The wonderful world of payback

The hammer finally came down this past week on a couple of Y&R characters that deserve some serious payback -- Tucker and Sharon. It's not just Victor who's seeking justice; Jack and Genevieve have Tucker in their crosshairs, too. Meanwhile, it sure looks like Paul has been framed for Ricky's murder. Are Phyllis and Ronan about sex or love? There may or may not be happy endings because payback is a... well, find out what it is in this week's Two Scoops.

Payback is a bitch, right? That's the saying, and you could see it in action this past week as Sharon found herself back in a jail cell for her out of control actions in the wake of Victor's disappearance, and Tucker was on the ropes for all the nasty stuff he did to keep Victor out of the picture.

Do you find it as disturbing as I do that Sharon seems completely oblivious to the fact that she's done terrible things that are completely out of character for her? It makes me wonder who's writing the dialogue for Sharon because I just don't recognize her. She was never this dimwitted and brain-dead. When Victor confronted her about the damage she'd done, when her mother asked her to come home and get back in touch with her true self, when Noah told her that she had embarrassed him, Sharon didn't hear a word. It was like they were all speaking a different language.

Tucker, on the other hand, knows exactly what he did and why he's in a pickle with the SEC. He gambled and lost. It's just that simple. Thank goodness Sofia was there to call him on his recklessness; it's just too bad that Tucker chose not to take her advice when he was gobbling up all the depressed Newman stock by creating dummy corporations and lying through his corporate teeth.

As much as Tucker is feeling the sting of having been the big loser in the Newman stock fiasco, what likely hurt him more was the rebuke by Devon this past week. I don't know what Tucker expected to happen when he approached Devon and the Winters family at the Athletic Club. Did he think they were going to invite him to lunch? "Oh, hi, Tucker. Have some Chinese chicken salad with us. The Athletic Club's specialty!"

Of course, Tucker doesn't deserve to be cut any slack for what he did. And he doesn't deserve the chicken salad either. The fact of the matter is that he acted like a scoundrel. He took advantage of a financial situation, which the other scions in town might understand, but he did it in an illegal way. He arranged to keep Victor away from Genoa City and created all those shell companies to buy up the stock.

But what makes Tucker really, really a cad was that he led Sharon down the proverbial garden path to get what he wanted. He used her, in bed and out of bed. That doesn't mean that she's blameless, but Tucker did take advantage of her. That's considerably worse than what Jack did when it came to buying up Newman stock.

Perhaps Tucker was just in a tailspin after Ashley left him? Or maybe this is the real Tucker McCall, and he reverted to type? Whatever the excuse, he's going to lose Beauty of Nature and probably get slapped by the SEC. But in the long run, Tucker will live to swindle another day.

After seeing Ricky's grave covered in flowers and learning that the card that came with them said, "I won't forget," is there any question that Paul is being framed by Isabella? She's not dead; we know that because Paul went to see her after Ricky died and basically blamed himself for Ricky's death. When you remember how diabolical Isabella was in the past, why couldn't she have escaped from her mental hospital to wreak havoc on Paul's life and make him pay for Ricky's death? It makes perfect sense.

This past week was filled with Phyllis, the raging victim! Honestly, how does this woman turn everything around to make it seem that she's the one who's being wronged? Rationalization is one thing, but Phyllis is over the top. Despite the fact that she blatantly advertises her intense hatred of Christine, she wants everyone to think that Christine is the one who is out to get Phyllis. Now, it's true that Christine wants Phyllis to pay for running her down with the car, but if you were Chris, wouldn't you want justice? And Christine's zeal to get Phyllis only commenced after she found out that Phyllis drove the car that tried to kill Chris.

I get it that there are many of you who do not like Christine. She's a goody-two-shoes, and she comes and goes as she pleases, etc. But no matter how much you like Phyllis over Chris, attempted murder is crossing the line. Phyllis was wrong 18 years ago, and you have to acknowledge that. Time alone does not make what she did forgivable.

Here's my question to the die-hard Phyllis fans: do you really forgive her? Even if you say what happened in the past doesn't matter anymore and you don't want to punish her, what about the way she's lied to Nick? What about how she had a hand in Tim's death? What about hacking the security tapes? What about stealing money from Summer's trust fund? What about forcing Kevin to be her accomplice? What about accepting Ronan's lie as an alibi? Are you really on her side for doing all those things?

