Who is that masked man?

Cane Ethan Ashby is a man who apparently just cannot tell the truth about anything. How many masks can one man wear?

Well, he's not Batman, that's for sure. In fact, he's not a superhero at all. He's just Cane Ethan Ashby, a man who apparently just cannot tell the truth. About anything. How many masks can one man wear?

Trying to get a handle on who Cane is from one week to the next is a dizzying and daunting exercise in futility. Because it seems the scribes can't make up their minds in which direction to write him. I just can't dredge up much sympathy for a man who lies nearly every time he opens his mouth and mangles a sentence.

I found the cattle rustler scenario a rather silly and unbelievable storyline from the start, and unfortunately, time and continued exposure to it has not raised my low opinion. Now we discover Cane's version of events was just another lie, and instead of being a hero, he's only a thief who betrayed his mates to save his own hide. At this point, all I know for sure about this ever-changing character is that he's a liar. So did he also lie to Phillip about the cattle rustlers? Because it's hard to believe Phillip would knowingly send Cane to Genoa City to play the part of the prodigal son in the Chancellor family play if he knew what manner of man Cane really was.

Despite the confusion surrounding this storyline, I did enjoy the confrontation between Cane and Blake, since it cleared away a few of the cobwebs shrouding this mystery. This one is far from over, though. Since it's unlikely Cane will do something sensible, like come clean with his family, we can probably expect weeks, if not months, of excruciating agony as he tells new lies to keep the old ones from surfacing. All the while struggling to come up with periodic payments to keep the rustlers from telling Lily the truth.

I'm also not looking forward to multiple choruses of Lily's lament in the coming weeks. Just what Mrs. Gloomy needs, another reason to wail about, what else, herself? Why is this happening? What are we going to do? Oh me, oh my, the sky is falling. And I just know it's going to land on me and my babeees!

Habitual liar number two is, of course, Adam. Like Cane, he too lies almost every time his mouth opens. Why Sharon continues to listen and believe is beyond my understanding. Having said that, however, although Adam has proven to be nearly conscious-free in his dealings with his fellow Genoa Citians, and I, along with many other fans, think gaslighting Ashley and stealing Sharon's baby were a couple of dastardly deeds that rank way up there in the record books, I confess I'm finding him very watchable these days. And while I admit he deserves the treatment he's currently getting from certain residents, I find myself weirdly torn about my choice of an outcome.

For example, Jack and Victor, not much behind Adam when it comes to being dastardly, can behave so cockily, I almost want them to get a small serving of payback pie, if for no other reason than the fact that their hands aren't clean enough to point the finger at any other villain. Jack set much of this in motion with his ill-thought-out plan of diary forging, but he's conveniently forgotten that small, but very important part. Besides, it's a Jack-hatched plan, at least partly, and when does any plot of his ever go according to plan?

Adding Phyllis and Skye to this murky Adam mess makes this whole storyline that much more delicious. Skye, in constantly playing two hot ends against the middle is likely to wind up with sorely singed fingers. She's positive she's all that and a big bag of chips and when she falls, I will be right there to laugh my head off. Phyllis seems more than capable of holding her own against Adam, although Victor is probably right. In her zeal to stick another needle beneath Adam's skin, she could indeed muck things up simply because she's a loose cannon and seldom takes anyone's advice.

By the way, I found the interaction between Adam and Phyllis quite entertaining. They've so got each other's number. But what was most entertaining about their whole interchange was the way Phyllis' hair went from wavy to bone straight and back again in the space of a few minutes. Oops! Toss those flat irons, Genoa City ladies. Just take a trip up and down the GC Athletic Club stairs. Continuity, girls and guys. Continuity.

Another funny was Jack bugging Skye's computer. I don't know about anyone else, but I 'm positive I would notice something sticking out of one of my USB drives. A tekkie, Jack is apparently not.

