(Don't) Shoot the messenger

Bad news traveled quickly to several loved ones, who were quite ready to shoot the messenger. Will Chelsea finally try to recover from her mental instability after Victor delivered the blow that she would only be released through his doctor's discretion? Will Summer finally ease up on her grudge against Sally to focus on the real threat(s) to her future with Kyle after learning the paternity test results? Will Kyle finally put Summer in his rearview mirror to begin a life with his son -- and with Tara? Will Tara finally learn not to keep such large secrets that have the potential to destroy her son's life? Read all this and more in Two Scoops.

Wow, I can't believe that Chelsea was surprised to learn that her release from the mental health facility would be at the discretion of Victor's doctor. Has she never watched the movie One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? Randle McMurphy, played by the awesome Jack Nicholson, had a blast, thinking up new ways to torment Nurse Ratched at the mental institution until he learned that she had the power over his release. As it turned out, the other patients had been admitted voluntarily, so they were free to leave at any time, while McMurphy had been sentenced by the court so he could get out of a prison sentence. Just like Chelsea. If only she had watched the movie or read the book by Ken Kesey, she would have been forewarned of just how Victor was helping her. Oh, well...you can't win them all.

Chelsea was ready to shoot the messenger, who happened to be Victor, once she learned exactly what her fate would be and just who was in control of it. But please, Chelsea, don't shoot Victor...not just yet, anyway. We need the Mustache around for a while longer. It's really been great to have Victor back, pulling the puppet strings of almost everyone in town, while also taking potshots at Jack. I really missed that. Sniff, sniff...I'm getting misty. We are all very aware that Chelsea's sentence...uh, recovery will take several months, just long enough to cover Melissa Claire Egan's maternity leave. Strangely, Chelsea didn't see that she was unbalanced, even after bawling to Rey that she didn't know that Adam hadn't cheated with Sharon, when she was obviously still out to get them both.

When Chloe visited her bestie minus the party cake, balloons, streamers, and even stripper, Chelsea angrily informed her that Adam had gotten the restraining order lifted, so he would be able to see Chelsea's son at any time. Because, in her eyes, Adam had no rights to Connor. Chelsea truly believed that she was completely sane, which showed just how delusional she was -- and Chloe even saw it. Considering Chloe's past in that particular area, that was saying a lot. Yet Chloe believed that Chelsea would always protect her, no matter what; however, I don't blame Kevin for being concerned. And if Chloe accepts Adam's job offer, that could put a larger target on her back in Chelsea's unbalanced mind.

Hey, I'm anxiously waiting for Chelsea to split up Sharon and Rey, since they are the most boring couple in town whenever Adam isn't a factor. Sharon had mentioned that her reunion with Rey had been very emotional, but I never once saw any emotion between the two. They could have been talking about the weather, for all the passion they showed during their reunion. And seriously, that's what has been missing -- passion. There has been more passion flaring up between Adam and Sharon than there ever has between Rey and Sharon. I can't understand why Sharon would even want to be with someone who obviously makes her feel nothing. Come on, Rey's idea of a romantic getaway was to go to Florida to spend time with Sharon's in-laws. How romantic. I'm swooning.

Adam was trying to move on with Victor's help, and when Nick found them talking together, Victor announced his brilliant idea of having Newman Media and New Hope work together toward a brilliant and bright future for the Newmen...okay, Newman men. And to complete the picture of the bonding done with the male part of the family, Victor also wanted Noah to return to the fold. While Nick loved the idea of having his son back home, there was that teensy-weensy, itty-bitty problem that Noah didn't give a holy ding-dong about his dear uncle and more than likely wouldn't care for working with Adam at all. However, Victor would not be deterred -- Noah would be back working in Genoa City, side by side with his grandfather, father, and uncle, no ifs, ands, or buts.

