Genoan Rhapsody

Y&R just killed a man. Sharon's marriage had just begun, and Y&R has thrown it all away. Kyle knows it's been no bed of roses, no pleasure cruise -- he considers it a challenge that his mother is alive. Ashland has hope even though Victoria thinks nothing really matters. Read on about why Y&R are the champions.

I believe the only place to start is with Rey Rosales' death. I'm certain that many feel the same way I do, that it was unnecessary to kill Rey off in any fashion, but a heart attack? Really? This was the send-off the writers planned for Rey? Good grief, even Hilary had an amazing death scene. Couldn't the writers have written a more dramatic death scene for Rey instead of this insipid "the accident was caused when the driver died of a heart attack." There was so much potential for a death scene for Rey.

According to Ashland, he'd been following Victoria and he'd seen Rey veer into Victoria's lane, causing Victoria to swerve into a tree to get out of Rey's way, and Rey wound up side-swiping Ashland's car. Ashland also claimed that Rey's car had rolled over. Ashland has told so many lies, it's hard to know whether we should believe he is really madly in love with Victoria. I tend to believe he really is, otherwise, he would have left her in the burning car without a second thought, just like he'd left his friend, the original Ashland Locke, to die in his burning car all those years earlier. I guess we are all wondering if Victoria will forgive Ashland one more time and reunite with him.

He seems to be the love of Victoria's life, but she had also loved Billy that way, the difference being Ashland treated her like a princess, despite all the lies, and Billy was always creating new drama in their lives. It's hard to say whether her love for Ashland ran deeper than it did for Billy.

I bet there wasn't a dry eye in the house when Nick told Sharon that Rey had perished in the accident. Sharon Case is an amazing actress, and she broke our hearts when she wound up sobbing uncontrollably in Nick's arms and later in Adam's. Those were real tears and snotties. She is really rocking the grieving scenes. There is a bright note to this tragedy: Sharon will finally have a front-burner storyline. Until now, she seemed to be a filler every now and then.

Sharon will have a lot to deal with over the next few weeks. Do I see what seems to be a push to reunite Sharon and Nick or *gasp* Adam? I guess we will have to wait and see. If Sharon reunites with Nick, I hope she moves into Nick's house. Let's get rid of this stale and outdated living room they call Sharon's house. If she reunites with Adam, it's time to move into a new place and start fresh with no lingering memories of Rey everywhere Sharon looks.

Sharon and Adam's scenes were so heartbreaking and yet so heartwarming at the same time. Adam seemed to be just the person Sharon needed at that moment. He got her to open the flood gates and let it all out. That had to have been a cleansing moment for her. Adam even had her smiling with his silly antics. Those were great scenes. In my opinion, Sharon deserves an Emmy for how she has portrayed her grief over Rey's death.

Up to this point, Sharon had needed someone to blame, and she admitted her primary targets had been Victoria and Ashland. I think Sharon also blamed Chelsea because Rey was about to take Connor and Chelsea to Chicago for a Black Hawks hockey game, and if Rey hadn't forgotten the tickets at home, he wouldn't have been in the accident. Sharon had seen the growing connection between Chelsea and Rey that she wasn't happy about.

Sharon is overwrought with grief, and she really wanted someone to blame until Chance informed her Rey had died of a sudden heart attack. Sharon is determined to keep herself distracted and keep herself from succumbing to her grief. She decided that Mariah and Tessa's wedding is just the thing. To quote Mariah, their wedding was going to be "the perfect port in a storm."

I think this is a good spot to take a minute for a rant about killing Rey Rosales. This handsome gentleman of Latin descent (Jordi Vilasuso) has never been given a front-burner storyline from the day he arrived. In my opinion, he has been mostly used as a filler, at best, and the biggest storyline he had was when Chelsea tried to poison him. His union with Sharon seemed to fizzle, yet to hear Sharon talk about him, they had a great love story. I guess that was all off-screen, because I never saw any chemistry between them; however, there was a ton of sizzle between him and Chelsea. I think that union would have been interesting, the cop and the con. I can imagine a number of stories that could have been developed between these two, such as the cop protecting the con's illegal actions.

