Don't you dare say that nothing ever happens on the soaps anymore! Do you hear me? This week on The Young and the Restless was positively mind-boggling, what with all the storylines coming to climaxes at the same time. Isn't the summer supposed to be quiet and relaxed and all about teenagers on the run kissing in fields of daisies? (Or maybe that's a feminine hygiene commercial?)
Where to start ... how about Adam's hearing? Could you feel the hatred and enmity coming off the screen? Frankly, I was surprised that there wasn't a breakout moment when someone jumped up and screamed in Adam's face that he was a disgusting dirtbag. Ashley was the one who should have done it. Reliving the trauma of the Sabrina summer, the falling down the stairs, the hysterical pregnancy -- all ending in the loony bin with a baby that wasn't hers being put in her arms -- should have been a reason for Ashley to leap from the stand and lunge at Adam.
Probably the sight of Tucker in the back of the courtroom held her back. It's clear that Tucker and Ashley have something good going for them. I'm happy for Ashley, but does it seem like Tucker may be too good to be true? His reaction to Ashley's testimony was positively perfect.
Anyway, back to Adam. I'm not surprised that he got off, for a couple of reasons. First, there was all the testimony that had no evidence to go along with the conjecture. Abrams was right about the forensics. But here's what really tipped it off for me. Owen, the D.A., has no love for the Abbotts and Newmans. Was he even trying to pin the crimes that Adam committed on Adam? Remember, he had his heart set on Nick for the Hightower murder. It was a major conflict of interest for him to be presenting the case.
And the other thing about Owen is that now we know he's up to his eyeballs in the plot against Chance. There's a mess of corruption going on, and it's all about to explode all over Ronan, Chance, and Chris. I still don't understand why it's being thrust upon us, because in all honesty, it's boring as hell. Who cares about dirty cops and drugs and what's going on in the jailhouse? The background story about Chris, Nina, and Rose was great, but until it connects back to Chance and Ronan, it feels like we're spinning our wheels.
Nick is another character who's spinning his wheels, so to speak. He's really up a tree when it comes to his love life. Clearly, he wants Sharon back, and it's driving him nuts that she still harbors some unresolved feelings for Adam. Frankly, I think Sharon's afraid to admit that she's more in love with the flawed, dangerous Adam than she is with the good guy Nick. She dares not say what she really feels, especially with Victor constantly reminding her that Adam's not worthy and Sharon must be strong. That kiss she shared with Adam outside of Gloworm didn't look innocent or simple to me.
What do you think of the Meggie development? While it's nice to think that all's well that ends well, and she'll become Nikki's best buddy, I'm suspicious. What if the Shaw Roberts thing was a setup? You noticed how Roberts showed up just when Nikki put Meggie on warning about taking advantage of Victor's kindness. Isn't it possible that Shaw and Meggie are in cahoots to pull a bigger scam against the Newmans? Could be.
I'm not liking the way Neil and Sofia are joking with each other. It's so transparent that at some point that conflict is going to erupt into passion, and I just don't buy it. She's not Neil's type. On the other hand, I know I've said this before, but this Malcolm is such a bad casting choice that I just don't care. He seems like such a lummox compared to Shemar Moore, who was classy and gorgeous.
And the Sofia chick is hard and brassy, like the antithesis of the typical businesswomen on the show. I think that was all calculated by the producers, but it feels forced and unnatural. Tucker keeps saying what a brilliant businesswoman Sofia is and how he relies on her, but she doesn't come off like a shark at all. She seems way to obvious and in your face.
There's no woman on the show who's been more overt lately than Jill. I think they've ruined the character, folks. Really. Her fascination with her Fenmore family history is ridiculous. She's not a kid. She's a grown woman. Why does she need to have another family history to lean on? What difference should it make to Jill whether or not Neil Fenmore wanted her? I cannot understand Jill's motivation at all.
And for Jill to betray Billy the way she did, breaking into his laptop to get the info for Tucker, well, that was just nasty. Could you pull a stunt like that against someone in your family? Wouldn't you have trouble passing the cranberry sauce to that person at Thanksgiving after being that nefarious.
I guess we should be glad that Jill had some conscience and told Victoria that Billy was innocent. The Billy-Victoria relationship has taken me by surprise. I didn't think they'd be so good together.
The return of Traci this week was a good move; it's always great to have Beth Maitland back for continuity's sake. And she actually had a couple of great scenes with Marcy Rylan's Abby. You would never have guessed that this was the first time they worked together. Abby's character has been so extreme that for a while there she seemed like a cartoon. The past week was a good way to show some dimension to the character, her feelings about her mother being forced to testify about the hysterical pregnancy and the lost baby, and Aunt Traci reminding her to tell her folks that she still loves them. That was good stuff.
I wish the birthday party for Nina's lost son had worked, but it didn't. Chris has some deeper reason for being there, I think, than making Nina feel better about the past. Yes, Chris knows about Ronan and all that's going to come out in the weeks ahead. But right now, this storyline is meandering.
But I'm not complaining. As I said, there was a lot of action this week and plenty of developing stories. Can't wait for next week, can you?
Here are some letters from the mailbox -- keep 'em coming, fans!
