Now that Christine has officially ended her marriage to Paul, she finds herself at a crossroads in her life, to which Y&R is devoting an entire episode on Thursday, November 2. “These kinds of episodes are usually character anniversary shows and about celebration,” points out Lauralee Bell (Christine). “This one is tinged with a little sadness because Paul and Christine have mutually decided to divorce, so it’s taken time for Christine to adjust to where she is now. When people get to a certain age, they are wondering, ‘Should I have done this?’ or, ‘Should I have tried that?’ She’s not unhappy, she’s trying to figure out what direction her life should take, and it’s a roller coaster of emotions.”
Which requires a lot of reflection, with flashbacks included. “There are some wonderful clips but they have a focused tone, so it’s not all over the place,” Bell notes. “It’s a journey and what I love about this, it’s not her sitting in some living room and reminiscing. She actually moves from location to location around town.”
At the park, Christine runs into Phyllis and they have a tense conversation about Danny. “If there’s one person who changed the direction of Christine’s life, it was Phyllis,” Bell acknowledges. “I would watch Phyllis feud with other women on the show and I was a little jealous. I was like, ‘She hates Cricket more!’ So to be able to reignite this conflict, first with the case and now with Danny’s return, has been so much fun.”
After a conversation with Lauren (“No one knows Paul better than her”), Christine shares a heart-to-heart with Danny. “She’s wanting to see where life takes her so she isn’t really open to another relationship right now,” the actress explains. “Danny is a dear friend who she feels safe with and she values his opinion.”
At Crimson Lights, Christine is stunned when her best friend, Nina, arrives. “Nina has always been there for Christine,” Bell affirms. “It makes sense that she would come at this point because Nina is the one person Christine will listen to.”
Will Christine’s jaunt down memory lane offer her the clarity she needs? Bell admits, “I really, truthfully, don’t know what’s going to happen but I am looking forward to anything that gets Christine out of her legal bubble.”
