The Young and the Restless Jack Abbott may not know it just yet, but he’s certainly gotten a bit of revenge on his foe, Victor Newman. The loyalty shown to Jack by his ex-wife, Nikki, drove a wedge between Mr. and Mrs. Newman in some particularly powerful scenes last week. Now, Soap Central is bestowing Performers of the Week honors on Victor and Nikki’s respective portrayers, Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott, for their tour de force performances!
The Young and the Restless, Newman V. Newman
After being kidnapped, Jack (Peter Bergman) was found by his family on the yacht in Lake Michigan. While the Abbott patriarch some explaining to do to Diane (Susan Walters) over being found in bed with Patty (Stacy Haiduk), the man is safe, at least!
The same can’t be said for Victor and Nikki’s marriage on The Young and the Restless. Nikki confronted her husband over his kidnapping of Jack. He was angry. She was livid. The resulting conflict was off the charts!
The scenes between Braeden and Thomas Scott were brilliant because both actors know their characters so well. At his core, Victor will always be, in many ways, 7-year-old Christian Miller, left at an orphanage by his mother, Cora (Dorothy McGuire), on Christmas Eve.
Victor sees someone like Jack, who comes from wealth, as an adversary. Nikki’s loyalty and fondness for Jack easily irks Victor, especially now that Victor no longer has Jack as leverage against Phyllis (Michelle Stafford).
Meanwhile, Thomas Scott’s Nikki is both fiercely loyal to her husband and to her ex-husband; however, the former believes that Nikki is either loyal to him or to Jack. She can’t have it both ways.
“I am sick and tired of being judged by you, by Nicholas [Joshua Morrow] or Adam [Mark Grossman],” Victor barked at his wife. “You are either willing to rebuild this empire with me or get the hell out of here!”
Nikki couldn’t believe Victor was actually kicking her out, but Victor didn’t hesitate to say that that’s exactly what he was doing! “You bet!” he shouted. “You have threatened several times to leave me for Jack Abbott. Now is your chance! Go lick his wounds with him!”
“That you caused!” Nikki pointed out. Few people in Genoa City can yell back at Victor this way, and Nikki is on that short list. But being right didn’t win Nikki any points.
“You care more about him than your own husband,” Victor proclaimed.
Victor and Nikki, through the eyes of love
Watching Braeden and Thomas Scott volley back and forth with such passion is like watching two tennis pros at the top of their game only instead of tennis balls, verbal grenades are being hit. Y&R viewers have known and loved the characters for years, so it’s also painful to see two people who love each other so much hurt one another.
“How can you possibly suggest that Jack means more to me than our marriage?” Nikki incredulously wondered.
Victor attempted to walk away, but Nikki was determined to have her say.
“Now, it’s my turn,” Nikki stated. “Of course, I care about Jack! He’s one of my oldest and dearest friends. That you would question my love for you breaks my heart!”
Braeden’s and Thomas Scott’s characters talked over each other as the scenes intensified, but that’s what people do in real life when they’re arguing. The overlapping added realism to the tension between the married duo.
Nikki called Victor out on his stance, asking if he was truly going to throw her out of the house that he had built as a gift for her. Victor didn’t back down and showed his wife the door!
“I hope you’ll be able to live with yourself,” Nikki shot back. Victor assured her, “Oh, I will. Trust me!”
This isn’t the first fight between Victor and Nikki, and we suspect it won’t be the last. Even if they officially call it quits, he two will eventually find their way back to each other, we suspect, as they always do. However, a reunion will take some doing.
Bravo to Braeden and Thomas Scott for their powerful performances as the Newman marriage has hit an impasse.
