Happy Birthday, Nikki Newman: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of May 26, 2025

Nikki Newman received some pre-birthday presents this week on The Young and the Restless, but the real gift was given to the show’s viewers as the top-rated soap showcased a gala, the type that was once synonymous with the show.

Material goods on The Young and the Restless

In the olden days of soaps, characters would talk about an upcoming party for days and weeks leading up to the big event. That’s just what went on recently with Nikki’s party. The show has set up a lot of dynamics to unfold as the festivities continue (we’re hoping!) into next week.

How will Victor respond to seeing Michael for the first time since the latter quit the former’s employ? Will Ashley’s presence hamper Nikki’s joy, given their past rivalry over Victor? Will Genoa City residents start putting their heads together to try to figure out why the enigmatic Alexander Dumas has invited them to go to France in a few weeks?

Nikki’s gown looked gorgeous, but she was getting more buzz about her floral and white suit with a red top that she wore earlier in the week. Hey, it’s when people stop talking about what you’re wearing that you have to worry, right?

Missing Players

A few key players were absent or have been absent thus far from Nikki’s party. Cole got better from his illness. He’s Claire’s dad and Vicki’s ex. Why isn’t he there to raise a glass to Nikki? We get that Traci needs some downtime, given her ordeal with Martin. Honestly, though wouldn’t being around good friends like Michael and Lauren and her family do her a world of good?

Traci is forever linked to the Newmans as her late daughter Colleen’s heart is beating in Victor Newman’s body. We are grateful, though, that Y&R has given us a party scene. It seems that too often the show falls into a routine of having two characters talk back and forth either at Crimson Lights, the Genoa City Athletic Club, the jazz lounge, the park, or Society.

Adam, Chelsea, and Conner should also be at Nikki’s party. (Maybe they'll show up next week?) Sure, Nikki’s not Adam’s mom, but Adam’s family. If Victor’s going to have to look at enemies Jack Abbott and Michael Baldwin all night then, he should have his son and grandson there, too.

Not without my son

We can’t take our eyes off Phyllis. She’s like a comet made of energy that’s hurling through Genoa City at a million miles an hour. Whether she’s playing loving mom to son Daniel – it’s clear she wants the best for him – or throwing shade at her adversaries, Phyllis is always entertaining and watchable. She’s glamorous, but we can’t take our look off her eyes. They’re expressive, and they betray so much. If Phyllis is overjoyed or if she feels betrayed, you can see it in her eyes. In her case, they truly are the window to the soul.

When Phyllis is fixated on something, all we can say is "Watch out!" She’s determined to achieve her goals, unlike anyone else. Sometimes that passion appears misdirected. We can’t recall her ever wanting to run a hotel, but when she set her sights on the Grand Phoenix, she became obsessed with that place. She had to make it the best it could be, no matter what.

The same held when she once again became obsessed with Danny Romalotti. Really? Had the spark for Danny always been there, even after she’d moved on to Jack Abbott and Nick Newman? Phyllis appeared as obsessed with winning Danny back as she was when she was after him 30 years ago.

Or was all that just about sticking it to Christine? That’s sure what it seemed like. Now, Phyllis is on another crusade – to befriend Dumas professionally, wrest control of Chancellor Enterprises from Nikki, and run it herself until she can convince Daniel to come on board.

Phyllis has said she’s doing this all for her son, and that’s something any mother can get behind. The fiery redhead is driven to get to Dumas first. Our money’s on Phyllis. She's driven by her love for Daniel.

Return to Sender

We’ve been ready for some additional advancement in the ongoing Aristotle Dumas drama, and this week we got some. It turns out that Friday, the 13th (the next one is two weeks from now in June) is the day that several Genoa City power players may attend a gala at the home of Dumas in France.

We were wondering why so many characters have been talking about going abroad – Jack and Diane and their belated honeymoon, Michael and Lauren mused about taking a trip to get away from Victor, and Ashley has announced she’s moving back to Paris.

Does Dumas know about all these travel plans? Is it all a coincidence? Does one or more of these players have a connection to the enigmatic power player? We suspect that one person in particular does, and it’s pretty evident if you’re a person who studies human behavior. Is Dumas truly Cane, Lily’s ex-husband? Or is he Tucker? Or someone else?

The Bachelor

Nick Newman is too handsome, successful, and kind to be single. But that’s the life he seems to be living now. He’s a great son, a great ex-husband, a great dad, and he’s trying to play peacemaker between his father and his former stepfather, Jack. When is he going to settle down again with either Phyllis or Sharon?

If the two women can survive Nick choosing one of them over the other, then their truce can likely survive anything!

A date at last

Lily and Damian finally (sort of) went on an actual date. It made perfect sense to have her skip Nikki’s gala. (Seriously, do all adversaries attend the galas of their enemies?) This gave Damian time to chat with Lily about their personal lives. We appreciated the continuity in Lily’s love life – she talked about Daniel and Cane (maybe next time, she’ll mention Billy?). Damian responded that he hadn’t been lucky in love. What, no ex-wife who’s going to make the scene in a few years? We can only hope he was leaving out some juicy backstory that will provide fodder for new stories coming up.

What’s his name

We get a kick out of Victor referring to Aristotle Dumas as “whatever his name is.” It speaks to the mogul’s dismissal of his unseen foe (if he even is a foe). There were other funny bits on the show throughout the week, including Michael lamenting that his situation with Victor makes him feel like he’s in a Western, and Phyllis putting her foot up on the table, and her trading Wizard of Oz-themed quips.

Who doesn’t crack a joke or say something irreverent throughout their day to cut the tension? When we see Y&R characters do this, it just makes them seem more human.

Speaking of humor, it was fun to watch Pietro’s creative ideas for Nikki’s birthday. Fortunately, Claire was able to ground him. Claire also provides a grounding influence for Harrison. The young man is adorable and precocious, but just how the heck is he able to jump from his biological mother (Tara – shouldn’t she be out of jail by now) to Summer to Claire?

We know kids are resilient, but they also crave consistency. If the show’s not going to bring Summer back as a foil for Kyle and Claire, then it might be time for Tara to get out of jail (if that’s where she is). We suspect, though, that Kyle’s going to have his hands full with Audra, a woman who is highly motivated to destroy his relationship with Claire!

A shoutout to missing sons

Soap fans love characters even if they’re not currently on the canvas. For example, look at Lauren and Michael’s son Fenmore, and her son Scotty with the late Scott. It’s only natural that Lauren, seeing Nikki and Nick together, would prompt her to think out loud about her boys.

Wouldn’t it be great to see either of those men back on the show? As we speculated earlier this week, Scott, a journalist, would be an ideal addition to the media wars between Abbott Communications and Newman Media. Imagine both Adam and Billy fighting over the intrepid journalist. Both Adam and Billy are related by blood to Abby, Scott’s ex. We could see Adam asking his half-sister and Billy inquiring if his niece would put in a good word with them to get Scott on board.

We’ve also been wanting to see Fenmore back in town for a while. He last appeared on the show over two years ago when he showed up with a boyfriend whom no one had ever heard about! Well, his parents had. This wasn’t a new relationship but it was to viewers. Maybe that could be explored in the future!

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