Just as many fans of The Young and the Restless expected, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) is not happy about being demoted to Victor’s (Eric Braeden) co-CEO of Newman Enterprises. She is practically livid, feeling she was ousted from a job she rightfully earned and was excelling in as the daughter of the Great Victor Newman.
As the episodes wrapped during the week of September 11, she even vowed to Nate (Sean Dominic) that she would prove that Victor is no longer able to handle the pressures and nuances of Newman Enterprises in his return, despite him being the founder of the company (a point his children all seem to forget). From that moment, it seemed that fans would have to worry about not only Adam (Mark Grossman) exacting revenge against the Newman patriarch, but Victoria as well.
During the episode airing on September 18, Victoria has a drink with Nate and again expresses her discontent with being demoted. Although Nate reasons that she is upset because she feels slighted, she does her best to try and convince him that she is more so worried about the health of her dad. A point she reiterates to Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) when the two later sit down for dinner.
Victoria wastes no time telling her mother at the dining table that she is worried about Victor’s health and his ability to run Newman Enterprises. The Newman heiress goes on at length about his series of rash decisions lately that could hint at his inability to effectively lead the company. She points to his number of leadership changes in recent months and his job offer to Sally (Courtney Hope) that he subsequently took back as behavior that could denote poor mental capacity.
Nikki stands up for her husband and defends his actions. She claims Victoria is taking the decisions out of context. Furthermore, Nikki knows Victor better than anyone and thinks he’s in good health, although, she promises Victoria to keep an eye on him.
While mother and daughter have their one-no-one, Nate speaks with Victor in his office, formerly Victoria’s office (Victor’s infamous portrait is even back up on the wall). Nate assures Victor that he will work to help broker peace between father and daughter in the near future. In return, Victor seems to assure Nate that the COO will remain in The Mustache’s good graces.
However, at one point during their meeting, Nate isn’t as honest about Victoria’s plans for retaliation. He claims Victoria hasn’t mentioned any “retaliatory thoughts” against Victor, which isn’t necessarily true as she said in the prior week that she wanted to prove Victor wasn’t up for taking over the company. Victoria also lies in this regard when a similar question is posed to her by Nikki.
With all that said, it looks like Victor and Victoria are heading toward a feud that will cause some Genoa City residents to take sides. Nikki will be in an inevitable position, but so will Nate.
Nate is in a relationship with Victoria, but he admires and fears Victor. Perhaps more than anything of that, he’s most loyal to his ambition. It’s this last component that has us thinking, Nate may betray Victoria and side with Victor should the Newmans continue to fight over control of the company.
Victor has gone up against many foes in the history of the soap, including his own children, and somehow, he always manages to come out on top. Nate is completely aware of this pattern and could hedge his bets and choose to side with Victor, perhaps even sabotaging any attempts Victoria makes to take down her father.
Although Nate has so far promised to support Victoria in whatever she does, can he be trusted? After all, the former doctor is the same one who went against his own Winters family to attain power in the business world.
Should Nate become a hindrance in whatever Victoria’s planning, we’re sure Nick may run around screaming "I told you so."
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
