When Victor Newman and Jack Abbott team up for the sake of a common cause, you know that the week's episodes of The Young and the Restless contain shocking developments and thrilling surprises. But don't forget the never-ending secrets and lies that constantly plague the residents of Genoa City.
For this past week of unexpected news and some sizzling situations, I am pleased to be the guest Y&R Two Scoops columnist for Soap Central while Allison tends to some personal matters. I have been following Y&R for years and have been completely enthralled with the lives and the loves of our beloved Genoa City citizens. So without further ado, let us review the good -- and the bad -- of the happenings from this last week.
First, who would have ever thought that Victor Newman and Jack Abbott would join forces for the good of a common cause? Normally, if they had attempted that in the past, you knew that Victor or Jack would end up backstabbing the other without a second's hesitation. However, when Victor and Jack realized that Marcus was a common enemy, who could threaten both with a visit to "the big house," Victor and Jack combined their manipulative talents and invited Marcus over for a friendly chat.
Victor reminded Marcus that he had a good reason for Marcus to keep the truth about his daughter's death a secret, since Stephanie had quite an unsavory past. And Jack vowed that he and Victor would keep the secret in exchange for Marcus' silence on the circumstances of Stephanie's death. Victor also revealed that he was aware that Marcus had actually murdered Belinda Rogan twelve years earlier and that it would be wise for Marcus not to cross Victor. Surprisingly, Marcus had no interest in becoming the diabolical duo's ally, and he walked out the door after he refused their proposal.
The biggest surprise came when newly elected police commissioner, Paul, and newly hired detective, Alex, walked out of the other room with tape recorder in hand. With the taped admission from Marcus and hopefully acquired DNA from a cup at the scene of Belinda's murder, Paul hoped to put Marcus away for the crime, thus freeing still-jailed Gus Rogan. It seems that Marcus had also manipulated the verdict of the appeal so that Gus would not be released for a murder that he did not commit.
Honestly, it was fun watching Victor and Jack teaming together on the same side for a change, and to help out the police department at that! The two are ferocious enough when they act on their own, so a combined effort would prove to be indestructible. When Victor threatened to take Marcus down, I even trembled. I warned Marcus, as I watched, that crossing Victor was not the smart thing to do. But did Marcus listen -- no! He learned his lesson, though, and as expected, the joint forces of Victor and Jack prevailed. Fun stuff!
I really don't know what was in Victor's coffee (or maybe it was Colleen's transplanted heart), but in this very same week, he even reached out to Adam, who still lay in a hospital bed from a gunshot wound, after he had thrown himself in front of his father to block the line of fire. Oh, okay, maybe that heroic effort is the reason for Victor's good graces. Even Victoria relented once she saw that Adam had saved her father's life. I think that they both offered nice gestures to Adam, and I cheered when Victor wished that he and Adam could act more as father and son in the future, but I can't help but be skeptical.
Adam has always, always wanted his father's approval and love, which is why Newman Enterprises is so important to him. That could make him a little vulnerable when it comes to any crumb that Victor may throw his way. But I can see that he would want to give his relationship with his father a chance, if Victor were truly sincere. Still, I hope that Adam is on his guard, since Victor and Victoria both have burned him before. Beware, Adam.
In the meantime, while Adam lay in the hospital, Chelsea also made an unexpected visit when she suddenly almost collapsed in spasms of pain. Fearing another miscarriage, Chelsea rushed to the hospital, where her doctor announced that Chelsea's baby was fine, but that Chelsea needed to take it easy and not to any heavy lifting. Happy with her news, Chelsea visited an unconscious Adam and declared her secret -- that she was pregnant with Adam's child -- to him. Little did she know, Victoria was standing outside the door.
Chelsea suspected that Victoria had overheard the news, especially due to certain comments made by Victoria, such as that Chelsea did not have to lose Adam if she did not want to and that a baby's father should be in his or her life. What Chelsea didn't know was that Victoria actually feared that Chelsea would learn about Billy and Victoria's decision to try to have a baby of their own. Apparently, Victoria still lacks confidence that Chelsea will keep her word about allowing Victoria and Billy to keep Johnny.
