It appears that mergers and career changes have been the focus this week. Why are mergers and career changes running rampant in Genoa City? Why is it that when one company merges, every other company in town has to follow suit? First, Newman Enterprises merged with Locke Communications to form Newman Locke (and back to Newman Enterprises after Ashland was "Locked" out).
Chancellor Industries merged with Hamilton-Winters to form Chancellor-Winters, and then Jabot merged with Marchetti under the Jabot umbrella. I have to ask if the writers are getting really lazy and have found an easy route to create a storyline. The same goes for careers, because it seems that everyone in Genoa City is changing their vocation.
Lily has gone from being a model, to running a modeling agency, to being co-CEO of ChancComm Media with Billy Abbot, to being CEO of a major conglomerate, Chancellor-Winters. I get this last change because Lily did have experience as CEO at ChancComm.
Billy Abbott has worked in the corporate world, and he went from being co-CEO with Lily at ChancComm Media to COO at Chancellor-Winters. Billy has the corporate chops to be COO of a large corporation after working at Jabot for a number of years in various capacities.
Nate Hastings had been chief of surgery, and he hosted a media segment as "Ask MD Now." Nate left medicine completely to become co-COO with Billy Abbott at Chancellor-Winters. Nate knew nothing about the corporate world, let alone being a COO. What experience does Nate have to be co-COO? Maybe Devon is willing to teach him, but he seems more annoyed with Nate.
Hmm, perhaps Victoria should have been present to tell Lily and Devon that Nate wasn't qualified for that position. Sorry, I digress, but I just had to.
Elena Dawson is giving up her work at the clinic and her media segment of "Ask MD Now" at Newman Media to work on something similar at Chancellor-Winters. This one isn't a big stretch, since she will remain a doctor at the hospital and will only be changing corporations.
Kyle Abbott has gone from being co-CEO with Jack at Jabot to CEO of Marchetti. Kyle is more than qualified for this position after having Jack as his mentor and teacher. Kyle also hired Diane Jenkins as a PR person, something she was qualified for from her previous experience.
Sally Spectra has gone from running a fashion house in Los Angeles, to fashion designer in L.A. and Genoa City, to COO, and three months later, to CEO of Newman Media. Sally would have had to have some knowledge after heading up a fashion house.
Nick has changed his career once again and has returned to Newman Enterprises as COO, and it seems his main reason was to have more input into family affairs. Nick has a lot of corporate experience, so this was no surprise, but this isn't Nick's happy place; New Hope is, so it will be interesting to see how long he will last under Victor's thumb and Victoria's bossiness.
Noah Newman is an artist in his own right, and he left the London artistic world, disillusioned, and returned to Genoa City. He worked with Nick at New Hope, but this isn't Noah's happy place, either, and he wants out. He is actively looking at greener pastures for something that would make him creatively happy, possibly within the artistic community. We will have to wait and see what he does.
Chelsea Lawson has left fashion design to be Billy Abbott's co-host on his podcasts. Good grief, I thought we were done with those boring podcasts, but, alas, it seems we will have to endure "Fun with Billy and Chelsea," who will be co-hosting more of these podcasts. Won't that be exciting? Are we waiting for them with bated breath?
We can see that Chelsea has her eye on Billy romantically. Is it my imagination, or is Chelsea becoming enamored with any man who shows her a little kindness? First, it was Rey, then, for what seemed like a nanosecond, Kyle, and now Billy. I wonder if Lily should be worried.
Why all these career moves at the same time? I have watched The Young and the Restless for a long time, and it has only been in the last year that I'm finding the storylines boring and the writing lazy. It's one thing to have one -- or even two -- companies play the merger game, but not every company in Genoa City.
The same with career changes; no one ever expects to have so many people change jobs. Oh, I forgot about Tessa. What if she can't sing anymore after she has throat surgery? What career choice will she make if that happens? Well, whatever Tessa chooses, I'm sure they will ask Victoria for her opinion on Tessa's qualification for the position. Thank goodness Traci, Ashley, Mariah, and Sharon are staying put in their careers.
I wonder what Chloe is going to do now that her partnership with Chelsea has been dissolved. If Victoria allows Sally to stay on as CEO of Newman Media, perhaps Chloe will be a good fit in the COO position, but if Victoria fires Sally, what are these two ladies going to do? Knowing Adam, he would devise a new business that would include Sally, but what about Chloe? I wonder if Lauren would still have her working at Fenmore's and helping the new designer.
Wow! That was an epic and really extreme temper tantrum! If ever there was a contest for the best temper tantrum, Ashland would win, hands down. Ashland obviously loved being a winner while conning and manipulating people for so many decades, but he isn't taking it well after being brought down at his own game by Victoria and the Newmans. That temper tantrum was amazing, and I couldn't take my eyes off the scene. Well done, Robert Newman! I hope Ashland still has a ton of money to pay for all the damages.
Ashland's adult life has been conning, manipulating, and lying his way to become the powerhouse he'd become, and despite Victoria besting him in his own con game, I'm sure Ashland has something up his sleeve to get back at Victoria and the Newmans. I would have thought that after everything he'd done to that family and being out-conned by Victoria, he would have slithered off to parts unknown. I guess he just won't quit until he wins; perhaps he's a glutton for punishment.
