We hate to say this, but The Young and the Restless’ Sharon is like a magnet for chaos over the last few years. In the summer of 2023, she was forced to fight for her life and Faith's (Reylynn Caster) when her previous tormenter Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby) popped back up in Genoa City. Then once she killed him, she was drugged and stalked for months by Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Ian (Ray Ward), which led her to attempt to frame Daniel (Michael Graziadei) for Heather’s (Vail Bloom) murder.
After Sharon was able to figure out what was happening to her thanks to the persistence of Nick (Joshua Morrow), Sharon couldn’t even really move on from Jordan and Ian’s torture before Jordan kidnapped her and cuffed her underground for days.
While we assumed that Sharon may have a few weeks of peaceful bliss (even with Ian still alive), that’s clearly not going to be the case. In the Young and the Restless episode that aired on February 24, Nick reported that Sharon had gone missing. This of course is even more disturbing knowing that Summer (Allison Lanier) and Daniel also reported Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) missing. While Mariah (Camryn Grimes) suggested it was possible that Phyllis may have kidnapped Sharon and taken her somewhere, we speculated something more sinister was afoot.
In The Young and the Restless episode airing on February 25, our suspicions are proven right. Both Sharon and Phyllis wake up, locked away in an abandoned building. Naturally when the two women realize they are trapped together, arguing ensues. Phyllis originally accuses Sharon of holding her hostage, before realizing Sharon is also a victim. However, even after this realization, it doesn’t stop Phyllis from bringing up what Sharon did to her family surrounding Heather’s murder. Sharon is apologetic, and Phyllis rejects the apology.
By the end of the episode, their captor comes over the loudspeaker and informs them that they have to work together to play a game. When they inquire what the prize is for winning, their captor simply replies, “Staying alive.”
With all that being said, prior to the actual visual confirmation that Sharon and Phyllis are being held prisoner together, we suspected that Ian could be behind this. After all, he loathes Sharon and there certainly is no love lost between him and Phyllis. It was just in January when he was planning to kill Sharon and frame Phyllis. So it’s easy to think with everyone believing he died, that he would return to Genoa City to once more target these ladies.
But we’ve quickly started to reconsider this position thanks to another big reveal, again from the episode airing on February 25. Sharon and Phyllis find a few books that have “Property of Havenhurst Psychiatric Clinic” marked in them, so they assume they’re being held in the abandoned clinic. Immediately, that made us think of one name — Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk).
Longtime viewers of the soap will recall that Patty was last believed to be locked away in a state institution given she’s legally criminally corrupt. The woman shot Victor (Eric Braeden), stalked Jack (Peter Bergman) for years, tried to kill Summer as a child and framed Phyllis, and the list truly goes on. Zeroing on Phyllis, Patty hates her with a passion as she feels Phyllis always was in the way of her and Jack being together. Given her hatred and obsession for Ms. Summers, that feels like motive enough for Patty to go after her.
As far as Sharon is concerned, Patty knows her very well, especially from their time together at Fairview. However, Patty could be out for revenge for what happened to her niece, Heather. Sharon didn’t kill Heather, but she certainly callously tried to dispose of her body. Patty may not care if Sharon was on drugs, and want some form of payback.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also raise the possibility that Ian is now working with Patty. The two villains have history with each other, and being the master manipulator that he is, it’s not a stretch to believe he would break Patty out of the institution and convince her they have to take care of Phyllis and Sharon. He may have even told Patty that the police got it wrong and it really was Sharon who killed her niece and caused her brother Paul’s (Doug Davidson) heartache and subsequent heart attack.
For now, these are just theories that we are running with, but ones that could be quite intriguing to watch unfold should any of them become reality. We have to admit, Patty on the loose in Genoa City and zeroing in on Jack's current wife Diane (Susan Walters) next could make for some must-watch daytime TV.
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.
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