If you haven’t been locked into The Young and the Restless lately, you’re doing yourself a grave disservice. The daytime soap is operating on all cylinders and is delivering some great soapy television. From Ashley (Eileen Davidson) continuing to bounce between personalities as she suffers from dissociative identity disorder to Devon (Bryton James) and Billy (Jason Thompson) gearing up for war at Chancellor-Winters, things are heating up in Genoa City.
Of course, I can’t talk about dynamic storylines and not mention Jordan’s (Colleen Zenk) reign of terror and Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) subsequent relapse in sobriety. Jordan is the big bad wolf I’ve been hoping would show up in town, and Nikki’s battle with alcoholism is so complex and fascinating, that I couldn’t turn away from watching.
However, all things come to an end, and in the episode airing on May 3, it looks like Nikki’s sobriety storyline is headed in that direction. But with this, I’m getting two things I desperately wished would happen with The Young and the Restless in 2024.
First, let’s talk about the obvious. Nikki is finally headed to rehab after months of spinning out of control. As captivating as it was to watch the highs and lows of her sobriety, it was starting to wear on me that no one was pressing that she go to rehab. It was clear as day that the AA meetings weren’t working, and Jack (Peter Bergman) was out of his league as her sponsor. I understand that you can’t force anyone to get help until they are ready to receive it, but the Newmans didn’t even try an intervention.
Although Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Nick (Josh Morrow) weren’t too aware that Nikki was sneaking drinks here and there, Victor (Eric Braeden) knew. He could have easily told his children and they could have confronted this problem head-on instead of waiting and allowing Nikki to get completely out of control, which she certainly did.
During the week of April 29, Nikki went on one heck of an alcohol bender that saw her tank Jack’s (Peter Bergman) sobriety in the process, and him wind up unconscious. Had that not happened though, she probably would still be pretending as if rehab wasn’t her next logical step.
Speaking of Jack’s foolish play to throw away his sobriety to save Nikki, his actions brought about the second thing on my Young and the Restless 2024 wishlist — the reigniting of the Victor and Jack feud.
Longtime fans of the soap know that there is arguably no greater rivalry in all of daytime than the one between Victor and Jack. The two have gone at it for decades, sinking to the lowest of low places to beat the other, leaving a trail of destruction in their wake. Unfortunately, in recent years, this feud has become a bit dormant which I thought was a true shame.
Well, again in the May 3 episode, Victor blasts Jack for being stupid and joining Nikki in her bender instead of being a more sound sponsor. He also rips into Jack for not calling him for help. No matter how many times Nikki pleads Jack wasn’t at fault for her actions, Victor doesn’t buy it. By the end of the episode, after Nikki heads off to rehab, Victor issues a stern warning that Jack never sees Nikki again.
Considering Jack and Nikki are practically besties, I don’t see him abiding by The Mustache’s wishes. But I know too well that disobeying Victor comes with a heavy price. Victor is likely to develop a plan to get rid of Jack in Nikki’s life, and I’m nervous, yet excited, to see what Victor comes up with. This is the same guy that brought Jack-lookalike Marco Annicelli to town just to stick it to his nemesis. The Jabot CEO better watch his back.
I’m no’t sure what’s all in store for The Young and the Restless, but with the show hitting its stride lately, I can’t wait to see.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
