Recaps
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS: Jason Thompson Delivers ‘Power Performance Of The Week’ As Billy Falls Back Into Temptation
Last week on The Young and the Restless, Summer (Hunter King) was really doing a number on Billy (Jason Thompson), and it’s unsettling to watch, because viewers know how difficult of a time Mr. Abbott has had fighting off his inner-demons, which in the past have cost him nearly everything. That being said, Y&R has set the stage for a storyline that puts Jason Thompson front and center as temptation will be all around Billy.
Kicking things off, Thompson was fantastic in several scenes last week, which all rolled into the other setting up the beginning of Billy’s downfall. First, Billy gets a visit from his brother Jack (Peter Bergman), who is telling his younger brother that he believes that he could be the bio-son of Phillip Chancellor II. What Billy is trying to wrap his head around is what Jack is really up to. An upset Billy says, “Phillip is dead, what direction do you see this going?” Jack says he needs to know, because he could inherit health concerns. When Billy hears him say the word ‘inherit’, he recoils thinking this search for Jack’s father is a scheme to take over Chancellor Industries, in which his mother Jill (Jess Walton) owns. Billy lowers the boom on Jack and throws him out of his office. He does not want to hear another word. Great work by Thompson.
Then, when Billy returns home, Summer snidely greets him with, “Bad day at the office, honey?” Billy says he is upset over Phyllis (Gina Tognoni) being out of town and misses her, and goes upstairs. Then, Summer makes a call, and all of a sudden a poker game is going down in the living room! Billy eventually comes downstairs and sees this, is drawn to it, and he struggles not to join in, but ultimately does.
The next day, seeing all the beer bottles strewn around the room, and remembering that he gambled, he is sick about it. Summer comes downstairs and he tells her this can never be mentioned to anyone. Then, Billy goes into a monologue of huge importance, with questions asked by Summer along the way.
Courtesy/CBS
Billy explains to her: “I’m a gambling addict. I’d assume someone would have informed you of that by now. There is no past tense. I am still a gambling addict whether I am recovering or not. It’s a lot like substance abuse, it messes with your brain with the same kind of composite patterns as a drug would.”
He goes on to talk about this addiction: “Every day revolved around the bets that I placed. I couldn’t concentrate on anything else, unless I knew how much I won, or how much I blew, and it didn’t matter how much I won, or how big it was, because I would only get the thrill, or the high, if it was bigger than the last time that I got my last payout.”
As to what made him stop, Billy says: “The sudden realization that I was losing everything good in my life … all the things that money couldn’t replace, like family, and friends, and love, or the last bit of respect, or dignity that I had. The obsession and the drive to feed the addiction, almost took my life. I needed a brutal wake-up call, and I got it, and it worked, and if I hadn’t gotten clean when I did, I would be missing out on everything … Phyllis, my kids, being the CEO of my dad’s company, and yet, I still sat down at that table, and didn’t give a damn about it.”
He goes on to say, “I was already gambling by the time I sat down at that table. By the time I touched the first card and the first chip, I was already willing to risk all of it just for the sweet taste of victory.” Summer claims she understands, but that he is being much to hard on himself as it was just one game. He asks her how she got into poker, and she tells him while she was in Belize. He tells her there are better ways for her to challenge her mind. Summer goes upstairs and as Phyllis is about to walk through the door, Billy sees a poker chip beneath his feet and has to hide it.
Looks like Summer is going to use Billy’s addiction against him to trash him life, and to either … have him for herself, and/or destroy her mother’s happiness in the process.
Jason Thompson is our pick for the ‘Power Performance of the Week’ for his honest portrayal of a man knowing his addiction, understanding what has happened to him before because of it, yet still being pulled in the direction of the thrill of winning and excitement at all costs. It will be heartbreaking to watch as this story progresses, but Thompson is setting himself as an early Emmy contender for next year.
So, what did you think of Jason’s performances in these key scenes? What do you think about Summer’s machinations of Billy? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I have zero interest in gambling addiction storylines. I’ve never seen a good one and with the current writing team at Y&R I don’t think those odds are about the change any time soon.
Same here, Alan….no interest, whatsoever!!!! Especially because it is not Billy Miller—I’d care a bit more, in that case.
Jason Thompson has not won the title of ‘Billy Abbott’ for me….and, since it has not happened after all this time? It never will. The same goes for his counterpart, Gina.
