‘The Young and the Restless’ Comings and Goings: Will Dina Mergeron Die When the Show Returns?
Eventually, The Young and the Restless will resume production and new episodes will be filmed. This has many fans wondering if the soap opera‘s storylines will pick back up as scheduled. A lot of viewers are thinking about if the death of Dina Mergeron will happen as the plot had been continued to hint.
Dina Mergeron is a key character in the history of the show
The character of Dina is the first wife of John Abbot and is the mother of Jack, Ashley, and Traci Abbott. Adams portrayed the role regularly from 1983-1986.
She appeared over the years for guest appearances until she returned again in a regular recurring capacity in 2017. She had made many appearances on the show since then. In her recent years on the show, Dina has developed Alzheimer’s disease.
The character is at the front of a powerful storyline on the show
Back in an interview in 2018 with Soap Opera Digest, Adams spoke about some of her hesitations in taking on the storyline.
“Oh, that was scary because I had never even been exposed to anything like that before,” she said. “When I first came on as Dina, she had returned to her family after years of all her cavorting around Paris and her kids hated her. It was a disaster for her. I remember when Bill Bell told me, ‘This is one of the most important storylines we’ve ever done.’ Now, doing this Alzheimer’s thing just blows me away. It’s a great comfort that the writing is showing what is truthful. Thanks to the Alzheimer’s Association that Mal Young [former executive producer/head writer] is working with closely, it’s very authentic and honest writing.”
Adams also said that she was so pleased that her return to the show was able to add so much more depth to the character.
She said, “I just adore it. You realize this person is not just a one-dimensional slut around town! It’s just so wonderful to play this softer side. But it’s absolutely more difficult to play her when she gets mean. I don’t like it when she lashes out, because some of the things I thought were a bit extreme, like when she burned down a building. I remember asking Mal, ‘Why do you want to do this? Do you know anyone who has had Alzheimer’s?’ and he said, ‘My mom,’ and he took care of her for five years. He said she got very violent and I asked, ‘Did she ever burn down buildings?’ He said, ‘Oh, no, no,’ so, I guess we only do that in soap opera!”
Pre-pandemic spoilers hinted that Dina’s time was coming to an end
Several The Young and the Restless spoilers point to the fact that the show was headed toward Dina’s death. This was before production had to be suspended due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. When the show returns, it is unclear if the show’s older cast members will be able to return to set as quick since they are more susceptible to coronavirus.
Still, if the storyline continues its current trajectory, then Dina’s end may be soon. Back in March, a few weeks before the show began airing themed rerun weeks, Ashley and Traci were preparing for Dina to return home to live her final weeks at the Abbott Mansion.
The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on CBS.
