On The Young and the Restless, the growing unease between Billy Abbott and Sally Spectra has hit all-new highs, and frankly, it’s about time we picked a side and stuck to it.
What Happened on The Young and the Restless
Cane (Billy Flynn) handed Billy (Jason Thompson) the keys to Chancellor on a silver platter, saying they were “no strings attached.” If you can believe that, then you’ll believe anything.
I want to address the elephant in the room: Is Sally (Courtney Hope) coming off as a whiny, insecure girlfriend, or is she the only one in the room with 20/20 vision? It’s really easy to dismiss her storming out of Crimson Lights as dramatic (and she certainly can be that), but take a closer look. Sally isn’t just worried about losing her boyfriend to a pipe dream; she’s worried about losing her business partner.
They just launched Abbott Communications (and that was fun, wasn’t it). They built a media company on the promise of a fresh start, free from the toxic orbits of Victor Newman and Jill Abbott. For Billy to even get on board with the idea of jumping ship the second a shiny CEO title dangles in front of him? That’s not ambition; that could be construed as a betrayal of their shared vision.
And let’s not forget the source. Cane? Suddenly holding the reins of Chancellor? Sally’s skepticism isn’t insecurity; it’s a basic survival instinct. Why would Cane hand over an empire to a man he openly doesn’t trust? It smells like a trap, looks like a trap and quacks like a duck, or have i got things mixed up? Sally is sniffing out the danger while Billy is blinded by the glare of the CEO plaque.
Billy Isn’t All Bad Though
Billy, for all his faults, has been pretty transparent. He hasn’t signed the dotted line yet. He came to Sally to talk it out, insisting he needs her input before making a move. That counts for something. He has told her that he want’s a partnership. But in her defense, that continued conflict with Victor is “inevitable”, sounds like a man making all the excuses needed to get back into the ring. Sally can see right through it. She knows this has absolutely zero to do with business; it’s all about his ever-lasting need to prove himself to a mother who, just might not even believe in him and, the clincher, to stick it to Victor. I mean, I want to see him stick it to Victor, I think we all do. I’d be happy to watch a scene not unlike the attack on John Snow by the Nightswatch, where everyone has a turn and stabs him.
Are they near the end? Well, if Billy takes the job, it’s almost a certainty that the two will break up on The Young and the Restless. Sally made her stance crystal clear: accepting Cane’s offer renders her “quite unhappy.” That’s just an easy way of saying to him, “we are done.” Billy needs to make a choice. He can have the power and the title he thinks he deserves, or the woman who actually sees him for who he is. He can’t have both. And if he thinks he can juggle a war with Victor, and garner some respect and a happy home life with Sally, then he’s more delusional than Sally thought.
Watch full episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount.