Plus, I am soooo tired of reruns.
I feel like I’ve already seen this exact same story with Amelia Heinle and Billy Miller. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I don’t give a damn to Billy Miller and Amelia Heinle and I can’t wait to see this story played by an actor who knows what nuances are.
Really – is Billy Miller returning to “Y & R”???
The fact you truly think Billy Miller has nuances in his “acting” say all I need to know.
Right back you re Jason Thompson and his so-called “acting”.
LOL. I obviously hit a nerve.
Good for you! I’ve already seen this story more than once and find it repetitive and boring just like every other Mal Young storyline.
Jason Thompson did a wonderful job…I know a lot of people don’t care for Jason in the role of Billy but I think he is great in the role of Billy as he was with his role of Patrick on GH…I am liking the storyline between Billy and Summer but I hope he doesn’t fall victim of Summer’s scheme of trying to seduce him… I hope he fights the tempetation of sleeping with her for there is enough of that with everyone sleeping with one another…
The temptation of sleeping with Summer ?
Sorry but when has Billy ever shown any romantic or sexual interest in Summer ?
Jeanne, we know how soaps go and it’s just a matter of time with Summer prancing around the apartment with barrely nothing on…
I saw naked Summer trying to seduce Kyle. Just me ?
Jeanne, OMG, that’s all she’s been doing since her return, is seduce Billy! That’s her objective to get him between her and her mother. Billy won’t know what hit him!
An addendum to reply to Jeanne. I think I meant to say that Summer’s objective is to come between her mom and Billy.Somehow my prev.comment sounds a little naughty,ha!
Oh,God, it all sounds bad!!
I like Jason Thompson and like him as Billy Abbott. I just don’t like this storyline and I don’t like Summer.
I’m in a group of over 10000 and the vast majority think Jason is doing as good or better than Miller. I’m looking forward to seeing his character dealing with the disease of gambling as this is his first crack at it. He hasn’t failed me in any of his interpretations of Billy Abbott.
GramS,here’s another Gram that agrees with you. I also think Jason, as Patrick was held back from his full potential.He has shown his worth as Billy.Like any thoroughbred, once they took the bit, out of his mouth, he outran them all.Even, old Victor hasn’t called him Billy Boy,in quite a while.
He was great ,i do love Phyllis getting her karma,
How Billy gambling is Phyllis getting her karma ? SMH.
And why should Phyllis get her karma?
When will Sharon, Victoria, Nikki, Victoria, Nick or Jack “get their karma” ?
Look, I had high hopes of JT when he was hired to play Billy. For the most part, it hasn’t worked for me. He tends to talk with a deep voice, lacks chemistry with the major players and seems disinterested most days. And I think him and Phyllis are the worst, But anyway, yes, he was very good this week with jack and the gambling angle. He seemed interested. I hope it continues since it doesnt seem like Jason is going anywhere.
I strongly disagree.
Billy and Phyllis are amazing together, all they need is a writing to fit the actors’s talent.
I think he has great chemistry with Gina, Jess, Peter, Eileen, Beth, Michael and Melissa. His scenes with his kids are always cute.
I will agree that Jason is good with kids. His relationship with Emma at GH was great!
With Billy and Phyllis it’s all about the sex
No it’s not but I guess people see what they want to see.
Same. It was better but still not a fan. I watched Miller already do this story multiple times. Pass.
Summer had to know about Billy’s gambling addiction. I am not interested in seeing Billy get sucked back into gambling.
I have zero interest in this storyline. Summer’s return is awful. What a wretched character; and the acting is awkward and uncomfortable with no reason as to why she is so hateful and vindictive. No thank you.
I agree, not interested in the Summer character. I also agree that Mal Young is a disservice to Y&R. I do not care for his writing style at all. No happiness in any of the characters. Victor getting temp custody of Christian is disgusting and immoral. The only character I do like at the moment is Dina. That is a good storyline. Abby and Arturo, please give me a break. I could go on and on, so disappointed in the show right now. I have been watching since it began in 1973.
Hi Bev, I really had high hopes with Sally and Kay handling Y&R and a lot of people complained about them but I really think if given time Sally and Kay would of put Y&R back to what Bill Bell envision and wrote but unfortunatley the powers that be let them go…(WHO KNOWS what the real story is)…anyway I agree with you about Mal Young and I will say it again, Y&R doesn’t feel the same and hasn’t in years and I still LONG for the beautiful CLASSIC backgroun MUSIC back along with some great directing, production and writing.
