original release date: Tuesday, February 24, 2026 | writers: Teresa Zimmerman, Danielle Paige | director: Phideaux Xavier

Thoughts:

• Hayley does not give a hoot about Bill's law licence. She cares about his bank account and the money she will be given if/when she executes her con to its fullest extent.

• Donnell! Baby! Welcome back! It is so nice to see you back in Fairmont. I hope Vanessa allows you to stay at long last!

• Poor June is still reeling from Nathan. Trust Samantha; June, Donnell is top-level. class.

• My goodness... what kind of shenanigans is Joey attempting to get into where Wesley is concerned?

• Poor Vanessa. The pain of losing Doug is still there and it is rooted deep. I feel bad. And not Deanna being set up with Vanessa's escort service. Oh, that has got to hit her deep down on the inside. No bueno.

• Not Katherine trying to defend Hayley. That is not it... good on Tomas for trusting his instincts, too.

• Not this random man getting paid off for being used as a con for Hayley and Lynette. That is insane. Sign me up for that, too!

• Francesca is as nasty as her grandmother. And it is unbecoming of her.

• Not June just tossing the bag with the food at Francesca. She owned that moment. Hope her food was destroyed in the process.

• Aw, these moments between Donnell and Samantha are truly sweet. It is nice seeing them bond over their joint interests in the way they are.

• Forever? So she wants to move in now?

Notes:

• Love me a Zimmerman and Paige today after Jazmen Darnell Brown yesterday? Two of the best scriptwriters with one of the standout breakdown writers! We love to see this.

• Xavier is back! I have missed his vision so much in this soap. It has been too long!

• HAPPY ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY TO THIS MARVELOUSLY WONDERFUL NOT-TO-MISS SOAP OPERA! It has been a blessing watching every single episode live this past year.

• Hoping Katherine's wanting to move in with Tomas introduces his home set. That would be something interesting to see, as their sets are unbeatable.

12 hours ago, Antoyne said:

2 1/2 more months feels excessive at least for me personally. I don’t care enough about the younger set to be watch it drag out this much longer.

Yep. They just haven't given us enough of the younger set to care that much. Holding the cotillion off until May is a choice.

Great seeing Donelle again! LOL at Deanna using her mother's escort service.

Glad that Hayley is feeling bad about what she's done. Speaking of, the actor playing the Hammer guy today would have been a great Isaiah.

Happy 1 Year Anniversary !!!!!!

Hayley said I may be a scammer but I'm not heartless lol.

She's not really a killer either she just got in her feelings about Dani and Bill

Deanna almost going with her momma's hoe is just goood, messy, and soapy. I would have loved to see that play out.

-- Gotta love this show trying so hard to make us believe Vanessa still cries for Doug. As if.

-- The Hammer actor is good looking. His coat, cap, and gloves look more runway ready than homeless, though.

-- Bill has so much power with prosecutors that the mugger faces a max 15 years. One call later to a judge, Joey gets the guy released from jail.

Does anyone think we might get a long-term young romance with Samantha and Donnel? They could be the Phil/Tara, the Greg/Jenny, the Holden/Lily, or the Steve/Alice of BTG. Romance is one soap-opera staple that's missing from BTG. And by long-term romance, I mean it needs to be on-again, off-again for six or seven years. And it needs to be messy with interlopers, pregnancies, marriages, and many misunderstandings. Would any soap-opera writer in 2026 be willing to think that far ahead, and stick with a plan?

12 minutes ago, Tisy-Lish said:

Does anyone think we might get a long-term young romance with Samantha and Donnel? They could be the Phil/Tara, the Greg/Jenny, the Holden/Lily, or the Steve/Alice of BTG. Romance is one soap-opera staple that's missing from BTG. And by long-term romance, I mean it needs to be on-again, off-again for six or seven years. And it needs to be messy with interlopers, pregnancies, marriages, and many misunderstandings. Would any soap-opera writer in 2026 be willing to think that far ahead, and stick with a plan?

I think that could be something, but if they were to go that route, Samantha would probably need to be recast.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by MontyB

Seeing Samantha with Donnell and the other girl, just shows how badly they need to recast, it's glaring even more

The way June zoomed over when she heard Nathan's name. Too funny.

10 minutes ago, MontyB said:

I think that could be something, but if they were to go that route, Samantha would probably need to be recast.

Perhaps. I do think current actress is okay, but she does seem a little mature and settled -- in other words, she demonstrates no naivety. But she hasn't really been challenged with much emotional material, so we may not have seen her acting skills shine. And Samantha is the closest thing to a traditional ingenue on the show, in my opinion. The other young female characters are a bit too experienced and catty to be categorized as ingenues.

If Donnel and Samantha did become a long-term young romantic couple, I think the writers need to surround them with a small group of similar aged characters. Both Samantha and Donnel have siblings in that age group. Then I'd add maybe two more -- one being a working-class young woman to be the interloper between Donnel and Samantha -- the "Rachel" to complete the triangle. Is there any chance Mona has a daughter in that age group?