Take a plunge into love

Did one man's free-fall into love -- and over the balcony -- hit the ''wow'' meter of a certain lady's heart? Could Sharon be setting herself up to take the fall for two murders? And was Phyllis' wedding to ''Yack'' a dream come true, or was she about to enter the nightmare of her life? To learn more, check out Two Scoops.

Holy moly, there are some crazy affairs happening throughout Genoa City, and not all of them are taking place in the sack. I applaud the writers for thinking outside the box and coming up with some bizarre and unpredictable ideas. So now we have Joe Clark free-falling off the balcony after Avery's little nudge to stop his kiss. Shoot, it might as well have been a slam-dunk the way he flew into the air with the greatest of ease. I mean, we already knew Joe was head over heels in love with Avery, but we sure didn't see Joe being heels over head as he flew over the balcony's edge. This is some high-flying stuff and should definitely score well on Lily's new "wow" meter.

If Joe had only known his future was as an acrobat, he would have been more prepared. I'm sure Joe wished he had super powers like our hero Dylan. With a few flying lessons, Joe could have cushioned himself for the rather abrupt landing. Did he really land in the trash bin, just like the garbage he was? Ha, I couldn't help myself.

Truthfully, I don't mind Joe so much because something needed to kick-start some life into Dylan and Avery's storyline. Those two lovebirds have almost been searching for some angst to give their romance meaning and purpose. However, Avery seemed to care a little too much about the part she played in Joe's rather sudden flight. And what was even weirder, even after Dylan saw Avery holding Joe's hand in the hospital bed, he ended up being more concerned about Sharon's own immediate departure. Are Avery and Dylan just looking for a reason to go their separate ways?

Avery was certainly glued to Joe's bedside, but was it out of guilt or love? After Avery filled a conscious Joe in on what had happened, I had to laugh when Joe swore he would not let Avery "take the fall" for the accident and his injuries. Ha, that Joe's a funny guy. When Avery and Joe were both concerned Joe had no feeling in his legs, the intern told him to not panic and to take it "one step at a time." Everyone's a comedian.

Joe has become somewhat more likable since he's been helpless and vulnerable, and I think Avery is again seeing the man underneath the businessman faade. The man she fell in love with. She has definitely been showing a tenderness to him that she's never shown before. Could her feelings run deeper than concern?

Sharon sure has not been doing herself any favors, but what else is new? All Dylan had to do was to tell her not to do something in order for her to do it. Come on, did Dylan really think Sharon could stay away from Avery's office, knowing the test results and the tire iron were both there? After all, Sharon is the expert on sneaking into supposedly secure rooms to obtain and change documents stored under lock and key.

Dylan has been flip-flopping about whether or not to trust her, so why would he believe, for one minute, that she would listen to his demand to do nothing? Sharon just could not help herself, and she returned to the office, but the more she tried to help herself in clearing her name, the more she appeared to be guilty. Sharon did almost everything she could think of to practically ensure she would be locked away forever for Austin's and Courtney's murders.

It would be frightening that Sharon could not even remember getting home from downtown except, of course, we know her mysterious stalker knocked her unconscious at the office. Thank goodness! We were so not ready for another round of Sharon off her meds. But then she proceeded to blurt out every little detail about a car in the woods and her fingerprints all over the possible murder weapon -- the tire iron that was on her coffee table -- to a grieving Noah and also to Summer, who stormed right into Sharon's cottage without even knocking. What?

Summer had absolutely no right to walk into Sharon's place without permission. Who would do something like that? Summer has made it perfectly clear, time and time again, how she feels about her brother's mother, yet she pranced right into Sharon's home without a howdy-do or anything? If Sharon hadn't been so obsessed with her own problems (most of which were of her own making), she should have had Summer arrested for trespassing. Sheesh, Summer and Kyle are almost perfect for each other. Both have a lot of growing up to do.

