When The Young and the Restless’ Kyle (Michael Mealor) insisted that Diane (Susan Walters) take on the role as Jabot co-CEO, we commended the young Abbott for growing up. Although he previously held the position due to his nepotism and was willing to plot with Tucker (Trevor St. John) to get the job back from Billy (Jason Thompson), he eventually came to realize that he had some maturing to do and thought his mom was more than deserving to work alongside his father.
Now when Diane took the job, she repeatedly expressed to Jack her fear that Kyle was not only hurt from being passed over, but that he secretly resented her. Kyle has tried to reassure his mom that he’s fine, but as the saying goes, a mother knows her child.
Since Diane began her position as the number two at Jabot, Kyle has done a few things at work that really are in the purview of his mom. While Kyle has claimed it was just him taking the initiative to prove himself as an employee of Jabot again, his mom viewed his actions as passive-aggressive and meant to show he should be co-CEO and not her. When Diane called him out on all of this, he was quick to apologize and emphasize he didn't mean any harm.
Well, it looks like this conversation didn’t take, because in the following promo video for The Young and the Restless episodes airing during the week of March 25, Diane yells at Kyle, "You’re supposed to report to me, not the other way around." In reply, he begrudgingly states, "Well, forgive me if I overstepped." Take a look at the clip, this tense moment looks like it’s going to set up a family battleground at Jabot — yet again.
#yr Preview pic.twitter.com/FppXcGmqziMarch 19, 2024
The mature Kyle act may have actually been a ruse, and he may be gearing up to again resort to manipulative tactics to go after a job he thinks he deserves. We can imagine a scenario in which he starts to further undermine his mom at work, potentially even sabotaging her as she tries to land big deals or make big changes. Whether he bad-mouths his mom’s business acumen to potential new partners of Jabot, or rallies employees to back him over his mother, Kyle may find putting his ambition over his mom’s feelings a necessary evil to get the job he wants.
However, we should warn Kyle. Diane not only knows him but she is no novice to scheming. In fact, she’s schemed with the best of them, Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), and can be quite conniving when pushed.
Should our hunch prove correct, we have the utmost sympathies for Jack (Peter Bergman). He’s already dealing with a lot on his plate as a sponsor for Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and brother to Ashley (Eileen Davidson), who’s going through a mental health crisis. Can Jack really take a feud between his son and wife?
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.