Y&R Recap – Fri May 17: Victoria Suspects Victor is Plotting Against the Abbotts; Phyllis and Diane Clash Over Claire
- Posted on May 14, 2024
Today’s Young and the Restless recap airs in the USA on Friday, May 17, 2024, and airs one day ahead in Canada. We post our Y&R recaps every weekday!
Last Episode
Chancellor Park
Summer watches, infuriated, as Claire brings back Harrison from feeding the ducks. Summer tells her mom that she explicitly told Kyle that she didn’t want Claire involved with Harrison.
Phyllis figures they’re just feeding ducks… Maybe it’s harmless.
Summer says Kyle and Claire both know how she feels about Claire being around Harrison.
Phyllis asks what she’s going to do.
Summer says she won’t walk away.
The Abbott Mansion
Jack is incredulous about Diane’s wanting to leave.
Diane says she doesn’t want to leave, but she doesn’t see any other way to get through it. She’s angry at Jack for the risks he took to his sobriety and to his life. She won’t take the chance that her anger will push him back into a bottle of pills!
Jack says he won’t relapse. He can’t believe Diane wants to leave because of something he did for Nikki; he made a judgment call and saved her life!
Diane says Jack almost lost his life. He was unconscious and had overdosed! The paramedics needed to revive him! The only life that needed saving was Jack’s, and luckily Nikki was sober enough to call for the EMTs!
Jack says he knew he could come back from the pills. Nikki might not have been so lucky if alcohol poisoning had set in.
Diane says Jack could have taken away Nikki’s bottles.
Jack says that’s not how it works.
Diane asks if swallowing pills in front of Nikki is how it works.
Jack says it was a last resort.
Diane wonders what people at an AA meeting would say if he told them the story… Would they think he did the right thing or would they think he made a horrific mistake?
Jack says he accepts that taking pills was foolish; a safer option might have presented itself to him if he’d taken the time to think about it, but he didn’t have time. He made a decision in the moment, and it worked. He’s sorry he put Diane through it and wishes he could make it up to her.
Diane asks if that’s what this is… An in-the-moment Hail Mary? She thinks Jack will say whatever it takes to stop her from leaving.
Victor’s Secret Wine Cellar
Jordan laughs and tells Victor that she knew it… Victor needs her! He won’t just let her rot in here when she has something she can offer him! She must have a certain skillset he needs!
Victor says he doesn’t need her. He’s merely considering his options.
Jordan nods. Whatever it is, she’ll do it!
Victor says it’ll be at a time that he chooses.
Chancellor Park
Summer and Phyllis walk up to Harrison, Kyle, Claire, and Victoria. Summer says, “What a surprise!”
Harrison runs over and hugs Summer tightly. “Mommy!”
Victoria mutters under her breath that they were having a lovely day.
Summer asks how Harrison is.
Harrison says he’s having fun.
Phyllis wants a hug, too.
Harrison gives her a hug and says that he and Claire were kidnapped by a witch!
Phyllis says he’s brave.
Harrison nods. Claire told him he was the bravest boy she’s met.
Claire says he’s brave, amazing, and strong.
Harrison says he was brave because he had his lucky charm, which Claire found for him.
Summer says Harrison didn’t need a lucky charm to be brave.
Harrison shrugs. He says Claire used to have a lucky charm, but she lost it. He asks his mom if they can get her a new one.
Summer doesn’t say anything, and to lessen the discomfort, Phyllis asks how they all met up.
Victoria says she and Claire were out and about and were lucky enough to run into Kyle and Harrison. It’s nice to enjoy nature.
Summer tells Kyle it’s really nice that he could fit this in before heading to the office.
Phyllis walks over to Claire and says she’d like to introduce herself… She’s Harrison’s very protective grandmother! She shakes Claire’s hand.
The Abbott Mansion
Jack asks Diane what he needs to do to convince her he’s sorry… The last thing he wanted to do was to upset his wife!
