The Young and the Restless: Two Scoops of the Best and Worst of 2024

What a year on The Young and the Restless! It was only one year ago that we were introduced to Aunt Jordan, and look at the destruction she managed to do in 2024. From murders to kidnappings, she’s rampaged, been caught, disappeared, set fires, been captured and escaped again, been in disguise, and shown up at the least opportune times for Genoa City residents — and that was just Jordan!

While we have plenty to look forward to in 2025, let’s take a look back at what happened this year, and hand out a few awards for the best, the worst, and the what-could-have-beens of 2024.

The Young and the Restless 2024 Awards

BEST MURDER MYSTERY: DUH.

You knew we were going there so let’s just knock this one out of the way first. Heather’s death was so shocking that we struggled to accept it (and some still think or even hope it was a dream). On top of that, The Young and the Restless' official whodunnit took us on a wild ride right up until Sharon confessed and then recanted her story. We lost a long-term character and brought back two of the show’s best villains, and we'll likely see more carnage before this storyline wraps up.

BEST HOOK-UP: Ian and Jordan

While we’re on the subject, the return that no one saw coming happened this year when we had the return of not just one supervillain but two — and they were working together. When Jordan walked into the motel room and told Ian, “It’s done,” the collective gasp followed by, “How do those two know each other?!” was heard around the world.

WORST BEST FRIENDS: Michael and Phyllis

Love her or hate her, Phyllis had a good point this year when Michael wasn’t at her bedside when she woke up from her coma and instead was championing the woman that she thought had run her down. Even as a pseudo-family member at Heather’s funeral weeks prior to becoming the lawyer of the confessed murderer was a stretch, but seeing him telling Phyllis to get over it while she was still in the hospital bed was disappointing.

BEST BEST FRIENDS: Sally and Audra

There’s been nothing quite as authentic and real as the banter and support that Sally and Audra give one another. Whether it’s talking about boys or work, they talk like real girlfriends do, and we want to see more of it in 2025! Not only Sally and Audra, but actual friendships among characters, not just suddenly contrived ones like Nikki and Lauren out of nowhere claiming to be buds.

BEST EX-HUSBAND: Nick Newman

When your ex-wife has burnt down your parents’ home, and you can still forget about that as you stroll through the newly rebuilt replica, you’re taking ‘seeing the good in people’ to a new level. But Nick Newman has managed to stand by Sharon no matter what. Sharon confessed to murders, framed his daughter’s brother, and thought she ran his other ex-wife off the road to shut her up. Sure, she was high on angel dust, but he didn’t know that (or rather, he didn’t notice). Nick has made a full-time job out of chanting his “Sharon is a good person” mantra and will not stop until she’s back on her pedestal.

WORST DAD: Nick Newman

While Nick obsesses with Sharon’s day-to-day activities, where is Christian? He’s been barely mentioned all year and skipped all family-related events like Abby’s wedding and the ranch house reveal. Nick left him playing in the mud in the barn for Thanksgiving and was singing Deck the Halls with his other family-ish peeps at Sharon’s on Christmas, with his son once again conspicuously absent. Where. Is. Christian?!

BEST MOM: Victoria Newman

Some people would watch the daughter they never knew lure their family members to a crazy woman to have them all knocked off and see that as a bad thing. But Victoria knew that somewhere inside Claire were all the hopes and dreams she’d had for her baby that had been stolen at birth. Victoria took all those bad memories of past and present and turned them into a belief for the future that Claire was exactly who she wanted her to be, and it paid off.

WORST EMPLOYEE: Audra Charles

Maybe it’s the attempts at taking over companies and throwing partners under the bus, but if there’s anyone with a broken track record at holding a job, it’s Audra Charles. She was in good company with Billy, Lily, Daniel, Heather, Phyllis, and Kyle, who were all fired this year. Even her possibly future bro-in-law/lover Damian might give her a run for her money for not being able to hold a job, but Audra was consistently fired — and refused to be hired — to the point that she actually wondered if the problem was her.

BEST EMPLOYEE: Chance Chancellor

Chance decided to join the corporate world and, a nanosecond later was demanding to be co-CEO with Billy. It didn’t matter that he had no experience or even wanted to be at the company, Chance had a job to do: monitor Billy. He didn’t get his way, so he walked out. Then he heard that Heather had died, so he rejoined the force and got himself assigned to her case. Sure, he messed the entire thing up, but according to Chance, he was just doing his job. And that’s why he gets the award. Chance isn’t necessarily good at what he does, but he is determined to be an employee. And for that, he wins the title.

BEST ACTORS: Jack and Diane

While Victor was delighted to see Jack and Diane argue in public, everyone else was appalled. Traci even reached out to Diane to try to help, while Kyle didn’t know what he was witnessing. Ok, so some of us viewers doubted the authenticity of the sudden war of the roses, but in the end, we all duped, right until Jack comforted Diane and said it was almost over.

WORST REASON TO HOLD A GRUDGE: Victor Newman

Victor was livid when Cole and Victoria rekindled their relationship and ordered him out of her life. Meanwhile, he fired his lawyer and friend Michael and only gave him a chance to return because he needed his help to bring down other people he swore revenge on. But the reason Victor hated Cole and Michael? Because they didn’t let him keep a woman in a cage in his wine cellar. Maybe it sounded better in his head, but saying it out loud wasn’t the flex Victor thought that it was.

