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Soap Opera Plot Holes That Fans Never Noticed

Dorathy Gass

August 29, 2018

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The land of daytime drama can be a crazy one at times with plot twists and turns that keep soap opera audiences on the edge of their seats. With many shows that have a long and rich history, past storylines can be changed to suit present plots and, when this happens, there are certainly a ton of gaps within. Below are plot holes that some fans may never have noticed in Days Of Our Lives (DOOL), General Hospital (GH) and The Young and the Restless (Y&R), among others.

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12. Olivia Jerome Returns – GH

Olivia Jerome’s return in early 2017 rocked the land of Port Charles and was an interesting storyline filled with drama, intrigue and adventure. While many fans knew she had passed away over 25 years ago, only long-time General Hospital (GH) fans actually remember seeing her get shot by her brother Julian and then pass away in the arms of then-lover Colton Stone. While her return was explosive, many viewers raised an eyebrow or two with her ‘coming back to life’ story.

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11. Erica Kane’s Son Josh Madden – All My Children

Back in the 1970s, All My Children’s (AMC) Erica Kane was involved in a ground-breaking storyline about choosing not to have a baby. Years later, AMC writers decided to rewrite Pine Valley history with Josh Madden, who returned to the little town as Erica’s son. Turns out Kane’s fetus was transplanted into another woman, who eventually gave birth to Madden. There are so many medical holes in this storyline, not to mention the fact that the arc had many viewers fuming around the fact that AMC couldn’t leave that contentious storyline alone, with Erica simply not having the child.

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10. SORAS Issues – DOOL

Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome (SORAS) is a huge issue on any daytime drama. One minute, a child character is 10, and after a visit to boarding school or camp, the kiddo returns as a teenager. Most shows screw up SORAS, but none quite like Days of Our Lives (DOOL). EJ DiMera ended up marrying Sami Brady to become Will Horton’s stepdad, except Will was older than EJ, as he was born first. Theo, Ciara and Claire were all part of Salem’s teen scene years ago, even though Theo was years older than the girls. Then there is Shawn and Belle Brady, high school sweethearts, but six years apart when it came to birth dates. Maybe Shawn failed some grades and Belle was bumped up? Who knows! But there are a ton of plot holes within storylines thanks to SORAS in Salem.

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9. Sharon’s Baby Swap Issues – Y&R

Sharon has been involved in two baby swaps in Young and the Restless (Y&R) storylines over a span of a decade, and both have had plenty of plot holes. The first one was when Adam took a newly-born Faith and handed her over to Ashley in 2006. How anyone could truly believe that Ashley lost her baby and didn’t know it (with all the physical aftermath that is involved when someone suffers this loss) is beyond comprehension. Then 10 plus years later, Sharon would believe she was expecting when she wasn’t given baby Sully/Christian, who was really Sage’s baby. While Sharon may have believed she was expecting, did she not feel weird about the zero body changes after giving birth? What about breastfeeding or any leakage (in her case, lack thereof)? It just doesn’t make sense, any way you spin it.

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8. Emily Survives Breast Cancer – GH

It’s not unbelievable that Emily Quartermaine survived breast cancer in 2003, but considering the circumstances, it did seem a little odd. Emily was nearly a goner after a round of chemotherapy left her immune system weakened due to meningitis. Emily had a dream about Nikolas kissing her, and once she woke up, she miraculously began feeling much better. Weeks went by and she eventually became healed, and the cancer was gone. Weird? Yes! Plenty of plot holes in this story? Absolutely!

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7. Rex and Cassie – DOOL

These twins were thought to be aliens when they first arrived in Salem, then the (genetic) offspring of Marlena Evans and Tony DiMera, and after time it came out that Marlena was simply their surrogate mom and they were actually Roman Brady and Kate Robert’s kids. The twins were conceived during a time when Marlena was out of Salem and under Stefano DiMera’s watch. Even with this scenario, this storyline is not only outrageous but totally unbelievable with plenty of loopholes within the plot. No wonder DOOL fans haven’t seen or heard from the twins since they left town back in 2006.

