The Best And Worst On GH, Y&R, DAYS, B&B and BTG The Week Of Oct. 13-17
From General Hospital firing on all cylinders to The Young and the Restless turning into the bummer hour to a shocking reveal about Hayley on Beyond The Gates, here are our critics’ picks for the best and worst on soaps last week.
The Best
General Hospital: Shock, Shocker, Shockest!
GH was firing on so many cylinders last week it’s hard to pick a favorite.
As the week began, tension built regarding who would be arrested for Drew’s murder. Sonny and Carly fretted it was Michael, Curtis and Portia feared it would be them, and Carly and Nina accused each other (“You had so many reasons to shoot Drew,” sniped Carly to her rival). Surprise! Willow and Nina were apprehended, thanks to Nina’s bumbling efforts to give Willow a fake alibi. Willow’s conviction that someone planted Edward Quartermaine’s gun in her room at Elizabeth’s (both Carly and Michael had conveniently dropped by….) added a new layer to the whodunit.
Then, midweek, Cody stumbled on Ric being held hostage in Alexis’s basement and all hell broke loose. Ric came charging into the house to bust his captors (Alexis, Ava and Kristina, who he hilariously nicknamed “the coven”) but Molly arrived and Ric had to cover to avoid mutually assured destruction with his fellow law breakers. “I joined a cult,” he lied to Molly, saying it was all a bit hazy since he was drugged and got lost in the woods (!). Molly took her dad to the hospital and Ava celebrated that the coven was in the clear. “Ric is going to want revenge,” warned Alexis.
Rounding out the dramatic week was Jason telling Carly her daughter is in the WSB. Carly said no way but he proved it with details about Joss working undercover in Croatia, adding that it was Carly’s boyfriend Jack Brennan who recruited Carly’s daughter into the spy org. Carly destroyed the roses Jack sent her and looked ready to attack when her cagey beau showed up in the Friday tag.
November sweeps who?!
Bold and Beautiful: Electra Calls The Cops On Luna
Electra was strangely quiet when paternity results revealed her boyfriend Will had indeed fathered Luna’s baby (after Luna drugged Will and sexually assaulted him). As Will and his parents reeled from the bad news, Luna taunted Electra for her thoughts.
Just then, Chief Baker burst in. “You’re under arrest,” he announced to a shocked Luna. She argued (“I’m carrying a Spencer!”) but the B&B lawman was unmoved. Bill, Katie and Will smirked as Luna accused them of calling the police on her.
“No,” said Electra, stepping forward. “It was me.” Luna went mental, yelling that Electra only turned her in because she’s jealous Will “made love” to Electra first. Luna begged Will for help (he refused, duh) and Katie announced she and Bill would take custody of the baby after Luna gives birth.
Electra got the last word, slapping Luna in her “pathetic lying face” before the nut job was carted off — but it was a temporary victory. “I’m having a baby with a maniac,” rued Will.
Beyond The Gates: Hayley’s A Con Woman!
Whaddya know? Turns out Naomi’s “friend” — who lured Naomi’s father Bill away from her mother Dani and married him — has been playing them all this whole time. “When I first cozied up to Bill’s daughter at the gym I figured her runway relic of a mother would exit stage left,” Hayley recounted to her cousin Randy, who is in on the con. “Turns out she’s a cockroach, impossible to kill.”
So instead, Hayley plans to kill Bill. The crooked cousins recapped how they worked together to fake Hayley’s pregnancy (so Bill would set up a college fund) and then staged a miscarriage. They have full access to Bill’s bank accounts and his multi-million dollar life insurance policy, so the time is right to off him before he gets any closer to his ex-wife and/or grows suspicious. “We need to land this plane fast,” warned Hayley to her conspiratorial cuz.
