Building a mystery

It was a week full of intrigue in Genoa City as the foundations for some new mysteries were built and Y&R geared up for their summer storylines! How far will Nate and Audra go to move up the corporate ladder? Are Ashley and/or Tucker plotting a coup at Jabot? Has Chance found the evidence he needs to prove that Phyllis is alive? And who is Sharon's mystery stalker that is sending her ominous gifts? A killer reveal at the end of the week solved one of these mysteries already, so join our Two Scoops columnist as he discusses that shocking Friday cliffhanger and all the other drama from the past week on Y&R!

Is anyone else still reeling from that big reveal at the end of the week?! I did not see that coming! I'm both very excited for this new storyline and very scared for Sharon! But we'll get to that later. It's always best to start at the beginning, so let's do just that!

First of all, I think it was really dumb of Jack and Kyle to go sleuthing at Jeremy and Phyllis' motel room for the evidence that she is alive. Even though they found said evidence, the chain of custody on Phyllis' hair that they found is too tainted for it to be used seriously in a court of law. Did they really expect a different reaction from Chance when they showed him the proof? They should have at least hired a private investigator that knows procedure and how to handle these types of situations. Had they done that, they might have gotten a different reaction from Chance and Christine.

At least the evidence Jack and Kyle found was enough to pique Chance's curiosity, which inspired him to do some sleuthing of his own (off the clock) to see what he could find at the motel. And things just got a little weird for me from there. It would have been fine for Chance to have just found the program from Phyllis' memorial in the trash and have it checked for fingerprints. But the writers didn't stop there, for some reason, and, instead, gave Chance the power to identify a teardrop stain on the program that he wanted to run for DNA?! I almost started laughing out loud at this latest development! I definitely rolled my eyes -- A LOT. What was the point of that?

Surely Phyllis' fingerprints were on the program, and we all know that she's got a police record, so there was no reason to add this extra bit about the teardrop and mascara to Chance's discovery. Oy vey. Why?! I tend to give the benefit of the doubt more than most when it comes to crazy plot points (because that is the fun of soaps), but it just sounded so stupid and ridiculous! I almost felt bad for Conner Floyd, the actor that portrays Chance, for having to say those lines!

But let's move on from the teardrop, shall we? I'm curious to see what Phyllis and Summer are going to come up with to try to get Phyllis to avoid jail time once everyone learns that she is alive. Summer is insistent that they need to handle the situation "her way," but I have yet to hear her say what exactly her way is. At this point, what can they really do? I'm sure the writers have something up their sleeve, but this storyline has turned into a bit of a convoluted mess.

I've said it before, but Phyllis's best bet at avoiding jail time was to reveal that she was alive right when she killed Jeremy so that she could blame him for everything and tell them that she had killed him in self-defense (which is true). If Phyllis weren't one of my favorite characters (and Michelle Stafford one of my favorite actresses), I don't think I would even care about this storyline anymore. I'm anxious for this story to wrap up, but I'll at least try to enjoy the ride while I'm on it and hope for a satisfying conclusion.

It was nice to see Daniel in some scenes this week that didn't revolve around what to do about Phyllis. As much as I love their mother/son scenes in general, I'm glad that Summer insisted that Phyllis keep her distance from him until they sort out what to do. My favorite part about Daniel's return so far this year has been his reunion with Lily, so I was thrilled that they were sharing scenes again this past week! And it seems that Lucy is a fan of her father's romantic interest in Lily, too, which is a relief! I have really been liking Lucy and her generally positive attitude, so I am glad the writers aren't making her dislike the "new" woman in her father's life.