Diane says he wasn’t thinking about her at all. He put himself in danger without thinking of the consequences it would have on his family or his wife. His instinct was to put Nikki first, not his wife, and she doesn’t know what to do with that!
Jack says the answer isn’t to run away.
Diane says she’s not running away. She’s doing what’s best for them; she doesn’t want her anger to cause him to relapse.
Jack says they don’t have to worry about him relapsing. The only craving he has right now is for a chance to regain her trust!
Diane says she has to be concerned about his sobriety. His word isn’t good enough; he says it was a one-off, but what if it wasn’t? What if he liked the feeling of being high on pills? Maybe saving Nikki was an excuse to feel that again, or maybe it was a test to see how strong he was against his old demons!
Jack thinks she’s taking things out of context.
Diane says he keeps saying how strong he is, but this is unknown territory. Maybe the tension between them will make him develop cracks in his strength.
Jack says he gets his strength from Diane; her love gives him strength.
Diane wonders what her anger would do. She’s not risking Jack’s sobriety, so the best thing is for her to remove herself from the situation. She needs her husband, and Harrison needs his grandfather. She needs time to think about what happened and to figure out what’s ahead for them, and Jack does, too.
Jack says he doesn’t need time; he knows what he wants. He takes her hand and tells her that he wants them to find a way to work through this together.
Chancellor Park
Claire tells Phyllis it’s wonderful that Harrison has so many people who love him and want to protect him.
Phyllis says that’s what family does.
Victoria figures Phyllis must know that Claire is family, too.
Phyllis says she knows who Claire is.
Victoria says she was telling Claire about all the interesting people in town like Katherine Chancellor, but she must have forgot to warn her about everyone in town.
Phyllis laughs and says that’s the thing about warnings around town… Nobody really pays attention to them. She gives Kyle a meaningful look.
Victor’s Secret Wine Cellar
Jordan asks what Victor means by a time of his choosing; is this a chess game now? She says they should sit down, play checkers, and get on with it.
Victor says he’s calling the shots. He’s still considering his options, and he’s still not sure he’ll go ahead with “the project.”
Jordan asks if he doubts her capabilities… She has the ability to take risks and push the limits. She has special talents, and she’s the only one who can do them; Victor knows that! She can smell fear, manipulate it, and weaponize it! Just ask his lovely wife!
Victor says she’s a delusional, vicious bitch. He tells her never to mention Nikki again.
Jordan laughs. “Whatever the great and powerful Victor Newman wants!” She thinks Victor wants her to do his dirty work. Her hands are already awash in blood… What’s a little more?
Chancellor Park
Victoria says she’s happy that Claire has made a real friend with Harrison.
Harrison asks Claire to go to the playground with him.
Summer says it’s time for Harrison to go home for lunch.
Harrison asks if Claire can come with them.
Claire says she’d like to, but she has plans already… Maybe some other time.
Victoria nods. It’s time to go.
Claire tells Harrison she’ll “see you later, alligator!”
Harrison grins. “After a while, crocodile!”
Victoria asks Kyle to think about what they were talking about. She and Claire leave the park.
Phyllis asks Harrison to show her the playground. Harrison agrees, and they head off, hand in hand.
Summer asks Kyle how he could do this to her.
Victor’s Secret Wine Cellar
Victor tells Jordan he’ll let her know when he makes a decision. He picks up the boot she threw and places it just out of her reach. He says it’s a small distance away… Just like her freedom. He walks over and picks up a bottle of vodka from behind him.
Jordan tells him not to turn his back on her after dangling freedom in front of her. He’s cruel!
Victor says she makes it easy. He brings the bottle into view and asks her how it looks… Pretty good, eh? He places it down on the table beside her cell.
Jordan says she needs food, not more vodka. She reaches through the bars and tries to grab Victor.
Victor slaps her hand away. He says he decides what she gets. “Cheers!” He walks away up the stairs.
Jordan screams after him to come back. She looks desperately at the bottle of vodka.
