I have to begin by giving Melissa Claire Egan and Jason Thompson a huge shout-out for their stellar performances. They have both done an outstanding job. This storyline had shades of Bill Bell's writing. Bill Bell always addressed current issues, such as cancer, kleptomania, and amnesia, and made them work within the story. I have to say I miss Bill Bell's writing, but kudos to the writers for presenting such a sensitive storyline about how a person can reach their breaking point.
Suicide has always been a social issue, especially in the past two-plus years because of COVID.
My understanding is that suicidal thoughts can come from many different things in a person's life that can become overwhelming. Some of these things might seem obvious -- big and suffocating -- while others might seem small at first, but grow to be huge. It is not always a single incident or thing. It is sadly the tenth leading cause of death in the United States, and it affects all ages. The problem is that we haven't talked about it, hiding it away as a shameful secret. Thankfully, the dialogue is changing, and more help is available. The suicide hotline number is now easier to remember (9-8-8). I commend The Young and the Restless for making this story more real for us all.
In Chelsea's case, I suspect she hadn't resolved her issues from her previous breakdown after she almost killed Rey in her attempt to frame Adam. She never seemed right after her return from visiting her mother in Minneapolis. Chelsea seemed to be scattered and combative with anyone who didn't see things her way. She was restless, couldn't settle into a job, and seemed to fall for any man who showed her a speck of kindness, like Rey, Kyle, Chance, and Billy.
Chelsea appeared to be adrift and looking for an anchor. Somewhere along the line, Chelsea became adamant that Johnny needed to know immediately that she was his biological mother. She was also adamant that it would be best for Connor to know, also, and she would stop anyone who argued with her logic. When things didn't move fast enough for her, she took matters into her own hands, and without Adam present, she told Connor after she knew Johnny had been told. Shocking to nobody else, Connor didn't jump for joy, but Chelsea was shocked because she had honestly believed he would be delighted to know he had a brother.
Let's review some of the events that led up to Chelsea's emotional break, almost ending in suicide.
After Chelsea returned from visiting her mother, she joined Chloe on the fashion platform with Newman Media. She and Sally didn't get along, and ultimately, Victoria completely killed the fashion platform. Chelsea and Chloe worked at Fenmore's, but she quit when she couldn't focus or stay on task, leading to conflict with Chloe. She was offered a job as a designer for Marchetti, but she declined the offer. Chloe tried to talk some sense into Chelsea, but Chelsea claimed Chloe was trying to run her life, which almost destroyed their friendship.
Chelsea wanted to make a new start with Adam, but he rejected the idea of a reconciliation with her. Chelsea's green-eyed monster emerged when she saw that Adam and Sally were a couple.
After Chelsea almost killed Rey, Rey forgave her and showed her a kindness she hadn't expected from him and possibly never had from anyone else in her life. She fell for Rey because he'd been attentive and kind to her. When Rey died from a heart attack, Chelsea was devastated, continuing to grieve as if she had been his partner.
Kyle showed Chelsea compassion when he offered to help her in any way he could. Chelsea suddenly turned her sights on him until Billy came along. Billy understood how she felt, and he offered her a job co-hosting podcasts with him. Chelsea was overjoyed and was on an enormous high while working with Billy, but then she kissed him. Billy rejected her advances and explained that she'd misinterpreted something he'd said. Billy told her she would be doing the podcasts on her own because he was going to devote all his time to his COO position. Chelsea quit that job because she didn't want to do it without Billy.
Chelsea seemed to see potential in Chance after he offered her a sympathetic shoulder and to help her in any way he could, but she saw how close he was with Abby and didn't pursue him.
Chelsea saw everything as a rejection and believed that no one wanted anything to do with her. She felt alone and like an outcast. That was when Chelsea saw Johnny as a salvation, someone to love her. She learned that Johnny knew who she was, but she didn't stop there because she wanted a relationship with Johnny -- perhaps even a mother/son relationship. I can't recall if it was Billy or Adam who accused her of trying to use Johnny to fill the hole in her heart, but whoever said it, he was right. Chelsea denied it, claiming the boys would find out down the road and that it was better that they were informed immediately. Maybe she didn't consciously realize she was desperately searching for love, but I think she was, and that was why her decision had to be right away.
