Kyle Abbott can't catch a break: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of September 15

Relationships shifted and alliances were formed this week on The Young and the Restless as Kyle tried his best to convince Claire he's a good guy, and Cane got organized with his plan, while Victor emerged (what else?) victorious!

The Young and the Restless, Kyle's a catch

Diane has acknowledged that her son, Kyle, is a grown man and he doesn't need her interference, but we think he does. The young man has been doing sincere backflips to convince Claire that he's worthy of her love. But it appears he couldn't do anything right.

He gently and romantically urged Claire to go with him to Paris so they could focus on their relationship. Nah, Clarie's not interested in that. She doesn't think that Kyle should use going to one of the most romantic places in the world as a distraction.

Read that again. Wouldn't anyone want to go to Paris to get away from it all? Wouldn't someone see that if a person is going to make that kind of time and financial commitment that it's worth exploring?

Claire doesn't hesitate to tell Kyle when he's pushing too hard or when he's doing the wrong thing. She regularly reminds him that he lied to her about what happened in France with Audra. Yes, Kyle kissed her. Yes, he walked around with his shirt off in Audra's train car. But that was only to expose Audra's scheme with Claire's grandfather. Maybe Claire should direct some of her frustration towards Victor, and not towards Kyle for shining some light on the situation.

Does Kyle throw up in Claire's face that she came to Genoa City using a fake name and worked with her Aunt Jordan to take down the Newman family? Claire actively participated in kidnapping Nikki, hooking her alcoholic grandmother to an IV filled with vodka (!), and more.

Claire keeps reminding folks that she's done a lot of therapy. We haven't seen this therapy, however. We'd love to see a therapist ask Claire why she's being so hard on Kyle. He put up with her overbearing grandfather, and he's forgiven her past.

Kyle truly hasn't done anything that bad except try to be the perfect boyfriend for Claire. He better not do something really outrageous like, gee, we don't know, buy Claire an expensive purse, right? (IYKYK).

The Cane conundrum

Cane is someone else who'd benefit from therapy. He's decided his original plan to use AI software to take over companies in Genoa City is back on. The dialogue is rather nebulous when it comes to the legality of what Cane is doing. Some days, it sounds as if it's okay if Cane and his team use the AI against Newman, Jabot, et. al. as long as they don't get caught!

And what is Cane's goal, exactly? He's already got billions. Does he really think that taking over Jack's company and Victor's business that Mattie and Charlie are going to run back to him? Or that Lily will? Cane's told Billy he's too volatile to be a part of his team, but Cane's the one acting emotionally. We actually know what Billy's plan is. He wants to use the AI software or at least threaten to use it to gain control of Chancellor Industries, get money to finance Abbott Communications, show his mother that he can succeed, and stick it to Victor.

But what's Cane going to do when he owns all the companies in Genoa City? Sometimes you can fight for something, achieve it, and then realize that it's not what you wanted at all.

Cane told Lily that everything he'd done over the last several years -- becoming Dumas, amassing the wealth -- was for Lily and their kids. "We didn't ask for it," Lily pointed out, suggesting that he try to repair his relationship with his kids. Cane said that's what he was trying to do. "You can't have it both ways," Lily noted. And there you have it. Cane has been told time and time again that his machinations will not get him his family back. Yet, he proceeds with his plan anyway. Maybe Billy's not the only one who's a little too myopic for his own good!

Face the music

Daniel's at a crossroads. He's taken a shine to Tessa, but he doesn't know what to do about it since he doesn't want to play any kind of role in Mariah and Tessa's split. For starters, Mariah seems to be handling the breakup just fine all by herself. We thought she had made progress by telling Tessa, her wife, that she had almost killed someone. What a breakthrough! Some suspected that Mariah had actually taken a life. Almost killing someone? That's certainly something that a couple can overcome, right?

Mariah's mother, Sharon, has a great relationship with Nick, her ex-husband. Nick is loaded with money. Maybe Sharon could ask Nick for some cold, hard cash that could take care of Mariah's problem. Money talks, after all.

Back to Daniel, doesn't he realize that Tessa prefers women? Sure, she's bisexual, but Tessa loves Mariah. They have a child together. Daniel might want to find another guitar teacher (his father, maybe?) and move on. Mariah is unfair to ask Daniel to keep an eye on Tessa and their daughter if she has even an inkling of an idea that Daniel is starting to fall for Tessa. How could she not, after coming upon them sharing an intimate friendship during their guitar lessons?

Should Daniel pursue Tessa while he's in the middle of this mess that Mariah is in, but can't fully talk about? Or should he wait until it's resolved so that Tessa can decide what she wants with a clear mind?

Surprise intervention

Jack Abbott is a brilliant businessman. There are a lot of people he could have called to do a mini-intervention with Billy, but he chose the right person in Victoria, Billy's ex, and the mother of his children. She was just the right person to nail Billy now that his old, unhealthy ways are being revived.

Genoa City Hall of Fame perfect partners and parents

Sally continues to be the best thing to ever happen to Billy, but the poor guy just can't see it! Jack was a loner for decades, but he couldn't have chosen a more supportive wife than Diane. Lauren is going to make sure that Michael doesn't get in too deep with Cane or Victor if it's the last thing she does! Sorry, Phyllis. The judge made the right call all those years ago, awarding custody of Daniel to Danny. The rock star is a rock star in his son's eyes because he's always there for him.

Wedding Belle Non-Blues

Anticipation for Cricket and Danny's wedding in November is building. Usually, seeing wedding gowns this early is not a good sign, but Y&R hasn't just shown us one. They've shown us three. Fans are getting to vote on which gown Cricket will wear when she walks down the aisle.

This is encouraging engagement, which is great. But what about a guest list? Will Nina (Tricia Cast) (AKA Cricket's BFF) come on for the wedding? If so, will she see Cane and blast him for the death of her son, Chance? Might Gina Roma (Patty Weaver), Danny's sister, show up for the big day?

Victor, victorious

Wednesday's episode had a scene with Victor in his office. In it, we learned that Victor has a way to bring down Cane, Jack, and Billy. Y&R has many corporate and business stories going on. They work best when they're tied to emotions and relationships. Y&R does a good job of showing us all the dynamics. It's very tough to predict who's going to emerge as a winner, though. You can have all the money in the world and still not be happy if you don't have anyone by your side.

Maid to order

We're seeing more and more of Esther (Kate Valentine) as Crimson Lights continues to be one of the show's hottest hot spots. Yay! Esther's been a staple of Genoa City for over 40 years. She's a tie to the late Katherine Chancellor (Jeanne Cooper), which is one of many reasons why her presence adds a little something extra to every episode that she's in.

Still, we'd prefer to see her back where she truly belongs -- in the Chancellor mansion, wearing her maid's uniform and keeping watch over Katherine's home (which we believe Esther still owns half of!)

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