Free at last!

The long, long ordeal is over. Sharon is free; finally, finally free. Hallelujah!

The long, long ordeal is over. Sharon is free; finally, finally free. Hallelujah! Of course, when the evidence was at last revealed in court, it came just as Heather was about to be disgraced for prosecutorial misconduct, which would have resulted in a mistrial anyway, but at least it all came to a grand finale.

What made this story so tough to endure was that there was no doubt that Sharon was innocent. We saw the incident on the volcano. And we saw that Victor saw it, too. If he had testified honestly at the first trial, admitting that he'd listened to Sharon and Skye struggling on the volcano and Sharon trying to hold onto Skye, Sharon would have never been convicted. The fact that he was ready to fall on his sword for the second trial by taking the stand isn't that impressive to me. And Sharon shouldn't be so grateful to Victor either. Sure, he's paying for Avery, but because of Victor's machinations, Sharon spent about six months in prison! I think I might hold a grudge about that if I were Sharon.

Victor's feelings for Sharon seem a bit weird to me. Has he been acting like a father or has been overly protective and super-concerned about her? A Sharon/Victor pairing would be very, very controversial, but I wouldn't put it past head writer Maria Arena Bell. Not only would that mean that Sharon has been with Nick and Adam, but their father, too. Eww! That would be bad -- really bad. But there is a strange vibe there...does Victor see a young Nikki when he looks at Sharon? By the way, when are we going to see Nikki again? Why did she fly to London? Was she involved in Diane's murder? Nah, I'm still thinking that the mummy -- I mean Myrna, a.k.a. Patty Williams -- is the killer. It's time to unwrap the bandages and let Paul see his little sister again!

Poor Paul. He deserves to have a better family situation than wacky Patty with the kitty cat tattoo. His kids are a mess, too. Heather, who's gone on the last plane out of Genoa City, and Ricky, who's duplicitous. Have you figured out if Ricky's good or bad yet? On one hand, he's working as an intern for a defense attorney who only fights for innocent clients. On the other, he wants to work for Restless Style as a tabloid reporter. If he was really a good man, he never should have taken those pictures of Adam and Heather. A good person would have turned around and walked away without ever taking a snap. Especially if the girl in the photos is your sister. Think about it; would you do that to anyone in your family, even if you didn't like/know them very well? That's the kind of actions you see from people on The Jerry Springer Show!

Phyllis isn't a Jerry Springer type, but I bet she'd fit in with the TMZ crowd! What is it going to take for Nick Newman to wake up and smell the coffee? After the stunt she pulled last week with the Heather/Adam photos, Nick should fire Phyllis pronto. She broke every rule of journalism by publishing Ricky's photos without payment or permission. The lawsuit will cost Nick a fortune, ruin his reputation, and possibly sink the magazine. It's insulting to journalists everywhere, but for some reason, Ms. Bell is intent on depicting Phyllis as a sleazy "professional" hack with no ethics or conscience!

Phyllis is everything that's hateful about tabloid reporters. She breaks every rule and doesn't care who she hurts with the magazine. What a horrible example for Maria Arena Bell to trot out each week. As a journalist myself, I'm offended by Phyllis' tactics. If I were her editor/publisher, I'd show her the door!

What makes Phyllis even more heinous is this tawdry affair with Ronan. They both are lowering themselves in this relationship. She uses him, he uses her, and just for fun, they're making hot monkey love on the top of each other's office equipment! Can you imagine if they were let loose in a Staples or Office Max? Yeech! Ironically, you just know that Phyllis is going to blow a gasket when she finds out that Nick and Avery did the deed... It's like she's allowed to be a sexual space cadet with Ronan, but Nick has to be true blue and upright. Umm, no, Phyllis. Nick's a free agent. He can date anyone he wants, even your little sister...assuming she really is your sister and not your daughter.

Yes, I said it. Avery might turn out to be a baby that Phyllis had as a teenager and left behind to be raised by her parents. It's liable to be something scandalous like that. And it wouldn't surprise me if Avery knows nothing about the fact that her big sister was, in fact, her mother! Kind of like the movie Chinatown with Faye Dunaway! What do you think of my theory? Share your thoughts in the email box!

