Soap Opera Critics Review Hits and Misses: Top 10 Moments of the Week of December 16-20

Soap Hub looks at the Hits and Misses for the week of December 16-20 in the worlds of Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless.

Top 10 Hits and Misses

#10 HIT: Lulu’s interactions with Brook Lynn and Tracy (GH). For the most part, Lulu’s reunions are fascinating to watch, and it doesn’t matter if they are good, bad, or ugly. The one involving Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) was great because they didn’t pretend to like each other. And Brook Lynn didn’t hold back. She needed Lulu to stop being stuck in time. And on the flip side, the Lulu/Tracy (Jane Elliot) reunion was wonderful and emotional and lived up to the hype.

#9 MISS: Brooke and Katie fire Electra (B&B). Employees can leave or be terminated at any time, no matter the reason. And apparently, the employers don’t have to reveal the reason they’re firing you. That’s what happened when Katie (Heather Tom) and Brooke (Katherine Kelly Lang) gave Electra (Laneya Grace) her walking papers. They had seen the photos Remy (Christian Weissmann) trumped up AI-style. But they didn’t speak a word about them to Electra, Ivy (Ashleigh Brewer), or even Carter (Lawrence Saint-Victor). They just harshly showed her the door. Honestly, it was even colder than what Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) did to Hope (Annika Noelle).

READ THIS: Here are the latest Comings & Goings on The Bold and the Beautiful.

#8 HIT: The judge splits the baby, and Xander and Philip each get 50% of Titan (DAYS). Considering their sordid pasts, they were both lucky to walk away with fifty percent of Victor’s empire. We reserve the right to switch this to a miss when we see what kind of drama this ruling will trigger. Xander (Paul Telfer) isn’t satisfied with Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier) having any of the fortune. There’s no telling what he will do to inflict revenge on his half-brother.

#7 HIT: Filling in the blanks (Y&R). This week, Alan (Christopher Cousins) put Sharon (Sharon Case) under hypnosis, and she started remembering things. She was not the one to run Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) off the road. And she started working through the night Heather (Vail Bloom) died, and she felt a hand on her shoulder, so somebody else was in there with her. Second, we were finally privy to the Ian (Ray Wise) and Jordan (Colleen Zenk) team-up origin story. We saw Ian visit Jordan in prison. And, in the present, we saw them do something else. They kissed. Didn’t see that coming.

#6 MISS: Tate’s not going to tell Holly (Ashley Puzemis) about Sophia’s (Madelyn Kientz) pregnancy right away (DAYS). We get that Tate (Leo Howard) is still a teen, but he’s packed up so much living in the last couple of years. You’d think he’d have learned that keeping secrets is bad. He hasn’t.

READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up on Days of Our Lives.

#5 MISS: Anna’s blame spiral (GH). Why is Anna (Finola Hughes) still on the edge of tears at all times? Why is she continuing to blame herself for everything under the sun? It’s getting exhausting.

#4 HIT: Belle and EJ fighting and flirting (DAYS). The good thing about Belle’s and Shawn’s (Brandon Beemer) divorce is that Belle (Martha Madison) and EJ (Dan Feuerriegel) can mix it up again. Right now, they’re in fight-and-flirtation mode, but clearly, the future will continue to bring those two together.

#3 MISS: Billy and Kyle (Y&R). Earlier this week, there was an episode in which Billy (Jason Thompson) complained to Jack (Peter Bergman), and Kyle (Michael Mealor) did the same to Diane (Susan Walters) about her behavior and his trust issues with her. They both have this delulu narrative that isn’t easy to understand. We’re trying to, but we can’t.

#2 HIT: The Anti-Drew Brigade (GH): Corporate Curtis (Donnell Turner) kicking Drew (Cameron Mathison) to the curb at Aurora was pretty cold yet brilliant. He felt betrayed, and Drew didn’t seem self-aware enough to understand how he treated Curtis. Meanwhile, Jordan’s (Tanisha Harper) facial expressions and side eyes at Drew at the community center event were legendary. She was the audience. In addition, Nina (Cynthia Watros), Ned (Wally Kurth), and Tracy had no time for him either. Sorry, Drew, it’s sketch when you show up at Nina’s Christmas party and proceed to stick to Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) like glue. When you slept with both women. It’s giving sleazy vibes.

READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up on General Hospital.

#1 HIT: Brooke becomes CEO of Forrester Creations (B&B). On Carter’s part, this was a good hire. While his and Hope’s reasons for the coup still seem like a major overreaction to the chaoticness at Forrester Creations, every once in a while, he seems to know what he is doing. And Brooke taking on the job to tear it away from Hope and Carter and give it back to the Forresters was a good move, too. MISS: Ridge and Taylor make love. We get the anger Ridge is feeling. He has every right to feel it after what transpired. But he showed no faith in Brooke whatsoever. And Taylor (Rebecca Budig) insisted she didn’t want or need a man in her life. She just meant she didn’t want or need a man that wasn’t Ridge. Taylor knows that Ridge and Brooke are still a thing, right? Doesn’t matter how much they were struggling with this coup business.

Honorable Mentions

HIT: Joss and Sonny make up (GH). Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Joss (Eden McCoy) didn’t just make peace. They hugged it out. It was awkward. But the words they exchanged needed to be said.
MISS: It’s time for Mopey Cody (Josh Kelly) to stop (GH). Yes, finding out your girlfriend is your first cousin is not ideal. In fact, it is a bit soul-crushing. But this punishing himself so others can come and lift him up is as exhausting as Anna’s self-blame spiral.
HIT: A new purpose for the time capsule (DAYS). Jennifer (Melissa Reeves) figured out a new way to honor Abigail (formerly Marci Miller) and achieve a sense of closure with her death. They repurposed the time capsule, and it was a heartfelt, touching act of love from her family and Chad (Billy Flynn).
MISS: Stephanie / Philip kiss (DAYS). This reunion needed to take a little longer. Right now, we still feel like Stephanie (Abigail Klein) needs to stay unattached.
HIT: Zende’s more part of the coup drama (B&B). Not sure if we expected Zende (Delon de Metz) to be so loyal to his family. After all, Steffy and Ridge most recently said they’d find something for him to do in the wake of Hope for the Future‘s elimination. But they weren’t exactly rushing to reassign him. However, we’re glad his feelings weren’t ignored or neglected. And now he’s the man on the inside, and he’s privy to Brooke’s true intentions. We like that for him.
MISS: Sheila being a talk to (B&B). Is the show planning to do anything with Sheila (Kimberlin Brown)? We need her to stir up some trouble again.
HIT: The Audra and Sally friendship (Y&R). Thank you to the show for continuing to play the Audra (Zuleyka Silver) and Sally (Courtney Hope) friendship. It seems like a natural connection, and they both get to reveal more about their perspectives to someone who is not their man of the moment. Fortunately, they don’t judge each other, and at the same time, they don’t mince words. It’s a nice and refreshing dynamic that we’ve grown to love. More, please.

READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up on The Young and the Restless.

MISS: Victoria and Cole (Y&R). Although Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Cole (J. Eddie Peck) are together, their focus is always on Claire. Something needs to happen to spice these two up.