Absolutely Ridiculous Soap Opera Demises
Published on April 4, 2017. Updated August 24, 2022People coming back to life in the land of soap operas is not a new thing. In fact, the reasoning behind why and how some characters are resurrected can often be outrageous. Even more unbelievable than coming back to life is often how soap opera characters meet their demise in the first place. As such, below are some of the absolutely ridiculous soap opera demises.
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9. The Fire-Poker Stalker (Y&R)
A fire poker… really? More often than not, serial killers will use a gun, knife, or a rope of some kind to kill off soap opera characters — particularly in a mystery storyline. When Young and the Restless’ (Y&R) Austin Travers passed away and was stuffed in an armoire on Valentine’s Day 2015, Y&R fans knew they had a crazy murder mystery on their hands. Courtney Sloane ended up being another victim. How did the killer end his victim’s lives? By fire poker, of all things. Beyond ridiculous… especially when the killer was found to be a police officer on GCPD.
© Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
8. To Perish Twice… From The Same Thing (GH)
Imagine this: passing away from an incident only to come back to life and perish from that very same incident again. In 1998, General Hospital’s (GH) Katherine Bell succumbed to her injuries after an accident involved her falling off a parapet. Thankfully, Helena Cassadine was able to bring her back to life using experimental medicine — only to push poor Katherine off that same parapet months later! One thing to consider here: if you lost vital signs due to falling from a parapet once, wouldn’t you avoid being anywhere near a parapet for the rest of your life?
©sean smith/jpistudios.com
7. Passing Away By Piñata (DOOL)
The Days of Our Lives (DOOL) Salem Stalker storyline ruled the show for months. Beloved DOOL characters were perishing left, right and center in weird and ridiculous ways. A fairly new character on the scene, Cassie Brady, found herself a victim to the stalker in 2003, passing away thanks to a stab from a Thanksgiving piñata. Clearly the stalker was a party pooper, or perhaps he just hated candy…
©Paul Skipper/jpistudios.com
6. Doppelganger Demise (Y&R)
The soap opera world mourned actress Jeanne Cooper when she passed away in 2013, leaving an incredible acting legacy behind her. Her portrayal of Katherine Chancellor was amazing and Y&R fans still miss her terribly. Her character certainly had her ups and downs, but one storyline stands out above the rest: when Genoa City thought Katherine had passed away. She had been driving her doppelganger, Marge Catrooke, to rehab when they got into an accident and Marge instantly perished. Kay was thrown from the vehicle, but everyone just assumed Marge was Kay and the Chancellor family mourned the loss of their matriarch. Kay was later found by Murphy (Marge’s friend) which launched a beautiful love story between the two.
©John Paschal/JPI
5. Mikkos Freezes (GH)
This ridiculous demise stems from the 1980s, so let’s take it all with a grain of salt. Mikkos Cassadine wanted to rule the world and thought creating a weather machine to freeze the earth could help him inch closer to that idea. Of course, our heroes Luke and Laura Spencer, as well as Robert Scorpio would never allow that to happen. Thus, Luke threw Mikkos in his own freezer chamber and left him to perish. He was gone, but the whole incident launched the Cassadine/Spencer feud that still continues in Port Charles to this day.
©Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
4. Stefano DiMera Passes Away… But Not Really (DOOL)
DOOL’s Stefano DiMera has perished so many times on the soap, he must have some sort of record. Whether he’s been thrown off a cliff, stabbed or shot, the Phoenix always rises to see another day. A ridiculous DiMera demise circa 2004 occurred when Andre — pretended to be Tony — drained Stefano’s blood to help him get over a blood disease. DOOL fans were shown a burnt and deceased body, whom Andre/Tony claimed to be DiMera’s. It wasn’t, but the idea that anyone would drain someone’s blood in such a fashion is utterly ridiculous.
Howard Wise/JPI
3. Passing Away By Volcano (Y&R)
There’s nothing more final than someone dropping into a lava-filled volcano, right? Back in 2010, Sharon Newman was desperate to clear her boyfriend of murder charges. While Skye Lockhart was alive and well, the eldest Newman son had been pinned for her murder. Just when Sharon found Lockhart and was ready with the evidence to prove she was alive, Skye fell into a volcano, along with any evidence that Sharon could take with her to clear Adam’s chargers. One would think that anyone hanging around a hot, smouldering lava hole would be a little more careful than accidentally falling into it. Alas, this is a soap opera we are talking about!
©sean smith/jpistudios.com
2. Bottomless Pit (GH)
If passing away by volcano seems ridiculous, then what about a bottomless pit? GH’s rich and powerful Cassadine family is always involved in some pretty over-the-top storylines. They love to try and freeze people (or, you know, the whole world), purchase mysterious islands, and tend to get away with murder… literally. In 2001 it was also revealed they had a bottomless pit. Um, okay, who knew these things even really existed outside of Disney movies – but in the land of Port Charles, they do. While fighting with Luke in the Cassadine underground lab, Starvos fell into the abyss and met his maker. Or so everyone thought. Actually, he returned in 2013, begging an even more ridiculous question: did the bottomless pit actually have a bottom that allowed him to escape?
© XJJohnson/jpistudios.com
1. Alice Horton’s Donut Demise (DOOL)
Beloved DOOL character Alice Horton was known for the incredible donuts she could whip up at the drop of a hat. They were comfort food for anyone in Salem who was dealing with an issue and could drop by Alice’s house for a little talk and tasty treat. Unfortunately, Alice was one of the victims during the Salem Stalker storyline in 2003 and was choked by her own homemade donuts. Thankfully, Alice hadn’t really passed away, but a demise by donuts was an ironic one for this legendary character.
©Jesse Grant/JPI