When it comes to The Young and the Restless, it’s not uncommon for me, like many viewers, to have constantly changing opinions about characters. As one storyline plays out I may love a person, but then as a new plot twist unfolds, I may find myself completely disenchanted with the same individual. I’ve been there with every major player in Genoa City with the exception of Victor (Eric Braeden), as The Mustache is my favorite.
Anyway, let’s talk about my developed annoyance for Summer (Allison Lanier) these days. My disgruntled feelings started when Claire (Hayley Erin) was revealed to be Victoria’s (Amelia Heinle) daughter, and the Newmans were integrating Claire into the family.
While I could understand Summer’s apprehension to embrace Claire considering her new cousin worked with Jordan (Colleen Zenk) in a murder attempt of Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Victor, Victoria and Nick (Joshua Morrow), I eventually found Summer’s hostile attitude to be overkill. After all, if Claire’s victims can forgive her for her actions and hold Jordan responsible instead for that whole ordeal, Summer should be willing to follow her family’s lead.
In addition to her attitude being overkill, it was downright hypocritical. Summer’s own mother has a sordid history that reads like a villain’s resume. In the past, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) not only drugged Danny (Michael Damian) to get him into bed to satisfy an obsession, but she also tried to run over Christine (Lauralee Bell) with a car, hitting Paul (Doug Davidson) instead.
Even within the last two years, Phyllis attempted to fake her own death and frame Diane (Susan Walters) for the crime. If Summer can look past all of that, then she could at least try to forgive her cousin. Heck, Claire at least was immediately remorseful and wound up saving the very members she helped to poison after she learned she was being manipulated by Jordan.
Moving past Summer’s issues with Claire, Summer’s trajectory isn’t improving in my book because she continues to lock horns with Kyle (Michael Mealor) over Harrison (Redding Munsell). Let me say this, I can appreciate her stepping into the role of Harrison’s maternal figure and doing a great job as his chosen mother. She clearly cares for him as her own.
However, Summer is not Harrison’s biological mother, and because Tara (Elizabeth Leiner) never terminated her maternal rights so Summer could adopt Harrison, legally speaking, Summer has a lot of bark behind her recent custody threats to Kyle but seemingly lacks bite.
As both Nick and Daniel (Michael Graziadei) have pointed out, Kyle is the biological parent here and a good one, so courts aren’t likely to side with her against the Abbott heir. Determined, Summer ignored reason, and it’s revealed in The Young and the Restless episode airing on July 17 that she filed a suit for custody. Get this, she wants primary custody.
As much as I’ve tried, I just can’t agree with Summer’s point of view here. Her outrage with Kyle lately doesn’t seem to be stemming from concern for Harrison’s well-being but rather her jealousy.
She hates that Claire is bonding with him. The dirty looks she shoots Claire every time Harrison runs up to her or shares a moment is very telling. Summer can’t even stand to hear Harrison talk about his joyous moments with his new nanny. All in all, it’s evident that she feels insecure, thinking Claire is going to take her place, especially since Kyle is rather taken with her as well.
Summer also appears to be upset that she can’t control Kyle’s actions. Upon discovering that he’s working with Audra (Zuleyka Silver), she wasted no time blasting him for his "bad" decision. Viewers know Audra isn’t Summer’s favorite person after Audra broke Noah’s (Rory Gibson) heart and slept with Kyle as he was divorcing Summer. So Summer’s new "demand" that Harrison be nowhere near Audra has more to do with those reasons than Summer seeing Audra as a threat to Harrison.
Lastly, it’s worth noting Summer is also being hypocritical with Kyle’s choice to move out of the Abbott mansion. She was irate that he didn’t consult her before announcing his plans to move him and Harrison into their own house, citing the instability the move could cause for the young boy (although Harrison seemed thrilled with the idea).
Then a few episodes later, she shares with Harrison that she’s moving into her own house and then sues Kyle for primary custody. Her concerns about ripping Harrison from the only home he’s known in Genoa City and away from Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane seemed to disappear.
Now am I a fan of Kyle these days? No. I find his treatment of Jack and Diane to be a little abhorrent and immature. However, leave it to Summer’s continued mind-boggling behavior to force me into rooting for the guy. Something tells me though, that Summer is about to pull a Phyllis-sized scheme in an attempt to win custody that will only blow up in her face.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
