Friday, August 13, 2010

Soap Opera Moments: The Shocking Ruling on Adam Newman's Trial (2010)





Adam Newman's (as seen above by actors: Chris Engen [top] [in wig and dress as Victor's late wife Sabrina, when he is trying to torture Ashley Abbott) & Michael Muhney [bottom]) regin of terror on Genoa City's residents (particularly Ashley Abbott & The Newman Family) over the past few months has probably been one of the most villianous turns on a soap opera since it's peak as a genre. His trial has been long awaited by Y&R viewers for months, and after waiting, we've had to spend the whole week watching the trial and the impact on the witnesses. Then Friday came: The big announcement on whether or not Adam's case would be sent to court.

The retrospective of Adam's life in the first half of the episode was very interesting, to see how Adam's path got him to where he is. And in this, you could see how innocent he was, and how it would be hard to see that he was born evil. Also, the converstation between Nikki and Victor shows how far they have come, and at some points you could see the pain and regret in Victor's face. Since he is infamously known for being highly protective of his family and close friends.

Then, we watch the scene in the courtroom unravel, as the judge discounts each testimony against Adam by the oposing side and the judge consistantly brings up the issue of predjudice with each testimony, while viewers keep waiting for how the judge plans to address Sharon Newman's testimony (regarded by other characters to be the primary testimony that will send Adam to jail).

Then viewers hearts sink as the little boy (Richard Hightower's son) whose father died gets no justice, as the judge rules in Adam's favor... Deeming the oposing testimony as riddled with predjudice. Probably one of the more shocking moments ever on a soap: Adam Newman's reign of terror is left unpunished by the court system. And we are left with a few things:

The hope that Adam Newman's regin of terror won't continue, AND the words that Victor Newman says: "He will carry around the burden of these sins for a long time, and will be punished by not our hand [The Newmans and Abbotts) but by his hand."

And so, one of the most exciting regins of terror on a soap, ends with this ruling. Where Y&R goes next from here, who knows?