This summer on The Young and the Restless appears to be gearing up to be quite the fiery one. Not only is corporate infighting between Devon (Bryton James) and Billy (Jason Thompson) wreaking havoc at Chancellor-Winters and Tucker (Trevor St. John) preparing to make some big moves in his professional and personal life, but Victor (Eric Braeden) is also up to something major.
Now we’ve been suspecting that Victor is planning to go after Jack (Peter Bergman) in an act of revenge for what happened with Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). The Mustache is still fuming about the "danger" he felt Jack put her in, and he’s further upset by the fact Jack and Nikki won’t stay away from one another, even though they are just friends. While we’ve suspected Victor is going after Jabot and wants to cause more chaotic fractures in the Abbott family, we think his ultimate goal may be targeting Jack’s sobriety (which could lead to Victor’s downfall).
But let's focus on the Newman patriarch’s plans for Jabot. In The Young and the Restless episode airing on June 12, Victor goes to speak with Adam (Mark Grossman) about his proposal that Adam serve as interim CEO of Newman Media while Nikki continues in her recovery. Adam isn’t thrilled with the idea as he sees it as a demotion and feels like his dad is using him as a pawn.
However, Victor shares with Adam that he’s anything but a pawn. Victor swears Adam to secrecy before telling him that he sees his son as a "strong ally" and needs him at Newman Media "to destroy an enemy." Additionally, Victor says, "I need someone in charge of Newman Media who is as ruthless as I am."
Although Adam doesn’t agree to do his father’s bidding by the end of the episode, the big grin he flashes makes it seem like he will. Plus, Victor has a habit of getting what he wants when it comes to his family.
If Adam returns to Newman Media as CEO, a role he’s been desperate to regain for well over a year, we can’t help but wonder what Victor will have him do. Considering Jabot specializes in cosmetics and fashion with Marchetti, and Newman Media focuses on media, it’s not like Victor wants his company to be Jabot’s rival and put the Abbot legacy out of business.
Plus, with Summer (Allison Lanier) working at Jabot as the CEO of the Marchetti division, we think Victor will be careful not to do anything to harm her. Adam also wouldn’t want to do anything that puts Sally (Courtney Hope) and Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) in harm's way. So again, what is Victor up to?
Our best guess is that Victor plans to use Newman Media to launch a series of vicious attacks in the press and social space that paint Jack to be unfit to run Jabot and a degenerate in business. Perhaps, Victor even sabotages Jabot to cause a few mishaps that make Jack look incompetent.
Furthermore, given Victor tasked Michael (Christian LeBlanc) and Cole (J. Eddie Peck) to get close to Diane (Susan Walters) and Kyle (Michael Mealor) respectively, it’s obvious he’s hoping they gain some inside information. Will he use whatever knowledge they gain to help enhance his attack?
We’d be remiss if we didn’t point out that it would be a real shame if Adam helps his father in this vendetta against Jack. For a number of years, Jack was just about Adam's only friend in Genoa City. Heck, if we’re not mistaken, Jack was made the godfather of Adam’s son Connor (Judah Mackey).
We’ll just have to tune in this summer to see how this revived feud between Victor and Jack plays out, and what Adam’s part will be in the pending drama.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
