The Best and the Worst of The Young and the Restless 2021, Part Two

Soap Central has been providing year-end "Best and Worst" features for The Young and the Restless for the past 26 years. Find out what our columnist has picked as the best and worst moments for every major Genoa City resident on 2021 in this special Two Scoops column.

Here we are at the end of another year. It's tradition here at Soap Central to take a look back at the last twelve months and pick the best and the worst of the year gone by. But this year, I decided to do it a little different. Here is a look at the best and worst moments for nearly every resident in Genoa City. That's right. Santa isn't the only one with a list!

Best: Nikki and Victor have always been the best, and they never failed to entertain. For the most part, I felt that Nikki has always given Victoria, and Nick sage advice, and I have always loved the closeness between Nikki and Victoria.

Victor was a different story. He might deny that he never pitted his children against each other, but I beg to differ, he has. Nevertheless, it was great to see Victor and Adam finally stop butting heads and working together. Let's see how long this "truce" will last.

Worst: Has Victor ever done anything worse than forcing Ashland to sign the Cyaxares sales contract over to him while Ashland was in the middle of a heart attack? I don't know why it had surprised me, but it had. I have always known that ruthless Victor would do anything to get what he wanted, but to hold someone's life in his hands, all for a contract, was beyond cruel. I never thought Victor would stoop that low.

Victor also threatened to take Connor away from Chelsea. This was one of the times I think he went too far. Connor still had a father, Adam, who would fight any attempt Victor made. Victor would have been hard-pressed to win custody of Connor since Adam was Connor's father and capable of raising him.

Victor's hypocrisy about hating Billy because Billy had been born with a silver spoon and squandered all his privileges, while Victor had had to work for everything he has achieved, needs a little adjusting. Why does Victor feel that Billy is any different from his own children who'd also been born privileged? Shouldn't the same rules apply to Victoria and Nick as apply to Billy? Why did it give Victor the right to destroy Billy and not his own children, since they had also been born with silver spoons in their mouths? Victor never plays fair. I really would love to see Victor, and Adam get payback for their dirty little games.

Best: Say what you will about Adam, sometimes he shows that he has a heart. After Faith had crashed the Newman truck after she'd been drinking, everyone had been shocked when the hospital video revealed that Adam had brought Faith to the hospital after her accident.

Adam showed his good side after Nick had tracked Adam down to the Montalvo farmhouse in Kansas. Nick had told Adam that he might be Faith's only hope for a kidney transplant. While Nick and Adam had been trapped in the Montalvo cellar during a tornado, Adam had agreed to be Faith's donor, and Nick offered to help Adam escape arrest.

It had been refreshing to see the bonding between Nick and Adam as they worked together to free themselves from the debris in the basement, but after the ceiling had collapsed on them, Nick had been injured, and he told Adam to take the Newman jet and get to Faith, but Adam returned with the fire department instead, to help free Nick despite the fact that he might have been arrested. Adam's goodness that was buried deep within him, was beginning to surface.

When Faith thanked Adam for donating his kidney, Adam said he wanted to think of his donation as an apology for the pain he'd caused her. This was a whole new side to Adam.

Worst: Adam's stand alone "haunting" chess-themed dream during a thunderstorm. Victor insisted that Adam play by the rules, and that it was an all-or-nothing game. During that whole dream sequence, Adam came across as being misunderstood.

Adam, the guy who claims he turned the page to become a better person, appears to be very selective about the pages he chooses. Choosing to be a better person shouldn't include helping Victor destroy Billy. I would love to see Billy settle the score with Adam and put this rivalry between them to rest.

Best: I thought Chelsea's stroke storyline was a good one for her and it had been well done, in my opinion. The stroke had affected her cognition to a small degree, and because of it, Chelsea was convinced that Adam was having an affair with Sharon. She was determined on revenge and she'd done a really great job framing Adam for poisoning Rey Rosales and Chloe believing that what she'd done for Chelsea, had been harmless pranks.

Worst: There really wasn't a worst since Melissa Claire Egan was about to go on maternity leave. Chelsea hadn't been around long enough to determine whether there was a worst story line for her. I hope there will be a really juicy story for Chelsea in 2022.

