V is for Victory, but who's really winning?

Step right up, folks, and figure out who's the big winner in Genoa City. Is it Victor because he got back Beauty of Nature, or Victoria and Billy because they got baby John? Maybe Adam's caught the brass ring because now everyone knows he acted heroically with Chelsea? Or is there someone else flying under the radar?

For the casual soap fan watching last week's The Young and the Restless episodes, you might think that something substantive happened in the battle royal over a little cosmetics company called Beauty of Nature. Genevieve seemingly had her cake -- and ate it, too -- by selling the company to Newman Enterprises with the proviso that she would be in charge of the corporation's entire cosmetics division. She then fell into bed with the CEO, Victor Newman, just for fun.

Or was it Victor who was victorious, finally getting back his prized boutique company that he's been hankering for? What about Jack? He could have had Beauty of Nature if he'd gone through with the Las Vegas wedding to Genevieve. Victory was right there for Jackie boy, and yet he chose another kind of win. He turned away from Genevieve and embraced Nikki instead. Jack's personal win was all the sweeter because -- as he later told brother Billy -- his legs might not be working, but the rest of his anatomy was just fine!

Could we also consider Nikki for the winner's circle? After all, she finally took off the rose-colored glasses and saw Victor as he really is. Nikki recognized that a father who would plot and scheme to break up his daughter's marriage to a man he didn't like was not the kind of man she could be with anymore. Victor's over-protectiveness for Victoria, his hiring Chelsea to entrap Billy in Myanmar so that Victoria would have proof -- incriminating photos -- of Billy's unworthiness, was just heinous. Surely if Billy is the scoundrel that Victor believes he is, he'd have screwed up his relationship with Victoria with no help from Victor, right? But Victor had to manipulate and force the issue.

But in the end, things didn't work out as old Vic anticipated. In fact, Victoria and Billy had every reason to do the victory dance last week when Chelsea handed them the baby to raise as their own. Victoria may have lost her perch as Beauty of Nature CEO, but she happily welcomed John into the Abbott family nest where he can join Reid and Delia as part of the clan. Victoria will be a mommy for a while as she thinks about her next business move. Remember, she has about $500 million in the bank, so she doesn't need to clip coupons or buy day-old bread!

By the way, if I were Victoria, I'd give a big thank you for Genevieve. Since Gen didn't have the time to even give Victoria the heads-up about selling Beauty of Nature right out from under her, Victoria will have no reason to ever feel like she hadn't done right by her boss in her brief tenure running the company. Meanwhile, should Genevieve ever need a recommendation about the kind of businesswoman she is, I sincerely doubt that Victoria will give her a positive review. Their collaboration was short, but it was also a mess. Gen hired Vic to run Beauty, then ignored all of Victoria's instructions and nearly got arrested for trying to bribe a Japanese official!

Tucker was justifiably ticked off at Genevieve for lying to him about Beauty of Nature. Was it the same day that she told Tucker that he had the inside track for the sale that she turned around and made plans to fly to Las Vegas with Jack? Did she even think about Tucker's desire for Beauty of Nature when she was rejected by Jack and turned to Victor? She surely didn't give Victoria's bid for the company a second thought. No, all things considered, Genevieve's last-minute fire sale of Beauty of Nature was not her finest hour. If head writer Maria Arena Bell wants us to respect Genevieve as an independent woman, albeit a damaged one, she did not portray Gen in a very good light.

But then who was shown in a good light? Jack? Victor? Tucker? Each one of them has lied and cheated to get close to Genevieve in order to buy the company. Tucker resorted to the charade with Sofia to get an edge. Seriously, was Kay really impressed by Tucker's strategy to the point of extolling his genius? She acted like she was, but the "Sofia scheme" went absolutely nowhere. Sofia never got hired by Victoria - the initial part of the plan to get Beauty of Nature -- and then was unable to infiltrate Newman Enterprises. The genius ploy was a full-blown flop. All Sofia and Tucker's lie did was drive a wedge between Neil and Sofia.

I'm now officially fed up with Neil and Sofia's marriage. But I have a question: if you consummate the marriage before you say "I do," but don't do anything afterwards, are you really husband and wife? Neil was a better partner before he ever married Sofia!

