The Young and the Restless: Claire channels her inner Victor

On The Young and the Restless, Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) is tiptoeing the line as she travels to the dark side, and she's not going alone.

After a chance encounter with her Aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) in the park, Claire a convincing job of her distaste for the Newmans and how they do horrible things in the quest to get whatever they like. For a moment, it looked like Claire was fully under the spell of her aunt and would become another crucial tool in her and Ian Wards’ (Ray Wise) schemes.

The Young and the Restless: Claire knows what is needed

At the Newman ranch house, Claire told Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle) that she needed to confide something in them, but first swore them to secrecy, claiming what she was about to tell them was a matter of life and death. It's pretty heavy stuff for Claire to carry around with her, and she needed them to listen as she broke down her encounter with Aunt Jordan and that she’s not in jail where she was thought to be. Jordan was in Genoa City. Claire recounted the details of their conversation and how Jordan said she wouldn't go away until she got what she wanted. Nikki reassured Claire that it was ok and she had done the right thing, and if anything, their talk had done nothing but prove that no jail would hold her, the police couldn't catch her, and even the Newman security team couldn't keep her away.

The girl’s gotta go

Claire said, “There's only one way to stop Jordan for good.” We know exactly what she meant, and it felt good to hear her say it. It meant action. Finally, someone was going to fight fire with fire. But in that moment we wondered where Claire was going with these thoughts. Victoria was thinking the same thing as the viewers and tried to stop her from speaking another sentence but it was too late.

Claire told Nikki and Victoria that if Jordan is breathing, she’s coming to hurt them. Claire offered to be the bait and asked her mother and grandmother to back her up. Everyone they knew would be at risk if they didn't act.

Jordan must die

If they weren't clear what exactly Claire was saying, she specified with confidence. “I will not let Jordan hurt anyone else, so we can do this all together, or I am going to do it on my own. But...Jordan will die,” Claire said almost chillingly with a little smile of encouragement for Nikki and Victoria to join her on the dark side.

Now, that's what I call getting out in front of a situation, and The Young and the Restless just got exciting. This may just yet be some of the best we have seen from Claire. Is this her seeing the world she grew up in and realizing her place in it? Is this what it means to Claire to be a Newman? After all, her grandfather, Victor (Eric Braeden), often says that everything he does is for the family. Claire now has a “concept of a plan” and needs to get Nikki and Victoria to dive in. If they go through with it, it'll be the biggest and best secret these three generations of Newman women will ever keep. And by 'best' I mean most murderous.

Will this plan work, or will Claire run afoul of the cunning Aunt Jordan? What do you want to see happen — let me know in the comments.

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