Dear readers, you may wonder why a column about The Young and the Restless has the title of another soap.
Because I have been thinking about life this week, prompted by changes here at Soap Central. I have worked for Dan J Kroll for two decades, writing, tweeting, and talking about soaps.
Before I discuss Y&R, I need to write a love letter. I got this gig by happy accident. Someone else at Soap Central quit, and Dan auditioned columnists to take over the spot. My first column was just a big, sappy love letter to General Hospital, which I had been watching since high school. I got the most votes, won the slot, and have been employed by Soap Central ever since.
I love Dan. He is not just a boss and editor; he is my friend. We have never met in person, but we have talked, texted, Zoomed, giggled, argued (only about soap stuff), cried, and created together.
He works hard. He never takes time off. He's finally taking some time off to do things he has put off over the years. He put off those dreams and worked tirelessly because he was passionate about Soap Central and wanted it to be a high-quality and trusted source for soap news. He cares so much about this site and the sudsy community we have built here, where all fans and lovers of daytime drama could gather.
While I applaud his decision to step away and live his best life, it still hurts. I have cried over this, as have other Soap Central team members. It's the end of an era and a goodbye I wasn't ready to say. Are we ever prepared to say goodbye to things we love when the world shifts? No, but it does keep shifting.
Dan is the kind of boss who, when your world is falling apart, finds a way to support you and lift you up. I lost both of my parents while working for Dan: my Daddy in 2004 and my Mama in 2012. Dan was kind, understanding, and supportive and made sure I wasn't worrying about hitting deadlines when my heart was grieving. He's the best.
Today is the last time Dan will create a graphic for my column. I can't tell you how hard I have laughed over these. I hope you appreciate how much work he puts into them. Sometimes, he sends me multiple options, each one funnier than the last. I'm going to miss my midnight funny graphics every Friday.
I have already warned Dan that he'll never get rid of me, boss or not. If you have enjoyed Soap Central over the years, please send him a note @DanJKroll on Twitter and tell him what this site has meant to you.
There is something that happens on every single soap on the air. I can say that with a great degree of expertise because I have watched The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful, As the World Turns, One Life to Live, All My Children, General Hospital, Ryan's Hope, and other soaps over the years.
The setup: Someone has a huge, life-altering secret. Then, they discuss it in a public place where anyone could overhear them, and they always do!
Friday, the secret was that Adam and Chelsea had a one-night stand in Baltimore while visiting Connor, which didn't go well. Adam and Chelsea both swore they would not tell their respective partners about this lapse in judgment. For the past two weeks, Chelsea has been jumpy and on edge. Melissa Claire Egan has done a phenomenal job as a woman riddled with guilt. Every time we looked at her, we saw the deep angst, shame, and fear she was carrying.
Adam is much better at the poker face than Chelsea is, but we could see the groovy black and white flashbacks in his brain, replaying that sexy night like a porn movie he had on repeat.
Billy and Sally sensed something was off, but they didn't know what, and the speculation was eating them up. Billy has been a freaking bulldog about it. The more Adam and Chelsea denied anything was wrong, the more Billy tried to shake it out of them.
It's challenging because I don't know who to be mad at, Adam and Chelsea for the original act, or Billy for being such a bully about it?
But honestly, I can't hate any of them. Billy and Sally have been incredibly loving and supportive to their partners. Adam and Chelsea watched their son fall so deep into the depths of his OCD that they feared he would never emerge, and they took comfort where they could find it.
I tried to explain to a younger friend the other day that the older I get, the less black and white I see. It all becomes shades of grey. Certainly, Adam and Chelsea should not have cheated, but are they terrible, or were they just lost and wounded people who had a moment of weakness?
It's the latter. I only hope that when this secret finds its way to Connor's ears, it does not cause him to have a setback. He's doing so well using his tools and catching himself before he falls into old patterns. I think Y&R has done a wonderful job showing the highs and lows a parent faces with a child who battles some sort of mental illness, and I think Judah Mackey shines as a young man coming to terms with his illness.
My soapy prediction is that Adam will move in with Chelsea and Connor, and their family will try to reunite, just like the Daniel, Heather, and Lucy debacle. Meanwhile, Sally and Billy will bond over their feelings of betrayal, and maybe they will have a little revenge fling. To be honest, I don't hate any of that. Sally could be a good partner for Billy. Next week's previews show Billy firing Lily, but whether that will transpire or not is still a mystery because many previews misdirect us. But spending the weekend daydreaming about the juicy drama to come is always fun.
