Rest easy, Dina. You left us too soon, and you will be missed. Finally, you are free of the ravages of Alzheimer's.
The matriarch of the Abbott family has left us, but she will not be forgotten. When we first saw Dina, we didn't like her much because she was such a social climber who practically ignored her family, and in the end, she abandoned her family. Then, we began to warm up to her when she returned from Paris. After making a name for herself in the cosmetics industry, she wanted to make amends with her family, but she dropped the bombshell on Ashley that Brent Davis, the tennis pro, was Ashley's father, not John Abbott. Our opinion of Dina plummeted once again.
After many years, Dina returned once again to her family, and it began to lift our spirits. Eventually, she became a much-loved character. She was an entity to be dealt with. Dina had proven herself to be a great businesswoman but not so great at parenting. Our hearts broke when she announced to her family that she'd been diagnosed with Alzheimer's.
Bless Lauren for finding the "Teardrop of Love" in the nick of time. Dina's face glowed when she saw and recognized it. That really choked me up. The memories that must have gone through her head in that split second were probably overwhelming and obviously gave enough time of clarity to bid her children a heartfelt goodbye, which I'm sure must have given them closure.
I think the moment the first tear fell for me was when she recognized Traci. Dina told her she would never be forgotten. The look on Traci's face was euphoric. Until that moment, Traci had always felt like an outsider with Dina. Dina seemed to forget who Traci was but always remembered Ashley and Jack. That was such a stunning moment for Traci. I loved Dina's goodbyes to Jack and Ashley, but I really lost it with Dina's last words: she said, "I love you all," and she died.
I have to say, Marla Adams (Dina) did an outstanding job with the Alzheimer's storyline. She had us cheering in times of clarity, and saddened when no one appeared to be home. Dina made amends with her family, and in spite of her children's abandonment issues, they loved her and did everything they could to make the time she had left happy. I'm not certain whether someone in the last stages would have had such clarity as Dina had, but I'm not an expert, and I think the final scenes were done beautifully. Did everyone cry? I sobbed like she'd been one of my family members.
Rest in peace, Dina, and farewell to Marla Adams. You did an amazing job as Dina Mergeron. We all wish you well, and you will be missed.
It's hard to believe that was just one day on The Young and the Restless last week - and that there is even more to dish. So let's regroup a bit and talk about what else went down.
Thankfully, Adam is no longer the front-burner storyline anymore. That honor is split between Summer and Kyle, and Phyllis, Nick, and Victoria.
I'll start with Summer and Kyle. Summer is so terribly insecure. She told Nick, Phyllis, and Jack that she and Kyle had a solid relationship and that they were destined to be together for life, but the moment she saw a text message exchange between Kyle and Lola, she fell apart. No discussion with Kyle about it, just packed her bags, left a note, and got on the first stagecoach home. I have to agree with Nick -- she should have faced Kyle and discussed it with him. I guess what she did was akin to breaking up with someone over text message, email, or social media. Not very adult of you, Summer.
I might have to retract some of the things I have said about Kyle's feelings for Summer. I previously said that Kyle's love might be a habit, but it's possible that in spite of how badly Summer treated him in the past, he loved her. Since then, he has matured, and these could be residual feelings he has mistaken for love. I still feel he loved Lola more. Maybe there was love for Summer on some level, and I have to wonder if he is truly heartbroken or if he is angry that Summer treated him that way once again. In my opinion, someone that deeply in love and who's been jilted doesn't immediately get in touch with one of his exes in New York and set something up for his next business trip there. Call me crazy, if you will.
Summer, on the other hand, isn't doing any adulting. She has hired someone to spy on Kyle while she hides from everyone. These two haven't made it to the altar yet, and Summer is already having Kyle followed to see if he is cheating with Lola. What is married life with her going to be like? Is she going to have Kyle followed daily? Why didn't she sit down and discuss it with Kyle instead of running off?
