At this point, even I have to feel a little bad for The Young and the Restless’ Billy (Jason Thompson). Sure, for months he got on my nerves as he continued to pick fights with Devon (Bryton James) at the now-demerged Chancellor-Winters, and he at times overstepped with Adam (Mark Grossman) in terms of the situation with Connor (Judah Mackey). However, during the week of August 19, Billy faced a few tough blows.
For starters, at the beginning of the week, Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) insisted that she and Billy needed to take a break. While she claimed she needed space to prioritize Connor, Billy knew his girlfriend was lying and feeling guilty about something. Billy just went along with it, but he didn’t give himself time to process his feelings before making a beeline to the Abbott-Chancellor offices, and while there, he got into it with Lily (Christel Khalil).
He made sure to throw his weight around, letting Lily know that he’s technically her boss and he won’t be going anywhere. Additionally, Billy hurled insults at Lily, calling her power-hungry and alleged she’s trying to push him out of the company. The argument was diffused by the arrival of Chance (Conner Floyd).
Sadly, cooler heads did not prevail and Billy and Lily came to argue again. This time after Lily pretty much questioned Billy’s inflated ego, he went low in bringing up her unfortunate stint in prison. Then one thing led to another, and Billy fired her. This, of course, is likely to be a huge mistake on his part as Lily vowed not to take this lying down, and Victor (Eric Braeden) is waiting in the wings to take over Abbott-Chancellor and give it to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott).
Then to close this bad week, Chelsea has a tear-filled apology for Billy. He’s not an idiot, so he’s suspected that Chelsea cheated on him, but to hear the confession has to hurt.
Billy could use a friend and some support. I guess he could unburden himself to Chance, but his nephew isn’t necessarily #TeamBilly. And while he usually has found a friend in Victoria (Amelia Heinle) over the past few years, he’s probably not her biggest fan because Victor is trying to steal his company. Sally (Courtney Hope) could always provide a sounding board, but since she was burned by Adam in this cheating scandal too, Billy and Sally could wind up in a spiteful romance seeking to get revenge.
Having said all of that, I think now would be a great time for The Young and the Restless to bring back a blast from the past. I’m talking about Mackenzie (Kelly Kruger). Before you shoot down my idea, hear me out.
From a purely business standpoint, Mackenzie returning as a friend of Billy’s who wants to see him succeed could give him a boost in his fight against Victor. This is especially true if she decides she wants to work with Billy at Abbott-Chancellor as either Lily’s replacement or the COO (if Chance is moved into Lily’s job and his role becomes vacant).
For those who need a reminder, Mackenzie is Katherine Chancellor’s (Jeanne Cooper) granddaughter, and having her at the company at his stage and time could strengthen Billy’s perspective that he’s not trying to destroy the legacy of Katherine but take it into the future with Abbott contributions.
Victor may not initially be deterred from trying to take Chancellor with Mackenzie back, but Nikki most likely wouldn’t want to take on her best friend’s granddaughter. And if Nikki were to hesitate and not want to take the business away from Katherine’s family member, Victor could back off.
As far as Mackenzie solving the romance aspect of Billy’s life, there’s an argument that Mackenzie was really his first love. Given how sweet her character has typically been and the positive influence she usually has over Billy, the two of them rekindling things after a potential split from Chelsea could prevent Billy from spiraling like everyone is predicting he’ll eventually do.
To be clear, Mackenzie’s return may just amount to wishful thinking, but we can see the benefit of her being back in Genoa City.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
