This week gave soap fans car crashes, confrontations, unexpected hook-ups, and plenty of hits and misses to discuss. Soap Hub dissects the drama, action, and romance across Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.
Key Takeaways
- A week packed with shocks: car crashes, confrontations, and unexpected hookups kept all five soaps buzzing.
- Big wins included Brady’s new purpose, BTG family drama, Sheila’s standout performance, and GH’s mystery crash.
- Misses ranged from missed crossover opportunities to repetitive reveals and character choices that didn’t quite land.
Top 5 Hits
5. Steve asks Brady to join Black Patch (DAYS). Even before Xander (Paul Telfer) fired him, Brady (Eric Marsolf) said he lacked purpose. He wanted to pivot. But he didn’t know where to pivot, which is very relatable. Steve (Stephen Nichols) may have just given him his new purpose. Brady helped Steve out when his daughter was kidnapped. And he is now trying to legally prove that Sophia (Rachel Boyd) messed with those pills that caused Holly (Ashley Puzemis) and Tate (Leo Howard)to Hulk out. So when Steve asked Brady to join Black Patch, we were happy. The man needs a partner, and why shouldn’t it be Brady?
4. Darlene has no time for Leslie (BTG). Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant) isn’t one of those characters that we need to see redeemed. And it’s natural for people to hear about what she did (allegedly) and judge her for it. Darlene’s filter may be set to zero. Eva got a taste of that. But we’re happy that Darlene (Monique Mosee) didn’t back down in the face of Leslie’s threats. Of course, she heard about Leslie from Jacob (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi (Arielle Prepetit). And of course she doesn’t want her son to have anything to do with Leslie or her family. We don’t blame her. And the drama makes a good obstacle for Izaiah and Eva to overcome.
3. Kimberlin Brown as Sheila (B&B). Kimberlin Brown was the MVP of B&B this week. She played Sheila unhinged, but not too unhinged. And she played the devastation of losing Deacon (Sean Kanan) so well. We had no idea if she would go full Sheila on Taylor (Rebecca Budig), especially when she picked up that pizza cutter. And then in the scenes where she faced her husband, we actually felt bad for her. The words that got to us were when she told Deacon to lie to her and that she would believe him. Wow. And how great was it that she (for the moment) took the high road and left of her own volition? We don’t buy it, especially after Friday’s cliffhanger. But we’re hoping that Sheila doesn’t revert to her old dark, demon-y self. That the new Sheila will get her revenge in a much more proper way (to borrow Ivy’s catchphrase).
2. The Route 91 car crash (GH). This car crash involving Jordan (Tanisha Harper) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) wasn’t something we expected. At first glance, it doesn’t seem like it was a calculated moment against Carlo Rota’s Sidwell (sorry, man, the world doesn’t always revolve around you). But what’s great here is the mystery that has suddenly developed. There was somebody else on that road who caused a distracted Jordan to swerve. And there are several candidates who were on that road and didn’t stop to help them. Plus, Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) got to go into hero mode. But at the same time, Curtis now knows he’s still in Port Charles. That’s dangerous. But so far, Curtis hasn’t said anything. This is a fun mystery that suddenly has legs.
1. Malcolm and Stephanie return (Y&R). Yes, there were flaws with this return. But ultimately, we were all about Malcolm and Stephanie’s return to Genoa City. It checked all the nostalgic boxes for us. And while they had to cram in a lot of exposition and explanations and characters had to process massive revelations in a very short amount of time, it didn’t matter. It was a very welcome break from all the corporate madness and Matt Clark-level intrigue. This involvecd characters we knew from the past coming back to impact the present in a big way. And it was just so good to see Shemar Moore and Vivica A. Fox in daytime again. And simultaneously, it finally gave Holden (Nathan Owens) a real connection to Genoa City. He is no longer a character who just floats around while everyone wonders what’s keeping him from returning to Los Angeles.
Top 5 Misses
5. No Lauren Fenmore crossover in sight (BTG). What do you mean that Chelsea (RhonniRose Mantilla) and Kat (Colby Muhammad) had a meeting with Fenmore’s, and they met THE Lauren Fenmore, and we didn’t see any of it? This deal has been in the works for a while now, and there was no crossover payoff. We wanted to see Y&R’s Tracey Bregman on BTG, even if she was on a video conference from Genoa City. Why didn’t this happen?
