The Long and Winding Road

The exposé on Diane Jenkins finally dropped online for the world to read this past week on The Young and the Restless! And Diane wasn't the only character who was forced to look back at the long and winding road of their past. Find out what went down as our Two Scoops columnist takes a ride down that road to bring you all the latest gossip out of Genoa City!

We were treated to a very fun surprise at the end of this past week when the expos that Phyllis and Nikki had been scheming to have written about Diane finally came out! "The Long and Winding Road of Diane Jenkins: Back from the Dead" is sure to cause a whirlwind of trouble in the coming weeks -- and I cannot wait! I am loving everything about this and can't wait to discuss it further, but let's save the best for last and circle back around to that. There were some other characters faced with their pasts throughout the week, as well...

Let's start with Noah and Allie. They had some really sweet scenes this week, and it is nice to see their relationship continue to grow. I was surprised when they started discussing their past relationships while they were in bed together -- and Noah even finally shared some information about his failed relationship in London! I feel for him because I understand what it is like to be in that type of toxic relationship where you are constantly walking on eggshells and wondering why your partner is happy one moment and often upset the next over seemingly nothing. It can be exhausting when there is not good communication!

It was good to hear a little about Allie's dating background, too, because we don't know much about her character's life in LA. It doesn't sound like there was much to talk about, and her love life really never got off the ground there, but it was still good to get some more insight into her character's past. Her chat with Traci later was, as it always is with Traci, refreshing and heartfelt. Traci gave Allie some great advice about love and how relationships can change over time, which was essentially this: It's good to enjoy each moment of a great relationship, even as it evolves and matures beyond the "butterflies" stage. I just love Traci and her wisdom so much! I hope she gets a storyline of her own soon.

I was happy to hear Allie and Noah say that they were looking forward to the future. And I was excited when Noah told his parents that he was falling in love with her! He said this shortly after he and Allie had "hit the sheets" for the first time, so he was definitely feeling the afterglow of their afternoon delight when he blurted that out, but it's nice to see him happy, regardless. I much prefer this Noah to the brooding one we saw for weeks and months on end when he first returned to the show.

Unlike Noah and Allie, Mariah and Tessa were not as happy after having to revisit their pasts when they met with a private adoption attorney. Sadly, due to some of their criminal issues in the past, their lawyer told them that they didn't think they would be ideal selections as prospective parents, and they would likely get passed over by most birth mothers. I felt really bad for them that they hit this wall right as they are getting started on trying to start a family.

I agree with Sharon that Mariah and Tessa should seek out a different lawyer. They should absolutely shop around until they find someone that is less pessimistic and more helpful that will actually be a champion for them. Many of the legal issues they faced in the past were due to helpless circumstances, and they have certainly turned their lives around since then. I just hope that they do ultimately adopt and that this is not an attempt by the show at sidestepping the adoption idea and doing another surrogate storyline instead. I am not ready for another mess like that again yet!

And speaking of that surrogacy storyline, we were reminded this week that is has been a year since Dominic was born, as Abby gathered all the involved parties (Mariah, Tessa, Devon, and Chance) for a birthday celebration in the park. I know her intentions were good, but it wasn't the best idea for Abby to ask them all to write down their favorite memories about Dominic, given how much emotional trauma the whole ordeal caused most of them. Let's see... Mariah got kidnapped while pregnant, Chance was presumed dead while on assignment, and Devon demanded partial custody once Dominic was born; so, it wasn't the best year for all of them to reminisce about! But Abby is Victor's daughter, after all, so it makes sense that she would just want to push all of that trauma aside as if it didn't happen and pretend that life is the reality she desperately wants it to be instead. Fake it until you make it, right?

As Abby pointed out, though, Chance did seem a little "off" throughout the celebration, and, although he claimed it was related to work and assured her that he had worked through those issues with his therapist, I don't doubt that some of what he was feeling was regret over the time he missed with his son and his inability to connect with him once he "returned from the dead." But I also don't doubt that his decision to look the other way regarding Victor's cover-up of Ashland's death was what was truly weighing most heavily on him. Let's hope that his resentment toward Abby's family doesn't push him into the arms of another woman -- someone like Chelsea, perhaps?

Chelsea was another character who revisited past mistakes this week as she commiserated over the state of her life in different conversations with both Chance and Adam. Seeing how emotional Chelsea got when Chance told her that he had just closed the last of Rey's cases reminded me again of what a mistake it was to get rid of Rey's character. There was a lot of potential for Rey on the show still, but I don't hate the direction the show has gone since his death, either, and I can understand why the writers needed to shake things up a bit. I'll always wonder what might have become of Chelsea and Rey if he hadn't died, but I am sort of glad that we never had a storyline that involved him cheating on Sharon.

