Young & Restless Unleashed: Will Sharon Kill [Spoiler]?! — Plus, Lily’s Big Backfire, and a New Love Triangle Forms

Credit: CBS screenshot

A longtime Young & Restless viewer and friend of mine told me this week that the show feels like one big public service announcement. I couldn’t see the lie. Most of the frontburner stories right now feature mental-health issues, and those that don’t have characters talking in therapy-speak as they analyze the actions of others. It’s admirable to want to educate, but when the entirety of the soap’s dialogue begins to feel like a lecture or characters reading from a brochure, the entertainment value depletes. Young & Restless has become sorely lacking in the escapism we’re looking to find when we tune into a soap. With the exception of some big emotional confrontations, the show has devolved into a hum-drum series of droning conversations that amount to very little in the way of payoffs. Here’s a look at this week and what’s next.

Sharon Shocker

Sharon’s storyline has begun its descent into darkness, or at least the character has. If it’s not obvious by her snapping and death glares, all one has to do is look at the way she’s rimming her eyes with reams of black eye-liner — the next best thing to putting her in a black leather jacket to denote “the dark side.” Speaking of death glares, if looks could kill, Daniel would already be six feet under. We’re sure Sharon will turn on one member of the Romalotti family, which will lead to trouble. The set-up is as clear as day, what with Daniel picking up on the blonde’s barely concealed rage and Nick confiding in Phyllis about Sharon’s issues. Many have become frustrated with Nick’s shoulder shrugging over Sharon’s clearly uncharacteristic behavior, which, if we’re being nitpicky, appears to be more along the lines of psychosis than bipolar disorder. Fans, meanwhile, are either loving it or hating it. Soaps.com reader Ticketyboo1 simply says, “Another story im FF’g through,” while some are just happy that Sharon’s front and center again:

So, what’s going to happen next? The set-up is clearly for Cameron (Sharon’s dark side) to guide her down the path to vengeance against the people or person she sees, in her current state, as being responsible for her pain. The most likely candidate is Daniel, but she could try to hurt him by going after Lucy. Will she actually kill one of them? Highly unlikely, but an attempted murder could be in the cards.

‘Chadam’ Express

The fallout from the “Chadam” cheating scandal is playing like a game of roulette. Who will end up with whom? Who will forgive whom? Will Billy and Sally hook up? Will Chelsea and Adam gravitate back toward each other if their partners are unable to get past what they’ve done? It’s difficult to imagine Sally being able to stay with Adam, given the horrid gaslighting and lying, not to mention the admission that love was involved in his one-night stand with his ex-wife. Egad. As for Billy, he may try to give it another go with Chelsea, but as Mark Grossman teased, there is a potential twist that could change everything.

Lily’s Big Move

Urged by Devon to fight back against Billy firing her, Lily is considering her options… and it looks as though after having afternoon tea with Nikki, she’ll make a big move. The biggest, if we’re being honest, because getting into bed with Victor, even figuratively speaking, always translates to huge consequences. While it might seem slick for Lily to team with the Mustache to oust Billy in hopes of becoming a co-CEO to Nikki, there’s someone who is not about to sit back and let that happen. Yep, we mean Jill. Did you really think a heart condition was going to keep her down permanently?! So, now you see how Lily’s big move could backfire.

Triangle Ahead

I realize that Kyle and Claire haven’t even embarked on a romance yet, but the foundation is clearly being laid for a love triangle in the coming months. With Summer softening her stance toward both Claire and Kyle, it’s only a matter of time before she begins to realize she still loves her ex-husband. I’d expect that lightning bolt to hit her right about the time he starts dating her cousin. What about Chance? I think he’s going to be distracted since we know [Spoiler] steps up to help Billy fight Victor.