Every week, 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. A big recast, heated confrontations, and a powerful new AI helped populate this list of Hits and Misses from the week of April 20-24, 2026.
Key Takeaways
- Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates delivered standout highs and frustrating lows.
- Big moments included a major recast debut, emotional character beats, and powerful confrontations.
- Misses ranged from stalled storylines to questionable twists, including a controversial AI plot.
Top 5 HITS
5. Anita and Vernon continue to be couple goals (BTG). Anita (Tamara Tunie) and Vernon (Clifton Davis) continue to show why they are a great match. Even when they keep things from each other, they don’t let it trip them up when the truth comes out. Vernon came clean about his check-up with Madison (Kenjah) and his concerns about his health. Thankfully, it was a vitamin D deficiency causing his memory issues and nothing more serious. Anita expressed wanting to be there for her husband as much as he has been there for her. We enjoyed this small, quiet moment.
4. Dylan reminding R.J. of his privilege and her need for a papycheck (B&B). For some reason, R.J. (Brayan Nicoletti) is okay with trying to get people fired just so Electra (Laneya Grace) can be comfortable and stress-free at work. In fact, he was in his dad’s office lobbying for Will (Crew Morrow) and Dylan (Sydney Bullock) to get the boot. Dylan didn’t stand for it. She defended Will. And she got R.J. to realize the consequences of messing with people’s lives so willy-nilly. Dylan explained how, before this, she was eating out of dumpsters. She tried hard to get a job, but nothing happened until she got the gig at Forrester. She needs this paycheck, and so she wasn’t going anywhere. Finally, she got R.J. to see things from her perspective, and he backed down. Not about Will, of course. Just Dylan.
3. Sally and Billy’s heartbreaking talk about Ava and Delia (Y&R). The Monday, April 20 episode had a couple of really great conversations. One involved Sally and Billy. Sally’s pregnant, and it’s naturally bringing up a painful part of her past — when she miscarried. And Billy knows all about the pain and devastation of losing a daughter in such a tragic way. The conversation about Ava and Delia was emotional and heartbreaking. Courtney Hope and Jason Thompson nailed these scenes.
2. Jacinda more than holds her own with Willow (GH). Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) tapping into her dark side has been fun to watch, but now that she rendered Drew (Cameron Mathison) powerless, she’s really feeling herself. The congresswoman title doesn’t hurt either. Her hypocritical take on Jacinda’s place in her kids’ lives set the stage for a showdown in Nina’s office. But we knew that this confrontation wouldn’t be a walk in the park, with Willow walking away the victor. As expected, Jacinda (Paige Herschell) held her own and gave as good as she got. Maybe even better.
1. Conner Floyd begins as Chad (DAYS). We knew about Y&R’s Conner Floyd replacing Billy Flynn for what seemed like forever. The anticipation killed us, but finally Floyd made his debut this week. Our first impression and snap judgment? The actor formally known as Chance Chancellor is going to thrive on DAYS. He fit right in from the first second he appeared. And one of the litmus tests is seeing his chemistry with the other actors. We enjoyed his first scenes with Dan Feuerriegel’s EJ DiMera. Floyd seems to be sliding into the big shoes Flynn left nicely.
Top 5 MISSES
5. Marlena gets no respect (DAYS). Marlena (Deidre Hall) is a grieving widow who’s getting no respect right now. This week alone, Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) banned her from seeing Rachel (Lorelei Olivia Mote) at Bayview. And then Xander (Paul Telfer), whom Marlena has helped immensely, refused to let her take over Basic Black without Kate (Lauren Koslow) by her side. Meanwhile, Marlena didn’t want to work with Kate for reasons. She even came up with an alternative — Brady (Eric Martsolf) — because she knew she had a lot to learn about fashion. Can Marlena catch a break?
4. Smitty doesn’t have a leg to stand on this time (BTG). Normally, we are Team Smitty (Mike Manning) when Martin (Brandon Claybon) keeps his political moves and ambitions a secret. But when the congressman told his husband about potentially running for the Senate. And Smitty got upset, we couldn’t help but think about everything Smitty’s currently holding back from Martin. Namely, the way he hacked into hospital records using Nicole’s laptop. Smitty will chalk it up to this being his work, but for the first time, he gave us hypocritical vibes.
3. The worst-kept secret in town (GH). Many citizens of Port Charles know that Willow shot Drew. And nobody is talking. In the scenes where Willow leveraged Jack (Chris McKenna) and asked him to drum up some ammunition against her current husband, Jack mentioned that Willow shot Drew. How many people know Willow’s secret? It’s unclear why nobody has rushed down to the PCPD to tell the truth. Or to leak it to the media. Sure, she can’t be tried again for this crime, but she has committed other crimes.
2. Eric’s still upset that Katie and Bill used his designs (B&B). Katie (Heather Tom) had every right to use Eric’s collection for the Logan livestream fashion show. Eric (John McCook) created the line while working for her, which means it should have the Logan label. He can regret his decision to go over there in the first place. But he can’t be upset that they used his line against his wishes.
1. There’s a new AI in town (Y&R). Victor (Eric Braeden) and his people developed an AI that out-AIs Cane’s version. And it may change everything depending on how Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) responds. This new weapon fabricated evidence that would prove Phyllis’s crime. That she stole their company right out from under them. There were tons of emails that backed up Victor’s narrative, and now, if Phyllis doesn’t give the company back, they will turn this evidence over to the police, and the new district attorney, Christine (Lauralee Bell), will prosecute. It makes sense to fight one AI with another, but this still requires a suspension of disbelief on a grand scale.
Honorable Mentions
B&B
MISS: Electra and Will’s YA drama plays out in front of Ridge and Brooke. Will felt comfortable enough to barge into Ridge’s CEO office to air their grievances about Ivy (Ashleigh Brewer). He’s not even an executive. Ivy, Elecra, and Will needed to hash out their issues. But it didn’t need to happen in the CEO’s office in front of their bosses.
MORE: The latest Bold and the Beautiful Comings & Goings.
BTG
MISS: The Bill/Hayley saga needs more movement. Bill (Timon Kyle Durrett) and Hayley (Marquita Goings) have been married for over a year. And Bill still seems oblivious to who his wife really is. This week, Hayley cleaned out one of their bank accounts, and Bill found out. Hayley’s excuse was flimsy at best. Why isn’t Bill seeing the red flags?
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Beyond the Gates.
DAYS
HIT: Steve’s Gun Safety Lesson. It’s not something you see on daytime TV every day, but Stephanie (Abigail Klein) wanted protection after her kidnapping. Instead of freaking out about it, Steve (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) brought a gun over, and Steve gave her her first lesson, emphasizing gun safety. The scenes were informative.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Days of Our Lives.
GH
HIT: The show does a location shoot! This week, GH sent Gio (Giovanni Mazza) and Emma (Braedyn Bruner) to New York City, including the New Amsterdam Theatre, where the hit musical Aladdin brings down the house every week. Soaps don’t do location shoots very often anymore. So we appreciate it every time it happens.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on General Hospital.
Y&R
HIT: Lily and Holden get to know each other. Much like Sally and Billy’s conversation in Y&R’s Monday episode, we also enjoyed Lily (Christel Khalil) and Holden’s (Nathan Owens). They are newly revealed half-siblings. And there’s a lot they don’t know about each other. So getting to see them talk about Malcolm (Shemar Moore) a and become more comfortable with each other has been really nice.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on The Young and the Restless.
Additional reporting by Soap Hub staff.
