Roller coaster ride

It's been a thrill a minute, and a heck of a good, exciting ride.

But you won't hear me complaining. Seated in the front seat of that hurtling, teeth-rattling car, my heart has often thumped in nervous anticipation at the thought of what might be around the next hairpin curve, at the top of the next rise, or at the bottom of the slippery steel slope. For this fan, lately, it's been a thrill a minute, and a heck of a good, exciting ride.

From the soap opera staple of repeated who's the daddy dilemmas to the absurd muddle of the reliquary rotgut and the Cameron Kirsten haunting and all kinds of unlikely happenings in between, fans, myself included, have often complained about the state of Genoa City storylines. Been there, done that, we used to mumble and grumble. Give us something, new, different, exciting, we demanded in bored complaint. Too much Gloria. Too little Kay. Everybody's hating'. Where's the Genoa City love? Who are these people, is another question many of us used to ask. Were they all born yesterday, we wondered, when familiar folks started acting like people we'd never met.

Well, thanks to the current crew of scribes, Genoa City has begun to look a whole lot like it used to. Behind us, seem the days of storylines rushed from start to finish so fast, we often spent half our watching time hitting rewind, convinced we must have missed something important that would have made it all make sense. Gone is the near entire episode focus, sometimes for days, on one or two characters, often the ones many of us hated most, while others we loved twiddled their thumbs on the edges of their more favored fellow city-dwellers' storylines. Now, there's a chair placed in the sun for just about every Genoa Citian while today's scribes, perhaps attempting to undo some of the wrongs written by their predecessors, slowly knit the past to the present and give us back our beloved fictional folks.

Like Katherine. Always able to handle the meatiest of storylines, and keep my eyes riveted to the screen, Kay has shined almost nonstop in this story of murky memory loss. Sure it's been going on since November, which may be a bit long for some of us, and seems to ricochet into yet another direction just when we're convinced every I is about to be dotted and every T crossed. But I honestly can't say I've been bored. Anxious for Kay to get her life back and put stubborn Jill in her place, yes, but not bored. This one has kept me guessing from the beginning. Every time I was sure I had the end of the story all figured out, I turned the page and saw I was still a long way from the end of the chapter. What is the meaning of the DNA tests that seem to swear Kay and Jill can't possibly be mother and daughter? Weren't many of us right there watching when a previous test proved just the opposite? Causing some of us to shudder in slight revulsion at the sordid thought of Phillip unknowingly bedding both mother and daughter. For those fans who liked the cantankerous contention between Jill and Kay and never wanted them to be linked by blood, it seems possible things could return to the way they were. But, if not Kay, who is really Jill's mother? Fan Sandi (see below), I see are minds are running down the exact same path. I too think it would be a well-deserved, hard, painful kick in the pants for snobby Jill to discover her real Momma is the one woman she seems to have nothing but contempt for? Yes, I'm talking about Marge. A twin separated from her sister Kay at birth, perhaps? It could be one way to explain away that former DNA test. If two half brothers could swim in the same DNA pool, certainly identical twins could create a questionable quagmire.

A completely unexpected offshoot of Kay's storyline has, of course, been Kevin. One of the most talented actors in Daytime, in my humble opinion, of course, this young man has me biting my nails down to nubs. He disgusted me as an internet predator; I loathed him as a murderous firebug, but I slowly began to empathize with him as he hoped for love with Lauren. By the time I learned of the extent of the mental and physical abuse he endured from Terrible Tom, I was hooked, line and sinker and a fan for life. And I know I wasn't the only fan brought to tears as that young and terrified Kevin cried inconsolably in the closet. But, thanks in large part to urging by Mac, Kevin finally sought professional help in hopes of atoning for some of his prior sins, and no one was happier than I when he picked up the pieces of his life and finally found normal love and a measure of contentment.

