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Worst Love TriangleThe Bold And The Beautiful’s Taylor, Ridge, Brooke. Here’s the thing, I like all these actors, I’d have no problem watching them play out a triangle for the rest of their lives if it was done with intelligence. Like why erase Taylor’s checkered history when that’s what makes her interesting? B&B seemingly doesn’t care about history or logic or anything that gets in the way of telling a story in as lazy a fashion as necessary to quickly churn out a script. I suppose when a leading soap publication declares one of those lazy tales (where a body was moved from the hospital and revived seemingly without the police noticing that they didn’t have a murder victim) the best story of the year, I guess that would make writers feel like dumbing down is more than acceptable. Except its not. It’s not okay that Ridge didn’t tell Brooke why he broke up with her, as if anyone in his position wouldn’t have confronted a person trying to take his grandson away. Instead of spending weeks simply wringing her hands, repeatedly wondering what happened, once accused Brooke could have been proactive, tried to clear her name, maybe even gotten help from Bill and/or Deacon so that their eventual proposals could have at least had some present day context. But no, a proactive Brooke would have meant writing fresh scenes with fresh dialogue instead of recycling scenes over and over. Also, had all the cards been on the table, the writers couldn’t as easily have framed Ridge as a jerk which they needed to do for Taylor and Brooke’s sudden empowerment epiphany which felt more like bowing to social media pressure than anything character driven, such an about face for these two women could only happen with Ridge painted as a villain and the two of them as his fragile female victims. Except anyone actually familiar with these characters knows that Taylor and Brooke aren’t saints and they aren’t victims, they’ve contributed as much to their own unhappiness and Ridge’s as he has, look no further than how these two women have had sex with nearly every male in Ridge’s family, did he force them to do that? This triangle this year has been just plain insulting to the viewer’s intelligence from every angle, to pretend like Brooke and Taylor haven’t been made their own bad choices all along of their own free will, to suggest that grown up adults would encourage mommy and daddy to be in relationships that have proven poisonous (not just Steffy and Thomas, Hope too, with her insane longing for Brooke to be with Deacon), or to have a weird bordering on creepy “chase” through the woods in Colorado, not because it made sense but because B&B wanted to maintain their tradition of chase scenes on location. It’s the height of laziness and a lack of respect for the viewers to wipe away character histories, to ignore the way actual human beings would react in a given situation and just in general to allow for giant plot holes all in service of keeping the writing process easier, of being able to shove stories in whatever direction needed rather than having to take a moment to stop and think as to whether any of it computes and whether it’s included the complicated histories and emotions that should play a part in a story. If forced to actually abide by history and abide by who the characters are, then inevitably you’re going to have to get more creative with how you usher a story along and write your way out of corners, creativity is actually a good, invigorating thing that that viewers would enjoy, but hey, no, whatever is easiest, right B&B?Best Portrayal of GriefBilly Flynn (Chad, Days Of Our Lives). Drunk and disorderly, a mix of belligerent and a weeping mess, railing against the unfairness of it all one moment, sobbing on his best friend’s shoulder the next. The short temper with his kids and not knowing what to say to them or how to be okay around them. The gutting disappointment every time they cleared a suspect of murder and the tour de force confrontation with the actual murderer, Clyde, that was so powerful, so drenched in anger and sadness, so very much a committed performance that elevated Billy Flynn into a place among daytime’s elite actors.Most Disappointing StoryRebecca Herbst’s 25th Anniversary (Elizabeth, General Hospital). When Elizabeth first had the incidents with her wedding dress, her wedding ring, and other Franco related stuff, I had this glimmer of hope that maybe he’d return from the dead. However, all of that was written off as a combination of medication and mental health, so I thought okay, it’s not Franco but a struggle with mental health to the point of hospitalization could be the really juicy story Herbst deserves for her twenty-fifth year on the show. Only instead of intense counseling sessions and interractions with fellow troubled patients we got a couple visits from family and friends (would we call Maxie her friend?) and a talk (not a session) in a public space with Kevin, otherwise the majority of Elizabeth’s stay occurred off-screen. Then of course because GH is trying too hard to make blah couples happen, instead of Liz leaning on her best friend and father-in-law for support, Finn, barely her boyfriend was given more airtime fretting and meddling than Elizabeth was given to handle her own well-being. The cherry on this inedible sundae was supposed to come at long last when we were to finally see Elizabeth with her parents and find out what lay at the heart of their rift, but the casting underwhelmed (I can think of so many soap vets who would have brought so much to it like Stephen Schnetzer) and to discover the absurd story behind the estrangement that for some nonsensical reason involved Finn’s dead wife (a timeline that doesn’t at all work). Ultimately it felt like GH never really had a plan for this story, like they were just continuously winging it and unfortunately they winged it right into a brick wall rather than write something that would have allowed the talented Herbst to soar in her anniversary year.
