Where Were Sharon Newman’s Y&R Flashbacks?

The Young and the Restless produced an entire episode devoted to Sharon Newman’s dream, where she wondered what she wanted out of life, both professionally and personally. Tessa sang, Billy summarized the drama Sharon has been through since she popped up as Nick’s high school girlfriend in 1994, and then she and Nick reenacted the aborted wedding where she and Billy learned that Nick and Phyllis had slept together — complete with a laugh track.

Sharon Newman Looks Back…But Not Really

It was very postmodern and existential. As was the entire episode. (Read our recap here.) We always cheer the writers trying something new, whether or not they manage to pull it off. But, nonetheless, one thing was still missing from this “special” episode.

The Way We Were

Where, we have to ask, were the flashbacks? Why reunite this wedding disaster, when we could have just…seen it? Yes, we know Phyllis was a different person then, as was little Faith. But we’re soap fans, we can accept a Gina Tognoni versus Michelle Stafford switch-a-roo, and the same goes for Alyvia Allyn Lind versus Reylynne Castor. Why ignore the real drama in favor of a campy imitation?

Show Not Tell

Was Billy (Jason Thompson) reminding Sharon (Sharon Case) of losing Cassie (Camryn Grimes), her on-again, off-again relationship with Nick (Joshua Morrow), or Adam (Mark Grossman) dismissing both her marriages to Rey (Jordi Vilasuso) and the flings with him as unimportant, really better than seeing snippets from those moments? We found it strange.

Compare and Contrast

Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) got flashbacks for her special episode — even though she was in jail! We even saw some flashbacks during the big Claire reveal, where, for the record, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) was played by Heather Tom (Katie; The Bold and the Beautiful), and the effect wasn’t ruined. Why didn’t Sharon deserve the same treatment? We wanted that walk down Memory Lane!

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

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