Jason Thompson was fine in a supporting role on GH but he’s an epic fail as a lead on Y&R, no matter how long or how hard Mal Young tries to force the issue. He’s just not that good. And he and Phyllis are……let’s just leave it at awful and forced.
He’s FF material and has been for quite some time. And now, this nonsense with Summer? Another epic fail on Mal Young’s part.
Just look at the ratings and send Mr. Thompson either back to GH or the backburner.
Jason is on YR and isn’t going anywhere.
Are you seriously blaming the guy for the ratings ? SMH !
I don’t remember Amelia, Mishael, Peter, Eileen or Joshua bringing the ratings.
Jason on GH got three Emmy nominations in the LEAD CATEGORY.
It wasn’t a qupporting role.
Billy is making huge mistakes which will lead to his breakup with Phyllis. 1. He should have moved out of Summer’s apartment the moment she moved back in. 2. He should have come clean with Phyllis and tell her that her daughter is making a play for him. 3. He should tell Phyllis that he relapsed and gambled with Summer. Should of, should of, should of….. As soon as Billy and Summer agreed to keep his relapse a secret from Phyllis, they betrayed her. The next step will be Billy sleeping with his girlfriend’s daughter which wouldn’t be the first time he has crossed boundaries.
I don’t like this story line at all. Suffice to say, it’s just plain icky. Moreover, I liked Summer better when she was snowflake. Summer playing a bad ass is not working for me. It’s akin to watching Bambi play the Big Bad Wolf.
That said, I think Jason Thompson is a fabulous actor and he can pull this story off in a convincing manner.
PS. Is JT alive? Good Golly, I hope so. He had a heart condition so it may be that is why they didn’t feel a pulse. Please don’t let this be a red herring. I really didn’t like the idea of Nikki killing him and the rest of the women being accomplices.
Harry, agreed with all you said. Wouldn’t it be something if they found out that J.T has this heart condition ( right after Victor dies),and they give him Victor’s, which was previously Coleen’s. How ironic.
At first I had a hard time with Jason as Billy, but now I think he is great. I really hope he doesn’t fall into temptation either with gambling or Summer.
I could definitely do without Simmer, she sure came back a little spoiled bitch.
Never liked Summer before but hate this part she plays now.They brought her back not Adam
Hope she is short lived on there
Love Billy character don’t put him down the dark path again.
It’s nice to see someone change for the better on these soaps
I think Billy should give back CEO to Jack because he doesn’t now what he is doing.Victor Newman schuld stop being so mean. Ever since Kathryn Chancler leaft the show any moor a the writers don’t know what they doing because the show is not that good any Moore . please change the story
Billy knows exactly what he is doing at Jabot and he is doing well.
I don’t like where the storyline of Billy & Summer is going. I like how Billy storyline was going, him being CEO of Jabot Cosmetic. I like how mature & how he had worked hard to change his live. Summer on the other hand I’m not impressed with how much she changed & how much of a spoiled brat she has become. She needs a big reality check & really needs to grow up.
I think the writers should be focusing more on Victor’s character, he should get what he deserves. He has gotten away with too much & he needs to pay for his crimes. Nick needs to get his son back & have Victor loose everything he hold deer, from loosing his kids & grandkids. He’s a bully & had been for a long time. I hate how manipulative he has gotten by wrecking other people’s lives. He keeps saying that family is the most important thing in his life, but if he truly felt that way he wouldn’t be doing all the terrible things he has done & his still doing to the ones he says be loves.
Please do something about Victor’s storyline.
Sorry gang
Love Jason Thompson in this role.Granted, Billy Miller is great actor, but he needs to return fully to primetime. Like #Bull #BlueBloods, anything Shonda Rhimes is doing, hint
To me, this storyline turn is further proof that I STILL CANNOT STAND Summer!!!!!
N-E-X-T……….
I have no problem with Jason just please get rid of the white sneakers ! Ok
Oh, I love his white sneakers, so cute! Can you imagine any of the other men, with them? Makes me laugh just picturing them.
I think his performance was fine, but character wise, I can’t stand seeing him fall under that little bitch, Summer’s spell. Then again, as the saying goes about where “the apple falls”, maybe it serves him right. How many times does it take for some men to learn?
