The Young and the Restless: Will Michael help the Abbotts save Jabot?

It looks like The Young and the Restless' Michael is about to enter risky territory, as he considers helping the Abbotts fight off Victor's attack. But how can he do it? What is his best strategy for stealing the AI program from Victor? Even Michael isn't sure.

Michael redeemed himself (sort of) on The Young and the Restless

Victor rudely hung up on Michael on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

Many fans of The Young and the Restless were disappointed in Michael (Christian LeBlanc), as well as angry, after he let Victor in on the Abbotts' secret shutdown of Jabot. After all, Jack (Peter Bergman) and Diane (Susan Walters) are Michael's friends. How in the world could he betray them?

Thankfully, on Friday's episode of Y&R, he explained why he did it. He told his wife, Lauren (Tracey Bregman), that he told Victor about the Jabot shutdown because he was hoping Victor would then back off from attacking Jabot (since the Abbotts already shut the company down online). So, even though we're still a little miffed at Michael, at least his intentions were good. Plus, we have to give him props for telling Lauren what he did, which shows that he's making good on his promise not to keep her in the dark about his involvement with Victor.

After Diane asked for Michael's help in getting proof that Victor has the illegal AI program, Michael called Victor and asked him about his next plan regarding Jabot. Victor abruptly told him, "None of your business," and hung up. The expression on Michael's face was priceless! That was a classic Victor move. His trust in Michael only goes so far. We ask ourselves time and again, why is Michael such a glutton for punishment where the Mustache is concerned? Y&R fans become frustrated with Michael for the same reason.

If only Diane knew what Michael did

If only Diane knew what Michael told Victor on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

All through Diane's conversation with Michael at Society, we kept thinking, "If only she knew that Michael was the one who blabbed to Victor about Jabot's shutdown." Michael looked like he was squirming uncomfortably in his seat! He did admit to Lauren that he felt a little guilty.

If Jack was angry at Adam (Mark Grossman) and Chelsea (Melissa Claire Egan) for publishing the hit piece on Jabot (which he was), then he is going to go absolutely ballistic if he ever finds out what Michael did. When Lauren and Michael were talking quietly in Crimson Lights, it was a shame that none of the Abbotts were standing within earshot. They would have been shocked at what they heard!

Peter Bergman is so great at infusing rage into his character whenever someone does him wrong. We need him to find out that Michael was Victor's mole, because then, we would get a dramatic follow-up scene where Jack goes off on Michael. Bergman and LeBlanc are two of the longest-running actors on The Young and the Restless. They both know how to deliver the drama. Jack has a right to know why Michael did it. So, let's see a good, explosive scene between them -- and Diane should be included in the conversation, too.

Michael's hush-hush talk with Lauren was fun to watch

This AI program has everyone on edge on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

It's wonderful to see that Michael is now letting Lauren in on all this dirty stuff that he's gotten mixed up in with Victor. Not only that, but he is also asking her for suggestions on what he should do. He does want to help the Abbotts, but he has no idea how to go about it. Lauren doesn't know either, but she whispered to him, "Who else but you could get close enough to actually pull this off?"

All he and Lauren know is that if he does help, then Victor will raise holy hell if he finds out about Michael's involvement. His relationship with the Mustache will never be the same, which makes us wonder what punishment Victor will inflict on him. Michael finally decided, "In the service of the greater good, I'm going to have to be duplicitous as hell. I'm going to have to be closer to Victor than I've ever been." This sounds like Michael's storyline on The Young and the Restless is about to get very interesting!

Is Michael going to hack into Victor's computer somehow, to track down the AI program and destroy it? That sounds more like a job for Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). Some Y&R fans would like Phyllis and Michael to team up and help the Abbotts, but can Michael trust her? They are longtime friends, but her attitude toward him has been frosty ever since he represented Sharon (Sharon Case) after Heather (Vail Bloom) was murdered. It sounds like this is going to be quite the challenge for Michael. Let's hope he can pull it off without Victor finding out what he did!

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