is an involved father, he doesn’t always think about the consequences, like when he threw Chanel under the bus last summer at Johnny’s trial.
So whatever happens with Chanel’s treatment and the baby, we know Johnny is willing to risk everything John Black style to protect his wife, their one baby and their unborn baby. Johnny could lose his CEO position, lose control of DiMera Enterprises, or even face legal trouble.
None of that matters if he can get Chanel through this safely. And in the end, even though we know Johnny and Chanel are both leaving, I think this final story for Johnny and Chanel will show Johnny rejecting Stefano’s legacy and embracing the much more positive legacy of his other grandfather, John Black, a devoted family man who lost his own life saving someone he loved, Bo Brady (Peter Recell).
So we’ll have to wait and see exactly how far Johnny will go to save Chanel. I could see him going to extraordinary lengths, like John Black did at times, if it means he gets to save the woman he loves.
