Jeanmarie approached playing Vincent through his abuse as a child by his grandfather Alistair Crane, interpreting him as a character constantly searching for acceptance.

Sheraton Kalouria, senior vice president of NBC's daytime programming,[1] described the show's use of color-blind casting as part of an effort to build a diverse pool of characters that best reflected the various ethnic and racial groups living in the United States.

In a retrospective interview, he praised the soap's creator and head writer James E. Reilly for taking risks through writing an intersex villain while remaining true to his "tongue-in-cheek approach to his storytelling".

[6] When discussing her approach to portray Valerie Davis, Duplaix stated that she was unaware that her character was secretly Vincent's split personality.

Echoing Jeanmarie's comments, the actress confirmed that the show's cast were purposefully kept unaware of their characters' future storylines until they were given the final copies of the scripts.

He described Vincent as "horribly scarred" from the abuse by his grandfather Alistair Crane, opining that his criminal and immoral behavior was intended to repress his desire for acceptance.

Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens described Vincent's storyline as the "Blackmailer" as consisting of a "reign of terror [that] dominated the last few years of the series".

While discussing the filming of the scenes in which Vincent gives birth to his father's child, Ross said she felt "physically nauseous" and could only complete them after the show's acting coach, Maria O'Brien, convinced her of "[their] comedic possibilities".

[10] Kim Johnston Ulrich, who played Ivy Winthrop, said she was confused by Vincent's story arcs even though she was a fan of the series' supernatural elements.

[13] In the series, Alistair does not order for Vincent's death, and instead kidnaps him as an infant to abuse him and turn him into a tool for his schemes to maintain control over the fictional town of Harmony.

As the storyline progresses, Vincent begins to harbor an obsession with Theresa's love interest Ethan Winthrop and blackmails Judge JE Reilly into sentencing Luis to death by lethal injection.

In February 2007, Vincent is revealed to have been engaging in an incestuous and adulterous affair with Chad, which was cited as starting prior to the show's storyline in Rome in the summer of 2006.

Despite Julian's insistence that they protect their son and the Crane name, Eve tells the police that Vincent is the "Blackmailer" and Luis is set free moments before his execution.

Ira Madison III of BuzzFeed noted the similarities between Vincent and Pretty Little Liars' Charlotte DiLaurentis, who was revealed to be a transgender woman who dated her own brother and operated under the disguise A.

[15] The reveal that Vincent was the "Blackmailer", Eve and Julian's son, and Valerie was cited as one of Passions' biggest twists by a writer from Soap Opera Digest.

During the show's season five premiere, Divins made a cameo appearance on The Soup to explain that he was not his character and was neither gay nor having sex with transsexuals.

Some felt the scenes between Chad and Vincent were "appalling" and inappropriate for daytime television, while one viewer praised the soap opera for "continu[ing] their outstanding jobs as they teach the people of today's world about daily life experiences".

Giddens praised Jeanmarie for portraying Vincent as a believable character despite the sensationalism of his story arcs; he wrote: "If anyone on that show could have won an Emmy it was him.

[20] The plotline was praised by a writer from Soaps.com for reflecting the show's "unique perspective and zest for controversy" while challenging the "often too safe and predictable world of soaps".

[18] NewNowNext.com's Brent Hartinger approved of the story arc and felt that it increased the presence of LGBT people of color on daytime television.

Perigard argued that Rae Thomas' death was timed alongside the reveal of Chad's affair with a man as a means to reduce the number of gay characters on the show.