The Abbott Mansion
Jack wants to know what he can do to convince Diane that he’s okay and their future together is safe.
Diane says he should go to some 12-step meetings; no matter the reason, he broke his sobriety. He says he has things under control, but he let that poison back into his system, and there’s no telling if it’ll become a craving he can’t say no to.
Jack says she’s right; he’ll go to a meeting today, tomorrow, and the next day… Will that change her mind?
Diane says he can’t do it for her; he has to do it for himself.
Jack says he knows, but it is for them and their happiness.
Diane thinks he’s always been good at knowing exactly what to say.
Jack says it kills him that he’s hurt her so deeply.
Diane says it’ll take more than an apology for her to be okay with what happened.
Jack nods. He says loving her and being loved in return has brought him more joy than he knew existed, and it “crushes his heart” to know that he did something to destroy it. He begs her not to leave.
The Newman House
Victoria walks into the house and greets Cole.
Cole says he didn’t expect her back so soon… He expected that Claire and Harrison were having so much fun that they would have still been there for a while.
Victoria says they were having fun until Summer showed up.
Cole asks if Summer is still “tense” with Claire.
Victoria says that’s putting it mildly. Summer was excruciatingly polite, but it was obvious she couldn’t wait to get Harrison away from Claire. It was infuriating and insulting, and it didn’t help that Phyllis showed up “with her dragon breath” to back Summer up.
Cole asks how Claire took it. He hates the thought of their daughter not feeling welcome.
Victoria says Claire took it in stride, but she shouldn’t have to.
Victor walks in and says it’s nice to see them.
Victoria hugs him and says she talked to Joan when she arrived. Joan said Victor was home but didn’t know where he was… Where was he?
Victor says he was down at the stables feeding a horse some carrots.
Victoria thinks that’s nice. She says she knows her mom is in rehab, and she wants her to get better, but she really misses her.
Victor says it’s very upsetting. He asks what they want to talk to him about.
Victoria says they wanted to run something by him about Claire’s future.
Cole says it meant a lot to Claire to be able to help the kids at the hospital. It gave her a sense of purpose and made her realize she wanted to work with children.
Victoria says Kyle and Summer are looking for a new nanny for Harrison. She says Harrison adores Claire, and Claire seems open to the idea of working with Harrison. She says Kyle seems open to the idea, too.
Victor asks what the problem is.
Victoria explains that Summer is still wary of Claire and has a problem overlooking her history. Maybe Victor could talk to Summer about it and change her mind.
Victor says he won’t do that; as much as he’d love to help Claire, he won’t have her subject to the “toxicity” of the Abbott household!
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The Abbott Mansion
Diane tells Jack she has to get to the office; she has a presentation. As she grabs her purse, she says it’s too much to deal with right now; Harrison was kidnapped, there’s the Ashley mess, and…
Jack asks what she was going to say.
Diane says it’s nothing; it’ll work itself out. She asks Jack if he’s going to go to the AA meeting.
Jack promises he will. He asks her to reassure him they’re in a better place than they were when they started this conversation.
Diane says she still needs time. She leaves the house.
The Newman House
Victoria tells her dad that there may be no love lost between him and Jack, but Claire would mostly be dealing with Harrison.
Victor shrugs. Claire would be close to both Jack Abbott and Diane Jenkins; Jack is a fool, and Diane is an opportunist!
Victoria says that Jack wasn’t partying with Nikki; he took the pills to shock some sense into her.
Victor asks if Cole knows about what happened.
Cole nods. Victoria told him everything.
Victor says Jack and Nikki were close to becoming a total disaster, and he doesn’t want Claire exposed to Jack. In fact, he doesn’t want any of his family to have anything to do with the Abbotts ever again!
Victoria says Summer will never go along with that.
Victor says Summer is another story; there’s no reason for Claire to involve herself with the Abbotts.
Chancellor Park
Kyle tells Summer that meeting Claire wasn’t planned.
