Fans of The Young and the Restless have been watching firsthand as Sharon Newman (Sharon Case) has been mentally and emotionally spiraling.
Sharon has had some deep-rooted emotions bubbling to the surface. Although she buried some of her pain many years ago, recent events are causing Sharon to face her traumas.
When Sharon’s daughter Cassie (Camryn Grimes) was just fourteen years old, she died tragically in a car accident. Cassie was smitten with teenage Daniel Romalotti, and she went to a party where she knew he would be. When Daniel got drunk and passed out, Cassie tried to drive him home but crashed the car they were in. Cassie later died from her injuries.
Years later, Sharon discovered that Cassie had a twin who had been stolen at birth. Sharon knew Cassie had been adopted, and she learned that Mariah (also Camryn Grimes) was raised by a man named Ian Copeland. It wasn’t until Mariah was brought to Genoa City that Sharon realized she had another daughter.
Only knowing she had an uncanny resemblance to Sharon’s deceased daughter Cassie, Victor Newman hired Mariah to drive Sharon crazy by thinking that she was seeing Cassie. Today, Mariah and Sharon are long past the awful way that they met, but the sight of Mariah seems to have triggered new concerns.
Recently, Sharon founded charities in Cassie’s name. Working with the organizations was meant to help Sharon with her grief and be therapeutic, knowing she was turning a tragedy into helping others. However, it didn’t take long for Sharon and her family to wonder if all of the memories that Sharon was reliving by constantly talking about Cassie were having the opposite effect.
Mariah now has a healthy relationship with her mom, but she is Cassie’s identical twin. When Sharon started appearing distressed, Mariah feared that Sharon’s recent mental health decline was being triggered by seeing her face.
Additionally, Sharon’s youngest daughter, Faith, asked her parents to tell her what had happened to Cassie. Faith had already been in a near-fatal drinking-and-driving accident and knew that the experience had rattled her parents. When Sharon and Nick were holding vigil at Faith’s hospital bedside, it was like praying for Cassie to survive all over again.
This summer, Daniel Romalotti’s daughter, Lucy, wanted to befriend Faith. In an attempt to impress the older teen, Cassie was rebelling and drinking, which inadvertently caused the two to be in a car accident. Although they left the hospital without too much harm done, reliving the fear of yet another accident involving alcohol and her daughter seems to be too much for Sharon.
Sharon’s public outbursts are increasing in frequency and intensity, she sees and talks to Cassie’s ghost, and she is becoming more and more detached from reality.
Mariah and others are starting to wonder how far Sharon will go and if they will figure out how to help her before she spirals out of reach.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.
