It’s Only My Opinion For The Soap Week Ending June 20

It doesn’t always make sense when a good soap character does something bad, but it can definitely stir the pot.

General Hospital’s Portia Robinson really stepped in it, huh? The good doctor has done some sketchy things (lied that Curtis wasn’t Trina’s father, doctored Heather’s blood test results), but procuring ketamine and working with Nina to hire a hooker to drug Drew was next level. Naturally, Drew found out and is blackmailing them: He wants unlimited support from Nina with Willow, and unlimited support from Portia with Curtis (to get him to write positive things about Drew at Aurora). 

Drew: “I know the two of you have been working against me.”

Portia: “I have no idea what you’re…”

Drew: “Don’t bother. I know you hired Jacinda to have me drugged.”

Nina: “Prove it.” 

Drew: “That’s not how this works. I tell you what to do. One more screw up and your career ends [Portia] and your relationship with your daughter ends [Nina].”

Everyone hates Drew now, so it’s fun to watch people conspire against him. Good guy Curtis feels guilty for slanting coverage in favor of the crooked congressman, so he tried to quit Aurora. Not only did Michael not accept his resignation, but he offered to help him. 

Michael: “We’re going to take Drew down together. Let him think he’s winning. The more comfortable he feels, the more sloppy he’ll get. That’s what happened with the custody battle.”

Indeed, Drew’s arrogance cost Willow her kids, and this new Michael is taking no prisoners. Is he a good guy with an edge or a bad guy with a heart? Time will tell. 

Meanwhile, former upstanding lawyer Alexis Davis is embezzling money from her great-nephew Ace’s trust fund to pay Ava and Ric to keep quiet about Kristina’s crimes. Far more upstanding mayor Laura asked Alexis to weigh in on whether Elizabeth should sue the car company for causing her crash (which Alexis knows was Kristina’s fault). 

Laura: “Give me your honest opinion if you think Elizabeth has a strong case. I may talk her into pursuing it.” 

Alexis: “Lawsuits can take a long time. I’m not sure it’s worth the trouble.” 

Laura: “I know I can always count on you for an unbiased opinion.”

Ha! Liz learned the truth anyway and busted Kristina, so the clock is ticking. Alexis already lost her law license once. This could nab her the cell next to her criminal daughter at Pentonville. 

Speaking of prison, it didn’t make sense for Bold and Beautiful’s Bill Spencer to secure a pardon for murderer Luna, so that part of the story was not believable. Yes, he had a history of troublemaking (throwing Ridge out of a helicopter, trapping Hope in a gondola, locking Katie in a tower), but those actions were a means to an end for him. He had nothing to gain by springing Luna from jail, and he regrets it now.

Li: “I can’t fathom what you were thinking setting Luna free.”

Bill: “I might have mishandled things with Luna.”

Li: “Might have?”

Bill: “Admitting I was wrong is not easy for me. It rarely happens. I have a lot of power. I have to do a better job of knowing when to use said power. Hopefully, Luna is going to take my advice and leave Los Angeles.”   

Yeah, because she’s proven so willing to take advice (eye roll). Luna is a bad character doing bad things. There’s only one way out for her.  

Springing Luna from prison could cost Bill his granddaughter’s mother, Steffy, and maybe even his own son. Why isn’t B&B playing Luna’s obsession with Will? That would be the best punishment of all for Dollar Bill. 

And I think we’re at the point with Brooke where we have to admit she’s a terrible mother. Terrible. This otherwise upstanding pillar of L.A. is always there for Hope, but she has four other children who have long been MIA. Rick hasn’t been referenced in years, R.J. vaporized after his affair with Luna, and Bridget pops into the hospital a few times a year but rarely sees her mom. So, who else was surprised when Brooke’s ex, Nick, showed up and, all of a sudden, Brooke remembered they had a son together? His name is Jack, and apparently, he’s all grown up and working at Forrester International in Paris. 

Nick: “You’ll have to come visit the boat.”

Brooke: “Maybe Jack will come with us.”

Nick: “If we can ever drag him out of Paris!” 

Brooke: “I just talked to him the other day. Fashion is in his blood. He seems so happy every time I video chat with him.”

“Every” time? The boy hasn’t been mentioned in over a decade. 

The best way to keep heroines like Brooke off the rotten moms list is to have them name-check their offscreen children once in a while. And not for nothing, that Paris office must be a hot mess with Jack toiling next to his stepbrother, Thomas, who hates Brooke and tried to frame her. 

Every once in a while, a bad character does something good, which can also shake things up. Beyond the Gates’s Joey turned the tables when Doug (who owes a ton of money to the casino boss) asked for a moment alone with his wife, Vanessa (who just slept with Joey).

Joey: “You’re kicking me out of my own casino?” 

Doug: “Just the back room. The rest of this dump is all you.” 

Vanessa: “Joey, he didn’t…”

Doug: “Not now. The men are talking.” 

Joey: “You should know I’ve put people in the hospital for less disrespect than that.” 

Suddenly, I’m Team Joey, and that guy is a snake. Vanessa could do worse (and has).  

Similarly, Days of Our Lives’s EJ has shown surprising regret over the rupture with his son, Johnny. He really loves his son and is hurting… who knew? And we all know EJ only bought University Hospital to get his hands on the lucrative sepsis drug, but his interactions with our faves show promise. 

Kayla: “What does EJ know about running a hospital?” 

Fair point — but he did save it.

There’s no saving Xander after he beat his brother, Philip, to a pulp and then snuck into his hospital room to finish the job with a pillow. 

Xander: “Don’t worry. This will all be over before you know it.” 

Philip lying that Xander didn’t attack him so he can still get his inheritance and to work at Titan makes zero sense because if he told the truth, Xander would go to prison, and he’d get the whole company. 

That’s a case of a good soap character doing something dumb right there.  

Which brings us to Young and Restless, where a whole bunch of good soap characters look like they are doing something equally dumb by following stranger Aristotle Dumas to Europe. In what universe do Victor and Nikki allow themselves to be dragged halfway around the world to walk aimlessly around a maze in order to eat lunch? 

Victor: “This is ludicrous.” 

Nikki: “I don’t appreciate being toyed with for someone else’s amusement. Are these theatrics really necessary?” 

Victor: “It’s ridiculous. This is Aristotle Dumas’s attempt to frustrate us.” 

So why are you there? Victor intimated he knew who Dumas is (“In due time,” he told Nikki), but it’s hard to grasp why a bunch of people from Wisconsin would travel to Nice to meet a stranger who seems to be after their companies. 

But the guest list is interesting.

Diane: “Why would Dumas invite Phyllis, of all people?” 

Because a good soap character doing something bad will definitely stir the pot.

Hey. It’s only my opinion.