Young & Restless Mega-Twist: What Happened to Ashland Locke?!?
A bonkers show-ending left fans with a stunning cliffhanger — and mystery — to ponder.
While it was somewhat predictable that an altercation would occur between Ashland Locke and someone after Victoria let him into her home, the twist at the end of the show was one that many didn’t see coming. Kudos to Young & Restless for the, erm, killer cliffhanger!
In a move that boggled the mind, considering her brother Adam had just finished warning her that Locke might be looking to do her bodily harm, Victoria invited her ex into the house after finding him looking in at her through the French doors. At night. Because of course she did.
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Expecting to give Ashland and the situation between them some closure, it’s clear that Victoria didn’t quite anticipate how unhinged and irrational he’d become. Although we’re not sure why not, as she was well aware that he’d trashed his suite at the Genoa City Athletic Club. She even had the creeps earlier when she felt as though he was watching her in Chancellor Park (he was).
Once he was inside things escalated, and Victoria became unnerved — though she tried not to let on — especially when the identity thief refused to leave. In a move that must have given her JT Hellstrom flashbacks, Locke also blocked her path to the door.
Things went from bad to worse — and Victoria’s eyes went as big as dinner plates — when Ashland let her know that he had “nothing left to lose.” As Nick knocked and called, an emboldened Victoria told Locke that no one could ever love him, which provoked him sufficiently that he lunged at her.
Victoria grabbed the fireplace poker (another nod to the JT debacle) to defend herself with and warned an undeterred Locke that the phone ringing meant her security detail was on route.
Finally, to the proverbial rescue was Nick, who got inside after his prolonged knocking and phoning, and intervened. When he learned that Locke had grabbed his sister, he sucker punched the disgraced mogul, who — what else? — fell and hit his head on the fireplace hearth.
After a pulse check by Victoria indicated that her husband was dead, and she’d made a call to Chance, the beleaguered CEO joined her brother to discuss next steps. Nick, rather conveniently, had decided to go outside for a breath of fresh air in gale-force winds, providing opportunity for a very curious twist indeed to go down.
Much to their shock, when they stepped back inside, the body had simply disappeared, with only a couple of small pools of blood left behind.
Now, this development might have freed Nick up from a potential murder charge (at least for the time being), but it begs the question, “What happened to Ashland Locke?”
Did a man who moments before had no pulse suddenly rebound to the point that he was able to make his way back out of the French doors and into the darkness unassisted? It seems highly unlikely, but anything is possible on a soap opera.
A more plausible theory is that someone showed up and took Ashland — or his body as the case may be — away from the scene. Perhaps in an effort to help Nick and Victoria. No body, no crime, right?!
But who?!
Our best guess is the Black Knight, given that Nikki had suggested over the phone that he go to check on their daughter and that Young & Restless spoilers have Victor doing damage control. Presumably, he’d have had a henchman or two with him, as it’s a stretch to think the Mustache, as all-powerful as we know him to be, dragged Locke’s dead weight outside — and rather quickly to boot — all on his own.
Alternatively, it could have been Adam. A compelling possibility if for no other reason that it would irritate Victoria to no end if he did another good deed. But we can’t think why he’d have gone to the house… unless of course, he had been following Ashland.
Billy comes to mind as well. He’s the person who gave Nick the heads-up about Victoria being on edge and he may have doubled-back to the house to do a wellness check.
Whoever has Ashland, we have to wonder if he’s really most sincerely dead or if he’ll prove to be holed up somewhere healing, so he can come back and “villain” at a later date. We kinda hope that’s the case as the character brought a good deal of excitement and intrigue to the soap.
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What do you think happened to Ashland Locke? Share your best guesses with us in the comment section below.
Look back on Ashland and Victoria’s romance in the photo gallery below.
