It was one of those weeks when I both loved and hated the events being enacted before my eyes. Secrets were exposed, lies were told, and the hypocrites were out in full force, often leaving me shaking my head with scorn.
The Titan is tottering. The War between the Newmans got uglier when Victor put his plan to make Adam the fall guy into motion. As usual, the scribes added an ironic twist to the storyline by having Adam claim to have forged Victor's signature on the trust fund documents when forgery was one of the reasons Adam was ousted from the family in the first place. Talk about being caught between a rock and a hard place! The only way to save the woman he loved and the one person in the whole town who cared whether he lived or died, Adam would have to help the father who hated him save a company he was barred from working for. Sure, the plan came with a trust fund for Adam, but even if there was no monetary gain, I believe he would have agreed to anything that would free Sharon from the false charges Victor's actions had caused.
Speaking of the lawsuit, I'm all over the place on this one. When everyone has done wrong, who do you root for? For instance, I doubt anyone will dispute the fact that Victor is a rude, insulting, egotistical, controlling, supercilious, and dangerous as a junkyard dog, S.O.B. Nor do I think many would disagree with Victor' oft-repeated fact that he built the company from nothing, etc. The bottom line is he created the company, earned the money, quadrupled it many times over, and made all the hard decisions to make it what it is today. He did it by wheeling, dealing, lying, bribing, cheating, and I'm sure outright stealing.
And other than isolated occasions, his children not only had no real problem with much of it, but engaged in some of the same behavior themselves, from the comfort of their opulent offices while spending the inflated salaries they were undoubtedly paid to play at business when they weren't attending to one of their many crises. If they got a bee in their bonnet, they would simply quit or be fired and off they'd go to pursue some other profession until they got over their snit. And during their often-extended periods of absence, the company soldiered on with no input of their blood, sweat, and tears.
Now, according to the Newman children, or brats, as I have chosen to refer to them for the remainder of this column, they complain Daddy was too controlling, manipulated them, and basically made their lives a near-unendurable living hell. So they want to separate Daddy from his money now instead of having to wait until they receive it via his Last Will and Testament. They keep talking about Victor's control as if they were living some horrible life. They lived on their father's land, worked in their father's company, drove the best, wore the most expensive, ate the tastiest, and generally lived so high on the hog, it was a wonder they could breathe in the thin air at that elevated altitude. And as much as Nick is crying foul now, I don't remember a single squeaky squawk of complaint when Victor provided that blank check for him to buy Restless Style out from under Jack.
I guess the brats think what they are doing is right because they're doing in through a court of law. But theft is theft. I could maybe understand if they were simply asking for the control of their trust funds. Even though they didn't contribute a single cent. Or if they had been working for the company free of charge all these years. I'm not saying Victor is completely right. He did provide the trust fund for them. And he did, in one of his softer, weaker moments, revise it to give them more control. But Victoria demanding Beauty of Nature? Where did that greedy demand come from? If she wants a company, let her do like Daddy did. Build her own. Is Victor wrong to resist their ransom demand for such an astronomical sum? If it were your hard-earned money, wouldn't you do anything to keep it? Wouldn't anyone?
Take Abby for instance. I like her for her feistiness, her vulnerability, her empathy, and staunch support of her family. In fact, she's usually what I think of as one of Genoa City's golden nuggets. I began the week liking Abby, but by week's end, I was no more impressed with her than I was with her two bratty siblings. At first Abby had me feeling her pain, when she showed her devastation at the possible loss of her father's love, but she lost my support when she showed her true nature at the arbitration. Adam's lie was still echoing in the air, and she was the first brat to leap to her feet and shrilly shriek, "You mean, we get NOTHING?!"