I don't understand the sympathy for Phyllis. I don't get it from the fans or other characters like Michael, Lauren, and Ronan. They should be appalled by her behavior. At every turn, Phyllis has made matters worse by not telling the truth. Michael advised her to make a deal and accept punishment for what she'd done. Ronan gave her every chance to come clean. Phyllis, instead, has chosen to lie. She gave in to Tim's blackmail even though she knew it was compounding her mistakes. When Nick asked her to be honest with him, she refused. No matter how you couch it, those are not to actions of an honorable person.

This past Friday, Phyllis went a step too far by making love to Ronan. At least she went too far in my estimation. If she truly loved Nick, if she was sincerely committed to their marriage, why did she let Ronan in the door? I don't want to hear that she was lonely and in need of love. If Phyllis loves Nick and the family they have together, she wouldn't have encouraged Ronan's romantic advances.

It was good to see Nina back in town, and I appreciated her confronting Ronan about his jeopardizing his career by being involved with Phyllis. Of course, Nina's advice fell on deaf ears. Ronan isn't listening to anyone -- not Nina, Michael, or Christine. When all is said and done, Ronan will be out of a job, and not just in Genoa City. He'll be out of the FBI, too. This whole storyline is pure soap sex, where the guy is thinking with a part of the anatomy that's found below the belt.

By the way, whatever happened to those charges against Lauren? Wasn't she going to testify for Paul and admit that she illegally bought a gun, thus violating her probation? That storyline has seemingly been dropped. So has Daisy's most recent disappearance. Did she willingly leave Fairview with the woman claiming to be Sheila? If that mystery woman was Isabella, why did Daisy go with her? Is Paul going to go back to Fairview to see if Patty knows more than she's letting on?

While we're talking about dangling storylines, it is maddening that all of the hidden microphones and cameras that Ricky used have never been found. There's one in Heather's apartment right now, but nobody has found it. Also, how could the cops have not found Ricky's phone or laptop after his death? Ricky didn't know that he was going to die; he couldn't have stashed them in advance.

Are we to believe that while Paul went to get the cops, somebody -- like Isabella -- sneaked in and cleared the crime scene of Ricky's electronics and the knife? If so, how did Isabella know to be there? Did she fly into Genoa City because she guessed that Ricky was going to be killed, then flew back to the mental institution in Los Angeles so Paul could go there and break the news about Ricky? Attention, folks, but none of this adds up! Bad storytelling all around.Executive producer/head writer Maria Arena Bell has really left a mess behind, but the good news is that new head writer Josh Griffith is at work on cleaning it up. In an interview with TV Guide, he talked about the future of the characters, including Sharon, Victor, Jack, Adam, and Phyllis. It always sounds great when the new guy spins his stories for the future, and in this case, I think it sounds very promising. For one thing, there is light at the end of the tunnel for Sharon.

The future, of course, will be without some characters that are currently front and center. Genevieve will be out soon, and presumably there will be a resolution of the Claude Shirl story. This past week, Lily and Cane never bothered to mention the mystery because they were too busy having a night of nookie at the Athletic Club. Only in the soaps, friends, do happily married couples go to such lengths for sex. Sure, it's romantic and a fantasy, but imagine this: suppose they had a hot time on the living room couch amid Charlie and Matt's toys, piles of laundry, with Humphrey scratching on the chair to get their attention. It would have been realistic and funny, too.

I'm not sure what's keeping Chris and Danny from finally getting together for good. Sure, they have careers that seem to be juxtaposed, with her working for the Feds and Danny still on the road and rocking, but they do belong together. Lauren, Nina, and Kay all saw their connection. Even jealous Phyllis saw it; why do you think she was so crazed? Considering that Danny and Chris aren't regulars on the canvas, why not just give them a happy ending and satisfy all the long-time fans that've always wanted to see them wind up together?

Getting back to Sharon for a minute, her transformation cannot happen soon enough for me. It's maddening to watch her acting -- with the emphasis on "acting" -- like someone she's not. When did Sharon become a wronged woman? For most of her adult life, she's been well taken care of by the men in her life. She's never struggled.

Okay, so her marriage to Victor was never about love for either of them. But he no more wronged Sharon than she wronged him, and if truth be told, Sharon victimized Victor while he was suffering from memory loss. It wasn't Sharon who was left to fend for herself; it was Victor.

