Credit: CBS screenshot

Young & Restless delivered drama and suprises to mark its 13,000th episode, and fans were pleased given that Abby and Devon’s nuptials, albeit beautiful, would have been a tad sleepy all on their own.

Double-Shocker

The first question from most Young & Restless viewers when Ian Ward and Aunt Jordan showed up at the end of Thursday’s episode was, “Wait… how do they fit into all of this?” The way they were introduced led us to believe that Jordan was behind the Sharon/Phyllis car crash, meaning they were gaslighting Sharon into thinking she was responsible. The next logical conclusion then, was that they are also behind Sharon believing she killed Heather, suggesting that one of them actually finished Heather off when Sharon blacked out. The big question here is what their motivation would be? As far as I can deduce, the only one they could possibly have is if Ian is trying to get Mama Bear out of the way so he can get to Mariah and Aria. As we all know, he raised her in his cult, tried to marry her, etc. If this is the case, Ian and Jordan must also be responsible for Sharon’s psychosis, meaning they’ve messed with her meds or something along those lines. It’s quite the undertaking for two high-profile escaped felons, but we will 100% take it!

On the other hand, Jordan could have been referring to something else when she told Ian “it” was done exactly as he requested. I saw one fan on social media speculating that they kidnapped Adam and that’s why he wasn’t at Abby’s wedding. Ian and Jordan both love to target the Newmans, but that seems a stretch, particularly given Sharon spilled her guts and confessed to Nick in the next episode.

Sharon Finally Cracks

Shout-out to Joshua Morrow, who had me in stitches with some of the horrified expressions he was making as Sharon’s confession poured out of her.

Seriously though, from Sharon in the car talking to herself about not allowing Phyllis to foil her plan to the heart-wrenching scenes in the house as she buckled under the guilt, this was good stuf

Moving forward, Sharon will obviously be living a hellish nightmare until the truth, whatever it may be, comes out about Heather’s death. Given she’s admitting her guilt, not only for killing Heather but also for framing Daniel for murdering his loved one, she’s going to be ostracized from Genoa City society, and if the preview is anything to go by, will continue to be tortured over whether Phyllis will live or die. Worse, she’s headed to either prison or Fairview. Will it be an orange jumpsuit or a beige tracksuit for Sharon? Drop your guesses in the comments!

Riled Kyle

Jack and Diane’s war being exposed as a ruse would have us believe that they’ve put one over on Victor. However, as one can see from the outcome of the Chancellor Industries story, he always wins. Therefore, I’m waiting for the twist as he supposedly hands Glissade over to Diane. I might point out that this plot development is hella confusing… did Victor just hire her as his CEO to replace Kyle, or is he giving her the company now that it’s served its purpose? Also, why would he consider this a victory given that it’s led to Kyle and Jack making up? Make it make sense!

As for Kyle, he’s been an entitled brat, and the lengths Diane and Jack have gone to “save” him seem rather extreme. Why not leave him under Victor’s thumb to learn his lesson? Will he see his parents’ reasoning and be grateful? Stay tuned!

Chancellor Chump

OK, am I the only one who was really disappointed by Jill deciding to cave to Victor? It was a bummer to see the Mustache get his way when he was such a bully about it. It pinched extra because Billy and Lily had finally made amends and were back on track. But the worst part of all of this was everyone telling Lily she should be working at Winters when her heart is clearly with Chancellor and what she built there. Rude!

The opinions expressed are my own. Please feel free to give your take on this week’s Young & Restless in the comments section below.