The Newman/Abbott feud on The Young and the Restless is synonymous with the CBS soap opera. Both Victor Newman and Jack Abbott remain on the canvas today. Time has tempered the dynamic between the two family patriarchs, however, viewers recall when the two were at constant high-stakes odds.
The Feud The Young and the Restless Needs to Revive
Jack (Peter Bergman) and Victor’s (Eric Braeden) rivalry kicked into high gear after Victor bought up shares of Jabot Cosmetics stock, taking control of the business owned by the Abbott family. Battle lines were drawn as Jack fought to get the company back for the sake of his father John (Jerry Douglas). He wed Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) in order to use her as leverage against Victor but Jack didn’t count on falling in love with her in the process.
Nikki miscarried Jack’s son after an altercation with Victor. Jack never forgave Victor for his role in the death of his unborn son. Years later, Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson) made a passionate plea to Victor asking him to not block the family trying to get the company back. He agreed and the Abbotts regained Jabot but the feud between Jack and Victor continued.
A while back, Victor schemed against Jack in a way he’d never done in the past. He hired a criminal doppelganger of Jack’s — Marco Annicelli (also played by Bergman) — to take Jack’s place after the cosmetics executive had been taken captive by unbalanced Kelly Andrews (Cady McClain). This story showed just how intense and epic the battle between these men can be.
In recent times, however, the two have shifted to more supporting roles on the landscape. Jack serves as a supportive “talk to” to his son Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor). He’s welcomed Tara Locke (Elizabeth Leiner) into the Abbott home without sensing her duplicitous nature. Jack was developing a nice friendship with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) that could have led to romance, but Phyllis Summers Newman (Michelle Stafford) intervened as if Jack wasn’t capable of accepting Sally’s past.
Victor never gives up total control. He maneuvered Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) into doing his bidding to aid Adam Newman (Mark Grossman). He maneuvered Ashland Locke (Richard Burgi) into signing a deal but that was during duress (Ash was having a heart attack). Surely, Victor would have found another way to get what he wanted since Ash’s signature wouldn’t hold up in court if he were to have contested it?
We need to see some Jack and Victor interacting again and we mean more than sparring at Society. Give them something earth-shattering or life-altering to disagree over; Jack was so furious with Victor once he threw a chair outside a skyscraper window. That is the kind of dynamic viewers are used to witnessing between these two powerhouses.
What if Jack’s seldom-mentioned son Keemo Volien Abbott (Philip Moon) was working for a division of Newman Enterprises and became gravely injured due to Victor’s negligence? That would have the two men at each other’s throats! Whatever Y&R might come up with it would need to be rooted in family, business, or history — preferably all three.
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.
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