Terms of bereavement

Terms of bereavement (not to be confused with terms of endearment) are words or phrases used to address or describe a period of grief or mourning after a death. But this past week on The Young and the Restless, characters were proving that actions speak louder than words as the fallout from Phyllis' "death" continued to impact the citizens of Genoa City -- including Phyllis herself! Join our Two Scoops columnist as he delves into the psyches of your favorite Y&R characters.

A lot has been happening in Genoa City in the wake of Phyllis' "death"! The writers have wasted no time in using this plot line to further other plots that have been simmering on the backburner. It makes sense that this type of major loss would cause people to act out in certain ways as a way of grieving and/or in reaction to the fragility of life. You only live once, right? Or, of course, you might need to fake your death to realize that a second chance at life is just what you needed. Hmmm... maybe I should try that some time. Soaps teach such great life lessons, eh?

In all seriousness, though, faking one's death would take way too much work for my liking. And Phyllis' ordeal has shown us that the results of doing so aren't always everything you'd hoped they would be. She is still regretting the plot to fake her death and barely survived an attack from Jeremy -- only to kill him herself! Now she is afraid to reveal that she is alive because she will likely be the prime suspect in his murder. What's a girl to do?

Well, for starters, she could have just revealed herself to be alive right away and accused Jeremy of kidnapping and attempting to kill her. I still can't wrap my head around why she dumped the body and remained hidden. Now, more than ever, she looks guilty of murder, even though she truly killed him in self-defense. I get that she was likely in shock and not thinking clearly in the aftermath of her struggle with him, but normally she is much smarter than this.

It seems that her brush with death killed a few brain cells, though, because her next bright idea was to tell her daughter, Summer, that she was actually alive. Does she not realize that she's now made Summer an accomplice after the fact to her entire scheme to frame Diane for murder and the death of Stark? What was she thinking?! I understand that she feels bad about letting Summer and Daniel think that their mother is dead, but she is making all the wrong moves lately.

I really don't know how she is going to get out of this. The longer she keeps herself hidden, the more guilty she looks. She should have immediately called the police after killing Jeremy. Given his criminal record, they would have believed her story that she and Diane were both his victims. Unfortunately, she is so consumed with her hatred for Diane that she is trying to find a way to keep Diane behind bars and also be able to "come back from the dead" without looking guilty herself.

And now Summer is caught up in the whole mess. Thankfully, Daniel didn't believe her when she tried to tell him that their mother was alive. I don't want to see Daniel get embroiled in this train wreck --especially now that things are moving along with his relationship with Lily. I was thrilled when the week started off with them waking up in bed together! I don't want him to have to lie to her about his mom being alive (and I don't think he would, which is probably why Phyllis didn't want him to know).

I am not feeling too sorry for Summer, though. To a certain extent I feel for her, but the way she has been acting toward Kyle and Diane has been irking me, so I'm not too upset that she knows what is going on and could find herself in trouble, too. But I still can't understand why Phyllis would put her in that position. That was a pretty selfish move on Phyllis' part to burden her daughter like that just to relieve her guilty conscience. I did feel bad for her when Daniel didn't believe her and thought she was having a mental breakdown.

But Summer wasn't the only one feeling the ramifications of Phyllis' actions. Ashley and Jack continue to argue over his insistence that Diane is innocent, and apparently the whole Abbott family is trying to distance themselves from the conflict between them because none of them are living in the house anymore. I was surprised to learn that Allie moved in with Noah, and Traci went back to her place in New York. Those are not things we should have learned about during Jack's conversation with Lauren!

It would have been really sweet to see Noah and Allie reach that point in their relationship. I really like them together, and they have been given barely any screen time since their drama with Audra ended. I really was hoping we'd see more of Allie once she moved to Genoa City, but she might as well have stayed in L.A. at this point, since the writers are ignoring her. And I'm always sad to hear that Traci isn't in town because she is one of my all-time favorite Y&R characters (and definitely my favorite Abbott). It could be interesting to see a Christine/Danny/Traci triangle if the three of them start getting more screen time. I really want Traci to find some happiness, but I also like the dynamic between Danny and "Cricket," too.

But back to Ashley, who made some big moves of her own this week to spite Jack's continued relationship with Diane. I was SO happy with the Tucker and Ashley scenes this week! They really had me thinking that Tucker was going to leave town, but I'm glad Ashley finally started to give in to her feelings for him and plant a kiss on him. And I think it is hilarious that she invited Tucker to move in with her at the Abbott mansion so that they could get under Jack's skin. The look on Jack's face when she told him Tucker had moved in was priceless, and I was laughing as he stormed off. Even though Ashley and Tucker are sleeping in separate rooms (for now), I'm still thrilled with this development, and I can't wait to see more of this Three's Company scenario! Tucker driving Jack crazy is going to be must-see TV!

