Well, Nick sure put everything in motion to stop Chloe from doing her "twirling" victory dance of revenge against Adam, didn't he? But then again, Nick's been training for years to be the gallant knight on a flashy white, charging stallion to rescue any damsel in distress that he finds in the vicinity. And he was certainly a "nick" in Chloe's celebratory crown of vengeance as well as in the mustached dark warrior's armor of payback for Adam. Chelsea had been blinded as to what was hiding in plain sight, which was her best friend's deceit and betrayal, and Nick opened his new love's eyes to the truth. But what surprised me was how willing Victor was to go along with Chloe's version of Adam's demise. Victor knew better than anyone what Chloe was truly capable of, yet he chose to entangle himself in her web of lies. The "kinder and gentler" Victor seems to have lost a step.
In the old days, which weren't really all that long ago, Victor would never have let anyone, especially someone who had already been diagnosed with an emotional and mental instability, snow him the way Chloe plowed over him. Chloe buried Victor with so much talk of the diary pages and his contribution to framing Adam for Constance's death that he forgot the hatred she harbored deep inside toward his younger son. While he was quick to doubt Sharon's legitimate efforts toward a recovery to a stable and healthy mentality, Victor never once questioned if Chloe had truly recuperated from her own emotionally unbalanced state of mind. I never understood that, especially since Victor was very aware that Chloe was still burning with anger over Adam's part in her darling daughter's death. Victor knew Chloe loathed Adam. That's why he brought her back to Genoa City -- to help him get even with his son. But, of course, Victor never meant to kill Adam.
You would think that such an intelligent, savvy, cunning, and manipulative man would have figured that it might be a teensy-weensy bit dangerous to bring an unstable person back to town just to get revenge. But seriously, Victor doesn't seem to think that far ahead. Either that or he just doesn't care about the consequences. He obviously didn't learn his lesson from bringing the Jack doppelgänger, Marco, to town, even after it all went horribly wrong and ended up placing Vic's very own family in the path of harm. And speaking of paths, at times, Victor became Ian Ward's ally. Ian, who had brought such detestable trauma to both Victor's wife, Nikki, and his granddaughter, Summer.
Apparently, Victor Newman can forget past injustices of an enemy when the situation suits him. So, of course, it's a no-brainer that he would bring Chloe back into his family's universe to cause even more damage. Somehow, I don't think he ever saw Chloe murdering Adam in his crystal ball, though. No, Victor never saw that coming.
But Chloe's hatred burned so brightly that the flames couldn't possibly be extinguished, and the blaze scorched the Newmans in a horrifying and irrevocable way. Adam was lost to his family forever, and his son, Connor, would have to grow up without his dad in his life. But Chloe didn't care about that or even about the fact that if Adam's killer were to be revealed, she would lose everything she loved and be left with nothing. And I don't count Kevin in her lost cherished items, because she was never truly in love with him, anyway. Well, okay, she cared about what Kevin could do for her, when the walls seemed to be closing in on her, but she never really loved him. If she had, she would never have dragged him into her craziness again and again and again. But as long as Kevin was willing to be used, he was Chloe's perfect patsy. It's amazing Kevin has any self-esteem left.
As weird as it sounds, thank goodness Gloria was there for her son. When Glo reminded Kevin that he would always have a family and that she would never abandon him, it was just what he needed from his not-so-perfect mother. It's true that Gloria would never win the Mother of the Year Award; however she has made it known that she has always loved both of her sons. Sure, it may be a dysfunctional kind of love, yet it was just what Kevin needed to hear. Gloria expressed that she was proud of her youngest son for remaining strong and for facing the truth about the bride who had left him at the altar. Let's just hope that this is Kevin's last seductive dance with crazy Chloe. Too bad he blew his chance with Mariah, who really did love him.
