Hello, I must be going: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of May 19, 2025

Viewers of The Young and the Restless needed a scorecard to keep up with all the changes going on in Genoa City over the last week. The show kept viewers entertained and enthralled as the lives of the Newmans, Abbotts, Winters, and their friends and foes continued to unfold.

Michael Baldwin argued his toughest case to date

Michael's no stranger to going up against tough adversaries, but we never saw him more emotional than when he stood up to Victor Newman. Pressured in a good way by his loving wife, Lauren, Michael went to Victor's to resign. We weren't expecting to see Victor so emotionally hurt by Michael's decision. Frankly, we expected to see lots of yelling and screaming. Michael leaving Victor was a reminder that not all breakups on soaps are romantic ones. This split gave us all the feels.

Abby v. Amanda is must-see TV

Like Michael, Amanda's a savvy, competent attorney. And, also like Michael, Amanda has feelings. Kudos to Y&R for bringing Amanda back and having her play roles in multiple stories. She's not only Aristotle Dumas's attorney, she's also Devon's ex. The back-and-forth banter Amanda and Abby exchanged at Crimson Lights was fun to watch. It's clear that Amanda still has feelings for Devon.

Note to everyone in Genoa City: Amanda is not the bad guy. She walked in on Devon, whom she was in a relationship with, cheating on her with Abby. Sure, Devon and Abby made a go of it, got married, and they share a son, Dominic. Is Amanda supposed to be happy about that? No! It doesn't make her evil because she makes a few digs at Abby. Devon's apprehension over Dumas is understandable, but Amanda is right when she says that she's never given Devon a reason to distrust her. The subtext that Devon can't say the same is hanging in the air and makes the scenes with Abby, Devon, and Amanda highly watchable.

Y&R did not forget about Amanda's friendship with Phyllis either. It's tied to the show's business story as Phyllis trying to make an ally out of Dumas. We don't know where this is going, but we have the feeling that Y&R knows exactly where it's headed.

Cole in our stockings

The holidays came early in terms of gifts, as far as Cole is concerned. We weren't sure if we'd see him back in a sick bed at either the Genoa City Atheltic Club or at Genoa City Memorial. We were happy to see him walk into Crimson Lights unassisted and reunite with Vicki and his former (maybe future?) brother-in-law Nick.

There are no guarantees in life and it's always possible that Cole could relapse but we're hoping he doesn't. Cole was a favorite on the canvas for most of the 1990s, and his return to the canvas makes Y&R feel even more like Y&R. The soap lords wouldn't keep Cole and Claire (aka Eve) apart for decades just to tear them apart. Would they?

Shick forever

While Cole and Vicki were getting some screentime, the scene shifted to the main room at Crimson Lights where we saw Nick and Sharon have a friendly chat. Currently, Nick is friends with both Sharon and Phyllis. Is the show leaning towards Nick reconciling with one or the other? Phyllis certainly needs him these days. Sharon, if you look closely, does, too. She also was Martin's victim and nearly lost her life. Just because Sharon's processing it differently doesn't mean she doesn't need Nick. The Newman heir may wish sometimes that he could clone himself. Then, he could be there for both of the women in his life.

Characters "R" Us

One of the many moments that caught our eye this week on Y&R came about when Diane had a heart-to-heart talk with Kyle, who was questioning his moral character. Why couldn't he change the way Claire had? Without sounding like she was accusing Claire of anything, Diane gently pointed out to her son that maybe Claire hadn't. That would be a compelling story to address. It was a bit odd that nearly everyone wrote Claire's actions off as understandable, as she was Jordan's pawn. But Claire was a grown woman. Could she be partially faking her sweet act?

The person who questioned Claire's character -- and was scoffed at for doing so -- was Summer. But now that Summer's flown off to Italy (where she already has a new love interest -- that was fast!) there's no one to raise an eyebrow around Claire. But there's no need to be suspicious. Claire is a doll...right?

Audra, victorious

Audra is going after what she wants in life, and that makes her admirable. Victor is using her to prove that he's right about Kyle's lack of moral character. Kyle puts on a charming front, but we can't help but get the impression that he's attracted to Audra. If he were to succumb to her charms and break Claire's heart, well, Victor wouldn't be wrong, would he? If Kyle does break Claire's heart, neither Audra's nor Victor's hands will be clean.

Love is in the air

We've written about this before but Y&R has truly cranked up the romance in Genoa City. Yay! We witnessed Victor bestow Nikki with a beautiful necklace, Jack and Diane make belated honeymoon plans, and Lauren and Michael dance the night away (as they worked out his employment issue) at the jazz lounge. We heard more "I love you's" in one episode that some programs give us in an entire week. Kudos to Y&R for keeping the emphasis on love.

All play and no work is unbelievable

It's a welcome sight to see couples being in love as they work through their issues. Speaking of work, it's also nice to see people working, too. We don't need to sit through budget meetings at Jabot or watch Esther do inventory at Crimson Lights. But it's odd to see people always talking about working and not doing any work. Peppered in work scenes makes work environments appear more authentic.

Conversely, it's nice to see characters doing the everyday events that viewers do in real life. Characters on soaps have birthdays, and yay to Nikki's big day being celebrated. She's a beloved figure, and we're certainly up for seeing more than three or four people in a scene.

Y&R used to specialize in big galas at the Colonnade Room where several families would come together for an event. Now, the economics of soaps call for smaller casts per episode. Nikki's been in Genoa City for quite some time. It'd be nice to see numerous folks turn out for her big day.

Setting the stage

Lily offering Damian a job has intrigued us. What's her goal? She has stated that she's aware of his attraction to her, but is Lily perhaps denying an attraction of her own? She may be unaware of this, but it's going to take a lot for Damian to fully extricate himself from someone as powerful as Dumas is. Lily's already backtracking on using Damian as a spy. Is she fearful for his safety or does she believe Amanda that Dumas doesn't want to hurt the Winters clan?

Enter and sign in, please

Amanda's return has given us some answers about the enigmatic Aristotle Dumas. If we're to believe her, Aristotle means no harm to Devon and Lily and their company. Who could he be? Is Dumas, in reality, Cane, Lily's former husband, or Tucker, Devon's dad? Some have speculated it's the presumed dead Drucilla. Whoever it is, we hope that we get to meet Dumas soon. The show has done a great job of building anticipation. We need a payoff!

The Y&R week ended with Michael Baldwin saying farewell to Victor, one of the show's more dramatic moments this past week. We're ready now for a hello. It's time for Dumas to make his grand appearance! Victor's not the only one wondering if that's even his true name or not!

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