For instance, I am daydreaming that Traci's hot romance with Alan is not with Alan at all but with his creepy psycho twin brother, Martin. Why do I say that? Because when he went home with Traci, he didn't look like a guy who had been there before. I saw a glimpse of something on his face that made me say, "Uh-oh. Traci picked another dud." If my suspicions are correct, what does that mean for Ashley? Is she progressing and getting well, or has Martin been feeding the family false reports, and Belle is coming on to all the French doctors in the clinic?
I would love to see Traci finally have a true love story, but sadly, I don't think this is the case. I have said from day one that Martin was killed off way too fast. A soap never reveals an evil twin and kills him off the same day. They milk it forever. If I am wrong, by all means, call me out. But if I were in Vegas today, I would put cash money on a bet that the man Traci believes to be Alan is actually Martin.
Now, on to my least favorite part of the show, corporate intrigue. Who will end up on top at Chancellor? Billy? Lily? Nikki? Don't care. Who will end up on top at Glissade? Kyle? Audra? Don't care. Now, if Tucker came back and stole it from both of them, then I would care.
I am beginning to root for Audra and Nate. I prefer Nate and Audra to Nate and Victoria. I loved Elena, but she has vanished into thin air.
In other surprising news, Nikki offered Claire her old job as Nikki's personal assistant. Dearest readers, I paused the playback to laugh for five minutes. Um, if my administrative assistant poisoned me, kidnapped me, and pumped me full of intravenous vodka, I would definitely not hire her back, regardless of how many counseling sessions she had during the week she was in the hospital.
Thankfully, Claire declined for now because of her commitment to Harrison and, I suspect, because she has a crush on Kyle.
But Kyle's life is complicated right now. He's at war with his parents and in a messy custody battle with Summer. At least the Y&R writers cleared up our debate about whether or not Summer ever adopted Kyle. Apparently, she did, off-screen, which seems like rewritten history. Summer adopting Harrison would have made for a sweet little scene with the judge declaring that Summer was his legal mom, hugs all around, etc. But that never happened.
Summer's insistence that Kyle stop working with Audra and kick her out of his life makes no sense otherwise. If it's not residual jealousy from the affair Kyle and Audra had right after Summer and Kyle broke up, what else could it be?
Alison Lanier's Summer is definitely channeling a young Phyllis. And that's a good thing. Phyllis is the fire that keeps Genoa City burning when things get too dull. I appreciate that the writers try to show Summer's similarities to her wild and gorgeous mama, played perfectly by Michelle Stafford. It will be interesting to see how the custody battle plays out. I still think Harrison's birth mother, Tara, will show up in town. Summer adopted Harrison, but Tara has been in prison. Did anyone go to prison and have her terminate her parental rights? Perhaps the adoption was never legal or finalized? I don't know, but I suspect it's not as cut and dried as Summer believes.
When Phyllis questioned Summer to make sure Summer wasn't just jealous of Audra, Summer vehemently denied it, but I am unconvinced. If Claire were to accept Nikki's job offer and Kyle was no longer her boss, they would likely start dating, and Summer's rage would move back to Claire and away from Audra.
The character I feel sorriest for is Chance. First, Abby cheated on him with Devon, then Sharon dumped him, and now Summer spends all their dates ranting about Kyle. Chance is kind, handsome, and intelligent and deserves better treatment. Who would be a good match for him who would genuinely appreciate him? I don't know, but Summer better wise up fast before she loses him.
Speaking of Sharon, she spends most of her days arguing with bloody ghost Cameron Kirsten. Can you imagine Linden Ashby's days? "Yeah, dude, we need you in the studio at 4:00 a.m. every morning so we can bloody you up and make you look like a zombie so ghost Cameron can taunt unmedicated Sharon." This storyline would be much more exciting if he was alive and real and trying to gaslight Sharon into losing her mind. But since no one else can see him, that clearly isn't the case.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Victor force Audra to knit Summer a nice fall sweater to make peace? Will Chance meet a woman worthy of his wonderfulness? Will Harrison rebel and demand to live with Nanny Claire because both of his parents make him anxious? Will Cole change his last name to Newman, too, so he can have the same name as his ex and his kid?
Will Kyle make up with Jack and Diane because he needs backup to help him stick it to Summer in court? Will I be able to carry on without Dan? (That is a scary thought.) Will the Daytime Emmys hire him to do red-carpet interviews as he has done for years? (They absolutely should.) Will Claire hook Nikki back up to the vodka I.V., the first time Nikki demands she work overtime? Will Aunt Jordan burn down another prison to escape right around sweeps season?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
-- Tamilu
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