It's just an illusion

Victor pulled a classic Newman switcheroo by being alive after Adam had changed up his dad's medication. Was Adam still redeemable even after framing Victoria for supposedly killing her beloved father? And was Hilary look-alike, Amanda, part of a ploy to swindle Devon out of his billions? It's all just an illusion in Two Scoops.

I never, for one second, believed that Victor was dead. If that had been the case, he had gone out with a whimper instead of with a bang, and that's just not Victor. When it's Victor Newman's time to go, you can bet he will go out with lights flashing and guns a-blazing. That's just his style. Plus, I never saw any announcement anywhere about Eric Braeden retiring and leaving the show. On the contrary, the only articles I found online disclosed that he was nowhere near ready to call it quits. Hmmm...it seemed that Eric Braeden and Victor Newman have the same kind of philosophy. When it's that time, go out kicking and screaming.

Yeah, I had guessed that Victor's death was all an illusion cooked up by Victor and Nick to flush out Adam's schemes. I wasn't sure just how many other Newmans were involved in the plot. Nick was always obviously the head chef of this recipe, since he seemed more determined to get revenge on Adam than to take the time to grieve over his father's supposed death. Nick was certain that Adam had done the pills switcheroo, and he was bound to prove it. The big reveal that reports of Victor's demise were a bit premature was through Nikki, who had to tell her husband that their plan had gone a bit awry. And Victoria had also known of the scheme, since she had needed to take one for the team with her arrest, which infuriated Billy, who still had to keep up the charade.

But when it appeared that Adam was ready to dash out of town, Victor had to make his final move by revealing to his youngest son that he was still alive. It was so appropriate that he first saw his dad at his beloved chessboard when Adam remarked, "Well played, Pops. Well played." Oh, yes, for both, it was all about the next move, and even when they were opponents, they could still admire and respect a strategic player. Victor would almost have to admit that he finally had a worthy adversary, if Adam weren't always so bent on taking out the Newmans. After years of playing and easily beating Jack, Victor had been craving a new competitor who was as crafty as he was. Adam was certainly a chip off the old block, and Victor just proved that he could still hold his own at his age.

Seriously, Adam had been almost the only Newman that didn't know that dear old daddy was still a living and breathing fixture on this earth for quite a while, and the article "Titan Falls, Daughter Arrested," in the Genoa City Chronicle, helped to aid in the fantasy. As Victor lamented that Adam desperately needed help, Adam raged that the article didn't spell out the entire truth for Victor's "sheeple" by stating that his father had been a "visionary building an empire from humble origins" but left out that he was also a mastermind manipulator, a cold-hearted tyrant, and an abusive control freak whose only obsession was to pit his kids against each other. When it came right down to it, though, Adam was controlled more by his hatred of Victor than by anything his dad had ever done to him.

However, Adam relented some when he saw that rather than having to choose among his children, as Victor's mother had been forced to do, Victor might have had his children compete for his love. It was too bad that Adam always came out on the losing end, but that was his own doing. As Adam faced himself in the mirror, he saw that his entire life had seemed to be an illusion, because his father had not been a constant in his life. Yet Adam could have made up for lost time by really getting to know his dad. rather than try to battle against his siblings. Adam continually rebuffed every chance Victor had given him. Even after Adam's resurrection, Victor had tried to hand him the keys to Newman Enterprises, which Adam just tossed aside. Adam let his anger -- not Victor -- control him.

Plus, Adam really had a lot of nerve by setting Victoria up for the dastardly deed that he did himself. One could have almost felt bad for him, since he hadn't meant to "kill" his father, except he then turned around and blamed it on a totally innocent party. If he had owned up to what he had done, Adam might have been able to redeem himself. But he made a bad situation worse by ensuring that Victoria was arrested for changing up Victor's prescription that supposedly led up to his death. Adam was truly despicable. It didn't matter that Victoria hadn't had a motive, since the apple of her father's eye already had everything she had ever wanted at Newman Enterprises, plus Victoria truly loved her dad. But to Adam, that didn't matter. Someone had to pay, and it sure wasn't going to be him.

