Is Claire more Newman than we know? Why her ruthless side could return on The Young and the Restless

On The Young and the Restless, Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) is about to embark on a new chapter. Technically new, she’s already lived the life of Nikki Newman’s (Melody Thomas Scott) executive assistant at a Newman business.

But this time around, it should be different. A year ago, Nikki hired Claire at Newman Enterprises, but that job ended when Claire drugged and kidnapped her future grandma and fed her alcohol to reactivate her addiction. But that’s so last year.

Claire began 2024 in Fairhaven, doing therapy to undo all the years of manipulations her crazed Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) had infused in her head in an attempt to bring down the Newmans. Over the 12 months, Claire turned on Jordan, accepted Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Cole (J. Eddie Peck) as her parents, forged a relationship with Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor), and became a kind, soft, caring version of the villain we met a year ago.

New Claire even changed her name to Newman, and, according to Nikki, represents everything the name means. And if that’s the case, look out Genoa City.

Claire and Nikki on The Young and the Restless

Determined that Victor would gain control of Chancellor Industries and make her the CEO, Nikki was getting her chess pieces in order. While she had counted on Lily (Christel Khalil) staying on and helping her run the place, Nikki knew she would need an assistant. Willing to put the past truly behind them and trusting a better result this time around, Nikki offered the position to Claire.

Nikki has been prepping Claire and they are both anticipating her big debut as Nikki's executive assistant at Chancellor. Claire seems eager to be Nikki's apprentice and ready to venture into the exciting new world of business.

While most of the time, Claire talks with wide-eyed wonder or offers sage advice for conflict resolution, we’ve seen little glimmers of a more confident, don't-mess-with-me version that is possibly under the surface. Will working in the corporate world bring out a more confident Claire?

When Kyle and Audra were competing for Victor’s approval, Claire walked in mid-argument at a moment when Kyle was being particularly vicious. He was concerned that what she’d witnessed would freak her out, but Claire confidently dismissed it and noted that she’d worked in the corporate world and knew how cut-throat it could be. Will Claire find her own style of Newman ruthlessness?

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Kyle has been placing value on his relationship with Claire because of her kind, soft nature. Thanks to her, he’s found a resolution with his parents when he thought it was past the point of no return. If the business world brought out Claire’s cunning side, would he find that attractive? Or would she seem like his past girlfriends, whose relationships ultimately caused him a lot of grief?

Meanwhile, Claire is contending with Summer over her cousin’s apparent jealousy of her relationships with Summer’s ex-husband, Kyle, and her son, Harrison. Noticing Summer’s behavior not matching with her words, Claire told her that she wasn’t competition. Summer sarcastically agreed. But she might surprise Summer with being more of a challenge than she realized and underestimated how much competition she actually is.

Victor has welcomed Claire into the family, but that came with the stipulation that she must be clear about her loyalties. To test her, Victor could ensure that Claire is pitted against Kyle in some form of business. Would she cut him some slack, or would her Newman-style business sense be in full swing?

Claire loves being a Newman, but with Aunt Jordan unknowingly lurking in the shadows, some may wonder if she’ll flip back to the dark side. It would be more beneficial for Claire to live not only amongst, but as an influential member of the most prominent families in Genoa City.

Challenged by Summer, pressured by Victor, and wanting to prove herself for a position of power in the business world could motivate Claire to bring out her fierceness and become a force to be reckoned with.

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Wouldn’t Victor be the most surprised to find out that Claire is more like him than any of his descendants?

Watch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount Plus.

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