Young & Restless Reveal: Jordan’s Big Bluff — Plus, Cheating Fallout, Baby Fever, and a Hot New Hook-Up

Young & Restless Reveal: Jordan’s Big Bluff — Plus, Cheating Fallout, Baby Fever, and a Hot New Hook-Up

Credit: Howard Wise/JPI

It’s a short week for Young & Restless thanks to the annual pre-emptions for March Madness NCAA basketball, and a shorter Restless Rant (maybe). Let’s take a look at the latest happenings and what’s coming up:

New Romance

If Tucker is going to try and figure out what’s going on with Ashley he’s going to need to give her his full attention because her behavior is quite puzzling right now due to the activity of her alter egos. That’s bad news for his relationship with Audra, who has already dumped him. The preview for next week shows Tucker accosting her in Crimson Lights and Nate coming to the rescue. Since we know Audra’s not one to have a dry spell in the sack, I expect her and the doc-turned-exec to be hitting the sheets in no time. If Audra’s still about scheming to take over Glissade, Nate’s newfound integrity may be put to the test!

Helping Connor

To give an honest take on this plot, I’ll say there have been several moments in Chelsea, Adam, and Connor’s various scenes that left me choked up — that’s a positive. That said, there’s become too heavy a reliance on mental health disorders and too much therapy-speak in the dialogue. Much like the obsession with characters constantly changing jobs, this plot device has become overused, and therefore isn’t going to have the impact it otherwise might have. Whatever happened to just telling solid, organic character-driven stories?

The cardinal rule is “Show us, don’t tell us”, but Connor hasn’t been onscreen in months, so this has been all telling (after the fact, no less), and the scenes are all talk. Connor’s condition didn’t arise naturally from something we were watching unfold onscreen (we’d have to have a younger set for that) and it probably won’t drive story moving forward, he’ll just disappear again. This is not to discount the value of educating viewers about OCD, or the work the actors are doing with the material, which has been the story’s saving grace.

The Big Bluff

How scrumpdillyicious was Jordan’s ‘last’ stand in the basement dungeon?! Even with the writing on the wall she mocked Nikki and Victoria cruelly and relentlessly, and worked to plant seeds of doubt about Claire. She continued her mind games right up to the moment she pulled the ace out of her sleeve — the tiny vial of blue poison that would be her “ultimate way out”. She drank it, and proceeded to put on what we hope was a show — contorting and grimacing before collapsing on the filthy mattress.

This is one wicked witch we don’t want dead, so Young & Restless viewers are crossing fingers and toes that she somehow made it out of that room and will pop up again in the future to terrorize the Newmans anew. It wouldn’t be the first time someone in Genoa City took a drug that made them appear to be dead… *cough* Phyllis *cough*.

Claire’s Dream

There’s been a fair bit of poo-pooing the dream episode, but I thought it was kinda cool. It shed light on Claire’s deep desire to fit in with her new family, as well as her profound sense of loss over the life that was stolen from her. Not to mention her subconscious’ take on what it would be like to be part of a priveleged wealthy family was hilariously cliché.

It was bittersweet to envision a world where Cassie didn’t die, and where Nick and Sharon never split up. Well, that’s not true. They must have before Claire was born, otherwise Summer wouldn’t have existed at all. But that highlights another problem:

Also fun were the wishes. Abby and Devon wished for another baby, as did ‘Skyle’ who were still husband and wife in the dream. Baby fever indeed. I had to wonder if that was a signal that pregnancies are coming. Adam as a disgruntled waiter was worth a giggle — of course we have to remember that Claire’s impressions of him have been shaped by what she’s been told by her mother. Jordan, as expected, appeared as the dream-killer, but the symbolism of Claire telling her aunt she no longer has power over her will undoubtedly give the young woman strength to move forward in her new life.

Will Claire become Harrison’s nanny? Not if Summer has anything to say about it. It was a pleasant surprise to see someone react realistically to her shocking backstory. I wonder if Kyle and Harrison will start running into Claire and bonding with her. Claire could become a shoulder for Kyle to lean on as the preview clearly shows trouble ahead between him and Diane.

Cheating Fallout

Lily’s just gonna string Heather along, according to the preview, and you just have to chuckle. Will she fire her or won’t she? It might be more fun to make her life miserable for a while first. I’ll be interested to see what she has in store for Daniel, Devon, and Billy too. Fiesty Lily could be quite entertaining!