Credit: CBS screenshot
Young & Restless managed to assassinate yet another character this week as an ill-advised triangle played out, and although we loved Sharon’s launch party taking place onscreen, other storylines left us with questions.
Launch This
I was pleasantly surprised that we got to see Sharon’s launch party. It was a heart-warming episode given that Mariah and Tessa popped up and that Sharon renamed her company after Cassie. It also felt like another pivot toward a “Shick” reunion, which I have mixed feelings about. Love the chemistry, hate that it’s probably a dead end for the characters.
Someone who didn’t show up at the launch was Chance, who was still reeling from Sharon breaking things off. Although I found it odd that people weren’t asking Sharon about his absence, his reasons for not attending were realistic enough. Summer, of course, was on hand to try and cheer him up and decided to kick things off by bringing him clothes to upgrade his fashion sense. It was the very same thing Sally did when she started dating Jack. How about a little imagination, folks?
Smack Jack
I kinda love how they brought Lauren, and then Jack and his history with Nikki into the alcohol storyline, but it all left me wondering what was the point of bringing on Brian Gaskill as Seth? Maybe Nikki will fall off the wagon again and seek him out. We all know what that could mean, muhaha.
One aspect of the story that bugged me was Jack telling Diane that Nikki was drinking again. As much as I understood him not wanting to keep a secret from his wife, given the history between the two women, that’s something that could be detrimental to Nikki’s recovery. Jack should have had his conversation with Nikki first, and asked her permission to bring Diane into the loop.
Jack why and why did you tell Diane what is going on with Nikki !! Lauren confide in you and didnt ask you to tell Diane 🙄🙄🙄! #YR
— Olga In (@Olgain) January 18, 2024
In related, Jack making the unqualified Diane co-CEO was utterly ridiculous, as was Kyle deciding to back off out of some new sense of self-awareness. Did anyone buy this doo-doo?!
Escape Plan?
I’m enjoying the pacing of the Claire and Victoria stuff as they tentatively inch toward a relationship. The hug was a nice little payoff. Meanwhile, it was classic Victor for him to grill Cole, who handled it as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. Victor was kinda speaking for all of us when he told Nikki that he was wondering if Victoria and Cole would get back together. As I’ve said in previous columns, I’m all for a hook-up, but not so much a rekindled relationship.
In related, just when Claire let down her guard, hugged Victoria, and began to look to the future, the preview teased that she’ll receive an urgent call from Jordan. Will she hang up on her? I think not. What drama would there be in that? It will be interesting to see what Jordan’s angle is… I was wondering if maybe she would ask Claire to advocate for her to be moved from prison to Fairview or something. All the better to escape from, my dears!
Gaslighting
Tucker got a bit of a wake-up call this week when Kyle, of all people, pointed out that aside from Audra, he was all alone in the world. McCall’s subsequent meeting with Audra confirmed that he is, in fact, all alone in the world, as she’s done with him too. At this point, he’s sticking around out of sheer stubborness I guess. He’s certainly lost his allure where viewers are concerned.
As for Ashley suddenly going down this rather haunted road, believing Tucker is gaslighting her, I’m not sure where I land. She went from confidently meeting with him over the sale of Glissade to cowering, frightened, and unsure of her own recall within a matter of days. It kinda felt like the writers were trying to gaslight us. That said, her issue makes sense given her mental health history, and Tucker’s aware of it, so it’s believable that he would attempt to gaslight her as payback for her taking part in her family’s plan to release the scandalous dirt on him. I’m glad Traci is getting involved next week!
No Respect
The character I lost respect for this week? Drumroll, please… Unsurprisingly, it’s Danny Romalotti. Lotsa people are out there blaming this on Phyllis, and I’m not saying it wasn’t calculated, but Phyllis isn’t the one dating Christine. Backing up a bit, Christine and Phyllis’s exchange at Society, in which Chris taunted Red with news of her pending romantic getaway with Danny, seemed to spur Phyllis on. Not that Christine deserved any of what happened, but she did play a role by poking the bear…
Well Ms. Bugs Buggy, you shot your mouth off to Phyllis and threw your plans in her face with a smile. You had to know something was gonna happen… #YR pic.twitter.com/EfiOL1nU79
— BigBoss (@News_Dr252) January 18, 2024
Now, we all know Phyllis is going to Phyllis. And few know it better than Christine and Danny. And while one could argue he was just being a nice guy by agreeing to meet Phyllis at the jazz lounge, he should have hit the road immediately upon seeing her flash her lingerie. Or when he found out she’d posted the video. At any point, really. The fact that he stayed and ended up in a liplock with her (in which he was an avid participant!) is on him. Sending mixed messages doesn’t begin to cover it.
Danny trying to tell Phyllis he doesn’t want her…. Well Danny Boy you were kissing her passionately back with your hands all over her back and hair. #yr
— Nina Cortland (@NinaCortland1) January 17, 2024
Danny then went out to the dining room, where he proceeded to greet Christine with, “Hey, Gorgeous…” and tried to kiss her. He was not about to come clean about anything until she told him he was busted. So sleazy!
Danny popped up all cheery like every slimy guy out there deceiving women. #YR
— Not your sista (@sista_loc) January 17, 2024
This ‘triangle’ do-over wasn’t hitting from the start, and now it’s basically amounted to more character assassination. I’d rather have watched Phyllis get herself into hot water alongside Tucker McCall and Danny and Christine reconnect and ride off into the sunset. Viewers’ thoughts on Danny:
Honestly this is on Danny at this point. Phyllis is Phyllis-ing but he’s enabling it. #YR
— Ashley Elizabeth (@beyourburden) January 16, 2024
Danny stopped the kiss but first he enjoyed it. #YR
— Roslyn 🪅🎈 (@calirozzy) January 17, 2024
Instead of whooping Phyllis Christine and Nina should be whooping Danny’s ass because he was the one that let it get this far with Phyllis without putting a stop to it #YR pic.twitter.com/oaaUwJx6Jt
— DeeDee The TMZ of Soaps™️ is in her Villain Era (@TMZDeeDee) January 17, 2024
One last word on this… I’ve seen a ton of ageism out there related to the Phyllis/Danny/Christine stuff. I’m not a fan. People don’t stop having sex or having feelings just because they hit a certain age. Should they know how to walk away and behave more maturely? Perhaps, but plenty of folks in real-life and on soaps find themselves in relationship drama well over the age of 40. While it may be unfortunate, it’s not gross. It’s human.
The opinions expressed are my own. Please feel free to share your thoughts on this week’s Young & Restless in the comments.
Where are they now? See what’s up with 20+ former soap stars in the gallery below.
ncG1vNJzZmirn5a9tHrSoZykpp%2BswG%2BvzqZmraCVYsawwc2gZJqmlGLBqbGMq5ysrJyawLR70qiYqZqfrXx4fZRpa21nqaTCr7OMq5ysrJyawLR5yaipnZmeYr%2BmwNSrpWg%3D