Although The Young and the Restless’ Victor (Eric Braeden) is a family man and always strives for unity among the Newman clan, that rarely happens as viewers know all too well.
Newcomer Claire (Hayley Erin) finds herself at odds with her cousin Summer (Allison Lanier), with no real inkling they will one day be besties. Claire also isn’t necessarily close to her baby sister Kaite (Sienna Mercuri) either, but judging by The Young and the Restless episode that aired on July 15, that may soon change.
Then, of course, the animosity between Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Adam (Mark Grossman) amounts to a decades-long sibling rivalry, that may never come to an end. Even when the two seem to be headed toward common ground, usually because Victor has threatened to fire them both, the peace doesn’t last long.
Speaking of Adam, he and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) have also never been able to get along. Sure, Adam has committed his share of wrongdoings against her children including trying to frame Victoria for Victor’s "death." Plus, he once worked with her sworn enemy Ian Ward (Ray Wise) to plot against the Newmans. (Adam has actually committed some more heinous acts, but we decided to keep this brief.)
What we find absolutely ironic about Nikki’s disdain for Adam, is she considers him to be calculated, conniving and ruthless, but if we are to be frank, these are all qualities that her husband has. Victor has done plenty of things over the decades that will make Adam look like the first Boy Scout of America.
Anyway, the tension between Nikki and Adam was certainly not bound to get better when Victor offered his son the top spot at Newman Media, temporarily replacing the Newman matriarch. Nikki has been against the idea from the beginning, fearing Adam wouldn’t let go of the job once Victor greenlit Nikki’s return to the CEO position.
On the other hand, Adam took some time before he accepted his father’s proposal to step into the role, demanding to hear Victor’s agenda first. Although Adam got Victor to admit he’s going after Jabot and Jack (Peter Bergman), Adam couldn’t get Victor to spill what happens to him once Jabot is toppled and Nikki returns to Newman Media.
Adam’s future position with the Newman companies may ironically be what finally unites him and Nikki. In the episode airing on July 18, Nikki confronts Adam at Newman Media and puts him on notice about her plans to reclaim her desk and chair. She suspects that he knows more about the real reason Victor installed him back as CEO, but he pretends not to know what his father is up to, which she doesn’t believe.
He also mentions that since his father has been tight-lipped about what happens when Nikki’s ready to return, Adam may not be inclined to give the reigns of Newman Media back to her. Nikki asks if this is a threat, and Adam assures her he wants his words to be seen as more of a business proposition. Adam presses Nikki to find out what Victor’s plans are for him and pass along the information. He suggests he will gladly give up his seat, without opposition, provided he knows he’ll have a job after all of this.
Now Nikki doesn’t agree to help Adam in the episode, but it would behoove her to make the unlikely alliance. Nikki, Victoria and Nick (Joshua Morrow) know Victor is playing corporate shuffle because he’s up to something, so teaming up with Adam could ensure all four of them get the answers. If Nikki is able to work a miracle and get Victor to at least share his plans for Adam with her, and she tells the info to her stepson, Adam may throw her a bone and reveal that Victor purchased Glissade and is going after Jabot.
Victor showing his whole hand is a bit of wishful thinking here, as he’s the best tactician the Genoa City corporate world has ever seen. However, sooner or later Nikki is going to hear about Victor’s renewed feud with Jack, so why couldn’t she hear from Adam? Perhaps, Adam will share what he knows about Victor’s plans in a desperate attempt to help Jack, hoping Nikki could talk some sense into The Mustache.
With all that being said, we’d be remiss if we didn’t offer our theory about Victor’s plans for Adam. If we had to guess, Victor wants to cripple Jabot and take over the company. Then when the dust settles, he wants to merge Jabot with Glissade and put Adam in charge. That would spell bad news for Glissade co-CEOs Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Audra (Zuleyka Silver).
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