And Adam had wanted to get back at Victor for trying to run him "down like a dog," even though that hadn't been true. I don't know why Adam had been so eager to dismiss Billy as the culprit, when Billy has obviously been filled with hatred toward Adam since the tragic hit-and-run of darling Delia. And what better payback for Billy than to do to Adam what Adam had done to her, which was to plow into him with a car. Really, that doesn't even sound like something Victor would do. If the Mustache were going to hunt down an enemy, he would make sure the person would know it was him instead of hiding behind a steering wheel. And if Adam had actually met the gum-chomping Billy, he probably would have figured that out.

Chelsea still wanted to believe that there was hope for Adam, when every indication showed otherwise. She saw how desperately Connor needed his father's love, and she only wished that Adam could be the kind of father that her son deserved. But again, Adam proved her wrong when he was ready to leave his son, without a moment's hesitation, because he could no longer face what he thought he had done to Victor. Adam claimed that Connor was better off without him, but that would have been the easy way out. Connor would have been lost if Adam had left without him, and Chelsea would have been the one to have to pick up the pieces. Adam should have known, better than anyone, just how hard it would be for a young boy to have to live without having his daddy in his life.

Sharon also refused to believe that Adam would go so far as to want Victor dead, and she made sure to let Rey know that. Boy, Sharon and Rey still had to constantly be around each other, even if it was only for her to constantly extol Adam's virtues to Rey. She then ran to Adam's side, declaring that Adam needed her. It's sad that Sharon's been reduced to flip-flopping between Rey and Adam, especially since it was shortly after Jack reminded her in Sedona that he remembered she had become strong and independent all on her own by furthering her education and then taking on a meaningful job of helping others. Sharon was back to where she started, as a prop to men.

So, as expected, Sharon bounced right back to Adam's place, offering herself up as the grand prize of being his friend (or conscience) in return for helping Victoria out, which Adam quickly refused. Why, her offer was more like a consolation prize, since he was still in love with her. While Sharon only saw that Adam had an "empty place, empty life," he wanted more than just a fraction of her. If Adam had no qualms about risking his father's life, why would he be willing to accept less than love from the woman he adored? When Adam tossed her patootie right out the door, Sharon immediately scurried over to Rey. Back and forth, around and around. It was almost like a never-ending game of musical chairs, only without the tuneful little ditty playing in the background.

But Sharon decided that she wanted a fresh start, so, of course, she had to announce it to Rey. Why? If she truly wanted a real, honest-to-goodness clean slate, she wouldn't have had the desire to let him know. By telling Rey, it appeared Sharon was informing him that she was no longer under Adam's hold, so Rey was free to pursue her again. Around and around and around we go. Shoot, I'm getting a little dizzy. Will this merry-go-round never end?

One person who thought Victor was dead, Jack, was finally able to see how similar Dina and Victor were, since they had both been smart, tough, and successful in business, and because they had always gone after what they wanted in life. Jack realized that he had only been looking "at [his] life through the lens of a broken kid," and that, as a man, he was proud of his mother's accomplishments and of being her son. When Jack told his mother that he loved her, Dina truly understood him. Their interaction gave Jack the wonderful idea of joining forces with Traci to write of their family's history. Since they knew all, both the good and the bad, it made sense that the brother and sister should team up together to write the true story of all the Abbott family members, including their mother. Hey, I want to read that book.

But wait...Abby indicated that Summer didn't know of her beloved grandpa's so-called rise from the ashes, either. Wow, what did Summer ever do to be put at the same level of being a Newman outcast as Adam? Oh, it must be because Phyllis was Summer's mother. Summer would be so devastated to know that she couldn't be trusted to know the truth. It was obviously difficult for the Newman "in-crowd" to keep up the phony grieving over Victor in front of everyone else, though. Nate should have felt honored to be part of the clan, even if it was only because they needed him as a doctor. Luckily, the Hippocratic Oath (along with Abby's pucker) kept his lips sealed, anyway.

Thankfully, Summer has Kyle as a friend, because she'll need a shoulder to cry on once she learns of her family's well-kept secret. And they really were good friends, which could be worth so much to Summer, if only she would be willing to accept that it's all they'll ever be to each other. Theo must have thought so, because he wished to work with Lola to get his friendship with Kyle back -- or at least, that's what he told Lola. She should be very wary of Theo, though, since he hadn't been so trustworthy in the very recent past. And Theo seemed to be the type of scaredy-cat with nine lives on hand, if he ever got burned or betrayed. Or a ticking time bomb, as Kyle put it. Theo appeared to be genuine about his feelings toward Summer, but still, he had that trust issue going on.

