As summer turns to fall on The Young and the Restless, it’s becoming clear that several Genoa City residents are facing some tough times ahead. Billy (Jason Thompson) has a heart to mend and company to fight for, Jack (Peter Bergman) has his own fighting to do as his family falls apart with Kyle (Michael Mealor) working for the competition and we’re more convinced than ever that poor Traci (Beth Maitland) is not dating Alan (Christopher Cousins) but his evil twin Martin.
The Abbotts aren’t the only ones who will likely be in the thick of it. What started out as Sharon (Sharon Case) having a few "mood swings" attributed to her new bipolar medication has evolved into having hallucinations of Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby) and him telling her to give in to her darkest impulses now that she stopped taking her medicine.
Although Sharon initially tried to resist listening to Cameron, as evidenced by the episodes airing during the week of September 2, her willpower is fading fast. Not only did Sharon snap at Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) for visiting Faith (Reylynn Caster) in the hospital, but the Cassidy First CEO has also directed some of her rage toward Daniel (Michael Graziadei), Heather (Vail Bloom) and Lucy (Lily Brooks O’ Briant).
In The Young and the Restless episode airing on September 6, Sharon makes a surprise visit to the Romalotti home. She demands to talk about Lucy, and Daniel and Heather are quick to explain Lucy’s list of punishments for the accident. Sharon isn’t pleased at all with their punishments and pivots to talking about Daniel and Cassie (Camryn Grimes). However this time, Heather quickly steps in to shut down the conversation, frustrated Sharon continues to put Daniel on blast for a mistake he made as a teenager.
Still upset, Sharon orders that Lucy stay away from Faith, calling Lucy a stalker in the process. Heather attempts to call the request ridiculous, but Sharon doesn’t budge and storms out. The whole exchange leaves Daniel and Heather baffled. So you can imagine how awkward it was when Heather, Lucy and Daniel walked into Society to spot Sharon, Faith and Nick (Joshua Morrow). Sharon wasted no time dragging Faith and Nick out of the restaurant.
With Sharon's erratic behavior escalating, we can’t help but predict something explosive happening in the near future. We tend to think Sharon may go after Daniel or Phyllis, attempting to kill one of them. Fueling our suspicions is Sharon’s past behavior when she wasn’t on the appropriate bipolar medication. History shows that Sharon burned down the Newman Ranch for starters.
So let’s say Sharon becomes so unhinged this time around that she does something criminally dangerous. When she’s apprehended by authorities, we think she could be sent to the Fairview, the mental wellness facility in town. In that case, there's a good opportunity to usher in the return of a well-known villain.
Loyal fans of the show know Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) has been institutionalized for quite some time and for good reason. Her list of crimes includes the attempted murder of Summer, the kidnapping of Colleen, the attempted murder of Victor (Eric Braeden) and she is completely obsessed with Jack.
Should Sharon and Patty come face to face, it wouldn’t be their first time meeting. The duo has a history together at Fairview when they were both patients and Sharon was led to believe she was pregnant with Dylan’s (Steve Burton) baby by Dr. Anderson (Elizabeth Bogush). Patty was one of the first people to solve the puzzle that Dr. Anderson lied to Sharon and subsequently tried to pass off Christian as Sharon and Dylan’s son Sully.
Patty coming back could not only cause Sharon to face some bad memories but it could make for some very juicy chaos across The Young and the Restless canvas. If Patty were to escape because of something Sharon does while at Fairview, Patty could stir up a world of trouble for Jack and Diane (Susan Walters). Patty likely would still be obsessed with Jack and vow to take out his wife. Phyllis would also be in danger as the two women never got along and Patty tried to kill Phyllis’ daughter. And since Heather is Patty’s niece, that’s a recipe for some interesting family turmoil.
But say Sharon doesn’t see Patty in Fairview, but rather Jordan (Collen Zenk). Yes, Jordan is supposed to be in prison, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility that in the months she’s been offscreen, she’s been transferred to a mental wellness center. After all, it was said time and time again that Jordan was "insane," so a good lawyer may have been able to get her moved.
Jordan in Fairview could spell the beginning of a whole new reign of terror for her. If Jordan spots Sharon, she’d likely know who she is and try her best to warm up to Sharon to gather information on the Newmans and possibly use Sharon as a way to escape. Before you question if Sharon would recognize Jordan, allow us to remind you that Jordan and Sharon never met and Jordan is the master of disguises.
It’s not hard to picture Jordan manipulating Sharon and slithering out of Fairview to again go after Victor and the whole Newman clan. However, if this happens, Victor may quickly regret listening to Michael (Christian LeBlanc) and Cole (J. Eddie Peck) and letting her go from his wine cellar.
This is all of course just speculation for now, but the way Sharon’s trajectory seems to be lining up, we have to think of all the possibilities that could emerge.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