On to happier people... Like Kevin and Chloe. These two have decided to have a Christmas wedding, but I'll bet you that something is going to derail those Merry Marriage plans. Chloe's bound to find out the truth about Billy being the real bone marrow donor, and even though it shouldn't matter, it will. She'll get all upset because Kevin lied to her. She'll get all huffy and act put-upon. But knowing the show's penchant for theme weddings -- Kevin and Jana's ashram/hippie nuptials, Chloe and Billy's roaring twenties thing -- there'll be a beautiful-looking Christmas wedding scene just when Chloe finds out and has her hissy fit. Then the spit with hit the fan! Something will shake up the Christmas tree, and all the ornaments will come tumbling down! Too bad, too, because Kevin deserves some happiness.

Before we jump ahead to Christmas -- not to mention Thanksgiving -- what did you think of the Halloween bash at Jimmy's? It was cool to see Victoria completely goofy and silly, but her outfit was pretty bad. I guess it was a variation on Raggedy Ann, but Vicki looked much prettier in the Playboy bunny costume last year, don't you think? I liked Michael's gangster getup -- which reminds me -- could Maria give Michael and Lauren a storyline? They're such good actors, and they have nothing to do!

It was clever to see Billy using the Santa Claus suit to get in to see Delia and then to have a sweet moment with Victoria. I loved that after he kissed her while in the Santa suit, Victoria wasn't too drunk to recognize that it was Billy's lips on hers. All Victoria needs to do now is put two and two together: figure out that the Santa Claus who visited Delia, and then kissed her, is not jolly just any Kris Kringle, but her ever-lovin' ex-husband, Billy!

It was great to see that Billy has decided to fight back about the incident in Myanmar. However, why did he ask Cane for help when Paul Williams is available? I realize that Billy's on the down-low and doesn't want Victor to find out that he's still in Genoa City, but couldn't Billy have hired Paul -- a professional investigator -- and paid for his confidentiality? No offense to Cane, but he was only working on the Colin Atkinson case because it was his father!

Billy's rationale that Cane has good international contacts is ridiculous. And exactly who's going to finance Cane's trips to the Far East to do the research and find the girl named Melanie who may be able to clear Billy's name? Does Billy have a secret stash of moolah somewhere, because Victor would be monitoring Billy's bank accounts, don't you think? Call me a cynic, but this is just a way to give Cane a storyline. And it doesn't make a lot of sense because if you were Cane and you just reunited with Lily, wouldn't you want to do everything in your power to stay close to home?

Finally, we had Sharon taking Faith for a visit to Sam's ranch in New Mexico. She will not be staying in the Southwest, though, and I don't think Sam's selling his place and moving back to Wisconsin. So this should be the big goodbye for Sam and Sharon, the final farewell? So once Sharon is back in GC, she'll be ready for a new romance.

The main thing is this: Sharon cannot go back to Adam. Seriously. There was a time when I liked Sharon and Adam. She did see the good in him and tried to cultivate it. But he's a vindictive, nasty piece of work. Taking that memory card and tossing it in the creek was unforgivable. He planned on Sharon not being able to use it to get free. And what he did to Heather was also exceptionally cruel. Adam's also involved in this Patty situation. Maybe there's some time in the future when Adam will be redeemed, but Sharon should not be the lady to help him become a better man.

That's it for now. I'm anxious to hear more from you all -- your theories are dynamite. And tell me about which characters you'd like to talk about in the Two Scoops! Write me! If you're not sure how to write to me, click the Feedback option at the top of the page, the Email link at the footer of the column, or just click here. Till then, let's take a look at some letters from the mailbox:

• I am so sick of Victor and I fear he will never pay for the things he has done. I would like to know why does he always have to win everything. It doesn't make any sense at all. I am sick of him being obsessed with his grown daughter love life, I am beginning to think he wants Victoria..(gross) I know, but he's acting like a jealous lover more than a father. It's sickening!Sad to say none of MAB (Maria Arena Bell) storylines make any sense. Just watching Y&R these days gives me a headache. If I wasn't so in love with the pairing of Billy and Victoria, I would be done. MAB better thank heavens she has this pairing because from my associates, they feel the same way I do. -- Rachelle
• I agree with what many of the fans are saying about the writing these days on the Y&R. Unfortunately, if things do not get back, at least somewhat, to the way it used to be written, I will no longer be able to watch the show. -- Sarah

Best,Allison