Shane Donovan is back in Salem, but for a heartbreaking Days of our Lives goodbye. Here’s what DAYS fans had to say about the legacy character’s return.

A Lifelong Friend

Salemites past and present are not only attending John’s funeral, but saying a real-life goodbye to beloved co-star Drake Hogestyn, who passed away last September. Among the returns is Charles Shaughnessy bringing back Shane to say farewell to his fellow ISA agent.

Fans of the Peacock sudser were delighted to see the character returning, immediately jumping on X (formerly Twitter) to share their joy. “SHANE!! Always great to see Charles Shaughnessy’s handsome face,” one excited fan wrote, while other said, “Welcome back Shane and Charles Shaughnessy.”

Many noted Shane’s kind words for his dearly departed friend. “Shane talked about how John was the finest agent he ever worked with, and a lifelong friend. All true,” a fan posted, with another captioning a screenshot of Shane and Marlena (Deidre Hall) with, “It’s nice to see Shane back to honor John today. It was beautiful when he told Marlena ‘John was the finest agent I ever worked with. His loss to the agency is incalculable. But that’s nothing compared to my loss of a lifelong friend.’”

Agent Cat?

Among the excitement for Shane’s return was also speculation for his interesting encounter with Cat (AnnaLynne McCord).

“Cat called Shane ‘Director,’” one fan noted with a questionable look emoji, while other wondered, “How does Cat know Shane? Is she ISA and we just don’t know it yet?”

“The look on Shane’s face when Cat walked past him at John’s funeral! I wonder what that’s about?!?” asked an enthusiastic viewer.