On the August 19 episode of The Young and the Restless, Matt broke down while talking to Sharon and finally admitted what he wants from the two people he hurt most. He doesn’t need everyone in Genoa City to forgive him. He needs forgiveness from Sharon and Nick. That confession explained why Matt keeps inserting himself into their lives even when they have repeatedly asked him to leave them alone.
Key Takeaways
- Matt admitted that Sharon and Nick are the two people whose forgiveness he desperately wants.
- Sharon suggested Matt may never move forward until he forgives himself instead of seeking absolution from them.
- Matt rejected the chance to start over elsewhere and vowed to remain in Genoa City until he earns their forgiveness.
Matt Tells Sharon What He Really Wants
Matt (Roger Howarth) has spent weeks insisting that he has changed, but his conversation with Sharon (Sharon Case) exposed the problem with the redemption he is pursuing. He isn’t simply trying to become a better man. He wants the people he victimized to acknowledge that he has become one.
That distinction matters. Sharon initially wanted Matt gone, especially after Noah (Lucas Adams) and Sienna (Tamara Braun) left Genoa City because of him. Yet she listened when he broke down and admitted that he was stuck. She even offered him an extraordinary possibility: Maybe he doesn’t need Sharon or Nick (Joshua Morrow) to forgive him. Maybe he needs to forgive himself.
Matt couldn’t accept that answer. He insisted that leaving town would amount to running away and vowed to earn their forgiveness no matter how long it takes.
Sharon Gives Matt an Answer He Doesn’t Want
Sharon actually offered Matt the cleanest path toward the life he claims to want. He could go somewhere else, where people would know the man he is today instead of the monster he used to be. Matt could build a life without demanding anything from the people whose lives he once terrorized.
Instead, Matt chose to stay. Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) gives him one reason, because she accepts him and makes him feel less alone. But his admission about Sharon and Nick revealed another. Matt still needs something from them, even after everything he has already taken from them.
That’s where his redemption effort becomes complicated. Sharon and Nick don’t owe Matt forgiveness simply because he regrets what he did. If Matt’s ability to move forward depends upon receiving it, then his redemption remains tied to the very people who have every right to deny him.
Matt’s Redemption Can’t Depend on Nick and Sharon
That could become especially important with Nick fighting addiction. Matt knows he helped put Nick in this position, yet he asked Sharon to tell Nick that he had been asking about him. Even now, Matt is trying to maintain a place in Nick’s consciousness while Nick is struggling to recover from the damage Matt helped cause.
Matt may sincerely be changing. Sharon herself acknowledged that possibility, which is significant considering their history. But Matt has a much harder test than simply apologizing: Can he become a better person without ever receiving the forgiveness he desperately wants?
Until Matt can answer yes, Sharon may be right. He’s still stuck.
