We don’t know who’s going to win Juliet’s sexual harassment suit on The Young and the Restless (YR), but the verdict on Soap Hub’s performers of the week is already in!
Angell Conwell and Christian LeBlanc, who, respectively, play savvy attorneys Leslie Michaelson and Michael Baldwin, are both guilty of delivering dynamite performances!
Send Me An Angell
We haven’t seen much of Leslie lately so it’s all the more impressive that her portrayer can so effectively step back into her character’s sharp suits and go in for the kill.
Leslie and Juliet were outnumbered in the conference room against Michael, Cane (Daniel Goddard), Lily, Victoria, and Billy, but Leslie carried herself with such confidence that it was the other team that felt it was at a disadvantage.
Conwell’s performance was both sharp and confident as was Leslie herself! The legal eagle didn’t ask a question that she didn’t already know the answer to — and she only asked questions that bolstered her client’s position.
And when Michael tried to rile Juliet (Laur Allen) with a jab about her errors at work, Leslie tersely informed her opponent “That’s not a question, Michael. Please don’t editorialize.”
And In This Corner…
LeBlanc’s Michael did his best to systematically deconstruct Juilet’s argument that Cane had used his position at Brash & Sassy to earn sexual favors from her.
When Juliet gave her version, she carefully chose her words (as most of it is likely a lie). Michael carefully scrutinized each syllable, waiting for Juliet to make a slip up so he could pounce on her.
He deftly used the expense report receipt against her; after all, if they’d consumed three bottles of saki, how could she remember exactly what happened?
Juliet said she accepted the job at Brash & Sassy because she needed money; this caused Michael to comment with a knowing sigh, “Yeah, the money — it always seems to come back to that…” in an attempt to portray Juliet as someone seeking a quick payday — not justice.
Let’s Go To The Tape!
Leslie’s high level of confidence made more sense to viewers as she introduced the videotape of Juliet exiting Cane’s room early in the morning. It caused Lily to bolt with Cane fast behind her, leaving a satisfied Leslie and her client clearly in the driver’s seat.
It’s too bad we don’t see as many courtroom dramas on soaps like we used to, but perhaps the terrific performances given by Conwell and LeBlanc will change that.
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