The Cane Mutiny: The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of August 11, 2025

The Abbotts, the Newmans, and Lily are all safely back in Genoa City, but no one on The Young and the Restless can stop talking about Cane Ashby AKA Aristotle Dumas. What’s he planning? Who can stop him? How will he explain his secret identity to his children? The show gave us answers to some of our questions, but we still have plenty more!

The Young and the Restless Battlelines

We saw in between all the meetings about how the Newmans and the Abbotts were going to handle Cane, some people doing some work! Adam had a tell-all report on Cane (and Billy) sent out on Newman Media’s platforms, Diane was on the phone with Kyle about Jabot Cosmetics, and Lauren revved up her digital device to help Chris find a new gown. Seeing characters working doesn't take us out of the moment; it adds credibility to scenes and viewer engagement.

Jack and Cane took a business luncheon, but that seemed more like a class in how not to do business with someone with whom you're not comfortable. Jack sent a very clear and decisive message to Cane.

We certainly don’t want to see characters do nothing but work, but showing them in actual work environments or, at the least, showing them do some work will help legitimize all the business talk. And there is so much business talk! It's mostly all about Cane, and how everyone is going to deal with him and what he has planned!

Not taking a Chance on drama

We still can’t wrap our heads around the fact that Y&R killed off Phillip “Chance” Chancellor IV when the show just as easily could have written him off the canvas by saying he has a new job. If you’re going to kill someone, then milk all the emotion out of it. Christine returned from Los Angeles and explained to Lauren that Chance’s funeral was sad but beautiful.

That’s it? Where was Tricia Cast as Nina ripping our hearts out as she bid farewell to her son? Where was Ronan saying goodbye to his brother? Where was Phillip III, lamenting that he missed out on all those years with his son because he moved to Australia so he could live his life as a gay man? We feared last week that we might not see familiar faces back for Phillip's funeral. This week, those fears were confirmed.

If Y&R didn’t want to have an on-screen service because it’d be too sad, then why kill Chance at all? Viewers are supposed to feel moments of joy and grief right alongside the characters on a soap. That’s why people watch them!

Family matters

Speaking of Chris, we like her friendship with Lauren. But it’s a little bit more than that. The two women were – or are, depending on how you look at things – family courtesy of Lauren’s marriage to Chris’s late half-brother Scott.

Chris is also connected to the Abbotts via her late mother Rebecca’s brief marriage to the late John Abbott. But we never hear Chris or any of the Abbott siblings refer to their familial connection.

There was a lot of talk this week about Lily and Cane’s kids, Charlie and Mattie. What about Sam, Cane’s son with the late Juliet? Lily was so concerned about how Charlie and Mattie would react to finding out that their dad has been lying to them and how he’s been secretly amassing a fortune that is worth billions over the last several years.

We tend to think that Charlie and Mattie, who are young adults now, will be very forgiving to Cane when they find out he’s a billionaire. He can make up for lying to them by buying them condos, new cars, the latest iPhone, and anything else they can think of. Cane said people change their minds when they see checks with lots of zeros at the end. He's not wrong.

Sweet family moments

There’s plenty of yelling on soaps, but that gets a bit old. So, we especially enjoyed the scenes between Victoria and Victor when the mogul’s daughter confronted her dad over his control issues, hiring Audra to break up Kyle and Claire. Vicki passionately called out her pops on the times he interfered in her life. Victor can’t see why everyone doesn’t just see that he’s right. Their scenes ended with the two still on opposite sides, but we saw there was still a great deal of love between Victor and Victoria.

Anticipation

Chris is clairvoyant. She knows that Phyllis is going to want to throw a wrench into her upcoming wedding day to Danny because Phyllis is just spiteful and mean. She warned Chris and Danny before she went off to France that she’d be back.

Now that Nick and Sharon are growing closer, Phyllis is going to be extra angry. We’re looking forward to Chris and Danny’s wedding to see how Phyllis is going to disrupt Chris’s big day.

It’s high time that Nick and Sharon find their way back to one another. We want that kiss to connect next time! Losing Cassie was horrific and played a part in the couple splitting up. They’ve since had another daughter, Faith, and how her coming into the world didn’t reunite her parents is something we’ll never understand.

What is Cane’s plan -- really, what is it?

We understand that Cane has a scheme to get financial control of Newman Media, Newman Enterprises, Chancellor Industries, Abbott Communications, Jabot Cosmetics, and, quite possibly, Cassidy First, which donates much of its proceeds to charity. He may also have his eye on Esther’s old feather duster.

Seriously, though, Cane’s been told that all his machinations won’t regain Lily’s love. He’s a smart guy and has to know this on some level. Why isn’t Cane coming up with a new strategy?

A different kind of love

We understand Daniel falling for Tessa. Unlike Chance and Damian, who may be forgotten sooner than later, Daniel is still mourning Heather and the horrific way in which she was taken from him. Time will tell how many references are made about Chance and Damian in the coming months, and if they’re loved ones will find difficulty moving on as Daniel has because he lost Heather.

Viewers saw a possible Daniel/Tessa romance happening as soon as the two were paired on-screen. Daniel told Danny he was conflicted over his feelings because he believed Tessa and Mariah, and their daughter, Aria, should be together. There was little to no mention of the fact that Daniel’s feelings for Tessa, if they develop that far, won’t be reciprocated because Tessa is a lesbian and is attracted to women. How far can this story go?

We’re not opposed to Tessa and Mariah being in conflict, but this mystery with Mariah doing something heinous either with or to Michael Swan’s character needs to move along and give us an update.

Cane choo-choo-chooses Lily

Cane has another train, and this one has been brought to Genoa City. Don’t billionaires have penthouse sets anymore? Speaking of being on board, we can’t believe that Cane will drop his big plans to own all the companies in Genoa City if Lily comes back to him. Jack had a point when he met with Cane. At what point does enough become enough? Just how big does Cane want to make his empire? He’s worried about Charlie and Mattie. But is he worried about Sam?

Always in fashion

Returning from Nice hasn’t deterred anyone from Genoa City getting all dressed up. Nikki and Sally looked especially gorgeous this past week. And we love, love the idea of Lauren helping create three different wedding gowns for Chris. Maybe the show could present the trio of dresses on social media, and Y&R fans could choose the one they want Chris to wear. There have to be ways for shows to utilize social platforms to engage viewers and make them feel included.

Wicked ways

Is Audra the only vixen in Genoa City? Maybe not. Now that Claire knows that Audra and Victor teamed up to seduce Kyle away from her, she’s going to want to get even. Does that mean Claire will try to seduce Nate?

Diane pointed out to Kyle last spring that nobody knew just how reformed Claire was after being influenced by her Aunt Jordan for all those years. Claire getting even with Audra could backfire by destroying her relationship with Kyle. Wouldn’t it be ironic if Victor ended up winning? P.S. Congratulations to Zuleyka Silver on her third anniversary as Audra!

Gilded Lily

Forget Victor. Forget Cane. Forget Phyllis. The most powerful person in Genoa City right now is Lily. She alone has the power to get Cane to give up his plan to conquer all the businesses in Genoa City. She needs to set her price to Jack, Victor, et. al. and use her leverage to get whatever she wants!

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