Plus, previews of what’s coming next! 

The days keep getting shorter and the holiday madness continues ramping up, so trust us when we say we totally understand if you didn’t if you didn’t quite have time to keep up with your favorite daytime news last week. But don’t worry, we’re here to catch you up on all the happenings of the soap world! Whether you love The Bold and the Beautiful, Days of Our Lives, General Hospital or The Young and the Restless — or all of the above —  this is your one-stop shop to find out what’s going on.

The Bold and the Beautiful

It’s become clear by now that Sheila is not giving up on trying to worm her way into Finn and Hayes’ lives. She’s just become more desperate… and that’s always spelled disaster for the Forrester clan. But can they reign her in before it’s too late? Well, there is one person Steffy could call to do the trick!

• As if we weren’t already loving Krista Allen as Taylor, the actress went and won the internet with her reaction to the spoofs of her first day.
• Deacon may be shady as hell, Sean Kanan admits, but he’s not a monster. Find out what a fan asked that prompted the actor to rush to his character’s defense!
• Quinn and Carter may be keeping their fire down to a smolder for Eric’s sake, but Lawrence Saint-Victor isn’t so sure they’ll be able to keep in check forever!

Taylor’s been all hugs and smiles so far, but in this week’s Soapbox column, Richard suggests that she — like Deacon — has the power to turn a whole lotta lives upside down. Plus, there’s a Sheila twist coming up that’s downright shocking… but maybe not in the way you think!

What Went Down Last Week: Thomas was thrilled to reunite with his mom, even after she pointed out that he — not Hope — should be raising Douglas. Deacon continued to bond with Hope. Convinced Bridget’s ex wanted Brooke back (which he did), an increasingly frustrated Ridge found himself spending more time with Taylor, who made it clear she still had feelings for him.

Days of Our Lives

After the explosive wedding-day revelation that Paulina was her mother and Abe was not her father, we were expecting some majorly juicy storyline ahead for Lani. And while the immediate fallout was explosive, it seems like that’s fizzled out in the past couple weeks. Luckily, we’ve got a few ideas to get that spark back and give the Carvers something juicy to do.

• In a video bursting with holiday (or maybe competitive) spirit, Sal Stowers and Lamon Archey revealed that there’s just a touch more rivalry between them than Lani and Eli.
• Thaao Penghlis did something we never would have expected from him, Tony or Andre when he was out celebrating with friends and castmates!
• As one-half of supercouple Chabby, Days of Our Lives‘ Billy Flynn helped set the record straight when Young & Restless tried staking claim to that particular squish name.
• With Peacock’s release of Days of Our Lives: A Very Salem Christmas last Thursday, we here at Soaps wanted to do something special for the festive occasion. So we put together a one-of-a-kind soapbox to let you know our thoughts and find out what yours were!

Lori was not thrilled with Philip showing up alive. Not only did it rob the surprisingly emotional scenes around his death of their power, he’s also just the absolute worst. Nor is she understanding MarDevil’s powers — at all! Also, she’d love to know where the heck half of Salem has been. Maybe they got lost over on A Very Salem Christmas? Lori also offers her two cents on the fun romp in this week’s Days of Our Lives column!

What Went Down Last Week: After she and Victor had Philip declared dead, Kate found out that her son was actually very much alive and had framed Brady. MarDevil escaped the cabin and headed for the hospital as part of her plan to use Jan against Belle and Shawn. Despite Gwen’s best efforts, Xander ran into Rex and found out that Sarah hadn’t left with him. Ava saw Rafe and Nicole kissing, but didn’t let them know. Sami declared her love for EJ, ripped up the divorce papers and said he would never be over her.

General Hospital

Laura’s finally on her way back to Port Charles with Martin, but before she makes it home, there’s one thing she still has to do: confront their evil brother, Cyrus! The problem is, when Laura pushes her bro about trying to kill her, he denies it! But if he’s not after her, then who the heck is? Cyrus’ portrayer, Jeff Kober, offers his two cents!

