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Week of November 16 - 20:
It's been a relatively low-key week on The Young and the Restless, but definitely a solid one. For those of us who don't watch the show for one particular character or couple, it's been enjoyable to have the canvas shared by a wide variety of characters and storylines. The type of stories being told are much to my preference, although some seem to be finding it dull after the very dramatic and dark stories being told a month or two ago. I'll take love, family, and business tales any day, although I think the recent business-related scenes have been a huge snore - and probably the biggest reason the show has seemed boring at times - the writers need to step it up in the boardroom! Let's take a look at the week:
Daniel and Amber Wedding: As with most Y&R gatherings, I loved the interaction between characters, the one-liners, and the random weirdness - Murphy and the square dancing, and Lauren being gifted with a rat! The reactions of Lauren and Michael were great, as was that of Jana, local predictor of doom - too funny! The romantic scenes this week between Daniel and Amber were good - and their makeshift honeymoon in the apartment was quirky - just like them.
The Rat: Obviously Ryder's mother, or whoever is pulling the strings, was behind the rat incident. There were good scenes with the tension surrounding Michael/Lauren/Ryder, but Kevin is on my last nerve blindly defending Ryder at every turn - real people have an ability to see both sides of an issue! I can't help but wish that they'd hurry things along though - it's difficult to engage with a story when you don't know all the players and their motivations!
Billy/Mac Split: This is really giving fuel to Billy's 'life struggle' storyline, as well as adding an extra element of interest to the Lily/Cane story. I wonder if Mac is really doing the surrogacy for the reasons she claims, or if she sub-consciously wanted to force the issue of her and Billy's differences. Where it falls flat for me is in trying to feel anything during the scenes where Billy is pining for Mac and their past together - I never felt any chemistry, nor any interest in this couple, so his onscreen angst over the break-up isn't making me feel a thing, when it should be.
Cane/Lily: I totally understand why no one wants to rain on Lily's parade as far as having a baby right away is concerned (as Chance stated, it's life-affirming), but I think it should give her pause that she's planning for the possibility of her own death at the same time! Also, what if Mac doesn't conceive after Lily's got her hopes up? It seems like Lily is becoming a little obsessive about this, and that's never, ever good…
Mac/Lily: The cure for insomnia.
Billy/Cane: I enjoyed their little adversarial scene outside the Chancellor Estate this week. It really reminded me how dynamic the character of Cane can be when he steps outside of his romance.
Chance/Chloe: I'm definitely a fan of their romance at this point - although I do feel that Billy and Chloe are the money couple in the long run. Chance is strong and safe. Who didn't want to climb into that bed beside him and curl up in his arms this week? By the way, how funny was Chance propped up in bed doing quizzes in the fashion magazines with Chloe - love those 'extras' they put into the scenes! Knowing that Chloe will never feel the same passion for Chance that she does for Billy keeps me guarded from investing too heavily in this couple though. What I am invested in is this triangle - the actors become their characters onscreen and there is chemistry all around.
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Patty/Paul/Jack/Emily: What a mess this is shaping up to be! While I'm glad they've found a way to keep Stacy Haiduk around (talented and gorgeous), I'm hoping the storyline doesn't veer too far out of the realm of believability. As it is, with everyone coming and going from Patty's padded room (and the door being left open half the time), it's stretching things! I still find it weird that Jack is dating Emily, for a variety of reasons.
Phyllis/Patty: Phyllis's encounter with Patty this week rocked! My heart was pounding out of my chest by the time Phyllis left the room. Two powerhouse actresses! I also appreciate the twist the writers have put into this by having the Jack/Phyllis sex come to light in this way, rather than the typical and boring reveal - nice job!
Phyllis/Nick/Jack: How funny was Nick coming home to Phyllis insisting that they need to go buy a new sofa! Hilarious! Who says the writers don't read message boards?! Anyway, it was good that Nick took the news of Phyllis and Jack sleeping together the way he did - any other reaction would have been suspiciously hypocritical. Interesting though, that while Nick doesn't take issue with Phyllis's side of it, he appears to now have it in for Jack. Either way, I'm glad these characters have stuff going on that is a change from the worn out Nick/Sharon/Phyllis triangle.
Sharon/Adam: While I still find this match-up incredibly sick, it seems the pairing is garnering a growing number of fans. I do enjoy seeing Sharon in a storyline other than that former tired triangle - but this is like watching a train wreck in slow motion! They admittedly share a certain chemistry, but it's nuts to ignore what this man has done to her and glaze over it. Seeing Sharon with Faith on Friday just twists the knife. But we all know that this type of controversy fires up the writers - let's just hope Victor comes home and catches on to Adam's misdeeds before too long!
Jill/Paul/Nina: Raise your hand if you think Jill will develop real feelings for Paul while playing fake-a-date, and that Paul, who has feelings for Nina, will then find himself in the middle of a love triangle involving two of the most outspoken women in Genoa City! Three words: I…love…it.
Heather: Welcome back! It was good to see Paul interact with his daughter. It was also great to see her get in Adam's face at the Club!
Business/Ashley: I'm not sure what Ashley's up to, but I'm not really excited about the business storylines this week. The office scenes have been terribly dull - think of the past confrontation between Colleen and Victoria in the Newman boardroom - now that's compelling business drama!
Chancellor Family: I love the interactions and drama surrounding this family. I was pleasantly surprised by Cane showing up and telling the truth about Phillip's departure - it's so satisfying when something you wish would happen, does! I'm sorry to see Phillip leave. Having Thom Bierdz back was great - we were treated to not only a beloved face from the past, but to an interesting and different character. Phillip's goodbye scene with Chance brought a tear to my eye - and that's what it's all about.
Y&R had a limbo week in some respects. While some storylines are moving along well, and are plenty entertaining, others need to be bumped up a notch with regard to pace and interest-factor. The business stuff is dragging down the show to some degree - it's taking too long to develop into full-on intrigue with blowout confrontations. Other building storylines need to blossom too - such as the Ryder tale. On the bright side, there has been romance, laughter, and some great acting!
What did you think of the show this week? Share your observations with Soaps.com in the comment section.
- Candace Young
