Soap Hub looks at the Hits and Misses for the week of December 8-12 in the worlds of Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.
Key Takeaways
- Chemistry and surprise reunions were the clear winners, especially when history-heavy pairings shared even brief scenes.
- Big events didn’t always equal big payoff, leaving some highly anticipated moments feeling undercooked.
- Strong performances and bold twists balanced out the misses, keeping all five soaps buzzy despite uneven execution.
Top 10 Hits and Misses
10. MISS: The Eyelid Mites PSA (GH). Silly us. When Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) complained to Felicia (Kristina Wagner) about her dry, reddened, and irritated eyes, we thought that maybe this was the start of a storyline centered on GH’s head nurse. Who knows — the show has done a contagion storyline before. We wouldn’t put it past Sidwell (Carlo Rota). We don’t really know what they’re doing in that lab! In reality, it turned out to be one of those medical-related PSAs that the show does occasionally. We learned about the dangers of eyelid mites. And now we would like to unlearn about eyelid mites. While it was definitely an educational moment, it raised our hopes for a Liz story only to dash them.
9. HIT: Rachel & Sophia (DAYS). New besties Rachel (Alice Halsey) and Sophia (Rachel Boyd) are making the most of their time in Bayview. They are supposed to be healing and getting the most out of their individual and group therapy sessions. Instead Sophia is mentoring Rachel on the joys of sneaking out to get fast food. Sophia especially has us on edge, because she’s fostering this relationship for a reason and it might have to do with the fact that she now knows Johnny (Carson Boatman) and Chanel (Raven Bowens) adopted her baby.
8. HIT and MISS: Lauren and Michael’s very special episode (Y&R). We loved the show devoting an entire episode of television to Lauren (Tracey Bregman) and Michael (Christian LeBlanc). Their relationship has experienced turbulence lately. This was a way to solidify it, validate it as one of the show’s strongest bonds, and even remind us that the couple hasn’t forgotten their shady pasts. But did Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) have to crash their celebration? She just crashed Danny’s (Michael Damian) and Christine’s (Lauralee Bell) bachelor and bachelorette parties and their wedding!
7. HIT: Greg Vaughan’s first week (BTG). When news broke about Greg Vaughan joining Beyond the Gates, we were excited. Vaughan made his debut this week as Nicole’s blind date to WinterFest. He immediately established chemistry with Daphnée Duplaix’s character. We learned a few things about Dr. Kial Rollins. And his presence certainly has already sparked a jealous reaction or two from Ted (Keith D. Robinson). Job well done. Welcome to the DMV, Dr. Rollins!
6. MISS: There was hardly anybody at the Lope wedding (B&B). The wedding of Hope (Annika Noelle) and Liam (Scott Clifton) was always going to be a small affair considering their daughter, Beth (Jordyn Lynn Ariza), planned the whole thing. But it was a little disappointing that Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) and Eric (John McCook) decided to sit the wedding out. Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Finn (Tanner Novlan) weren’t there either. Steffy and Hope’s relationship has come a long way, after all. No apperance from Liam’s brother, Wyatt (Darin Brooks), either. And the one thing which would have caused drama didn’t happen because Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) was forbidden to attend. The wedding was nice, a real celebration of a family, but we would have loved to have seen more people be there for the festivties.
5. HIT: Valentin’s return and Anna pops up too (GH). Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) made a daring escape during his escort to a new prison. And his first stop wasn’t Lulu’s house to see Charlotte (Bluesy Burke). He landed at Carly’s house where their plan to bring Brennan (Chris McKenna) can finally play out. Additionally, we finally got to see what was up with Anna (Finola Hughes). For weeks she has been gone and nobody in her life seems to be suspicious of her absence. They just accepted that she was on a WSB assignment. Well now we have seen her. Sidwell has her. Pascal (Marc Forget) is making sure she’s fed and doesn’t escape. And she wasn’t whisked away from Port Charles. She’s right there on Spoon Island at Wyndemere. Nice twist.
