It’s Only My Opinion For The Soap Week Ending June 13

Most of us have never discovered an evil twin or been possessed by the devil, but we’ve all had parents.

The best soaps mine this fertile (and fraught!) ground for drama.

Remember One Life To Live’s Victoria Lord? The abuse she suffered at the hands of her father caused her to develop split personalities that interrupted most of her Llanview life and made her “forget” events like giving birth (Hi, Natalie). Say what you want about Niki Smith, but that gum-chewing broad was entertaining and sparked a lot of soapy goodness.

Days of Our Lives returning fave Jack Deveraux had a similarly traumatic childhood, which the show used to forge an unlikely rapprochement with rascally former gossip Leo Stark.   

Leo: “I’m a real journalist now.”

Jack: “I know. Jennifer and I are still half owners at the paper.” 

They discussed how Leo is doing solid work, which must make his mother, Diana, proud. That led to recalling Diana’s lies re: John Black being Leo’s father, which Leo kicked himself for believing.  

Jack: “Gwen told me your biological father was abusive. Mine was, too. So, I understand your desire to change your history even decades later. Just know we are not defined by our parents. Our courage to change is what makes all the difference.” 

Leo: “Thank you for saying that.” 

Jack: “Keep up the good work.” 

Could Leo Stark actually overcome his childhood enough to exhibit… growth?! 

Beyond The Gates’s Eva has shown the courage to overcome her rough upbringing, but just as she makes strides with bio dad Ted or the Duprees, Leslie interferes. There was Eva taking the motorcycle helmet and gloves (which proved Leslie ran Laura off the road) out of her mom’s apartment, which kept the cops from finding them. But Ted’s daughter, Kat (who is now Eva’s half sister) is convinced the mother/daughter duo is guilty, so she stole it back from Eva and planted it back in Leslie’s house. 

Nasty Leslie blamed her daughter.

Eva: “Why do you keep calling me? Can’t you just text like a normal person?”

Leslie: “This is not a drill. It is the end of the world. How are you even my daughter? Have I passed nothing down to you?” 

They fought about how the stuff ended back in Leslie’s apartment, with the guilty mom striking an accusatory tone. Eva fought back. 

Eva: “If I wanted you caught, I would have kept the helmet and gloves here for Jacob to find in the first place.”

Leslie (turning on the tears): “You don’t love me anymore.”

Eva: “I will always love you, no matter what you’ve done. You should have never run Laura off the road. Don’t go with dark thoughts, that’s how we ended up in this mess in the first place.”

Leslie: “I love you, baby.” 

Yeah, right. Cue Leslie closing the door and laughing maniacally. My money’s on Eva having actually learned a lot from her devilish mom and getting the better of her, which will be fun to watch.   

Leslie: “Spoiler alert: In the end, I win.”

We’ll see. 

For fraught parental drama, look no further than General Hospital’s Cerullo women and the innocent Gio, who was left confused and rudderless by their lies. The payoff there is that everyone thought they were doing the right thing, so there’s no real bad guy (except for Lulu, whose meddling exploded the secret in the worst possible way). Brook Lynn thought it was best to give her baby up for adoption, while Lois and Gloria thought it was best to give the baby to a cousin and secretly keep him in the family. Regardless, Gio wants no part of his bio mom, grandma, or great-grandma. 

Gloria: “We found you a good home, and wasn’t Camila a wonderful mother to you? You loved her the same.” 

Gio: “Then why did she lie to me every day of her life?” 

After a hurtful go-round, Lois got tired of arguing and announced the Bensonhurst hill she was willing to die on: If Brook Lynn had wanted to keep her baby, they would have made it work. Gloria added that if Camila had wanted to tell Gio the truth on her deathbed, they would have made that work, too. Brook Lynn banished her mom and grandma back to Brooklyn, but the damage was done. 

Gio (to Brook Lynn): “None of you wanted me. The feeling is mutual.” 

Gio may want nothing to do with them (for now), but he clearly inherited the Cerullo rebellious streak. When Laura’s mayoral opponent, Ezra, took video of her at the pool with Sonny and made a crack about PC’s mayor hanging out with the local mobster, lifeguard Gio pushed him into the pool.

Laura: “I like this grandson of yours.”

Sonny: “The kid’s a winner.”

With a new family that includes Brook Lynn, Dante, Lois, Ned, Sonny, Olivia, and Tracy? He sure is.

Conversely, Sonny’s daughter Kristina is a loser. She never learns from her mistakes because her parents won’t let her. Sonny and Alexis clean up her messes every time, which is good for soap drama but bad for character development. She tried to kill Ava but hurt Ric and Elizabeth instead. That got Alexis blackmailed by Ric and Ava to the tune of millions, but Princess Kristina didn’t like the way her mother was hiding her crimes. 

Alexis: “You don’t get to be picky about me covering it up.”

A stint in Ferncliff would do wonders for that girl.

None of Victor’s offspring on Young and Restless are in the loony bin, which is surprising when you consider how cold and controlling he is. Blame that on his own abusive childhood. 

Victor (to Nikki): “You’ve taught [our kids] to love and taught me how to love as well. When I came out of the orphanage, I was emotionally hardened. You softened my heart.”

Their kids, Nick and Victoria, have about 14 marriages between them, so maybe they’ve loved too much. Adam remains the same narcissistic jerk he’s always been (lying to Chelsea, etc.), so no points there. 

The dramatic qualities of Victor’s grandchildren remain to be seen. Right now, it’s The Claire Show, despite her poisoning of the entire Newman family two years ago. You’d think Jack would be the one objecting to Kyle falling in love with that former lunatic, but it’s Victor who thinks Kyle isn’t good enough for Claire. 

Nikki (to Victor): “Can’t you please give Kyle the benefit of the doubt? For you to accept those kids would be the ultimate present.” 

Don’t hold your breath!

Bold and Beautiful is currently asking the question, “What’s a guy to do when his mother and daughter are both murderers and they both tried to kill his wife?” Finn drew a bad biological hand with Sheila and Luna, but at least Sheila isn’t actively hunting Steffy right now. Luna, on the other hand, is. She keeps begging Finn to let her in, but he’s pretty clear on no.

Luna: “This is about you and me, father and daughter. Please tell me you want me to be part of your life.”

Finn: “You killed two people. You drugged and abducted my wife and left her to die. You may be my daughter, but we will never have a relationship. You can’t come here ever again.” 

Cut to Luna picking up a gun and using Steffy’s face for target practice. 

Happy Father’s Day, Finn! 

Hey. It’s only my opinion.