In the September 25 episode of The Young and the Restless, Diane remained convinced that Nikki and Victor posed a threat to Jabot. The problem is that Nikki was busy asking Victor not to use Vibrante against Jack, and Victor agreed. If Diane goes through with her plan to sabotage Vibrante’s debut, she could give Nikki the very reason to come after Jabot that Diane has been expecting all along.
Key Takeaways
- Diane plans to drown out Vibrante’s Valentine’s Day debut with a competing Jabot campaign
- Nikki gets Victor’s promise that he won’t use Vibrante to hurt Jack
- Diane could turn the Newman-Abbott war she fears into a self-fulfilling prophecy
Diane Is Preparing for a Fight That Hasn’t Started
Diane (Susan Walters) sees Vibrante as a threat, and she isn’t waiting around to find out what Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) intends to do with it. After hearing Jabot employees buzzing about its newest competitor, Diane told Jack (Peter Bergman) she plans to launch a media campaign on the same day Vibrante debuts.
Jack immediately saw the problem. Jabot only knows when Vibrante is launching because of information that came their way before Nikki’s company has even brought a product to market. Diane doesn’t care. She wants Jabot to make so much noise that Vibrante’s Valentine’s Day debut becomes what she called a “Valentine’s Day Massacre.”
Nikki Is Trying to Prevent the War Diane Expects
Meanwhile, Nikki is worried about exactly the opposite problem. She asked Victor (Eric Braeden) to promise he wouldn’t use Vibrante to hurt Jack, knowing his hatred for Jack could easily turn her new company into another weapon in their feud.
Surprisingly, Victor agreed. He acknowledged that his war with Jack has taken them down a dark road and told Nikki he intends to stay out of her way. For the moment, at least, the attack Diane has been anticipating isn’t coming from the Newmans.
That makes Diane’s next move far more consequential. She isn’t responding to an attack on Jabot. She’s preparing to strike first because she’s convinced one is inevitable.
Diane Could Give Nikki a Reason to Fight Back
Diane insists she can crush Vibrante without making the competition personal, but that’s going to be difficult if she deliberately targets Nikki’s biggest launch before it even happens. If Jabot tries to bury Vibrante’s debut, Nikki suddenly has a very real reason to stop treating Jabot as simply another competitor.
That’s also why Jack’s reservations matter. He’s been arguing that Nikki’s friendship with him doesn’t automatically make Vibrante part of the Newman-Abbott feud. Diane’s plan could prove him wrong, just not in the way she expects.
Diane wants to protect Jabot from Nikki and Victor. Instead, she may be about to give Nikki something she doesn’t currently have: a reason to come after Jabot.
