GH’s Laura and Lulu (Genie Francis and Alexa Havins, l.), Y&R’s Jack (Peter Bergman) and DAYS’s Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes) were soap standouts last week.

The Best

General Hospital: Lulu Comes Home!

Rather than have Lulu wake from her coma the soap opera way (squeezing a hand, batting an eye) they did it the Luke Spencer way: She escaped the evil Cyrus at Turning Wood and hitchhiked home. Well, to the home she had lived in pre-coma, which is now occupied by Maxie and her family. That was the first of many surprises awaiting Lulu as she wended her way to the Quartermaines looking for Tracy and found an older, taller Rocco instead. He embraced his confused mom as it dawned on Lulu she’d been gone longer than she thought. Enter her ex-husband Dante to confirm four years had passed.

Next up: Getting the real lowdown from Lucky. Luke was dead, and Sam had donated the liver that saved Lulu before being given the wrong medication. “Sam died because of me?” asked a horrified Lulu. Yes, and there’s more: Dante had been in a relationship with Sam, who helped raise Rocco, and Lulu’s daughter, Charlotte, was missing. That was a lot of tough information in a short period so GH lightened the mood with scenes like Dante telling Maxie to be patient while Lulu visited family (“How far down the list am I?” quipped Maxie) and Lulu realizing her manicured nails were a gift from her BFF.

It remains to be seen what Lulu’s love life will look like, but it can’t be a coincidence that Cody — who picked up the hitchhiking Lulu and definitely showed interest — is Dante’s best friend. Welcome home!

Days of Our Lives: Salem Mourns Doug

“We’re celebrating the life of Doug Williams,” declared Maggie as loved ones gathered to honor the man who had been a beloved fixture on DAYS for 54 of its 59 years. Doug’s grandkids Ciara and Shawn Douglas made it home, as did Julie’s brother Steven, grandson Eli, Aunt Marie and the woman who shot Aunt Marie 40 years ago, Liz Chandler. That was handy because Doug always lead the singing in Salem but Liz had a hit record back in the day called “Friends and Lovers” (which Belle name checked) so she was able to croon the Irving Berlin classic “Always” during his funeral. Cue the flashbacks of Doug and Julie being goofy and silly and sweet and… wait, why was Doug’s heart attack in there? Never mind.

DAYS sprinkled humor into the action with Marie and Liz sparring in Horton Square (“I thought the world of your parents, it was you I couldn’t stand,” snarked Liz) and Ciara opening that silly time capsule before they brought everyone together for the money shot of Julie delivering Doug’s eulogy. “What will people remember about this exuberant, accomplished, gentle man?” Julie asked. “His kindness.” The same could be said of Doug’s portrayer, Bill Hayes, who left his mark on Salem in countless ways.

We’ll remember them both… always.

Young and Restless: Jackpot!

It’s about time Jack Abbott got a win. After months of his wife and son clashing at Jabot, Kyle was booted by Diane and went to work for Jack’s hated rival Victor at Glissade. Jack knew Victor only hired Kyle to punish Jack (for controversially helping Nikki get off booze) but how to prove it? Pretend to fire Diane from Jabot and fake a public breakup to make Victor think he had the upper hand.

Shockingly the ruse worked. Victor hired Diane at Glissade, forced her to fire Kyle, and thought he got the last laugh by selling Glissade’s divisions before handing the company to Diane… but Jack had secretly bought Glissade for pennies on the dollar. “Thank you for the discount,” he taunted Victor. Even worse for The Mustache, Diane gave up her co-CEO job at Jabot so Kyle could reclaim the position and Jack asked his wife to rebrand Glissade into Jabot Classic so the family can work together again. “You used Glissade to hurt my father but you failed,” Kyle told Victor. “The Abbotts are stronger than ever.”

That’s all Jack has wanted for years. Next up: Bringing Billy home?!

Bold and Beautiful: Brooke Chooses Ridge Over Hope

Doing the right thing isn’t always in Brooke’s wheelhouse, so it was a welcome surprise when she overheard her daughter Hope plotting with Carter to take over Forrester Creations and ran straight to Ridge. He didn’t believe it at first, but a quick perusal of the LLC documents proved Carter had indeed put his own name on what should have been routine papers. Ridge then ambushed Carter with the knowledge, grateful to his fellow Forrester exec and paramour Brooke Logan for the heads-up.

Hope had no such appreciation. “You went to Ridge instead of me?” she gasped. Brooke scolded her daughter for the underhanded dealing and worried about what would come next. By the end of the week it looked like Carter and Hope had pulled off the coup, and Brooke was defending her daughter to Ridge, saying she’s not siding with Hope so he shouldn’t side with Steffy. “You can’t let them pit us against each other!” she pleaded. No good deed goes unpunished, eh Brooke?

The Worst

GH: Too Many Retconned Children

GH has been dropping many, many clues that Brook Lynn is harboring a secret about Dante, and given the guilty look that flashed across her face when Chase bubbled to her about how happy he was that they were going to experiencing parenthood for the first time together, it looks like we’re in for another history-bucking child.

As tried-and-true as this device is, it’s been employed at an alarming rate on GH. This year alone, Mac Scorpio found out he was Cody’s father on July 4th. His brother Robert learned in October that his ex-wife Holly had delivered his now grown daughter Sasha sometime in early 1993 (months after Robert, then married to Anna, was presumed dead in a boat explosion). And now Brook Lynn and Dante are reminiscing about a long-ago camp romance (one that contradicts the established on-screen history between the characters) at the same time Brook Lynn’s mother Lois seems unnaturally attached to newcomer Gio and Dante’s father Sonny was revealed to have paid for Gio’s education. Hmm…

We hate to judge a story before it’s fully in swing, but it’s hard to get excited about the possibility of a third retcon Port Charles offspring in a year, especially so soon after Trina’s paternity was switched from Taggert to Curtis, Esme turned out to be Ryan and Heather’s, and Nina got a second surprise daughter in Willow.

B&B: Hope and Carter’s Insta-Romance

It’s one thing to put two long-time characters together to see if they have chemistry. It’s another to have them declare their love completely out of the blue and upend their lives for each other.

To review: Hope and Carter’s first kiss was October 7. Hope soon donned lingerie in the office for Carter but fell on Steffy’s husband Finn, prompting Steffy to fire her. By the end of November, Hope and Carter had expressed burning passion, made love, and concocted a scheme to take control of Forrester Creations to get revenge for firing Hope and “disrespecting” Carter. On December 6 they seemed to succeed, causing Ridge, Eric and Steffy to angrily denounce their betrayal.

What changed to make these co-workers decide to love each other and throw their lives into chaos? They never went on a date or even shared a meal, and their dialogue has shed no light. “I believe in the love that we share,” gushed Hope. Why? “I don’t want to be in a world without you in it,” rhapsodized Carter. Why not? “This is our beginning, not our end… Our love is more powerful than anything.” Talk like that is fine for a romance novel but it doesn’t explain why Carter would backstab his best friend Ridge or why Hope would participate in a hostile takeover of her own mother’s business.

Carter and Hope show promise, but it’s hard to buy their connection when it’s all tell and no show.

Picky, Picky: What on earth took GH’s Lucky so long to call Laura about Lulu? And Dante couldn’t pick up a phone, either?… On DAYS, why did JJ and Chad not get word of Doug’s death until after the man was buried?

Applause, Applause: TJ and Molly’s GH breakup was sensitively done and touchingly performed by Tajh Bellow and Kristen Vaganos…. Loved Lucy’s tirade to Faith ripping Sharon apart on Y&R.