Credit: CBS screenshot

Young & Restless has set the scene for a tense November Sweeps where Daniel and Sharon are involved. Plus, we’ve got Diane back to her old tricks, a new love triangle being teased, a new character to look forward to, and a wedding to attend. Here’s a look at what happened and what’s coming up:

Cracking On

As if Sharon putting pressure on herself to confess by manifesting Hallucination Nick and Dead Heather in her mind isn’t enough, the preview has Phyllis putting the psychological moves on her as well. Phyllis would know Sharon well enough to realize that whatever horrible thing she did in the throes of her mental health crisis, she’d still be wrestling with her conscience over it. What better way than get her to crack than to imply that she knows what she did and that she has evidence. I don’t expect Sharon to confess right away, if only because we’re still at the beginning of November Sweeps. There’s almost certainly more torture to come before the truth comes out. But when it does? Well, all hell’s going to break loose. Sharon’s family (and all the people who discounted Phyllis’ claims) will be left reeling! Everyone on the canvas will be utterly shocked to hear that Sharon killed Heather and framed Daniel for it after the fact.

Of course, Victor and Nikki may be among those who aren’t quite as stunned to hear the news. After all, Sharon burned down their beloved ranch years ago. The happy news, however, is that Victor’s secretly had it rebuilt. I have to question how Nikki is completely unaware of a huge construction project on their property, but that’s a technicality I’ll gladly overlook. The reveal will take place this coming week, and the new/old ranch will be the venue for Abby and Devon’s wedding. Such an emotional time for long-time fans… and the stars. Eric Braeden and Melody Thomas Scott cried when they saw the set for the first time.

A New Triangle

We saw this coming months ago, and it’s been a slow rollout, but the time for a Claire/Kyle/Summer love triangle is clearly getting closer. I was reminded, while watching “Skyle’s” scenes, that they have scads of chemistry. Moreover, it was weirdly satisfying watching Kyle interact with a woman who doesn’t act like a pod person/wide-eyed child/therapist. I truly have no words for how badly the Claire character was bungled in the aftermath of her “rescue” from Crazy Aunt Jordan. I will actually relish watching Summer take Kyle away from her, if only because it might turn her back to the dark side. That would then provide an opportunity for the writers to do a reset on Claire after the fact, and make her into the complex character she should have been written as all along.

A Woman Scorned

Why do I say we shouldn’t count Lily out yet? I feel like if she can just get back in there and take control before Victor makes his move, she might have a shot. How will she do that? Well, we see Billy trying to make amends with her in the preview. If she plays along and manages to get him to rehire her, she can then execute her original plan and work to get him out from the inside. If she can salvage the Odyssey 7 deal that she helped Victor to scuttle, she can probably get Jill onside. That said, Jill doesn’t yet know that it was Lily who went to Victor and gave him that inside information to screw over Billy. That reveal would certainly not work in her favor. The fact is, this may all come down to Jill vs. Victor, which is potentially fun… especially if it livens up the “Dabby” wedding!

Tunnel Vision

Lily is not backing down and I kinda like that, but it’s out of character for her to have such tunnel vision regarding work that she’d be willing to abandon her brother and refuse to attend his wedding because she might not be able to control herself around Victor and Nikki. Having a character do and say completely unrealistic things to support a plot takes a viewer out of the moment. And Daniel may have left Lily for his ex and hurt her, but these two have history. There’s also no universe in which Lily wouldn’t be reacting to Daniel and Lucy being involved in a tragedy… or him being arrested for murder. Are we to believe she’s so caught up in being fired from her job that she can’t be bothered? Or has she not even heard about it?!

Bits ‘n’ Bites

The writers are trying hard with the Connor, Adam, and Chelsea happy families stuff, but it’s not working for me. When “Chadam” are stood in a room with Billy and Sally, it’s obvious where the real connections lie. That said, Billy and Sally also have chemistry. It’s giving “we’re a couple of misfits” energy. I’m not opposed entirely, though I’m sick of Sally getting the short end of the stick in love… Diane is showing her true colors at long last and I love it. This is the entertaining Diane. That said, I’m still on the fence about whether this is a ruse… The Nate “shocker” was pretty expected, but Damian will be a welcome addition. I had to chuckle, though, because it’s such an obvious retread of the Neil and Malcolm story… It was nice to see Tessa and Mariah for Halloween, and Tessa was a gem helping Daniel as she did. But I feel like I’m always saying these kinds of things about their pop-ins. They need a story… Chance arrested Summer’s brother and is in the dog house, and so he should be. He found a few pieces of evidence and washed his hands of looking any deeper into it… Last, but not least, Dead Heather is a ton more fun than Not Dead Heather ever was. Can we keep her for a while?

Red hot! Don’t miss seeing Courtney Hope’s most sizzling red carpet looks, ranked in our photo gallery below.

The opinions expressed are my own. Please feel free to leave your thoughts on this week’s Young & Restless in the comment section.