Nick Newman admitting to his loved ones that he has a drug problem on The Young and the Restless has given his performer, Joshua Morrow, incredible opportunities to shine as an actor.
Poor Nick has hit rock bottom, but Morrow is flying to new heights in this story, earning him TV Insider’s Daytime Performer of the Week honors.
Once his brother Adam (Mark Grossman) figured out that Nick had a serious problem in Las Vegas (and we don’t mean gambling), Nick was forced to admit that he had a problem with opioids. He tried to keep it under control and keep it hidden, as addicts are wont to do, but Nick realized he couldn’t hide it anymore. We saw him admit to his father, Victor (Eric Braeden), that he’d gotten hooked.
Morrow’s heartfelt performances continued last week as he brought his mother, Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott), and sister, Victoria (Amelia Heinle), in on the situation.
For most of his career as Nick, Morrow’s played the romantic lead, a man often torn between two different loves. Nick’s a reliable hero. Morrow has especially shined in scenes related to Nick’s kids (where was the man’s Daytime Emmy nomination for Cassie’s death?), and Nick showed just how passionate a dad he is when Victor tried to take his son, Christian, from him.
Now, Morrow’s been tasked with showing a different kind of vulnerability in Nick’s drug addiction tale. Nick’s heart breaks every time he has to tell someone he loves that he allowed himself to get addicted to opioids.
“I need you to promise me that you’re not going to get too upset,” Nick cautioned his mother. It’s totally in-character for Nick to be more concerned about his loved ones than himself. He relayed how his car accident and leg surgery resulted in his getting addicted to opioids.
Despite being addicted to pills, Nick continues to want to protect the people around him. “I really thought I had it under control,” Nick said. “But I was wrong.”
As challenging as it was to open up to his mother about his perceived weakness, Nick, in a way, found it more difficult to share with his sister that he was fighting an addiction.
CBS
Once the two sat down at the Genoa City Athletic Club, the siblings engaged in some chit chat as Nick brought Victoria up to speed on Matt Clark (Roger Howarth) possibly still being alive.
Then, we saw Nick process that Vicki hadn’t been told about his addiction. The look on Nick’s face read that “it’s up to me to tell Vicki. Maybe I can still back out?” We saw him decide to go ahead, as painful as that decision was.
“You’re my best friend, and I don’t want to disappoint you,” Nick said, preparing both himself and his sister as he started to explain his situation. “I’m addicted to drugs.”
Nick took responsibility for his own actions. Sure, Matt provided the bad fentanyl, but Nick still took it. “I hated having to tell you more than almost anyone… because of what we went through with mom and her addiction… even though I could see all the signs and pitfalls, I still let it happen,” Nick lamented to his sister. “I’m so sorry. The last thing I ever wanted to do is let you down, Vick. That’s exactly what I’ve done.”
As Nick’s scenes with his mother and sister both took place in public restaurants with people around them, Morrow and his scene partners refrained from raising their voices. But that didn’t lessen the heartfelt, emotional deliveries that Morrow and his co-stars gave in their performances.
In his head, Nick may know that Matt set Nick up to become an addict, but in Nick’s heart, he’s not letting himself off the hook just yet. “Nobody was holding a gun to my head,” Nick noted.
Vicki asked her younger brother how he knew he had his addiction beat. Was he sure that he wouldn’t relapse. The look Morrow put on Nick’s face clearly communicated without a line of dialogue that no, he wasn’t sure, and that is something that makes him afraid.
In between the scenes of confessing to his mother and his sister, Nick visited Phyllis (Michelle Stafford) to read her the riot act over her role in the AI takeover of his family’s company, Newman Enterprises. While Morrow played Nick remorseful and open to his family members, the actor brought a different energy to his scenes with his former wife. The dude was angry, rightfully so.
Nick tried to point out to Phyllis that she was facing prison time for her actions. He was furious, for sure, but Phyllis assumed that Nick had her best interests at heart, despite her not agreeing with what he was saying.
Even when Nick is not happy about a situation, he usually acts like a rock for those around him. However, his addiction has caused his patience to be tried. If Nick suppressed the pain he was feeling when he met with Nikki and Victoria, he did not afford Phyllis the same courtesy.
“Why are you like this? Why do you make it so hard for people to care about you?” Nick yelled at his former video-game-playing partner. “Think about all the things you’ve done to those people, and you throw all their forgiveness right back in their face. It’s like every relationship you have is this test. ‘Just forget about every horrible thing I’ve done because this is who I am, it’s never gonna change.’”
These were harsh words, and under normal circumstances, Nick would phrase them with more care, but his addiction removed that inhibition. Phyllis rarely ever sees this side to Nick, and his words both hurt and worried her. It was as if he’d slapped her across the face.
Again, the pain prevented Nick from acknowledging or even caring if Phyllis was truly concerned. Nick wasn’t interested in seeing Phyllis wanting to vacillate back and forth between
the ruthless businesswoman who was taking over his dad’s company, and the mother of his child, who’s always going to care about him.
“Just stop already and stop trying to pretend like we’re friends or that our history means anything to you, because if it did, you would stop trying to destroy the people I care about,” Nick shouted. “I don’t care. I don’t care what happens to you anymore.”
As Nick headed to the elevator, we saw him opening and clenching his fists, clearly in physical discomfort. It doesn’t take much for Phyllis to turn on someone, but Nick’s tirade convinced her that Nick’s got a big problem.
Nikki cautioned her son that there will be slipups and setbacks in his recovery. That’s bad news for Nick, but great news for Morrow, who is taking these acting challenges the show is giving him and delivering what may be the best performances of his career! Bravo!
Young and the Restless, weekdays, CBS
If you or someone you know has addiction issues, contact the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration‘s National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357). If you or a loved one are in immediate danger, call 911.
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