Deconstructing the Abbotts

Jack was devastated when he found out that he is not John Abbott's son, but will he turn to pills for solace? Victoria spun yet another tale of half-truths for Paul, who was not convinced. Hilary and Devon got closer, and there might be a wedding in their future. Get the latest Genoa City buzz in this week's Two Scoops.

Jack is certainly hurting, and I sympathize with him, but I would sympathize even more if he hadn't lorded that "blood Abbott" clause over Ashley. Jack is getting a good taste of karma, and it is not pleasant for him. I don't think this whole "Jack is not John's son" story is welcome or pleasant for most of us fans, so I know I'm not the lone ranger when I say that I do not like the weakening Abbott family ties that this revelation is causing. By my reckoning, none of the Abbotts share more than a half-sibling relationship, and John's only children are Billy and probably Traci, though we can't be sure without a paternity test for her, as well.

As long as John's name is on the birth certificate, I believe that he is legally considered Jack and Ashley's father, so this reveal should not affect their inheritances, but Jack's unilateral action to insert the "blood Abbott" clause in the charter will definitely affect Jabot. I don't have a lot of faith in Billy to run Jabot -- except into the ground. His track record has not been great. His cost-cutting methods tanked Brash & Sassy, so the board needs to keep a sharp eye on him. Billy will do his best, but that might not be good enough.

Getting to see Jack work through his issues and find value in himself, regardless of whether or not he is John Abbott's son, is a great character study and will give Peter Bergman a chance to show exactly what stuff Jack is made of, but the story itself destroys the Abbott family as we've known them for the past 40 years, and I don't like it at all. There are two twists that I could accept that would make this story more palatable for me. One is that Victor fixed the DNA results, which seems simple enough when I remember how easy it was for both Sharon and Adam to alter tests -- and it certainly wouldn't be out of character for Victor to do something that diabolical to Jack.

The other thing that would make this story acceptable would be for Victor to be Jack's father. Wouldn't that be a hoot! I think that Victor and Jack are supposed to be about the same age, but with SORASing, who can tell how old anyone is anymore. Lately, it seems that Jack is in his forties, so I can conveniently forget that he was an officer during the Viet Nam conflict because that would make him nearly 70 -- Oops! Does not compute! Getting a headache! "It's only a soap, it's only a soap." -- Thanks. I feel much better now.

Anyway, if anything could drive Jack and/or Victor completely off the rails, it would be Dina telling everyone that Victor is Jack's father. I do hope that Dina is mistaken about whoever she claims is Jack's father and that it is eventually proven that John actually was Jack's father. I want everything put right in the Abbott world, but I don't mind a lot of drama first.

In a picky piece of thinking, and not for the first time, I wondered exactly how far the Abbott cabin is from Genoa City. For Abby and Arturo, the trip seemed to take hours, but for Neil -- and Jack's drug connection -- it was more like minutes. All I can think is that there must be a shortcut, or maybe Arturo needs better GPS. I also wondered why Abby and Arturo didn't notice Jack's wrecked car, which was apparently within walking distance of the cabin. What is it they say? Oh, yeah, "It's only a soap!"

Nick also must have a shortcut from the ranch to town because he and Phyllis located the guy with J.T.'s phone before the cops could. Very, very slow patrol cars. It's a good thing that public-spirited citizens like Nick keep the police band app on their phones so that they can assist when the police can't drive a few blocks before said citizen can drive several miles.

Victoria spun a pretty good story for Paul. Hard to refute and didn't compromise Phyllis, Nikki, or Sharon. The alliance of the ladies murder club is holding, but once Nikki and Phyllis find out that Sharon and Nick are back together, all bets are off. Their fragile truce is likely to shatter, and who knows what's going to be said or done in the most public of venues to cause the worst possible damage to the secret they are keeping about J.T.? I'm still expecting a hand to sprout in the Chancellor park garden, hopefully during some dedication ceremony. Wouldn't it be super cool if J.T.'s hand popped up and all four ladies fainted dead away? Let them try to explain that!

Nikki got a little huffy when she found Arturo with Abby. The green-eyed monster was definitely lurking behind her blue eyes. I thought Arturo handled the situation well when he explained his position to Nikki. In this case, "Can't have your cake and eat it, too, Nikki!"

Hilary and Devon are rapidly heading to the altar, and it can't be too soon for me. They are both so much better together than with anyone else. Devon brings out the best in Hilary, and Hilary makes Devon interesting. I like "Hevon" as a couple just like I prefer Nick and Sharon together. I can see Nick with Phyllis, also, and I'm wondering if Phyllis might be wandering in Nick's direction if she gets jealous of Sharon. That might send Billy back to Victoria. Ah, the possibilities! Not endless, but enough to keep this cast busy for the foreseeable future.

Congratulations to Doug Davidson on 40 years with The Young and the Restless. Doug is as handsome and personable today as he was when he began his career on the show all those years ago.

My thoughts and prayers go out to the families of the victims of yet another school shooting, as well as to the traumatized survivors. I read that more children have been killed in school shootings this year than soldiers in combat. I don't know how we can expect our children to excel in school when they are in constant fear for their lives. I wish I had the definitive solution for this horrible violence, but I don't.

I do think that a school shooting in Genoa City might make for a good story and give voice to the pros and cons of gun control as it pertains to our second amendment rights. This is a very divisive issue in our country, so it's one that I would like to see addressed objectively from both points of view in a way that finds a fix for the problem that we can all live with instead of one that our children die for.

Thank you to all who offered sympathy for the loss of my precious cat. I finally stopped moping, went to an adoption fair, and selected a ten-week-old kitten. She is an unusual shade of blonde, so I named her Blondie Kitty. Her personality is different from Pretty Kitty's, but I could have named either one of them Buffy the Feather Killer because both love to play and shred cat teasers. Right now, Blondie is helping me type, but she's a terrible speller, and I have to keep correcting her. Plus, Blondie has only been watching Y&R for a week, and she thinks she knows it all because of the daily recaps. Well, maybe she does.

Thanks again for letting me share my thoughts with you. As always, fellow fans, I welcome feedback about this column in the section provided below. I enjoy all your comments, even when you don't agree with me. Please return in two weeks for another edition of Two Scoops.

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