2015’s 7 Worst Soap Opera Storylines

This year has been a big one for soap operas and daytime drama fans. Days of Our Lives celebrated an incredible 50-year milestone on television, Luke Spencer gave a very tearful goodbye on General Hospital, and as Victor and Jack continue to their age-long vendetta against each other, soap fans have been treated to some pretty incredible moments in 2015. Still, there have been a handful of not-so-great soap storylines, and below are the best of the worst  storylines for the year of 2015 in daytime television.

7. Who Killed Austin? – Young and the Restless

The ‘who dunnit’ Young and the Restless (Y&R) storyline around Austin’s murder that involved Kevin, Summer, Mariah, Noah, Courtney, Abby, and Fenmore was just all-around lame. There were some interesting pieces of the story (that is, the reveal of Abby’s affair with Austin); however, the storyline seemed to fit younger-aged characters. Sure, Austin, Fen, Summer, and Courtney are in their 20s, but having Abby, Noah, Mariah and Kevin involved in the group-like scenario was terrible. As older, rational adults, the way they handled things was irresponsible to say the least. Besides, did fans really care that Austin was dead, or who did it?

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6. Little Jake Comes Back From The Dead – General Hospital

Soap opera characters come back from the dead all the time, but it is a rarity for a child to come back…as still a child. Such was the case when little Jake re-emerged on the General Hospital (GH) scene this year. While the acting and scenes around Jake’s return were incredible, the storyline itself was lame. GH fans thought the little boy had died as a result of a hit-and-run at the hands of his granddad, Luke Spencer. Turns out Helena Cassadine had him the whole time — which made the situation around his kidneys that were donated to Josslyn Jack awkward to say the least.

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5. John Black Re-Investigates His Past – Days of Our Lives

John Black rolled into Salem in 1986, where at first everyone thought he was Roman Brady. However, in 1991 it turned out that John was not Roman, but a lost soul who was brainwashed by Stefano DiMera to ruin the Bradys. It turns out that John has been an Army doctor, a mercenary, a priest, super spy and art thief. Every few years, Days viewers get treated to a storyline that explains Black’s past, only to have it wiped away by other outrageous storylines. He at one point was part Brady, part DiMera, but that turned out to be false. In 2015, John has embarked on a new search to find out more about his past. At this point, do any fans really care? This storyline has well past its expire date. Clearly Black is in his late 50s, early 60s…time to forget about who you were, and focus on who you have been, and could be.

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4. Baby Swap – Young and the Restless

Wasn’t this done a few years back? The worst part of this storyline is that it completely mimics the one where Ashley (who was a bit loopy at the time thanks to Adam) had a miscarriage, yet believes she is still pregnant. Same idea, except this time around, Sharon is the (unknown) baby snatcher (instead of the mom who gets her baby snatched), and Nick and Sage are the victim parents. Watching the grieving parents is heart-wrenching, but having to sit through another Y&R baby swap storyline without screaming at the television is frustrating.

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3. Ava/Denise Twin Sister Story – General Hospital

Apparently people can pull the wool over an entire town’s eyes (including their ex-lover), by simply slapping a wig on their head, and using a fake accent to do so. Ava Jerome pretending to be her twin sister Denise was a terrible GH storyline in 2015. The worst part was, she bedded former beau Morgan (once again behind her daughter Kiki’s back), and he still didn’t know it was Ava. Terrible idea, and concept, from the moment it began to roll.

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2. Jack Abbott And His Doppelganger – Young and the Restless

Speaking of pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes, the Y&R Jack Abbott (evil) look-alike angle hit the number two spot for the sheer ridiculousness of the story. Mortal enemy Victor Newman was at the hands of it all, getting South American drug criminal Marco Annicelli to walk around as Abbott while Jack himself was being held captive by his crazy ex-girlfriend Kelly. While everyone was fooled, including Jack’s main squeeze (and the seemingly bright) Phyllis, the only person who could see through Marco was Adam. Really…Adam? Aftermath, Jack and Phyllis decided to create a code word, should this ever happen again. Great thinking people, for the next time some drug lord tries to go out of their way to impersonate either of you…great plan!

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1. Bo’s Back! Now He’s Gone … For Good – Days of Our Lives

Bo returning to save the day during DOOL’s 50th Anniversary celebration was incredible. It allowed to tie down a lot of loose ends many fans had about the character and where he disappeared off to. However, to create all this excitement (not only for the fans, but for Reckell, and the cast as well), only to kill him mere days later (pun intended) was ridiculous. He saved Hope, which was awesome, they had one nice, romantic reunion romp and then he’s dead? Could he not have stayed around for a few more months and at least been given the opportunity to place his named ornament on the Horton tree for Christmas? Bringing Bo Brady back was awesome, having him die shortly after was ridiculous. #epicfail