The Young and the Restless Recap for Thursday, January 2, 2024: Mariah and Nick confront Ian on New Year's Eve

At the jazz club, Danny told Lauren and Michael how he was only going to celebrate New Year’s Eve in one place, and that was with the love of his life as he snuggled up to Christine. Meanwhile, Jack and Diane said to one another that they believed they were past the worst of it with Kyle and were looking forward to 2025. They toasted one another and then danced and flirted.

Christine told Danny that she saw Daniel’s expression when he walked in and knew it meant everything to him for his dad to be there. Danny said it broke his heart to see Daniel's pain and promised to be there for him. He shared that he’d moved around his schedule so he didn’t have to leave immediately. He asked Christine if she would be willing to come back on tour with him. She said she was free and all his, and they began kissing. “Gross,” Daniel said as he walked up.

Daniel said he had walked Summer to her room and had come back in hopes that Danny was still there. Christine said she was going to run up to her suite and gave them time to talk. Once alone, Danny asked his son to tell him how he was really doing. “Not so good, Dad,” Daniel admitted. He shared that a year ago, he and Heather were anticipating what the year would bring, and now he woke every morning, and she wasn’t next to him.

Daniel said that despite being as supportive as Phyllis had been, he was worried about her. She was a fixer, and she was angry and spinning out. Daniel said he needed to protect Phyllis from her own impulses, noting how hard it was on him as well to keep up with whether or not Sharon was evil. He said he had added pressure of still not having a job and Lucy still not having friends.

Danny said his heart broke for Daniel, but he didn’t worry about him because he had the courage to ride the waves. Daniel thought he could drown in them. Danny asked him to not push people away and let them in to help. “I have so much anger,” Daniel confided. Danny urged him to lean on him. He told him when needed, just get in the car, put him on speaker, and let it all out. Danny said even if he was performing, he’d let the dancers fill in and take a break mid-show if Daniel called and needed him. “You’d trade your screaming fans for your screaming kid?” Daniel asked. Danny assured his son that whether he was right in front of him or halfway around the world, he was with him every step of the way. Danny cheered up Daniel by telling him how much fun Lucy had on tour. Christine rejoined them as he showed pictures of her dancing on stage. She said she knew every dance routine and every song. Danny told Daniel they would come over the next day and hang out with him and Lucy.

Michael and Lauren were dancing and having a great time, but Lauren felt guilty that Phyllis was struggling. They noted that they had seen Phyllis leave the party and that she hadn’t returned. They didn’t think Summer and Daniel were expecting that. Lauren hoped that Phyllis would come around and their friendship with her would be intact. “Phyllis is going to be Phyllis,” Michael said. He wanted to forget about her for the night and focus on Lauren.

Later, Michael sat with Diane while Jack and Lauren danced. Jack and Diane both explained that their fighting was fake. Jack told Lauren she didn’t need to worry about Diane; she was a good person and deserved a second chance. He asked her to give her that, and if she took the lead, Nikki and others in town would also come around.

Meanwhile, Diane told Michael the whole story about why she and Jack had pretended to be fighting. Michael thought they had regained a level of trust after he had paid for her funeral and was confused as to why she would have cried on his shoulder about her marriage falling apart if it was a lie. She noted that Michael was working for the ruthless Victor Newman, and she had to lie to him. Once she explained that she and Jack had gone to such extremes for Kyle’s sake, Michael said he could forgive her and that they would be friends forever. When the two couples were saying goodnight later, Jack suggested they get together again sometime, and Lauren reluctantly agreed.

Outside of Society, Mariah screamed at Ian to get away from Tessa. “What did you do to her?!” Mariah yelled as she realized how out of it Tessa was. Ian swore he did nothing, and said that Tessa had come stumbling outside, claiming she couldn’t breathe. Tessa mumbled to Mariah that she thought she was going to die.

Tessa wanted to try to stand, but Mariah said she had collapsed and was still pale and shaky. “You scared me,” Mariah said as Tessa got up on her feet. Ian tried to say something comforting and acknowledged that Tessa was Mariah’s wife. “How did you know we were married?” Mariah snapped. Nick and Faith arrived, and Mariah told him that Tessa couldn’t breathe. Nick wanted to rush Tessa to the hospital, but Tessa insisted it wasn’t necessary. “Dad, look who it is,” Faith interrupted. Nick realized it was Ian standing nearby. “What the hell are you doing here?!” Nick bellowed.

