Give the devil (in disguise) his due

Hip hip hooray! I was so relieved and happy to hear Jack and Phyllis did get married before Jack unexpectedly became Kelly's unwilling guest. So "Yack" really was Jack. Now the question remains, will Jack and Phyllis ever get the dream honeymoon they have longed for? Oh, wait, there is one other question. Just who in the heck is the bogus Jack with his devil-may-care attitude? One thing's for sure. Whoever the disguised doppelgnger is, he most certainly made a pact with the devil, "The Mustache." And as always, Victor wanted to call all the shots and pull all the strings. Little did the Jack look-alike know, he sold his soul to the devil when he agreed to work with Victor and become the newest puppet in Victor Newman's show.Pope Paul IV once said, "A dimple on the chin, the devil within," which accurately described our phony Jack, dimpled chin and all. Only fake Jack seemed to be more mischievous, as he flashed his devilish grin, rather than diabolical and sinister like Victor. The imposter repeatedly came close to giving himself away due to his preference for partying, which tended to get on Victor's bad side. That's not a good thing, mind you. One would have to wonder just how well false face knew Victor, since he kept flirting with danger by not sticking to the script Victor had penned. If the fraud is an actor, he had better find a new career. He had the worst time trying to stay in character. I am surprised it's taking Jack's family so long to become suspicious of the guy's identity.

It's too bad we can't think of a cool name for the scam and sham artist who is identical in facial appearance to Jack. You know, like fake Luke was "Fluke" on General Hospital. (Well, until he wasn't, that is.) Hey, how about "Phack" for phony Jack? I know, I know, it just doesn't have a ring to it like Fluke does. But as I stated a few weeks ago, even with a fake Jack, who claimed he was as "devilishly handsome as Jack Abbott," there would still be obvious differences in his body and his personality traits. The charlatan has already slipped up numerous times by showing a lack of interest in Jabot, the family business Jack holds near and dear to his heart. The Abbotts realize something is wrong with Jack, but they still think he is Jack. Phyllis will hopefully be the key to unlocking the mystery, since she should know Jack's body and personality traits very well as his fiance and ex-wife.

She's a savvy woman but Phyllis didn't appear to notice any differences between Jack and the imposter. She was in the catbird's seat to see the contrasts, plus Phyllis has always been closer to Jack than anyone else. Love and her newly married status must be blinding her. Or maybe she saw more than she let on. Phyllis and Nikki questioned the strangeness of the new relationship between "Jack" and Victor, and Nikki feared the merger would lead to more backstabbing. Phyllis even attempted to test her look-alike lover with an orchid question, but he sidestepped the issue. The phony-baloney guy even pointed out to her he was not the same man Phyllis had fallen in love with all those years ago. Shoot, that may have been the first honest statement he has ever made.

I don't know, though. Victor kept looking like the cat who swallowed the canary, but how long will that last with the imposter doing things not typical of Jack such as purchasing a new Ferrari? I couldn't help but notice counterfeit Jack would do his own thing, anyway, even after Victor's constant warnings. Victor appeared to have his hands full with this Jack, and he may end up wishing for the return of the real deal. Oh my, can you just see the expression on Phyllis' face once she learns of the duplicity?! Her infamous fiery red temper will erupt and blow everyone out of the water. I hope she catches on pretty soon, though I have a feeling fake Jack will be around for a while.

And Kelly was doing everything she could to ensure he would stick around, including lying to our Jack about his beloved Phyllis being dead. Actually, it was a good strategy and her only real hope. As long as Jack believed Phyllis was out there, he would never give up on returning to her one day. Since Jack had chosen Kelly when Phyllis was still in a coma, the deluded lady just couldn't let that go, and she believed she and Jack could return to the life and time when Phyllis was out of the picture. However, it must be in Kelly's plan to never return to Genoa City and also to keep Jack away from any form of social media for all eternity. But how, in heaven's name, would this scheme ever work? I mean, it's not like the Abbotts or the Newmans ever make the news, right?

