Faking it in Genoa City

"Fake it 'til you make it" was the name of the game this past week on The Young and the Restless -- and plenty of Genoa City citizens were faking it! Read on as our Two Scoops columnist calls out all the fakers and breaks down the latest happenings on Y&R.

It's too bad that The Young and the Restless is owned by a different network than the competition series Making It and Baking It because, after all that went down this past week in Genoa City, they could make a new spin-off featuring Y&R characters called Faking It! Phyllis, Diane, Kyle, Heather, Jordan, and Ashley (well, Ashley's alter identities, to be more precise) could all be competing for who is the best at faking it.

Let's start with Phyllis because, to be honest, I want to get it over with. This last little stunt that she pulled (literally, when she pulled the fire alarm on Danny and Christine just as they were about to "make love") was immature and all-around cringeworthy to watch. And I really hope she was sincere when, while she sat alone at the bar after her little stunt, she declared that she was done with Danny and ready to move on. I've been ready for her to move on since about two minutes after this storyline started. It's been a lousy attempt at reigniting an old love triangle from decades ago, which is too bad, because it might have actually had some potential to be a decent plot had it been handled more maturely.

This whole love triangle storyline has almost felt like one that was written for teenagers or 20-year-olds, which has not put any of the characters in the best light. I think it is great that they are reuniting Danny and Christine after all these years, but they (and Phyllis) shouldn't all be acting like they are in that age group anymore. If they wanted us to care about this triangle, they needed to take more time to make us believe that there was a real love connection between Phyllis and Danny and that there was real potential for them to end up together. Instead, they basically chalked it up to: "Well, she loved him once before, so we don't have to do all that work; instead, we'll simply just say that she's back in love with him again." The show truly is wasting the talent that is Michelle Stafford with some of their choices for Phyllis lately.

Phyllis shouldn't be written as immature. Phyllis is conniving. Phyllis is fierce. Phyllis is vulnerable (but great at faking that she's not). Phyllis is seductive. Phyllis is a force to be reckoned with. But you wouldn't know any of that about her character if you judged her by the way she is currently being written. I mean, she's gone from faking her own death to pulling fire alarms? That is quite the downgrade, as far as plots go. The Phyllis I know and love would have started a real fire! And she certainly would have done a better job at both covering her tracks and being more convincing at denying it when Christine confronted her. But, sadly, Phyllis did not do a great job of faking it, and that just doesn't make sense.

I'd be fine with them just moving right along from this love triangle now and forgetting it ever happened (again), but if the writers did want to redeem themselves, then I think it would be interesting to learn that Phyllis has a drinking problem, and that's why she's been acting so erratically. We've certainly seen her drinking by herself at a lot of bars over the last few months, so it wouldn't be entirely out of the blue. And it could be interesting if she and Nikki run into each other at an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting and begin to form a hesitant friendship that provides us with some comic relief occasionally. I would much rather watch something like that instead of this Phyllis/Danny/Christine triangle mess.

But enough about Phyllis. Let's talk about our next contestant(s) on Faking It: Diane and Kyle.

Turns out Diane is a bit of a faker when it comes to how good she is at her new job as co-CEO of Jabot. After Kyle made changes to some of her work "to improve it" without asking her, Diane was livid and accused him of trying to undermine her out of resentment for her taking the job that he thinks should be his. I can understand why she would be annoyed that he didn't come and talk to her first, but she's not being rational when she accuses him of trying to undermine her. Instead, I think she is lashing out because she knows the work he did improved her draft of the work, and it made her feel insecure and wonder if maybe he would be better in the position.

But, of course, Kyle was faking it, too, when he told his mother that he thought he was doing her a favor and that there was no malice in his actions. His excuse that he did it because he always has someone proofread his own work just didn't quite sit right with Diane. I agree with her that Kyle should have come to her about it and asked if she wanted him to proofread it first so that she could approve any changes. It was refreshing, though, to hear Kyle confess to Jack later that Diane was right and that he does resent her and was looking for signs that she might not be up to the job.

And Diane wasn't the only one that Kyle was faking it with this past week. When Kyle and Claire ran into each other at Society, he tried to play coy about knowing about her shady past as Jordan's partner in crime. I love that Claire picked up on that and called him out. It was great! I really liked their scenes together; in fact, it's probably the most that I have liked Kyle's character in a while now, so that was a pleasant surprise. He's just sort of been in the background since his divorce with Summer, so it was refreshing seeing him start to emerge from that -- and maybe he'll even move on with someone new? It certainly seemed like there was more than just friendship starting to form between him and Claire (unless they were just faking it).

