We are very thankful that all four soaps were among the first in the industry to resume production to keep fans entertained during a very difficult year.
Here’s a rundown of the best and worst from The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of our Lives, General Hospital and The Young and the Restless in 2020.
Best Reign of Terror: Nelle on General Hospital
Nelle (Chloe Lanier) had us rooting for her as she faced off against Carly (Laura Wright) and ended the baby switch saga, which provided GH a great umbrella story for the last couple of years. We are looking forward to her inevitable return once Nina (Cynthia Watros) finds out that she’s her long-lost daughter and that both Jax (Ingo Rademacher) and Carly knew about it.
Best Quad: Amanda/Devon/Elena/Nate on The Young and the Restless
The long-awaited but obvious “twist” that Amanda (Mishael Morgan) is Hilary’s twin sister led the way to what seems to be The Young and the Restless’ one storyline that could have ramifications for years to come (you know, something soaps should be good at). Amanda’s revelation led an insecure Elena (Brytni Sarpy) to sleep with Devon’s (Bryton James) cousin, Nate (Sean Demonic) which not only split up Elena and Devon but Nate’s future in the operating room is in now in question following a fight with Devon.
Worst Quad: Chase/Willow/Michael/Sasha on General Hospital
It’s a miracle that we can finally tell Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Sasha (Sofia Mattson) apart at the end of 2020. Chase (Josh Swickard) and Sasha faked an affair so that Willow and Michael (Chad Duel) could get together and win custody of baby Wiley. This paved the way to for Chase and Sasha to move around Port Charles – Chase had some fun scenes with Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton and later Briana Lane) while a coked-up Sasha became likeable.
Best Use of History: Steffy’s Addiction Showdown on The Bold and the Beautiful
Sure, things escalated quickly (we’re in a pandemic!) but Steffy’s (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) addiction showdown was amazing to watch and gave Wood and the rest of the cast some great Emmy material. What made these scenes excellent was B&B’s use of history when it came to juxtaposing the Taylor/Ridge/Brooke triangle with Steffy/Liam/Hope.
Best Wedding: Abby and Chance on The Young and the Restless
Y&R took a break from the “Adam Newman Show” to give fans a treat as the Abbott, Newman and Chancellor families came together for the wedding of Abby (Melissa Ordway) and Chance (temp recast and Ordway’s real-life husband, Justin Gaston) for the soap’s 12,000th episode. The show brought back Nina (Tricia Cast) and Jill (Jess Walton) for the occasion. Kudos to Gaston’s portrayal of Chance – he really gave Chance a heart and had great chemistry with Nina, Jill and Abby.
The montage of classic Y&R weddings when Abby prepared to walk down the aisle was just the nostalgia we needed.
Best Tearjerker: Mike’s Alzheimer’s on General Hospital
Mike (Max Gail) Alzheimer’s story came to an end and gave us heartbreaking performances from the entire canvas. General Hospital tackled this difficult subject respectfully with dignity and grace.
Best Addition: Allie on Days of our Lives
While we believe Days of our Lives needs to stop tackling rape plots, the casting of Lindsay Arnold on Days of our Lives as Sami (Alison Sweeney) and Lucas (Bryan Dattilo) daughter Allie. We’re looking forward to Allie finally realizing that it was Charlie (Mike C. Manning) who raped her and not Tripp (Lucas Adams) as well as some more scenes with Sami and Lucas in 2021.
Worst Exits: Eric and Hope on Days of our Lives
You can’t blame Greg Vaughan for leaving Days of our Lives since Eric has always been a supporting player in his own storylines. His wedding to Nicole (Arianne Zucker) was no acceptation. Whether it’s been DAYS or General Hospital (where he played Lucky), Vaughan has always deserved better.
Then there’s Kristian Alfonso, whose Hope left Salem offscreen when the actress refused the show’s deal to leave for a bit and come back with a new story. After 37 years, Alfonso (and the fans) also deserved better.
Best Exit: Julian on General Hospital
While some General Hospital characters simply get on an elevator and are never heard from again, William deVry’s Julian got a proper send off as Julian was killed off (for good this time). From the explosion at the floating rib to seeing visions of Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn), Duke (Ian Buchanan) and Connie (Megan Ward), to the final showdown on the footbridge with Sonny (Maurice Benard), we couldn’t miss a moment.
Best & Worst: Sally Spectra Arrives in Genoa City
We were excited to find out that Courtney Hope was going to bring The Bold and the Beautiful’s Sally Spectra Jr. over to The Young and the Restless after that fake illness and kidnapping storyline with the Peloton Wife on B&B. We saw shades of a scheming Sally when she first arrived in Genoa City but now, we’re beginning to lose our lunch at her teased pairing with Jack (Peter Bergman) – who is old enough to be her grandfather. Gross.
Best Prop: The Hope Mannequin on The Bold and the Beautiful
It was a bit wild when we first heard that The Bold and the Beautiful would be incorporating the stand-in dolls into an actual storyline on the show but Thomas’ (Matthew Atkinson) “relationship” with Hope’s (Annika Noelle) doll doppelganger was fun to watch – especially when Liam (Scott Cifton) mistook it as the real thing and assumed Hope was cheating on him and went straight to Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood). Who knew a doll would be responsible for a big 2021 “Who’s the Daddy” storyline?
Best Use of Classics: The Young and the Restless
As GH, B&B and Y&R didn’t have enough episodes banked during the COVID-19 production hiatus than DAYS did, the non-NBC three had to rely on classic episodes. While GH aired Sonny-centric episodes and B&B’s method was a little all over the place, The Young and the Restless selected the most memorable batch of classic episodes that showed why the CBS soap skyrocketed to number one in the ratings.
Worst Soap: The Young and the Restless
The return of fresh Y&R episodes was a bit bittersweet. On one had we were happy to see new episodes but quickly realized that the current stories cannot compete with the classics. We’re tired of seeing the show revolve around Adam (Mark Grossman) and his issues with his father Victor (Eric Braeden) and the Newman family. The fans deserve better. The actors deserve better.
Best Soap: General Hospital
General Hospital finally gave us what we’ve been missing for years – storylines that had high stakes for the entire canvas. Yes, it’s a big canvas and not everyone gets their fair share of screen time, but GH has been fun and soapy to watch this past year. Yes, there’s a mob storyline but it’s been built around Laura (Genie Francis) and not just Sonny (Maurice Benard).
While there are some frustrations like Lulu’s (Emme Rylan) exit just as Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) finally returned or Peter (Wes Ramsey) still being around and not finding out that Alex (Finola Hughes) is his mother and not Anna (we were so close!), we’ve got some interesting new potential pairings like Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) and Jason (Steve Burton) and another return from Tracy (Jane Elliot).
Nikolas (Marcus Coloma) and Ava (Maura West) realizing they have feelings for each other has also been great twist (she stabbed him, and then he…you know). Another bonus from the mob storyline has been Trina (Sydney Mikayla) connection to Taggert (Real Andrews) and the introduction of Portia (Brook Kerr).
Unlike Y&R, where none of the storylines have any payoffs whatsoever, GH has been carefully planting seeds and we’re excited to see how things shape up in 2021 – like is Finn (Michael Easton) actually Chase’s (Josh Swickard) father?
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Relive the Best & Worst Soap Moments from Previous Years:
