CBS The Young and the Restless Spoilers: December 22, 2025 – January 2, 2026 — Power, Control, and the Cost of Defiance Shake Genoa City

As The Young and the Restless heads into the final days of 2025 and the opening stretch of 2026, Genoa City braces for a reckoning fueled by obsession, wounded pride, and the dangerous belief that control is the same thing as love. Over the next two weeks, alliances will fracture, long-standing power dynamics will be challenged, and one man’s refusal to loosen his grip may leave devastation in its wake.

At the center of the storm stands Victor Newman, a titan who has ruled his family and his empire for decades by rules he alone created. For more than forty years, Victor’s marriage to Nikki Newman functioned within boundaries he enforced without apology. Nikki was expected to reflect his power, share his values, and remain loyal not only in action, but in thought. Over time, that imbalance became normalized—within their marriage and throughout the Newman dynasty—where Victor’s authority was rarely questioned and never safely defied.

That is why Nikki’s recent defiance cuts so deeply. Her refusal to endorse Victor’s latest attack on Jabot, her willingness to voice moral outrage, and her declaration that forgiveness may no longer be possible have left Victor disoriented and enraged. He does not see Nikki’s evolution as strength or independence. He sees chaos. In Victor’s worldview, order exists because he created it—and Nikki stepping outside her assigned role feels like a violation of the natural law he believes governs his life.

Unable to accept that Nikki has chosen her own conscience, Victor searches for a culprit. As always, his rage finds Jack Abbott. Victor’s hatred for Jack is not rational; it is almost mythic. Jack represents every moment Victor could not fully control—most notably the day Jack saved Nikki’s life, an act Victor has never interpreted as heroism, but as theft. That bond, forged in crisis, is one Victor has never been able to erase.

Now, with Nikki openly condemning his tactics and daring to challenge his authority, Victor’s war on Jabot becomes something darker. It is no longer merely strategic—it is punitive. He wants to win, yes, but more than that, he wants to humiliate. To remind everyone watching that independence from Victor Newman carries a brutal price.

The fallout from this obsession extends far beyond Victor and Nikki. Billy Abbott and Kyle Abbott, often celebrated as self-made men, find themselves standing on shakier ground than they realize. Their success, while earned, is supported by the institutional strength of Jabot and Jack’s leadership. Victor understands this weakness and is eager to exploit it. If Jabot collapses, Billy and Kyle’s independence will be tested instantly, forcing them into a reckoning where pride offers no protection and legacy money can no longer shield them from consequence.

Victor’s strategy is built on pressure. He wants Jack cornered, Nikki isolated, and the Abbott name fractured by survival. Nikki’s refusal to stand by him infuriates Victor because it exposes the cruelty beneath his calculations. She is naming a truth Victor refuses to acknowledge—that his need to dominate has crossed from defense into obsession. Accepting that would mean accepting that Nikki is no longer his reflection, but his mirror.

While Victor wages his war of dominance, Victoria Newman fights a quieter, more personal battle. She has always believed in her daughter Clare’s strength—her intelligence, her independence, her ability to walk away. But when the subject turns to Holden, Victoria’s confidence gives way to fear. Holden’s charm and magnetism trigger old alarms, reminding Victoria of men who appeared romantic until they became possessive.

Victoria does not doubt Clare’s intelligence; she doubts what desire can do to judgment when it disguises itself as destiny. Her vigilance grows sharper, her instincts edging closer to control, even as she tells herself she is only protecting her child. The tragedy is that Victoria recognizes this pattern—she lived it with her own parents—and yet cannot silence the fear that Holden’s secrets could quietly rewrite Clare’s life.

Meanwhile, Victor escalates his campaign. With his marriage unraveling and his image taking public hits, he formally orders an AI-driven strike against Jabot—one capable of paralyzing its operations and making the Abbott empire appear unstable and unreliable. He frames it as necessity, but Adam Newman hears the truth beneath the command: this is punishment. For Jack. For Nikki. For Genoa City daring to watch Victor bleed.

Adam hesitates, fully aware of the damage such an attack could cause—employees, partners, markets, even criminal investigations. But Adam also knows the cost of refusal. In Victor’s world, love becomes exile in an instant. So Adam complies, knowing that when the fallout comes, the blame will land not on Victor, but on the hands closest to the keyboard.

Elsewhere, Cain Ashby and Phyllis Summers reach a critical turning point. Their uneasy partnership—born of necessity rather than trust—forces them to define boundaries before tension turns destructive. Phyllis, still carrying the trauma of her captivity, clings to control as a form of survival. Cain understands that staying clean in Genoa City often means staying powerless. Their agreement is not warm or romantic—it is transactional, strategic, and brittle. But structure, for now, keeps them from imploding.

That structure is tested during Billy Abbott and Sally Spectra’s highly anticipated launch event. What should be a triumphant night quickly unravels as subtle glitches, whispered rumors, and technical failures infect the atmosphere. Investors grow uneasy. Conversations turn cautious. Celebration gives way to calculation. Sally recognizes the pattern immediately—this isn’t coincidence. It’s pressure. A warning delivered without Victor ever needing to show his face.

As systems stutter and confidence erodes, Billy feels the familiar fury rise. Victor doesn’t need to confront you directly. He only needs to decide you’re not allowed to win. And this, they realize too late, is only the opening act.

The most chilling development comes quietly. Victoria receives a message hinting not only at the unfolding attack, but at Holden’s proximity to Clare that very night. In one instant, Victoria’s maternal fear and corporate instincts fuse into ruthless clarity. Victor’s revenge is not separate from personal lives—it uses chaos as camouflage, creating distractions where dangerous men can move unseen.

As Victoria rushes to protect her daughter, the lights at Billy and Sally’s event flicker—and go out completely. In the darkness, a scream rings out, followed by the unmistakable sound of a phone recording beginning to capture a scandal that could change everything.

As 2025 ends and 2026 begins, The Young and the Restless makes one thing clear: when Victor Newman decides control matters more than loyalty, no one is safe from becoming collateral damage.