When it comes to The Young and the Restless, long-lost relatives aren’t always welcomed by Genoa City residents. Case and point, Summer (Allison Lanier) loathes her new cousin Claire (Hayley Erin).
From the moment Summer found out that Claire was involved in Jordan’s (Colleen Zenk) takedown plot of the Newmans, almost killing the Newmans and destroying Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) sobriety, Summer has seen Claire as an evil threat. No matter how many times Victor (Eric Braeden) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) tell Summer that Claire was a victim of Jordan’s lies and manipulation since birth, Summer doesn’t buy that Claire has miraculously reformed and turned over a new leaf.
Summer’s perception of Victoria’s daughter certainly didn’t get any better after Jordan kidnapped Harrison (Redding Munsell). In Summer’s mind, Claire was equally responsible and needed to be brought to justice. Even now as it’s become clear that Claire had nothing to do with Harrison’s kidnapping, Summer literally looks as if she wants to crawl out of her skin every time she sees Claire.
However, most eagle-eyed fans of The Young and the Restless have come to realize that while Summer may have her concerns about whether or not Claire has changed and if her being around Harrison is healthy, what’s largely fueling Summer’s hatred for Claire is likely jealousy.
From the moment Claire met Harrison and Kyle (Michael Mealor) at Crimson Lights, she instantly bonded with the two. Harrison, in particular, was in a foul mood that day because his nanny quit, but he perked up interacting with Claire. Seeing his son crack a smile, Kyle was instantly drawn to Claire as well. Summer didn’t seem overly bothered by any of that in the moment, but she took note and we assumed trouble would brew.
Then after hearing all the sordid details about what Claire had done, it seemed Summer was all too ready to block Claire’s access to Harrison. Unfortunately for Summer, Harrison found Claire to be his new bestie and Kyle found Claire intriguing, which led to Claire reading Harrison a bedtime story the night he was kidnapped. Again, Claire wasn’t at fault for that.
Fast forward to The Young and the Restless episode that aired on May 6. Following Claire’s visit to the Abbott Mansion to check on Harrison, Kyle and Summer met at Crimson Lights where she told him she doesn’t want Claire around their son. Kyle was baffled by Summer’s stance, and even noted that Harrison likes being around Claire and claimed seeing her is likely good for Harrison's mental recovery after all he’s been through.
Summer didn’t budge on her opinion, and even took exception with the fact Kyle defends Claire’s presence in Harrison’s life. She threw a tantrum and pulled out the "I’m his mother" card. (We wonder how Harrison’s birth mother Tara [Elizabeth Leiner] would feel to hear that).
Then, in the episode airing on May 7, Jack (Peter Bergman) lets it slip to Victoria and Claire that Kyle and Summer have been looking for a nanny for Harrison. That prompts Victoria to suggest that Claire could be Harrison’s nanny since they bonded, and it prompted us to sit up straight anticipating the fireworks that will shoot from Summer’s ears when she hears this idea.
While we don’t know if Claire will be Harrison’s nanny, we do know that during the week of May 6, Claire, Victoria, Kyle and Harrison will meet in the park, and Summer is likely to stumble across the scene. We can imagine that sends her into a rage, and being a chip off the old block, we think the sight may be what pushes Summer to resort to cringeworthy tactics to get Claire out of Genoa City and away from Harrison and her ex-husband.
With all that being said, is it possible that Summer becomes like her mother Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) and does some more digging into Claire’s past with Jordan to discover possible triggers she could use to sabotage Claire’s mental health recovery? While that sounds cruel, again Summer and Phyllis have gone to some low places before in their quest to get what they want.
Or perhaps Summer does more digging into Claire’s past to find some secrets she’s yet to share with Victoria and the Newmans. Viewers know Claire spent most of her life manipulated by Jordan, but don’t know all the ins and outs of her backstory, so it’s possible Claire is still holding onto a major bombshell she hasn’t shared. If Summer finds out about something on that level, we think Summer would share it.
All in all, as Claire continues to bond with Harrison and her friendly banter with Kyle takes a probable romantic turn, be on the lookout for a more sinister Summer to appear. Especially, if Summer fears she's being replaced.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