Why on earth has Sofia agreed to this sham of a marriage? For the baby's sake? That's not a good enough reason for her to stand around and hope that Neil will treat her like a woman. Are they sleeping in the same bed? I doubt it because he turns ashen any time she gets close to him. For some reason, Neil won't touch Sofia now that she's not Malcolm's woman...and that's kind of twisted, if you ask me.

Neil's newfound attraction to Harmony, previously known as Yolanda the crackhead, is just dumb. I'm serious, friends -- Neil is an idiot. While he may think it's commendable that Harmony is a new and improved version of the old Yolanda, she's still capable of backsliding. Would a man of Neil's stature in the community and business risk his reputation and sanity by falling in love with a flawed lady like Harmony? It makes no sense. He's a cautious, deliberate man who has battled his own demons and beaten them.

Neil also vividly remembers that it was crackhead Yolanda who scarred Devon (and Ana) for life. I thought his kissing Harmony last week was awful. On the face of it, he was cheating on Sofia. You don't kiss other women when you have a ring on your finger, man! Get it? But more than that, Neil is heading down a path of destruction if he allows himself to go any further with Harmony than that one kiss. Neil and Harmony will be a disaster of epic proportions.

On the lighter side, and thankfully there was a lighter side, it was wonderful to see Billy and Victoria so happy with John. Those two have deserved a happy time; let's hope it lasts a while. Another happy couple is Kevin and Chloe. I'm not sure I bought Chloe falling in love with the Angelina house, but I'm anticipating that in the weeks ahead, the place is going to start looking more and more like a Chloe place than it does now. A couple of throw pillows, some potted plants, maybe painting the walls a bright, sunny color, designer furniture...

There's nothing that bright and sunny about Ricky Williams. It's now very clear that he is his mother's son. There's nothing of Paul's better nature inside Ricky. When I saw him holding Lucy in the car, letting Daniel appear as an inept parent compared to Daisy, I nearly screamed. How can the authorities be so blind to the manipulation going on with this child? And why did nobody ask Ricky how he just happened to be sitting in the parking lot when he saw Lucy wander out of the coffeehouse? Did anybody else see her? No, because it never happened! Here's what I'd like to see happen: we find out that Kevin has security cameras hooked up around the coffeehouse, and Ricky snatching Lucy was caught on tape! That would be great, and it would also get Ricky tossed in jail for his evil little stunt!

Why is Ricky even helping Daisy? She's kissed him, but has anything else passed between them? What's in it for Ricky? It was dastardly that he used that other reporter to sell Billy and Victoria's baby story to the Inquisitor, but why did Phyllis take the word of Bev, the reporter? As an editor, Phyllis should have called the publisher of the Inquisitor to get the low-down. Instead, she was lazy and accepted a lie as the truth without digging for the dirt. Phyllis usually knows better.

As my favorite editor here at SoapCentral.com said to me this past week, why is Phyllis so judgmental about her father when she pulls the same kind of nonsense on those she loves? It's true; Phyllis connives to get what she wants, playing games with Nick and Daniel and Avery instead of being honest. Phyllis always has an agenda, which makes her much more like her late father, George, than Avery.

It was downright cruel of Phyllis to rub it in to her sister that their father left nothing in the will to Avery, not even a mention of her name. Who does that to a sister? If I were Avery, I would remember Phyllis' cold slap of truth and never trust her again. Maybe they should also take another look at that copy of Black Beauty. Who's to say that there isn't a hidden clue in there about where George stashed his stolen fortune? It is suspicious that he only left one thing to Phyllis and nothing at all to Avery.

Back to the couples that emerged last week, Victor and Genevieve, and Jack and Nikki. Is this like that Irving Berlin song, "Change Partners"? You know, from the old Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers' movie Follow the Fleet? I think Fred and Ginger had more class back then when they changed partners because they were just dancing (beautifully!). Our friends in Genoa City are bed-hopping like a bunch of horny teenagers. My, my, my, what will the younger generation think of their elders?

Frankly, I was astonished that they're treating Jack's ailment in such a cavalier manner. He cannot move his legs, but his manhood is working perfectly? They rather artfully avoided going into any detail about how Nikki and Jack made love, which struck me as very unrealistic. Jack has trouble just climbing into a chair or onto the bed! Is it really truthful storytelling to suggest that he can perform like a thoroughbred when it comes to doing the "deed" without a hitch? Come on, Maria!

Then there's Victor. He came off as a complete letch with Gen. He wanted Beauty of Nature and was willing to "do it" with anyone he had to in order to get what he wanted. Doesn't that make him seem depraved? Sex means so little to him?

