Al Calderon wrapped up his stint on Days of our Lives this week. The actor left the Peacock drama due to his role on the NBC primetime series Brilliant Minds. In Calderon’s final episodes, the actor turned in a tour de force as his character, Javi, departed Salem with a broken heart, having lost both the man he loved and the baby that he had grown to love as his own.
Knowing Leo (Greg Rikaart) still had unresolved feelings for Dimitri (Peter Porte) wasn’t the main reason that prompted Javi to hop on a plane back to Texas. He learned that his father, Gabriel, had had a heart attack. The specifics of Gabriel’s condition weren’t revealed, but Javi’s was quite clear – he appeared to be suffering from “broken heart syndrome.” (Yep, that’s a real thing.)
Not that long ago, Javi had his future mapped out. He was going to settle into happily married life with Leo in Salem and he’d still get to see baby Trey as he and Leo are godfathers to the little guy.
Life changes fast. Calderon played Javi’s reaction to Dimitri’s return and his impact on Leo as if he’d been kicked in the gut.
While many characters on soaps spend time cruising down “denial,” Calderon brought a sense of sad reserve and acceptance to his character. He might have stayed in town, but Javi’s decision to stay in Salem and fight for Leo became moot once he learned about his dad’s condition.
“I don’t know if we can be a family anymore, Leo,” Javi told the man he loves, as his eyes started to fill with tears. “We both know that things have changed between us, and we have to accept that.”
Asked by Leo when he was coming back from Texas, Javi, looking lost, informed him that he might not. It was clear in the choices that Calderon was making he was thisclose to dissolving into an emotional mess.
There was some sweet mixed into this bitter exit. Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel (Raven Bowens) moved up little Trey’s baptism so Javi, his godfather, could be present for the ceremony. Alas, the ceremony led to another awkward moment with Leo, the boy’s other godfather.
The irony wasn’t lost on either when they stood in front of the priest who baptized John Paul (a.k.a. Trey) since they had recently stood together in front of God when they were married.
Javi promised little Trey that the two of them were bonded for life in a heartwarming moment following the christening. Calderon saw the opportunity to find some joy in Javi’s life and brought that to life.
Javi and Leo had a final (for now) farewell in Horton Square. Leo told Javi that his life was going to be on hold while Javi was gone.
“Will it?” Javi responded with a suspicious tone in his reply.
Javi told Leo that he was aware that Leo had responded to the kiss that he and Dimitri shared. Upon Leo confessing that there was still something between him and Dimitri, Javi’s eyes were bloodshot and filled with tears.
Peacock
“You may want to be with me, but I don’t want to be with you if you’re not 100% committed to us,” Javi told Leo. It takes a lot of strength to muster up that kind of response when you’re the odd man out in a triangle.
Despite his heart racing, Javi kept a clear head. He informed Leo that it wasn’t so much him kissing Dimitri that crystalized his thoughts about their future; it was that Leo had kept it secret and Javi had to hear it from Dimitri.
Javi put a period at the end of his relationship with Leo by giving him his wedding ring, but Leo insisted on putting a pin in their story as he hopes to someday re-win Javi’s heart.
Calderon delivered not a single false moment in this tearjerking farewell. The actor played Javi as a man who was strong enough to walk away from someone who can’t fully commit to him while also playing that he’s fearful for his father’s life.
We saw just how much pain Javi was in thanks to Calderon’s choices. There was a raw vulnerability in his performances that viewers aren’t going to forget anytime soon.
Days of our Lives, Weekdays, Peacock
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