Summer is Dark and Depressing on CBS Soap Y&R
August Spoilers Say More Doom and Gloom For Genoa City Residents
Jul 23, 2009
While some may think of the summer as a time for fun, light-hearted storylines, CBS’s top daytime drama The Young and the Restless has produced what is without question the darkest summer in recent memory. And with stories ranging from cancer and brain damage to blackmail and obsession to harming children and babies, it appears that it’s only going to get worse.
Here’s a recap of what’s happened so far and what misery and mayhem lies ahead for the residents of Genoa City.
Summer Comes out of Her Coma
In an effort to keep Phyllis away from Jack, Mary Jane fed Summer peanut butter cookies, despite knowing that Summer was allergic to peanuts. She hoped that Summer’s parents Phyllis and Nick would reunite over the tragedy. Summer went into anaphylactic shock and was in a coma for weeks. Summer eventually came out of her coma, and it was determined that MJ had both caused the coma and filed a false charge against Phyllis for poisoning her own daughter. Instead of allowing Summer to have a full recovery, the writers have given Summer brain damage from a lack of oxygen to her brain. Now, this girl of about 7 years old has the language skills of a toddler, and will face a long, difficult road to recovery.
Is Mary Jane/Patty Responsible for Nikki’s “Death”?
Victor is after MJ for his granddaughter’s poisoning and for the gaslighting of Ashley. The rumor mill indicates that a frantic MJ, trying to flee Genoa City, will unintentionally hit Nikki with her car. As a result, Nikki may initially be presumed dead; however, in reality, she will be in a coma (allowing for the departure of Melody Thomas Scott for a few weeks, as previously reported).
Amber’s Past Comes Back to Haunt Hher
After Amber’s boyfriend Daniel was framed by an unknown individual for art forgery, theft, and murder, Amber suspected that someone from her sordid past may have wanted to get revenge on her. It turned out that her theory was partly correct; someone from her past was involved in the scheme, but not for the reason she thought. Amber’s ex Deacon Sharpe (who appeared on sister soap The Bold and the Beautiful) recently turned up in Genoa City, and is now obsessed with having Amber all to himself. He confessed to Amber that he has information that will exonerate Daniel, but will continue to frame Daniel unless Amber sleeps with him.
Lily has Cancer
Last week, Lily’s world was rocked when she found out that her husband was a con-artist who had lied about his true identity for years. This week, she received even more devastating news when she learned that, at only 22 years old, she has epithelial ovarian cancer. This is certainly one of the most depressing storylines on screen, and will become even more depressing as Lily learns that she’ll probably be unable to have children, and furthermore, that there is only a 45 per cent survival rate.
Sharon’s Baby
If Summer being brain-damaged and Ashley losing her baby wasn’t enough, it appears that MJ and Adam may also be planning to hurt or kidnap Sharon’s baby, which is coincidentally due at the same time that Ashley would be due. On Thursday’s show, MJ found the doll of a baby in a trash can. Off-screen, she gauged out the doll’s eyes and then left the mutilated baby at Sharon’s door, as a warning for Sharon to stay away from Jack, who believes he is the baby’s father and has chosen to recommit to Sharon over MJ.
Now that Adam has framed MJ for Ashley’s gaslighting and blackmailed Dr. Taylor into telling Ashley that her baby is fine (despite her miscarriage), what will his next move be? Adam has expressed regret over causing Ashley’s miscarriage, which apparently wasn’t part of his plan, so it’s interesting that the writers have shown Adam finding out that Sharon’s baby is also a girl and is due at the same time as Ashley. This has led many fans to speculate an upcoming baby switch storyline, where Sharon’s baby will be given to Ashley and Sharon will be told that her baby died.
What are your thoughts? Is Y&R getting too dark? What kinds of storylines would turn it around? Be sure to watch weekdays at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS.
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