Hallucinations in the desert

Yoga in Sedona with a bloody ghost? Guilt over your actual face? Badger Billy pushing for answers he really doesn't want? Let's discuss this and so much more in this week's Two Scoops.

Dear readers, if you ever find yourself in a situation where you are hallucinating about your dead child and a bloody dead ghost man who terrorized you, I suggest seeking professional help rather than opting to go out into the desert alone.

Sharon isn't thinking clearly, and all of her family quietly listens to her wackadoodle plan and tells her they think it is a great idea. This is why the Abbotts are better than the Newmans: When Ashely was Belle, they knew she needed doctors to fix it, not just a lovely Sedona yoga/spa retreat. I can't imagine that anything good will come of this trip.

Are the writers setting up Nick's rescue of Sharon as a catalyst for a Sharon/Nick reunion? We anticipated that months ago, but then nothing happened. It's confusing because the writers also have Nick and Phyllis spending a lot of time together, and frankly, they have a lot more chemistry, in my humble opinion. I especially love that while Sharon is arguing with ghost Cameron, she's also reasoning with him like it's a psychotherapy session. I wish you could see me laughing.

As to the Cassidy First name, the terrible Adustos would have been better if it had kept Sharon from conversing with ghosts. I really like Faith and hope she sticks around for longer than the summer, but if Lucy is going to become a Single White Female stalker, Lucy might have to flee back to Europe. I am afraid that history will repeat itself. The previews for next week show Lucy showing up drunk at a concert. Will Faith drive her home, and will history repeat itself? I don't know why my mind is leading me to that dark suspicion, but all the talk of Cassie's accident, Daniel's part in it, Sharon's visions, and Lucy's obsession with Faith seem to add up to...something? Just not sure what.

I bet Daniel will stop building a new video game for Sharon if Faith kills Lucy. This week's scenes with Daniel and Sharon were beautifully written and very realistic. Trauma and tragedy are not easily shaken off. When Daniel admitted that he always thinks of Cassie, I believe him. Daniel still regrets his choices that night, and I don't doubt it. I am glad they are revisiting this, even though I can't quite find the angle yet. I know there are no throwaway conversations in soaps, so this one is leading up to something.

Michael Graziadei excels at the "mournful look in the eyes" scenes. He makes me want to give him Nana hugs.

Dear readers, do you ever have a character that you like until the writers make them annoying? That was me this week with Billy. I adore Jason Thompson, first as Patrick on General Hospital and now as Billy on Y&R. But the way Billy has been badgering Sally, Adam, and Chelsea this week made me say, "Shut up, Billy" at my TV. He was just so pushy and so much of a bully. Even though he is right and they are hiding something from him, how he went about it made me dislike him. I wanted to say, "NO is NO." They said they have to go catch a flight, dude. But again, I acknowledge that he is right, and they are hiding something from him. For all we know, they will do it again on the plane to pick up Connor.

It's all going to blow up very quickly, and Sally and Billy will be crushed; Adam and Chelsea will probably move back in together for Connor's sake, and I hope Connor will be able to stay healthy, despite all the drama around him. What do you think? Would you welcome a "Chadam" reunion? I really did love them when they first fell in love. But where does that leave Billy and Sally? Will the two of them have revenge sex? Will they become a couple? Or will Billy pursue Lily because he thinks they are such a great business team, even though she's secretly double-crossing him right now?

I am trying to decide if Victor wants Chancellor because of his deep devotion to his late friend Katherine or if he merely wants to stick it to Billy for old times' sake. If he really gave Newman Media to Adam so Nikki could focus on her rehab, why is she always in the office, picking fights instead of going to her outpatient rehab classes?

When Billy ran into Nikki and Victor today, Nikki played it very slyly, but I think she's secretly turned on by Victor's takeover plan. She will become queen of Katherine's empire, and Billy will be left with nothing. Again. Billy is planning a big launch party, and it sounds like just the event -- with the entire town present -- where Victor will make a dramatic announcement that he has the votes to do a hostile takeover.

He has Mamie's shares, but who else's? Victor plans to use Glissade to take down Jabot and Jack, and now a plan to take Chancellor away from Billy. Is this a full Abbott destruction sweep? What's next? Will he close Ashley's mental hospital so she can't finish her treatment? Will he buy Traci's publisher so she can't option her book into a movie? His urge to get revenge on the Abbotts runs deep.

