The Young and the Restless Weekly Blog!
Katherine's Conundrum: I love that Katherine was the one to solve the puzzle of Tucker! What's more, I love that she couldn't use it against him and took the high road. Although there was a crack in Tucker's armor this week, I still don't feel the intense desire to have him and his mother reconcile that I felt with the former Tucker. Ahh, how I wanted Former Tucker, Jill, and Kay to wind up playing happy families - but that's all in the past now. Stephen Nichols is just so talented, I know in time I will connect with his version of Tucker, but it hasn't happened yet. Back to the storyline, I think that Neil will report Tucker, or put Jill onto his misdeeds, so that the step toward closeness and trust between Tucker and Kay will be forced two steps backward again.
Divorce Dilemma: Victoria and JT's story is shaping up to be a pretty emotional and realistic one. JT has been depicted as the primary caregiver for a while now, and Victoria as a blowsy mess, so who knows how this will end up. By the way, Victoria went to new lengths in irking me this week when she called Michael, who she knew was involved in a frantic search for his beloved sister-in-law, to come right over to hear her whine about her relationship woes - what a spoiled, little 'rhymes with witch'!
Wake Me Up When Winters Are Over: With the exception of Cane being detained by immigration the writing for this family is frustratingly humdrum. Yes, Neil got a bit fired-up over Katherine not turning Tucker in, but that's just a supporting bit - give him more! Or how about bringing NuMalcolm front and center - let's see what he can do! Worth pointing out: there was more foreshadowing this week when Mac felt the babies kicking, and when Malcolm asked her if she feels a connection to them…dun, dun, dun. By the way, anyone have a guess on who turned Cane in?
Delia's Birthday Bash: Love the get-togethers! It's interesting how the writers were sure to point out the jealousy Billy feels for Chance, as he made jibes about Chance's gift to Delia. Not so interesting is Chance's big mystery (Riggs is dead, who cares?), or his romance with Chloe, which is bizarrely devoid of passion. Do we even know if he's still a virgin or not?
Kiss Me Kate, er, Victoria: The kiss Billy planted on Victoria in the courtroom left me cold. It was perfectly set up by their conversation to be a moment that should have blown us all away - but it didn't. It seemed awkward somehow, and it reminded me of Billy's romantic scenes with Mac in that way. Waiting to see how they are from here on out...
Diane Fan: I love these impromptu little pop-ins by delicious characters from the past! It really spices up the show. Diane is still her zippy, abrasive self - awesome! Can't wait for Monday and the showdown between Phyllis and Diane - yippee!
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Having characters from the past on the show is...opinion
Once again, ending with a shout-out to the actors who make the show amazing! See which Y&R actors made the list of Pre-Emmy Nominations! Woot!
What are you most looking forward to next week? Are you feeling the show is too dark? Weigh in with your own Rant in the comment section below - Soaps.com loves to read your point of view!
-Candace Young
Restless Rant
Week of February 22 – 26:
It’s another mixed review for The Young and the Restless this week. Certainly, the show has lots going on – there are no end of things happening to keep a viewer interested right until the last scene, and coming back for more the next day – and there’s plenty to discuss and speculate about, which is great. To my immense frustration, though, I continue to find myself pining for scenes that make me feel big emotions. I yearn for love, passion, triangles, and for the writing to catapult me into a spontaneous outburst of tears or laughter. It’s true, a happy couple can be pretty dull, but I judge a soap opera based on the emotion and feelings it evokes – not the freaky, plot-driven places it can go. Definitely, I’m still noticing viewers out there complaining that the stories drag, and/or that they are ridiculous, and I agree in some instances. Here are the week’s talking points:
Batty Patty: I feel like I’m watching one of those melodramatic, over-the-top, black and white films from decades past whenever Patty stands in the Abbott living room talking to Emily’s book, or the huge portrait of Emily that Jack hung on the wall! Egad! The intent of the imposing portrait became clear pretty quickly – it will be a place for Patty to vent, and to demonstrate to viewers that she still has kitty cats in the attic! By week’s end, Patty had become further unhinged by the appearance of arch-nemesis, Diane, and was preparing to permanently rid herself of her ex-bff, Dr. Pee! How convenient for Patty that Paul did a sudden about-face and summoned her to the hospital (this left me going, “Whaaaaa…?”) This storyline is about as ludicrous as it gets, but the performances of the actors have seen it through another week. Huge kudos to Stacy Haiduk, as I can actually see the differences in the way she portrays each of the characters just through facial expressions.
Jinxed Jana: Up to her eyebrows in it again, our Jana languishes behind bars in what appears to be an old zoo (note the tire swing). Either that or it’s the idyllic backyard of Ryder and Daisy’s childhood home – could go either way. Of course, Jana doesn’t bloody well have the sense not to provoke her captors, and lashes out at Ryder, who is easily her best shot at getting out. She came to her senses toward the end of the scene, though, and played on a hunch that he genuinely cares about Kevin. Although, this storyline has dragged, and Daisy is a huge headache (bahaha), there were definitely good moments this week – Kevin being so distraught is powerful, Ryder struggling with his inner demons (I so hope he steps up), and not to be forgotten, the comic relief (yes!) of dopey Amber and cynical Chloe searching for clues using the Ouija board!
Antsy Adam: Looks like the chicken has flown the coop. Or he’s up to something. I like the way Adam’s downfall is playing out, but the story still feels draggy (as it has ever since he was gaslighting Ashley at the Ranch). Thankfully, someone finally has some real evidence to get the ball rolling. Sharon and Adam’s scenes were just starting to get repetitive (She believes me, she believes me not, let’s leave town, let’s not) when he disappeared, so I’m glad he did. Almost scares you not knowing what he’s up to though – I half expected him to pop up in the storage facility behind Phyllis and Nick! One bonus in the storyline this week was being treated to a couple of scenes with Sharon and Phyllis – more entertaining by a country mile than either of them is with Nick! The good news is that Friday was a good cliffhanger as far as this story is concerned – I hope the momentum continues.
Male Bonding: I wanted to be sure to mention the scene this week between Victor and Tucker as they bonded over feeling – what else – invincible! It struck me as so amusing, and how often do we get to see the Mustache light up and indulge in a knowing belly laugh like that?!