The storm was the perfect symbolism of what was to come for Katherine Chancellor, and when Jill realized that Katherine was carrying out her bucket list, it was the proper setup for the exit of a brilliant character, Katherine Chancellor, played by the very talented actress, Jeanne Cooper. Yes, Katherine would definitely want to go out with a bang, so it seemed right that her utmost desires would be to travel around the world, to places such as the Great Pyramids, the Great Wall of China, and the Great Barrier Reef. All of these great places for a marvelously great lady. I am glad that Katherine and Murphy finally took the time out to fulfill her dream, before it was too late.
Not too many people get the chance to fulfill their heart's desire before they die, because their demise arrives so swiftly and finally. But Katherine was lucky enough to realize that her time in "soapland" was limited, and she prepared in the best way she knew how. She spent time with her husband, doing the things in life that she had always wanted to do. No one in Genoa City had ever called Katherine Chancellor a fool (at least, not to her face, I am sure), and she proved that she was not one to the very end.
I will definitely miss Katherine, because she was a terrific businesswoman, and she loved with all her heart. She would give a person a second chance, even after everyone else had refused to do so. The best example of this, that I can think of off the top of my head, would be Kevin Fisher. Kevin faced his own worst fears -- being locked in a dark and enclosed place (a car trunk) -- when he set out to find and rescue Katherine from the dangerous scammer, Clint, and Katherine had always remembered what Kevin did for her, even during his notorious Chipmunk escapade. Katherine let Kevin know that he would always have a place in her heart, and she stayed true to that. How I would love to have an ally like Katherine Chancellor!
What impressed me about Y&R, when I first started watching it, was the portrayal of the corporate world with all of the strategic moves to succeed in business, while destroying the competition, which Victor and Jack would demonstrate against each other so well. However, Katherine Chancellor would show that she could be as ruthless as they could in business, while still retaining her heart of gold. The loyalty she showed to her business associates was endearing, as she consistently proved that she had what it took to be a success. Katherine remained a friend of both Victor and Jack, even though they continually tried to destroy each other. However, she was smart enough to stay out of their battles, which, again, showed she was a savvy businesswoman -- and a very dear friend.
Katherine left this world the way that she desired, and she had her beloved Murphy gather all of her loved ones together. Katherine expressed in her letter to them that she was lucky to have fulfilled her bucket list, because she had known, since her surgery in April, that she was dying. Although Jill felt they had been robbed of the chance to tell Katherine goodbye, Murphy stressed that Katherine had always been kind, considerate, and loving, and that she had only wanted them to remember a moment they had shared with her with a smile.
Tears flowed, accompanied with smiles, as they thought of Katherine with love and as they remembered a great lady who had always had a "spirit of hope and determination." However, Jill still felt she had been robbed of one of her bucket list items -- to be able to tell Katherine her deepest feelings about how Jill had felt about her. After Jack reminded Jill that Katherine's death was a reminder of how precious life was, Lauren stressed that Katherine would want Jill to remember her as she was -- strong and vital, not frail and weak. I totally agree with Lauren.
Years ago, as my paternal grandmother was preparing for cancer surgery, which was risky due to her fragile heart, she made me promise that I would not visit her in the hospital if she were to survive the surgery but was not expected to live. My grandmother had wanted me to remember her for the strong, feisty lady that she was, and I promised my grandmother that I would respect her wishes.
As she had feared, she did survive the surgery, but her heart was failing her, so she never regained consciousness. I kept my promise, and because of that, my last moments were not spent with the shell that had once been my loving grandmother. She had loved me enough to spare me that, and I can now remember my grandmother always as the caring, independent, grand lady that she had been throughout her entire life.
Later, Jack, Billy, Abby, and Nikki continued to grieve the loss of their beloved friend. Jack expressed that he just wanted to make both Katherine and his dad proud and that he felt that Katherine was still with them in spirit. I had to laugh when Billy asked if Jack believed in ghosts. It's a wonder that Jack was able to keep a straight face, even though he did have to smile at the question, as he thought of his father, I am sure. Jack then wished that he could have Katherine as his guardian angel. Yes, that role fits Katherine "to a T." Katherine, the guardian angel. I like it. Katherine will definitely keep things running smoothly in soap-heaven!
Katherine had made one final, grand gesture, and that had been to write out letters to those who were closest to her. Jill's letter carried a riddle for Jill to solve: everything I can give you is right in front of you. I love riddles. I was always good at the game Clue, because I would use logic and deductive reasoning. My detective skills could have been very useful for Jill. Anyway, she decided that the safe was the solution to the riddle. However, she could not think of the combination to the safe. Drat the luck! In the meantime, we were left wondering what was in Katherine's letter to Nikki. Whatever Kay said, it was enough to make Nikki cry.
