On The Young and the Restless, Diane came by to fill up her empty suitcase as her estrangement from Jack is still going strong. Her sister-in-law, Traci, however, ended up giving Diane a lot to unpack. The resulting dynamics gave Diane and Traci’s portrayers, Susan Walters and Beth Maitland, the opportunity to shine, and their work is being acknowledged by Soap Central and our Performer of the Week for Y&R honors.
The Young and the Restless, Beth Maitland and Susan Walters, Shining Stars
Fortunately for Diane, it was Traci who was home when she came by to pick up some additional belongings. Had it been Ashley (Eileen Davidson), with whom she shares a contentious history, Diane might not have been willing to listen to any tough love that Ash had to offer.
Traci’s one of the most compassionate and respectful people in Genoa City. She walked the fine line of wanting to honor Diane’s privacy, yet also give her some helpful advice regarding her situation with Jack (Peter Bergman).
When Traci realized that Diane wasn’t moving back in, we saw her form a battle plan after exchanging knowing eye contact with Kyle (Michael Mealor). Maitland, Y&R’s first Daytime Emmy acting winner, has always played Traci as a warm and caring person. That’s just who Diane needed in these scenes.
Traci gently suggested that Diane give Jack a chance, as he was hurting, too. When that didn’t work, we saw Traci steel herself as she prepared to give Diane a dose of tough love.
Traci’s far too classy to throw up in Diane’s face that she faked her death, causing turmoil to those who cared about her, unless there was a very good reason to do just that. Maitland brought passion to these scenes as Traci recounted that Diane had faked her death, but that she succeeded in regaining the trust of the Abbott clan. She managed to give Diane credit for turning things around while at the same time not letting her off the hook.
Traci delivered news that made Diane think and feel
“You’ve made a few mistakes of your own, Diane,” Traci admonished her sister-in-law. “You fought like the devil to explain yourself…you wanted us to believe that you had changed, and you succeeded. You won over Jack, you won over Kyle — all of us, over a deception that you absolutely planned…so maybe, just maybe, you could give Jack a little grace.”
After delivering that powerful speech with passion, a dose of reality and some underlying love, Traci exited the room.
There were external conflicts attacking Diane and Jack’s marriage last year, but now, we’re seeing Diane suffering, given Jack’s perceived infedility. A lesser actress would have come off whiny and pathetic, but Walters has dug deep into her character and the dynamcis that have been presented to Diane. Agree with Diane’s feelings or not, no one can deny that the woman is in pain.
In her head she may know that Jack is innocent, but trying telling that to Diane’s heart. Likewise, when Traci hit Diane with some hard truths, Walters didn’t play Diane doing denial — she nodded, and presented a look on her face that read Traci wasn’t had a point, one that she should seriously consider.
Brava to Maitland and Walters, who are, serendipitously and respectfully, Y&R’s first and most recent Daytime Emmy acting winners, for shining in these dramatic scenes. We suspect that if and/or when Diane and Jack reconcile, the couple will owe a big debt of gratitude to Traci!
Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Edited by Michael Maloney