Thanks to Thanksgiving, the viewers were treated to a shortened week of new episodes of our favorite soap so that we could spend the time instead in sharing our love and gratitude with our families. And thankfully, we had things to be grateful for in a time when hurricanes and earthquakes appeared to be the norm in a very ravaging and shaky 2017. But as we have seen through the years on soaps, adversity can make us stronger and can bring loved ones together in a single cause to overcome strife and to rebuild toward a better and more secure future. The same can be said for our beloved characters, as some had to face a rather terrifying fact head-on in order to try to grasp the reality of the situation and then figure out the best way to handle it. And that's exactly where Jack and Ashley found themselves after realizing that Dina had Alzheimer's disease.
As I've mentioned before, I honestly can't think of anything more horrifying than not being able to remember your own actions and words from one day to the next. Plus, Alzheimer's is also accompanied with bizarre behavior that would be enough to frighten anyone. I don't blame Jack a bit for feeling cheated by reuniting with his mother, only to have her taken away again. Yes, Dina was "vibrant, vital, intelligent," and he must always remember her like that.
Can you imagine how Dina must feel, knowing that her very essence has been slowly slipping away? Surely, she must see that her recent actions in the corporate world haven't been up to snuff of what she would normally be capable of doing. Graham had to cover for mistakes she made at Jabot, but then again, he probably shielded her from her errors. In his attempt to help her, Dina's former companion probably hurt her, since she was unable to face reality. Or was she better off being left with her illusions?
No matter what, Ashley was absolutely right when she told Jack that Dina would only get worse and that they needed to find a place that was capable of dealing with her. Even if Jack felt that was "a facility of the hopeless," what else could they do? Dina stabbed Nikki with a knife she stole from the Athletic Club. That officially makes their mother dangerous and out of control. And Jack and Ashley still aren't aware that Dina unintentionally started the fire at the Underground. For her own safety, her children need to act quickly, before she ends up in prison with no one to help her with her dementia. As heartbreaking as the decision will be, it's the most humane action they can take to help their mother, who is unable to help herself.
So, while Jack was worried sick about how to tell his mother she had Alzheimer's, Nikki made it her mission to inform Jack that his mother was "an evil-spirited, vicious woman." Gosh, even if he was mad at Dina and never wanted to speak to her again, Jack wouldn't want to hear his lady says such terrible things about his mother, for heaven's sake. Jack and Ashley can rip Dina apart all they want, but nobody outside the family had better do that. Nikki must think that the saying "blood is thicker than water" only goes for the Newmans. It was no wonder that Jack shoved Nikki out of his house -- and possibly out of his life. Really, what nerve.
But I am not the least bit surprised that Dina already knew she had Alzheimer's, although I am rather astonished that it didn't seem to bother her at all. Maybe it's one of the bizarre behavioral symptoms or she has simply just adjusted to the fact. However, it does explain why Dina always kept Graham close. She almost seemed afraid to make a move without him. Actually, Dina claimed to her family that even if she was losing her marbles, she wasn't stupid, and she wasn't dying. What a terrific attitude to have for such a frightening diagnosis. Dina was alive and enjoying her family, and she truly seemed to be grateful for the time with them.
At least Ashley had something to be thankful for, since her daughter safely returned to Genoa City. Luckily, Ashley wasn't aware that Zach had just threatened Abby with a gun, which was also just as well. Sometimes ignorance is bliss (although probably not in Dina's case). But I doubt Ashley would approve of the "tryst" -- no, wait, the "encounter" -- between Abby and Scott, which was no big deal; in fact, it was a little, itty-bitty, tiny deal. But Sharon had no clue about it, since, of course, Scott's lips were sealed about his sexual romp in the storage unit with his coworker. Abby got "the turkey" (Scott) and Sharon got "the bird" -- figuratively speaking -- since Scott lied to Sharon about it. It was a lie of omission, but it was a lie, nonetheless. Sharon wouldn't be too thankful for that, I am sure.
