Young and the Restless Writing Regime Is Making Characters A Hot Mess

The Young and the Restless feels like it’s the Upside Down lately. Literally, down is up, and up is down in Genoa City these days, with people changing their minds and making abrupt aboutfaces on a dime.

Young And The Restless Chaos

It’s absolute chaos. One moment, Victor (Eric Braeden) was against merging SNA Media with Newman Media, and the next, he decided to do it. He offered Sally (Courtney Hope) a job, and then pulled the rug out from under her. Then, in what felt like a breath, he chose to restructure everything, which made Sharon (Sharon Case) want her company back.

Victor vowed to fight, so Sharon lawyered up, and then Victor stunned her by casually returning her company to her — no harm, no foul. It’s enough to make viewers’ heads spin.

Plus, add to all that, Billy (Jason Thompson) was all boo’d up with Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) and doing uncharacteristically well. Sure, he agreed to be Diane (Susan Walters) and Jack’s (Peter Bergman) Trojan Horse, but he seemed firmly on their side.

However, all it took was one mention from Ashley (Eileen Davidson) and Tucker (Trevor St. John) about Billy running Jabot, and he headed straight back down a dark path. While Billy doing well was unlike him, it felt like he’d really turned a corner, but now he’s back to his destructive ways.

Then, there’s Kyle (Michael Mealor). After all the years and all the things that had gone on between them, he suddenly couldn’t forgive Summer (Allison Lanier) for helping her mother at the expense of his own. Never mind that Kyle had forgiven Diane herself for way worse. Now Kyle seems to fancy himself as “Smilin’ Jack” these days, which is…odd.

For a bit, it felt like perhaps Victor had an illness that manifested in his unusually wishy-washy behavior. However, given that it seems to apply to several characters, it actually seems like it’s more of a lack of direction for storylines. Things have been all over the place lately, and it doesn’t quite make for great viewing. It’s enough to give us whiplash.

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.