Nick yelled, “How the hell did you get out of prison?” while Mariah demanded to know how Ian knew she and Tessa were married. Tessa feebly tried to interrupt to explain that Ian was the man she had told Mariah about, the chaplain from the prison, Warren Masters. Nick said that “Warren” lied and he was Ian Ward. Mariah accused Ian of being there to hurt them, but Ian instantly recoiled. “Absolutely not! I’ve transformed,” Ian insisted. He explained that he hadn’t broken out of prison; he had been granted an early release for good behavior. Ian added that he had been ordained while serving his term and now works as a reverend in prisons, helping others to be better. “I came here to work in the prison,” Ian told them.

Nick barked that an innocent man wouldn’t need an alias. Ian told him that the baggage attached to his name was an obstacle. They told him that they knew what he was capable of. “The only thing I’m capable of is regret for spoiling your festivities. I never meant to incur your wrath,” Ian soothed. He told them he would leave them be and started to walk away, but Nick warned him that if he took one more step, Ian would be praying for real. Nick told Faith to call the police.

Ian looked at Faith and said in a creepy tone, “My beautiful, young Mademoiselle. Remember how I used to call you that?” “You don’t call my daughter anything!” Nick snapped. Ian tipped his hat to Faith and noted how much she’d grown up. He then explained that he thought that Tessa was having an asthma attack as it was something he experienced, and he always carried a spare inhaler, which he had used to clear her airways so she could breathe. “You stay the hell away from her! You stay away from all of us!” Mariah yelled at him.

Mariah helped Tessa inside. Ian told Nick he could understand their shock but swore he was a changed man. “The hell you are!” Nick growled. Ian explained that he had thought about everyone he had wronged and forged a new path in hopes that one day the good he did would outweigh the bad things he did in the past. Nick told him he was pure evil and incapable of change. “Perhaps this will convince you,” Ian said as he reached into his pocket.

Ian pulled out an I.D. card to prove he was an official chaplain, but Nick didn’t care. He said Ian was a slick liar, and he knew the evil things Ian had done. Faith came back outside to say that an officer was on the way. Nick tried to tell her several times to go back inside, but she didn’t want to leave him alone. Again, Ian made comments about Faith and how she had become a lovely young woman. Faith told him off, which delighted Ian.

Nick grabbed Ian by the collar and demanded to know why he would come to Genoa City, where everyone hated him. Ian maintained he wanted to make up for the things he had done. Nick reminded Ian that he had terrorized his mother, shot his father, and set Newman Tower on fire with people inside. “How would you make up for that?” Nick asked. He said there was nothing that Ian could do to make him forget the terror he had rained down on the Newman family.

An officer arrived, and Nick demanded that they arrest Ian. Ian explained to the cop that they could call the chaplain’s organization and the prison administration to confirm what he said. Nick said there was nothing legitimate about Ian walking the streets, but Ian insisted that he was free to do so in any city. “I just chose this one,” he added. Ian told Nick and the cop that he had committed no crime and, in fact, he may have saved a life.

Inside, Mariah thought Tessa’s coloring was coming back. Tessa thought she was stupid for falling for Ian’s tricks but said how kind he had been. Mariah assured her that Ian was slick and charming like that, but Tessa lamented that she had shown him a picture of her with Mariah and Aria and told him their daughter’s name. She noted that Mariah had never told her what Ian had done to her. Mariah said she had a hard time talking about it, and a hard time even looking at him. “He destroyed my entire childhood. He is evil to the core,” Mariah added.

Tessa said she was feeling like she was back to normal but noted she did not have asthma. Mariah insisted they needed to know what happened to Tessa and said her health was a top priority. Tessa agreed but didn’t want to see a doctor until they had dealt with the drama caused by Ian. Mariah explained that Ian sucked people in and then corrupted them. “He is like the Devil himself,” Mariah added. She recalled in a flashback of when Ian had taken her. She woke up in a wedding gown, not knowing how she got there or how her clothes had been changed. Faith agreed that Ian was a monster and that he had done terrible things to the Newmans as well.

Mariah was very worried, wondering who would have let Ian out of prison and why he was free to roma around. She said it terrified her why he came to Genoa City. Just then, Faith realized the time and how far past midnight it was. She said that Sharon should have been there already and wondered where she was.

In the motel room, Jordan looked out the window while clutching her black leather gloves. Behind her, Sharon was unconscious on the bed, with duct tape across her mouth.

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