(From l.) Bold and Beautiful‘s Ridge and Taylor (Thorsten Kaye and Rebecca Budig), Days of our Lives‘s Xander and Philip (Paul Telfer and John-Paul Lavoisier) and General Hospital‘s Michael (Chad Duell) took center stage on soaps last week.

The Best

General Hospital: Michael Goes Scorched Earth On Drew

Michael was not playing. The minute he learned his wife Willow was cheating on him with his Uncle Drew he concocted a revenge plot that actually doubled as a pretty solid financial plan, too. He recorded Drew admitting he was going to screw Curtis out of the CEO position he had promised him at Aurora (in order to give the job to Michael as a bribe to keep mum) and played the tape for Curtis. Want to be CEO? he asked. Yes, responded Curtis, adding that if he was going to turn against Drew he would need that job offer in writing. (Notarizing a Quartermaine is always a good idea.) Michael and Curtis then leaked a bad financial report, causing Drew to storm into Curtis’s office.

“Why has Aurora stock plummeted and what are you doing about it?” demanded Drew. Curtis was calm when Drew then “fired” him, knowing Michael had bought up the tanking stock and was releasing a press release announcing Curtis’s new title at that very moment. Drew was out; Michael and Curtis were in. “I refuse to be a pawn in the Quartermaine family games,” asserted Curtis to a defeated Drew. 

Michael, however, has no choice about that — and he played those family games to perfection by taking over Drew’s company. 

Young and Restless: A Holiday Heart-to-Heart

Jack and Traci’s unresolved feelings about their mother abandoning them as children were revisited in a poignant conversation just before Christmas. “I am starting to think that holding onto the past is a fatal Abbott flaw,” lamented Jack, citing Billy’s ongoing animosity towards him and all the problems Jack and Diane had been having with Kyle. Why can’t they break the cycle and let go? All that anger was wasting valuable time and he didn’t know how to fix it.

Traci, as always, provided a tender but firm sounding board for her brother. She pointed out that Jack had let go of his resentment before Dina died and been an important person for their mom to lean on as she sank into dementia. Flashbacks of Jack and Dina through the years reminded viewers of their relationship, from young Dina regretting having left all the way up to older Dina telling Jack she would always love him even when she wouldn’t be able to remember him.

In the end, Traci counseled gratitude that Dina had come back into their lives and suggested Kyle will come to feel the same way about Diane. Cue Kyle hanging Dina’s ornament as a weepy Jack looked on… Sniff!

Days of Our Lives: Xander and Philip Go To Court

In the battle for Titan, the brothers were evenly matched. Philip appeared before the judge with Belle as his lawyer and a forged letter claiming Victor wanted him to run the company (thanks Vivian!). Xander showed up with his loyal wife Sarah and cousin Justin representing him. In a humorous twist, most of their A-list family members refused to testify — Kate, Brady and Maggie all said they knew too much to be honest on the witness stand. “It’s the will vs. the letter and it’s not right for me to put my finger on the scale,” explained Victor’s widow Maggie.

The hearing was pretty standard until Belle called Sarah to the stand and asked if she would lie under oath about her husband’s attempt to murder Brady Black. Um… After some hesitation Sarah cited “spousal privilege” but the damage was done.

The judge award 50% of Titan to each brother. Despite Philip griping that he was the only one of Victor’s children who grew up with Victor before “Xander’s illegitimate ass” swooped in, he extended his hand. Xander refused to shake it and vowed he would oust his brother if it was the last thing he did. Happy Holidays, fellas!

Bold and Beautiful: Ridge and Taylor Hit The Sheets

“Brooke cannot be supporting Hope and Carter,” asserted Eric during an impromptu meeting of the Forresters after they were ousted from their own company. Wanna bet? Cut to the video of Brooke accepting the CEO position. Ridge raged that Brooke had stabbed them in the back while Steffy said her father’s paramour had shown her true colors. All the while, Ridge’s ex Taylor was lurking.

“You okay?” Taylor asked Ridge who was clearly not okay. He excused himself to retire for the night at his father’s house and she followed. Despite all the times Ridge had acted first and asked questions later where Brooke’s “betrayals” were concerned, he chose once again to not give Brooke the benefit of the doubt and kissed Taylor.

Back at the office, Brooke had just confessed to Zende that she only accepted the CEO position to find a way to give Forrester Creations back to Ridge. As Ridge and Taylor disrobed, Brooke arrived at the front door…

The Worst

GH: Carly Flies Off The Handle

Carly’s MO is to interfere in her son Michael’s life every time he runs into trouble, and finding out that Willow had cheated on him with Drew was no different. Learning that Jason had known about the affair (which was the reason Jason punched Drew) really put her over the edge. “I’m not the kind of person who turns the other cheek,” she raged. “Oh, I know,” Jason retorted, citing that as the reason he didn’t tell Carly about the sex romp. Jason begged her to stay out of it but Carly’s gonna Carly. She headed for Sonny’s where she repeated all the sordid details on Christmas Eve, right down to the nanny cam that caught the act and the video playing at the Q holiday bash. Naturally, Sonny vowed to make Drew pay for hurting his son.

But Carly treating Michael (who has a wife, two kids and a big job) like a helpless pawn isn’t the worst of it. Carly’s daughter Josslyn had just watched her second boyfriend die, and could have used more than a hug on the bridge from her mom before Carly ran off to “rescue” her 30-something son.

B&B: Remy’s Fatal Attraction

Let’s see if we have this right: Electra had a stalker who created deep fakes of her head on a naked body and posted them online, causing her to flee to L.A. with her Aunt Ivy. A few weeks after Electra hit L.A., her “old friend” Remy arrived. He got a job at the restaurant she frequented and started showing up unannounced at her job as a Jewelry Designer at Forrester Creations, causing deep consternation for Electra’s new boyfriend Will Spencer. “I feel bad if I did anything to hurt his feelings,” fretted Electra after she didn’t respond as favorably as Remy wanted when he showed up to her office with a free pizza.

The newest Forrester beauty shows promise, but starting her off as a clueless sap who thinks running into a creepy kid from her old life is just a series of coincidences is not setting her up for success.