But anyway, Sharon called Dylan, as he watched his fiance lovingly hold her ex's hand, and she bid Dylan a fond farewell. Sharon has had the worst run of bad luck of, well, pretty much anyone. First, her car wouldn't start then the person who came to her rescue happened to be the one doing everything in his power to make her appear guilty. Yes, Kyle, although Sharon really didn't need his help, since she was doing an excellent job of that herself. Kyle dragged Sharon home to face the music -- and the police commissioner -- and it wasn't a pretty tune, since Paul only knew the words to one song, "You have the right to remain silent."

But we knew Sharon couldn't leave town, anyway, because she did not kill Austin or Courtney. The killer has to be that unknown someone who's been following and secretly watching her. Luckily for her, Dylan believed she was innocent, and Stitch had concerns himself. Apparently, everyone else in Genoa City has conveniently forgotten the premise of innocent until proven guilty, because they all thought they could rest easy, since Sharon had been arrested. Abby looked like she was even ready to grab the rope to hang her high. Where's the lynch mob when you need them?

Thankfully, Michael rushed to the rescue, and Sharon was released under house arrest with Michael as her guardian. Talk about an odd couple. Sure, Michael's motivation was to escape the watchful and too caring eye of Lauren, but what did Sharon care? She finally had the help she needed. Michael will be very busy just trying to save Sharon from herself, although, after everything he dealt with for his own mother and brother in the past, Sharon's case should be a breeze. Actually, Gloria and Kevin could probably rightfully claim part of the honor for his brilliant and successful career, since Michael had to use some clever and creative strategies to bail them out of trouble.

Sharon was right when she insisted she was being set her up for the murders, though, because Dylan found the gorgeous necklace Courtney had been wearing for her wedding ceremony in Sharon's trunk. Someone wants to get Sharon good, but who could that be? Nick has been using her plight to his advantage because Sharon's arrest gave him a reason to keep her away from Faith. Even though he tried to stop Sharon from seeing Faith before, I don't think he would go through so much trouble to set Faith's mother up when it would only result in bringing pain to his darling daughter.

As obnoxious as Kyle has been, it looked like he has been trying to divert suspicion from himself. Yet Kyle as the murderer is just too obvious. The Scooby-Doo gang looked at him for the dirty deed almost immediately upon his return to town, but he was able to convince them he was just the innocent bystander. Kyle definitely came out ahead thanks to Austin's sudden departure from this earth. (Although I'm not 100% certain Austin is gone. Courtney, yes -- Austin, I'm not so sure.) I almost wish the killer were Kyle, although I suspect he probably isn't.

But who has a bigger axe to bury deep into Sharon's neck than our very own Victor Newman? Were the fingerprints Nikki retrieved from Victor at the confessional Sharon's prints to be planted on the notorious tire iron? Was Sharon's face the one pictured on the bull's-eye of Victor's imaginary target, or has Jack always been front and center of Victor's planned direct hit?

As it turned out, Sharon was only small potatoes, and the whole fingerprints in the confessional scam appeared to be a ruse for Victor and Kelly to both get what they wanted: Jack bound and gagged, far, far away from Genoa City. I knew all along that Kelly wasn't dead. That was just too easy. After the topsy-turvy ride we took with Phyllis and Kelly, as they battled each other to capture the heart of dear Mr. Abbott, Kelly was not going to just back down and let Phyllis win. No, her ally, Victor, had a grander plot in mind, and Jack was the one who would have to pay the price. So, while his family thought Jack had turned traitor and hacked his own company computer, he was at Kelly's mercy in some far-off place. And Phyllis married some stranger who was the spitting image of Jack. Can things get any crazier?

And here I was, ecstatic that the wedding between Phyllis and Jack had actually gone through. I should have known better. When Jack declared that nothing and no one would stop them from getting married, I yelled out, "No!" When a soap character makes that kind of declaration, it's a sure sign the wedding will never take place. And Jack really sealed his fate when he insisted on looking at Phyllis in her sleek, white wedding gown before the ceremony. If only Phyllis had been able to read between the lines of her wedding vows with "Yack" when the Swedish minister told her to "go with the ghost." Phyllis needs to search for her love by looking in the direction of the spirit of the supposedly deceased Kelly. But how will Phyllis ever know to look for Jack when she doesn't even know he is gone?