The writers had been building tension between Rey and Chelsea and showing his frustration with Sharon and Nick's bonding over their family memories. There was so much potential for Rey and Chelsea. Rey's frustration over feeling second best to Nick with Sharon's family could have ended in divorce. Rey could have united with Chelsea and become a strong influence in Connor's life. I think Rey would have made an amazing stepfather to Connor. Who knows, perhaps Rey and Chelsea could have moved in together or even married and had their own child. I think it would have given Rey and Chelsea a much-needed front-burner storyline.

The potential for a union between Rey and Chelsea was strong, but poof, Rey suddenly dies in a car crash. The autopsy results infuriated me. A heart attack? This was such a dismissive way of writing Rey out. There should have been a lot more than that. They could have shown Rey behind the wheel and clutching his chest or being alive long enough for Sharon to get to him and be with him when he died. Instead, Rey kissed Sharon goodbye at Crimson Lights, drove off into the sunset to retrieve a couple of hockey tickets from home, and never returned. All we got was Ashland telling Victoria that Rey had died in the car crash.

This was so unacceptable to most of us. Rey and the whole Rosales clan shouldn't have been written out. I could be quite wrong, but it sure feels like there is a racial hierarchy in soaps where nonwhite characters aren't as valued. Maybe I'm wrong about that, but it just feels that way.

Another example: Jack was married to a Vietnamese woman, Luan Volien. She had two children, Keemo Volien Abbott and Mai Volien. Luan died of a terminal illness two years after marrying Jack, and Keemo and Mai returned to Vietnam. Why didn't they keep Keemo and Mai with Jack and build storylines around them instead of sending them packing?

Allie Nguyen is Keemo's daughter, and she will be joining the Abbott family soon. I have to wonder if she will remain on the soap for more than two years.

Can you imagine what an amazing couple Jack and Celeste could have been, but they sent her packing back to Miami. Arturo and Mia could have stayed in Genoa City and had their little el nio. Mia was a force to be reckoned with. She could have been the town troublemaker, and Arturo could have joined the police force and worked with Rey.

Sasha Calle left to make a movie, but Lola could have returned and been a predominant factor in Noah's life. There was so much potential for this Latino family. I think the writers blew it by minimizing them.

If they wanted Rey gone, they could have had him end his marriage to Sharon for irreconcilable differences, and he could have returned to Miami. Then, they could have brought him back at a later date with a great story. Instead, they have killed off this entire family completely.

Whew, I got that off my chest, but I don't feel any better for it.

Whose heart wasn't breaking for Kyle when Jack told him his mother was alive? He has a big choice to make -- reunite with his mother or just walk away? Kyle remembers the loving woman his mother had been, but he hasn't experienced Diane in her true form.

Does anyone believe that Diane's only motivation was to reunite with Kyle? I sure as hell don't. If that had been her only motivation, she would have contacted Kyle a long time ago. Diane has never had just one goal in mind. She always loved the domino effect; if she planned this, then it would lead to something else happening, and then that would lead to the end result. This time, I think she believes she can win Jack back, and in her mind, she has created that happy little family she has dreamed of -- her, Jack, Kyle, and grandson, Harrison. Does anyone see this happening? Diane is living a pipe dream. Jack and everyone else in Genoa City know about Diane's constant skullduggery -- Jack, in particular, because he has been a victim of her schemes in the past. He will never fall for them again.

I felt everything Kyle felt when he was waiting to meet face to face with Diane. My stomach was in a knot for him. I loved the look on his face when he opened the door and saw Diane. Kyle put me in mind of an Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of the dead, holding his flail. Very intimidating.