Despite Victor's best efforts, Billy and Victoria are back together again. It just warmed the cockles of my heart (I love that expression) to see this couple reunite. This is, at least, one couple that loves each other and that should be together. Y&R needs a few happy couples to counterbalance all of the unhappiness and the dysfunctional relationships that abound on the show. I have to admit, though, that I never really understood why Billy wanted Victoria back at Newman Enterprises when her working at Newman had always caused them problems before. But I do get that he wanted to be the hero for Victoria, so I will let that one slide. How nice of me.
Nikki had hoped, due to Katherine's demise, that Victor would mellow and would forget his vendetta against the Abbott brothers. And Victor even indicated to her that he wanted to make everything right by everyone. But as soon as Nikki stepped out the door, Victor told Victoria that he intended to do no such thing. That's our Victor for you! First, Victor yelled that he would never allow Jack to be a father to Summer. In his next breath, he decried that Billy was a worthless punk who would end up in the gutter and would drag Victoria along with him. That Victor is such a sweetheart!
I have always asked myself why Victor would not want to see his daughter with the man that she truly loves, and I have not yet come up with a rational answer. It appears that Victor would rather see Victoria with someone he approved of, even if that meant she was miserable. Victor definitely would prefer to see her alone and unhappy than to see her married to Billy. No doubt in my mind.
What I don't understand is why did Victor lie to Nikki, at first, about wanting to make amends? Almost the second Nikki returned home, Victor admitted that he would never give up his battle against Jack and Billy. So, why did he tell Nikki that he would in the first place? That made no sense to me. But, of course, nothing Victor does regarding the feud with the Abbotts makes that much sense to me.
Now that Y&R has a new head writer, hopefully, the first order of business will be to please, please, please write Sharon in a more realistic and sympathetic way. I understand that bipolar disorder is a very complex mental illness, so it should be portrayed as such. I think that Sharon Case could handle the challenge. And she needs family and friends on her side as she battles with her illness. The fans would be enlightened by the writers showing the actual struggle that Sharon and her loved ones face with Sharon's disorder.
Y&R fan Jeanna agrees, "Please Y & R, since your writing team is changing, begin to write more realistically for Sharon's character.? Sharon Case, the actress, deserves better material, at the very least.? At the most, viewers deserve to see a more full view of someone suffering from mental illness and treatments/support that one can get in the 21st century." Since all I know about bipolar disorder is from what I have seen on TV, I would honestly like to learn more about the disease itself, and about any available treatments. Y&R fan Julie explains, "Sharon has a mental health disease as a result of the chemicals in her brain not functioning properly." Thank you for the clarification!
Really, wouldn't you think that Nick would see that Sharon was a little off, as Noah had done? Nick has known her for many, many years. It would seem logical that he would be able to tell that something was off with her. I know that Sharon and Nick have always been friends when they weren't a couple, but she has never blatantly hit on him before. Sharon has made it pretty obvious that she wants to be with Nick again, even if he can't see it. But why can't he? She hasn't exactly been trying to hide it? If Nick loves Avery, he should be able to see that not all of Sharon's behavior and actions have been appropriate. Why hasn't he questioned that?
Avery seemed rather wary of Sharon, since she announced that she wanted to marry Nick right away, so "the hot bride" and "the average groom," according to Nick, decided to marry "next Friday." I think that Avery has Sharon's number, so to speak, but I am not sure that Avery is aware that Sharon's recent behavior might be due to her bipolar condition. However, Y&R fan Maria has another theory about Sharon's behavior:
"This may be a little off-the-wall, but what if Cassie is not a hallucination.? What if she is a twin or Daisy with plastic surgery (after all, she is Sheila's daughter) & she's doing something to Sharon?? 'Off her meds' is just too simple an explanation."
I don't know. I am not sure that I am ready for another round of Sheila and Daisy. There may be another reason for Sharon's somewhat bizarre behavior, but I am not sure that Sheila or Daisy would have a reason to go after Sharon at this time. But I always love listening to other fans' ideas, especially since soap fans tend to dream up better storylines than the writers do at times.
