As one of The Young and the Restless' core families, the Abbott clan has seen its fair share of drama over the past few decades. But nothing -- and we mean nothing -- compares to the heartache the legacy family has experienced this past week. Unfortunately for the Abbotts (but arguably fortunately for fans), the extreme family turmoil is set to continue for the foreseeable future.
"There's so much more coming!" says Beth Maitland, whose character, Traci Abbott, is known as the fictional family's peacekeeper, to TV Insider. "This is kind of a first for the Abbotts to have every single member of the family not only be at odds, but feeling betrayed, lost, blindsided, and disappointed as they look around and see beloved siblings, a niece and a nephew. To see those faces that are so beloved and to know that with rare exception each person has their own agenda as a primary target and has turned their backs on their family."
While the situation is absolute hell for everyone involved, the major strife between Jack (Peter Bergman) and Ashley (Eileen Davidson) did give Traci the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to run the Abbott family business -- something viewers and fans of the actress have been wanting to see happen for months, if not years. And the turn of events was one that Maitland greatly enjoyed.
"[It was] fantastic! And too short!" the actress says with a laugh of the unexpected storyline twist. "What I mean by that is that I don't think Traci aspired to run the company, but she's got the grit to do it. She is a businesswoman, traveling the world, selling her books so, yes, she is a businesswoman in her own way. What she brings to the business is the moral center that John Abbott [Jerry Douglas] had. He did business above board, transparently, and faced the market with ethics and principals. Had Traci continued at Jabot, she would have made mistakes, but she is also a good manager of her family."
In what ways, specifically?
"She knows who to ask. She knows who has better skills. She has a way of even facing off with Victor Newman [Eric Braeden]!" Maitland says with a laugh. "She has something that people can't crack when faced with morality, ethics, and what's right. It's really, really hard to cut somebody off at the knees when they're looking you in the eye and they've got your daughter's heart."
But will Traci be able to fix the Abbott family's latest problems, when it seems as if they're truly unfixable?
"This family is in crisis. They are on the brink. We're seeing it all and we're uncomfortable," she says, before teasing: "Everything's been tried [to fix it] and each time somebody drops another bomb."
For more from Maitland about the recent Abbott family drama and how she feels about Eileen Davidson's exit from the CBS soap opera, check out her full TV Insider interview here.
What do you think about the current Abbott family drama? What role would you like to see Traci play in the weeks and months ahead? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