But just who is Yack? Since Victor has been nosing around in Ashley's life, could it be a relative from her past, who went through extensive facial surgery? Surely Jack didn't have a twin brother no one knew about. Hopefully it's not one of those awful masks General Hospital was utilizing for a while. No mask can be real enough to make you believe someone else is your lover. There would be other ways than just the face, such as birthmarks and his or her own unique personality and individuality, even if the person could get the voice down pat.

For instance, my husband is very much his own person and has a very funny yet distinct sense of humor. No one could ever duplicate his remarkable persona and if some guy tried, I would know it wasn't him or that something was seriously wrong with him. There would just be so many different, personal ways to verify his identity though. Yet, whoever this imposter was, he knew everything about Jack, and he acted somewhat like Jack, other than not responding to urgent messages regarding Jabot. He sure had a normally savvy Phyllis fooled.

But wait a minute. Phyllis repeatedly stated she felt strange, almost like she was in a dream or living someone else's life. Could she be in another fantasy not of her own making? Kelly's been keeping Jack drugged up. Maybe hallucinatory narcotics are giving Phyllis her fairytale ending. Hey, the way Kelly's been acting, she might have downed a couple of those herself. You know Victor's hands were about as clean as a Mississippi mud pie in the scheme, and this would be a rather cunning and crafty plan. If Yack was only in Phyllis' mind, she was certainly being distracted in a most pleasant way.

However, if Yack was only a dream, what would happen when Phyllis woke up and found the real man of her dreams going through a nightmare of his own with a very deluded Kelly? And why would Victor need fingerprints? But no, the "next on The Young and the Restless" clips for Friday showed Jack and Phyllis returning home to Billy, Ashley, and Victor from their wedding vacation/honeymoon. So, the wedding must have taken place unless the scenes from next week are all in Phyllis' mind too. It's a great theory but pretty unlikely.

Okay, let's say Yack is real. We saw through Jack's eyes that he had been with Phyllis up to the time right before the actual marriage ceremony. Kelly couldn't have kidnapped Jack all on her own, and Victor was in Genoa City at the time. Kelly found some way to take Jack without Phyllis noticing, but exactly how did she accomplish that? She must have had some super powers of her own to lug him into the cabin. But how did she do it and when? I'm baffled. Phyllis and Jack were together when they ran out onto the beach. But "Yack" was able to arrange the Swedish minister without her knowledge, so she and Jack must have been separated during that short period of time. It must have happened then.

But just think, with Jack out of the way, Yack can parade all around town as Jack and get him into all sorts of trouble -- like the cyber-theft, for instance. Why isn't any of his family questioning where Jack suddenly got the skills and know-how to become a top-rate computer hacker? I can see if it were Kevin...but Jack? It seems terribly uncharacteristic for Jack to be slinking around Newman Enterprises and especially around his own company, breaking into data rooms. As CEO of Jabot, Jack wouldn't have to sneak around anyway. So, why aren't his loved ones questioning that also?

Whatever she did to ensnare a helpless Jack into her trap, Kelly obviously needs to work on her bedside manner. Despite what the old saying says, the way to a man's heart is not through his stomach, and I am pretty certain slapping Jack won't help him fall hopelessly in love with her. Kelly seriously dove off the deep end -- head first. Or maybe it was the shallow end because her brain seemed to be a bit jumbled. Sharon's got nothing on Kelly. Maybe Kelly should pour an entire bottle of Hex all over Jack. It may be the only ultra-slim chance Kelly has of winning Jack's love.

I am sure both Jack and Victor bringing up the fact that Ashley is not a biological Abbott was no coincidence and is a sure sign one of her blood relatives will pop into town, probably by invitation from Victor. Could it be her long-lost daddy? All indications point to dearly departed former tennis pro Brent Davis being Ashley's father, but fan Merrie had another idea, "What if Ashley Abbot is really a Bingham?" Wouldn't that be wild, especially since Victor indirectly caused the death of Gabriel's sire? I am guessing Victor's confessional confidant has something to do with Ashley's paternity, and somehow, the mysterious someone is also involved with Jack's downfall. I just hope the writers don't drag this out for too long before we start to lose interest.

