"Laying down the law"

This past week on The Young and the Restless was all about our favorite Genoa City residents "laying down the law" -- some more literally than others. Join our Two Scoops columnist as he dishes on Sharon bedding Chance, Victor taking back control of his companies, Phyllis' legal (and personal) woes, and the newest love triangle that's quickly catching fire -- Audra, Kyle, and Summer!

Temperatures are rising across the nation this summer -- and Genoa City, Wisconsin, is no exception. Sharon and Chance brought plenty of heat this week as they moved past the flirting stage that they've been in for some time and finally had sex. Yowza! Sharon gave a whole new meaning to the phrase "laying down the law" when she took the detective into the back room at Crimson Lights and the two made love in her office. But as sexy as those scenes were, what happened between them later in the week was even more rewarding than seeing them finally give in to their attraction to one another.

The next day when Chance visited Sharon at the coffeehouse again, their interaction could not have been more adorable. I have been hesitant to lean into being a fan of their pairing, but this week changed all of that for me, and I am excited to see more of them together now. It was really sweet when they were talking about how they'd been thinking about each other all day and that they couldn't wait to spend more time together when work wasn't keeping them so busy. Their chemistry went from lukewarm to scorching hot in just a few days, and I hope they keep bringing the heat this summer.

Sharon has been through so much over the last few years, and it is nice to see her getting some real happiness. Ironically, some lyrics from INXS's song "Laying Down the Law" apply to Sharon's new romance with Chance: "I'm searching for a light to kill my sense of fear, to break through darkened nights, and take me through the years." Deep in my heart, I still think that Nick and Sharon belong together (and I'm all but certain that they will ultimately find their way back to one another), but if that is not in the cards for now, then I am happy to see her finding a fresh and exciting new start with Chance so that her character can emerge from the darkness that has been clouding her life. They are fun and playful together, and Sharon needs more of that I her life (so does Chance, for that matter).

I'm really glad that Chance isn't acting jealous or threatened about Sharon going into business with both of her exes, Nick and Adam. It is nice to see Chance so supportive of Sharon's new business venture because of how happy it makes her to be taking this new direction with her life. Sharon inheriting Cameron's corporation and merging it with the company Adam and Nick are going to run together was a stroke of genius by the writer(s?)! I really like the dynamic of the three of them working together like this. It almost makes up for how quickly the story about Cameron's villainous return concluded (almost). It has been very refreshing to see Nick, Sharon, and Adam working together. I really hope we see more of Nick and Adam continuing to bond as brothers instead of being at each other's throats.

Of course, like most situations that Victor is involved with in Genoa City, the road traveled by Nick, Sharon, and Adam to be able to join forces on their new business venture was not an easy one. Early in the week, Victor gathered Victoria, Nate, Nick, and Adam to make known that the "suggestions" he has been making to them about how they should operate his companies are now directives. He will now have final say on how things are managed at both Newman and Adustus. Victor should have started his meeting with them by reciting some of the other lyrics from that aforementioned INXS song: "I'm laying down the law... there's no need to tell you what I think has gone wrong." But tell them, he did.

Victor insisted that Nick and Adam run Adustus (formerly McCall Unlimited) together and that Nate continue in Nick's former position of COO at Newman alongside Victoria. He also informed Adam that Adustus would ultimately become a subsidiary of Newman Enterprises and that Adam would no longer have the autonomy to run the business on his own because of his intentions to target Newman Media. Adam was justifiably upset by this news and stormed out of the family meeting -- and I can't say I wouldn't have done the exact same thing. I hate the way Victor continues to manipulate Adam.

While I am ultimately pleased with the outcome of Adam and Nick working together (especially now that Sharon and her new company are in the mix), I thought Victor's latest move was another low blow served to Adam by his father. Victor acquired McCall Unlimited for Adam to have something of his own that was separate from Newman Enterprises, and now Victor is taking that away from him by making these new demands and strictly telling him, "Too bad if you don't like it." Ugh, Adam can never catch a break when it comes to his father. But, like I said, I do like the path this storyline is taking, so I won't complain about that aspect of it too much (for now -- but I'll have to see how things go from here).

Adam ultimately came around to his father's terms, thanks to some encouragement and assurances from both Sharon and Nick -- but he still had some demands of his own for his father. Adam wanted him, Nick, and Sharon to have autonomy over how the company is run for six months, without his father's interference. While I thought that was fair to ask, I also think Victor's compromise of three months was fair enough, too. Hell, they're lucky they even got that from Victor! I also think their request that Newman Media is ultimately folded into their company was a fair one, but Victor was right to hold off on agreeing to that right away until he sees what the three of them can do with the company.

During their negotiation, it was nice to hear that Victor didn't totally write off Audra when Adam insisted that she was "disposable." Adam doesn't see a reason to keep her employed once Newman Media and Adustus become one media company. Audra, however, may have an ace in the hole now that she has hired Kyle as her right-hand man. Audra doesn't know it yet (or does she?), but hiring Kyle as her second in command at Newman Media may be the saving grace she needs to stay on board at Newman Media. If she and Kyle can prove their worth running the company as a team over the next few months, Victor will likely want them both to remain employed in some capacity because of the fatherly/mentor relationship he has had with Kyle in the past.

On second thought, though, maybe hiring Kyle was Audra's biggest mistake? Summer is Victor's granddaughter, after all, so maybe once he learns that Kyle has been "cheating" on Summer with Audra, he will forget about his loyalty/fondness for Kyle altogether and kick them both to the curb without a second thought. They don't call "The Mustache" ruthless for no reason, so it's definitely a possibility. Audra and Kyle better watch their backs and do one hell of a job running Newman Media for the next three months!