At least Noah appeared to still find that his mother was a little "unfocused" after he discovered that Sharon had kept Nick's picture, intended for Faith, for herself. Noah also found Sharon's traffic violation that placed her a block away from the fundraising benefit the night that Phyllis fell down the stairs. Yet Noah isn't so sure now that Sharon's rather strange behavior means that she is "off her meds." Could there be a simpler explanation? Maybe Sharon was acting like any other person who had learned that her entire life could have worked out differently if her hubby hadn't lied about another woman's child's paternity test. Sharon had always loved Nick, and she perhaps regretted the loss of Nick, and of what she considered her entire family.
But then how do we explain the appearance of Cassie? Maybe Cassie is a ghostly apparition that Sharon turns to for guidance. After all, Jack still has Ghost John giving him advice when Jack most needs it. The difference is that John actually tries to give Jack wise advice, while Cassie pretty much just tells Sharon what Sharon wants to hear. Sharon's decisions, especially when it comes to affairs of the heart, have not always been sound (Adam, anyone?), so the spirit could be Sharon's version of Cassie, who validates Sharon's actions to win Nick back. Sharon needs to believe that she is doing the right thing, so she has heavenly Cassie to advise her. Katherine the guardian angel would be good company for this divine spirit, if that were the case.
Sharon sure knows that Nick and Avery's wedding date has moved up, though, since Nick asked Noah to be his best man. So now she needs to pull out all the stops to prevent it from happening. Maybe Sharon should concentrate a little less on winning Nick back and start paying a little attention to her son, who just landed a photography job at Jabot Fashion, thanks to Tyler. But Nick seems to be Sharon's sole focus, even if she has to use Faith to get him back.
In the meantime, Avery asked a rather lost Summer, who lingers in "the bottomless pit of weirdness," to be her maid of honor. That description was so appropriate, especially concerning Summer's feelings for Kyle. She felt trapped in the middle, due to the constant battle between the Newmans and the Abbotts, mainly thanks to Victor. Why can't Victor just want his granddaughter to be happy? He should be helping her as she tries to adjust to her new life. Summer was sick of hurting, and of hurting others, and she needed all of her family for support. Avery thought that the wedding would be just the ticket for Summer to take the baby steps that she needed to move on with her life.
After Sharon lied through her teeth that she only wished Nick a long life of happiness with Avery, she reminded Nick that he needed to tell Faith about the new wedding date. Of course, after Nick's fairy princess, or as Nick lovingly called her, his little Faitherilla, learned of his marriage to Avery, Faith screamed that she only wanted her daddy to marry her mommy. Gee, I wonder where she came up with that? Somehow, I think that if Sharon has her way, Faith will not be the flower girl at a wedding that Sharon hopes will never happen.
Now I have to return to Y&R fan Maria's suggestion that there just may be another reason for Sharon's strange behavior. Maybe Sharon has a brain tumor. That seems to be the rage on the soaps these days. (Franco on General Hospital!) I mean, sure, Sharon has been neglectful of Faith at times, especially when she still had "the hots" for Adam, but I don't remember her ever using Faith as a pawn for any reason before. A rational Sharon would not hurt her daughter that way.
But Sharon insisted to Nick that she was still on her meds (not that she wouldn't lie) and claimed to Cassie that she was not using Faith to promote her own agenda. However, Sharon also knew that she was short on time if she were to stop Nick from marrying Avery, so she had to come up with something big. My question is why didn't Cassie know that the wedding date had been moved up? Why did Sharon have to tell her? If Cassie is a figment of Sharon's imagination, or a hallucination, she should already know that. I am so confused. This mystery has even me, with my sleuthing, deductive-reasoning powers, stumped.
The fans are still expressing their disapproval over the Adam/Chelsea/Dylan baby daddy drama, because we, the fans, seem expected to suspend belief to the extreme, if Dylan is too naïve to even consider that he may not be the father of a supposedly premature baby that shows no signs of being anything but a healthy, full-term baby. (Whew, that was a mouthful.) While Steve Burton probably wanted a different type of character than what he played as Jason Morgan on GH, his fans are not happy at all with this rather sappy character named Dylan McAvoy. Maybe I will just let Y&R fan Arlene vent:
While the pace of Summer's paternity drama understandably zipped along, due to Michelle Stafford's sudden exit, this unsatisfying story just limps along with no end in sight. And believe me, many, many fans wish this to end! The "secret" of the baby's biological father only makes Adam and Dylan look like dolts. For someone who has been suspicious all along about the paternity of the baby, Adam could now force Chelsea to deliver the proof. Why hasn't he?
