The Young and the Restless - NEWS ROOM

Restless Rant
Week of March 2 - 6:

While I'm still looking forward to each day's episode of The Young and the Restless, there are some storylines happening that have really left me questioning the writers' thought process - which is both good and bad - because on one hand, some stories are unique and have twisted in ways I wouldn't have predicted, but on the other hand, some seem too unbelievable, or too dragged out, and still others keep disappearing! I have been left with a slightly unsettled feeling at the end of this week - not sure what to expect next! Here's what I mean:

The Cordelia Conundrum: My issue with this plot is that I fully expected to be rooting for someone to get custody of this child after the 'truth' came out - but somehow, I've wound up really not wanting any of them to have this poor baby girl! I can't root for Cane, because I don't understand his motivations in wanting to raise a child that is not his. I certainly can't root for Lily, because she so didn't want any part in raising this child that she pushed Cane into marrying Chloe - had Lily wanted to raise another woman's baby with Cane, she could have pursued that angle right from the beginning! Chloe disappointed me by giving in to Jack's manipulations - I had admired her sending Billy away when he proposed, knowing that it wasn't heartfelt, and was, therefore, disappointed when she backpedaled. Billy, the only other parental option, is clearly not ready, or interested, in anything other than one-upping his brother Cane - I'm not feeling that he has any real attachment to Cordelia; I think Jack's more attached to the baby than he is! So, after all of these months of this great quadrangle and build-up, it's now fallen flat for me. Hope the writers can change that.

Amber/Daniel/Kevin/Jana: The dynamics of the foursome continue to shift this week, as Jana and Daniel become more and more exasperated with the antics of their partners. I thought the scene where Amber held Cordelia, then returned to the coffee house and mentioned it to Daniel, was particularly noteworthy - he totally dismissed any suggestion that they might be ready to have a child together - when only a few weeks ago they were completely in love and in sync. Of course, with Amber and Kevin getting involved with the kidnapping, things are only going to get worse. Acting of the week - Kevin in the trunk of the car, revisiting his traumatic experiences locked in the closet as a child - chilling, and so very realistic. Amazing job by Greg Rikaart (Kevin)!

Katherine's Kidnapping: Thank God they're finally out of that motel room is all I can say! I couldn't have taken another day of Esther and Katherine tied-up or making gagged noises, or Annie drooling over rascally Roger, or Clint shouting at everyone to 'shut up'! So now Katherine can go home with Esther and take her rightful place, correct? Nope. It's still going to go on longer - sorry to be the bearer of such news. It's not that the acting hasn't been top-notch, it's just that the cartoonish plot has become tiresome - I'm starting to dread when this storyline comes on screen, and I strongly feel that these actors deserve better than that.

Ashley Abbott: First, I have to say that I enjoyed the scene where she got in the middle of Victor and Jack arguing, and told Victor in no uncertain terms that if he was going to behave this way she would leave him! I've always liked the fact that Ashley talks back to him - it's refreshing - and he needs to hear it. What I don't like is his patronizing apologies afterward, and how she so readily accepts them. In any case, what's really interesting this week is that Ash has turned out to be preggers! I'm amazed that the writers have gone there, really, I find it bizarre. This is one of those twists I described earlier that I don't know where the writers are going with it - are they going to have Victor crack-up again if something goes wrong? Will they have Ashley discover that it's actually menopause? Will Nikki go haywire and ruin her relationship with Paul? I'm unsettled about this - yet hope prevails that it will be the gateway to an interesting story. Of note: Did you catch Victoria staring daggers after the big announcement? I thought she was going to jump on Ashley's back and start yanking her hair out, either that or belt JT for acting so happy about it! By the way, I loved how they had Victor sitting at the table proclaiming that this child of his will always know how much it is loved, then they cut to Adam lying alone and going blind in his jail cell…hummmm…

Adam/Heather: I'm glad she's going to be there for him, in spite of how he's acted. I like that they're giving him the vision issue, because it is probably one of the few things that could make him sympathetic to viewers again. Conversely, I dislike it for the same reason - it's a shortcut path to redemption - it would have been more of a challenge to redeem the character without giving him a disability. Not to mention that it's rather unbelievable - he had no vision issues previously - didn't even wear glasses - yet now he can't see Heather standing four feet away from him?! Wow.

