Karma is a killer

Has karma finally caught up to Phyllis with an assist from Kelly? Will Victor survive his latest scheme to cheat fate? Will Hilary still love Devon if their shared karma requires that Devon lose his billions? Will it be destiny or deviousness that brings Chelsea and Adam together again? Will Avery tempt fate and fall for Joe's smarmy charm? Will Nikki sober up and play Truth or Consequences? Get answers as this week's scribe opines on the karmic destinies of Genoa City's most illustrious citizens.

Like Christine, I am salivating to see Phyllis get hers, and I'm betting that a lot of you feel the same way. Over the last many years that Phyllis has been on the canvas, it sure doesn't seem like she's had to suffer any consequences for her many misdeeds and petty-minded actions -- unless you count being in a coma for a year, which I don't. I've had times that I wished I could sleep for a year, and while Phyllis did miss a year, it certainly didn't feel like a year to her. I do count being arrested and put in jail for something you probably didn't do as karmic payback to Phyllis, because she certainly caused a lot of public humiliation to her enemies, even when they did not deserve it.

This time, I think Phyllis is the one who doesn't deserve the punishment. That's what makes it karma. I'm almost certain that it was Kelly in a red wig that Christine spotted on the Athletic Club security tape and identified as Phyllis. Christine was almost gleeful as she rushed Paul over to the Abbott mansion to snap the cuffs on Phyllis. Christine must have felt that she was the instrument of justice, even if she did have to wait twenty years to get payback for Phyllis' near miss when Phyllis tried to run Paul and Christine down with her car. I don't think Christine will be easily swayed by any defense presented for Phyllis.

I do like how The Young and the Restless is being ambiguous as to whether it is Kelly or Phyllis who is one brick shy of a load. Instead of telling us the answer in advance, they are keeping us guessing and making Y&R "must watch" soap opera instead of "ho-hum" drama. I remember watching a mystery series in the 80's that had a lot of guest stars. As the series wore on, I noticed that the better actors were usually cast as the murderer because those actors could play the murderer as though they weren't. Lesser actors couldn't do that. Both these actresses are giving wonderful performances, so neither is giving anything away. At different times, they both seem innocent and they both seem guilty.

That said, my money is on Kelly as the kook. To begin with, her character is expendable, just like Ben's. They are similar to Leslie and Tyler, in that they have no family, except each other, to tie them to the town. In the past, Kelly has also proved herself to be volatile and unstable, due to her very difficult childhood and the misperceptions that she had of it, not to mention the death of her son. In the present, Kelly seems to have an unrealistic belief that she still has a chance with Jack. That seems unlikely, given Jack's renewed commitment to Phyllis, but stranger things have happened, and since Phyllis thinks Jack betrayed her, it's more than possible that Kelly will take another run at Jack.

I do feel sorry for Kelly because she has lost everything that she has loved. It seems like life has been very unfair to her because it feels like she spends a lot more time crying that she does laughing. Kelly has known pain, loss, and grief -- and not much else. You have to wonder what kind of baggage she is carrying that results in such bad karma.

Devon and Hilary are about to reap what they have sown. Not only is Devon going to give his billions to Colin to keep him quiet about Devon's affair with Hilary, but it will all be for naught because Neil is going to find out anyway. Will Hilary still love Devon when he's just a poor working slob and they don't have even two nickels to rub together? Will Hilary get fired from Jabot for betraying Neil just like Sharon did for faking the paternity test? (I'm still wondering why Sharon didn't file a discrimination suit. If she didn't commit a crime according to the law, then Jabot had no legal reason to fire Sharon. It was a personal reason. Last time I worked, an employer couldn't do that. Of course the laws might be different in Wisconsin.)

Karma should be catching up with Cane about the time it catches up with Hilary and Devon. Lily is not going to be happy when she finds out that Cane covered for Devon and Hilary. On this one, I'm with Lily. She and Cane are supposed to put each other first. Lily has done that. Cane has not. Maybe Cane is a little more resentful than he thought he was about working at the club with Lily instead of heading a mega corporation.

Is Victor headed for a fall, or will he land on his feet as usual? It does appear that Victor has chosen to do the right thing in order to keep his family together. He told Nikki that he would not sell the warehouse district to Joe's developers, and Victor is also offering Chancellor for sale and giving Jill the first chance to purchase it. Victor did pull a fast one on Ashley when he stole a small sample of her fragrance before returning all the materials that had been confiscated by corrupt government officials on Victor's payroll. Will Victor ever get his comeuppance? Not in this lifetime -- Victor must have done something really swell in a past life because he's got a get out of karma-jail free card in this one! (Kelly must have done something awful that she's paying off.)

The new Adam is getting more engaging every day! I love the gleeful, boyish exuberance that animates Justin Hartley's up-tempo portrayal of the character. Adam is still a selfish jerk, but he has an appealing edgy humor that makes me want to hug him. I love his new digs, which are even more attractive than the penthouse he shared with Chelsea. I'd like to live there, with or without Adam!

Adam, unfortunately, is carrying a very big debt-load of the karmic kind, and that bill is definitely going to come due. Once Billy finds out that Gabe is Adam returned from the dead, Billy might well declare himself the angel of karmic vengeance and take Adam to task. I still believe that another driver struck Delia before Adam swerved to miss the dog. I cannot believe that any driver could hit an object as large as a child and not know it, and I do not believe Adam would have left the scene if he had felt a bump or even thought he had injured a child. Adam may be devious in business and when matching wits with Victor, but he has an integrity of his own. Adam's conscience did ultimately prevail, once Adam accepted that he had accidentally killed Delia.