Best: Hmm. There is very little one can say about what was the best about Sally. I guess it would have to be the wedding dress she'd designed for Victoria. The gown had been stunning, and Sally is certainly very knowledgeable about the fashion industry. I believe she will be a great asset to the Newman Media fashion platform with her designs provided she can focus on designing rather that scheming.

Unfortunately for Tara, there is really nothing positive to say about her. Was she a devoted mother to Harrison, or did she use him as her pawn in the games she was playing? I would like to believe she really was a good mother to her son.

Worst: I think the writer's made Sally far more aggressive since her arrival in Genoa City than she'd been on the Bold and Beautiful. Pairing Sally with Jack had been a big mistake. Thankfully, Jack had seen Sally's true colors and he dropped her.

Sally's manipulation of Summer, had been underhanded. Sally had included Tara in her plot against Summer, and between Sally and Tara, they managed to run Summer out of town, all because Sally wanted Summer's job as President of JCV, and Tara wanted Kyle as her permanent mate. After all that planning, Sally's tenure as President of JCV had been short lived because Lauren fired Sally after discovering what Sally had done to Summer, and Sally's reason behind it, and Tara never got her man because Kyle moved to Italy to be with Summer and she'd been arrested for embezzlement from her own company.

Sally is like the old Timex commercials, she takes a licking, but keeps on ticking. Sally's schemes had been exposed several times, yet despite all the warnings, Sally continues to plot to get what she wants, no matter who she hurts in the process. Sally has continued watching Phyllis and Jack like a hawk? What does she think she is going to gain from it? Phyllis is a free agent since she and Nick broke up. Does Sally still hope to snag Jack?

Best: I will repeat myself and mention the Montalvo farm incident once again. During that time in Kansas, I loved how Nick had urged Adam to stay in Genoa City to prove that he was committed to being a better person.

Nick's loyalty to Summer, Faith, Noah, and Christian is unwavering. We might not see Nick with Christian much, but it is implied. He is a warrior when it involves his kids, and he will fight the dragon to keep them safe. I love the easy rapport he has with Sharon. I have to wonder if he and Sharon will ever reconcile. I hope they do. They have matured, and they had never stopped loving each other.

I was happy to see that Nick and Phyllis had broken up. I don't think this union was ever meant to be anything serious, meaningful, or permanent.

Worst: Nick needs to drop being so judgmental, and he also needs to drop his daddy issues. Nick hates that Adam seems to have replaced him as the apple of daddy's eye. Nick must be in his late thirties or early forties? Does he really need daddy's approval at this age? Nick has been his own man and he never seemed to care whether he had Victor's approval until Victor and Adam had stopped butting heads, and after they created Newman Media, Adam was put in charge of the company. Now that Victor and Adam were working together, Nick feels left out. Why? Nick never wanted to work with Victor, so I don't see Nick's issue. Nick is an adult, but behaving like a 12-year-old. Time to grow-up Nick.

Best: Phyllis is fiercely protective of the people she loves and she fights for those she loves. Phyllis saved Lauren a lot of heartache by exposing Tara's embezzlement, and her subsequent arrest. Had Tara started working with Fenmore's with her shoe line, Tara would have embezzled from Fenmore's as well. Phyllis also exposed Sally and Tara's manipulation of Summer. I love Phyllis's tenacity. Her instincts are usually spot on, and she'd warned people about Sally and Tara, and no one had believed her, but in the end, she'd proven she'd been right.

How delicious was the scene at the Grand Phoenix during the Newman Media launch party? Phyllis doesn't stand on ceremony about how she shows her disdain for those she doesn't like. It was classic Phyllis when she dumped a bucket of ice water over Sally's head. That was priceless.

Worst: It isn't beneath Phyllis to blackmail or threaten anyone. She has tempered that quite a bit. When Victoria became part owner of the Grand Phoenix by buying Phyllis's debts, Phyllis threatened Victoria with blackmail concerning a Newman employee's embezzlement at Newman Enterprises.

In order to prove that she was right about Sally, Phyllis had hacked into Sally's computer and saw that Sally had been researching Jack. She also hacked into Tara's corporate files and discovered Tara's embezzlement. She forwarded a video of Sally and Tara in the elevator to Jack, which showed them arguing. I guess the ends justified the means. Phyllis has tempered the malicious schemer she used to be, but I doubt she will ever lose that edge.

