The Young and the Restless has gotten back to basics in recent times with a few family-based storylines, including Sally’s surprise pregnancy. There’s also Diane’s heartache over Jack’s portrayal, and Lily discovering that Holden is her brother. These tales are warm reminders that soaps are all about family.
Mother’s daze on The Young and the Restless
Sally Spectra appeared to have a cold last week on Y&R. Was she really under the weather, or did Sally want to make sure Billy had some alone time with Jill in London, as Sally said she’d join him there later once she shook this bug?
Well, it turned out there was more to Sally’s condition than we thought! Sally kept stalling with Billy, and she invited her pal, Audra Charles, to come over with something she needed. Sally’s been Audra’s No. 1 supporter so it was nice to see Audra return the favor.
Sally opened the package Audra brought, and we saw a home pregnancy kit. We shouldn’t have been surprised. Given all the times that Sally has forgiven Billy for various transgressions, it’s only logical that they’d be having some great makeup sex.
This story is already a hit because we’ve seen Sally express her heartfelt emotions over possibly becoming a mother again. She revisited the tragic loss of her daughter, Ava Hope, her child with Adam. Ever the supportive pal, Sally listened to Audra reveal the details of her pregnancy. (Sally initially thought that Audra had been pregnant with Tucker’s baby, but no, it was Noah.)
Audra’s the queen of rapid-fire putdowns in Genoa City. We chuckle when she refers to Claire as “Claire Bear,” and she has the uncanny ability to zone in on a person’s weakness. Audra will exploit that weakness with a quip that she throws off the back of her shoulder.
However, few get to see the emotional Audra, who still thinks about the baby she never had and the life that would have come along with that bundle of joy, specifically, a role as Mrs. Noah Newman. Audra knows that Noah’s a good guy and there are still some feelings there.
Sally told Billy that she was pregnant with a mix of fear and joy in her voice. And kudos to the writers for having Sally share the news right away. There were no weeks and weeks of wondering what she’d do, only to ultimately reveal the big news.
Tough love from Traci
It’s a good thing that Diane only took a small suitcase with her when she moved out of the Abbott mansion that she had slaved over redecorating. She had to come back and get some more stuff. That led to an encounter with Traci, which may have started (emphasis on may) to open her eyes to the reality of Jack’s betrayal.
It’d be so easy for Traci to take her brother’s side and simply help Diane pack. “How many suitcases do you need, Diane? Thanks for the redo of the home. Don’t be a stranger.” These are all things Traci could have said to Diane, but she didn’t do that.
Yes, Traci took Jack’s side, but she knows her brother still loves Diane, and so Traci acted on behalf of both her brother and her sister-in-law. The novelist gave Diane some tough love, reminding her that Diane hasn’t always made the right choice either — like when she faked her death for years, living a secret life away from Genoa City, Jack, and Kyle.
This is a story beat that’s best forgotten, as Diane never should have been killed off. We saw the corpse, and a host of people wanted her dead. Y&R asked us to stretch credibility to accept Diane back. We happily did. And while it’s often best not to think of the fact that Diane did something so unlikely (really? Leave Kyle? At the age he was??), Y&R played this story beat beautifully as it’s important for Diane to realize that she’s not perfect.
Traci was 100% spot on that Diane was forgiven for her actions. Maybe she should share the same grace for Jack? Traci’s been Y&R’s MPV lately, lending support to Lily during her family drama and now, she’s given Diane some tough love. Wonderful!
He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother
The only thing Y&R could have done to make Holden’s paternity reveal (Malcolm is his dad, Stephanie is his mom) more dramatic would have been if he’d started to date Lily Winters.
Y&R’s done this story before. Victoria and the late Cole were having a romance when he mistakenly believed that they were half-siblings. Imagine Holden telling Lily in the rain (as Cole did with Victoria) that they couldn’t be together because they were brother and sister! Alas, soaps can afford rain, and putting Lily and Malcolm together might have seemed forced.
There’s plenty of drama in this tale as Malcolm still needs to find a donor to help treat his aplastic anemia, Lily is processing the fact that she’s got a brother, and Holden is going to experience a whole new world now that he’s a Winters.
A shining star in this story has been Vivica A. Fox as Dr. Stephanie Simmons. She’s handling both the familial and medical aspects of this tale beautifully. Stephanie wasn’t on the canvas for all that long, but she was around when Lily was born, and she remembers little Nate Hastings, who is now all grown up.
Y&R would be smart to transfer Dr. Simmons from her New York Hospital to Genoa City Memorial. It’d be great to have a doctor around, someone who’s tied to the Winters clan.
All of these terrific tales are based in family and have had little to no connection to those two dreaded words that we hope never to hear again — Artificial Intelligence.