4. The Holden revelation was a bit of rinse and repeat (Y&R). Finding out that Malcolm was Holden’s father was great and all. And it totally made sense. However, it felt very familiar. And we don’t just mean that the long-lost parent storyline is an often-used trope on soaps. This very thing happened to Holden’s best friend before he died. It’s why Holden and Damian (Jermaine Rivers) came to town. Nathan Hastings turned out to be Damian Kane’s dad. The only difference is that his mother was the one with cancer.
3. Carly slept with Jack (GH). This moment was shocking and unexpected. Carly (Laura Wright) was vibing with Valentin (James Patrick Stuart). And then Jack came over and told her he had found where the WSB had taken Jason (Steve Burton). And we’re not exactly sure why she decided to sleep with Jack. She told Valentin it was all part of the act, but it seemed more than that. Regardless, it was kind of cold for her to be with Jack when Valentin was right there.
2. Lexie waking up is all a dream (DAYS). We saw Lexie (Nikki Crawford) wake up in the weekly promo, and so our hopes were high for this week’s “resurrection.” Unfortunately, the completed resurrection was a fake-out. And EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) and Rolf (Richard Wharton) have even removed her from the DiMera tunnels. It was just in time for Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) to snoop around unsuccessfully. But still, we were looking foward to the mess created with Lexie’s return.
1. Taylor is a scared little leaf going up against Sheila (B&B). While everybody’s fear of Sheila going nuclear was valid, we thought that Taylor going up against Sheila would be a more formidable showdown on both sides. Sheila was unhinged, but not defcon 5 level unhinged. And there Taylor was shaking and quaking. Thankfully, she was able to stand up to Sheila enough to tell her the truth about her affair with Deacon. Still, we’re not used to this Taylor acting so fearful.
Honorable Mentions
B&B
MISS: Deacon is getting all the blame for this affair with Taylor. Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) is right (never thought we’d say that). Deacon made his own bed when he married Sheila. But everybody keeps putting the blame for the affair on Deacon. Deacon was Taylor’s patient. It was unethical for her to get involved with him. And she didn’t listen to her daughter when Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) warned her that she needed to refer Deacon to someone else. It takes two to tango.
MORE: The latest Bold and the Beautiful Comings & Goings.
BTG
MISS: The Naomi/Jacob anniversary episode. Don’t get us wrong. This was a good episode. It explained a lot of things and really showed Naomi and Jacob’s connection. But it should have come earlier. Thanks to Jacob arresting Dani (Karla Mosley), their pregnancy scare, and keeping Derek’s secret from Naomi, their relationship has been damaged. At times, we wondered why they even continued to work on their marriage. But if we had seen this episode a few months ago, it would have been more clear.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Beyond the Gates.
DAYS
MISS: More BookTok drama with Bonnie’s plagiarism. Of course, One Rainy Afternoon was derivative of One Stormy Night. They practically have the same title. CEO’s shouldn’t need to read the book, but what does it say about the DiMera publishing execs and lawyers that they didn’t notice the similarities? Even if Johnny (Carson Boatman) didn’t give them enough time to read it, they just needed to send it through ChatGPT to see if there were any alarm bells. Meanwhile, Kate (Lauren Koslow) and Xander (Paul Telfer) really thought they could get enough money out of DiMera to save Titan. And Bonnie (Judi Evans) was basically like, ‘My bad,’ but still wanted it published. We love how one book can cause so much drama between two companies.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on Days of Our Lives.
GH
MISS: Stella suggests that the family co-decorates the nursery in Portia’s house. Normally, we love Stella’s wise words and her meddling self. But this co-decorating a nursery in Portia’s house to mend the shattered family was a bit too much and too soon, frankly. Everybody’s healing and they’re figuring out relationship dynamics on their own. Jordan and Portia (Brook Kerr) are coming to terms with this new family world. Let the healing happen organically, please.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on General Hospital.
Y&R
MISS: The vicious circle of corporate revenge. This week, Cane (Billy Flynn) tried to enlist Holden’s help to go after Victor (Eric Braeden) who he feels has ruined his life. And we couldn’t help but think when this would end. Cane created the AI to go after companies like Newman. Victor got the AI and used it on Cane. And then used underhanded tactics to get him to steal the company back from Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) who stole it from Cane. Now Cane is all about revenge on Victor. It’s one vicious and exhausting circle.
MORE: Here’s what’s coming up next week on The Young and the Restless.
Additional reporting by Soap Hub staff.
