Halloween is my absolute favorite holiday, so I was excited to be writing this week's Two Scoops column as the holiday festivities began in Genoa City -- that is, until I saw what the writers had in store for us! Don't get me wrong -- the storyline regarding Chelsea's depression has been excellent (and Melissa Claire Egan has been absolutely knocking it out of the park with her acting skills!); however, it was certainly not what I was expecting as I hyped myself up for writing about Halloween in Genoa City!
But that's how depression works. As those who are afflicted with the illness (or those who are close to those who suffer from clinical depression) know, it can sneak up on someone at any time and will take over everything else that they have going on in their life. Clinical depression is a serious subject matter, and, as someone who has a bachelor's degree in psychology and is also married to someone who suffers from clinical depression, I applaud the writers for tackling such a sensitive subject (even if it did put a damper on the holiday, like depression tends to do). We all suffer bouts of sadness from time to time, but clinical depression is a whole other beast that can be all-consuming for those suffering from it.
Some of you that are familiar with author Nick Hornby's books may have already guessed from the graphic used in this week's column that this week's title is an homage to his novel by the same name -- A Long Way Down. The popular book (which was also made into a feature film starring Pierce Brosnan, Imogen Poots, Toni Collette, and Aaron Paul) is about a man who is contemplating suicide and decides the best way to do that is to jump off the top of a London skyrise. He's not the only one with the idea that night (the book takes place on New Year's Eve instead of Halloween), and he is taken by surprise when three other depressed individuals show up on the rooftop with the same idea. Since we left Chelsea in a similar situation at the end of Friday's episode (ready to jump off the roof of a skyrise), this seemed like a fitting tie-in. I won't spoil the ending for those of you that may want to read the book or watch the movie, but I would be remiss if I didn't mention my inspiration for this week's column and steer you all toward discovering it for yourselves.
I'll revisit the Chelsea storyline as I close out this week's column, though, because there was a lot going on in Genoa City before the holiday season fell upon us. The week started with a lot of drama unfolding at Noah's new club in the Grand Phoenix, where everyone seems to be socializing lately (good job, Noah)! Abby and Chance had a date night at the club, which didn't go as planned because Abby was being too much of a busybody and couldn't focus on her husband long enough for them to actually enjoy the night together.
Although Chance encouraged Abby to stop worrying about what was going on around them, she couldn't bring herself to have a good time and instead fretted about everyone else's drama, thereby creating drama within her own relationship. First, she fretted about whether there were issues with Noah and Allie's relationship after Noah avoided talking about them, then she fretted over Devon letting Tucker be a part of Dominic's life, and then she couldn't stop worrying about Nate and Devon's confrontation that happened a few feet away from them (more on that confrontation later). Does Abby not know how to just relax and have a good time?!
Later in the week, we learned from Devon that Chance was called away on a case on Halloween night, and Abby wasn't too happy about Chance's job always taking him away from spending time with their family. Of course, Devon was quick to side with Abby and told Lily that he was worried about Chance and Abby's relationship. I, however, am siding with Chance in these marital woes they are facing because Abby was barely present when they made an attempt to have a night out that was supposed to be about the two of them reconnecting.
Abby needs to chill out and accept that Chance's job on the police force is often unpredictable, and he doesn't always get to choose when he has to "clock in" for work. She really needs to acknowledge (or have someone point out to her) that she is the one with the problem for expecting anything different. She is not in the wrong for wanting those things out of a relationship, but she is in the wrong for expecting Chance (or his job) to change just because she doesn't like it. She knew who he was when she married him and that this would be part of the deal. Perhaps she should move on to someone else who works a "nine-to-five" job that can give her the attention she desires.
Could that someone else that Abby needs be Devon? I've always thought it was a wasted opportunity for the writers to not put these two together, so I would not be opposed to seeing them grow closer in a romantic sense and eventually end up together. They have always been close over the years as friends, but the timing has never been right for them to be more than that, regardless of their chemistry. I was also a big fan of the Neil/Ashley coupling teases we got over the years, so an Abby/Devon pairing would be a great nod to that history.
Let's move past Abby now, though, and talk more about Devon. He is still suspicious about his father being the CEO/mastermind behind Nate's plot to take over Chancellor-Winters, so he made plans to meet Tucker at Noah's club to see what information he might be able to get out of him. But, of course, before they could sit down to chat, they ran into a somewhat drunk Nate at the club! Naturally, Devon and Nate got into a heated confrontation, and Nate didn't do himself any favors by doubling down on telling Devon how Neil would feel about how Devon runs his company. Nate had a good relationship with Neil, but he did not share the closeness that Devon, as his adoptive son, had with Neil, so it is a big slap in the face for Nate to keep throwing Neil in Devon's face. I've been a fan of Nate in general throughout the course of this storyline and have often defended him, but this was definitely a step too far, and Devon was right to put him in his place.
Nate will land on his feet, though, because Victoria has now offered him Sally's position as the CEO of Newman Media. Is anyone else sick and tired of Victoria?! Nick is right to be upset about Sally's firing, given that Sally and Chloe have done a stellar job with the company so far and have more than proven themselves capable of helming the media conglomerate. I'm so upset about this!! What are the writers plans for Sally after this? Nikki was correct when she told Nick that Sally is a survivor and will likely be just fine, but that doesn't make the whole situation any less unfair.
