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This week on The Young and the Restless, Fairview’s whacked-out psychiatrist, Dr. Anderson (Elizabeth Bogush) got exactly what she deserved … a knife to the back.  Bad timing, though!

Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Sharon Case (Sharon) had just rushed to the mental health facility armed with the knowledge that the doctor was really Sandy Allen, a revenge-seeking woman from Nick’s high school days out to cause pain and suffering to Nick and his loved ones.  But only the viewers learned that the doctor’s assailant was crazy Patty Williams (Stacy Haiduk), who now holds the secret of murdering her psychiatrist.  However, she is also the only one knows that Dr. Anderson gave Sage’s (Kelly Sullivan) baby to Sharon.  Problem is: Patty has had a further break from reality, and is singing lullabies to herself.

Joshua Morrow has been telling soap tales on The Young and the Restless now for nearly 22 years, and this story even caught him by surprise with its origin, especially when he learned that all roads led back to Nick.  After trying to move forward after the ‘loss’ of his newborn son, Christian, and his marriage to Sage in a fractured state, Nick has many more emotional shockers and moments ahead of him in the months to come.  For starters: Adam is the biological father of Christian, and the baby is actually living with Sharon and Dylan (Steve Burton) as their baby named “Sully”.  Quite the tangled web.

On-Air On-Soaps chatted with Joshua in his dressing room at Y&R to get his thoughts on: the twisty and twisted story of Dr. Anderson AKA Sandy Allen, if Sharon and Nick will eventually turn back to each other as they always seem to do, what he thought of the performances of Elizabeth Bogush and Kelly Sullivan in this storyline, the recent acquisition of Jason Thompson to the Y&R team, and how Nick will keep it together, or not, as this story continues to unravel.  So, here’s a look back at all the events that transpired leading up to the murder of Sandy Allen, and what may lie ahead with the always quick-witted, funny, and charming Mr. Morrow.

Nick is not being a doofus for once! (Laughs)  He actually was proactive with Sage to smoke out what was really going on with Dr. Anderson.  Later, Nick put two and two together that Dr. Anderson is Sandy Allen, the woman who was paralyzed in the swimming pool accident back in high school. 

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JOSHUA:  Traditionally, he has led the league the in doofus behavior, but this time he and Sage have put their heads together to kind of get to the bottom of it.  It’s a little out of Nick’s comfort zone, not to be in ‘Doofusland’ so we will see how it flies.

When you saw this whole story unfolding, how much of it were you let in on?  As the audience we were left wondering, where is this all going?

JOSHUA:  It all started a long time ago when Austin put out this video, and I thought, “What is this?”  The show wasn’t addressing it, or saying anything so I didn’t really know.  I loved how they tied it into this story six to eight months later.  I had no clue! Then when Liz Bogush came on to play the character, they told me.  They said, “You know what this is?”  I took a moment and I went, “Oh … OK!”  So they had set it up a lot earlier and had gone this route.  I obviously love telling stories, and this made sense.  But at the time I was thinking they were coming up with something out of nowhere.  I remember thinking, “What is this?  None of this happened!”  (Laughs)

For months, I did not even know this was Nick’s story! (Laughs)

JOSHUA:  Me neither!  I thought it was all about that video, and I am glad it has some relevance to our show.

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When the baby switch happened you obviously knew then what was going down.  Did you exclaim, “Oh no, wait!  All of this happened because of my character? Sorry, guys!” (Laughs)

JOSHUA:  I am like … a baby switch?  I do those well! (Laughs)

Last week, Sandy kissed Nick!  You delivered that moment with a great acting choice.  When the camera went in for the close-up your lips are on hers, but your eyes are wide open and you are kind of looking away.  What did you think of the lip-lock moment?

JOSHUA:  Nick says to Sage, “Listen, I have to do my part.”   Kelly was just laughing so hard.  Obviously, they didn’t take it as far as them sleeping together, but I did think, “How far does Nick have to go with this?”  It was fun to do. I was teasing Liz Bogush relentlessly up to the scene – that this is what was going to happen, and we are going to do it all for Sage. (Laughs)  Liz was a real sport about, because I am an extremely ornery human, as you know. (Laughs)

How was working with Elizabeth Bogush?

