The Young And The Restless Weekly Blog!
Restless Rant
Week of August 23 – 27:
Happy Friday! I’m feeling pretty ‘ranty’ about The Young and the Restless this week. It’s amazing to me that the same writers who turned out as fabulous an episode as Monday’s, are also responsible for the so-so storytelling that we saw the rest of the week – terminally boring at times! Sure, there were some exceptions; the christening gathering had some good stuff going on, the return of Phillip was intriguing, Victor one-upping Adam with Skye’s help was sweet, but when the big cliff-hanger on Friday is Nikki’s drink being spiked (and we don’t even know why), is anyone really dying to tune in next week? Some thoughts on the week:
Marvelous Monday.
Monday’s episode this week was fantastic. After watching it, I had the irrepressible urge to tell others about it, and couldn’t wait until everyone else had seen it too. The reason? There was so much happening; the tension-filled scenes in Gloworm with Jack/Phyllis/Daniel/Abby/Skye/Adam, the heart-pounding scenes between Tucker and Ashley culminating in rip-your-clothes-off floor sex, Victor punching Adam in the GCAC, the hilarious scenario of Billy’s unfinished tattoo, Phyllis learning that Nick had moved Sharon into the tack house and seeking out dirty dumpster sex with Deacon, and, last but not least, Nick finding Adam at the tack house with Sharon. The episode included all the elements you want to see in a soap opera. If only the writing could be like this every day and for all characters.
Fenmore Fail.
The Jill and Lauren story has never really risen much above a snark-fest, but this week it hit new lows, with the action, if you can call it that, centering around Jill having her photo taken and hanging it in Fenmore’s, and Lauren ‘crashing’ the christening and one-upping Jill by giving away free clothes to the twins. Really? Personally, I enjoyed the cute hats Lauren gave Lily in honor of Dru more than any of the actual Jill/Lauren storyline. Lauren’s scenes with Traci, and later, being playful and sexy with Michael in his office, drew me in more than her interactions with her half-sister.
I’m Just a Clod.
Nick Newman may have lost his crown as biggest doofus on Y&R. The challenger? Chance Chancellor, who thinks he’s right about everything, and who is so utterly insensitive as to hug and comfort Heather, the woman he cheated with, right in front of Chloe. Ronan’s right – he’s a jerk. Oh, and the Chance/Heather pairing – still blech. Chloe and Ronan – hot.
Skye’s the Limit!
Turning on Adam made Skye a whole lot more interesting this week! I liked this twist, which makes life way more precarious for Adam.
Dumbed Down.
Don't get me wrong, I love the chemistry between Billy and Victoria just as many other viewers do, but the characters and scenes are being dumbed down to a point that is beyond irritating. Victoria squeals, cries, pouts, and basically acts like a spoiled ten-year old, while Billy sometimes seems like he's had a lobotomy! How about the Father Knows Best house in Genoa City? Dumb! Billy's botched tattoo was hilarious, no question, but in trying to force these characters to be 'campy' 24/7, the result is that some of their scenes come across like bad comedy skits. As for JT and Victoria's 'war' - here's my take: neither one of them should have anything to say to their ex about moving in with their significant other - it happens, deal with it and move on. As for JT's concerns about Victoria, I think it isn't so much about the tattoo or tight skirt, as the fact that Victoria is behaving uncharacteristically. Let's face it, the formerly polished exec has let her hair down, and now can't even seem to put a brush through it! Is Vikki's impulsive behavior fun, or almost scary? Be sure to comment!
Christening Chaos.
I thought we'd never make it through the interminable scenes waiting around the immigration office (which incidentally looked exactly like the hospital) to get to the christening. The first thing I have to say is yay for Lily's hair! Last week I mentioned being tired of the wigs, and this week Lily told Cane her hair was finally long enough to have extensions put in (of course what we saw was Christel's real hair), finally! The scenes in the church were heart-warming (except for the Lauren/Jill dust-up), but I particularly enjoyed the reception. The exchange between Devon and Roxy caught my attention (but we'd care more if we saw them regularly), and I got a kick out of Sofia offering to make things happen with Devon's demo - you just know Neil will be sour! As for Phillip's return, I always like to see him, and I'm intrigued by what his warning will mean for Cane. I'm hoping it will mean some adventure/danger for Cane as a new storyline. What are your thoughts? Vote in Soaps.com's Phillip's Warning Snap Poll!
Recycle or Renew?
Looks like we're headed for another round of 'Nikki falls off the wagon'. I'm not sure how I feel about this yet, but we’ve definitely seen it before. If the new storyline is interesting enough, it might be okay, but as it stands, with viewers clueless about Meggie's motivations, it wasn't a great Friday cliffhanger.
Jack's Back.
Speaking of recycled storylines - there's Smilin' Jack back 'in' at Jabot! Of course, we all know that using Abby in an attempt to bring down Victor will not only fail, but will come back to bite him in the form of a very angry sister! Jack never seems to learn - it's like watching a train wreck in slow motion.
Have you missed episodes? Check out the Soap Opera Fan Y&R Weekly Summaries, and then feel free to cast your vote on our Soap Opera Fan Blog Y&R Polls.
- Candace Young
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