When it comes to The Young and the Restless, if certain people aren’t feuding, the show just doesn’t feel right. Take Victor (Eric Braeden) and Jack (Peter Bergman) for example.
The two have a rivalry that’s lasted for decades, producing some of the greatest soap moments in history. Sure they let their feud lie dormant for a few years, but with it again in high gear as Victor craves revenge against the Jabot CEO for that wild night at the Atheltic Club with Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), I'm reminded how much the two men going at it is almost necessary for the show.
Another feud that may not be as contentious as the one between Jack and Victor, but remains an entertaining one to watch unfold is that between Diane (Susan Walters) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). The women are like oil and water, and their mutual disgust of each other more or less boils down to two things. First, in the past, they usually have bumped heads over their love for Jack. He’s only one person but has been married to both, so naturally, he is the root of friction there. Both ladies think the other is a wrong match for the Abbott patriarch.
Then in a twist of irony, I don’t think they like each other because the ladies are two sides of the same coin. They’re both willing to go to manipulative lows to get what they want. Plus, they both are guilty of betraying Jack and leaving a trail of victims in their moments of chaos.
Having said all that, the latest argument between the ladies has gravitated around the custody battle going on between their children. The more heated things become between Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Summer (Allison Lanier), the more Phyllis feels it’s her job to intervene on behalf of her daughter, which Diane can’t stand. Diane would rather their children work this out on their own and peacefully, but accuses Phyllis of adding fuel to this raging custodial fire. I’ll even admit, Phyllis approaching Diane and telling her that Kyle is the sole reason he and Summer are having problems was a terrible way to go about it.
As the women got into a screaming match at the Athletic Club, with Summer stepping in to whisk her mother away, I thought that was an indication of more arguments to come in the immediate future. However, I then started to think the rivals should put all their arguing aside and join forces. Not to get Kyle and Summer on the same page as far as Harrison (Redding Munsell), but so the women can fight a major threat lurking in the shadows — Victor.
Victor is not only targeting Jabot, but he’s using Kyle to do it. After planting seeds in Kyle’s head, The Mustache hired Kyle to run Glissade and make it the cosmetic company that brings about Jabot’s end. While Jack and Diane don’t know Victor is Kyle’s boss at Glissade, they know Victor has inserted himself into their family dynamic somehow and wants to destroy the Abbott legacy.
When it comes to Phyllis, in The Young and the Restless episode airing on August 16, she issued a stern warning to Victor not to rope Summer into any schemes he may be planning. Phyllis believes he did Summer a favor with Kyle so he can pull some strings with Summer later in a scheme. Victor of course denied he would ever use his granddaughter, but given she’s the Marchetti CEO, a division of Jabot, Victor probably will call upon her to do something in his plan against Jack.
With Diane and Phyllis both on guard about Victor, they’d be wise to put their hatred aside temporarily to go after him. As a matter of fact, Diane, Phyllis, Jack and Billy (Jason Thompson) may all want to join forces in a takedown of The Great Victor Newman.
If you’re familiar with Marvel, Victor is Thanos, and if anyone in Genoa City hopes to take him down, they’re going to need a team to do it. Given Jack and Diane have Kyle and Jabot as motivation, and Phyllis has that in Summer, it makes sense to come up with a collective grand plan among the three of them. Billy should be more than happy to join this kind of scheme as Victor has a vision of hostility taking over Chancellor.
So is a Diane and Phyllis alliance coming? I can’t say, but they may want to toy around with the idea.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