©Paul Skipper/JPI

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6. Charlotte Is Lulu’s Daughter – GH

When sweet Charlotte came to town, she turned the entire land of Port Charles upside down. At first, she was thought to be Griffin Munroe’s daughter, then Nathan West’s. Things took a turn for the weird when it was revealed that she was actually Lulu Spencer and Valentin Cassadine’s child. Genetically engineered, of course, aren’t most soap opera babies conceived this way? All joking aside, the timelines don’t really add up when you look at the entire Charlotte’s paternity storyline. The child seemed about eight or nine when she arrived on the GH scene, which would line up her birthday as anywhere around 2006-2008. Lulu’s embryos were frozen in and around 2011/2012. You do the math.

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5. Phillip Chancellor Returns – Y&R

Fans watched Phillip Chancellor III pass away in a drunk-driving accident during the 1980s. Years later, it would be revealed that Katherine Chancellor actually switched babies on Jill when she delivered, and ‘Phillip’ wasn’t actually her son. Then a séance would bring Phillip’s spirit back to talk to the ladies and get them to look for Jill’s real son. J.T. Hellstrom was hired to help Jill find her true bio son, and Cane jumped onto the Y&R scene shortly after. After both Kay and Jill bonded with Kane, it turned out that 1980s Phillip was not really deceased — he and Cane concocted the entire story (in which Phillip gave Cane vials of his blood in order to pass tests that would link him to Jill), and that Phillip actually faked his passing years ago! So, was there ever a baby switch? How did Phillip really get away with faking his own passing when fans everywhere watched him pass away? Also, who was the REAL spirit during the séance after all? So many plot holes, not enough time…

©sean smith/jpistudios.com

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4. Robert’s Ghost – GH

Speaking of spirits, Robert Scorpio was presumed deceased between 1992 and 2006 after a boat exploded, which he and Anna were on, at the hands of Cesar Faison. When his daughter Robin was diagnosed with HIV back in 1995, Robert’s ghost came back to help her not only with the passing of her boyfriend Stone but her own HIV condition as well. Robert would return to the show in 2006, which have many long-time fans wondering just who that ghost really was in 1995.

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3. Cassadine Returns – GH

When a member of the Cassadine clan passes away on GH, audiences always wonder whether or not they are truly gone. This family seems to have nine lives when it comes to death. Matriarch Helena has returned from the afterlife once, so has Nikolas, and Stavros has come back three times, with one of his comebacks being from a bottomless pit. How does one escape something like that to return to the land of the living? Did he hit a branch on the way down and climb back up? It does not make sense!

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2. John Black – DOOL

From the moment John Black arrived on the Salem scene, DOOL writers have gone back and forth on his true identity. While the character is a bit older now, the amount of history he had (and the things he had done) by the time he hit his mid-thirties was incredible. The man was a priest, a mercenary, an army doctor, and art smuggler. He’s gone by the name of DiMera, Forrest Alamain, Ryan Brady, Father Black, John Stevens, The Pawn, and, of course, Roman Brady. The loopholes in this character’s history seem plentiful over the years as he and the fans have struggled to find out who he really is.

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1. Jake Returns – GH

Characters return from the afterlife a lot on daytime drama, but you rarely see a child come back. GH broke the mold on this one, bringing back little Jake Spencer in 2014. The boy passed away in an emotional storyline when he got hit by grandad Luke Spencer in 2011. On top of his passing, his parents also happened to donate his kidneys to an ailing and young Josslyn Jax at the time. Not only was it hard to explain Jake’s return — although blaming it on the Cassadines did help — Jake’s comeback launched an interesting storyline around Nelle coming to Port Charles. Still, it’s hard to erase the fact that little Jake was taken off life support right before many GH fans’ eyes, only years early. Additionally, when Jake returned, he hadn’t grown or aged that much over the four years he’d been gone. No broccoli on Cassadine Island?

Dorathy Gass

Dorathy Gass is an avid fan of daytime drama and has been watching Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, and Young and the Restless for over two decades now. As a full-time freelance writer, she gets to combine her love of soap operas and writing through her Fame 10 articles. Also a mother of two busy girls and a mommy blogger, she's been published multiple times over in Huffington Post Parents and Scary Mommy.