Ashland feels no remorse, and he has nothing to lose. I'm curious if he and Adam will team up and try to bring the Newmans down. I don't think Ashland is ready to leave Genoa City just yet. Ashland's type always needs payback, and he won't stop until he gets it. I think Ashland is in over his head when it comes to the Newmans. For every step Ashland has taken, Victoria and Victor have been three steps ahead of him.
For someone who was supposed to be so brilliant, Ashland certainly hasn't been displaying those smarts recently. It's obvious he hasn't calmed down from his temper tantrum because he lashed out at Phyllis, who commented that he was spinning out, and he decided it was a good idea to violate the restraining order and visit with Harrison. Whoopsie, off to the pokey for you, Ashland; you've been caught.
Even though Diane is persona non grata in Genoa City, she is maintaining her perfect game face for Jack and Kyle. Under that game face lies a master manipulator, and she never fails to get her digs in to achieve her goal; however, for once, she did the right thing by informing Michael that Ashland was in the park with Harrison, and Michael took the appropriate steps to have Ashland arrested for violating his restraining order.
I have to say that until now, my feelings about Victoria have been ambivalent. One moment, I'm warming up to her, and then she does or says something that angers me, or she completely pisses me off with her high and mighty attitude. At the moment, I am not a fan of this snotty and self-appointed queen of the corporate world. Ever since she brought Ashland down, she has been intolerable. She comes across as being above everyone else and acts as if those around her are there to serve her.
I find her too complacent where Ashland is concerned. She believes she is holding all the cards and that Ashland has nothing left to harm her with. She has become that cocky. Thank goodness for Nick and Victor, who believe Ashland is up to something. Victoria seems to have forgotten he is a master manipulator and con man, and he will find a way to get even with her. Ashland will find a way to retaliate, you can bet on that.
Everyone knows I am not an Adam fan, but what he is doing for Sally has brought him up quite a few notches for me. He told Victoria that he and Sally were no longer a couple. Adam really loves Sally, yet to preserve her job at Newman Media, he is willing to break things off with her to ensure that Victoria would see he wouldn't have any influence over Sally in the running of Newman Media.
Adam has made a few sacrifices in the past, taking a bullet for Victor and giving up a kidney for Faith, but those have never broken his heart the way breaking up with Sally will. The same goes for Sally; I have seen the change in Sally and what a really great influence on Adam she is. I am really hoping these two will find their way back and help each other rise to great heights. Who knew I would grow to like them together?
I am disgusted how arrogant and conceited Victoria was toward Adam when he came to see her on Sally's behalf. Who gave Victoria a license to determine whether or not Sally was out of her depth as COO and CEO? Victoria had to learn the ropes to get to where she is, and Sally does have one or two clues about being COO. With a little help from Adam, she could be a great COO or CEO, for that matter.
Whether Sally did right or wrong in Los Angeles, the fact remains that she was head of a fashion house, she had to know about media to sell her fashions, and she had to know the company's financial situation. That gave Sally some insight into the corporate end of a business.
It is painfully apparent that Victoria has become extremely judgmental. At this point, I really don't care who does it, but I would love to see Victoria knocked off that very tall pedestal she is sitting on.
As much as Ashland has lied and cheated to get to where he was in the business world, and even though I loved the way Victoria duped him, I would love to see Ashland retaliate in some way to show Victoria that she isn't all that, and then some. Honestly, I really don't care whether it's Ashland or anyone else; someone needs to bring witch Victoria back to reality.
Imani has run hot and cold for me. I really didn't like her when we first met her. At that time, I found her to be arrogant and unlikeable, but in retrospect, she is just like her grandfather, Sutton Ames. I began to warm up to her after Imani and Amanda mended fences and became true sisters. However, when Imani began making inappropriate advances toward Nate, despite him being in a committed relationship with Elena, that little bit of warmth began to cool.
Imani has become exactly like Grandpa Sutton to me, believing she is privileged and that she can have whatever she wants with no respect for others. She is irreverent, and she lies as well as Sutton did -- and those lies just roll off her tongue so easily. She is determined not to bring Elena on board at Chancellor-Winters because she doesn't want Elena working close to Nate, and she trapped Nate into having dinner with her and then telling him that Sally had to reschedule their dinner meeting, when Sally had never known about that meeting.
I don't like the way she speaks to Amanda either. Imani won't listen to anyone, because in her mind, she will have what she wants, no matter how she gets it or who stands in her way. Imani isn't as smart as she thinks she is. Amanda is onto her, and so are Elena and Nate. How long will it before someone else becomes suspicious, like Lily or Devon? Imani has arranged for Amanda to handle things with Naya while Imani stays in town around Nate. Clever girl, but for how long? I see she has also mastered Grandpa Sutton's manipulation techniques. Did anyone believe those crocodile tears she displayed for Nate? What bugs me is that Nate is falling for Imani's games.
Well, aren't Noah and Allie just the cutest couple? They certainly light up in each other's company. I love how Allie is helping Noah make a decision about leaving New Hope. She phrases things in such a way that she is giving him things to ponder without telling him what he should do. Noah teases Allie, and she comes alive. I hope they keep this couple together for good because I'm tired of relationships lasting 30 seconds and poof, they have been dissolved.
I also love the rapport between Jack and Allie. It's obvious Jack adores Allie and vice versa. She was so excited to start working in the lab on any project, and I don't know about anyone else, but I felt her excitement. I really hope Kelsey Wang remains on this soap for a long time. She is such of breath of fresh air and a great little actress.
I hope you have enjoyed my ramblings. Until next time, stay safe!
Nel
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