GH’s Willow (Katelyn MacMullen, l.), DAYS’s Hope (Kristian Alfonso, c.) and Y&R’s Claire (Hayley Erin) were at the center of the action last week on soaps.

The Best

General Hospital: The Q Christmas Party Explodes

It was only a matter of time after Michael found the video of his wife Willow and his uncle Drew doing the nasty that their affair would be exposed. It came about accidentally when Michael hooked his phone up to the TV to watch a football game during the Quartermaines’ holiday bash and Tracy went to mute it — but broadcast the offending video instead.

“You were having sex with your nephew’s wife in your daughter’s nursery?” howled Ned to his hated cousin. “Your father [Alan] would be so proud.” Drew retorted that it was none of Ned’s business. Au contraire! Drew made it their business when he schtupped Willow in the Q house. Tracy was positively gleeful, getting in Nina’s face about her lover Drew’s indiscretion (with Nina’s daughter!) and taunting Drew about how the gathering passed ugly right around the time “we saw Willow on top of you.” The jokes and double entendres were endless, and all of it was deserved and delicious. But life comes at you fast, and Carly was on it. She sprinted to her son’s home and found Willow and Nina spiriting Michael’s kids out in the dead of night. “Where are you off to in such a hurry?” demanded Carly in a scene reminiscent of the Nazis searching for the Von Trapps at the abbey in The Sound of Music (shout out to Anna Lee, who played Lila!). Hell hath no fury like a woman whose son got humiliated by his wife cheating on him with his uncle scorned.

Young and Restless: Lily Joins Winters

After months of Lily being mistreated and/or manipulated re: her status at Chancellor, she finally saw the light and succumbed to Devon’s entreaties to join him at their family company. (What took her so long?!) Devon was thrilled, saying Winters had been missing something since breaking away from Chancellor — and that “something” had clearly been Lily. He assured his sister he didn’t expect to always get his way; they would be in it together. Devon’s words struck just the right note. “Chancellor means so much to me,” said Lily, “but I kept thinking, ‘Why am I building up their legacy when I should be building up ours?’ ”

The siblings celebrated with their cousin Nathan, toasting to Neil’s OG legacy and how happy he’d be that the fam was all working together. Lily vowed to be a team player, a goal she did not achieve at Chancellor thanks to Billy’s ego and Victor’s lies. Can this ambitious group of second generation Winters upend Genoa City? Let’s hope so!

Days of Our Lives: Hope Returns

She missed the funeral because she was keeping vigil at Bo’s bedside, but Hope was a comforting presence to friends and family in the aftermath of Doug’s death. She shared a long-overdue meet-up at the Brady Pub with Patch, Kayla and Roman where they had a bittersweet talk about how Julie was doing. Talk turned to her father’s long-lost grandson aka New Doug, and they all admitted they were concerned. Hope made some calls and confirmed New Doug may be the real deal but still questioned the timing of him showing up at Doug’s funeral. Once a cop, always a cop!

Hope also shared sweet scenes with her stepmom/half sister Julie (long story), assuring her that Doug loved her. Back atcha, replied Julie. “Your father adored you,” she told Hope. Though grieving, Hope and Julie both said they feel Doug’s presence every day and promised to keep in touch. In came New Doug, saying it was nice to meet his “Aunt Hope.” She responded that she hopes he’ll take care of Julie and if he doesn’t, she’ll be back — and it won’t be so friendly next time.

At least she threatened him on the way out. We’ll miss you, Kristian Alfonso (Hope)! And we do have another visit to look forward to….

Bold and Beautiful: Ridge and Brooke Split

What happens to your relationship when your life partner calls your daughter a bitch? Nothing good. Ridge flipped out after Carter and Hope took over Forrester Creations, blaming Brooke’s daughter for corrupting his best friend and encouraging him to stage the coup. Brooke retorted that Carter had a mind of his own and his romantic relationship with her daughter had nothing to do with that decision. The argument shifted to Ridge saying he wouldn’t stay on the same property with Hope (who lives in Brooke’s guest cabin) because she uses people to get what she wants: Liam, Thomas, Finn, now Carter. “Is Hope just a worthless slut?” he asked.

His words were a knife to Brooke’s heart. “A slut like her mother?” she gasped, citing his late mother Stephanie’s habit of calling Brooke a slut from the valley. Of course not, Ridge replied. But it’s obviously how he sees her daughter. Brooke fought back hard, saying his use of that word is indicative of how the Logans are degraded at Forrester and by the way, Hope raised Ridge’s grandson Douglas for years because Thomas was too unstable to do it. How dare Ridge call Hope a bitch and a slut? Because he felt Brooke should be defending him, not Hope. With events at a standstill, Brooke started to cry and Ridge took off.

Guess who he found at Steffy’s? Taylor!

 

The Worst

DAYS: New Doug Is An Old Cliché

Is there a bigger soap trope than the long-lost child? Doug Williams was a major presence in Salem for 54 years yet the first time we met his “grandson” was at his funeral. Julie invited New Doug to come stay with her (dumb), Grandma Alice’s diamond necklace immediately went missing and they suspected everyone but him (dumber) and New Doug actually hugged Julie with the necklace bulging out of his pocket (dumbest). Julie encouraged New Doug to ask questions about their family and they went photo by photo so she could give him all the info he needs to scam their relatives, too.

Which was ridiculous because Cat just scammed them all into thinking she was Abigail Deveraux and got invited into Julie’s house, too. Julie is smarter than this so it’s tough to watch her acting so clueless, even in mourning. No one wants to see Julie (or any of our faves) get taken advantage of, especially not by the latest in a long line of Salem newbies. “You can always count on me,” New Doug told Julie. “That means a lot,” she responded. Why? Who is he? If he’s an impostor, make it stop. If he’s really Doug’s grandson, then Doug Williams deserves better than a descendant whose first act in Salem was to rip off the beloved Alice Horton.

Y&R: Claire’s “Pretty Woman” Act Rings False

She had just been hired as her grandmother’s assistant at Chancellor Industries, so apparently Claire needed a complete makeover before starting work. Nikki spared no expense, laying out fancy clothing, jewelry and high-heels brought to the Newman ranch from Fenmore’s so they could shop in the comfort of their own home before Claire’s “debut” at the family’s new business. Claire was all wide-eyed, questioning how Nikki could have possibly pulled all this together. “When your grandmother makes a call, magic happens!” explained Victoria.

None of it rang true. What happened to the clothes Claire was wearing last year when she worked as Nikki’s assistant at Newman Media? You know, before Claire kidnapped Nikki and tried to kill the entire Newman family at the instruction of her psycho Aunt Jordan. Did she burn those ensembles when she went to work as Harrison’s nanny? This girl committed multiple felonies yet got off with a few weeks in a treatment facility. Claire’s amazement that the richest family in town could get a few schmattas delivered to the house doesn’t fly, especially since she just watched her grandfather rebuild an entire ranch without anyone knowing. (Never mind that Claire has unlimited job security at her grandparents’ company no matter what she wears.)

Claire 2024 needs to show at least some of the qualities we watched Claire exhibit in 2023 if we are to invest in this newest Newman.