Best: Jack finding out he was Harrison's grandfather and watching him dote on the little guy had been the best. Jack didn't have any real storylines this year except for the Sally debacle. I hope there will be a great story line for Jack in the coming year. Perhaps he will finally be matched with his soul mate. At the moment it just feels like he is a fill-in.

The epic moments for me were when Jack learned that Sally had requested Ashland's help to get Summer the job at Marchetti, then confronting Sally about the video of her and Tara in the elevator, and finally when he cornered Tara about her and Sally's plot to run Summer out of town.

Worst: Jack had been the one to welcome Theo into the family. He'd convinced Traci, Billy, and Ashley to accept Theo as part of the family. Theo had had developed a great rapport with Dena, and Jack knew that. In the New Year, Jack had provided the family with jewelry made from the Teardrop of Love and he should have made sure that Theo had been included that gift as well, but Theo had been left out.

Best: Camryn Grimes is a fabulous actress and always does a terrific job. Her stand alone scenes after she'd been abducted were wonderful. Talking to the baby made those scenes believable. Tessa stood by Mariah throughout the pregnancy and made sure she ate and exercised, and generally took great care of Mariah. Tessa's love for Mariah was unconditional.

Worst: The surrogate storyline had to be the worst storyline of the year. Mariah had offered to be a surrogate for Abby and Chance's baby. Mariah wouldn't have qualified because she'd never been pregnant before, but having said that, and this being a soap, Mariah became pregnant, but not with Chance's contribution, but with Devon's. To make this storyline even worse, Stitch abducting Mariah and held hostage for weeks.

Best: Victoria meeting and marrying Ashland Locke. I don't recall Victoria ever being as animated as she is with Ashland. The wedding in Tuscany was epic and she looked stunning in the dress Sally had designed for her. The Tuscan sets were absolutely stunning.

Worst: After trying to win Billy's affection and her jealousy about his relationship with Lily, she turned on him completely, and joined Victor, Adam, and Ashland to bring Billy down. It had been one thing for her to be angry with Billy for wanting to expose Ashland's past, but it was another to be involved in Billy's downfall, albeit standing on the sidelines and not participating. Victoria had always cared about Billy, so how could she turn on him this way? This didn't make sense to me. Even after everything that had happened between her and Billy, she still loved him. After she and Ashland discovered their love, Victoria never really stopped cared about Billy, so the stand she'd taken against Billy really surprised me.

Best: Handsome, debonair, and a perfect match for Victoria. He treats her really well, unlike J.T. and Billy. I love their connection, and the fact that Victoria was finally with a man, and not a boy like J.T. or Billy. I liked Ashland's back story. It was interesting how he came to be the mogul he was. I loved his devotion to Harrison, and how he felt Kyle would be the better parent for Harrison, given Ashland's health issues. He always wanted what was best for Harrison, even knowing he wasn't Harrison's biological father.

Worst: I'm not sure Ashland has been around long enough to have a worst storyline yet. His back story was interesting, but he has been very focussed on his health since meeting Victoria. If I had to chose something, I guess it would be allowing himself to be blackmailed by Jesse Gaines.

Best: Aside from Victoria and Ashland, I believe another great pairing was Billy and Lily. Lily keeps Billy on a short leash, and she manages to keep him reined in. They work well together. You can see there is a great love for each other. Billy is being completely open and honest with Lily, something he hadn't been with Victoria. Lily's promise that she would never abandon Billy the way Victoria had.

Billy's instincts are good. He was suspicious of Sally and Tara, and he asked Phyllis to help him protect Jack and Kyle. As it turned out, he'd been right.

Worst: Billy's instincts might be great, but he never seems to know when to let go of something. He was on a mission to tell Victoria about Ashland's dirty little past. Why? That was in his past. Ashland had created an empire of his own without any criminal intent. Yes, he'd been ruthless, but he'd never broken the law (that we know of) to build that empire. Billy's methods to bring out the truth aren't always well thought out. Billy never seems to think about the consequences of his actions. Case in point, he lost ChancComm to Victor and Adam because he'd been too focussed on Ashland to look at the whole picture.