Summer knows, but he didn’t have to let Harrison run off alone with Claire!
Kyle says Harrison was happy to see Claire and wanted to feed the ducks with her.
Summer says something could have happened to a small boy near the water.
Kyle says she’s blowing it out of proportion. They were barely out of sight.
Summer says Harrison was kidnapped the last time that Claire was “barely out of sight” with him.
Kyle can’t believe Summer is still holding onto the belief that Claire had something to do with his kidnapping.
Summer knows Claire was a victim but thinks she’s a reminder of everything Harrison went through. He’s still recovering from that trauma!
Kyle says days like today will help him get back to normal. He saw that Harrison was happy and had bonded with someone who shared and survived a difficult experience with him.
Summer says she was very clear about how she felt about Claire spending time with their son.
Kyle says he couldn’t blow her off when Harrison saw her.
Summer says he blew her off instead and completely disregarded her feelings. She says negotiating custody with him was difficult enough… Why is he fighting her on this? She asked for one thing; she asked him to keep Claire away from Harrison! She didn’t even ask him to keep her away forever!
Kyle says that’s hardly fair.
Summer says Harrison’s not the only one who’s dealing with trauma. Every time Summer sees Claire, she’s reminded of the terror she felt, not knowing if she was going to see her son again. She says she needs to not see Claire’s face so she can recover from the trauma, too. She asks if Kyle even tried to respect her wishes. Was he even going to tell her about this if she hadn’t found out on her own?
Kyle says he didn’t think it was a big deal.
Summer nods. So her feelings and what she wants aren’t a big deal to Kyle.
Kyle says it would have been more upsetting and confusing to Harrison if they’d made Claire out to be a villain.
Summer says it’s not that hard; all he had to do was say hello and keep moving.
Kyle says he understands. It’s over. He wants to stop talking about it now.
Summer says they can stop talking about it as soon as he tells her what Victoria meant by “think about what they’d talked about.”… What was that?
Kyle says Victoria just wants people to give Claire a chance… Claire is family, and Victoria was trying to protect her daughter like Summer was trying to protect Harrison.
Summer says Harrison is a child, and Claire is an adult and can take care of herself. She has the entire Newman family to show her love, and she doesn’t need Kyle to get involved and drag their son into it.
Kyle shrugs. He says she’s overreacting.
Summer can’t believe he said that. Now he’s making unilateral decisions about their son? He’s going to ignore Summer’s boundaries when it comes to Harrison from now on?
Phyllis and Harrison walk up, and Phyllis says Harrison’s hungry.
Kyle says he’ll take care of it. He tells Harrison he’s going to make him a dad-style grilled cheese sandwich.
Harrison’s thrilled.
Kyle tells Summer they’ll finish the conversation later.
Summer says she’s coming to the house with him in case Claire decides to stop by for another surprise visit.
The Newman House
Victoria tells Victor they shouldn’t dismiss the idea of Claire being Harrison’s nanny because he’s mad at Jack.
Victor says he has his own ideas about his granddaughter’s future.
Cole raises an eyebrow, and Victoria laughs. She should have seen this coming! She explains to Cole that Victor wants his children and his grandchildren to be part of his legacy.
Victor says the best use of Claire’s intelligence and skills would be to follow in Victoria’s footsteps. Whenever Victoria returns to Newman, Claire could be her assistant.
Victoria says there’s a problem with that… She hasn’t decided if or when she’ll even return!
Crimson Lights
Diane sits in the coffee shop, doing some work.
Phyllis walks in and glances over at Diane.
Diane holds up her hand. “Not today.” Whatever it is, she doesn’t want to hear it!
Phyllis sits down and says she wants to talk about Kyle.
Diane sighs and asks what she wants.
Phyllis says she just saw Kyle at the park with Harrison and Claire, and she has a problem with Kyle.
Diane tells her to get in line.
Phyllis wonders if they’re on the same side… Does Diane share Summer’s concerns?
