The Young and the Restless Performer of the Week: Camryn Grimes

The Young and the Restless actress Camryn Grimes is a reminder that some child performers successfully segue into talented, adult actresses. The Daytime Emmy-winner is an example of a performer who shines throughout her entire career.

Camryn Grimes Shines on The Young and the Restless

Details as to what nefarious, unforgivable act Mariah committed while she was away from Genoa City have been dribbling out slowly. That can be frustrating for soap fans who want questions answered yesterday, but Grimes is making the wait worth it. How? She's delivering one heartfelt performance after another in which Mariah revealed to her wife Tessa (Cait Fairbanks) that her only course of action is to leave the marriage, at least temporarily.

We know that Mariah hasn't fallen in love with anyone else. We also don't know if Grimes even knows yet what Mariah did (sometimes, writers don't even tell the actors), but we do know it's pretty bad.

Grimes had Mariah carefully choose her words as she attempted to explain (as much as she could) what she'd done wrong. "I hate that I've done this to our family and you," Mariah told Tessa in the backroom of Crimson Lights, ironically in the location once known as "Cassie's Corner," which was dedicated to her late twin.

The more Tessa promised to be there for Mariah, the more Mariah stood her ground that she needed to separate herself from her family. Grimes's performance indicated that this wasn't something Mariah wanted to do but, rather, something she felt she had to do to keep them safe. Our hearts are breaking for her, and our minds are trying to figure out this mystery.

Taking a toll

It's never nice to tell someone, "You look tired!" but that's exactly how Grimes played Mariah's demeanor and physical state. We can see how depressed and exhausted Mariah is. When we're not drawn into Grimes's emotional performances, we're busy wondering just what the heck Mariah did!

Did she and the mystery man we've seen in flashbacks (played by As the World Turns's Michael Swan) commit a murder? Did Mariah murder this man in a drunken stupor? Did they pull a con on someone who died? Grimes has been playing all this as if Mariah has hurt someone so deeply that it can't be undone. The pain that Grimes is playing is making us just want to reach through our TV sets, big screens, and handheld devices so that we can just give her a big hug!

Ending a marriage or taking a break from it is not a decision that's made lightly, as Mariah herself stated. Grimes is playing her character's decision with the full gravitas it warrants. Whatever Mariah did, it had to be pretty bad.

Fairbanks was an excellent scene partner in these Mariah/Tessa breakup scenes. Tessa refused to let Mariah walk away from her. With tears in her eyes, Mariah begged Tessa to let her go. "Mariah!" Tessa cried out, prompting her to stay a bit longer. We could see the hope in Mariah's eyes that she was wishing Tessa was going to be able to say something that would change her mind.

Please, don't go

Tessa theorized that Mariah slept with someone else. Mariah refused to confirm or deny not because she had slept with someone, but because what she had done was so terrible, she felt she couldn't reveal anything about it.

When Tessa begged Mariah to stay, promising to stand by her side, we saw Mariah give herself over to the idea of confessing all. But then, she realized she couldn't.

Trending

"I wish that I could do this with you. It's just not as simple as a one-night stand. What I did that night that I was away was so much worse," Mariah shared Then, she walked out the door leaving Tessa — and viewers — in tears. Brava to Grimes for her emotional performance as a tortured soul!

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus

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