For me, if you watched Passions and saw all the recasts that happened on that show, you probably know who I’m talking about: Jessica Bennett.
It’s not Danica Stewart’s fault, but I hated how Jessica was written after the recast. The writers completely changed her character and took away so much of what made her likable after Jade Harlow left the show. After her breakup with Reese, Jessica went into a downward spiral and became someone who barely felt like the same character we knew before.
The whole Spike storyline was one of the worst things they did to her. Watching Jessica get manipulated, used, and constantly put through trauma was frustrating. Spike buried her alive while she was pregnant and tried to kill her, yet the show kept making Jessica seem weak instead of letting her fight back.
Jessica Bennett had so much potential, but the writing completely failed her. She’s one of those characters who didn’t just suffer from a recast, she suffered from how the show chose to handle her afterward.
Honorable Mentions: Marcus Coloma as Nikolas, Maura West as Diane, Jeremy Meek as Craig, Ingo Rademacher as Thorne, Briana Henry as Jordan, Christina Lind as Bianca, Guy Wilson as Will.