Ashland Locke Suffered a Brutal Injury in a Recent Episode of 'Y&R' — What's Next for Him?

Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers for the new episode of The Young and the Restless.

Wealthy businessman and local baddie Ashland Locke (Robert Newman) ran into some unforeseeable complications in The Young and the Restless episode that aired on CBS on Monday, July 25, 2022. Ashland and his ex-wife, Victoria Newman, arranged for an impromptu late-night meet-up. But soon enough, the fire poker had to be pulled out.

Ashland asked to meet his ex-wife, Victoria — who it seems has all but forgotten about that time she was held hostage by her ex, J. T. Hellstrom (Thad Luckinbill), until Nikki Newman (Melody Thomas Scott) took J. T. out with a fire poker — in a recent episode of The Young and the Restless.

During the chit-chat, Ashland informed his ex that he now has "nothing to lose." At one point, Victoria told her visibly upset ex that no one will ever love him — which must have seemed like a feasible strategy in the heat of the moment.

During the scene, Ashland went ballistic, trying to inflict physical harm. Fortunately, Nick Newman (Joshua Morrow) pledged to come to the rescue — only to get stuck outside the house with no means of forcing his way in.

With Nick hovering around in the outside area and an increasingly angry Ashland in front of her, Victoria had to fend for herself, or else. Cue: the fire poker.

But just as things were about to become too intense, Nick managed to gain entry and punch Ashland. The sheer force of his fist made Ashland fall forward and head-butt the fireplace. Nick and Victoria now seem to believe that Ashland died because of the injury.

Ashland definitely suffered a serious injury on The Young and the Restless. But there's a chance that he will survive the whole ordeal. His body appears to have gone missing after the face-off — which may suggest that he is now on the run. The episode left a lasting impact on viewers, many of whom are curious to learn more about how the incident will affect Ashland long-term.

"Oh no. Don't tell me he's out of The Young and the Restless. I was hoping Ashland would stay on," tweeted @pearlpookie.

"I hope Ashland is not dead. I don’t want him to leave The Young and the Restless," tweeted @1mollyemma.

"So, Ashland is dead, and Victoria says, 'Don't call the police, call dad instead'? Like WTF?" tweeted @lazymarcus.

Ashland's body has yet to reemerge on The Young and the Restless. The discombobulating turn of events suggests that someone is playing a game with Victoria and Nick, or Ashland is quietly preparing another surprise. Without a body, it's impossible to rule out the myriad of alternative options.

Catch new episodes of The Young and the Restless on weekdays at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS.