Hip hip hooray and bibiddi-bobbiddi-boo! Phyllis finally learned the truth about Jack's dastardly, devilish double and what was even more shocking, Jack was the one who told her. As a result, the wrath of Phyllis could justifiably be turned toward the scoundrel who was behind the whole plot, our very own Victor Newman. For once, it would be gratifying to see Victor take the fall for a devious scheme he put into motion. That guy has gotten away with everything but murder, and who knows? Victor has probably even killed an archenemy or two along the way.
It was crazy listening to Jack as he told Phyllis the whole story, though, wasn't it? Well, he told her the highlights -- or lowlights depending on how you look at it. Jack's tale almost sounded like some bizarre sci-fi flick or even one doozy of a fairy tale. But this was no story about a poor little chimney girl being granted a wish to attend the prince's glamorous ball. Although, after Jack revealed the rather unbelievable details of his adventure, Phyllis was finally able to see that her Prince Charming had returned to her. It was like a dense fog had suddenly lifted from her head, and she could fathom why the man she thought to be her husband had seemed like a stranger. And she was very upset Marco had played her so well.
Yes, Phyllis saw that her Jack was back, and he was again the perfect fit for her. Just like Cinderella's glass slipper. Let's just hope Victor doesn't somehow turn Phyllis' coach back into a pumpkin and make mincemeat out of Jack. Ha, ha. Just a little pie humor. Speaking of fairy tales, when my siblings and I were kids, my mother bought the soundtrack albums of all the top Walt Disney movies, and Cinderella was one of them. Remember albums? Those large discs with a small hole in the middle you could put on a turntable and music would play. Ahh, the good old days. Or should I say, the golden oldies days. Anyway, because we had the records, we knew all the songs of the Disney movies, and we could sing along. Hmmm...my mom probably thought better of buying us those albums after she heard our singing.
My favorite Cinderella was the version with Lesley Ann Warren, though, and I loved her Prince Charming played by Stuart Damon. Who knew years later he would become one of the signature characters of General Hospital, Alan Quartermaine? But Phyllis could make the role of Cinderella her own, and Jack could be her perfect leading man of royalty if only he could stop losing to Victor in all their battles. Even at a reduced level of a knight in shining armor, Jack would still need to win once in a while. I hope it's soon. I agree with Phyllis that Victor needs to pay.
Only Phyllis was determined Victor would answer to her. I can't blame her for being so outraged. Think about it. Some criminal drug lord she had never even met took advantage of her sexually over and over again. It was rape because she never consented to sleeping with that man, and she never would have if she had known he wasn't Jack. Since Victor was behind the whole dirty deed, he was just as guilty as Marco.
Okay, the Genoa City police have made some blunders from time to time, which we have all willingly turned a blind eye to, but this is getting ridiculous. The only way for Harding to get an idea of what Marco looked like was to have Marisa describe him to a sketch artist? Let's see...the guy's a big time drug lord (so they all keep saying) who was on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted list and they couldn't google him to get a photo of his face? I mean, I am sure his mug was plastered on wanted posters all over the world.
Kevin, you are letting me down! You are a top-notch computer whiz, and you didn't think to search the Internet to get a likeness of the villain?! I'm no computer genius, but that's the first thing I would have done. It's become almost a habit for me to research anything I have a question about. That's the great thing about this technological age. Answers can be right at your fingertips -- literally -- these days. Kevin did divulged, however, that he did not believe Marisa's sketch was of Marco. Well, at least some of Kevin's brain cells were still active.
But, seriously, it didn't take a rocket scientist to suspect the sketch did not resemble the murderer in any shape or form. Shoot, the picture looked more like a darker-complected, mustachioed, and bearded Mr. Clean minus the earring than it did of Jack because it was of the ship's captain. You know, the ship Jack's fire blew up. Of course, Marisa intended the inaccurate drawing to be a diversion so Victor would have more time to locate Marco because Mr. Annicelli was not dead. So, what's Victor going to do with Marco once he finds him?
Ha, I am still laughing at the redheaded guy sporting the black sunglasses who was sent to spy on our Scooby Doo gang of Mariah, Abby, Summer, Kevin, and Noah. Nah, he wasn't the least bit obvious at all. He should have just carried a huge sign with a bold, black arrow pointing back at him with the words saying, "I'm watching you." Or the guy could have pointed his two fingers towards his eyes and then back at them, and he still would have been less obvious. At least the sunglasses would have protected his eyes in case he got careless and his fingers slipped. The GCPD really needs to shape up, or all the Marco Annicellis of the world will be making Genoa City their new home.