Most Realistic PerformanceMelissa Claire Egan (Chelsea, The Young and The Restless). Melissa Claire Egan and Y&R’s writing team combined forces in a raw and real way to show a woman so absolutely drowning in her mental health struggles that she would have jumped off a roof had Billy not intervened. Chelsea’s body language, her lack of attention to her appearance, her confidence beaten down by the voices in her head pummeling her with all her past mistakes made for riveting, truthful television that all involved should be proud of portraying.Best EuphemismThe Bold and The Beautiful, Pickleball. Generally, Bill aside, I’d put B&B’s writers down as the least creative among soaps when it comes to dialogue, after all is there anyone left in the cast who hasn’t been declared remarkable on numerous occasions without actually displaying any remarkability? But credit is due to whoever came up with Eric using pickleball as cover for his trysts with Donna, in that context the sport’s name took on a salacious and hilarious quality everytime anyone said it.Most Glaring Male GazeDays Of Our Lives. It’s an unfortunate truth that there are no female head writers left in daytime. I would never say that a writer’s gender, race, sexuality, whatever, should limit which characters they write for, I just ask that please, if you’re writing for a character who is different from yourself keep those differences at the front of your mind when crafting their story. Like, for instance, Chanel was flattered that Alex sexually harassed her and Allie, hands up ladies, how many of you would be flattered in real life if a male stranger propositioned you? Or would you have felt terrified and terrorized? How about the bi and lesbian viewers out there, did you enjoy the implication that in order to spice up their sex life, ladies need a man in their bed? Then there was that lovely moment where Alex accused Stephanie of hiding behind a sexual harassment handbook, and I wondered a) was that scene produced by Harvey Weinstein and b) how is it that I found this guy more attractive when he was a serial killer? Or how about how the Nancy situation was handled, did Days give any thought to their plus size female viewers, the ones who for once were actually made to feel good about their bodies thanks to Nancy’s more than healthy sex life with her handsome doctor huband only to be told that was all a lie on Craig’s part? And then we had Tripp, Ava, and Nancy all cheated on around the same time period, yet it was only the plus size gal who needed a makeover to feel attractive again? I am not a plus size female yet I managed to be cognizscent of how these things could hurt viewers who had identified with Nancy, who have so few examples of women who look like them and are seen as desirable, the writers should have been cognizscent of that, too. More recently, Jennifer returned to town, fresh from rehab, fresh from visiting her daughter’s grave and immediately her husband was all about sex, now yes, when a couple has been apart for that long, sex is certainly a consideration and maybe it would be top of mind for the guy, but it would have just seemed a little more real had Jen said hey could I maybe have a minute to catch my breath and be in a better state of mind first instead of being game for it, behaving like she hadn’t just been focused on debilitating emotional stuff. Days has so many outstanding female characters, its simply that a few too many times this year it seemed like there wasn’t a whole lot of thought put into not only how women on the show would feel about a particular situation but also how the females in the audience might feel about it.
Best Young LoveSpencer and Trina and Dex and Joss, General Hospital. It’s puzzling why GH uses such a heavy hand when it comes to characters over thirty, forcing pairings that simply do not mesh romantically yet when it comes to the college crowd the show somehow possesses a deft super couple touch. It helps that Spencer and Trina and Joss and Dex simply have natural chemistry, right off that’s where GH’s bad pairings start to go wrong, there’s not a single spark whereas these other two couples have outright fireworks every time they’re even in a room together. And speaking of being in rooms together, where GH goes obvious to the point of painful with the forced pairings, with Spencer and Trina and Joss and Dex, they’re mindful of how powerful it can be to share furtive glances and accidental touches, that kind of stuff can actually generate more heat than anything overt, there’s a reason Jane Austen’s romances still pull people in over a century later. Pacing matters, too, with both of these young couples GH is minding the old adage of make the viewers want, make them worry, and make them wait, I’m just really impressed and pleased by how they’re handling these romances and wish they’d apply similar tactics when it comes to pairing off their more seasoned characters.Worst Follow ThroughThe Young and The Restless. Too many times over the last year a Y&R plot would have potential only to come to an abrupt halt without playing out all the beats. First there was Billy just dropping his months in the making vendetta, then what should have been a drawn out contentious custody battle between Devon and Abby and Chance quickly and amicably resolved. Follow that up with Dominic’s health crisis and Tessa’s vocal chord issue being blink and you missed ordeals, and everyone in town hated Ashland yet there was no murder mystery whatsoever when it came to his death, and that brings us round to Nate who like Billy, dropped his vendetta before we could actually see the juicy fallout. I mean… what is going on here? The prevailing thought might be that our society has small attention spans but that is not who soap opera fans are, we are in it for the long game, we want that, and you’d think writers would want to use the medium to its greatest advantage, if you tell a story in full it’ll actually fill those five days a week all year long quota that I’m sure must be daunting for the writers. When you have the luxury of time, use it.
