Many of the men of Genoa City can be very, very bad, but last week, some of them showed they could also be darn good guys as well.
Last column, Allison wrote about the evil ladies inhabiting our favorite fictional town. So, partly in honor of the upcoming Father's Day, but mostly because the gentlemen of Genoa City so impressed me, I decided to make them the subject of this week's commentary.
We know many of the men of Genoa City can be very, very bad, but last week, some of them showed they could also be darn good guys as well. From Adam to Victor, they told it like it was, shot straight from the hip, or pulled no punches. You pick the clich you like best.
A is for Adam lovers (one of which I unabashedly am), and for us, it was a wonderful week. Having seen enough of Adam's dark side to last me a lifetime, I am thoroughly enjoying watching him flex his more humane muscles. Adam is that rare resident who seems to accept his fellow citizens just the way they are, warts and all. He makes no pretense of being any kind of choirboy, and refrains from expecting the people around him to perfect themselves.
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Take Adam's relationship with Diane, for example. I'm enjoying the interaction between these two. It was kind of sweet the way he stepped in recently, calmly stopping Nick from berating Diane when she followed them to New Mexico. Yes, we all know Diane is more skanky than not. Although her latest stay in Genoa City has been brief, she's already bedded Tucker, Nick, Victor, and Jack. She would have gladly scribbled Adam's name on that growing list had he been willing to hand her a pen. The rest of the townspeople would likely refuse to spit on Diane, even if she was fully engulfed in flames. But Adam, despite her former snarky comments toward him when she thought she was safe on her Mrs. Victor Newman perch, has been the only Genoa Citian to reach down a hand to lift her from the dirt where Victor dumped her.
I know, I know, Diane is a big part of Adam's latest plot to bury a blade of betrayal in the broad back of his less-than-paternal Papa, but it's not as if he's twisting the arm of a helpless tot. Diane is salivating at the thought of serving Victor a little slice of payback pie, and I can't honestly say that Victor doesn't deserve every bitter bite of it.
Adam had no motives, however, for the way he treated Noah. He handled the situation just right in my opinion. No flowery statements, no fawning, just a straightforward acknowledgment that Sharon would have wanted her son in his own home, near his father. In fact, listening to Adam talk about what he thought Sharon would have wanted actually put a big lump in my throat and brought me just a hair away from wiping away tears. Nearly two months, and Adam's heart is still firmly with Sharon. Why that's practically a lifetime in the soap world! Needless to say, he's convinced me so solidly of his love for Sharon, I'm starting to get a little heated at her for reading about his pain from afar.
Even though I know it's wrong, I'm rooting for the success of Adam's plan to get his hands on a chunk of his father's company. Victor has taken so much from so many for so long, just once I would love to see the look on his face when he realized he'd been bested by the son he so despises.
Spooning out the "B" in my alphabet soup of good Genoa City gentlemen, brings me to Billy, who has done his best to right his colossal wrong in buying a black market baby. If only his crystal ball had been working that fateful day, he would likely have left a cutout of his body in the closed door as he smashed through it in his haste to get away from Primrose. I loved his honesty in the courtroom as he poured out his love for his wife and admitted his mistakes. But I didn't even bother to pick up my pom-poms when they took their newly legal daughter home. Because sadly, though we all viewed the happy family movie playing at the Father Knows Best house, I doubt anyone believes this family unit will remain intact for long.
Cane probably doesn't really deserve good guy marks, because although his goal was something good, he had to do way too much bad to get there. Was there really no other way to safeguard his family than to drive Lily nearly insane? I'm sure Lily will eventually forgive him, but with Cane, even as one skeleton is unearthed and carted away, others rattle threateningly in the back of the closet. I like Cane and Lily together, but I can't deny that Cane seems a bit of a weakling. Ownership of this man passes from one person to another, and he seems completely incapable of standing up against any of them.
D is for Daniel, who gets points for trying to do the right thing for his daughter despite his overbearing, domineering mother, who pelted him with insults and likely left him hearing-impaired with her screeching.
Deacon seems to be trying to become a good guy even though most of Genoa City will probably still despise him. Deacon didn't have to go to Victor to plead on Nikki's behalf, but he did it anyway, knowing Victor wasn't likely to thank him. But considering he played a big part in Nikki's hard fall from the wagon, it was the right thing to do, and he earned my respect for his actions. By the way, I'm also beginning to like his friendship with Abby, and wonder if a pairing between these two might be in the future.
Jack made me proud when he jumped on the bandwagon in support of his brother, adding his voice to the growing chorus against Phyllis' interference with Lucy. It's not often Jack refuses to take Phyllis' side, and I absolutely loved the look on her face when he told her she was wrong. Unfortunately, Jack immediately lost all the cool points he'd just gained with me when he once again failed to keep his mouth shut. Why, why, why, does he always, always, always have to not only give Victor a gun to blow him out of the water, but load it besides? I want Jack and the Abbotts to regain ownership of Jabot, but if they don't, Jack has no one to blame but himself.
K and M are for Kevin and Michael. I appreciated Kevin's support of the adoption, and even though I don't agree that she deserves it, I had to grudgingly admire his loyalty to his bad-seed sister. When it came to Michael, however, I picked up my pom-poms, pumped them in the air, and screamed out my joy until I ran out of air and collapsed breathless onto the couch. Finally! Michael's seemingly endless supply of blind support for his BFF has run out. I've always felt he put Phyllis' wants, needs, and agenda before Lauren's too many times, but bringing Daisy back was finally the straw that buckled the knees of the camel. Rah! Rah! Rah!
If Katherine ever fires Neil from Chancellor Industries, he can just go down the street and hang his shingle next to Paul's. Detective Winters, upon reading Cane's finally found note, was able to put all the pieces together and stop Colin from whisking his grandchildren off to Australia in less than half an episode. The semi-climax on this long-running story was worth waiting for. I've watched all the promos and sneak peeks of the coming days and can hardly wait for Monday.
Say what I often do about Nick Newman's horn dog tendencies, there's no denying he's the Olympic gold medal winner when it comes to good Genoa City men, and an awesome parent to boot. He really is the cream of the Newman crop when it comes to being an overall nice guy. For instance, when Abby lit into him, accusing him and Victoria of using her for their own selfish ends, he could have said something like: "Gee, I'm sorry, Abby. My sister has been just a little bit overwhelmed, what with losing the child she thought would be hers forever. And me, well my ex-wife recently died, with the world and her kids thinking she killed herself. Along with my still-in-Pampers, baby, Faith, I'm also practically single-handedly raising Summer because her mom is forever off on some vendetta, trying to run other people's lives. So forgive me if I didn't carve out any time to hold your hand and help you think of all the ways you can spend that 500 million dollars you have coming from our father." But he didn't say anything of the sort. He simply caringly let her vent.
And lastly, although I know Victor treats Nikki, and every other family member, like dog poo whenever it suits him, there's still no one for Nikki but Victor, and no one for him but her. But when the chips are down, he goes to bat for his family and usually hits a home run. So for that, I'll give him partial good guy points. Here's hoping he hasn't met his match in Phyllis.
Well, fans, I'm out of here. Like many of you, I am loving the show these days. You couldn't pay me to miss a single second. See you when my turn in this space comes 'round again. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy some opinions of your fellow fans.
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