Devon was impressed by the joint venture of Newman Media and New Hope and especially by the new stance that Adam was taking. Nick felt that the name Newman Media made it appear that the Newman family was divided; however, Victor stressed that the new company would be Adam's legacy as a Newman to pass on to his family. Nick saw that Adam was seriously trying to change, and since New Hope was all about second chances, he and Devon were willing to give Newman Media a try. But Billy and Lily were still gunning for Adam through their company, which would put brother and sister on opposite sides. I doubt if they will become like the Hatfields and McCoys, although Lily had her expos weapon ready to fire. And Victor was more than willing to retaliate.

Billy quickly learned that when Victor warned Billy Boy to "fasten your seatbelt," so I guess they were in for a bumpy ride. Even if it's strange to see Nick and Adam getting along, it's nice to know that the feud between Victor and Billy is still going strong. And because Victor was the proud papa who had both sons working by his side to fight off all future fires, Adam was able to convince his father to stop the attack against ChancComm. Or at least postpone it. I'm sure that Billy wasn't off Victor's hot seat just yet though. However, it dawned on Nick that Sharon might be the only person who ever had any real insight into Adam. That Adam had gotten his father to back down from a fight was somewhat of a miracle, which proved that he truly was trying to change.

Another messenger who was directly in the line of fire was Sally. Yes, Y&R's very own Sally Spectra, who was once The Bold and the Beautiful's Sally Spectra, as portrayed by Courtney Hope -- who was just nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for when she was on B&B. Hey, their loss is our gain. Congrats to all the Y&R nominees: Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea), Bryton James (Devon), Marla Adams (Dina), and Alyvia Alyn Lind (Faith) and to the show itself! Win, win, win! (I always wanted to be a cheerleader.) Sally was at the top of Summer's hit list, although Tara should have been number one. It's rather unbelievable that Summer cannot see that Tara's a much bigger threat to her than Sally ever was. Tara's like a large, looming wasp to Sally's pesky, annoying little gnat.

Even Phyllis finally saw that Sally had only been spreading the word around about something that Kyle had done years before he had gotten together with Summer. And Phyllis made a good point -- why didn't Kyle ever tell Summer about his past with Tara? If he had, there never would have been any ammunition for Sally to get her hands on. But Kyle was the one who had done the deed and had then kept it secret from Summer. This was on Kyle, not Sally. Plus, if they had played nice all along, as they had promised, Sally's lips would have remained sealed. Oh, yes, but Phyllis then had to interfere in something that wasn't even her business, which had riled up Sally, but she still never gave up that Harrison was Kyle's son. That girl just can't catch any breaks.

But with what seemed to be an ongoing smug look on his face, Kyle held up an envelope in front of Ashland's face without even opening it and declared that he was Harrison's father. That was pretty clairvoyant on Kyle's part, unless the caller had done the big reveal on the phone prior to the paternity results arriving. But then, why bother to send them in a sealed envelope if any person from the lab could just place a call and blab the test results? It just seems like the lab could have saved the time, trouble, and expense for the special delivery if a simple phone call would have done the trick. No matter how it was delivered, Kyle was certainly the bearer of bad news, and Ashland looked ready to put him in the ground,

Kyle must be some kind of soothsayer, indeed, since he correctly predicted that Harrison was his biological son and then immediately shoved it in Ashland's face. And Tara found her new home after she pleaded with Jack and Kyle to let her stay at the Abbott mansion, so she could be assured to be safe from the evil monster, Ashland. I couldn't help but notice that the first person Kyle ran to after the big reveal was Tara, not Summer, which should have been a major red flag waving in Summer's face. Sure, later Kyle insisted that he and Summer would be okay, no matter what happened, but surely, he's heard of that saying, "Don't make promises that you can't keep." After all, Tara made Kyle swear that he would be all in as Harrison's father, and she would be around to make sure that happened.

Hey, I was getting a little worried during Tara and Kyle's little chat with Harrison, since all the cute, cherub-faced blonde boy could do was nod on cue. I was so afraid that the poor little tyke couldn't talk until he finally practically whispered the words, "Two dads." Whew, what a relief! But Harrison's just the typical soap kid who's unnaturally quiet. Well, Harrison had a reason for not doing a lot of talking, since he had been shoved into an unfamiliar place with a bunch of strangers. But Tara was bound and determined to blow up his whole entire little world by taking the only father the child had ever known away from him. Ironically, Summer was the one who insisted that Kyle and Tara discuss what would be best for the boy, which was to let him keep his "father," too.

