We can’t say we necessarily wanted to see a twisted romance betweenThe Young and the Restless’ Ian (Ray Wise) and Jordan (Colleen Zenk), but that’s exactly what we’re getting as indicated in the episode airing on December 20.
Throughout the episode, Jordan is alone in the seedy motel room she shares with Ian, thinking about all he’s done for her in breaking her out of prison and giving her a shot at revenge on the Newmans. She’s incredibly grateful, and when Ian shows up, she expresses her gratitude. A few beats after sharing her appreciation, the two pull each other into an embrace and kiss. While viewers knew they had a criminal alliance, we didn’t know they were romantically entangled for sure until this moment.
Now this relationship probably isn’t one that will last for the long haul, and it will likely end in disaster. Jordan and Ian are certifiable. Not only is peaceful conflict resolution not one of their strengths (a necessity in romance), but they are also both manipulative and completely obsessed with the Newmans. Something tells us that jealousy is also a common flaw they share.
With all that being said, we can imagine their fiery relationship starting to crumble thanks to Ian. He’s clearly the one who has been calling all the shots in their dynamic, but Jordan is the one who has been getting the short end of the stick. She’s mentioned their partnership being unfair, but up until now, he’s always managed to smooth things over. We think a time will soon come when his manipulative charm won’t work. That charm may grow faint thanks to another woman.
It’s not that we think Ian will cheat, but rather that he may become so obsessed with someone else that Jordan becomes jealous that he’s devoting so much attention to a person other than her. If such a scenario were to play out, we can see one of two people pulling Ian’s focus.
First, there’s Sharon (Sharon Case). Ian persuaded Jordan to target Sharon from the very beginning of their alliance. He’s been torturing Sharon for months, and even now is desperate to know how her criminal woes are ruining her life and that of her family. Could Jordan find herself becoming fed-up with Ian’s Sharon obsession?
Now Ian recently asked Jordan to kill Sharon, but Jordan hasn’t done it yet. Will Ian grow to pester Jordan to do the job, and Jordan find herself disenchanted by his constant nagging until she’s sick of hearing the name of the Crimson Lights’ owner?
If Sharon doesn’t come between Ian and Jordan, then perhaps it will be Tessa (Cait Fairbanks). Ian chats it up with Tessa at Society in the episode from December 20, using an alias. She mistakenly assumes he’s a sweet older customer and she tells him about her life with Mariah (Camryn Grimes) and their child Aria, likely a move Tessa will live to regret. Considering Ian has been stalking Mariah and Tessa lately and now has approached Tessa, there’s reason to be concerned.
Then we have to think about Ian’s pattern. Historically, he loves preying on younger women. He did it with a younger Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), Summer (Allison Lanier) and Mariah, so there’s no reason not to think he won’t set his sights on Tessa. If Ian becomes fixated on Tessa, that could infuriate Jordan who may start to realize his brand of villain surpasses hers, again causing problems for their relationship.
While we can’t be absolutely sure when and how Ian and Jordan’s romance will end in destruction, our hunch is that show fans shouldn’t get used to seeing a cutesy hashtag name for the pair.