She wasn’t kidding. The bride from hell immediately poisoned Bill’s birthday cupcake but the plan went awry when Naomi took a bite instead. She spit it out and blamed Hayley’s cooking skills, unaware it was her stepmother’s killing skills that need work. As Randy went on the hunt for a more effective way to off Bill, the clueless BTG lawyer was rhapsodizing about how committed he is to Hayley.
“Till death do us part,” purred Bill’s scheming wife.
Days of Our Lives: Tate Learns The Truth
After all those months of Sophia lying to her mother, playing Tate, messing with Holly, conspiring with DA Melinda Trask (of all people), the jig was finally up when Brady did a DNA test on her baby and proved Tate was not the father.
“How can this be?” asked an incredulous Tate. Brady detailed his findings to his son, allowing that the news was “a lot.” Tate was like we’ll talk later and took off for the airport to keep Holly from leaving for Paris.
“I love you, only you,” pleaded Tate as Holly prepared to board her plane. Holly argued that she couldn’t deal with the hold Sophia has on him via their child. Tate clued her in on the DNA test that absolved him of fatherhood and the DAYS duo reunited. Holly agreed to stay in Salem.
Sophia made a different choice. She disappeared, causing her overbearing mother to interrogate the people in Sophia’s orbit. That included Brady, who told Amy about the DNA test that proved Tate was not the father of Sophia’s baby. “I know my daughter doesn’t sleep around,” insisted Amy.
Umm…
The Worst
Young and Restless: The Bummer Hour
Mariah is catatonic. Noah is comatose after an accident. Nick is angry and wants answers. Sharon is sobbing. Victoria is mourning Cole. Lily and Nate are mourning Damian. Cane is full of empty threats. Kyle has lost it over Claire. Jill is upset. The only explanation for all this sadness and defeat is that Y&R is trying to attract more ads for anti-depressants.
The Mariah story is particularly baffling. A woman staring into space for months is not a story. The girl can’t put two sentences together and Tessa is bugging her to leave the sanitarium so she can come to Danny and Christine’s wedding? Mariah refused, saying she has to stay at the facility and work through the “process.” “What, falling further into depression than you already are?” questioned Tessa, vowing to get her wife out. “I have to do this alone, in here,” argued the downcast Mariah.
Cut to an entire Y&R episode of Victoria commiserating with Nate about the Newman family’s agony over Noah’s accident, combined with Nate’s loss of his newfound brother Damian. Talk turned to Cole’s death and Cassie’s long-ago car accident. Victoria said she thinks her family is cursed because the pain is overwhelming. “The pain never really goes away,” responded Nate.
And that’s the problem. Here’s hoping Phyllis can bring some pain relief during Chris and Danny’s wedding prep.
BTG: Leslie Is Turning Into A Cartoon
When BTG launched, Leslie/Dana/Whatever seemed like a proper soap villain. She sported a helmet that hid her identity to run Laura off the road while sauntering around town using aliases and donning wigs to get close to her former lover Ted (and his family). Two major events have happened since then: Leslie succeeded in blowing up Ted’s marriage to Nicole, and she inherited millions of dollars. But strangely, Leslie’s behavior hasn’t changed. She is still confronting the Duprees like a poor relation while blatantly stalking Dr. Ted Richardson.
“I thought my favorite doctor might be hungry so I thought I’d… satiate… your appetite,” she purred after busting into Ted’s office wearing her waitress uniform from their affair decades ago. Ted sputtered they’re in a hospital and need boundaries. Leslie pushed him onto his desk for a quickie.
Enter Ted’s daughter Kat which caused exactly zero embarrassment for Leslie. “I’m giving your daddy the daily special,” she cooed, rambling on about Kat’s father’s “chocolate sauce” (ew!).
The endless loop of Ted opening the door to Leslie and then ordering her to get out has grown tiresome, and her over-the-top dialogue is wearing thin. It’s disappointing, because Trisha Mann-Grant is a phenomenal actress whose gangbusters entrance proved her capable of so much more than skulking in hallways as Leslie/Dana/Whatever.
Move on!
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