While Sharon and Abby appear to be adversaries for Scott's affection, this triangle is nothing like the one we just witnessed between Phyllis and Victoria over Billy. It reminds me of when my sisters, our best friends, and I were kids, and we were all bonkers over the Beatles' Paul. We fought over who was going to be his wife. Hey, we were young. I get Paul. No, Paul is my husband. You get the drift. So, we all had Paul as our husband, which could have made a great soap storyline in later years, but I digress. Anyway, Phyllis and Victoria duked it out over Billy, much like we did over Paul -- only Billy later ended up being more like Ringo in their eyes. (Sorry, Ringo!) But with Sharon and Abby, it's more like Abby is a reluctant member of this unharmonious trio.
Since Melissa Ordway is pregnant in "real life," why do I suspect another "Who's the baby daddy?" storyline is lurking over the horizon? If the baby is Zach's, at least Abby won't have to worry about him messing up the kid's life, since the bullet from Crystal's gun put Zach's lights out permanently. But, come on, it can't be that easy, so you know the baby will end up being Scott's. Lauren could do a happy dance on the Thanksgiving table, if that were the case, in the hopes of finally getting the diabolical Sharon away from her precious and innocent baby boy. And I can already picture Michael handing out the cigars.
Really, it's not that big of a surprise that Scott and Abby did the deed. They had been sniffing around each other for quite a while. It's just the lame way they went about it. Scott was barely traumatized from his prior captivity days before he stripped off his clothes to get it on with Abby. It was almost an excuse to jump her bones. And he didn't appear to feel the least bit guilty afterwards, not even when he was around Sharon. She only thought of Scott as her hero, while he already seemed to be in the "Sharon who?" stage of his love life.
Man, Scott really is a turkey. And I had held some high hopes for the guy. Oh, well, Scott let me down, which is nothing compared to what he did to Sharon. I guess I can get over my disappointment, although he's not really giving Sharon a reason to be thankful. If only she knew.
Since Victoria had already thrown Abby under the bus for the sex ring, Neil and Victor had no qualms about pushing Abby even farther under it as they tried to save Newman Enterprises' reputation. Abby sure didn't have a lot of reasons to give thanks during the Newmans' turkey day dinner this year. However, there may be a new day dawning with Abby and Scott working toward a common goal, which was to take down a mutual enemy, namely Victoria. Honestly, Victoria truly has become the female version of Victor, only it doesn't look good on her. Victor has really given her way too much free rein with Newman Enterprises after she just tanked her own company. Nothing inspires confidence more than blowing up your own business.
We all know that Victor just wanted his daughter nearby and tied to him. Abby was too needy, so Victor knew that she wasn't going anywhere. But Victoria wanted to be independent, so by golly, Victor was bound and determined to squash that very quality out of her. It's just Victor's way.
With Scott and Abby working together, they will just continue to grow closer and closer as the flames of passion sizzle between them. There's a thin line between love and hate, and they pole-vaulted way over it. In a small way, they remind me of Sam and Diane on Cheers. They aren't really suited for each other. They really don't want to be together. But the ardor between them has become too strong for the two of them to resist. And to think Sharon was advising Mariah to be honest with Devon, when Scott can't be faithful or honest with Sharon. This will surely blow up in his face as his desire for Abby consumes him. However, in the meantime, it will be fun to watch Abby and Scott get even with Victoria. I truly hope they succeed in their united cause.
Yes, if Sharon only knew about Scott's fling with Abby, she would realize that she should be the last person to dole out any advice to Mariah about relationships, although I will admit that Sharon's advice about Devon was pretty sound. Even if Mariah said, "Thanks, but no thanks," to Tessa's offer of friendship, she wouldn't be able to just cleanse the love from her heart. And Devon deserved better than being played a fool as the second fiddle in her quartet, which also included Noah.
Heck, Devon already had the privilege of being the romantic backup in his relationship to Hilary (her love for herself always came first, naturally). Devon thought he had found a true-blue, loyal, and genuine girlfriend with Mariah, but she should be honest with him if he is not the love she desires. Being afraid to tell him was no excuse. Mariah wouldn't like it if Devon let her dangle on a string, so it was the right thing to do to cut ties and let him be free. And that's just what she did.
