All aboard the Cane train, choo-choo: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of August 25-29, 2025

The Young and the Restless told stories of life, death, and marriage this week as characters continued to navigate the choppy waters in Genoa City.

The Young and the Restless, RIP Colin Atkinson

Y&R shared in advance that Tristan Rogers would be making a final appearance on the show as Colin Atkinson. Cane had shared that he spent Colin's final days with him after he had died. We saw in flashbacks what those conversations entailed. Brava to Rogers for sharing his time with viewers by reprising Colin.

Amanda's homecoming

We've been wondering where certain characters have been, and Amanda was on that list. It was a pleasant surprise to see her pop up and reconnect with bestie Phyllis (though the redhead gets a bit more enthusiastic than Amanda would like at times). Cane is spinning a lot of plates. He's telling different stories to different people. However, he tends to be more honest when he's around Amanda. Here's hoping Y&R keeps Amanda on retainer.

The welcome Mattie (and Charlie)

Speaking of Cane, the man keeps changing his mind! First, he's going to enlist Phyllis and Billy to help him take over Newman, Chancellor Industries, Jabot Cosmetics, and maybe the pastry counter at Crimson Lights. Cane decided to put all that on hold so he could mend fences with Charlie and Mattie. Or at least he wants people to think that, so they don't suspect him of continuing his master plan.

But why do people assume that Cane can't do both -- reconcile with his kids and conduct business? And how would his kids react once they found out their father was lying? Do these kids include Sam?

Cane living on his train is an interesting character quirk. One would think if a person owned the Genoa City Athletic Club, that he'd live there, right?

Diane v Nikki

We have to say that Nikki and Diane's verbal showdown was brief, but it was a winner! This is what soaps are all about. Two dynamic women, who are also wives and mothers, trading quips with each other is a soap opera staple. "Oh, Diane," a miffed Nikki announced when she saw Jack's wife. She's also Victor's ex-wife. There's great history between these two, and it's always great fun to see them square off against one another.

Bringing Diane back from the dead all those years ago is a move we continue to applaud and always will. Kyle and Claire appear to have a big future ahead of themselves, filled with conflict. If that means more Diane and Nikki showdowns, we're on board!

The marrying man

Speaking of Diane, we kind of agree with her and Jack that Kyle may only be proposing to Claire so they can smooth over their recent disagreement. That's not a reason to get married! It was nice to see Jack so effortlessly refer to the Abbott family jeweler (Blair). Rich people, like the Abbotts, have jewelers and gardeners and cooks and all kinds of helpers on standby. Y&R didn't even need to build a special jewelry set as Blair makes house calls.

Audra's allure

Audra Charles continues to be one of Genoa City's most interesting characters. She almost convinces herself that she's done nothing wrong in terms of the whole making a deal with Victor to break up Kyle and Claire. Backed into a corner, Audra goes on the offense as evidenced by her pulling Kyle into a kiss. She's so convincing that she has Claire thinking that Kyle's the one who did her wrong -- not Audra and Victor.

Victor Newman is an original

Cane's plan to take over Genoa City took a turn when Victor produced a letter from Genevieve indicating that his fortune was acquired through fraud. This twist has left us with more questions than answers. For starters, why is Victor using his letter as leverage to get Cane to help him take down Jack? Since when does Victor need anyone's help to go after Jack Abbott? Does Victor want to take over Jabot again? What exactly are his plans to go after Jack? Victor has decided to give Kyle the benefit of the doubt so that he and Claire can have a romance.

Second, why would Victor leave the original letter with Cane? Insert face palm emoji here! Does Victor have a copy of the letter? How legally binding is it when someone addresses a letter "to whom it may concern?" Cane could easily destroy the letter and claim that he never saw it. What does Victor have? A digital copy? A photocopy? Those aren't going to hold up in court as much as an original would.

Cane made a lot of enemies over in France. He's indirectly responsible for not only Damian and Chance's deaths, but also Carter's. Cane also used his muscle to keep Nick and Sharon hostage. Amanda and Cane can say till the cows come home that they never intended to hurt anyone, but you can't go around using a thug to hold people against their will and not think anything will go awry.

Victor should want to annihilate Cane and send him packing because of what happened to Nick and also to Chance, who was loved by Katherine Chancellor, who is the former wife of Phillip Chancellor III, Chance's grandfather.

Victor could keep Cane and his fortune tied up in courts for months or even years if he used the letter. Instead, he's using it to coerce Cane into becoming his ally against Jack.

Society wars

Speaking of Jack and Victor, it was a true midweek treat to see these two moguls go at it when Jack saw Victor sitting down at Society. Jack came from the position of being protective of his son, Kyle, and blasting Victor for his plans to ruin Kyle and Claire's relationship. Victor is a master at remaining calm and feeling zero guilt. He believes the ends justify the means. Victor managed to throw in a compliment to Kyle. While Victor may change his mind about many of the Abbotts, he'll never give a pass to Jack Abbott. You got that!?

Intriguing casting

On the heels of Billy Flynn joining Y&R as Cane, the show has announced that Daytime Emmy winners Roger Howarth (ex-Todd, One Life to Live; ex-Paul, As the World Turns; ex-Austin/ex-Franco, General Hospital) and Tamara Braun (ex-Reese, All My Children, ex-Carly/ex-Kim, GH, ex-Ava, Days of our Lives).

Let's hope the characters these two play are interconnected with the Abbotts, Newmans, and other key families in Genoa City. This said, we'd also like to see the return of some favorites like Traci (Beth Maitland) and Ashley (Eileen Davidson).

We were robbed of watching Nina (Tricia Cast) react to Chance's (Conner Floyd) passing. Perhaps Nina and other people from Danny's (Michael Damian) and Christine's (Lauralee Bell) lives will show up for their October wedding.

The white knight

Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) is everybody's white knight. He's there to support ex-wife Phyllis, who is heading for disaster with Cane (well, that's what Nick fears). Nick also wants to keep his father from going too far in his response to Cane's potential threat. But who's there for Nick? He may refrain forever from choosing Sharon (Sharon Case) or Phyllis for fear of hurting the other, but at what point does the man need to put his own happiness first?

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.