BEST ONE-YEAR-LATER: Nikki Newman

A year ago, Nikki was battling the damage that Jordan had inflicted on her. Since then, she regained control of her alcoholism (though her sponsor was killed by Jordan and Jack nearly killed himself helping her), co-conspired a plan to screw over Lily and take control of Chancellor, is once again the lady of the manor at the Newman Ranch, and is CEO at one of the biggest conglomerates in the world. One year later, Nikki has reset the clock to where she felt like she was before Jordan tried to kill her.

BEST DISGUISES: Jordan Howard

Whether she pretends to be a man or a woman, Jordan Howard has become the master of disguises. We’re not sure where she gets all the wigs and outfits or where she ditches them after, but her ever-changing looks are impressive. No wonder the prison staff have no idea she has swapped places with a stranger.

WORST APOLOGY TOUR: Phyllis Summers

Phyllis spent a long time this year getting back in the good graces of her family and friends. Apparently faking your death was something so horrible that when she really did nearly die, they only just barely cared.

WORST PARTNERS: Adam and Chelsea

Hurt me once, shame on you. Hurt me repeatedly, spit me out and try to come back for the 100th time and…still shame on you. These two are self-admittedly toxic. They know it, we all know it, and yet, despite zero physical chemistry or sexual tension ever, they still managed to cheat on the people they supposedly loved and wreck their lives, too. When Chelsea gave Adam a final send-off at the Athletic Club and then marched out like she was in a Taylor Swift video, we thought it was the end. But brace yourselves, looks like we’re going back in.

BEST PARTNERS: Chance and Summer

For a brief period of time, Chance was the best thing that could have happened to Summer. He got her to see things like her bitter custody battle from a different perspective, and she seemed to have matured while she was with him. The two of them together were a surprisingly good match, who seemed to bring out the good in one another. There was an opportunity there for a great relationship to grow further, but then Chance got all weirdly entitled at Chancellor and ran back to the police force to wreck everything for everyone, including himself.

BEST BREAKER UPPER: Summer Newman

When Chance wouldn’t look at any other evidence because he was solely focused on putting handcuffs on her brother, Summer tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. But she’d finally had enough when his snarky attitude was just too rude. But instead of the typical soapy split due to misunderstandings or lack of communication skills, Summer clearly called Chance out on his b.s. And put the brakes on the relationship for all the right reasons, with all the right words.

BEST REPELLENT: Christine Williams

Seeing Phyllis making plays for her man was nothing new to Christine, but this time, she swatted her off and pulled out her bug spray like never before. And Danny learned it was time to shape up or ship out. Hopefully, that will be the last time we see him falling for any other distractions, but if Phyllis tries anything again, she better expect a high-flying scissor kick from Cricket.

MOST CONSISTENTLY INCONSISTENT: Billy Abbott

Billy can be the best friend you ever needed and can be the most determined. He can also be your worst enemy. But whether it’s to be successful or to exact his revenge, he is exactly who you want him to be — based on who you were to him. He’s not all over the map, he’s just matching energies with everyone around him. Sure, he’s made some mistakes, and yes, he can be ruthless when he wants to be, but Billy’s heart is huge. He’s had it kicked around, pulled out, and driven over, and he keeps finding a way to try to love himself, even if no one else will.

BEST GHOST: Heather & Cameron (Tie)

Not even Sharon is sure who was a ghost and who was a hallucination, but we’re going to assume that Cameron and Heather were apparitions, or at least we’re going to call them that for the sake of the award. Cameron tied for first because although he was full of bad ideas, the snark and sarcasm were hilarious at inappropriate times, and having him return even just for the eye-rolling at Sharon would be welcomed. As for Heather, her Halloween pop-ups from the park to the backseat gave us another dose of the character we didn’t know we’d miss so much, and if she’d had even more appearances, I wouldn’t have complained.

BEST WHO ARE YOUS: Tie — Ashley Abbott & Alan Laurent (Tie)

Ashley as Belle had some entertaining scenes, and if we didn’t want her to actually get better, having her alternate personalities around could have lasted a little longer. But since her long-distance therapy, we’re now wondering if the good doctor living with her sister is who he actually says he is or his evil twin. That storyline still had plenty of life left in it, and we’re probably going for round two in 2025.

BEST FEUD: Jack and Victor

Jack and Victor’s feud goes back so many decades that they probably can’t even remember how it began. But the level of rage the two of them have for one another resurfaces at just the right time and in just the right ways. Victor is cutthroat and definitely more blatant. He goes after Jack’s family with no holds barred. But Jack moved himself into winning territory this year when he stayed the night in a hotel room with Nikki, taking himself to the brink of overdose to get Nikki off the bottle. It worked in more than one way. Not only was Nikki scared straight, but Victor will never really know what happened during the “night of debauchery,” as Victor calls it. Of all the battles these two have had (or have yet to have had), Jack won’t ever need to lift another finger to drive Victor crazy with jealousy, wondering what they did behind closed doors.

BEST SURPRISE FOR FANS: The Rebuilt Ranch House

Viewers were just as surprised as Nikki was when Victor brought her to the replica house that we had all called their home for decades. The smallest of details was remembered and replicated, and it was the perfectly nostalgic moment to accompany the 13,000th episode celebrations. But…with everything going on with Sharon and a lot of characters claiming that she wouldn’t do anything too out of sorts while off her meds, they stood in that very home and forgot why it needed to be rebuilt. It was the perfect example of exactly what Sharon IS capable of, and there were some missed opportunities to say so.

That’s a wrap for this year! I’m sure I’ve missed some, and if you’ve got any suggestions for others or have thoughts on any of these, I hope you tell me in the comments!

I also hope you have had a great 2024, and I look forward to watching more episodes of The Young and the Restless with you in 2025.

Until next time!