Happy New Year? Not likely...

The Young and the Restless rang in the new year this week, and if these first five episodes of 2022 are any indication of what is to come in 2022, then a lot of Genoa City residents may find themselves having a not-so-happy new year! There were some bright spots, too, of course (hello, Traci!), so keep reading for our writer's full breakdown and review!

Due to network schedules, 2022 started with a New Year's Eve episode that gave us a clue as to what we could expect on the horizon for some of our favorite Genoa City denizens in the coming year. Chelsea made a play for a reunion with Adam (which he shut down), Sally made a play for Adam while trying to convince him their night together wasn't an official date (which he wasn't as opposed to), and Chance admitted to Abby his fears of whether or not he could be a good father to Dominic (while also commenting on how great of a father figure Devon has been in comparison), and during a romantic evening for Devon and Amanda, she encouraged him to continue to have a larger role in Dominic's life.

With trouble looming on the horizon for the escalating Chelsea/Adam/Sally love triangle and the impending custody battle over baby Dominic, Sharon and Rey were a welcome and romantic bright spot in the New Year's Eve episode. Yes, Devon and Amanda (and Chance and Abby) had some romantic moments that were sweet, but all of those scenes were a bit tainted for me with the obvious baby-battle storyline waiting on the horizon for the four friends. I honestly was just wishing that Devon and Amanda were not even a couple because of the way she was encouraging him regarding his role in Dominic's life. Ugh!

Back to Sharon and Rey, though -- as much as I loved their romantic night out, why do they continue to be so friendly toward Chelsea?! Ugh, again!! I'm all for letting bygones be bygones and leaving the past behind, but as I stated in my 2021 Year-In-Review column, I do not understand how quickly Rey and Sharon have been willing to give Chelsea a pass for nearly killing Rey! I could understand them being civil to her and being mindful of the fact that she was suffering from a head injury when she conjured up her attempted murder plot to frame Adam last year, but to invite her to join them for New Year's Eve and act like they are all the best of friends was just too much. Too much!!

Another sweet moment I enjoyed from this episode was Adam and Sally ringing in the new year together. I didn't really vibe with the decorations from every holiday being plastered around the office for their hangout, but maybe that's just me. Overall, their scenes were fun, and I am coming around more and more to an Adam/Sally pairing -- and I'm loving watching Chelsea squirm over it! I have been back and forth on whether I want them to be a solid couple, but I am leaning more and more toward being a fan of "Ally." And although I am complaining about Chelsea, I do enjoy the storyline and her part in it. I'm excited to see how this plays out in 2022 and am anticipating all the impending drama!

One thing I do not like, though, is Chelsea shutting down Sally professionally because of her personal issues with her. Not cool! Sally has proven herself to be valuable to Newman Media, and even Chloe has told Chelsea to give her a break; however, Chelsea just does not want to hear it. I do not like this selfish side of Chelsea because she is otherwise typically a good businesswoman and would be able to separate the two. But now it seems like the only reason she is even working for Newman Media is so that she can kick Sally to the curb -- and out of Adam's life! It bothers me that she is not even willing to listen to Chloe and give Sally more of a chance regarding Sally's ideas and direction for their fashion line.

While I do not appreciate Chelsea's attitude toward Sally, I do understand Chloe's motivations for taking a hard line with Sally this week and telling her to back off of Adam. Even as a fan of Adam/Sally, I absolutely get where Chloe is coming from and why she doesn't want the feud between Chelsea and Sally to disrupt the new career she is trying to build. I have really enjoyed Sally and Chloe as friends thus far, but Chloe (and her career) is certainly caught in the middle of this uncomfortable situation, so I get why she is frustrated. I don't know what I would do in Sally's situation, honestly. She has to choose between her heart and her career because of Chelsea inserting herself in her budding romance with Adam (despite her protests that there isn't anything romantic going on between the two of them).

I feel like Chloe needs to draw the same line in the sand with Chelsea regarding Adam that she has with Sally because Chelsea is undoubtedly the one causing trouble here. I know that Sally isn't completely blameless, but Adam has told Chelsea multiple times that they should not revisit their past romance and that he wants to move on. Despite that, Chelsea will not let up on the idea of them getting back together. Chelsea is truly the one putting Chloe's career in jeopardy by ignoring Adam's insistence that their relationship should just be as co-parents and coworkers now. But to be fair to Chloe, she has tried multiple times to sway Chelsea away from being romantic with Adam over the years, and it just goes in one ear and out the other. Whatcha gonna do, right?

Okay, enough about that twisted triangle. Let's talk about Traci!! I can't express to you how much I love Beth Maitland as Traci, and I was ecstatic that we got so much of her brilliance this week on our screens! She had me saying, "Jack who?" as she took over as the head of the Abbott family this week in his absence. From her scenes with both Billy and Adam at the Grand Phoenix to the way she laid into Victoria for encouraging Billy's scheme against Adam and her touching scenes with Lily at the end of the week as they discussed her deceased daughter, Colleen -- it was all just so fantastic! Without a doubt, she was the performer of the week, and I hope this means we will be seeing more of her in 2022.