As much fun as Tucker and Ashley have been in the fallout of Phyllis' death, Michael and Lauren are not faring so well. I hate to see this rift forming between them because he is going to be Diane's defense lawyer, but I'm at least happy that they are finally getting a storyline again. These are two of my favorite characters, and it's been great to see so much more of them lately. I think their marriage will survive. I do understand why Lauren wouldn't want him to defend Diane, since Phyllis is her best friend, but I also understand why Michael is choosing to defend Diane, because she is his friend.

I'm really glad that Diane has Michael in her corner, since she is pushing everyone else away. It was hard to watch her tell Jack not to visit her in prison anymore, but I was surprised that she said the same to Kyle. It seemed she had given up hope of a future outside her prison cell, but in her scenes with Michael, it sounds like she is still fighting for her future.

But will her future be with Jack? Although he insists that he is ready for a future with Diane, I am wondering if the writers are truly done with the Diane/Jack/Phyllis triangle after all those flashbacks of his romance with Phyllis this past Friday. It was a great reminder of the deep love they shared, and it had me feeling nostalgic for those days when they were a Y&R supercouple. Although I'm rooting for Jack and Diane now, I was firmly in Phyllis' corner back then. Those flashbacks were a real treat! Billy was right when he pointed out that Jack hadn't properly mourned the loss of her yet. It was a really great episode and nice to see the writers not glossing over the bereavement process and how important it is.

But, of course, not everything was about Phyllis and those that were impacted by her death this past week on Y&R, so, enough about bereavement. In fact, let's turn the conversation to the opposite of death and talk about the new life soon to be born in Genoa City -- Adam and Sally's baby girl. I'm thrilled that they found out they are having a girl this week. It was hilarious when Nick had to leave and subtly asked if Adam wanted to leave with him. He clearly didn't want to leave Adam and Sally alone together. I was glad that Adam stuck around and got some more bonding time in with Sally. I really hope we are going to get a payoff soon for these two, and Nick will be a thing of the past in Sally's heart. I've got my fingers crossed that this baby is going to bring them back together. They are so cute together!

Sharon and Chance is another potential coupling that I am liking more and more. Their date this week was cute (even though I don't think they have officially said they are dating yet). As Chance pointed out, the venue was an interesting pick, since they were back at the scene of the crime he is investigating. The show sure is getting a lot of use out of that new set they built! Sharon and Chance could be a good new pair, and I'm glad that the writers are taking it slow with them. I think we will see the heat between them rise more and more soon.

Lastly, we must chat about Nate and Victoria (and Elena and Audra). Victoria has business in L.A. related to Newman Media business, so, of course, Nate should tag along. But it's clear Victoria has more than business on her mind and is hoping that Nate will finally give in to temptation while they are out of town. What happens in L.A., stays in L.A.? My bet is that Victoria would prefer that what is likely to happen in L.A. leads to more of the same happening when they return to Genoa City.

I had to laugh when Audra tried to worm her way into joining the two of them on their business trip. As much as she wants to use Victoria to create a wedge between Nate and Elena, she also wants Nate for herself, so there is also a bit of jealousy there when it comes to his flirtation with Victoria. It's definitely a fine line that Audra is walking.

Nate is walking an even finer line, though, by lying to Elena about going on his business trip by himself. What was he thinking? He had to know she would likely find out that Victoria joined him. Perhaps he can save face by lying to her and saying that Victoria wasn't originally going to be joining him, but otherwise, he is going to be in some very hot water when she learns the truth. And based on the "Next Week on Y&R..." preview at the end of Friday's episode, it won't be too long before she learns from Audra that Nate went to L.A. with Victoria. Yikes! This should be good! I'm very curious to see if Nate and Victoria actually "go all the way" this time or if he remains loyal to Elena. Either way, Elena will not be happy when she finds out he lied to her. There are sure to be some fireworks in Genoa City next week.

Before I wrap up my column this week, I want to mention Eric Braeden's (Victor) cancer diagnosis. Wishing him all the best during this health scare. If he is anything like his character on the show, he is sure to beat this! Be sure to send out those positive vibes for "The Mustache!"

And, lastly, congrats to all the Daytime Emmy nominees -- but especially those from Y&R! Three Y&R actresses got a nomination in the Lead Actress category. Congrats to Sharon Case (Sharon), Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea), and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis). Congrats are also in order for Peter Bergman (Jack) and Jason Thompson (Billy) for Lead Actor; and Robert Newman (Ashland) for Outstanding Guest Performance. Can't wait to see who takes home the trophies on June 16th!

That's all for this week, folks! Don't forget to hit the Comments (here on the site and on social media posts throughout the week) to share your opinions, too. And keep an eye here on Soap Central for Daytime Emmy coverage leading up to the big event!

Until next time,Vance

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