Soap Hub looks at the Hits and Misses for the week of December 15-19 in the worlds of Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, The Young and the Restless, and Beyond the Gates.

Key Takeaways

• Big wins in fashion: Bill’s gift to Katie and Jack’s fury over Newman Media shake-up B&B and Y&R.
• Emotional highs: Andre’s holiday grief on Beyond the Gates delivers heartfelt, standout scenes.
• Frustrating misses: GH and DAYS miss chances to deepen characters and romances.
• Mixed results: DAYS’ DiMera crypt drama entertains, but momentum remains slow.
• Power plays continue: Victor’s latest victory leaves the Abbotts cornered—again.

Top 10 Hits and Misses

10. MISS: Missed opportunity to learn about Isaiah (GH). Now that Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson) may be Portia’s (Brook Kerr) baby daddy, he’s taking care of her at the cabin he renovated. He brought the chessboard out (along with checkers), and then he mentioned that playing chess was his and his dad’s thing. And this would have been the perfect opportunity to actually learn something more about the lovestruck doctor, who has been on the GH canvas for well over a year. Unfortunately, we didn’t. So Isaiah still remains a character about whom we know very little.

9. HIT: Jack tears into Adam and Chelsea (Y&R). Adam (Mark Grossman) always tries to walk the fine line of being Victor’s son and Jack’s friend. And he says he prefers to stay out of his father’s vendetta against Jack (Peter Bergman), but then he turns around and does his bidding because Victor (Eric Braeden) doesn’t give him any choice. Well, after yet another hit piece courtesy of Newman Media, everybody knows that Adam doesn’t have real power at Newman. It’s Victor’s way or the highway. So Jack’s rage at Adam and subsequently at Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) over the negative publicity surrounding the Jabot shutdown was warranted. Jack was beyond hurt, and Adam lost a very important friendship.

8. MISS: Tate may no longer go to Paris with Holly (DAYS). How are we supposed to invest in Tate (Leo Howard) and Holly (Ashley Puzemis) if they never actually spend much time together? They are more off than on, and this Christmas, they have a real chance for some bonding time if Tate goes to Paris with Holly. But yet another obstacle entered the picture. It’s looking like Tate may not go away because he needs to be there for his dad and his sister, who’s in Bayview. It’s all very understandable, but it makes us wonder if we’re supposed to be rooting for this couple.

7. HIT: Andre’s loneliness over the holidays (BTG). BTG is doing a great job tackling Andre’s grief over losing his parents, which is extra painful during the holidays. He misses them. He misses the life they had and the Christmases they had. And even though he’s so happy with Dani (Karla Mosley), Andre (Sean Freeman) feels like an outsider during the holidays, especially. His conversation with Anita (Tamara Tunie) was so relatable and so emotional. She acknowledged how his parents would be proud of the man he has grown into and that he has carved a place out in their family. Vernon’s (Clifton Davis) one-on-one with Andre was excellent as well.

6. MISS: The Forresters fire Deke (B&B). Deke’s opportunity at Forrester Creations was apparently on a trial basis. And fair enough, Thomas (Matthew Atkinson) and Zende (Delon de Metz) have mountains more experience than Deke (Harrison Cone), who is just out of school. They can’t make a place for him somewhere else at the company, or have Thomas and Zende mentor Deke at Hope for the Future? This is undoubtedly setting up Deke to potentially design at Katie’s (Heather Tom) new fashion house. But the fact that the kid got the boot like that was sad.

5. HIT and MISS: The DiMera Crypt Drama (DAYS). It’s fun to see the gaggle of DiMeras forced to interact in the crypt. They’re also forced to deal with the drama and resentments that mainly stem from EJ (Dan Feuerriegel). As much as we love listening to them fight and banter with each other, the overall story is unfolding at a snail’s pace. In other words, nothing has happened other than Peter’s (Dan Gauthier) arrival. It all should come to a head next week. Hopefully, the payoff will be good, but we’re worried. Also, it’s odd that Tony (Thaao Penghlis) has been sleeping in the back all this time, and we’ve barely seen him lately. Kristen (Stacy Haiduk) is the one with the infection, but maybe someone should check on him.

4. MISS: The way Eva and Ted talk about Kat (BTG). The way Eva (Ambyr Michelle) and Ted (Keith D. Robinon) talked about Kat (Colby Muhammad) this week was maddening. It’s awesome that they are getting along, but can they keep Kat’s name out of their mouths? Ted even said that he was sorry he raised a kid who was so intolerant and hostile to Eva. Do they even remember that Eva slept with Kat’s boyfriend? It’s as if it never happened, and Ted can’t even understand his other daughter’s perspective for a second. Yes, Kat needs to let Ted and Eva forge a relationship, but she doesn’t have to accept Eva into her life. Would it be healthier? Yes. But is it required? No.

3. HIT: Valentin & Carly scenes (GH). This unexpected pairing has been fun to watch. Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) is a fugitive from the WSB, and he’s hiding out in Carly’s (Laura Wright) attic. They are supposed to be working together to bring Jack (Chris McKenna) down. But so far, this team-up has been a lot of sorting out Carly’s feelings for Jack and Valentin making himself comfortable in Carly’s home, eating her cereal, and wondering why she won’t give him her Hulu password (loved that Easter egg). We’re looking forward to more Valentin and Carly scenes.

2. MISS: Victor wins again (Y&R). As usual, Victor has the upper hand in his war against Jack Abbott. Jack and the family decided that an extreme preemptive strike against the AI superweapon was the way to go. And now they are in a precarious place. The world is aware that the company is in dire straits due to the Newman Media hit piece. The Abbotts can leave the company as is, with Jabot’s assets and operation in shambles. Or they piece it all back together and are vulnerable to the AI program again. It’s a no-win situation here. But it should be for Victor, too. This war he’s waging is irrational, and it should come with consequences for him. Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) is contemplating such a thing. But will she follow through?

1. HIT: Bill gives Katie her own fashion house (B&B). Something needed to shake up things in Los Angeles, and Bill (Don Diamont) giving his new wife Katie a fashion house could be just the thing. It will force people to take sides. There will be real rivalry, especially if Katie can poach one or two employees from Forrester. Thomas is back (hopefully on a more permanent basis), and they’re even showing Zende again. The energy behind this move feels electric, and we can’t wait to see how this all plays out.

Honorable Mentions

B&B

MISS: Finn’s not doing anything. Please give Finn (Tanner Novlan) something to do. He just lost his daughter, and he has a psychopath for a mother, and while her dark tendencies have been lying dormant, it feels like she’s about to erupt. Hopefully, the show can find a way to incorporate him more into a story, any story.