Phyllis almost acted like a friend to Adam, but, of course, she only ever does what's best for Phyllis. Even when she insisted that Adam couldn't leave town, she was asking for the keys to his penthouse in practically the same breath. There was a reason why Red didn't have many friends. And it was no wonder the Newmans were afraid to trust Summer with Victor's secret. If Phyllis had found out, she would have looked for some way to profit from it.

Jill was back in town to properly grieve for Victor (even if it was fake), and she was able to get in a few zingers to Nikki, regarding her former status as a stripper, while she was at it. Leave it to Jill to keep things lively in a time of supposed mourning. But Jill also worried over Billy, who probably would have preferred that she worry over him from a farther distance -- like in Timbuktu. It's a good thing Billy had his therapist on speed dial, since Jill tended to push his buttons at times, too. But she had always wanted Billy with Victoria, so Jill was pleased to see them back together. If only she had met the gum-chomping Billy, she would have been more alarmed. Sometimes, ignorance is bliss.

While everyone else mourned, Kevin and Chloe celebrated being a "normal family" and getting to use her real name again. Chloe Mitchell, the crazy, sexy fool. Well, those two always marched to the beat of a different drummer, anyway. But there were no more illusions of a deceased Chloe for them, so they got a room and ordered Champagne at the Grand Phoenix. Those two really know how to live it up.

Speaking of illusions, Amanda Sinclair sure was a dead ringer for Hilary. Oops, sorry, that was a poor choice of words. But I can't blame Devon for thinking the lovely lass knew that she was Hilary's doppelgnger and was taking advantage of it. A two-billion-dollar advantage, in fact. Amanda claimed that her client was Chance Chancellor, even though she had never met him, which was rather strange. Plus, she had never seen the will that Chance claimed was authentic. Also bizarre. Well, I have to admit that Amanda seemed to be as feisty as Hilary had been. Devon had better be wary of the lady, whose image had just been haunting him not so long ago. Even if he knew in his head that Amanda wasn't his deceased wife, Hilary's spirit may blind Devon's heart to that fact.

Yet, strangely, Elena wasn't too concerned about Hilary's apparent identical twin. Hey, could that be true? Could Amanda be the long-lost twin sister of Hilary's that neither had ever known about? You know, like Cassie and Mariah. Hilary's mother sure couldn't have afforded to raise two baby girls, so maybe she gave one up and erased it from her life and her mind forever after, up to her death. Or maybe Amanda had plastic surgery to make sure she looked exactly like Hilary. I agree with Devon in that the strong physical resemblance was not coincidental. Elena was more worried than she let on to Devon, when she and Nate agreed that someone was playing a sick game.

Amanda sure knew how to kill a birthday party, though, and she did that with just her presence. It probably would have been unnerving for her if she had cared at all or if she weren't a plant to rattle Devon. And hey, the rattling bit was working on both Devon and Mariah, who admitted to Tessa that she had liked Hilary, even when she had hated her. Of course, Mariah had, or she never would have stuck around at GC Buzz. But Mariah wanted Amanda gone, since she saw how much her presence tormented Devon. At first glance, Amanda appeared to be a watered-down version of Hilary, but there could be more to her than meets the eye. Uhh...so to speak. Amanda was bound to play a huge part in Devon's future, but he needed to see past her resemblance to his dead wife.

Michael sure hit the nail on the head when he stated to Adam, "Even super-villains take an occasional day off."

So, now we know. Fen was in rehab but would be able to rejoin the tour once he cleaned up his act - both literally and figuratively.

Billy called it like he saw it when he said, "Victoria, it's not paranoia when someone's trying to pin murder on you." No truer words were ever spoken.

Chloe was back in all her glory of one-liners when she remarked to Kevin that Adam was "not up to his usual high standards in villainy." I do welcome Chloe's humor back, if not the character.

I'm so glad that Kevin got his old job back at the police station. The place just hasn't been the same without him.

Phyllis was dead-on, when she observed to Adam, "Wow, even dead, Victor is still the victor."

If Chance was behind all the shenanigans with Amanda and Katherine's will, why not show his face in town or respond to Jill's messages? He had always seemed like a straightforward guy before, so why the subterfuge? Maybe he's not the same Chance that we had all grown to know and love.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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