Redemption or damnation

May sweeps have been a snooze fest of Diane and Kyle with some Ashland thrown in. Will Diane or Ashland receive the redemption they seek, or will they face damnation? Has Esther finally found love? Will Jack be amenable to Summer and Kyle's suggestion to merge Marchetti with Jabot? Will the third time be the charm for Jack and Phyllis. Join our columnist who has some thoughts about what happened in Genoa City this week.

Let's begin with Diane and Ashland meeting in the park. If these two connect, this will be a union made in hell. Who will outcon the con? Ashland had been denied access to Harrison because of the horrific lies he has told. Things don't seem to be moving fast enough for Diane, who has envisioned herself in the fold with Kyle, Harrison, and Jack. Diane isn't willing to wait much longer for Kyle's decision. Perhaps Diane and Ashland will devise a scheme giving Ashland access to Harrison without Summer or Kyle's knowledge.

I swear Diane has a tracking device on Kyle because she always turns up where Kyle happens to be. Diane is still manipulating everyone around her, albeit in a more cunning fashion. She seems to think that if she is constantly in Kyle's face, he will decide he wants her in his life. She isn't giving him any breathing space. Diane has never been a patient person.

My suspicions that Diane hasn't changed were confirmed when she said she was getting tired of keeping that smile pasted on her face. If she had sincerely changed, she wouldn't need to plaster a smile on her face. The smile would be sincere. Then again, when she thanked Kyle for allowing her to spend time with Harrison and suggested that Harrison call her Didi, I thought that was manipulation at its finest, and I couldn't believe that Kyle agreed to it. She proved it once again in her suite at the Athletic Cub when she smiled at the photo of Harrison on her phone and chirped that her plans were going better than she'd expected and that Harrison would be spending a lot of time with his Didi.

What do you suppose Diane has in mind? Kidnapping Harrison and running off with him? Or is she planning something bigger, like destroying Kyle's marriage and convincing him to move to Los Angeles with Harrison and her? Kyle isn't being objective where Diane is concerned, and he is playing right into Diane's plan. All that seems to matter to him is that he has his mother back, and he remembers his relationship with her from when he was a boy.

Why is he skimming over all the chaos Diane created in the past? I really hope he sees through her faade soon and kicks her to the curb. Diane keeps repeating to everyone that she has changed. Diane's actions would convince people if she'd changed, not her constant proclamations that she has. Don't tell us you've changed -- show us!

Kyle doesn't realize he is being expertly maneuvered by this master manipulator, and he is allowing her to remain in Genoa City because he wants to be convinced that she's really changed before allowing her into his life completely. I looks like he already has let her into his life without realizing it. Hopefully Summer will be able to keep him on the straight and narrow.

I like this new Summer. She is mature, and she thinks before she leaps. Kyle, on the other hand, seems to have his thoughts about Diane clouded by his memories of the great mother she'd been to him before she disappeared. I wonder if he would forgive Diane if he could see what she'd done in the past objectively and realize how many people she hurt because of her horrific choices. Which one of us could forgive a parent for abandoning them, allowing their child to believe their parent had been murdered, and later discovering their parent had planned their own fake murder just to escape any legal repercussions for all the horrible things they'd done? I am a forgiving person, but I couldn't justify forgiving this. Maybe that's just me.

I have to say I'm not a fan of cat fights, but that slap-down between Nikki and Diane was priceless. In the middle of Victoria breaking them up, Diane stupidly congratulated Victoria on her success and said she'd followed Victoria's career from afar. What is the matter with this woman? Victoria told Diane to save her phony praise. I swear there really is a black hole in Diane's brain. I loved Nikki telling Diane to go back to the grave she'd crawled out of and to stay there.

Diane was shot down again. When is she going to realize no one wants her there, and the only people who have spoken to her civilly are Michael and Kyle? No one else has offered a kind word for Diane.

I believe Phyllis is right, Diane has her sights on winning Jack and Kyle back and to create her little dream family. Everyone wants to see Diane pay for what she'd done because she'd walked away without any penalty for the chaos she'd created. Contrary to what Diane has said, it hadn't been a hardship for Diane to stay away from Kyle or Genoa City for 20 years. If she had really wanted redemption and to be reunited with her son, she would have done it a lot sooner.

