What a sad week we've just endured! You know, when Brad died, it was sudden. Even if you knew Don Diamont was leaving the show, his death was tragic and quick. It was almost surreal. However, the Colleen situation is very different. First of all, I couldn't believe that she was really going to die. I kept expecting the miracle. I kept hoping for the miracle. I didn't want to believe that - like her father - Colleen was going to succumb because she tried to do the right thing. She was going for help for Patty!
Still, despite by hopes and wishes, Y&R did the realistic thing. Colleen hit her head, fell into the lake, was under the water too long and she suffered irreparable brain damage. Jack couldn't breath life back into her life. There was no rare medical procedure to save her. Traci and Steve and Billy and Abby and Jack could do nothing but watch a member of the family fade away before their eyes. Only the machine has been keeping Colleen from expiring.
After all the heartache, you have to admire Jack. Whatever you think about this flawed hero/villain, Jack has stepped up at the foundation of the Abbott family. John would be proud. Traci was a wreck, trying her best to hold onto Colleen and keep her from leaving this "mortal coil." Billy was seething with anger. It took Jack to be the clear-headed, mature presence, and he was. Kudos, too, for Peter Bergman's performance!
It's hard to make jokes about this storyline, so if I'm not zinging the one-liners, I'm sure you know why. When Lily came to see Colleen, needing to wear a surgical mask to keep from getting any infection since she had just had a chemotherapy session, it was hard not to be tearful. Two very young women, one clinging to life by machines, the other going through a treatment that will hopefully buy her time enough to live. It's sad, sad stuff, folks. It's hard not to be moved to tears.
Okay, there's one thing I can zing about regarding Lily. What's up with those scarves? As Tim Gunn would say, "I'm concerned." Lily's a really beautiful woman, but those head garbs are doing nothing for her. Granted, she's not supposed to be looking good right now, but those burkas make her look like a suicide bomber in Iraq! And is it my imagination or does the black one have doggie ears on the side? Seriously, I can't figure it out. Here's my suggestion for Lily, put on a baseball cap as a change of pace. Make it yellow or pink or powder blue, something pretty. Instead of looking like you're dressing your head for a funeral, have some fun with your headwear. What about a propeller on top of the cap?
The Gloria vs. the Terroni kids has been a goofy alternative to the grim hospital stories. Of course, I don't believe any of it. Somehow, of course, the Scooby-Doo gang (Daniel, Amber, Jana and Kevin) will get the painting. Lotsa luck with that! By the way, what the heck happened with Ryder in prison? Who's his mother and why does she scare the crap out of Deacon? Any thoughts on who she might be?
Who is Victoria these days? And what's up with Nikki parking herself at a spa while the world was going crazy back home? Of late, Victoria has been a short-tempered, haranguing wife who cheated on her husband. Now she's a worried, devoted daughter. And could she summon even a smidge of sympathy for Colleen's plight? When J.T. was shattered to learn the Colleen was basically brain dead, Victoria's response was "let's go wait for Daddy to come out of surgery in his room." Very caring, bitch! She even had the audacity to blast Nikki for not doing more than writing letters from the spa.
Which makes me wonder... If Nikki wrote home to Victoria and Nick, where are the letters? You mean to tell me that blind Adam was able to hijack the mail from every house on the ranch. Really? But how real is it that Nikki wouldn't have written a note to Kay? Adam couldn't keep a letter from reaching Kay Chancellor. If it turns out that Nikki just didn't bother to write to her best friend in the world, I'll be stunned.
So what exactly happened after Ashley's car hit or nearly hit Nikki? Even if the car missed her, Nikki had to be pissed about the incident and losing her cell phone. Nikki's acting now like the taxi picked her up and she simply hopped a plane to the spa. Was that always her plan, just spend a few weeks having massages and mudbaths since you just walked out on your wedding? She never even missed the cell phone or thought that the folks back home might be concerned that they couldn't get her on the phone? Hmmm... sounds contrived to me.
Okay, it's time to deal with the whole Ashley breakdown. Talk about contrived. I'm sorry, but you cannot be driven crazy by someone like Adam, not if you're the Ashley who went to Paris and saved Victor. Not if you're the Ashley who romanced Rick on The Bold and the Beautiful. Who is this Ashley? The mental gymnastics from strong, smart woman to screaming, frightened hysterical-baby mama are too much for me to navigate.
Meanwhile, in the psych hospital, Sharon's become another woman. She's wise beyond her years, loaded with good advice for Nick, seemingly transformed. Maybe the psych ward is really the spa where Nikki re-made herself! But, you know that Sharon's transformation is temporary. Any soap fan who can't connect the dots and see that Sharon's labor pains coinciding with Ashley's admittance to the psych hospital is laying the groundwork for a baby switch doesn't deserve to be called a soap fan! Let's face it, this story is being telegraphed for weeks. It's not going to be a surprise, but it is going to be heartbreaking. Somebody is going to end up without a baby, and considering that Ashley has no child in her womb, I'm guessing (yeah, right!) that Sharon's going to be the shattered party.
Across town, Victor needs a heart transplant and Colleen's got a heart that's going to be served up for donation. It's storytelling irony with a capital "I" - Colleen's heart will be a perfect match for Victor. How convenient! Victor will survive with the heart of a 20 year old woman pumping in his chest, a woman he had successful maligned and disgraced. Wouldn't you love to see Victor facing the ultimate judgment someday? You know, Victor standing before God or the Angel of Death or some ultimate judge and trying to explain how he could be such a son of a bitch and get away with it time after time? For all the goodness in Victor, he's had so much venom.
Perhaps the biggest switch of all will be if Victor's new heart - assuming its Colleen's - changes the man in a real, substantial way. Is it even possible that Victor could change? Would we want a new Victor Newman? If we got a new Victor, who would chop Adam down to size? Adam needs to pay for the havoc he's created and he needs to suffer.
Well, I guess that wraps up the week. Please keep reading and commenting; we love your letters. Here's a few comments from the past couple of weeks:
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Best,
Allison
