Heartbreaking performance, disappointing exits, and electric pairings helped define soaps during the week of April 27-May 1. Soap Hub dissects the drama on Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.
Key Takeaways
- Soaps delivered a mix of standout performances and frustrating exits, with Days and BTG leading the emotional highs.
- Relationship drama dominated, from Carly/Valentin heating up to Shanice/Ted hitting a rough patch.
- Major turning points included disappointing departures and escalating threats across multiple storylines.
Hits and Misses Breakdown: April 27-May 1, 2026
Beyond the Gates
HIT: Chelsea stands up to Leslie. Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) has always been strong, honest with her opinions, and formidable. But the way she stood up to Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant) as she served her up some home truths at Orphey Gene’s was unexpected and lovely to see. She gave as good as she got, and we know Leslie can give.
MISS: Shanice and Ted. Don’t get us wrong. We love Shanice (Ernestine Johnson) and Ted (Keith D. Robinson) and understand they need obstacles to make them even more rootable than they already are. But Ted needs to figure out what and who’s in his heart, because it’s doing Shanice a disservice. He’s understandably pining for Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix). And this week, he had a moment with Leslie after she was so rude to the nurse. Shanice has told him her experiences with previous boyfriends. His dealing with his two exes is triggering for her.
Honorable Mention (HIT): It has been a year since the anniversary party that changed the Richardson family forever. And BTG is giving it the proper weight. Nicole and Ted reminisced, and Ted also confessed that he had tricked Carlton (Robert Christopher Riley) at the Maui medical conference, where Nicole and Ted fell in love. Martin (Brandon Claybon) and Kat (Colby Nixon) came together to worry about their parents. Nicole’s family texted her in support. It felt like the right beats were played, and it will only continue the week of May 4, when Nicole and Leslie will get their moment.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Beyond the Gates
Bold and the Beautiful
MISS: Hope for the Future Paused Again. We all know what happened when Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) shelved Hope for the Future due to poor performance. This week, Steffy decided to delay HFTF’s relaunch and pour all of Forrester Creations’ resources into the couture line, now that Eric (John McCook) has returned to the fold. Hope’s (Annika Noelle) line never seems to get off the ground.
And Zende (Delon de Metz) just went along with it, even though it’s what he and an invisible Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) have been working on for months. Forrester Creations is a big company. It’s not some boutique operation. Why can’t they focus on both?
HIT: Liam makes a pitch involving Hope’s future. Hope’s loss at Forrester could be Katie’s gain at Logan. That’s what Liam (Scott Clifton) pitched anyway. However, Logan would need to brace themselves for big-time war if Hope defected to the new upstart fashion company in town that just “stole” Eric’s designs and made a huge splash in the fashion industry.
Honorable Mention (MISS): Daphne (Murielle Hilaire) and Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) basically got one scene about their trying to have a baby this week. Unfortunately for the couple, Daphne isn’t pregnant. Hopefully, this is just the slow-burn part of their story, and they will soon get more focus, because it only helps this show when there is more going on than one story.
It was nice to see Electra (Laneya Grace), Dylan (Sydney Bullock), and Will (Crew Morrow) featured. It gave a refreshing break from the Forrester/Logan fashion wars. What happened to the Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) /Deacon (Sean Kanan) /Taylor (Rebecca Budig) saga? That was nowhere to be found this week.
MORE: The latest Bold and the Beautiful Comings & Goings.
Days of our Lives
HIT: The Friday, May 1 episode. Not going to lie. It was difficult to watch Sophia (Rachel Boyd), whose mental health issues are widely known, go down like that. And to actually witness Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) go that dark. It’s been a while. It did confuse us when Kristen started conspiring with Sophia. It didn’t seem like that would be a move for her, given how Sophia used Rachel (Lorelai Olivia Mote) for her own gain. What happened on Friday definitely made more sense. But, man, it was heartbreaking, painful, and riveting.
And Rachel Boyd, once again, gave such a wonderfully layered performance. She had us feeling so sorry for Sophia, even knowing the horrible things she has perpetrated. And a shout-out to Shi Ne Nielson. While Amy Choi hasn’t always been relatable, the actress portraying her has nailed her performances, and Friday was no exception. Nielson made us feel the pain of a mother who finds out how much despair her child was hiding from her.