The big question is, will Kyle forgive Diane, or will he turn his back on her? My fear is that Kyle might forgive her after a time, only to have Diane break his heart after Kyle sees and hears what she is capable of. I'm a forgiving person and a believer in second, eh, sometimes third chances, but I'm not sure I could forgive a parent that had left me believing they were dead or murdered for over 20 years.

I'm happy that Kyle asked Jack and Phyllis to entertain Harrison because Kyle didn't want his son anywhere near Diane. Smart man. I really hope he keeps Harrison at arm's length with Diane. I don't believe for a second that she has reformed in any way. She is masking her true identity and putting on a good show, but that faade will eventually drop away, and that snake will be exposed.

I don't know about anyone else, but I'm getting very tired of hearing Ashland professing his love for Victoria. Almost in every second sentence, he claims he loves her. Is he hoping that if he says it often enough, she will believe it, forgive him, and then just melt into his arms? Will she be strong enough to resist him? At times, I think she will, based on the look on her face, but other times, I'm not so sure, especially when she keeps focusing on the fact that he saved her life when he pulled her out of her burning car. I thought Victoria was smarter than believing that his one good deed overrode all the evil he committed.

I gasped, and then I laughed when Ashland asked Victoria how she felt. Victoria told Ashland that her injuries weren't severe, and she wouldn't lie about her health because that was Ashland's area of expertise. What a slap across Ashland's face that was -- and without even touching him. That must have felt good. Then, she added insult to injury when she asked about his burned hand and injured foot. She said she knew those were real because she'd seen them. That sure was a double whammy.

I want to believe Victoria won't, but it's hard to just turn off deep emotions. I'm sure many of us know from personal experiences that it's very difficult to let go because you try to justify those feelings by looking at all the good things that person has done, even though those were few and far between, and you almost have yourself believing those few good deeds outshone the evil ones. Eventually, you do see the light, and you begin to see things more clearly and for what they really are. I'm really hoping this will happen for Victoria.

Ashland keeps turning up like a bad penny. He isn't giving Victoria any space to sort through her feelings. Maybe that's his way of manipulating her in the hope of reaching his goal. He seems to be a constant presence in Victoria's life; she drives, and he's behind her. She's in the office, and he's right there professing his love. Geez, Ashland, take your half-billion dollars and move on. No one is going to believe anything this guy has to say because he has told too many reprehensible lies to be believed on any level. Victoria is in a struggle with all her emotions, and I really hope she winds up kicking Ashland to the curb once and for all.

Adam has found an ego-stroker in Sally. She always manages to say exactly what Adam wants to hear, that he isn't revered the way Victoria, Abby, and Nick are. She certainly is Johnny-on-the-spot when it comes to helping Adam achieve his goal by enhancing whatever schemes he dreams up.

Then there is Chelsea. Now that Rey is gone, has she set her sights on Adam again? It sure appeared that way during her encounter with Adam and Sally at Society. Chelsea certainly made a point of suggesting, in front of Sally, that she, Adam, and Connor have a family outing. I thought Adam bowed out very gracefully from that one.

It's time for Chelsea to move on without a man because she doesn't need to be defined by a man. Well, here's a thought -- how about pairing her up with Ashland? Wouldn't that be a hoot -- one con trying to outwit another con. We all know that won't happen, but it would be fun to imagine it. For the time being, I think Chelsea needs to focus on her business and Connor, and the rest will fall into place.

In the meantime, Adam told Sally he was falling in love with her. Didn't she take that gracefully? She chastised him for taking so long to tell her. I, on the other hand, would have turned into mush. I was surprised that Sally told Adam how she had tried to win Wyatt back by faking a terminal illness. Adam's reaction was a surprise. He smiled and asked if her ruse had worked. Sally was taken aback by his comment, but then he admitted he'd done something similar to get what he'd wanted. There doesn't seem to be a shortage of people in Genoa City who use serious medical conditions to achieve their goals.

That's it for me for this week. I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts and ponderings. I would love to read your comments and opinions. In the meantime, until next time, stay safe!Nel

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