It was a dark and stormy night

With all the things that were happening last week, the stormy weather seemed somehow appropriate.

. . . by the end of the week, and with all the things that were going on it, the stormy weather seemed somehow appropriate. At the young Newmans, a recently regressed practically to infanthood Summer was presumably sleeping while her flip-flopping father chose his usual way to prove to his recently renewed wife she was all he would ever want. At least until the next time she isn't. Meanwhile, Sharon, still clothed in her martyr attire, wandered around Genoa City like a bedraggled ghost, her pale face wearing a perpetually stricken expression as she encountered one ecstatic Newman after another. I probably could have rummaged around inside myself and come up with at least a crumb of compassion for her, except for the fact that she brought all this unhappiness upon herself. By choosing to make decisions for the adults around her, as if they weren't capable of making them for themselves. Well, we saw exactly how thankful Jack wasn't when she blurted out the truth after telling that big whopper naming him Poppa. And I don't imagine Nick, Phyllis or Noah will be any more grateful for her sacrifice when they eventually learn the truth.

Speaking of that truth, way to be a best friend Jack. Not. There he was, going on and on to Phyllis about the end of him and Sharon yet again, listening while she prattled on endlessly about her happy little life with Flip Flop Newman. Just wait, Jack, she kept on saying. When you look into that baby's eyes, you are going to fall instantly in love, your life will change; the baby will make a difference; you two are going to be parents together forever, and blah and blah. How could he listen to all of that without squirming in discomfort knowing what he knows? I'm sure when it all comes out, Jack will excuse his omission by claiming it wasn't his truth to tell. Well, he can shout that until the cows come back to the corral, but I say if he calls himself a friend to Phyllis, he owed her the truth. I mean, if Phyllis and Flip Flop are really as solid as they insist, Nick being Faith's father shouldn't mean the end of the road for their marriage. After all, if Jack can be a father without being a husband, then Nick should be able to do so as well. As usual, like so many in GC, Jack is a hypocrite. He condemned Sharon for what she did, playing with people's lives with her lie, yet he's doing exactly the same thing by lying by omission. However he came by it, he now knows the truth. In my opinion, not sharing it makes him just as guilty as Sharon. And I can't imagine Phyllis is going to be happy to know he kept something like that from her. He might as well start preparing his other cheek for a stinging slap from Phyllis. What happened to all those syrupy sentences in which he begged Sharon to let him be a part of her life? Insisting it didn't matter who the baby's father was. Yeah, right, Jack. You and Nick. Great with the promises. Not so good with the follow through.

Anyway, back to Sharon. It's really a shame what's happened to this character over the long years. Watching some of those flashbacks took me back to the Sharon of old, which bears no real resemblance to the Sharon of today. For instance, until I saw those wedding pics, I had forgotten how lovely her hair used to look before all the bounce and color was bleached out of it. Now the scribes have men jumping in and out of her bed, and she's running around town blanking out and stealing jewelry. She's become so hated, some message board fans search for any mention of her name in a topic title so they can rush in and revile her with a viciousness that's a little bit unsettling considering she's a make believe character. And it seems, unlike other characters, she gets away with nothing. She sleeps with her bro-in-law. She's found out. Sleeps with multiple men. Winds up pregnant. Steals. Gets caught with the goods. Sleeps with then reconciles with Nick. Winds up condemned by her own son, who threatens to file for emancipation because of it. Yet, when told the same news a couple of weeks later by Nick and Phyllis, grins with glee, and great approval. Even has jokes. By contrast, Phyllis cavorted on the couch with Jack. Where are her repercussions? Her burgeoning belly carrying a baby with more than one possible father? What about all the acrimonious insults for sharing her cookies with Jack while still married to Nick? And where is Noah wagging a finger, angrily shouting how could you do this? Instead, we get mushy marriage renewal vows, video games, and, of course, sex on that gotta be rather unpleasantly reeking by now couch. It's rather ironic, that although she doesn't know it, what happened to Summer really is indirectly Phyllis' fault. Just as she said while wringing her hands in the hospital over Summer's comatose form. Because if she hadn't consoled herself with Jack, Mary Jane wouldn't have seen them through the window and gone after her daughter. Hopefully, though, in the interest of soap opera fair play, at some point, Jack and Phyllis' little sofa sojourn will one day be known by more than just Mary Jane.

But, enough about the young Nick Newmans. There was plenty to savor in his parents' world as well. I generally enjoy just about all the flashbacks to the distant past and this week was no exception. It was quite fun strolling down memory lane watching once again as Victor and Nikki pledged their troth to one another. Over and over again. Every time I see the young Victor and that mustache, for some odd reason, I think of the words from that Vaudville act: You must pay the rent, I can't pay the rent. You must pay the rent, I can't pay the rent. You must pay the rent. I'll pay the rent. My hero. Curses. Foiled again. With Nikki as the maiden who can't pay and Victor as her hero. I know, silly, and having nothing to do with anything else, least of all the story at hand.

