AMC
Character Descriptions
Krystal Carey Chandler
PLAYED BY: Bobbie Eakes (December 12, 2003 - present)
Krystal first appeared in Pine Valley in late 2003 when Tad made a trip out
to Texas to try to find some background information on
Babe Carey, J.R. Chandler’s new wife. Tad found Babe’s mother, Krystal, and
urged her to join him in Pine Valley to be a part of Babe and J.R.’s
life. Although her real name is Hazel, Krystal took on her alias because she
loved Dynasty so much.
Krystal moved into the Chandler mansion with her
daughter and son-in-law, but her down-home ways and attitude caused no end
of irritation and confrontation with J.R.'s very rich father Adam Chandler.
Krystal soon discovered that when her daughter first arrived in town she slept
with J.R.’s stepbrother, Jamie, and was pregnant. Babe was not sure who the
father of her child was. In addition, Krystal found out that Babe had previously
been
married to Paul Cramer and had not completed the annulment proceedings;
therefore, she was still legally wed to him. This was a fact that they did not
share with J.R., of course.
During a storm in the early spring of 2004, Babe and a pregnant Bianca
Montgomery were stranded in a remote mountain cabin where both delivered their
babies (a boy to Babe and a girl to Bianca). When the emergency medical
teams were dispatched to rescue the women and babies, Paul Cramer was part of
the team. Taking advantage of the situation, Paul stole Babe’s son and presented
him to his troubled sister in Llanview, so she could pass him off as Kevin
Buchanan's son, Ace. After his helicopter crashed, Paul made everyone believe
that the baby boy on board was dead. Feeling pressure from J.R., he gave
Bianca's little girl to the Chandlers who named her Bess. A few weeks later,
Krystal was the first to realize that Babe's "daughter" was really Miranda. Tad
voiced a similar suspicion and decided to do a DNA test to find out the
truth. Seeing Babe's deep love for her baby doll, Krystal switched the DNA test
labels. When the test results came back, Tad told Krystal that they proved that
Bess was indeed Babe's daughter. Only Krystal knew the truth, but she loved Babe
so much that she didn't want her to experience the grief of losing a child, so
she kept quiet and privately mourned her grandson. Although she felt guilty for
allowing Bianca to think that her daughter had died, Krystal was comforted by
Babe's determination to have Bianca in Bess's life. After Babe's union with Paul
was legally severed, she and J.R. decided to have an official wedding ceremony
since their first marriage was invalid. The night before the wedding, Babe
learned Krystal's secret and grieved for her dead child. Babe couldn't face the
possibility of telling J.R. that their child was dead and take away Bess, whom
J.R. loved so deeply. Wracked with guilt, Babe chose her husband over Bianca
and kept up the ruse that Bess was really her daughter.
Krystal began dating Tad and found herself falling in love with him. Her own
guilt and fear that Tad would discover the secret prevented Krystal from getting
too close to him. Tad began to wonder why Krystal was pulling away and asked if
she was hiding something. Secrets are in short supply in Pine Valley, and others
began to suspect that things were less than legitimate. Dr. David Hayward was
one of those suspicious people. In an attempt to guarantee his silence, Krystal
told David that they’d had a drunken one-night stand during which she conceived
Babe. Krystal was frightened when David proposed a DNA test to determine the
truth of her allegations, but her fear was short-lived as the DNA test proved
her lie to be the truth. Though initially stunned by this information, Krystal
accepted David as Babe’s father. David, who was close with Bianca, was forced to
decide whether to tell Bianca the truth and send his own daughter to prison or
protect Babe. While David was grappling with his quandary, Babe almost died from
a drug overdose. Hoping to gain sole custody of Bess, J.R. drugged Babe's drink
to get her to sleep with Jamie and thus prove her an unfit mother. Babe refused
to accept that her husband hated her, despite everyone telling her
otherwise. While working together to find out J.R.'s true intentions, David and
Krystal grew closer; a new bond formed between them now that they shared a
daughter.
