The Young and the Restless has been on fire this fall with the drama and the chaos. Victor (Eric Braeden) took over Chancellor and gave it to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), leaving Billy (Jason Thompson) furious and vowing vengeance against The Mustache. Sharon (Sharon Case) has finally confessed to murdering Heather (Vail Bloom) despite being innocent of homicide (although she is guilty of framing Daniel [Michael Graziadei] for the crime). Oh, and I can’t forget the epic return of Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Ian (Ray Wise), who are in a villainous partnership for the ages, ready to take down big players in Genoa City.
Another big development that’s occurred in the last few weeks is the breakup of Summer (Allison Lanier) and Chance (Conner Floyd). Well, to be clear, Summer told Chance that she needed a break from him for a while, furious with him for not listening to Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) about Sharon. Chance didn’t help matters by telling Summer he wouldn’t do anything differently with the murder investigation if he had the opportunity to do so.
Although some fans of the #Summance pairing may be clinging to the possibility that Summer and Chance will be able to fix their relationship, I’ve been keeping a watchful eye on Summer’s interactions lately with Kyle (Michael Mealor), and that gives me reason to think she’ll soon make a play for her ex.
And that brings me to my point. I don’t actually want to see Summer try to win Kyle back, hoping the stars don’t align for that reunion. At the very least, I don't want it to happen anytime soon.
For starters, I actually appreciate the relationship Kyle and Claire (Hayley Erin) have. Their connection is rooted in friendship. He was there for her when she was somewhat of a pariah in town. In return, she was his only confidant for months when he was arguing with his parents over Jabot, Summer over Harrison (Redding Munsell) and going back and forth with Audra (Zuleyka Silver). I’d hate for the close bond between Kyle and Claire to be wrecked before they really have a chance to go deeper into their relationship. I was hoping they’d have a baby, or at the very least get married.
I’m also opposed to seeing Summer reach into her manipulative bag of tricks to again get what she wants, regardless of anyone else’s feelings. When Summer lets her selfish desires drive her, she tends to become a less savvy imitation of Phyllis, which is definitely not flattering for the Newman princess.
I still recall when she blackmailed Kyle into being with her to save his then-love interest, Lola (Sasha Calle). It’s not hard to imagine Summer trying to turn Harrison against Claire in an effort to drive a wedge between Kyle and Claire.
Besides me rooting for #Kylaire and not wanting to watch Summer play dirty, I also just don’t want to see the familiar song and dance with Summer and Kyle right now. Neither character has changed that much and their familial relationships are pretty much the same, so the issues that plagued their previous marriage are likely to reoccur again. (To be clear, their relationship was doomed before Phyllis faked her death.)
While I certainly don’t have any control over the writing for The Young and the Restless, I can only hope Summer and Kyle aren’t on the path to reconciliation — not yet at least.
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 .
