A Critic’s Review of The Young and the Restless: Swept Under A Rug

When it comes to 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 Y&R’s week that was.

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

Sharon Rosales’s (Sharon Case) face when she caught sight of Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters) mirrored the one I typically find myself pulling every time I wrap up an episode of The Young and the Restless.

But before I launch into my usual tirade against this boring show – and I very purposefully use the designation “show” rather than soap, because no one is going to accuse The Young and the Restless of being an actual soap opera; soap operas possess at least a modicum of drama – I’d like to offer some kudos to the characters who got a clue.

A lot of viewers, myself included, have accused Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) of being incredibly dense – amongst other sins – but it didn’t take any time at all to deduce that ole Billy Boy Abbott (Jason Thompson) was The Grinning Soul. You go, girl! About time you get something right!

And though Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) is usually the smartest – or, at the very least, the most intuitive – person in the room, it was Devon Hamilton (Bryton James) and Nate Hastings (Sean Dominic), and them alone, who could tell that Billy was struggling with his place at Chancellor/Winters.

Now, let’s get down to brass tacks. The last time I checked, The Young and the Restless promotes itself as a daytime drama, and yet anything potentially dramatic, smacking of emotional resonance, or even the least bit interesting gets swept under the proverbial rug.

Don’t tell me all about Rey Rosales’s (Jordi Vilasuso) makeshift memorial service, show me Rey’s makeshift memorial service. Don’t force me to sit through endless scenes of Diane’s detractors slagging her off, give me a real reason to feel like this storyline has a real point to it.

Either Diane’s still the troubled vixen of old, or she’s truly back to the more heroine-ish Diane who would have been contented with life as Mrs. Andy Richards. As it is, Diane’s been onscreen for months repeating the same “I’m a changed woman” mantra and there’s been very little forward movement. I’m bored.

For a hot minute, I thought we might see Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) have a full break from reality in the wake of Rey’s death but following her little eulogy for the affair that might have been, she seemed to pretty well get over it. Yet another letdown.

There’s promise in Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) and Sally Spectra’s (Courtney Hope) scheme to reunite Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Ashland Locke (Robert Newman), mostly because it’s quite clear that ole Vick’s still got it bad for her ex, but at the same time it all smacks of high school age juvenile-ism. Let’s be careful here writers.

Further Y&R Musings

* Come on The Young and the Restless! Surely Billy’s should have been The Smiling Soul. What? No love for alliteration?

* Did anyone else catch the blooper that made it to air on Tuesday’s episode? Kelsey Wang’s Allie thanked “Beth” when she should have said, “Thank you, Traci,” the name of the character that Beth Maitland plays.

* Is it just me, or did the writers completely forget that Diane and Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc) use to be incredibly close friends? Their reunion made it seem like they were, at best, old acquaintances crossing paths for the first time in years.

The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.