Critic’s Review Hits and Misses: Week of November 4-8

Soap Hub looks at the Hits and Misses for the week of November 4-8 in the worlds of Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless.

Hits and Misses

What we think worked and didn’t work.

Days of Our Lives

HIT: Rafe (Galen Gering) and Jada (Elia Cantu), plus Paul (Christopher Sean) and Andrew (Colton Little) get engaged. It’s always great when there are happy couples. It helps counter all the doom and gloom, and this week, there was a good balance of drama and joy.
HIT: Leo (Greg Rikaart) and Javi (Al Calderon) met at Small Bar. There were sparks. This connection is intriguing.
HIT: Tate (Leo Howard) and Brady’s father/son conversation. Brady (Eric Martsolf) was honest about his own experiences when helping his son figure out the Sophia (Madelyn Kientz) and Holly (Ashley Puzemis) of it all.
MISS: Tate should have just picked himself instead of between Sophia and Holly. Sophia just said she didn’t want to be the runner-up or the second choice. But that’s what Tate has made her. He wants to be with Holly but thinks he’s sparing Sophia by picking her.
MISS: Forced separation. Why aren’t Alex (Robert Scott Wilson) and Stephanie (Abigail Klein) together? Because they both work on Body & Soul, and their hospital sexcapade blew up in their faces? This obstacle feels forced.
MISS: Johnny asks Chanel to get past what he called her. What he called her was beyond horrible. Johnny (Carson Boatman) needs to give Chanel (Raven Bowens) time and, frankly, a little grace and space, too.
MISS: Kristen rubs it into Marlena about John (the late Drake Hogestyn) not being there for their anniversary. While we’re happy Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) and Marlena (Deidre Hall) are antagonistic again, Kristen’s callous remarks were a lot.
HIT: One return after another on Friday. Belle (Martha Madison), Paul, and Andrew arrived in Salem, and we rejoiced.
HIT: The anniversary episode continued. Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes), Sarah (Linsey Godfrey), and Maggie (Suzanne Rogers) tell Holly about their romantic pasts on Maggie and Victor’s (the late John Aniston) anniversary. Meanwhile, Marlena also celebrates her and John’s anniversary. On DAYS’s birthday, we were treated to wonderful, albeit bittersweet moments.
HIT: Johnny hanging with his other family. He’s always with the DiMeras. It’s nice that he has been hanging out with his other family lately. And this includes the baseball game with Brady, Paul, and Tate.

READ THIS: Here’s what to expect next week on Days of Our Lives.

General Hospital

HIT: Ava apologizes to Nina (Cynthia Watros). These two are working on their friendship. And it’s about time. Ava (Maura West) admitting she messed things up was big of her. Actually, it doesn’t matter what was said. As long as they are friends and allies, we’re good.
HIT: Lucas opens up to Brad. Lucas (Van Hansis) was feeling immense guilt, and Brad (Parry Shen) was the right person to talk to him and support him.
MISS: Carly tells Brad to get away from Lucas. Carly (Laura Wright) is protective, and that’s great. And it’s understandable why she wouldn’t want Brad and Lucas to interact. But it was a good moment, and we wanted more.
MISS: Are Carly and Brennan (Charles Mesure) going to progress anytime soon? It’s time to move this relationship along if that’s where the show is going.
MISS: Kristina (Kate Mansi) and Molly (Kristen Vaganos) continue to bicker. They need to stop and be there for each other and for their mother.
HIT: Tracy and Cody decide to work together against Drew (Cameron Mathison). Tracy (Jane Elliot) and Cody (Josh Kelly) are going to make a great team.
MISS Diane opens up to Jason. Diane’s (Carolyn Hennesy) bestie is grieving, so it’s easy to see why she couldn’t go to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) for support. But this conversation, in which she opens up to Jason (Steve BurtonI) about her, Robert (Tristan Rogers), and Holly (Emma Samms), was just odd.
HIT: Holly gives up the diamonds to save Sasha. Who knew Holly had it in her? Well, Sasha (Sofia Mattsson) now knows. Does this mean she can find a way to have a decent relationship with her mother?
MISS: Drew and Willow have sex. Nope — can’t unsee that. Also, does this mean Michael (Chad Duell) and Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) are about to be over? With him and Sasha having sex and now Willow cheats on her husband. How do they make it out of this madness intact?
Hit: Sasha tells Willow like it is. Sasha tells Willow to look in the mirror and that she has nobody else to blame for this mess but herself. Let’s hope this becomes a real rivalry.
HIT: Alexis and Dante’s conversation about Sam (Kelly Monaco), Danny (Asher Antonyzyn), and Scout (Cosette Abinante). A very heartbreaking, painful conversation to witness. Thankfully, Nancy Lee Grahn and Dominic Zamprogna performed powerfully.
HIT: Michael checking his phone while Kristina sobs in his arms. That Michael sure is a mad multitasker. He can provide comfort and support to a sibling while also checking and then ignoring Willow’s call.