The Bold And The BeautifulHighs– Hope’s sincere plea for Ridge to give Brooke a second chance after New Year’s with Deacon. - “She lost her son tonight at the hands of a lunatic,” Deacon more right than he knew about Sheila. - Ridge and Taylor at Steffy’s hospital bedside – “There’s nothing funny about this destiny garbage, it’s gonna make me puke,” Bill being the MVP that he is. - Ridge ran to Taylor so fast, I have freakin’ whiplash,” Bill again. - Carter’s emotional declaration that he wants to be a father and husband. - “Give us a kiss,” Bill showing up unwelcome at Ridge’s office. - Carter and Paris’s Paris themed wedding décor - Quinn kept the big diamond Eric gave her – Quinn’s silly but entertaining bike ride to stop the wedding. - Quinn’s snarky impression of Donna. - “She’s acting like a child,” Brooke’s accurate assessment of Steffy. - “Do I look like I’ve got dumbass tattoed on my forehead?” Deacon asks while living with Sheila.
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Wishes
Days Of Our LivesHighs– “Don Craig went out to mail a letter and we never heard from him again,” Anna. - “Has there been a death in the family that needs to be reversed?” EJ on hearing that Chad’s visiting Rolf in prison – “I think one of Tony DiMera’s wives wrote a song about friends becoming lovers,” Nicole. – Angel Bo saved Tripp and visited his grandchild – Abe and Paulina’s Juneteenth wedding, the red velvet cake, the tea cakes, Big Mama, the florals in the décor and the dress, jumping the broom, perfection – Lani’s guilt-induced murder confession at the reception and everyone rallying around her – “Anybody seen my lead pipe?” Victor when Bonnie and Nancy showed up to play pinnochle and mentioned the clue boardgame. - “Was it get out of jail for free day?” Kayla. - “Sloan Peterson isn’t it your day off?” Shawn to lawyer Sloan who shares her name with a Ferris Bueller’s Day Off character – Eric and Nicole’s heated photo shoot – Tony eating catfish nuggets – Julie accused of shoplifting for the show’s 57th anniversary – Thomas, Arianna, Rachel, the adult lives on the show are that much richer when we see them with their kids, and as a bonus these are three really entertaining kid actors. - Victor left of us with a few more great zingers and a montage.
Lows
– The devil, obviously
Wishes
General HospitalHighs– Sonny spiraling, off his meds, drinking too much, his hands nearly frostbitten, a concerned Nina witness to all of it and then he scares her in a way that reminds him of his stepdad’s behavior - Anna refusing to call an ambulance to save Peter yet staying with him as he died – “If you walk out on me, my world will turn grey,” Spencer to Trina – Yay for Chase calling out Michael on his self-righteousness – Sonny’s grin when Esme was hauled into his office - “I’m British, we don’t do awe,” Anna. - When Rory brought Trina that soda it was sweet even to those of us who are firmly in the Spencer camp – Chase and Violet’s tea party – TJ’s plea for his grandpa to come back home – “Will we see Erica Kane? I would just die!” Lucy and Maxie at the home shopping channel – Joss and Trina’s dorm room décor a refreshing change from everyone’s abodes looking very hotel lobby – Quartermaine Thanksgiving – Super cute Christmas episode that actually wasn’t entirely about death. - “Even though Franco’s gone, you’re still a Baldwin, never forget that,” Scotty to Elizabeth.
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Wishes
The Young And The RestlessHighs– Jack has a granddaughter, a low-key romance and a job off screen isn’t meeting my expectations yet, but there’s potential – “Why are you looking at me like a smug jerk?” asked Victoria. “That’s my resting face,” Adam replied. - Nick breaking the news of Rey’s death to Sharon – Rattled, guilt ridden Victoria after the crash that killed Rey – Nick dancing, just the best the best thing you’ll ever see – “No matter how beautiful it is outside there are always pests,” Phyllis seeing Diane and Ashland in the park. - “He’s a blithering idiot,” Victor truth telling about the podcaster – Phyllis flagrantly flaunting her sex life with Jack in front of Diane – Victor’s outrage over Victoria getting back together with Ashland -”So my podcast made you miserable?” Billy being inadvertently funny in conversation with Chelsea – “That man is a consummate pain in the ass,” Victor about Billy – “Ghandi wouldn’t be able to walk away from Diane,” Phyllis after another heated run in with Diane – “I will appoint myself king of the dance floor,” Nick at Summer and Kyle’s party - Always taking moments to remember Neil – Don’t like Abby and Devon as anything other than friends, but having their significant others walk in on them was super soapy.
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Wishes
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