Mad Max: Where you gonna run to?

Bad boy Max took off again, and Abby took heat from Ben about her accusations. More than one person accused Hilary of using blackmail to get her way. Billy and Phyllis kissed again, though Phyllis tried to resist the attraction. Victoria went slumming and named herself 'Torie' as she escaped work stress with a handsome bartender. Check it out in this week's Two Scoops.

It's hard for me to believe that any eight-year-old kid could be as clever and deceptive and show as much manual dexterity as Mad Max has. He rigged Abby's fall and destroyed the video evidence, not to mention being in the right place at the right time to overhear that the jig was almost up. Lickety-split, he came up with a plan, convinced Charlie to help, and voila! Just like that, Max got a master key, let himself into the server room, and started a fire. Any kid that young, that smart, and that quick would scare the pants off me, even if he weren't a homicidal maniac, which Mad Max clearly is, at least where Abby and her baby are concerned.

Since it's a soap, there's always a chance for redemption, but Max is off to a bad start. He has heredity against him -- daddy's side of the family included an abuser, a murderer, and a stalker -- and his mama was very vindictive toward Stitch, so nurturing probably wasn't her strong suit. The young actor, Jared Breeze, who plays Max, is doing a chilling job. Every time he flashes that sly smile, I see Patty Duke (my condolences on her recent passing) in The Bad Seed. I wonder if Jared watched that movie to prep for his performance. Jared is really good at playing bad. I hope for his sake that he is the complete opposite off set!

Meanwhile, the evidence is in, and Max is on the lam, so where is he going to run? My guess is Ashley or Dr. Neville. Max can admit to starting the fire without admitting he did anything to harm Abby because all the proof was destroyed in the fire. I'm sure Max can spin it in a way that gets Ben and a few others firmly in his corner. That will drive an even bigger wedge between Abby and Ben than the one that divides them now. Mad Max is a very bad boy, but I don't think he will get sent to Fairview anytime soon. First, Abby and Ben have to break up, and then Ben has to make up with Ashley before either Ashley or Ben sees through the kid's faade. Hey, this boy gives me goosebumps, so I don't mind if he hangs around for a while and outsmarts all the adults. He makes me glad I never had kids, but that doesn't mean that I don't sympathize with parents whose children act out, despite their best efforts.

I do hope that Max gets a good therapist -- and very, very soon. Social services was quick to intervene when Max complained about being yelled at by his dad. Surely, starting a fire will be viewed as a cry for help. There must be some adult in Genoa City -- besides Abby -- that is smarter than Max and can see through his machinations.

I have to wonder if Luca started out like Max, because he is also some piece of work. This guy never stops manipulating. Summer is proving to be so nave where Luca is concerned that she puts the "dumber" in Dumb and Dumber. Luca may have genuine affection for Summer, but I doubt that she is really any more than a means to an end. Luca is making a play to get Victoria's job. He even has a private eye following Victoria to the bar where she is pretending to be a humble worker bee named "Torie." I expect Torie to have a torrid affair with bartended Travis. She will be found out, but will it be enough to topple Victoria from the top spot? My money is on Summer to somehow end up in charge of Newman. Stranger things have happened.

There is no doubt that Nick is suffering, as are all the Newmans. Nick didn't hold back at Sage's memorial when he called suffering a family "curse." Sharon was almost moved to tell the truth about Sully's paternity, but she didn't, and she won't. It could take a long time for this lie to catch up. I've been a Sharon-Nick supporter in the past, but I am very disappointed in Sharon for withholding the truth about Sully. I'm with Bessie, who wants to see Sharon get her comeuppance once and for all.

It seems like Y&R is all doom, gloom, and death right now. My friend, Bessie, a lifelong viewer, is so disgusted that she joined the boycott and stopped watching. She's a better woman that I am. I'm not thrilled about the direction Y&R is taking, but our soap does seem to be a microcosm of the world at large, where conflict is king. In the old days, it was only the Newmans who were always fighting with each other. Now the Abbotts are also fighting amongst themselves. I wonder when family, love, and happiness became boring and dysfunction became the rule instead of the exception.

Billy is on a mission to get back at both Victoria and Jack. Jack blames Phyllis, and Phyllis blames Jack for Billy's "take no prisoners" attitude. When Jack accused Billy of being like Victor, Billy was dead on when he said that he hoped so because "the mustache" always bested Jack. The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head when Billy started paying attention to someone other than Phyllis, who is one kiss away from doing the horizontal tango with Billy.

Someone pointed out that Phyllis is too old for Billy. That's true, but so is Victoria, who was a contemporary of Phyllis when Billy was a teenager dating Mac. For a while, Victoria didn't age. Now, Billy has caught up in age with Victoria, and Phyllis has regressed in age. Jack, who was stepfather to both Victoria and Nick when they were children, has also aged backwards and is a contemporary of theirs, even though he started out as a contemporary of Victor's. I know it's confusing, but I can explain it all with SOWAD -- Soap Opera Weird Aging Disease. Anyone can be any age at any time. That's my soap reality, and I'm sticking to it.

Elsewhere, Hilary continues to employ blackmail as her weapon of choice to continue her social climbing ways, but it looks like Cane, who overheard Neil admit to kidnapping Hilary, is going to spill the beans to Devon. I wonder if Devon will finally have his eyes opened to Hilary's true nature and if her sexual spell will be broken. I liked the person Hilary was before the coma, and I wish that person would emerge again, but as long as she's this self-serving egomaniac, I'm glad to see Ashley get in a verbal lick or two of her own. Speaking of Ashley and all the ladies, I love the clever cutout dresses they've been sporting. It must be difficult for designers to keep creating new styles year after year. I applaud Y&R for always being in the forefront of fashion.

I really liked how Cane and Lily talked to Charlie and reassured him of their love while extracting the truth about the fire. This is the second time that Charlie has acted out under Max' influence. It's probably time for Lily to stop accepting play dates with Mad Max.

Dylan, or "Dullen," as Bessie calls him, does seem to be getting dimmer. He doesn't have an inkling of what Sharon is hiding, and now Max has managed to escape from him. I'm pretty sure that even though Max is only eight years old, he will manage to outwit the adults searching for him, at least for a while.

I am going to miss Sage. She was feisty, forthright, and a good match for Nick. Plus I really like Kelly Sullivan as an actress. I may have to start watching her Nickelodeon show just like I do Eileen Davidson's show on A&E. Now would be a good time to bring back Jessica Collins as Avery. Collins just won an Emmy for the role and Avery would certainly stir the waters and be a good nemesis for Sharon. Avery had Sharon's number before, and like a dog with a bone, Avery never lets go.

Victor continues to wreak havoc, even from prison. I wouldn't be surprised if he is soon sprung and back in town, making life miserable for all the people he claims to love.

Please join me in two weeks at Crimson Lights for the next meeting of Soap-aholics Anonymous. Our topic will be "The care and feeding of psychopathic children," with guest speaker Dr. Ben Rayburn. No host beverages, and as always, imaginary drinks for imaginary friends are free.

'Til next time, fellow fan addicts, care for your friends and family, and have the happiest of happy celebrations as you commemorate Mother's Day with those you love.

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