Phyllis Jack Y&R
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

It’s time Red went on the defensive!

After a major gaffe that had Young & Restless’ Jack overhear Phyllis gloating to Diane about having sex with him, the redhead was forced to retreat when her fuming and hurt ex-husband refused to even hear her out.

Phyllis went off to Georgia to visit Daniel and Lucy, and reportedly paced and agonized until she decided to sneak back into town wearing an, ahem, disguise. I mean, who would take any notice whatsoever of a tall sexy woman in a bright fuchsia dress with a gigantic hat and sunglasses on?! Nothing to see there!

Anyway, she managed to do some skulking around and after a warning from Michael about forcing Summer to choose between her and her husband, Phyllis revealed herself to her daughter and managed to get herself talked into a meeting with Diane in the park at which she very reluctantly extended an olive branch… for Summer’s sake.

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Because Phyllis is Phyllis, she undoubtedly believed it would win her a few points with Jack too. Diane was quick to use that angle against her by getting to Jack first and suggesting that the ceasefire might have been a tactical move on the redhead’s part. Cue Jack getting a text from Phyllis wanting to talk.

Jack showed up at Phyllis’ suite complete with the dark cloud he’s been sporting over his head and spouting Diane’s words as he questioned Phyllis’ sincerity. He made it clear he wasn’t open to a reconciliation. When she pleaded with him to see that she wanted to be with him regardless of Diane’s return and apologized for hurting him, it was still a no-go.

In fact, Jack laid into her about her self-destructive tendencies and was actually rather harsh, especially when you consider that he knows very well who Phyllis is and has known all along. It left a bad taste in the mouths of some viewers:

Phyllis was wrong to do what she did, but Jack’s made his fair share of mistakes with women — he’s dated dozens of them and still has ended up alone — so where does he get off judging Phyllis for her “patterns” with men? Further, why can he not see what Phyllis (and well, everyone) sees when it comes to Diane? He could have been much more supportive of the feelings that history brings out in Phyllis. After all, the woman set her up to go to jail for arson and attempted murder… and later left her as a suspect in her murder when she skipped town! Diane behaved diabolically, yet Jack seems to have little compassion for Phyllis in this scenario.

It kinda reminded us of how Phyllis ended up with Billy. He ‘got’ how she was feeling when she couldn’t get past her hatred of Victor for allowing her to be raped by Jack’s doppelganger, Marco Anicelli. Jack just wanted her to move on.

It begs the question: “Are we supposed to be rooting for “Phack” in all of this? And if so, why?!” Jack’s being more forgiving toward Diane than toward the supposed “love of his life” right now.

To recap, Phyllis isn’t wrong; she has Diane’s number — she wants Jack back. Jack not only refuses to listen to Phyllis’ concerns about Diane’s agenda, he’s actually allowing himself to be taken in by the woman. As they say, “Fool me once, shame on you, Fool me twice…”

The argument, of course, is that Jack needs to give Diane a chance for Kyle’s sake. But given her history should he be? And how exactly does that translate to the constant coffees and dinners he’s sharing with the woman? Not to mention letting her have the run of his house.

We all know Phyllis can be her own worst enemy, but nonetheless, it seems past time she turned the tables on Jack and informed him that while he may not be interested in a romantic relationship with her at this point, she is fine with that — it saves her from wasting time on a man who still cannot — after all these years — accept her for who she is or stand by her and support her when it really matters.

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Do you think Jack was too harsh when he shut down Phyllis’ attempt at reconciliation? Weigh in using the comment section below.

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