I understand that Adam has been a little distracted due to his upcoming court case, but he hasn't been that distracted that he doesn't realize that Chelsea's son has been born. Show us that you are the sharp, cunning guy that we think you are, Adam, and demand that a paternity test be taken on the newborn, Connor. There is no reason not to do it now. How sad is it that Adam's baby has been named after Dylan's dad?! How can Chelsea continue to hide the truth from Dylan about her son, when she has to know the pain it will cause in the long run? How could a mother do that to a child that she claims to love? Chelsea has never even given Adam the chance to show that he could love his son, and she has no evidence that he wouldn't.
This particular storyline is almost as frustrating for me as having major computer problems during my busiest week of the year at work, where I lost ten hours of work time during the week, as the MIS department scrambled to find why my computer kept freezing up. Not that I have had that happen to me lately or anything. But as my husband advised me, "You have to deal with the cards you have been dealt." He has such a way with words. I think he has been watching Billy's gambling storyline too long. Anyway, I had to deal with my computer issues, which have now been resolved, but I still have to tolerate this very frustrating triangle of Adam, Chelsea, and Dylan. We all do.
What's sad is that I used to like Chelsea, because I thought she was good for Adam. Chelsea and Adam had a positive love and strength that they gave each other, because they felt they were two of a kind. While Adam only gave Sharon hurt and misery, he handed Chelsea his heart and tried to help her in any way he could. Adam had a healthy, vital love for Chelsea that he never had nourished with Sharon. I would have liked to see his love for Chelsea blossom more with time. But, of course, their love for each other was cut way too short, due to the tragic loss of their unborn child. That's soap-life for you.
I want to give a big thank you to Y&R fan Dayze, who agrees with my view of Adam and Chelsea, "I thought Chelsea and Adam was a great love story, two people who had been hurt over and over finding love, but that was ended over something that made no sense.? Then, all of a sudden, Chelsea is a designer?? Go figure." I also thought that Adam and Chelsea were a wonderful couple, who had found and had loved each other, after all of the previous heartache they had been through. The fashion designer idea was rather unexpected, but Adam could have been happy with Chelsea's new career. However, that was the problem: Adam could have been happy. We couldn't have that! A happy Adam is a boring Adam? You tell me.
Anyway, Dylan and Chelsea brought young Connor home to a hand-built cradle, courtesy of Dylan, and we learned that Dylan had been reading up on the proper care of a newborn. Dylan then exclaimed that he would keep his son safe and would raise Connor to be a better man than Dylan ever was. What did Dylan mean by that? That sounds ominous. When Chelsea questioned him, Dylan evaded her by stating some stuff about parents wanting their children to avoid making the same mistakes they had made. It is starting to appear that Chelsea is not the only one in this couple who is hiding something from the past.
Honestly, Dylan could stand to have another layer added to his rather boring character. Every time Chelsea and Dylan are on-screen, sappy music plays in the background in an apparent attempt to get the viewers to stand behind what is supposed to be the most romantic couple in the history of time. The chemistry needs to show through on the screen, however, and I don't really see it with them. I do still see it between Adam and Chelsea, though, and the chemistry was very apparent when he stopped by to talk to her. Adam still needed a female character witness to side with him for his rape case, and Chelsea immediately agreed that Adam was no rapist.
When Adam looked at Chelsea, he thought that she was glowing. It's so obvious that he still loves her. It shows on his face. After Chelsea briefly left the room, Adam cuddled and cooed over Connor. He already loves the baby, just because Connor is Chelsea's baby. How could Chelsea believe that Adam would deliberately harm the baby in any way? Did you see the look of panic on her face when she saw Connor in Adam's arms?
Dylan seemed unreasonably hostile to Adam as he warned him to stay away. I am trying to recall what Adam did to Dylan to warrant that kind of hostility. I have nothing. I wonder if Dylan is not as dumb as he appears, and if he does suspect that Adam is the baby's father. Now, that would make him more interesting -- finally. If only it were true. Although Chelsea believed that Adam would never force himself on a woman, she did not believe she would make a credible witness, so she turned him down. Adam sadly left, and you could see the sorrow in his eyes, thinking about the kind of life he could have had.
Adam even indicated as much to Victor when he lamented that he had held the baby -- the one that Chelsea should have had with him. Adam declared, "What good is a heart, when it can just be broken over and over again?" Adam had such a hole in his heart that he decided that doing a hostile takeover of Chancellor Industries would be a good idea. Thank goodness Victor thought otherwise. Adam so obviously still loves Chelsea, and he desires to be in Dylan's place, which, of course, is exactly where he should be. The loss of Adam and Chelsea's baby sent him on a path that he regretted he had ever taken.
