Young & Restless Twist: Daniel’s Attempt to Save Summer Backfires — Plus, Trouble Ahead for Victoria
May 8 - 12
Credit: Howard Wise/JPI
Aside from Malcolm and Harmony returning and Daniel revealing that Phyllis is alive, Young & Restless was treading water this week… as in, there’s not a lot happening to really gear us up for huge May Sweeps drama.
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Reunited
It was amazing to have Shemar Moore back as Malcolm, even if it was just for a few minutes. His appearance added some gravitas to the impromptu Neil memorial. That said, it was an oversight on the part of the writers for Malcolm to return to Genoa City and not mention the death of his dear friend Phyllis. Aside from Harmony’s surprise return, a heart-warming surprise courtesy of Tucker, the big news at the memorial was Devon announcing he would take the last name Winters… which was a head-scratcher for some.
Just an FYI and historical fact…When Devon was adopted, his name was changed to Devon Hamilton Winters. He was just never written to go by it onscreen. But it was listed thusly in the credits and on the CBS site for many years. So he’s only really changing what he goes by. #YR
— Trish (@Trish_AllDay) May 8, 2023
Back to Earth
Speaking of Tucker, this man really is willing to move mountains for Ashley… or at least pay a fortune to relocate Diane. McCall steals every scene he’s in with his expressions and one-liners, and I’ve been swooning over his flawed attempts to love Ashley and connect with Devon and Dom… but Jack telling Ashley that Tucker hadn’t changed and was as manipulative as ever brought me back to earth a bit. Tucker is on his best behavior as he navigates his relationships… but is it only a matter of time before Jack’s foreshadow-y remark proves true?!
Underwhelming
Speaking of villainous types on their best behavior, Adam hasn’t slipped up since he cruelly dumped Sally, and even that was for selfless reasons. He’s a completely different character now, but we won’t go down that road. What I will say, is that we’ve already done the “Adam hires Sally” storyline and therefore I’m finding the whole Nick/Adam/Sally thing underwhelming at this point. It feels incredibly… predictable, which is a drag. As for Victor’s machinations, this week’s events had me wondering if he’d fully intended for his offer to relocate Sally to play out as it did — with Adam becoming protective and taking on McCall so he could bring her under his wing. Always several steps ahead, that one.
Play It Again, Sam
Connor lashing out over the announcement he’s about to have a baby sister seemed interesting. I always figured that kid was going to grow up as Adam 2.0. But watching the proceedings as Billy took him outside to chat made me think it’s just going to be a means of having Billy play the hero for Chelsea again. Yawn. As with many of the so-called stories on tap right now, this feels… pointless.
Twist
It was quite a twist to have Daniel show up at the Abbott house and lie that he was the one who saw Phyllis in the park. He seemingly found a way to protect his sister’s marriage while also revealing the truth and trying to get his mother off the hook all at the same time. Of course, his big reveal went down as expected, with Jack and Kyle fixating on clearing the now-saintly Diane. I was cheering Daniel on as he hit Jack with some hard truths about his behavior. But the writing continues to be suspect. Why have Daniel spill the beans so soon?! Why go through this whole murder drama only for it to wind up being pointless? Was it all an exercise in leveling the playing field between Phyllis and Diane so the latter can stay on the canvas longer and more legitimately? Guess what? A legitimate Diane = boring. All of the bad seeds on Young & Restless are written as either reformed or misunderstood these days.
Anyway, Daniel lied as a means of sparing Summer’s marriage. She can now claim that she was in the dark, but 1) she doesn’t know what Daniel’s done and it’s quite likely she’ll give herself away when Kyle eventually shares the news that her mother’s alive, and 2) she was lying to her husband and that’s not a secret that’s just going to go away. Not on any self-respecting soap, so I fully expect Daniel’s attempt to protect her to backfire.
Trouble Ahead
Young & Restless seems to be embracing the idea of Nate as power-hungry, which doesn’t bode well for Victoria. Nick’s foreshadowing that he can’t be trusted and his concern that Nate is using his sister to get ahead in the company suddenly doesn’t seem as ridiculous when you consider the preview clip that shows Hastings telling Audra they need to be able to trust each other to get what they want. When you throw in the teaser from SOD that has Victor worrying about Victoria, it becomes even more sinister. Presumably, Nate will push to become co-CEO (a la Ashland) and for Audra to run Newman Media. But what tactics will be used to convince Victoria? I sense trouble.
As for Elena, I imagine she’ll manage to bring J.T. back to town, which also spells trouble for Victoria. In the video dropped by Lauralee Bell this week, she had to cut out a returning character so as not to give away story. We see Nikki in a booth and whoever is sitting on the other side is edited out. Might Nikki be warning J.T away from her daughter/Genoa City… or perhaps apologizing for “murdering him” with a fireplace poker and burying him alive?! Hehe. Watch the clip again if you missed it.
This is just my opinion. Feel free to leave your thoughts on this week’s Young & Restless in the comment section below.
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