While The Young and the Restless’ Newman family was hoping to kick off the new year on a positive note, as fans know, that’s not going to be the case.
Sure, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) is now running Chancellor, Victoria (Amelia Heinle) is madly in love with Cole (J. Eddie Peck) and Claire (Hayley Erin) has repeatedly noted she’s the happiest she’s ever been. Unfortunately, as Nick (Joshua Morrow) learned during the week of December 30, even though Sharon’s (Sharon Case) criminal case is looking better, Ian Ward (Ray Wise) is back in Genoa City, which spells trouble; especially, with Sharon now missing.
Once Nick looped in Victor (Eric Braeden) on the Ian news, The Mustache wasted no time in having his security team track Ian down and bringing him to the Newman Ranch. Then in The Young and the Restless episode airing on January 6, Ian walks into Victor’s home, again pushing the narrative that he’s a reformed man, pointing to his new job as a prison chaplain as proof. Victor doesn’t buy for a second that Ian has changed and issues him a stern warning to leave Genoa City permanently. Furthermore, the Newman patriarch promises to make Ian pay if he’s involved in the chaos pertaining to Sharon, as Nick suspects.
Although still faking piety, Ian smugly notes he has no idea what’s been going on with Sharon lately. He also makes Victor and Nick aware that he sent a letter to the police stating if anything were to happen to him, authorities should look into Nick, as the younger Newman previously threatened him. Victor is unmoved by Ian’s letter and remains adamant that Ian will pay if he learns Ian has been again unleashing chaos.
Right on cue, in the midst of this showdown, Nikki walks into the scene, horrified to see her longtime tormentor in her home. Nick takes his mom to the living room to calm her down and bring her up to speed about Ian. Nikki understandably is unnerved to learn Ian is legally a free man and doesn’t believe he’s capable of change.
With all that being said, viewers know the Newmans are right, and Ian is still the manipulative villain he’s always been. Additionally, fans are aware he’s been working with Jordan (Colleen Zenk) to plot against the Newmans and several others in their orbit.
Now given this is a soap, the evil duo is bound to be taken down at some point, so the only questions that remain are how much chaos they’ll unleash first and how their madness will be stopped? This has us thinking. Could Nikki become the fierce mama bear we always knew existed and take lethal measures to protect her cubs?
The thought of Nikki killing Ian and/or Jordan to keep her family safe is an intriguing notion given it wasn’t that long ago when she stopped Claire from taking the life of her deranged great-aunt. Shortly thereafter, Nikki didn’t even let Jordan die of self-digested poisoning, wanting Jordan to face a lengthy prison sentence.
However, Nikki is not above taking matters into her own hands when pushed. Let’s not forget that when J.T. (Thad Luckinbill) was hurting Victoria, it was Nikki who hit him over the head, presumably killing him. It was only discovered later that she didn’t murder J.T. but severely injured him. So will she resort to violence again to save her family?
We have to think, Nikki is probably tired of the same threats coming to town and putting her family through misery. Despite her desire to have the justice system do its job, the villains eventually wind up back in Genoa City, ready to kill her or her loved ones. Will this time prove different? Will she take a page out of her husband’s book and attempt to eliminate a threat for good? If so, who may she take out?
If we had to guess, we think Nikki may actually murder Ian this go-around. She may come to believe that Ian only torments her loved ones because of their long history. Although he pretended to be a “father figure” to Mariah (Camryn Grimes) for years, he first groomed Nikki decades ago and has relentlessly come after her family in large part because of his obsession with her. It’s not hard to imagine her attempting to rescue Victor or Nick from Ian if he gets the jump on them, and she does so by killing him.
As far as Jordan. Should she be eliminated from the soap canvas, we think either Victoria or Claire will be responsible. Victoria could easily become a mama bear herself and attempt to save Claire from danger, and Claire could try to end the life of a woman who's caused her agony since birth. We’ll just have to stay tuned to see what happens as this Ian and Jordan saga continues.
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.