Best: Jess Walton is an amazing actress, and it's always a delight to see her. This past year Jess has suffered some huge losses, her husband of forty years died of liver cancer, her favorite horse had had to be put down, and recently she lost two of her beloved dogs.

Those were huge losses for one person, yet being the consummate professional, Jill returned to Genoa City to take care of business and Billy. On screen you would never know she'd gone through those major losses during the past year.

Jill is always there to protect Billy, and her love for him is unconditional. Appointing Lily as the CEO of Chancellor Industries was brilliant. Jill's decision to sell ChancComm to the highest bidder, was also a great move, given the circumstances.

Worst: There were none.

Best: Abby's unwavering belief that Chance was alive, and proving it to everyone. I love the interaction between Chance and Abby, and their mutual respect and love. Abby's determination to find chance had paid off. She found Chance in Majorca, Spain living at a friend's house, and she managed to convinced him to come home with her.

Worst: Chance's disappearance without a goodbye and missing for almost a year. Abby's surrogate story line made absolutely no sense whatsoever without Chance, and the fact that Abby had to look for a donor other than Chance. Abby should have waited for Chance's return, have him tested to see if he could be the donor and proceeded from there. I think this storyline had been dragged out and it wasn't very popular.

Best: Finally, Chloe has put her animosity toward Adam to rest. She even took a job with him to have her own fashion platform under the Newman Media umbrella. She'd done it to ensure that Chelsea had a job when she returned to Genoa City. I love how she tries to rein Sally in with her warnings about pitfalls, regardless of the fact that Sally seems to ignore all of Chloe's warnings.

Kevin hasn't been seen much this year. He told Phyllis that Victoria was aware that one of her employees had been embezzling from Newman, but he destroyed the thumb drive containing that evidence. Kevin has come a long way from his chipmunk days. Kevin was a hero when he traced Mariah's cell phone to Stitch's hotel room. This led to Rey and Devon to discover that Stitch had lied, and ultimately it had led to Mariah being found.

Worst: I haven't seen anything detrimental about Chloe or Kevin this year. She is trying her best to make her fashion platform a success and a place for Chelsea to land. Kevin continues to support Chloe.

Best: Amanda's determination to connect with the mother who had abandoned her at birth, and facing off with her when she finally met her birth mother, Naya, and forming a tentative bond. Later, Amanda and Imani finally accepted each other as siblings. I loved Amanda's determination to prove that her grandfather, Sutton Ames, had been behind her father's death. Amanda's determination became stronger after Victor informed her that her father had been searching for her and her twin Hilary prior to his death.

How much did everyone love how Amanda exposed Sutton when he tried to tape her admitting she only brought the lawsuit against him as revenge for forcing Naya to give her and Hilary up. That was priceless and, in the end, Amanda had outwitted him, and Sutton was jailed for his part in Amanda's father's death. Amanda's conviction that Sutton had been behind her father's death, and the controlling factor in Naya and Imani's lives, had freed her mother and sister from his control. Naya told Amanda she was very proud of her, and Imani was delighted to have a sister.

Worst: I can't say that this is the worst, but I really don't like Amanda and Devon together. Too much like Devon and Hilary. I would really rather see Amanda with Nate or someone new.

Best: Was there a best for Sutton? If there was, I'm afraid it has escaped me. I always found him to be pompous, controlling, and overbearing. I guess he provided well for his family, but at what cost. The only thing I saw that had given me any pleasure was when Amanda caught on to him trying to record her admitting she'd filed her lawsuit against him for revenge only.

Worst: Sutton didn't have any redeeming qualities; from I had seen. I guess I have pretty much summed it up for best and worst for this man.

Best: Devon is the best. He is always there to lend a helping hand. He'd had a rough start in his youth, but he had grown into a wonderful person since then. Devon is very devoted to his friends. He'd known how much Abby and Chance had wanted a baby and he offered to be the donor when Abby began her search for one. Devon was always there to quell Abby's fears and insecurities, and he did a great job of it.

Worst: Breaking up Devon and Elena. They were fabulous as a couple. Elena had helped Devon through his reverie over Hilary, and I thought they made a much better couple than Elena and Nate. I'm not a fan of the Devon and Amanda pairing. I would rather see Amanda with Nate or someone new, and Devon with Elena.

