She’s waiting to go on trial for the murder of JT Hellstrom and knowing that she could be sent away for a long time, Nikki Newman will make sure the future generations of her family know her story as she reflects on her past on the Wednesday, Feb. 20 episode of “The Young and the Restless.”

The episode is a tribute to the character of Nikki Newman in honor of actress Melody Thomas Scott’s 40-year anniversary in portraying her on the CBS soap, and as a result, the entire episode is set to feature flashbacks of her character’s life as she tells her grandchildren her life story in a special letter to them.

Young and the Restless
Nikki (Melody Thomas Scott) reflects on her life on the Feb. 20, 2019 episode of “The Young and the Restless.” The actress is pictured in an earlier episode.  CBS

As she looks back, Nikki will remember her childhood, but also her time as an adult and what led her to Genoa City in the first place. While she will certainly reflect on her past romances with Victor (Eric Braden), Jack (Peter Bergmann) and Paul (Doug Davidson) and how she was as a mother when it came to Nick (Joshua Morrow) and Victoria (Amelia Heinle), she will also need to look at another very critical element of her life—her drinking problem.

As she reflects on that, she will also remark on the struggles she faced for recovery, which gave her a strong friendship with Neil (Kristoff St. John), making for scenes that poignant on the soap, as flashbacks featuring those characters will be tinged with sadness over St. John's recent death.

In an interview with TV Insider, Thomas Scott reflected on her personal friendship with St. John and the history between their characters, admitting that what the two shared onscreen was powerful.

“I don’t recall which writer put Nikki and Neil together, but it worked because of their commonalities, alcohol being one. That story was so powerful, unexpectedly powerful,” she said. “I think people wondered, ‘Why Nikki and Niel?’ but it became clear rather quickly. Kristoff and I had a very unique chemistry. Immediately. Right off the bat.”

“The Young and the Restless” airs weekdays at 12:30 p.m. EST on CBS.

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