I had a fun time watching the scenes with Daniel, Lily, and Lucy when they were out to dinner with Billy, Chelsea, Connor, and Johnny! Even the awkward moments between the recent exes Billy and Lily were written in a way that made the scenes humorous instead of cringey. And I'm glad the kids got some scenes of their own, too, because it was kind of fun to see the next generation of Genoa City meet and start hanging out. It seemed like Johnny and Lucy were flirting a bit, much to Connor's chagrin. Could this be a young love triangle in the making? Are we gearing up for some teen angst storylines? It is, after all, that time of year that soaps try to entice younger viewers to start watching while they are out of school for the summer. Whether we see more from this young trio in the near future or not, it was a fun break from all the drama elsewhere in Genoa City.

And there was plenty of drama elsewhere in Genoa City -- especially in the Abbott household! Did I miss something that led Billy to believe that Ashley was planning some sort of nefarious coup at Jabot to take power away from Jack? The two siblings have gone to war over Jabot in the past, so it wouldn't be that far-fetched if Ashley were plotting something against Jack, but I don't recall Billy and Ashley interacting recently regarding business (feel free to hit the Comments section and let me know if I did miss something). Devon also mentioned to Abby this week that he wouldn't be surprised if Tucker's retirement were just for show and that he could be planning a coup of his own. Could Ashley and Tucker be working on something together?

I'd like to think Tucker wouldn't be stupid enough to be plotting something on his own and using Ashley as a pawn in some way to achieve his goals -- especially now that they are engaged! He truly seems to love her, and I want to believe he wouldn't do anything that could jeopardize their blossoming romance. Even though their engagement is just for show so that Ashley can teach Jack a lesson about his engagement to Diane (because he hates Tucker as much as Ashley hates Diane), methinks she doth protest too much! I was happy to hear her at least admit this week that she is starting to open her heart to him more and more and that a real engagement could be possible. I'm loving these two so much!

Not to be outdone by the Abbotts, the Newmans had plenty of drama of their own this past week. Adam and Victoria went toe to toe over the upcoming war they plan to wage with one another using their respective media companies, McCall Unlimited and Newman Media. I wonder if Adam is going to keep the name McCall Unlimited now that he is running Tucker's company or if he is going to rebrand as part of his new vision for the company? I have to admit, I tuned out a little bit when Victoria and Adam were arguing. It's always the same with these two because of their need to one-up each other in some attempt to prove to their father that they are the best Newman, or the most business-savvy Newman. And, of course, Victor loves every minute of it (even if he claims he just wants them all to get along as a family) because he's just a narcissist like that. It will be interesting to see how this latest Newman vs. Newman feud plays out. I have to admit, I am Team Adam all the way!

Adam wasn't the only one causing drama for Victoria this week. How great was it when Elena finally confronted Victoria and Nate about their affair? It was satisfying to see Elena standing up for herself, calling them out on their bad behavior, and quitting her medical podcast with Newman Media so that she doesn't have to work with them anymore. Like Audra, though, I am wondering if Elena is still going to move forward with doing a podcast featuring Victoria's ex-husband J.T. about surviving the brain tumor that made him lash out in uncharacteristic (and downright abusive) ways.

Now that Victoria has released Elena from her contract, and without any non-compete clauses to worry about, Elena could still do her medical podcast elsewhere and bring J.T. back to town for the feature. I wouldn't be surprised if they got J.T.'s portrayer, Thad Luckinbill, back to reappear on the show for a bit like they did for just that small cameo he did recently when J.T. had a video phone call with Elena. He did tell her when they chatted that one of the main reasons he wouldn't do her podcast was because it was at Newman, but that is not a problem anymore, so I wonder if he may reconsider now. It would be great to have his character back on a more full-time basis for a redemption arc. And it would be fun to see him make Victoria and Nate squirm a little bit (even though I am a fan of their coupling).

J.T. might not be the cause of Nate and Victoria's downfall, though, if Nate keeps secretly meeting with Audra to plot how they can move up the corporate ladder at Newman. I hope that Nate won't keep it a secret from Victoria that he has been sharing information with Audra. Victoria doesn't seem opposed to the idea of promoting Nate -- hell, she practically told Nick that she would prefer Nate in Nick's position at the company -- so it would be odd to keep her out of the loop. As for Audra, he and Victoria have already discussed the idea of her taking over as the CEO of Newman Media should Nate promote into a higher position within Newman Enterprises. Nate certainly does seem to like having secrets, though, so it's hard to say where his head is and how far he may go to get what he wants -- even if it means risking his new relationship with Victoria.

