5 Storylines Young & The Restless Should Have Explored After Rey's Death
To many fans of "The Young and the Restless," Rey Rosales' death seems like a pointless endeavor that had no real storyline payoff other than writing off popular actor Jordi Vilasuso (via Soap Opera Digest). The character's death sparked some fan theories, but the reality is slightly disappointing. An autopsy report found Rey had a heart attack at the wheel (via Soaps.com), lost control of his car, and ended up in the wrong lane where he collided with Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle). Victoria's estranged husband, Ashland Locke (Robert Newman), was right behind her and was also involved in the accident, but both Victoria and Ashland walked away unharmed. A month later, they act as if it never happened.
As for Rey's family, his mother and siblings — Celeste Rosales (Eva LaRue), Lola Rosales (Sasha Calle), and Arturo Rosales (Jason Canela) — mourned the character's death and had a memorial for him off-screen in Florida as they are no longer characters on "Y&R." Rey's wife Sharon Rosales (Sharon Case), who lives in Genoa City and is still on the soap, also held a memorial off-screen.
It feels like Rey's death was wrapped up in a little bow with no dramatic storyline repercussions (via Soap Spoilers). But what about the two other cars involved in the crash? What was the point of including them in the story if nothing would come of it?
Why were Victoria and Rey on the road?
Victoria Newman had just learned that her lying new husband, Ashland Locke, had told one more lie. This was the one that sent her over the edge. He lied that he had cancer, and that was a bridge too far for Victoria. So she got in the car in a state of distress, and Ashland got in his car and followed after her (via Soaps.com).
Meanwhile, Rey Rosales was all set to take Connor Newman (Judah Mackey) and his mother Chelsea Lawson (Melissa Claire Egan) to a hockey game in Chicago, but he forgot the tickets at home. He asked Chelsea and Connor to wait at his wife's coffee house, Crimson Lights, and said he'd be right back with them, but he never came back. Sharon knew something was wrong before Nick Newman even told her what happened (via Michael Fairman TV). She was later shocked when Chance Chancellor (Conner Floyd) informed her that Rey had a heart attack before he ever crashed (via Soaps.com).
The plot played out in a manner that left fans wanting more, which has led to some ideas about what could have been better storylines.
What if Victoria and Ashland had more to do with the crash?
While Ashland Locke and Victoria Newman were both involved with the accident that killed Rey Rosales, they walked away clear. Currently, there is no sign that they had any fault in the crash, especially with knowing Rey had a heart attack. However, as Soap Hub pointed out, the show could have gone for broke and had this crash cause repercussions for other characters.
Although Rey died, why couldn't a pivotal legacy character like Victoria have been left in a coma? This would have had a far-reaching effect, especially on her parents Victor (Eric Braeden) and Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott), who many consider to be the matriarch and patriarch of the soap.
Victoria was also a character born on screen, making her someone fans have watched from childhood to adulthood (via Soaps In Depth). Plus, Ashland first romanced Victoria to get a hold of Newman Enterprises. If she ended up in a coma, he could have never told anyone that Victoria had just shut him out of the company and named himself CEO while she was incapacitated. That would have set up a showdown with the Newman clan.
Ashland could have lied to Victoria
Since Ashland Locke is known for lying on a pretty regular basis (via Soaps In Depth), he could have reverted to form and told Victoria Newman she was absolutely negligent when driving and he would be forced to tell the police, suggested Soap Hub. But he would remind her that he would never be forced to tell this to a jury if they remained married.
To save her own self, Victoria could have agreed to this, and Ashland could have worked on truly winning her back, as he had fallen in love with her after his initial lies. While Victor Newman would not have liked this, he would have been forced to go along with it to make sure his eldest child didn't spend time behind bars for vehicular homicide.
Instead, as of this writing Victoria is moving on with life as if nothing ever happened just a month after Rey Rosales' death, while Ashland lurks around town with not much else to do.
Was Rey's death all about Sharon and Nick?
With Rey's death barely even mentioned just a month after he had a heart attack behind the wheel, many fans wonder if the only reason the show killed him off is because it's time to reunite Sharon Rosales and Nick Newman again. After all, they have a large fanbase that goes back decades who consider the couple that first married in the 1990s to be endgame. Sharon even made sure that her daughter Mariah Copeland (Camryn Grimes) went ahead with her wedding to Tessa Porter (Cait Fairbanks), where Nick and Sharon each gave a bride away and then spent the reception side by side (via Soaps.com).
Nick has been Sharon's main source of comfort since Rey died; he was even the one to tell her that he was gone. The special bond between them never faded even when their daughter Cassie Newman (also Camryn Grimes) died (via Soaps In Depth), which is what tore them apart in the first place. Now that Nick is free of his relationship with Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) and Sharon is a widow, it looks like 'Shick' might be the couple to watch once again.
Of course, that doesn't mean Rey's death couldn't have produced more stories for a few other characters, including one Sharon once loved, Adam Newman (Mark Grossman). Although they have history, Adam is a man who has not been giving Sharon much comfort at all, according to Soaps.com.
Sally Spectra could have seen it all
Fans may remember that Adam Newman had a date with Sally Spectra (Courtney Hope) the night that Rey Rosales died, but she didn't show up in time. However, she seemed to know she was going to be late as she left Adam a note telling him to have a drink and enjoy himself while he waited for her. Adam even called and left her a message asking her to be careful driving in the fog (via Soaps.com). Why add that little bit in if it meant nothing to the story?
Soap Hub suggested that a better story than just being late for a date would be involving Sally in what happened on the road. What if she had been there and saw everything that happened and filmed it because that is a thing Sally would do? Her recording could prove that Ashland caused the crash and that would prompt Sally to blackmail him.
Sally could have done it all for the love of Adam
When Sally Spectra falls in love, she goes all in. She is now in love with Adam Newman, with the two making things official on Valentines' Day in 2022 (via Soaps.com). Victoria Newman hates her half-brother Adam with a passion and is always doing anything she can to make sure he never becomes Newman CEO for long. She ousted him again just after the crash. Adam has already told Sally he wants the position back, and they plan to get Victoria to fall for Ashland Locke again (via Soaps.com).
As Soap Hub noted, the story of Rey Rosales' death should have culminated with Sally having a video proving Ashland was responsible for the crash. She could have then blackmailed him into making sure Victoria relinquished her CEO position to Sally's man, the brother Victoria treats so poorly. That could have an effect on future storylines for years to come.