The Young and the Restless Two Scoops for the week of March 23: Daniel's heartbreak is more real than any AI storyline

The Young and the Restless moved a lot of emotional storylines last week. Brothers Nick and Adam grew closer while in Sin City. Jack and Nikki got closer. And Daniel's heart was broken into a million pieces as a door opened for Tessa and Mariah.

What happened on The Young and the Restless

Daniel lost Tessa on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

Even before Daniel (Michael Graziadei) strummed his first string on the guitar, we guessed his theme song would be "Heartbreak Hotel." Any time on soaps that two characters are paired together as "just friends" -- like Daniel and Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) were -- it's all but a given that they're going to embark on a romantic journey.

Daniel and Tessa were becoming fast friends when Mariah (Camryn Grimes) came back to Genoa City following a business trip, withdrawn and secretive. Tessa's patience was tested to the nth degree as Mariah barely shared any information with her wife as to what had gone down while she was out of town.

Tessa begged and begged and begged and begged for Mariah to trust her, to love her, to be honest with her -- all the things that they promised each other when they got married. Mariah finally shared a little bit as to what went on, but by her accounts, nobody died, nobody was injured.

The more Mariah pushed Tessa away, the more Tessa leaned on Daniel, her guitar pupil. Then, Mariah asked Daniel to look after Tessa, and wasn't that our daily dose of irony for the day!

Mairah needs to sue the heck out of the facilities/hospitals that she had checked into for additional mental health support. All she got were hallucinations that Ian Ward (Ray Wise) was back in her life. Instead of reaching out to her loved ones, Mariah kept falling into a depression even more. Granted, she did ask Sharon (Sharon Case) for help, but she was a little busy taking care of Noah (Lucas Adams) after his car wreck, intentionally caused by Matt Clark (Roger Howarth).

It looked like Mariah was headed for the point of no return after kidnapping Dominic (Ethan Ray Clark) from the mansion in which he lived, and she took him on the road with her. Playing hide and seek with him in motel rooms and eating diner food is only fun for so long.

Sharon, Devon (Bryton James), Abby (Melissa Ordway), and Det. Burrow (Matt Cohen) tracked the two down; Dominic went home to his mansion, and Mariah went before a judge.

Poor Daniel gave up his romance with Tessa so that Mariah, Tessa, and their daughter Aria could make a go of it as a family. Was there ever any doubt that the scales would tip in favor of Mariah and Tessa reconciling?

The sad part is that Daniel is miserable. He's not only lost Heather (Vail Bloom), but he's also lost Tessa.

This should never have been about Tessa choosing one over the other. Mariah has to choose herself first. It's pointless to have Mariah and Tessa reconcile if Mariah isn't going to get the mental health support that she needs.

Here's hoping Daniel finds peace in all this. He and Tessa shared a lot over this last year. If Daniel's lucky, he'll get to make beautiful music again someday with someone.

Our hearts are breaking for Daniel right now. Ironically, he's the person who has distanced himself most from the show's AI storyline. Perhaps Y&R doesn't need AI to drive story -- it just simply needs human interaction, mixed with some heartbreak.

A rise out of Riza

When Riza met Adam again on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Never say never in the world of soaps. Tina Casiani likely left Riza, her Y&R character, in the rearview mirror a long time ago, as she hadn't been on the show in many years. But the show called, and she answered. There's something about the soap world where a character can be gone for a day, a week, a month, a year, a decade or two or anything in between and they'll be welcomed back by viewers.

Shows ask audiences to accept that soap opera characters live in a real world. Maybe nobody had Adam revisiting his "Spider" days in Las Vegas on their bingo cards, but having the OG Riza back allows viewers (who are loyal and hang in there) more reason to believe that the world of Y&R is as consistent as possible.

Brothers in charms

Adam may help Nick with more than Matt Clark as Nick has a pill problem on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

The Newman family dynamics are so complicated that the clan could be a whole soap opera unto itself. Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Adam (Mark Grossman) didn't grow up together. When Nick was in Genoa City, living his life with Sharon (Sharon Case), Noah (now, Lucas Adams), and Cassie (Camryn Grimes), Adam was being raised by his mother, Hope (Signy Coleman), back in Kansas.

When Adam came to town with his Harvard MBA, he and Nick were just never going to be bosom buddies. Well, times change. Now, Adam is standing by his brother as they try to track down Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) in Sin City.

Nick sure could use Adam's help -- not just with Matt, either. Morrow's giving a tour de force as Nick fights an addiction to pain pills. Nick's dependence on pills could give Matt the edge when the two men meet in person for their next showdown!

Victor's Waterloo

Victor may lose out if he's not careful on The Young and the Restless | Image: CBS

One of the best things about Y&R is the interpersonal dynamics among all the characters. As storylines unfold, those dynamics can be explored time and time again.

And it's fascinating how quickly dynamics can change. Victor's kidnapping of Jack not only torpedoed Jack's marriage to Diane, played by Susan Walters, as Diane walked in on him and Patty Williams, played by Stacy Haiduk, but it also cost Victor his own (for now), as Nikki strenuously objects to Victor's actions.

Now, Jack (Peter Bergman) and Nikki are teaming up to teach Victor a lesson. The mogul has faced a lot of adversaries over the years. Can he beat his hated enemy and the woman Victor loves now that they've become allies?

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