DAYS’s Philip (John-Paul Lavoisier), BTG’s Leslie (Trisha Mann-Grant), GH’s Lulu (Alexa Havins) and B&B’s Hope (Annika Noelle, with Scott Clifton as Liam) grabbed our attention this week.

The Best

General Hospital: Lulu Figures It Out

Lulu learned in March that Brook Lynn gave birth to Dante’s son 22 years ago and she’s been looking for that boy ever since. Lulu had already figured out that Gio was born in California (where Brook Lynn had her baby) and grilled Ned on the months his daughter had missed school. But it was Lois’s forceful defense of Gio to Dante that was a light-bulb moment for Lulu, who immediately investigated the adoption agency Lois said they used — and discovered it had closed long before Brook Lynn gave birth.

“I think Dante’s son is Gio Palmieri,” Lulu announced to Dante’s best friend Cody, who was initially skeptical. He pointed out that Gio is a good kid with no parents, Lois helped raise him, and Brook Lynn watched him grow up — so the way they treat him “is more Bensonhurst than anything else.” Lulu wasn’t buying it. She noted that Lois is protective of Gio in a way that goes well beyond family-adjacent, and her having handled the private adoption — paired with Gio’s mother being a Cerullo — is all the proof Lulu needed. Cody, who recently found out his own childhood was a lie (his bio dad turned out to be Mac Scorpio), then agreed to support Lulu investigating Gio’s “so-called mother” Camila, who is dead.

In soaps, smart characters are often scripted to miss what’s right in front of them for the sake of dragging out the unearthing of a secret. We’re here for how quickly Lulu put two and two together. With her seemingly on the verge of getting the verification she’s after, what could possibly go wrong? A lot.

Beyond The Gates: Leslie Turns On Eva

How low can this woman go? Rock bottom’s got nothin’ on Leslie/Dana/whatever her name is. We watched her run Laura’s car off the road to secure her daughter, Eva, a job with Nicole and Ted and then ruin their anniversary party by spilling that she gave birth to Ted’s illegitimate daughter… Eva. When the poor girl reached out to her newfound dad, Leslie responded by throwing her out, refusing to acknowledge Eva’s birthday (“it slipped my mind”) and responding to Ted’s request that they celebrate their daughter’s birthday together with a shocking diss.

“Why would I do that after she betrayed me?” spit Leslie, adding that she curses the day Eva was born because she selfishly ripped Leslie’s world in two; she is nothing more than a reminder of the life Leslie could have had with Ted. “Who says monsters are only in fairy tales?” responded a horrified Ted.

Truth! But BTG has hit pay dirt with actress Trisha Mann-Grant, who jumps off the screen as a classic, old-school villainess sinking lower every day. That snake necklace Leslie wears isn’t decoration — it’s a warning!

Bold and Beautiful: Hope Learns The Truth

It didn’t seem right that Liam would be dying and only one of his two great loves would know about it. Clearly, Steffy agreed, so she broke the news to her archrival Hope against his wishes.

“Liam doesn’t want anyone to know,” shared Steffy. Hope went right to fight mode, insisting they could help him find specialists and get a second, third, fourth opinion. Steffy said Liam’s brain tumor was not treatable, which left his ex-wives commiserating about the daughters they each share with him having to grow up without their dad. It was a rare moment of camaraderie for these enemies as they agreed to support Liam and get through his illness “as family.”

Liam later popped over to Hope’s and soon realized her nostalgic talk and tear-stained face could only add up to one thing: “You know, don’t you?” The exes discussed Hope’s desire that they spend more time together. Liam said the end is near but Hope couldn’t accept that, saying, “You still have a future with Beth and me.”

Unfortunately for Hope, Carter was listening at her (open) front door and misunderstood. Taking a page from his buddy Ridge, Carter chose to turn to another woman rather than ask his supposed true love Hope for clarification. “I’m here for you, now and always,” purred Daphne. How do you say interloper in French?

Days of Our Lives: Philip Snoops and… Oops!

Philip Kiriakis has been making some pretty bad decisions lately. Most recently, he lined up a lab employee named Kevin to steal a lucrative sepsis-curing drug from the hospital so he could file a patent for it. “High risk, high reward,” Philip bragged to Kevin, adding that a dose of Versavex could change their fortunes and save his brother Bo’s life.

A dose? Yes. The entire batch? No. But that’s what happened when Kevin heard someone trying to break into the lab — he panicked and ran out with all the test tubes. Philip ordered Kevin to keep one dose and put the rest back, but Dr. Russell beat Kevin back to the lab, so that was a no-go. Philip’s next problem was that Steve and Shawn were also plotting to get their hands on the Versavex (they were the ones breaking in when Kevin had to flee) and their investigation showed Kevin was the culprit.

But the real problem arose when Xander accused Philip of being behind the theft and he just… admitted it. Philip insisted he was trying to thwart EJ’s efforts to access the drug while also benefiting Xander and saving Bo but, as usual, the hot-headed Aussie went right to violence. “I’m going to kill you,” he raged at Philip. Thwack!

John-Paul Lavoisier has been really fun to watch in this go-round as Philip, never more so than in his scenes opposite Paul Telfer (Xander). Keeping these two in close storyline proximity is a smart move.

The Worst

BTG: Derek and Ashley Are Zzzzzz

They have no chemistry, no sense of humor, no interaction with the Dupree A-listers, and they complain about each other constantly. Despite that, Derek moved into Ashley’s apartment where they have arguments like her kicking him in her sleep and him not being neat enough.

“This was my first place, I picked it myself,” said Ashley by way of explaining why his presence was bugging her. “You picked me, too,” retorted Derek. They vented to their best friends Naomi and Jacob, which went nowhere, and then Derek got the bright idea to ambush Ashley at the hospital to suggest they move to a bigger apartment. (Yeah, because this move worked out so well.) Ashley just walked away.

On paper, the nurse and the firefighter probably looked like a great addition to the hospital staff, but these two are getting too much screen time for the story they’ve been given. Ashley’s mild flirtations with Andre looked promising, but once we saw Andre sizzle between the sheets with Dani there was no going back. With the rest of the show firing on all cylinders (Sex! Shootings! Splits!) it’s time for this slower tale to go back to the gates for a reboot.

Young and Restless: Victor Bullies Claire

In what universe does a grandfather “forbid” his 25 year-old granddaughter from moving in with her 35 year-old boyfriend, particularly when all of the parents involved support the move? Jack and Diane told Kyle to go for it; ditto Victoria and Cole with Claire. But there’s Victor raging that the hatred between the Abbotts and Newmans is so insurmountable that Claire must dump Kyle immediately. (Reminder: Victor’s other granddaughter Summer was married to Kyle for years and he had no problem with it.)

“Grampa is dead set against us,” Claire explained to her incredulous mother about why she and Kyle postponed their new living arrangement. Victoria was outraged, accusing Nikki of encouraging Claire to give in to Victor’s intimidation and telling her daughter not to put her happiness on hold for anyone: “I am so angry that Dad continues to manipulate everyone in this family!”

Why is Victoria the only person making sense in this story? There’s a creepy “Well, you know how Victor is” vibe running through it like it’s okay for an 80 year-old man to keep his grown granddaughter from having an intimate relationship. Victoria and Claire even touched on that, saying Victor would prefer Claire not date anyone unless he could “personally” pick the man for her, which is borderline cultish.

Victor Newman is a powerful business leader and caring family man, but his fixation on Claire’s love life is sliding into the “ick” category — and it makes no sense in 2025.