Ian's back and Mariah's loved ones are none the Ray Wise-r: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of October 20, 2025

The Young and the Restless played a lot of mind games this week with characters old and new, leading to an unforgettable week of dynamic performances!

None the (Ray) Wise-r on The Young and the Restless

We're anxious for even more specifics as to what Mariah (Camryn Grimes) did during her business trip, but we learned this week why Mariah did what she did. The confused woman has checked into a clinic in Boston to get some help for herself. Mariah has been traumatized ever since she got back to Genoa City last summer. We've learned in dribs that she had too much to drink, connected with a mystery man on some level, and had a flashback to painful memories with Ian Ward (Ray Wise).

That prompted Mariah to nearly suffocate the man with a pillow. We're wondering if there's more to the story, but we got insights into Mariah's frame of mind. The damage Ian did to her when he raised her in his cult has done long-term harm to Mariah's self-esteem. Bravo to Wise for his "return" as Ian. Yes, we know he really is alive, but Mariah believes he's dead even though he occupies a lot of real estate in her fragile mind.

That didn't stop her from conjuring up an image of the baddie. Imagining tormentors from your past must be hereditary, as Sharon (Sharon Case) once did the same with Cameron Kirsten (Linden Ashby). Evil Ian had a field day messing with Mariah's psyche. Wise plays the controlling Ian with such style. Who needs to be involved with a narcissist when you have Ian trying to control you and make you feel insignificant? Ian acts like he's your best friend, but he's really dropping little bombs that destroy Mariah's self-esteem. If Ian can do this kind of damage as a figment of Mariah's mind, imagine what Ian can do if and when he returns in the flesh. We get a chill up our spines every time Ian says, "Oh, Nicole," when he greets Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). You know he's up to no good!

Good for the designer soul

Y&R costume Mandi Line has bedazzled us with Genoa City fashions. But dressing Ian as simple black and white (his collar) as a priest? Brilliant! Mariah ended up confessing way too much to "Father Ian."

Kudos to Line for creating Sienna Bacall's (Tamara Braun) look. There's quite an edge to Y&R's newest mystery lady!

Sweet but a psycho

Cricket (Lauralee Bell) should have asked Daniel (Michael Graziadei) to get his mother to stay away, not just from her wedding to Danny (Michael Damian), but also from her bachelorette party. Daniel was out of town with Tessa (Cait Fairbanks), trying to help the lost Mariah, but it may not have done any good anyway. Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) was determined to crash Cricket's get-together in the jazz lounge, and that's just what she did. It's been decades since Phyllis and Christine had their showdown in a courtroom in which all her machinations were exposed. As a result, Phyllis has never been able to let go of her animosity towards Christine, who was part of the legal team that cost Phyllis everything.

Of course, Phyllis hated Chris before she had even ever met her, as she was Danny's wife. Phyllis barged into the jazz club, determined to ruin Cricket's party. She made fun of the fact that there weren't many attendees and blasted the bug for ruining her life.

Thank goodness, Lauren (Tracy Bregman) stepped up and pulled Phyllis aside. Lauren giving her pal a good talking to and Danny doing the same caused Phyllis to take a long, good, hard look at herself, and the redhead didn't like what she saw. When Danny sang his song, "Let Me Into Your Heart," to Christine when they were surrounded by all their friends, Phyllis felt like the ultimate outsider. Poor Phyllis.

Seducing Cane

Later in the week, Phyllis showed just what a chameleon she is by donning a purple robe and acting seductively towards Cane. He knows she knows he knows she knows she took the Artificial Intelligence software that can bring down everyone in Genoa City (and beyond, come to think of it). They each have an ally they're checking in with for help. The tensions between these two are riding high!

Don't hold back

Phyllis may have played her cards close to the vest this week with Cane, but two women did not -- Abby (Melissa Ordway) and Lily (Christel Khalil). Abby blasted Cane for ultimately being responsible for the death of three men on his estate last summer. Those men include Damian (Jermaine Rivers), who was Lily's new love; also, Carter (Vincent Stalba), who had a derranged loyalty to Cane, and Chance (Conner Floyd), the man who was the father to Abby's son, Dominic.

Whether Chance's death serves a greater plot or storyline coming up remains to be seen. No matter what, though, Chance's untimely and preventable death should never, ever be forgotten. Brava to Abby for making sure Cane doesn't get away with not feeling guilty.

They went there

We saw it coming. Daniel (Michael Graziadei) and Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) ended up locking lips after Mariah yet again pushed Tessa away. Put Daniel and Tessa together after an exhausting trip, mix with alcohol, and surprise, surprise! She went in for the kiss! It's seldom (if ever) mentioned that this is a triangle in which two people of the same sex are involved, but they're not just involved -- Mariah and Tessa are deeply in love. Phyllis may not be doing a good job of running her own life, but she nailed it when she said that Daniel stands to get hurt.

Then again, we took a second look at that kiss that they shared at the bottom of the stairs at the Genoa City Athletic Club. Sizzle! By the time Mariah returns, she may find that Tessa has moved on! The drama comes from watching them make their way back to each other.

I love L.A.

Last June, many Genoa City citizens traveled to France to meet the enigmatic Aristotle Dumas, who turned out to be their old pal Cane. Now, many of the show's cast -- Sharon, Nick (Joshua Morrow), Noah (Lucas Adams), Kyle (Michael Mealor), Claire (Hayley Erin), and Holden (Nathan Owens) -- are in Los Angeles. It's too bad that the show hasn't been out there doing location shooting. The L.A.-based serial wouldn't have far to travel! But, it's common knowledge that budgets are much tighter than the days when Nina (Tricia Cast) and Chase (Stephen Gregory) went to Los Angeles and truly saw Hollywood and all the sights of sunny Southern California.

The addition of the enigmatic Sienna has been a shot in the arm for the show, and we expect things to get even more intriguing when Roger Howarth (ex-Austin) arrives on the scene. How does all of this tie in with Noah's accident? We're intrigued. Maybe it's the fact that the characters are constantly walking through a maze of shrubbery, but the trip to L.A. has captured our attention. We hear more characters from Genoa City are coming to Los Angeles next week.

Talking to oneself

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Talking to oneself on daytime drama is Soap Opera 101. It helps when what a person is saying has some kind of dramatic impact. After Esther (Kate Linder) left Phyllis at Crimson Lights because she had a date (go, Esther!), Phyllis said to herself that she had a date, too, with her laptop so that she could steal Cane's AI program! "I will hold the cards and I will call the shots and everyone in this town will answer to me," Phyllis quietly and confidently said. "And I will get everything I deserve."

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

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