Ashland would be known as "Father" to Harrison, and Kyle would be known as "Daddy." I guess "Daddy" was too informal for a rich mogul like Ashland Locke, who let Jack know that he would be having another paternity test done, since Tara hasn't always been known for her honesty. I can't blame him. I mean, Jack and Kyle really don't know the entire story. They have swallowed every single bit of morsel that Tara has fed them -- hook, line and sinker. There are two side of a story, especially in marriage, and Jack and Kyle chose to believe Tara's without doing even the least little bit of research. Okay. Anyway, Jack was available, so maybe he was the bull's-eye on Tara's target, not Kyle. Jack's future could be as both Harrison's grandfather and stepfather. How touching.

When Phyllis learned from Jack that the paternity test had proven that Kyle was Harrison's baby daddy, she could only think about Summer and was ready to jump into another battle for her daughter's sake -- and nothing that Jack said would calm her. Phyllis feared that Ashland would pull out all the stops and totally crush his competition, especially Tara, to get custody of the child. Mariah wondered to Kyle if by putting the wedding on hold., Summer was having second thoughts. And Summer also worried that Kyle would end up getting heartbroken once Ashland launched his attack. Ashland is a very intimidating and determined guy. They had every reason to worry, which Kyle realized when he returned home and discovered that Tara and Harrison were missing.

Thankfully, Kyle saw that he had overreacted after he found the two of them at the park and insisted to Tara that she and Harrison were his priorities. Hmm...it's no wonder why Summer was so scared that she was running around all over town, getting advice from Abby, Nina, and Sharon, who wisely stated that Summer could only control how she reacted and responded to what other people did and that she needed to figure out what was best for herself. Now, those were words to live by, except that what Summer really wanted, Kyle, may not be what was best for her and vice versa. Summer realized that even more when she saw Kyle with his "perfect little family" in the park and heard Harrison call him "Daddy" -- and she also witnessed just how pleased Kyle was with his new name.

Summer later whined to Jack that Kyle had easily adjusted to learning that he was a father, while she struggled to find out just where she fit in. Hopefully, Jack's again enjoying his stay on the back burner as everyone's friend and advisor. As Jack left, he almost snubbed Sally as she walked into Crimson Lights. Yep, it will be awhile before he is front and center in his own storyline again. You'd think that Summer would have been happier that her latest plot to get rid of Sally seemed to be working, even if Sally was not the one causing her unhappiness. Go figure. Oh, yeah, Sally called it like she saw it -- she was Summer's personal punching bag. It was too bad that Summer didn't know that Sally's intention was for Summer to take the job in Italy. I can't wait to see Sally's Plan B.

Tara and Kyle were so content that they had totally forgotten all their troubles until Ashland knocked on the door. Ashland wished to speak to Tara alone, without any interference from Kyle, who was glad to keep an eye on the child -- although it really wasn't his place to talk to Harrison about Tara's relationship with Ashland. When Ashland asked Tara if she was in love with Kyle, she denied it and remembered when Ashland had been in love with her. After she had lost his attention, the lonely Tara had then turned to Kyle. Ashland presented a one-time offer to Tara that the two of them would have shared custody as long as Kyle was not part of the boy's life. Tara saw that while Ashland had been a loving father, she'd had to practically force Kyle to step up, so she agreed.

Even though Amanda was Sutton's attorney, her long-lost sister Imani seemed to be calling all the shots. (Welcome back, Mishael Morgan!) While all the evidence pointed to Richard's death being connected to the search for his child, Imani insisted that Amanda place it right on Newman Enterprises' doorstep. Well, Newman Enterprises does have the big pockets, after all. During lunch, the sisters found that they had a lot in common, including being attracted to Nate. And Nate certainly took some notice of Amanda's "friend," also. It's funny how Imani kept reminding Amanda to keep their family ties a secret from all. It makes you wonder if the family will kick her to the curb once they get what they want from her.

