The Young and the Restless: Five reasons why we love the Abbott brothers (and 5 reasons why they drive us crazy)

The Young and the Restless' Abbott brothers, Jack and Billy, have weathered all kinds of storms over the years. Sometimes we find them easy to love. Other times, not so much. Here are five reasons why we love Jack and Billy Abbott, followed by five reasons why they drive us crazy:

Five reasons why we love the Abbott brothers:

1) They have great brotherly chemistry

Even when The Young and the Restless' Jack (Peter Bergman) and Billy (Jason Thompson) are in the middle of a heated argument, their brotherly relationship feels authentic. Billy is famous for getting himself into one mess after another. Jack is the weary, long-suffering big brother who is forever trying to straighten him out.

And through it all, we just can't take our eyes off of these two men when they're in a scene together. Bergman and Thompson are acting gold, and they have a natural energy as on-screen brothers. Best of all, no matter how angry Jack and Billy are at each other sometimes, they always manage to work things out and come together in the end -- as brothers who love each other.

2) The Abbotts always band together to protect their father's legacy, Jabot Cosmetics

Jack and Billy always do whatever is necessary to preserve their father's legacy, Jabot Cosmetics. Both brothers have a long-standing admiration of their father, John Abbott (Jerry Douglas), who was a kind and well-respected member of the Genoa City business community. From time to time on The Young and the Restless, Jack and Billy mention John, the lessons he taught them, and the impact he made on them.

As the male head of the family, Jack always brings the family together whenever Jabot is under attack by Victor (Eric Braeden), so they can discuss possible ways to keep the company afloat. The most recent example was when Jack decided to shut down Jabot online, and he discussed it with his family first. He respects his family and wanted to make sure they were all okay with it before he took action.

Likewise, Billy came through for Jack when Jack asked him to try to make a deal with Phyllis. Billy knew just what to say to Phyllis to convince her to team up with them, even though Jack ended up changing his mind about teaming up with her.

3) They are always supportive brothers to Traci and Ashley

The Abbott brothers both love their sisters, Traci (Beth Maitland) and Ashley (Eileen Davidson), and they always offer them support and assistance whenever they are struggling in some way. The most recent example was when Ashley had dissociative identity disorder and went to a mental health facility in Paris for treatment. Traci went with her, and Jack flew out there later to lend his support.

Jack also extended brotherly support to Traci during the heartbreaking and shocking storyline where she discovered that she was involved with the psychotic Martin Laurent (Christopher Cousins) instead of his twin brother, Alan.

4) Both Jack and Billy are romantic with the women in their lives

Jack and Billy are always good at expressing their appreciation for the women in their lives. On The Young and the Restless' Valentine's Day episode, Jack somehow managed to get himself out of the doghouse he was in after Diane (Susan Walters) saw him embracing Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott). His card really did the trick! Aside from the Nikki issue, Jack is always a loving and attentive husband, and Diane loves him for it.

Billy knocked himself out to impress Sally (Courtney Hope) on Valentine's Day, as he filled the room with red roses, candles, and champagne. Unfortunately, his efforts didn't pay off for him in the end, and it looks like their relationship is as good as done. But one thing Sally has never doubted is his love for her. If only he wouldn't let his obsession with Chancellor Industries get in the way of that!

5) Jack and Billy both hate Victor Newman

It feels fitting that both Jack and Billy hate Victor on The Young and the Restless, considering that he's been out to destroy their family's company for decades. Even classy and kind-hearted John Abbott lost his temper with Victor at one point or another. Remember when he stormed over to Victor's house, rang the doorbell, punched Victor in the face, and then stormed off? That was a classic Y&R moment!

So, it's fun to watch Jack and Billy as brothers in arms, brainstorming potential ways they can ward off an attack from Victor. Sometimes it's hard to figure out which brother hates Victor more!

Five reasons why the Abbott brothers drive us crazy:

1) Billy's obsession with Chancellor Industries knows no bounds

Unfortunately, The Young and the Restless' Billy will never feel completely fulfilled unless he can reclaim Chancellor Industries. Cane (Billy Flynn) keeps offering it to him, but then he later changes his mind. It's a shame Billy keeps accepting the offer and then lives to suffer the consequences. This time, Cane obtained Chancellor illegally, stealing it from Victor by using the AI program. As if that weren't bad enough, Billy then double-crossed Cane by aligning himself with Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), after Cane told Victor he would give him back Newman Enterprises.

And as if that weren't bad enough, Billy made Phyllis promise to give Newman Media to Sally. This whole storyline has gotten messier and messier! Billy needs to stop. His obsession with Chancellor has caused him to go off the rails again.

2) Jack's loyalty to Nikki borders on obsession

It is aggravating to watch Jack constantly get sucked into Nikki's drama. She can't keep running to him and whining about how frustrating Victor is. She's known for years that The Great Victor Newman does whatever he darn well pleases, never caring what anyone in his family thinks. Sometimes we wish Jack would just say to her, "You made your bed. Now lay in it." But because he used to be married to her and has been friends with her for years, he doesn't have the heart to say it.

Jack also puts too much faith in Nikki's willingness to help him save Jabot, which puts her in a position where she would be choosing Jabot over Victor. Jack should know that Victor will always be number one to her.

Sometimes we wonder what Jack would do if Nikki ever divorced Victor. Would he want her back? Is he still in love with her? Maybe a triangle with Jack, Nikki, and Diane would be interesting!

3) Billy is obsessed with defeating Victor

The Young and the Restless' Billy has been angry that his mother, Jill (Jess Walton), sold Chancellor Industries to Victor. He's also tired of Victor's constant bullying, threats, and critcism. He would love to stick it to Victor somehow, and we get that.

But maybe Billy has never heard the saying, "The best revenge is living well." He had everything going for him. He had Sally and a brand-new company, Abbott Communications. His life was going in a great direction. If only he would have run with it, Abbott Communications could have been a tremendous success. And that would have been his way of retaliating against Victor -- by doing nothing, by simply living his life and letting Victor take note of the success of Abbott Communications.

4) Jack rarely ever defends Billy to other Y&R characters

Even though Jack has plenty of brotherly love for Billy on The Young and the Restless, he doesn't always take Billy's side or show others that he believes in his little brother. Jack has done this over the years in conversations with Victor, Lily, Nikki, and possibly other characters as well. It's hard to keep track!

The person he's done it with the most is Nikki. He always says he would rather she run Chancellor, when he knows darn well that Billy ran it first -- until Jill took it away from him and sold it to Victor. Nikki was happy running Newman Media, when Victor gifted her Chancellor. She was shocked when he presented her with the chance to run it, and she wasn't even sure she wanted to run it, at first. That was the one company Billy loved, and it was taken away from him. Jack doesn't seem to understand how much that hurt his brother, and he never makes it clear to Nikki. It all falls under Jack's obsession with Nikki's happiness and well-being.

5) Billy should have made amends with Jill a long time ago

Billy has a right to be angry that Jill sold Chancellor, but that isn't a good enough reason for him to be estranged from her all this time. We're glad that he finally reached out to her, but it's sad that her health had to take a turn for the worse in order for him to feel motivated to call her. He's known for years that she's had health problems. He shouldn't have waited all this time. She is still his mother, no matter what she did. Even though she may not be mother of the year, she still loves him.

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Jason Thompson and Jess Walton are another pair who work well in scenes together. Even though Jill only has a recurring role on The Young and the Restless, it would have been nice to see them share a few scenes during the moments when she's been on the canvas. Billy needs to reconnect with her and forgive her so that he and Jill can begin to heal and start over as mother and son.

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

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