The Way We Were: Two Scoops for The Young and the Restless the week of November 24

The Young and the Restless scored big time by both celebrating the present and honoring the past! There was much to be thankful for as Cricket and Danny got married, and Ashley came home for the Thanksgiving holiday.

What happened on The Young and the Restless

We knew Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) would have to make an appearance at either Cricket (Lauralee Bell) and Danny's (Michael Damian) wedding or reception. She chose the latter, allowing the bride and groom to wed in peace. Phyllis was with Cane (Billy Flynn) at Crimson Lights while the vows were being exchanged, but she also couldn't help herself after coming upon her son, Daniel (Michael Graziadei), lavishing praise upon his stepmother, Cricket.

Phyllis raised her glass to the newlyweds, as she honored the duo's tenacity. After all the attempts at keeping them apart, Cricket and Danny had gotten back together. Phyllis gave, all things considered, a classy speech, acknowledging that she had failed to keep them separated. While Soap Central singled out the entire cast for Performers of the Week, we couldn't help but single out Stafford for her performance as Phyllis saluted the bride and groom. The actress delivered a tour de force as she made her mark on the day without ruining it! (Note: Phyllis did not drink to the couple even though she toasted them!)

To Live and Die in L.A.

Alas, we couldn't have happy stories all around during this celebratory week. Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon (Sharon Case) failed to find Noah (Lucas Adams) in time to take him out for a nice Thanksgiving dinner in Los Angeles. He and Sienna (Tamara Braun) are still missing, and we can't wait for next week to start up so that they can be found. Here's hoping Noah and Sienna get to have a merry holiday season moving forward, as they got coal in their stockings for Thanksgiving Day. (Yes, we're aware we're mixing metaphors, or mixing something, with this sentiment.)

The Abbotts remembered John Abbott

Y&R viewers who took a break from defrosting their own turkeys and running out to get last-minute fixings and pies were deeply touched by Wednesday's holiday show. Not only did Ashley (Eileen Davidson) return (can she stick around, pretty please?), but the Abbotts welcomed Sally (Courtney Hope) and Claire (Hayley Erin) to the table. Jack (Peter Bergman) and Billy (Jason Thompson) remembered their late father, John (the late Jerry Douglas), as everyone around the Abbott table talked about what they were thankful for.

Everyone had heartfelt sentiments to share. We were touched especially by Traci's (Beth Maitland) love of family, and also, Diane (Susan Walters) talking about Abbott family acceptance, as well as Sally talking about growing up without the best of Thanksgivings. Redding Munsell's enthusiastic Harrison nearly stole the show with his good cheer and his charm in bringing Kyle (Michael Mealor) and Claire back together. What is going on with Claire? Is she having second thoughts? Y&R has planted some interesting seeds with the long-lost Newman heiress!

Tangled webs of the past

Y&R treated viewers to Danny and Cricket's first wedding in Hawaii from 1990 (we'll get to that in a bit), but we also saw one of the show's most enduring quadrangles. Yep, we're talking about the dynamics between supercouple Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), and Abbott siblings Jack and Ashley (in this episode, Brenda Epperson).

The dynamics, set up by then-head writer William J. Bell, the show's late, great, legendary creator, were classic soap opera. Jack had wed Nikki to use her as leverage to win Jabot back from Victor. He didn't count on falling in love with her for real. Meanwhile, Ashley had married Victor after she realized Brad Carlton (Don Diamont) wasn't the right man for her.

Nikki was in deep turmoil as she debated over undergoing surgery for debilitating back pain at the risk of the surgery not succeeding or, worse, leaving her in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. (Spoiler alert: she ended up having the successful surgery and her back pain went away.)

Victor had come to see Nikki to discuss a joint holiday celebration for the sake of their children. The scenes were fraught with tension as Nikki resisted Victor's probes to find out what was going on in her life that was so troublesome. Victor asked if it was her marriage, which irritated Nikki.

The underlying emotions were that Nikki still deeply loved Victor, more than she ever would love Jack. However, Victor seemed extremely content in his union with Ashley, who gently reminded her husband that his former wife had a new husband to help her with whatever problems may or may not exist in her life.

Wouldn't it be great if there were a streaming platform that would make all these classic episodes available? Surely, fans would sign up for such a service!

Aloha, location shoots

Make no mistake -- the beauty of Hawaii was evident at Danny and Cricket's first wedding. We saw images of Hawaii that were simply paradise! There was the beautiful ocean, beautiful flowers, and breathtaking skies. We couldn't help but notice that the director of the episode didn't get too lost in the location shoots, which would have been easy to do. Instead, the focus was kept on the beautiful bride, the handsome groom, and the happy members of the wedding party and other guests.

Y&R did an incredible job of honoring its past not only in the rebroadcast episode featuring Danny and Cricket's wedding, but the show had given nearly everyone an emotional beat to play. We loved seeing Nate (Sean Dominic) and Victor make peace. It warmed our hearts when Nate told Amy (Valarie Pettiford), who danced up a storm at Cricket and Danny's wedding, that she was a member of the Winters clan. There were nods to Chance, Damian, and others during this holiday week.

Y&R merged past and present to give viewers a memorable holiday week! It was fantastic to see Barbara Crampton as Leanna Love, Michael Corbett as David Kimble, Peter Barton as Scott, Quinn Redeker as Rex Sterling, Tricia Cast as Nina, and Patty Weaver as Gina. Bravo to all involved! The high-stakes drama is going to return soon enough on Monday. (Click here to get a preview of next week's shows!)

And while we're looking forward to that, we are also grateful to Y&R for reminding us of the way they were.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus