It’s Only My Opinion: Are Too Few Stories Being Told On Young and Restless and Bold and Beautiful?
Soap opera arcs should veer in and out of each other to keep the show balanced because every viewer may not like every story (!). So why are some shows only telling one tale?
I’m looking at you, Young and Restless. We endured six months of “Who is Aristotle Dumas?” and he turned out to be the younger, no-longer-Australian recast of Lily’s ex-husband, Cane. It’s been five weeks (and counting) since the reclusive billionaire lured Genoa City’s A-listers to Nice, where he trapped them in a literal maze and lied that there was no cell service and no way out. Most recently, a newbie named Damian was murdered, and if you don’t care about that, too bad — it’s the only game in town.
Billy: “I thought you sent for the cops?”
Cane: “I don’t know what’s taking so long. No communication, remember?”
Nick: “It’s a lie. All of this is a lie. I’m sick of it and I’m sick of you.”
Ditto.
The hardest part of this Cane-fest is that it’s making dopes of our faves. There’s no way Victor Newman and Jack Abbott would allow themselves to be held hostage in a foreign country for this long, especially not with their wives and families at risk because of a murderer on the loose. With Summer in Italy, Kyle would never be okay leaving Harrison with babysitters and/or his aunts for this long. From a dramatic standpoint, Y&R is breaking the cardinal rule of soap storytelling: Never shove a newcomer down viewers’ throats. Cane is either on every day or talked about every day (which reminds me of that old song, “How Can I Miss You When You Won’t Go Away?”). All the interesting stories back home have come to a screeching halt with the action now funneled only through what’s happening in Nice. How is Victoria coping after Cole’s death? What’s Adam doing to protect Newman Enterprises? How’s Traci’s book coming along? Inquiring minds want to know.
The idea of putting GC’s major players in a confined space together was a good one, but it has gone on too long and eaten too much of the action. It’s time to go home.
Bold and Beautiful had a similar problem recently, juggling The Luna Show with The Liam Show and asking us to believe that two beloved core characters were about to die (Steffy at Luna’s hand; Liam from a brain tumor). If you didn’t buy Liam’s cancer as endgame, that’s also too bad, because his impending death was the main story for four months. And then? Miracle surgery!
Steffy: “We were told the tumor was inoperable.”
Bill: “Dr. Buckingham had a colleague with this procedure.”
Hope: “It’s strange.”
Ya think?
Brrrrrring came a text on Bill’s phone.
Bill: “It’s from Dr. Buckingham about the MRI. The tumor is gone, 100 percent removed with good margins.”
Finn: “History was made today!”
So, Liam will live, and Luna will not (for now), and it looks like Dr. Buckingham may have played fast and loose with The Hippocratic Oath.
Moving on, the OG quadrangle of Ridge/Brooke/Taylor/Nick is thankfully moving center stage.
Nick (on phone to dock master): “That container of silk for Forrester Creations? Hold it.”
Nick sabotaging Ridge is entertaining, and he seems genuinely interested in rekindling with Brooke. (I hope they play that Taylor birthed Brooke and Nick’s rarely-mentioned son, Jack, via embryo shenanigans.) Welcome auxiliary players include Donna popping in to remind Taylor that Brooke will never give up on Ridge, and Eric always being Team Brooke.
Ridge: “Can you please stay out of my love life?”
Eric: “I would if you had a brain. You’re not happy. I think you should delve into why Nick bothers you.”
Bingo.
Days of Our Lives’s new hospital owner, EJ, constantly bothers Dr. Kayla Brady, just one of the many opportunities at University for stories to weave in and out. EJ’s threats, John’s goodbye, the miracle drug in the basement, Philip’s coma, Sophia’s prenatal visits… they all collided at some point with core doctors Kayla and Sarah. The Tate/Sophia baby story dovetailed into Leo and Javi adopting the tot, and now Leo is on the jury for Johnny’s trial — which brings it back to EJ.
Leo: “EJ tried to bribe me into acquitting his son.”
Javi: “I’m proud of you for standing up to that jerk.”
Leo: “I hope you’re still proud of me when we wake up with a horse head in our bed.”
Gwen’s head would be more EJ’s style.
Over on Beyond the Gates, Martin’s secret exploded and spilled into two other stories, which totally worked. Smitty and Jacob were solving the mystery of the money/guns/crooked cops soon after Nicole’s marriage to Ted imploded. After Martin fessed up, Nicole had to learn from her mother that 1) Martin killed a man and maimed another man during a racist encounter on a dark road, 2) Ted performed plastic surgery on the disfigured man, and 3) Vernon and Anita covered it up.
Nicole: “My son has blood on his hands, and the person whose face he destroyed was reconstructed by his own father? You are all unbelievable.”
Anita: “Vernon and I protect this family, no matter what.”
Nicole: “Such a noble justification for telling lies and keeping secrets.”
After telling off her mom, Nicole turned her wrath on her estranged husband, asking how he could keep quiet for two years.
Ted: “I did it for you.”
Nicole: “You didn’t tell our son you performed that surgery.”
Ted: “To what end? Vernon wanted to keep that night as contained as possible.”
Nicole: “The more I hear, the more I wonder who the hell I married.”
Ted’s wondering the same thing about his former brother-in-law, which adds another criminal layer to this story. Martin’s blackmailer turned up dead while Bill, Martin, and Vernon were hanging out together at Orphey Gene’s for Martin’s (canceled) press conference.
Ted: “Pretty convenient the three of you with an airtight alibi.”
Bill: “One could see it that way.”
Three big stories dovetailing into one is a win — especially when we don’t see it coming.
General Hospital is doing the same thing with the mystery of Dalton’s work at PCU. Joss is working undercover with fellow WSB agent Vaughn to bust him, Emma is nosing around, and police commissioner Anna brought Felicia and Dante in to figure it all out.
Anna: “It’s not a coincidence. It’s surveillance.”
Felicia told her to drop it, but there’s no chance of that with Emma involved.
Anna: “I don’t trust Brennan, but he is a good agent. Dalton must be a very serious threat. He has the greatest chance to stop him.”
Dante: “Does that include sacrificing an agent? Would you have wanted someone to get you out of the WSB when you were Josslyn’s age?”
Dante is evolving into the conscience of this show. His father, Sonny, refused to sell his crooked piers to the even more crooked Sidwell, which sparked a war resulting in Sonny kidnapping Sidwell’s son Marco, who is dating Lucas, who begged his sister Carly to get her ex, Sonny, to let Marco go, which he did. Good cop Dante confronted his dad when he was brought into the PCPD.
Dante: “I know Turner is questioning you about the disappearance of Marco Rios.”
Sonny: “This is definitely a conversation we don’t want to have.”
Mobster Sonny’s long relationship with Laura, who is now the mayor, is causing her trouble, which crystallizes the good vs. evil balance GH has been striking for years. If you don’t like shady Sonny, there’s Laura or Carly or Nina or Dante veering in and out of his dark tales to balance them out.
Jordan (to Laura): “Sonny may be as bad as Sidwell.”
If so, their battle will spill into many different stories. That works.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
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