Well, forget that! Because he's far from normal now. In a matter of days, and thanks to that damn Gloria and her big mouth, Clint had all the ammunition he needed to destroy what took Kevin literally years to painstakingly put together. Thankfully, Clint is dead now, although for the dirt he's done I would have wished a more painful end to his meaningless life. But Kevin shined in Clint's dying moments, his confusion and bewilderment completely believable and eerily effective when he first put himself in the closet as punishment for Clint's death, then changed is mind and put Clint in the closet instead, his back against the door, his eyes blank as he told the corpse he was a bad, bad father. Unfortunately, despite his captor's sudden and unexpected demise, instead of Kevin being able to climb out, the black, muddy hole he's fallen into just keeps getting deeper. Already his so-called friends and family, with the exception of Jana and Amber, have tried and convicted him on the strength of the circumstantial evidence they keep pointing to. But of them all, Daniel has been the biggest disappointment to me. If you ever need a friend to have your back, don't pick him as a possible prospect. I can't believe how quickly he has come to think the worst of Kevin. When last Daniel saw Kevin, he was rushing off after a clue that might lead to Katherine's rescue. In fact, from the moment he realized Katherine was exactly who she claimed to be, Kevin has worked tirelessly to find her and bring her home. And Daniel was right there watching it all. But suddenly he would believe Kevin would set off a bomb to try and kill the very woman he was trying to save.

While Jill has annoyed me with her stubborn refusal to even consider the possibility Kay could be exactly who she claims, rejecting out of hand every piece of verbal evidence Kay attempts to show her, she has proven she's even worse as a mother than she is a daughter. At least when it comes to Billy. Perhaps overcompensating for the fact that she had nothing to do with Cane's upbringing, even though it wasn't of her own doing, Jill clearly prefers Cane's character over Billy's. It's been rather tiresome watching her constantly shove Cane's portrait in our face, holding him up as the picture of a paragon of perfection, while acting as if Billy has little, if anything, worthwhile to offer. Especially when she knows exactly the past romantic heartbreak that turned him into the male slut he is today. How tacky of a mother to help one son try to wrest custody from the other! She really ought to stay out of it and let the brothers battle it out without taking one side or the other. Besides, I disagree with her viewpoint that Cane is the more perfect Papa anyway. With his proven tendency to erupt into fist-flying rages, not to mention his hatred for his half brother and disgust for Delia's mother, Cane is probably the last man who should be responsible for raising their child. And there's no point in looking toward Lily as a stabilizing influence in this fractured foursome. Because she's beginning to look a little bit green around the gills. Kind of like she just swallowed a chunk of something she's now sure is going to sour in her stomach. I can't say I blame her. With her lies and manipulation, Chloe has already stolen 8 plus months from Lily's life with Cane. It can't be a pleasant prospect to contemplate having her as a permanent part of her life for the next 18 years.

And then there's Billy. He certainly didn't do a thing to improve his image when the first time he's charged with the care of Delia, he pawns her off on Jill so he can engage in another rigorous romp in the fair Sharon's sheets. Is he so sex-starved, he can't wait a mere hour for Chloe to return? And even though it's been practically forced down my throat, I'm not aboard a bit on the whole Sharon-Billy barge. It came out of nowhere, and just my opinion, it hasn't been a bit believable, even given Sharon's current mental imbalance. It's just sex, Billy assures Sharon. No strings, no one gets hurt. Uh-oh. I've heard those famous last words before. And we all know where it wound up. With the end of Sharon and Nick and the beginning of Nick and Phyllis.

