Quick Takes
The Sonny Side of the Street
by Joan Roseman
I admit it, I just love to see Maurice Benard smile.
As a fan of Carly I am of course delighted that Sonny and Carly have told
each other they love each other, and that there is no reason now for either of
them to hang back or dissemble. I'm happy that both of them are in a place, however
short it may be, where they each feel secure and content to enjoy each other.
It's what Carly has never had, and, strangely enough, I believe it's the same
for Sonny.
Now before the legions of Sonny and Brenda fans rise up and smite me, I do
not contest that they loved each other. But I always felt, then and now, that
it was a sick kind of love, obsessive on both sides with practically zero joy
involved. Passion? You bet. But quiet enjoyment or simple pleasure? Practically
none. For all her faults, and they are too many to list here, Carly "gets" Sonny.
Even when he frustrates her, she always knows who he is and loves him for whatever
that may mean. And Sonny feels comfortable with Carly--even when she drives him
batty--in a way he never allowed himself to be with Brenda or Hannah. In fact,
in a strange, turbulent way, his feeling of comfort with Carly comes close to
the peace he felt with Lily.
It was a pleasure to see Sonny truly at ease. Lying in a hospital bed, hooked
up to monitors and mere hours away from a near death experience, he was a happy,
happy man. He wasn't concealing, he wasn't holding back, he wasn't standing apart
and observing his life. He was loving and living and flat-out filled with joy.
And his beautiful, too-seldom-seen smile said it all. I love that, whatever comes.
And I'm thrilled the smiles and the smooches are directed at my girl.
It Takes a Village
by Amy McWilliams
I've been behind in my General Hospital viewing, due to the same busy semester
that has me behind on "GH in Review." At the time this issue goes on-line, I'm
watching episodes from mid-December, just around Ned and Alexis's would-be wedding.
I've really enjoyed the month of December, and definitely more than November sweeps.
It's not just the "big events": the wedding, the shooting. It's also not the fact
that the teens haven't been dominating the airwaves every day--though that helps.
There are still storylines that bore me, repetition that irritates me, and characters
I think are wasted or overused.
When I put my finger down on the thing that's making me enjoy these episodes
most, it's the integration between characters. We've harped on this before; we
don't like it when people who are supposed to know each other, who have a history
together, never see each other. We also don't like it when the characters only
ever interact with their romantic partner or other family members. "Where are
the friendships?" we cry, "Where are the scenes between X and Y that we've been
dying to see?"
I love that Alexis has turned to Sonny as her confidant and grudgingly admited
that she's fond of him. I adore the scenes with Laura and Carly, Laura and Edward,
Laura and Scotty. Zander Smith is a godsend, not only because Chad Brannon is
so good, but because a myriad of peope have come to visit him; his story draws
characters from different threads of the canvas back togehter. The teens are less
isolated because of him, and because of their getting jobs: Liz and Deception,
Gia at AJ's football team. The Quartermaines and the Cassadines have been drawn
into a storyline together by Ned and Alexis--and Chloe--and I love it. And the
Cassadines themselves have been brought back under the same roof, as it were,
and are interacting as a family, as it should be.
December may be known as a slow time, due to the holidays, actors' vacations,
and post-sweeps let down, but it's interesting to note how many times the month
just after sweeps--the month that capitalizes on sweeps--floats my boat more than
sweeps itself. This time around, it's because of the integration. Now if only
we could get Luke involved in a story beyond the boundaries of his two blondes,
I'd be happy.
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