Howard Wise/jpistudios.com
Farewell Tour: B&B’s Ridge (Thorsten Kaye) was the oblivious to Taylor’s (Rebecca Budig) obvious.
It’s great when soaps give a new twist to a classic soap story. It’s not so great when they just repeat themselves.
There was B&B’s Taylor on a farewell tour, keeping her terminal diagnosis secret while babbling about now precious life is and how you have to seize every moment and how lucky Ridge and Brooke are to have such a long life ahead of them.
Taylor (to Ridge): “Life is a gift!”
That’s a red flag, people. So how come the only people picking up on Taylor’s malaise were Logans?
Hope: “Has your mother mentioned why she came back?”
Steffy: “To be close to me and her grandchildren.”
Hope: “You sure that’s the only reason?”
Hope’s mother also got bad vibes.
Brooke: “I hope everything is all right with Taylor.”
Ridge: “I’m sure it is.”
Brooke: “Something is off. She should be thrilled that she’s back here. Why isn’t she happier?”
It’s curious that Taylor’s family was oblivious while her enemies were on it… Ridge didn’t get a clue until Taylor collapsed, and then she forbade Ridge from taking her to the hospital or telling Steffy.
Taylor: “I have heart failure. I’m dying.”
This would be a clever way to push exes Ridge and Taylor together (to Brooke’s chagrin) if we hadn’t just watched this story told with Eric Forrester.
Ridge: “Dad did the exact same thing; kept it a secret. He thought he was dying.”
Whatever Taylor’s “Broken Heart Syndrome” turns out to be (that’s a new one!) here’s hoping Steffy and Thomas are part of the story.
For a new twist on the old “Let’s get mom and dad back together” story, look no further than the recently returned Will Spencer. Bill is all up in Katie’s grill trying to “reunite” their family — the family he destroyed when he cheated on Katie with her sister — and their son wants no part of it.
Will: “If you’re even thinking of getting back with Dad, don’t do it for me.”
Now, that’s refreshing!
Speaking of refreshing, I really thought the story of Sharon killing Heather was a cool dream. Y&R set it up well as Daniel told Lucy he saw only good things ahead while Sharon was in his apartment poisoning his booze. The logic went downhill from there. 1) Fancy high-rises have cameras and there’s no way security (or a neighbor) wouldn’t have seen Sharon drag a body out to the hall, down the elevator, and into her trunk. 2) Most lovers/families track each other’s phones, and Sharon turning off Heather’s location would have been a red flag to Daniel when he checked Heather’s phone — which was in Sharon’s pocket.
This murder tale would have worked 30 years ago (when David Kimble was on his killing spree), but not in 2024 when smartphones and cameras are everywhere. Y&R is usually more modern, like giving OG moguls laptops so Kyle can steal proprietary Jabot info from Diane and give it to Victor. Diane deserves that for writing off her child. Usually it’s the dad (Victor/Adam, Jack/Keemo, Paul/Ricky), but there she was, tough-loving Kyle right out of the family.
Diane: “We need to find a replacement for Kyle. The position needs to be filled. Jabot will be a laughingstock.”
Jack: “No one’s laughing at Jabot under my watch.”
Diane: “Under our watch, Jack.”
Jack: “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you care more about the company than you do about our son.”
Bingo. The Newmans have a similar dynamic going on, with Nick close to his mom while Victoria emulates their mercurial father. Victor was furious that Victoria offered to buy Billy out of the company he wants to raid and demanded to know how she could defy him.
Victoria: “Look in the mirror. I asked myself, ‘What would my father do?’”
WWVD!
Over on GH, Ned got wise to Willow smooching her husband’s uncle — which was funny since Ned had an affair with his uncle Alan’s wife, Monica, back in the 1980s (and then nearly married her daughter Dawn). Now it’s Willow/Drew at the Quartermaine mansion, and Michael has no clue.
Ned: “I don’t trust Drew. He is going to take what he wants.”
Michael: “I have seen nothing to indicate that.”
Ned: “Keep your eyes open. I will never trust him and if you were smart you wouldn’t either.”
Indeed. Drew followed Willow to the boathouse in the same episode, which made her uncomfortable, so naturally the mansplainer told her how to feel.
Willow: “I need you to leave me alone.”
Ned’s unease with his cousin was quickly borne out.
James: “If kissing makes people happy why would it make Willow sad? What does guilty mean?”
Ned: “That you feel bad about something. What does this have to do with a kiss?”
James: “I heard Willow tell Aunt Nina that she felt guilty about kissing Drew.”
Out of the mouths of babes!
What if the new twist is poking fun at classic soap stories? Body and Soul has it all, from divas pushing their weight around to actors complaining about their stories to the head writer. But sometimes this DAYS soap-within-a-soap is over the top. Leo went from gossip columnist to head writer (no), the actors are Salem lunatics with no training (no), and they’re shooting hospital scenes in a real hospital (never).
However, let’s review all the stories that do ring true: Johnny being jealous of his wife kissing her co-star… head writer Leo sucking up to EP Abe… leading lady Hattie walking around in sweats and hair rollers… Roman lecturing Hattie and Bonnie about the dedicated cast and crew working their butts off… EPs Kate and Abe talking about “problematic talent,” like Bonnie giving the classic “my character would never do that!” speech, which gets actors fired in real life.
Bonnie: “I need to protect Cassandra.”
Leo: “She isn’t real.”
I especially enjoyed the clever wink when DAYS hospital boss Seth made a cameo on B&S as Dr. Blake Ramoray, a shout out to Joey Tribbiani’s role on FRIENDS.
Wouldn’t it be nice if two people in a small town could save a beloved soap opera? That would be the best twist of all.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
