After The Young and the Restless’ Heather (Vail Bloom) was viciously murdered, allegedly by Sharon (Sharon Case) but possibly by another villainous force, we were holding out hope that a few characters would be returning to the Genoa City canvas.
Although we wanted to see Danny (Michael Damian) blow back into town to support Daniel (Michael Graziadei) and Lucy (Lily Brooks O’Briant), the one person we wanted to see return to town more than anyone was Paul (Doug Davidson). It only makes sense that Heather’s father touches ground back in Genoa City to help bury his daughter. Unfortunately, our Paul-related hopes and dreams were dashed in The Young and the Restless episode airing on October 8.
While meeting with Summer (Allison Lanier) and Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) at Crimson Lights, Daniel recaps the interesting conversation he had with Chance (Conner Floyd) about updates on the investigation of Heather’s death. There are questions surrounding how someone wound up with Heather’s phone and was unable to unlock it to send text messages to Daniel and Paul. Plus, no one seems to know why Heather would go to the river at night and if she may have been meeting someone.
Before Phyllis and her kids can discuss the case any further, Daniel receives a mysterious phone call and excuses himself from the table. In the few moments that he’s gone, he receives devastating news.
Walking back up to the table he tells his mother and sister that a hospital in Portugal has admitted Paul who suffered a heart attack shortly after Daniel told him that Heather died. The shocking news leaves the trio absolutely stunned. Not only has Paul suffered the loss of his child, but now he’s unable to travel to Genoa City to attend her memorial service.
Now with all that being said, we’ll admit, Davidson returning to The Young and the Restless to play Paul was a long shot. Given the actor’s unceremonious departure from the soap after 40-plus years with the show, last appearing in 2020, it likely would have taken a lot of conversations behind the scenes to usher in his return. However, it’s disappointing that Paul won’t say goodbye to his arguably favorite child and only daughter. Heck, we would have even settled for seeing an extra from behind and being fed the illusion that it’s Paul. At least the idea of him would have been there for Heather.
If there is a silver lining to all of this, it’s that Sharon seems to be wracked with guilt after hearing the news about Paul. We can only hope she starts making some major mistakes in her cover-up scheme because of the guilt, leading to her arrest. And with that arrest, we imagine the story of what really happened to Heather will come to light, and Sharon will get the help she clearly needs.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
