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The moment of truth seems at hand. Will Faith finally be returned to her rightful mother's arms?

After last week's viewing, which had me practically falling into my flat screen, so determined was I not to miss a moment of the unfolding events, I expected the next week to be just as thrilling. It actually wasn't bad, for a three-day week, with plenty of heart-wrenching moments worth watching, and also managed to open the door to some other possibilities. Finally, the moment of truth seems at hand and I'm hoping I don't have to wait beyond the coming week for the answer. Unfortunately, it's a win-lose situation for one mother when it comes to baby Faith. And I expect to be boo-hooing right along with one of them. Scribes, you've tortured us enough. It's time to stop playing with our emotions and let Faith come home to her rightful mother's arms.

At the top of my worth watching list was, of course, Ashley, whose anguish really tugged at my heartstrings as she tried desperately to deny the inevitable truth. Her brave words of belief, though, weren't matched by her actions. For if she was as certain that she'd given birth to Faith as she claimed, and truly believed Adam was a liar in all things save that, why the need to flee? She could simply wait for the DNA results to prove her right. Although on second thought, DNA testing in Genoa City has a rather unreliable track record. If there isn't already an employee in the lab with a personal stake in the outcome, then you can count on there being one willing to change the results for a price. Ashley keeps saying there's nothing wrong with her mind, but she was about to disappear with Faith with no apparent concern for her other daughter. Imagine Abby's surprise to return from school to find her family had left her behind.

Billy continues to endear himself to me with his very believable concern and care for his big sister. His facial expressions often convey much more than his actual words and I sometimes have to remind myself he is the baby of that family, because at times he seems way more mature than his siblings. Jack is always good when it comes to handling Ashley with kid gloves, although his dismayed "oh no, not again" comment to Ashley and her indignant "no, I don't think this blanket is a baby" response had me cackling.

I wasn't nearly so impressed with Jack earlier, though, when, after willingly aligning himself with the Newmans in the Adam kidnap/intervention, once Adam escaped, Jack immediately began yanking rocks from his knapsack and hurling them at Victor for what Victor had "let Adam do to [his] sister." I guess Jack chose to ignore the one about letting all those without sin fling the first stone. Victor certainly played a part in what went on back then, but it wasn't all his fault. Ashley refused to listen to anyone who had a negative comment about Adam and adamantly rejected all offers of mental health assistance. And how convenient of Jack to forget that had he not led Adam like a fatted calf to be slaughtered in that forged diary debacle, none of those events might ever have occurred. I like Jack, but there's no denying he can often be a hypocritical old biddy.

Sharon was next on my most liked list. Every watching mother and even those who aren't mothers probably couldn't help but feel her mixed bag of emotions of the double whammy of learning her baby was not only miraculously alive, but she already knew her and loved her. You could literally see the joyful light in her eyes at the possibility of it being true, tempered with the caution that her budding hopes could be dashed by a DNA test. Something like that would undoubtedly rip the scab off the still unhealed wound and drive even a sane mother round the bend, and if the scribes choose to continue to keep her from her little tot through a tampered-with DNA test, I don't know if I'd be able to stand it.

The one fly in my ointment was how like an insidious disease, little by little, over the short week, Phyllis' shadow loomed larger and larger, until by the time of the cliffhanger crash, it seemed somehow to have become more about Phyllis than about the parents and much-loved little Faith.

Of course I expected she'd be a part of things. After all, she is the one who tossed the letter into the churning pot. But while I'm glad she didn't destroy it, I'm not prepared to sing her praises to the heavens because she didn't. First of all, Phyllis is many things, but stupid doesn't make the short or long list of them, and had she kept it secret and it somehow came out later, there's no chance she'd ever have Nick's love again. Not to mention the beating her character would have taken from fans. But, and you knew with me there was going to be one, had she not interfered, the letter would have landed in the hands for which it was intended, which were Ashley's. But the scribes decided Phyllis would be the heroine of the day, and so she was.

But (yes, a second one) did she have to then become the focus of the spotlight while the main players had to be content with standing in her shadow? First, we had to endure her beating herself up about how horrible a woman she felt herself to be. I seriously thought I might let out a piercing shriek if she started one more sentence with "what kind of a woman" with Nick dutifully assuring her how "amazing" she was.

