“The Young and the Restless” never shies away from dangerous plots that keep viewers on the edge of their seats. But the daytime show’s latest storyline has fans especially intrigued, and it’s starting to get pretty dicey.
Over the last few months, the Newman family has been terrorized by an evil villain named Jordan Howard (Colleen Zenk), and she recently escaped from prison.
Eager to eliminate her as a threat for good, the patriarch of the Newman family (Victor Newman, played by Eric Braeden) has devised a risky plan that involves using his granddaughter Claire (Hayley Erin) as bait to lure Jordan out of hiding. But Victor now finds himself in Jordan’s crosshairs and she seems to be out for blood.
Will Victor’s plan work, or will it blow up in his face? And what do fans think about his latest scheme? We’re breaking down everything you need to know to catch up on all the action as it unfolds.
How is Claire related to the Newman family, and why is Jordan such a threat?
Claire is the biological daughter of Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) and Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck). The former couple thought their daughter had died after she was born, but they recently learned that she is alive and was raised by a woman named Jordan, who has held a grudge against the Newman family for decades.
While raising Claire, Jordan poisons her against the Newman family and enlists her to help execute a deadly plot against them. Claire gets a job working for Victoria’s mother, Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), the matriarch of the family, and convinces her to visit her “aunt” while she’s away on a business trip.
Jordan and Claire then kidnap Nikki and give her an IV filled with alcohol. Nikki is a former alcoholic, so this sends her into a tailspin. Meanwhile, the rest of the Newman family — Victoria, her brother Nick (Joshua Morrow) and their father, Victor — fly to Nikki’s rescue and are drugged. Cole, who has been out of the picture for years, suddenly appears and is also drugged.
The Newmans engage in a struggle with Jordan and eventually convince Claire to give them the drug antidotes, which Jordan hid around the house.
From there, Cole and Victoria get a paternity test and prove that Claire is really their daughter. Claire manages to get sent to a psych ward for treatment instead of heading to prison, like Jordan later does, and has been building a relationship with her biological family.
Where is Jordan now?
After trying to kill the Newman family, Jordan initially gets away. She is later found and sent to prison. But she isn’t there for very long before she escapes and starts terrorizing Nikki again with mysterious phone calls.
Over the last few weeks, Jordan has been plotting against Nikki and her family and has even enlisted the help of Nikki’s former sober sponsor, Seth (Brian Gaskill), who has also started drinking again. At first, he doesn’t know that Jordan is using him, but she encourages him to rebuild a relationship with Nikki so she can keep tabs on her. And she tells Seth she’s an old friend of Nikki’s.
When Seth tells Nikki that he’s been talking to her old pal, she’s confused and says she doesn’t know anyone that matches the description he shares. She suspects that it’s Jordan and encourages him to play along, saying that they now have the upper hand. Seth is eager to protect Nikki, but he doesn’t end up using his best judgment.
Seth confronts Jordan and tells her she needs to come with him to talk to the Newmans and the police. When they leave the bar they’ve been hanging out at, Jordan pushes Seth in front of a moving car, and he dies. Jordan runs back inside the bar and alerts the staff about the “accident,” saying that Seth told her to tell Nikki that he’s “sorry.”
Nikki gets a call from the police and rushes over to the bar with Victor, who suspects foul play and asks the police to lift DNA off of Jordan’s glass.
What is Victor’s plan?
With Jordan on the loose, Victor wants to put an end to his family’s suffering. He sees Claire as an important bargaining chip since Jordan raised her, but Claire is currently getting treatment in a mental health facility. So Victor devises a plan to get her released early and lure Jordan out of hiding in the process.
Victor announces that he wants to bring Claire to his family’s ranch to live with them and make a big splash in the press about Victoria’s long-lost daughter rejoining the family. They’ll stage a photo shoot at Victoria’s house in the hopes that Jordan will attempt to make a move on her and try to get back in her good graces. Meanwhile, Claire will really be at the Newman ranch.
What does Claire think about the plan?
Victor always gets his way, and he isn’t afraid of initiating sneaky schemes to achieve his goals. As he concocts his plan, he pitches it to Claire behind Victoria’s back, and his daughter isn’t exactly thrilled.
However, Claire is eager to help the family, and she eventually agrees with the plan after thinking it over. She soon learns that Victor already set the wheels in motion for her release before she agreed to the plan. She’s upset at first, but Victor’s lawyer explains that he likes to work ahead and cover his bases since there’s “no room for failure” when you’re working for Victor.
