Howard Wise/jpistudios.com; ABC; Howard Wise/jpistudios.com; Quantrell Colbert/CBS

(From l.) B&B’s Liam (Scott Clifton), GH’s Kai and Trina (Jens Austin Astrup and Tabyana Ali), Y&R’s Kyle and Claire (Michael Mealor and Hayley Erin) and BTG’s Nicole (Daphnée Duplaix)

The Best

Beyond The Gates: Anniversary Fallout

After Leslie blew up Ted and Nicole’s anniversary bash with the news that Eva was Ted’s illegitimate daughter, attention turned to Leslie’s claim that Ted’s fixer Bill had threatened to kidnap the child if Leslie didn’t end her pregnancy and leave town. Chelsea asked her grandparents if Bill could be that villainous. “Your father is more bully than brute,” soothed Anita.

Not quite so, it turned out. When Ted questioned Bill about how he had handled Leslie, Bill answered cagily that his “words were effective.” Hayley asked Ted to leave, so he retreated to a hotel where Eva was soon knocking on his door, having been thrown out of her home by the diabolical Leslie. Ted asked what his sudden daughter’s end game had been with all that messiness. “I wanted to know my dad,” Eva responded sadly.

But the heart of this story was Nicole, played with wrenching understatement by Daphnée Duplaix. Nicole was wronged in front of friends and family by the person she trusted most. The choice to have her shower, scrub her face and don a bathrobe illustrated perfectly how lost she was, especially in scenes with Kat and Dani still sporting full hair and makeup. “Tell me it’s all a mistake,” she begged Dani, who had to respond that the family had seen Eva’s birth certificate and she was legit. Nicole crumbled, saying she felt like she had fallen and couldn’t get up. “We didn’t fall,” asserted the freshly divorced Dani as she took her sister in her arms. “We were pushed.”

Young and Restless: Kyle and Claire Defy Victor

Nikki, Victoria, even Adam warned Kyle and Claire that Victor would lose his mustache over their decision to move in together, but they forged ahead.

“I would like to think my grandfather would be happy for me moving in with my boyfriend, but it’s not likely,” mused Claire, who is surprisingly naive for a girl raised by a psychopath. Nikki, who knew Claire was about to break the news, tried to soften the blow with her hard-headed husband by pointing out Kyle and Claire are in love and there’s nothing he can do to stop it. “The hell I can’t,” boomed Victor.

Enter Claire. She laid out her plans, saying Kyle protects her and supports her and makes her laugh. Victor raged that she doesn’t understand how much the Abbotts and Newmans loathe each other. He grew especially angry when Claire said she and Kyle would be buying Adam’s apartment. “I’ll take care of this,” he said, storming out.

He wasn’t kidding. Victor barged into Jabot and forbid Kyle from living with Claire, and then warned Adam not to sell his apartment to them. Undeterred, the lovers met to regroup. “We’ll take on my grandfather together,” vowed Claire.

Good luck!

General Hospital: Dante Goes After Gio

We’ve had our quibbles with the retcon aspect of introducing a 22 year-old son for Brook Lynn and Dante, but the events of last week upped the stakes considerably for the seemingly imminent reveal of the explosive father/son truth.

The bad blood began when teenage Rocco drank too much at a college party. Gio helped the kid to the Quartermaine boathouse and got him a bucket, but Cody realized Rocco was in bigger trouble and at the hospital, tests confirmed he had alcohol poisoning. Dante blamed Gio, even though he didn’t even know Rocco was at the party; Danny brought Rocco. Dante accused Gio of lying, and then went after Lois when she tried to intervene.

“Where were you when your son needed you?” accused Lois, being overly defensive of Gio since he’s her (secret) grandson. She soon realized Dante was lashing out because he was scared of losing Rocco and softened her approach: Dante has such a good heart — how can he not recognize that same good heart in Gio? Dante came around, but the hurt Gio did not.

Cue the reveal that Dante and Gio are father and son in 5-4-3…

Days of Our Lives: The Battle For University Hospital

More specifically, it’s a battle for the miracle drug in the basement. Long-time rivals Xander Kiriakis and EJ DiMera think the proposed sepsis cure (and its eventual patent) will net big money so they are both trying to gain access.

“I have a plan that will save University Hospital, Sarah’s job and get our hands on this breakthrough treatment,” Xander told Alex. “We’re going to buy the hospital!” Xander has a good chance with Sarah and Maggie in his corner but he’s up against EJ, who has board member/half-brother Chad fighting for him. Kayla already nixed EJ’s offer, but the “extremely liquid” DiMera told her he’s going to get the hospital one way or another.

Not so fast! Shawn and Steve plan to steal the medication to save Bo who is currently dying from sepsis (what are the odds?). Steve urged caution so they don’t delay the cure hitting the market, but Shawn is focused on only one thing: “My dad doesn’t have much time.”

Who’d have thought Big Pharma would play a role in Bo’s (hopeful) return?

The Worst

GH: Kai’s Surgery Fizzles

Kai Taylor was injured in a football game and told he couldn’t play again without risking his health. Congressman Drew Cain stepped in with some kind of risky surgery that would allow him to keep playing football but might also paralyze him. Kai went ahead with the procedure despite warnings from his girlfriend Trina about the downside but hey, at least she cared. Kai’s (off-screen) parents weren’t even present. The surgery went fine and the college students were happy. “Can you believe I’m going to play football again?” enthused Kai. “Nothing can hold me back now!”

Is that it? Trina is coming off one of the most successful young love stories GH has ever told, which made this snoozefest a real letdown. Where is the passion, the excitement, the danger she shared with Spencer Cassadine? Where are any of the elements that made “Sprina” such a hit? Kai and Trina have shared basic soapy moments like her falling off a ladder into his arms, but the sparks just aren’t sparking without the narrative oomph to really set it off (a surgery that went off without a hitch ain’t it).

“I think you can do just about anything,” beamed Trina when the formerly sacked quarterback got up and walked. We’re going to need more than that to root for Kai and Trina’s coupledom.

B&B: Liam’s Dying Wish Is What?

Liam Spencer has a mass on his brain and has been told over and over it’s inoperable. He is dying. So, naturally, his goal is to spend as much time as he can with his young daughters Kelly and Beth before he passes.

Wrong. His dying wish is to get his ex-wives to like each other. “I want to use the time I have left to help,” he told Steffy, who recently fired Hope from Forrester Creations. That’s an uphill battle for sure, but nothing compared to Liam’s medical fight. The wool hat in May in Los Angeles is a dead giveaway, but there was Hope repeatedly asking her ex what was going on with him. Liam insisted he was just doing some “soul searching” which Hope believed until Steffy showed up to relay the bad news (against Liam’s wishes). The women commiserated over their daughters losing their father but never once discussed how unfair it is that Liam is 1) not telling the girls and 2) not spending time with them. Instead, Steffy marveled to Finn that Liam has a death sentence hanging over him yet he’s more concerned about her and Hope getting along. Finn responded that Liam was exhibiting “true selflessness.”

We think Kelly and Beth would disagree.