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JOSHUA:  I thought Liz did such a bang up job of playing such a creepy person with an agenda.  I thought she played it perfect.  Really creepy!  What I found interesting was I thought Liz was so stunning to look at.  Her eyes are like the craziest, darkest blue I have ever seen.  It all fit her character so well.   It was spooky and still, and it was unsettling at times.  It was great casting by the show.

Did you by chance screen test with Liz?

JOSHUA:  No, but they bring me in sometimes to screen test with people when they are casting contract roles. You know, I remember when they were recasting the role of Sharon; I had to kiss the actresses trying out for the part for hours.  I remember thinking, “This is just awesome!”  They brought in eight of the hottest chicks I have ever seen, and they told me I get to make out with all of them.  I hit the ‘Job Powerball’ right then and there.

Going into these episodes that led to the big reveal of Dr. Anderson’s true identity, what is Nick thinking is happening?

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JOSHUA:  Nick always found Dr. Anderson’s involvement, to the extent that she was involved so deeply a little off, but he just thought she was this really over-caring physician.  Sage started to get her antenna up, and it was driving her crazy.  It was creating tension between Nick and Sage.  They didn’t want to let that go any further.  They just decided to try this route, and to have Sage get committed to Fairview.

Was it weird as an actor to have to justify that Nick is letting the woman he loves be committed to a mental institution to get the goods on the psychiatrist?  That’s quite the dangerous position to put a loved one in.

JOSHUA:  There are times in this job where you have to set aside any sense of, “What would I really do?”   I’m not sending my wife to an insane asylum to be drugged so we can get to the bottom of it.  Is there another plan … a plan B? (Laughs)  This is what they went with on our show.   I think they felt it was the only way to get to the bottom of what was really going on with Dr. Anderson.

The key to all of this is really Sharon.  So where was Nick coming from to finally let Sharon in on what Nick and Sage were really up to?  Sharon believed that Dr. Anderson did a world of good for her (laughs), but we know that’s far from the truth.

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JOSHUA:  Nick realized that Sharon was starting to maybe put this plan in jeopardy, because she was accusing Sage of being crazy, and it’s making Nick act a certain way, and then Faith is having a problem with it.  Nick needed Sharon’s help and so he leveled with her, “This is what is really going down” Nick just needed Sharon to get on board with it, because everyone else in town they were completely snowing including; Dylan (Steve Burton) and Adam (Justin Hartley).  They are like, “Sage is crazy and that is where she needs to be.”  Nick is being the husband standing by his wife telling everyone that they need to back off.    It got to the point where Nick needed Sharon’s support also with Dr. Anderson.  So Sharon helps with “the caper”, if you will.  She tells Dr. Anderson that Nick is starting to have feelings for her, and that leaves Dr. Anderson thinking there is hope. Sharon stepped up in a big way, which helped solve the mystery.

Just to clarify, and clarify Nick’s involvement in this, what really happened back in high school that set Sandy Allen in this spiral and thirst for revenge?

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JOSHUA:  Sandy jumped off the balcony and into the Newman swimming pool and broke her neck. She was an Olympic-hopeful, and it completely ruined her life.  Sandy thought Nick completely abandoned her, and that he didn’t take any responsibility for it.  It was a wild party back in high school, but everyone had left.  I think Nick and Sandy were kind of hooking up at that time. Then, Victor (Eric Braeden) gets involved and pays-off the family to kind of hush any legal issues that may come up.  Sandy takes that as Nick doesn’t care, and is completely oblivious to any responsibility for it.  But that wasn’t the case.  Nick went to see her in the hospital, and she was in coma.  She never knew Nick was there. Cut to later, Nick goes to check on her and she’s gone.  The next thing you know the family moved away, and that was because Victor paid them off, and arranged for all that to happen, which then leads to this issue between Victor and Nick. Nick doesn’t like how Victor is always putting himself in these situations where he is going to fix things for people.  

Oh, oh! Did Nick have that conversation, which will turn into a confrontation with Victor yet?

