I was disappointed The Young and the Restless turned Cole’s return into a tragedy instead of a reunion

Cole Howard strolled back into Genoa City with the kind of promise The Young and the Restless fans crave. Victoria’s first love, Claire’s once-missing father, and a man wrapped in Newman history all paused in one doorway at the ranch.

Viewers expected hugs, hard talks, and maybe fresh vows. The writers even sprinkled in playful banter over morning coffee, hinting at more to come. A hopeful arc seemed seconds away on The Young and the Restless.

The mood shifted in a blink. A hacking cough at Nikki’s birthday, dizziness at Crimson Lights, and a late arrival blamed on a “bug” turned that doorway into a cliff. Despite Victoria’s gentle prodding, Cole brushed off doctor visits and holed up in an Athletic Club suite.

Days later, he crashed on the ballroom floor, pale and gasping, while Victoria shouted for paramedics. Chicago specialists soon labeled his sickness Legionnaires’ disease, a severe pneumonia. The reunion we waited for stalled beside a hospital bed.

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The Young and the Restless lost the payoff

A reunion needs time to breathe. The show teased it, then pivoted to alarms and tear-filled farewells. We never saw Victoria and Cole sift through the loss of their baby years ago or wrestle with the fact that Claire grew up thinking they were dead. Instead, ICU scenes ate up airtime.

Pain can drive a story, yet without a spark beforehand, the pain feels forced. One lively dinner at Society would have built stakes. Without it, his looming goodbye lands like a plot device rather than earned drama.

Victoria has carried her mother through relapse, steered Newman Enterprises through scandals, and raised three kids with steady grace. After that haul, she deserved clear skies, not another crisis on The Young and the Restless.

Watching her pace outside the isolation glass felt like déjà vu. Writers could have shown two seasoned adults juggling board meetings and co-parenting late in life. Instead, we got another wall of sorrow that dims a character who once owned half the boardroom. Claire, who has only just found her father, now faces grief before she can share even a single Father’s Day.

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The Young and the Restless viewers feel short-changed

Soap audiences stick around because payoffs usually arrive. This time, patience earned a tragedy that many predicted once Cole ignored medical care. Social feeds overflow with posts begging for even one calm month before any twist. “Just let Victoria be happy,” one fan wrote.

Another asked why the show brought back a legacy figure only to turn him into a cautionary tale. Viewers invest years in these families and want the occasional win. Shock has a place, but shock without balance can break trust. If the writers want balance, Cole can survive, weaker yet present, ready to rebuild bonds.

A prolonged recovery arc that covers therapy, awkward but sweet family dinners, and board games with the grandkids would honor the tension already aired while giving viewers the embrace they pictured when he first showed up with a suitcase in hand. It would also let Claire grow beside both parents and let Victoria face something other than grief.

Daytime thrives on second chances. The clock has not struck midnight on this couple unless the writers decide it has. Many fans hope they choose reunion over requiem, because soaps, at their best, are about love that endures even past commercial breaks.

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Fans can watch The Young and the Restless on CBS.

Edited by Somava