You’d think that after all the scheming that The Young and the Restless’ Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) has done this year that has landed her in hot water, she would have grown tired of putting herself knee-deep in the middle of mess. Especially when you consider that her stunt with Jeremy Stark (James Hyde) almost cost her life and landed her in a situation where she only narrowly avoided prison. In fact, she’s on probation and was cautioned from doing anything else illegal in the near future as it could land her behind bars.
However, Phyllis tends to be a creature of habit and for the umpteenth time has aligned herself with a dangerous ally to do something illegal. We of course are talking about her new partnership with Tucker (Trevor St. James).
As seen in the episodes airing during the week of September 18, Tucker dangled in front of Phyllis the offer to pay her $2 million debt with her insurance company provided she hack into Billy’s (Jason Thompson) bank account. Despite all her professions that she wants to be a changed woman and do the right thing, the offer was just too enticing for Phyllis to ignore, and she agreed to work with Tucker.
Unfortunately, in the episode airing on September 25, she finds out that her new partner in crime wants her to do more than hack Billy’s personal account. Tucker also wants her to hack Jabot so he can then do what we predicted, which is to set Billy up for embezzlement, making it appear as if the Abbott sibling stole money from Jabot.
Phyllis grows repulsed with Tucker and his plan, but allows her desperation for the money he promised (and perhaps her fear of him) to drive her to hack Billy’s account, with Jabot’s financials seemingly next on the agenda.
It’s again worth noting that Phyllis doesn’t really want to be a part of Tucker’s diabolical plan to hurt Billy and the Abbotts. Her helping Tucker is likely to weigh on her conscience very heavily in the near future, which is only going to get worse once Tucker actually frames Billy.
With all of that being said, Danny Romalotti (Michael Damian) returns to Genoa City on September 28, and it’s being teased that he will be the friend Phyllis desperately needs these days. Despite the pair’s tumultuous romantic past, they’ve become "friends" over the years for the sake of Daniel (Michael Graziadei).
We can see a scenario in which Phyllis explains her dilemma to Danny. While it’s doubtful she’ll tell him the full extent of what she did and with who, she may talk in hypotheticals to describe a situation closely resembling her own. As Phyllis’ pal, and as someone who comparatively speaking usually holds the moral high ground, Daniel may then encourage his ex to do the right thing and not the easy thing.
After helping Tucker already, what would the right thing be? We think it could be coming clean to Billy or Jack (Peter Bergman) about what she did for Tucker. Now by doing that, she runs the risk that the Abbott siblings become furious with her and report her to the authorities. However, given this is the soap world we’re talking about, perhaps she helps blunt their anger by offering to help them turn the tables on Tucker. A hacker of her skills is always an asset to have around.
If she does wind up crossing Tucker, she may want to watch her back. He’s not one to take betrayal lightly, so she’d probably become another name on his list of revenge.
On a side note, could Danny also provide the push Phyllis needs to accept Daniel’s job proposal? It would be nice to see her back in a legitimate role in the business world and working with her son.
Taking this a step further, could Danny actually be the new love interest for Phyllis? With both Jack and Nick (Joshua Morrow) claiming to be done with her, should could use a potential flame back in town.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