Did it take her ten years to decide she needed professional help, if she really got that help? Did it take another ten years in therapy for her to decide she wanted to reunite with her son and possibly Jack? I sincerely doubt that. My gut feeling if that once Diane realized that Kyle had a son, she began scheming how to get to Harrison, Kyle, and Jack, in that order. I might not be too far off the path, but we will have to wait and see.

Diane has been living in Los Angeles all this time. I would love for someone to convince me that in 20 years, Diane hadn't created the same chaos she had in Genoa City. I would love to be convinced that she had spent the past 20 years being a model and law-abiding citizen.

Diane needs chaos in her life, and a peaceful existence just isn't in her makeup. Let's see how long it will take for Diane to show her true colors, especially if and when she and Ashland put their heads together. Two loose cannons -- an explosive duo. Think of all the trouble these two could cause together. I can only see damnation for both of them. We have already had a glimpse of what is behind Diane's phony smile.

Is anyone as tired as I am with Ashland and his crocodile tears and his constant apologies and his constant reminder of his undying love for Victoria. Geez, he sounds just like Diane. These two seem to think that if they say something often enough, they will be believed or perhaps believe it themselves.

Victor certainly did a good job of putting the kibosh on Ashland's apology by saying he wasn't buying the bull Ashland was selling. He also told Ashland that Victoria would never forgive him for all his lies or accept his glib apologies and promises. At this point, I'm not sure who is hated more in Genoa City, Diane or Ashland.

Ashland certainly isn't winning any brownie points anywhere. Even Summer and Kyle have denied him access to Harrison. Ashland told Jack that he had a legal and binding agreement, but Jack said that no judge would grant Ashland an order for visitation after what he'd done. I guess Ashland and Diane can cry on each other's shoulders.

How about Phyllis and Jack taking their relationship to a new level? I didn't expect that to happen this soon, but hooray. It's time that Jack had someone to care for and someone to care for him, but can Phyllis fill that void in Jack's life. I have been advocating for them to reunite because they had been good together in the past until Diane and Marco spoiled things for them. If they do decide to make this union permanent, I wonder if the third time will be the charm. I do love them together and hope this time, it will last, but with Diane back in the picture, I'm not so sure. Phyllis loathes Diane, then she slips into overdrive, and the old Phyllis emerges whenever she sees Diane.

Diane has a way of bringing out the worst in people, and she hits the bull's-eye with Phyllis every time. Phyllis had to ask Jack to bring her down off the ledge after she'd seen Ashland and Diane talking at the hotel. Phyllis made me laugh when she told Diane to go ahead and enjoy her coffee with Ashland while a bellman went to Diane's suite and tossed Diane's things onto the sidewalk, since it was check-out time. Phyllis pulls no punches where Diane is concerned.

Is everyone fed up with all the merging companies? It started with ChancComm merging with Newman Enterprises, Newman Enterprises merging with Locke Communications, Chancellor Industries merging with Hamilton-Winters, and now we have a merger with Jabot and Marchetti. I guess this is one way of getting families working together.

If Summer and Kyle are successful in merging Marchetti with Jabot and Fenmore's, where is that going to leave Chelsea and Chloe, Chelsea in particular? Will Chelsea be happy with this merger? I somehow doubt it because I believe Chelsea will feel that it diminishes her standing at Fenmore's, and she might have to answer to Summer. Chelsea had always been okay answering to Lauren, but I'm not so sure she would be okay with answering to Summer. This should be an interesting turn of events.

If the merger happens, I wonder if Summer will offer Sally a position as a designer, since this is Sally's biggest love. Hmm, stick with Adam, or choose what she loved doing? If she chose designing, I think the rivalry between Sally and Chelsea would reignite. What would Sally pick, COO of Newman Media, or CEO of Newman Media if Adam talked Victor into making him CEO of Newman Enterprises, or will Sally go to her love of being a designer? Let's not forget that she would be working for Lauren, and I don't think Lauren would welcome Sally after Lauren fired her for the stunts Sally pulled.

