I have to hand it to the writers for providing such great material for so many of the great actresses on the show through these last few episodes! I couldn't help but think of Beyoncé's song, "Run the World (Girls)" as I watched this week's episodes. There have always been strong female characters on the show, but it seemed like they were all out in full force this week. And what a fun week it has been!
Is everyone else loving Jill being back in town as much as I am? It is a breath of fresh air to have Jess Walton commanding our screens once again -- although I'm sure Billy wishes that his mother had stayed away (more on that later). I loved Jill's scenes with Chance and Ashley toward the end of the week. Her reaction to seeing Chance alive again was touching, but what I really loved about those scenes was that Jill, true to form, was sure to reprimand him for not letting them know he had survived the explosion. This new actor playing Chance, Conner Floyd, really looks like he could be Jill's grandson, and the two of them had great screen chemistry.
I like the chemistry between this new Chance and Abby already, too. I was happy that she was able to convince him to come home to Genoa City because I was afraid this storyline in Spain was going to drag out and give Devon and/or Mariah more ammunition to potentially pursue custody of Dominic in the absence of his legal parents. I keep going back and forth on whether or not I think a custody battle storyline is on the horizon because the writers keep throwing curveballs at us whenever I think things are headed in a particular direction. It's nice that they are keeping us guessing, though!
I really didn't expect Abby to get through to Chance so quickly, but I was relieved that he took what his wife was saying to heart and came to realize that his place is at home with his family now. I agreed with Victor and Ashley when they discussed how proud they are of their daughter and mentioned that she honed the strength and perseverance that she inherited from them to not only find Chance alive but also to convince him to return home and leave his unfinished overseas mission behind.
The scene when Chance met his son for this first time was adorable -- and a long time coming! It was a little bittersweet, too, because Devon had to say goodbye to Dominic after all the time he has spent bonding with him. I wasn't expecting Devon to be so welcoming toward Chance when he and Abby stopped by to pick up Dominic, but I was glad that there was no drama (yet).
The man who makes it all happen here at Soap Central, Dan Kroll, mentioned to me that he thought it would have been a better storyline if Chance was not alive and instead just a hallucination that Abby was having. Imagine the scene if Abby had told everyone she was coming home with Chance, and when they returned to Genoa City for his big welcome home celebration, no one could see him but her. Perhaps they could have done a whole storyline where she had to be hospitalized before she accepted his death and was able to move on.
Dan also felt the writers could have taken that type of storyline a step further and eventually had Chance still be revealed to be alive, only to have Abby think she is going crazy again when she sees the real him! As much as I would hate to see Abby go through all of that, I can't deny that type of storyline direction would have made for some great TV. But I do like the direction the show is currently taking with these characters, and I'm intrigued to see what type of trouble looms on the horizon for Abby and Chance, which was teased by Melissa Ordway in a recent interview.
Chance's return really brought out some great scenes in everyone this week. I want to give a shout-out to Tricia Cast as Nina because her quick scene, which only occurred via Abby's cell phone screen, was stellar. You could really feel Nina's relief and joy as she got a glimpse of her son alive and well. Without even being in the room, she became the star of those scenes, which is a true testament to her acting ability. I can't wait to see their in-person reunion, which will hopefully come soon.
Like Tricia Cast, Eileen Davidson shone this week as Ashley helped Abby navigate the tense situation with Chance in Spain. I love the chemistry those two have as on-screen mother and daughter. And Ashley's scenes with Jack and Victor, although simple and sweet, highlighted the best parts of her relationships with both men. It was nice to see them all working together toward a common goal and bonding over their love for Ashley and Chance.
It was nice to see Jill interact with Ashley, too, as they discussed Chance's "return from the dead." I absolutely believed Jill when she said that if she had been the one to find Chance, she would have "throttled him on the spot" for keeping them in the dark about his survival. I couldn't help but laugh when picturing her doing just that. And Ashley's remark that everyone knows Jill is really just a "softie" underneath her "tough guy" personality was the icing on the cake in this scene. It's nice to have these fun types of interactions amidst all the drama.
Speaking of drama, Jill certainly had plenty of it with Billy this week. I can't blame Jill for not wanting Billy to run Chancellor Industries alongside Lily. Billy couldn't help but to get as tangled up as he possibly could in the web that Adam and Victor spun to best him. It was a smart business move for Jill not to give Billy that type of power and responsibility because he surely would have used Chancellor Industries to take aim at Victor and Adam once again, regardless of potential fallout. Jill would never gamble with Katherine's legacy like that (at least not anymore).
I was thrilled when Jill offered Lily the CEO position at Chancellor Industries, but I will admit that it would have been a nice nod to Victor and Neil's business relationship to have Lily working alongside Victoria at Newman Enterprises. If she had accepted the job offer from Newman-Locke instead, it would have been like following in her father's footsteps. She and Victoria would have made a great team in the business world.