Okay, Carmine is still obsessed with Lauren, and I have to wonder where the writers are heading with this character. I always hate to see a nice-looking guy go, but is there any way to redeem this character now? Or could he still be the next target for a murder mystery, as I had suspected before? I recall that both Michael and Kevin were redeemed after some pretty bad past acts, so it could still happen for Carmine. I don't know what is in the cards for him, but it does not look good, especially if Michael has his way.
Carmine's two messages, "I only feel alive when I'm with you," and "You can't erase me" contain a clever irony, since his days still seem to be numbered in this soap world. If Michael did have his way, Carmine would not be alive, and he would definitely be erased -- permanently. Paul was absolutely right, though, that Michael needed to be careful about his statements, which could very much come back to haunt him. I can see that coming.
After Michael announced that he should have killed Carmine when he had the chance and that he would not make the same mistake again, you knew that Carmine's time was limited. I have felt all along that Carmine would be murdered, but the only mystery would be "who done it?" We all know that it won't be hero Michael, as much as he would like to kill him, so who else could it possibly be? Any theories of who and why?
Neil finally seems to be on the right track regarding the GC Buzz blogger. Rose's daughter does seem to be the person who might have a grudge against Neil and his family, since he had left Rose alone to die in that seedy motel room. And Hilary is still acting like she is hiding something. But with Hilary, it's the looks that she shoots Cane or Lily's way whenever no one is looking. Hilary continues to arrange time alone with Cane, so there must be a reason for it.
Neil dug up more information about Rose's daughter on his trip to London and discovered that she was Ann Turner, who had quit her successful job working for a prominent financer and then had suddenly moved away. Neil found newspaper articles about Gus and Leslie in Ann's room, and he also came upon his business card that he had given Rose those several years ago at the pub. And Neil retrieved a Wisconsin phone number from Ann's log for Kevin to track, which turned out to be from a Newman Enterprises phone.
The signs are pointing more and more to the fact that Hilary is our girl! The evidence seems to confirm our suspicions, as the clues keep rolling in. Come on, even we armchair detectives could put two and two together, when Mason, fresh from a shower and wrapped in a towel, welcomed Hilary back with a kiss. But how does Mason figure into it all?
Other notable (or humorous) items that happened during the week:
Katherine sure knew Jill so very well. I loved it when Katherine wrote in her final letter that she knew that Jill would make Katherine's choice about the way she died all about herself. Katherine found a way to make her loved ones laugh, even after she was gone.
When talking about Katherine's travels, Nikki asked, "Why wait to make your dreams come true?" My first thought was that Chelsea certainly had no problems with that, no matter the cost to everyone else.
Noah took a picture of Adam and Victoria at the benefit, and Sharon observed that they appeared to be getting along. Noah declared that it was trick photography. That was funny, because it would almost have to be for those two to appear to get along.
Nick welcomed Avery back with champagne, flowers, and candles. What a romantic guy! Ladies, wouldn't we all love that? Well, except for the champagne for me, because I don't really care for that. And the candles might catch the curtains on fire. The flowers would just die after a day or two. Well, I guess that lets my husband off the hook.
After Sharon explained to Noah that an accident forced her to take a detour, so that she could hurry home to Faith, she also noted that life can suddenly take a wrong turn. Clever writing. But of course, in her case, Sharon is eagerly helping her current wrong turn along.
Maybe Tyler would have been a lot nicer to Devon if he had known that Devon was Katherine Chancellor's grandson. Maybe.
Kevin wanted to keep Robby the Robot, but not the floating eyes from the coffee shop, which was once known as Crimson Lights. The guy has taste!
Adam thought it would be a good idea to "reason" with Melanie, who referred to him as a poor imitation of his father? Ouch! No wonder he then declared that he was just as capable of crushing her. That had to have hurt!
I had to laugh out loud, when Chelsea said that she didn't like to see Adam being the victim of a lie, when referring to the rape charges. Isn't that what she has done to both Adam and Dylan -- made them victims of her lie?
Finally, Nick gave Faith some very sound advice that we all should take to heart: "...the more people you love just means the more love there is to go around." That is so true.
Wow, talk about fact mirroring fiction. Christel Khalil is suing her talent agent for, among other reasons, sending her to an audition for Y&R, even though she was already under contract with the show. I guess we can all have a little bit of soap drama in our real lives too. Even soap stars.
Until next time, please stay tuned.