The story being what happened on that dark and stormy night between Nikki and Victor. I couldn't help but feel so sorry for poor Paul, left practically at the altar. He was so happy to finally be getting the girl. And so clearly devastated when Nikki broke it off. Like all the other men who let themselves love Nikki, he had to face the fact that Victor was the only man she had room for in her heart. At least Jack and Dr. Landers actually made it through the wedding and got to have a life with her for awhile. Paul, unfortunately, joined Brad as one of the men who never even made it to the I do's. Looks like it's going to be another long dry spell for Paul since there is literally no other woman in Genoa City for him to love. Except perhaps, Jill. Or Nina. And I just don't see that happening. But I've gotten off track, so let me go back to Nikki and Victor. It was no surprise to hear Nikki confess to Victor she always had and always would love him. And even though I hated to see Paul be let down, albeit as gently as possible, I have to commend Nikki for having the courage and the honesty to do the right thing. Now, rather than at some future time when it would have been much more painful. Victor, of course, refused to match her honesty, though you could both see and feel his anguish when he asked why she did the things that tore them apart. But, beyond that, just as he's done so many times in the past, Victor kept his silence about his true feelings for Nikki until it was too late to tell her. Adding to the drama of that thunderous night was Ashley. Poor, poor Ashley, visibly unraveling more every moment. I have to give her kudos for her abilities, because at times she does look and act completely unbalanced. Adam having laid the groundwork with all his Sabrina haunting, can now sit back and do nothing, watching gleefully as Ashley conjures up the Sabrina apparition from her own unhinged mind with no assistance from him. Now she's gone and mowed down Nikki with her car (or so it appeared) although Ashley thinks it was Sabrina, and I'm sure Adam won't miss another opportunity to use that to his advantage. He is truly an evil and seemingly soulless man, entirely unremorseful for what he's done to a woman who never did a single thing to harm him. In his vendetta against Jack, Victor has been no angel, betraying Ashley and inadvertently bringing the maniacal wrath of Mary Jane down upon his own family, but what he's done doesn't even compare to Adam's viciousness. No matter what harsh and terrible retribution is delivered to him for his heartless acts, it will not be enough.

Earlier in the week, there was no storm raging, but dark moments still abounded. There was Mary Jane, a presumably penniless woman, who was practically chased from the potting shed with naught by the borrowed clothes on her back, yet like that other enterprising villain, Sheila, she manages to effortlessly obtain everything she needs to continue her torment of certain GC residents. Despite the allegedly beefed up security staff on the Newman Ranch, she continues to easily slip onto the property. Although it hasn't been proven, it is presumed that, perhaps as payback for tearing apart her stuffed kitty, Zapato paid the ultimate price with his life. An occurrence which caused some fans to pronounce themselves done with the show forever. Where Mary Jane got the toxins to terminate Zapato is unknown. And she didn't stop there. As if she were invisible, next she slipped into Jimmie, unnoticed, even with a hood over her head, as she drugged Jack's drink, followed him home, took a shower, then made love to him. (Boy, those GC men are sure something, aren't they, able to come to attention, so to speak, and perform admirably no matter how inebriated they have been drugged into being). By the way, one swat from the unbelievable belt to Mac for not recognizing Mary Jane from newscast or newspaper.

It was a tender scene, but a sad and somber situation with Cane and Lily. Home from the hospital, Lily remained firm in the face of her father's attempt to keep Cane out of her life. I have to admit I was proud of her and hope this signals a permanent change from girl to woman. Like I've said before, I know Neil is trying to be a protective papa, but his reasons to Tyra for resenting her keeping Cane in the knowledge loop didn't really make much sense to me. One day Lily will look at Cane and realize his lies and her cancer robbed her of the life she could have had, he said, or something along those lines. What?? I heard myself asking huh when he said that. If Cane hadn't lied, Lily still would have had cancer. As to the rest of it, if anything, since Lily's eggs have been harvested, she will one day look at Cane as the man who can make her dream of being a mother come true.

Okay, was I the only fan who wanted to pick up a pillow and pummel Daniel with it for his self-righteousness as he kicked Amber out of his life, supposedly for her lies? I guess he's forgotten all the lies he laid on Lily during his life as a closet porn peruser. I don't even know who you are, he told Amber. Well, I don't exactly remember him asking for any details of her past life. Now he wants to go all injured pride and dented manhood. Besides all that, if the dimwit hadn't bought into all that help us rid the world of an art thief with your colossal talent idiocy, then lied about what he was doing, Amber wouldn't have had to sleep with Deacon to snatch his burning bacon from the big house. Just my opinion, but Amber is well rid of Daniel the Diva, who has always acted as if she is somehow beneath him anyway. Deacon made a good point. She does need to be with a man who accepts her, warts and all, instead of someone who kicks her out of his life after every transgression. Plus, it's not as if the sloppily dressed Daniel is any great prize of perfection to be coveted. All those secret desires for Amber and anyone else he could see naked or nearly so, while pretending to be so in love with his wife, then acting as if she was the crazy, wrong thinking one when she questioned him. Not to mention hooking up with his former wife's best friend, Colleen. I say, good riddance, Amber, to self-righteous rubbish. Move on and let Daniel find someone as perfect as he.

