Soap Hub looks at the Hits and Misses for the week of June 30-July 4 in the worlds of Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.
Top 9 Misses
9. The Joss/Vaughn kiss (GH). First came the revelation that one of the reasons Joss (Eden McCoy) joined the WSB was to take down Sonny (Maurice Benard). Then, standing in the parking lot of Charlie’s Pub, the site of the “mysterious” fire that almost killed Kristina (Kate Mansi), Vaughn (Bryce Durfee) kissed Joss. Unfortunately, the timing and the vibes felt off.
8. Ridge and Brooke’s conversation about his engagement (B&B). Ridge (Thosten Kaye) walked into the CEO office at Forrester, and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) immediately confessed that Nick (Jack Wagner) had already told her that Ridge and Taylor (Rebecca Herbst) were engaged. So, Ridge didn’t get to break the news to Brooke, which meant there wasn’t much for him to say. The conversation was surprisingly over fairly quickly.
7. Holden is not very self-aware (Y&R). The twist that Holden (Nathan Owens) has been working for Cane/Dumas all along is good. However, when he told his boss that he excels at making friends, we couldn’t take him seriously. That must have been hyperbole on his part. He has been in Genoa City for months, and the only friend he has made is Claire. What he truly excels at is asking people loaded and upsetting questions. They always seem like they can’t get away from him fast enough.
6. Johnny’s arrest (DAYS). While we were happy to see movement in the “Who Shot EJ” storyline, when an arrest was made, we had high hopes that it would bring an end to the whodunit. EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) was shot in April. We won’t know who shot EJ DiMera for a little while longer. Johnny’s (Carson Boatman) arrest does pave the way for what could be a juicy and dramatic trial, however.
5. Where’s Bill (B&B)? Liam (Scott Clifton) is dying, and Luna (Lisa Yamada) is busy running around town making threats and brandishing a gun. And where is Bill (Don Diamont)? His infrequent pop-ups aren’t enough. He should be a bigger part of this story, considering he was the one who got Luna pardoned. And it was after his cold-hearted fight with Liam that he collapsed and was diagnosed with an inoperable tumor. Plus, Luna trained a gun on his son, Will (Crew Morrow).
4. Xander’s skewed logic (DAYS). Xander and Maggie’s conversation this week was entertaining, and it was good that it wasn’t all contentious. However, Xander still thinks he can go for full custody because Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) lied to him. In no way is what Sarah did worse than anything he has ever done. Xander says that owning his past means he’s not a hypocrite, while he feels Sarah lying for the greater good is hypocritical. Hopefully, Melinda Trask (Tina Huang) won’t base their whole case on this logic.
3. Sidwell throws Selena under the bus (GH). During the Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Selena (Lydia Look) summit, Sidwell told Selena that he made it look like she ordered the Charlie’s Pub fire. Then he suggested she leave town for a while so she could evade Sonny and his wrath. What we want is more Selena on GH, not less.
2. Cane won’t let his guests leave (Y&R). On Friday, Cane said that the partygoers may be able to get out of there in a week. Nikki is right. The accoutrements may be fancy, but in essence, he’s holding the Winters, Abbotts, Newmans, and friends hostage. He even flew to Genoa City in the middle of it. How much longer is Cane’s party in Nice going to last?
1. CBS preempts Beyond the Gates for the entire week of June 30 (BTG). The week of June 23, BTG was on fire. There was finally movement in the Martin (Brandon Claybon) mystery, and the show had our attention. Then we learned that CBS decided to preempt the new soap for the entire week of June 30. While the first five episodes of BTG are amazing television and deserve to be seen over and over again, this one-week break unfairly interrupted the rhythm of a brand new show.
Top 6 Hits
6. Upcoming Hayley and Leslie sit-down (BTG). Even with BTG preempted this week, we still came up with a hit. And that’s the anticipation for a scene we spotted in the video preview for the new episodes. Hayley (Marquita Goings) and Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant), two of the DMV’s shadiest individuals, have a sit-down at Orphey Gene’s. We can’t wait to see how these two interact.
5. Sally demands that Billy give her Abbott Communications (Y&R). Billy’s attention on Abbott Communications is waning, and he’s all about teaming up with Cane to snatch Chancellor away from Victor (Eric Braeden). He hasn’t even talked to Ashby yet. Because Billy (Jason Thompson) can be so fickle and flaky, Sally (Courtney Hope) thinking about getting hers in all of this was the right move. Yes, Abbott Communications hasn’t even launched yet, but we applaud her initiative.
4. Rocco and Danny (GH). Brook Lynn may have decided against using the file against Lulu (Alexa Havins), but it was too late. Rocco (Finn Carr) is pursuing the truth, and now he’s confronting his mom, wanting to know about Britt (Kelly Thiebaud). Seeing Rocco and Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) first take on jobs at the Metro Court Pool, then dealing with this drama, reminds us of when soap teens used to get to do a lot during the summer. More from these two, please.
3. Rachel Boyd (DAYS). This week, Rachel Boyd’s character, Sophia, had to give birth alone in her room at home, give up her baby, and then enact a plan that would keep Tate (Leo Howard) and her family unaware that she had already delivered the baby. Just another day on a soap opera, right? Well, Boyd beautifully pulled off the emotions that were required of this wild story. You could see Sophia’s fear and her devastation, but you could also feel her determination not to let this baby derail her life. Boyd was so good.
2. Lisa Yamada (B&B). Much like Boyd, Lisa Yamada had some heavy lifting to do as Luna this week. And somehow, the actress continues to pull it off. While Luna remains delusional about what she’s doing and why she’s doing it, Yamada commits to the story and its emotions one hundred percent. No wonder Soap Hub named her B&B Performer of the Month for June.
1. Adam and Victoria (Y&R). Adam broke out of his Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) bubble and tracked down his family at Cane’s beach getaway in the south of France. We will overlook the fact that he looked amazing after walking up a mountain for three hours. But what affected us was a conversation he had before he left GC for Nice. He had a real civil and empathetic conversation with Victoria (Amelia Heinle), who normally acts like she wants to scratch her half-brother’s eyes out. It was nice and is hopefully a turning point for these two.
