CBS; ABC
Lip Service: Y&R’s Sharon (Sharon Case) fantasized about Nick (Joshua Morrow), while Sonny (Maurice Benard) tried to shore up support for his custody bid.
The Best
Young and Restless: Sharon “kisses” Nick
After months of curiously lean screen time for Sharon, it looks like the show is finally poised to give the mega-popular player (and her portrayer, Sharon Case) a juicy story. Lately, she’s been having troubles with her “meds,” causing her to snap at Phyllis, dream about Cassie and… kiss Nick?! The scene came after a heart-to-heart between the ex-marrieds about their daughter Faith’s broken heart, how much they miss Cassie, and all the storms they have weathered together. Nick left to go to the office, then Sharon answered a knock at the door: It was Nick, back again to grab her into a passionate kiss.
Cut to Nick with his family at Newman Enterprises, making it clear that the smooch was not real — for them, anyway. It was a different story for viewers who thought it was loooong overdue. Sharon’s fantasy kiss with Nick was the talk of the Y&R fandom!
Bold and Beautiful: Brooke goes back to the “bedroom”
What better way to revisit a past story than by resurrecting an old feud? In 1998, Brooke donned a red teddy and pranced on a bed to launch the Brooke’s Bedroom line in front of eager customers, the press, and a very disapproving Stephanie Forrester.
Fast forward to today when B&B is retelling that story, subbing in Stephanie’s granddaughter Steffy to tsk-tsk the whole operation. They set it up perfectly, with Brooke expressing her fears about modeling underwear at her age and admitting she has qualms about donning lingerie in front of the camera again. Ridge argued that celebrating where she is now would be an empowering message to women (aka Forrester Creations’ target audience). Not so, said Steffy, chiming in with a snarky comment about how there are too many miles on Brooke’s bed. Brooke responded that she still has the red teddy that Stephanie found so scandalous — and Steffy’s father still loves it.
“Beauty is timeless,” pronounced Ridge. So is this storyline.
Days of our Lives: Theresa is finally busted
The biggest surprise at Theresa’s wedding to Alex wasn’t that her lies caught up with her, it was that Xander had a mother and she was the one to bust her. Fiona spilled that while she was married to Titus she had an affair with his brother Victor and they kept it quiet to keep peace in the Kiriakis family. Fiona wrote a letter confessing all but Theresa swiped it and changed the signature to Anjelica, making it look like Alex was Victor’s heir, not Xander (find out actor Paul Telfer’s feelings about this for Xander here). No amount of tears or apologies could get Alex to forgive Theresa; Brady and Maggie wrote her off, too. Theresa sobbing that she kidnapped Maggie’s granddaughter Victoria because she was “in over her head” with Konstantin didn’t move Maggie at all – until Theresa asked Maggie to drive her to the police station so she could turn herself in. After all Theresa’s criming, that felt like a favor Maggie could oblige.
Avery’s custody battle heats up on General Hospital
What do you get when two messed-up criminals go to court over their young daughter? A series of raucous (but hilarious) scenes suggesting that neither Sonny nor Ava is actually fit to raise Avery. There was Scotty asking Ava for a list of character witnesses: Alexis was a no, Nina was a no way, Ava’s got Laura and Trina, that’s it. “Help me help you!” begged her lawyer, Scotty. Ava suggested her new makeout buddy John Cates, but Scott dismissed him saying Ava has only known him 15 minutes. Fair point.
Across town, Diane had a similar problem with Sonny as the show revisited all the reasons why his other children can’t testify for him (Michael took a bullet for Sonny, Kristina saw him beat up Dex, Sonny shot Dante…) ending with Sonny asking his most recent ex-wife to stand up for him. “You’re on your own,” rebuffed Carly.
The dearth of solid witnesses combined with Sonny being off his meds is leading to a dramatic showdown where the only guarantee is that viewers will be the winner.
The Worst
GH’s Gay “Clean-Up” Misses The Mark
Perez Hilton made a name for himself by outing gay celebrities against their will. Though he has since disavowed his past slimy behavior, it is clear from how fans reacted online to his presence in Port Charles that GH underestimated how strongly its viewers would oppose him being given a platform on the show – especially in light of the storyline which was supposed to provide a pro-gay PR win for Blaze and Kristina. All the on-air talk afterward about how well their appearance went belied how fans felt about it, disappointed that the only gay couple currently on the show would choose a public figure like Hilton — whose actions were so damaging to the LGBTQ community for so long — to tell their story.
B&B’s Hope gets desperate
Something doesn’t add up regarding Hope’s recent behavior with Finn. She defends herself to Steffy as being nothing like her mother Brooke, yet she’s coming on to Steffy’s husband. She says she wants to put the Logan/Forrester feud behind them but asks the very married Finn if he can “make her dreams come true.” (Button your blouse, he retorted.)
If Hope has truly developed a crush on Finn, then all those tears over Thomas weren’t real. If she’s debasing herself to get revenge on Steffy, it’s a spectacular miscalculation since Hope, Steffy, Brooke, Ridge, Thomas and Paris all work at Forrester Creations and we all know Steffy won’t be the one to go. Hope needs to come up with a new plan for the future because this needy, desperate road she’s on is uncomfortable to watch.
Applause, Applause
GH did a great job remembering Luke on his birthday, giving his widow Tracy poignant scenes with her son Ned and Luke’s pal Sonny. We especially enjoyed the clever wink when Tracy said she went looking for Luke in Amsterdam (where Tony Geary is retired)… Traci and Alan’s tentative romance on Y&R is giving Beth Maitland a well-deserved story while also showcasing why she has long been the heart of the Abbott family.
Picky, Picky
During all the arguments between Y&R’s Kyle and Summer about the logistics of taking Harrison to Paris, no one mentioned navigating the Olympics, which opened the same week. Ditto DAYS’s Nicole and Eric moving to Paris as the games were airing — on Peacock, no less!… DAYS nutball Connie just wandering into the hospital room of stabbed police commissioner Rafe stretched credulity even for Salem.… Why did GH tease a teen romance between Charlotte and Jake if they were going to write both of them off?
