The Young And The Restless’ 10 Most Shocking Cliffhangers!

What would the land of television be without cliffhangers? They appear in primetime dramas, comedies, and sometimes even reality shows. They are also quite prevalent in the land of daytime soaps, but unlike other shows, they aren’t done at the end of a season so fans don’t have to wait long to find out what happens. Soap opera cliffhangers generally occur on Thursday or Friday to create a build up of anticipation. Here’s a list of some of the most shocking cliffhangers in the land of the Young and the Restless (Y&R)!

10. Out Of The Ashes

This cliffhanger took place in 2007 and was launched with a tremendous amount of publicity and had its own name, referred as Y&R’s “Out of the Ashes” storyline. A resort and casino was being built nearby Genoa City in a town known as Clear Springs. There was an explosion in the underground parking garage that caused a building to collapse, and as luck would have it, many main characters were in the area at the time, most of which were injured in some form or another due to being ‘trapped’ from the incident. Would there be fatalities? Would anyone be drastically injured? What would happen to Vicky Newman, Kay Chancellor, Amber Moore, Sharon and Nick Newman, Jack Abbott and others? It was one of those cliffhangers that rocked the Y&R and its fans to their very core.

9. What Happen to Brad Carlton?

There wasn’t a dry eye in any Y&R fan’s home the day everyone realized what happened to Brad Carlton that winter in 2009. The storyline was a heated one at the time: Brad followed a confused Sharon to the Abbott cabin to state his love for her only to be rejected. There was a terrible snow storm in Genoa City (and surrounding areas) that night and as he headed home, he stopped due to car issues and heard Sharon’s son Noah in need of help. Noah was drowning, Brad saved him, but the aftermath would create shock waves throughout the Y&R. Noah was saved, but where was Brad Carlton and why was he not around? Carlton’s body was found shortly after, frozen under the ice. He had saved Noah from drowning, but died a hero suffering the very same fate the boy almost had.

8. Cassie Returns?

It was only about three years ago that Camryn Grimes made her official return to daytime and Genoa City, but when she began showing up on Y&R, fans were perplexed about the storyline around her. Was she appearing to Sharon as ghost, as she always had been in the past? Was Sharon losing her mind again? It was crystal clear that something big was on the horizon during a cliffhanger episode where “Cassie” was shown to be aligned with Victor Newman. Cassie clearly wasn’t Cassie at that point and the entire arc was spun into a larger storyline that involved a twin sister angle.

7. Faith’s Father

Speaking of Cassie, when the teenager died in 2005 she relayed a premonition to her parents that they would have another little girl someday. Four years later, Faith Newman was born, and while the premonition came true, the child’s conception was wrapped in controversy. Sharon was going through a difficult time in 2009. She was in love with Nick and the two had an affair, but she was also dealing with mental health issues. Around the same time she slept with Nick, she also engaged in relations with Billy Abbott and her ex Jack. This left a huge question mark around Faith’s paternity that lingered for a long while until a test proved that Nick was indeed the child’s father.

6. Halloween 2015

It seems that the Y&R does love its explosions! An incident that occurred during a Halloween Party dedicated to Delia Abbott and the Delia Project foundation in 2015 showed just that and created a huge cliffhanger for viewers. A good chunk of Y&R‘s characters (and their kids) were at the party so it left fans wondering if any other Genoa City kiddos would fall victim to any horrible accidents. The building caught fire which resulted in an explosion with many heroes emerging from the episode. Thankfully the incident caused a lot of drama, but all the children at the party made it out to safety.

5. Colleen Carlton Passes Away

In the fall of 2009, insane Patty Williams went on a rampage and kidnapped Colleen Carlton. Desperate to get away, and stranded in the middle of a lake on a canoe, Colleen was able to break free from Patty. Sadly, she bumped her head on the canoe as she tried to swim away and fell underwater in the same lake her dad (Brad Carlton) drowned in years ago. What proceeded after that was a dream-like sequence of eerie segments where Colleen was visited by those she was close to, including her late grandfather and father. While Jack did ‘save’ Colleen at the lake, Y&R viewers sat at the edge of their seats during this cliffhanger to see if Colleen would live or if her life would end in a similar fashion to the way her dad’s did. In the end, Colleen was pronounced brain dead when she arrived at the hospital, which devastated family, friends, and Y&R fans.

4. Victor Has a Heart Attack

There is no love lost between Victor Newman and Jack Abbott; it’s the way it has always been and it is the way it will always be. So, it’s not that surprising that Jack would leave Victor at his weakest moment and not give it a second thought – especially with all that Victor has done in the past. A pretty interesting cliffhanger happened in the mid- ‘90s during a confrontation between Jack and Victor. Victor collapsed from a heart attack and Y&R fans were shocked when Jack simply left Victor behind, without the inkling to help or call for help. Victor turned out to be okay and Jack did end up going back to help his nemesis, but at the time the cliffhanger left fans wondering all sorts of what ifs.

3. Billy And Mac’s Wedding

In 2003, Billy Abbott was absolutely in love with Mackenzie Browning, so much so the two young lovebirds were headed to the alter with a bright future ahead. Until Jill found out that she was Katherine Chancellor’s daughter, which would make the couple kissing cousins. Yuck! Jill tried with all her might to stop the wedding, but would she make it in time to ensure they didn’t consummate the marriage? Cliffhanger craziness! She did not stop the wedding, but did stop anything else that might happen afterward and let’s just say Billy and Mac did not make it on their honeymoon. Good news is, the two were not related at all when a second test was done years later, proving that Kay was not Jill’s mother and Billy and Mac were not kissing cousins. Phew!

2. Delia’s Death

Genoa City mourned the death of little DeeDee Abbott in 2013, but there were hopes that the little girl would or could potentially pull threw after Adam Newman accidentally hit the child that fateful night in October. After all, hadn’t she just survived cancer a year earlier? This cliffhanger – as parents, stepparents, and family prayed for Delia’s recovery – had a sad conclusion and perhaps a bone-chilling scene reveal when Delia’s mom Chloe relayed the news of her death in the hospital to dad Billy Abbott and blamed him for Delia’s passing.

1. Skye Lockhart And The Volcano

Skye Lockhart was involved in a crazy storyline in 2010 where she was presumed dead, then alive, and then dead again. At that point in time Shadam ruled Genoa City and Sharon was desperate to prove the innocence of her boyfriend, Adam. He was locked up in jail for supposedly killing his then-wife, Skye. Sharon would parade off to Hawaii in search of Skye to help get Adam off the hook and she found her — but not before Skye tried to steal Sharon’s proof that she was alive, and then accidentally fell into a steamy hot lava volcano. Meanwhile, Adam was cleared of all charges until footage revealed that Sharon might have murdered Skye. This cliffhanger left fans wondering for months (and months … and months) if Sharon would ever be cleared of these charges. She eventually was, but in typical soap fashion there were many twists and turns on the way!