Justin Hartley was NOT fired for groping anyone. WTH is the matter with you? In fact nobody was fired for groping HHK and both actors ( MM AND HHK)have said that did not happen. It was a rabid fan in Florida who started that rumor and fans who kept it going.
Well that is good to know…. what the hell is the matter with being polite? Storyline is still terrible.
I don’t feel polite when I see someone saying Justin Hartley was fired. He left the soap because he got a prime time job in This is Us. Check your facts.
Recaps
Y&R’s Eileen Davidson Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’
Taking on a DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder) storyline on the soaps can be extraordinarily challenging for the performer who is tasked with making a clear distinction and delineation between the various alters of their character.
However, the other trick to playing this kind of story, is often having the various alters trying to hide the fact from those they know and love of what is truly going on with them, so as not to tip them off, as to what is happening to them as they battle for control of a person’s psyche.
The gold standard is One Life to Live icon Erika Slezak’s (ex-Viki) Emmy-winning and gut-wrenching and riveting DID storyline where we met Tori, Niki (although we met her earlier in the life of the show), Tommy, Princess, Jean and even her father, Victor.
Photo: JPI
Now in 2024, The Young and the Restless’ Eileen Davidson is playing out a new DID storyline for the first time as Ashley Abbott. We knew decades ago that Ashley had a breakdown and has suffered psychological issues, but this has taken it to a new level. And, let’s be real, if you are going to give someone currently on a soap a DID story, who better than Davidson, who is used to playing multiple characters at one time as she did on Days of our Lives. Although on DAYS, each of the characters were their own distinct person, while now on Y&R, Ashley’s alters are fighting for control of her being,
Last week, on the Thursday, April 12th episode of the CBS soap opera, Davidson truly got to shine, as in front of the Abbott family and through what was supposed to be an intervention (they hadn’t figure out what the hell was happening to her), Ashley was flipping from alter to alter. We know there is Ms. Abbott, and Ash thus far, but there is said to be one more alter a-coming.
Photo: JPI
In the key scenes, Davidson’s internal struggle was played pretty masterfully in a scene where she literally is in a tug of war with her alters and flings herself on the couch, while Jack (Peter Bergman), Diane (Susan Walters), Billy (Jason Thompson) and Traci (Beth Maitland) look on. Of course, there are the soap trope scenes of alters in handcuffs while the other is on the loose. And leave it to Billy to figure out Ashley is suffering from DID from his past experience.
Photo: JPI
While this all seemed to spring from Ashley’s messy relationship with Tucker (Trevor St. John) and a throw back to an old car accident where she lost her unborn baby, is there some other underlying issue in Ashley’s past that was even more traumatizing that will be revealed as another trigger for this massive personality split? We shall see.
Photo: JPI
In the meantime, Michael Fairman TV names Eileen Davidson’s work the Power Performance of the Week, and rest assured, come 2025, Davidson will find herself going for the third Daytime Emmy win as Lead Actress for this storyline.
So, let us know, what did you think of Eileen’s performance? Are you enjoying Ashley’s DID storyline? What do you think will happen to her next? Comment below.
Recaps
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: “Sugar Sugar! Oh, Honey Honey”
The Bold and the Beautiful revealed at the end of the Friday April 13th episode what many viewers had guessed, that it wasn’t Sheila (Kimberlin Brown) who died when Steffy (Jacqueline MacInnes Wood) stabbed her, but it had to her doppelgänger, Sugar, or at least it seems that way.
Deacon (Sean Kanan) has been beside himself since seeing what was supposed to be Sheila’s body being cremated, but revealing the body had ten toes and not nine, and we all know Sheila had cut off her toe, so she only had nine.
While explaining his thoughts that she is alive to Finn (Tanner Novlan) and then trying later to explain to Ridge (Thorsten Kaye), Deacon is more convinced that something is wrong here. Meanwhile, Finn went to talk to Steffy about Deacon’s theory, which stuns her, as she believed she killed Sheila in self-defense.
Courtesy/CBS
At Il Giardino, Deacon looks at his phone then slams it down. He flashes back to the body going into the crematorium oven saying to himself, “Maybe I’m not going crazy. Maybe that wasn’t you. And if that wasn’t you, maybe you’re out there. Maybe you need my help.”
