The Young and the Restless Performer of the Week: Melissa Ordway as Abby Winters

The Young and the Restless delved into Mariah’s mental instability when she took off with Dominic for several days. As a result, the story has thrust Melissa Ordway, who plays Abby, Dom’s mom, into the forefront, displaying her qualities as a protective mama bear. For her portrayal of Abby Winters, Soap Central is bestowing Performer of the Week honors on Ordway.

The Young and the Restless, Performer of the Week

Initially, Ordway wisely played Abby as upbeat, positive, and hopeful that Mariah (Camryn Grimes) and Dominic (Ethan Ray Clark) would be found once the surrogate mother made off with the child she had carried. In her head, Abby knew that Mariah wouldn’t harm Dom, but try telling that to her heart.

Only when Dominic was safely back in his mother’s arms did Abby allow herself to go to where she wanted to go all along – anger! Devon (Bryton James) wisely pointed out that they both needed to stay positive while Dom was missing. Now that her son is safely back home, Abby is determined that nothing is ever going to hurt him again.

On Friday’s episode, Abby and Dominic accidentally came upon Mariah and her attorney, Christine (Lauralee Bell), at the Chancellor Park Café’s outdoor seating area. “Guarded” doesn’t begin to describe Abby’s stance.

Kudos to Y&R’s hair department for pulling Abby’s hair back into a bun. It showed that Abby was ready for battle.

Ordway’s a mom in real life, so it’s not a stretch to see where Abby gets her protective instincts. But that in no way deters from Ordway’s skilled performance. The actress had her character walk a very fine line – Abby couldn’t freak out over seeing Mariah as Dominic was with her, but she was determined to protect him, too.

Dom would never know something was amiss because of the gentle way his mom spoke to him – something that must have been difficult for her to do, given that Dom’s captor was a few feet away from him once again.

Abby can’t trust Mariah, The Young and the Restless

Mariah’s genuine remorse over what she’d done wasn’t lost on Abby, but she can’t afford to trust it. Not with her son’s welfare at stake. When Mariah stood up from her chair, Ordway subtly but firmly used her hand to secure her son to her. There was no way Mariah was going to pull a fast one. Not this time.

Abby asked for a moment alone with Christine. Ordway made sure that Abby steeled herself for any kind of pushback, emotionally or legally, from Mariah’s attorney.

“Why is she not in jail?” Abby asked if it was the most obvious question in the world. “Or in the hospital under a doctor’s care? Why is she not in treatment? She needs to be somewhere where she can’t accidentally run into my son.”

Ordway had Abby temper her fury, not because she wasn’t passionate about the situation, but because Dom was seated at a nearby table and could likely hear what was going on. All moms are aware that “little pitchers have big ears,” after all.

Christine, defending her client, stated that Mariah had a right to live her life while her legal issues were being sorted out.

“What about my son’s life?” Abby asked only half-rhetorically. “Or the life of some unsuspecting child that Mariah decides to claim as her own?”

The Young and the Restless, court is in session

Christine emphasized that psychiatric experts had determined that Mariah, who has to wear an ankle monitor, wasn't a threat to Dominic.

An irate Abby, scared for her son’s well-being, had a list of questions, and she fired them off to Chris: “Who are these experts? Did they talk to us? Ask us how it felt to have our son taken from his own home? Did they talk to Dominic and ask him about Mariah's plan to take him and live in Mexico?”

Genoa City has no shortage of lawyers, but Abby would make an excellent prosecutor, given how effectively she was grilling Christine as if the attorney were the one who was on a witness stand.

Chris telling her that a judge signed off on Mariah being out and about meant that there was no immediate threat, prompting Abby to reply: “If only I could believe that.”

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Y&R’s got a lot of business storylines going on, but Ordway’s strong performance reminded viewers that there’s something even more powerful than the omni-force known as AI – and that’s a mother’s love.

Catch all-new episodes of The Young and the Restless weekdays on CBS and Paramount Plus.

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