Young and the Restless TWIST: Matt Clark’s Redemption Path Revealed!

Young and the Restless sees that the villainous Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) still does not remember who he is or any of the heinous things that he’s done. And this could be setting the stage for a redemption story that nobody expected to happen on the CBS soap.

Whenever a villain gets amnesia on a soap, that can be a red flag of an impending redemption arc. So, we’re going to talk about how Roger Howarth’s character could be redeemed on Young and the Restless, as improbable as that seems.

Phyllis Tells Matt His Laundry List Of Crimes on Young and the Restless

This week, we’re going to see Phyllis Summers (Michelle Stafford) telling Matt a whole laundry list of crimes that he has committed that he just can’t remember. Phyllis stuns Matt when she tells him he’s committed attempted murder. He has raped at least two women, one of them being Sharon Newman (Sharon Case). There’s also kidnapping Noah Newman and Sienna Bacall (Tamara Braun) and Matt running a fentanyl drug ring, several crimes in his past, including the rape and setting up Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) as an attempted murderer.

Plus, more recently, Matt tried to blow up Nick, Sharon, Noah, and Adam Newman (Mark Grossman) in Las Vegas. And basically, the list goes on and on. Matt was absolutely appalled, and he told Phyllis he didn’t want to believe he’s such a horrible person. And Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk) told Matt that he shouldn’t trust Phyllis. And then Patty said she wants Matt to get his memories back. But guess what? He said he doesn’t want his memories back. That’s what he told Phyllis.

New Matt Clark Appalled on Y&R

So, it seems to me that this newest version of Matt with no memories is a pretty decent person and he’s got some sort of conscience. And he told Phyllis and Patty both that he doesn’t want to be a villain. So, that sure sounds like Y&R may be looking to redeem him so they can keep Roger Howarth around.

Now, the very idea that Matt Clark might be redeemed sounds crazy, right? However, this is soap land, so it’s totally possible. And we’re going to talk about exactly how they could pull this off. And that we might be seeing Roger Howarth as a permanent player on Young and the Restless, which honestly I wouldn’t mind. I am a fan.

Matt’s Criminal Charges Have to Be Dealt With

The first matter is Matt’s arrest warrant that Christine Romalotti (Lauralee Bell) confirmed is lurking out there. The criminal charges have to be dealt with. Given that Sienna beat Matt into a traumatic brain injury that caused his amnesia, I think a lawyer could make a case that he is incapable of standing trial. You know, you have to understand what you did and what your charges are, stuff like that.

So, I’m sure when Detective Burrow (Matt Cohen) catches up with him, Matt is going to be arrested. Because the warrant’s not going to just evaporate. But he could get a lawyer that convinces a judge he’s incompetent to stand trial. And Matt might wind up being sent to Fairview Sanitarium.

In cases like this, when you are sent to a psychiatric hospital, it comes down to the doctors. They decide how long the person stays. And whether they’re fit to be admitted back into society. So they could put Matt into Fairview. And if you remember we’ve seen Sharon and Patty and others sent there. Because sorting the criminal charges is critical if the showrunners want Roger Howarth to stay.

Nick And Sharon Could Help Redeem Matt on Young and the Restless

Another path towards redemption for Matt would be through Nick and Sharon Newman. It would be really interesting if Nick also wound up at Fairview for rehab for his fentanyl addiction. I mean, it would be absolutely wild if he wound up there the same time as Matt, who is the guy who got Nick hooked on fentanyl. I do think that Matt is feeling genuine remorse over the things he’s been told that he did.

So, Matt might spend time with Nick at the sanitarium and be absolutely sickened at what he did to him, not just recently. But also back in the day. And of course, Sharon would be visiting Nick at the rehab center. So, if they are trying to redeem Matt, I think we’d have to see Sharon in the mix. If she were visiting Nick, then Sharon might also interact with Matt, who may beg Sharon to forgive him. And for the chance to prove he’s changed.

