The villainous Victor Newman

Eyes gleaming with smug self-satisfaction, Victor took great pleasure in the flabbergasted faces of those assembled inside the Jabot boardroom as he announced his take it or leave it offer.

Eyes gleaming with smug self-satisfaction, Victor took great pleasure in the flabbergasted faces of those assembled inside the Jabot boardroom as he announced his take it or leave it offer. As many had previously suspected, the stipulation string tied to Victor's 75 million dollar offer not only demanded the immediate end of Jack's uncontested reign as Jabot's CEO, but banned him from ever holding a managerial position in the Company again! Classic Victor Newman at his most arrogant and insufferable. And didn't I just love it! For even as I acknowledge the egotistical entrepreneur is chock full of many less than endearing character and personality traits, like controlling, rude, ruthless, domineering and vindictive, just to name a handful, I confess I'm still an unashamed and enthusiastic Victor fan. Because while admittedly the glimpses are few and far between, the flip side of Victor's two-headed coin has shown him to also possess caring, loving and protective characteristics as well. None of which, however, are ever directed at Jack.

I doubt anyone who has ever watched Victor in action for even a moment or two would be foolish enough to believe he was blessed with either a tolerant or forgiving nature. So Jack should have known he would one day pay an exorbitant price for the delicious delight he derived from flinging Victor's original 75 million dollars back into his furrowed face. And if for some inexplicable reason Jack hadn't been able to figure that out, Victor was unkind enough to promise him one day the piper would indeed come a-calling to collect his unpaid debt. But, at the time, Jack obviously said to heck with Victor's hopefully empty threats and promises or simply just wasn't strong enough to pass up an unprecedented opportunity to win one inning in their ongoing battle, even though it could eventually cause him to lose the entire game.

Not that Jack should have been required to kneel down and grovel gratefully at the great man's feet for his strategic pre-hearing offer of payment for perceived damages his commercial bribery inflicted upon the forever financially floundering family fragrance company. But perhaps Jack should have taken a second to ask himself whether there could be anything at all to that coined clich about living to fight another day.

Which is exactly what I'm sure Jack will soon be planning to do. Our man Jack has been making bad business decisions in the name of Jabot for a long time now, and he, like Victor, has often behaved much like an old dog unwilling to add a new trick or two to his repertoire. So perhaps the time has come for some other Abbott to temporarily take the managerial reins in hand to see if they might be able to drive the company carriage out of the red and into the black. Now, if I was one of the show scribes with a red editing pencil, I would have the new and improved, recently risen from the ashes Smilin' Jack, an ear to ear grin plastered across his freshly shaven face, sacrifice himself on the family altar for the good of one and all Abbott's and graciously vacate his CEO seat, thereby relieving his family of the onerous duty of discharging him.

Who might that Abbott replacement be, you could at this very moment be begging to know. Well, I'm guessing it won't be John or Jill. Ashley is already wearing the pants in the Carlton compound, and in spite of her oft repeated prattle about preferring the close company of the beakers in her basement lab to the figureheads on the executive floor, she seems the most likely Abbott to plant her pinstriped bottom in Jack's vacated chair. And since the recently rehired warm body of Damon is already on board and available to take Ashley's often absent place among the caustic chemicals, there's nothing stopping her from immediately shedding her lab coat and stepping directly into Jack's handmade CEO shoes.

But don't get out those cartons of Kleenex to cry over Jack's unfair fate just yet. Because I suspect none of us need worry Jack is going to drown his unemployment sorrows in strong drink or do any other kind of harm to himself. Like many of you, I've been listening outside the doors and gawking in the windows at the goings on in this entertaining City for quite some time, so I know this is definitely not the final act in the Jack and Victor fractured fable. From the moment the rumors were whispered that Jack and Jabot might soon be coming to a parting of the ways, I've been straining my brain pondering what he could do next. Here's my uneducated guess: Since Jack's new gal pal, Jill, has taken up her sword and shield and aligned herself firmly on his side, it's only a short stretch of my vivid imagination to picture the two of them joining forces and planning a march onto Victor's protected shores. Possibly frustrated with the lack of loyalty she obviously feels the Abbott's are showing one of their own, and with any forward movement of her beloved Men's Line potentially on hold due to the necessity of using all incoming income to settle Jabot's accumulated debts, Jill may turn her avaricious business eyes on another corporation's pursuits. Now that she's confessed to having belatedly formed this all consuming affection for Mother Kay, the timing is perfect for a tentative tiptoe down the carpeted halls of Chancellor Industries' where the Chancellor heiress can terrorize the legions of contented Chancellor employees, letting them know who will eventually be cracking the corporate whip. And who's to say that while waiting impatiently to resume his rightful place in the Jabot hierarchy (because you know eventually he will), Jack won't want to pick up his bucket and trot right up the hill to play happily beside Jill.

All in all there was a lot to like about the lopsided boardroom battle of Victor vs. Jabot. Although Ashley had the audacity to appear offended and insulted, Jill made many fans stand up and cheer when she unleashed her tart tongue and flayed Ashley with the bitter truth about her long obsession with Victor. Brad, as always, swayed in whatever direction the breeze blew, John was for the most part mute and Jack entertained us with his droll delivery of the occasional one-liner at Victor's expense. Also hilarious was Victor, his face bearing an uncanny resemblance to the discontented countenance of the Grinch before he gave back Christmas, frowning ferociously as a cheerful Jack, champagne bottle in hand, made himself at home behind Victor's bar, the two men figuratively pushing and shoving each other down bad memory lane trying to prove who'd been the more vicious villain. What wasn't quite so amusing was the cold, callous way Victor treated his accusing, outraged wife, but then how sorry can you feel for Nikki? Because when it comes to Victor, she should know and understand by now exactly how the contrary tyrant she's married to operates.

