July 4th in Soapland 2018

Below is my summary of how US soaps handled Independence Day in 2018.

"The Bold and the Beautiful" celebrated the 4th on the fourth, as that episode ended with fireworks, though it continued being the next day afterwards. Ridge visited with Steffy, who was ready to remarry Liam. Wyatt and Sally were intimate at his place, though they are moving quickly. Some of the Forrester gang was at work during the day (namely Maya, Xander, Thorne and Liam), except Emma who had other plans.  They spoke about work, and it wasn't festive as the idea they were working that late didn't make sense. Ridge and Brooke discussed Hope, Liam and Steffy and Brooke told her husband about the baby. Hope shared the news that she was pregnant with Liam's child. He didn't hear at first due to the fireworks.

"Days of Our Lives" didn't celebrate, except to mention later in the week that they had leftovers from the holiday as Roman made too much food. There was no party, and having a custody trial for Tate made no sense, as what court would be open on the 4th of July for this sort of case.

"General Hospital" celebrated on July 3rd as the 4th was preempted. There wasn't much discussion about the holiday either. Joss went to the park with Oscar, and a SORASed Cameron (who was the same age as Joss and Oscar) spoke. Cameron shared how Joss used to dress up as corn at Halloween, and how they were together as kids. Liz and Franco watched the fireworks, as did Sam, Jason and Danny. Earlier Sam was with Brad and Lucas, while Kim and Julian were celebrating the 4th at the Metrocourt. Things like Carly in Ferncliff, the discussion of Michael and Nelle getting married, and Liz and Franco spending time with Liz's transgendered friend Terry weren't about Independence Day.

"The Young and the Restless" had the most festive 4th of July, even if a lot of the cast was missing. At the pool deck, Hilary hosted her show, Mariah had the day off, which meant she wasn't on screen, and Tessa appeared and sang. The mayor was to be a guest, and she never arrived. Instead Hilary got footage of people talking about the holiday. Lily, Cane, Mattie, and Charlie, were together, Shauna was there too. (Devon was out of town). On his birthday, Billy and Phyllis left their home, went to Jabot, got stuck in an elevator, had sex, and were rescued when halfway dressed. They ended up at the party, Esther was there as well. Esther spoke to Cane about the mess with Jack thinking he was a Chancellor. Hilary and Tessa got along for a change, but the moment was lost, as Hilary's comment about Tessa's sister upset her. Arturo and Abby left before the fireworks to make love.

So the 4th of July-related episodes weren't big on parties or on patriotism, but literal (not figurative) fireworks were not completely forgotten.