Since it was revealed on The Young and the Restless that Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Ian Ward (Ray Wise) had somehow escaped prison and teamed up together to torment Sharon (Sharon Case), we’ve been doing some thinking. Mainly, we’ve wondered what the conditions are in this villainous alliance, and after going after Sharon and hospitalizing Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), who may be next on their hit list?
As it pertains to what made Jordan and Ian agree to work together, that becomes slightly clearer in The Young and the Restless episode airing on November 19. In their seedy motel, Jordan is ready to pop champagne bottles in celebration of Sharon confessing to murder and being arrested. However, before Ian celebrates, he wants to know how Sharon’s loved ones reacted to the news of Sharon’s crimes. Specifically, he asks about the reactions of Mariah (Camryn Grimes) and Faith (Reylynn Caster).
Jordan admits she hasn’t been able to find any information about how Sharon’s kids are taking the news, and that leaves Ian rather upset. He notes the whole point of their scheme against her was “to pull Sharon away from all the people that she loves.”
Ian then goes on to remind Jordan about the deal they struck. He claims, “I made it clear from the beginning. If you help me, then I’ll help you and your family problem. Crisscross. Understood?”
Now given all we know so far, it would seem that Jordan has done most of the heavy lifting when it comes to setting up Sharon and destroying her life, doing the work as a favor for Ian. In return, we suspect that Ian will use his years of manipulating the Newmans, and people in general, to guide Jordan on how she should go about her next move in her Newman vendetta.
With that being said, it would be easy to assume that Ian would help Jordan once again go after Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) in particular. After all, he has known Nikki for decades and knows how to push her buttons. However, since Jordan continually goes after Nikki first and eventually fails (although she did get Nikki to tank her sobriety at one point), we think there’s a chance that under Ian’s guidance, Jordan changes her target. If we’re right, that could spell bad news for Claire (Hayley Erin).
Claire has done a remarkable job at transforming her life. She went from being Jordan’s vindictive weapon in this Newman feud to becoming a well-liked and well-respected woman in Genoa City. More importantly, Claire has become a bonafide member of the Newman family, being embraced by Victoria (Amelia Heinle), Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki, and Claire has turned her back on Jordan.
It was clear during Jordan’s last run that she felt betrayed by Claire, claiming she raised her and loved her, only for Claire to side with the "enemy." So could Jordan’s first strike be against Claire before she attacks the other Newmans? It’s also worth noting, that while Jordan may want revenge for the betrayal, she may also want to win Claire back under her control.
We can picture a scenario where Jordan tries to rip away everything good in Claire’s life. It’s possible Jordan secretly sets out to destroy Claire’s blossoming relationship with Kyle (Michael Mealor), sour the family bond Claire has with Victoria and her newfound siblings and sabotage Claire’s new position working with Nikki. Then, when Claire feels like her life is falling apart again and she’s one big disappointment to her new family, Jordan pops back up to tell her great-niece, “I told you so,” before welcoming her back with open arms. Furthermore, Jordan may hope to recruit Claire again to go after the Newmans.
For now, our Jordan/Claire theory is just that. But we’d be remiss if we didn’t think it could become a real possibility. Also, something tells us that Cole (J. Eddie Peck) may also be in trouble.
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 .
