Before we dive into all the drama from this past week on The Young and the Restless, let's discuss some of the backstage drama! Anthony Morina has decided to step down as executive producer of Y&R -- and the timing for this "sudden decision" of his is quite interesting! Morina is set to face a trial by jury in March of this year for a lawsuit brought against him by one of Y&R's former background actresses, Briana Thomas, who portrayed a barista at Crimson Lights in 2018 and 2019. The former Y&R actress is alleging that she was sexually harassed by Morina and then was fired after she refused his advances. Yikes! My guess is that the powers that be at Sony and CBS asked him to step down (since they were also included in the lawsuit), but that's just speculation, of course. I'm just surprised his exit didn't happen sooner, since the lawsuit was filed back in 2021!
The timing is all very suspicious, but of course, none of us knows what truly happened, since we weren't there. Whatever we think may have happened is all just speculation, but I am glad he will no longer be helming the show. It will be interesting to see what changes may occur on-screen as a result. Josh Griffith will be taking over as the sole executive producer and will be pulling double duty behind the scenes because he will also remain in his current position as head writer.
Josh Griffith has been fine in his position as head writer overall, I suppose, and we may not see many changes, since he has also been a co-executive producer alongside Molina these last few years. I've certainly enjoyed the show a lot in the past year, but initially, I wasn't thrilled when he took over from Mal Young back in 2018. I know I am in the minority, but I actually liked the show when Mal Young was at the helm, and I thought his storylines were entertaining, fast-paced, and fun. But I'm certainly not unhappy with the show as it is now. The Ashland Locke saga was great, Diane's return has been awesome, and I'm excited to see what is in store for Tucker now that he is back, too!
Speaking of which, does anyone else get the sense that the writers might be pushing Phyllis and Tucker toward one another? They have certainly been in each other's orbits a lot lately as they commiserate over their family woes. Honestly, I don't hate the idea of this coupling (and I can't help but be amused by their potential "couple name," which would obviously have to be Phucker and I can't stop laughing about that! But seriously, these two could be fire together! If they do get paired romantically, let's just hope they don't double-cross each other the way that they have done to so many others in the past! Hmmm...come to think of it, these two may just be perfect for each other! Now that Ashley has left town, it doesn't seem that a reunion is in the cards for Tucker and Ashley. And it certainly doesn't look like Jack and Phyllis will be having a reunion anytime soon...
Is anyone else really enjoying Jack and Diane as a couple?! I love that Diane is not scheming to get Jack this time around and that they are working together as a team to take down a common enemy. It was sweet when they finally "hit the sheets" this week to celebrate having double-crossed Jeremy after he was arrested and shipped off to a Chicago jail cell. I'm curious to see if this really is the end of Jeremy's reign of terror or if he will find a way to beat the charges and come back with a vengeance. I sort of hope the latter happens and that he returns to wreak more havoc in Genoa City. The plot to send him to prison sounded like it would be a fun storyline, but it ended up feeling very rushed and matter-of-fact in the way the show executed it. It's no wonder Chance was suspicious about how convenient all the evidence against Jeremy was after he arrested him!
I feel like the writers missed out on telling all the fun beats of this storyline as it reached its climax. I'm all for fast-paced storytelling, but don't leave out all the good parts! It would have been nice to have some tension build around the theft of Nikki's necklace. Maybe Nikki and Victor could have taken an impromptu visit to their apartment in Chicago, and Jack would have had to hide from them and sneak out. And/or maybe Jack could have almost been caught by someone on his way out of the apartment building that could be a potential witness he'd have to blackmail later. Something! Anything! They really made the ending of this plot fall flat after all the buildup leading up to the robbery. I was looking forward to seeing it all play out, and then we literally saw none of it. All of a sudden, Jack was back in Genoa City with the necklace, and Diane was planting it in Jeremy's hotel room.
At least there was some excitement and tension when Diane was planting the necklace and had to delay Jeremy's sexual advances toward her. I just wish we could have gotten more out of this storyline and more out of this villain, given that we kept hearing about how menacing and dangerous Jeremy was. We certainly got to see him be menacing, but we never really saw his dangerous side. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that there is more in store for his character in the future. It's always a bad idea to waste a good villain!
For a minute there, I thought Chance was going to uncover something about Jack and Diane's involvement in Jeremy's arrest and that the Chicago authorities might set him free. But rather than follow through on his hunch, Chance is apparently just going to quit the police force altogether instead. It seems that he has become jaded regarding how the rich families of Genoa City use the law as a tool to suit their own needs, and he doesn't want to be caught in the middle of it anymore. I'm sorry, what?! I can't wait until Abby hears about this, since his commitment to his job on the police force was a major reason for their marital woes and eventual divorce! I'm literally laughing out loud here, just thinking about how she is going to lose her mind over him leaving the police force (if he really does).
I can't say I blame Chance for being jaded, though. The Newmans duped him into letting Nick get away with murder last year, and now the Abbotts have duped him in their scheme to send Jeremy back to prison. But again, I think the writers are missing out on another opportunity to bring some tension into the storyline and build suspense. Paul Williams never would have stood for this if he were running the case! I miss the days of Paul seeking justice, even when it involved his closest friends and the elite citizens of Genoa City. But instead, we get a potentially exciting storyline that fizzles out again. Just as soon as Chance started having suspicions about Jeremy's arrest, he just says, "Oh, well," and then decides that he doesn't want to be a policeman anymore?! I hope it isn't going to be a trend in 2023 that stories end as soon as they begin like this. What is the point? I certainly feel double-crossed by the writers!
