The May 30 episode of The Young and the Restless (recapped here) pretty much clinched it, dropping a final clue as to the identity of the oft-mentioned-but-never-seen Aristotle Dumas. So, once and for all, who is the tycoon that has scheduled the party of the year for Friday the 13th of June? Let’s play detective and review the evidence, shall we?

Photo : Maureen Donaldson/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images, CBS/Getty Images

Not the Usual Suspect

Initially, we suspected that Dumas might be Brooks, the son of Lorie and Lance Prentiss, whose affluent family, longtime fans will recall, ran a publishing empire that was once stolen by Victor Newman. That would’ve explained both Dumas’ animosity toward the Black Knight as well as his use of literary references in the names of his companies (not to mention his own alias).

Photo : Howard Wise/JPI

Hello Again?

Another possibility that was tossed about was that Dumas would turn out to be Tucker McCall, who left Genoa City after losing both wife Ashley Abbott and fiancée Audra Charles. How he’d maintained a whole separate identity as Dumas for years with no one knowing, we couldn’t imagine. But it’s not like the show has ever plugged up every plot hole. (We saw Diane Jenkins’ dead body, for Pete’s sake!)

Photo : John Paschal/JPI

Oh Yes We Cane!

In January, Cane Ashby’s former portrayer Daniel Goddard shared an Instagram post with the hashtag #NewBeginnings. Given that he was wearing a very-Cane-like business suit, fans jumped to the conclusion that perhaps he was reclaiming his former role of Lily Winters’ ex-husband, albeit under the new alias of Aristotle Dumas.

Photo : Disney

Oh No We Cane’t!

But then we learned that Goddard wasn’t returning to The Young and the Restless but joining General Hospital in the new role of shady Port Charles University Professor Henry Dalton. So if Dumas isn’t Cane, who is he? Is he even a he? If Dumas is an alias, who’s to say that it couldn’t be a woman’s alias that she’s using to really throw us off track?

Photo : CBS screenshot

The Female of the Species Is Deadlier Than the Male

As it is, Victor has spent decades picking on the equivalent of little boys like the Abbott brothers when he himself has always been the big man on campus — or, rather, in the C suite. And Victor’s treatment of women has been objectionable at best. (Right, Patty Williams? Kelly Andrews? Phyllis Summers?) So we kinda hoped that Dumas would turn out to be a female force to be reckoned with. No such luck, though.

Photo : Howard Wise/JPI

Guy Talk

The arrival in Genoa City of Dumas’ attorney Amanda Sinclair came with valuable new intel: Aristotle is, in fact, a dude, the late Hilary Curtis’ twin revealed, adding that he isn’t interested in stealing Winters. On the contrary, he is thought to have his eye on Katherine Chancellor’s old company… which Victor took over and gave to wife Nikki. Hmm. If we knew nothing else, and it didn’t seem like we did at that point, at least we were positive about who’d be playing the enigmatic exec.

Photo : JC Olivera/Getty Images

In Like (Billy) Flynn

Since it was announced that the Days of Our Lives leading man was leaving his role of Chad DiMera to join Young & Restless, it didn’t take a rocket scientist to guess that he’d be playing Dumas. We’d imagined him being older, since apparently Victor had been sparring with him for years, but whatevs. If the story gave the show a jolt of energy, we’d happily roll with it.

Photo : Aaron Montgomery/JPI

Oooh, Now We Get It!

Then came the May 30 episode, in which not only were Dumas’ party invitations sent but Lily mentioned former husband Cane for the first time in ages. Coincidence? We think not. No, now it seems likely that Dumas is Cane and, for whatever reason, the part has been recast with Flynn in it in place of Goddard. That would also jibe with a teaser that the soap doled out months earlier…

Photo : Howard Wise/JPI

Triangle Forming in Three, Two…

All the way back in November of 2024, headwriter Josh Griffith teased that Lily was going to find true love. We’d been assuming that she was going to find it with current flirtmate Damian Kane. But if Dumas is Cane after all, she’s more likely to find herself drawn back to the new and improved version of her ex. The question then would become, will Damian fight for Lily… especially if it means fighting his boss?

Photo : Aaron Montgomery/JPI

Dollars and Sense

Another crucial piece of the puzzle may be Dumas’ interest in Chancellor. Since the late, great Katherine accepted Cane and loved him even though he turned out to be a phony Phillip — that’s the real one above — he’d have a vested interest in safeguarding her company from the likes of Victor. And c’mon, you’ve gotta figure that Cane’s idea of protecting her legacy would be very different from his nemesis Victor’s!

Photo : Sean Smith/JPI

‘Oui’ Have One More Clue

Dumas’ big Friday the 13th bash is taking place in France… a destination that holds special meaning for Cane since it’s where he said “I redo” to Lily once upon a time. Plus, he might have been able to rebuild his tarnished reputation and start anew overseas more easily than he could’ve in the States (or certainly in Genoa City).

Photo : JPI (5)

Catch as Catch Cane

Before we at last meet Dumas — and are introduced to the new version of Cane — review the formerly Australian character’s whackadoo history in Genoa City with our photo gallery that tells his life story.