JOSHUA:  There is a conversation coming up, but we already had a confrontation that has played on-air months back, as well.

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So in the context of the story, Sharon must have been at the high school party, because she knew the events that transpired.  Did Nick know she was at the pool party?

JOSHUA:  Not at the time, but Sharon was there at that pool party secretly, and then she told Nick what Victor had done, and then Nick was very upset with Victor.  Nick wanted to own up to it, since he cared about this woman, and wanted to accept responsibility for it, but Victor didn’t let him do that.

And then just like old times, it’s Sharon and Nick sitting at the tack house.  But this time, they are piecing together information and Nick has an ‘aha” moment.  Dr. Anderson is Sandy Allen … and Nick was her target all along!

JOSHUA:  Yup. Sharon and Nick put it together in the living room that Dr. Anderson is Sandra Allen, and also because Sage found the book on paralysis.  Sandy had mentioned high school, and all of this interest for the new family.  They put it together that it’s actually Sandra Allen, and as soon as they do that, Nick rushed off to Fairview, because he realizes that Sandy is all about revenge, and that he needs to get to Sage to make sure she is OK.  So both Sharon and Nick rush off to Fairview for Sage, because she is in trouble.

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But when they get to Fairview, Sandy is dead!

JOSHUA: Yup, she’s dead, stabbed in the back!  What a waste of a beautiful woman! (Laughs)  And I go, “That’s it?” (Laughs)

How was Elizabeth’s last day?

JOSHUA:  It was tough, because I really liked Elizabeth.  She was such a great sport about her character.  I hate to see talent leave.  I thought she was really good in this role. There weren’t many places for the character to go after Nick and Sharon figured out who she was.  I hate anyone’s last day. It’s hard.

Nick and Sage’s relationship was combusting of late, but has this drama with Sandy Allen brought them closer together?

JOSHUA:  I think to a certain degree it brought them closer together, but the problem for Nick and Sage is losing baby Christian.  That is an extremely difficult thing for couples to get past.  They are trying hard.  They do love each other and they want to make it work.  Until they can both kind of deal with losing Christian, there are going to be problems with them.  We will see what happens.  They do love each other, but they are trying to figure out how to get past this together, because previously they were grieving separately.  They each were leaning on and going to other people for support.  You can’t do that if you want to make your marriage work.

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When Nick learned baby Christian had “died”, you had a scene where he crumbles to the floor in the hospital that was very emotional.  However, while you were performing the scene and slumped to the floor, the nurses’ station set piece moved.  That had to be disconcerting.

JOSHUA:  They had propped it, but I am a 190 lbs of pure steel, and that set piece was only normal and it was not fortified. (Laughs)  I had this scene, and it’s so funny, but all that anyone talked about was the nurses’ station desk moving.  It’s a tough one when you’re acting your heart out.

Obviously, there are more legs to this story.  Adam is the biological father of Christian, not Nick.  And now Sandy is dead, and only crazy Patty knows the truth, and she is basically gone catatonic!  How long can you see these secrets staying buried?

JOSHUA:  This show is very clever in telling stories.  You have these two things and they are not going to happen concurrently, and who knows when they are going to happen?  Christian is alive, and eventually he is going to come back to Nick and Sage.  And then later on, Nick is going to lose Christian. These are looming stories I can’t wait to tell, but they don’t need to rush them by any means.

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Original Y&R co-creator and head writer, the late Bill Bell,  had constructed stories in a way where there were so many twists and turns in a plot with a big payoff at the end, which may take months and months, or even years to resolve.  Do you like stories in the time we live in to be dragged out?  Sometimes in daytime, they are dragged out ad nauseam.

JOSHUA:  I think it totally hinges on the material.  There are certain kinds of stories you just don’t want to see end, because you may know the result, but you enjoy the journey getting there. That is when you know the combination of writing, work, and producing is working well.  On the other side of the coin, there are times where I think, “This thing needs to move quicker, or wrap up.  I do believe there is not one story like that where I have ever been involved that the fans complained about … I’m just kidding right now! (Laughs).

