It's time to learn from the past

Victor and Nikki know for sure that Sharon started the fire at the ranch, and they're not in a forgiving mood. No, they've learned nothing from their sinful past and are looking for revenge. Chelsea is looking for a way to save her marriage, but would you turn to Chloe for marital advice? Avery's past came to light with news of her lost love in Afghanistan. It's time for a visit from Christmas past in this week's Two Scoops.

You know the saying, "Those who refuse to learn from the past are condemned to repeat it"? That's what I've been thinking about while watching Victor Newman these days. Despite all the nasty stuff that's been done to Victor and the bad things that he's done to others, he just keeps falling down the same rabbit hole. Take, for example, this business about Sharon and the fire. Did Sharon do a horrible thing by setting fire to the ranch house? Of course she did. However, Sharon, we have now learned, is suffering from a serious mental illness. And one of the principal people that contributed to her psychiatric breakdown was Victor Newman.

If he had not married Sharon, used her, humiliated her on the day Nikki married Jack, and then seemingly abandoned her on that horse ride across the ranch, Sharon might have recovered or at least kept it together a while longer. By the time she spilled the tequila all over the drapes and set fire to the living room, she was literally out of her mind. Victor was very much responsible for a lot of what happened. That doesn't mean that Sharon is absolved of her sins, but for Victor to want revenge the way he does, is just wrong.

What I would like to see happen is for Victor to stop stoking the revenge angle that Nikki has grasped onto. All right, I get it, Nikki feels violated that her home was destroyed. But the ranch can be rebuilt. Nikki's hatred of Sharon is counterproductive. Hatred of all kinds only leads to bad things.

If Sharon is convicted of arson, she will lose custody of Faith, and probably end up in prison. And wouldn't that be ironic, for Sharon to do time in prison for destroying property, while Nikki never spent an hour behind bars for murdering Diane. Nikki was drunk at the time, but you see what I mean, folks? Nikki, of all people, should be forgiving. She should understand that Sharon was not rational when she set fire to the house, just as Nikki was not acting in a rational way when she attacked Diane.

So if Victor and Nikki could simply remember their past, then perhaps they would know better how to deal with their present and future. After all, despite them losing the house and Victor losing Newman Enterprises, Nikki and Victor have found each other and are starting over for the umpteenth time. Isn't that more important than the other stuff?

Apparently not... these characters just love to hold a grudge. Were we supposed to feel sorry for Victor this week when Victoria refused to get back into the fight for Newman Enterprises? Seriously, doesn't Victor realize that his daughter is in a highly vulnerable state right now? Fortunately, Billy understands, although I'm not certain a trip to Jamaica is going to solve all the problems between Victoria and Billy. But at least he's trying to win her over with romance and not a spreadsheet.

Victor seems to think that his children must fight for his company in order to prove their love for him. He talks about Newman Enterprises as though it is the only legacy that he can pass on to his children. It's not. He should care more about being a good and loving father. Anyway, as I said in my last Two Scoops column, it's time for Victor to take charge of regaining the business himself.

Jack is making it easy for Victor -- just like Adam told him. Jack still thinks he's the king of the world, which is the biggest joke on the show. Jack is falling apart under the weight of all his acquisitions and ignoring the serious medical problems that he still has. If you ask me, I think the medication and the bullet fragments and everything else he's been through have rendered Jack deaf, dumb, and blind. Okay, maybe just dumb.

Jack is so far gone, but he doesn't even listen to his father's advice anymore. Or maybe it's just that when you see a ghost as often as Jack does, it loses some of its effect? Well, I'm still listening to John Abbott, and he makes a lot of sense. There's something very down-to-earth and honest about John's assessment of his son. Jack's driving ambition has cost him his soul.

What are Jack's priorities? What's the point of having Beauty of Nature, Jabot, and Newman Enterprises, but nobody in his life with whom to share his success? Phyllis isn't really there as a partner; she's a friend. He drove Ashley out of town. Kyle is busy with his own life, and Billy is estranged from his big brother. Is Jack really happy? Was it worth all this just to beat Victor Newman? I don't think so.I can't see where this story is going. On one hand, I don't really want to see Victor finagling to get Newman Enterprises back. On the other, I don't like Jack as the "king of the world." Is it possible that head writer Josh Griffith is going to have a third party standing by to swoop in and get the company away from Jack as well as Victor? I wouldn't be surprised if Tucker steals the company outright.Or else, perhaps Adam is planning to take over the company? It would be fitting because he is, in fact, a Newman. Of course, right now he seems completely preoccupied with his crumbling marriage to Chelsea and his obsession with Sharon. The way I see it, Chelsea has handled the situation in the wrong way from day one.

Instead of teaming up with Adam to help him hide Sharon and protect her, Chelsea was threatened by Sharon. Right or wrong, Chelsea forced Adam to make a choice. Because of his deeply ingrained sense of responsibility to Sharon for all the wrongs he's done to her in the past, Adam chose Sharon. And Adam believed that Chelsea would understand.