I would like to know where Nick and Phyllis get off telling Summer to break her engagement to Kyle. These two are the last people on earth to give advice or make demands of Summer. Look at their track records.
Phyllis has been married to Danny Romallotti twice, Jack Abbott twice, and Nick Newman three times, and she's had affairs with Dr. Tim Reid, Michael Baldwin, Malcolm Winters, Damon Porter, Deacon Sharpe, Roman Malloy, and Billy Abbott -- basically, every guy that came to Genoa City. Great role model, mama, and you think you have the right to offer advice to Summer!
Nick is no better. He married Sharon once -- the other two weddings were incomplete because Phyllis interrupted the first one, and Sharon stopped the second one after she discovered that Nick had been unfaithful to her; he married Phyllis three times; and he was married to Sage until her death. He had affairs with Grace Turner, Diane Jenkins, Avery Clark, Chelsea Lawson twice, and Christine Blair, and a one-night stand with Rebecca Barlow. Who's the stallion, Nick? Neither one of them is qualified to give Summer advice, and it looks like Nick and Phyllis might be heading for wedding number four, but I hope not. Phyllis hasn't been completely open with Nick, and that's a bad sign in any relationship.
Kyle loved Lola, and he knew he'd hurt her deeply, but he wanted to make sure she was okay because the divorce had been finalized, nothing more, but Summer had to make a big deal out of it. So where do they go from here? I still believe that Summer is going to go back to her old ways and that Kyle and Lola might eventually find their way back to each other -- at least I hope they do.
Speaking of Phyllis, I'm ashamed to admit it, but I cheered when Victoria bought out Phyllis' loans, and now Phyllis is working for Victoria, who owns 75% of the Grand Phoenix. Don't get me wrong -- I love Phyllis, but she doesn't know how to play fair. She goes after what she wants in the most underhanded way. Look at the crazy things she pulled with Abby until Abby finally gave in and sold Phyllis her shares in the hotel, but that's still not finished because Abby's hotel across the street still needs to be finished as soon as they realize that the bones on that site had been planted.
How is Phyllis going to get herself out of the hole she is in? Who can she turn to? Who could help her out? Adam has already refused, and she won't go to Nick. I doubt he'd have the financial means to help her out, anyway, since he gave up his trust fund. She can't go to Victor, since she still wants to pay him back for what he did to her with the Jack doppelgänger, so who's left? Can she get a loan to buy out Victoria? I doubt it. I think this is one situation she won't be able to scheme her way out of.
When Phyllis approached Adam to help her, she claimed that she and Adam could get back at everyone who had hurt them, and they could wipe the smug look off Victoria's face. Adam asked if she wanted him to hurt people. When she said yes, Adam looked disgusted and walked away. Is Adam turning over a new leaf? Is he going to become human? What will a "human Adam" look like? I think he will be boring, so I'm opting for a better Adam, with only one or two schemes planned. I don't believe he will ever become a model citizen, but I would settle for at least an attempt, with a little vengeance on the side.
At the moment, Adam refuses to let Victor or Billy win. Chelsea wants them to move away from Genoa City and buy a house close to Connor's school, but Adam sees that as Chelsea abandoning him. Chelsea wants to regroup, but Adam wants to fight because he is certain that Billy will release another story about him. To that end, Adam decided to hire a private eye to follow Rey and record his every move.
Holy smokes! We have two spies on the loose, one to record all interaction between Kyle and Lola, and another to follow and record every move Billy made. I thought this was a soap, not a spy thriller. Well, I hope neither spy finds anything untoward with either of their subjects.
Adam had overheard Nick and Rey talking at Crimson Lights and Rey asking Nick to be his best man when Rey married Sharon. Adam left in a hurry, obviously upset. I think he had hoped that telling Sharon he still loved her would reunite them. I guess Adam just wasn't having a good day.
