There was a sense of relief that Chance and Ronan had outwitted the corrupt cops and Owen Pomerantz last week, and justice had been victorious, but watching Nina and Philip packing up their son's belongings was just sad. What a price to pay? Chance didn't die, after all, but for all intents and purposes, he's dead to the family because he's going into the Witness Protection Program. You know, it was funny that they didn't ask Nina if she wanted to join Chance in the program. Think about it; they could have staged Nina's demise -- sudden heart attack? -- and she could have disappeared without a trace. Hmm...perhaps that was Chance's choice. Maybe having Mommy in WPP would be a downer in the long run?
Of course, you have to wonder if it was worth it for Chance. You know that in the program, he's not going to be able to be a cop anymore. He won't be allowed to do anything that might signal the mob that he's still alive. So, in exchange for bringing down Owen and Sid and the GCPD dirty cops, Chance lost two women who loved him -- Heather and Chloe -- his family, his life in GC, and his career. That's a lot to lose, especially when you consider that a lot of people in Witness Protection are criminals who have no choice. It's WPP or jail. Chance had a choice. His choice was the ultimate sacrifice, but then, he is a Boy Scout, so perhaps it makes sense. For me, I'm glad the door was left open for a future return.
By the way, what was up with Nina dumping Paul like a bad habit? Exactly what did Paul do to deserve that treatment? Oh yes, he'd kissed Chris, but that was like two months ago. Nina had forgiven him, right? Paul was really good to Nina through the entire search for the long-lost son, and he was completely attentive during Chance's "death." Why would Nina freeze him out now? It made her look bad and, once again, Paul is the guy everyone loves -- till they don't. Nikki dumped him, too, remember? Maybe Chris will return to GC and take up with Paul again...
It was interesting that Chris seemed to reveal the secret of Chance's un-death to Kay. That was a fascinating scene, don't you think? Chris broke the cardinal rule of her job by confiding in Kay that Chance was not really dead, only we're not sure that she did it. Nina certainly believes Chris told Kay, and Kay acted like a person who went from grief to relief, but Chris couldn't fess up without jeopardizing her career.
Heather's career, by the way, has been boosted by the turn of events. Will she manage to keep from becoming Victor's pawn? You know, if you were a Genoa Citizen and you read the newspaper or Restless Style or followed the blogs (Phyllis!), would you ever trust Victor Newman? The man is notorious, and everyone knows it, so when Paul warned Heather to beware of Victor's "support," why didn't she listen? Heather doesn't strike me as the overly ambitious type, but Victor has tapped into her desire to be the D.A., and he's using her to get what he wants, which is Adam behind bars. Somehow, I see Heather being the loser in this collaboration.
Fortunately, things are starting to turn on Victor. He's got his finger in multiple pies, trying to manipulate and dominate too many people. Like a boat springing a leak, Victor's boat is bound to sink. Victoria's drifted away into Billy's arms, and she's not going back to Daddy. This is especially true since that stomach grab at the end of Friday's show probably means something is wrong with the baby. That will unite Billy and Victoria more than ever, and the fact that Victor had been the last to see Victoria will make him seemingly responsible for whatever happens.
Then there's Victor's relationship with Abby. You know, he had won this battle. Abby had dropped the lawsuit. If Victor had simply left Abby alone, he might have forced Abby's hand... but no, not Victor. He stirred it up again by offering Abby a huge advance on her trust fund, but with strings attached. Talk about waving a red flag in front of a bull. Victor so misread Abby that it's laughable. Maybe if His Royal Arrogance had consulted with Ashley, he would have known that Abby had no interest in being a grunt at Newman Enterprises. And asking her to wait till she's 30 to receive another "stipend" was ludicrous. For Abby, 30 seems a million years away.
But the relationship that Victor has really mucked up is Nikki. Can he be so dense that he hasn't noticed that she's dangerously close to a breakdown? He supposedly loves Nikki and sleeps with her and is intimately involved with her. How can he not recognize that she's falling apart? Thank goodness, Nikki got herself to an A.A. meeting on Friday. No thanks to Victor!
On the flip side, and you have to figure that Jack is the other side of the coin to Victor, Jack continues to dance on the edge of a razor blade. After his history with dangerous women, is it really wise to woo Skye? Most people assume that Adam is a killer, and even if he doesn't love Skye, she is Adam's partner/possession. Jack is giving Adam a reason to knock him off. And I don't trust Skye either. She could get all "Fatal Attraction" on Jack if things go awry.
Then there's Jack's playing games with Victor. Really? This is the guy he chose as a partner in crime? Come on, give me a break... Victor will stab Jack in the back as soon as the opportunity presents itself! On the other hand, Tucker was completely upfront with Jack about what he expected and when Jack failed to deliver, McCall dropped the hammer and fired Jack. Welcome to the real world, Jack. By the way, since getting the co-CEO position at Jabot, did Jack ever go into the office? He didn't seem to be punching the clock or logging many hours behind the desk. Maybe Tucker noticed that the co-CEO was MIA more often than not.
Noah's back. Yeah! The new actor is more grown up and probably more likely to have some serious romance. Although who's available on the canvas - Abby? I sure hope there's some storyline for Noah, otherwise why was he brought back to town?
One last thought, I'm not enjoying the Skye and Adam marriage. There's something skeevy about watching two people who hate each other be forced together. When Adam threatened to kill Skye this week, I thought it was a preview of coming attractions. The only question will be, who does Adam frame for the murder?
Here are some letters from the mailbox -- keep 'em coming, fans!
Your comments are always welcomed here at Soap Central, so stay in touch. You can send me your thoughts at any time and you can also post your own version of Two Scoops over in our Blogs section -- and keep on reading Two Scoops every week!
Best,
Allison
