On The Young and the Restless, we have some characters who could use someone to lean on now and then. But there is one particular character who seems to need a friend more than most of the others do, and that person is Cane Ashby.
Lonely Cane on The Young and the Restless
Cane (Billy Flynn) can’t seem to catch a break, although he did bring most of his troubles upon himself by spending six years as the mysterious “Aristotle Dumas.” Now, because of that, Lily (Christel Khalil) and their kids, Mattie and Charlie, want nothing to do with him.
He’s an outcast in Genoa City, and the only person who gives him the time of day is Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), who is an outcast herself. But Cane and Phyllis never seem to trust each other entirely. And let’s face it, she always looks out for herself!
Most of the other characters on The Young and the Restless have at least one person in GC they can confide in, whether that person is a relative or a friend. But the Y&R writers seem determined to stick Cane in no man’s land, where he is constantly isolated emotionally and has no one he feels even remotely close to.
Cane and Lily’s messy relationship
Cane and Lily just can’t seem to get it together. He is eternally in love with her, and we suspect that she still loves him, too, but she won’t admit it. This guy has spent almost a year acting like a whimpering, lovesick puppy who just wants Lily to take him home and care for him.
He changes his stance toward her from one minute to the next. First, he refused to speak to her anymore, because she pulled the fake kidnapping stunt and allowed him to believe she was in danger. Then, he went back to being the lovesick puppy who is starved for her affection, following her around and wanting her to confide in him. He just can’t help himself. Y&R fans think he’s a glutton for punishment. He just can’t stay angry at her for long, and he can’t stay out of her life. He’s like an Energizer Bunny of love who keeps going and going and going…
We can think of so many hit songs that describe Cane’s romantic behavior. There’s Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You.” There’s Bread’s “Lost Without Your Love.” We could go on and on. It feels like we should hear one of those songs play in the background whenever Cane and Lily share a scene.
The man is obsessed, plain and simple, even though she is angry at him most of the time and constantly rejects him. How much longer will their stormy conversations continue before the Y&R writers finally put them back together? We feel like it’s destined to happen. We just don’t know when.
Could Holden become Cane’s friend?
Half of the time, we don’t know whether to feel sorry for Cane or do what Cher’s character did to Nicolas Cage’s in Moonstruck — smack him in the face and yell, “Snap out of it!” All we can say is that this guy desperately needs a friend to talk to. Unfortunately, everyone in GC treats him like he’s mud underneath their shoes.
Just last week on Y&R, three of Lily’s loved ones told Cane off — Devon (Bryton James), Nate (Sean Dominic), and Malcolm (Shemar Moore). Sure, he kept his Aristotle Dumas identity a secret for six years and didn’t tell anyone he had amassed a huge fortune. But he wasn’t the one who killed Damian (Jermaine Rivers) and Chance (Conner Floyd) in Nice, France. His unhinged assistant, Carter (Vincent Stalba), committed those crimes.
So, when is someone in GC finally going to reach out to Cane and treat him like a human being? He deserves that much. He’s not a deranged psychopath like Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) or Ian Ward (Ray Wise).
Perhaps Holden (Nathan Owens) could be a friend to Cane? Even though he may become protective of Lily, now that he knows he’s her half-brother, he spoke in Cane’s defense in a recent conversation with her. He told her that Cane was worried about her when she was missing. He also told her that Cane hired him to find her and the twins. Holden wanted Lily to understand the depth of Cane’s concern for her welfare.
So, is there a chance that Holden could become the friend Cane needs so badly? Someone to whom Cane can vent when he’s frustrated or lonely? Holden looks lonely himself most of the time, whenever he isn’t talking to Claire (Hayley Erin). Maybe he could use a new friend as well? Perhaps Cane could be that friend for him.
