Performer of the Week for The Young and the Restless: Christel Khalil

The fallout from ChanceComm not landing the Cyaxares deal was more than business for Lily on The Young and the Restless. While it would have been nice to have put in the winning bid, Lily had to deal with her partner Billy’s reaction to the loss and also the response of his ex-wife.

Christel Khalil: Performer of the Week

Khalil plays Lily understated but knows how to effectively take a stand. For her recent performances, Soap Hub is bestowing Performer of the Week honors for YR on Christel Khalil (Lily).

Earlier in the week, Lily was unable to unload some of her frustrations about Victoria (Amelia Heinle) on Traci (Beth Maitland). Veteran YR viewers know that the successful novelist isn’t just any “talk-to” in Lily’s life as Lily was BFF’s with Traci’s late daughter Colleen (Tammin Sursok).

It’s nice seeing Traci and Lily, whose mother, Dru (Victoria Rowell), is presumed dead, be there for one another.

In Lily’s scenes with Traci, Khalil showed that even even-keeled Lily needs to vent her frustrations, making her more relatable to viewers. Lily and Billy (Jason Thompson) are highly compatible. Jack (Peter Bergman) has noted to Billy that he and Lily complement one another. He’s correct.

However, that isn’t to imply in any way that there isn’t inherent drama in their scenes. We see that Lily is good for Billy. She knows him. She challenges him in all the right ways. She helps him stay the course, never hesitating to point out when she thinks he might be overreacting or telling him what she feels he needs to hear.

While Lily’s been patient with Victoria in the past, she’d had enough and confronted the Newman heiress at Crimson Lights. A lesser actress might have resorted to histrionics while laying into Victoria; Khalil, however, remained controlled but was still filled with emotion as she blasted Victoria for her transparent schemes.

Lily noted that it was odd that Victoria decided to bid on Cyaxares despite showing no prior interest in the company and noting that she’d divested Newman Enterprises of another media holding. Victoria failed to convince Lily her reasons were based in business not because of her personal feelings for her ex.

“I think you were really that confident you wouldn’t try so hard to convince me,” stated Lily, dismissing Victoria.

One thing’s for sure — if Victoria goes after Billy she’ll find a formidable opponent in Lily as Khalil infuses her character with such strength. The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes.