"A" for Ashley Abbott: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the Week of July 20

There were many highlights from The Young and the Restless last week. The one that caught our eye the most is how we were reminded just how much we've missed the character of Ashley Abbott, played by Eileen Davidson.

"A" Her Name Is Ashley

Ashley came back to town to check on Jack (Peter Bergman) following his being stabbed by Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk). By the time Ashley got back to Genoa City from Paris, Jack was on the mend.

There was more good news as Ashley decided to stick around town and spend some overdue time with her daughter, Abby (Melissa Ordway), and her son-in-law, Devon (Bryton James).

Ashley's talking to Abby, and later, Devon, and listening to their problems (Devon sure is angry about things these days!) was a nice reminder of how interpersonal relationships are explored on the top-rated CBS soap opera.

Ashley acknowledged that she's been working on her mental health while abroad, but she lamented not being there for her daughter and son-in-law after Mariah (Camryn Grimes) kidnapped their son, Dominic.

Ashley listened and offered emotional support, attempting to get Devon to open up. What was very natural was Abby sharing with her mom her concern that she was running to her mother with her marital problems. Of course, that's what any rational person would think! Devon deadpanned about how subtle it was that his wife left the table, leaving Devon and Ashley alone so they could talk.

Soaps are filled with meddlesome mothers-in-law, but Ashley took a different approach. She came from a place of true caring about both Devon and Abby. Scenes are just richer when Ashley's around, aren't they?

Hopefully, she's going to be sticking around. It sure would be interesting to see Ashley interact with Victor and talk some sense into her former husband about dropping the feud between him and the Abbott clan.

Since I Found You

We have to admit that we had our hopes up that Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) was going to get her sight back last week. Going to see her doctor on a Wednesday to get her bandages off? That would remind viewers that they can't miss a day!

Nikki's doctor told her that there was only room for one visitor or guest to be in the room when the bandages came off. (We long for the days when soap sets could accommodate all a patient's loved ones!)

When Nikki asked for Victor, we thought, "Perfect! Now, we know Nikki's getting her sight back because Victor has to be the one who is there when Nikki regains her vision, right? We kept hoping that we'd hear the song "Through the Eyes of Love" when Nikki's bandages came off. Yes, playing songs on soaps is expensive, but "Through the Eyes of Love" is Victor and Nikki's love theme. It played at their wedding. Heck, it even played at their divorce way back in 1989.

Colonel Douglas Austin (Michael Evans) arranged for it to be played after manipulating the two into joining him at the Colonnade Room's private dining room. Neither knew the other was coming. Douglas had the tune piped into the room, and they danced romantically --- just as they had at their wedding a mere five years earlier.

Alas, Nikki didn't get her vision back. And viewers didn't get to hear "Through the Eyes of Love." We have hope that both are coming.

The Un-Welcome Matt

Noah (Lucas Adams) doesn't want Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) in Genoa City | Image: CBS

Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) keeps threatening to leave town since Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow), Sharon Newman (Sharon Case), Noah Newman (Lucas Adams), and Sienna Bacall (Tamara Braun), Matt's ex-wife, refuse to give him a second chance.

Call the quartet crazy, but they are still wary about Matt Clark. What's that old expression? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. Matt's victims don't want to be shamed.

Matt keeps saying (actually, he keeps yelling) that he's changed and he shouldn't be treated badly by everyone. And yet...Nick, Sharon, Noah, and Sienna just don't feel safe around Matt. Back in the 1990s, Matt raped Sharon. He let Nick go to jail after Nick was accused of shooting Matt. The bad boy also attacked his girlfriend, Amy Wilson (Julianne Morrow), who actually did shoot him.

Matt returned to town years later with plastic surgery, hoping to bring havoc into Nick's life once again. Hospitalized, Matt pulled out his tubing, hoping to frame Nick for his murder.

We still don't know how Matt survived that "death" (perhaps that's his greatest crime of all -- he won't say!). Matt came back again and nearly killed Noah (more than once), Sharon, Adam (Mark Grossman), and Nick. He caused the car wreck that led to Nick's dependence on pain pills. And Nick's not out of the woods yet either.

Matt got conked on the head. He claims to have changed. He can't believe he ever did those horrible things. And yet he did. Victor sees Matt as a tool to be used against Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn).

Currently, Cane appears to be of no threat to Victor or his family. And yet Matt has done horrible things to Victor's family. Nikki may be the blind one, but Victor seems unable to see the potential threat Matt is to the Newman family.

Matt was able to run a drug operation and hire drug dealers to sell bad drugs (are there "good" drugs?) to Nick. We bet that if he set his mind to it, Matt could wiggle out of Victor's ankle monitor. Victor would have no one to blame but himself if Matt were to go on another rampage.

We'll give Matt something -- his wife did cheat on him with Noah. And Noah didn't apologize. But there's a big difference between adultery and attempted murder. Matt tried to blow up four people with a bomb!

Matt's going to have to diffuse a bomb in the middle of Chancellor Park for folks to even consider giving him a second chance!

Soap Opera Secrets

Billy has a new mystery to solve | Image: CBS

Billy (Jason Thompson) and Jill (Lauren Koslow) had a fight off-camera. We prefer to see drama on-screen, but in this case, we know what Billy and Jill fought about. He feels that she favors Cane, and Billy just can't get past that.

Billy has learned that there's a secret at Chancellor Industries. This must be a really old secret since Katherine Chancellor (the late Jeanne Cooper) has been gone for over a decade.

It's good to have goals, and Billy's is to expose this secret. Sometimes, it's better to let sleeping dogs lie, however. This secret hasn't hurt anyone yet, has it?

Who's Zoomin' Who?

Martin Laurent and Traci Abbott reconnected over a video conference call | Image: CBS

If Y&R can't spring for a larger exam room that could accommodate all of Nikki's family, we understand that it wasn't going to spring for a jail set and visitor room for Traci to visit Martin Laurent (Christopher Cousins).

So Traci popped open her laptop and confronted the man who broke her heart and lied to her. He said he owed her, but Martin wouldn't tell Traci what she wanted to know unless she visited him in person. Hmm... Maybe we'll be getting that visitor's room just yet!

The more we think about it, the more we realize there's a stronger connection between Martin Laurent and Laurence Markham. They have the same initials (albeit inverted), and they're both in the world of psychiatry. Well, Martin's brother Alan (also played by Cousins) was. Martin just studied it, just enough to fool people.

It was nice to see Diane (Susan Walters) supporting Traci, wanting to keep her safe and letting her know that Martin put Traci through an ordeal. Diane knows what it's like to be tormented by Laurence just as Traci was tormented, in a different way, by Martin.

What's the connection between the two men? This week could bring some answers! As Ashley also had interactions with Martin, perhaps she could accompany her sister when she visits him?