On The Young and the Restless landscape these days, Tucker (Trevor St. John) and the Abbotts continue to host arguably the biggest feud in Genoa City.
Yes, there’s an argument to be made that this distinction belongs to Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and the Newmans, but with Jordan behind bars and likely facing a lengthy sentence, the Howard/Newman rivalry is hardly evenly matched at the moment.
But back to Tucker and the Abbotts, after Jack (Peter Bergman) leaked to the press Tucker’s involvement in the coverup scandal at his now debunked McCall Unlimited, we’ve been wondering how Tucker would strike back. The savvy businessman is never one to stew in defeat and is a master of revenge, so we knew it would only be a matter of time before he launched a plan of retaliation, and Kyle (Michael Mealor) may have foolishly just aided Tucker in doing this.
In the episode airing on January 9, Kyle calls Tucker hoping to convince him to take the bait and commit corporate theft. Unfortunately for the Abbott heir, Tucker is well aware of Kyle’s trap thanks to Audra (Zuleyka Silver), and Tucker tells Kyle their partnership is effectively terminated.
Tucker admitting to Kyle that he knows all about his plans infuriates Kyle who races to see Audra in her suite at the Athletic Club. As Kyle attempts to scold Audra for her betrayal (which is laughable considering he’s betrayed her), Tucker knocks on the door.
Once Audra lets Tucker in, he goads Kyle about his failed plot to deceive him and the fact Kyle doesn’t have the stomach to be cutthroat in business. Tucker then says:
"If I look past all the hair gel, I do see a little potential. But you’d have to break free of the stranglehold your dad has on you. And if you do, I think maybe you could, like him, become a world-class bastard."
Right away, Kyle punches Tucker in the mouth for the comment, knocking Tucker to the ground. Tucker laughs off the attack in the moment, but he may really have a laugh later as Kyle may have just become a part of Tucker’s next move against the Abbotts.
We can imagine a scenario where Tucker has Kyle arrested for assault. Not only would that teach Kyle a lesson in keeping his hands to himself, but it would enrage Jack. A win/win situation for Tucker, who may even leverage dropping the assault charges in exchange for something valuable from the Abbotts. The family is likely to do almost anything to keep Kyle out of jail.
Should Tucker actually go through with such a scheme, the person who could spoil things for him is Audra. She’s the lone witness to what happened, and given her uncertainty in Tucker’s loyalty to her career after a conversation the two have again in the episode airing on January 9, the Abbotts could offer her something to change her witness testimony. Sure Audra is not Kyle’s biggest fan either right now, but she’ll deal with whomever offers the biggest seat at the table.
We’d be remiss if we didn’t also mention the possibility that if Tucker has Kyle arrested, that the former eventually drops the charges to focus on Ashley (Eileen Davidson). Signs have been pointing to her having a mental health crisis soon, so Tucker may drop his vendetta against the Abbotts to save her.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