MISS: The end of Jeremy Horton (Michael Roark) in Salem. What a sad ending for a character that had so much potential. Jeremy’s redemption took forever to materialize, and then once it did, his control issues came roaring back when he engineered Joy’s return. We would have loved to see the character struggle with his dark side and ultimately become a flawed character who was continuing to do the work to become healthier. He was so close, and then had this setback, and then left town. Just like that. Roark’s final scene with Susan Seaforth-Hayes was a winner, however. It was emotional, and it would have been great to have seen their characters’ connection continue.
Honorable Mention (HIT): Having just said all of that about Jeremy, we were pleasantly surprised when Stephanie (Abigail Klein) was quickly able to put two and two together and figure out that Jeremy had manipulated the Joy Wesley (AlexAnn Hopkins) situation. And then Stephanie was very honest with Jeremy, so that there would be no room for doubt. He would never be a part of her life. It was a good moment for the character.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Days of Our Lives.
General Hospital
HIT: Carly and Valentin. These two continue to be a winning pairing. We love the way Carly (Laura Wright) has been talking about his effect on her life. She loves that Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) protects her. She feels safe with him. And they get each other in ways that the previous men in her life haven’t. She and Valentin are honest with each other, which is something Jack (Chris McKenna) certainly hasn’t been.
And while external factors do complicate matters (like one or both could end up in a supermax prison courtesy of the WSB), there isn’t the baggage between them like there is with Jason (Steve Burton) or Sonny (Maurice Benard). They make a good team that challenges each other as they also prepare to destroy Sidwell (Carlo Rota), Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), and Jack’s worlds together. We believe that they could do it.
MISS: Josslyn ratting her mom out to Brennan. First of all, Lucas (Van Hansis) outed his sister’s new relationship to Joss (Eden McCoy). What was that all about? And then Joss hightailed it over to Jack to spill the tea immediately. She had her reasons, but it really felt like she did it to hurt him for deactivating her and taking away her reason for being. Whatever her reasons were, it wasn’t cool.
Honorable Mention (MISS): While it was understandable that Brick (Stephen A. Smith) would want to visit Jordan (Tanisha Harper) in the hospital, he wasn’t the surprise visitor we were hoping for. It would have been great if TJ (Tajh Bellow) — fresh from whatever he’s doing in Europe — suddenly showed up at his mother’s side to see how his mom was doing. He isn’t just her son, he’s also a doctor. His presence could have calmed her, since she’s not doing welll with her recovery. And he could be the voice of reason in helping her with this next phase — dealing with the scars and burns on her face.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on General Hospital.
The Young and the Restless
HIT: Nick being so appreciative of Adam’s support. As Nick (Joshua Morrow) spiraled in Las Vegas, Adam (Mark Grossman) stood by his half-brother and tried to do everything he could to prevent Nick from hitting rock bottom. And while he couldn’t do that, thanks to Matt Clark’s bad batch of pills he left for Nick, Adam was every bit the supportive brother. He had to make instinctive decisions that he now feels guilty for doing. But what was great was that hug of thanks Nick gave Adam in Vegas and then giving him credit to Victor (Eric Braeden) when they were back in Genoa City.
MISS: Sharon was kidnapped AGAIN. Sharon was held hostage again. This time, Matt (Roger Howarth) trapped her and Noah (Lucas Adams) in an abandoned gas station in the Las Vegas desert. At this point, why does Sharon even leave her home? She’s cursed when it comes to kidnappings and, hopefully, Y&R will come up with other types of stories that are worthy of Sharon Case’s talents. A love story would be good.
Honorable Mention (HIT): Devon (Bryton James) and Nate (Sean Dominic) knew this would happen. Cane (Billy Flynn) being a match for Malcolm (Shemar Moore) melted the toxic bond that has connected him and Lily (Christel Khalil) ever since he returned to town. It has completely disintegrated.
Now Lily and Cane are seeing things in a more big picture way. Lily already let him be part of the converation with their kids when they told them about Cane being a match. The two are more understanding of each other’s bad decisions. And, most importantly, their chemistry is off the charts. They won’t be without their problems, but it feels like they will tackle them together, a them versus the world kind of thing.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on The Young and the Restless.
Additional reporting by Soap Hub staff.
