Painful conversations, social events of the year, big deaths, and brutal payback helped make this week in soaps memorable. Soap Hub breaks down the hits and misses from May 18-22 across Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.
Key Takeaways
- Beyond the Gates delivered with Samantha’s cotillion, Derek’s heartbreaking death, and Doug McBride’s shocking return.
- General Hospital brought an explosive Dante/Lulu conflict, while Y&R focused on Jack’s calculated payback against Victor.
- Big reunions, emotional conversations, and brutal fallout shaped a week filled with major consequences across soaps.
Hits and Misses Breakdown: May 18-22, 2026
Beyond the Gates
HIT: The cotillion. Samantha (Najah Jackson) and the Duprees talked about her cotillion debut for months. The build-up was great. So many different beats were played, including Samantha’s imposter syndrome that the Belleclaires ruthlessly exploited. The execution of the event could have disappointed, but it didn’t. The cotillion was top-notch drama, from the hair and wardrobe to the dancing, and the crowning of Samantha as the Platinum Deb. BTG pulled it off beautifully.
HIT and MISS: The Doug McBride appearance. We still haven’t gotten the story of how Doug McBride has seemingly returned. But bringing back the character was a great decision. And to have it happen at the end of Friday’s episode as a killer cliffhanger made the moment even more special. The MISS here is that many viewers expected his appearance. First, because the spoilers teased a stunning reunion for one of the McBrides. And second, Jason Graham’s name was in the end credits at the end of Wednesday’s episode. We would have loved to have been completely surprised. Regardless, we are here for whatever is going on with Doug.
Honorable Mention (HIT): Derek’s death. It’s always sad to lose an original or a longtime member of a soap. The show had spent months on this storyline about the plasma ring. It needed to have high-stakes consequences and a dramatic conclusion. By the time Derek (Ben Gavin) died trying to save Jacob’s (Jibre Hordges) and Grayson’s (Jordi Vilasuso) lives, we were invested in the characters’ post-firefighting era. He fit right in as the free clinic’s general manager. He found a new purpose. And we loved how he continually stood up to Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant). So when Derek died, we felt it.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Beyond the Gates
The Bold and the Beautiful
HIT: Dylan actually told Electra the truth about Remy. For a while there, it really seemed like Dylan (Sydney Bullock) was going to keep her connection to Remy (Christian Weissmann) a secret. Who knows, this could have been a calculated move to get back into Electra’s (Laneya Grace) good graces. But she used this as a teachable moment. The former art teacher told the jewelry designer that she was Remy’s cousin. And that Remy had snuck into Forrester Creations’ offices at least twice. The confession was unexpected, but welcome. Besides, Remy doesn’t deserve his cousin’s loyalty. Not yet anyway.
MISS: Hope still hasn’t made a decision. It looked like Friday’s episode was going to end with Hope (Annika Noelle) signing the contract to work at Logan with her aunt and husband. And she’d get to bring Deke (Harrison Cone) on board, too. No brainer. Despite Brooke’s attempts to vouch for her daughter and Zende’s (Delon de Metz) unhappiness, Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) couldn’t give Hope a timeline for when Hope for the Future would return. Time to go. What’s taking her so long to make the decision?
Honorable Mention (MISS): Hope’s disappointment in Brooke. Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) went to the mat for Hope. She asked her husband to dump his daughter as co-CEO. That was no easy feat. Not only did Hope think Brooke didn’t fight hard enough, but she was also super upset that Brooke and Ridge were intimate after he rejected her request. And when Hope told Liam (Scott Clifton), he had the same reaction. What? Brooke fought for her daughter, but it was always going to be an uphill battle. Why doesn’t Hope understand that?
MORE: Shauna and Wyatt return in Bold and the Beautiful‘s weekly video preview.
Days of our Lives
HIT (Tie): Sarah and Amy Choi’s bridge conversation. Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) and Amy (Shi Ne Nielson) had a deep conversation on the bridge near where Sophia allegedly died. Amy was feeling overwhelmed with pain and grief, and Sarah had so much empathy for what she was going through, despite being Holly’s (Ashley Puzemis) aunt. In fact, Sarah shared her own pain from when she lost her own daughter. Sarah’s use of history to connect with Amy resulted in one of the most heartbreaking conversations of the week on any soap.
