Daytime TV Performer of the Week: ‘DAYS’ Star Stacy Haiduk Delivered a Tour de Force as Kristen Kept Vigil Over Her Daughter

Kristen DiMera, played by Stacy Haiduk, is passionate about many things on Days of our Lives, but nothing drives her like the love she has for her child, Rachel (Lorelei Olivia Mote).

Stefano’s daughter was on the lam for crimes she committed. However, she was not going to be deterred from being at her daughter’s hospital bedside after Rachel was admitted for a burst appendix.

Haiduk takes Kristen from being a fierce negotiator to a doting mother in a heartbeat as she went from arguing with Brady (Eric Martsolf) and Dr. Sarah Horton (Linsey Godfrey) to sitting by Rachel’s bedside, reassuring her that everything was going to be all right.

When Sarah informed Brady and Kristen that Rachel would require another surgery, Kristen’s protective mama bear instincts kicked into overdrive. Aware that Kristen could be exposed at any moment, Haiduk had her character make fast use out of the surgical mask she was wearing to disguise herself.

Another shift towards vulnerability came when Kristen reached out to Rachel’s doctor, a fellow mom. “Sarah,” Kristen gently said. “No one, and I mean, no one, can know I’m here – please.”

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While vulnerable because of her daughter’s plight, Kristen didn’t lose an ounce of her passion. When Rachel asked her mother if she’d be there after her surgery, Kristen shot a look at Brady as if to say, “Don’t even try!” Kristen promised Rachel that she’d be there.

While Rachel was under the knife for a second time, Kristen thanked Brady for reaching out to her so that she could be there for their child. Then, Brady made the faux pas of mentioning Marlena (Deidre Hall), Kristen’s longtime rival, and shared the input the psychiatrist gave on Kristen’s future role in Rachel’s life.

“That sanctimonious quack! How dare she suggest that I be kept away from my own daughter!” Kristen hissed. Haiduk practically breathes fire whenever Kristen goes off on a rant over Marlena! The intensity is fierce and reminds us why Kristen is a true DiMera.

In fairness to Brady and Marlena, Kristen did try to have her nephew Johnny (Carson Boatman) killed in an effort to even a score with her brother and Johnny’s dad, EJ (Dan Feuerriegel).

Brady drew a line in the sand. He told Kristen that she had to leave, but Kristen wasn’t budging. She’s no lawyer, but she knew how to throw the blame on Rachel’s appendix bursting on Brady.

“Rachel knows how much I love her and she knows I would never leave her if I did not have a damn good reason,” Kristen shouted.

When Brady told Kristen that Rachel hadn’t asked for her mother, Haiduk played her character as if she’d been kicked in the gut. “I don’t believe that,” Kristen cried.

Brady gently but firmly persisted, telling Kristen that Rachel had said her life would be better if her mother weren’t around. Haiduk played Kristen as understandably devastated. She didn’t need words. We saw the pain wash over her face.

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“Did she come to that conclusion on her own, or was she forced into it by you and her ‘holier than thou Grandma Marlena,’ who has only had contempt for me?” Kristen asked, afraid on some level that Rachel didn’t need any prompting to draw this conclusion.

Haiduk is brilliant at shifting from one emotion to the next, which shows viewers just how complex her character is. Kristen’s deeply vulnerable one moment, and then she’ll blast the world around her for everything that’s gone wrong in her life.

“You tell that sanctimonious bitch,” Kristen said, referring to Marlena, “that my daughter and I have a bond that can never, ever be broken!”

While Brady and Kristen are united in their desire for Rachel to get well, there’s still a tremendous amount of tension between the two. Even the simplest exchanges between them can play like a battle of wills. For example, Sarah informed Rachel’s parents that she’d be in recovery so they could go get some rest or something to eat. Brady said that he wasn’t going anywhere. “Neither am I,” Kristen stoically said after looking at her ex, pointedly.

Brady, however, took that as a challenge and impressed upon Kristen that she would have to stay away from their daughter.

Kristen confessed that it was hard to hear from Brady that Rachel said her life would be easier if she weren’t around. Kristen admitted that there may be some truth in what Rachel was feeling. Stefano’s adopted daughter shared that she’d made a deal with God: If God healed Rachel, then Kristen would accept the truth that she was causing her daughter pain.

“The most loving thing I could do as a mother is just step back, even if it means not being in her life,” Kristen painfully proclaimed, as she both cried and let out a pained laugh. Brady accused Kristen of playing the martyr, bringing up poor “dead” Sophia Choi (Rachel Boyd).

Brady ordered Kristen to keep her sadistic, evil impulses in check. Otherwise, he couldn’t let her keep her freedom. Kristen begged Brady to realize that she was no longer a threat to Johnny. “You’ve seen the best in me, maybe not often, but you have seen it – because you’re the one who’s brought it out of me when we were together,” Kristen said as she tried to reach into Brady’s heart.

“I wish to God I knew the reason why I do the things I do…I don’t know, Brady,” Kristen said, breaking down. Then, Brady gave Kristen hope that someday she could be in her daughter’s life.

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Rachel woke up after her second surgery and asked her mother not to leave, but Kristen knew that she had to.

“I wish I could stay with you…but I can’t, sweetheart,” Kristen said. “Let’s not blame, Daddy. This is my fault and no one else’s.”

Hoping to dance around the true severity of her actions, Kristen spoke generally to her daughter, but Rachel is one smart kid. Kristen wondered how her daughter had figured out just how serious Kristen’s legal situation was. “You’re dressed as a doctor in disguise… I’m not dumb,” Rachel pointed out.

Haiduk had Kristen let out a laugh at that point, the kind parents share when they realize that their little ones are growing up fast and they’re pretty smart.

Kristen wouldn’t tell Rachel what she’d done but did share that it was something bad and she needed to go away. “I promise you, though, I will be back,” Kristen told Rachel before giving her a goodbye kiss on the forehead.

Haiduk was tasked with delivering a myriad of emotions while playing several relationships in these episodes: Kristen’s love for Rachel, her fear that her daughter’s well-being, her hatred of Marlena, her complicated history with Brady, and her desire to be a better person.

Brava to the actress for playing a complex character, one who is capable of feeling deep love while being aware of her foibles and faults.

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