On The Young and the Restless, there is a murder mystery to solve, but after months of his alter-ego being on everyone’s mind, the one person who is quickly becoming the real puzzle is Cane.

Cane’s agenda on The Young and the Restless

On The Young and the Restless, Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) is becoming more of an enigma every day. When viewers first realized that the mysterious billionaire, Aristotle Dumas, was none other than Lily’s (Christel Khalil) ex-husband Cane, everyone from Genoa City to our living rooms thought we would start getting some answers. Instead, our notepads have run out of pages with all of the questions we now have.

Cane made it clear just before his big reveal to the guests at his estate that his main intention was to win back Lily. But he also told Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) later that he wanted to take over everyone’s businesses — from Jabot to Chancellor, and everything in between.

But what is Cane’s actual plan? His words and his actions are quickly becoming less aligned, and it’s starting to be hard to see the forest through the maze bushes. Does Cane really think that holding his old friends and foes against their will in the French Riviera is going to serve him in the long term?

Ok, but what’s Cane’s real agenda?

Cane has told a few stories since his return. He claims that he was inspired by the death of his father to do what’s right, and reunite with Lily. He said that his father Colin (Tristan Rogers) was a changed man, someone with guilt and humility, who wanted to set things right before he died.

If true, there is a small (so tiny it’s near invisible) chance that Colin had reformed and wanted to right some wrongs on his deathbed. Given how he’d treated Jill, she may have been on the list. Getting Chancellor back to her, re-instating Billy, and helping to get that mother-daughter relationship back on track could be part of the plan. And it could score him some merits with Lily in the process.

But…there’s a serious flaw in all of Cane’s supposed plans. He’s been holding captive all of the guests he invited to his estate, and presuming one day he lets them go back to Genoa City, there is no way some (if not all) will ever forgive him for what he has done. And why would they? We can’t think of one actual reason that Sharon (Sharon Case) is locked up (again), or why he would be so heartless as to keep Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), leaving Victoria (Amelia Heinle) and Claire (Hayley Erin) alone to deal with the death of Cole (J. Eddie Peck).

But…what about the collateral damage?

Aside from Cane’s own kids wondering why their parents are ignoring them, Harrison (Redding Munsell), Kyle’s (Michael Mealor) son, must be wondering where his entire family has disappeared to and why no one has contacted him in weeks. Abby, Devon, and Chance’s son Dominic should be traumatized by now at their disappearance without communication. How does Cane think he’ll justify keeping dozens of people trapped up a mountain — yet he has a way out?

We’re leaning towards the possibility that what Cane told Phyllis is the real story, and revealing it to her was a loyalty test all in itself. Sure, he has regrets about Lily, but there is no way Cane thought any of this would lead to a reunion with his ex when she was already livid at just hearing his name.

If Cane was after everyone — including Winters — then he knows already that Lily won’t forgive him, and it’s a pipe dream thinking that she would. If that’s the case, it might be an even longer summer for the Genoa City elite than they planned on.

You can watch The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream live or on demand on Paramount Plus.