Soap Opera Digest, February 17, 2004:

After any given performance, Tamara Braun is a candidate for this column -- her portrayal of Carly, headstrong mobster's wife and dedicated mother, is never short of engaging. But recently, Braun has exposed a new side of her alter ego: one that is vulnerable and powerless.

After weeks of pushing her conflicting feeling about Alcazar aside, Carly finally snapped; she lost all control of thoughts, emotions, and actions, which ultimately pushed her to the psych ward. Braun had Carly teeter on the brink of insanity, and her delivery was a well-balanced mix of unpredictability and detachment. As erotic images of Alcazar invaded her mind, Carly cried to herself in anguish. "No! Go away! You are not real; I love my husband." Carly shook her head tightly closed her eyes, willing the hallucinations to disappear...but they didn't. Then, upon visiting a locked-away Alcazar, Carly released her sexuality. Braun's performance was raw and unabridged -- it was as if Carly were feeding an addiction she had tried desperately to suppress.

It was Alcazar who halted the proceedings before they could make love and forced a shaky and mentally spent Mrs. Corinthos into the arms of another man: Cameron. "Why can't you understand this? Why?" she demanded of the psychiatrist. "I am out of control. I promise that I won't go to Alcazar, but I can't stop myself. Please, Dr. Lewis, you have to lock me up. Because otherwise, I'm going to lose everything."

While we're used to watching and enjoying Carly handle anything that comes her way, Braun showed us that not even the strength of a heroine can handle the madness of the mind.




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