Victor Newman is stirring a whole new pot of trouble on Young & Restless. The only problem? The premise of the plot twist doesn’t make a whole lotta sense!
There’s never been any shortage of things for Victor and Jack to fight about over the years, and there never will be. Which makes it hard to understand why Young & Restless is trying to manufacture conflict by floating a plot point that simply doesn’t hold water.
In the latest episode, Jack showed up at the ranch after hearing about the Newmans’ showdown and shoot-out with Ian Ward. Purportedly, he wanted to make sure everyone was alright (which is believable given it’s Jack we’re talking about), but Victor accused him of coming to see Nikki. Not getting any satisfaction out of the fight he was trying to pick, the Mustache fired off a closing salvo as the Abbott was heading out the door. It was designed to get a rise out of his nemesis, and though Jack carried on his way without a big reaction, it did leave him with his guard up… and he wasn’t the only one. The decree? That Jack should keep his son Kyle away from his granddaughter, Claire.
Victor previously sat Claire down and warned her about the pitfalls of dating an Abbott, telling her that at some point she would be forced to choose sides. Of course, he never acknowledged that the only reason she’d ever have to do that is because he refuses to put an end to his relentless rivalry with Jack.
When questioned by Victoria and Nikki about interferring in Kyle and Claire’s relationship, Victor announced that he didn’t like his family members dating from the pool of people he hates. Unfortunately, this makes no sense whatsoever given, well… the entire history of the soap.
Yes, Victor has always had a rivalry with Jack, but he himself was romantically involved with Ashley Abbott, and continues to share a deep bond with her to this day. In fact, their daughter Abby is half-Newman, half-Abbott, as she loves to tell anyone who will listen. Newman’s grandson Noah is living abroad with Jack’s granddaughter, Allie, and the Mustache hasn’t said a peep about that. Finally, Victor’s other granddaughter Summer has her own love story with Kyle, married him twice, and they share a child together. Which brings us to the most glaring inconsistency here: It wasn’t all that long ago he was pushing Summer and Kyle to make up.
Of course, circumstances have changed since then (Kyle was useful to Victor at the time), and one could argue that the Mustache is more protective of Claire right now that he is of Summer. Hell, everyone is more protective of Claire, who acts like a teenager rather than the trained killer and traumatized adult she is, but Victor’s argument still makes no sense… and makes him a giant hypocrite to boot.
As we all well know, this plot point is designed not only to create conflict for Victor and Jack, but to launch a Romeo & Juliet type storyline for Kyle and Claire, perhaps in a bid to get more viewers rooting for them. Will it work? That remains to be seen, but Young & Restless fans tend to be resistant to being manipulated, and have already started calling out this plot twist:
So, Summer married Kyle and gramps was ok with it but is furious because Claire is dating Kyle? makes no sense #YR
— Sally (@bizzygirl1) February 3, 2025
The Newmans act like Summer doesn’t exist. But you’re right, Victor even had admitted he was disappointed they divorce #YR
— Marie-Claire Dupré (@Maclarad) February 3, 2025
#yr so IF Victor trying break up Kyle n Claire so is he gonna have same warning to Summer or would that be ok cuz of Harrison????
— N*McEwen (@NMcEwen3) February 3, 2025
The part that does ring true is that Victor will jump on any means of yanking Jack’s chain to stir the pot with his nemesis. He’s looking for a reason to fight with him, and it doesn’t have to make sense as long as it gets the job done. Well, this should do it!