You know, I do think that Sharon is capable of forgiving Matt. We could see Sharon realizing that there was something deeply wrong with Matt and he was mentally ill when he did those bad things to Sharon, Nick, and the others, and Sharon might have faith that therapy can heal Matt so he is not a danger to anybody anymore.

Matt Truly Remorseful on Y&R?

If Josh Griffith decides he wants to redeem Roger Howarth’s character, I’d also assume that Matt would eventually recover his memories. But I think it would be gradual. I think they would trickle back in and maybe he remembers things he did to Sharon and Nick and others. But not all at once.

If Matt gets his memories back gradually, then he can cope with things as they come, regret his past actions, and genuinely take ownership and accountability and prove that he’s changed. This version of Roger Howarth’s character seems like he’d be horrified to remember the things that Matt did to Sharon in particular. So, that head bashing Sienna gave him may have straightened his brain out and truly changed him for the better.

Matt Could Do Something Heroic on Young and Restless

And another way to move Matt towards a possible redemption could be the approach of an ultimate sacrifice. This is a very famous thing they’ve done on lots of soaps where somebody has a criminal conviction or charges looming over them and they do something heroic and then they get a gubernatorial pardon or something like that.

So, maybe Matt does something heroic and saves one of his past victims like Nick or Sharon or maybe even Noah. And then if Matt risks his life and he has saved somebody that’s important to people in Genoa City, they may accept that he’s really changed and stopped pressing charges. You know, heck, it’d be the wildest outcome if he actually saved Victor Newman (Eric Braeden). The old Matt would certainly never do that.

Roger Howarth Has Played Redeemed Villains Before

And in case you think he’s irredeemable, two other soap operas would disagree. Roger Howarth has played two other really terrible villains that are actually quite similar to Matt’s history. That may be what have inspired his casting to start with. So, he played really wicked characters on both One Life to Live and General Hospital.

Over on One Life to Live, Roger Howarth played Todd Manning, who was really bad. He was part of a gang rape in college. He did just all these bad things. But then One Life to Live kicked off his redemption story by having Roger Howarth’s character saving the woman that was the victim of the gang rape and also saving her two kids from certain death. And then they connected Todd Manning to a core legacy family, put him in a romance with somebody really nice, had him inherit money, gave him stability, and all that led to a gradual redemption for Roger Howarth’s character.

Roger Howarth’s History of Redeeming Characters

Then over on General Hospital, he played this guy Franco, who was a serial killer and an artist who the character was originally created and played by the actor James Franco. So, he did some raping and murdering. But then GH recast him after he was supposedly killed.

They brought him back with Roger Howarth in the role and with the idea in mind from the get-go that they wanted to redeem and keep him. So, they diagnosed Franco with a brain tumor, had it removed, and then his lawyer argued that it was the reason he did all those crimes, and she was able to get his charges dropped. I think a conviction overturned.

It’s been a few years, so I don’t remember exactly how it went. But she brought the little tumor in a jar into court, and it was really good legal work. So, then Roger Howarth played Franco on this redemption arc where everybody hated him and he had to claw a way to acceptance. He became an art therapist. He worked with trauma patients.

There Are Solid Reasons to Keep Matt Around on Y&R

Plus, even over on Y&R, there are solid reasons to keep Matt around. First of all, he’s a great actor. Second, ratings have been up since he returned. Third, Roger Howarth has established chemistry with Michelle Stafford. Because their characters were romantically involved over on General Hospital.

Plus, with Patty in the mix, the three of them together is a whole bag of crazy with a lot of soapy potential, and they may be keeping Stacy Haiduk around as Patty. She’s done over at Days of Our Lives as Kristen DiMera, so she has room to stay.

Now, we have heard backstage chatter that head writer Josh Griffith is a big fan of Roger Howarth, so I could see them trying to redeem him just like they did on One Life to Live and on General Hospital with villainous characters who were at least as bad, if not worse, than Matt Clark. So, while it seems like he may have been intended to be a short-term villain, if he has upped ratings, I smell a redemption story.