Jill: I'm surprisingly satisfied with her this week. I really liked how she came across to Chloe after she discovered her unrequited love for Billy, and how motherly she's been toward her on the whole. This is a side to Jill that needs to be explored more often - previous writing regimes have depicted her as merely a bitter shrew, and I never liked that. Certainly she has a 'witchy' side to her that we all love to hate, but I like to see the characters be written in a well-rounded way. I liked how she let Jeffrey off the hook too - smart woman not involving herself anymore in that mess - but she had her fun and took that away from it - I liked it. It was Jill at her eye-rolling best, too, when she had to referee between Jack and Ashley in her own living room - good stuff!

Gina: Nice to see Gina have a few scenes this week. I would have liked to see her become even more involved with this whole Clint business - it might have made it more watchable.

Noah's Surprise Party: Noah is so cute as a 'bad boy' - rebelling against his parents so he can be with the girl he loves. How about that 'gift-y grandpa' of his - a new car! Noah's going to be able to get in more trouble than ever! Does anyone else find it ridiculous that all of these exes get together for birthdays and so on? Hello?! Most divorced families have separate celebrations! By the way, let's all drink every time Noah says, "My folks…" Isn't that the most irritating thing for a teen to be saying?! And yet he says it constantly - we'll all be sloshed!

Sharon: Well, this is a great storyline for the actress, she's doing a great job with it, and it's been great viewing, but frankly, I'm getting confused. Supposedly, she has some sketchy mental disorder that stems back to the time of Doris's accident. Supposedly, this leads her to steal selectively, but not remember it - even though she can remember everything else - including incidents which occurred when she was totally soused. What I don't understand is her sleeping with Billy again. After the extreme guilt from the first time, to have a sober repeat session seemed 'way out' for the character of Sharon - which might be fine if the mental illness the writers have given her could reasonably explain everything she's doing - but I'm waiting with bated breath to find out just what is wrong with her that would make this believable! If it's multiple personalities, then why was she wracked with guilt over sleeping with Billy the first time - she wouldn't have remembered doing it, right? Writers help me! Make me understand! Tiny teaser - Sharon's off-base actions escalate next week. The good news is, here at Soaps.com, we've all been enjoying watching Sharon Case get to do some really different stuff - she's certainly rockin' the shifty-eyed, irritable, off-balance persona - she totally seems to be having fun with it!

Nick: Dare I even go there?! To be fair - he claims to be in love with both women, but this ping-ponging back and forth is ridiculous! I'm beginning to think he has a mental disorder as well - cantmakeupmyminditus! Phyllis's continued patience is starting to bore me too - I want to see her go haywire - I hope it's coming!

Neil/Karen/Tyra: They were not on again this week! Writers pay attention - I will never, ever invest in this story if you don't keep it on the canvas consistently! I loved Karen's venom last week, and was actually looking forward to some more confrontations, but alas, they've disappeared yet again!

So, I'd call it a good week, but my internal jury is still out on so many of these recent storyline developments that it's uncomfortable. Here's hoping that some of these plots will come into better focus very soon! I can tell you that Monday's episode is quite good, as the actors continue to do fabulous work! At this point, I'd like to give a shout out to Y&R writer Tom Casiello, who reads our site every morning! We're so pleased to have caught your interest - here's hoping we have your ear! Soaps.com readers, you'll start seeing Tom's work late in April - can't wait!

Thanks to all those who regularly leave comments or rants in the section below! I read each and every one of them! I invite all Soaps.com readers to add their thoughts on the week - it's good fun! It doesn't matter if you agree with my point of view, but, as always, we ask that you respect the guidelines when posting! Cheers!

- Candace Young