Writers:
Sara A. Bibel
Jazmen Darnell Brown

Director:
Sonia Blangiardo-Goins

IKTR!

original release date: Thursday, April 2, 2026 | writers: Sara A. Bibel, Jazmen Darnell Brown | director: Sonia Blangiardo-Goins

Thoughts:

• Well, that double date went down doubly fast. Unfortunate. But Joey really seemed to do everything in his power to end it before it even began, much to the detriment of Vanessa.

• Bill? His will? With Dani? Oh, something is up. Could he possibly have some suspicions about Hayley? This is conveying the message, "You need to be aware before it's too late!"

• Damn. Hayley just wants to jump right to a Snapped episode-level of murder at this point. Joey and Lynette have her shaking in her damn tacky boots.

• Vanessa deserves praise for confronting Joey's behaviour at the dinner. It was unacceptable (despite also being deliciously juicy). Kial and the dealer ran out of there so damn fast there was smoke.

• I hate how rattled Nicole is by Joey, and it is apparent that Carlton senses something. Such a reaction cannot be good at all.

• I love that Dani's foot continues to stay firmly pressed on Hayley's neck. She will forever hold it there until her own dying day.

• A positive reception from his job interview? With full partnership? Oh, this could be wonderful for Tomas! Such an upgrade. And nope, Katherine did not listen to a single thing you just said, Tomas. At all.

• Opp... Carlton, if I were in your position, I would swiftly retreat and leave Nicole's house, as I strongly suspect that you are currently not in her favour. At all.

• Leaving the law firm to Naomi, on paper, is a solid idea; however, if I remember properly, she made it known she was not interested in working with the firm at all.

• It is sweet that Bill wants Dani to have what she wants; it indicates that he still has deep feelings for her. If only he could have seen that prior to divorcing.

• Tomas is a level-headed individual. And he is being smart about things right now, especially where taking money from Katherine is concerned.

• Uh-oh. Joey knows about the finger-sucking situation in Orpehy Gene's. Damn. He really does have ears and eyes everywhere in Fairmont Crest.

• DAYUM! Nicole went right from Carlton to Kial. She knew who she wanted in that moment and went for it. That's important.

• Ooo wee, Lynette's foot is also firmly on Hayley's neck, and she is not playing about! I hope she does blow up Hayley's con for everything.

Notes:

• Ah yes, it is a Bibel and Brown day. Amazingly consistent and had excellent flow. A quick-moving episode today.

• Lauren Buglioli (Vanessa) continues to shine as Vanessa; she has such complexity in the role and shows many dynamic sides of her character. A genuine find.

• Things are moving quite well, story-wise, right now. Nothing feels dragged down or lacking. We're progressing smoothly from April to May Sweeps, which is incredibly thrilling! I am eagerly anticipating the next episode. You could say I'm being edged by Beyond the Gates.

• The bedroom set for Greg Vaughan's Kial is lovely. Hopefully we see more in the coming weeks! I love the rollout of the budget refill.

• Timon Kyle Durrett (Bill) and Karla Mosley (Dani) continue to spark with undeniable electric chemistry. I cannot wait for the romance to play out in front of us.

• Dominique Madison (Lynette) is delicious, and part of me wishes she would have been cast as Hayley over Marquita Goings.

Lynette said GAME ON !!!!!

Im so excited to see where this is going now !!!!!

Just now, Rmodelboy said:

Lynette said GAME ON !!!!!

Im so excited to see where this is going now !!!!!

She said dont play with me hoe!

1 hour ago, Cheap21 said:

She said dont play with me hoe!

Im obsessed with her lol. I dont want to see her go

Hayley might add Lynette to her kill list next.

Vanessa continues to be needy and pathetic. Being ok with a man talking to your best friend sideways is the ultimate in pick me behavior.

Ugh. Fine, CBS. It will just be a miss on Friday's episode. Stupid games they be playing.

In other news...

3 hours ago, Cheap21 said:

IKTR!

3 hours ago, Cheap21 said:

She said dont play with me hoe!

Now THIS is how you do a vixen. I was hoping she would morph into this so it's good to see it happening. I love her. SPS, take note.

