Fans of The Young and the Restless may find themselves celebrating as Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) finally raises a question to Summer (Allison Lanier) that many, us included, have been asking for months. This question ironically comes on the heels of Jack (Peter Bergman) admonishing Phyllis for butting into other people's business.
However, in The Young and the Restless episode airing on August 16, Phyllis sticking her nose in the middle of the custody battle between Summer and Kyle (Michael Mealor) pays dividends.
During the episode, Summer meets with Phyllis and she catches her mom up on the latest with her issues with Kyle. Summer shares that the meeting with her ex didn't go well. While she and Kyle agreed they wanted to put all this recent animosity behind them, Summer says Kyle isn't willing to really compromise in the best interest of Harrison (Redding Munsell).
Summer goes on to explain that while Kyle wants the two of them to keep their current joint custody arrangement in place, he is unwilling to do the one thing she requested. When Phyllis inquires about her daughter's stipulation, Summer shares that she asked Kyle to stay away from Audra (Zuleyka Silver) if he was serious about peacefully co-parenting.
The revelation shocks Phyllis. Even she knows that Summer's request borderlines on absurd. Phyllis asks if Summer thinks Kyle and Audra are having a "personal relationship?" Summer becomes a bit flustered but manages to spit out, "At this point, I mean, I have no idea."
Phyllis takes things further and asks her daughter if it would bother her if Kyle and Audra were intimate again? Summer is surprised by the line of questioning and pretends to be confused. Phyllis becomes frank and utters what many viewers have been thinking. She says to Summer, "I'm trying to figure out your anger. Is it because of Harrison or is it because an ex of yours is moving on with someone else?"
We've been wondering this ourselves. Summer's manipulative games as of late surrounding custody and her continued provocation of Kyle seem like they have nothing to do with the best interest of Harrison. And her fixation on Audra is just weird. As Audra pointed out in the same episode with Victor (Eric Braeden) and Kyle, she hasn't had any recent run-ins with Summer and has never even met Harrison. So how is Audra a threat to the little boy?
In true Summer fashion, she dismisses her mom's line of questioning. She becomes adamant that she and Kyle are over and her Audra concerns are just about keeping Harrison safe. Eventually, Summer cuts things short with Phyllis saying she needs time to think on her own.
It's worth repeating that we truly believe if this custody war makes it on the inside of a courtroom, it will be Summer who will suffer a big loss. Despite most of her loved ones warning her against a custody hearing, she appears determined to go down the path Phyllis once went down that resulted in her losing Daniel (Michael Graziadei).
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