Amanda regretted that her father had gotten so close to finding her, since she had always felt that she had never belonged. She told Devon that her legal strategy for Sutton, however, had not changed, since Imani had felt that Richard still could have been blackmailing another Newman Enterprises employee. But Devon only saw that Sutton was making Amanda's job harder than it needed to be and insisted that she didn't need to prove herself to her newfound family, and he was right. I mean, Amanda's strategy was really Imani's. Amanda needed to stay true to herself. Later, when Naya insinuated that Rose might have contacted Richard, Amanda insisted that her father had only known about her, not Hilary. Amanda decided then that there would be no more dwelling in the past.

Devon didn't want to send out the wrong message to his sister about her new living arrangements, so he visited Lily and Billy with food and gifts in hand. And his gift was very sweet -- a picture from Indigo that reminded Lily of Neil. It would be perfect for the dcor of the place once they were finished unpacking and cleaning up. That place was a mess. Moving is always such a pain. Nikki wondered why Billy hadn't told Victoria of his new residence yet; however, he brushed it off by blaming it on his ex's job. Lily shouldn't have to hide in her own house whenever Billy's youngsters were around. That's silly. Good for her for wanting to stick around to witness Billy when he was in daddy mode.

Victoria learned that Billy and Lily had moved in together when she overheard Sharon chatting to Lily about it. Of course. Billy should have known that was going to happen. The news would have come much better from him. Sigh...will these soap characters never learn? So, of course, Victoria had to pay them a visit at their new condo with the housewarming gift of a plant. With a false smile, Victoria swore to Lily that the kids were genuinely fond of her, but she didn't flirt with Billy. While Lily wondered if Victoria had a new interest, Nikki got to witness Victoria and Ashland plan a date for later. Happy birthday to you, Nikki! Thankfully, Victor saved the day with his gift of a lovely stallion and a trip for two to Florence. Hey, Victor can shop for me any day.

Great news! Telma Hopkins is joining the cast of Y&R, and her character will have scenes with Devon. That is so cool! Yes, I remember that Telma Hopkins was on Family Matters and that Bryton James played her son on the show. My sons were young at the time, and they loved that show. And I also remember that Telma Hopkins was one half of Dawn of the famous Tony Orlando and Dawn. "Knock Three Times." "Candida." "Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree." "He Don't Love You (Like I Love You)." Okay, the last one wasn't a huge hit, but I liked it. Telma Hopkins was the one who always gave Tony a hard time on their 70s TV variety show (like Cher did with Sonny on theirs), while Joyce Wilson was the nice one. They really brought the humor. Welcome, Ms. Hopkins!

Oh, Lily and Billy are going to hate themselves when they try to clean up their new apartment after their flirty, fun Styrofoam peanut fight. Anyone who's ever dealt with them knows that cleaning up those peanuts from packing is almost impossible to do. Billy and Lily will probably still be finding those foamy little devils under furniture months after the clean-up.

Fidgety Harrison obviously takes after his mother, since Tara appeared not to know what to do with her hands, either, when she was talking to Jack.

Bravo to Abby for wanting to wait to learn the sex of the baby until Chance had returned. He was already missing out on so much. It's good that he will get to share the reveal of their child's sex with his wife.

Abby and Nina are two very intelligent women, so could they really not see that Summer's "friend" was actually Summer herself?

The video chat between Adam and Connor was heartwarming, and Adam proved how much he loved his son by protecting him from the truth about Chelsea's mental condition. When so many feuding parents tend to use their kids as weapons against each other, Adam was able to avoid putting his son in the middle of the problems between two parents who both truly loved him. That was admirable.

I'm still up in the air on which one is more scheming and deceitful: Naya or Imani. While it was true that Imani got Amanda to focus her legal strategy on Newman Enterprises, when Naya appeared to fail to sway Amanda to her way of thinking, she next seemed to focus on Devon, who's a nice guy but is no dummy. Good luck with that!

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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