Diane is confused. What concerns?
Phyllis says Summer has concerns about Claire. At first, Phyllis thought Summer was being overprotective, but she saw them at the park, and Claire being pals with Harrison is very inappropriate since Harrison was just kidnapped by her aunt.
Diane says that Claire was as much of a victim of Jordan as Harrison was.
Phyllis rolls her eyes. Whatever. She says Claire just got out of the psych ward and is spending “so much time” with Harrison, who is a “sweet, vulnerable little boy.” What’s that about?
The Newman House
Victor says Victoria can’t mean it… She’s not returning to Newman?
Victoria says she won’t be returning anytime soon.
Victor says Claire is just in the process of finding herself, and Victoria should come back to Newman, dammit!
Victoria says she wants to get to know Claire better.
Cole says that Jordan is dead, and that gives them an opportunity to help Claire settle into her new life and figure out what her purpose is.
Victoria says Claire’s siblings will be back from school soon, and she wants to be able to prep Claire to get her to know them.
Victor says none of that prevents Claire from working at Newman Enterprises, nor does any of it stop Victoria from coming back! He wants Claire to have a structured life where she’s excited and challenged by her work. He says Victoria felt that way at Newman Enterprises her whole life!
Victoria wants Claire to do what makes her happy.
Victor says a job as a nanny isn’t a career. It’s not how you plan your future! Claire belongs at Newman as Victoria’s assistant, and Victor doesn’t want her anywhere near Jack Abbott!
Cole asks why not.
Victor says because he says so. He gets up and pours himself a glass of water.
Victoria asks if Victor is planning to retaliate at Jack for what happened to Nikki.
Victor says Jack, that son-of-a-bitch, almost ruined Nikki’s life.
The Abbott Mansion
Kyle, Summer, and Harrison enter the house. Kyle tells Summer that she didn’t have to come back with them.
Summer says she’s happy to be with her favorite little guy. She looks over and sees Jack, who’s sitting alone and looking dejected. She says she didn’t expect to see him home on a workday.
Kyle says Jack is working from home today. He asks Jack if he’s alright.
Jack says he’s great; how could he not be? He smiles at Harrison and asks how his favorite grandson is.
Harrison’s all smiles. “We fed the ducks!”
Jack jokes around with Harrison, and Summer says it’s time for Harrison’s grilled cheese sandwich.
Harrison likes that idea. He heads into the kitchen with Summer.
Kyle asks Jack if he’s sure he’s alright.
Jack says he’ll be fine. He doesn’t want to drag Kyle into it.
Kyle says it’s too late for that… He’s never seen Diane so upset at his dad, and he wants to help.
Jack says Diane is dealing with a lot of stress; Harrison’s kidnapping took a lot out of everyone.
Kyle says it did… But Jack did almost die last night.
Jack says he’s sorry that Diane told him those details.
Kyle says he’s glad she did tell him… He’s happy they didn’t lose him, and it makes sense that Diane is upset, but her anger seems out of proportion… Is there something else Jack needs to tell him? Is Jack’s relationship with his mother in trouble? He assures his dad that he can talk to him about it.
Crimson Lights
Diane tells Phyllis she doesn’t want to get into it with her right now.
Phyllis says she’s sorry that she’s expressing concern about their grandson. How awful of her!
Diane says Phyllis is stirring up trouble because she can’t help herself, and she’s decided that Claire is her latest target.
Phyllis says they could have a “situation” on their hands.
Diane is emphatic that they don’t have a situation. She says Phyllis has no boundaries, but she’s drawing a line right now.
Phyllis says that Claire could be a threat to Harrison.
Diane says she also could not be a threat to Harrison. She says her family went through a terrifying ordeal, and they’ve had enough drama; Phyllis should just stay in her own lane!
Phyllis says Summer is her daughter and needs to know what her child is up against; Phyllis is in her lane!
Diane says that Phyllis and Summer have already decided Claire is a problem. She asks why they won’t give her the benefit of the doubt.