When did Abby get so entitled? She never worked so much as a minute for Newman or anyone else for that matter. I guess the Naked Heiress is too good to risk breaking a nail by lifting a Newman Enterprise-labeled folder, yet spends money like it pours freely from the faucet of her kitchen sink. Heck, she wouldn't even be a Newman if not for her nasty mother's sordid sperm snatch. But she is legally a Carlton, so why didn't she pressure Mommy to force her to relinquish the trust fund left her by Brad?
But even though I don't like what the brats are doing, I have to admit the scribes have come up with a very interesting dynamic that has me totally invested in the story. The rich kids against their billionaire father. It's sad, even horrible in a way, and they definitely come across as greedy brats who want more than they worked for or deserve. But the possible showdown could be awesome and heartbreaking at the same time. Think of it, the jubilant Newman kids, parading out triumphant at the victory over the father that has always been unbeatable. While a stone-faced Victor stares at them, through them, past them, or stubbornly at his phone. Pretending not to care when you know his heart is breaking. Whoever wins, father or children, I have a feeling the victory might be hollow and the joy in it fleeting.
I guess the Newman kids can be done with their daddy if they win the case. With all of his money they are likely to get, I expect Nick will finally move off his father's land onto land of his own. I presume he'll have to buy a business, too, since he won't be working at Daddy's anymore. As for the whiny one, Victoria hasn't worked a single day since she left Newman, yet she didn't seem to be hurting in the least, even before she married her cash cow, who was able to pay two million dollars for a baby that she will likely pay no more attention to than she did to Reed once her medical crisis was over. If she gets Beauty of Nature, it will be interesting to see how she fares working with Tucker. And Abby? Well she'll be able to take off her clothes to her heart's content, until the entire world knows the location of every bump and blemish.
The hypocrites of Genoa City all came out to play this week and put their two pennies in the pot about the lawsuit or something else they were feeling superior about. Billy Abbott, usually a particular favorite of mine, had me hurling taunts at his TV image a couple of times. First it was his threat to take Delia away from Chloe because of her association with Kevin, and through him, Angelo the mob man. What is with this recent trend of Genoa City daddies that want to cut the mommies out of their babies' lives anyway? This from a man who bought a baby on the black market then hired a murderess and candidate for a mental health intervention to care for her.
Hiring Jana to take care of your child? That's cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs crazy. Really, think about it. Would any mother out there really hire Jana as a nanny for their child? Whether the tumor made her do it or not, this is the woman who locked the niece you loved in a room and set the place on fire. She murdered Carmen Mesta by bashing her in the head with a flashlight.
I know in Genoa City, certain women have been known to flip-flop from insane to sane in the blink of an eye, but I wouldn't bring them into my home to take care of my baby. Funny, with Jana, every time she hurts or kills someone, she gets to blame it on some medical malfunction that no one I ever knew suffered. I mean, have you ever met anyone who suddenly went emotionless with everyone except the man who kidnapped her, stuffed her in a wooden box, and watched her suffer? Hmmm, I guess Sharon's behavior isn't as odd and unlikely as one might think.
Now that Ryder has returned to town, I see why the scribes wrote Jana as a nanny. How long will it take Jana to put the pieces together from the clues Ryder has already provided and presumably will continue to provide, and realize the baby she coos to every day is the baby that could win her Kevin's love? The way I'm feeling about Victoria these days, I don't think I'll be crying a river for her loss of Lucy.
Billy next earned my scorn for the article he should have saved for a Father's Day issue since it was more about comparing his superior, perfect Papa to Victoria's apparently inferior, inadequate one. Which to me was a little like comparing an apple to an orange. While John wasn't a father like Victor, neither did John's children try to separate their father from a chunk of his wealth and his company while he was still living. They at least waited until he was dead and buried before haggling over it.
Then there's Jack. I caught myself just before my snort of scornful laughter caused me to roll off the bed and crash to the floor when this disreputable pot called Victor a blackened skillet. "This man has no problem screwing over his own kids," a disgusted Jack spewed angrily to Tucker. This from the man who at one time or another has royally screwed over his father, both his nieces, all his siblings, at least two stepmothers, hell, you may as well say his entire family. Guess it takes one to instantly recognize another, huh, Jacky?
