Since late last fall, The Young and the Restless has just raised the bar not only for the show but for all soaps. In fact, I’d be willing to say that it’s become the best soap opera on TV.
Of course, loyal fans know that late last fall, Claire (Hayley Erin) arrived in town to kick off a chaotic storm of drama that would bring about the fan-favorite villain Jordan (Colleen Zenk), who has become a thorn in Nikki’s (Melody Thomas Scott) side.
Because of Jordan’s antics, Nikki has been shoved off the wagon and into a deep struggle once again with her sobriety, and Melody Thomas Scott has done a remarkable job portraying the fight of an alcoholic to get sober. From every one-on-one conversation Nikki has with herself or a bottle of vodka to Nikki’s moments of desperation to hide her drinking from her family to her anguish with being unable to regain control of her life, Scott has made her time on TV simply riveting.
I’ve also thoroughly enjoyed watching Scott’s onscreen interactions with Erin’s Claire. Their portraying grandmother and granddaughter respectively has completely stolen my heart, as their scenes are often stacked with guilt and admiration. Claire feels guilty for being the cause of Nikki drinking again, and Nikki had been feeling guilty that she once blamed Claire for Jordan’s torment when Claire was a victim herself. From an admiration standpoint, Claire and Nikki seem to admire each other for their fighting spiring to get to the other side of all the drama.
With all that said, I would argue that Scott is a shoo-in for a Daytime Emmy award, but Eileen Davidson's chances may prove to have more certainty. This new storyline for Davidson's Ashley is stellar. From the moment Ashley arrived back in Genoa City after breaking up with Tucker (Trevor St. John), she’s been experiencing quite the mental health crisis.
The story arc has truly reached must-watch levels as Ashley is now suffering from dissociative identity disorder and exhibiting two wildly different personalities in addition to the Ashley the Abbotts know and love. Davidson bouncing between the three personas, Ms. Abbott, Ash and Ashley is really a masterclass in soap opera acting. It’s incredible to witness how she makes clear distinctions between each character.
I’ll admit, my favorite thing to watch these days on The Young and the Restless is Davidson as Ms. Abbott dressing down those she views as in her way. During the week of April 8, I chuckled a bit at Ms. Abbott giving a verbal tongue-thrashing to her family as they tried to give her an intervention. However, in beats later, Ms. Abbott goes from hurling out comical insults to becoming defiantly resistant to help. Take a look at the more somber moment below.
With performances like this, it’s hard not to see Davidson win a Daytime Emmy. If I were a betting man and had to choose between the two Young and the Restless vets as to who would actually take home the gold, I’d put my money on Davidson but wouldn’t be mad if Scott proved to be the one victorious.
New episodes of The Young and the Restless air weekdays on CBS. Episodes become available to stream on Paramount Plus the next day.
