What if: The Young and the Restless 'What if' the week of Mar. 23: Victor Newman unleashed Claire on his foes

On The Young and the Restless, the Newman family is divided as Victor Newman tries to get his company back. He has conflicts within his own family and external forces. We're asking "what if" Victor called in a secret weapon, who will get the job done and return the Newman clan to its rightful place. We're talking about reformed kidnapper Claire Newman!

The Young and the Restless, What if Claire got down to business

Claire gave her alcoholic grandmother an IV with vodka in it on The Young and the Restless | Image: JPI

Viewers remember when Claire (Daytime Emmy winner Hayley Erin) first came to Genoa City as an unsuspecting Nikki's (Melody Thomas Scott) assistant. It wasn't long before Claire and her evil aunt Jordan (Colleen Zenk) had kidnapped Nikki and kept her sedated with an IV filled with vodka.

That was especially sadistic because Nikki's a recovering alcoholic. Getting her back on the booze led to ramifications that are still haunting Nikki to this day. The rest of the Newmans -- Victor (Eric Braeden), Victoria (Amelia Heinle), Nicholas (Joshua Morrow), and Victoria's ex-husband, Cole Howard (J. Eddie Peck) -- were all drawn into Jordan's web and all with Claire's help.

These two women nearly brought down the entire Newman clan! Poor Nick received a knife wound across his chest, and everyone else could have died thanks to Claire.

So what if Victor were to simply ask his granddaughter, who holds a special place in his heart because of their origins, if she would revert to her old ways and start making things happen?

For starters, she could push Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) off a ridge at Chancellor Park. Late last year, Nick and Matt were having a showdown when Matt threatened to leap to his death, saying Nick would be blamed for his murder in the process. That didn't exactly work out too well the last time Matt did that (he didn't even have the "decency" to die)!

Nick taunted Matt, telling him that no one would miss him. We saw a sad look in Matt's eyes as he realized that Nick told the truth. Boo-hoo. Nobody loves me, Matt thought. Well, Matt, maybe don't go around doing all the horrible things you do. You raped Sharon back in the mid-1990s, and didn't speak up when Nick was framed for the attempt on your life, and he went off to jail for a crime he didn't commit.

You want people to feel bad that you might not be around? Here's our advice: be a better person. Also, do not stand on a ridge with Claire nearby. We suspect that she would have just pushed you off. "Oopsies!"

"Oh, well," Claire would have shrugged. "It was him or us." And all would be forgiven because Claire grew up with crazy aunt Jordan filling her mind with all kinds of lies. The Newman family could have come together to keep this secret. Problem solved. No more Matt Clark.

You're next, Phyllis

Claire could have Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) in tears if she handles her right on Y&R | Image: CBS

Then, after doing away with Matt, Claire could move on to the next big problem that the Newmans are facing -- Phyllis (Michelle Stafford). She has Newman Enterprises under her thumb, and she's not giving it back.

All Claire would have to do is apply for a job at Newman, or rather, Summers Conglomerate, and infiltrate Phyllis's inner circle. Claire could talk about how she never liked the Newmans, and her aunt Jordan was right.

If Phyllis bought it, then she might take in Claire -- especially if she promised to be a mole for Phyllis around her family. Then, Claire can make her move! You thought Phyllis was hot stuff with a bottle of chloroform, knocking out Cane after wresting him? Child's play. Wait until Claire knocks you out and sets up an IV of vodka into your bloodstream.

You don't have to be an alcoholic to let that kind of stuff affect you strongly. While Phyllis is all juiced up with ABSOLUT VODKA flowing through her veins, Claire can hack into Phyllis's computer (young people are so good with technology, aren't they?) and start moving some companies around.

She could start by transferring Newman Enterprises back to her grandfather. And won't Victor be pleased! He explained to her once that just as Claire had grown up under horrible circumstances with her Aunt Jordan feeding her lies about her family not wanting her, Victor was living the real deal!

His mother, Cora (Dorothy McGuire), truly didn't want Victor around! That's why she dumped him at an orphanage on Christmas Eve! Okay, it's not that bad. Cora did want Victor. She just couldn't afford to keep him, and she figured he'd stand a better chance in the orphanage than his brother, Matt Miller (Robert Parucha), would have.

Jack Attack

Forget about Victor! Jack Abbott might find out that the real threat in the Newman clan is Claire on Y&R | Image: CBS

Once Claire removed the threat of both Matt Clark and Phyllis, Victor could have his favorite (?, maybe) granddaughter go after Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman). Why not make it a hat trick?

Claire would probably chuckle at her grandfather's plan to trap Jack on a yacht with his old flame, Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk), and have her seduce him just as Diane (Susan Walters), Kyle (Michael Mealor), and Billy (Jason Thompson) walked in? "Oh, grandpa!" Claire would chuckle. "That's so easy."

She'd come up with a real plan to do away with Jack, perhaps something that would give Victor even cause for pause. "Now, just a minute sweetheartdarling," Victor would caution. "We don't want to do anything too drastic."

Claire's best plan of attack to bring down the Abbotts would be to do so from within. She'd likely marry Kyle and make sure she got a hefty chunk of Jabot Cosmetics stock in the divorce. Just enough to give to her granddad and make Jack's life miserable.

Problems are solved! Victor employing Claire is going to solve all his problems, and she could get it all done without employing a single bit of Artificial Intelligence!

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