However, no explanation or supposition will deter Billy from seeking retribution, nor will it stop Paul and the self-righteous Christine, unless she is too busy zealously prosecuting -- or is that persecuting -- Phyllis, to care about Adam.

I'm hoping that Gabe pulls a fast one on Victor before the jig is up for him. I'd like to see Victor express his admiration of and love for Adam to Gabe before Victor knows that Gabe is Adam. Perhaps that would change the dynamic between the two, and they could be father and son working together. Victor and Adam have more in common businesswise than Victor has in common with either of his other children. If they trusted each other and worked together, nothing would stop them.

Nick gets the "Genoa City Doofus of the Year" award for acting in his own selfish best interest and claiming that he was acting in the best interests of his family. Nick is a master at being blind to his own flaws and faults. Case in point: Faith is still reeling from her parents' non-wedding and Nick already has a new woman in sight. Even though what happened with Sage and the spilled vase was perfectly innocent, Nick needs to realize that his child should come first. Chasing after Sage is not doing that. Faith has a lot of problems, which are not being helped by a custody battle. Nick does not deserve full custody of Faith. He has a history of making his female conquests a higher priority than Faith's mental stability.

Nick needs to put his daughter's emotional health above skirt chasing. Even if Faith is a spoiled brat, there's a reason for it. Those issues need to be resolved before Nick tries to move on. Faith need a counselor or psychologist that she can talk to who can then help Nick and Sharon do what they need to do to give Faith the security and stability she needs. One of my nieces was a Faith, but her issues were never resolved and were carried into adulthood. She is a very sad case. She was an intelligent, attractive girl with selfish insecurities and a chip on her shoulder, which she did not let go. That attitude eventually trapped her in a dead end job with a deadbeat husband and no future.

I'm sure that Nick and Sharon don't want that crappy life for Faith, so I suggest they get Dr. Phil on the phone. He could probably cure them in one session. Maybe they could get a group rate if the whole family went. Victor's got control issues, Dylan has anger issues, Victoria has trust issues -- she trusts the wrong men -- and Nikki is an alcoholic passing off her slips as recurring MS symptoms.

Dylan's future bride, Avery, could use some therapy as well. I could start with her exhibitionism, but since she has buttoned up her blouse and is no longer wearing dresses with cleavage to her naval, I can only assume that someone on the professional standards committee of the Wisconsin bar association had a chat with her about "wardrobe malfunctions" or deliberate dcolletage. Avery also has trust issues, or she wouldn't be going to Joe instead of trusting Dylan.

Trying to protect Dylan by agreeing to meet secretly with smarmy Joe was disgusting. Saying that Dylan had a gun was betrayal and was more likely to get Dylan killed than saying nothing. Panicking in the name of love seems illogical for a lawyer. Maybe Avery doesn't know what she really wants.

Like Avery I don't think that Dylan should try to solve his problems with a gun. Unlike Avery, I trust that Dylan has enough experience to handle himself and not go all hothead but to corral the troublemakers and turn them over to Paul instead. If I've learned anything from watching westerns and action films, it's that you don't try to stop a gunfight (dog fight, cat fight, etc.) by getting in the middle, and you don't scream and distract your lover so that his opponent can punch the hero in the jaw and knock him out.

That's exactly what Avery is doing. Maybe it's time for Avery to put down those cookbooks and pick up a Louis L'Amour novel, some western films -- notably John Wayne -- and a few action movies. Perhaps she would notice the classic pattern that occurs when the hero has a girlfriend or wife. Hero goes off to do manly things and tells spouse to stay around the house. She agrees then follows him. Hero is winning battle when lady arrives on scene and screams. Hero is distracted and loses the advantage. Villain kidnaps lady, forcing hero to give up. Eventually hero overcomes villain and rescues lady, but it would have been a lot quicker and less painful all around if the lady had just stayed put. Sound familiar, Avery?

I'm torn about which denizens of Genoa City deserve the trophies for best and worst karma. Chelsea gets my vote for best karma because she has been taking the high road about everything. At the moment there's not a conniving con artist bone in her body. She is all sugar and spice and everything nice.

On the other hand its snails and puppy dog tails for some of the others, including the women. Both Phyllis and Kelly get an honorable mention along with Adam and Nick. My vote, however, goes to Colin for blackmailing and maybe bankrupting Devon in order to buy Chancellor for Cane and Jill. Devon would have probably given them the money anyway if Colin had not blackmailed it out of him, so the only purpose the blackmail served was to boost Colin's status in Jill and Cane's eyes. That was very self-serving, not to mention illegal, on Colin's part, so I expect him to have a very big karmic debt due soon, and don't forget that jewel robbery and the Bonaventure scandal that are still on his tab. Colin definitely has a balance due.

In closing, I can report that I have achieved the state of instant karma -- that is, when I mess up, I pay for it immediately, which is really, really good. I know how I've screwed up while it's still fresh in my mind, and it helps me fix whatever I've done as soon as possible. It's usually me being insensitive -- I'm a lot like Nick in that way -- but once a brick drops on my head, I figure it out and make amends. I'm looking forward to the time that bricks no longer drop on my head and I no longer need to make amends. Maybe when pigs fly!

So, till next time, fellow fan addicts, make karma your friend, and remember that you can never have too many friends, especially the imaginary ones who dwell in Genoa City. (P.S. Enjoy sweeps month!)

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