Smile For The Camera! Is Y&R’s Billy Abbott Baiting Adam Newman Into Handing Jack The Wrong Evidence?

BILLY ABBOTT STAYED CALM BECAUSE HE ALREADY HAD A PLAN

TL;DR: Billy Abbott turned down a free punch and then took a secret Chancellor meeting right where Adam Newman could snap pictures, and the juiciest theory on Young and the Restless is that he wanted it that way.

A Punch Offered, A Punch Refused, A Photo Taken

A man who turns down a free punch is either a changed man or a man with a better plan, and Billy Abbott (Jason Thompson) hasn’t earned the benefit of the doubt on this one. Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) practically gift-wrapped the fight, suggesting Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) take baby Ruby out of the room so Billy could clock him. Sally announced there would be no punches, Billy added that he had no violence on his mind, and then he stood there holding the baby like the calmest man in Genoa City, which should have set off every smoke detector in town.

That calm did not leave with Adam. Billy assured Sally they were good, then kept insisting he was fine, which baffled her. She did what any wife with a front-row seat would do and called Audra Charles (Zuleyka Silver) over to compare notes. Her read on her husband is the most useful sentence anyone has said about him this month: he shuts down, then he watches and waits to make a move. Audra promised Billy wouldn’t do anything, which only convinced Sally there is something he isn’t telling her.

Plot twist: the something has a law degree. Billy ran into Audra at Crimson Lights, promised to head home after his meeting, and the second she left, a lawyer sat down with him to map out the fastest way to take control of Chancellor. The rules were simple: nobody hears a word until Chancellor is his, and it has to look like the company fell into his lap by accident. Adam walked in, spotted them outside and started snapping pictures.

Got a wild theory about how any of this shakes out? Email us at amber@soapoperamagazine.com, we want to hear it!

Everyone Who Knows Him Smells A Plan

The people closest to Billy have been smelling smoke for a week. Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) admitted to Lily Winters(Christel Khalil) that he worries Billy won’t let Chancellor go, and Lily, bless her, was not concerned. Jack Abbott(Peter Bergman) got there first. After Billy ignored his offer to fund whatever comes next, Jack asked whether his brother was sliding back toward taking Chancellor and mentioned hearing him mutter about “solving the riddle.” Billy walked out rather than answer, which is how a man behaves when he has already decided and doesn’t want a witness.

A Meeting That Moved Into Adam’s Line Of Fire

Billy Abbott moved this meeting himself, and that matters more than anything the lawyer said. Between his GCAC drop-in and his Crimson Lights sit-down, he called someone to say their meeting needed to change. The new spot was a café where half of Genoa City stops for coffee, and where Adam, who keeps turning up wherever Billy’s family is, wandered in. A man guarding a secret until Chancellor is his doesn’t hold that conversation outside with the town walking by. A man who wants a secret to leak in a very specific shape absolutely does. If the camera was always part of the picture, the scene was staged for an audience of one, and Adam, who has been told he isn’t welcome at Billy’s house unless invited, has every reason to run straight to the Abbotts.

The Photos Land On Jack’s Table

The spoilers are already lining up. Adam shares damaging evidence with Jack on Thursday, and with his phone full of Billy, a lawyer and Chancellor, we know what we’re betting on. Friday has Jack trying to protect Billy from himself. Somewhere in between, Victor Newman (Eric Braeden) turns up at the Abbott estate to talk about Jack’s brother. The photos prove Billy is up to something and prove nothing about what. If Billy Abbott built that frame himself, the Abbotts and the Newmans spend the week chasing a takeover that was never what it looked like, while Billy plays the wronged husband whose rival keeps stalking his family. What does a patient man who watches and waits actually want, Chancellor, or Adam out of his house for good?

Which storyline has you the most obsessed? Drop it in the comments below, we’re dying to talk about this!

Who Is Really Holding The Camera?

Adam has the pictures, Jack has the worry, Victor has the tail he put on his own son, and Billy has the one thing nobody else seems to own: patience. Either Billy Abbott got caught with his plans out in the open, or he is the only person in Genoa City who knows exactly who is holding the camera. Which would you bet on?

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