Poor Nick! Adam is the father of the baby he thinks he lost, and his other half-brother Dylan is with Sharon and ‘their baby’ Sully (who is Christian).  I don’t see any win-win in this for Nick.

JOSHUA:  In this business, I don’t think winning is always interesting.  There is nothing in this life I hate more than losing as Joshua, but I believe character’s need to lose to stay interesting.

When you are constructing and rehearsing a scene with another actor, do you discuss who should win or lose the scene?

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JOSHUA:  We are not verbalizing that to each other, and if you have two actors who are very aware of what’s happening in a scene, and they are very supportive and understanding of what’s happening, one should realize that.  I think that is when you reach that place where the work needs to be to really succeed.  There are certain actors who don’t really want to give up the reins sometimes, and you say, “If you would have just let me in here and conceded something in a moment, and it doesn’t have to be big, the scene will work better.  It’s not my place to tell people how they are going to do their job.

Many actors over the history of daytime drama have been about protecting the myth, mystique, and appearance of their character – never wanting to look a certain way in a scene, or a storyline, as it might affect their brand.  But it’s very important to allow your character to not always be the strong one, or one up the other character in a scene, and just lose the stakes in the moment.

JOSHUA:  I really learned that from Michelle Stafford (Ex-Phyllis Y&R, now Nina, GH).  She was remarkable to me about that.  You would come out and say the words, and she would use this term a lot.  Michelle would say, “You need to lose this.”   I really started to get her process.  Sometimes in a scene you have to let the other person in the scene win.  I believe that 100%.

Recently, Jason Thompson (Billy) joined Y&R from General Hospital; your show truly holds the all-stars of the soap world now.  What did you think about Jason coming aboard?

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JOSHUA:  I kind of view The Young and the Restless as this elite soap opera fantasy football team. We just keep accruing these really talented and sexy pieces.  I had met Jason a few times before he came here, and what a fantastic dude!  Jason is genuinely cool, and a really sincere guy.  I normally take it upon myself to really haze the new people, but they threw Jason into these scenes.  I remember walking off set and going, “Dude, at this point I should be harassing the hell out of you, but that was amazing!”  The episode where Billy was hovering between life and death and having his out-of-body experience, Jason was amazing in it.  Relationships get formed on soaps, and you see them build into something and it takes time to do that.  But they threw Jason into a scene with the actress who plays little Delia and I was like, “He’s never even met her!”  That scene was fantastic, so obviously the guy is super-talented and a really big pick-up for us.

Jason told me he thought you were a solid actor and he was very complimentary about you as well.

JOSHUA:  Well, he should be complimentary!  I’m a pretty big deal around here. (Laughs)  The moves we have made recently bringing on Gina Tognoni (Phyllis), Justin Hartley, Jason, and Steve Burton have all been home runs for us.  Y&R is a good show to be a part of right now.

What part of the Dr. Anderson story did you enjoy playing the most?

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JOSHUA:  I really liked watching Sage have to turn into someone else. Dealing with loss on a soap can sometimes be easy, and that’s because it’s a great story that usually sells. But she had to deal with loss, try to heal and figure something else out about herself, while at the same time dealing with losing the baby.  I thought that spoke volumes about Kelly as an actress.   Kelly works so hard and cares so much about this job.  If she is not the most prepared person on the show, she is most certainly tied for that honor.  I really respect what she brings to our show from a professionalism standpoint. I love working with her. We laugh constantly, and her personality fits with mine so well.  Watching the writers give her this opportunity to shine has been a lot of fun to see.

Is there a scene that you were in with Kelly or Liz that stood out to you?

JOSHUA:  Kelly and I did some scenes where we were sitting on a psychiatrist’s couch.  It really struck me how incredibly beautiful her performance was, and what she can do on the show if they let her.  I remember watching it going, “This girl is a serious pro!”

In the past, you have not taken it upon yourself to ask the writers or the producers about what is going to happen in the future with Nick in storylines.  Does that still hold true?

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JOSHUA:  Yes.  It’s just who I am.  I like what I do here and I love my character, if they tell me to do something, then I’m going to do it.  I don’t need to know future storylines, and I think whether you mean it to or not, I think it could color your performance in some way. So I don’t need to know anything.