Since Jack nixed her psychotically romantic notion, Kelly should be grateful she doesn't have to keep Jack away from television, radio, newspapers, and the Internet for forever and a day. The only way to accomplish that anyway would be to keep him tied up throughout their lives together and who would want that? Besides, when would the poor guy get to use the bathroom? Kelly's last chance is for Jack to suffer from a bad case of Stockholm syndrome and empathize with his kidnapper. Only a psychological breakdown could have Jack declare his love for her again. How can Kelly not see she is seriously riding off the rails on a crazy train? (Hey, thanks, Ozzy Osbourne.)

Neil, Neil, Neil. Run as far away from this mess as fast as your feet will carry you. You thought being unwittingly caught between Hilary and Devon was loads of fun. Just wait until you are put in the middle between Victor and the person dear Vic is having a tough time keeping a leash on. I'm not sure why Victor wanted Neil to be a part of the new collaboration unless it's to throw some sort of respectability and honesty into the mix. And Neil thought Hilary and Devon were his biggest headaches. If he chooses to stick around the brand new company of Newman-Abbott, his cranium will pound like a drum due to all the lies and deceit.

Adam even became suspicious about some of Jack's decisions, so "Gabriel" confronted him. Wow, it didn't even dawn on me right away that one man who was pretending to be someone else was questioning another one. It's an epidemic, I tell you. If only Adam and phony Jack knew everything they had in common. Of course, the "real" Jack knew about Adam, but not this guy. Unfortunately, the imposter Jack was the one who saw something was up with the in-name-only Mr. Bingham. Adam was obviously distracted by Chelsea to not see Jack for who he was -- or was not. The real Jack would sure be surprised to learn Adam had joined forces with "Snidely," or should I say Victor, again. In Victor's case, better the devil you know ("Jack") than the devil you don't ("Gabriel").

Chelsea was smart to get away from the mess. Of course, Victor and Victoria were going to insult her just like they did every other Jabot employee, so why would she want to stay? Abuse, snide remarks, and demotions. Such are the many perks of being a former Jabot employee at Newman-Abbott. Just ask Ashley. Who cares about talent? Victoria has never seemed so cold and sometimes even nasty before. She's becoming a female carbon copy of her father.

Unlike Ashley, who chose to stay and fight, Chelsea refused to get sucked into the madness and flounced out with her latest fashion designs in hand. Victoria then remembered Chelsea was the path to Victor's grandson, Connor. Hmmm...maybe Victoria should have been a little nicer to Chelsea, the biological mother of her adopted son, after all. Funny how we tend to forget that, since we rarely see Johnny anymore. But nah, as long as Victor has his company and Jabot, what more could he want?

Unfortunately, Chelsea's voluntary removal from Jabot left both her and Billy without a job, so why not get married? Now, there's an idea. They've got nothing better to do anyway. Billy overheard Chelsea talk about her sexual escapade with Gabe but still insisted they stick with their original big wedding ceremony. A good, hot one-night stand is the perfect solid foundation for a new marriage. So the two lovebirds (or cuckoos) went all over town, verbally handing out wedding invitations to everyone they knew, including Gabriel and Victoria, both of whom declined. Can't say I blame them. Billy obviously had something up his sleeve.

Billy could take lessons from Neil because I have a sneaky suspicion the elder Mr. Winters is also not finished with his son and his soon-to-be ex-wife just yet. Billy and Neil could exchange strategies as they plot over their Virgin Mary drinks. After all, they couldn't let alcohol mess up any of their underhanded plans. Could "Billy Boy" become as cold and calculating as his archrival? If Victor had his way, Billy would sell his soul to the devil in the same way it appeared his brother already had.

Oh, come on, people, phony Jack's casual attire should have been raising a red flag and sending off loud, blasting alarms to go with the flashy, pukey green color of his sweater vest. Jack would never wear an outfit like that, especially not to a wedding and even more so, not to his brother's wedding. He'd have to be drugged and tied to a bed to wear such a distasteful costume. Yet the Jack clone glammed it up at Billy and Chelsea's wedding with Phyllis in tow. But, seriously, who believed, for one second, their wedding ceremony would actually take place?