Eventually, Babe came to accept that J.R. didn't love her and prepared to
tell Bianca the truth about Miranda. Krystal supported Babe but steeled herself
for Tad's wrath. Tad proposed to Krystal, but she didn't give him an answer,
knowing the truth about Miranda would answer for her. Krystal was shocked when
Babe didn't immediately tell Bianca the truth but privately revealed to her
mother and David that her son was alive. When Babe met little Ace Buchanan, she
immediately felt a maternal connection with him. After learning that he was
born on the same day as her own son, she persuaded David to covertly run a DNA
test. This also revealed that J.R. was the father of the baby, not Jamie, as
Babe had hoped. Babe decided to kidnap Ace and go into hiding with Jamie Martin,
renaming the baby James. Krystal knew all about this and kept the information
under wraps. When Tad learned the truth about the baby switch, he blasted
Krystal for keeping the secret for so long, but he kept silent to protect his
son. A guilt-ridden Krystal accepted Tad's cold treatment as just punishment.
Learning that Babe was planning on telling Bianca the truth at a charity concert
in Florida, David and Krystal hurried there fearing that J.R. was going to cause
trouble. Ready to live a life on the run, Babe said a tearful goodbye to
Krystal, the two knowing full well they might not see each other for years.
David comforted Krystal and made his romantic intentions known. Krystal rebuffed
him but remained grateful for his support.
When it was discovered that Babe had her son and the baby that she had been
raising was Bianca’s daughter, Miranda, legal charges were threatened against
her, but she was determined to fight for custody of her son. Krystal supported
her and told Tad that she was prepared to offer a deal to the DA: She'd take a
jail sentence in exchange for the charges against Babe and David. Moved by
Krystal's willingness to sacrifice herself for her daughter, Tad told her that
he had judged her too harshly, for he had also made poor choices and hurt people
to protect his son. The two kissed, the feelings between them very much
alive. While in prison, Krystal met Di Kirby, Dixie’s half-sister. To shorten
her mother's sentence, Babe proposed to Adam that in return for getting Krystal
out of jail, they would help him get “the goods” on Di who was posing as Dixie.
After a ‘white lightning’ soaked evening in Crow Hollow, WV, to get the truth
about Di, Krystal and Adam married in what turned out to be a bogus wedding
ceremony. Krystal refused to grant Adam a divorce, seeing her position in the
house as an easy way for Babe to spend more time with her son, and she was
pleasantly surprised when she learned that she’d acquired half of Chandler
Enterprises. This set Adam and Krystal at war with each other, neither one of
them willing to admit the attraction and true feelings that simmered below the
surface of their marriage. Krystal spent a fateful night comforting Tad who was
distraught at being unable to find his 4-year-old daughter, with Dixie, and she
became pregnant. Wanting to preserve her then happy union with Adam, Krystal let
him believe her baby was his. Krystal's
relationship with her husband soured after he discovered that Tad Martin was
her baby's father, but she wouldn't give up on him, hoping for forgiveness. Her
final decision to leave Adam was made after he left her helpless on the floor
while in labor during a severe storm which delayed help. With only Colby's help,
Krystal gave birth to a baby girl and was then was taken to the hospital where a
nurses' strike made it easy for Adam to kidnap Jenny and hand her to nutty Janet
Dillon. Adam arranged for a couple to adopt the baby, but Janet ran off with her
and eventually returned her to her grateful
family.
After washing her hands of Adam Chandler, Krystal used the money from the
sale of her jewelry to open up a new bar in Pine Valley called, appropriately
enough, The Comeback. Krystal moved into a condo with her baby daughter; her
stepdaughter Colby; her daughter, Babe; her grandson Little Adam, who splits his
time between his mother and his father, J.R. Chandler; and the Chandler maid,
Winifred.
Krystal briefly dated Derek Frye but then decided to accept Tad's invitation
to buy a big house and live with him, so they could parent their child
together. Krystal, however, cannot stop caring about Adam and worries about his
health now that his whole family has abandoned him.
Proofread by Laura on 2/2/11
Back to the Main AMC Characters Page
Back to the Main
All My Children
Page
Updated 2/2/11
   
    
|