Looks like Chelsea isn't too happy with Adam at the moment. I think she is beginning to realize that Adam sees teamwork as one-sided -- his side. He keeps too many secrets from Chelsea. Chelsea is a con artist in her own right, but in a way, I'm happy that Adam isn't letting her participate. She was great when she'd given up her con artist ways. I really enjoyed watching her blossom into a great designer, but being with Adam has brought out the worst in her. Because of Adam, she misses Connor. They both decided to put him into boarding school because of Billy's exposé about Adam.
I wonder if she will stay with Adam. If she stays with Adam, it might stop a possible reunion between Adam and Sharon. Their past relationship was toxic, and I believe it would be again, because Adam tends to bring people down. I would hate to see them reunite, but there seems to be a strong possibility that it might happen
Did Chelsea get off the bus at the local asylum? She had the audacity to tell Billy she wanted visitation with Johnny. Did she forget she'd given up all her rights to Johnny the day she signed the adoption papers for Victoria to be his mother? Chelsea hasn't paid one scrap of attention to that child since the day he was born, yet now, suddenly, she wants Johnny to know she is his birth mother, and she wants to spend time with him. Chelsea, you are a few fries short of a Happy Meal. Even if Billy allowed visitation, the mighty Victoria will not. Methinks Chelsea is out of luck on this one. I'm not sure that a court would grant her visitation with Johnny, given the adoption and the fact she hadn't even asked about him.
It looks like Chance might be sitting on a keg of dynamite when it comes to his past with Adam in Vegas. I think the past is going to rear its ugly head and bite him in the ass. I hope this won't affect his and Abby relationship. I love this couple together. It's time for Abby to finally settle down, and I think that she and Chance would have a happy future together. But I have to wonder if this will happen if Chance is denied a position on the police force if the truth about Vegas comes to light. I also wonder if Adam will have Chance's back as he promised.
There might also be another chink in the armor for Chance and Abby. Chance's ex-girlfriend, Sally Spectra, is heading to Genoa City. Since Sally lost Wyatt to Flo in Los Angeles, she just might have her sights set on rekindling things with Chance. Not sure Chance will take the bait because he did tell Abby that she was the first woman he'd ever considered a future with, but I think Sally is going to create a bit of angst between Chance and Abby. In the end, I really hope it solidifies Chance and Abby's relationship. Sally can move on with Adam, Nick, or Billy.
Poor Faith! She is going through so much lately, worried about Sharon's cancer, the bullying she is receiving because of Billy's exposé, and really not feeling Sharon's wedding bliss. She holds her feelings back and only partially lets them out for a breath of fresh air when she talks to Mariah. With Summer, she doesn't say much because I think she realizes that Summer is a flake. She accused Summer of being a fugitive from her own wedding and of becoming Kyle's stalker. Faith is a very smart young lady. My heart broke when Faith walked into an empty house, sat on the sofa, and released those tears she'd been holding back. I hope that Sharon and Nick recognize that Faith needs help and that Faith finally opens up to them.
Theo! Ugh! This guy is never going to grow up. He thought he had it made with Lola until she dumped him. One of the reasons she dumped him was because he was so immature. Theo discovered that Summer and Kyle had eloped, but Summer had run off before the wedding. Well, far be it from Theo to keep that to himself. For him, this was great fodder, so he published the news on social media. As a result, Kyle has been mercilessly beaten up by the media. Theo continues to get in his own way.
Lily has had her hands full with Billy, but she has managed to keep him under control. In the last scene between Billy and Lily, after she read him the riot act, the look on Billy's face was quite revealing to me. He looked at Lily with a lot more than admiration. There might be more to this business relationship than meets the eye. They would make a cute couple, but if they do wind up as a couple, Lily will certainly have her hands full. I wonder if she would enjoy being with an immature adrenaline junkie.
I hope you enjoyed my insights and views about what has been happening in Genoa City. I would love to read your comments and opinions -- and perhaps you might like to offer up some of your own theories on last week's episodes. In the meantime, it's a wrap for me. Until next time, stay safe!
Nel
What are your thoughts on The Young and the Restless? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
