While there were other stories on The Young and the Restless this week, none burned as brightly as the ending of Dr. Sandy Anderson.

We were finally given confirmation of her identity.

That was done just moments before Nick and Sharon stumbled upon her dead body at Fairview.

Since we've played around with this story for so long, to have such a fast and rather tidy resolution to so much of it in such a short time span is shocking.

When do soap operas ever work this quickly? It's as if the powers that be decided their trajectory for the story needed to change, and they cut it short.

All of the clues pointed us in the right direction and Anderson confirmed it. She was indeed Sandy Allen from high school. She was in love with Nick, felt Victor didn't approve, and eager to please, she plunged into the pool to impress the young Newman and was paralyzed.

Instead of getting Nick's attention, she was shipped off to the best doctors and had to fight for her health. She recovered, married and divorced, eventually plotting revenge for her loss. But instead of wanting to hurt Nick, she fell in love with him again. 

I was very happy Sharon was well enough to expose the woman who helped her. I guess we'll never know the odd thought process of the woman who believed giving a baby to Sharon would be a good thing, but after watching the two of them speaking at the ranch, it became obvious Sharon wasn't a target.

When Sandy talked about Victor choosing who was and wasn't right for Victor and Sharon admitted she didn't always come out on the right side of that equation, there wasn't any malice from Sandy. Sandy wanted to hurt Nick above all else, and it was almost as if she saw Sharon as a kindred spirit. 

Together they suffered at the hands of Nick. Loving the man was hard. The same didn't go for Sage, of course, because Sandy had to wrestle Nick out of her grasp.

So Sage got caught in the crossfire. She would suffer for having Nick's love, love Sandy didn't have. 

Patty Williams somehow had all of this figured out, and ultimately killed Sandy for it. We'll have to hope Patty gets better again before we find out if she knows more.

Ironically, any questions about Christian and Sully wouldn't even come up if only the two-brother duo of Dylan and Nick didn't decide there had to be more to the story. They have no idea this story won't end well for either of them. 

It will end with them both being without a child and probably without a wife. At least they will still have each other.

How long that part of the story will take to unwind, we'll find out. Maybe Nick will end up with Chelsea. They seem to have a connection. Adam and Sharon had one in the past. We're certainly in for a lot of swirling relationships before the year is out.

Elsewhere this week, Billy and Victoria continued to connect. Meh. It was boring. I'm a little sick of the continued emphasis on the hit and run garbage. It's as if Billy forgets how he got on the cement floor. And also that he forgets he's been lying to Victoria since he's been awake about the hacker program business.

The hacker program business is also boring. Natalie sure lost her luster quickly. It's unclear exactly how Summer got shoved into the middle of things, but there she is. They make a great fit age-wise, though, and Summer could use a friend. I'm on board with that possibility. 

But not at the expense of Mariah. Where the heck did she go when this was initially her story?

In a "surprised to even see them" moment, Ben and Abby had a very short time together as husband and wife before his son came into the hotel room. Um...kid really needs some professional help. 

And, finally, do you think Noah might be the one to help bring down Victor? Between his desire to get to the old man by acting opposite of everyone's advice, including Adam's, the hacker stuff and Phyllis' scheming against him, and what's going on with Nick and the Sandy Allen business, things aren't looking too great for the man who thinks he has it all.

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Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.