It's hard to ruminate about last week's The Young and the Restless without starting with the very last moment of the show. Abby's willful decision to run down Tucker with her car was absolute insanity. No, wait, it was worse than that. It was attempted murder. Yes, she was drunk out of her mind, but if Tucker doesn't survive being mowed down by a speeding Mini-Cooper, Abby should be on trial for murder with a deadly weapon.
But here's the question that kept bugging me all week long, why is Abby so angry at Tucker? Yes, there was the one night when Tucker bedded Diane that was deceitful to Ashley. But that was a long, long time ago. Since then, Tucker has done nothing to suggest that he's a serial cheater. He's been a prince to Ashley. And even if Abby thought that Tucker's infidelity -- which still occurred while he and Ashley were engaged but not yet married -- was unforgivable, is it a capitol offense? Think about it; other men have hurt Ashley far more, and Abby's let them get away with it...starting with Victor!
Yet somehow Abby blew the entire Tucker situation out of proportion. She shot down everything he did to try to placate her. All his effort did to prove to the family that he sincerely adored Ashley just made Abby hate him more. It was bizarre, especially since she's seen how a man she loves has hurt her mother much more that Tucker's ever done -- Victor. Does Abby simply forgive Victor because he's daddy? I mean, I was really thrown when Abby equated Tucker to Adam in terms of the evil things he's done. It's not even close. Adam's assault on Ashley with the Sabrina scheme was monstrous.
Until Abby tried to kill Tucker with the car, I thought she was simply being a spoiled brat. Now I think she might be psycho, and I mean that in the nicest way. Seriously, is it possible that Abby has been having a prolonged nervous breakdown since Colleen's death last year? Maybe Tucker is just the tipping point for Abby, and she focused all of her pent-up rage at him because she's been unable to deal with the trauma she's endured. You can imagine some shrink explaining to Ashley and Victor that this has been building up in Abby for a while, and the Naked Heiress business was her cry for help...only they didn't recognize it.
As for Tucker, I assume that he's going to survive, but will he ever be the same man that he was? He may be paralyzed or suffer brain damage or be blind. Hey, this is a soap, you know how things work. I'm guessing Maria Arena Bell will go for a memory loss. Tucker won't remember Ashley or Kay, and he'll have to start over again with a clean slate. That'll give Kay a chance to really build a relationship with her son, but as I see it now, that will only work if Tucker adopts Kay's thinking. Kay is extremely narrow-minded in her thinking. It's okay for Victor to be sentimental about Newman Enterprises, but Jack's a fool for feeling that way about Jabot. Victor is allowed to lie and cheat to build his conglomerate, but Tucker's ambition is evil and wrong.
The two faces of Kay, that's how I see it. And it applies to her personal life as well. Murphy was dead right when he pointed out that A.A. preaches forgiveness and second chances, but Kay's never extended either to Tucker. Will she be singing a new tune when he's lying on his deathbed from the car crash? You betcha!
Speaking of two-faced, what is wrong with Diane Jenkins? Diane came to Genoa City, looking for security in the form of a sugar daddy. She managed to worm her way back into Victor's life and basically hit the lottery. But she doesn't love Victor and doesn't want to be the lady of the manor. That said, why on earth didn't she jump at the chance to get a rich annulment from Victor? She could have cashed in and been free to screw around with the rest of the men in town, like Nick. Instead of agreeing with Victor and walking away in better shape that she arrived, she fought it. And now that Victor has torn up the annulment papers, she's stuck with him. Bad move, Diane.
Victor deserves to be miserable. I think he actually prefers it. After everything that he and Nikki have endured, he couldn't understand why she had dinner with Deacon. It's not like Victor found her in bed with the guy; she was accepting his amends. Victor flew off the handle and acted like a child. If anything, Nikki should realize that life with him is Mission: Impossible. He's incapable of change. Loving him has been as much a trial as a triumph for Nikki. Too bad she's still so hung up on him.
Another character who seems intent on doom is Phyllis. Her determination to get her hands on Lucy is maniacal. Phyllis is completely myopic and self-destructive about this child. Is getting Daniel's child in his life worth losing all her friends and her fortune? Think about it; Billy is going to fire her from Restless Style, that's a given. The Abbotts won't give her a job, and neither with the Newmans. Tucker, if he's able to think again, wouldn't help her because of Ashley...and Kay won't give Phyllis the time of day because she's loyal to Victor. Lauren? Forget it; she's already upset about Phyllis luring Daisy back to Genoa City. Michael had no choice but to side with Victor when he told the attorney to choose between Newman business or helping Phyllis.
The real problem with Phyllis is this: she's not thinking about what's best for the child. Phyllis is being selfish. She's thinking, "What's best for Phyllis?" And if she chooses to use Daisy to get Lucy, she'll alienate all of her friends forever. The Abbotts, Newmans, and Baldwins will never forgive her. In the midst of all this, it would be significant if Daniel stopped being such a weenie. Sorry, but he's just weak. What grown man would let his mother ride roughshod over him the way Phyllis does? Daniel needs to put his mother in her place and regain his manhood.
Finally, a word about Sharon... How much longer will she be kicking it at the farm with Fanny and the vet? You know, if she really wants to disappear, the way to do it is to keep moving. Remember The Fugitive, the 1960s TV show with David Jansen (look it up on Google)? Anyway, the way he stayed on the run was by never staying anywhere too long. Sharon has a big advantage over Dr. Richard Kimble; nobody's hunting for her. Still, if the point is to remain alive and alone and free, she needs to leave the farm.
There was one bit of progress in Sharon's story. Did you hear that line last week about the medical examiner going back to check on cause of death, so maybe the authorities will figure out that the woman in the crashed car was not Sharon? So maybe they're going to discover that Sharon's not really dead. However, since the corpse was cremated, how are they going to do that? Did Maria Arena Bell mess up the storyline, or has she a surprise up her sleeve for us. Any thoughts?
That's it for now. Can't wait to see what happens next week! Let's take a look at a recent note from the mailbox:
Your comments are always welcome here, so stay in touch. Contact us at Soap Central. And keep on reading Two Scoops every week!
Best,
Allison
