Ignoring the pleas of most of their loved ones, The Young and the Restless’ Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Summer (Allison Lanier) have fully committed to a custody war over Harrison (Redding Munsell).
In recent weeks, Summer got a judge to prevent Kyle from taking Harrison to Paris, and in turn, Kyle vowed to sink to Summer’s level of manipulative and dirty tactics. Although it’s yet to be seen what he meant by that, we have a few ideas as to what actions he may take.
Fast forward to The Young and the Restless episode airing on August 8, and Summer is at the Abbott Mansion talking to Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane (Susan Walters) about a sick Harrison. Apparently, the young boy ate something at dinner with Summer that didn’t agree with his stomach, and rather than spend the night at the Athletic Club, he preferred to be in his bed at the Abbott Mansion. Jack and Diane are more than understanding and encourage Summer that Harrison will be fine after a good night's sleep.
As the trio of adults continues to speak, Kyle walks in, surprising them all. Summer questions why he isn’t in Paris, and he immediately asks what she did to his son in the most accusatory tone. Kyle explains he was still in New York and hadn’t gone to Paris when he learned of Harrison’s condition. When Summer inquires how he even heard about Harrison’s stomach ache, Diane chimes in and says she told her son thinking he had a right to know. Kyle and Summer continue to let their tempers flare until Jack steps in to diffuse the tension.
When Kyle goes upstairs to check on his child for himself, Summer wastes no time in blasting Diane for her choice to call Kyle. The Newman heir feels betrayed by her former mother-in-law and thinks this is some kind of conspiracy to gang up on her as she fights for custody of Harrison. Diane doesn’t apologize for her actions.
Later when Kyle returns to the living room, he is adamant he wants Summer to leave. She doesn’t want to, and Jack offers the solution that she spends the night in one of the guest rooms. Kyle isn’t happy about it, but he relents.
Before the episode concludes, Kyle takes the time to thank Diane personally for keeping him in the loop as far as Harrison is concerned. She is gracious in accepting his thanks. And with her calling Kyle and him showing his gratitude, we have hope for family unity in the foreseeable future.
Fans of The Young and the Restless know Kyle and Diane have been at odds ever since she took the reigns over as co-CEO of Jabot and later fired her son for insubordination. Heck, Kyle has gotten downright cruel when it comes to Diane and Jack, even working with Victor (Eric Braeden) and taking the co-CEO chair at Jabot's rival company Glissade. Just when we thought it would be a long time before Kyle and Diane reconciled, her proven loyalty during this ordeal with Harrison’s stomach has us thinking they may reconnect sooner rather than later.
With rumors swelling that Victor will soon step in this custody battle to help Summer get what she wants, we have to think Kyle will soon lean on Jack and Diane to prevent Victor and Summer from taking his child.
We can imagine a situation in which Victor pulls a stunt that leaves Kyle outraged about the prospect that Summer could gain full custody of his biological child. Then, needing to vent, Kyle turns to Diane who is no stranger to manipulative tactics. Seeing Kyle’s vulnerability as a chance to reconnect with her son, we can picture Diane pulling a few strings to combat Victor in order to ensure Kyle doesn’t lose custody of Harrison.
If Diane is able to step in as a hero for Kyle, there’s no way he can stay mad with her. Now we can’t say whether Kyle would quit Glissade and return to Jabot if all of this were to happen, but the likelihood of his return certainly increases. Not for nothing, we think Kyle will soon figure out that working for Victor isn’t as glamorous as he thought, and despite what The Mustache says, business is always personal in Genoa City.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
