Opinion: From General Hospital to The Young and the Restless, Soaps Need to Stop Letting Villains Win!
Every soap opera needs bad guys, but they can’t dominate the action forever or it’s not believable. Patty and her stuffed cat have outlived their nine lives on The Young and the Restless and we’re rooting for General Hospital‘s Willow and Drew to both lose. Elsewhere, Days of our Lives‘s EJ, The Bold and the Beautiful‘s Sheila and Beyond the Gates‘s Hayley are due for a coup.
Patty Flake
How does Y&R’s Patty, who has shot, killed and kidnapped so many Genoa City residents, keep escaping from jail? She’s a cartoon!
Matt: “How did you get out?”
Patty (maniacally laughing): “If I told you I’d have to kill you.”
That’s not believable or entertaining. Neither was Phyllis recognizing Patty’s “scent” when she smelled it in Matt’s hotel room. It stretches credulity that Patty ditched the prison hospital with a bottle of perfume, although I’m sure the stuffed cat Patty found in the alley appreciated her smelling good. And don’t get me started on Matt being redeemed in a seedy hotel room by Phyllis (of all people). Roger Howarth could have been cast as any other character and been a fantastic addition to this canvas. Recasting him as the monster who raped Sharon in 1995 was not the way.
Conversely, Victor Newman teeters on the edge of villainy, so he wins and loses — as he should. His daughter Victoria is currently zooming Kyle Abbott, which will send The Mustache over the edge, as will Jack helping Nikki with her new job at Vibrante.
Kyle: “We crush Vibrante? Victor will feel it.”
Diane: “Victoria is the one who brought this to you, right?”
That’s one way to put it. Victoria and Nikki showed up at Jack’s office to discuss a peaceful way forward and it did not go well.
Nikki: “I could mitigate the feud, or even end it.”
Diane (snarky): “I didn’t understand you had such power over Victor.”
Nikki: “Let’s keep it to cosmetics.”
Jack: “Dueling lipsticks seems less fraught than psychopaths and kidnappings.”
You can say that again. Time to crank up Jack and Nikki and script a big soapy ending for both Patty and Matt — perhaps they could off each other?
A(le)xis Of Evil
GH’s Drew and Willow need a serious beatdown and Alexis is just the gal to do it. I personally think Drew is worse because he is actively hurting Scout; Willow is at least kind to her children. Our favorite snarky lawyer has had it with both of them.
Drew: “I hope you enjoyed your visit with your granddaughter, because it will be your last.”
Alexis: “You are such a jackass.”
Sonny may be out of the mob but he’s still got “connections,” and he is as done with Drew as Alexis is.
Alexis: “It’s time to change tactics.”
Sonny: “Now you’re speaking my language.”
Please let there be a “Sexis” redux coming, because Sonny and that ho-hum ADA ain’t it. Sonny shaking his head at Drew’s nastiness is all of us. How could that jerk come out of all those months paralyzed in a wheelchair worse than he was before? The best soap stories showcase redemption, evolution, change, but that dude learned none of it and GH is poorer for it because Drew has also become a mustache-twirling cartoon.
That said, he’s got the goods on Willow. She got away with menacing Michael’s baby (which chased Sasha and Daisy out of town), shooting, drugging and paralyzing Drew, and threatening WSB biggie Brennan and her own mother Nina. It’s not okay that Willow evolved into a respected congresswoman who paid for nothing. Who are we supposed to root for when two stinkers go head-to-head?
Drew: “Your crazy mother pushed a paralyzed man into a lake, and you shot me in the back.”
Willow: “Prove it.”
Drew: “You might find yourself out in the cold sooner than you think.”
I’m Team Drew on that one, and it pains me. Help us, Alexis!
Electra Company
B&B is trying so hard to make fetch happen with the Spencer v. Forrester “feud” and it’s not working. No one had a problem with Steffy Forrester’s marriages to Liam Spencer or Wyatt Spencer, and they all accepted Brooke’s marriage to Bill Spencer in 2017, albeit grudgingly. There’s no reason why Eric’s great niece Electra Forrester can’t date Will Spencer, because they are both good kids from solid families. And yet…
Eric (to Electra): “I hate having a Spencer in this house! There is only one condition for you to work at Forrester and be a viable member of this family: No Will Spencer.”
Said the man who married Sheila Carter… Has Eric forgotten that his great granddaughter was fathered by Liam Spencer? “Sorry, Kelly. Great Grandpa won’t allow a Spencer in the house, so you’ll have to FaceTime your mom Steffy on Christmas.” I mean, it’s ridiculous.
Speaking of Sheila, is she ever going to pay for her 900 crimes? Time for her to expose the Steffy/Carter baby in grand soapy fashion, get offed by her outraged son Finn, and go out in a blaze of glory.
Rome Wasn’t Solved In A Day
EJ has been in need of a good spanking for decades now. Listing his crimes would fill this column, but orchestrating the Titan downfall that resulted in Maggie losing her home is up there. It would be so fitting if this mystery in Italy winds up hurting EJ the way EJ has hurt the Kiriakis family.
EJ: “Who is this Dominic Marino?”
Chad: “A rich guy with an ugly house.”
EJ: “Why would a European hedge fund founder be so determined to purchase a Kiriakis property? I think Father put this in motion because Dominic has some connection to our family.”
Ya think, Einstein? What was EJ’s first clue… the replica of Stefano’s chess set, Stefano’s favorite cognac and cigars, or the photo of Stefano holding a little boy? With any luck there’s a distant DiMera out there ready to take it all away from Stefano’s snide son.
Gate Keeper
Joey’s sister is proving to be 100% evil on BTG, which is a problem because baddies need some redeeming qualities to make them viable and interesting. Fortunately, Nicole has her number.
Nicole: “Put a leash on your sister.”
Joey: “I didn’t realize you had met Heather.”
Nicole: “How could I not? She’s everywhere.”
Clueless Vanessa defended Heather as “charming and fun” but her BFF Nicole wasn’t having it, saying she got a bad vibe from the viper and wanted Heather to keep away. ”I said what I said,” sniped Nicole. Bookmark that for when Heather blabs to Vanessa that Joey killed Vanessa’s husband. Nicole said what she said, Vanessa — you didn’t believe her.
But as villains go, Hayley busting up Bill’s marriage to Dani, seducing him, marrying him, then trying to kill him (with help from her cousin Randy) puts her in the soap pantheon. Naomi telling Bill that Hayley faked her sonogram before her “miscarriage” was a hopeful sign, but Hayley turned on the waterworks.
Hayley: “I didn’t want to worry you!”
Bill: “Why did you have a stranger drive you to the hospital? The only way this makes sense is if Sammy or Randy or whatever the hell his name is wasn’t a stranger. You already knew him.”
The black widow in the brown spandex wriggled out of that conversation, but her husband and stepdaughters are onto her.
Bill: “Secrets are toxic.”
So is your wife. Make her pay!
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
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