A Critic’s Review of The Young and the Restless: Cheats and Corporate Ladders

When it comes to The Young and the Restless, every fan has their own opinion — and Soap Hub is no different. For five days, we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between. Here we lead with optimism. Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. So here’s a review of Y&R’s week that was.

What I’m Feeling This Week: Disappointed and Devastated (Daniel Cheats on Lily)

Okay, maybe I’m being a bit dramatic, but come on, Y&R. Lily (Christel Khalil) hasn’t been gone long, and already Daniel (Michael Graziadei) hit the sheets with Heather (Vail Bloom)? You just sunk my (battle)ship!

First sign things were going to sway this way, was Lucy (Lily Brooks O’Briant) starting to invite Heather over to Daniel’s for the little things, breakfasts, making hot chocolate, and sleepovers.

Second sign things were going to sway this way, obviously, the kiss they shared on the couch after watching Die Hard. That was tough to watch.

Third sign things were going to sway this way, all of a sudden Daniel downplayed his relationship with Lily! They hadn’t hit the love stage yet? I couldn’t even believe what I was hearing. Admittedly, I got swept up in the magic of Daniel and Lily being each other’s first love reconnecting and picking each other up from the depths of their respective drama.

Currently, Lily’s off helping her daughter deal with a traumatic situation. She’s unaware of the mess that’s waiting for her in Genoa City. But that’s okay, I adored Devon (Bryton James) side-eyeing Daniel at Society this week. Lily’s got him to hold down the fort until she gets back. I was all for his protective brother act, and even though Daniel was upfront with his cheating in their conversation, I’m still disappointed.

The way Daniel and Heather talked at that lunch, they made it seem like it was fate that reunited them. Daniel was totally caught up in the afterglow. Meanwhile, Heather sounded like she was all about getting back together now that Daniel (with a Lily assist) did the work to pull himself out of the downward spiral he found himself in during his marriage.

Yup, now that he’s all better and on top of the world again complete with a healthy state of mind and a purpose in life (his video game company), she’s back on board. Now that “he’s the man she fell in love with again.” Wow. I need Lily to get back to Genoa City sooner rather than later.

Other Y&R Thoughts

Perplexing Trend: What’s with all the red rover-ing at the various GC corporations? Feels like the families are going for Succession-like situations at the various companies. Some family members are jumping ship. Others are leaving their respective day jobs to join the corporate world. What’s the purpose?

Specifically, Billy (Jason Thompson) defected back to Chancellor-Winters from Jabot. Chance (Conner Floyd) quit his Chief of Police gig to suit up and learn the business at CW. Kyle (Michael Mealor) is all of a sudden content with his COO job while his mom now gets a huge promotion to Co-CEO of Jabot. Seems like Audra (Zuleyka Silver) may be the odd woman out at Newman, while Adam (Mark Grossman) and Nick (Joshua Morrow) are using all their energy to get along. Is there eventually going to be an all-out war in the vein of the Hatfields and the McCoys?

Even Nate (Sean Dominic), who betrayed his family before heading to Newman, is back at CW. Where is this all headed?

Still Processing: Speaking of Diane’s (Susan Walters) promotion, as much as I like her, I’m not sure I’m completely on board with this move. To be honest, if Ashley (Eileen Davidson) wasn’t in such a state right now dealing with the night the lights went out in her marriage to Tucker, I was hoping Jack (Peter Bergman) would name her Co-CEO. Understandably, she’s preoccupied. And Diane having power in a town that completely hates her, is juicy. Definitely going to have to ponder this power move a little more.

Best Advice: I continue to thank the Y&R gods for all the Jack and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) goodness we’re getting right now and in the future. It’s frustrating, but I get why Nikki doesn’t want Victor (Eric Braeden) to know she and Jack are working on her recovery. Also, there’s no way Victor wants anybody but him to help his wife. That’s why he’s been micromanaging her day and night.

However, Jack had some good advice for his friend/former wife when she asked for his discretion: “You’re only as sick as your secrets.” Nikki needs to listen to Jack. Tell Victor.

More, Please: Audra and Nate scenes. Their latest scenes are giving chemistry. Hopefully, we’ll get to see more. Not sure if I want Nate to defect to her side, but I like their energy.

Favorite Sisters: Ashley and Traci Abbott (Beth Maitland). I mean, they’ll always take this category for me. But Ashley is in dire need of help. She doesn’t know if Tucker’s gaslighting her, but she sure is going to find out. When Traci sat in the seat next to Ashley on the plane to Paris, that was such a great moment. I look forward to seeing what they’ll find out. Even more, I look forward to this “he said, she said” business wrapping up as well. (hint, hint)

Listen to Him: Adam Newman is the happiest he’s been in a long time. He’s working at Newman, he and Sally are solid again, and he’s doing everything he can to get along with Nick as they collaborate as Co-CEOs. However, he never backs down from offering his opinion. This week, he brought up the Crazy Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) problem. His words were met with hypocrisy and/or ignored. Guess what happened? Jordan might be headed back for revenge. Would it hurt Victoria and Nick (and Nikki) to just let Adam in so he can help? One (formerly) diabolical person could help stop a currently diabolical person. Just saying.

Best Move: Audra giving up on Tucker (Trevor St. John). I watch a lot of British reality TV — okay, not a lot, but I do watch Love Island UK. And they have a saying on that show when a person suddenly loses all attraction for another because of something they did or said. That person just gave them “the ick.” And you can’t unsee what they did. That relationship becomes instantly doomed.

That’s what I feel is happening with Audra and Tucker. Tucker moping around about Ashley and the Abbotts besting him and not focusing on his original plan of attack is giving Audra the ick. As a result, she’s able to give up on him and instead try to take his company away from him. As far as I’m concerned, this is a brilliant move.

Best Breakthrough: Claire (Hayley Erin) wanting Jordan dead. I’m really proud of Claire not backing down on the phone with Jordan. Hopefully, she’ll be able to keep it up should she end up seeing Jordan sometime soon.

The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.

The best place for true soap fans to be is our Facebook groups. Have you joined? If you love soap spoilers, gossip, and fans as dedicated as yourself, check out Days of our Lives Fans, General Hospital Exclusive, The Young and the Restless Fans, and The Bold and the Beautiful Fans.