If you haven’t watched the Tuesday, February 17 episode of Days of our Lives yet, grab your hankies! In what was Billy Flynn’s last performance in the role of Chad DiMera, the three-time Daytime Emmy nominated actor left it all out on the table. Flynn gave viewers some of the most heartfelt goodbyes we have seen on the soaps when an actor is making a final exit.

While Billy left Days of our Lives last March to join the cast of The Young and the Restless as the recast Cane Ashby, with DAYS tape to streaming timeline, today in story, Chad left Salem with his children, Thomas (Cary Christopher) and Charlotte (Autumn Gendron). The three are heading to Arizona for awhile to stay with Will and Sonny. The exit provided the opportunity for there to be a short break, before Conner Floyd assumes the role come April 26 on your screens.

In a recap of Billy Flynn’s last Days of our Lives episode, it was if each goodbye and moment tugged on your heart strings more than the previous one. It also illustrated what a huge loss this was for the long-running soap opera. For those who went on the ride with Flynn as Chad, it was also an emotional day. The episode also marked the last one for Cary Christopher who was wonderful in the role of Thomas DiMera as well as Autumn Gendron as Charlotte. Both roles have been recast.

First, Chad visits Abigail’s gravesite. He tells his beloved that their kids are growing, and that he is really trying to do right by them. He tells Abigail, “I still miss you every single day.” He then informs her he is leaving Salem with the kids for awhile and that he promises to take a piece of her with him whereever he goes. As this was Valentine’s Day in Salem, Chad puts a rose on Abigail’s tombstone and tells her, “Goodbye for now!” HANKIES.

When Chad returns to Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes), he sees his son, Thomas sitting alone. In a very touching scene, and the last one between Cary Christopher and Billy Flynn as father and son, they talk about being sad thinking about Abigail. Remembering the candied Valentine’s hearts, Abigail used to give Thomas, Chad has a box in his pocket that he gives to his son. HANKIES.

Julie comes into the living room and Thomas goes to finish packing, leaving Chad with Julie, in what will be the final scenes between Susan Seaforth Hayes and Billy Flynn. In that moment, if you watch Billy, it all seemed so real, with tears welling up in Chad’s eyes, he has to say goodbye to Julie, who is concerned she will never see him again, They discuss how they both helped each other through their grief of losing Doug and Abigail. Chad thanks Julie for opening her home to him and the children as the two hug. HANKIES

Later, Jack (Matthew Ashford) and Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) arrive back to the Horton house. Chad is there and while the three had quite the contentious time over the entire Cat Greene is Abigail and its upshot and aftermath, they seem to reconcile and come to a place of peace. Jack even pipes up that they may have made Chad’s life miserable this past year but it all ended up alright.

When Thomas and Charlotte show back up, and Chad tells them it’s time for bed, they want Julie to read a chapter (or two) from Alice In Wonderland to them. So they exit up the stairs. Next, Jennifer and Jack each hug it out with Chad. Later alone, Chad takes one last look around the living room and stops at his wedding photo with Abigail and begins to cry.  Taking one final look around, Chad turns off the light and heads upstairs. HANKIES. We fade to black.

All of the scenes were poignant, beautifully played, and was that often fine line we see when the performance is mixed with the reality. Flynn cut his teeth on the soaps as an actor on Days of our Lives during his 12-year run as Chad.

Before he closed the page on his run, Flynn spoke to TV Insider, about his emotions of taping his last DAYS episodes. “The stuff that’s airing now is what I remember fondly because they are genuine goodbyes. I had one with Dan Feurriegel (EJ), Susan Hayes, and I loved being able to do the story with Missy and Matt.”

One of Flynn’s takeaways from his experience on Days of our Lives was the kudos he received along the way from executive producer, Ken Corday. “I remember after I was there for a period of time, right around the time of maybe the Necktie Killer storyline, he came in one day and he says, ‘What’s up, GB?’” Flynn relays. “And I was like, ‘GB?’ and he goes, ‘Game Ball. You’re the one we can always give the game ball to.’ It meant a lot, and he called me ‘Game Ball’ until the very end. He’s lovely, and his f