Young and the Restless shows Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) really struggling to stay clean right now. But there’s so many things going on in his life that it seems like he’s going to be popping pills again at any moment. And in fact, that is pretty much the foremost thing on his mind because of all this other stress.
We’re going to talk about the shocking reason Nick might relapse soon and why he might be off the wagon and back on drugs any day now.
Young and the Restless: Nick Flies Off the Handle
So, this week we had Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) making out with Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) up at the GCAC bar. And of course Nick walked in, saw it, and totally lost it. And then Phyllis basically ignored and rejected all of Nick’s objections to this romance. Talked about what a great guy that Matt was. And then while Nick was watching, Phyllis took him upstairs to her room. And even wilder, Nick followed them upstairs and was pounding on the door. And then they just abruptly ended the scene and never went back to it. That seemed like bad writing, bad editing. I don’t know.
Next thing we know, Phyllis woke up alone. Matt’s on the sofa. Turns out they didn’t have relations, but they’re going to. And right now, Nick’s assuming the worst that they already did. And then he told Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) about the incident. And Nick told Sharon this week how hard, really hard, that he is struggling to stay clean at the moment. But with Nikki Newman’s (Melody Thomas Scott) eyesight crisis and Phyllis going rogue and all the issues with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden), it seems like Nick is hanging on by a thread and that is about to snap. So, we’re going to talk about his inevitable relapse, what drives him back to illegal opioids and wrecks his recovery.
Nick’s Multiple Triggers for Relapse on Y&R
So, one of the biggest things eating at Nick is Matt Clark still being in Genoa City. I mean, that’s the guy that got Nick hooked on fentanyl to start with. And now, to make it worse, he assumes Matt’s in bed with Phyllis, and I’m sure he will be soon. We saw Nick bickering with Phyllis, but she won’t back down on Matt.
And he’s also angry that Victor Newman seems to want Matt to stick around and keep working for him. And his son Noah Newman (Lucas Adams) keeps having to deal with Matt. And Nick knows Sharon wants her rapist out of town. So, this is all really getting to Nick. He told Sharon that Matt being there makes everything so much harder on him.
And that is why Nick was talking about putting an end to Matt for good. And that has Sharon really scared because she is worried that Nick is just going to snap and is going to go kill Matt. And she’s worried about that and how that would affect his sobriety. So, if anything pushes Nick back to drugs, I think top on that list is Matt being in Phyllis’ life and still in Genoa City.
Young and Restless: Nick Not Allowed at Newman
Another big issue for Nick that could push him towards relapse is that Victor won’t let Nick go back to work at Newman Enterprises. Victor told Nick that he’s got to complete his recovery and be totally clean and on the other side of this before he can have his job back. In the meantime, Victor has Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) running Newman Enterprises and Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) and Chelsea Newman (Melissa Claire Egan) are going to be running Newman Media.
So, it’s pretty much just Nick who’s completely left out of the family business. And that’s a sucky feeling. I mean, it’s not like he’s broke or anything like that, you know, but because Victor is banning him effectively, Nick has nothing to distract him from the temptation of drugs. And this week he told Sharon that he cannot stop thinking about the pills.
And of course, Victor thinks he’s doing the right thing. And I will say I think this is coming from a place of love and concern. But also, I think Nick knows himself well enough to know that he needs to keep busy. The whole “idle hands are the devil’s playthings” thing. You know, without a sense of purpose or usefulness, all Nick’s doing is sitting around and thinking about drugs and about pills and about how he screwed up and how rough his life is right now.
Young and the Restless: Family Crises and Isolation Compounding Crisis
Another huge source of stress that could push him over the edge is Nikki Newman’s ongoing blindness. Because Nick tells Sharon this week that Nikki got her bandages off, yet she’s still blind. And Nick says that Nikki may never see again. And of course, Nick feels awful for his mom and he wishes there was something he could do. But he’s powerless to help Nikki on Young and the Restless.
And for a guy like Nick that loves to save people, that’s a tough spot to be in. If Nikki got her sight back tomorrow, of course, that would be a huge load off Nick’s mind. But I suspect Nikki’s got a long road ahead and that could help tip Nick back into using drugs.
Another big stressor in his life is Victor’s non-stop quest for revenge because Nick’s not that kind of guy. And he’s having to sit there and watch Victor wage war against people, some of which that Nick really cares about. Not all of them, but some. And I don’t think he respects Victor bringing Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) back to town and targeting Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman).
But this is another area where Nick is totally helpless because Victor won’t stop what he’s doing. He won’t listen to Nick or anybody else. And if Kyle Abbott (Michael Mealor) can get the DA to cut a deal with Patty, that’s a game changer because then Victor may be arrested for these attacks on Jack and Diane Jenkins (Susan Walters). And that’s all true.
Victor to Blame on Y&R
Victor put all this in motion. So, it could happen if Kyle gets Patty to flip on Victor and Christine Williams (Lauralee Bell) presses charges on the Newman patriarch. I think that would hit Nick hard. Even though he knows that Victor’s done wrong, seeing his dad arrested could devastate Nick. And that could tip him over the edge and back to using fentanyl.
Last but not least, there’s the fact that Nick’s support system is not what he really needs right now. Yes, Noah, Sharon, and others in his life are worried about Nick, but he lives alone with no one checking on him at home. The family’s mostly wrapped up in worry about Nikki or dealing with Victor’s revenge games. Of course, Noah is busy working on his Shadow Room club in Genoa City, and his sister Summer is in a whole other country. Now, if Nick had a wife or a girlfriend, I think that would help him a lot. If he had somebody to go home to that he was getting loving, personal attention all the time.
Young and Restless: Nick’s Final Relapse
And yes, Sharon cares about him. She’s concerned, but she doesn’t live with Nick and they’re not together. They’re not in a relationship. And I think he realizes that this is a big problem because he tells Sharon this week he’s considering checking into rehab. And when Nick’s talking to Sharon, she goes ahead and offers to bring Nick to a meeting. It’s not that she’s not being supportive, but Nick’s going to tell Sharon it won’t help. And that’s when he brings up rehab.
So, I do think it’s admirable that Nick is self-aware enough to realize that things aren’t working and he doesn’t have the support he needs to stay clean. But Victor may not agree with him going to rehab. Remember, he didn’t want Nikki to go to rehab after her vodka IV nightmare. So, Victor might worry with all the stuff with their companies being taken that if Nick goes to rehab, it could make the Newman family look bad.
And Victor should prioritize Nick, but that doesn’t mean he will. And in the end, I think Nick’s going to end up relapsing and then he really will need rehab. After the Phyllis and Matt incident and Nick telling Sharon he saw his old dealer, I think he’s on a knife’s edge trying to keep clean and it all falls apart very soon.
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