A Critic’s Review Of The Young and the Restless: Medical Emergencies, Bad News

When it comes to The Young and the Restless, every fan has their own opinion – and Soap Hub is no different. For a week we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between, and now we offer you a handy review, and a cheeky critique, of YR’s week that was.

The Young and the Restless: A Critic’s Week In Review

“Tracy! My heart! … For God’s sake. Help me, Tracy! Give me my pills” “Only if you promise not to sign the will, daddy.”  *ahem* Sorry, sorry. We momentarily confused YR’s bit of heart attack-induced business dealings with a similar scene played out decades earlier on another daytime serial.

But we digress. Back to the subject at hand. Dear YR, please don’t kill Ashland Locke (Richard Burgi). He was exactly what this show needed – a shot in the arm, a breath of fresh air, a real mean and nasty SOB. Yea, yea, we know that’s Victor’s (Eric Braeden) usual descriptor, but it was nice to see someone wear the mantel.

However, if death is the only viable solution, we suppose we’d accept it – but only because we’ve done some thinking. With no Ashland, that means we now have the widow Locke and all her baggage, and while that’s good news for us, the audience, it’s really bad news for Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Summer (Hunter King).

We’ve been told that Tara (Elizabeth Leiner) is a bright businesswoman in her own right. And with Ashland dead and buried – and one of his biggest company’s folded into Victor’s new umbrella – perhaps Tara might move her interests to Genoa City. Heck, maybe she’ll even go toe to toe with Victor over his clearly immoral win and fight to regain control of the company.

And maybe her and Harrison’s presence will stir in Kyle a desire to unite the family that they could have had with Ashland not being in the picture. Or, how about a custody battle for the tot? A newly married Summer and Kyle vs. Tara – could be mighty interesting.

Further YR Musings

* How dumb is Billy (Jason Thompson)? Seriously. Like, if there was a scale, where would he land? He actually thought that sending Victoria (Amelia Heinle) congratulatory flowers, mere days (because let’s face it, the days have begun to draaaaaag on this show) after she confessed to still being in love with him was a good idea?

And as for Victoria, it’s disappointing to see her still pining for the love and affection of a man who’s clearly moved on, and of a father who clearly couldn’t care less about her. The biggest question of all is this: why does she even care what Victor thinks or feels about her at this point?

This is a man who, time and time again, has chosen Adam (Mark Grossman) over every single person in his life. Over Victoria. Over Nicholas (Joshua Morrow). Even over his own wife. And Adam is the man who caused Ashley (Eileen Davidson) to miscarry the baby she shared with Victor. Who poisoned and nearly killed Victor. Who tried to frame Victor for murder, who…

* We asked last week, and we will ask again this week. Since when can an undercover agent use his own personal cellphone to phone home and have long conversations with his wife?

* Chemistry tests abounded this week – hello there Nina (Tricia Cast) and Jack; yes it is interesting to see you Nate (Sean Dominic) and Lola (Sasha Calle) – but which potential parings passed?

* Does anyone actually feel the least bit sorry for Elena (Brytni Sarpy)? The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.