By Marlena De Lacroix a.k.a. Connie Passalacqua Hayman
Soap plot twists are usually small and un-undoable. This week, The Young and the Restless let lose a monster that is neither.
As you know, most of the show over the last couple of months has revolved around the fact that Nick (Joshua Morrow) found out from a paternity test that he is not Summer’s biological father. He thought Jack was. This week, Sharon (Sharon Case) disclosed to her dead daughter Cassie that she changed the tests and that Nick is Summer’s father after all.
That sneaky deed might seem out of character for Sharon, who on the surface is sweet and good. But underneath she is insecure and lonely. She longs for the life she used to have with first love and husband Nick, before Cassie died and he deserted her for Phyllis. She has also proven to be unstable in the past, having set fire to the Newman ranch last year.
The show had already been terribly shaken up when Nick revealed he is not Summer’s father. This revelation elicited some great acting, particularly from Peter Bergman, who played instant father Jack, and Michelle Stafford, who plays Summer’s mother, Phyllis. Hunter Hailey King as Summer had many excellent tear-drenched scenes when she found out about her paternity, and those with Bergman’s Jack were particularly moving.
It also broke up Summer’s romance with sudden brother Kyle, who is Jack’s son. Harley Sawyer, whose acting has not impressed in the past, rose to the occasion in these melodramatic circumstances. His scenes with the stressed-out Summer were surprisingly good.
And of course, these plot twists will lead to even bigger plot twists. On Friday, we saw Phyllis overhearing Sharon’s confession to Cassie about switching paternity tests. That incident promises to lead to violence and we know Stafford is leaving the show. The departure of the dynamic veteran Emmy-winning Stafford will leave a big hole to fill. But the show’s imaginative writers, who invented all these unexpected paternity switches, have demonstrated that they are up to the challenge.
In the beleaguered world of soap opera these days, it’s nice to have a little hope.
You are one of the few positive write ups I have seen on Y&R in awhile. I have to admit the show leaves me feeling underwhelmed most days. I find the entire production underplayed. It lacks melodrama. Movement.
As for the story in question I was initially excited about it but as time went on found the whole thing bewildering. For starters the actors playing Summer and Kyle share zero chemistry. I found the coupling interesting when actor Blake Hood was in the role but recasting the part too close to the culmination fizzled that fire out. I don’t care about this so called star crossed romance enough to see them through this difficult time. If the writers had truly done their homework they would have realized playing Summer/Kyle as the most proactive part of the story was not the most compelling. There is enough rich history between the two families it SHOULD have been powerful on that merit alone. Then there is Phyllis. I find she has not been written true to form under Josh Griffith. Phyllis as developed by Bill Bell (and written that way for most of her run) is a loose cannon. A fierce diva who cuts to the bone when crossed. She was basically absent during the time Nick was romancing her sister Avery. A character move I don’t buy for a bit. Then when she was told of the secret by Nick she went along with him TIL he was ready. Making bone head moves along the way (like trying to seduce Kyle) that painted her as an amateur idiot. Please!! After ALL this character has done this was the best they could come up with? That is not the Phyllis that I know. I don’t know what actress Michelle Staffords real reasons are for leaving but frankly I don’t blame her. This is not an interesting incarnation of this once dynamic trouble making character. As for Sharon I wish they would stop writing her problems as associated with bi-polar disorder. Sociopath seems more appropriate. Josh Griffith seemed to pan the direction Sharon had taken under Maria Bell and promised to rehabilitate the former heroine. Only now he seems content in following the path Maria laid. Sharon to me is so ruined I don’t know what can be done with her anymore to make her click again. Another jarring element is Nicks reasoning for keeping Summers paternity a secret. The problem lies in all the SORASing done during Maria Bells dreadful reign. Cassie died roughly 8 years ago but Summer is now a teenager whom technically was alive before Cassie died. There were moments in the dialogue where Summers age was mentioned just as we’re celebrating another anniversary of Cassie’s death. Both of which contradict the other. Because Summer was aged we have also had to sit through a lot of scenes where characters are recanting special moments we never saw happen. The whole story feels so false I can’t buy into it. The only saving grace for me has been the performances, specifically by Peter Bergman. Once again the acting steps up where everything else is falling short.
Sadly, it’s not just this story. I find the character of Dylan and most stories he’s in polarizing. I like Steve Burton and because I don’t watch GH he is, for me, a new actor. The problem with Dylan is he exists in a vacuum. His closet connection to anyone on the show has been Avery. A character most people found useless under Maria Bell and wanted gone. The character has been pimped way too hard and their agenda to promote Mr. Burton to lead status is not lost on any thinking fan. Nothing about how he has been integrated with vet characters has been organic. It’s all been mostly forced and contrived. Yes, I get it!!! He’s a good guy. SO good in fact he accepts he’s the father and willing to marry the woman he knew for 5 minutes and slept with. It can get nauseating to watch. They seem to be trying to shove a square into a circle. I’m with a lot of fans who want him gone. The problem with Dylan was not hiring Steve Burton. The problem is in the writing and how he has been introduced. In comparison, new character Carmine is clicking because the writers followed the right formula on how to integrate new characters. He matters to the audience because of his affiliation with Lauren and what his sex romp with her has done to her marriage with Michael and relationship with son Fen. Dylan just felt shopped around like a whore til he stuck somewhere.
For me the one truly great story this regime has told since taking over has been the disintegration of the Baldwin marriage. I’m a little concerned with the direction Carmine has taken but overall the story has resonated with me. Unfortunately, that’s really the only one.
I’m still waiting for Josh to deliver in a big way and for Jill Phelps to dazzle. I see nothing that says, “I’m the most decorated EP in daytime emmy history”. Her Y&R feels so un-Y&R to me. From the look, to the music, to the infestation of GH employes both in front and behind the scenes. Y&R no longer has that lush intoxicating look and sound of the golden days. It had been neglected by Maria Bell. I was really hoping a new EP would come in and restore Y&R. Not gut it and change it into something else. One only look at B&B to see what we Y&R fans lost. B&B represents what Y&R used to be both in story and production. A real damn shame if you’re a long Y&R fan. I completely get why Jill has the reputation with fans that she does. Now that I have seen it for myself I get it loud and clear. She is not paying homage to the great Bill Bell Y&R. She is saying, I can do it better, by stripping away all its classic elements one layer at a time and faster than any Wiley Coyote/Roadrunner chase. I’m ready for her to go.
Thanks Marlena for the write up on Y&R. Overall, I think that JG is doing a good job. Character motivation has improved when compared to the previous regime. Sharon, Nick, Phyllis, Chelsea have reasons for his or her actions. Between the Paternity switches and secrets, Baldwin/Carmine saga and now adding Chloe to Victoria/Billy story, Y&R is quite addictive.