Billy constantly hinted at the outcome by promising it would be inspirational, cathartic, and just plain entertaining, a momentous occasion, moments they would remember forever, and the "unforgettable main event." Billy couldn't have made it more crystal clear he planned on dumping Chelsea at the altar. Too bad no one else could see it coming. Oh well, at least Chelsea looked lovely for her festive non-wedding ceremony. Billy gladly handed "the lying con artist slut" off to Gabriel and went on his merry way. But Chelsea didn't want Gabe. Really, the bride should get to choose who she wants to marry. Oh dear, Adam. It looks like your plan to have Chelsea fall in love with Gabe is still not working. Maybe it's time to switch gears?

Good for Sharon for finally sticking up for herself, and hurray for Dylan for standing by her when no one else in town would. She is the most downtrodden person in Genoa City. No one on earth should be deserted as many times and by as many people as she has been throughout the recent years. Even villains normally have friends and family they can turn to, but even after everyone learned Sharon suffered with bipolar disorder, she still wasn't given any slack. Finally, she has a friend in Dylan who had already made a name for himself as the town's superhero. Sharon can use one of those right now. Plus a few laughs and guffaws does wonders too. Those jokes were really dumb but pretty funny at the same time. I don't care what anyone else says, laughter is the best medicine for what ails you.

And Nick still seemed to be the first one to want to kick her when she's down. I still can't believe he would want to strip the love of her mother from his darling daughter. Faith deserves more than that. But the tables seemed to be turning, since Nick was confronted with the same thing he has threatened Sharon with -- losing custody of their daughter. Nick sure can be a hypocrite at times. He completely lost his control and temper when he punched out a reporter for asking a personal question. (Hey, it's what they do.) Then he turned around and blamed Sharon for the assault and battery on the guy. What?

So, did Sharon grab Nick's fist and plunge it into the journalist's face? I don't remember witnessing that. Sorry, Nick, that is all on you. I guess in Nick's world, Sharon really is to blame for everything that has gone wrong in his life. He's got her taking the fall for present and future incidents even when she's nowhere in sight. For heaven's sake, grow up, Nick!

Sage still hasn't made much of an impression on me, and I started wondering if she had something to do with leaking the word out about Nick's unfortunate blow against the press. Sage was very aware Faith doesn't care for her at all, so maybe Sage revealed the knockdown to the reporter and then exaggerated Faith's reaction to it to the therapist before Nick's visit and made it appear Faith was afraid of him. And Sage could have put the notion in Faith's head also. Was she jealous of Nick's darling girl? Did Sage want Faith out of Nick's world just to have him all to herself? Sage can't have kids, so maybe she begrudged Nick having a child with Sharon. I know Sage probably didn't do any of those things but wouldn't she have been more interesting if she had?

Seriously, Faith was afraid of her father's anger -- so much so she didn't even want to go home with him? That's ridiculous. Faith has never been a scaredy-cat, and she has never had a reason to fear her daddy would hurt her. Of course, Faith could just be using her therapist and, as a result, Child Protective Services to her own advantage so she could spend more time with her mommy and less time with Nick -- and Sage. The young girl sure isn't Sage's biggest fan. Faith is pretty creative, and she wants nothing more than for her mommy and daddy to reunite.

After it was all said and done, though, Faith got her way, and Sage was banished from Nick's life to avoid any future misinterpretations. To me, Nick never acted like someone who was totally in love anyway. Even when he ran into Sage at the coffee shop earlier, he didn't look or sound all that thrilled. He acted more grateful to Sage for her support than madly in love with her. Sage could have used any desperate means necessary to hang on to the dashing Mr. Newman. But no, I am sure this was another scheme of Faith's and one that actually worked.

The crazy thing was after everything Nick put Sharon through regarding Faith's custody, Sharon took the high road and pleaded with the social worker to let Nick retain custody. Now that's a mother who was trying to do the right thing for her child. What a refreshing concept to have Sharon actually put Faith first for a change. I doubt she would have done that to score points with Nick. If anything, she had the perfect opportunity to make Nick out to be a worse parent than she was painted to be, but she did what she could to keep her daughter safe. Now if only someone could keep the community safe from Faith. Ha, I just had to say it. That kid's going to be a terror when she gets older. She certainly likes to have things her way, and she will go out of her way to ensure it happens.

