Young and Restless December 31 Rerun Proves Why Nikki and Victor Are Toxic Together

The Young and the Restless reran an episode full of Nikki and Victor flashbacks on December 31. The objective was to highlight the Newman’s great love through the decades. Instead, it demonstrated why these two people are absolutely terrible together.

Pretty Little Liars

We’re not talking about the lies they’ve told each other over the years, starting with Victor (Eric Braeden) pretending to be his own butler when he first met Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) to her initially lying about who Victoria’s (Amelia Heinle) biological father was. We’re not even talking about Victor’s affairs with Ashley (Eileen Davidson), Nikki’s marriage to Jack (Peter Bergman), and all the less important people in between. Those are run-of-the-mill soap hiccups.

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Separating the Wheat From the Chaff

We’re talking about the glimpse we got into how Victor reacted to Nikki’s initial alcoholism. Which explained why he reacted to her latest bout off the wagon – and Jack’s role in helping her. When Victor first learned that his wife was slipping vodka into her orange juice, he went mental. He yelled and screamed and threw things. Was he worried about Nikki’s health? No! Victor raged about what she was doing to him! And to their children! And to him! Did she not care how Nikki was upsetting him?

The Other Man

Compare that to Jack, who, just this past year, was so worried about what Nikki’s drinking was doing to her that he put his own life on the line to scare her straight. That’s what drove Victor over the bend. How dare Jack try to help Victor’s wife? How dare Jack step into what should have been Victor’s role? How dare Jack succeed where Victor had failed?

The last thing Victor wants is to be compared with someone who actually cares more for Nikki than he does for himself. What a shame YR’s rerun just reminded us – again – of how true that was.