There really is a weird dynamic going on with this Nick/Phyllis/Sharon triangle. Maybe this tit for tat competitive scenario has been like this for other love trios, but it seems more pronounced for these three. I don't know if it's because there are as many fans for Nick and Phyllis as there are for Nick and Sharon so the scribes are determined to milk it until the cow goes dry, or they just can't decide which outcome they want to settle on. And every time it looks as if Nick might leave Phyllis, something happens that forces him to stay, or really come out looking the cad. How many times can someone get sick or hurt or kidnapped in order to keep this couple together? I can't speak for any other fan, but over the long years this has gone on, I've grown really sick of it and just wish the scribes would pick a woman once and for all and let the other one move on. At this point, I don't care who Nick picks. I just want Sharon to get her baby back because it's the right thing to do, even on a soap.

But just for the fun of it, if Phyllis isn't with Nick, who else can she do instead? Personally, I'd rather see her move on to someone else, although I grant you in the limited Genoa City gene pool of available men, there are hardly any to pick from. But every other woman in Genoa City has had to clamber aboard the Scarce Men Express and do-si-do with some too-close-for-comfort partner one of their friends or relatives has already rode. Ashley was reduced to stealing stored swimmers in her quest to get her man or at least her man's baby. And look what's been done to Sharon's character over the years. Why should Phyllis be spared the indignity of being painted with the trollop brush? At least she doesn't have to worry about sampling a family member's former man, since other than Daniel, she has no other family anyone ever mentions anyway.

If you subtract Nick from her life, just who could possibly be next on her list? Michael is taken, and she's already had him anyway. Jack: been there, done that. Billy is too young and Jack's brother, same age, brother constraints with Kevin. Sure there's Malcolm, despite that fiance we aren't hearing much about lately, and a few fans have even commented on their chemistry, but I see nothing like that at all. That only leaves Tucker, which might, as a matter of fact, prove to be a workable coupling. He's obviously finished with Jill, and if the rumors are right that Ashley may soon shake the dust of Genoa City from her four-inch heels, he'll be at loose ends and in need of a lady to complicate his life. Besides, wouldn't it be nice to see Phyllis with a man who seemed to be her equal, for a change?

When it comes to Adam, I have to echo Victor's words. Why? I can accept that there never was any grand plan in Adam's mind when this all began. I think he was simply seeking revenge on the Newmans for how he felt they locked him out of the family. Everything else was just Adam using whatever information came his way to his advantage, improvising as he went. But as one thing led to another and everything started to spiral out of control, he was left with mopping up his mistakes as best he could to keep himself from being found out.

But that doesn't answer the second part of the "why." Why is he the way he is? I never expected he'd own up to anything he was being accused of during the cabin inquisition, but I think the scribes missed a golden opportunity to get to the heart of Adam. Everything he did cannot be chalked up to the Newmans' treatment of him once he arrived in Genoa City. Because from Skye's diary, we know he was warped long before he set foot in this town. When Victor faced him in that hospital room, I really wanted Adam to give me something by way of explanation of his bad-seed behavior. Was life really so bad on the farm? Was he secretly abused by Cliff without Hope's knowledge? Was he bitter and angry at Victor for abandoning him? How did he really feel about Hope for deciding to raise him without his father's input or presence? Instead, we get what we've always gotten from Adam. Lies and more lies.

So, what happens next for Adam? Is this the end of his reign of terror and deceit? Will he be hauled off to prison, never to be heard from again? Well, it could go that way, but now that Patty/Emily is in the picture, I'm guessing there's still plenty of mileage left in this clunker. For instance, who better to recognize a liar and remorseless schemer than the master manipulator himself? As they say, it takes one to know one. Everyone else in town might be too nave and trusting to see what's right beneath their nose, but I'm guessing it may not take Adam long to discover that Patty is masquerading as Emily. The woman is not sane, no matter how easily she has commandeered Emily's life and medical practice (yes, that is the greatest insult to our intelligence). Cracks are already showing, and if she can't restrain herself from needling Adam a little for what he did to her as Patty, he'll probably notice what everyone else has missed. Wouldn't it be funny to have the almost blind man see what his 20/20 counterparts have missed? Once he knows, Adam can then do what he does best: blackmail his way out of this jam.