You see, when you consider what he did with Genevieve, without any real emotional connection, you can understand why Nikki rejected the kinder, gentler Victor when he attended to her sprained ankle a few days later at the stables. She's seen the dark Victor, and she's unable to forgive him for his sins, no matter how nice he is to her when he's the sweet, light Victor.

So, what can we expect in the week to come? I think there'll be a world of disappointment for Daniel when he faces the judge. Diabolical Daisy, with an assist from Ricky, will win custody of Lucy, and that kid will be condemned to a life of grief. That's justice on the soaps; it doesn't have to make sense -- it just has to build to more storytelling.

Finally, a few random thoughts:

» Adam seems to have turned the corner and become a viable character again. I can't imagine that he won't be hooking up with Sharon one more time, but I think Chelsea will be trying to convince him to give her a tumble now that she's no longer carrying a baby. Will Adam forget about Sharon and find a new romantic partner? Puh-leeze! This is a soap opera. It's only a matter of time before Sharon and Adam are reminiscing about their times in New Orleans.

» Michael deserves better treatment. No matter how much money Victor pays him, Michael should not have to be on call 24 hours a day. Those scenes of him quaffing coffee at Crimson Lights then guzzling scotch at the Athletic Club had me feeling sorry for the guy. Maybe instead of the GCAA bar he should check out the gym facilities and take a spinning class? Work up a good sweat and go for a steam bath?

» That scene between Kay and Tucker -- did you buy it? I didn't. Tucker should never trust Katherine after what she did to him after his coma. She took advantage of his brain injury, and it's amazing to me that he's forgotten that. Okay, maybe you're of the mind that he should forgive her because she is his mother. But it was as his mother that she tried to steal his company. Her actions back then were reprehensible.

» What was the point of Nick and Sharon walking out of the office after Genevieve became their boss? Was that a protest? Occupy Newman Enterprises? It looked impressive, but nobody noticed. Victor and Genevieve had no reaction whatsoever. Maybe it was supposed to make Sharon and Nick feel important to each other, because it had zero impact on anybody else.

» Do you think we're going to find out that Tucker and Genevieve shared something more significant in their past? Could she have had his kid and given it up for adoption? I mean, that would be similar to the Devon situation, but you have to wonder why they keep referring to the way Tucker and Genevieve were in their younger days. Where's it going? Share your ideas, guys -- I want to know what you think!

» They missed the chance to have Jerry Douglas appear as John when Billy learned that his new son was named for John Abbott. It was the perfect opportunity for a Billy-John scene. Oh, well, maybe next week?

So, that's it for now. I'm anxious to hear more from you all -- do you like the Two Scoops? What stories would you like to see "fixed," and what characters need a rewrite? Write me! Till then, let's take a look at a letter from the mailbox:

• Hi, Allison. Great article as always! I am so sick of Nikki running to Jack every time Victor does something she disapproves of. Nikki is no stranger to Victor's ways and her behavior is ridiculous. There is absolutely no chemistry between Nikki and Jack! Also, since when did Nikki become so high and mighty? She sounds like a jealous teenager when she talks about Genevieve! It's truly annoying! Just weeks ago, Nikki was a falling down drunk and now she has the nerve to have her nose up in the air and is looking down on Genevieve, Chelsea and everyone else in town? I'll be so glad when Kyle returns and gives Nikki hell! That should take her down a peg or two. I am also sick of Phyllis! I am anxiously waiting for that long-awaited reveal that Phyllis mowed down Paul and Christine with a rental car! I hope Maria Arena Bell does this right and does not let Phyllis off the hook! I won't be able to stomach everyone forgiving Phyllis for this atrocity! I can't wait to see Ricky bring Phyllis to her knees! Lauren is another one that is grating on my last nerve! I understand her fear of Daisy, but keeping Fen away from his family is wrong. What if Daisy never leaves GC? Will Fen have to stay in Canada until adulthood? Lastly, I wish Genevieve would get a clue about Jack Abbott! He is not worth all of this pain and misery! I thought that when Genevieve overheard Jack confessing his true intentions to Nikki that she would cancel the deal and tell Jack where to go and how to get there. Yet, she agrees to still go ahead and marry this loser? Ridiculous! C'mon, Genevieve, get a clue! Jack is just not that into you! -- Caroline

Best,Allison