It was heartbreaking when Billy told Chelsea everything he'd felt when he'd found Delia at the side of the road. He said the emotions he'd felt when she'd died in his arms had been devastating. I remember those scenes so clearly. Billy kept looking at his watch, knowing Delia wouldn't make it until the ambulance arrived.
Chelsea later discovered that she hadn't thought things through about telling Johnny and Connor that she was Johnny's biological mother, and she hadn't considered the ramifications from that revelation. Chelsea hadn't been prepared for Johnny's rejection or Connor's negative reaction to the news. It's possible that this pushed Chelsea into an even deeper depression. It's clear that all these things and more were playing in the tape in her mind, as she recalled all the rejections she'd heard, even hearing things that weren't really rejections as rejections.
Thanks to Billy's instincts, he recognized the road she was traveling, and he jumped in with both feet to help her. Adam knew Chelsea had a problem, but I don't believe he understood how deep the problem was. Thankfully, while at the Glam Club, Billy saw Chelsea leave Adam, realized that she'd gone to the roof, and followed her. Billy stopped her from jumping and immediately called Sharon to help Chelsea.
Once Sharon and Billy got Chelsea into the mental health facility, Chelsea realized that she needed help to get rid of the pain. I haven't cried like that since Cassie's death. The scenes with her and Billy on the roof were so poignant; I could feel Chelsea's pain. Just as I finally had my tears under control, came the scene with Billy sitting by Chelsea's bed while she slept; he pulled out his phone and leaned forward, and Chelsea reached out and laid her hand on Billy's and said thank you. I was undone. With a hitch in my breath, I released the waterworks again.
Poor Connor was blaming himself because Chelsea had been avoiding him. He thought that what he'd said to her had hurt her feelings and that she didn't want anything to do with him. Say what you will, but Adam has been a good dad. He told Connor that Chelsea loved him deeply and would forgive Connor anything. I think it was so adorable of Connor to tell Adam that he and Johnny had talked and had decided that finding out that Chelsea was their mother had been much ado about nothing. How about that -- two kids were adulting.
I hope Chelsea eventually emerges a mentally healthy person who will cope with life the way she did in the past, with added help and support from Sharon and Billy -- and others. I hope they don't rush the process but that it uplifts us, too, along the way. Even those of us who aren't struggling with depression can benefit from reminders to reset the tapes we're playing in our heads. We all need to remember that someone loves us, even if we're dealing with temporary rejection. Well done, Missy and Jason.
What is up with Lily? Lately, she seems to be constantly annoyed with Billy. She isn't in favor of Billy spending so much time helping Chelsea, even after Billy told her that Chelsea had suffered an emotional break. Lily has always been a very compassionate person, so I'm wondering why she is coming off as sour grapes. I understand that she might be very disappointed that Billy chose to leave his position as COO, but she acts like she only tolerates him. I hope things between them will resolve because I have really liked Billy with Lily.
The scenes with Lily and Devon were great with the flashbacks to Neil. I think all of us really miss seeing him on our screens. He was such an integral part of his kids' lives, and you could see how much Lily and Devon loved and missed him and the type of man he'd been.
Other than Nate, Devon has another problem. He told Lily that things between him and Amanda had been strained lately. Please tell me that he and Elena will reunite! To me, they were always the best couple. I have never really warmed up to Elena and Nate as a couple, so I have my fingers crossed.
Devon has been dealing with Nate's betrayal. When he encountered Nate and Victoria at Society, the penny dropped, and he realized that Nate had been colluding with Victoria in an attempted hostile takeover.
I can't blame Devon for rejecting Nate's apologies; they felt hollow. It felt like he'd only apologized because he was trying to do everything Elena wanted to show her that he was the man she'd fallen in love with, like a little kid saying sorry after he smacks his brother -- but only because Mommy made him do it. Where is this guy's backbone? Words are cheap. He has to mean everything he is apologizing for. A sorry without a change of heart is words, like the teachers in a Peanuts movie, "whah-whah-whah-whah." The one thing that did ring true was that he was still harboring resentment toward Devon for the punch that ended his surgical career, but Devon didn't set out to destroy Nate's hand. That was an accident, although it was Devon's fault.