After seeing the sketch in the newspaper, Jack realized Marisa had a hand in the cover-up, and it wasn't too hard for him to guess Marco was still alive. Because he feared his loved ones were in danger, he created a safe word for Phyllis so she could determine if the look-alike she saw was Jack or Marco. Although Phyllis thought "duplicitous jackass" was appropriate, Jack decided on the word "Topkapi." Believe me, I had to look up the spelling of that word. Thank goodness Jack explained it was a royal palace in Istanbul, or I would have never known. I don't know. I still rather like Phyllis' word choice, considering the circumstances -- and a play on the word jackass.
As it turned out, it was a smart move on Jack's part, since it didn't take long at all for Phyllis to put the safe word to use. Now that the blinders are off, Phyllis seems more able to spot the differences between Jack and Marco. In fact, she kicked herself again for not being able to see the complete and utter contrast between the two men before. Marco was never as good of a Jack copycat as he seemed to think he was. Phyllis just never had a reason to think otherwise.
With "Topkapi" in hand (not literally, of course), Phyllis realized the face she faced was actually the one of the diabolical dude in the photo she had just smashed rather than that of her beloved Jack. I guess Jack should have discussed with Phyllis what she should do if she came up against the demon again. Phyllis has never been known for her tact, and her fiery temper has always had her reacting first and thinking later. She tends to be her own worst enemy at times because she can be so explosive. Just ask Nikki when Phyllis confronted her in the restaurant and called her a fool for trusting Victor and worse. I loved Phyllis' line, "With all due respect, Nikki, either you're drunk, delusional, or both." No, Phyllis, Nikki was at long last sober, but she has always been delusional when it comes to Victor.
So, when faced with Marco, would Phyllis be able to keep her cool? Oh, no, not Red. She had no qualms about immediately revealing she knew the look-alike was Marco, and she wasn't the least bit intimidated. That's our Phyllis! In fact, she even welcomed him with a couple of knees to the stomach and bashed him over the head with a vase. It reminded me of the 60s Batman series, where the words would fly on the screen with each punch or kick delivered by Batman or Robin. POW! OOF! CRASH! Phyllis had the best of this rumble. Marco really didn't know who he was dealing with. You think he would have learned something after pretending to be her husband for all those months.
Marco was able to get away, though, so Phyllis thought it would be a good idea for Jack to pretend to be Marco to get information from Marisa. Uhh...not such a great idea, since Marisa almost knifed him. But they were able to deduce Marisa was not secretly working with her evil ex. Yes, Marisa seemed to the one with all the answers, and Harding and Noah also had the questions. Okay, the PCPD did redeem themselves a tad after Harding researched and learned the identity of the person in the sketch. Maybe all is not totally lost in Genoa City after all.
I cannot believe Victor thinks he is in no way responsible for all the harm he has brought onto the Abbotts. He even put his own family in danger by bringing Marco to town, but he won't acknowledge any of it. He just blames poor, dead Kelly. Victor may be right that Phyllis may have put herself in greater danger by letting Marco know she knew who he really was, but Victor was the reason she was in that predicament. If life were fair and just and there really was such a thing as karma, Victor would get paid back in spades. But that just never seems to happen.
One fair maiden who wasn't lying around singing "Someday My Prince Will Come" to all the little forest critters in the land was Sage, since she and Nick just got engaged. Actually that song was sung by the lovely Snow White, whose movie soundtrack was also included in the Disney album set. I wish we still had that collection. It would probably be worth some money today.
Oh, joy. Nick and Sage are engaged. Ho-hum. Not heigh-ho, heigh-ho. It may just take an appearance by the Seven Dwarfs to liven this couple up. I am still waiting for the writers to make Sage more interesting. There's so much potential there with such a terrific actress as Kelly Sullivan. Come on, even the classic Disney movies contain suspense. Writers, don't fritter away this remarkable opportunity!
But, of course, Sharon denied to Dylan she had any lingering feelings for Nick or for the life they once shared together. Yet, Sharon and Nick still always seem to end up in each other's atmosphere. With Sharon and Sage pregnant at the same time, I would say this will keep happening more often than not. Since Faith has done a complete about-face and couldn't be more joyous that her daddy and Sage are tying the knot, any tension between Faith and Sage has been eradicated. Dare we hope the real drama is just around the corner?
I would have to think with all of the nicey-niceness going on between the two couples, something disastrous is about to happen. First, Dylan talked to Sharon about how he could imagine the baby's smile and then Sage tempts fate by agreeing with "Butterfingers" to pick out the furniture for their baby's nursery. Nick and Sage, and Dylan and Sharon, are just too darned happy. Something's got to give. Sage's pregnancy is already risky, but she seems to take chances by running in the park. I hoped her doctor knew and approved of this activity. And sometimes Sharon seems to want to have her cake and eat it too. She almost appears to want both Nick and Dylan. Will one lady lose her baby? Stay tuned.
