On The Young and the Restless, plenty happened in 2021. From new babies to new relationships and weddings, we break down all the best parts of the CBS daytime drama for the past year.
The Young and the Restless: The Best of 2021
Throughout 2021, the residents of Genoa City experienced plenty of highs and some lows too. For the production, it marked the second year of filming amid a global pandemic, and they managed to create some memorable, dramatic, and fun storylines.
Best New Way To Tell Storylines
Because of COVID-19 restrictions, the soap got creative with telling stories. As a result, many things happened off-screen, which became difficult for viewers because characters informed viewers about the events rather than things happening on-screen.
In the second half of the year, the soap used a new way to tell these types of storylines. Instead of just having characters talk about significant events that happened off-screen, viewers got to see flashback clips. One of the best examples was how we got to see Amanda Sinclair’s (Mishael Morgan) emotional testimony against her grandfather without the soap bringing in lots of extras for a courtroom scene.
Best Off-Screen Wedding
While we hated not seeing Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) and Summer Newman’s (Hunter King) wedding, we love the bits and pieces we’ve gleaned from other characters’ comments and the information we received from Kyle and Summer themselves.
For instance, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) told us a bit about how Harrison Locke (Kellen Enriquez) performed his flower boy duties. Later, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) revealed that Summer had forgotten her bouquet, and she went back to get it.
Best Grandmother
Genoa City boasts plenty of grandmothers. However, for 2021, one really stood above the rest. Given that Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) was away on his secret mission when Dominic was born, we appreciated seeing Nina Webster (Tricia Cast) step up to help Abby Newman Abbott Chancellor (Melissa Ordway) with her newborn baby.
She helped her daughter-in-law through those rough first weeks and months, which made all the difference for Abby as she navigated motherhood without Chance by her side. Anything that brings Nina to Genoa City is tops in our book.
Best Grandfather
Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) became a brand new grandfather unexpectedly. When Harrison turned out to be Kyle’s son, Jack stepped right into his new role, and we loved seeing him enjoy his grandchild. Now, if we could only get Jack a new romance (not necessarily a new old romance, though).
Best Villain
While Stitch Rayburn (Sean Carrigan) inexplicably returned to kidnap Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes), forcing her to spend several weeks of her pregnancy alone and scared, he wasn’t The Young and the Restless’s best villain. Instead, the best baddie in Genoa City turned out to be Tara Locke (Elizabeth Leiner). For a while, she didn’t seem to be a villain, but in the end, her embezzlement came out, and she ended up in the slammer. It’s not like she ended up drugging anybody’s drinks, though.
Best Confusing Back Story
Speaking of Tara, her ex-husband Ashland Locke (Richard Burgi) ended 2021 with the best confusing back story. It seemed like things with the “Locke-ness Monster” changed each week. Perhaps it was meant to be that way, but sometimes it worked out almost like the storyline changed mid-stream.
Ultimately, Ashland, born Robert DeFranco, stole the real Ashland’s identity when his friend died at age 17. Then, later, he stole his benefactor Camilla Rhodes’s money from a cat sanctuary. Oh, and somewhere in there, Ashland ended up competing against John Abbott (Jerry Douglas) for businesses. Despite the confusing nature of Ashland’s past, he ended up being a bright spot in 2021.
Best Faked Illness
We thought that Ashland faked his cancer for a while, but that hasn’t seemed to be the case so far. Because of that, we think the best-faked illness on The Young and the Restless goes to Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan).
Although Chelsea’s illness began as an injury, she ultimately continued faking it after she got better. While she supposedly healed, Chelsea, instead, helped her pal to frame Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) for the attempted murder of Rey Rosales (Jordi Vilasuso).
Best Surprising Exit
It seemed that Theo Vanderway (Tyler Johnson) had more stories left to tell, especially since he ended up being connected to the Abbott family through his grandmother Dina Mergeron (Marla Adams). So when he left Genoa City in February, we felt surprised to see such a promising character go. Still, in true soap fashion, he dropped the giant bomb about Harrison’s paternity before he left.
The Young and the Restless (YR) airs weekdays on CBS. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Genoa City, check out all the latest that’s been posted on Y&R spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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