I haven't seen any signs that Sally has been redeemed by anyone other than Adam. Victor seems to tolerate her for Adam's sake. Adam and Sally have matching personalities, and perhaps that's the reason they were drawn to each other. I guess Adam has been redeemed to a degree, but the inner evil Adam is slowly emerging, and will what little redemption he'd earned hold?

Holy smokes, Chelsea is one very angry chick! Even Adam is worried about her because he's seen this side of her before, and he sees the warning signs. He say it's more than just grieving for a friend. Is Chelsea having a mental breakdown, or is she not handling Rey's death well? She is miffed that Victoria was on a European spa vacation after Victoria was responsible for Rey's death. Chelsea knows the accident happened because Rey had had a heart attack, which caused his death, but she insisted on blaming Victoria.

I thought the scene with Chelsea and Kyle in the park was cute. Kyle managed to calm her down with a few words, and he even had her laughing.

Let's speculate a little here. With Rey gone and Adam in a relationship with Sally, Chelsea seems to be a lost soul. She has always struck me as someone who needed a life partner by her side, but she is without one at the moment. I wonder who Chelsea will set her sights on. After Chelsea' encounter with Kyle in the park, I wasn't sure how to read the look on her face after Kyle left. Is her heart pitter-pattering for Kyle? That could be one scenario, but then look at Chance, who doesn't seem happy about Abby and Devon's bond.

Could that be a jealous streak that could become the first chink in Chance and Abby's marriage? Abby was the one who agreed to allow Devon to be the sperm donor for her baby, she allowed Devon more visitation and presence in Dominic's life, and she pointed out to Chance that Dominic looked like Devon in some of his expressions.

Chance has never felt like he was part of Dominic's life. Chance might feel that he is in direct competition with Devon about who Dominic's father is. Who is Dominic supposed to call Daddy: Chance, Devon, or both? Devon refers to himself as Daddy to Dominic, so what is Chance to Dominic? Devon keeps asking for a bigger role in Dominic's life, and I understand if Chance wouldn't want to remain in that marriage because of the constant competition. The bond between Abby and Devon would always be a thorn in Chance's side. I wouldn't feel too secure in that union, and Chance might be feeling that way.

What if Chance and Chelsea met at either the coffeehouse or the park, and they commiserated with each other. That could be the first step in Chance straying and Chelsea setting her sights on yet another married man. This might be an interesting scenario if these two unite. Oops, that might be the first signs of Abby's marriage disintegrating. Abby hasn't been lucky in love, and if Chance chooses to leave, then I can't blame him. Let's not forget that Chelsea had once been a con, but she'd been redeemed. Will Chelsea be damned for interfering in Chance and Abby's marriage, and could she be redeemed yet again? But this is all speculation, and who knows, some hot dude might move to Genoa City and catch Chelsea's eye.

Billy's annoying podcasts continue. Oh, wait, Lily wasn't happy with his last one. She pointed out that rather than talking to her privately about his insecurities about working with her family members, she had to hear it together with the rest of the world. Lily never holds back when something bothers her. I think she is one classy lady.

Poor Devon, his nose was slightly out of joint when Nate pitched his idea about the music for their launch party. He was upset that Nate had run his idea by Lily before Nate had spoken to him. Okay, they are all trying to find their footing in this new company, but I'm not seeing the love. I can only see this as rivalry among them because someone didn't stay in their own lane. I have to wonder if the Chancellor-Winters merger will last, since there seems to be so much angst already. I really hope I'm wrong, but what would this soap be if there wasn't in-family fighting.

Let's give Esther a shout-out. Bubblehead Esther had joined several online dating groups, and Chloe was shocked. Well, after Chloe updated Esther's profile, Esther got a hit, and the guy asked to meet Esther at the park. Hmm, will Esther finally find a partner who wants nothing from her except her companionship? We shall see.

I hope you have enjoyed my thoughts and a little speculation. Please feel free to offer your own thoughts. In the meantime, until next time, stay safe!Nel

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