Blown Away, Young & Restless’ Eric Braeden Hails Two Castmates as the ‘Performers of the Damn Year’

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Those watching the Thursday, May 2, episode of The Young and the Restless were able to see two of daytime’s biggest stars light the screen through highly emotional scenes. Fans immediately took to the internet to rave about the performances given by Melody Thomas Scott (Nikki) and Peter Bergman (Jack) and they weren’t the only ones… Eric Braeden, who has appeared alongside both veteran stars for many, many years voiced his opinion as well.

“Watched scenes between Melody and Peter, Nikki and Jack,” Braeden stated on X. “And they were brilliant! Their scenes in the hotel!”

As fans jumped in to voice their assessment of the standalone episode, the actor stuck around for the conversation and continued, “Performers of the damn year! It was very difficult to keep this up, scene after scene and not hit a bad note! You don’t realize how many pages of dialogue that was!”

And even though Nikki’s recent spiral is one of the lowest points in her life, of the scenes, Braeden added, “It was riveting to watch! Not a bad moment in it! And very well written!

For those who missed it, as detailed in our daily recap, Jack arrived in Nikki’s suite, begging and pleading for her to put down her drink and go to a meeting with him. When Nikki refused, and warned that no one could fix her — not him, not rehab, no one — Jack went to extremes and Nikki watched as he gave in to his own addiction and popped a few pills. And when he wouldn’t stop, Nikki, aghast, agreed to get help — but it was too late… Jack passed out, leaving her screaming in horror.

In a recent interview with TVInsider, Bergman talked about the scenes and previewed a bit of what’s to come. “It’s not the Nikki we’re used to seeing and it’s not the Jack we’re used to seeing in this desperate effort. It will bring these characters a lot closer, and grow the depth of the relationship between Jack and Nikki. But with that comes lots of problems when this is all over. Among them, Jack has to go home and explain to [his wife] Diane why he’s been gone all night.”

In any case, as Braeden stated, they were “brilliant” and we can’t wait to see how Nikki — and now Jack — comes back from the darkness that is addiction.