4. MISS: WinterFest (BTG). This pains us to say, but WinterFest didn’t quite live up to the hype. It looked gorgeous. Maybe we’re too programmed to expect major drama at every event, but there wasn’t much at all. Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant) intimidating Laura (Destiny Love), Nicole’s blind date, and a drunk Vanessa (Lauren Buglioli) was about it (loved her sticking her tongue out at Leslie, by the way). The wardrobe kept us wondering if this was supposed to be a fancy shmancy event or a casual affair because some of the characters were decked out while others, especially the men, were dressed down. While we got to hear KeKe Wyatt sing, we never got to hear Anita’s (Tamara Tunie) speech. We adore a good Dupree speech. Don’t get us wrong. The event was still fun to watch, but ultimately, we were slightly disappointed.
3. HIT: John McCook & Jennifer Gareis (B&B). Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) forcing Eric into retirement was maddening, but the episode with the surprise retirement party featured Donna intensely defendng her husband. Meanwhile, Eric refused to give in to this retirement business. He still had it in him to design beautiful clothes. He still wanted to contribute to the legacy he created. Eventually, he realized it wasn’t going to happen and he was devastated. McCook and Gareis gave wonderful and heartbreaking performances.
2. MISS: Brady and Sarah (DAYS). This one’s a work in progress and who knows, our opinion could change in the future. But for now, we’re not feeling Brady (Eric Martsolf) and Sarah (Linsey Godfrey). Now that Brady has moved his stuff to the Kiriakis mansion, he and Sarah will be in constant contact. There was a whole scene with Sarah and Brady in a towel. Sarah was clearly moved. But it’s going to take us time to feel the same way. We want Brady to finally get it right with a woman. This may not be it.
1. HIT: Audra and Noah reconnect (Y&R). The scene was brief, but when Audra (Zuleyka Silver) and Noah (Lucas Adams) reconnected, sparks were instantaneous. Audra and Noah have history, but they haven’t seen each other in years. But the way Noah looked at Audra, he positively lit up and he barely paid attention to his dad, who was not happy to see Audra Charles there. This was an unexpected moment and could potentially be a win for Audra down the line. Noah has to see this thing with Sienna (Tamara Braun) through first.
Honorable Mentions
B&B
HIT: Douglas at Lope’s wedding. One of the best parts of Lope’s wedding has to be Douglas attending the wedding. It was great to see him after the character being off the canvas for so long. And with Thomas’s imminent return, Douglas will be here to stay. Yay!
READ THIS: The latest The Bold and the Beautiful Comings & Goings.
BTG
HIT: Nicole apologizes to Dani. Diving back into dating has helped Nicole reconfigure some of her opinions. And at WinterFest, she finally did something she should have done a long time ago. She apologized to Dani (Karla Mosley) for the way she completely judged her and Andre (Sean Freeman) negatively. But now she sees what they have evolved into and she is here for it. Thank you, Nicole! What a good sister moment.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s happening next week on Beyond the Gates.
DAYS
MISS: Jada & Rafe. We shoud be giving a hit to the show for letting Jada (Elia Cantu) and Rafe (Galen Gering) work together to track down the missing DiMeras. But, honestly, it made us frustrated that the show hasn’t put these two back together yet. What are they waiting for?
READ THIS: Here’s what’s happening next week on Days of Our Lives.
GH
HIT: Suzanne the assistant at Diane and Alexis’s law firm. Suzanne (Jen Rey) is a breath of fresh air. She’s honest, objective, and she doesn’t let someone like a condescending Drew (Cameron Mathison) sway her from her opinions. Plus, she anticipates people’s needs, and can read them for filth should the need arise. She clocked Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) manipulative testimony and deemed her guilty. More Suzanne, please.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s happening next week on General Hospital.
Y&R
HIT: Cane & Lily banter. Cane and Lily’s Crimson Lights banter was amusing and it resulted in their going on a non-date to the Abbott Communications launch party. Cane is right. Lily hasn’t been fun or had any fun in forever. And their going to the retro party together would cause people to talk. Billy Flynn and Christel Khalil look good together. Their character have developed good banter. We look forward to seeing what else happens with Cane and Lily.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s happening next week on The Young and the Restless.
Additional reporting by Soap Hub Staff.
WATCH THIS: Soap Hub Says unpacks the week’s soap buzz.
