In the August 31 episode of The Young and the Restless, Phyllis continued defending Matt to anyone willing to listen, including Nick. She believes she understands why Matt deserves another chance because she knows what it’s like to have people refuse to forgive the past. The problem is that while Phyllis is putting more and more faith in Matt, she has absolutely no idea where he is or what he’s doing.
Key Takeaways
- Phyllis insists she understands Matt because both of them know what it’s like to have their worst mistakes held against them.
- Nick warns Phyllis that Matt has reinvented himself before, and those versions of him proved dangerous.
- While Phyllis defends Matt, he secretly visits Patty, who apparently expected him to come.
Phyllis Makes Matt’s Redemption Personal
Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) didn’t sneak into Nick’s (Joshua Morrow) rehab facility simply to check on her ex-husband. It didn’t take long before she was once again defending Matt (Roger Howarth) and insisting Victor (Eric Braeden) may be responsible for his disappearance.
This time, however, Phyllis was unusually clear about why she was so willing to believe Matt had changed. People haven’t forgiven her for her mistakes either, so she understands what he’s going through. When Nick wondered whether she was really talking about Matt or herself, he landed on the uncomfortable connection Phyllis had been revealing for days.
Phyllis also admitted that Matt makes her feel good. At a time when she’s estranged from her children and has destroyed many of her other relationships, that matters. Matt isn’t simply another person Phyllis wants to save. He’s become someone whose belief in her makes it easier for Phyllis to believe in herself.
Nick Gives Phyllis a Reason to Question Matt
Nick isn’t willing to make the same leap of faith. He reminded Phyllis that Matt had disappeared and reinvented himself before, first as Carter Mills and then as Mitch Bacall. Neither identity represented the reformed man Phyllis desperately wants Matt to be this time.
That’s what makes Nick’s warning more significant than simply another Newman refusing to forgive Matt. Phyllis believes she knows who Matt is now, but Nick knows there have been other people who believed they knew him, too. Matt’s history makes accepting another transformation particularly dangerous.
Nick didn’t tell Phyllis that people can’t change. He warned her that she had better be certain Matt really has, because the consequences of being wrong could affect everyone around them.
Matt Gives Phyllis Something New to Worry About
Then the episode finally revealed where Matt had gone. He hadn’t been abducted by Victor or Adam (Mark Grossman), as Phyllis feared. Instead, Matt quietly turned up at the jail to visit Patty (Stacy Haiduk).
We don’t know why Matt went there, and the visit itself doesn’t prove Phyllis is wrong about him. What makes it unsettling is Patty’s reaction. She wasn’t shocked to see Matt. She told him she knew he wouldn’t be able to stay away.
Phyllis is risking relationships and confronting some of Genoa City’s most powerful people because she believes in the man Matt has become. Meanwhile, Matt is doing something Phyllis knows nothing about with someone who apparently knows him well enough to predict his next move. Phyllis may be right that Matt deserves another chance, but she’s trusting him without having nearly as much information as she thinks she does.
MORE: Here’s what’s next on Y&R.
