Exclusive Y&R Preview: Mariah And Faith Witness Sharon Unraveling

Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Looking For Trouble: Mariah (Camryn Grimes, l.) and Faith (Reylynn Caster) have fresh cause to worry about Sharon.

Mariah is feeling confident that taking Sharon’s CEO post at Cassidy First will allow her mom to go on that spa retreat in Sedona and get the rejuvenation she so sorely needs. “Mariah has played so many different roles as far as work in Genoa City that [Cassidy First] is probably not too different than where she was with Jabot,” Camryn Grimes (Mariah) notes. “I think just the opportunity to work with her mom and to be able to take something off of her mom's plate is something Mariah will always jump at.”

Mother Issues

Mariah is, of course, aware Sharon has been going through some issues both psychological (still grieving over the loss of Cassie) and physical (voluntarily going off of her bipolar meds), but she doesn't fully comprehend how serious the implications are. “Mariah wasn’t there for the period of time when Sharon was diagnosed [with bipolar disorder] and at her worst,” reminds Grimes. “Mariah doesn't really have the understanding that Nick or anybody else does about Sharon's mental health struggles. Mariah has love and faith in her mother, who is a mental health professional or was at one time a mental health professional. So, Mariah might see things that concern her, but she's oscillating with the fact that she trusts her mother and doesn't want to invade her privacy. Mariah doesn't want to interrogate Sharon, by any means, but there are things that are not feeling normal.”

Mariah gets a better sense of that when she walks in on a conversation between her mom and Faith, in which Sharon is explaining that she can’t go on that spa trip just yet because of unresolved work problems at Cassidy First. But since Mariah took care of those issues already, she has questions for her mom. “I think because Sharon isn't being forthcoming in the way that she usually is, Mariah is suspicious,” Grimes points out. “In this period of time, Sharon is sort of piecemealing these conversations; she's having conversations with Nick separately, then she's having them with Faith separately, and then she's having them with Mariah. So until those three people come together to compare their information, everybody's just kind of going off of their own interactions. So, I think this is the first instance that we get where Mariah is sort of cocking her head and going, ‘That doesn't add up with our conversation.’ Mariah said she would take over [at work], so she's maybe getting the first glimpses of ‘Oh, [Sharon’s] saying one thing to one person and one thing to another.’ The inconsistencies are coming to light, so the concern grows with that.”

Mariah had hoped that taking over the reins of Cassidy First would relieve some of Sharon’s stress, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. “Mariah doesn't really understand what's at stake when Sharon gets in a place like this, especially when Sharon is keeping information from her loved ones,” sighs Grimes. “Nobody else really has a context for everything that’s truly happening, that the audience sees. So, I'm sure it feels very innocent to Mariah to just be like, ‘Oh, yeah, maybe you just need a break so if I do this, take over Cassidy First, you can go to a spa.’ In Mariah’s mind, Sharon is capable. She has been the stronghold for Mariah in so many situations, and I think Mariah is kind of feeling on her heels a little bit, not really truly understanding that Sharon does not have a grip on things right now. She's the person that Mariah has come to depend on, but Sharon’s not in the space to perform and act and behave in the way that she usually does.”

The Heart of the Matter

Mariah and Faith gently confront their mom, trying to suss out why it seems like Sharon is avoiding the trip to Sedona, which was her idea to begin with. Grimes observes, “I think there's kind of a careful tightrope that Mariah is trying to walk of helping her mother but not trying to parent or baby her."

Sharon becomes unreasonably angry at the line of questioning and she demands to know why her daughters are trying to make her feel like she’s lost control. “Faith and Mariah are just looking for clarification on some things they’re not understanding; why Sharon isn’t staying true to her word or why she's flip-flopping or why she's not getting help,” says Grimes. “Her snapping at them and rebuking any of their help is very out of character for her."

Sharon's outsize reaction does not go unnoticed by the sisters. Sums up Grimes, "I think the pieces are kind of falling into place where they weren't before and they're realizing that this is a bigger issue than they previously thought.”