Deconstructing Y&R: Disappointed by the Anti-Climactic Ending to What Should’ve Been a Soapy Plot Involving Devon’s Money

Credit: Image: Howard Wise/JPI

The frustration continued this week – there’s still boring conversation daily, storylines (if you can call them that) are wrapped up too quickly and neatly with almost no drama, and/or are just lame. I’m bewildered by the writing – there is so little conflict, drama, and angst appropriate to a soap opera. The powers that be have played some nice emotional beats, and I’m sure more are coming up with the news about Dina, but that’s the only thing going right on Young and Restless presently.

Setting aside differences

I enjoyed the interactions surrounding Victoria being hospitalized with Noah being there, Phyllis showing up for Nick, Adam and Victor sharing a ‘moment’ etc. Nikki and Sharon connecting was also a highlight. I’m a sucker for characters setting aside their differences during crises. Billy’s appearance at Victoria’s bedside didn’t elicit much emotion thanks to the recent writing for the character. In other Billy-related commentary, I was looking forward to finding out about the new venture Jill wanted to bring him in on, and it turned out to be just another job offer at Chancellor Industries. Jill was funny when Chance asked her about Colin though.

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Pseudo-storylines

Once again, the powers that be seem to be passing off ‘job swaps’ as storylines. Chelsea gave in to Phyllis and sold her shares, now she’s pondering designing again with Chloe, Lola’s opening a new restaurant offscreen, Adam wants to return to Newman Enterprises (this could be intriguing at least and I enjoyed Adam getting advice from Jack about it), and Phyllis vied with Abby to see who would end up with the hotel. I didn’t mind Phyllis yanking Abby’s chain (she was clearly behind the lawsuits), but the theme was starting to get old, so it was a relief when Abby decided to sell Phyllis her shares…and then she announced she was relocating across the street to keep competing. Sigh. Anyway, all of this just seems to give them something to talk about.

Lame ending

In the previous Deconstructing Y&R, fans wanted more for Devon but he certainly didn’t get it with the storyline surrounding his money. Talk about an anti-climactic ending. Perhaps it’s fitting, however, as the entire plot fell-flat. Why tell a heist story about someone’s fortune being stolen almost completely offscreen, leave out the character most affected, then resolve it all with a texted apology?! Worse, Devon decided Colin had suffered enough so…bygones. This is beyond frustrating as this should/could have been an incredibly soapy plot. In other ‘dumb plot point’ news, Devon seemed mystified to learn that Amanda had been in actual danger even knowing she’d had to file a restraining order against her ex. The positive here is that Devon seemed concerned, which could be a stepping off point for more story between them.

Colin stole Devon’s money and fled the country just to give it back…#YR pic.twitter.com/LlgCFYvLYp

— JR, Come Back (@andrea9192) February 26, 2020

Devon is a billionaire. Instead of this man wheeling and dealing pissing people off. You have him constantly turning the other cheek so he can be stuck in that PH doing nothing. #YR

— TXRangersBB (@TXRangersBBGAL) February 27, 2020

Green-eyed monster

Mariah’s distrust of Tessa, while understandable given their history, seemed more about her own insecurities. Surely if Tessa was having sex with Tanner, she’d attempt to hide it, i.e. not take Mariah’s call when Tanner’s there shirtless. Anyway, Mariah’s got a lot on her plate, and when Theo’s questions got on her last nerve, she left Society with Lindsay. Hmm. A recent Soaps.com poll showed that a majority of readers believe Tessa will discover Mariah and Lindsay hung out, which can’t be a good thing as the relationship is already experiencing tension.

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Slow your roll

I want to feel more ‘into’ Summer and Kyle than I do. They got back together so quickly and easily there was no build-up, no time spent overcoming obstacles, and no setbacks to create a sense of yearning. I hope more time is taken with Theo and Lola, as they’ve got potential if it evolves slowly. I watched their scenes at the Grand Phoenix twice because Theo being off his game around Lola is so cute. If the fun relationship developing between Theo and Lola is messed up, I’ll just throw up my hands.

This is my opinion. Feel free to join in the discussion with your thoughts below.