Are you kidding? Devon should have seen it coming the second Mariah told him that he was "amazing, open, thoughtful, and generous." That mighty red flag was whipping and waving like crazy. But now Mariah is free to go sulking into the corner, waiting for any crumb Tessa is willing to throw her. It's actually rather funny, since Mariah was willing to be Devon's friend but not Tessa's. Ahh, love. Who can explain it?
Once he had been dropped like a hot potato, Devon went running straight to Hilary. Oh, do they ever learn? I couldn't help but notice that Devon grandly announced that he and Mariah had just broken up -- not that Mariah had just dumped him. He had to save face somehow, I guess. But now Devon and Hilary can both be madly in love with Hilary again. And Devon, with his eternal devotion and his always-lingering puppy dog eyes, will only get hurt by her once again.
The storyline I am enjoying the most right now is the big reveal of Chelsea and Jordan's past. It's nice to have a reminder, once in a while, that Chelsea was not always the squeaky clean character she later appeared to be. And it looks like Jordan found his own way in life, away from crime and disorder. So it's rather bizarre now that all of that was forgotten, once Hilary leaked, in a big way, the news that Jordan and Chelsea had once worked together to scam older women out of their money.
Okay, Hilary didn't mean to turn on her dear friend Chelsea, but you know what they say. Once the bell was rung, it couldn't be un-rung. It's almost like when a judge will tell the jury to disregard a witness' testimony during a trial. How can they totally disregard something they already heard? Hilary's viewers saw Chelsea's picture, and that wasn't going to change. Chelsea's bell had been rung.
However, Jordan wasn't so quick to go quietly skulking into the night with his tail between his legs. Good for him! He even reminded Hilary that she wasn't always the lady she tried to appear to be in front of the camera. Jordan knew about Hilary's past, when she had conned the Winters family. It's good that Jordan was aware of it, since Devon seems to have conveniently wiped it from his mind forever. I loved Jordan's comment about Hilary's former loves in that she "tosses them out just to reel them back in." That certainly has been Hilary and Devon's theme song.
Seriously, I'm not sure I would ever want to spend Thanksgiving at either the Newmans' or the Abbotts', since anyone can get kicked out at any time. Ravi misunderstood and thought he had been invited to the Abbott Thanksgiving, and instead of welcoming him in, anyway, they showed him to the door. Boy, that was so tacky. And the Newmans...Victor seems to have perfected rudeness. After all, he feels that he has to be the master of everything. Victor and Victoria said that Abby was inexperienced and had been "a failed experiment" at Newman Enterprises right in front of her face. And when Nick and Nikki arrived with Christian, Victor tried to throw them out. Thankfully, Faith stopped them. There's certainly nothing touchy-feely about the Newmans, and Victor's Thanksgiving was no exception.
When Sharon told Tessa that she might never see Crystal again, I was saying under my breath, "Oh, please, please!" I would almost have been ready to throw some confetti, except I am sure she will return someday soon. For a girl who was so afraid and who claimed she had to hide from the villains of the world, Crystal sure had no problem tracking down and facing Zach, no matter where he was.
Wow, Phyllis reunited with Billy in record time. At least she doesn't have Victoria to worry about anymore. Yep, it should be smooth sailing for the lovebirds now. Right.
It was rather bizarre seeing no food at the Newman dinner, except for some prop rolls. It was mentioned that Reed got the larger part of the wishbone, so they must have had turkey. However, even without seeing the bird, I would bet that Scott was still the bigger turkey, thanks to his silence to Sharon about his escapade with Abby.
I give a heartfelt goodbye to David Cassidy, who, in the 70s, had young girls everywhere absolutely ga-ga over him, including me. His life was much like a tragic soap opera filled with fame, fortune, drugs and alcohol, and he even claimed to suffer from dementia at the end. But he sure brought joy through his songs, and the tenderness in his singing could reach the deepest of hearts. Plus, he was gorgeous, which earned him the teen idol status. Rest In Peace, David. You were a major influence in the world of pop music and in many teenage girls' lives.
Until next time, please stay tuned.
Teddi
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