Sigh, another reasonably good guy gone a little bit bad. Yes, I'm referring to Tucker. What the heck was up with that? I thought he was so very enamored of Ashley? Yet he falls into bed with Diane, a woman he knew all of 30 minutes. I guess I shouldn't be a bit surprised; after all, it was the same scenario when he first met Jill.

So, is that like Tucker's unwritten job requirement? That he has to sample every woman he offers a job to? Do you suppose he also got busy with his right hand woman, Sofia? Thank goodness J.T. is male, or he might have found himself being chased around the big boss's desk. So much for his big speech to Ashley about how she could count on him, blah and blah. Woof, woof, says the middle-aged mutt. When Ashley finds out, I wonder if she'll wish she hadn't been so quick to kick Neil to the curb.

Speaking of Diane, the witch on wheels is certainly back with a vengeance. She cut Nikki down to such a minute size, she probably could have fit down the neck of one of those vodka bottles she's been guzzling from. Not that Nikki should have even been bothered by any insult Diane hurled. Victor clearly wouldn't touch Diane, even with someone else's ... long-handled-stick, so Nikki should have flicked off the sperm snatcher's words like so much useless lint.

Instead, Nikki got so drunk she didn't even remember getting to Deacon's place. And she apparently never bothered to glance at a mirror before she headed home. Because if she really wanted to keep her off-the-wagon status from Victor, she should have taken a brush to her hair. Pale and haggard, she was such a total unkempt mess, Victor's question shouldn't have been "have you been drinking," but "how long." Had he lit a match, the whole ranch house would probably have gone up in flames!

But, I digress. I was talking about Diane, so let me get back there. Needling Nikki was just the appetizer for Diane. With Kyle the cheese in a trap, Jack might be the rat Diane plans to dine on for dinner, but in the meantime, she's already had Ashley's man for a snack, perhaps as long-awaited payback for Ashley successfully stealing Victor's swimmers.

As for Jack, he seems to have learned nothing from his last go-round with Diane. Still a sucker for a child with his last name, he'll probably allow Diane to come between him and Phyllis once again. So if Phyllis desires a future with Jack, she might want to pay less attention to Adam and more on every move Diane is making. Of course, the old Diane was pretty much all about the zeros in a man's bank account, and Tucker has plenty of those, so who knows which man Diane will eventually set her sights for.

Really, could Nick possibly be any more insensitive? He was like a broken record the night the winds blew hard in Genoa City. No matter what Phyllis said to him, he responded with a sentence that contained the words Sharon and Faith. I like Nick, but on Friday, I had to concede that fans who repeatedly call him intellectually challenged might have good reason for their viewpoint. If he wasn't trying to get under Phyllis' skin by repeatedly saying the one name guaranteed to set her teeth on edge, which I don't believe was the case, then he really doesn't have a clue. When he finally left Jack's house, having invoked the phrase of Sharon and Faith one last time, I'm sure my posture mirrored Phyllis'. The only thing I lacked was the flickering candle. Oh, and the hot body.

In Genoa City, the revolving door marked "Psychos enter here" never seems to stop whirling. Who is Meggie and what did Murphy do to deserve knowing her? Is she his daughter, his sister, perhaps that crazy distant cousin the family never talks about? I know he's mute now, but I sure hope someone finds a key to his locked-in syndrome status soon. He isn't likely to survive another murderous attack by this psycho.

Ahh, Deacon, you disappoint me. I was really hoping Deacon had put away his sleaze, but alas he's still leaves a shiny oil on the fingers of anyone who touches him. I just knew he was going to help, rather than hinder Nikki's recovery and redeem himself in fans' eyes by doing good rather than harm. But alas, if that happens, it will be in his future, because he certainly didn't slip up and show some character in his present. Why would he throw in with Meggie to help bring Nikki down for compensation? What has Nikki ever done to him? And what is Meggie going to compensate him with, free drinks? It's not as if she has any money. Despite how things look right now, I'm not going to give up completely on Deacon just yet. He still has time to make me proud.

