Performer of The Week: Days of Our Lives' Mary Beth Evans!

Our performer of the week is Days of Our Lives' Mary Beth Evans! Our Honorable Mentions are General Hospital's Kelly Monaco and Days of Our Lives' Stacy Haiduk! Read more here --->>>

Photos: NBC

Recaps & Winners

Days of Our Lives

Rafe took his suspicions about Hope to Roman after finding her fingerprints on the Tiara he found in the loft. Roman wasn’t sure about Rafe’s unofficial investigation until he saw how she acted towards Kate and Hattie. Unfortunately for Rafe, his job alongside his ex is in jeopardy when “Hope” fires him. She also covered up the DNA results on Stefano’s gift for Marlena that pointed towards Steve. Eli got a security alert about Gabi’s broken storefront window. A blurry camera image of a woman wearing a habit led them to confront Kristen. Who they found instead was Lani, who did her best to be civil and saintly to their faces at least. Kristen was angered by the sight of Brady and Nicole and had to be talked down by Lani before she went after them with a wine bottle. 

Brady and Nicole realized that hooking up wouldn’t be the best idea. Marlena confronted “Hope” about her feelings for John. The residents of Salem dressed up to ring in the new year at Julie’s Place. Stefano was getting antsy and was ready to make a move with Gina’s help. After his close call with Kayla at the hospital, Gina suggested that Stefano parade around town as Steve. Brady and Nicole were met by an angry Kristen outside of the restaurant. She does her best to apologize to Brady for leaving, but he isn’t apt to believe her when she ends up in a fight with Nicole. Gabi told Lani that she knew it was her that broke the window and warns her to stay in line or Julie will pay the price. 

Xander told Victor that Ciara was lying to him about Ben. Victor warned him to leave her alone, but Xander takes it upon himself to visit Ben in prison. Victor confronts Ciara with the knowledge that she was visiting Ben. Stevano made his grand entrance at the New Year’s Eve party much to everyone’s surprise. He was met with anger from Kayla and Justin for his behavior over the past two years. He had some harsh words for them as well when he let them know he was warned about their relationship from “Hope.” He informed Kayla that he wasn’t back for her, but rather for Marlena. Gina’s cover story was that Hope had brought him back to town to protect Marlena and track down Stefano. 

Kate was upset that she wasn’t kept in the loop on Gina and Stefano’s plan. Hattie was confused as to why she was asked to lie for Steve when he went ahead and revealed himself to the whole town. Justin was concerned about his relationship after Kayla's dreams about Steve. She does her best to ease his mind when she tells him that Steve was her past and he is her future. Kayla goes to confront Steve, who is staying at John and Marlena's place. She is heartbroken by his cold demeanor and claims that he is in love with another woman. 

The Bold and the Beautiful

Brooke brought her concerns about Zoe to Steffy. She wasn’t sure if Zoe could be objective now that she was sleeping with Thomas. Liam and Hope spent some time with Douglas and Beth. Steffy talked with Brooke about her wanting to forgive her brother, but how she wasn’t sure she would be able to. Hope filled Liam in on Thomas’ date with Zoe and how she thinks he might finally be moving on. Thomas’ night with Zoe didn’t do much for his Hope obsession as he imagined it was her in his bed. Brooke and Ridge decide to put aside their differences for a little while to spend the holiday together. Steffy wasn’t too happy with the liberties Sally took with her latest designs. 

Eric and Quinn invite Zoe to spend the holiday with them and Thomas. Thomas uses every opportunity he can get, including making Zoe a model for the HFTF line, to flaunt his relationship in front of Hope. Liam begins to think like Brooke and wonder if using Zoe in their plan will end in disaster. Shauna tells Thomas that she sees he is just going through the motions of his relationship with Zoe. Bill stopped by to visit with Beth and also offered his services via Thomas if need be. So, he and Steffy decide to meet with her. She tells them that she is fully convinced that Thomas is no longer obsessing over Hope. However, Liam doesn’t agree. He goes to confront Thomas once again. Thomas lays into him about his constant back and forth between Steffy and Hope. Telling him that Hope and Beth don’t need him because he is there and that Steffy is like his Brooke. He ends his speech with a threat to Liam and a promise to be a top dog in every way. 

The Young and the Restless

Tessa and Mariah started the week off solving the mystery of a bag of presents left at Society and delivering them to children. Their week would turn dramatic after Tessa received a text from Tanner Watts, a famous musician from Tessa’s past. She meets with him and he asks her to be his opening act on his new tour. She has to tell Mariah about their meeting and the fact that she was once married to Tanner. Connor brought his family together for the holiday as they cared for an abandoned kitten. Nikki got a surprise when she found a baby in the stables. Nate and Elena came by to check on the baby. The security team found the mother sneaking back onto the property. Nikki talked with the mother about her troubles and helped her get a place to stay with New Hope. Theo opted to spend the holiday alone. Chloe gave Kevin and their family a great Christmas gift when she revealed that she was pregnant. 

Phyllis and Jack have a nice chat about their past and friendship. Nick filled Chelsea in on Adam’s offer for Phyllis. She wants to confront him on her own. Kyle continued to be annoyed by Theo during a lunch break with him, Summer, and Lola. Summer and Theo called each other out on their feelings for Lola and Kyle. Jill is back in town for a while and wants to keep an eye on Chance and help Devon in his search for Collin. Adam apologizes to Chelsea for his methods and tells her that he should have just been upfront about his feelings from the beginning. Summer sees red alerts when it comes to Phyllis’ relationship with Nick and warns her not to go there again. Adam also calls her out on her messy relationship with Nick. 