If the scribes write it so, there can be plenty more up this man's sleeve to keep him around. Remember Adam's disappearance, his injury, and his mysterious meeting with the stranger that was never explained? Instead of visiting Hope's grave like he said, I think Adam donated some part of his body to save the man's life, maybe a kidney. I recall the man asking why Adam had picked him. Well, here's my off-the-wall guess. Adam chose him because they had a similar look and his ultimate plan was to kill the man, then make it appear he (Adam) had died. When he realized the man had a son, he aborted the plan. That's what I think he meant when he told Sharon that he was about to do something awful, but of course, I'm only guessing.

How many other fans besides me are really beginning to look forward to the meetings between Billy and Victoria? I'm absolutely loving these two! Victoria really comes alive with him, something I just didn't see with J.T., no matter that they are united in real life. And just think of the problems this could cause between the two families. What a way to build a bridge between the Newmans and the Abbotts. My fingers are crossed that there will be more of these two.

I also enjoyed the interaction between Tucker and Ashley. If they hadn't met by chance in that airport, would Ashley have returned home? He managed to pick the perfect tone to take with her, and I think they have definitely started the foundation for a friendship, if nothing else.

Finally, the very best thing about the short week was the fact that I didn't have to look at Daisy or Ryder one single time, although I did have to suffer through yet another of Daisy's dirty tricks as Kevin found the kissing pics and confronted Lauren about it. I know this gives Lauren something to do, but in my worthless opinion, the whole Daisy, Ryder, Mama Bear story is a boring piece of crap, to put it as nicely as I care to, and I really wish it would just go away.

Okay, I've nattered on long enough so will now be on my merry way. As always, my fellow soap followers had plenty to say about Genoa City things, so please enjoy a random sampling from the e-bag. Have a great week, all!

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Why are the writers acting like Phyllis is the best thing since sliced bread? She is a murderer! Please reveal what she did and get her out of Sharon and Nick's life. Put Sharon and Nick back together again for good. -- Carol

The intervention with Adam was absolutely terrible. Am I the only one who feels absolutely terrible for Adam? Everyone has treated him like crap since he got to GC, but he's the evil one? Yes, the things Adam did were cruel but didn't Phyllis do her share? What about Victor's role in Summer's well-being? I hated the way they attacked Adam in the cabin. And please get rid of Phyllis. She deserves everything coming her way. It was okay for her ruin Sharon's marriage over a child, so why not let her feel some of that pain too? -- Kallie

So, Februarywas a Sweeps month? Could've fooled me after the build up to the highly anticipated reveal of just what the demon seed of the Newman clan has been up to! The set up, characters in place, the execution of the plan, the interrogation by all that Adam had wronged went off as planned as each person took their turn in revealing bits and pieces of a tainted puzzle that, alone, is not worth much but put together exposes Adam's sinister plan! I loved the disgust so plainly written on Jack's face; the contorted restraint on Billy as he's held back from decking Adam, revealing the funeral home sighting; the indignation on Nikki that someone could steal ashes; the fire in Nick burning so hot to kill Adam and protect Sharon; the sorrow and pity on Sharon and Ashley's faces; but best of all, when Victor pulled himself up and stood breathing so close to Adam's face and spat for him to "be a man" then....slap! WOW! I have to give Phyllis her props in coming in with the letter from Dr. Taylor and give bigger props to Michael for being her moral compass as she wavered. Had he not been told the content of the letter, I believe Phyllis would've withheld the fact that Ashley never gave birth at all, revealing that Faith is more than likely Sharon and Nick's baby possibly dooming her marriage for good (I can only hope)! Well writer's, I have slammed you over the months for weak stories, inconsistencies and poor dialogue, but I have to give you props on this week! It was edge-of-your-seat, heart pounding stuff and I liked it, I liked it a lot! -- Poppycock

Why are Phyllis and Victor always allowed a free pass on the evil they do? They really should be forced to pay some kind of serious consequences for the evil they wreak. It gets irritating to watch them do all sorts of terrible things to others and then walk away totally fancy free and without a care in the world. -- Cathey