It’s Only My Opinion: General Hospital, Y&R, B&B, DAYS and BTG Need To Play The Beats in Love Stories
Couples that suddenly say “Let’s be together” isn’t a story. Show us how they got there!
I’m not a fan of the word “journey,” but it applies when soaps play all the beats necessary to create a believable duo. Bold and Beautiful is doing that now with Bill and Katie, an immature alpha male and his long-suffering ex. Bill cheated on Katie with her sister, Brooke, which would be a deal breaker for most women (!). But after Katie cycled romantically through Bill’s son Wyatt, Thorne Forrester, and Carter Walton, she circled back to Bill. This, in spite of the fact that he secured a pardon for Luna, which gave Luna the chance to drug and impregnate herself via their son Will.
Bill: “I understand you have trepidation. Everything we’re going through right now is because of me.”
Katie: “You’re a good man inside.”
Bill: “I try. I didn’t always.”
That’s growth! Bill understands how he screwed up, so we understand how Katie could forgive him.
Bill: “When we met, it was all about power at all cost. Kill or be killed. And then my Katie walked into my life. We’ve been through so much, but we still have an incredible future. I need to reunite our family. Please, come back to me.”
Katie: “I do believe we are stronger together, and I love the way you take care of our son. How can I say no to you?”
Bill: “You can’t.”
Well, okay then! B&B didn’t stop there with Bill’s newfound maturity. He’s also trying to be a more involved father and a better boss. It’s amusing to watch him try to… not act like Bill Spencer. There he was yelling at an employee on the phone when he caught himself, took a deep breath, and shifted gears. “I have total faith in you,” Bill insisted to the disbelieving employee as Katie smirked.
Bill: “I know what you’re thinking. Yes, Liam was right with all his clichés — you catch more bees with honey, you reap what you sow — but not as right as you have always been. My moral compass.”
Katie: “My love has always been there for you.”
In the end, Bill prioritized his family, which gave him the chance to win them back. It also gave Bill and Katie a welcome and overdue story.
Like Bill, Days of Our Lives’s Xander is trying to improve himself to win back his wife and child. Unlike Bill, though, Xander has a history of violence, which makes Sarah afraid to trust him again. It’s been interesting to watch Xander have sessions with Marlena, trying to be better, but his predilection for brutality looks insurmountable because he never pays for his crimes. Most recently, he beat Philip to a pulp. His half brother covered for him.
Brady: “Sarah told me everything. Are you going to break her legs?”
Xander: “The old Xander would have given you hell for what you just said, but I have been working very hard to be a better man.”
Brady (eye rolling): “That sounds familiar.”
Xander: “I’m determined to become the kind of man Sarah would want to share her life with.”
Brady: “What if you’re too late?”
Xander took that to mean Brady is after Sarah and uttered some veiled threats.
Brady: “I thought you had your anger under control.”
Brady and Sarah again? I like it! Their nutty exes, Kristen and Xander, won’t like it, which makes it even more enticing as long as DAYS takes it slow and shows us the beats.
We missed the run-up to the Bill/Hayley union on Beyond the Gates, but it was still shocking to find out she’s been playing him this whole time. At first, we thought Bill simply fell in love with his daughter’s friend, which is why his long marriage to Dani ended. But now we know Hayley targeted Bill for his money and is poisoning his food.
Bill: “I know this never-ending quest to force a healthy diet on me comes from a good place.”
A good place for her — so she can inherit his money when he keels over. How could smart Bill Hamilton have fallen for this murderous Black Widow? We need more information on that.
Conversely, we’ve seen every step of Dani’s new romance with Andre. Their May/December fling shocked Fairmont Crest, but watching them get drunk-married in Vegas and grow into their feelings has been very believable. She’s working through residual feelings for her ex while he periodically toys with Ashley.
Dani: “I’ve never been in a relationship this honest. I like that we tell each other everything.”
Andre: “Me, too. Which is why I need to tell you I had a talk with Ashley.”
A newlywed coming clean about his feelings for another woman? It’s unusual, but it makes sense for this duo’s journey (there’s that word again). Andre shared that Ashley had ended her engagement with Derek and wants to be with him.
Dani: “Does this mean you’re having second thoughts about rejecting her?”
Andre (kissing Dani): “This is no longer a rebound relationship. I choose you.”
And we buy it because we watched it.
It was hard to buy Claire and Kyle because Young and Restless didn’t do the work to show us her evolution from attempted murderer to innocent virgin falling for a “knight in shining armor.” It’s like they assumed Newman + Abbott = Conflict, but skipped most of the beats, so the story fell flat.
Enter Holden, who has a murky past with Audra, to awaken Claire’s dangerous side and become the second man she has ever bedded.
Claire: “I have no regrets.”
Holden: “You’re not going back with Kyle?”
Claire: “No, but that doesn’t mean I’m ready to jump into another relationship.”
Holden wondered if his relationship with Audra had turned her off, but Claire said she could never judge anyone re: their past after she tried to kill her whole family (which is pretty funny). Enter Audra, who has devolved into a ball of repetitive anger, to trash Kyle, who wasn’t even there.
Audra: “Prince Boring lost the girl of his dreams to a stone-cold player.”
Claire: “Have you ever tried to do the right thing?”
Holden: “This is over.”
It’s amusing how Holden thinks he can come between those two, but I respect the effort. I’m less sold on whatever Y&R is doing with Cane. He returned claiming he would do anything to get Lily back.
Cane: “I never stopped loving you. I would give everything up for you.”
So naturally, he slept with Phyllis, and Lily caught them exiting Phyllis’s hotel room. That makes Cane even more cold and vapid than we already thought he was in Nice when two people died at the hands of his employee, and he was like Oh, well. Cane and the hot-blooded Phyllis? Pass.
We came late to General Hospital’s Portia/Curtis/Jordan triangle because they had history before we met them, but it’s gotten wonderfully messy since Isaiah was added. Isaiah had crazy chemistry with Jordan, which the show curiously dropped, but he was right place, right time when Portia needed a shoulder to, um, cry on. Now, Portia is divorcing Curtis, she’s pregnant by either Curtis or Isaiah, and there’s rooting value all around.
Curtis: “Aunt Stella thinks we should stay together and raise our child in a home with two loving parents.”
Portia: “I saw you kissing Jordan.”
Oops. Portia said she always knew Curtis would go back to his ex-wife, Jordan, but he’s a great father to Trina, so she’ll let him live.
Curtis (spying the sonogram on her desk): “May I see it?”
Portia: “It’s too early to tell if it’s a boy or a girl.”
Curtis (tears up looking at it): “Whoever they are, they’re just perfect. May I keep this?”
Portia: “Of course.”
Giving Curtis the sonogram of a baby that might not be his is so cold and so deliciously soapy. I can’t wait to watch their journey (sorry!), although I’m guessing it’s going to be more of a… rocky road.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
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