Volume I, Issue ii

October 1998

The Floating Rib: When are the Dead Really Dead? by Arda Darakjian Clark

My neighbor Diane, an occasional viewer of General Hospital, leaned over the fence the other day and asked me, "Whatever happened to Brenda?" I told her that Brenda had died--that we had last seen her driving off a cliff into the ocean. We chatted a bit more, and when I mentioned that Brenda's body had never been found, she remarked, "Oh, then she'll probably be back from the dead."

Even occasional viewers know that soap opera characters who die don't always remain dead. Although Brenda is presumed dead, the possibility exists that she may well be alive. Should Vanessa Marcil wish to return to General Hospital, a story can be crafted relating how she had survived her drive off the cliff. Indeed, there is already speculation among some viewers of how Brenda's potential survival and return would be written. Similarly, although Robert and Anna Scorpio have been dead for several years, viewers continue to speculate that the Scorpios may return at any time, since their bodies, like Brenda's, were never found.

Death comes to soap characters, just as it does to real people. Unlike the finality of death in real life, however, there are levels of death in soap operas. I have identified four types of death in soap operas: permanent death, presumed death, purported death, and pseudo-death. Each of these types of death has a basis that may be extrinsic or intrinsic to the soap opera. An extrinsic basis may be the desire of an actor to leave a role, while an intrinsic basis may be bringing a terminal illness to its natural conclusion, or the elimination of no-longer-needed minor characters or villains.

Permanent Death: This is death as we commonly understand it. A character who has a permanent death is one who would never return alive. The character's death may have an extrinsic basis, such as the death or disability of the actor. Recent examples of this type of death have been the deaths of Steve Hardy and Mary Mae Ward, following the death of the actors John Beradino and Rosalind Cash. It is inconceivable that these two characters would ever return to the General Hospital canvas.

It is equally inconceivable that characters such as Stone Cates, or Dominique Baldwin, or B.J. Jones would return alive to the show. (The character of Dominique has appeared on Port Charles in dreams and visions.). Their deaths had significant impact on major characters and have had long-term influence in shaping storylines. Stone and Dominique had terminal illnesses that defined and illuminated their characters. B.J.'s character had its greatest impact when B.J. had her fatal accident. B.J.'s death had a horrific impact on her parents and the people who loved her, but it also had a bittersweet benefit to Maxie, who received B.J.'s heart as a transplant. These are deaths that may or may not have external motivation, but they clearly fulfill intrinsic storyline purposes.

Other deaths in this category would be the deaths of minor unsavory characters or villains. Examples would be Harlan Barrett, Joe Scully, Pierce Dorman, Hernando Rivera, the Tin Man, Phil Cusack, Harry Silver, and Sonny's and Jason's bodyguards.

Presumed Death: This is death that appears to be permanent but contains the potential that the character may not be dead after all. Typically, the character is in an accident that no one could reasonably have survived, and is therefore presumed to be dead. The body, however, is never found, or if a body is found, it is unrecognizable. The deaths of Brenda, Robert, and Anna would fall in this category, as would the deaths of Edward Quartermaine (found alive two years after his "death") and Laura Spencer (presumed drowned but abducted by the Cassadines). A presumed death is most likely to have an extrinsic basis. Usually, a presumed death accommodates an actor who quits a role but who keeps open an option to return.

Purported Death: This is the apparent death of a character whose death is mourned by others on the show but who is known to the audience to be alive. Examples would be the death of Luke Spencer in the avalanche and the recent purported deaths of Scott Baldwin and Lucy Coe on Port Charles. Such a death is clearly based on intrinsic motivation since the actors continue to portray the characters assumed dead by the other characters.

Pseudo-death: This is death that is staged by one or more characters and intended to dupe both the other characters and the audience. Recent examples would be the apparent deaths of Katherine Bell and Laura Spencer (in the "Twist of Fate" storyline). Although savvy viewers were not duped by Katherine's death, no strong clues were given to the audience that she was alive. Since the actors portraying a pseudo-death don't leave their roles, a pseudo-death has an intrinsic basis. It is purely a plot device, unrelated to the real life circumstances of the actors.

When an actor dies, the writers have little choice in having the character die, as well. But in all other cases, the death of a character represents a choice, wise or unwise, selected among other options that would explain the absence of a character. The departure of Vanessa Marcil necessitated a story that would remove Brenda from Port Charles. Some alternatives to death would have been Brenda taking a modeling job out of town, Brenda deciding to move out of town with her mother, or Brenda joining Sonny in his hide-out. I believe that none of the above choices would have been as satisfactory as the decision made to have her die. Although at one time Brenda planned to leave Port Charles with Sonny, the Brenda we last saw would not have left Jax and her friends in Port Charles. Moreover, unless Jax believes that Brenda is dead, he will be unable to move forward with other relationships. And once an actor leaves, the focus needs to shift to the characters left behind and what would work best for them.

By contrast to the wise choice of "killing Brenda off," the pseudo-death and subsequent resurrection of Katherine Bell were poor choices. It is unclear at this point what if any purpose her death has served. If the purpose was to separate her from Stefan (and to allow for a relationship to be explored between Stefan and Laura), there are other less extreme and more plausible measures that could have been employed. It is also unclear what motivated Helena to heal her back to life. More importantly, this incarnation of Katherine, seems no different than the previous one. Aside from the new Katherine's distrust of Stefan, there is no significant difference in her character that would justify the melodrama of her death and miraculous return. This is one character who should have stayed dead.

Laura's "Twist of Fate" death was another meaningless melodrama. Nothing was accomplished by her "death" since her being alive was soon revealed to the ones she was trying to dupe. And by faking death, she alienated the people who loved her, including her son Nikolas. On the other hand, her presumed drowning in 1981, created a two-year gap in her life which was subsequently and brilliantly explained as Laura's abduction by the Cassadines.

Death can provide powerful cathartic moments or it can be a cheap plot device. In writing their stories, soap opera writers, unlike novelists, are prompted not only by their imaginations but also by the real-life circumstances of the actors who portray their characters. The writers' success lies in their ability to blur the edges of an extrinsic factor and make it appear as though it was meant to be after all.