The Best And Worst On GH, Y&R, DAYS, B&B and BTG The Week Of Oct. 6-10
From a touching milestone tribute for Jennifer on Days of our Lives to Tracy taking charge on General Hospital and Jill’s much-needed return on Young and Restless, here are our critics’ picks for the best and worst on soaps last week.
The Best
Young and Restless: Jill Returns
Jill Abbott came back to a hornet’s nest in Genoa City, but she was up to the challenge. She quickly learned Cane was in possession of AI software that could destroy the town’s leading companies, and Y&R’s A-listers wanted her to intervene. Nikki accused Jill of being complicit in Cane’s nefarious activities since she knew he was Aristotle Dumas and kept quiet. Victor echoed his wife, revealing that Cane’s father Colin had swindled an elderly woman out of her fortune, and Cane used that money to create his empire.
“Was Arabesque built on fraud?” Jill asked Cane, going straight to the source. He hedged, saying Victor thinks so. Jill pointed out that Cane is all alone and Lily entered to prove it, saying Newman Media had just published a hit piece on him and Cane hadn’t even given her or the kids a heads-up that it was coming.
Jill also sparred with her former stepson/lover, Jack, with the underlying message being that she must keep Cane from releasing his “digital hand grenade.”
If Jill can get through to Cane, reasoned Jack, he and Diane won’t have to work with Victor anymore. “Go, Jill, go!” cheered Diane.
Days of Our Lives: Jennifer Celebrates 40 Years
Fans love anniversary specials, and this DAYS one delivered. The premise was that Jennifer needed to interview Julie about Grandpa Tom in preparation for the opening of The Dr. Tom Horton Free Clinic. That opened the door to Jenn’s memories.
“It’s been 40 years since I came back to Salem,” she mused, recalling that she had just been looking for a temporary place to land but wound up finding a lifelong home. She flashed back to skipping tests at school and complaining to Tom and Alice that the other girls hated her. Julie brought out scrapbooks recovered from Aunt Marie after the fire, which lead to memories of the advice Jenn got from Alice when Jenn fell in love with Frankie. They also reminisced about Jenn’s first story for The Spectator — and Jack. Flashbacks of their wacky courtship ensued, including the Cruise of Deception and Jack kidnapping her from her wedding to Emilio on a firetruck.
The downside of the episode was that the action kept shifting to Chad and Cat, the woman who impersonated Jack and Jenn’s late daughter, Abigail. “I can’t forgive her,” admitted Jennifer (nor should she!). On the plus side? By the end of the episode, Chad had taken his former mother-in-law’s advice and dumped Cat.
“I am so happy to have all you Hortons back together,” beamed Jennifer as Chad entered with her grandchildren.
Past Hortons and present!
Beyond The Gates: Nicole Moves On
With a train wreck like Dani for a sister, the spotlight is rarely on Nicole’s problems. But now that her marriage to Ted has imploded, Nicole is tentatively agreeing to spend time with Ted’s business partner Carlton — and Dani wanted the tea.
“Carlton and I are just friends,” insisted Nicole. Dani didn’t buy it, saying Carlton is “hot buttered toast with cinnamon on top” who looks at Nicole with bedroom eyes. Nicole denied that, saying she’s done with love, has a very demanding career, is too old to start over, blah blah. The rug got pulled out when her marriage ended, and Nicole is never going to fall like that again.
Oh hell no, replied Dani, asserting there is room for only one emotional hurricane in the Dupree family and that’s her. “Your heart is too big to close,” summed up BTG’s true hurricane.
A talk with her mom went the same way, with Anita saying she’s seen the spark in Nicole’s eye lately and it’s time for her to get dressed up and date. Wellllll, allowed Nicole, she “hasn’t minded” spending time with Carlton.
Baby steps…
General Hospital: Tracy Takes Charge
Tracy has faced a series of challenges since Monica died, the biggest being Monica leaving the Q mansion to her sudden sister Ronnie. Tracy immediately tried to vanquish Ronnie, pronouncing her a con woman and asking Lulu to investigate the interloper. She also announced she will officially contest Monica’s will. (“I thought you might,” responded Alexis dryly.)
While that drama was going on, Anna showed up at the Q’s with a search warrant looking for the gun that shot Drew, which, it turned out, was registered to Tracy’s late father, Edward. Not so fast, said the home’s new owner. Ronnie found a typo in the warrant that temporarily stopped the search, which earned street cred from some of the doubting family members. “You really came through,” praised Jason. Harrumph, growled Tracy,
On other fronts, Tracy is covering for Michael (who she thinks shot Drew) and had to deal with Martin threatening her with a lawsuit for banishing Drew from Monica’s funeral. She laughed in Martin’s face; Edward would be proud.
While the Q scion works hard to control the problems facing her GH family, there’s one Quartermaine beyond Tracy’s reach. “How I wish you were here,” she said to Monica’s photo, “so I could wring your scrawny little neck!”
The Worst
Bold and Beautiful: Luna Skates Again
In what universe do you murder two people, get state pardoned for a federal crime without a trial, kidnap and shoot two more people, “die,” and then resurface like “Hey I’m pregnant, all good”?
In the universe of Luna Nozawa, clearly. Every show needs villains, and B&B had a good one in Luna after they pivoted her from “poor drugged girl who had mistake sex with her boyfriend’s cousin” to maniacal criminal. The problem here is they’ve pushed her past all logic and reason. Luna’s current existence at Bill’s house depends on the cops never following up on her crimes, no one noticing there was no body or death certificate, Li lying that she died while in recovery at the hospital and secretly moving her to a makeshift-hospital room at a hotel, and her victims and their families being fine with Luna getting away with all of it just because she got pregnant (after sexually assaulting Will).
“Luna should be in jail, but instead she’s living large at Bill’s house,” boomed an angry Ridge.
Make it make sense!
DAYS: Sophia = Every Teen Soap Cliché
How many soap stereotypes can you fit into one teenager? If it’s newcomer Sophia Choi, a lot. The teen seduced Tate, lied that he was the father of her baby, delivered her baby alone, faked continued pregnancy, dropped the baby at a firehouse, drugged Holly and took racy photos of her, sent the pics to Holly’s professor (who is trying to adopt Sophia’s baby), lied, cheated, and fooled the police — and she did it all alone. Well, mostly — she did have some help from local district attorney Melinda Trask who inexplicably risked her career to brainstorm with the manipulative teen.
She’s also made a dope out of potential leading man Tate Black. “I’m sorry to drop this on you but Holly is seeing an older, married guy,” Sophia lied to Tate, referring to Johnny DiMera (the innocent recipient of the provocative pics Sophia sent from Holly’s phone). She wasn’t sorry, she was positively gleeful — and it was obvious. Tate said he found Holly’s affair hard to believe when he should have found it impossible. Is Tate even worthy of Holly at this point?
Unlike some other soaps, DAYS has a very promising group of young people from core families on the canvas. Surely there’s a more convincing story for them than newbie Sophia continually fooling them.
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