If there was anyone in GC who deserved to have the perfect placard hung around his neck, it would likely be Chance. Such a gentlemen, leaping in front of Jill to deflect Billy's barbs. That was very sweet and gallant of him, but until he learns the ins and outs of Genoa City society and the sometimes dirty and devious ways in which they deal with each other, perhaps he might want to hold his tongue. Billy might have sounded harsh and disrespectful toward Jill, but she really has done a few things deserving his current derision. Chance might also want to reserve judgment just a bit when it comes to Chloe as well. Clearly charmed by her, I wonder if he'd be so admiring if he knew how manipulative and scandalous she can be. Mother or not, this is one leopard who probably hasn't changed the location of all her spots. They've simply been whitewashed over. Despite this new and supposedly improved seeming Chloe, I would still hate to see Chance have his first dance with love with this schemer instead of a with a girl as innocent and straight shooting as himself.

While I'm proud of Billy for having the courage to not only beard the Victor lion in his own den, but practically chase him inside, keeping his new relationship with Mac a secret from Chloe is a cowardly move. Now, he's pursued this woman since she turned up in town, nearly following her around on bended knees. Finally he gets what he wants, which is his hand in her cookie jar, and now he's mumbling about Chloe keeping him from Delia if he lets her know. What is it with these Abbott men (remember Jack putting up with Diane's shenanigans when he was married to Phyllis) who with all their money won't hire a lawyer to make the Court order Chloe's cooperation with visitation? Perhaps Kay is right to worry about Mac getting hurt because Billy is already sounding like less than a sure thing.

In addition to those mentioned earlier in the column, two more in best of the week was the brief interchange between Paul and J.T. as he accepted Paul's offer to become the Hellstrom part of Williams and Hellstrom Investigations. It reminds me of Paul and Andy back in the long ago days. J.T. has been Mr. Victoria Newman for far too long. I have loved seeing him stand up to both Victor and Victoria. What he had to say to Victoria after the Colleen debacle and this past week has been a long time coming. You go, boy. Unless he reverts to being a Newman puppet, henceforth I will officially refer to him as Mr. Hellstrom.

The other best of, of course, goes to Jill and Kay when Kay confessed to Jill that Phillip wasn't the love of her life after all. I doubt I was the only fan who found that revelation an unexpected and complete surprise. Wow!

All in all, it was a great week, even with all the dark moments. But, I have my fingers crossed that our favorite show will soon leave all this darkness behind and let a little sunshine into the town. Because while I still manage to find many enjoyable moments, I add my vote to all the fans who long for sweetness, light, romances that are not only believable (not like the flip-flopping foursome) but also lasts more than a week or two, tender caring, and thoughtful, rich, multi-layered stories. I know we have to populate for the future, but enough for awhile of the miraculous pregnancies, the go to jail tales, the mental malfunctions of the female faction (why don't any of the men temporarily lose the functioning part of their minds) and the like. How about some real, old fashioned storytelling, you know, kind of like the ones represented in the flashbacks.

Anyway, I'm out of here for this week and leave you with a couple of comments from my fellow devoted Y&R followers.

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Rocksteady - Finally, some realistic, intelligent writing for a soap. The Ovarian cancer story with Cane & Lily is the most realistic, vulnerable, relevant story in a long time. The two of them are electric together! No glitz, dripping in jewels in some ostentatious house, etc. Soaps are fantasy I know, however, when you're able to write with such honesty, depth and integrity when it comes to the two of them, and in particular the subject matter, there's only applause. And having those two actors that have been able to deliver that same honesty on camera, it resonates and it's magic. I don't have any connection with this latest subject, gratefully, but it's something that exists in our world, which is more relevant. Don't lose those two or the writers that have produced the realism. Don't do the on again off again, Nikki/Victor thing. I think you can take those two somewhere. Extremely Very well done!

Jennifer - I have been watching the show for 20 years as has my family. I have never written in to a show, today though I am extremely upset you have decided to have such dark storylines. Why would you allow a storyline that kills off a dog? I find it hard to believe the Bells would have supported this, the show used to have morals and values. The whole Adam Mary Jane storyline is disappointing. I really feel strongly that I won't watch this show after today. I am an animal lover and do not see how you could bring any positive point with this strange storyline. Congratulations on the past.

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