If you watch The Young and the Restless or any soap long enough, a character (or a few) is bound to tap dance on your last nerve. The Genoa City resident who seems to really infuriate me lately is Summer Newman (Allison Lanier).
I’ve long noticed that at times Summer has all the annoying qualities of Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), but those are inflated by Summer's sense of entitlement. Summer can be just as mischievous and manipulative as her mother when she wants something, but feels even more emboldened to go after what she feels she deserves because of her last name. And right now, her goal is to break up Claire (Hayley Erin) and Kyle (Michael Mealor) so she can finally reunite with her ex-husband.
Now I actually like #Kylaire. I enjoy Kyle and Claire’s relationship and see how the pairing has been mutually beneficial for them. Claire deserves a lot of credit for Kyle repairing his relationship with Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane (Susan Walters). She constantly whispered in his ear about the need for him to forgive his family and reconcile, and helped him to let go of all his anger.
On the flip side, Kyle was Clarie’s first friend in town. He didn’t judge her harshly for her past with Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and constantly gave her the benefit of the doubt. He also is helping her to experience romance for the first time.
Unfortunately for the happy couple, not only is Victor (Eric Braeden) staunchly opposed to the romance, but again, so is Summer. The Marchetti CEO realized she wants her life back with Kyle and has actively been sabotaging his relationship with her cousin. Kyle may be oblivious to this fact, but Claire is fully aware. I suspect Claire may start to fight back against Summer’s tactics soon, given Jordan’s prediction that some of her traits still lie within her great-niece, but that’s a post for another time.
With all that being said, no matter how bothered I am by Summer’s antics and regardless of how much I support Kyle and Claire’s relationship, I have to acknowledge that Summer is right to be bothered by Kyle and Claire’s relationship.
For starters, Summer and Kyle’s marriage ended the last time largely because of Phyllis. The couple didn’t split because they fell out of love, but because Kyle was furious with Summer for covering for her mother’s antics. Summer never wanted the divorce, so there were a lot of unresolved feelings that we doubt she got closure with. She may have jumped into a relationship with Chance (Conner Floyd), but she likely still loved (and loves) her ex.
On that note, given how many times Summer and Kyle have broken up to then make up over the years, to borrow a phrase from the playground, she had “dibs.” #Skyle has a long history that predates Claire, and I can’t just ignore that.
Also, I understand that it’s the soap world, but Claire shouldn’t have pursued her cousin’s ex-husband. Yes, Summer and Claire have not been particularly close, and Summer is largely a bully when it comes to her, but they’re both Newmans. It’s never a good idea for members of the Newman clan to go after the same person. History shows it always in chaotic drama. Look at Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Adam (Mark Grossman). They’ve argued over Sharon (Sharon Case), Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan), Sally (Courtney Hope) and Sage (Kelli Sullivan). Heck, once upon a time, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victoria had a little tiff over Cole (J. Eddie Peck).
Looking forward, if I had to guess, Summer and Kyle will probably wind up together again at some point. However, should that happen, I’m hopeful Claire unites with new kid on the block, Holden (Nathan Owens). The two had quite the meet-cute moment at the Athletic Club.
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.
