Holiday Blues: (From l.) B&B’s Electra (Laneya Grace), DAYS’s Julie (Susan Seaforth Hayes), Y&R’s Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) and GH’s Nina (Cynthia Watros) drove drama on soaps last week.

The Best

General Hospital: Nina’s Party Implodes

“Will this nightmare never end?” groaned Nina after Drew showed up at her holiday party. The answer was no: Willow asked Drew to stay longer. Ding-dong! Lucas arrived to remind Willow that he gave Wiley up to Michael without a fight and didn’t appreciate her taking the boy away from his biological father at Christmas. (Revisiting Wiley’s messy 2018 birth and subsequent custody battle is a delicious harbinger of drama to come.) Lucas stressed that he wasn’t questioning her love, he was questioning her actions. Willow said she was doing what’s best for her children; Lucas retorted that he failed to see how Willow sleeping with her husband’s uncle was best for her children.

Game on! Drew jumped in, Sam and Nelle’s names were invoked, Ava tried to mediate and Nina threw Lucas out. Later, the awkward threesome of mom Nina, daughter Willow and their mutual lover Drew sat on the couch to discuss legal strategy. It devolved into Drew gushing that he can’t believe he and Willow found each other and her responding that their forbidden romance felt “like a dream.”

But Nina’s face said the opposite: Nightmare.

Young and Restless: Diane Sucks It Up

The holidays were a humbling time for Diane who is finally facing the music for faking her death and framing half the town in 2011. She even apologized to Ashley! “You’ve hurt Jack and Kyle so many times,” responded Ash who nevertheless promised to keep things civil over the holidays (and did). Traci was more charitable, telling Diane that her request for a fresh start was asking a lot but moving past Diane’s indiscretions might be doable. Diane proposed a toast to overcoming challenges with courage and determination “in true Abbott fashion” and her kumbaya with Jack’s sisters was complete.

Diane’s attempt to get Kyle to forgive her for abandoning him, firing him, etc. was more complicated. She gave her son pages ripped from her journal during the years they were apart on Christmas and sobbed that she thought she has been doing the right thing by staying away. She knows now that was wrong; Kyle managed a hug.

Jack rewarded Diane’s efforts with a necklace made from the “Teardrop of Love” jewels which Jack’s father gave his mother Dina many years ago. He repeated the legend that whoever wears the stones will find great romantic love and Diane enthusiastically put it on. But, as fans know, that’s no guarantee — it sure didn’t work on Dina.

Bold and Beautiful: Electra Shock

Electra was a welcome addition to Forrester Creations in October, bringing a fresh approach to jewelry design as well as a fresh face for fellow employee Will Spencer to crush on. But it was hard to believe Electra couldn’t identify Remy as the creep who created the “deep fake” photos of her head on someone else’s naked body after he followed her to L.A. and landed a job at Il Giardino. Remy grew jealous of Will and secretly sent the offensive pics to Katie, who fired Electra without telling her why. Remy swooped in and told Electra he would be there for her just like he was when it happened before in Dallas and yet she still didn’t see it — until Deacon gave her the keys to Remy’s apartment so she could fix her makeup and Electra discovered Remy’s wall plastered with the smarmy pics. “It was you!” she screamed. Remy said he couldn’t let her be with Will so he “had” to do it, adding that he wanted Electra to run away with him. She ran for the door instead; he overpowered her.

Meanwhile, Katie showed the photos to Will who immediately identified them as AI generated images: “That’s not Electra!” Cue the heroic rescue in 5-4-3…

Days of Our Lives: The Hortons Carry On Without Doug

No soap is as loyal to a holiday tradition as DAYS is to the annual hanging of the Horton family ornaments. That beloved custom was threatened last February when DAYS made the controversial choice to burn down the Horton house, but fear not! Somehow the glass balls survived so that when Julie opened the box on Christmas Eve there were Tom, Alice and Doug right on top ready to be placed on the tree. Julie explained to Doug’s newly minted grandson Doug III that every family member has their own ornament and they gather every year to hang them. “It’s the best part of the holiday because it’s about coming home,” she said. In came Jack, Jennifer, JJ, Shawn, Maggie, Holly, Xander, Sarah and baby Victoria to prove it.

Julie talked about the late Doug’s spirit being with them as her guests lingered on the ornaments with names of lost loved ones. DAYS gave fans the gift of a flashback from Doug and Julie’s first Christmas together when she handed him a watch inscribed to her “secret love” and the episode ended with Julie making a promise to Doug, her very public love of over 50 years: “Gone from my sight, but never from my heart.”

The Worst

Y&R: Give It A Rest, Phyllis

Here’s the drill: Phyllis busts into a house, a meal or a conversation to trash Sharon and blame her for killing Heather and framing Daniel. The people she has interrupted tell her she doesn’t have all the facts, there’s new evidence, etc. and Phyllis completely discounts it before insulting them and either storming out or being thrown out. This scene has replayed so many times in the last few months that it’s not even dramatic anymore. “I’m pissed off and I’m ready to blow things up!” said Phyllis recently. That used to be a legitimate threat but now it’s just… Tuesday.

She even threatened Daniel when he said there might be more to the story. He chastised his mother for making Christmas “dark” for his daughter Lucy and Phyllis went on the attack. “I get my hands dirty so you can keep yours clean,” she spit. “I’m a mom. That’s what we do!”

No, that’s what she does. And it’s getting old.

DAYS: Rafe’s Double Returns

Ever since A-list villains Stefano and Victor died, DAYS has rotated bad guys Orpheus, Rolf, Megan, Clyde, etc. in and out of Salem along with the occasional brainwashed/possessed local to wreak havoc and disappear. With Clyde in a coma, they brought Rafe’s nasty doppelgänger Arnold back from the dead and it’s hard to understand why. Arnold was originally hired by EJ and Stefano to get revenge on Sami and Rafe. The DiMeras paid for Arnold to have plastic surgery to look like Rafe, take over Rafe’s life, commit a bunch of crimes and cause harm to Sami. He was beaten to death in prison over a decade ago and that was that.