The Best And Worst On B&B, DAYS, GH And Y&R The Week Of Feb. 17-21

XJJohnson/jpistudios.com; Howard Wise/jpistudios.com(2); Disney/Bahareh Ritter

From l.: DAYS’s Sarah and Xander (Linsey Godfrey and Paul Telfer), Y&R’s Lily (Christel Khalil), B&B’s Finn and Steffy (Tanner Novlan and Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) and GH’s Josslyn (Eden McCoy) were on our critical radar last week.

General Hospital: Josslyn Kills Cyrus

So many people threatened Cyrus’s life before he was finally offed that GH could make an entire spin-off starring just those suspects alone. (We’d watch Renault Takes A Blow starring Jason, Danny, Alexis, Dante, Liz, Lucky and Joss, wouldn’t you?) But in the end, it was PCU student Josslyn Jacks who shot the digitalis-hoarding killer after he found her snooping around his cabin and charged at her with an axe. (Side note: How fantastic was Jeff Kober in his final days as Cyrus?)

“Now you’re the murderer,” sputtered Cyrus as he lay dying. Joss pulled out her phone and scrolled through the J’s, bypassing Jason for… Jack — as in Brennan, the local WSB agent currently dating her mother. He showed up instantly. Joss had the quaint idea of calling the cops but Jack offered to take care of everything as long as Joss tells no one what happened, not even Carly. She agreed, so he took her to his WBS office and ordered her to shower, change her clothes and buy a new phone while he assigned the French lady to clean up the crime scene. Then came a strange offer no one saw coming: Hey Joss, want to become a WSB agent?  

Most fans wouldn’t have pegged the local volleyball captain for PC’s next secret agent, but hey, she is Carly’s daughter, and GH going in an Alias direction could be a whole lot of fun!

Days of Our Lives: Brady Rescues Ava

Brady should know better than to believe any love interest of his would just suddenly leave the country, but at least he asked Steve for help when Ava had been gone too long without logical explanation. Steve helped Brady decipher the garbled voicemail from weeks ago and recognized the address Ava had left. “Aremid?!” said Steve. 

Yup. Brady and Steve burst into the old Blake house and found Ava bound and gagged. The story of her ordeal spilled out: Brady’s ex Kristen, her brother EJ, and her “dead” mother Rachel Blake were all in on Ava’s kidnapping — along with Brady’s eight year-old daughter Rachel. “She’s just a little girl!” exclaimed Brady, who found it hard to grasp that three generations of Blake women could have been holding his girlfriend hostage all that time.

Steve had trouble buying Ava’s story, too. He understandably questioned her mental health but humored Ava by agreeing to search the house for Kristen’s “dead” mother. As Ava was ranting about the kidnapping granny, in came Steve: “Found her!” he announced.  

Young and Restless: Lily Catches Damian’s Eye

Lily Winters walked into Crimson Lights expecting just to get coffee but wouldn’t you know it? There was newcomer Damian Kane introducing himself and putting on the full-court press. 

“Can you honestly say you’re not the least bit curious about me?” he inquired cheekily. Lily knew all about him from her cousin Nate, and she wasn’t impressed with Damian’s refusal to iron things out with his dying mother. He laid out his side of the feud and asked Lily out to dinner; she told him to ask her again after he makes peace with Amy. Whaddya know? Damian headed to Nate’s to, you guessed it, make peace with his mother. 

Meanwhile, Lily headed to Victor’s to check out this new man in town. Victor labeled Damian a “mysterious chap” who was granted ownership of big private companies in Los Angeles without visible means of financial support. He’s either brilliant or shady, theorized The Mustache — who quickly zeroed in on Lily’s attraction: “What are you getting yourself into?”

Hopefully, a hot new pairing, which Lily (and her fans) deserve!

Bold and Beautiful: Finn Comes Clean To Steffy (Sort Of)

“There’s some news, and it’s life-changing,” began Finn as he sat down on the couch with Steffy. It involved a woman from his past who he put out of his mind by pretending it didn’t happen but they had sex when he was 18 and the woman is still in his life and… it’s Poppy.

“My God, your aunt?” responded Steffy, properly horrified. Steffy did the requisite math that Poppy is not Finn’s biological aunt (because he was adopted) but still expressed her sadness that Finn went through that experience and didn’t feel he could tell her. He was young, Poppy was doing drugs, and she set her sights on him. On the bright side, beamed Finn’s wife, there are no lasting repercussions. What Poppy did in the past is not going to change anything about their life today.

“There’s more to the story,” continued a hesitant Finn. “Something you’re not going to want to hear…”

B&B’s Friday cliffhanger certainly left us in the mood to tune in tomorrow, because when Steffy finds out that she is Luna’s stepmother, that’s when the fireworks will really begin!

B&B: Too Much Repetition, Repetition, Repetition

While we applaud Finn telling Steffy about Poppy (see above) along with the coming revelation that he’s Luna’s father, he sat back for almost a month talking to himself and/or threatening “I’m going to tell Steffy” without actually doing it. It’s one thing to postpone a reveal with lots of stop-and-starts (like being interrupted or having an accident) but Finn got the results of the paternity test on Feb. 3 and basically stayed in his office for over three weeks while momentum languished. 

Also curious is two months of Luna hiding in Bill’s mansion on house arrest, telling the same story of how she’s sorry she murdered two people. That’s not how the law works, and saying it over and over does not exonerate her or move her story forward.

But most perplexing is the months of everyone blaming Hope for Carter’s takeover of Forrester Creations. “I’m here to look at all the stuff that belonged to me before you got in my best friend’s head and had him steal the company for you,” Ridge snarked to Hope again last week, echoing the same dialogue we’ve been hearing since November. Contrary to Ridge’s pronouncements, Hope is not a bitch or a slut, and she did not force Carter to construct the LLC that took over the company. Repeating those claims does not make it true.

Anticipation is a necessary part of soap operas, but it’s time to stop treading water and explode one (or all!) of these dramatic stories.

DAYS: Where Is The Love?

DAYS used to be the soap of soaring romance and popular supercouples, but lately it’s been more one-night stands and empty pairings. 

Belle jumped in bed with EJ, a crook she publicly admits is a “terrible” choice for her… Sarah has to lie to Xander to keep him from killing people… Alex is wooing Stephanie, the eighth girl he’s slept with in 2.5 years… Brady believed Ava would disappear to China without saying goodbye (she was kidnapped)… Jada can’t tell her fiancé from an imposter… Gabi believed Stefan would send her (forged) divorce papers and leave town; outta sight, outta mind, she’ just slept with JJ… Holly moons for Tate who got Sophia pregnant; she’s now growing closer to Doug III who stole from Julie.

Time was when Salem duos yearned for each other and faced obstacles together. Who will be the next Bo and Hope, John and Marlena, Patch and Kayla? Every soap needs at least some true romance and passion. It’s time to focus on one or two duos with staying power and give them the legendary Salem supercouple treatment.