8 hours ago, Cheap21 said:

I cant express to you how much Im loving my girl Hayley. She's hilarious and really having fun with this role! She's getting extra sassy, messy and of course sloppy and it makes for an interesting watch. She's my MVP right now

Honorable mention goes to Deanna. The actress sounds mousy and that can be annoying but it works for the character being fragile and volatile bc she has fire to her. The way she dragged Vanessa.....even I felt that

I loooooove Haley now. She is so so funny to me especially with how much she hates and is annoyed by everyone else but still has to put on the act except for with Tomas who she can now openly hate 😂

9 hours ago, DramatistDreamer said:

This cotillion feels like a concept rather than a real milestone event or coming of age story. It's totally abstract, like most of the potentially interesting events, occurring offscreen.

Well tbf, up until mid-February (which is when I guess they decided to push it back), the cotollion storyline had slowly been building up until then. From Sam's talking about it as she was coming out of being grounded over Nathan to Jessica having issues with it on top of Ty having issues with Jessica leaving Fairmont Crest. Then we got Jessica's disdain growing, influencing Ty's attitude. Then we got the history lesson/debate between Ty and Nicole. Then we started to get Anita and Vernon mentoring the kids before the Anita's Cancer story started. And a change in Jessica's part of the arc. We got the introduction of Anastacia/Francisca as the bougie potential second family. We finally got some Gossip Girl-ish antics well catfights between them and Anita and the Duprees and Samantha vs Francisca. And right when I was wondering...the show went ahead, picked up the Nathan thread (he's Francisca's date) while Nicole and Vanessa were taking care that Samantha had a date in Donnell. And then...the story upped and vanished...only to be revealed in an interview what was going on. Talk about abrupt because I was invested in its slow burn approach...moving from a C plot to a very solid B plot onto its way to an A plot. I was disappointed by Febuary 24th. But like I said then, if the cotillion had started immediately after the last story beat, I would have called it rushed...which several people pointed out to me then. And...they would be right.

6 hours ago, GLATWT88 said:

I am holding onto faith that this cotillion storyline will be explosive and will actually be the convergence of several storylines with a big climax. Here's hoping @Taoboi theory about May is correct and we get what we have been waiting for, otherwise these stories seem to be spinning their wheels - lots of exposition but not actually going anywhere.

I am starting to wonder with how abruptly Hayley's storyline was stopped at the same time the cotillion storyline was paused, if that is why. Up until mid-February, they were both turning into solid B plots (with Anita's Cancer being the A story). Are they going to expose Hayley in front of the whole town?

I very much am hoping so (and will gladly eat crow and vent if I am wrong) because I too am tired of the wheel spinning. But while I enjoyed Winterfest, it was mostly a letdown with the majority of the audience. And BTG cannot do that again right now.

But I hope...if I do turn out to be right...this isn't going to become a thing of them holding story around this time of year, building up plots people might not be interested in while holding off the ones that the audience are interested in, waiting for May Sweeps. Cuz...NO. Once was okay. Twice is pushing it. A third time...I might start to shade. lol.

ETA...I agree @Antoyne @GLATWT88 with how much I have been enjoying Hayley. Ever since her reveal, for me, Hayley has been giving 90s DAYS OF OUR LIVES's Kristen Dimera scheming (and acting) right up until (and sometimes after) Kristen winded up in the Secret Room. And I've been hollering every step of the way. And I really like how MG has been playing it for the audience just like ED used to do...when we are in the know, but the characters aren't. It is a cute wink-wink.

Edited 7 hours ago7 hr by Taoboi

-- Are sweeps months still a thing? I see so much less written about sweeps in recent years, especially since streamers have taken off. The soaps need to keep their foot on the gas all-year round. If they're still gearing up for sweeps, I think it just shows another area where the soaps are behind.

-- Nicole is clearly being written as a woman in crisis. When Carlton is given lines that make sense when describing and defining who she is and all her changes, you know Nicole is not just going through a change of wardrobe.

-- I like Dr. Kial, but leaving Carlton and then ending up in Kial's bed an hour later does not make Nicole look rational.

-- Vanessa sat there like a whore paid to do nothing but be an object when Golden Corral Casino Mobster Joey attacked Carlton and Nicole. What a friend Vanessa is.

-- And then we AGAIN heard Vanessa "cry" about Deanna for about 30 seconds before announcing she loves Joey and will live her life her own way. In other words, this is THE SAME VANESSA we've known since Week One when she was screwing Diego at the club. I cannot stand the woman.

-- Lynette is awesome. Her scenes with Hayley are good stuff.

-- I can't wait until Hayley sees Bill's amended will.

-- We still have the problem of these characters (like Lynette and Hayley) meet in public. Even worse? Randy having very public meetings with characters he souldn't be seen with.

