If there is one soap opera character that usually gets what he wants, it’s The Young and the Resless’ Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). That’s largely because he’s willing to do just about anything to manipulate people and situations to fall in line with his vision. However, one of his toughest tasks as of late has been uniting his family under the Newman Enterprises umbrella.
For starters, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Adam (Mark Grossman) continue to be like oil and water. They loathe one another and are far from the ideal picture of a sibling relationship. Both even seem determined to prove why the other doesn’t deserve a top spot in the family business.
Victoria is attempting to show that Adam shouldn’t have been welcomed back to the company as Nate’s (Sean Dominic) assistant, and Adam firmly believes Victoria shouldn’t be trusted as the co-CEO. We find it a bit ironic given that Victor doesn’t appear to trust either of the two, as he can’t be certain they aren’t planning to exact revenge for their respective demotions.
Then there’s Nick (Joshua Morrow). He also isn’t a fan of Adam, but the two have managed to find common ground over the years when they aren’t fighting over a woman and Nick doesn’t get involved in the dysfunction between Adam and Victoria. However, considering the brothers are still in a love triangle with Sally (Courtney Hope) and the Adustus business venture failed miserably due to Adam, Nick isn’t on great terms with Adam these days.
As far as Nick and Newman Enterprises, he recently decided he was done with the company for the umpteenth time, disappointing Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Victoria and most of all, Victor. The Mustache finds joy in Nick working at the company Victor built from the ground up and hopes to leave it to Nick and his siblings as a legacy.
With all of that being said, Victor needs to do something big if he hopes to see Victoria, Nick and Adam peacefully working together at Newman Enterprises. It looks like this something big may center around his health.
In the episode airing on October 12, Victor is sitting in his office when Adam and Nate walk in to chat. After talking briefly, the latter two turn to exit when Victor says, "And Nicholas, do a good job."
Adam initially thinks Victor purposefully calls him Nicholas to be funny, but then Victor pretends not to know he made the slip of the tongue. When alone with Nate, Adam appears concerned, noting that Victor has never called him by the wrong name before.
After Nikki catches wind of this news, she immediately goes to check on her husband. Not only does Victor know he called Adam by the wrong name, he did it intentionally. His following smirk of satisfaction prompts us to think Victor may soon fake an illness in order to put his family to the test.
It shouldn’t be that hard to convince his children that he has a health issue affecting his mental sharpness. Victoria has already expressed repeated concern that her dad is no longer mentally and physically capable of running his company, citing his numerous changes in executive leadership at Newman Enterprises as proof. You add Victoria’s concern with Victor’s name mix-up, plus any other fake antics Victor has up his sleeve, and his children are likely to think Victor is not on his A game.
The question you may be asking right about now, is what does Victor gain from faking an illness?
Well, for starters, he wants to see how his kids respond if they believe something is wrong with him. Will Victoria and Adam each secretly plot to exploit Victor’s perceived illness in an attempt to gain control of the top seat, or will they finally put their differences aside in an effort to respect their dad’s wishes and peacefully work together to preserve his legacy? Additionally, if Nick thinks his dad isn’t well, would he be inclined to return to Newman Enterprises?
Faking a health crisis could also help Victor determine who should sit in the big office and get their portrait placed on the wall.
Now we’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that if Victor does go through with such a scheme, he has two major problems — Nate and Nikki. Nate is a former doctor and may be quick to discover that Victor’s alleged symptoms aren’t genuine. Victor may already have planned for this, and it’s entirely possible that he actually brings Nate on board with this dirty trick to help him.
Nikki on the other hand is likely not going to want to have anything to do with Victor’s plan, recognizing it as a bit cruel. Plus, she’ll probably acknowledge that if the truth ever came out, Victor’s children would be furious causing a big Newman blowout.
While we wait to see what happens next in The Young and the Restless, we’re going to be closely monitoring what Victor is up to now.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus.
