New Year’s Eve in Salem was supposed to end with fireworks and champagne, but no – it ended with the most shocking kiss of the year.

Sarah Horton, after months of heartbreak and judgment from all sides, did the unexpected: she proactively kissed her ex-boyfriend while everyone was counting down to the new year.

No one knows exactly who he was.

Some say it was Xander – the man who once broke Sarah’s heart, while others claim it was a “familiar stranger,” someone who had recently appeared in Salem.

Whoever it was, Sarah’s eyes after that kiss were no longer those of a vulnerable woman. They were the eyes of someone who had just reclaimed control of her own life.

The footage from that New Year’s Eve went viral on social media. Fans are fiercely divided: one side hails “Queen Sarah’s comeback,” while the other warns she’s about to dig herself into another romantic mess.

But one thing is certain: that kiss kicked off a series of explosive romantic dramas that will last throughout January. And if you think this is just a momentary outburst of emotion, you’re wrong – Salem has never had a kiss that didn’t come with deadly consequences.