Happy Halloween, Two Scoopers! Depending on when you read this column throughout the week, it may be a few days before the holiday, today may be Halloween (All Hallow's Eve, if you prefer), or the holiday may have already passed. In any case, I hope you all have a fun spooky season! This is my favorite time of year, so I'm thrilled that Y&R made it so easy for me to give this week's column a Halloween theme. Sure, no one in Genoa City has started to celebrate the holiday yet, but the writers have given us plenty of tricks(ters) and treats this past week.
Let's get right to it and discuss Victor Newman, who has taken to being quite the trickster lately. And, as always, Victor has outdone himself. What is his deal, anyway? He's concocted this gaslighting scheme wherein he's taken back control of his company while simultaneously faking a mental decline (the "symptoms" of which are similar to dementia) -- and all just to find out if any of his children will take advantage of his weakened mental state, "stab him in the back," and make a play for the company.
Are rich people really so bored that these are the type of tactics they resort to in order to fill their time? Ugh. Victor has taken paranoia to a whole other level; in fact, maybe his mental health should be examined, after all! This whole storyline has just felt so random from the moment Victor ousted Victoria as the head of the company and took the reins back himself. It's crazy to me how easy it is for him to gaslight the people closest to him while expecting them to just accept that it's something he had to do for the betterment of the family and the stability of Newman Enterprises.
Victor isn't the only trickster in the Newman family lately. I can't decide whether I'm supposed to like or dislike Nick from one moment to the next. What does he do when he finds out that Victor has been lying to him and his siblings all this time about having dementia? Sure, he was upset for a bit and berated his dad in that superior way that Nick has mastered over the years when arguing with his father. But what does he do when he finds out that this whole plot of Victor's might ultimately be a way to get revenge on his brother? He decides to enlist the rest of the family to go along with Victor's plot and convince them all to keep the truth from Adam.
I was initially thrilled when Nick decided to tell Victoria the truth about their father's "mental health crisis" (or lack thereof). However, after the big reveal that their father had been faking it, I was not expecting Nick to convince Victoria to give Victor the benefit of the doubt and join in on their father's plot so that they can "get rid of Adam" from their family and company. Victor's plot really was deplorable and shouldn't be glossed over so easily. It wasn't fair of him to make his family worry about his health like that just so he could gaslight them and see if one of them would take the bait and betray him. And it's really not fair of them to all be ganging up on Adam the way they are now, either.
Like Adam, Nate is also caught in the Newman family crosshairs as this fake mental health crisis of Victor's continues to play out. Even Victoria seemed to half-heartedly agree to keeping Nate out of the loop regarding Victor's plot to see who in the company might try to betray him in his "weakened mental state." I really couldn't figure out what Victor was trying to accomplish in his conversation with Nate, but to be fair, I feel like Victor's motives in this entire plot are weak and trivial (and even immature), so I'm not going to try to understand where his head is now. While we wait to see what Victor has in store for Nate, I have a feeling it is Adam who will once again be on the losing end of this plot, since his family has chosen him as their primary target now.
I'm genuinely curious to know if there are any fans that like all this constant Newman infighting, which seems to be never-ending. Nikki's distaste for Adam has grown boring. Victoria has never really given Adam a chance without assuming he would fail. And Nick's ego is hurt because a girl liked Adam better than him again. It's frustrating that they continue to push him away and act like he's not a real member of the family. There was so much progress made over the past few years in redeeming Adam's character and having him start to form bonds with his father and siblings, so I don't love that the writers are ignoring that history as if none of that progress in their relationships or any of the character developments have occurred.
To further add to the frustration of this storyline, Adam genuinely does care about what he thinks is happening to his father's health -- and Nick even agreed that Adam seemed sincere in his concern for Victor. How, then, does Nick turn around and justify trying to trick Adam into betraying their father by claiming that Adam can't change and doesn't care about anyone but himself? Make it make sense!
Perhaps the Newmans will be facing a comeuppance for their bad behavior in some way soon, though, because there is yet another trickster in their midst. It became clearer than ever this past week that Nikki's new assistant, Claire Grace, has got more going on than meets the eye and that she will be trouble for the Newman family in some way. Did anyone else get the creeps when she pulled out that dossier of articles she had about Nikki, Victoria, and the Newman family?! I can't wait to find out who she is and what her real connection to the Newman family may be. I hope she gives 'em hell!
