The Best
Days of Our Lives: Goodbye, John
How do you pay tribute to a mainstay of Days Of Our Lives for 38 of the soap’s 60 years? By celebrating John Black’s dedication to his job and unwavering loyalty to family and friends while also tipping a hat to his beloved portrayer, the late Drake Hogestyn.
John’s son Brady did both, evoking laughs at his memorial service by listing the creative ways John (and Drake) used one eyebrow to convey his thoughts. There was the conspiratorial eyebrow, the suspicious eyebrow, and the “Hmmm, interesting” eyebrow which Brady illustrated by imitating John. In a nod to Abe and Steve, he added that John saved his “Make my day” eyebrow for his enforcement work. Growing serious, Brady talked about how amnesiac John didn’t know who he was for many years yet still managed to build a beautiful life and family. “But I always knew who he was,” smiled Brady. “The world’s greatest dad.”
Paul reminded the group that John was a baseball player, another nod to Drake who proudly signed with the NY Yankees farm team in the 1970s. Eric, Roman, Kayla, Belle and Carrie shared warm stories and Bo showed up at the end to praise his one-time brother. Marlena concluded the homage with, “We had obstacles but our love brought us through. Good night, my love.” The whole week was a master class in using flashbacks and honoring history, a fitting DAYS tribute to both character and actor. “To John Black,” toasted an emotional Steve, “without a doubt the finest man I ever knew.”
General Hospital: Michael Wins Custody, Willow Loses It
Both parents cheated and did dicey things to gain custody, but only one allowed themselves to be gaslighted into thinking the other had no right to their children — and that cost Willow her kids on General Hospital. Walking into the courtroom, Jason asked Diane what her gut instinct was on the impending verdict. “The woman with whom you cheated on your wife gave birth to your baby during your custody hearing,” Diane scolded Michael. “That’s not a good look.” It was a better look, however, than the one Willow presented to the judge. She cited Willow moving the children four different times, transporting Wiley across state lines without permission, and, ahem, having sex on their playroom floor with their father’s uncle as the reasons she awarded Michael full custody.
Willow fell to the floor screaming in Nina’s arms, never once turning her ire on the manipulative Drew who had set her loss in motion. (His lies have yet to surface.) She wound up in the hospital with the only two people left in her corner arguing outside her room. “If you truly love Willow as much as you say you do,” spit Nina to Drew, “you’ll walk away.”
Beyond The Gates: Kat’s On The Case!
Kat is determined to get evidence against Leslie for running her pal Laura off the road, and her scheming makes Beyond The Gates fun to watch. Well, fun for everyone but her cousin’s husband Jacob who is the cop assigned to the case. The helmet and gloves Leslie was wearing when she committed the crime were removed from her apartment by Eva, stolen back by Kat, re-planted in Leslie’s home, and discovered by Jacob during a second search warrant prompted by a suggestion from thorn-in-his-side Kat.
Jacob suspected the evidence was planted which it was… sort of… but he brightened when the helmet matched a video of the crime. The judge ruled he couldn’t collect Leslie’s DNA so Kat went to work, luring Jacob to Orphey Gene’s where he accused her of having more in common with conniving Leslie than she thinks. “Comparing me to Satan in a wig?” scoffed Kat. “All will become clear.”
Indeed, the duo sat and watched as Mona tricked Leslie into wiping her mouth with a napkin (aka her DNA) and Kat sashayed over to put it in a plastic bag for Jacob. The exasperated cop could only shake his head at this Nancy Drew wannabe — but he had what he needed to bust Leslie.
Young and Restless: He’s Victor And He Knows Things
It’s been six months of endless angst and speculation waiting for the mysterious Aristotle Dumas to appear on Young and Restless but one person has been business as usual the whole time: Victor Newman. He’s scheming with Audra to bring Kyle down, forcing Adam to use Newman Media to go after Billy, and toying with anyone who gets in his way. His latest victim was Chelsea, who offered info in exchange for The Mustache going easy on Billy. It did not go well.
“Tucker McCall is Dumas,” she announced triumphantly. Chelsea’s calculated guess was based on Dumas’s contacts in Genoa City basically being a list of Tucker’s enemies. Victor praised her logic but dismissed her conclusion, saying he happened to know Tucker McCall has spent the last six months in a prison in India. “I guess it would be hard to throw a party in Nice then,” responded a defeated Chelsea. Victor circled back to Chelsea’s desire to protect Billy Abbott, saying her job is to protect her current partner Adam. When Chelsea asked who Dumas was, he shut her down with a cold have a nice day. As the Newmans prepared to fly to Nice for the tycoon’s cryptic bash, Nikki confided she felt like they were being lead into the lion’s den. “I’ve dealt with bigger fish,” downplayed Victor.
The Worst
Bold and Beautiful: Security? What Security?
Luna has ominously warned Sheila, Deacon, Poppy, Steffy and Finn that she blames Steffy for her lack of a relationship with her bio dad Finn on Bold and Beautiful. Steffy knows she’s at risk but has been repeatedly assured that her loved ones will protect her from Finn’s lunatic daughter. “I promise I will do whatever it takes to keep Steffy safe,” vowed her dad Ridge (who has done absolutely nothing to keep Steffy safe). Finn echoed Ridge, promising the Forresters he’ll guard Steffy at all costs. So how is there no protection anywhere after all those assurances?
“I walked into their house,” Luna bragged to Remy. “The door wasn’t even locked!” Finn allows her to stay every time she gets in and then tells her to leave, which makes about as much sense as convicted murderer Luna being able to get a gun and fire at giant photos of Steffy in a public shooting range. That’s some crack security team the Forresters have there. Obviously something bad is coming for the fashionista but it would be so much more believable when it happens if Luna had been confronting Steffy and Finn in a parking lot or restaurant rather than just breezing through their front door. “What are you doing in my home?” demanded a shocked Steffy. Exactly.
DAYS: Tate and Holly Fizzle
Star-crossed teenagers Tate and Holly faced great opposition when they started dating after he was wrongly blamed for her drug overdose and they were caught in a hotel on prom night. Then Holly turned on Tate (after his dad Brady was accused of hitting Sarah) and Tate turned to Sophia who wound up pregnant. It was a pretty standard teen triangle until newcomer Doug III entered the mix. The foursome ping-ponged between misunderstandings (Tate caught an innocent Doug in Holly’s room and punched him, etc.) and then Arianna returned to Salem making it a party of five when she jumped into bed with Doug III.
Who are we rooting for here? There was Arianna confiding to her cousin Tate that she was in trouble with her parents because she had fun with “a guy who shall remain nameless.” Not exactly a ringing endorsement for Doug III who used to have a thing for Holly who used to have a thing for Tate who also had a thing for Holly who recently seemed to like Doug III. Where are they now on those feelings?
We get why the Tate/Holly/Sophia pregnancy story moved back burner during John’s meaningful farewell, but diminishing the young people so drastically lessens the interest when Sophia finally gives birth.
