The Best And Worst On BTG, B&B, DAYS, GH And Y&R The Week Of Aug. 18-22
From Leslie hitting the DNA jackpot on Beyond The Gates to Maxie’s health crisis touching so many on General Hospital and Claire embracing her Newman roots on The Young and the Restless, here are our critics’ picks for the best and worst on soaps last week.
The Best
Young and Restless: Claire Plays Hardball
Surprisingly, we can now add Claire to the short list of people who have bested Victor Newman. After months of arguing with her grandfather about her relationship with Kyle Abbott, she finally got through to him by just… turning her back on him.
“One word against Kyle and I walk out the door,” she asserted when Victor came (hat in hand) to the tack house to speak with her. The Mustache assured Claire he came in peace, and proved it by stating he would no longer stand between her and Kyle. It was a surprising change of heart in light of Victor’s hatred of the Abbotts, but understandable after he was vilified by Nikki and Victoria for the deal he made with Audra to seduce Kyle which blew up in his face.
Speaking of which, Claire also played hardball with Audra by sharing those details with Nate. “Your girlfriend made a deal with my grandfather for funding in exchange for getting Kyle to cheat on me — with her,” announced Claire to a disbelieving Nate (and an angry Audra). In the end, Nate believed Claire over his girlfriend, notching another win for Y&R‘s newest Newman.
“Who knew she had it in her?” snarked Audra.
General Hospital: Maxie’s Health Crisis
The show came up with a high-impact way to usher Kirsten Storms off the canvas by showcasing the tight and unbreakable bonds of family and friendship in Port Charles, and making strong use of history by referencing the miracle Felicia got with Maxie’s heart transplant back in 1994.
“What if her heart is tired and starting to wear out?” cried Felicia to Anna after Maxie collapsed and had to be revived. “It’s been decades!” Anna soothed her friend by saying miracles don’t have expiration dates, and that was just one of many deep, character-revealing conversations that sprung from Maxie’s plight. Mac and Cody, Tracy and Brook Lynn, Lulu and Obrecht, and especially Lulu and Brook Lynn put aside their differences (petty and otherwise) to showcase their best selves by coming together for Maxie and her children.
GH also went deep on the details (like when Cody stopped by Bobbie’s to pick up food for the loved ones keeping vigil at the hospital, and Nina brought flowers to her former sister-in-law), giving us much more than typical soap bedside monologues.
For a story we suspect the writers didn’t have a lot of time to plan, color us impressed.
Beyond The Gates: Leslie Cashes In
“I have arrived, and I plan on staying a long time,” gloated Leslie to Anita after revealing she was Barbara’s daughter and had therefore inherited the money Anita had set aside for her late singing partner’s family.
Anita didn’t believe her and called to confirm it, while Leslie danced around the house eying all the expensive pieces the Duprees owned that she could now afford. The women argued back and forth, with a disbelieving Anita saying this can’t be happening and Leslie responding that Anita was looking at what remains of Barbara’s family. The argument escalated to Leslie saying Anita had “destroyed” Barbara; Anita slapped her. Enter Vernon to cool things down.
Leslie then went to the bank to get big money bills she could throw at Ted (ostensibly to pay him back for the dough he had given her and Eva) and urged Eva to join her on a shopping spree. “Money is money, not magic,” cautioned Leslie’s daughter. Next up: Joining Fairmont Crest Country Club and asking Vanessa to find her a new house in BTG‘s exclusive community. “I want to live behind the gates,” ordered the new millionaire.
Days of Our Lives: Rachel Shot EJ
After months of “Who shot EJ?” the truth came out after his memory was jogged by Marlena yelling “What are you doing?” to a misbehaving Rachel — who then dropped the glass paperweight, with the sound mimicking a gunshot in EJ’s mind. Those events caused EJ to flash back to the night of the shooting when he also asked Rachel, “What are you doing?” after she pointed a gun at him and demanded to know where her Grandma Rachel was. “My worst fears are confirmed,” shuddered Marlena.
Soon, so were Kristen’s. EJ recounted to his sister how Johnny had actually put the gun down; Rachel picked it up and it went off. “I know it was an accident, but it happened,” he asserted. Marlena diagnosed Rachel with dissociative Amnesia (which means she doesn’t remember the shooting because her conscious mind is protecting her) and Kristen begged EJ not to go to the police. He responded he won’t sacrifice his son for her daughter. So Kristen made a bold move: She burst into the DAYS courtroom at the 11th hour, yelling, “Stop! I’m the one who shot my brother!”
Cue Brady later turning up in her cell with a hateful look, unaware Kristen was lying to protect their daughter…
The Worst
Bold and Beautiful: Mistake Sex Again?
“Mistaken identity sex” is extremely problematic, and B&B goes to this well far too often. In 2015, Thomas slept with a drunk, medicated and clearly impaired Caroline (resulting in the conception of Douglas). In 2024, Zende slept with a drugged Luna, who mistook him for her boyfriend RJ (which was later retconned after intense backlash as a nefarious plot on Luna’s part). And now Luna has taken a page from those playbooks and had sex with Will Spencer after serving him an odorless alcohol to get him drunk and knowing Will thought she was his girlfriend, Electra.
“Tonight’s the night, Will,” whispered Luna, who was sporting a mask similar to the one Electra had been wearing at the party as she entered the room where Deacon had put an overserved Will to bed. The sex was dark and hazy, filmed to make it clear that Will was out of it. “Some things are blurry but that’s a night I’m never going to forget,” beamed Will to Deacon the next morning, thinking of Electra.
Later, at work, Will thanked Electra for coming back to his room; she said she didn’t and a look of horror crossed his face. “I gave Will exactly what that prissy Electra Forrester is never going to give him,” bragged Luna to her giggly approving grandmother Sheila.
When it’s played with one party knowing the other party doesn’t realize who they’re having sex with, there’s a word for that: rape. Rape should never be introduced into a plot without treating it as what it is — a serious social issue — and approaching it with the sensitivity that demands. Sadly, so far we see no signs of the show doing either.
Y&R: Death Means Nothing
Why on earth would Y&R kill legacy character Chance Chancellor along with promising newcomer Damian Kane in that cockamamie “Let’s drink booze on a train in Nice” story and not get any dramatic value from their funerals?
It’s an absolute insult that Nina and Jill were not brought back for a Genoa City-wide goodbye to Chance, who was the show’s only detective and last remaining Chancellor. He was also Lauren’s nephew, Abby’s ex-husband and a former love interest of Sharon, Chloe and Summer who could have all upped the ante if the show had scripted a proper exit. Yes, Chance has been played by a revolving door of actors, and yes, his portrayer, Conner Floyd, took a job on DAYS. But put the guy in a coma until you can recast if you’re not going to give him a proper sendoff.
Ditto Damian, who turned out to be Nate’s half brother and was a believable new love interest for Lily. He got an off-screen service in Chicago and poof, he was gone.
“I wonder if Cane ever thinks if it was all worth it,” speculated Lily. “Damian, Chance, hurting me…” We could ask the same of Y&R — because it is not worth killing a major character if you’re not going to milk the drama.
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