The Young and the Restless: Are we getting a Matt/Phyllis pairing or Matt/Patty?

Now that The Young and the Restless writers have given Matt Clark amnesia and he's back in Genoa City, could there possibly be a romance for him on the horizon? He already had an interesting talk with Phyllis, and next week, he's about to meet Patty. Which woman will he be more attracted to?

Matt's talk with Phyllis on The Young and the Restless

Matt and Phyllis had a fun talk on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

It's fun to watch bad guy Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) wander around Genoa City with no idea who he is. When he met Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) at the GCAC bar, the two had a natural rapport and immediately clicked. Apparently, she's never seen Matt before, even though they both first appeared on Y&R in 1994 (when he was played by Eddie Cibrian; of course, Matt's had plastic surgery since then!)

If Phyllis knew this was Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon's (Sharon Case) longtime enemy she was talking to, she would have nothing to do with him! She would probably throw her drink in his face and storm out of the GCAC. She knows what Matt put Nick, Sharon, and their son, Noah (Lucas Adams), through in Los Angeles last year.

The meeting of Phyllis and Matt was a reunion of sorts for Howarth and Stafford. They worked together in General Hospital, playing, respectively, Franco and Nina. It's a blast to watch them portray different characters on Y&R now, and we can see that they still have the same great onscreen chemistry that they had when they were in Port Charles.

Phyllis and Matt generate sparks together! Their conversation was entertaining, especially since she had to describe what life in GC is like -- to a man who knows very well, if only he could remember! She seemed quite smitten with him, even introducing herself, although it was odd that she didn't scribble her phone number for him on a cocktail napkin. After arguing with Cane (Billy Flynn) and all the ups and downs she's been through with him, she perked up after she started talking to Matt. She and Matt are both outcasts in GC, and neither of them is ever afraid to speak their mind. Since they have so much in common, are the Y&R writers about to give them a love connection?

Or are we about to get a Matt and Patty pairing

Matt and Patty were intrigued with each other on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

In Friday's sneak peek for next week, we saw Matt and Patty (Stacy Haiduk) walk past each other at Crimson Lights. They stopped in their tracks and turned around for a second glance at each other. What have we here? Did the Y&R writers tease us with a potential Matt/Phyllis pairing when they're really going to go with Matt and Patty?

These two are both longtime Y&R villains, so we can picture them teaming up -- not only as romantic partners, but also as partners in crime, once Matt recovers his memory. Can you imagine all the trouble Matt and Patty could cause together in GC? They could be the soap version of The Joker and Harley Quinn!

Unfortunately, a Matt/Patty pairing probably won't take her attention away from Jack (Peter Bergman), since Victor seems to be keeping her on his payroll to keep Jack and Diane (Susan Walters) apart. But at least it would give us a new story to look forward to.

Like ships in the night

Nick did not notice Matt walking by on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

On a side note, we had to laugh when Matt left the GCAC and walked right past Nick, who was too busy talking on the phone to notice him. Y&R fans even thought it was amusing that Nick didn't notice Matt the whole time Matt was sitting at the bar. Nick knew there was a strong possibility that Sienna (Tamara Braun) hadn't killed Matt, since the Newman security team didn't find his body in the Nevada desert. So we would have expected Nick to conduct a full search of the GCAC, Crimson Lights, Society, and Chancellor Park. But instead, he stood near the GCAC stairs, too absorbed in his phone conversation with his son, Christian, to look around the room.

And even though Noah called Nick and alerted him that Matt is in town, we suppose they can't have Matt arrested because he doesn't remember who he is. He doesn't remember committing the crimes in Las Vegas. That's probably why he's still walking around a free man in the sneak preview, and then he sees Patty!

It looks like we're in for a fun ride next week. Which woman will Matt be more drawn to? Phyllis or Patty? Tell us your opinions in the comments section below, Y&R fans!

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