It’s Only My Opinion For The Soap Week Ending January 31

Woman’s World: (From l.) GH’s Lulu (Alexa Havins), DAYS’s Sarah (Linsey Godfrey, with Paul Telfer as Xander), B&B’s Poppy (Romy Park, with Tanner Novlan as Finn) and Y&R’s Mariah (Camryn Grimes) are serving big soap drama.

Women are the backbone of soap operas, but a few of them need to stiffen their spines.

What has happened to B&B’s Brooke Logan? A few weeks ago, she was all “I am woman, hear me roar,” slapping Ridge across the face, and saying she deserves better. Now she’s moping around Forrester Creations and confronting Taylor for taking her place in Ridge’s bed.

Brooke (to Hope): “Have I really lost him for good this time?”

She even called Ridge and told him, “It’s not over.” He hung up on her.

Brooke needs to hightail it over to Il Giardino and get that handsome Jack Finnegan to buy her a drink. What better way to get back at Steffy than by becoming her mother-in-law?

Jack’s ex, Li, has little use for him, jabbing a needle in his arm because she suspected her ex-husband of fathering a child with her sister, Poppy. The DNA test was negative.

Jack: “Why do you always have to believe the worst?”

Jack fathered Finn with Sheila, so Li wasn’t exactly out on a limb there. Li apologized and vowed to make it up to her sister, but the writing is on the wall for a worse daddy candidate: Li’s son.

Li (to Finn): “The relationship you developed with Penelope was special. I should be thankful to her for looking out for you so closely.”

Jack (to Poppy): “You were always so available for Finn.”

Miss me with any outrage about Finn’s aunt seducing him now that they’ve explained Finn was of age when he and Poppy gave into their “magic connection,” and they did the deed when they were both basically teenagers. I look forward to Steffy’s horror at finding out her hero Finn is blood related to two murderers (Sheila and Luna), both of whom tried to kill her.

I’m actually more offended by Steffy hiring Daphne Rose to seduce Carter.

Carter (handing her a contract): “I hope you’ll be satisfied.”

Daphne: “Satisfied… indeed.”

There’s a word for a woman who accepts money to seduce a man and I’m guessing the “Nose of Paris” knows what it is…

DAYS’s Stephanie showed gumption by dumping Philip the minute she overheard him recapping to his mother how he took over Titan on false pretenses. But Sarah Horton needs a big talking-to after agreeing to keep Philip’s secret from Xander — and I’m not talking about the kind of talking-to everyone in Salem gives inanimate objects.

Sarah (to Victor’s portrait): “Don’t look at me that way, Victor. Yes, I’m keeping a secret. I’m trying to keep Xander from murdering Philip. I have to make sure the truth about this letter never comes out!”

Stop talking loudly in the living room then! What kind of marriage does Sarah have when she’s siding with her lying brother-in-law over her own husband to keep Xander from committing murder?

Rachel could teach them all a thing or two about chutzpah. That twisted kid conspired with DAYS’s latest villain du jour (a recast of The Woman In White) to lure her father’s girlfriend to Aremid and hold her prisoner.

Brady: “I’m not happy you ran away but I’ll always love you.”

Rachel: “Can we do something fun, like go to the zoo?”

Kristen: “We’re going to therapy today.”

Rachel: “Oh, yeah. I can tell them how much I hate Ava.”

A little too much backbone on that urchin…

And not enough on Y&R’s Tessa, who knows every disgusting crime Ian Ward committed against her wife, Mariah, but still had the nerve to suggest forgiveness.

Tessa: “What if Ian is being sincere?”

Mariah: “Are you out of your mind? This is how he operates. He lulls people into believing his BS and that’s when he’s got you.”

Tessa: “People change.”

Cut to Ian holding the Newmans at gunpoint. Ian’s partner-in-kidnapping, Jordan, didn’t change either, but she got a few digs in before drinking that poisoned tea.

Claire: “It will be a peaceful death, more peaceful than you deserve.”

Jordan: “You ungrateful little bitch.”

Claire showed surprising courage coming up with a plan to murder her aunt. Hopefully that will carry over to her relationship with Kyle, where she basically nods her head and lets his ex, Summer, walk all over her. Reminder to Y&R: Summer is Claire’s first cousin. Play it!

GH is chock full of mouthy heroines. Carly and her daughter, Josslyn, can be annoying, but darn if they don’t get things done. Carly just bashed a vase over fugitive Valentin’s head to save Brennan and Joss is going to solve Dex’s murder all by herself.

Joss (re: Cyrus): “What’s the theory?”

Lucas: “I’ll tell you if you promise to stay out of this.”

Joss: “I don’t want to lie to your face.”

Lucas: “Why can’t you just agree for once?”

Joss: “Genetics.”

Truth! Ditto Lulu, who is just as headstrong as her mother, Laura. Lulu is the female embodiment of going off half-cocked, tracking Valentin to Prague with the WSB on her tail… which almost got her daughter, Charlotte, killed.

Lulu: “Everything I’m feeling is what you’ve been feeling these past few years. Lucky was away, I was in a coma, Nikolas was in prison, Spencer is gone.”

Laura: “I wasn’t alone, I had Kevin. And I knew Lucky was out there and you were still breathing, so I had hope.”

Lulu: “On the bright side, if you want a reunion with Nikolas, he’s very easy to find.”

Laura: “Lulu!”

Humor is always a welcome sign from a plucky fighter. Tracy is the queen, of course. Anna used to have solid one-liners, but she’s turned into one of those mopey sacks since accidentally shooting Charlotte in 2023.

Anna: “I don’t have the words to say how sorry I am.”

Lulu: “My mom said Valentin knew Charlotte was stalking you and didn’t tell you.”

Thank you! I am so sick of Anna walking around like a wounded bird, eyes filling up with tears any time anyone mentions Charlotte’s name. She was being stalked, her house burned down, and she walked in on an intruder in her home. BANG! Move on.

The biggest case of a woman needing a spine is Willow. She rolled over and played dead (among other things) when her husband’s uncle started pursuing her, and then was all boo-hoo when the affair came out.

Willow: “How did we get here? One minute I am happily married with two adorable children and now Michael could die, I’m being kept from Wiley and Amelia, and Nina is questioning whether I’m thinking for myself or letting Drew make all the decisions.”

Chase: “Are you?”

Willow: “I don’t know. Everything is upside down.”

Whose fault is that? She finally did the math and figured out she has a pattern of needing to be rescued, jumping from savior to savior (i.e., Shiloh to Chase to Michael to Drew). Willow’s self-analysis means nothing to the Q’s, though.

Tracy: “You have proved yourself profoundly untrustworthy. I think there’s a little more Nelle in you than you realize.”

Oh, please let that be true! Villains have the strongest backbones of all.

Hey. It’s only my opinion.