Stacy Haiduk’s Eccentric Susan Banks Is the Best Part of DAYS and We’re Celebrating Her Blue Suede Pumps!

SUSAN BANKS REMINDS EJ DIMERA HE’S NOT ALL EVIL AND WE NEEDED TO HEAR IT TOO

TL;DR: Susan Banks got the Valentine’s Day spotlight on Days of Our Lives when EJ brought her banana peanut brittle from Memphis and called her his favorite Valentine. Susan reminded her son that half of him comes from HER, not just Stefano. Meanwhile, her boyfriend Roger’s gift was a ticket from the King’s final concert ever, and Stacy Haiduk continues to prove she’s the hardest working woman in daytime.

Banana Peanut Brittle and a Mother’s Love

There is exactly one person in all of Salem who can make EJ DiMera act like a halfway decent human being, and that person showed up on Days of Our Lives wearing a dark brown wig, oversized glasses, brightly-colored mismatched clothes and enough eccentric energy to power a small city. Susan Banks is making regular appearances, and she’s serving up the kind of warmth the DiMera mansion desperately needs right now.

EJ surprised his mother with banana peanut brittle from Memphis, because Susan Banks’ love language involves Elvis Presley and snacks. He told her she’s his favorite Valentine, which was genuinely sweet considering this is a man who has spent the last several months running a secret resurrection lab, scheming against his own siblings, and slowly transforming into Stefano 2.0. But Susan Banks has always been the one who can cut through EJ’s layers of DiMera darkness and remind him that he’s still her sweet little boy.

And that’s exactly what she did. When Susan told EJ that half of him comes from HER, not just from Stefano, it landed. Because she’s right. EJ DiMera is not just the son of Salem’s most notorious villain. He’s also the son of the most delightfully unhinged, Elvis-obsessed, big-hearted woman to ever set foot in that mansion. Susan Banks may not have Stefano’s empire or his ruthlessness, but she has genuine love without strings attached.

Think Susan is the secret to saving EJ’s soul? Write to our editor at [email protected] and tell us your favorite Susan Banks moment!

Roger, the King’s Last Concert, and Why EJ Is Named Elvis Jr.

Speaking of Elvis, Susan’s boyfriend Roger gave her a Valentine’s Day gift that would make any true fan weep with jealousy. A ticket from the King’s concert on June 26, 1977. For the uninitiated, that was Elvis Presley’s final live performance, at Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, where he performed for nearly 18,000 fans less than two months before his death on August 16, 1977. Now, Susan Banks is holding a piece of that history.

And who the heck IS Roger? Long-time Days of Our Lives fans will remember him as the Elvis impersonator from Memphis who stole Susan’s heart. When Sami, John, and Marlena tracked down Susan years ago, they found her happily living with Roger, whose life is built around channeling the King. For Susan Banks, a woman who named her son Elvis because Stefano literally disguised himself as Presley to trick her into conceiving the child, Roger is basically her soulmate.

And let’s talk about her son’s name. EJ stands for Elvis Junior. Not Stefano Junior. Susan named her baby after her true love, the King of Rock and Roll himself. That’s always been the fundamental tension of EJ DiMera’s entire existence. He was conceived through Stefano’s manipulation but named through Susan’s love.

Stacy Haiduk Is a National Treasure

Let’s talk about the woman making all of this possible. Stacy Haiduk’s transformation into Susan Banks remains one of the most impressive feats in daytime television. She slaps on a dark brown wig, oversized black glasses, and prosthetic buck teeth, cranks her voice up several octaves into a shaky Southern drawl, and becomes an entirely different human being. The shy, quirky, excitable Susan is the polar opposite of the calculating, dangerous Kristen DiMera, and Haiduk plays both roles so convincingly that it’s easy to forget it’s the same actress.

On February 5, news broke that the three-time Daytime Emmy nominee is also joining The Young and the Restless to reprise her role as Patty Williams starting in March. Days of Our Lives fans immediately panicked, but breathe easy. Reports confirm Haiduk will continue appearing on Days of Our Lives as both Kristen and Susan while adding Patty to her roster. Since DAYS films nearly ten months in advance, she’ll appear on both shows simultaneously.

That means Stacy Haiduk is now playing three distinct characters across two soap operas. Kristen’s designer stilettos, Susan’s blue suede boots, and Patty’s particular brand of chaos. If she ever leaves Days of Our Lives, they would be some impossible shoes to fill.

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WATCH THIS: The second best part of DAYS…

@soapoperamag Yay? Nay? Gwen and Xander are bringing the heat but I want to know what YOU think! Do you like them together? Do you want them to try again? Or, are you still holding out hope for a Xander and Sarah reunion? Pick your side and we'll fight it out! #DaysofOurLives ♬ original sound – Soap Opera Magazine