While we’ve been racking our brains trying to figure out the genesis of Claire’s vendetta on The Young and the Restless, the answer’s been under our noses almost the whole time. As the villainess reminded Nikki in Thursday’s episode, the Newmans use and lose people as if they didn’t matter at all. So Claire is probably simply a member of a family that Victor’s business machinations ruined.
Let’s face it: The dude does love to fire people. Perhaps Claire’s mom or dad worked for Newman Enterprises, slaved away for years, only to be pink-slipped when The Mustache lost interest in the division for which they punched the clock. Maybe they were downsized. Knowing the way Victor operates, he might well have axed ’em to give one of his brats a promotion.
On the flipside, Claire’s family could have been bankrupted by the Newmans. Picture the Graces running a mom-and-pop operation… then picture Victor muscling in and using his vast resources to sell the same stuff more cheaply (and with a more lavish advertising budget). It’s a David and Goliath story that David lost… and which sparked his daughter’s lifelong eagerness to seek revenge.
The weird thing is, when the show reveals the origin of Claire’s righteous anger, we may not be able to say that it’s unjustified. The Newmans are all about the Newmans. Everyone else is but a means to an end. So, while Claire’s methods may be absolutely over-the-top, her reasons for going over the top may not be.
You might not kidnap anybody to stick it to someone who wronged you, but you’d surely wish that you could strike back in some meaningful way, right? It ain’t pretty, but it is human.