Genoa City is shaking, not from a shocking secret or a revenge plot, but from the intense anger of its most loyal fans. The death of Cole Howard – a name intrinsically linked to the history of “The Young and the Restless” for decades – is not just a shock, but the final straw, exposing the shameful waste of a “legacy” character by the writing team. J. Eddie Peck returned to the screen in November 2023 after more than twenty years, and fans expected an explosive comeback. Instead, what they got was a meaningless death from Legionnaires’ disease – an ending that couldn’t be more pathetic for an icon.

💔 GLORIOUS HISTORY IGNORED: THE CRIME OF Y&R WRITERS

Here’s what’s making fans absolutely furious: Cole Howard possessed a rich and complex history with almost every key character in Genoa City. This is the man who once thought Victor Newman was his father! He had tumultuous relationships with Nikki Newman, married Ashley Abbott after Victoria – the potential for drama was ENDLESS!

Yet, how many scenes did Cole share with Victor during this return? ZERO. Zip. Nada. Not A SINGLE confrontation about their twisted past! Nikki? The woman he once romanced when he worked as a stable hand? They might as well have been strangers! Instead, Cole existed in a small “bubble” only with Victoria and Claire. That’s it. No exploration of his intricate history, no dramatic confrontations, no acknowledgment of decades of story just sitting there BEGGING to be used! From a once-leading man who dominated storylines, Cole was reduced to a disposable “prop,” nothing more than a tool.

🤯 FROM LEADING MAN TO DISPOSABLE PROP: THE INSULT TO AN ICON

What’s even more insulting? Cole wasn’t given any real storyline beyond “Oh look, Claire is actually my daughter who was kidnapped by my psycho aunt Jordan!” Once that revelation played out and Jordan’s story wrapped up… boom. Legionnaires’ disease. Dead. Gone. A 14-year viewer perfectly summed it up: “Josh Griffith didn’t give me a reason to care about Cole’s relationship with Victoria.” They went on to say that all the good Cole/Victoria scenes happened when Heather Tom played Victoria in the 90s. This version with Amelia Heinle? “No romance, no tension, no drama between couples these days.” Ouch. But also… TRUE!

Fans are speculating (and honestly, it makes sense) that this was all about money. One Reddit user suggested, “I guess they couldn’t afford to keep both Cane and Cole.” But here’s the thing – if you can’t afford to properly use a character, why bring them back at all? They could have left Cole in Oxford, leaving the door open for a future return when they actually HAD STORY for him! Instead? They brought him back, wasted J. Eddie Peck’s considerable talent, gave him NOTHING to work with, then killed him off with a random disease. No dramatic death scene. No proper goodbye. Just… gone.

😱 COLE’S DEATH: JUST A TOOL TO PUSH CLAIRE INTO DARKNESS? THE UGLY TRUTH!

And here’s where it gets REALLY insulting. Fan theories suggest Cole’s ONLY purpose was to die so Claire could “unhinge” when Kyle inevitably cheats with Audra. So, let me get this straight: they brought back a legacy character with 30+ years of history just to be a plot device for Claire’s villainous turn? They couldn’t think of ANY other way to push Claire to the dark side?

One fan comment nailed it: “Cole has served as a prop to Claire’s story. His love helped her heal, now his death is coming when her bf is about to crush her heart. Darkness follows.” That’s not storytelling. That’s just lazy!

😥 WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN… AND THE UTTER DISAPPOINTMENT

Imagine if the writers had actually USED Cole’s history:

• Explosive confrontations with Victor about the past.
• Tension with Nikki over their former romance.
• Awkward encounters with Ashley (remember, he was married to her too!).
• Building a genuine romantic relationship with Victoria that viewers could invest in.
• Exploring how he felt about Victor once believing he was his son.

But no. We got bland conversations about Claire and then… death by random disease. Fans who remember the 90s when Cole was actually important are especially furious. This wasn’t just any character – this was someone who drove major storylines, who had complex relationships with multiple core characters, who MATTERED.

Now? Reduced to furniture. A prop for someone else’s story. The message from viewers is clear: J. Eddie Peck deserved better. Cole Howard deserved better. And longtime fans who remember when this character actually meant something? They DEFINITELY deserved better than this insulting waste of soap opera history! Will the writers learn from this debacle? Will they stop treating legacy characters like disposable props?

Don’t hold your breath, soap fans. But at least we can all unite in our fury over this absolute waste of potential. Because if we don’t call out lazy writing when we see it, who will?

Don’t miss our latest “The Young and the Restless” spoilers for more twists and turns.