Deacon gets on Sheila’s laptop and tries to find something that might help him figure out where Sheila has gone. He looks at her text message communications and sees a section from an unknown number. He opens the messages, and Deacon reads that they’re from someone named “Sugar.” That person said she was going to find Sheila. In the messages, Sheila made it clear she wanted no part of her. But it could be that Sheila met up with Sugar, or was forced too?
Courtesy/CBS
In a quick history lesson about the character of Sugar: she was originally played by Robin Mattson on B&B, and was a former prison warden who helped Sheila escape and then joined her in kidnapping Ridge Forrester to hold him for ransom. A twisted plot ensued, where flames engulfed the foundry they were at and Ridge was presumed dead. Meanwhile, Sheila and Sugar disappeared with Massimo and Sheila’s baby, Diana.
Photo: JPI
Fast forward to 2006, Sheila returned to Genoa City to go after Lauren Fenmore (Tracey E. Bregman) again and was arrested for attacking Scott Grainger (Peter Barton). In a shocker, when Lauren went to visit Sheila in the slammer, she learned that the woman behind bars was actually Sugar, who had been given plastic surgery and now looks exactly like Sheila.
Now the questions become, did Sheila know that Sugar was going to attack Steffy? Did they have a plan and it went awry, or was Sheila hoping she could get rid of both Sugar and Steffy, by having her daughter-in-law sent to prison for her “murder”? Or, is Sheila out there somewhere in trouble?
Share your theories via the comment section below, and if you knew all along that it would be revealed that Sugar is the person who actually died and not Sheila. But first, check out next week on B&B where Deacon gets a visit from Lauren.
Is Deacon losing his mind? Next week on @BandB_CBS pic.twitter.com/JxVKxY039d
— Sean Kanan (@seankanan) April 13, 2024
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Drew and Nina Get Physical; Were You Surprised or Did You Expect it to Happen?
On the Tuesday, April 9th episode of General Hospital, Drew (Cameron Mathison) and Nina’s (Cynthia Watros) explosive relationship just turned up the heat another notch.
In story, Nina who was responsible (although she doesn’t see it that way) for Drew being sent to prison for insider trading when she tipped off the SEC, let out her feelings to him about how to get back in the good graces of her daughter, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Michael (Chad Duell). In doing so, she asks him for his help with it.
For months, the two have had nothing short of contentious moments, where Drew has not let Nina off the hook for what he did to him, or to his ex Carly (Laura Wright). Fast-forward and when alone in the Crimson office, Nina brings up wanting to stick it to Carly again.
Photo: ABC
As they banter back and forth, Drew can’t figure out why he should help Nina at all with any of her manipulations. Suddenly, as he tried to exit, his shirt rips and exposes his bare chest and abs, and Nina get quite an eyeful. From there, things become physical and before you know it, Drew and Nina are making out and having their version of hate-sex.
Courtesy/ABC
Cameron Mathison spoke to Soap Opera Digest on the shocking turn events, sharing, “I didn’t see it coming at all. I really didn’t. I think the audience did. Cynthia did some appearances and I guess the audience was ‘You and Drew, there’s some sexy chemistry there.’ I was like, ‘Wait, what? Really?’ I didn’t even get it. So I love it that it was very unexpected. The writers saw it, too. And, I love that it’s not a typical way for two people to be … physical. I was gonna say intimate, but there’s not a lot of intimacy there. And then as soon as it’s over, it’s back to arguing and giving each other crap again. It was really cute and really well done.”
As the fallout for their office room romp will air on the Wednesday April 10th episode, just how will the two deal with the fact that they had this fiery passionate moment in the weeks and months ahead? Will this be Nina’s new plot to get at Carly to be seen with her ex? Will Drew and Nina never speak of this again? (Well, this is a soap opera, after all, that’s pretty doubtful), or is this part of a major reset for some of the characters on the canvas now that Patrick Mulcahey and Elizabeth Korte are co-head writing the show?
Courtesy/ABC
Speaking on the aftermath of the tryst, Mathison added, “The two of them are both like, all right, let’s forget about that and move on. It’s like a weird kind of aggression attraction. There’s obviously attraction there, but I don’t think either of them expected it, and I think they’re both totally shocked and surprised by it. I think Drew gets a kick out of it whereas Nina is a little embarrassed by it.”
Now let us know, did you see this coming? Did you think Drew and Nina would have sex? What do you think of the story turn? Comment below.
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THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: “Sugar Sugar! Oh, Honey Honey”
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