Why Kate's 2023 Fishing Boat Plight Gave DAYS Fans A Sense Of Deja Vu

It's no secret to any "Days of Our Lives" fan that Kate Roberts has been in her fair share of dangerous situations. From being buried alive by her nemesis Vivian Alamain (and crawling out of that grave to drag herself to the hospital), colluding with Sami Brady and Gabi Hernandez to kill Nick Fallon, and marrying many times over, it seems like Kate's done it all. So much so, that she's since re-visited one of her most well-known storylines: being trapped at sea.

In a storyline from a "Days of Our Lives" episode that aired in April 2023, Kate escaped from being held at gun-point by the micro-chipped Bo Brady. In her haste to leave the island she was being kept on with Kayla Brady and Marlena Evans, Kate boarded a fishing boat in the harbor, assuming it was abandoned. However, upon boarding, she discovered that the boat belonged to a mysterious owner, and subsequently found herself trapped by said owner's henchman. Cue the unhappy Kate chopping fish for weeks on end. 

Sound familiar? But fear not — all is not lost for the clever Kate. After all, she's been in this situation before.

Fans who have been watching "Days of Our Lives" since the 1990s may remember the brief stint that Kate's original portrayer, Deborah Adair, had on the show. Adair portrayed Kate Roberts for two years before leaving the role. Following Adair's exit in 1995, Kate had been in a plane crash and was presumed dead. After a year of waiting and wondering what had happened, it was revealed to fans that Kate, now being played by Lauren Koslow, was in fact alive and living on a boat, working in the galley and cleaning fish.

In an April 2023 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Koslow explained, "I thought it was a Kate Flashback Friday. It was really kind of fun and brought back my debut on the show." The nod to Koslow's debut in the role came about over two decades later, with present-day Kate being thrown into the same situation once again.

Flash forward to 2023. There have been numerous changes made to "Days of Our Lives" over the years, but one thing that hasn't changed is Kate's determination. During the previously mentioned April 2023 episode, after escaping a near-death situation at the hands of the micro-chipped Bo Brady, Kate ended up trapped on a ship again. However, this time around, her captors were a mystery owner and his henchman. 

Forced to stay on the ship and chop fish, Kate was left to stew on a possible escape. She managed to persuade the owner's henchman to trade her wedding ring for a call home to her husband, Roman Brady. Unfortunately, the call didn't work, but that didn't sway Kate. "Kate's a survivor," her portrayer, Lauren Koslow told Soap Opera Digest. "She'll do whatever it takes." 

So while fans might have thought they were reliving Koslow's debut on the show with the repeat storyline, it seems that Kate still has some tricks up her sleeve. After all, she's been stuck on a fishing boat before and lived to tell the tale; only time will tell if she can do it again.