Think of this; if Sharon had reacted to Victor's disappearance the way the old Sharon would have (worrying about him and continuing the search until he returned), the Newman family would have treated her with a modicum of respect. It was only because Sharon disrespected Victor so outrageously that Nick, Victoria, Abby, and Nikki turned on her so viciously. They were unprepared for Sharon to lie about the pre-nup, to take over Newman Enterprises, to flaunt an affair with Tucker in their faces, and to have no interest in bringing Victor home.

So now when Sharon was faced with proof that she had indeed signed the pre-nup, and also heard directly from Victor that he wanted to annul the marriage, you can't feel sorry for Sharon. She deserves to be punished for her sins. I don't want to see her in prison, but this lady needs something to revert to the person she was before Adam scrambled her brain. And, yes, I do think it was Adam who is responsible for Sharon's schism. She sacrificed so much for him and then lost him after he got his sight back. Sure, there was more involved, but Sharon has never recovered from his rejection.

Finally, in other threads... Sarge apparently has issues with Harmony. While she was Yolanda, she was responsible for his brother's death. How will Harmony handle that information when it comes to light? Will she fall off the wagon? Again, this is another instance where the actress has already announced she's leaving the show, so you know there's no happy ending in this story.

Devon, meanwhile, has won the lottery! Actually, he didn't win the lottery, but with Kay disowning Tucker, Devon is now in line to collect a tremendous inheritance from Kay after her death. I see more music studios in Devon's future.

I admire that Eden is trying to remember what happened the night that Ricky died, but I'm a bit confused about why she has such a memory block. Did something else happen that we don't know about? Maybe when Paul left the room to find Ricky's body and call the cops, Eden came to and had another traumatic encounter? Still, I warn you all, this is not going to have a satisfying outcome. Maria's already left the writer's room and, as I mentioned, the current writers are trying to clean up the debris she's left behind. Ricky's death is a disaster of gigantic proportions. Paul is being characterized as someone he has never been -- a cold-blooded killer! As a reader pointed out, are we as viewers supposed to forget the Paul we've known for 30 years, the good guy detective who's helped everyone else get out of trouble?

While Eden's disjointed memories -- the stray bits of dialogue that make Paul look bad -- have been disturbing, Kyle was even more of a pain in the neck. Considering the many times his mother had been in trouble, and his acknowledging that when she was killed, everyone lied so that her killer was obscured for months, Kyle was awfully judgmental about Paul. Who is Kyle to stick his nose in Eden's business anyway? They're a summertime love affair that's lingered into fall. I think I preferred Kyle when he was preoccupied with hockey camp.

There seems to be little reason to enjoy the Daniel and Heather romance, since Jennifer Landon is leaving the soap. Do the producers consider our feelings when they let that kind of news out? I find myself tuned out on Daniel and Heather because I know it's not going to lead to anything. Chances are Heather will not be recast again; she'll just be written off. So what's the point of being invested in her romance with Daniel?

That's it for this week, fellow fans. Here's to next week getting us closer to a few resolutions. (Also, it's time for Victor to get a haircut! It's so long in the back that he looks like he's sporting a flip!). So, till then, let's take a look at some letters from the mailbox: And remember to click here to send me your thoughts. They could very well appear in a future column!

• I have to tell you - after all the changes Nick's love has made in the person Phyllis is over the years, this whole storyline with Phyllis is useless unless it creates an opportunity for her to finally accept that she doesn't have to battle everything alone. I am sick to death of persimmon mouth Christine and weak-chinned Danny acting all sanctimonious. Actually, I love Nina now but not after today. Phyllis was right; Nina of all people has no business lecturing Phyllis on being a role model. -- Cindy P.

• Poor Sharon, honestly poor Sharon. The writers have completely destroyed her. I can't understand why, if they didn't know what to do with her then write her at home taking care of the children we all know she loves or they could have just written her off living with Sam in New Mexico. But instead they just crucified her. She has never been the same since Cassie died and Nick cheated on her, during her darkest days might I add, with Phyllis. And then to watch Nick and Phyllis move on and have a family...that would be painful and damaging to anyone. Please let the writers do better by her. I am amazed how everyone forgets all she has been through; how everyone else has used her and then they all treat her as if it's all her fault. Either the powers that be need to write something good for her, find a good use for her or let her ride off into the sunset with her babies. -- Vickie

• What happened to Abby Newman's boyfriend, Carmine? I can't find him listed anywhere among the cast and I suddenly realized one day while watching the show that I hadn't seen him for a while. When did he leave and where did he go? -- Marie

Best,Allison