I wanted to reach through my screen and slap Billy when he started giving Traci a hard time for trying to "control my life" by speaking to Victoria about him. Poor Billy didn't like being treated like the immature man he had been behaving as, even though Traci's interference was solely for his own benefit. As she pointed out, she has seen this Newman vs. Abbott feud play out enough with Jack and Victor over the years, and she was doing her best to try to avoid Billy letting the past repeat itself in his feud with Adam.

I hope Billy is sincere in his latest proclamation that he is done giving Adam the time of day and that he is finished with wasting his energy on trying to bring him down or get the better of him. However, I thought his confrontation with Adam, in which he told Adam what he had been plotting against Newman Media, came off as a bit desperate. He could have just as easily quit his plan without telling Adam all about it, and to me, he came off as a bit of a fool in the end. I did like Billy's scenes with Victoria (and Ashland), though, and I was happy to see Billy standing up to Victoria after the way she tried to use him in her own vendetta against her brother. He was right when he remarked that Victor would be proud of her, and I loved how speechless she got at that backhanded compliment he served. I was cheering!!

Speaking of which, what is Victoria's problem? As much as I love to see her as a strong and ruthless businesswoman, why is she so focused on taking Newman Media way from Adam? It seems she is choosing to ignore how Adam was the one protecting both her and Ashland from Ashland's past misdeeds and was a champion for both of them when Billy was trying to tear them apart. She is set on holding on to her sibling rivalry with Adam -- even after he has tried to build a stronger relationship with her. I don't know why she feels like she still has something to prove by one-upping Adam. She needs to give it a rest, already! Why is it so hard for her to just thank Adam for all he has done for her in the past few months and get over their past grievances? I am not on her side in this battle, and I sincerely hope she doesn't succeed in her latest plot to take control of his company.

On the topic of plots that I hope don't succeed, let's delve into one of my least favorite storylines of 2022 so far -- the battle over baby Dominic. This story is beyond ridiculous! I am starting to dislike Devon and the people in his life that are supporting him in his battle for paternal/visiting rights of Dominic. As I mentioned earlier, I am so over him and Amanda -- and all because of this storyline. Devon is typically levelheaded and wants the best for everyone, but Amanda and even Lily have voiced their support of him fighting for some sort of custody agreement over the child, which has left my head spinning! I. Don't. Get. It.

Abby was more than generous when she visited Devon and explained to him why she does not feel it is appropriate for him to be asking for a more prominent role as Dominic's biological father. She has been more than welcoming and understanding in telling him that they want him to be a part of Dom's life and that he has an open invitation to visit and see him whenever he wants. They also have a legal agreement that set boundaries for both him as the sperm donor and Mariah as the surrogate, and there is absolutely no reason for him to be asking for more now.

Devon claims that all he ever wanted was for Abby and Chance to raise Dom as their own, but now, because he doesn't like some of the choices Chance made recently -- and because he babysat for all of a week and bonded with his biological son -- he is going to demand more and take legal action? Get outta here! I hope this blows up in Devon's face in a major way. He has been one of my favorite characters in the past, but the writers are doing a great job of making me dislike him this year -- and we're only a week into 2022! I can't deny that the drama of it all is entertaining, which I suppose is the point, but I'm just so disappointed in Devon and don't want to dislike him further.

And don't even get me started on Lily. I was really hopeful that she would be the voice of reason when her brother approached her with his idea of taking legal action, but just as she was an instigator in Billy's foiled and misguided plans for Adam, now she is taking on the same role with Devon and encouraging him in his crusade against Abby and Chance. I can only imagine how she would react if Mac had a similar reaction after being a surrogate to her children and wanted a custodial role in their lives. Lily and Devon even brought up that point but then claimed that her situation with Mac was different, but it was all just to make themselves feel better about the whole rotten idea.

Yes, in some ways, Lily and Cane's surrogacy situation with Mac was different, but ultimately, it really is the same situation. A legal agreement was made between all parties, and now Devon is having second thoughts and wants to change the agreement. Thankfully for Lily, Mac wasn't such an egotistical jerk (and yes, it saddens me to say that about Devon because I do generally like his character overall).

All right, before my blood starts to boil to a breaking point from discussing this baby-battle storyline, let's move on to a more calming topic. The scenes this week with Faith, Moses, Noah, and Elena had me feeling all the things. Moses and Faith are too cute, and I hope their relationship and bond continues to strengthen -- especially after all the turmoil that Faith has had to deal with in her life so far. I also really enjoyed the short scene we got with Elena and Noah, and I know I saw some sparks there between them! Elena and Nate have been pretty boring as a couple so far, so I am all for Imani continuing to make a play for Nate -- especially if Elena ends up mending her broken heart with Noah. Fingers crossed!

Speaking of which, Imani was not holding back this week in her flirtation with Nate (right in front of Elena!), and I was there for every second of it! Imani and Nate are already way more interesting than Elena and Nate, and they've only shared a few small scenes together here and there. Elena is right to be worried, and I understand why she "bared her claws," as Nate pointed out, when she put Imani in her place and let her know that she and Nate were moving in together. I hope this is the beginning of a larger storyline for the new year for these characters because I am loving all of it.

What do you all think of the happenings in Genoa City during this first week of 2022? Which storylines have you excited -- and which of them have you reaching for the fast-forward button?! Hit the comments and let me know your thoughts!

Until next time, Vance

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