Best: Loved how Summer and Kyle flew to Los Angeles to get information on Sally's background, and then posting a photo of herself and Flo Fulton on social media for Sally to see. Kyle's devotion to Harrison and Summer was refreshing, despite Sally and Tara's attempts at manipulation of this couple, Kyle and Summer wound up together anyway.

Worst: The hype about Summer and Kyle's wedding in Milan, Italy, but the wedding hadn't been aired, instead we discovered that the wedding happened off-screen. What a let down after all the hype.

Best: Elena taking over Ask MD. Elena finally got rid of her insecurities and became a strong individual. I love her and Nate's friendship with Victoria and Ashland, and Ashland asking Nate to be his best man. True to form, Nate made sure that Ashland's health issues were kept under control, without actually being Ashland's doctor.

Worst: Not a fan of this pairing. I preferred Nate with Amanda, and Elena with Devon.

Best: It had been so great to see Stitch's return. I had really hoped he would stay much longer than he had.

Worst: I felt Stitch's storyline was an insult to the actor. To me, the writers had completely destroyed his character. Stitch had always been an upstanding citizen and doctor. He didn't deserve to be dumbed down the way he had been. The surrogate storyline had been silly to begin with. I have to question what was the purpose of bringing Stitch back to kidnap a pregnant woman, just try and win back his ex-wife, knowing she was a newlywed. This storyline made even less sense that the surrogacy storyline.

Best: Sharon has come a long way from her bipolar days. She seems to be everyone's rock, especially Nick's. I have to wonder whether she and Nick will reunite down the road. I would love to see that happen.

Worst: Sharon constantly defending Adam, and it might be the death of her marriage to Rey. I don't think Sharon and Rey belong together at all. There is no chemistry between them and life is so ho-hum between them. Rey's constant jealousy over Sharon's association with Adam has become stale.

Best: Noah hasn't been back long enough to really comment on anything other than to say the recast is wonderful. You can see that he still pines for Tessa. This couple had been so cute together in the past.

Best: These two haven't been showcased that much, but Moses' influence on Faith has been amazing. It has turned her from an out-of-control teenager, into a very caring and ambitious one. Moses has been a steadying influence on Faith, and they make a very sweet couple.

Worst: So far, I haven't seen anything to comment on about this couple. They are just cute teenagers.

Best: This couple is always a delight. They continue to maintain that honeymoon feeling, and they always seem to form a united front when there is trouble afoot.

Worst: This couple is underused. We need to see more of Lauren and Michael.

Best: Theo left the Young and the Restless in February of this year, and I for one, hated to see him leave. I felt he was a good addition to the show because he always created chaos in some form. I would have loved to see him paired with Sally. Can you imagine the trouble these two would have created? I think that as a couple, they would have added a lot of spice to the show.

I believe Lola left Genoa city to open a new restaurant in Miami, (in reality to take on the role of Supergirl). I loved Lola with Kyle together. They had been a great couple. I do miss her and I really hope she returns.

Worst: I feel Theo had been underused and he had been let go too soon. It had been a huge mistake putting Theo and Lola together. That just didn't work on any level. Lola had moral standards, whereas Theo was the cad with no moral compass. It had been wrong for Theo to left out of being part of the Teardrop of Love. Jack had claimed Theo was part of the family, so why wasn't he included in a piece of jewelry containing a piece of the stone from the Teardrop of Love.

Before Lola had been written off the show, they had her mainly in the kitchen slicing vegetables. There was no storyline for her. I my opinion it had been a big mistake splitting her and Kyle up.

Best: Gloria has always been a colorful personality. Gloria's facial expressions always spoke volumes. Gloria was tenacious and she usually got what she wanted.

Worst: I felt the writers had made a joke of Gloria during Phyllis's stand alone dream sequence. In my opinion, she looked and sounded ridiculous, and her talents had been wasted in this episode.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts and opinions on this past year of the Young and the Restless. If you would care to leave your comments, please feel free to do so. Please be sure to read Vance's year-end column as he picked the Best and Worst of Y&R 2021 on a month-by-month basis. In the meantime, stay safe! Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. Nel

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