Oh, I know some of you are thinking if Devon hadn't punched Nate, he wouldn't have cut his hand on the glass. Nevertheless, because this is a soap, Nate had the punch coming for sleeping with Elena when she and Devon had been a couple. In real life? Violence can get you arrested, and no matter how hurt we are, we should handle things like grown-ups.
Elena asked why Nate wouldn't tell Devon who he'd been collaborating with to get his family back. To me, Nate always chooses everyone else over his family. I agree with Elena that Nate was Victoria's consolation prize for trying to help her steal Chancellor-Winters -- and justification for firing Sally.
I thought Victoria would have learned her lesson after the whole debacle with Ashland. Obviously not, because she is right back to being the bitch she'd been back then. In the beginning I wasn't a Sally fan at all, but she has changed a lot since those days, and I have to say she'd been doing a great job at Newman Media, thanks to Adam, who taught her well. Victoria wants Sally out to give Nate the job. Victor wants Sally out because, in his mind, Sally was the catalyst for Adam turning his back on the family.
If I recall correctly, Victor asked Sally to encourage Adam to unite with the family. Sally tried, but Adam, being Adam, refused. Victor claims that Sally fed into Adam's treachery. I'm really hoping Nate falls flat on his ass, because he knows even less about media than he did about entertainment.
Victoria was so smug when Devon confronted her and Nate. Victoria never admitted that she and Nate had colluded, but she said if she had gone after the company, it wasn't personal; it was business. I wish they would stop using that phrase. When you attack a family business or a close friend's company, it's always personal, and it's a betrayal, not just business. I would love to see Victoria wiping the egg off her face when Nate fails miserably.
Bubble, bubble, toil and trouble, Diane's day is coming when everything will be revealed in an uncensored version of her life in L.A. So far, Diane gave Jack a sanitized version of her "partnership" with Jeremy Stark, and I, for one, don't believe Diane's version. Diane has always been a schemer. She has always managed to worm her way out of any given situation, so I don't believe for a second that she wasn't able to get herself away from Jeremy. I think she knowingly helped Jeremy, and I also don't believe that was all she did. I wouldn't be surprised if she had been the ringleader! Diane isn't the type to lead a quiet and uneventful life. There is far more to her shenanigans yet to be revealed. When that happens, I wonder if Kyle and Jack will still be supporting her.
Nikki, Phyllis, and Ashley are digging deep, and I hope they keep digging, because Diane arrived in Genoa City under false pretenses, and there is no way that she is going to continue with this "wholesome" life. She is a troublemaker and manipulator, and her true colors are bound to rear their ugly little heads.
I don't understand Jack's attitude toward Diane. One minute, he looks like he is about to kiss, and the next, he gives her a cold shoulder. He has been defending her, especially to Phyllis, but Phyllis is right; if they'd listened to her, Diane would be gone, and they wouldn't be faced with Diane drama constantly. Phyllis has maintained that Diane was a liar and manipulator, but despite that, Diane won Kyle over. Diane has hurt Kyle deeply with her recent lie. She had promised Kyle in their first face-to-face meeting since her resurrection that she hadn't kept anything from him and that all she'd wanted to do was to reconnect with him. Diane's return to Genoa City was carefully choreographed by her and Tucker -- Tucker in particular, because he has his own agenda.
Poor Kyle so desperately wants this little family that he is justifying what Diane told him. He told Summer that Diane hasn't really done anything bad other than lie. Summer reminded him that Diane has a couple of felonies under her belt. It looks like Kyle is going to forgive her, even though her confession came right after Diane realized that the truth was about to come out.
I feel for Kyle. I know what it's like to want both parents in your life, and once you've had a taste of it, it's really hard to let go. I just can't wait for Jack and Kyle to see who Diane really is.
It looks like Harrison might be headed for a medical crisis. Harrison told Diane he didn't feel good, and Diane realized he had a fever. I wonder if this will lead to a story about Diane saving Harrison from some kind of illness, then, no matter what she's done before, she will be a hero. Hmm... just a random thought.
Until next time, stay safe.
Nel
What are your thoughts on The Young and the Restless? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.
