The Young and the Restless fans were left scratching their heads a while back when Theo Vanderway – played by newcomer Tyler Johnson – suddenly abandoned his quest to establish himself as one of Genoa City’s power players and moved overseas to take a job.
The Young and the Restless Needs Theo
So, it was terrific seeing the exiled young man returned to Genoa City this week. Alas, his stay was brief, but we were reminded of what a great addition both the actor and his character are to the show. Here are four solid reasons why we think Theo should come back on a more permanent basis!
All That Backstory
It wasn’t a surprise when YR tied Theo to core families and existing characters given the character’s popularity. He was revealed as the grandson of Stuart Brooks (Robert Colbert) and Dina Mergeron (Marla Adams).
The Brooks family is one of YR’s original clans! Brooks published The Genoa City Chronicle, the town’s main newspaper. This placed Theo on a more even playing field with Abbott heir Kyle (Michael Mealor) in terms of pedigree, power, and (potential) wealth. Why toss out a great set-up like this by sending Theo out of town?
Media Wars
The GC Chronicle newspaper was a big presence on the YR scene for many years. One of its last mentions was over 20 years ago when Megan Dennison (Ashley Jones) landed an internship at the paper. We imagine it’s got a digital component to it now. Why not have Theo head up GCC’s website and pit it against the relatively new media company ChancComm, which is run by Lily (Christel Khalil) and Billy (Jason Thompson).
Bonus: Theo’s aunts Lorie (Jaime Lyn Bauer) and Leslie (Janice Lynde) have a history with Billy’s mom Jill (Jess Walton). The opportunities for conflict are built-in!
Bomb Dropper
Theo knows where the bodies are buried and where the skeletons are — at least where Kyle is concerned. He is also privy to certain secrets – he let Kyle know that he’d run into his pal’s past married lover, Tara Locke, with whom (get ready) Kyle has a son! As Sally (Courtney Hope) noted, Theo’s very good at starting up trouble.
Kyle And Sally
Time will tell if Jack’s (Peter Bergman) interest in Sally leads to romance. If it does, why not make their dynamic a bona fide triangle and add Theo to it as a third? There’d be angst over Theo having a romantic interest in Sally as he is fond of Jack for the opportunities he’s given him.
Plus, what better way for Sally to convince Summer (Hunter King) she has zero interest in Kyle than to be interested in two other men? Also, Sally deserves another ally. Few people seem to be willing to give the fiery redhead a proper chance to start over.
To sum up, Theo, in Johnson’s capable hands, brings charm, secrets, competition, and conflict to the storytelling canvas. It’d be great to see him say au revoir to Paris and return to Genoa City for good. Will it happen? Stay tuned to find out! The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS. Check local listings for air times.
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