But thankfully, Nick pulled the cloaking device (Star Trek lingo!) off of Chloe's façade, which was her version of Adam's explosive "accident." In typical Nick fashion, he rode to the rescue and exposed the villainy that lurked in Chelsea's midst. Hey, maybe Nick can don his own cloak and take over for Dylan as Genoa City's newest superhero. Paul has an opening available. Nick watched Chloe run away, as her jet departed down the runway, and blast up into the air. The expression on Nick's face reflected the hope of catching his brother's killer getting blown sky-high. But, of course, Chloe had to get away. But she's too complex and complicated of a character to just disappear forever. We may see Chloe again sometime in the future.
But at least Nick got the honor of telling his dear old dad that Victor had just helped Adam's murderer escape into the night. Fortunately for Chloe, Victor secured her a private jet and did not leave her with the gamble of not getting a seat by booking a flight on United Airlines. Oh, those are not-so-friendly skies indeed. Chloe might have actually missed her chance at freedom if she had been "voluntarily" removed from a United plane. But on Vic's jet, Chloe was probably merrily whistling the tune to "Leaving on a Jet Plane" by John Denver, later recorded by Peter, Paul, and Mary. "I don't know when I'll be back again." Yeah, ain't that the truth?
Nick probably questioned if he had been just been Victor's pawn all along to aid in Chloe's departure, as the Mustache seems to maneuver his favorite pieces all over the chess board. But the look on Victor's face said it all. He was shocked. But again, how could Victor never even suspect that Chloe had offed his son? If he were to think back on it, Victor would probably kick his own rear for not seeing the obvious. Chloe was good in her camouflage as Chelsea's long-lost bestie.
Why, no one would even suspect that Chloe would ever do anything to hurt Chelsea. It was just unthinkable. Yeah, right. The only honest feelings Chloe has for anyone is for herself. Her love for Chelsea and the love of her own daughter, Bella, should have stopped her in her tracks. So, how could Victor see something nobody else could see? I guess Vic isn't as all-powerful as he would like for us to believe.
None of that really mattered to Nikki, who blamed Victor completely for Adam's demise, and she was right. Adam would very much still be alive if Victor hadn't brought a totally unbalanced woman back to town just to teach his son a lesson. Okay, yes, Victor, lesson learned -- oh wait, Adam is no longer alive to appreciate the error of his ways. Never one to learn a lesson himself, Victor decided the best choice of action would be to avenge Adam's death by bringing Chloe back to town.
Hey, maybe Chloe can then kill off some more of Victor's loved ones. Connor is Adam's son, so he could be number one on her hit list. I guess it's a good thing Chloe doesn't know that Adam is Christian's biological father. Or does she? No, I believe that secret is only between Victor and Chelsea. And they had better keep it that way if they don't want Christian's days to be numbered. If Victor has ever been sincere about putting family above all else, he had better start doing that now. However, Nikki had her doubts about that.
In fact, Nikki insisted she had let her blind faith and unconditional love prevent her from seeing the truth about her husband, which constantly resulted in her enabling Victor. Nikki observed that when the great Victor Newman loses control, the people he cares most about go down in flames, so there would be no forgiveness this time. However, Nikki also convinced both Nick and Victoria to keep quiet about Victor's involvement in Adam's murder for the sake of the family. Really? That sounds like another excuse to protect Victor and to stop him from going back to prison, so wasn't she just enabling him again? Nikki said she would make her hubby pay...how? By giving Victor the silent treatment for a week or two, until she cools off? Oh, that will teach him all right.
You know that Nikki's brand of punishment will only be a temporary thing, because it always is. She can say that her family's silence on Victor's culpability is all because of business, but Nikki is just kidding herself. She's gone down this same road so many times, she must have the map of it branded into her brain. Victor does a no-no, and Nikki slaps his wrist and says no more. She then sits him quietly in a corner for his punishment, and when she gets over her anger, Nikki does an instant turnabout and wonders how she could have been such a fool to ever mistrust him. We've seen this time after time after time. The tune's always the same; it just has slightly different lyrics. Nikki could easily wake up tomorrow morning and eagerly wait for Victor to return to her bed.
Seriously, Victor is bent way out of shape for something he should know won't last. How dare Nikki kick him out of the family? How dare Nick try to come between Victor and Faith? Nick sure didn't help his case by punching his dad in the face, right in front of his young daughter. It was a blow to guarantee sympathy from Faith for her grandpa.