Claire thinks he’s covering for Victor, but still agrees to the plan.
“It’s time to be who my family needs me to be. That means helping catch Jordan any way I can,” she says in an episode that aired on Feb. 28.
How has the Newman family responded to Victor’s plot?
When Victoria expresses her displeasure over her father’s scheming, he reassures her that Claire will not be in danger.
“She will not be put at risk. Besides, it’ll give us a chance to remove Jordan as the threat that she is to all of us,” he says in an episode that aired Feb. 28.
Victoria explains that Claire is finally starting to feel like the Newman family loves and accepts her and says she’s worried that using her as bait will threaten this dynamic.
Nikki understands her daughter’s perspective but agrees with Victor that this scheme could be just what the family needs to get rid of Jordan for good.
“Knowing that Claire is free and living under our roof, Jordan won’t be able to help herself. She will make a move,” Nikki says in an episode that aired on Feb. 28.
When Cole visits Claire, she admits that she’s a bit nervous about the plan but notes that Victor has security measures in place to protect her.
“I owe you all for everything that I put you through and everything you’ve done for me since,” she says.
When Victoria arrives, she warns Claire that she thinks there’s more to Victor’s plan. Claire says she trusts him and adds she’d like her mother’s blessing. Victoria finally agrees but says she has some ground rules.
How has Victor’s plan evolved in recent weeks?
After she’s released from the mental health facility, Claire moves to the Newman ranch and sets Victor’s plan in motion. She calls Jordan but gets her voicemail. The villain eventually calls her back and tries to poison Claire against the Newman family once again. It doesn’t work, and Claire proceeds to pass along the message that Victor wants to talk to Jordan and put an end to all the chaos.
Naturally, Jordan is annoyed that Claire is receiving such a warm welcome from the Newmans and decides to set fire to Victoria’s house to send a message.
At long last, Victor and Jordan talk on the phone, and she agrees to meet him in person. Along with his lawyer, Michael Baldwin (Christian LeBlanc), Victor arrives in a shady alley, and Jordan suddenly appears and points a gun at them.
Victor offers Jordan $10 million, a deed to a house in France and a new identity so she can leave the country and leave his family alone. The offer seems to be too good to be true, and she’s skeptical that he’ll really let her escape.
To sweeten the deal, Victor offers to let her kidnap him and put him in a secret location that only she knows exists. Then, once she’s safe in France, she’ll call Michael and let him know to pick up Victor.
The only caveat? If she decides not to let Victor loose, Michael will alert the authorities and drain her new bank account. It’s a big decision for Jordan to make. Will she take the offer?
What do fans have to say about Victor’s plan?
Using Claire to lure Jordan out of hiding could be brilliant or disastrous, and “The Young and the Restless” viewers have a lot to say about Victor’s latest scheme.
For starters, many are questioning why Claire feels so compelled to get involved.
“Claire is a little too anxious to act as bait. I hope nothing happens to her,” one fan wrote on X.
Some viewers are also siding with Victoria and supporting her protective maternal instincts.
“Victoria is right. Victor doesn’t give a d— about her feelings or even Claire’s. He’s using Claire as bait,” one commented on X.
Fans of the show are also starting to question Victor’s logic.
“And even if the photo is staged at Victoria’s house, that doesn’t mean that’s where she’s going to be living. What are you going to do, print her address on the front page? You may as well put an arrow over the door that says, ‘Jordan, Claire is here,’” one X user commented.
Naturally, some viewers are also upset that Victor is willing to put his granddaughter at risk.
“Victor’s narcissistic tendencies are really showing in this Claire story,” one person wrote.
“Y&R” fans also expressed their frustration with Nikki.
“Nikki’s the one who escalated things and now she’s going to sit back and let everyone else fight her battle for her. Sorry Claire, but you’re about to learn the hard way about this new family of yours,” one X user commented.
Once they learn that Victor is really serving himself up to Jordan on a platter, fans still question if his plan will really work.
“Yeah. I feel like Claire might go rogue to stop Jordan herself because she wants Jordan caught, feels guilty and wants to feel safe to build an actual future,” one person commented.
Another viewer questioned whether Jordan would really fall for Victor’s offer.
“Jordan has already shown she’s deranged. I don’t think a house overseas is going to woo her,” they wrote.