All the drama from Jack's supposed misdeeds has given Billy the chance to grow closer again to Victoria, which, of course, was working right into Adam's favor. If I didn't know any better, I would almost think Adam helped Victor with the scheme, but no way would that happen. Gabe made it pretty clear where he stood with Victor. How on earth can Victor even try to claim that his motivation was only for business reasons, not personal? He would probably have everyone cracking up hysterically with that joke if they hadn't already heard it a million times. I appreciated that Billy and Victoria wished for the feud to end and wanted to break the cycle by building a relationship of trust, respect, and love between the Newmans and Abbotts. But that will never happen as long as Victor is in the same vicinity as the Abbotts. Victor depends on the air he breathes and getting revenge on Jack in order to live.

Speaking of Gabriel, Adam wasted no time in tattling to Chelsea about Billy defending Victoria, who seemed to be rejected by Ben. Well, I have to admit that Adam's plan is actually working. I guess he knew Billy enough to know he would turn to Victoria eventually, and their draw to each other would prove to be too strong. Chelsea didn't waste any time tearing off Gabe's clothes once she saw Billy and Victoria kissing.Why is it, on a soap, when a person sees their loved one with someone else, he or she never confronts their significant other? Why does the innocent party go slinking off into the night (or day) to either sulk or more often, to do something bigger and better to get even? Oh, that's right, for the drama. So now, Billy and Victoria will be reunited, and Chelsea and the person she knows as Gabriel can go walking hand in -hand into the sunset, and everything will be hunky-dory, right?

That's what our dear Adam believed, but alas, his hopes were dashed once Chelsea announced she and Billy would marry immediately. So, what was the emergency? I'm sure Adam was wondering the same thing. Why, Chelsea wasn't afraid she would change her mind, was she? Could she possibly be fighting her own desires for the "charming" and "persuasive" faux Mr. Bingham?

I mentioned earlier that no one could possibly pretend to be my husband with just a realistic-looking but phony mask without me getting suspicious. Here, the reverse applies. Adam had extensive facial surgery, but wouldn't his body have remained the same? I didn't hear anything about bodily reconstruction surgery. Adam's body should have been a little familiar to Chelsea, at least enough for her to mention it or joke about it to Gabriel. Adam would have loved that.

No matter how this all plays out, Adam will have to let Chelsea in on the secret eventually. I am surprised he is so hesitant to tell her, because Chelsea told Gabriel how much she loved her husband. I would think Chelsea would be willing to keep Adam's identity hush-hush if it meant she could stay with the man she loves and give Connor back his father. Would it be worth the risk for Adam to take the leap if he really wants his family back that badly? Chelsea and Gabriel could be husband and wife while secretly knowing the married couple was, in fact, Chelsea and Adam.

I almost feel guilty -- and "funky" -- now. I was thinking Michael was looking at Cane to be his successor in Lauren's heart when he actually realized Cane would know what Lauren was going through, since Cane had already gone through it with Lily. I apologize, Michael. You really are a good guy.Sage had some good advice for Nick, which he proceeded to ignore, when she advised mixing business and pleasure was a bad idea. Don't say you haven't been warned, Nick.I wish I could get invested in Nick with Sage, but it hasn't happened yet. I did like what he said to her though, "You're like a bright, shiny light in the middle of the darkness." What lady wouldn't like to hear those kind of sweet nothings in her ear from the man she loves?Please keep an eye out for the predictions Soap Central's clairvoyant panelists are making for the Daytime Emmy awards again this year. I had my best year last year, but I do admit I had some help with Delia's hit-and-run tragedy on Y&R. Actually, I have done pretty well with my predictions in the past few years, so I am probably due to bomb out this year. But I will cross my fingers and hope for the best. And I will root for all the Y&R nominees to win on April 26th, no matter what my predictions are.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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