Moving on to another Abbott, although Ashley has often gotten on my last nerve, she's beginning to win me over with her staunch support of Adam. I'm still not sure whether Adam's blindness is real or manufactured, but that doesn't change the fact that when it comes to Adam, Ashley is the sole voice of compassion in the entire Newman clan. And I also have to agree with her when it comes to disputing Victor's distorted view of Adam's character. How can Victor accuse Adam of being soft, weak, and failing to do things on his own, when that is exactly what Adam has always done with no help or assistance from Victor? By comparison, the two Newmans Victor always points to as being so well adjusted and self-sufficient in reality never truly had to struggle for anything. Remember when the decades younger Nick got mad at Dad and struck out on his own to make his way in the world without the benefit of the Newman name? Then, as it turned out, the job he managed to land was received only because he was Victor Newman's son. Even Restless Style wasn't something entirely of Nick's doing since the money that bought it came from a trust fund provided by Daddy. And though he built Restless Style into a successful magazine, Jack had a lot to do with that as well, and when it came right down to the wire, the only reason he now owns it outright is because Daddy handed him a blank check. As for Victoria, I can't really remember her doing anything on her own unrelated to Newman, except her stint in Italy, painting pictures for pleasure. Had it not been for the unending stream of Newman dollars at her disposal, she would not have been able to afford that luxurious life of Italian leisure. Plus, the one time she wasn't working for Daddy at Newman, she was working for Mommy at Jabot.

Why does Sharon even bother to engage Phyllis in a war of words, wills or anything else? If she tries to play using Phyllis' rules, she will always lose because Phyllis has been at the game of manipulation and deceit for a very long time and has proven she has a coldness at her core and a cruelty that Sharon will never be able to match. Sharon has a weakness for the fellas, true, but she is essentially a decent person, except for her propensity for being attracted to her brother in laws, of course. Perhaps she should restrict herself to relationships with only children! Anyway, when Phyllis is in revenge mode, there is no one safe from her poison arrows. In order to get what she wants, she will throw everyone and anyone beneath the bus, except probably her own children, although those she will use as bargaining chips or pawns, as everyone does in the soap world. Jack found out the hard way that considering yourself one of Phyllis' friends doesn't buy you immunity if you stand in the way of something Phyllis is trying to get. Although Malcolm was her friend, her hatred for Drucilla was more important and it was her perceived self-defense from Dru's attack that made her goad Dru with her knowledge of Lily's true father. So even though she didn't know Lily was listening, she still indirectly caused the rift between Neil, Lily, Dru and Malcolm. Now, in her need to make Sharon pay for refusing to stay out of Nick's life, she clearly considers destroying the relationship between the Abbott brothers a small price to pay if it will blacken Sharon's image in Jack and Nick's eyes.

Speaking of Jack, why does he always set himself up for complete and dismal disappointment? Sometimes, I think he's just a glutton for painful punishment. And now he's at it again, begging Sharon to move back into the Abbott house. Without knowing any of the details, he insists whatever she might have done is already forgiven. But we know that is not going to be the case when he learns the extent of the naughtiness she and Billy have been up to. Despite his claim that nothing can be bad enough to change his opinion of her, when the truth comes out, and with Phyllis in possession of the salacious details, you know there's a good chance she might get mad enough to share them, and in the most hurtful manner possible, he's going to go all injured dignity and affronted pride. He'll hiss and point and utter cutting cracks designed to leave Sharon's soft skin with visible welts.

But then again, if Victor's plan, whatever it is, succeeds, Jack is likely to be too busy fixing everything broken in his own life to have much time to spend feeding slivers of wood to the fire of his fury against Sharon and his brother. Mary Jean PR person, or whoever she is beneath that plastic surgery Victor paid for, already has her feather out and is busily stroking Jack's colossal ego. And Jack is already preening like a peacock beneath her soft ministrations. Of all the storylines, I admit the never-ending raging rivalry between Jack and Victor holds my attention the least, if at all. Victor is going to beat Jack; that is probably a foregone conclusion. Our soap might be showing many positive changes, but Jack beating Victor is not likely to be one of them. And what does it matter anyway? Because no matter how much pain and suffering Victor inflicts on Jack, he's never going to consider Jack's debt paid in full. And like Jack, Victor will sacrifice anyone, friend, family, foe, man, woman or child to his vendetta against Jack.

By the way, I was happy to hear that Nikki seems ready to go public with her relationship with Paul. I'm looking forward to witnessing Victor's reaction to Genoa City's latest love linkup. Victor always seems to love Nikki most when she's loved by someone else. So his jealousy should be fun to see, although I doubt Ashley, even swollen with Victor's child, will be pleased to see it still exists.

