I have to applaud the powers that be over at The Young and the Restless for ushering the 13,000th episode celebration in with a bang. Between the returns of Ian (Ray Wise) and Jordan (Colleen Zenk), the reveal of the new and improved Newman Ranch, the murder confession of Sharon (Sharon Case) and Victor (Eric Braeden) again getting what he wants with the reacquisition of Chancellor, the soap delivered on just the right amount of entertaining chaotic drama.
As those storylines continue to develop, one storyline that I’m rather intrigued by has nothing to do with the aforementioned players Genoa City. I find myself rather interested in what’s going on in the Winters/Hastings clan. Specifically, with the revelation that Nate (Sean Dominic) has a half-brother.
From the moment Amy (Valarie Pettiford) returned to town and dropped the bombshell that she had a son with Nate’s dad decades ago and wanted Nate to go find his older brother named Damien, my mind has been churning out possibilities of all that could happen if Nate were to locate him. Although Nate hasn’t said he would do it yet, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before he does. And when he does, I envision Nate discovering Damien is probably charming, but a walking red flag.
Amy sharing that she sometimes loses contact with her only son gave me pause, as I wondered why that was the case. Plus, she claimed to have scoped out Nate before revealing the sibling news to ensure Nate would be good for her son. Considering Damien is older, I had to question why she would care about Nate being a positive influence on her adult son.
With all that being said, let’s imagine Nate eventually tracks Damien down and brings him to Genoa City. It would be rather entertaining if during Nate’s introductions, he introduces Damien to Audra (Zuleyka Silver) and the two quickly realize they already know each other. What if turns out that Damien and Audra are exes? That would be quite the juicy development. Because we’re talking about a soap here, what if Damien and Audra keep their former connection hidden, claiming they don’t want to hurt Nate?
Taking this idea of a love triangle further, let’s expand it to a square. For months now, Lily (Christel Khalil) has been single with seemingly no prospects of a suitor. However, executive producer/head writer of The Young and the Restless, Josh Griffith, recently shared with Soap Opera Digest, "I think that Lily is going to find true love.” Could the true love be with Damien?
For those wondering, Nate and Lily are maternal cousins and Nate and Damien are related via their father. So Lily and Damien exploring a romance together isn’t incestual. With that being said, Damien and Lily are bound to hang out with each other given their mutual family member in Nate, so it’s possible that sparks fly between the two of them.
Damien falling for Lily could actually spell bad news for Nate and Audra. Ms. Charles may start to feel jealous seeing her ex move on, if Damien is her ex. Would a jealous Audra confront Damien and that lead to a hot-and-heavy one-night-stand?
Oh, and what about Damien possibly being trouble? If my hunch proves correct on that front, you better believe Devon (Bryton James) is going to clash with Damien, if nothing else from his need to protect his cousin and sister.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air on weekdays on CBS. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Paramount Plus .
