As The Young and the Restless’ Abby Mourns Chance, We’re Dancing On the Grave We’re Sure He’s Not In — Plus, a Brand-New Photo Album That Reviews His (Cough) Short But Dramatic Life in Genoa City
Something tells us Abby won’t be wearing widow’s weeds for long.
While friends and loved ones are sure that The Young and the Restless‘ Abby is simply in denial when it comes to husband Chance’s death, we’re not so sure. In fact, we’re sort of surprised how many of them are convinced Chance is really, most sincerely dead. After all, pretty much any time the word “dead” is preceded by “presumed” with regards to a Genoa City resident whose body hasn’t been found, they’re back among the living quicker than you can say “told ya so.”
Above: “Abby, they say that a watched pot pot never boils, not that an unwatched phone never rings.”
Credit: CBS screenshot
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And honestly, the sooner Chance returns, the better, because we’re not particularly loving the direction in which this story seems to be headed. Devon is bonding with Dominick, Mariah’s convinced the baby might be better off away from the grief-filled mansion and Abby seems on the verge of a breakdown. Unfortunately, none of it is making for particularly good soap.
We can’t help but feel as if Chance returning would be something of a reset for a story that went off the rails the moment he and Abby tied the knot. First there was the rush to have a child and their inability to conceive, then — just when they’d decided to use Mariah as a surrogate — Chance was given the bum’s rush, leaving Abby to deal with the situation on her own.
The decision to have Mariah be the surrogate and Devon the sperm donor felt like the worst kind of soap opera plotting, especially given that each of these legacy characters deserved to have children of their own with their respective partners before dashing out to make Abby’s dream come true.
Above: Too late, the priest realized just how unholy a mess this scenario was.
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
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While Chance’s supposed death feels like yet another plot point being piled atop an already unstable pile of soap opera tropes, we’re actually willing to forgive this one. Why? Because we’re assuming it’s being used to explain the new look we’re certain Chance will return with following facial reconstruction surgery. Why else say that he was in an explosion?
Of course, the show could have simply brought Chance home without this melodramatic (presumably) faux death. It’s not as if we haven’t had unexplained recasts, with the new actor simply arriving on the scene as a disembodied voice informs us that “the part of Chance Chancellor is now being played by (insert actor name here).” There’s always the possibility that this will still happen, in which case we’ll be left with even more questions as to why the writers went the fake death route.
No matter how things play out, we’re desperately hoping that we’re right in thinking Chance will soon find his way home. Abby can stop crying, Devon and Mariah can focus on their own relationships and maybe, just maybe, all of these characters will be given the opportunity to take part in a better story than the one in which they’re currently entangled.
Do you agree with us that the odds of Chance being dead are right up there with those of Victor and Billy becoming best buds? Share your thoughts in the comment section, then check out the gallery below in which we take a closer look at Chance’s life and (previous) death. Because this ain’t the first time the Grim Reaper has come knock, knock, knockin’ on his door!
