“The Young and The Restless” (Y&R) spoilers show that not only will Jason Thompson make his Y&R debut in coming days as Billy Abbot, but Billy will be up and on his feet – and cockier than ever. Recast actor Thompson seems to have perfected his own version of the Billy Boy smirk already.
Some of the tricky aspects Jason Thompson faces in inhabiting Billy’s character are chemistry with other characters. As Billy, Burgess Jenkins didn’t have quite the chemistry with Victoria Newman (Amelia Heinle) as did Billy Miller – at least according to many fans.
Will Thompson be able to spark chemistry with Heinle? We’re thinking yes since over at “General Hospital” the actor had a number of leading ladies and was able to bring the heat with of them even though each was a drastically different pairing.
Another big chemistry test for Thompson as Billy is how he squares off with Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). Victor and Billy hate each other – and once Billy finds out Victor tried to steal his deal with Kevin Fisher (Greg Rikaart) while he was on his deathbed, there’s an immediate source of new conflict.
We’ll get to see right away how the new Billy handles old Victor when they face off over the Internet deal – we still don’t know if Victor will steal it away before Billy wakes – so this is great fodder for an immediate plot to move Billy away from the drinking and gambling mess.
Finally is new Billy’s chemistry with the Abbott clan. Jack Abbott (Peter Bergman) has always had a complicated relationship with his brother and has treated him as a black sheep. But recent events have altered a lot of that.
First, Billy confessed to Jack that he was thinking of killing himself in his grief over Delia. That shook Jack up – then the near death incident had Jack pledging to treat Billy differently if he came out of this and even offered to invest with Kevin on his behalf.
This allows a fresh new dynamic between Jack and Billy because Jack will be relieved his brother pulled through and less likely to judge him – at least for now. Plus Billy has always had Phyllis Summers (Gina Tognoni) on his side, so that’s another chemistry pairing to watch.
What’s nice about the way the writers have orchestrated the actor swap is that the cataclysmic event allows many relationships to change and a break with some of Billy’s bad-boy history – if they want. He can wake free of the urge to gamble or drink seeing how his life has been broken.
He may realize that dumb risks almost cost his life and that he needs to treasure his family more. Plus, Victoria has been by his side the whole time, so that looks like an all-new start to their relationship. What we may see with Jason Thompson is a bit of a reboot rather than just a substitution.
It would be great if Billy woke with a new determination about life that put him in a position to go toe to toe with Victor and Jack – and if he gets in with Kevin on the deal, he could be a mogul in his own right. The possibilities are endless and we can’t wait to see what Jason Thompson does with the role.
Jason Thompson’s first air date as Billy Abbott is slated for Wednesday, January 13, but no word yet if he’ll have speaking lines that day. We know he’ll be bed-ridden and bandaged from the failed brain surgery. We can’t wait to see what Thompson’s first words will be and who he will speak to.
What do you think Y&R fans – are you excited to see what Jason Thompson does with the role of Billy Abbott? Share your comments below and come back to CDL often for tons more “The Young and The Restless” spoilers.
