Finally! The Romantic Shake-Ups and Catty Conflicts Young & Restless Needed — Plus, Mariah’s Rocking the Proverbial Cradle and Fans Debate Adam’s Love Life

Credit: CBS; Howard Wise/JPI

After the debacle of the Stitch kidnapping, Young & Restless rebounded somewhat with the soapiness of the launch party and evidence of some promising deeper emotion emerging in stories. They’re finally on the right track with the entertaining catty conflicts (so nice to see Nikki involved!) and the romantic shake-ups, which were sorely needed, however, “big” soapy drama is still MIA.

Launch Party

Considering there has been a prolonged drought on the show when it comes to the “soapiness” of the daytime drama, the goings-on at the launch were encouraging. The conflicts were delicious, from the very obvious — Sally throwing a drink in Phyllis’ face, who returned the favor by dumping an ice bucket over her head (so fun!) — to the more subtle, such as Billy shouldering in at the bar to trade barbs with Adam. They even let Nikki get in on the act by telling off Sally, which was amazing.

We also had the undercurrents of romantic shake-ups happening throughout the night as Nick kept an eye on Phyllis and Jack, and Sally pulled Adam into a very hot kiss. I love that they’re dangling these possibilities — suspicions and rumblings add layers.

More: How Y&R set the scene for a ‘Phack’ reunion

The other thread running through it all was a nice dose of comedy. No one wants to feel like they’re watching a sitcom instead of their soap, but using the actors’ comedic talents to enhance scenes is terrific when done right. I got a kick out of watching Lily fill Billy in on what went down between Sally and Phyllis, and seeing Billy and Nick’s eyes widen as they took in the sight of a dripping Phyllis with racoon mascara eyes, after watching Adam escort a soggy Sally onto the elevator, was hysterical. Nikki and Victor back at the ranch chuckling over Sally getting the ice bucket treatment was fun too. After being bored so much of the time, if nothing else I felt engaged and entertained.

Lol Nick’s , Nikki , and Victor’s reaction to the Phyllis and Sally cat fight was priceless !! 😂😂😂😂 #YR

— lynn standridge (@lynn5432) September 3, 2021

Phyllis and Victor shared an amusing scene as well — but it was questionable given their history that they’d ever have that sort of conversation, in fact, it was an eye-roller that Phyllis would host his event at the hotel, not only because of the past, but because he owns Top of the Tower!

More: Sean Carrigan exits Y&R: What went wrong?

The Struggle is Real

The question at this point isn’t “if” Mariah will go off the deep end, but instead “how far?” Having her voice her desire to breastfeed the baby was the perfect set up for her to actually end up doing it once they’re back at the Chancellor Estate, though I’m not sure Young & Restless would go there — pretty tame these days. Anyway, I’m sure they’ll cook up a reason for Mariah and Tessa to keep living with Abby and things will get worse before they get better. I’m already feeling for Mariah, so you know this is going to end up being heartbreaking. Does anyone else think of the baby as “Bowie” and have trouble remember the name Abby gave him… Damien? Dominic?

More: This Y&R twist will be heart-wrenching!

It’s not only Mariah, but also Devon, who is struggling. I enjoyed the heartfelt conversation in which he opened up to Amanda, but these two not embracing or kissing feels pretty off in such scenes.

I never like this story line because Mariah and Devon didn’t think it though and Abby should of known how hard this will be on Devon because how he lost Hilary and his unborn baby

— Tracey (@Tracey39101082) September 2, 2021

That Kiss

Adam and Sally have quickly garnered a following as a pairing, not to mention a “fresh” ship name — “Salad.” Some fans were intrigued from the moment Sally walked into his office, and others got on board when they shared that kiss, which was a little unexpected — fun!

Other fans are hoping it’s a diversion as they either had their eyes on Adam and Chloe (“Aloe”), a Chelsea and Adam reconciliation (“Chadam”), or for Sharon to finally admit her feelings, extricate herself from her marriage, and fall into Adam’s arms at long last (“Shadam”). A sampling of comments on Adam’s love life:

To be clear, I like Sally! Soaps need troublemakers, and I’m fine having some #salad for now even though I ordered #shadam. I just wish they’d written some real conflict to help ground and justify her choices. #YR

— Justin Michael (@justymike529) September 1, 2021

Sally really should not be dating her boss, Adam.

Oh well! 😂#Salad #YR

— Bonnie (@greenurlifenow) August 30, 2021

Well damn! Sally better tread lightly. Chelsea’s not too far away. And she wouldn’t be too pleased about Sally & Adam hooking up. #YR

— LaDivaScorpion (@FierceAssSistah) September 2, 2021

Odds and Ends

* With Kyle and Summer making a short return next month, we got to speculating that they’ll give them a great big Italian wedding send-off . We also wondered if it was a sign they’d had second thoughts about letting the actors/characters walk off the canvas. With news that Noah is on his way back, maybe they’ve realized that they need younger generations! They will certainly have to build further if Noah’s to have a love life. With Lola gone, that pretty much leaves Sally and Imani as potential love interests. I like either idea, though I still see Imani causing problems for Nate and Elena, and Sally’s otherwise occupied at the moment. Noah taking an interest in the redhead would make Sharon and Nick’s heads explode though!

More: Watch! Nick tells Phyllis, ‘It’s over!’

* This week they played it as though Ashland really is sick and undergoing chemo. They’re certainly keeping us guessing. I enjoyed the authenticity of the scenes between him and Nate. It’s interesting when they have unexpected characters mix it up.

More: Ashland & Victoria wedding shocker?

* That noise you heard Friday (Thursday in Canada, hehe) was Young & Restless viewers’ collective groan when Amanda brought up Sutton’s case again. I’d love to see more of her family — the casting was fantastic for every role, including Sutton — but they need to move on from the legal stuff, which was a flop.

This is just my opinion. Feel free to join the conversation below, but first, do not miss seeing photos of Young & Restless’ most intense rivalries, including confrontations and catfights, in our newest gallery!

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