Chelsea just can't seem to fall for available guys lately, can she? First, she wanted Adam back when he was involved with Sally; then, she started having feelings for Rey while he was married to Sharon; and most recently, she kissed Billy, even though he is in a relationship with Lily! It's no wonder she is so emotional and hung up on those not-so-great decisions she has made recently. Hmmmm... maybe Abby really should be worried about the time Chance is spending with Chelsea lately!

In all seriousness, though, I do hope Chelsea can find some happiness with someone soon. I'm still not opposed to her and Billy getting together because Billy and Lily are so boring together, but I don't want to see her back with Adam (even though they were one of my favorite couples when Justin Hartley was portraying Adam). I would much rather see Adam and Sally back together, but I do like to see Adam and Chelsea connecting and supporting one another as friends. They both could certainly use more friends in their lives! Adam gave her some great advice about talking to a professional or someone she could trust about what she is going through rather than letting it fester under the surface, only to become a larger problem later.

And Adam certainly knows about how ignoring problems from the past can come back to haunt and torment you in the future. I really enjoyed his scenes with Nick this week as they discussed "the sins of their father." Adam drew parallels to the accidental death he caused as a child, which Victor covered up, and the accidental death of Ashland Locke that Nick just caused, which Victor also covered up. Although Adam was a child that blocked out the accident until he was an adult, and Nick is not going through that same type of childhood trauma, the circumstances themselves, with Victor interfering in those situations without their consent, are certainly similar.

Adam was right to point out that, although Victor thinks he is helping, it does them no good to avoid the consequences of their actions. Victor may have helped them avoid unwanted media attention and legal ramifications, but they will never truly have closure and will continue to be haunted by those past mistakes. I really appreciate that the writers took the time to give this scene to Nick and Adam, and I hope that it ultimately strengthens their brotherly bond. I always enjoy when these two are getting along and trying to understand one another better. You can tell that deep down, they both wish they were closer as brothers, and I hope they will get there some day.

Adam could certainly use a brother he can depend on, since he has given up on having that type of close relationship with his father (and because he has also seemingly given up on love altogether because he's "not cut out for it"). I was really hoping that he was going to try to win Sally back when they sat down to talk at Crimson Lights, so I was a disappointed that he only wanted to apologize for everything he had put her through. I still enjoyed the scenes, though, and appreciated what Adam was doing. I just felt so bad for Sally (and even Adam, because he is his own worst enemy), and I am still not done rooting for this couple!

On the positive front for Adam this week, I just want to say that I am SO excited that he accepted the offer to be Jack's co-CEO at Jabot! Jack has always been the father figure to him that Victor never was willing to be, so I think this will be a very positive change for Adam. And it will be great to see him mixing it up with different characters over in the business world of the Abbott family. But hopefully, Adam doesn't start having run-ins with Diane and start concocting revenge plots with her again (or do I secretly actually want that to happen?)!

Diane could definitely be on the warpath with her sights set on revenge now that the expos detailing all her past misdeeds has just been released! Will she maintain her calm and "reformed" demeanor in the fallout of the article about her being published? Or will we start to see the old Diane resurfacing in all her glory to bring down her enemies?! I honestly don't know which of these scenarios I would rather see happen because I have been secretly rooting for Diane to have a true redemption storyline and maybe even get involved with Jack romantically. But I also am very nostalgic for her days as a schemer and master manipulator because she truly made Y&R "must-see TV" for me back in the days when she was wreaking havoc.

I am a big fan of Phyllis, too, so it was a lot of fun to see her break the news to Diane about the article once it was published. The title of the article was great, and I almost burst out laughing when Phyllis told Diane that this article was just the first in a multi-part series about her sorted past. I have to hand it to the writers because I was feeling bad for Diane while also cheering on Phyllis at the same time!

But I have a feeling that Phyllis won't be celebrating for long because her involvement in the article will undoubtedly come back to haunt her. Sure, Nikki and Ashley were also involved in the scheme against Diane, but Phyllis will surely take the most heat for it. The writing was already on the wall when Phyllis was going on and on to Summer about how Summer should trust her to leave Diane alone and that she wouldn't do anything to cause any problems. And, of course, Summer had seen Phyllis and Nikki out to eat with the journalist who wrote the article on Diane, so she will ultimately put the pieces together and blame her mom for any negative fallout caused by the article.

If Diane is smart (and she is), then she will try to use this article to her advantage and find a way to make Phyllis look like the bad guy for airing her "dirty laundry" to everyone. I certainly don't think Jack will react well to it (this may be the final nail in the coffin for him and Phyllis), and I don't think Summer will be too pleased with her mother's involvement in the scheme, either. I hope Phyllis wasn't exaggerating when she said she made a really good return on selling her hotel to Chancellor-Winters, because she may not have a job for much longer if Summer decides to fire her over this stunt with Diane!

That's a wrap for me this week, folks. Don't forget to let us know how you feel about all that went down this past week in Genoa City! What do you think the fallout will be from the article about Diane? Do you feel bad for her, or is it what she deserves? I'll see you in the Comments section!

Until next time,Vance

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