Y&R: A Memorial & A Wedding

This week on "The Young and the Restless", the residents of Genoa City said goodbye to Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper) and celebrated the wedding of Paul (Doug Davidson) and Christine (Lauralee Bell). Both of these events occurred at the new park in honor of the late Kay.

The memorial aired over two episodes and Jeanne's son Corbin Bernsen was back in Wisconsin as Father Williams. He led the service for Kay as well as performed the wedding ceremony. During these episodes, the special Jeanne Cooper only credits were used. Both shows had clips from the past, the first day had more recent scenes, while the second focused on the Katherine/Jill relationship. It was rather cool that they included a scene with Katherine and Philip from before he died. The program spoke about the antagonistic relationship that Jill and Kay shared until they finally made peace with various clips.

The characters from out of town that appeared were Kay's former stepchildren Gina and Danny, though that relationship to Kay wasn't mentioned, her son Brock, Nina, and Amber. While it was funny that Nina mentioned how Kay and Jill teamed up against Nina and wanted to send her to Guam, I wish they had shown a scene from that story. Towards the end of the service, different characters had a moment to speak for Kay and leave a flower. Jack and Victor even were civil for a change due to the seriousness of the event. Chloe read a poem that Delia wrote for Kay, as in a lot of ways Kay was another grandmother as she spent a lot of time at the Chancellor house.

While it seemed slightly incongruent that Paul and Christine got married, it was inspired by Kay. Paul's letter from her came late, and it had the message of seize the day. Nina received a letter giving her peace in regards to her break up with Paul. Danny, Christine's ex-husband, seemed sad, but acted like he was okay with this development. Nina agreed to stand up for Cricket, and Michael who still had bruises stood up for Paul. Ironically, Michael went to prison for abusing Christine, but I doubt the show wanted us to think about that.

The episode ended with everyone leaving the park after the wedding. Jill and Nikki stayed behind and spoke about missing their friend Katherine. They each had quests from her, while Nikki knew what she was supposed to do, Jill had no idea where to start. While sitting on a bench together, and sharing their new bond, Jill and Nikki saw Katherine. She smiled and faded away.

The two episodes were decent, but they paled in comparison to the real life tribute Y&R did for Jeanne Cooper. I know that I shouldn't compare the two, but it was difficult not to do so. I appreciated the returns and hope that the next phase in regards to Katherine's legacy is done with respect for the character's history.