‘The Young and the Restless’ News: Melody Thomas Scott Kills – Scenes With Tristan Lake Leabu Were Outstanding

Sally Sussman said that she wanted to bring character-driven drama back to ‘The Young and the Restless’. And that’s exactly what she and her creative writing team have been doing. Recent scenes that showed Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) speaking with Reed (Tristan Lake Leabu) demonstrated how fully engaging scenes can be carefully crafted.

So Reed shows up at his mom’s doorstep on New Year’s Eve. An incredulous Victoria (Amelia Heinle) thanks the police officer for safely delivering her son, who didn’t have enough money to pay for his bus ticket to Genoa City and thus the supervised escort. Reed opted to run away from home after his dad J.T. (Thad Luckinbill) accepted a job in Poland and was preparing to move.

Vickie has done well in handling her two young children, but the modern teenager is a different story. Only deniers pretend that uncontrollable, radicalized middle and high school-aged children aren’t complete evidence of self-centeredness run amuck. Yes, irresponsible adult influences that set these souls adrift have been intentionally destroying time-tested methods of actually raising children for decades.

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All who claim that Nikki was once a dancer and therefore attempt to undercut her moral authority miss the point. She’s been open about events in her younger days. Most importantly, Nikki raised a family and has proven to be an ideal grandmother. That type of successful life should be applauded in the real world, or within this fictional Wisconsin town.

A double-punch episode had Thomas first remind Vickie about her Heather Tom days (wink), followed by sweet scenes with Reed. Nikki then encouraged her grandson to give his mom a break and start speaking with her directly. Thomas’ character skillfully mentored two generations, which surely is something that many mature viewers can relate to.

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Sussman’s team created a great throwback episode. Nikki helped her daughter and her grandson to refocus. Classic Y&R often involved its characters facing and solving life’s common problems. It was relatable, an adjective that’s obviously still in style.

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