Make it Make Sense! Young & Restless Drops the Ball on Potential Drama As It Rolls Into February Sweeps
January 30 - February 3
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Young & Restless stunned many by having Nikki back down right when she had Diane where she wanted her. That, and a few other things have fallen into the category: Make it make sense. Here’s a look at what’s working and not going into February Sweeps.
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Changing Fortunes
While I’m still firmly Team Devon, even more so after he laid things out so clearly for Lily in his latest visit to the office, it was unexpectedly entertaining to watch Lily put Abby in her place when she stuck her nose in: “How dare you, etc…” Abby also clashed with Tucker, who appears to be on the verge of losing it all save for a last-minute twist. Are they going to try and make us feel sorry for him so they can give him a bad guy makeover as they did Adam? I hope not. Adam is all but unrecognizable from his former self at this point. They keep having characters try to remind us what a terrible person he is and yet all we’ve seen for a good year is him being the calmest and most reasonable Newman around. Make it make sense.
Wrong Turn
Speaking of made-over characters, we now have shifty con artist, Chelsea, as a delicate flower who can do no wrong. It’s boring. Worse, they’re pushing her and Billy, which seems to delight the writers, but not too many fans. Maybe if we collectively pretend in our minds that Chelsea manipulated this whole thing into being, it would make it more interesting. Or not.
Chelsea and Billy have no spark. They seem like brother and sister. #YR
— Phyllis’ Cake 🎂🍾 Team Chadam (@sheet_cake) January 27, 2023
Musical Jobs
Circling back to Adam, I did quite enjoy him outing Kyle to Jack, who was never going to take kindly to his son colluding with Victor to make changes at his company. And it looks like there’s more strife ahead for the Abbott heir, who ended the week being glared at by his wife. I’ll give the writers this, it was interesting that Adam admitted he isn’t happy at Jabot and that Victor’s instincts were correct. But what will he do about it? Does this mean he’s open to returning to Newman Enterprises? While many wouldn’t want to see him back there, I’d accept it if it meant being co-CEO with Victoria because there’s story to mine there. Chances are, however, that he’ll end up manning his own division again. The McCall Unlimited division if Victor has his way.
A Vibe
You gotta love Phyllis. Fresh off an argument with Daniel about going behind his back to Nate — that nearly got her fired — she decides to double down and go off to Portugal (behind his back) and meddle in his love life. Seems like a good idea — not! I’m sure he’ll tear a strip, nay, a wide swath, off of her when she returns. I’m loving these two, and, weirdly, the addition of Tucker into their mix. He and Phyllis bantering is a vibe, and you could tell he got the biggest kick out of tattling on her!
The Kiss
While I fully appreciate the Young & Restless writers trying to stir the pot with Victoria kissing Nate, I’m not yet sold on the two of them as a pairing. I’m not exactly electrified by their chemistry in scenes. It’s not that there’s none, but perhaps not enough. It also seemed like they were setting up Elena/Nate/Audra, so there’s that. What did you think of the kiss? Let me know!
Low Gear
The writers aren’t entirely dropping the ball on the Sally/Nick/Adam story but it feels stalled. Presumably, that will all change with a paternity test looming and February Sweeps. What is going right is Sally’s emotional roller-coaster. Courtney Hope is killing it. Here’s hoping this storyline is put into high gear this month — will someone monkey with the paternity test? What will Adam and Victor’s reactions be to the pregnancy?
Make It Make Sense
I’d like nothing more than to see Jack find his life partner at long last, and the scenes between him and Diane are undeniably romantic, but he’s being foolish again and it’s all setting him up for an inevitable fall, which is sad. What’s even sadder is that the writers side-stepped yet another opportunity to create big drama. When Nikki confronted Diane with the knowledge that she and Jack had stolen the necklace it was the perfect opportunity for her to lower the boom and give her an ultimatum — either you leave town immediately or I go to the authorities. It would have been as soapy as all get out for Diane to have been forced to leave Kyle right after promising she never would, in order to protect Jack (who also would have been devastated). The writers could then have had Summer find out what her grandmother did, which would put her in a quandary — keep the truth from her husband or tell him, which would bring Diane and her chaos back into their lives?
My biggest issue with the whole thing is that Nikki has spent every waking minute for months focused on “getting that bitch out of our lives” and yet when presented with a golden opportunity to do just that, simply rolls over: “Well, you won’t get any trouble from me.” Make it make sense!!
This is just my opinion. Feel free to share your views on Young & Restless in the comment section below.
