Peacock; ABC
Bittersweet Symphony: A crisis with Sonny and Carly’s (Laura Wright) daughter, Donna (Scarlett Spears), exposed an ugly truth on GH, while DAYS’s Sarah (Linsey Godfrey) and Xander (Paul Telfer) got one step closer to a happily-ever-after.
Days of our Lives: Xander And Sarah Wed!
It’s the age-old story: Money-hungry bad boy comes to town and is changed by the love of a good woman. It took Xander five years, though, to turn his misguided 2019 sex romp with a drunk Sarah Horton into one of DAYS’ sweetest romances. Their rocky road to the altar included Sarah having a baby with Eric (who sadly died), Kristen holding Sarah captive, Xander almost marrying the duplicitous Gwen, and Sarah getting pregnant and keeping Xander’s daughter Victoria from him. They fought their way back to each other over and over which, combined with two previous attempts at matrimony, only increased their rooting value. So, when Maggie finally pronounced them husband and wife it was an honest moment of hard-won affection. (Another honest moment came during her vows when Sarah quipped that Xander would do anything for her, “both legal and illegal.”)
Here’s how we know Xander has evolved: When his money-hungry mother Fiona urged Xander to cash in on Victor’s estate and take his rightful place in the Kiriakis mansion, he responded, “My true home is Sarah’s heart.”
General Hospital: Sonny Learns His Pills Weren’t Chill
It was hard watching the bipolar Sonny spiral while taking the wrong medication, and harder still seeing that Ava was the only one who figured it out. (She thought to test his meds after one incident, yet Carly and Jason kept asking each other, “Is he taking his pills?”) So it was a fantastic one-two punch when Sonny asked Dr. Kevin Collins for help the same week Sonny’s daughter Donna mistakenly swallowed his prescription. Diagnosis: No lithium in Sonny’s system and none in those pills Donna took, either. “Are you telling me I’ve been taking placebos?” asked the incredulous mob boss.
Yup. That explained his violent behavior, but not who was behind the switch. We know Valentin lowered the dosage with a crooked pharmacist (and then left town) while Ava ordered the druggist to cut it to zero. It was a riveting story that ended with Sonny thankfully getting the help he needs — but Ava might be the one needing a doctor when Sonny discovers the ruse.
Young and Restless: Billy Gets His Comeuppance
He embezzled money from Jabot, smashed up a stolen car, gambled away the company yacht (remember Ja-boat?) and was never punished for any of it. So Billy Abbott being smoked by his business partner — and cheated on by his girlfriend — feels like a long time coming. It seemed out of character for Lily to agree to let Billy put Abbott in front of Chancellor as part of their newly formed partnership, an act of hubris that showed he’s learned nothing about how to get along in the corporate world. Lily, however, showed she’s learned everything about Billy by using that selfish move to pull the rug out from under him. She told him he needed to back off and become a silent partner because his “Hey, look at me!” antics had drawn Victor’s attention and they were in danger of a hostile takeover. After a lot of back-and-forth, Billy capitulated: “I will do what you ask.”
Will Billy be as docile when he finds out Chelsea slept with his arch-rival Adam? Don’t Ja-bet on it.
Bold and Beautiful Takes Us To Monaco
Soaps don’t do big location shoots anymore, but there was B&B booking airline tickets and renting fancy cars to drive Ridge and Brooke around Monte Carlo. That gave the duo a chance to be lovey-dovey in a foreign country which is always good for a soap, but it didn’t seem like the trip — as gorgeous to look at as it was — was going to yield much by way of drama. Then, bam! Up popped Ridge’s ex-wife Taylor, now being played by Rebecca Budig.
At only 14 years older than Jacqueline MacInnes Wood (Steffy) in real life, Budig was not the most obvious choice for the role of Taylor. But a quick check of the archives reminds us that— in the grand B&B tradition of age differences that make no sense — John McCook (Eric) was only eight years older than Ronn Moss (ex-Ridge) when they began playing father and son in 1987. Budig was not an obvious choice for the role, but Taylor has been glaringly absent from the canvas so we’re intrigued to see what the show has in store for her — if she can tear herself away from the Mediterranean casinos!
GH’s Molly: Alone With Her Grief
It was comforting to see Jordan, Curtis and Aunt Stella rally around TJ after Kristina lost the baby she had been carrying for him and Molly, but Molly had no such support. Alexis sat vigil at the hospital with her other daughter Kristina while TJ pressured Molly to plan their late daughter’s funeral less than 24 hours after the loss. “Can we talk about this later?” begged Molly, clearly needing more time to deal with her grief.
The answer was no. Molly left the apartment (to go confront Ava for her part in the incident) and TJ and his family set about getting rid of all the newborn baby things they had collected. As moving as the Ashford family scenes were, it felt cruel to clean out the nursery when the baby’s mother had specifically asked for more time. As a social worker, Aunt Stella should have explained the five stages of grief to her nephew and urged him to hold on to those little booties with his equally bereft partner.
On a side note, almost no babies of color have been born on GH in its entire 61-year history. We get that this was a climactic end to a dramatic story, but losing the next generation of these important legacy characters feels like a missed opportunity. “That nursery represents a future we are never going to have,” cried Molly. Hopefully, that’s not the case.
B&B: Get Over It, Steffy!
Steffy’s hatred of her former (and inevitably future) stepmother Brooke is getting old. It seemed like Steffy was actively rooting against Brooke to succeed with her bedroom line, which actually hurts the company where Steffy serves as co-CEO. As Hope exulted, “Brooke’s Bedroom is back, baby!” and the sales numbers started rolling in, Steffy wandered off rolling her eyes. It doesn’t make sense. Brooke has been with Ridge far longer than Taylor was, and she makes Ridge happy. More importantly, Brooke’s triumph is also Steffy’s professional success. Steffy doesn’t have to like Brooke but, as a smart businesswoman herself, she has to like what Brooke does for Forrester Creations’ bottom line.
Applause, Applause
Laura celebrating Kevin’s birthday with him on GH was a nice distraction… Y&R’s Summer asking her grandfather Victor for help with her custody battle adds a nice wrinkle since Victor is Kyle’s (secret) boss.
Picky, Picky
Can any offspring of a doctor let us know if they have their mom or dad in their phone listed the way B&B’s Steffy has hers: “Dr. Taylor Hayes (Mom)”?!… You’d think someone at GH’s Metro Court would immediately inform the hotel’s owner if a guest plunged out a window into the pool, especially if the victim was the owner’s former stepdaughter. Yet Carly wasn’t alerted until Dante told Jason — who told Carly?!…. It’s great that Y&R had Sally mark the one-year anniversary of the tragic death of her baby girl, Ava — but her commemorating that sad date in August makes no sense since Ava died in June.
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