Deconstructing Y&R: Epic Fail Amid Twist in Jabot Dynamic

Credit: Image: Howard Wise/JPI

Though the post-Ashley Abbott Y&R felt vaguely depressing, a cool twist came quickly in the Jabot dynamic, but brought with it a ‘fail’ I couldn’t ignore. Halloween brought some entertaining scenarios. Thoughts:

Twist and shout

While the emotion surrounding Ashley’s departure was on-point and heartfelt as always, the family’s story had an air of depression about it, which was appropriate given the loss. With that said, the twist of Phyllis becoming CEO, however unlikely, was entertaining to me, and something different from the various Abbotts taking the helm, though I’d have been intrigued to see Traci take over. On the downside, Phyllis and Summer being a ‘team’ again is an epic fail. There is no chance there wouldn’t be ongoing trust issues and anger after Summer willingly had sex with the man Phyllis loves and wanted desperately to reconcile with…especially given that Summer would have happily entered into a relationship with Billy and flaunted it in her mother’s face if he had been into it. Anyway, back to the situation at Jabot, Phyllis convinced the new R&D woman, Kerry, to back her exclusively, and the looks on Billy and Jack’s faces were priceless. I hope Kerry proves to be a compelling character, and want to give her a chance, but, yes, it’s daunting to have yet another newcomer. As for Phyllis making Lauren her COO, yes please!

Candy kisses

Genoa City’s Halloween party played out as a contrast between Sharon putting the final nail in the coffin of her relationship with Nick, and other couples growing closer. In the last Deconstructing Y&R, I was rooting for Lola, and her reconciliation with Kyle after he told Summer where to go was one of the few moments that I truly loved. They have sexual chemistry and an interesting dynamic being that they are so different. Another warm, fuzzy moment was Mariah giving Tessa the ‘I love you’ pumpkin and sharing a kiss. I get the feeling we’re not to entirely trust Tessa, who seems to forget from time-to-time that she desperately needs to pay off her debt, but we’ll see where that’s going in time.

More: Soap stars celebrating Halloween in photos

Halloween hoot

I’ve enjoyed the various interactions surrounding Nikki, Victoria, Sharon, and Phyllis’ panic over the idea that someone knows what they did, though it’s disappointing that the ball has been dropped again where Victoria’s concerned. Her anxiety and PTSD were finally addressed properly, and now she’s back to reacting to the threats on a similar level to the other three. While they all have reason to be afraid of exposure, Nikki and Victoria each have unique roles in the drama that played out with JT; Nikki having struck the fatal blow and Victoria having suffered the abuse and having to deal with the love/hate feelings for JT on top of the death and cover-up. Most wouldn’t be able to function! Though the story’s dragged on, the scenes remain entertaining…loved the return of Jill to mix it up with Nikki, and the creepy vibe of the women digging up a grave on Halloween and finding it empty. Fans voted in a Soaps.com poll on the grave-digger storyline (65% hate it), and commented:

Yes. In it of itself the girl squad is super soapy -and I like those ladies working together… but what could’ve been a strong, poignant story on DV was turned into a cheap campy B-movie… and Vicki was thrown clear out of it. #YR @YRInsider

— Leigh Mac (@LeighSoapFan) November 1, 2018

This story was good when it first started, its dragged on for 7 months with very little movement, very little action and frankly it’s no longer interesting.

— MrsWhinyBitchChelsea (@ChelsWindyCity) November 1, 2018

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