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Week of August 24 - 28:
The past week of The Young and the Restless was a mixed bag. Frustratingly, for viewers, there are a couple of storylines still endlessly dragging on in the same vein - inane and repetitive. What is particularly disheartening is that there are some good soap opera 'moments' occurring within these stories, but since fatigued viewers don't care so much what happens with the characters any more, these well-written moments are somewhat unappreciated. There is some good Daytime drama to be found on Y&R these days, but one has to be careful not to miss it when fast-forwarding! Some points:
Cane/Lily: This is real family/love drama that is playing fairly well. It's realistic, and these are properly developed characters that we relate to for the most part. The issue I have right now is this: What is up with this 'cattle rustler' development? Is it just me, or is this a little weird? Who can blame Lily for being upset and not knowing which version to believe - Cane comes out with a new 'truth' every week lately! So, was he a street urchin with no family and no connections? Or, was he a guy who was close to someone who owned a huge cattle ranch, and who had the resources to hunt down cattle rustlers and send them to prison?! Was the story about working with Phillip in the bar a lie too? Yipes!
Adam/Ashley: Think of a huge, heavy anchor dragging a big ship to a slow crawl. Viewers really want this story to come to an end, but the writers instead only upped the torture factor this week by beefing up annoying Abby's role in the situation, not to mention increasing the stupidity quotient by having Ashley fool a psychiatrist - who agrees to make a house visit! I suspect that the writers think that they know what is best for us, and that we will be pleasantly surprised by the clever and complex tale that they end up telling here, but this is the bottom line: as a loyal and optimistic viewer, I currently dread seeing any one of these characters come on screen or showing up in the spoilers for the next day's show - and I know I'm far from alone in that feeling - such a shame.
Nick/Phyllis/Jack/Sharon: This is the storyline that I was referring to in my opening paragraph when I said that there had been some great soap opera 'moments' happening, but no one can truly appreciate them. For example, Phyllis realizing that Jack hadn't been visiting Sharon, Phyllis confronting Jack and him lying to her face, and Nick overhearing the truth about the baby, are all excellent examples of really good Daytime drama. The problem is that, as we all know, the writers have dragged this storyline and these characters down a path that has led to most viewers being totally exasperated with the whole works. Luckily for Jack, he's got other storyline problems to concentrate on right now…
Mary Jane/Patty: This has really been a delicious storyline with nothing short of brilliant acting from Stacy Haiduk (Patty), Doug Davidson (Paul), and most recently Peter Bergman (Jack)! Who didn't get a chill down their spine when MJ/Patty spotted that kitten in the chapel? What about when she appeared in the wedding veil to greet poor, shell-shocked Jack? Wait, I think the best moment was when she let out that little half-delirious sob and told Jack that she had to 'give Summer a kiss'! Really good stuff - I just hope the writers don't make the mistake of dragging this out the way they have with the stories mentioned above - the pace is still good on this one - let's keep moving forward! Bone to pick: Where is Mary Williams?! She should be up to her meddling eyebrows in this by now!
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Victoria/JT: I'm loving the conflict between them, although I find it a tad unbelievable that it's based on Victoria defending her father - has she conveniently forgotten how many times in the past she has been in fights with Victor over his manipulations and egomaniacal maneuvers?! She is well aware of what her father is capable of doing! In any case, as much as I like the Colleen factor, I've also picked up on chemistry between JT and Heather. Speaking of chemistry - where is Deacon, and why haven't we been privy to any more information about what happened between him and Victoria?!
Billy/Chloe: Other than the MJ/Patty drama, Billy and Chloe's divorce was the only storyline I was really excited about this week. I couldn't wait to see Billy waffle over the signing the papers! I also was interested to see Chloe and Mac's reactions to his indecision. Of course, he ultimately signed them, but the doubt wasn't gone. I was a little taken aback to see Chloe, who has recently apologized to everyone for manipulating them, immediately cook up a scheme to use Chance to make Billy jealous. I think that this will come back on Chloe though - she might be surprised that what happens isn't what she expects! Speaking of Chance, was is just me, or was he really abrasive and annoying this week while on the job? He's been a detective for all of five seconds and suddenly he's running the show over at the standoff, and bossing people around in a fairly uptight manner! It's going to be interesting to see how the writers develop his personality…
There was too much fast-forward worthy material this past week for my taste. The stories worth-watching are those that are moving at a decent pace, and the one I was most interested in featured simple, realistic character-driven storytelling - namely Chloe and Billy's divorce, and their feelings. No contrived, convoluted, plot-driven mess - just simple love and family stuff. Enough said. Ending on a positive note, Monday's show (August 31) is quite good! Woot!
What are your thoughts on the past week's episodes? Be sure to state your opinion in the Soaps.com comment section below!
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- Candace Young
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