Phyllis says that Claire’s aunt is a lunatic, and Claire has been in and out of the psych ward… Claire could be a “psycho in training” for all they know!
Diane asks if Phyllis knows how she sounds… Both Diane and Phyllis have been seen as “psychos” in their lives, so finger-pointing is not a good look for either of them!
Phyllis says she really wanted to see Claire’s point of view; she empathized with Claire and told Summer to stop being so overprotective and not to judge her… But Claire tried to kill her family; she’s a wildcard!
Diane says Claire was brainwashed and has gotten help, and the Newmans welcomed her with open arms.
Phyllis says the Newmans are adults who can fend for themselves against a wildcard, but Harrison can’t do that. She says Claire may have been completely rehabilitated, but even if she is, that doesn’t mean she has to be involved with Harrison!
Diane doesn’t see it happening.
Phyllis asks Diane if she knew that Kyle thought Claire should be Harrison’s nanny.
Diane is surprised and says Kyle wouldn’t put his son in danger.
Phyllis says Summer asked Kyle to keep that woman away from Harrison, but she just saw Kyle at the park with Harrison and Claire, despite Summer’s reasonable request to keep Claire away from Harrison!
Diane says it’s up to Summer and Kyle to figure out.
Phyllis says Kyle doesn’t care what Summer has to say, so they have to intervene, and Jack should, too.
Diane says they aren’t going to intervene in anything, and she certainly isn’t going to tell Jack about it. She gets up and puts her files and tablet into her purse.
Phyllis asks what’s going on with Diane.
Diane says it’s nothing; she’s late for a meeting. She leaves.
The Abbott Mansion
Jack tells Kyle that Diane feels he went too far by putting his own life on the line to save Nikki.
Kyle says he understands why Jack did it, even if he hates that Jack took a risk in doing it.
Jack says he didn’t feel like he had any other options.
Kyle says Diane doesn’t think that way.
Jack hopes Diane will someday understand why he did what he did. He says Diane mentioned something else that was bothering her… Could Kyle be what’s bothering her?
Kyle says that Diane has convinced herself that he’s trying to undermine her at work. He tries to help her when she makes mistakes, but instead of seeing it as teamwork, she accuses him of being out to get her.
Jack says Diane hasn’t been making any mistakes; her work has been impeccable!
Kyle shakes his head. That doesn’t make sense.
Jack says it makes sense if Kyle is still upset that Jack chose Diane over Kyle for the co-CEO position.
The Newman House
Victor says he’s not planning anything. He wants to protect his granddaughter like he protects everyone in his family. Jack Abbott is close to being addicted again! What if he starts popping pills? He doesn’t want Claire near that! He leaves the room.
Cole tells Victoria that they know where Victor stands. He wonders if it’s really about Jack being sober.
Victoria thinks it’s about Jack being the reason that Nikki is serious about getting sober. She thinks her dad is planning something and doesn’t want them anywhere near the Abbotts when it happens.
Victor’s Secret Wine Cellar
Jordan paces around her cell. She keeps looking at the bottle of vodka.
She calls out for Victor, asking what he wants from her so he’ll let her out.
Next Week on The Young and the Restless
Sally asks Audra how she knows when it’s time to cut and run.
Alan tells Traci it’s worse than he thought… There’s more than one personality at play, and the one he just spoke to is rather concerning!
Lily tells Nate and Devon she’s been loyal to Jill. This is a complete betrayal, and they have to respond accordingly.
Nate thinks she’ll explode when they do this.
Devon doesn’t care. She dropped the bomb on them, and now they’ll return the favor!
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Today’s Young and the Restless recap airs in the USA on Friday, May 17, 2024, and airs one day ahead in Canada. We post our Y&R recaps every weekday! Last Episode Chancellor Park Summer watches, infuriated, as Claire brings back Harrison from feeding the ducks. Summer tells her mom that she explicitly told Kyle that she didn’t want…