How Claire and Mariah introduced Jordan and Ian on The Young and the Restless

On The Young and the Restless, fans were shocked to see the return of Ian Ward (Ray Wise) and Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk). What was more surprising than seeing either of them in Genoa City was realizing they were together.

Viewers have been left to speculate how these two masterminds crossed paths and were using their brilliance for evil. But fans also wanted to know what their plan was in Genoa City. Why were they there, and who were they really after? We finally found out.

How Ian and Jordan met on The Young and the Restless

After Jordan tried to kill the Newmans a few times, she wound up in prison. There, she met Ian Ward, and as it happens to almost everyone who meets him, her life changed.

In a series of flashbacks set in black and white, Jordan recalled how she first met Ian on Monday's episode of The Young and the Restless.

Ian approached Jordan at a table and tried to offer her some words of wisdom from a reformed man. Jordan was not interested when he tried to relate to her plight and called them kindred spirits. Jordan was going to walk away, but Ian caught her attention when he mentioned that he, too, had spent time in Genoa City.

A friendship (of sorts) is born

Ian shared that he had originally gone to Genoa City for love and a child. However, things didn’t work out, and he made some unwise decisions, landing himself in prison. Ian chuckled when he told her that he had become an ordained minister from behind bars. “The prison is my parish,” Ian said with a smile, adding that he comforted inmates who needed it.

Jordan was curious about Ian’s “unwise choices,” and couldn’t believe her ears when he shared that all of his mistakes stemmed from his inability to overcome his hatred for the Newman family. She suggested that perhaps they were kindred spirits, after all.

Jordan told Ian that she knew the Newmans and thought that they ruined lives and got away unscathed every time. “But I can see the rot underneath the gold veneer,” Jordan added.

Ian and Jordan’s common bond

Jordan told Ian how she believed that Victor Newman had destroyed her sister, Eve Howard, by breaking her heart and then marrying “the town tramp,” Nikki. Jordan added that Victor drove Eve to madness, and her death was on his head.

However, it was the comment that the Newmans had taken her niece, Claire (Hayley Erin), from her that was the pivotal moment. “They shattered our happy home and brainwashed her. The anger and the rage is beyond what I can handle,” Jordan shared with Ian. He offered to help Jordan let go of her anger as he claimed he had let go of his.

Ian and Jordan’s plan for Genoa City

Sometime later, Jordan was well-groomed and molded into what Ian needed. When he visited her in prison, she would quote Bible verses about patience and being a warrior with reasonability and wisdom. One day, Jordan appealed to Ian that she was ready for more. She noted that she had resigned herself to her fate behind bars but wanted something more.

Jordan reminded Ian that she kept wishing for her niece, Claire, and noted that the Newmans' having her was more than she could bear. Ian could relate and told her that he had a brave, beautiful daughter, but he had also lost her to the Newmans.

Ominously, Jordan said it was a shame they couldn’t work together to get their loved ones back, but she noted that Ian was a reformed man who had left all of his anger and vengeance behind.

Clearly, that was not the case. Although the two both have their own agenda, they seem to be working on Ian’s plan first. Ian had Jordan taint Sharon’s (Sharon Case) medications, which made her confess to killing Heather (Vail Bloom).

With police investigations on Sharon’s meds, Phyllis’ accident, and who really killed Heather, it’s only a matter of time before Genoa City residents find out that their two worst enemies are behind some of the most tragic and terrifying attacks in the city. But will they be able to find Ian and Jordan and bring them to justice before the devious duo gets to Claire and Mariah (Camryn Grimes)?

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