If Nikki thinks Victor's no longer calling the shots, she's got another thing coming. Victor will always find a way, even if he must make Nick look bad in the process. I give Victor credit, though, for not getting even with Nick by disclosing the truth about Christian's parentage. Even though Nick had stripped Victor of his precious Faith, Victor took the high road by not taking Nick's belief that he was Christian's father away from him. Although I am sure it was for purely selfish reasons, Victor can put this on his good deed of the day list.
Who can blame Chelsea for running straight to GC Buzz to tell the whole sordid story about how the so-called best friend she had loved and trusted had done the worst thing possible by killing the love of Chelsea's life and the father of her son? Fortunately, the picture of Chloe with Bella prevented her from doing it, but that's more of a reflection of Chelsea's big heart, knowing the damage it could do to Chloe's daughter, than for any kind of false sense of loyalty to Chloe. And I give Mariah a lot of credit for thinking of discretion and decency in terms of the story, even though with Hilary, that would never come into play. Really, Mariah should have been the host of Chelsea's tale, although we know that would never happen with Hilary as the boss. Hilary will get all the juicy news-breaking stories. Mariah will be lucky to remain co-host for the fluff pieces.
Hilary was quick to throw her weight and her name around -- right onto the new GC Buzz publicity poster. The Hilary Hour. Catchy, right? Mariah sure didn't think so, and she demanded equal time. However, she only got a small font mention. Devon and Mariah know Hilary. When Devon gave Hilary the show, how could they not see her pulling a stunt like that? They are just too nice for their own good, and Hilary will continue to use them as shark bait, as long as they continue to date each other.
As much as she may deny it, Hilary doesn't like to let anything she thinks of as hers go. But Mariah and Devon are so cute together. It must be refreshing for Devon to hear the truth from a lady he's interested in. That sure was a foreign concept with Hilary. Jordan may think he's her "knight in shining armor," but he had better hope she's not all that invested in him. He would be so much better off.
Well, at least Victoria has Billy's strong shoulders to lean on after learning about her brother's sad fate, thanks to her father. It's just too bad she can't tell him about it. It's rather ironic that Victoria tried to get Billy to admit that Victor might actually have some good qualities, and Billy was right that Victor had instilled into Victoria to fight for what you want in life. The only problem is that Victor tends to do that, damn the consequences, without ever caring who else gets hurt -- or killed. We could ask Adam about that, if he were still alive.
And Victor just keeps acting on the same bad impulses over and over again. Hopefully, Victoria didn't inherent that trait from him. Billy and Victoria do seem to be getting closer, and I have always felt they were good for each other. Victoria tends to keep Billy grounded, and he provides the laughter in her life. She never really had a lot of crazy fun until Billy entered the picture. No, the Newman family photo isn't exactly filled with huge smiles and guffaws.
Hopefully, the Phyllis, Billy, and Victoria carousel ride is over. For good. It was never a thrilling ride anyway. And as many tweaks Phyllis does to her online dating profile, she still appears to love Jack. That's what it looked like anyway, when she invited him to lunch, even though she knew it was a lost cause. Jack did seem to be a bit tempted to go however.
Phyllis would be better off sticking to playing matchmaker and personal stylist for Ravi. He does look quite dapper these days, but there's still that nasty age difference to contend with in Ashley's case. But I guess, in this day and age, that's no longer important. After all, age is only a number -- until it isn't. Problems could come up later with the passage of time. But as the adage goes, getting old is better than the alternative. Adam would know that adage better than anyone, since he will never have that luxury.
It's still rather bizarre that Jack would choose to champion Gloria, a woman who also injured him in the past, over the probable love of his life, Phyllis. But I guess that's how deeply Phyllis hurt Jack with his own brother. Apparently, some things just can't be forgiven. Gloria took advantage of Jack's dad and betrayed Jabot, but it was Phyllis who crossed way over the line. In fact, she jumped so far, she ended up in another time zone. Still, it's rather baffling that Jack has let the thing with Gloria go on for as long as it has. They are just a strange couple. I guess Phyllis was right, and pigs really did grow wings and took to the sky -- just like Chloe's jet.
