Paternity reveals on daytime drama have been going on since before Bill Horton (finally) learned that his nephew Michael was, in reality, his son on Days of our Lives in the mid-1970s. The Young and the Restless has shown that classic story beats like that still work today as evidenced by the terrific performances last week given by Valarie Pettiford (Amy) and TV son Jermaine Rivers (Damian).
The stage for the great acting work that’s been acknowledged by TV Insider’s Daytime Performers of the Week began last year when fan favorite Pettiford stepped into the role of 1980s character Amy Lewis. A dying Amy informed Nate (the always solid Sean Dominic), the son of her late lover Nathan Hastings, Sr. (Nathan Purdee), that she’d given birth to Nate’s half-brother – Damian.
Fast-forward to Damian being found and coming to Genoa City. The part of Damian is Rivers’ first soap opera role, but he brings a technical expertise to the genre that makes the veteran primetime actor (Sweet Magnolias, Law & Order: SVU) seem like a daytime pro.
Damian showed up at Nate’s apartment understandably guarded given that he was estranged from his mother and he’d been offered a job by Nate under false pretenses. “I’m happy with this new life that I’ve made for myself,” Damian bluntly informed his estranged mother. “I suggest you find a way to be happy in yours.”
Damian was about to exit the room, but Amy stopped her son with the painful revelation that she was sick, dying. Throughout the scenes that followed, Pettiford had Amy summon all her energy as she tried to unite her son with his half-brother while never letting us forget that she was fighting to stay alive. Pettiford conveyed Amy’s illness, but even more painful was the hurt she felt for her son. She didn’t want him to be alone after she was gone.
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Despite – or perhaps because of – his mother telling him of her impending death, Jermaine started to leave once again. Amy stopped him from doing so by informing him that the late Jackson was not his father. The writers handed Rivers terrific material in these scenes. First, he went to denial – there was no way that Jackson wasn’t his dad. In anger, Damian blasted his mom, telling her that the chemo was affecting her brain. “It was a mistake coming here,” Damian insisted, almost willing the truth to be lies.
This is the first time that Pettiford and Rivers are playing mother and son, but their chemistry plays on-screen like they’ve been TV family members for years. “Because when I’m gone, I don’t want you to be alone,” an emotional Amy said to Damian as to why she was telling her son the truth now.
The next bombshell came when Amy informed Damian that 1) his father, Nathan Hastings, Sr. was dead, and 2) Nate was his half-brother. Exposition can often drag down a scene, grinding it to a halt, but Pettiford used the information to heighten Amy’s desperation. It’s clear that she’s a loving mother who only wants what’s best for her son.
Damian made good on his next attempt to walk out, stating he wasn’t looking for family. It was only after her son’s back was towards her that Amy allowed herself to collapse fully into tears. Barely getting the words out, Amy tearfully emoted that time was the one thing she simply does not have. It’s always more compelling to watch someone try not to try – brava, Ms. Pettiford! (Memo to Y&R writers: Can Amy please go into remission?)
Later, Damian reconnected with his pal Holden (Nathan Owens) to vent his frustrations over the truth bombs that had been dropped on him. (Sidebar: Damian and Holden? Are these names a wink to As the World Turns fans? If so, well played!)
Expository recaps are a reality of soaps, but Rivers made Damian bringing Holden up to speed on what went down interesting. We could see that deep down he was affected emotionally by his mom’s words – even if he’s not willing to admit it quite yet. “I haven’t had a chance to process the whole reality of that,” Damian told Holden about his mom’s mortality.
Holden urged Damian to focus on work issues – not his personal life. “This news can only be as big as a I make,” shrugged Damian, theorizing, “We [should] leave Genoa City and never look back.”
However, the more Damian talked about putting all this behind him, the more it appeared he was in shock. While Damian may have an agenda to leave town, we suspect that Y&R has plans to keep the character around; his bumping into Lily (Christel Khalil) all but guarantees a longer on-screen chemistry scene coming. We can’t wait to see it.
We’re also looking forward to Damian reconciling with Amy. There’s lots of drama to be mined in this mother/son dynamic and it’s clear that Pettiford and Rivers bring talent and chemistry to the screen.
Young and the Restless, Weekdays, CBS
This story originally appeared on TV Insider