Summer Newman also has that revenge gene, and she is determined to keep Kyle and Harrison from experiencing any joy or happiness without her. Is that harsh? Daniel warned her that if she enlists Victor in her custody battle, she will reignite the entire Abbott/Newman feud. She didn't flinch. Summer insists it's not jealousy, but whenever Summer sees Harrison having fun with Claire, or Kyle walking into a room with Audra, Summer's face tenses up into a squishy little ball. She is jealous that she is no longer the center of Kyle's life and that Harrison adores Claire.

Kyle is getting angrier and angrier at Summer and is also filled with anger at Jack and Diane. That building rage will either A) prompt him to do something stupid and wreck his life or B) propel him to great success. Will Summer's push to amend the custody agreement blow up in her face? Will Audra and Kyle really make Glissade successful beyond their wildest dreams?

Here's another possibility... While Kyle is fighting with Summer over their son and not paying attention, will Tucker slide in and steal Glissade back from them? I miss Tucker.

There are characters on Y&R that are the punching bags for the entire town -- Adam, Tucker, Billy -- and I really just don't get it. Especially Adam. Adam has literally given body parts to save Newman lives, but they still treat him like the gum they scraped off their shoes.

Scratch that. Nick is friendly to Adam, and his dad seems very supportive of him...sometimes. But Victoria and Nikki loathe Adam for no discernable reason. I kept thinking that Summer hating Claire would make Victoria see how unfair she has been to Adam, but nope. Still being witchy to her half-brother.

Speaking of Claire, I loved the scene with her and Victoria where Claire admitted she has difficulty allowing herself the freedom to enjoy life. When Claire told Victoria, she feared doing things simply because they made her happy, I felt that. I've been that way most of my life. Like it's undeserved. Like it's selfish. Like there's some greater good I should be doing. I'm not saying I have never done things I wanted to, but I always feel a little tinge of guilt. Claire wanted to go to Paris and have Harrison ride the carousel in Montmartre, but she was ashamed to say she was disappointed.

Public Service Announcement to anyone out there feeling like they have to put everyone else's needs above their own, it's okay to do what's best and happiest for yourself sometimes. I like this version of Claire, but I wonder if that old sneaky Claire who tricked her way into the Newman family will ever reemerge. Since Summer is taking time off to hang out with Harrison because she's mad that he likes Claire, Claire should hop on the next flight to Paris and seduce Kyle just because she can. That would be so much soapy fun.

Instead, it appears from previews that Summer is going to be distracted and somehow allow Harrison to get hurt. Maybe that will prompt his birth mother to come back to Genoa City and lay claim to him? I don't know, but when Phyllis was egging Summer on about the custody battle, I knew it wouldn't end well because Phyllis' instincts don't have the best track record.

But Phyllis is easily the most "fun" of anyone in Genoa City. In my opinion, Michelle Stafford is also the most fun soap star on social media. If you aren't already following her on Instagram, you should be. She just released her latest episode of "Does it Taste Good, or Does it Taste Like *ss," and it's hilarious. She's simply a witty, creative, kind person who makes the world shinier.

Phyllis' son Daniel went to see Sharon and offered to create a new video game to honor Cassie like he did with Princess Luisa for Lucy. Sharon didn't initially grasp the concept but eventually warmed to the idea. I am happy to see Daniel have a new creative outlet to keep him occupied while he is unemployed. Genoa City, Wisconsin, has a small market for what Daniel does.

It is odd to me that Heather can't find a job; with all the legal battles, corporate takeovers, and kookie criminals in Genoa City, you'd think there would be a lot of openings for lawyers.

We only got a glimpse of Cole this week when he swung by to have lunch with Victoria and Claire. Just what does Cole do all day? Is he working? Is he sitting alone in some hotel room 23 hours a day? Can he get some more scenes with people other than Victoria and Claire? J. Eddie Peck is a fantastic actor, he's right there at their fingertips, and he's barely being used. When Cole found Victor had Jordan locked in the wine cellar jail, I was hopeful, but that ended in about 14 seconds. I'm rooting for you, Cole.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Billy order a flight of bourbons and end up in rehab with Nikki? Will Mariah get plastic surgery so she doesn't look like Cassie anymore? Will Nikki's hairstylist singlehandedly bring back big 80s hair? (I hope so.) Will Lucy get hair extensions to look like Faith? Will Faith learn the hard way that bad things happen every time she comes back to Genoa City, and she should have the good sense to disappear like Noah did? Will Diane realize after she fired Kyle that now she has to do all the work herself and that she's terrible at it? Will Chance connect with Cole to see how they can get more screen time? Will Alan's supposedly dead twin reemerge to torment Ashley right after Traci and Alan leave for L.A.?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.Tamilu

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