Cue another day of completely inappropriate laughter on my part when it comes to Y&R’s Adam and Rafe. Honestly, I’m trying to figure out what I find so gosh-darned funny. Maybe it’s just Adam, who is so, so ridiculous, especially in the context of a show like Y&R, which is usually “serious business.” 

Michael Muhney‘s take on the character has internal conflict like Chris Engen‘s version did, but there’s also a very broad, big, soapy quality to him. This Adam fully embraces the insanity of this storyline and that’s kind of fun. I mean, what else are you going to do with a character that is gaslighting his father’s girlfriend, burns towels and fetuses in fireplaces, and claims he was jabbed in the eye with hypodermic needles? It’s so silly that I need an actor to give 110% even when he’s saying the dumbest things, and Muhney does that. I was laughing when Adam practiced break-up speeches but was then forced to chuck them all and go into seduction mode again just to shut up Rafe … who displayed a surprising (albeit brief!) bit of intellect and suspicion. Speechifying about how he’d never done before what he’d done with Rafe…? Bwah! It’s really too bad Rafe’s snarky, “How stupid do you think I am?” moment came before that oh-so-touching confession. Given how all Adam had to do was turn on the puppy eyes and the charm to sway the baby-faced lawyer, it’s clear he thinks Rafe is pretty darn stupid … and he’s right! 

But I will give Rafe some props for turning aggressor at the end of the episode. The way he went in for the kissing kill with Adam was mighty assertive. Too bad we viewers didn’t get to SEE it. If we don’t get a pickup scene in tomorrow’s episode that shows us the scandalous liplock that shocked Nikki, I’m going to be very annoyed…

originally posted on soapoperaweekly.com