-- I LOL when Randy gave Joey credit for Joey having eyes everywhere. I mean, bro -- you were sucking fingers at Orphey Gene's. You're not exactly in hiding.

-- Alex Alegria is never worse as Tomas when he throws "mi amor" into the dialogue. Hilarious!

22 minutes ago, Taoboi said:

Well tbf, up until mid-February (which is when I guess they decided to push it back), the cotollion storyline had slowly been building up until then. From Sam's talking about it as she was coming out of being grounded over Nathan to Jessica having issues with it on top of Ty having issues with Jessica leaving Fairmont Crest. Then we got Jessica's disdain growing, influencing Ty's attitude. Then we got the history lesson/debate between Ty and Nicole. Then we started to get Anita and Vernon mentoring the kids before the Anita's Cancer story started. And a change in Jessica's part of the arc. We got the introduction of Anastacia/Francisca as the bougie potential second family. We finally got some Gossip Girl-ish antics well catfights between them and Anita and the Duprees and Samantha vs Francisca. And right when I was wondering...the show went ahead, picked up the Nathan thread (he's Francisca's date) while Nicole and Vanessa were taking care that Samantha had a date in Donnell. And then...the story upped and vanished...only to be revealed in an interview what was going on. Talk about abrupt because I was invested in its slow burn approach...moving from a C plot to a very solid B plot onto its way to an A plot. I was disappointed by Febuary 24th. But like I said then, if the cotillion had started immediately after the last story beat, I would have called it rushed...which several people pointed out to me then. And...they would be right.

I am starting to wonder with how abruptly Hayley's storyline was stopped at the same time the cotillion storyline was paused, if that is why. Up until mid-February, they were both turning into solid B plots (with Anita's Cancer being the A story). Are they going to expose Hayley in front of the whole town?

I very much am hoping so (and will gladly eat crow and vent if I am wrong) because I too am tired of the wheel spinning. But while I enjoyed Winterfest, it was mostly a letdown with the majority of the audience. And BTG cannot do that again right now.

But I hope...if I do turn out to be right...this isn't going to become a thing of them holding story around this time of year, building up plots people might not be interested in while holding off the ones that the audience are interested in, waiting for May Sweeps. Cuz...NO. Once was okay. Twice is pushing it. A third time...I might start to shade. lol.

My main frustration with this show (which I may take a break from for awhile) is that the writing continues to tell us, rather than show us. We get endless conversations in front of brick walls, we get conversations about what happens at a the preparation for a cotillion but no scenes of any of the actual preparation (and honestly, they would only need a handful of scenes to show us the preparation). We get conversations over cocktails between nurses at a bar over a man being stabbed within an inch of his life and left outside of the hospital but we didn't see any of it.

The Anita cancer story, as deeply triggering as it is, is truly the only story that is being written with care and detail (and good for Tamara who is surely in the running to get her first daytime Emmy award), every other story is meandering and unfocused. We get the same conversations between Vanessa and Joey (girl, we get it, you want to live your life and you don't care how others feel but why are you trying to get your daughter to like your man when she told you half a dozen times, she thinks he's a sleaze?) Hayley has been talking about killing Bill with Randy and at this point that's all she does. If the blood plasma storyline is supposed to move over to the clinic, but we haven't seen this clinic since...well, ever!

If this show didn't have the budget, well maybe then don't tell us that you are going to focus on the wealthy and well-heeled. This show can be entertaining at times but one-liners aren't enough to sustain my interest. I need visual storytelling and movement, with a payoff. I know it's a continuing story but you still need stories with a beginning middle and yes, an end. I feel like so many of these stories have been drifting. Maybe it's just me but other than Anita's storyline, I just don't feel invested in most of these characters.

I agree with everything said here. It looks as though the walls are about to close in on Hayley, and that is the only thing keeping me watching now. Everyone involved seems reinvigorated in just the last three episodes. Where was all this action in February and March?

Alex Alegria is the worst actor that ever graced CBS daytime, and I've seen some pretty bad acting on the CBS soaps.

Alex Alegria is not the greatest actor but he's not the worst. Ronn Moss was the absolute worst actor for over 25 years. He NEVER improved and I'll leave it at that.

Things over the past week have moved things to a different level. It's like the gas peddle has been pushed. I watched Michael Fairman's interview with Clifton Davis, Sheila Ducksworth, Sean Freeman and Tamara Tunie. It really sounds like some great stuff is coming up and I can't wait.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by skiman12082004