The Newmans will have one less trickster to deal with soon, though, because Audra is poised and ready to jump ship from Newman Media and join Tucker in taking over Jabot from the Abbott family. And she thinks she's got the secret weapon to do it with Kyle on her side -- but is he really? I think Kyle has some tricks of his own and will end up betraying Audra and Tucker rather than his own family. Is this how Kyle plans to win back his co-CEO position from Billy? By saving the company from a hostile takeover? As much as I hate to see Audra be the loser yet again, overall, it would be a satisfying conclusion to this storyline.
Ashley finally returned to town this week, which was quite the treat -- but is she also a trickster with a plot of her own brewing? There's still something very fishy to me about Ashley and Tucker's breakup. The way it all played out off-screen and the way Ashley went off the grid for weeks without talking to anyone about it was just very odd. Tucker has a renewed interest in taking over Jabot, which he and Ashley were originally planning to do together, so part of me is wondering if their breakup is all a ruse. It may just be wishful thinking on my part to think of them as still together -- and I may be wrong -- but it feels like there is a twist in their storyline somewhere that is just waiting to surprise us. Fingers crossed!
Longtime viewers may have been feeling a sense of déjà vu this past week as the love triangle that ended years ago between Phyllis, Danny, and Christine seemingly began to heat up again. And I'm sure many viewers will be torn on whether the resurgence of this particular triangle is a treat or an awful trick! I was not yet a viewer of the show when Phyllis first wreaked havoc on Christine and Danny's relationship, so I'm kind of looking forward to seeing where this might lead.
I wasn't expecting to think of Danny as a love interest for Phyllis in any way, but I actually found myself really enjoying their scenes together recently. Danny is a great influence on Phyllis, and it's been nice to see her be able to lean on him as a confidant. Their relationship has certainly come a long way and evolved quite a bit over the years! Their awkward hang with Lily and Daniel was fun, as Phyllis not-so-subtly kept reminding Daniel that his ex, Heather, was going to be around a lot more soon now that she's moving back to town. I get why Daniel was getting frustrated by his mom, but I also understood why Lily was a little bothered by Daniel's strong reaction to his mother's meddling. I really hope that Heather doesn't end up coming between them. I'm loving seeing Lily and Daniel get a second chance at love together.
As for Danny and Phyllis, I still don't think that they ultimately belong together, and I'm a big fan of Danny and Christine as a potential couple, but I see how a love triangle between them could be fun to revisit along the way to Danny and Christine's inevitable reunion. I'm a little disappointed we are not getting a Traci/Danny/Christine love triangle instead, though. I would love to see Traci find some happiness of her own again, and Danny would undoubtedly treat her the way she deserves to be loved. I'm very intrigued with how far the writers may take the Phyllis/Danny/Christine triangle, though, so bring it on!
Regarding Christine's return to town this week, it was a bittersweet treat when Christine confided in Danny that her marriage to Paul could not be saved, and it was over between the two of them. I'm a big Doug Davidson fan, and he will always be missed on the show as Paul, but since his return seems highly unlikely, I am glad that the writers have finally freed up Christine's character to have a life of her own again. Hopefully, this means we will be seeing more of her now. I'm looking forward to the upcoming episode celebrating Lauralee Bell's 40th anniversary on the show as Christine! I'm sure we'll be treated to a lot of great Danny, Phyllis, and Christine flashbacks.
Let's see... what other treats were we given this past week on Y&R? Oh, yeah, just the one treat that many of us have been requesting for over a year now -- an Adam and Sally reunion!! I almost couldn't believe it was happening as they shared another kiss at the end of Friday's episode and then ended up in bed together! We've been teased so much with a potential reunion between these two over the past year or so that it's hard to trust that we may finally be getting it now.
I'm thrilled with the Adam and Sally scenes we got all week, even before they ended up in bed together. It was necessary for them to have the conversations they had before they got to that point, and it was refreshing to see them on the same page with one another again. They really are one of the greatest couples Y&R has had in a while (alongside Ashley and Tucker) so I hope this bedroom romp is just the beginning of a fresh new start for them -- that would truly be a treat (let's just hope we're not being tricked again)!
That's all from me for this week, folks. Don't forget to hit the Comments (here on the site and on social media posts throughout the week) to share your opinions, too. Happy Halloween!!
Until next time,
Vance
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