Soap Dirt published year-end articles critiquing the most disappointing plots in major daytime soaps, highlighting fan frustrations with inconsistent writing and recycled tropes. The reviews cover Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, and General Hospital, pointing to specific storylines that drew backlash. These analyses reflect broader concerns about head writers' decisions amid production challenges.
Days of Our Lives: Problematic Plots and Teased Returns
In Days of Our Lives, critics highlighted Stephanie Johnson's (Abigail Klein) erotic novel 'One Stormy Night,' written under the pseudonym Anastasia Sands, as a flawed device to save Titan, with executives like Alex Kiriakis (Robert Scott Wilson), Xander Cook (Paul Telfer), Philip Kiriakis (John-Paul Lavoisier), and Kate Roberts (Lauren Koslow) endorsing it despite its implausibility for a billion-dollar company. The storyline extended to a mystery novel sequel, while Stephanie's parents, Steve Johnson (Stephen Nichols) and Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans), reading the book aloud added discomfort, given its basis in her personal life.
Abe Carver (James Reynolds) mentoring his son Theo's (Tyler Joseph Andrews) bully, Liam Selejko (Hank Northrop), for literacy as part of a plea deal after a car theft, was seen as betraying Theo, especially when Liam attempted to steal Cat Greene's (AnnaLynne McCord) handbag shortly after one session.
Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) faced baffling buildup with Queen of the Night hints tied to Stefano DiMera (Joseph Mascolo), including dreams, Arabian Nights readings with Rachel Black (Alice Halsey), and Susan Banks (Stacy Haiduk) sensing issues, only to resolve in a Lyme disease diagnosis, disappointing fans expecting dramatic possession.
A teased Stefano 2.0 revival involving EJ DiMera (Dan Feuerriegel) and Dr. Wilhelm Rolf (Richard Wharton) peaked in July-August 2025 but shifted to a mystery woman in a tube, wasting viewer time.
The return of Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope Brady (Kristian Alfonso) served mainly as a plot device for John Black's death on June 2, 2025, from a drug lab explosion while retrieving Versix for Bo's sepsis, following Drake Hogestyn's real-life passing in September 2024 from pancreatic cancer. Bo and Hope remarried privately that month but left town soon after, frustrating fans over the lack of meaningful reunion.
The Young and the Restless: Inconsistent Characters and Sudden Deaths
The Young and the Restless drew ire for recasting Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) as Aristotle Dumas, with erratic alliances—from trapping Genoa City elites in an unseen French chateau, partnering with Amanda Sinclair (Mishael Morgan) who vanished, Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson), and Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford)—culminating in Phyllis stealing his AI for Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Cane's pursuit of Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) clashed with his fling with Phyllis.
Two France-based deaths disappointed: Damian Kane (Jermaine Rivers), Nate Hastings' (Sean Dominic) brother and Lily's love interest, killed off abruptly after heating up, sparing his mother (Valarie Pettiford) from cancer; and Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd), whose poor writing led to his off-screen death without a funeral, prompting the actor's move to Days of Our Lives.
Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) and Tessa Porter's (Cait Fairbanks) gay marriage dissolved over Mariah's mental health, with Tessa pairing with Daniel Romalotti (Michael Graziadei), seen as problematic given Tessa's established sexuality and reduced screen time for Grimes.
Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor), Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver), and Victor formed a toxic triangle, with Victor paying Audra to seduce Kyle, betraying his relationship with Claire Grace Newman (Hayley Erin), a former attempted murderer facing minimal consequences.
Victor's unchecked villainy included vendettas against Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman), enabling Nikki Newman's (Melody Thomas Scott) struggles post-relapse from Claire's vodka IV, while drinking around her.
The Bold and the Beautiful: Contrived Coups and Fake Illnesses
The Bold and the Beautiful faced backlash for Liam Spencer's (Scott Clifton) faked brain tumor, orchestrated by Dr. Grace Buckingham (Cassandra Creech) for a million-dollar cure, revealed after a shooting; actor Clifton was initially told his character was dying, but plans changed, leading to illogical plotting without oncologist involvement.
Carter Walton (Lawrence Saint-Victor) and Hope Logan's (Annika Noelle) illegal coup tricked Ridge Forrester (Thorsten Kaye) into ceding Forrester Creations control over a rejected luxury brand idea, despite Carter's prior relationship with Katie Logan; they faced few repercussions, launching House of Forrester.
A hyped Ridge-Taylor Hayes (Rebecca Budig) reunion and Nick Marone's (Jack Wagner) return for Brooke Logan (Katherine Kelly Lang) fizzled: misleading promos promised more, but ended with Ridge saving Brooke from a boat in Italy and marrying her in the office, breaking Taylor's heart anticlimactically.
Thomas Forrester (Matthew Atkinson) flew from Paris to confront Ridge and Brooke over dumping Taylor but abruptly blessed their union, out of character amid Jacqueline MacInnes Wood's maternity leave.
Luna Nozawa (Lisa Yamada) sexually assaulted drunk Will Spencer (Crew Morrow) after holding Steffy Forrester (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood), Liam, and Sheila Carter (Kimberlin Brown) at gunpoint; Liam shot Luna, but the aftermath lacked sensitivity.
General Hospital: Repetitive Tropes and Wasted Returns
General Hospital's Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) repeatedly clashed with Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza), blaming him for Rocco's (Finn Frances Carr) alcohol poisoning and a lab break-in, despite their father-son reveal and history of harmony—a recycled parent-child enmity trope seen with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and others.
Sonny's flirtation with law enforcement's Justine Turner (Nazneen Contractor) echoed past failed romances, with her feigning interest to build a case against him, likely fizzling without arrest.
Lucky Spencer's (Jonathan Jackson) return after 13 years proposed to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) but ended with him leaving Port Charles due to the actor's Tennessee residence and commute issues, providing closure but sidelining Elizabeth again.
Cody Bell (Josh Kelly) accepted Kristina Corinthos-Davis' (Kate Mansi) payment to seduce Ava Jerome (Maura West), risking his Quartermaine stability and Molly Lansing-Davis' (Kristen Vaganos) feelings, though he backed out; Kristina's recast made her unlikable.
Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) turned villainous, kissing Willow Tait (Katelyn MacMullen), undermining Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner), attempting to bulldoze the Quartermaine crypt, ignoring Ned Quartermaine's (Wally Kurth) health crisis, and stealing Tracy's (Jane Elliot) heirlooms, rendering him irredeemable.
Positive notes included Erika Slezak as Ronnie Bard, Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) plotting with Carly Corinthos Spencer (Laura Wright), Britt Westbourne's (Kelly Thiebaud) resurrection, Monica Quartermaine's (Leslie Charleson) memorial, and Michael Corinthos' recast (Rory Gibson).