If Sally were smart, she would sue Newman Enterprises for sexual harassment and/or wrongful termination, given that she was fired after becoming intimately involved with Nick. Sure, Victoria has been looking for an excuse to fire Sally since the beginning of Sally's tenure as CEO of Newman Media, but I do feel like her dismissal from the position was due in part to Victoria wanting to put some distance between her brother and Sally. Victoria may have dug her own grave by making an enemy out of Sally, who now potentially has ammunition to fire back at Victoria and Newman Enterprises in a major way. I would love to see Sally take Victoria down -- and with Chloe on her side, those two could come up with just the right scheme to do it!
I just want to see Sally get a win for once. She really has been trying to put her life together and be the best version of herself that she can be, but she keeps getting knocked down. On the plus side, I loved her scenes with Connor this week, and I am hopeful that her connection with Adam's son will lead those two back together. Now that Nick and Sally have cooled things off, maybe Adam has a chance to win her back. Maybe she and Adam could even team up with Tucker to bring Victoria down!
Speaking of Tucker, I'm still not sure what he is up to after he insisted to Audra that he feels he or Devon should be carrying on Katherine's legacy by running her company. Devon is already running the company (alongside Lily), so whatever Tucker's plot is regarding Chancellor-Winters seems a bit odd to me. If Tucker has any hope of having a real relationship with his son in the future, then he should call his plan off, cut his losses, accept that the company is already in good hands, and turn his attention toward Victoria and Newman Enterprises. But, given his conversation with Diane this past week, Tucker doesn't seem to be backing off his original goals.
I'm very curious as to what role Diane plays in Tucker's plot for Chancellor-Winters and/or Jabot. I had a feeling that her confession to Jack last week about being forced into being a "cash mule" for Jeremy (welcome to the cast, James Hyde!) in L.A. was not the full truth about her past misdeeds before returning to Genoa City. Being blackmailed into getting information about Ashley for Tucker was seemingly just the tip of the iceberg regarding her unholy alliance with him.
We learned this past week that Diane only gave away part of their plot when she confessed to Jack, which she did because the walls were closing in on her and she was afraid the full truth would come out. Diane thought she could do damage control by revealing just some of the unsavory details about her alliance with Tucker (and relationship with Jeremy) without revealing everything that the two of them are up to. During Diane's chat with Tucker, it was confirmed that there was more going on between the two of them that neither of them wanted anyone finding out about.
Diane's confession certainly didn't do her any favors where Jack is concerned, but when he discussed her confession with Ashley, he still seemed willing to give Diane the benefit of the doubt (much to Ashley's chagrin). As always, though, Diane has dug herself into a hole she likely won't be able to climb out of -- especially after all the dirt is uncovered regarding her true relationship and scheme with Tucker! Tucker confirmed that reuniting with Ashley was only one of his ultimate goals, and Diane assured him that she hadn't given up anything that would clue anyone in on what else he was up to. The writers are definitely building a great mystery with these two that is sure to have some serious fallout for everyone involved!
We will have to wait a little while longer to learn about Tucker and Diane's plot because, as the week concluded and Halloween began, the focus of the show shifted to Chelsea's downward spiral with depression. As campy and silly as soap operas can be sometimes, they have also always been leaders in storytelling around social topics that are often considered taboo (like mental health issues, for example). As I mentioned at the start of my article, Chelsea's struggle with depression was not where I thought the week was headed. But it is really important for television shows to tell these types of stories about the serious and very real perils of real health issues like this as a way to educate the general public.
It is not a surprise that Chelsea is suffering from depression, given everything that she has gone through lately. She had the best of intentions in letting Johnny and Connor know that they were brothers and that she was Johnny's biological mother, but she has received nothing but grief since the truth came out. I was happy to see that Johnny and Connor were able to remain friends and talk through the truth that they learned, but it was disheartening -- and heartbreaking -- that they both were painting Chelsea as the bad guy in the story when all she did was try to give Johnny a better life than she could have given him at the time of her pregnancy. Granted, that is a lot for these young boys to wrap their heads around, so I will give them some leeway and understanding in that regard.
But it's not just Chelsea's sons that are giving her grief, as the one-woman wrecking crew, Victoria, runs into her in Chancellor Park and tells her to stay away from Johnny and pretend they are strangers. I agree with Victoria that any relationship Johnny has with Chelsea should be on his terms, but she could certainly be a lot more empathetic about Chelsea when talking about her with Johnny rather than just wholeheartedly agreeing with him that he should essentially just pretend that Chelsea doesn't exist.
I haven't heard any casting news about Melissa Claire Egan leaving the show, so I am hoping that if Chelsea does jump off the rooftop we left her on at the end of Friday's episode, she will somehow survive. Or maybe Billy will follow her up there and stop her from jumping to her death? I wonder if the writers are leading all of this to a Billy/Chelsea reunion (especially since Lily's first love, Daniel, is headed back to the show soon)! I hope that Chelsea's attempted suicide is not just a plot device for a romantic storyline to unfold between her and Billy, though, and that the show continues to delve into telling the story of (and providing education about) a complicated mental health issue that is often overlooked or brushed off by society as a whole.
And, yes, I am going to leave you on that somber note (much like the writers left us on the somber note of Chelsea's potential suicide at the end of Friday's episode)! Don't forget to leave your comments (here on the site and on social media) to share your own thoughts and opinions about this past week's episodes. I'll see you in the Comments!
Until next time,
Vance
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