You will have been with Y&R 22 years next month.  Don’t you at all feel for all the time, effort, stories, and loyalty you have given to the show, not to mention your huge fan base, that you should, or would like to be able to ask for something you would like to do as an actor on the show?

JOSHUA:  I never feel like they owe me anything. That I have been able to do this job for so long … it turned my life into something I never dreamed of as a kid.  I’m always incredibly appreciative of that. What they have to do upstairs I think is the hardest part, and that is … every day they have to find 100 pages of interesting stuff for us to say.  If I am in anyway getting in the way of that then I would feel badly.  That’s not to say that people shouldn’t go talk to the writers or producers, it’s just that I don’t want to be that guy.  I don’t fault other people for doing it, it’s just me and how I feel about it.  I have been very blessed to play a character I find interesting for 22 years.  I trust them implicitly to give me interesting stuff to do.

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Let’s talk Nick and Sharon.  Do you see these two all-time star-crossed lovers getting back together again?  Perhaps say, three years from now? 

JOSHUA:  I don’t know the timeframe, but it certainly will happen again at some point. It’s a story that always works, and the show can always go back to it.  I would, of course, always look forward to working with Sharon Case again, but with that being said, you need breaks.  It’s kind of up to the writing on how long those breaks are going to be to keep it interesting.  It’s a beautiful reunion if there are things that happen, and it causes them to come back together, because of circumstances and not because of, “What haven’t we done in awhile? Let’s just throw them back together again.”  There needs to be a soul to it and a reason they are doing it.  When it’s done and it’s done right, I think it always works.   I don’t want it to happen now, because there is no reason for it to – Sharon is with Dylan, and Nick is with Sage. There are the baby issues happening in their storylines! (Laughs)

This week, after they find Sandy’s dead body, now we have a murder scene.  Nick must be even more upset than he was before!

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JOSHUA:  Nick is pissed, because his concern now is his wife, and that his wife just killed Dr. Anderson, and now what the hell are we supposed to do?  Nick will probably take instant responsibility for it, because he allowed Sage to go into Fairview.  So now with Dr. Anderson dead, just when Nick thought he found resolution, there is another wrinkle.

Having crazy Patty into the mix at Fairview, obviously was concerning for Nick.

JOSHUA:  We are sitting in Sage’s room, and Patty comes and you don’t know what is happening with Patty!  Is she going to throw some hydrofluoric acid on somebody’s face? She is just certifiable.  Nick is very concerned that this woman is anywhere near his wife.  He is now just warning Sage about Patty’s capabilities, because she is not playing with a full deck. When Nick initially found out Patty was there, that was another reason he didn’t want to Sage to be there.

After Sandy’s murder, originally Nick thinks Sage did it, not Patty?

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JOSHUA:  So when Sandy is murdered, Nick thinks it’s Sage, because Sandy was out for revenge and that there was this confrontation happened between her and Sage, and so he thinks Sage killed her, and then the s**t hits the fan!  I like the way they are kind of buttoning it up.  I’m glad, again, that in this revisionist history of this back-story that it all goes back to the video where Sharon was pissed at Nick at the time, because they were fighting over custody of Faith. Sharon was holding on to this secret and gave the information to Austin for a kind of revenge, and to mess with Nick’s chances of gaining sole custody of his daughter.  After she realized that she spilled the beans to Austin, Sharon quickly realized she shouldn’t have done that.  So there you see what sprung out of that!

In the end this is all Sharon’s fault, as usual (Laughs)?

JOSHUA: There you go!  It is all Sharon’s fault, as usual.

So, what did you think the reveal of the true identity of Dr. Anderson and her subsequent murder?  Are you pissed or glad that Patty is the killer? Have you enjoyed up till this point that Nick was hot on Sandy’s trail and knew that something was off about the sneaky psychiatrist?  Do you think the story of the baby switch and who murdered Dr. Anderson AKA Sandy Allen will not be resolved for months? Do you hope that Nick and Sharon get back together down the line? What have you thought of the performances of Joshua, Elizabeth Bogushm and Kelly Sullivan in this storyline?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.