The tension between The Young and the Restless’ Kyle (Michael Mealor) and his parents finally boils over in the episode airing on October 10, with Jack (Peter Bergman) scolding his son for his unforgivable betrayal.
It all starts when Jack finds Diane (Susan Walters) sitting at a table alone at Society. She’s not particularly thrilled to see her husband after their spat at the athletic club, but he joins her anyway, hoping to resolve things. Unfortunately for him, Diane isn’t in the most forgiving mood as she’s still furious with Jack for not seeing that their son has become a vindictive brat, and it has less to do with them and Victor (Eric Braeden), and more to do with the person Kyle has become. Jack can’t agree with that, as he mostly blames The Mustache for Kyle’s behavior. Amid the marital disagreement, the pair get a message from Jabot’s publicity department.
As they read the message, they learn Kyle and Glissade have brazenly published a press release announcing their new moisturizer, and Jack and Diane instantly know their product has been stolen. Even as Diane notes that only the two of them and their chemistry team knew about Jabot’s upcoming product launch, Jack initially refuses to believe Kyle would steal from the family company.
Jack eventually comes to accept his son’s dirty deed and goes home to confront Kyle man to man, leaving Diane at Society to have a confrontation with Victor moments later. When Jack arrives home, he wastes no time getting into with Kyle.
The Abbott patriarch blasts his son for stooping to an all-new low, being sure to mention that he didn’t teach Kyle to betray the family in such a horrific way. Jack talks about the product Jabot was preparing to launch was going to be revolutionary for the company, and Kyle effectively took a shot at the legacy of John Abbott (Jerry Douglas). Additionally, Jack mentions that none of the other Abbotts who have left Jabot over the years would do something like this and pretty much calls his son Victor’s pawn.
On the other side of this argument, Kyle once again goes back to the disrespect he felt being fired by Diane. He also takes exception to be called a pawn. And despite actually stealing from Jabot, he refuses to admit it but does hint that if he did, then Jack now knows what it feels like to be stabbed in the back by family.
A furious Jack ends the heated discussion by warning Kyle that if proof is found of what Kyle did, Jack will not hesitate to make sure Kyle pays for his crime of corporate theft. Kyle can’t believe his dad would want to send him to prison, and Jack stands firm with his statement.
With all that being said, we have to think things will thaw between Kyle and his parents sooner or later. The three of them have been at odds for months, and instead of them taking steps toward reconciliation, the distance between them continues to grow. This is why it’s likely something big will have to happen to push the trio in the right direction.
While Claire (Hayley Erin) is doing her best to soften Kyle toward Jack and Diane, this job is bigger than her goodwill. Sometimes, the best thing to stop family feuding and reset relationships is a good old-fashioned crisis, and we’re walking about a medical one in this case.
For over a year now, Jack has had a lot to deal with, which is understandably incredibly stressful. Ashley (Eileen Davidson) had a mental breakdown which evolved into a dangerous situation when she faced off with Martin (Christopher Cousins) in Paris, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) spiraled out of control in her addiction which prompted Jack to compromise his own sobriety, Kyle has been stomping around Genoa City like a spoiled brat, Harrison (Redding Munsell) was kidnapped and now Victor is coming after Jabot.
That’s a lot for one person to handle. Is it possible Jack will soon suffer from a serious form of heart disease? Will he be stricken with a heart attack or a stroke?
If Jack winds up in a hospital bed, Kyle will likely be ridden with guilt and realize that all this family infighting isn’t worth losing his father. We can imagine him working overtime to patch things up with his dad as Jack stares down a road of recovery. It’s worth noting that Brytni Sarpy is back on The Young and the Restless set as Dr. Elena Dawson, so is the good doc returning to help Jack?
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
