Whew! Young & Restless May Have Just Saved a Character We Love — and Were Afraid Was Lost to Us Forever

Thank you, Young & Restless. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Yes, we were super icked out when the show had Victor pimp out Audra in exchange for his financial backing of her new company — and we were deeply upset that she went along with it. But the character came to a major turning point in the August 6 episode, delivering a speech to Jack that was so sharp, we were surprised that it didn’t draw blood.

In an instant, we felt like, “Oh! Whew! Audra is saved! This is the take-no-prisoners, don’t-try-to-BS-me Audra that we’ve always wanted and occasionally glimpsed!”

How Did Audra Put Jack and Kyle in Their Place?

It all started when Nikki, nose in the air, told off Audra as if she herself was someone who’d never executed a plot. Then it was Jack’s turn to read Audra for filth. She let him have his say about how “despicable” she was to try to break up Kyle and Claire for a cash grab in Victor’s wallet. But then she let loose in freaking spectacular fashion.

“And what? Kyle is just this lost little lamb with no free will?” she quipped. “But by all means, Jack, defend and protect your adult son from the very scary woman. You know, actually, why don’t you give him another title at Jabot — or another division! You should build him a house. Hand him another trust fund. 

“Protect him at all costs, because I’m the villain here,” she concluded sarcastically. “How terrifying for you all.”

What Made Audra’s Speech So Kickass?

Not to put too fine a point on it, but Audra’s speech was straight-up money. She refused to let Jack act as if Kyle, who slept with her before his marriage to Summer was over and has a child with Tara, who was hitched to Ashland when Harrison was conceived, was some naive Boy Scout. 

Furthermore, Audra touched on something that often aggravates us about Young & Restless: the fact that 99 percent of the characters are Richie Riches who never had to work for what they have. Kyle — and, for that matter, Billy, Nick, Victoria, Abby and Lily — were born in the executive suite. Cane got rich off of Katherine’s largesse and his father’s schemes. Devon was adopted by the affluent Winterses and then, on top of that, inherited zillions from Katherine.

So we love the idea of someone on the canvas who is more like the next Drucilla or Ryan McNeil — a have-not who has to scratch and claw and do whatever it takes to get where everyone else in town already is. Go, Audra, we say. And score one for all of us have-nots!