Oh how miraculous are the healing powers of Soap Opera creams and face potions. And what rapid results they have as well. Why, who would have believed that after a mere two days of diligent application, the scar which just last week covered half our Cabaret crooner to be's face, is now very nearly invisible. And how lucky to be one of the favored few who can achieve life-changing facial surgery on about an hour's notice. I've said it before, but I don't mind repeating myself. How wonderful it must be to live, love and lollygag in Genoa City.

So Bobby is now ready to marry his child bride? Oh what fun he is in for, waiting for his lady love to become old enough to experience all the things he experienced about 20 years ago. Well, like they say, an adult can view the cold, cruel world anew, all shiny bright and sparkling, through the wondering eyes of a child. Or something like that. Brittany and Bobby, married? From my seat on the sofa cushion, they certainly don't strike me as a charismatic match made in heaven, but, hey what do I know?

I'm having an equally hard time feeling any tender little twinges about the Mac and Daniel joining as well. Yes, it's all innocence and sweet, longing looks. Poor abandoned Daniel and maidenly Mac who just hasn't been able to catch a love break. Perhaps this pairing would have been easier to accept had I not invested so much of my tenderhearted emotions into rooting insanely for Mac and her Billy, who, in my opinion, lit up the small screen and contained enough heat to spontaneously ignite, only to wind up with my fingernails gnawed down to red, unsightly nubs, having cried a virtual river of tears as her dalliance with Billy died a slow agonizing death. But I'm trying to forget about those long ago days gone by and get with this new program. Considering the way Phyllis schemed with Brittany to help destroy Mac's chances with Billy, I thought it was quite magnanimous of Mac to encourage Daniel in his decision to meet with Phyllis instead of regaling him with the dirt Phyllis had dumped on her.

What I did find both interesting and surprising was the spark of friendship that flickered briefly between Daniel and Kevin. I can't wait to see what might become of that unlikely alliance. While I know it probably didn't convert many Kevin haters to his side of the fence, I liked that he took a moment to thank Lily for her part in unlocking his jail cell and setting him free. I wonder, though, if Daniel will still see him as a possible friend once he learns the many dark deeds listed on Kevin dance card.

So what rich, eligible bachelor will catch Gloria's greedy eyes when she clip clops into the Athletic Club with gobs of goo plastered on her face? Not that there are many possibilities, but just for the fun of it, let's see just which unmarried ones she might have to choose from. Jack (once he removes that wedding band he's still wearing), Brock (if he stays in town long enough), Cameron, Bobby, John, Larry, Paul, oh what the hey, might as well throw in the Judge as well. Happy hunting, Glo.

Phyllis and Dru, give it a rest already. This week their verbal battle centered on which of them should pretend to be working in Victoria's old office. How was it resolved? Well, it wasn't, so for the moment it appears the two hissing felines will be scratching at each other from opposite sides of the same room. Now, it might just be me, but I've had my fill of their over the top bickering. Not the way any two grown women would behave. In these unattractive roles, they are both so unlikable; I can't root for one or the other. While I know my hope is not likely to come true, if only, if only, Victoria would return and toss both of these wannabees out on their bickering behinds.

Phyllis and Daniel together, now that's a different story. I've always preferred Phyllis with some of her prickly barriers down, when she seems like a real person instead of the crazed, screeching harridan she often appears. I enjoyed her scenes with Daniel as she practically begged him for even a tiny corner of his life and can't wait for the coming week when she tells him the rest of the story. Of course, I expect her to skirt the edges of the truth because I can't imagine she's going to spell out all the drugged and dirty details of how Danny actually came to be or the extreme lengths she went to in her efforts to snatch Danny from Christine. Not that I have any sympathy for absentee Daddy Dan or his Pristine Princess. They had plenty of opportunities to tell the story their way and they chose instead to keep hiding behind the big "it's complicated" billboard. So will these revelations mean Damon is going to gain another roommate?

Thankfully, when it comes to Kay and her now nonstop drinking, I suspect we are nearing the end of the bottle. Kay's food and drink filled answer to her loved ones' intervention attempt is likely the fork in the road where she will either turn back or stagger drunkenly past the point of no return and be lost forever. If it is the former, I'm hoping to finally have my wish granted, the one that links she and Arthur together in a tender, touching romance.

We took yet another turn in the not-Cameron corpse story. Grace, as expected, with very little effort on Cameron's part, blurted out every syllable which had recently been relayed by Nick and Sharon and after a short confrontation, Nick tossed Cameron's job back into his face without ever having worked at it, and then gave Cameron one example of how it felt to be knocked around. Just as Michael convinced the young Newmans to come clean with all Sharon's been concealing, the unknown John Doe floated out of the darkness of the sewer system and into the bright light of day and now rests in the care and custody of Detective Weber. Which caused Michael to suddenly decide it was not, after all, the most opportune time for Sharon to recite her long, twisted tale to the boys in blue and plainclothes. Many have already guessed the corpse's identity, but in the interest of not spoiling it for those who haven't, for a change I'll keep my motor mouth muffled.

While there wasn't a lot of exciting things happening within the teen set, I liked the mini boxing lesson given by Victor to Devon. And the lesson in self-defense was probably right on time considering Dru is about to come after him in the interest of protecting her smitten daughter.

So ... it looks like the coming week will answer many of the questions we've been asking for months. And probably pose a lot of new ones as well. And I and my trusty VCR will be right there to record and watch them all. And you thought the Fourth of July fireworks were over.

Hope you all had a happy and safe holiday!

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