The Young and the Restless prides itself on telling stories that don’t ask viewers to suspend too much belief. On April 14, 2025, however, Y&R reminded us of the time that viewers were asked to throw logic out the window when Diane Jenkins came back from the dead. In the end, the ask was well worth it!
Death does not become her
Sure, it made sense that Diane (Susan Walters; actually, then played by Maura West, who is know Ava on General Hospital) wanted a break from the craziness around her. So, Deacon Sharpe (Sean Kanan, now on The Bold and the Beautiful) helped Diane fake her death, and she began a new life in Los Angeles.
Pretty much everyone in Genoa City was a suspect. Diane and Deacon even used a look-alike corpse to help convince people Diane was a goner. Now, that’s commitment.
Years later, Y&R decided to ask viewers to suspend belief and accept that Diane had faked her death, and wanted to sashay her way back into Genoa City. We went along with it because this meant we got Walters back. Diane is Kyle’s mom, has a great rivalry with Phyllis (Michelle Stafford), and is one of Victor Newman’s (Eric Braeden) ex-wives.
The tough part was believing that Diane would choose to leave Kyle (Michael Mealor), who was about 10 or 11 at the time. Frankly, we would have been fine if, as the years continue to go on, Y&R never mentioned this part of Diane’s life.
But it’s there, nonetheless. And it needed to be mined, given Diane’s current tale. She knows in her head that Jack (Peter Bergman), her husband, didn’t do anything wrong after he was kidnapped. But her heart feels deeply betrayed as a drugged Jack ended up in bed with Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk).
The Walking Dead
Walters is slaying it as Diane is playing tormented and betrayed. But she is a bit of a hypocrite. She can’t fully argue that Jack wasn’t drugged, but she can’t deny that she faked her own death.
We saw the realization that Tracy was right flash across Diane’s face. But she’s still not able to forgive Jack. It was clear that Diane was still reacting emotionally when Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) showed up at the Abbott mansion, hoping that Diane’s presence there meant that she and Jack had reconciled. Not quite.
Diane didn’t vent her anger at Traci because Traci had a point. And she’s treated Diane with kindness, despite being very blunt in today’s episode. However, Diane has no such qualms about blasting Nikki. In fact, she pointed out to Victor’s (Eric Braeden) wife that if Jack hadn’t holed up with her in a hotel room at the GCAC in an attempt to help her hang onto her sobriety, they might not be in this mess right now!
Ultimately, we’re okay with Y&R undoing Diane’s death. In fact, we’re thrilled because it brought Walters back to our screens!
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Edited by Michael Maloney