Billy hates that Victoria sees him as a man that needs to be saved and opts to spend most of the holiday with Amanda. Chance tells Devon that he is a free agent now and go after Collin without any restrictions. Devon and Elena rush to Sasha and the baby’s side when they need them. Chelsea does her best to fight her feelings for Adam and tells him that her being there is giving him and Connor false hope. Adam kisses her and she leaves upset. Nikki tells Adam that she got the principal of Connor’s school to change his mind. The Newmans and the Abbotts come together for New Year’s Eve. After a chat with Jack, Nick decides that he needs to move on from Chelsea. Chelsea went to Adam for comfort after her break up and they decide to take their situation slowly. She isn’t ready to jump back into another relationship. Sharon made a doctor’s appointment after finding a lump in her breast. 

General Hospital

Sonny put a tracker on Carly’s car and hired Gino to watch her. Jason tells Sonny that he over controlling this situation because he can’t do that with Mike. Gina overhears Carly and Jax talking. And he also hears Brad and Julian talking about staying away from Nelle. Ava calls Nina before the big wedding to make sure she isn’t going to back out of their plan. Laura asks Ava why she burned the portrait. Ava tells her that Valentin will get what is coming to him very soon. Nina questions Valentin about going for full custody of Charlotte. Willow, Sam, Harmony, and Michael all got invites to a memorial service honoring Shiloh. Jax filled in Laura on his plans to locate Claudette with Curtis. Valentin overheard Ava mention the codicil and enlists Martin to help him with her. Nina goes to the hospital to test the DNA that proves Valentin’s involvement in the Sasha scam. 

Sam was devastated after her first home visit from her parole officer. The PO seems to have an agenda against Jason and advised Sam that a condition of her parole would be to stay away from Jason. They go to Diane for advice, who tells them to go through this process legally and get Spinelli to dig up something on the officer. Carly told Sonny the truth about Nikolas and his involvement with Jax. He was upset that Carly couldn’t trust him. He now also has leverage against Jax. Charlotte told Laura about the ring her bodyguard had. Laura realizes that the picture of Nikolas she saw didn’t have his ring. Martin led Ava up to the balcony to meet with Valentin. He offered to make a deal with her for the codicil, but she wasn’t willing to work with him. In response to her turning him down, he tossed her over the balcony into the water below. 

Jax goes to Nina before the wedding and begs her to just walk away. Whatever plan she had wasn’t worth the heartache it would bring her and Charlotte. Ned went to Diane for advice over Brook Lynn’s contract. She tells him that it is ironclad and the only option he had was to pay the manager off. Brook Lynn was upset when Ned declined to go that route, especially after she told him that the guy had harassed her. Michael confides to Sasha that he believes Ned will start their battle for control of ELQ again. Laura suggested to Lulu that they put more effort into being civil with Valentin for Charlotte’s sake. Nina’s vows are interrupted when Nikolas bursts through the door carrying an unconscious Ava. 

Our Performer of the Week is Days of Our Lives’ Mary Beth Evans (Kayla)!

If there were a list of actresses that could portray angst the best...you would find Mary Beth Evans near the top! We have been waiting on the edge of our seats for the day that Kayla came face to face with Stevano and the scenes did NOT disappoint! Kayla was shocked to see “Steve” stroll into the New Year’s Eve party like nothing was wrong. She confronted him about his terrible actions over the past year and was devastated when he told her that he hadn’t returned for her. Justin did his best to comfort her, but she couldn’t get past his cold demeanor. She decided to try to talk with Steve again after dreaming of him. We were shattered when she told Steve that it was like someone took his soul. If she only knew! The last pieces of her heart and ours were crushed when “Steve” yelled out that he was in love with another woman. Mary Beth is proving why she is an Emmy winner as she navigates Kayla’s anguish for Steve and her feelings for Justin. We’re already amazed and the story is just getting started! 

Our Honorable Mentions are:

General Hospital’s Kelly Monaco (Sam)

Sam had a lot on her plate this week. She received a mysterious invite to Shiloh’s memorial service while trying to adjust to life on parole. Her first home visit didn’t go like she expected when her parole officer told her a condition of her parole meant that she couldn’t be involved with Jason. She was devastated after Diane told them that there was no quick fix for their problem. She would have to stay away from her love or risk going back to prison for two years. She shared a heartbreaking goodbye with Jason that showed the beautiful emotional depth of Kelly Monaco! We can’t wait to see how Sam deals with their situation and the distance from Jason! 

Days of Our Lives’ Stacy Haiduk (Kristen)

WE LOVE STACY! Kristen ran into Brady and Nicole as they shared a New Year’s Eve kiss. She laid into Nicole and begged Brady not to fall for her games once again. She did her best to apologize to Brady as she explained why she had to leave. In a wonderful set of sequences, we saw two people who loved each other that was torn apart by grief try and deal with their unresolved feelings. Stacy, who has an incredible emotional acting range, went back and forth between anger towards her enemy and heartbreak for her lost love.