The Young and the Restless: Is Mariah Copeland’s Descent into Madness Her Own or Ian Ward’s Doing?

On The Young and the Restless, Abby and Devon face a parent's ultimate nightmare as they search for baby Dominic while Mariah’s psyche fractures under Ian Ward’s toxic influence.

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There are times i stop and stare at the TV and just wonder why I'm seeing the things that I'm seeing but this time i didn't. This storyline was the is the perfect way to contiunie the terrifying legacy of Ian Ward (Ray Wise) and his presence always being felt in Genoa City. The Chancellor mansion is in an uproar now that the realization has set in: Dominic (Ethan Ray Clark) is gone, and the woman they trusted to carry him is the one who took him.

While the physical search intensifies across Genoa City, the psychological search goiing on inside Mariah (Camryn Grimes) is way more disturbing and complicated. It's about now that we need to acknowledge the acting presence of Grimes, she is portraying the internal conflict so well, the scenes leave us feeling heavy. Ray Wise brings are much needed presence in Genoa, the consumate professional and in my opinion the very best of villainy. Has there been one better? I'll wait.

The presence of Ian Ward in Mariah's orbit has always been a trigger for her deepest instabilities. His return to her headspace isn't just a coincidence; he is the architect of her original trauma, and his "voice" acts as a catalyst for her current breakdown. However, pinning the kidnapping entirely on Ian’s lingering ghost ignores the heavy emotional toll of the surrogacy itself. Mariah never truly processed the trauma of her initial kidnapping while pregnant, nor did she find a healthy way to sever the maternal bond after handing Dominic over to Abby (Melissa Ordway) and Devon (Bryton James).

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Mariahs actions appear to me, without any qulifications to diagnose, seem to be a perfect storm of some left-untreated PTSD and a aching, very misplaced need to protect the child that she views as her own. By taking Dominic, she isn't just following her villian-arc, she is having a go at rewriting a history where she was the victim. The main question we fans and viewers are asking right now is whether Abby and Devon can reach out to Mariah in time. For now, Mariah is lost in prison of her own mind, and Dominic is the one paying the price for her fractured reality. Will Mariah talk herself off the ledge before it's too late?

Watch full episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS or stream on Paramount.

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