On the July 8 episode of Days of our Lives, Sarah and Brady worried about Holly, while Philip dropped off flowers for Holly, and Tate visited Holly.

Nicole was apparently by her daughter’s bedside… but you wouldn’t know it, because we haven’t seen her. Where is she exactly?

• Holly’s condition remains critical as loved ones stay by her side.
• Sarah continues referencing Nicole despite her staying off-screen.
• Nicole’s absence raises more questions than answers for viewers.

Just Around the Corner

Holly (Ashley Puzemis) is an adult. She goes to college. She lives in the dorms.

And yet, when Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) thought she’d figured out what was wrong with her niece, she told Holly that she checked with Nicole (Arianne Zucker), and Holly’s mom gave her approval for Holly’s medication.

Why? That wasn’t necessary. Holly doesn’t need her mother’s permission for medical treatment. All it did was remind viewers that Holly almost died… and her doting mother was nowhere to be found.

Coming in for a Landing

Except that, just a few days earlier, Sarah made a point of saying that Nicole’s plane just landed, and she was on her way to Holly’s bedside.

They keep saying she’s in Holly’s room, but we haven’t seen her. What was the point of bringing Nicole home to Salem… and then not showing her?

Since the show knew Nicole would never be on-screen, why tease and disappoint?

Why not say that Nicole was on the phone with Holly every day, that she was barraging Sarah with hourly phone calls, that she was hounding Brady for information, but that she couldn’t come because… make up something! Anything!

Last time, it was that Jude had an ear infection and couldn’t fly. Have Jude be sick, too.

Or Eric (Greg Vaughan). Or have Eric be on another long photo shoot in Africa, and Nicole can’t reach him to ask him to come back and take care of Jude. Why raise fans’ hopes?