The Corinthos Family
Key Scene: On the Beach
February 27, 2001

I thought the scenes at the church, from Sonny's rejection to his prayer to the vows, would be the "pay off" of this story arc, but I was wrong. These quiet scenes on the beach were my absolute favorite, and no matter what happens to these two after this (from recasts to a plotline I haven't seen yet, behind as I am, but already don't like), these scenes will always be the ones that matter most for me in the life of this couple.

Carly: "Did it occur to you to leave me a note?"
Sonny: "I didn't think you'd wake up."
Carly: "It's my wedding night. I notice when my husband disappears. Thought maybe it was just all too much for you."
Sonny: "I didn't come to this island planning to marry you. I just--I need a little time to let it settle."
Carly: "All right. I'll meet you back at the room."
Sonny: "So that's it? You're just going to go back to bed?"
Carly: "Well, that's what you want, isn't it?"
Sonny: "Well, since when do you do what I want? You're probably going to go to that clump of trees, hide out, and watch me."
Carly: "What if I was?"
Sonny: "Well, if you're going to stay, you might as well sit."
Carly: "Didn't you come here to get away from me?"
Sonny: "We're married, Carly. I'll never get away from you."
Carly: "Are you sorry?"
Sonny: "I couldn't sleep. I wanted to, you know, look at the water, enjoy myself."
Carly: "No, I meant are you sorry because you married me again."
Sonny: "Oh. Come here. Get over here."
Sonny: "You wouldn't let me leave you. You pulled every dirty trick in the book, including accusing me of abandoning Michael, to get me to stay. You fought with everything you had to do this. You're doubting it--why?"
Carly: "Because I--I know what I have."
Sonny: "Yeah?"
Carly: "But I'm not sure about you. I mean, are you sitting out here thinking I'll never be the wife that Lily was, you'll never love me like you loved Brenda?"
Sonny: "Ok, wait. First of all, I never told Lily I loved her, and that's going to eat at me till I die. Brenda, I said it all the time, over and over again, but it was never enough. I can't compare them to you. I can't say that our life's going to be any better or worse. Losing Brenda and Lily made me who I am. I never thought I could love. But I was wrong. I have you."

Sonny: "I came down here with every intention of making you hate me."
Carly: "Well, you did a--did a fine job."
Sonny: "I didn't want to say those words. I asked Jason to do it for me, but he--you know, I wanted him to bring you home."
Carly: "And he didn't? I mean, he actually refused to do something for you?"
Sonny: "He said it was up to me."
Carly: "It's funny because, you know, Jason told me once that he would never, ever, under any circumstances, take my side over yours. But he did, so--I know I was right."
Sonny: "He knew we had to figure it out ourselves. All the way down here, I made up ways to hurt you. I thought back to every time I called you a whore and the look on your face, like a little kid who's been slapped. And every time I--I thought I had to say those words, it made me sick inside. But then when I would think of you dead, it was like nothing. It was like hurting you was the best gift I could give. When you walked back into that church, I almost left. I was halfway gone, and I remembered how you looked in the hospital when I woke up. You were crying, holding my hand. It hurt to breathe, and I didn't even know if I could talk. But I had to tell you, I needed you to understand, that I came back for you. And maybe--you know what? Maybe it would've been easier for both of us if I had died. But I couldn't. And as much as I couldn't leave the church. You're part of me."
Carly: "I want to tell you something, ok?"
Sonny: "Mm-hmm."
Carly: "I remember when I first met you. Your eyes were like black glass. They were hard. They were cold. They were like--like a mirror reflecting back at me the way that you saw me--as a slut, as a user, as somebody that was out to get whatever she could. But I knew--I knew you wanted me. And I used that every chance I got. But--and then, you know, one day, one afternoon, I showed up at the penthouse, and your eyes were not like glass anymore. They were like these deep, bottomless wells of pain. And it was like--it was like you were drowning and I couldn't save you and I couldn't--I couldn't help you, but I could listen. That's all I could do, and what I heard that day showed me who you are inside, and, sonny, you're beautiful. You have this light inside of you that you don't see because you walk around and you blame yourself for everything, but it's there. And what I heard and what I saw that day changed me. And I didn't even like you. But I knew then that being loved by you would be worth any risk--any risk. Baby, it is. You hear me?"

Carly: "I love the ocean."
Sonny: "Yep. Me, too."
Carly: "When I was--when I was younger, my mama, Virginia, she used to say that an afternoon at the beach took all her troubles away. She was a secretary. She'd come home from work sometimes, and we'd get into some big fight, usually because of something I'd done. And she'd just throw her hands up in the air, and she'd say, 'I can't deal with this anymore!' [Sonny laughs] 'Do you want to go to the beach?' And then I'd say sure. And then--so we'd go for an hour or two or three. We'd be happy."
Sonny: "My mom was a secretary."
Carly: "Uh-uh."
Sonny: "Yeah. She loved the sea. It was like--it reminded her of Cuba. Deke would never come with us because he couldn't swim. That was the kind of jerk he was. He--he wouldn't do anything unless it made him look good."
Carly: "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to remind you of Deke and that whole experience."
Sonny: "No, hey, hey, come on, you know? I'm thinking of my mom smiling and the sound of waves while you're on the beach in Florida not fighting with your mother for an hour or two."
Carly: "I just think we should always come back, ok? Doesn't have to be this spot. It can be the island or cape cod. Let's just always go back to the ocean if it ever gets to be tough, you know, or it gets really bad with us."
Sonny: "Just--just pick up, go to the water whenever we disagree?"
Carly: "Well, no, because then we'd have to live at the beach. [Sonny laughs] Look, I know marriage isn't going to be the answer to everything. I mean, a blessing from god is not going to change me into some person who's easy to live with any more than it's going to make you open and trusting. We're going to fight, you know. We're going to hurt each other because that's just the kind of people that we are. I'm just--just think that before it ever gets really bad and you throw me out or you let me walk away, promise me that we'll come to the ocean and we'll remember--we'll try--what it's like to be happy."
Sonny: "I promise."
Carly: "You do? Good."

Carly: "The sunrise is so gorgeous."
Sonny: "When I was alone, I'd watch the sun come up and had no idea how I was going to get through another day. But things changed when I brought you home."
Carly: "You were looking forward to seeing me?"
Sonny: "Hell, no. But at least I was interested. You know what? You gave me a reason for everything."
Carly: "You gave me more."

Back to Main Page of Review

Back to Front Page of Issue

Back to Top