The Young and the Restless: Why Kyle and Claire may be more interesting as schemers rather than lovers

Ever since Claire first appeared on The Young and the Restless in 2023, we've seen what feels like fifty shades of her personality. We've seen murderous Claire, sweet Claire, party girl Claire, and now we're seeing scheming Claire.

Her sinister, new allegiance with Kyle looks intriguing. Will they be more interesting as a scheming duo rather than the lovers they once were?

On Friday's episode of The Young and the Restless

Audra smacked Claire's face on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

On Friday's episode of The Young and the Restless, enemies Claire (Hayley Erin) and Audra (Zuleyka Silver) finally came to blows. It happened after Audra walked into Society and overheard Claire ask Holden (Nathan Owens) to tell her the whole truth about his L.A. secret with Audra. The brunette beauty wasn't going to put up with Claire's nosiness any longer. The two women have engaged in wild arguments before, but this was the last straw for Audra. She smacked Claire clear across the face, demanding that she stay out of her business.

Claire behaves like a mood ring. She's gone through so many personality changes that it's hard to keep up. Even though Audra has always been a trouble-maker, some of us are taking her side in this fight. It's clear that Claire doesn't fully trust Holden, and she can sense that he doesn't want to tell her the whole truth about the secret, but maybe Claire should just leave it alone.

On a side note, it was great to see Kyle (Michael Mealor) play it cool and not read too much into the plans he'd made with Claire for drinks at the GCAC. Keep it up, Kyle! Holden sure looked jealous when he heard about it, though.

Claire retaliated with a chokehold on Audra

Claire went for Audra's jugular on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

After Audra smacked Claire on The Young and the Restless, we practically saw steam fly out of Claire's ears. She grabbed Audra's throat as Holden desperately tried to pull Claire off of Audra. It's fun to watch these ladies spar with each other, because Hayley Erin and Zuleyka Silver have great on-screen chemistry. These scenes almost feel like a throwback to the late primetime soap "Dynasty," when archenemies Alexis (Joan Collins) and Krystle (Linda Evans) used to face off with each other. Those were the days...

Because of Claire's psychotic past with her Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) and Audra's fiery personality and mysterious L.A. secret, this feud isn't going to end well. The gauntlet has been thrown down. These women are out for blood, maybe not literally, but we know neither of them is about to wave a white flag any time soon.

It would have been fun if Kyle hadn't walked into Society after the fight was all over. He views Claire as sweet and innocent. If only he had seen hot-headed Claire throttle Audra. He missed a prime opportunity to witness a completely different side to the woman he loves.

Is this the beginning of a beautiful friendship?

Kyle and Claire are embarking on a new kind of relationship on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

But when Kyle and Claire talked at the GCAC, Kyle sensed a different kind of energy in her. When she said she wanted to find out Audra's entire secret and "bury her with it," Kyle's ears perked up. He saw a sinister spark in Claire. He can tell she means business. He looked like he was turned on by this new side to her personality. He even proposed they join forces and take down Audra together. After all, he's had his own battles with Audra, but he could never figure out a way to put her in her place. He even threatened to run Audra out of Genoa City, but she refused to leave.

Maybe Kyle figures, if he can't win back Claire's heart, then maybe they can become partners in crime with a mutual goal -- to expose Audra's dark secret. Will this new alliance make Kyle and Claire more interesting together than they were as a couple? We don't know, but it's sure going to be entertaining to watch them! We already sense an entirely different vibe between them, and when they clinked their glasses together to seal their partnership, that was the cherry on top. Some fans of The Young and the Restless found them boring when they were romantically involved. Some fans didn't buy into Claire's sudden shift from psycho to wholesome girl next door. Now, it feels like she is reverting back to her dark, scheming ways. Many fans think that's the way she's always been, deep down.

Kyle knows a thing or two about scheming as well. He stole the formula of a Jabot product from his own family's company during the storyline when he was at odds with his parents, Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane (Susan Walters). He even joined forces with Victor (Eric Braeden), knowing how much that betrayal would hurt Jack. Kyle may be a lot of things, but he is no choir boy. Claire didn't know him back then, but she's about to see that dark side of him emerge. So, who knows? Maybe he and Claire will generate more heat together as they plot to find a dastardly way to bring Audra to her knees. And just maybe, when all is said and done, they will end up back together and view each other in a whole different light.

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