The Young and the Restless: Which side is Claire really on?

On The Young and the Restless, Claire decided someone was going to die. When she told her idea to Victoria and Nikki, Claire matter-of-factly stated that her Aunt Jordan could never be redeemed and would never stop hurting them. Therefore, Claire surmised that the only way to deal with Jordan was to kill her.

However, she told Jordan she was ready to carry out their original plan to destroy the Newmans. All they had to do was kill Victoria, and they would be set for life. So, to who which side is Claire telling the truth?

Claire’s plots on The Young and the Restless

Last week, fans of The Young and the Restless were shocked when Claire Newman (Hayley Erin) has suddenly changed everyone’s lives without so much as batting an eye. While she claims that old instincts kicked in when she saw her aunt Jordan, she also managed to have a detailed plan ready to tell her on the spot. But she did the same with her grandmother and mother at home.

The problem is that both plans are elaborate — and deadly. But the words just rolled off Claire’s tongue as she spelled out the plan to both sides. Which one is the real plan? Honestly, it’s hard to tell. The Claire we’ve seen for the past year seems to have disappeared. She calmly explains cold-blooded murder as if she’s giving a recipe for chocolate chip cookies.

On the flipside, all of the feelings that Claire claimed to have that were triggered by Aunt Jordan don’t seem to exist anymore. She drums up tears and explanations so easily that they seem genuine enough to convince heartless Jordan to cry and have viewers wondering if it’s legit.

Does Claire care who dies?

If Claire is playing both sides — whether Jordan or Victoria is the victim of a murder — it might not really matter to Claire because either could be a win-win. If Jordan is killed, Claire has Victoria and Nikki to thank. She could even find a way to get out of jail time, or they would cover for her to protect her. She would remain a Newman and live a life of luxury and power.

If Claire is telling the truth to Jordan and doesn’t believe that she’ll ever fully fit in with her high society life, not necessarily because of how others feel, but how she sees herself. It might not be her Plan A, but if she can’t have Jordan knocked off, staying on her aunt's good side (and having a backup plan for that scenario) is a good idea when making deals with the devil.

If Victoria were killed, it would be classified as a plan gone wrong at the hands of Jordan Howard. No one would believe that Claire actually wanted her mom to die. But she would wait and get her inheritance, and then she could run off with Jordan and be set for life financially.

What Happens Next

As for the immediate danger and what to do about Jordan, Victor has overheard their plans and is about to intervene, and Chance and Nick are so close to discovering Jordan as well. But winning this battle doesn’t mean the war is over.

Victoria’s daughter went from being Jordan’s minion to destroy the Newmans, to becoming a Newman herself, to falling in love for the first time, to starting a fantastic new job in the family company — all in 12 months. Victoria had been worried it would all be too much for Claire and she would be triggered to revert to her old coping skills.

Now, out of nowhere, Claire wants to kill Jordan and be the pawn, but is telling Jordan she wants to kill Victoria. And she says it all so confidently, without emotion. Is this the same faking us out that The Young and the Restless viewers saw with the Abbots? Or are Claire's motives more...genuine?

If they come through this unscathed, will Victoria ever be able to look at Claire the same way? Will Victoria always wonder if Claire wants to knock her off for her inheritance? Claire just proved that she is capable of murder without remorse. Is this going to change Claire and Victoria's relationship forever?

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