Not only do they need to watch their backs where Victor is concerned, but Summer may also pose a threat to them if she decides to seek some revenge now that she knows about their affair. Once Summer realized Audra was wearing the same perfume that she had smelled on Kyle, she attempted to lay down the law with Audra and put her in her place -- only to find the tables being turned on her. Was it as satisfying for everyone else as it was for me when Audra put Summer in her place?! Audra was absolutely right that the problems in Summer and Kyle's marriage had nothing to do with her and that Kyle can make his own decisions.

As I stated in my last column, I am of the belief that since Kyle was up-front with Summer about separating before he and Audra "hooked up," I don't consider their bedroom romps to be cheating. Yes, he and Summer are still married, but Kyle is not hiding anything from her; plus, he is making his intentions clear. However, that doesn't mean he didn't deserve the slap that Summer gave him when she lashed out about how he was seemingly unbothered about their marriage ending. These are the fun moments where soap operas shine, so I had to cheer for Summer when she delivered that slap. As much as I am in Kyle's corner in this fight between them, I can't deny that he has been sort of a dick to her lately. He definitely deserved that slap.

I empathized with Summer when she leaned on Chelsea's shoulder about her marital woes. I get how it would be upsetting that Kyle is moving on so quickly, because it gives the impression that their marriage seemingly meant nothing to him. But unfortunately for Summer, Kyle does have valid reasons for being upset with her and wanting to push her away. Chelsea gave Summer some great advice by telling her that she shouldn't focus on the things she can't control. She can't make Kyle forgive her, so she should focus more on finding a way to forgive herself and try to move on. But Summer often behaves like her mother, and we know that Phyllis wouldn't back down so easily, so I'm anticipating some more fun drama.

Speaking of Phyllis, I've never been so happy to see the return of the living dead! She has been lurking in the shadows for far too long. This week has been a lot of fun now that she is living out in the open again (even though she is facing potential prison time). I may not love a lot of the storyline points that have brought us here in Phyllis' story, but I must say I am enjoying some of the payoff we are getting now. I especially love seeing Phyllis and Tucker interact so I'm loving that she is indebted to him for paying off the witness to Jeremy's crimes against her.

Isn't Trevor St. John just great in scenes with everyone? His interaction with Phyllis and Diane was so funny as he goaded them into a catfight. Thankfully, neither woman took the bait from Tucker, and both remained cordial to one another without making a public scene. You could certainly hear the loathing and sarcasm dripping from every word that Phyllis and Diane said to one another, though, as they both tried to take the upper hand and restrain from pulling each other's hair out. One of the greatest things about this storyline is how great Michelle Stafford and Susan Walters play off of one another in their scenes together. They are both experts in their craft, and their scenes were one of the highlights of the week for me (especially with Tucker in the mix -- those three sharing such fun scenes was a real treat).

It will be interesting to see if Diane will be able to keep her cool if/when Phyllis is cleared of all the charges against her. Diane would at least have someone to commiserate with if Phyllis walks free. She and Christine could meet for drinks and bond over their shared hatred for the redhead. I am crossing my fingers for a scene like that in the future. In the meantime, it was great to see Christine and Phyllis go toe to toe as foes again. We even got to see some flashbacks of their rivalry in the past, which I always love. It's a great twist (but also maybe a legal conflict of interest?) that Christine is the one prosecuting Phyllis. I have to admit that I am hoping the charges against Phyllis aren't dropped because I'd love to see Heather and Christine battle it out in the courtroom for an episode or two. We haven't had good courtroom drama on the show in a while.

Now that Heather is back in town to defend Phyllis, Christine will certainly have her work cut out for her as she prosecutes Phyllis. Michael certainly would have been a formidable opponent to Christine as Phyllis' lawyer, too, but I enjoyed seeing Heather "lay down the law" when speaking with Christine about Phyllis' defense. And I can't deny that Heather painted a pretty convincing picture as to why Christine should just cut her losses and drop the charges. With Heather's new witness (paid for by Tucker) confirming Phyllis' story about Jeremy's reign of terror, it isn't likely that a jury would convict Phyllis. Christine made some good counter arguments, too, but since Michelle Stafford isn't leaving the show (as far as I know), I'm sure that we won't be seeing Phyllis behind bars anytime soon.

I was really happy to see Heather back in town and working on Phyllis' defense. Now that she's back again, I'm just waiting for the day that she and Adam run into each other. Could the writer(s?) be planning a romantic reunion for Adam and Heather now that it seems a reunion between Adam and Sally is not meant to be? After all the pain and suffering we Adam/Sally fans have had to go through over the past year, I can't say that a change of pace wouldn't be welcome. I really want to see Adam happy instead of being continually tortured in the romance department. And I did always like Adam and Heather together back in the day. Of course, Adam was portrayed by Chris Engen back then, so it will be interesting to see whether or not Vail Bloom (Heather) has the same chemistry with Mark Grossman's Adam.

Well, those are all the thoughts I had on the episodes from this past week...

Aside from this quick shout-out to the cute Tucker and Ashley scenes we got this week. They continue to be one the best parts of the show!

Thanks for taking the time to read my column again this week. Don't forget to hit the Comments and share your opinions (here on the site and on Soap Central's social media posts throughout the week), to let me know what you think. I'll see you there!

Until next time,Vance

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