Does it feel a bit like dรฉjร vu? Are the writers watching other soaps for ideas to spice things up in Genoa City? Let’s discuss in a new commentary of The Young and the Restless for the week ending January 3, 2025.
Dear readers, I confess that I am a woman who enjoys her soaps, and I watch three of them: General Hospital, The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. Occasionally, I find odd coincidences in the soaps, which leads me to suspect the writers spy on each other and borrow each other’s plots.
A prime example
To wit, consider this. General Hospital has a baddie named Cyrus Renault who was arrested and sent to prison for the many evil deeds he committed. During his time in jail, Cyrus had an epiphany, turned to God and became a chaplain. Eventually, he was released from prison and picked up where he’d left off, while pretending to be a man of the cloth. This has been going on for about a year on GH.
So, imagine my surprise when Ian Ward on The Young and the Restless ended up in an absolutely identical storyline. Did the The Young and the Restless’ writers watch General Hospital and say, ‘Wow, what a great idea! Which of our imprisoned villains can we spring from prison with a religious conversion storyline?’ Because it seems like quite a coinkydink.
Both men faked conversions, although General Hospital did it better because it unraveled slowly. Viewers were almost convinced that Cyrus was a changed man. He did some genuine good deeds and seemed so sincere. There was a possibility he was telling the truth, right up until we saw him murdering people in the hospital last month. However, The Young and the Restless writers accelerated the plot and showed us immediately that Ian’s conversion was false.
I preferred the GH version, where I had to ponder it for a while, just like the characters on the show did.
Sloppy planning or writing?
That said, Ian’s carelessness baffles me. While Jordan has Sharon neatly tied up in their motel room, Ian is busted before he can whisk Tessa off to meet the same fate. Mariah’s face showed the shock and horror of everything Ian had done to her in the past. She also had flashbacks of the trauma of waking up in a wedding dress she hadn’t put on.
Great job by Camryn Grimes on that PTSD — we saw all the fear in her eyes.
An important PSA from The Young and the Restless
Another thing this storyline did was remind me — and hopefully every woman who watched it — you can’t leave a beverage anywhere, including your workstation. Not without worrying that someone will tamper with it while you are away. Someone should invent a locked water bottle lid that can only be opened with your fingerprint — or something along those lines. I am concerned that since Tessa doesn’t know that her water bottle made her sick, she might take another swig from it.
The secret is out on The Young and the Restless
Now that the Newman family knows that Ian is in town, it won’t take them long to figure out Ian probably had a hand in what happened to Sharon. Game on. Why Victor invited Ian into his home is beyond me. I can hardly wait until Monday to find out.
CBS has a weird view of criminals right now. Over on The Bold and the Beautiful, Bill Spencer was able to get Luna released from prison on house arrest at his place after she murdered two people and kept Steffy imprisoned in a cage! However, now she’s just chilling at Bill’s mansion and he’s getting her snacks. Apparently, it’s just the honor system because I didn’t even see an ankle monitor!
Sharon isn’t innocent
While Sharon didn’t murder Heather on The Young and the Restless, she did go to Daniel’s house with the intent of killing him. She poisoned his liquor, assaulted Heather and knocked her to the floor. Sharon also dumped Heather’s dead body in the river, and she did frame Daniel for it, all of which are crimes. So even if Sharon didn’t land the final blow that caused Heather’s death, she is not innocent! Prisons are full of people who committed crimes while they were under the influence of drugs. I don’t think Sharon deserves a free pass.
Maybe she can move in with Bill and Luna.
Team Phyllis despite her flaws
Even though Phyllis is as annoying as all get out right now, I am still on her team. Phyllis’ daughter-in-law was murdered leaving both Phyllis’ son and granddaughter traumatized and grieving. I can understand why she is incensed that the woman responsible for all of that turmoil is out whooping it up for the holidays. Well, not now, of course. Now, she’s tied up in a motel. But earlier this week.
A partnership borne of necessity
The upcoming previews suggest that Phyllis and Sharon will have to work together to escape a dangerous situation. Apparently, Ian and Jordan will kidnap Phyllis, too. Today’s episode seemed to indicate they were going to murder Sharon and frame Phyllis, but Jordan didn’t follow through with the plan to kill Sharon.
The previews show that instead of following Ian’s plan, Jordan stashed Sharon someplace. Presumably as an ace up her sleeve if Ian tries to double-cross Jordan. But if Phyllis and Sharon have to work together to escape, could those two nutty gals go back to being frenemies?