Another pleasant surprise this past week was the Lily and Heather showdown. Or, more accurately, Lily's smackdown of Heather. It did not disappoint! I love how Lily immediately shut Heather down the second Heather tried to talk to her at Crimson Lights. Unfortunately for Heather (but fortunately for viewers), when she ignored Lily's request to leave her alone, she ended up getting met with a lot of hard truths as Lily confronted her about essentially faking being her friend. I thought that scene was really well written (and acted). It was so important for Lily to remind Heather that when Heather and Daniel betrayed her by being together while Lily was out of town, it was a double betrayal because they were all supposed to be friends. It wasn't just her boyfriend (now ex) betraying her that was making it all so difficult -- it was also about two people who she thought were her friends stabbing her in the back.

I couldn't believe Heather actually had the gall to try to play the innocent act with Lily and make it seem as though she never set out to get back together with Daniel. She tried to make it all sound so innocent because falling back in love "was a surprise to both of us," "it wasn't planned," and they never set out to hurt Lily. I don't know about anyone else, but it was so satisfying to me when Lily snapped back at her and said she believes they never set out to hurt her because it was clear that she wasn't a consideration to either one of them at all! I wanted to stand up and cheer after that cutting remark. It's so true, too!

Like most lawyers, Heather may be an expert at faking sincerity when the situation calls for it, but Lily could see right through it and put her in her place. It's true that Heather "zeroed-in" on Daniel as soon as Lily left town, and it was clear she wanted to get him back; so, I'm definitely on Team Lily, and I fully support her spiteful attitude toward them both. I really loved them as a couple, and I feel like I'm as bitter about it as Lily. I'm not sure if it was more satisfying for us viewers or for Lily when she got to fire both Heather and Daniel from Chancellor-Winters later that day!

But I hope she doesn't come to regret making a business decision as an emotional reaction to a personal problem. Billy and Devon both warned her that there could be consequences, which I'm afraid may have been a hint at trouble to come (but I hope I'm wrong). Lily is going through enough turmoil already right now and seems to be paying the most for other people's decisions.

Jordan, on the other hand, seems to be able to wiggle her way loose from facing any consequences for the multitude of crimes she's committed over the past four months. After the long March Madness weekend, we finally learned on Monday's episode whether the Newman women (Nikki, Victoria, and Claire) left Jordan to die after she drank the toxin that was meant to kill Nikki and Victor. As I predicted in my column last week, Jordan poisoning herself was not fatal. It turned out that Nikki called 9-1-1, and they were able to save Jordan's life -- and I'm not sure how I feel about any of it.

On the one hand, it's good that we don't have to worry about any of the Newmans being blamed for Jordan's death and getting arrested for it. On the other hand, now that we know Jordan has escaped police custody at the hospital, it means that we are going to have to sit through the umpteenth round of Jordan vs. the Newmans as she undoubtedly will target Nikki and Victor on their upcoming anniversary trip (unless she decides to go after Claire instead). Since there is a warrant out for her arrest, I don't know how she'll manage to get through an airport in order to follow them wherever they go, but she is quite possibly the best faker (and master of disguise) in Genoa City, so it wouldn't surprise me if she pulls it off! I just hope this upcoming showdown between them (wherever it takes place) ends up being Jordan's last stand. As much as I love Coleen Zenk and will hate to see her go, I think it's time for Jordan to get her final comeuppance (well past time, really -- it's been a long four months).

Before we wrap things up this week, let's discuss our final faker(s): Ashley's alter identities. It seems the real Ashley is rarely in control of her own mind these days, and we've spent a lot more time getting to know her alters and how their personalities are different. As they all continue to battle over being in control as the primary identity, it is becoming more and more difficult for them to keep "faking it" as the real Ashley, and now people are starting to notice that something may be seriously wrong with her.

Eileen Davidson continues to knock it out of the park in her role(s). The way she switches from one alter identity to the next has been great. She's not just changing her voice a little for each one; there is an entire shift in her demeanor, and the way she carries herself indicates which alter she is at any given time. I expect that we will see her get nominated for an Emmy for this storyline -- and it's exciting to be feeling that energy already because the storyline is just getting started!

I loved seeing Jack interact with the alter that seems to be a teenager -- I think that one is named "Ash"? Those scenes were a lot of fun. And then, just a few scenes later, the other alter was in control, snapping at Jack and Traci for butting into her personal life and determined as ever to get Tucker back. Her scenes with Tucker this past week were great, too, and I love how much you can tell that he genuinely cares for her and wants to help her because he can tell something isn't right with her. After seeing the real Ashley looking all disheveled and unsure of where she's been in the "Next Week on Y&R..." promo at the end of Friday's episode, I am really excited to tune in -- and I love being excited about tuning in!

That's all from me for this week, folks! Don't forget to hit the Comments (here on the site and on social media posts throughout the week) to let me know what you think and to share your opinions about the show, too!

Until next time,Vance

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