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Kristen dared Nicole to hit her – so she did.
There’s lots of drama in blended families, and soaps are so much better when they mine it.
The best way is to move warring factions into the same house, er, mansion. Half-siblings EJ, Kristen, Stefan and Chad trade barbs at the DiMera manse on DAYS under the watchful portrait of their late father Stefano. Their on-and-off cohabitation causes trouble for many reasons but the soapiest is that EJ’s sister Kristen and his wife Nicole despise each other – as well as each other’s kids.
Kristen: “Unlike Holly, Rachel is not a screw up.”
Nicole: “Rachel is an entitled little brat. She needs to come with a warning label like her mother. Felony after felony…”
Kristen: “You want to compare notes?”
Nicole: “You kidnapped Daniel, you blackmailed Sami, you stole Theresa and Brady’s fetus and inserted it in yourself. That’s disgusting.”
Kristen: “You know who I learned baby stealing from? You. You stole EJ and Sami’s baby, you lied to Daniel that your baby died, and you blamed it all on Jennifer.”
Nicole: “You drugged Eric and had sex with him. You wore a mask impersonating me so you could seduce Brady. The only reason Rachel exists is because Brady had sex with you thinking it was me.”
Punch! EJ broke up their fisticuffs and demanded the sisters-in-law keep away from each other which won’t be easy since they all live together.
Nicole’s got bigger problems with her daughter who has been forbidden to see Tate, the son of Kristen’s ex Brady. They are sneaking around like some kind of social media-era Romeo and Juliet.
Holly: “The only good thing about my mom taking my phone away from me is that she can’t track me.”
Tate: “It is so dumb that our parents are forbidding us from seeing each other.”
Holly: “It’s like if Romeo and Juliet had really annoying, overprotective parents.”
Tate: “They kind of did.”
Ah, young love. There are so many recasts on DAYS it’s hard to keep track of the players, so it’s smart to have these kids interact with their fan-fave grandmothers. Playing Tate with Marlena and Holly with Maggie gives us a reason to care about them.
Maggie: “When I’m around Holly, I feel like my son Daniel is still with me.”
Like that.
Another way to create drama is with a big messy party. Y&R’s Nikki and Victor shared their 40th with their extended families, a hidden bottle of booze and a psychopathic killer.
Nikki: “No one can spoil this night for us!”
Oh, hahaha. There was all kinds of conflict at the bash, starting with the Newman brothers and the sour woman they both love.
Nick: “I’m glad you’re here.”
Sally: “You might be the only one.”
Summer scowled at her newfound cousin Claire all night because Summer’s son Harrison likes Claire. Jack tried to support Nikki while avoiding Victor. In came fugitive Jordan disguised as a bearded man. What was more surprising? That escaped convict Jordan was able to find money, an outfit, transportation, a jaunty cap and a top-notch makeup team? Or that Victor’s crack security team didn’t spot her?
Victor: “I promise you I’m going to catch her.”
The Abbott security system was no better. Jordan broke in, chloroformed Claire, and kidnapped her and Harrison without so much as a beep alerting the staff. Did she carry Claire and Harrison out the window on her shoulders? Summer went ballistic, blaming Kyle for trusting Claire and putting the kibosh on any hope of reconciliation with her nastiness.
Summer (to Kyle): “If anything happens to our son, it’s on you.”
She also buried the Newmans for buying Claire’s so-called innocent act.
Summer: “Stop giving Claire an out. She tricked you all.”
Victoria: “She’s your cousin!”
While the Abbotts debated whether Claire kidnapped Harrison, Diane suspected Ashley.
Diane (to Traci): “There’s an emotionally disturbed person upstairs.”
It took an unnaturally long time for anyone to connect the disappearance of their loved ones with the psychopathic killer on the loose. Until finally…
Nikki: “It’s Jordan!”
Duh. As everyone turned on each other in the Abbott and Newman mansions (where, like DAYS’ DiMeras, most of them live together), Victor tried to manage the strife.
Victor: “Emotions are running high.”
You can say that again, Mustache!
Emotions were also running high on B&B after Luna slept with Zende thinking he was her boyfriend RJ. Sleeping with your cousin’s girlfriend is another good recipe for conflict.
Zende: “Luna is so beautiful and smart and creative.”
Carter: “She’s also RJ’s girlfriend.”
The premise of their sex romp was flawed (Luna was in a loopy haze after OD-ing on her mother’s “mints”) but the fallout was pure soap.
RJ: “Did something happen after you took those mints?”
Luna: “I spent the night with Zende.”
Cut to RJ busting into Zende’s office.
RJ: “You son of a bitch. You knew we were together!”
Zende: “Blame me, not her.”
RJ: “Damn right I blame you.”
Thwack! I wish one of RJ’s parents had been involved in that reveal because we always care more when Ridge or Brooke are involved. Didn’t they hear the yelling from their offices down the hall?
RJ: “Stabbed in the back by my own cousin!”
Zende: “I thought she was into me.”
RJ: “She was high.”
Zende: “I didn’t know that. She was in my bed. I’m sorry.”
First cousins in love with the same woman who all work together at Forrester Creations. What could possibly go wrong?
B&B keeps it all in the family more than any other soap. Brooke wed Eric, as well as his sons Ridge and Thorne. Stepsisters Steffy and Hope each married Liam multiple times (and had children with him). Hope moved on to Steffy’s brother Thomas while Steffy wed Finn, the bio son of Sheila Carter who was once married to her grandfather Eric and who recently became engaged to Hope’s father. Got that?
Hope: “I’ll never understand what drew my father to Sheila. My dad could do so much better.”
Liam: “Yeah – anyone without a 10-page rap sheet.”
Crime does pay when it comes to family battles. GH mobster Sonny is the king of that, keeping his women in the dark about his “coffee business” until a shooting opens their eyes. Lately, he’s been sparring with everyone in his life: Best friend Jason, ex-wife Carly, estranged wife Nina, son Michael, former employee Dex, you name it. Sonny’s beating of Cyrus sparked a nasty fight between his daughter and his former stepdaughter.
Joss: “Your father is a vicious thug and a murderer. Look at the photos of what your beloved daddy did to a helpless old man.”
Kristina (walking away): “I can’t be around you.”
Molly (to Joss): “Sonny’s her father!”
Being raised in the same family for a while did nothing for those step-sibling relationships. Ditto Sonny adopting Carly’s son Michael. The minute Michael did something Sonny didn’t like (paying Dex to protect Sonny, go figure) he was done with Michael. Carly pleaded the case for their son and he cut her down.
Sonny: “Your son.”
Ouch. Sonny’s exes also routinely call each other out.
Carly (to Nina): “Stalk much?”
Nina just had “rug burn sex” with Carly’s ex Drew whose brother Jason is trying to buy Nina’s half of The Metro Court to give to Carly while Ava is pretending to plead Nina’s case to Sonny while actually moving in on Sonny herself. Sonny is oblivious because Nina’s ex Valentin sabotaged Sonny’s bipolar medication which a suspicious Ava is secretly testing. Ava will probably be blamed for that – despite having a child with Sonny herself – because she tampered with the meds belonging to Sonny and Carly’s son Morgan and he died. It’s all so deliciously messy; even Sonny just asking Ava about her day goes off the rails.
Ava: “I think it’s better if I don’t tell you. Some of it has to do with she who must not be named.”
Sonny: “Carly.”
Ava: “The other one who must not not be named.”
Sonny: “What does Nina want?”
Ava: “You.”
Ex-wives don’t technically count as family, but mining the drama there is just as fertile and GH is better for it.
Sonny: “It’s nice to have a woman around.”
Good luck with that!
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