• We couldn’t have been happier to learn that James Patrick Stuart’s new series had been picked up, but we couldn’t help but wonder what that meant for Valentin. Fortunately, the actor took to social media to fill us in!
• Those who think some of the recent exits will spell the end of General Hospital have clearly not studied the show’s history. We have, and here’s what we’ve learned!
• Kelly Thiebaud revealed who her crush is, and honestly, we are one-hundred percent behind her on this one!
• It’s only been a couple months of married bliss, but it looks like General Hospital’s Chad Duell and Young & Restless’ Courtney Hope have called it quits.

What’s with all the doom and gloom? That’s what Dustin would like to know in this week’s General Hospital column. As we get closer to Christmas and the New Year, there are a lot of people in Port Charles who could use some cheer. The holiday miracle he was hoping against hope would come, never did, and he can’t help but wonder how long it’ll take for Carly to crack.

What Went Down Last Week: Curtis continued investigating dad Marshall’s past even as it was revealed Stella knew he was alive and why he left. Drew bonded with Sam and Scout. Selina made it clear she wanted Britt to stay away from newly-paroled Brad. After Finn prevented Liz from killing Peter, the two of them discussed their feelings and a possible future. Sasha and Brando made the heartbreaking decision to let baby Liam die.

The Young and the Restless

The Young and the Restless has been teasing us for far too long with mentions of characters we love but aren’t allowed to see! Just when we think we’re getting over the loss of someone who should still be on screen, the show goes and mentions them and we’re upset all over again. But why? We, and the fans, try to figure it out!

• Don’t miss catching up on the blowout of the year when Amelia Heinle hosted her friends, castmates and colleagues at a holiday party for the ages!
• Bryton James opened up to General Hospital’s Maurice Benard about his heart-wrenching last day with TV dad, Kristoff St. John.
• Jason Thompson took it upon himself to put a little more joy out into the universe this holiday season with a heartwarming video of his daughter.

Young & Restless has started doing longer scenes and, as Candace says in this week’s column, that’s great… when they have riveting material. But it feels an eternity when they don’t. And right now, they really don’t. Some of the scenes are flat-out amazing, like this week’s emotional hashing out of issues between Nick and Victor. But the big picture stuff is either directionless or disappointing.

What Went Down Last Week: Nikki tricked Victor and Nick into hashing out their differences, at least in part. Mariah and Tessa contemplated the idea of becoming parents. Chloe warned Sally against getting caught up in Adam’s drama. When Chelsea returned to town, Adam told her they could not revisit their past. Despite her initial reluctance, Chelsea agreed to work at Newman fashion. Lily tried talking Billy into sharing with Jack their plan to bring down Adam and Victor.

What’s Coming Up…

Now that you’re all caught up on what went down last week, here are a few previews of what’s coming up next!

• This year, some folks are feeling the Christmas spirit more than others. Quinn and Eric may have happily reunited, but Ridge is fed up with Deacon and Taylor’s offering Brooke, of all people advice. And as Steffy bristles while Finn embraces his mom, we have to wonder if it’s just Sheila’s wishful thinking or is she actually got a Christmas miracle in this week’s Bold & Beautiful spoiler video.
• Christmas comes to Salem, and it seems love is in the air for a few couples. And with Sami and Jennifer both finally home, it seems like it should be the perfect holiday. But not if MarDevil has anything to say about it. Watch what happens when she storms into the Horton home in the Days of Our Lives weekly spoiler video.
• Some familiar faces begin their Christmas return as Genoa City’s filled with warmth and love. Nick goes full Santa, while Victor and Nikki dance their cares away. But while Abby is thrilled to have Chance back for the holiday, he’s still working through his issues in this week’s Young & Restless spoiler video.

And finally, with the holidays here and the first day of winter adding a nip to the air, why not curl up with a nice blanket and relive the ghosts of Christmas past with our gallery of the most soaptastic Christmas photos we could dig up? We guarantee these pics would warm the coldest of hearts.