For years, many Days of Our Lives fans had been desperate to see the dastardly Konstantin Kiriakis meet his maker. The villainous character, played by John Kapelos, had done truly despicable things – kidnapping Victoria, nearly murdering Maggie, and even killing Victor. His cruelty and malice seemed to know no bounds.
Fans were united in their vitriol towards Konstantin, with actor Paul Telfer (who plays Xander) remarking “I can’t remember the last time we had a character on this show that the fans so unanimously just despise the way they went after Konstantin.” Kapelos’s performance was so chilling and villainous that it made viewers’ “skin crawl.”
Finally, after arcs of torment, the moment many fans had been waiting for arrived. In a shocking twist, it was the formerly villainous Xander who became an unexpected hero by killing off the wicked Konstantin. As Telfer recounts, his co-star Linsey Godfrey (Sarah) excitedly revealed the script’s contents: “You get to kill him!…You’re so badass in it. You take control and you get to kill him!”
For Telfer, having Xander deliver the fatal blow was immensely satisfying. He had been advocating for years to have his character truly embrace his darker tendencies, rather than being defanged into a hapless softie. As he put it, “If you’re gonna try and defang a nasty villain like Xander…it makes more sense to still allow him to do bad things, but you can do them to bad people.”
The pivotal killing scene itself was powerfully cathartic for viewers. Telfer vividly describes the moment: “Xander would just be like, ‘Oh God, give me the gun already!’…I did feel bad for Eric [Martsolf] and Rob [Scott Wilson]. They’re just supposed to stand there and just be useless.” For once, ineffectual good guys like Brady and Alex were upstaged as Xander took decisive, violent action.
While Brady and Alex objected afterwards, trying to claim Xander was in the wrong, fans remained firmly on Xander’s side according to Telfer: “I saw all the fans go, ‘Leave Xander alone!'” After the years of torment Konstantin had inflicted, viewers were overjoyed to see him slain, and by an unlikely hand no less.
The death also held significance for Xander’s personal journey and heritage. As Telfer explains, killing Konstantin removed “one less obstacle to Xander finding out his true heritage.” This tantalizing hint suggests that with the villain gone, Xander may finally uncover bigger truths about his background and family.
For years, Xander had been one of Days’ most complex, morally grey characters – carried between doing cruel misdeeds and inching towards redemption. By allowing him to play the role of heroic avenger against the show’s most reviled villain, the writers both satisfied fans’ demands for justice and opened up fascinating new storytelling possibilities for Xander. Few would have predicted he’d become the instrument of Konstantin’s demise, making the character’s arc all the more compelling.
In the aftermath of the bloody confrontation, it seems Konstantin is (hopefully) well and truly dead, giving closed-ended resolution rarely seen on superhero soaps. Meanwhile, Xander has an open road ahead as a reformed antihero of sorts – with both vindicated viewers and new personal truths to uncover. Thanks to one trigger-pull, the whole dynamic was upended in immensely satisfying ways for all.