Imagine if Chelsea had been supportive of Adam instead of insecure about Sharon. If that were the case, then Adam would have seen Chelsea has an invaluable partner in all of his schemes. He would have believed in her and fallen more deeply in love with her. However, Chelsea's fear of losing Adam to Sharon caused her to act like a scared little girl. Maybe you agree with Chelsea that Adam had no business involving Sharon in their lives. But he did, and she failed to adjust.

Chelsea is not stupid. She knew from the start that Adam had a fixation on his ex-wife. I'm sure Chelsea thought she'd be able to handle Adam's demons, but instead of using her con artist smarts, she gave in to her insecurities.

Now, I know many of you believe in Chelsea and Adam's romance. You want to see their love story have a happy ending. I don't think that's possible now that Chelsea has told Nikki and Victor about Sharon starting the fire. Chelsea betrayed Adam's trust. She may have done the right thing in the eyes of the law, but it was the wrong thing for her marriage.

But then Chelsea did something even more damaging in my opinion; she told Chloe about Sharon's guilt. Talk about throwing gasoline on the fire. Chloe is now going to seek revenge on Sharon for Chelsea, and that is going to screw up Adam and Chelsea's marriage even more. Besides, if you look at Chloe's marriage to Kevin, would you really go to Chloe for advice about how to have a successful relationship? Chloe and Kevin are like the poster children for a bad marriage. The latest proof of their ineptitude is Kevin stealing money and Chloe telling them to put the money back. Is that really how couples handle financial problems?

Kevin desperately needs solutions to his financial problems. Chloe needs to help him find those solutions. Instead of dealing with those real problems, they're just playing games. It's juvenile.

Speaking of games, I guess what's happening now at Jabot is all superficial nonsense. Remember when Ashley worked there, and you would see her in a lab coat, actually creating fragrances? There was a sense that actual cosmetic manufacturing was taking place at the company. Now all we have is Neil strutting around like a dictator, worried about how employees dress and the chain of command in the office.

Have Devon or Lily done any work yet? It seems like they're always meeting with Neil, complaining about the office style, going to Crimson Lights for coffee, and then out to lunch at On the Boulevard. What exactly are they doing? I'm really longing for the days when these office settings were really more than just a backdrop for dialogue scenes.

I have a really bad feeling about the culmination of the Jamie story. Last week, while visiting Summer's secret hiding place in Avery's storage unit, Jamie referred to his hideaway, and it sounded a lot like a tower. That made me think of some very dire consequences for this teenager. Who's to say that he may not try to kill himself to get away from the bullying he's been receiving for weeks and weeks. Jamie may be in an even more difficult situation now that his father has been arrested for DUI.

I'm really trying to understand why Fen is so jealous of Jamie. Fen has everything going for him. Also, since he is the son of Lauren and Michael, why doesn't he have any of their good qualities? That's the part that confuses me. Is it going to take Jamie throwing himself off a tower or, God forbid, hurting someone down below for Fen to realize that his attacking Jamie has made him culpable for these actions? After what happened Friday in Newtown, Connecticut, I sure hope Y&R doesn't go in that direction.

It looks like we're going to be getting more background story regarding Avery. But even her cheating on her husband pales in comparison to all of Nick Newman's sins. My guess is that Avery truly loved the guy who died in Afghanistan. The question now is this: did he really die, or was he reported dead and was really just missing in action? That guy coming back would be a big impediment to Nick and Avery's love story.

While on the subject of Avery's storage unit, I think Summer desperately needs to see a therapist. I'm a little surprised that neither Nick nor Phyllis has suggested that Summer see a psychiatrist or that they all go for family counseling. It's very clear that Summer is in a lot of pain and it's not going away.

That's it for this week, fellow fans. So, till the next time, 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!

Don't forget you can also share your opinions on our new 24/7 feedback line (especially your picks for the best and worst of 2012). Call 267.341.7627 and record your comments or questions, and they may appear here in a future column, or they could be played during our weekly all-things-soap radio show, Soap Central Live!

• It's funny how you think Neil is favoring Devon and mistreating con man/fraud/thief/liar/Cane. Cane is a crook, and the way you wrote the article, you think he's not only better than Neil, but you honestly think he should have Neil's job. Cane didn't work his way up in anything. What he did is lie and pretend that he was Philip and he got Jill and Kay to give him positions over Billy. Cane used nepotism with Sophia to get her to give him a job so he wouldn't have to go back to Australia. He then hired his crooked friend and both of them would steal marketing plans and work off of the internet and put their names on the work and act like they did the work. Cane stole $5M from McCall Enterprises. He tried to steal Delia from Billy. He went from a lying Mafia prince to CEO of Chancellor at the stroke of Kay's pen all because he was pretending to be Philip, and Jill and Kay promoted that fraud and he was and still remains unqualified to be CEO. The only thing he's qualified to do is make Neil a drink. -- Gail

• It took a while but I find Adam quite amusing. I love to hear his banter with Victor and Phyllis. However, I do not like how he is treating Chelsea. They make a nice couple and he's going to ruin it over Sharon. I like Sharon but she needs to move on and not put her kids in her mess. It's not fair to them or Nick. Please let Nikki and Victor stay together! -- Robin

Best,Allison