READ THIS: Here’s what to expect next week on General Hospital.

The Bold and the Beautiful

HIT: Hope realizes Forrester may not be the place for her. It was a self-aware moment for Hope (Annika Noelle). After Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) fired her, she reflected on how she hadn’t been. happy there for a while.
MISS: Hope hopes Carter would fix things at Forrester. So, that self-awareness didn’t last long. She hoped Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor) would be successful in getting her job back.
HIT: Will (Crew Morrow) and Electra’s (Laneya Grace) chemistry. From their adorable meet-cute to their work conversations, these two are off to a good, chemistry-filled start.
HIT: The younger set. It’s nice to see Will responsible for some of the other employees coming out of the woodwork. They are young, bold, beautiful, and restless. And kind of harsh, too. Already, Lainey (Heidi Grace Engerman) and Toni (Jasmine Dampiér) are threatened by Electra.
HIT: Ridge stays strong with his support. Even though it was a misunderstanding, Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) staying strong and sticking to one side is a good thing.
MISS: Ridge’s non-action when he hears Steffy disrespect Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) over and over again. He either doesn’t defend her, or his defense is weak.
HIT: Hope and Carter say I love you. Does it feel a little quick? Yes. However, we just hope they both break away from Forrester and start their own company.
HIT: Luna was on this week. And she’s still a hot mess. Don’t change, Luna (Lisa Yamada)! Don’t change.
HIT: Zende expresses his hurt to Steffy. We loved Zende (Delon de Metz) sharing his thoughts about how the end of HFTF impacted him. He said he was a Forrester and wondered if he was ever going to get anywhere at Forrester. Zende had us feeling for him.
HIT: Bill (Don Diamont) burns Luna’s letter. That’s the best thing he could do. Unfortunately, it won’t stop Luna from obsessing.

READ THIS: Here’s what to expect on the Monday, November 11 episode of The Bold and the Beautiful.

The Young and the Restless

HIT: Alan agrees to move in with Traci. Traci hit us hard when she told Alan, “I have waited a long time to find you. I have waited a long time to be this happy.” Please let this continue to be a joyous relationship for Traci. She deserves it, soap gods!
MISS: Sally and Billy. It feels like they are trying too hard with these two.
HIT: Phyllis is the only one seemingly to be on to Sharon. Who knows if Sharon is truly at fault. But if she is, then Phyllis was right all along.
MISS: Phyllis being so hardcore about bringing Sharon down. While it’s understandable how desperately she wants to clear her son’s name, it’s hard to watch her go at Sharon with everything she has at times. Sharon’s mental health isn’t in a good place, no matter what she insists. She needs serious help.
HIT: Diane is working with somebody. If it’s Jack, it’s an even bigger HIT.
MISS: Nikki going off on Diane again. If Nikki’s past were pristine, this would be a different story. It’s not.
HIT: Victor surprises Nikki with the new old Newman mansion ranch. It was a beautiful episode filled with a Victor and Nikki walk down memory lane.
MISS: How nobody noticed a whole house being built on the property. How much land do they have? They saw trucks but not a whole house being constructed? Was it magically cloaked out of existence until it was finished?
HIT: Nick suggests Adam move on to the ranch. While Adam still seemed like an outsider at the get-together, it was wonderful that after Nick turned down moving into the old ranch, he suggested Adam move in. And, what do you know, Adam’s seriously thinking about it.
MISS: Summer interrupts Kyle and Claire. Summer didn’t have to do that. Kind of a petty move.
MISS: Billy’s apology to Lily. Billy couldn’t even make the apology sincere. Thankfully, Lily didn’t jump at his request to return.

READ THIS: Here’s what to expect next week on The Young and the Restless.