The Young and the Restless adversaries to frenemies
What then? I think Nick will return to Sharon; he will always return to her eventually.
Hear me out before passing judgment. I wouldn’t mind seeing Phyllis and Billy go at it again. I know Billy and Sally are having a revenge sex fling. What if Billy and Phyllis are determined to genuinely show the world what they are made of? In that case, it’s a relationship I’d enjoy following like a case of two wrongs actually making a right. They have both made so many mistakes, and everyone expects them to fail and screw things up, but- what if this year they don’t. What if they take all their passion and creativity and start something new that genuinely succeeds.
What if Billy and Phyllis win for once? I’d love that.
I’m bias because I deeply adore Michelle Stafford and Jason Thompson. That doesn’t mean they wouldn’t make an amazing couple.
Returning to Newman Ranch
Now to Adam and Chelsea. Victor and Adam seem convinced that Chelsea should come back and make a go of it with Adam, but Chelsea remains unconvinced. Back in the day, I loved Adam and Chelsea together. However, they have hurt one another so often and so deeply that I can understand Chelsea’s hesitation. Despite that, if someone invited me to live on the Newman Ranch, I cannot imagine saying no.
One nice sign for 2025 is that Nikki said she was going to try and get along with Adam this year. She even admitted that he had done a good job at Newman Media. As a viewer, it would thrill me because having Adam as the punching bag for the Newman family has gotten stale. I have also loved seeing Victoria and Cole in a happy relationship and Victoria being so warm. Her Ice Queen persona thawed out in 2024, and I hope it continues into the New Year. I love this side of her.
What the future holds for The Young and the Restless
The partner that Kyle needs
I was also happy to see Chance and Summer in a scene talking about trying again. It means that Summer won’t try to break up Claire and Kyle. I like those two together. Claire is the partner that Kyle needs. Like Lola, Claire is more selfless than selfish and doesn’t try to fight him on everything all the time. Kyle’s relationship with Summer was constantly combative, and it can become exhausting. But who knows what evil Jordan has planned for Claire and how the fallout from that will impact Claire’s future. I am a little afraid for her.
Meanwhile, at the Abbott house
Now, over to the Abbott household. Why is Ashley back in Paris? Wasn’t she released from the hospital for Abby’s wedding just a month ago? Why would she go back? And is that where Alan is too — and is he Alan? Jack and Diane are back to making goo-goo eyes at one another, reveling in their love and the great coup they pulled off convincing the town they were at war. But I assume that Victor isn’t done toying with them, so there’s more chaos in store for them in 2025.
Wait until Victor finds out Aunt Jordan is also free and wandering around Genoa City with Ian! Colleen Zenk and Ray Wise are very entertaining, but their reign of terror can’t go together.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers?
Will Victor lock Aunt Jordan and Ian up in the Brussels sprout jail at his old condo? Will Sharon wake up tied up next to Phyllis and think she’s on PCP again? Is Ashley going to pick up some extra personalities during her Paris trip? Why would she go back so soon? Will Michael win the best dressed at the New Year’s Eve party? His jacket was snazzy! Will Lauren be able to keep her promise to Diane and be civil to Diane for more than one day?
Will Danny and Cricket continue to make out in front of Phyllis until she snaps and fakes her death again? Is Tessa destined to end up in Ian’s new cult? Will I ever find a New Year’s Eve party as chill as the one at the Jazz Lounge? Will Lily be there for Daniel in his time of need and win him back? I hope so. Will Nate’s new brother be a good guy or a villain who will try to steal Audra away like Malcolm tried to steal Drucilla from Neil with some shots of Nyquil?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
Tamilu
Thank you so much for pointing out that Sharon is still guilty of many other things, and should not be seen as innocent just because of the ONE thing she didn’t do. While I also agree that Phyllis is being a bit annoying, I am also still team Phyllis because she is not wrong in regards to Sharon.
Even if Phyllis and Sharon do end up tied up together, I have a feeling that’s Ian and Jordan still might find a way to frame Phyllis for something happening to Sharon. If that happens, I feel Chance will once again fall prey to believing in the lie, which will be the final straw for Summer and permanently end the relationship between them.
Also, I really hate when people insist on someone going to the hospital because of some major healthcare that happened to them, and that person brushes it off. It doesn’t matter that you’re okay now and that you insist that Ian can possibly have done anything to you. If I were Tessa, I still would have gone as a precaution not only to appease my wife, but because I am a mother with a child at home and I need to be sure it’s not something serious.