Something fun to see last week was watching Neil squirm uncomfortably on the hot seat as he tried to make excuses to Devon for what Devon caught him doing with Tyra. Topped from his moral pedestal, Neil is now just like everyone else. A cheater and a liar, to boot. Karen needs to take Ana and run straight to Gil's arms and leave Neil to Tyra. I look forward to her learning the truth and hopefully kicking Neil's cheating butt to the concrete curb.

So looking forward to whatever happens next to the inhabitants in this turbulent town. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy what your fellow fans had to say as much as I did. See you in seven.

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Leslie - I am a Sharon and Nick fan and want them back together. Please do not have her pregnant with Billy's baby. I can't stand that idea. Phyllis should be in jail. I will never get over her running down Paul with her car. As for Cane, he can go back to Australia for all I care. If the writers let him win custody of Chloe's baby, I will scream! How dare Jill help him with the custody suit! Lily is such a bore. How many more kids is Victor going to have? He has been a terrible father to the children he already has. I have never liked him with Ashley. They are so PDA. Gross. Oh, and please let Jack have his company back. He needs some success. I am tired of the Jack/Victor feud. I am thrilled to find out Mac will be back. I hope they finally develop a storyline that works.

Sarah - This is going to sound crazy, but here goes! Unless Sharon is already pregnant, how is it she is having sex every day with someone? I am just waiting to hear that her character is knocked up! Imagine the DNA testing there! I really want her back with Nick, but I guess it's not to be. Bummer!

Nikki - I disagree with you when it comes to Neil and Tyra. They are one of the hottest couples on Y&R. Their passion for each other is hotter than hot. Karen is a bit of a bore for Neil. He needs more spice and Karen just doesn't have that. I think Cane and Lily have gotten really boring. Lily should just tell Cane she doesn't think he should be fighting for something that isn't his. They need to come up with a better storyline or something for Mrs. C.

Beverly - DNA test results shows Mrs C. and Jill are not related. It doesn't show she isn't Mrs C. This means Jill is not really Mrs. C's daughter. Just how long before somebody else makes that connection?

Gloria - I've been trying to figure out how they are going to explain this DNA mess and I finally figured out how they can get out of it. Did you see the episode of CSI when a guy had two sets of DNA? They kept testing his hair and saliva and it wasn't a match so they did some digging and realized he had a condition where a person has two sets of DNA. This is just my guess, but they are going to have to come up with something off the wall since the DNA test years ago proved they were mother and daughter. Whatever they decide to do I just wish they would do it and get it over with as this has gone on for way too long. Let's bring the S/L to an end!

Anthonel - I think it's time to put Sharon away. She is being a slut and a thief. Same ole same ole is getting raw. Come up with something that will make us go ooh! Leave Nick and Phyllis together. Sharon is always the highlight. Nick and Phyllis need to have their life back to normal again, maybe have another baby.

Sandi - I think it would truly be a payback if it turns out Jill is the daughter of Marge. Now there is an idea, ha, ha, on her. If she believed Kay is her Mom that fact/fiction would never see the light of day, but I think that's what's going to happen. Am I far off on that one? I think it would be wonderful if all this stuff that's been going on forever finally comes to an end, Kay and her man get married and a whole new soap take starts. Like the lady that Vic has going and I like the idea of Jack and Ashley out in the street as far as a job goes. But no Jabot being run by the likes of Jill! Maybe Kay's son Brock could finally get back in the swing of things and start working in the business, or whatever, and Mac could do something too. Enough. This is my first time ever going on a soap blog/feedback, so be kind, smile.

Celina - I absolutely love watching Y&R. I've been watching for 15+ years. My only complaint, redecorate the Ranch. And if you're going to redecorate, do Jack's house too. Both houses are so dated. Come on Y&R, this show should be on top of trends in decorating not just clothing

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