Call it crazy, but I actually like Gloria. I always have. She just always livens up a scene. My favorite times were when Gloria was first with William and then Jeffrey Bardwell, but then again, I loved Ted Shackelford on Knots Landing. Jeffrey and Gloria together were comedy gold. Lately, Gloria has been making me a little teary-eyed with her concern over Kevin. She even admitted to Jack that her little digs and catty comments actually pushed Kevin together with the "fugitive arsonist, child abandoning murderer."
However, Gloworm is taking way too much credit for that. All Chloe has ever had to do was to snap her fingers, and Kevin would come running. He could just never break free from her bonds. I'm not sure a long distance away from Kevin now will cure that, as much as Gloria and maybe even Kevin would like. We can only hope.
It looks like Sharon may have some competition when it comes to Scott, because Phyllis has just entered the picture. Oh, no...not another match between Sharon and Phyllis over a man. The last one over Nick was brutal. And Sharon will be at a disadvantage again, since Lauren is already in Phyllis' corner. Phyllis is not above using her sex appeal either. Victor may be known for saying, "Not going to happen," but in this case, it looks like it just might. Get ready for the figurative fists to flail and the fur to fly. We may have another cat fight on our hands.
But for the moment, it was the lull before the storm when Phyllis and Jack worried over Sharon's change of heart when it came to Victor. Sharon has sure come a long way, and she sympathized that her former father-in-law and husband had lost everything. It was extremely gracious of her considering all the harm Victor had caused her.
But Jack and Phyllis may have hit on something. Could it be that revenge on Victor was the strongest bond that tied them together during their last marriage? Of course, they could put the blame for that solely on Victor's shoulders also. Shoot, Victor had better have some broad shoulders to carry all the blame deservedly heaped onto them. And on the pile, a little devil was standing on each one, whispering thoughts of temptation in both of Victor's ears. A devil probably knocked the little angel off one shoulder just as Nick punched his dad.
It was finally the night of Reed's birthday party, and even though Victor did not show up at the gala, his gift sure did. A bright, shiny, spanking new car, and Nikki and Victoria were not happy, to say the least. Victor sure knows how to stir up a party, even when he doesn't attend. Reed was happy with his ride and his girls, while Noah showed a definite interest in Tessa. When Tessa mentioned she was overstaying her welcome, I found it interesting that Noah's response was "Not gonna happen." Hey, Phyllis was right. That must be the Newman slogan. So, Noah talked liked his grandpa, Nick feared his situation was "like father, like son," and Victoria insisted to Billy that she was nothing like her father. Oh, yes, Victor Newman was always around, even when he wasn't.
It was interesting to hear opposite sides of the same coin with Nick's past and Kevin's present (and future.) While Nick had to learn to quit blaming Daniel and to accept the fact that Cassie's death had been an accident, Kevin had to realize that what he had believed to be an accident, the cabin explosion, had actually been the intentional act caused by his fiancé. How painful for both.
When Reed plucked a few strings of his guitar at Crimson Lights, for some wacky reason, the song by Johnny Bravo, a.k.a. Greg Brady from The Brady Bunch, popped in my head. "Clowns never laughed before, beanstalks never grew. Ponies never ran before, 'til I met you." Please, song, get out of my head! Let's just hope that Reed doesn't choose a similar, silly pseudonym to jumpstart his music career. After all, he's a superstar in the making.
It's about time Nick finally made Faith return home.
I couldn't believe my ears, when the word "whatevs" came out of Reed's mouth to his mother. I mean, what's this world coming to? In a time where texting has become such a normal means of communication, writing is threatening to become a thing of the past, and in fact, cursive writing is almost extinct. But now this shorthand phase is looking to overtake our speech too? Who has such a small amount of time that a person can't even bother to say the entire word "whatever"? Hopefully, this is just the new cool way of speaking, and the way we talk to each other hasn't regressed into an abbreviated version of our language. That would truly be a travesty.
Until next time, please stay tuned.
Teddi
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