And I'm not letting Ashley off the hook either. So indignant that Tucker and Jack were in cahoots without telling her. And supposedly so concerned about the disintegrating relationship between her sperm donor and his test tube daughter. No amount of money is worth that, she was heard to say during the week. But how quickly she urged Neil to intervene to keep her daughter from losing all that money she was after. And though I waited for it, I failed to see her thrust those unethically obtained Beauty of Nature numbers back at Tucker unread.
Lastly, when it comes to hypocrites, I can't omit Michael from the list. Though he often trots out that tired line about being an officer of the court, obligated to report wrongdoing wherever it shows its face, he's as much a liar, manipulator, and criminal as the rich man he represents. And he regularly stoops so low when bending the law, he's lucky he doesn't break himself in half. But, in spite of that, I can't help but enjoy the relationship between Michael and Victor.
Okay, at first I thought the Cane sightings were simply caused by Lily's grief and reluctance to let go of Cane completely. But the more she questions whether she is losing her mind, the more convinced I am that she's not. I suspect Colin is behind it all. Who else would have a motive, warped though it sounds, to want to drive Lily round the bend? This is the same man, remember, who thought concocting a convoluted plot to force Cane back into the family by setting a murderous man loose on his own son was a good and rational idea. Colin said this wasn't over. And since Lily was foolish enough to allow Colin practically free rein of her home and the twins' room, I'm not surprised she's hearing things on her baby monitor, and the sightings of Cane are increasing. Colin is probably insane himself and may want Cane's babies to replace the son and daughter whose deaths he was indirectly responsible for.
If that is the case, it's difficult to feel sorry for silly Lily and the rest of her family. Have they all forgotten that Cane had a special hatred of this very man? Why haven't any of them spent a single second wondering why? I hope she finds that note Cane left before Colin gets whatever he's after.
Okay, enough about winners, losers, and hypocrites, and moving on to a tried and true soap staple -- plain old brotherly backstabbing. Neil apparently didn't learn anything from the last time he went poaching on his brother's love grounds. That time, Malcolm disappeared, wound up presumed dead, and went off to live with lions. But this is a much meaner, more violent incarnation of Malcolm, and he might deal with Neil's betrayal by ripping his head right off his neck. Not that I care about Malcolm's reaction, because I don't care a whit for his rather boorish behind and hope it causes him to run away for forever this time. Hopefully Sofia won't wind up pregnant with no clue which brother is the father. Because I'd much rather see Neil and smokin' hot Leslie become a couple. Sofia having Neil's baby would be a fitting irony, though. Malcolm messed with Neil's wife and conceived Lily. Payback, as they say, can be a big, bad female dog, huh?
Finally, though Adam, and by association, Sharon, are despised by scores of fans these days, I am an official fan and now look forward to their appearances. No, as I've said before, I don't like the gaslighting, baby-stealing part, but if I'm going to enjoy my watching hour, some things I have to put out of my head. Much like I've been forced to accept Phyllis' total rewrite and whitewashed metamorphosis into super mom, super sleuth, super lover, heck, super everything.
But, I digress, so let me haul myself back to Adam's bandwagon. Michael Muhney's talented portrayal of the many facets of Adam has hooked me and reeled me in like a fish on a line. If I had any lingering question as to whether or not Adam loved Sharon more than himself, he convinced me by taking himself out of her life, not because he was protecting his own behind, but because he was trying to do what was right for her and give her back the daughter he caused her to lose. And, just my worthless, biased opinion, but that is much more than any of the other Genoa City gentlemen who have claimed to love Sharon would be willing to do.
As always, there's plenty more to say, but it will have to wait for a future column. So, until you see my biased opinions in this space again, I hope you enjoy reading what your fellow fans thought about recent Genoa City things.