MISS: Lexie since she woke up. Lexie’s resurrection causes drama for the Carver/Price family. And that’s always a good thing on soaps. But since Lexie (Nikki Crawford) woke up, it’s been difficult to match this version of Lexie with the one we remember, which Renee Jones played. The character may have died 14 years or so ago, but we still remember what she was like. It’s going to take a while to get used to the new Lexie.
Honorable Mention (HIT): DAYS rolled out the Steve and Kayla flashbacks. DAYS is great at giving characters or super couples the flashback treatment when needed. This week, the show marked Steve (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla’s (Mary Beth Evans) 40th anniversary with some of their most iconic moments. We loved the look back.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Days of Our Lives.
General Hospital
HIT: Dante and Lulu’s fight. It’s easy to see why Lulu (Alexa Havins) would want to lean into her Spencer roots and hightail it out of Port Charles with Rocco (Finn Carr) and a couple of fake passports. Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) clearly didn’t feel the same. Especially since Lulu would have left town without even telling her ex-husband and Rocco’s father. The fight between the exes was epic, with Dante telling Lulu that she would turn their son into a fugitive over his dead body. The fact that he also called out Luke (the late Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis) for their legacy of going on the run was a fantastic use of history. And, of course, Laura would later give her daughter her approval to take Rocco on the run.
MISS: Rocco leaves town with Britt? We’re not sure what Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) was thinking, letting a teenager talk her into going on the run with her. He had his fake passport with him. And used the excuse that he basically didn’t want to burden his parents. Meanwhile, his leaving with the woman he was protecting when he shot Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) in the back wasn’t smart. Britt has an uncanny ability to make the worst decisions ever. And now she can probably get tagged for kidnapping, despite her intentions. She knew Lulu was willing to get Rocco away from Port Charles. She should have trusted that.
Honorable Mention (HIT and MISS): What happened with Nina and Jack? We’re still confused. On Wednesday, Nina (Cynthia Watros) started giving Jack (Chris McKenna) an injection of Drew’s meds, then startled. Then on Thursday, there was no follow-up to the scene. And on Friday, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Nina walked into the hospital, and it was like that startled moment didn’t happen. Next thing we know, Nina’s showing a locked-in Jack a lot of empathy and throwing out the syringe without injecting him. We can guess what happened, but the jump felt very jarring. As for the HIT, we’re starting to get intrigued by a Nina and Jack pairing.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on General Hospital.
The Young and the Restless
HIT: Jack fills Nikki in on Victor’s ongoing crimes. Sometimes payback can be so simple. Jack (Peter Bergman) decided to target Victor’s marriage and make sure he and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) never reunite. After all, there’s a very real possibility that his own marriage is over after the debacle of Patty (Stacy Haiduk) and the kidnapping. So Jack laid out Victor’s actions one by one, and said Patty confirmed it all. Jack admitted to Kyle (Michael Mealor) that he embellished and exaggerated, and who knows, it may be the actual truth. His goal was to make sure that Nikki would never go back to Victor (Eric Braeden). And it’s looking like his plan is working.
MISS: Holden and Claire. Apparently, Holden (Nathan Owens) and Claire (Hayley Erin) can connect on the East and West coasts. When they’re in Genoa City, not so much. Until that happens, the jury’s out on these two. And at this point, we should have a better sense if we want to root for this couple. We are happy, however, that Holden didn’t have to resort to any manipulation on his or Audra’s (Zuleyka Silver) part to reconnect with Claire.
Honorable Mention (HIT): Stacy Haiduk x 2. Kudos to Haiduk for pulling double duty on DAYS and Y&R and showing she has chemistry with just about everyone on both shows. We love Xander (Paul Telfer) and Sarah together. But we’re not going to lie, we were feeling good (but twisted) vibes between Xander and Kristen. And on Y&R, we enjoyed Haiduk’s scenes with Roger Howarth’s Matt Clark. Although that friendship may be taking a turn after Friday’s episode.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on The Young and the Restless.
Additional reporting by Soap Hub staff.
