It’s Only My Opinion: Why Momentum Is Key On General Hospital, Young and Restless, DAYS, B&B and BTG
Momentum is crucial to keep us tuning into our “stories.” As in life, don’t start something you can’t finish!
General Hospital did a great job honoring Monica’s death, rolling right into the drama surrounding her will and who would inherit the Quartermaine mansion. We knew Monica’s long-lost sister, Ronnie, wouldn’t get the house, but all the twists and turns kept the story front burner after Martin convinced Ronnie to pose as the heir and then blackmailed her into selling it to Drew (to get revenge on Tracy).
Drew: “This house will be mine, and all of you will be out on your asses. I am finally taking my place as the head of this family, right here in the Quartermaine home.”
Michael: “A family home without a family. What kind of victory is that?”
Cut to Tracy finding the real will and bursting into that living room scene. Turned out Lord Voldemort, er, Drew had annoyed Ronnie so much she couldn’t sign the sale papers. All was forgiven by the other Qs, but an angry Tracy threw Ronnie out anyway.
And then… twist! Ned, Olivia, Brook Lynn, Chase, and Michael sided with Ronnie, so Tracy booted them too, which meant that in a dramatically ironic turn, Tracy was the one who wound up in the family home without a family. Enter Gio to make it right. He said Ronnie is a nice person who deserves some slack.
Tracy: “I’m not in the slack-cutting business.”
Gio: “Why do you think Monica left you the house in the first place? Because she trusted you to hold this family together. They asked you to act with generosity [towards Ronnie] because that’s what the head of the family does.”
Tracy surrendered (!) and turned the tables on her great-grandson, reminding him he’s a Q, too. It took a lot of beats to get us from Monica’s funeral to Gio deciding he wants to be part of Monica’s family, and that arc delivered. It helped that Erika Slezak’s time was limited, so GH parceled Ronnie’s story out almost every day and gave it a beginning, middle, and end. Discipline like that = momentum.
Sometimes a soap knows where it’s going, but we don’t, which negatively impacts forward movement. I was very invested in Johnny and Chanel’s heartfelt quest to become parents on Days of Our Lives and all the roadblocks they encountered on the road to adopting Sophia and Tate’s baby. Sophia’s judgmental mother kept them from getting the baby, which Sophia delivered alone and abandoned at a fire station. The story lost steam when the child was fostered by Leo and Javi, causing them to push around an empty stroller for months (OMG, DAYS, hire a real baby!).
Fast forward to the tot (named Tesoro by his foster dads) being revealed to have been fathered by Aaron, not Tate. A shocked Aaron signed away his rights.
Aaron (to Leo and Javi): “Thank you for taking care of my son, who’s not my son anymore.”
Leo told Johnny and Chanel he thinks they’ll make wonderful parents someday… and Chanel’s phone rang.
Chanel: “It’s Mama. Tesoro is ours!”
Johnny: “We’re getting a baby?”
Yes! All of a sudden, those twists and turns made sense, and we felt 1) bad for Leo and Javi having to give Tesoro up, 2) happy for Johnny and Chanel becoming parents, and 3) strangely sad for Aaron, whom we barely know. But the center of it all was still missing — Sophia is in an off-screen catatonic state. That’s what I mean about momentum: The Holly/Tate/Sophia teen pregnancy drama dovetailed beautifully into the Johnny/Chanel adoption story, but the person who set it all in motion wasn’t there. It’s hard to play the beats properly without the character who connects them all.
Beyond the Gates recently connected Joey the mobster to Hayley the trophy wife, which revved up both their stories.
Joey: “I understand we have an acquaintance in common: My employee Randy Parker.”
Hayley: “I’m not sure who you mean.”
Joey: “I saw you on security cam footage. He let me in on your secret. I wouldn’t want to be the one to tell your husband his wife of one year is stepping out on him.”
Randy, who is Hayley’s cousin, lied to his boss that they were canoodling because the truth is worse: They’re plotting to kill Bill for his money. Hayley went off on the cheating accusation, saying she was going to sue Joey for defamation, which is a riot since he said it in a private conversation, and that claim would surely raise Bill’s suspicions.
But now, thanks to Joey’s involvement, there’s jeopardy attached to Hayley’s plan, which makes it worth playing every day — even if it’s just new bride Hayley sweetly ordering a drink for her new hubby (and poisoning it).
Bill: “You and this tea!”
Hayley: “It’s good for you. Drink up.”
Stops and starts are good, as long as the show doesn’t drop the ball for too long. Taylor and Deacon shared a hug, and psycho Sheila started to emerge, but Bold and Beautiful pulled back and had Deacon return to Sheila… for now.
Sheila: “I’m going to be on my best behavior from here on out.”
Taylor: “I’m sure Deacon will be happy to hear that.”
Sheila: “I knew if anyone could open my husband’s heart, it would be you.”
You got that right! Deacon and Taylor are making googly eyes while Sheila is getting wise to the threat of it all. A slow-burning triangle is Soaps 101, especially when one of the three is a convicted psycho. Deacon’s regular “therapy” with Taylor bodes well for advancing that drama since Sheila (and Li) hid Luna for so long with no movement.
Add Deacon’s kids, Hope and Deke, encouraging him to move on from Sheila, while Steffy tells Taylor she doesn’t want her to be alone, and it’s a good recipe for action.
Steffy: “Now that Dad’s back on the Brooke train…”
Taylor: “He can stay on it. It’s exhausting.”
Steffy: “I have a feeling someone is going to come into your life when you least expect it. Take a risk!”
Is there a bigger risk than falling for the husband of the town’s most famous murderer? Steffy, Ridge, and even Deacon’s ex, Brooke, will not be pleased when Taylor pursues this forbidden love, which adds more opportunity to play it front burner. Please rope Eric — Sheila’s ex-husband and Taylor’s ex-father-in-law — into this story!
Which brings us to Young and Restless, where lately they’ve started a bunch of stories they haven’t finished. We had a months-long detour in “Nice,” where core character Chance Chancellor died with no funeral or fallout, an arc they still haven’t tied up (Hello, Nina?). They rebounded with the excellent Victor/Jack rivalry, showcasing Victor’s granddaughter, Claire, dumping Jack’s son, Kyle, and Phyllis stealing Cane’s AI program to give to Victor so he could take over Jabot (and give it to her!). Then, Jack got wind of the plan and confronted The Mustache.
Jack: “This is a hill I am willing to die on.”
Victor: “Oooh, I’m looking forward to that.”
Me too! But then…. bupkis. The action shifted to Los Angeles, where a whole new soap opera took over, featuring an injured (recast) Noah, shady Holden, Audra’s black-and-white backstory, Nick and Sharon, a bar owner named Sienna, a crooked detective, and Sienna’s husband “Mitch,” who turned out to be (recast) Matt Clark. Don’t get me wrong, cranking up Nick Newman v. Matt Clark is a great idea (as is hiring Roger Howarth for the role), but they need to balance these newbies with more Newmans and Abbotts. Dropping the Jack v. Victor drama so they could silo the L.A. goings-on caused a big loss of momentum back in Wisconsin, where *checks notes* Y&R is set.
Mitch/Matt: “Something seems off, don’t you think?”
Yes. Here’s hoping they rope this L.A. detour into the main action soon, because this show’s M.O. will always be back in Genoa City.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
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