A Critic’s Review of The Young and the Restless: Villains and Second Chances

When it comes to The Young and the Restless, every fan has their own opinion – and Soap Hub is no different. For five days 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

Does anybody else remember being promised a proper villain in the guise of businessman Ashland Locke (Richard Burgi) – the man whose victims referred to him as The Lockeness Monster? We do.

But what we’ve gotten so far is a man who’s good at calling in some favors and making big, and blustery threats that he doesn’t follow through on. Heck, he’s even letting Victor (Eric Braeden) off the hook for narrowly letting him succumb to a heart attack.

In all honesty, Ashland is coming off less Gordon Gekko, and more of a foot-stomping toddler….which is ironic seeing as how Ashland wants to take possession of the toddler that he’s been raising. To paraphrase Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), “His bark, is worse than his bite.” At least Ashland still plays off Victoria (Amelia Heinle) very nicely.

Further YR Musings

* Was there really in doubt that Rey (Jordi Vilasuso) and Sharon (Sharon Chase) would give their marriage another shot? The real question that the writers should be asking is, does the audience even want these two together in the first place?

* If there’s one thing that Samuel Fuller’s Shock Corridor taught us, it’s that the longer you fake being crazy, the crazier you become…and Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) already had a warped sense of how responsible Sharon was for her suffering before she entered that mental health facility.

* When it comes to awkward sibling bond sesh’s, we’re gonna have to give the award to Adam (Mark Grossman) and Nick, over Abby (Melissa Ordway) and Victoria.

* Amanda’s (Karla Mosley) storyline continues to give the impression of juicy potential… but we still aren’t seeing any evidence of actual progress. She hasn’t had a scene with any family member outside of Imani (Leigh-Ann Rose) in weeks, and her meeting with the extended Ames family happened OFFSCREEN. Remember YR: Show, don’t tell.

* We have to wonder exactly what went through the minds of the Society staff following the engagement party that wasn’t. They probably thought they’d get to clean up and go home early, but then Mariah (Camryn Grimes) and Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) had to hold them up.

And even after they left, those dedicated workers kept the doors open so Ashland could have a snifter or two…despite the fact that the restaurant was supposed to be closed the entire night for the aforementioned engagement party – which Ashland definitely wasn’t invited to. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.