Y&R: Episode Discussion for the week December 28

[Y&RWorldTurner]

I think they missed the boat by totally ignoring this character for months while he was in jail. If we're to believe his transformation happened there, it should have been shown or hinted at. After all, television is a visual medium. We should have seen something like Adam being attacked or treated like crap by prison security and Victor totally ignoring his son's pleas for help. Instead, that beat was totally skipped over until Adam got out of prison and was living on the Ranch again.

He was intentionally gaslighting and driving a pregnant woman insane. Even if he was too caught up in his vendetta against Victor, any sane person could see doing this to a pregnant woman could cause her to be a danger to both herself and her unborn child.

He knew she was on a flight of stairs too the night he scared her and she miscarried.

There were other, less damaging ways to get back at Victor and destroying his new family. He could have started by working with a corporate maverick in an attempt to seize Newman away from Victor, perhaps then would have been a good time to introduce this Tucker character. After all, Victor's business is often more important to him than his family.

Ashley and Victor should have been having problems long before Adam set his plans into action. Ashely should have been pissed and angry at Victor far more over his attempts to make Colleen seem incompetent and the way he had her humiliated into giving up her seat on the Newman board. Colleen is Ashley's niece, and for the most part, this was ignored. Sursok was miscast as Colleen, but the character was written so poorly in the months leading up to her demise. Perhaps Adam should have been feeding corporate information about Newman and Victor to Colleen in an attempt to shame Victor in return or something.

All of this sounds great, but again, there were other ways of doing it where the long-term potential for this character would have been greater. They didn't have to make Adam responsible for gasligthing a woman into insanity, a miscarriage, burning fetal liquid, stealing a baby, and other gross crimes to accomplish this.

At the end of it all, there is no one left in town to sympathize with Adam or love him for the way he is. When all of this gets out, the entire Newman and Abbott clans, along with Sharon, Heather, and Rafe have just cause to hate him for life. It isn't like there is anyone else in town that likes him. Adam has no friends or a talk-to. Perhaps if he had a talk-to, a genuine friend, a lot his nonsense would have been easier to digest and we would have been better able to get inside of his head.

The way he's written now, I see very little long-term potential for the Adam character, and this shouldn't be, since he's a core character that had a lot more potential then was written. When this all gets out, who has any reason to forgive him, and would it be believable?

Some of the most interesting characters are the gray characters who are self-destructive because of their relationship with their father or families. I think back to Alan-Michael on early 90's GL, who could be dirty and manipulative, but also had a heart and never fully crossed the line. Or AJ on GH before he became Guza's punching bag. Both of these character made a ton of mistakes simply because they longed for the acceptance of their families and the legacies of their families, but they knew they'd never get it, and kept acting out because of it. There ways of doing so were less damaging and more sensible than anything I've seen with this Adam creation on Y&R. They weren't allowed to create a string of crimes in 6 months and never pay for it.

Again, I think the problem many have with the Adam character is the corner he's been written into, and how little we sympathize with him. Also, the wasted potential, Victor Newman, JR had a lot more long-term potential than this.

I totally agree here, this story was executed poorly and the day to day writing has been atrocious at times. However, I can say that about most stories on Y&R this year too.

The Engen to Muhney switch definitely hurt, I know many were able to sympathetic better with Engen's interpretation than Muhney's.

[DRW50]

I can buy that Adam behaves randomly, but so many of the stories on the show seem so random, everyone behaves just to contort the plot. It makes everyone look stupid.

I think they just sort of want people to forget about Adam's past and enjoy what he is now, but I can't. Others can, obviously, and I hear comments like, "I want Sharon to have Adam's baby. Imagine Nick's reaction," and then I am sad as to what Sharon is reduced to, especially since Adam convinced her that her baby died of deformities.

[DeeeDee]

A baby poor Sharon mourned for 5 minutes before Maria turned her into a toy for Nick & Adam to fight over instead of Nick & Jack.

[Soapsuds]

She's hardly missed the baby at all. And Jack has been reduced to a marrying a look alike psycho that tried to kill him....lol. How the mighty have fallen....Sharon and Jack made to look like total idiots.

[DeeeDee]

A look a like psycho his entire family approves of!

[Soapsuds]

I would just find it creepy to marry someone who looks exactly like the person who tried killing you....lol

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Word.

I found it appalling how graciously Traci accepted a woman that looked like the woman that drove her daughter to her demise. And this fast?

[DeeeDee]

And Ashley who acts like Katie in Paranomal Activity isn't the least bit bothered by Emily nor is Billy who has made avenging Colleen his life's work.

[Y&RWorldTurner]

Another thing I kept thinking about in tomorrow's US episode, why are these characters, for the most part, better dressed and have better hair in fantasy sequences than they actually are on the show in non-one off episodes?

There was one scene where Jill was all dolled upon in this red dress and looked ravishing, her hair was exquisite too. Can Jill be dressed like this more regularly, please? I realize it was a wedding sequence, but Jill is supposed to be a wealthy businesswoman...

This Billy episode really sucked overall, IMO.

I also don't understand why characters act like Billy being drunk and high off booze is just "Billy being Billy." Mac, in particular, knows about what alcohol did to him when they were younger. I don't understand the apparent blindness for the past a lot of these characters have from this awful writing team.

And is the end of this episode supposed to be some hint of a possible relationship between Victoria and Billy? DON'T GO THERE Y&R!

There's already too many mismatched couples on this show...

[DeeeDee]

Aunt Jack finds it a turn on.

These characters existed before their insta relationships?

You don't say!

[DRW50]

I think it's part of the regressive, ancient mindset of the people at the show now. Alcoholism isn't something men deal with. Real men can drink and drink all they want. Billy screwing up and being a drunk and being a horrible burden is just proof of how loveable he is.

[JSROCKS]

Make that sex starved idiots. Jack and Sharon have become the same character.

[MoTheGreat]

I wonder who else they going to get tp prop Lame boring asses. The Cattle Mafia or somebody female that Cane forgot to tell Lily about. If they had a better Lily. Lame wouldn't need proping.

[MoTheGreat]

I was hoping she bed JT before he goes on Maternity leave with his wife. Cane doesn't need to get Mac pregnant. He doesn't need any ties to Katherine. After the Cattle Mafia comes I hope they take him away. Or at least run him out of GC.

[DeeeDee]

Win.