Y&R Opinion: Trotting Out the Recycled Drinking and Driving Trope Manipulates Viewers

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Young and the Restless has been around so long at the number one position that expectations for the storylines are high. After talking with maybe thousands of people for the last 14 years working in this industry, and taking countless polls to find out what made people tune in and out. I know the number one reason people watch is out of habit. It’s true for all soaps. They’re not necessarily watching because it’s the better soap, but because it’s their soap, which means being at the number one position can be a detriment if they aren’t pushed into creating stories that people want to watch. The show rolled out a survey a year or two ago asking people what they wanted to see and fans discussed their responses at length. Sadly, they haven’t changed a thing. A soap isn’t easy to write and I’d never suggest I can do better. I can’t. But there isn’t anything wrong with wanting more. Again this week if they had only slowed down a little to tell a few of the stories, I’d have been riveted to my screen. But instead, I was forced to mock the show on Twitter daily.

Recycled story

The character of Cassie has been dead since 2005. It’s been sixteen years and it was the most tragic and brutal storyline to get over. I don’t think they should forget her completely. Keep some nostalgia but don’t use it as a trope that you can’t resist trotting out each year just to manipulate the audience into a sobfest. All it does is frustrate me. It’s why I dropped This Is Us after one season.

It’s long overdue to let the audience move on, instead of writing another drinking or drinking and driving PSA just to bring it up.

I doubt Faith would have even picked up a drink considering all of the constant PSAs about drinking and driving she has heard over the years. She could have been texting and driving or vaping some weed if they wanted to go that route and keep it current. But the bullying “storyline” could have been fleshed out and lasted for more than a week if there were more than one teenager being used.

Faith woke up in one episode when they could have spent even a week with her in a coma. Instead of revealing that they recast the actress, they could have kept us in the dark until the day the new girl aired. It’d have been a perfect way to provide suspense.

Last but not least, could it have killed Nick to show some emotion at Faith’s bedside? Sharon stole the show with her tears that went on for days. I wouldn’t have minded for once feeling anything from him.

Hit over the head with an anvil

Monday’s episode had us rolling our eyes, knowing that Adam was Faith’s rescuer only because they hit us over the head with an anvil several times with it. No mystery at all! And the next day Adam called for Sharon to help him clear his name. I found it initially selfish and that he could have waited a few days, considering she thought her kid was almost dead, but I forgot that this show’s pacing is on speed. I can’t blame him. I mean, Faith was up and dancing on the countertops the next day, leaving us no time to worry about her.

Sharon lied to Rey’s face this week and then omitted the truth a few more times. Half the audience was thinking, “Just dump him. Your marriage is doomed.” Truly, how can they get past this? I understand why Sharon believes in Adam, but I’m pretty sure Rey will see this as a deception that will bring their marriage crashing down. Not that I’m Team Rey or anything. It was enough that he used his position at GCPD to get the warrant to search Adam’s place last week and then did the search himself. The biggest conflict of interest ever. But then he shared the hospital footage with Nick, who isn’t a cop, against hospital guidelines I’m sure, and against police procedure, just to give us a Scooby Doo moment where the two guys looked at each other upon the realization that Adam pulled off his mask and was shown to be the Good Samaritan. Cringey AF.

But wait. Does this mean Adam’s a hero? What will Rey and Nicholas think about this? It might cause them to doubt Adam’s so-called attempt on Rey’s life. Look out, Chelsea!

Moses is adorable

Moses is a cutie and already likable but that scene between Devon, Nate, and Moses had way too much dialogue and came off sounding like a PSA about Moses eventually becoming a doctor. My eyes glazed over. This isn’t what anyone wants to hear on their soap opera. These guys take themselves way too seriously. Hopefully, Moses is going to know how to have a little fun, but is there anyone his age to even talk to anymore? Already, this doesn’t bode well.

Odds and ends

I laughed aloud when I read this on Facebook, Jessica F, who is self-professed to be Team Adam said, “I hope he walks in on Chelsea when she’s standing there running her mouth.” I did too only because it’s not realistic that she would risk her entire plan to wander around right in front of the door, where he could have caught her several times.

Nina being paired with Abby is a snoozefest. Find something better for these two to do.

Nate is super hot but this show doesn’t know what to do with him. He’s boring. Give him more of a personality and a hot storyline already, beyond his job and Elena!

I don’t know who Amanda’s family is because I wasn’t watching for a few months when they were introduced so I don’t have an opinion on them so far. Maybe next week when Sutton Ames arrives on Amanda’s doorstep.

I’m not sure who is more obsessed with the other at this point. Sally or Phyllis. If we weren’t in a pandemic, I think we might have seen a catfight between the two!

I might be obsessed with following the movements of the lady in the green dress, or Green Dress as I’ve taken to calling her. For those who haven’t noticed, there she is behind Phyllis in this gif. Who is she? Can we give her a few lines? Can she have more than one dress?

Bizarre lines:

Amanda didn’t want to discuss her relationship with Devon and said, “I don’t have the emotional bandwidth.”

Mariah to Abby and Nina, “It’s a very stressful situation but it’s not going to cause my reproductive system to shut down.”