Jack and Jill went up a hill: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of October 6

The holidays are still several weeks away, but The Young and the Restless was handing out presents in the form of fan favorite veterans and beloved character shoutouts this week.

The Young and the Restless, the past is present

It felt like old home week on Y&R this week with the return of Jill Abbott, played by Jess Walton. The three people who need to be part of Cane's (Billy Flynn) story are his twins, Mattie (Lexie Stevenson) and Charlie (Noah Alexander Gerry), and Jill, his surrogate mother. We got 33.3% of our wish on that front with the return of Jill. Walton walks back into Genoa City as if no time had passed, picking up with relationships old and new with ease.

This is picky, but we never, ever (it seems) hear referenced that Jill and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) were once related by marriage courtesy of her marriage to Greg Foster (the late Wings Hauser). But that's probably because that occurred before the introduction of the Newmans and the Abbotts. We loved hearing nods to the late Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), who was Nikki's bestie and Jill's longtime frenemy.

Later in the week, we also got a Snapper (David Hasselhoff) shoutout when Jill said she was going to England to see her doctor brother for some care. And, during her talk with Cane, Jill made a fond reference to Colin's (the late Tristan Rogers) "ridiculous smile," even in his final days. Daniel (Michael Graziadei) mentioned Chance (Conner Floyd) when he was talking to Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) about ways to help Mariah (Camryn Grimes).

We had to wait for Jack (Peter Bergman) and Jill to have a sit-down, lengthy chat, but it was worth it. These two characters have decades of history. It's a shame Jill's already talking about leaving Genoa City again. We're all on board for Jack's stepmother to move back to town permanently.

More about Phyllis

This was the week for historical references. During a conversation at Society between Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) and Nick (Joshua Morrow), Phyllis referenced her tormented past with her late father, an embezzler. This served as a reminder of the differences between people like Phyllis, who came from nothing and had to fight for every scrap they got in life, and people like (this list is long), Jack, Victor's kids, and others, who are born into wealth.

Phyllis is willing to risk a lot by rolling the dice with Cane. Talks like the one she had with Nick justify why she is so passionate about her role in Genoa City.

Phyllis appeared to earn Victor's respect when the two talked at Society. Victor called her over, and the two engaged in a mind game over coffee and French toast.

Phyllis also had a great interaction with her son, Daniel, this week. It didn't ring true that Danny (Michael Damian) would have given up a confidence that Daniel shared with his dad to Phyllis so she could use it against him. It does make sense that Phyllis would guess what Daniel had done that, and she'd trick him into confirming it. It's great fun watching Phyllis's wheels spin. She's often two steps ahead of her family, friends, and foes. She spoke with wisdom when she said that unrequited love was one of the worst feelings ever. She's trying to make sure Daniel's heart doesn't get broken as he's grown quite fond of Tessa. He may have to simply wave goodbye to her and Mariah if and when they reconcile, and the mystery of Mariah nearly killing a man gets resolved.

All the news that's fit to print

We waited all summer for Newman Media to print an exposé on Cane. Thankfully, Adam (Mark Grossman) has now done it. There's only so much viewers can take with people threatening to do this and threatening to do that. Somebody pull the trigger! We also liked Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) standing by Adam, not only figuratively but literally, too. Chelsea's the perfect match for Adam. As a con artist who has lived on the outside, she can relate to Adam's feeling like he's the Black sheep of the Newman clan (he is, after all).

This doesn't mean she's not going to try to complement her partner. We were surprised when Cane showed up after the damaging article was published. Why go to the enemy camp like that? It'd be more effective to somehow make people come to him.

As a matter of fact, isn't Cane supposed to be the owner of the Genoa City Athletic Club? When Y&R dropped that little tidbit into dialogue, we expected many locales to walk through the revolving doors into the club only to be greeted by Cane and have them make a quip about losing their appetites or needing to go patronize Society.

Adam and Chelsea talked about Cane's story being vetted by Newman Media lawyers. So, how exactly can Billy sue? At times like this, we wonder why Abbott Communications was shelved. This would have been a great opportunity for Billy to ingratiate himself with Cane by offering him a platform that would take the opposing side of the Newman story.

For that matter, why didn't Cane buy up the Genoa City Chronicle? It'd be a great way to reintegrate Leslie Brooks (Janice Lynde) back into the show, as she could easily have a stake in the Chronicle given her father, Stuart Brooks's (Robert Colbert), ties to the publication.

My best friend's wedding

It was fun watching Michael (Christian LeBlanc) and Tracey (Lauren Femore) squabble at the jazz lounge over his fibbing to her about going back to work with Victor. When we saw the teaser that Michael and Christine were going to chat, and when we saw Danny and Lauren put their heads together, we thought a walk down memory lane might be in order. There's so much history among these four.

However, this episode was more about getting the couple back together. We were surprised that Cricket asked Lauren to be her maid of honor. (She'd make a great wedding planner!) Like Jill and Nikki's connection through Greg Foster, Cricket and Lauren are tied together because Lauren was once married to Cricket's half-brother, Scott (Peter Barton). But that's a dynamic that's never referred to, just as Cricket's connection to the Abbotts has been mostly ignored. Remember when Chris's mother, Jessica (Rebecca Street), was married to John Abbott (the late Jerry Douglas)? Technically, Cricket and Jack, Traci, and Ashley are all one-time stepsiblings.

It does seem odd that Cricket wouldn't reach out to Nina (Tricia Cast) to be her maid of honor. We're just hoping that Cane's invited to the gala so that Nina can rip into him!

Software solution

Jack made the most sense when it came to Cane's AI software. Cane should give it to Jill. After all, Cane trusts her. Jill could get rid of the software, and then the moguls in Genoa City could go back to playing business games on a more even playing field.

If Cane is looking to rewin Lily's heart and have a better relationship with his kids, he'd do well to destroy the AI software. We can't think of a better way for him to make amends. Jill believes in Cane. We love to see Jill say, "I told you so." It's a win/win.

It was great seeing Cane admit that his goal was more to get Jill and Billy back together, and not get Lily to love him again. Why would Lily want to reunite with Cane if he destroyed Newman, Jabot, Chancellor Industries, and other companies from within?

We know that we have to suspend belief with soaps at times, but we do find it rather odd that Mattie and Charlie want nothing to do with the billionaire father. Cane should know that people can be bought. Charlie and Mattie must have dreams and goals. Cane can make those things happen.

October surprise

The business stories on Y&R excite us when personal factors are introduced to the boardroom. Cane ran by Jack what the power players in Genoa City would do if each of them got their hands on the AI software. While Jack isn't as out for blood at times (it seems) with Victor, it was still a surprise to hear Jack say he'd use it to take Victor down. But it makes sense because Victor has gone after Jack and his family for far too long.

We got a chill when Jack said "sure" (in a way that indicated he didn't mean it at all!) when Diane said to him that he'd destroy the software. Even more pleasantly surprising was to hear Diane say she was all-in with Jack's plan! And they sealed it with a passionate kiss! These two have one of the best marriages not only in Genoa City, but in all of daytime television!

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