I may be in the minority, but I really like Adam and Chelsea together, and I am hoping that he still loves her. Where Adam only hurt Sharon by keeping her from Faith for the first six months of Faith's life, he actually helped Chelsea, because they were in many ways alike. Where negativity seemed to surround Adam and Sharon, there seemed to be a positive aura around Adam and Chelsea. Adam and Chelsea only fell apart when she lost the first baby. If Chelsea would tell Adam the truth, they could still have a chance for the love and happiness that they both wanted with a real family. Of course, Chelsea's biggest mistake regarding her pregnancy lately has been to listen to advice from Chloe.
Ah yes, Chloe. Chelsea actually listened to advice regarding the father of her baby from Chloe. The same Chloe who was pregnant with Billy's child and tricked Cane into believing that the baby belonged to him. Remember how well that went, Chloe? Of course not, because I don't think Chloe could ever possibly admit that she was wrong. Cane loved Delia and did everything for her before she was even born. When he found out that Delia was actually Billy's child, Cane was crushed. And Billy discovered the truth anyway, so all of Cane's anguish was for nothing. (Not to mention that it totally messed up Cane and Lily's relationship at the time.)
Now Chloe is giving the same advice: Chelsea should find another baby-daddy, so that Adam won't learn the truth. She must be kidding! I mean, it worked so well the first time, right, Chloe? Please, does Chloe ever learn her lesson? But she is doing something now that even tops that. Chloe has convinced Kevin that since Katherine has so much money and all these lovely trinkets, they should just steal the trinkets and a check intended for Katherine's charity and liquidate them to get them out of their financial troubles.
Of course, Chloe has terrific reasoning: Kevin and Chloe can be considered a charity case themselves, so that makes everything all right. What? I think I need to clean out my ears. Or am I delusional? Or, more likely, they are. After everything that Katherine has done for Chloe, this is how she repays her? And Kevin, Kevin...I am so disappointed in you! You are one of my favorite characters, but you think it is okay to do this to your wonderful "Mrs. C.," who has done so much for you? When almost everyone else had turned their backs on you at one time, Kevin, Katherine Chancellor had kept her faith in you. Katherine gave you opportunities to help your career. I think even Gloria would be ashamed of Kevin's behavior (and that's saying a lot.)
Katherine is already worried that she may have Alzheimer's, so a missing donation check would not soothe her anxiety. Luckily, Cane was there to support her while Katherine took tests to discover exactly what was wrong with her. It is nice to see Cane in the good-guy role again. He has always thought of Katherine as his grandmother, and he needed to convince her to take the tests so that she could remain in the fight over her own life. Cane was there to help Katherine so that she did not need to worry her family, hopefully unnecessarily. The friendship between Katherine and Cane has been touching.
Finally, Avery suddenly had a new roommate, Dylan, since he had to remain in Genoa City after his arrest for fighting the sheriff's son. Since Nicholas wanted Dylan gone, he offered Dylan his old job bartending back at the Underground so that Dylan could pay off his debt to Avery for attorney fees. Nicholas appears to have realized what is important in his life, and he is acting on it. Once Nicholas understood how much he wants Avery in his life, he romanced her with lit candles in the darkness of his bar. As he declared his love for Avery, Nicholas pulled out a big diamond ring and presented his very interesting proposal. Nicholas asked Avery to marry him.
Will Avery say yes to Nick's proposal? She obviously still has lingering feelings for Dylan, and I think that Nicholas sees that. I don't think that the proposal would have been so rushed though, if Nicholas were entirely confident in his relationship with Avery. Nicholas sees Dylan as a threat to Nick's happiness, so he is doing what he can to prevent Avery from turning back to her long-lost love. I guess, dear viewers, we will learn the answer to the proposal soon enough. I really like Nicholas and Avery as a couple. However, I am rather doubtful that she will give a positive response to his question.
So, situations of love, secrets, and lies filled the week for Y&R. And I didn't even mention Lauren's ongoing lie to Michael about her affair with Carmine. (Hint: Tell Michael the truth, Lauren! You and Michael will never be able to rebuild your trust in one another if you don't.) Thank you for letting me share my views on our favorite Genoa Citizens. We will continue to support them and to sometimes get angry with them, as they live, lie, and love throughout their days. I bid a fond farewell for now, but I will tune in next time to watch the shenanigans of the beloved members of my adopted family on The Young and the Restless.