Since Adam learned about the paternity of Sage's baby, he has moved on -- back to the love of his life, Chelsea. Oh, wouldn't it be so easy for Adam to stay in Paris with Chelsea and Connor and never have to face the past -- or jail -- ever again? But Chelsea was right. Victor will always be Victor -- and Adam's father. Chelsea sure looked like it wouldn't take much for Adam to sway her into staying in Paris, though, so they could have their happily ever after. But sometimes not all of your wishes can come true.
There's no happily ever after for Devon and Hilary in the cards if Neil has his way. If we were to pick a Disney character for Hilary, it would have to be Pinocchio. After all the lies she has told, her nose would be so long, she wouldn't be able to go anywhere, not to mention she would lose her lovely looks. But that would have solved her problems with Devon and Neil, since she would no longer have been much of a catch.
I think Nikki has a reason to worry about Neil, but I also think Neil hasn't completely erased the spark he once felt for the deceitful damsel. His advice to her about being honest sure sounded more like a warning to me. That's probably because Neil thinks there's no way she can be. That and Neil's setting up Devon to make him think he slept with a prostitute at his bachelor party. There's definitely trouble in paradise a-brewing. Maybe Neil is standing by, waiting to recapture her heart?
Then we have Billy and Victoria. Again. I'm sorry, but I still don't see the chemistry between these two. (However, if Billy Miller were to return to Genoa City....) But after the writers practically split them up with every other single person in town, who else can they turn to? I mean, it would be sweet to have them reunite as a happy family. But we still need the on-screen passion. Billy really needs to get past his anger with Gabe. Just think when he learns the truth about the pretend Mr. Bingham. He will really blow his stack!
But never fear, there is no way Victor will let Billy reunite with Victoria and allow Billy to drag his darling daughter down to Billy Boy's dysfunctional level. Not as long as there is a breath left in Victor's body. But since Victoria fears that Billy's need to hate is stronger than his love for her, it probably won't happen anyway. Victoria still very much considers the corporate world one of her top priorities and that has always been an obstacle in their relationship. Now with the siblings battling hot and heavy, Victoria's focus will be even more in business and in beating Abby for the top spot at Newman-Abbott. Or is Victor's oldest daughter duking it out for the number one spot in dear old dad's heart? Either way, Billy had better beware.
It appears that Abby could be headed for a downfall in both her professional and her personal life. A fall resembling one after a parachute malfunctions. Not only could Abby lose out to the more experienced and worldly Victoria in business, her loving hold on Stitch looked to be losing its grip. Of course Ben turned to Ashley to discuss his patient, James. Ashley is more mature and would take the time and patience to listen to him. Plus, she understands where Ben is coming from. At her younger age, Abby truly wouldn't have a clue. I don't know if there will be much of a triangle among the three, since Abby doesn't really have the weapons to keep Stitch's heart from turning to her mother. I have always felt Ben was better suited for Ashley anyway.
When Neil heard about Hilary's idea of escaping through the hatch in the roof of the elevator, I had to chuckle when he compared her to a stunt woman or a superhero. No, no, no. We already have our very own superheroes of Paul and Dylan. Hilary would be as unnecessary to them as adding Batgirl to the Dynamic Duo. The Thrilling Threesome. No, it just isn't the same.
Neil finally made a little fun of his past after he realized the last time Hilary was trapped in an elevator had been no accident. "Even a blind man could see that." Sadly, at the time, he couldn't. Could Noah be infatuated with Marisa because he was able to save her after not being able to save Courtney? That sounds very logical. Maybe she is helping him to get over his guilt.
When will Christine learn that keeping Paul away from his job adds stress faster than anything else? As long as there is a murder mystery going on, Paul will never be stress-free, especially if she tries to keep him away.
I really like that Y&R refers back to the still current problems with our war veterans in dealing with combat fatigue and guilt. I know my husband felt guilty after he was honorably discharged to return home alive after so many of his friends had lost their lives in the war. James reminded us that it's still true today, and applause to our soap for pointing it out.
I mentioned Stuart Damon, formerly of General Hospital, earlier, and the General Hospital Fan Club weekend has kicked into gear over the weekend. Actually, I am finishing this column live from Los Angeles after already attending several events. It is always fun to see our most beloved GH stars and even some of our past Y&R favorites such as Michelle Stafford and Emme Rylan. I saw both of them at the first 2015 GH night's event, and they were still as gracious and appreciative of soap fans as they ever were. Long live our soaps and our beloved actors and characters!
Until next time,
Teddi
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