The tornado scenes were great. Especially the one in the barn with Adam, Faith, and Sharon. Even though Adam was bare-chested, he might as well have been wearing his red cape and blue tights because he risked his life once again to save another of Sharon's kids. But something tells me that in spite of his heroics, Nick will probably not be genuflecting with gratitude. Sharon, on the other hand, just might.

Wow, J.T. Now the scribes write you something substantial to do? The electrocution scene was excellent. After weeks of his damper of disapproval being constantly dumped on everything Victoria has done, he was finally beginning to be interesting and show some storyline promise with his decision to work for the GCPD and help with the investigation of Murphy's mugging. I want to be a scribe so I can write him right back in. At least for a little while longer. Not quite as clueless as Paul, he could have done plenty more than moon around Mac. I will miss him when he's gone.

When it comes to Mac, however, I can't quite say the same. Like Cane, this character has been all over the place, thrown together with one character after another, but somehow never quite managed to become more than marginally interesting. I know it was a great sacrifice and a good friend thing to do by carrying Cane and Lily's twins and dealing with the post-birth blues, but why did it not touch me emotionally? She's been nothing but a perfect stand-in Mom to Reed, but again, it didn't make me care about her. She didn't convince me she had been madly in love with Billy since high school or that she had been pining away for him since their break-up. She certainly didn't make me believe she cared a whit for Raul. And I wasn't set afire by any heat between her and J.T. For me, anyway, this character just never made it out of the lukewarm stage.

Okay, I've yammered on enough. It's not November yet, but I'm excited about what just was and really psyched about what might be to come. In the meantime, please enjoy what some of your fellow fans had to say.

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Disappointing to see Tucker becoming a man-whore. Gross that his bedroom is also his office - way too sexual harassment-charged. Pretty sleazy for him to bed down with Diane so quickly. Let's hope he's found out by Ashley soon. All that said, I do like the character of Tucker immensely. Stephen Nichols is one of the most sorely underrated, unrecognized actors on TV or film today. -- Patti

I hope Victor finally loses. He walks around Genoa City like no one can touch him! I used to be a Victor fan, but since he received Colleen's heart he's been the coldest, most selfish, controlling person I've ever seen. -- Toye

I am totally fed up with Victor getting away with everything and not suffering any consequences or repercussions. He thinks he is above the law and everyone should abide by his demands. Even though Abby and Victoria are spoiled little rich girls who never worked hard in their lives, let them win their lawsuit so Victor can realize money doesn't buy everything. -- Marcy

Rooting for two women to win a lawsuit against their father for the money he earned makes me ill. Especially Abby. She states she just wants what she's entitled to. Frankly, she's not entitled to anything unless her father decides to give it to her. She wants the money so she can be independent. Has she ever heard of a J-O-B? I'm with Nick on this one. It's simply greedy. I'm not finding Meggie tormenting Nikki and committing elder abuse on sweet Murphy fun either. -- Ellen

First you get rid of Chance who is a good, nice. Now it looks like you are getting rid of Murphy Why can't we have some nice people? The show doesn't have to be all about sex and mean people. I used to really like J.T. but since Victoria made a mistake, he has become her God, judge and jury. He can make whatever mistakes or decisions he wants to but God help Victoria if she goes on living.- - Joan

I have always thought Red and Jack had the best chemistry over all of Jack and Phyllis' other partners. I am thrilled they are together, for however brief it may be. For years I thought the only person who could play Billy was David Tom. Now I need to ask David who? Mr. Miner has taken Billy to a new and exciting level, and I for one, love every minute he is on the screen. -- Julie

Love where things are going with everyone except Jana. Kevin and Jana had a strong love relationship like Lauren and Michael and within weeks it was destroyed. I wish the writers would let the old Jana come back and let her and Kevin find their way back together. -- Kallie