But let's move on from the Jeremy saga (just like the writers suddenly seem to have done). Across town, Devon is feeling double-crossed by Jill and Lily, but I feel like he is the one double-crossing them. I want to like Devon. I really do. But sometimes, the writers make it very difficult to do so! I am stunned that he is all of a sudden wanting to reverse the merger of his company, Hamilton-Winters, with Chancellor Industries. The merger happened months ago and is already a done deal! In typical Devon fashion, he wants to bail on Jill and Lily just because they won't roll over and do everything with the company that he wants them to. He's like a child with hurt feelings who wants to take back all his toys and run home because the other kids won't play the game he wants to play.
It's really frustrating that Devon seems to lack a single concern for all the employees this may negatively affect (including his own sister) and the bad publicity that it would bring to both companies. Thankfully, he had a conversation about it with Abby, and she seemed to be able to knock some sense into him! I'm really liking this coupling of Devon and Abby even more after this week. Unlike Amanda, who fed into all of Devon's "temper tantrums" and encouraged his holier-than-thou attitude, Abby is able to help level him out and guide him to see reason. I hope that she truly got through to him and that he doesn't take legal action against Chancellor-Winters to try to get his company back and reverse the merger.
Speaking of characters that want to reverse a "merger," it seems Sally wishes she could forget her recent night of passion with Adam in her hotel room! Nick finally wised up to the fact that Sally was pregnant, and she came clean with him this week; however, she left out one minor detail -- Adam could be the father of her baby! I'm honestly surprised that Nick didn't catch on to that almost immediately when he asked her why she hadn't told him yet. He knows that Sally and Adam had sex recently, but he didn't even bother to ask if she knew who the father was -- although I guess I shouldn't be surprised because it would be typical of Nick to happily gloss over that detail and raise the child as his own (since he seems to enjoy taking things from his brother so much).
Ugh, why is this the one story that the writers seem to be determined to drag out?! Every other story seems to get a quick resolution (often too quick of a resolution), yet the writers just keep torturing us with this Newman brother love triangle. I hate to say it, but I am starting to care less and less whether Sally and Adam get back together. Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love them together and am hoping that this pregnancy brings them back together, but the constant back-and-forth is just getting a bit tired. Hopefully, Adam learns that Sally is pregnant soon, and one of the Newman brothers demands a paternity test!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed that Adam is the father of Sally's baby, but if the writers insist on pushing Nick and Sally together, then it might not be the worst thing in the world. I realized the other day that the writers may already have another story in mind for Adam coming up this year. With Daniel back in town and Heather's return being imminent, could Adam reconnect with his ex? I had completely forgotten that Heather and Adam were a hot item back in the day (when Chris Engen portrayed Adam years ago).
It would be great to see Adam and Heather's history revisited if they bump into each other in Genoa City this year! In one of the most shocking double-crosses in Y&R history, Adam (while still in a relationship with Heather) manipulated his gay lawyer, Rafe, by having sex with him in order to stop him from uncovering some crimes that Adam was committing at the time. Y&R could make history again by having Adam come out as bisexual, and Heather's return could be the perfect catalyst for that type of storyline (but I'm sure that is just wishful thinking on my part, since the show doesn't seem to be all that daring).
Y&R has been progressive with having two bisexual females on the show that are married to one another, and I love Mariah and Tessa, but to have Victor Newman's son come out as bisexual would truly be groundbreaking and get people talking about the show even more. I really liked Yani Gellman in the role of Rafe, too, so it would be awesome if they brought him back into the mix somehow (maybe after a conversation with Heather, Adam could seek out Rafe to apologize). I wouldn't be opposed to seeing Heather and Adam give it another go romantically, either, because I did like them as a couple back in the day, and I'd much rather Daniel be with Lily than Heather.
And while we've somewhat touched on the topic of Tessa and Mariah here, I just want to say how happy I am for the news that they shared with Sharon and Abby this week -- they are going to be mothers soon (that is, if all goes accordingly to plan with the adoption)! It's nice that these two are getting some good news for a change and that a prospective mother has chosen them to adopt her child when she delivers next month. It could be a very exciting February Sweeps for "Teriah" fans!
It looks like things are getting ready to heat up for Victor, Kyle, and Adam in February, too. I'm intrigued to see how Victor and Kyle's scheme to get Adam fired from Jabot plays out. And I'm even more intrigued by what Kyle wants in return for helping Victor. I'm thinking that Kyle is likely going to ask Victor to get Nikki to back off of his mom, Diane, so that she doesn't push the issue of Diane's potential involvement in her stolen necklace. Jeremy clearly belongs in prison still, since he was ready to pick up right where he left off with Diane and enlist her help to commit crimes of burglary and money laundering, so hopefully Victor can convince Nikki that they shouldn't do anything that could result in Jeremy being set free. I try to avoid storyline spoilers, so I'm not sure if that is what Kyle is going to ask Victor to do, but I can't imagine what else he would ask of Victor in exchange for helping him get Adam fired.
I honestly don't know why Victor is even bothering with this scheme to get Adam fired from Jabot and get him to return to their family company. Adam doesn't want to be at Newman Enterprises while Victoria is CEO, so it really makes no sense that Victor thinks he can change Adam's mind just because Adam loses his job at Jabot. And Adam already suspects that Kyle and Victor are up to something regarding him and his position at Jabot, so there is no way he won't see through whatever plot they are concocting. I hate how much Victor constantly double-crosses his son and feels vindicated in doing so. He needs to let Adam live his own life and stop trying to force him to make the decisions that Victor thinks he should make. "The Mustache" needs to chill!
And on that note, I will bid you all adieu! What are your thoughts on this past week of episodes? And do you agree that the show has been lacking in their follow-through and resolution of certain stories lately? Are you, like me, missing that sense of suspense and tension that would lead us to a satisfying climax? Or are you happy with how the writers have been handling things? Don't forget to hit the Comments (here on the site and on social media) to share your opinions!
Until next time,
Vance
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