One thing about The Young and the Restless’ Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) that we truly appreciate, is her ability to have a good read on her family members.
In The Young and the Restless episode airing on March 6, Nikki stumbles upon an awkward interaction between Summer (Allison Lanier), Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Claire (Hayley Erin). Summer is being Summer, trying her best to make Claire feel uncomfortable, while internally stewing over the fact that Claire is with her ex. After the Newman matriarch inquires about Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) and Sharon (Sharon Case), and Summer doesn’t have much of an update, Summer turns to Kyle and asks him for a ride to work. Summer and Kyle leave, but not before she has to witness Kyle kiss Claire goodbye.
When alone with Claire, Nikki tries to comfort her granddaughter. Claire mentions that Summer has been more hostile lately, and even territorial of Kyle. Nikki reassures Claire that she’ll do her best to prevent Victor (Eric Braeden) or Summer from destroying her relationship.
Nikki also said something that we found rather ominous. While she loves Summer, she notes the Marchetti CEO can be like a bull in a china shop and has a lot of her mother in her. That got us thinking that Summer is about to pull a page out of Phyllis’ book to go after the man she wants.
If we had to guess, Summer might opt to do one of two things in a ploy to break up #Kylaire and win her ex back. First, there’s the old-fashioned seduction tactic.
Last year, viewers watched as Phyllis made several attempts to seduce Danny (Michael Damian) away from Christine (Lauralee Bell). She used family dinners and hangouts with Daniel (Michael Graziadei) and Lucy (Lily Brooks O'Briant) to play up the fact that she and Danny are forever bonded. Phyllis also made it seem as if Danny was her closest friend in the world and convinced him to have a number of one-on-one dinners, where she would dance with him and plant kisses, suggesting that she knows him better than Christine ever could.
We can easily imagine Summer playing up the angle of “family time” with Harrison (Redding Munsell) to spend more time with Kyle. Heck, she’s already leaning on him heavily as if he’s her only friend while she worries about Phyllis, throwing herself in Kyle’s arms constantly. How long will it be before she really plays up this friendship bit and invites him to lunch and dinner, maybe luring him in under the guise of wanting to discuss Harrison? Like her mother, it’s highly possible she uses one-on-one occasions to plant a few kisses, hoping he realizes she is better for him than Claire.
If Summer doesn’t go the seduction route, like Phyllis, she may seek out an accomplice. When Diane (Susan Walters) came back to town, Phyllis went to Nikki and Ashley (Eileen Davidson) to partner up and try to prevent Diane from reuniting with Jack (Peter Bergman). It’s possible Summer goes to Victor.
Now Victor may not actively help one granddaughter by hurting another, but he may give Summer the manipulative idea of using Harrison to drive a wedge between Kyle and Claire. Part of why Kyle loves Claire is because she is so good with Harrison and the little boy adores her. But could Kyle’s feelings shift if Harrison’s perception of Claire sours? Could Summer plant seeds with the little boy that it's Claire’s fault his parents can’t be together, pushing him to turn on his buddy?
The thing about Phyllis’ manipulative schemes in romance is that they all wind up failing at some point. So we think Summer may face a similar fate in the end, even if she’s temporarily successful. Plus, Claire is sweet now, but she was raised by Jordan (Colleen Zenk). If we were Summer, we’d be careful pushing Claire too far in fear Claire unleashes some of what Jordan taught her.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus
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