But, as Devon pointed out, Neil would be thrilled for Lily to be given the CEO position at Chancellor Industries and would already be planning the party to celebrate her new venture. It's always nice when we get these scenes between Devon and Lily. Both Bryton James and Christel Khalil have been knocking it out of the park lately, and it's nice to see the show continue to keep them at the center of so many storylines.
I'm looking forward to seeing Lily take on her new role at Chancellor Industries, and I hope that we see her pulled into more business storylines with the heavy hitters on the show. I'm glad that she isn't stuck trying to salvage ChancComm -- and her own reputation -- after Billy nearly tarnished both.
As Victor mentioned to Adam, it was a brilliant move for Jill to start a bidding war over ChancComm. I wonder if that was her plan all along or if her chat with Adam is what lit that spark of an idea. I loved seeing Jill call out Adam on his lame attempt at trying to buy ChancComm out from under her at a bargain price. The rest of Adam's plans went so well that he just assumed Jill would all but hand over the company to him -- and boy did she set him straight! It was great to see her wipe that smirk off his face and put him in his place. Hopefully, he has learned never to underestimate her. Although I am an Adam fan, I was glad that he didn't walk out of there with a deal for Newman Media to acquire ChanceComm.
As we saw in the "Next Week on Y&R" clip at the end of Friday's episode, Billy is going to try to coax Jack into bidding on ChancComm with him so that he can try to "steal" it away from both Newman-Locke and Newman Media. Billy just really doesn't know when to quit, does he? He. Is. Exhausting!
I'm surprised that Lily was somewhat supportive of Billy's plan, although she did caution him and didn't seem totally on board with the idea. I have a feeling Jack won't be totally on board, either. He and Billy didn't always see eye to eye when they worked at Jabot together, and I can't imagine he'll be jumping at the chance to become Billy's business partner. But we shall see. Stranger things have certainly happened in Genoa City. It would be interesting to see if Jill would even sell to him after stripping him of his job there.
I've spent a lot of time talking about Jill in this column because she was such a driving force in so many storylines this week (which I'll never complain about), but she and Lily weren't the only leading ladies making waves in the Genoa City business community this week. Victoria (along with Ashland) rightly made a play for ChancComm even though Victor and Adam assumed they would be free to loot the remains of the wreckage that they made of the company without interference from Newman-Locke.
I was a little bummed to see Victoria stick it to Adam by making a play for ChancComm after all he did to try to protect her, Newman-Locke, and Ashland's reputation, but she did make some valid points that Newman-Locke shouldn't benefit from the scandal, since it was Ashland who'd had to take so many risks. Still, I was hoping that we would see some more bonding between the two siblings rather than battling each other again. Alas, that does not seem to be the case (at least not any time soon). And now that Victor and Victoria find themselves on opposite sides of this battle over ChanceComm, Victor may come to regret that he groomed her to do business just like he always has -- ruthlessly!
I'm hoping Amanda and Imani get pulled into this storyline revolving around ChancComm in some way. I really enjoy these two and the bond they are forming as sisters, but I want to see them start interacting with more characters in the business world soon, too. It was great to see Imani again this week, and I'm glad she seems to be sticking around. I'm looking forward to Amanda's mom moving to Genoa City, too! I've been wishing that we would see more of this family and am anxious to see what is in store for them all next.
The scene with Amanda and Imani out celebrating their new family law practice and discussing which space to obtain for their offices was really fun -- but something tells me that these two may end up butting heads more often than not (even though they are playing nice again currently). And I'm here for it! I also think it would be great if they get roped into another legal storyline with Michael -- and this time, it would be nice if we actually saw the legal action play out on-screen (instead of just hearing about it after the fact like we did with Sutton's recent trial storyline).
We definitely need more Michael on our screens, whether it is in a storyline with Amanda and Imani or literally anyone else on the canvas. I had almost forgotten about him because we see him so infrequently, but it's always a nice surprise when he pops up here and there. Christian LeBlanc has always been one of my favorite actors on the show, and his portrayal of Michael has always kept me coming back for more Y&R. I'm not sure if he will ever read this column, but I would be remiss if I didn't congratulate him on his 30-year milestone with the show!
I've only been watching Y&R for just over ten years now, so I didn't get to see some of his earlier work, but I have loved all that he has done in the last decade. I'm excited to hear that they are doing a special episode in the new year to commemorate and celebrate his milestone anniversary!
Michael's storylines with his brother, Kevin, and mother, Gloria, have always been some of my favorites, so I hope the special episode includes them in some way. Kevin is another character I would love to see more of again, too, so I can only hope that this special episode of Michael's will kick off a new storyline for the Fisher-Baldwin clan! The show was certainly never dull when their family was front and center in all the Genoa City drama, so a new storyline for them is for sure on my wish list for 2022!
What are some of your favorites of Michael's storylines? And what would you like to see included in Christian LeBlanc's special 30th anniversary episode? Hit the comments and let me know your hopes/thoughts/ideas! While you're there, let me know who your favorite leading lady was this week -- there are certainly plenty to choose from! I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts and opinions!
Until next time,
Vance
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