Y&R Opinion: Viewers Calling Victoria Cold, Calculating — & a Fool When it Comes to Love

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Cold and calculating, just like her dear old dad?

I watch soaps for the ensemble, not for any one character. It’s always been this way and with every character, I see the good in them and the bad. I prefer a character with depth, who makes me sometimes love them and other times cringe at their antics. It means I enjoy most characters for who they are, not that it means I won’t mock them mercilessly. It’s all in fun.

But this isn’t often why others watch.

When I think about Victoria Newman on Young and the Restless, the first thing that comes to mind is her business acumen, her refusal to play nice with others (named Adam!), her vulnerability and that she’s often unlucky in love.

I like Victoria, issues and all. She’s an interesting character, has never been accused of being bland, who is often seen by many as cold-hearted, calculating and a little foolish when it comes to matters of the heart.

Cold-hearted?

Victoria interests me because she’s written to be more like her daddy than any other character I can think of offhand in other soaps. Many viewers see her as cold and calculating. I’ve seen this, but let’s be honest. If she was written as a man, not many would notice, which I appreciate.

Perhaps if she had a friend to soften this, not her mother, it’d help some relate to her. I can imagine all sorts of scenarios where she lets her hair down.

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That co-CEO business

She’s usually a shrewd businesswoman not unlike Victor. But some would argue, just how shrewd is she?

I don’t have a stake in who acts as co-CEO at Newman, but it’s obvious that Victoria didn’t hire the person best for the job in her mama. She hired a pawn and Nikki saw this and either she didn’t have the self-respect to refuse her offer, or she really thinks she can pull this off.

I hope she doesn’t, only because if she does, it means less conflict for the audience. I’m here for the conflict.

Many viewers think Nikki should be meandering around the ranch in heels, playing piano and shopping in NYC four times a year. I disagree with that narrative for her. If she were a man, nobody would say that she should do any of that.

I respect that she wants to work, but there was another contender that has more business acumen than her. This is supposed to be a family-owned company, and Victoria should want what’s best for the company, so why again does she not want Adam at Newman?

This sibling rivalry has gone on for so long that I kind of lost the reason behind it. That means it’s time for a change.

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To Adam, it was a huge slap in the face not to be hired as co-CEO  since he has a degree in business from Harvard, which makes it obvious to everyone in Genoa City, not just the audience, that Vicky hired Nikki not for the sake of the company but out of spite. She’s cutthroat — just like her dad. This could be a good thing if it causes Adam to really lash out but haven’t we been down this road before?

Instead of going down the tried and true trail, why not play out the dissension between them while they’re forced to work side-by-side? Their relationship could even have a chance to grow or at least change somewhat.

Having them work together in that capacity could have been a nice respite from the usual. But that’s not where they decided to go. 

The allergy to drama on the show makes it unsurprising that this is the way they went with this storyline, though that doesn’t make it any less disappointing. That Victoria’s still running the company after everything that has gone down, everything that she let happen, is truly shocking. 

Worse, Victor has been singing her praises for how she has deal with everything that’s happened with Ashland. You know, instead of firing her ass for almost losing their family company.

We all know that if this happened to Adam, Victor would have canned his ass and never let him hear the end of it but because Victoria’s his precious daughter, “my sweetheart,” she doesn’t even get a slap on the wrist.

It’s that double standard that drives Adam mental, and some viewers. It’s that double standard writing that drives me mental.

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Is she a victim or just dense in relationships?

I won’t rehash issues from old relationships because honestly, I just want to move on from all of that. Is Victoria Ashland’s victim or do some see her as stupid to have fallen into his trap of betrayal? I see both sides.

Calling one unlucky in love, is really just a nice way of saying that a person is shit at choosing the right man for themselves. She didn’t deserve to be duped this way. Nobody does, but we all saw the glaringly bright red flags that she chose to ignore. Family told her who he was and she didn’t listen.

Locke literally showed his true colours when he admitted to stealing the real Ashland Locke’s identity as his so-called best friend, burned to death in a car and then he stole Camilla’s tuna money from the mouths of those poor fuzzy little wayward cats, yet Victoria ignored the red flag and married him. While it was kind of stupid on her part, I still feel bad that she was gaslit.

And where the heck was The Great Victor Newman, who is supposed to make everyone quake in his boots? He didn’t see right through Locke and get in a fake Justice of the Peace to ensure they weren’t really married.

He didn’t step in before the man could sign the documents to merge companies. Maybe that’s why he isn’t giving her that slap on the wrist. He too is off his own game to see that she’s been in deep trouble for months.

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Does he really love her? Does it matter?

What do you think? Does Locke love her? Is he faking it? Despite the red flags and every terrible thing Ashland has done, I believe it’s possible that he has feelings for her but this isn’t how someone treats another person they’re in love with. If he is in love with her, it doesn’t mean they should be together.

Vicky’s still in love with him. Of course she is. You can’t turn love off and on like a switch, but essentially, she’s in love with a lie. In reality, she doesn’t truly know him, or maybe we can argue that she does know him now.

I’m not sure but there’s no coming back from what he did. Not for her. It’d be impossible for her to trust him again after that. He literally had sex with her while lying about having cancer. He’s slime no matter how we look at it.

Viewers should be putting themselves in Victoria’s shoes, remembering all the terrible things he’s done to her their entire marriage. If any of us had a daughter in that same situation, we wouldn’t want him anywhere near her. 

Does that mean he can’t be redeemed? Not exactly…

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It’s a soap

This is a soap opera, which everyone knows means that anything goes. Anyone can be redeemed if the writing is good enough and the man handsome enough and charming enough. Hey, I don’t make the rules, but I know that so many characters have done worse than him and have gotten away with it.

Will Victoria take him back? Probably. The fact that she hasn’t told the guards not to let Locke into the building is very telling. That she stopped her mother from dragging his ass at Crimson Lights is eye-opening and that she talks to him at all — mind-boggling.

Some are still rooting for the couple because they too can’t just turn it off.

If she takes him back, it would send out a terrible message to each viewer that it’s okay if a man fakes cancer, lies to you, manipulates you, gaslights you, all the while slipping in between your sheets nightly for sex, as long as he loves you.

But again, this is just a soap and we all know that in reality, this wouldn’t fly or shouldn’t fly.

Thoughts on Victoria?

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