If Michael has his way, Sharon will be around to witness all the heartache, drama, and havoc Faith will bring as she grows older. I would love to have Michael as my lawyer any day...well, if I actually ever wanted to have an attorney, which I don't. What a great idea to retest the tire iron completely for evidence proving it did not belong to Sharon -- and what positive results. The tests also found latex on the tire iron, which could have come from gloves or from a mold of Sharon's fingerprints. Sounds like reasonable doubt to me. However, Paul's screen shot of Sharon at the deli taken the night of the murder trumped Michael's plastic prints. But the picture aroused Kevin's suspicion.

Kevin noticed the deli was still open at the time of the screen shot and knew the deli closed at 6:00 p.m. But the time stamp of the photo was 9:00 p.m. Therefore, someone who had access to the police computer system had changed the time on the video. Several fans have questioned if Austin's and Courtney's killer could be Detective Harding, although I suspect Austin may still be with us on this soap planet. So that would only make sense if Austin is really dead -- unless Harding was Austin's accomplice in making a documentary to be used for blackmail. The documentary could have given the detective the perfect opportunity to cash in on a lot of loot for himself to help him possibly escape the sometimes dreary and depressing life of a police detective. Perhaps the cops (whichever ones are left now with Courtney's and Alex's exits) should check out Harding's latest activities.

Michael has seemed to be quite revitalized since he took Sharon's case. It was just what the doctor ordered, even if his physician never prescribed it. Michael only wanted to be useful and significant, and I am sure it's a relief for him to think of something other than cancer and possible treatments. Constant wallowing was making him sicker than ever. Michael showed a positive attitude could keep him healthy in mind, body, and spirit to aid in his treatments.

While I don't blame Michael for feeling suffocated with Lauren's attempted hovering, I don't quite understand how he could possibly think she only felt pity for him. Lauren loves Michael and would do anything to help him get through his cancer treatment and recovery. It sounded more like an excuse for them to take a time-out. Maybe a little, temporary distance will help, but I doubt it. It was sad when Lauren wished him, "goodnight," only to hear Michael say goodbye to her. It just sounded so final.

It's a good thing Dylan was busy with Sharon, since Avery decided to head to Chicago with Joe. Dylan's relationship with Avery would have to be rock solid to survive a long-term separation, and I doubt if theirs is that strong. Even if Avery wasn't the best fiance, she would have made an excellent physical therapist. Avery reminded Joe he was lucky the fall hadn't killed him, and she called him out on being what my husband would refer to as "whiny weeny." Avery reminded me a little of Sarge. Joe would have had a somewhat speedy and miraculous recovery under Sarge's care.

Although Neil was glad to finally be able to put a face to the voice, he sure was not happy to "see" Gwen after she had conspired with Hilary and Devon so they could be together. Then Neil admitted to Gwen that he never "saw" it coming. Even Neil must realize just how blind he had really been to the affair of his supposedly loving wife and devoted son.

I personally would love to see Phyllis all decked out in a scarf and sunglasses while she flew around town in the new Ferrari. She would certainly look cool and chic.

It must be second nature for Adam to naturally plot and scheme. It seemed so automatic for Gabriel to tell Anita that Billy had forced Chelsea to quit working for Newman-Abbott. No trouble for him at all.

When Kyle told Summer he had changed from the man she had last seen in Genoa City, I thought to myself, "I'll say!" To me, Lachlan Buchanan's Kyle just seemed so much more immature than Hartley Sawyer's version, and I guess that was the whole point. Kyle needed to be younger in order to be a better match for Summer, but I think the powers that be overdid it. Kyle could have returned looking younger but still acting mature. He just seems so childish at times now. I had to laugh when Kyle said he did a lot of growing up while he was gone. He did? Okay. Well, I do have to say Mr. Buchanan is definitely making the character his own.

Congratulations to The Young and the Restless for winning the Daytime Emmy award for Best Daytime Drama and to Amelia Heinle and Hunter King for winning awards in their categories, also, for the second year in a row. These awards were well deserved, as the acting on Y&R just keeps getting stronger and better with every year. With all the craziness going on so far, I can't wait to see who gets nominated from Y&R for acting next year.

Until next time, please stay tuned.Teddi

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