Nikki Newman should have paid more attention to Claire on Y&R.
Nikki Newman came to see her newfound granddaughter at the mental hospital on The Young and the Restless. Claire told Nikki all about her upbringing with Jordan, and asked about what Victoria had been like as a child. Nikki talked, and Nikki listened. But did Nikki actually hear?
Claire (Hayley Erin) told a classic abused child narrative. She was raised by an aunt who only saw Claire as an extension of herself. Jordan (Colleen Zenk) commanded Claire to only see the world the way Jordan wanted her to, and any infraction was punished by disapproval and the cold shoulder.
Claire felt she had to tip-toe through her life, lest she say something to upset her aunt, to set her off, to prompt Jordan to withdraw her love and to lecture Claire about how she was nothing, how she was worthless without Jordan, that Jordan was the only person who would ever care about her, because otherwise she was garbage.
Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) clucked sympathetically about poor, put upon, sad Claire. But, did Nikki notice that the childhood Claire was describing…was exactly what Victor (Eric Braeden) put his children through? And, not just childhood.
It was only a few weeks ago that Victor berated his grown daughter, Victoria (Amelia Heinle), by taunting that if it weren’t for the company he’d given her to run, she’d have achieved nothing worthwhile in her entire life. And then, he reminded her of her multiple failures in keeping a successful relationship. Add to that the number of times Victor has cut off one of his children for not doing what Victor said the exact way he said it, and the similarity is uncanny.
Wouldn’t it be amazing if the one bright spot in the Claire drama was Nikki, Victoria, Nick (Joshua Morrow), and Adam (Mark Grossman) finally realizing — and accepting — how they’d been tolerating Victor’s abuse for decades? How can they be horrified about Jordan’s treatment of Claire when they’ve put up with the same thing from Victor? Could this be the break in the abusive Newman cycle we’ve been begging for for years?
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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