Although Adam and Victoria have plenty going on, their troubles do not compare to the trouble that Nick found himself in this week when he paid Sharon a visit! Nick learned about the bottle of Champagne Sharon had been sent anonymously with the note that read: "Memories are what life is made of," which is not very menacing but is sort of odd, given that someone would send it anonymously. When Nick noticed the red smudge on the label and said it looked like blood, I got chills down my spine! It's been so long since Sharon had a real storyline that I hadn't expected this sinister turn of events. Sure, we've seen an unknown person watching Sharon recently, but I never expected her to be in any real danger. After Nick mentioned the blood, though, I immediately became hooked and wanted to know where this storyline was leading. But I certainly didn't expect us to learn by the end of the week exactly where we were being led!

When Sharon received a second "gift" later in the week -- a postcard from Colorado that read, "Where heaven's a little closer" -- I immediately began trying to figure out who from her past might be stalking her. But before I could think for too long, Sharon figured it out herself -- Cameron Kirsten must be trying to come after her again! WHAT?! I was floored when I heard that name again (it has been 19 years since he was last seen in Genoa City, after all).

For those of you that are newer viewers and may be confused as to why we should be worried about this man from Sharon's past, I'll give you a very brief history: Cameron is a man that Sharon had a one-night stand with when she was visiting Denver (hence, the postcard from Colorado that he sent her this week). During their encounter, he beat her very badly and even tried to suffocate her with a pillow! Sharon managed to escape and tried to put the incident behind her by just leaving Denver and coming home to Genoa City, where she thought she would be safe. But Cameron had become infatuated with her and showed up in Genoa City, looking for her. When he found her, he tried to attack her again, and she fought back by knocking him out with a Champagne bottle (hence, the first gift he sent her -- the Champagne bottle with the blood smear).

Sharon thought she had killed Cameron when she hit him with the Champagne bottle, and she didn't want Nick to know about what happened in Denver because they had just gotten remarried, so she moved Cameron's body to an alley (and it was later moved into a sewer, but that's a whole other part of the story I won't go into). Unfortunately for Sharon, Cameron had only been unconscious. Even more unfortunate for Sharon, Cameron started "haunting" her to try to drive her crazy. In the end, Nick ended up saving Sharon's life, the whole truth came out, and Cameron was sent to prison. For a more in-depth telling of Cameron's story, be sure to check out Sharon's Character Profile page here on Soap Central.

I was fresh out of high school when Cameron showed up the first time, and it was a truly terrifying storyline that gripped me. He is a great, one-of-a-kind villain that can be charming one minute and monstrous the next. I am truly stunned, scared, and excited to have him back on the show. I can't even begin to imagine what the writers have planned for him (and Sharon and Nick) this time around! Could this be a storyline that ultimately brings Sharon and Nick back together as Nick tries to protect her from Cameron once again? I was kind of hoping for a Nick and Elena pairing next, but it's inevitable that Nick and Sharon find their way back to one another eventually. And a Nick/Sharon reunion would certainly be great news for Adam and Sally fans like me!

Oh, and before I sign-off for this week, here's a fun fact about the actor that portrays Cameron, Linden Ashby: he is the real-life husband of Susan Walters (Diane). It will be interesting to see if they share any scenes together, but for Diane's sake, I hope she steers clear of Cameron!

Well, that's all from me this week, folks! Don't forget to hit the Comments (here on the site and on social media posts throughout the week) to share your opinions, too! What are your thoughts about this past week on Y&R? And how are you feeling about Cameron's surprise return?! Can't wait to hear from you!

Until next time,Vance

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