I first learned about the concept of karma when I took a course on Eastern religion at my local community college. For me, it was the perfect marriage between Newton's Third Law of Motion -- for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction -- and the Golden Rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you -- and proves that you don't have to believe in reincarnation to see the results of cause and effect in this life! It's just like my old Southern Baptist granny used to say, "What goes around comes around!"
Let's start with some good karma and some good news for Nick and Sharon. What went around came around for them when the social worker saw through Victor's ruse, and -- "Surprise! Surprise!" -- recommended what was in the best interest of Christian instead of blindly doing what Victor wanted. I like to think that Nick got Christian back, at least partly, because he did the right thing and ultimately did not sink to Victor's level of dirty tricks. Nick's karma remains relatively clean. He owns his actions and is strong enough as a person to admit when he's wrong and to agonize over whether or not to engage in the same unethical and underhanded tactics as his opponent. I'm glad that, ultimately, Nick took the high road, and I like to think that his full karmic bank was a big help in his successful victory over Victor.
Unlike Nick, Billy's karma bank is not full, and it looks like he is going to get caught in a karma avalanche. Phyllis is going to find out that Billy is gambling again and that he has been lying to her. I do think Phyllis has every right to be upset because Billy lied to her for Summer. Even though Billy has not had sex with Summer, he is being mentally unfaithful to Phyllis because he is sharing a secret with Summer instead of being truthful with Phyllis. Billy owes his first loyalty to Phyllis, not Summer. Perhaps if Billy had come clean with Phyllis and told her about Summer's gambling problem, Billy would not be gambling away all his assets, trying to cover up his lies and losses.
Phyllis is not going to be a happy camper when she finds out what is going on, but will she stand by her man? I hope so. Billy is a very flawed individual with a bad gambling addiction, which bites him in the butt more often than he -- or Jill, or anyone close to him -- wants to admit. In the past, someone has always bailed him out, but I wonder who will do that now, especially if he loses Jabot like he lost Jaboat.
Picky, Picky, Picky: Just exactly where does one dock an ocean-going yacht in Genoa City? Are they on one of the Great Lakes? If so, why don't the Newmans or the Abbotts have beachfront homes or getaway places -- Lake Michigan is huge, with big, sandy beaches and lots of expensive beachfront property. Has Y&R been holding out? Why don't we know this about our favorite Wisconsin city?
Perhaps Ashley and Jack will team up to stop Billy before he destroys Jabot while trying to "save" it. Doing away with the "blood Abbott" clause would be a big step in the right direction. Billy has been a spectacular fail at everything that he has tried. I don't know why anyone would leave him in charge of Jabot, unsupervised. It's a good thing Ashley is back, but we know that it won't last because Eileen Davidson is leaving Y&R, and Ashley will be riding off into the sunset yet again.
If anyone deserves a little good karma, it's Jack, who was completely blindsided when he found out that John Abbott was not his biological father. The best karma would be if Jack woke up from a very bad nightmare, but barring that, then finding out for sure that Phillip Chancellor was his dad might be the next best thing. At least Phillip was part of the hoity-toity country club set, so Jack could retain his privileged status as Genoa City royalty.
It would also give Jill, the wonderful Jess Walton, a reason to stick around town. Because of her own situation, Jill was much more empathetic with Jack than Cane, who is a total twit in any situation that does not involve his family. Cane is great with them but a pompous jerk with just about everyone else. It's a good thing for Cane that "love is blind" and that Lily loves him, because lots of women would have kicked him and his selfish attitude to the curb long ago.
Devon may be about to experience a little bad karma of his own, if the sparks flying between Hilary and Nate are an indication of things to come. I suspect that Hilary is about to lose her baby and will find comfort with Nate. I think it is very possible that Hilary will leave Devon and Genoa City with Nate, and then Devon will feel the same sting that Neil felt when Hilary left Neil for Devon. It's possible that I am completely wrong and that the sniping between Hilary and Nate is a Y&R red herring, but I don't think so!!
Karma is coming around big time for the ladies murder club. Not only was J.T. not dead when the ladies buried him in Chancellor Park, but he also managed to start breathing with a nose and mouth full of dirt and claw his way out, and nobody noticed. How fortunate for him that bustling Chancellor Park was deserted. J.T. is angry and out for revenge, but karma will get him eventually, as well. J.T. has done plenty of bad things to earn his karmic reckoning, with attempted murder topping the list.
Since J.T. is such a whiz at defeating the Newman security and cyber-security, it's a wonder that he wasn't a lot more successful in life. Someone that good with computers was wasted at his piddly Newman job. J.T. should be working at a major firm in Silicon Valley. And instead of opting to return to Genoa City to terrorize Victoria and the gang, he should have used his skills to change his identity and disappear off Victor's -- and Paul's -- radar.
In movies and in soaps, the bad guys have to come back one more time, always believing that this time, they will win their objective. That doesn't usually happen in real life, but in "reel" life, story-tale villains never learn. Well, that's a lesson for us. We write our own scripts, unlike the characters in our soaps.
I've been living a tale worthy of a soap opera myself with Dolly Dog and Blondie Cat, both of whom I thought were females until I took them to the vet for shots and found out that my sweet feminine Blondie Cat was a boy! I told the vet that the cat had presented herself as a female, and since she had been neutered, I had to conclude that she was transgender, and I would respect her choice. I'm proud to say that Blondie is the Caitlyn Jenner of cats! My friend Anne thinks I'm nuts, but as long as Blondie keeps purring, I'll keep calling her my "sweet pretty girl."
Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts with you. As always, fellow fans, I welcome feedback about this column in the section provided below. I enjoy all your comments, even when you don't agree with me. Please return in two weeks for another edition of Two Scoops.
What are your thoughts on The Young and the Restless? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
