I have been really enjoying the Sonny/Carly scenes of late, and have forgiven Guza the "big event" that brought them together. I admit it--I was skeptical about this relationship, given what I felt was the contrived nature of their initial coming together. I hated just about everything surrounding Jason's exit from the show, and I hated the "Sonny and Carly fall into bed" twist in particular. Now, I love the way things have played out. A pregnant Carly has a reason to develop a relationship with Sonny, and Sonny has a reason to make an effort to get to know and appreciate a pregnant Carly.

The small thing to which I refer is not, however, the tiny Car-son-ette. It is instead the hysterical way Sonny and Carly frequently imitate one another in small ways. At Sonny's casino, Carly did a dead-on impersonation of her host, complete with hand gestures. Sonny has returned the favor from time to time. While Sonny most often imitates Carly's speech, using expressions she uses, Carly usually imitates Sonny's mannerisms. Sarah Brown's Carly can, and does, do the patented Sonny shoulder shrug, the crossed-arms pose, and the head cock.

Some GH fans (including at least one GHR editor) have complained that this mimicking of one another is distracting, and consider it a matter of Sarah Brown imitating Maurice Benard and vice versa. I disagree. To me, it is clear that the characters, not just the actors, are the ones doing the mirroring. It is a part of their growing camaraderie, in many cases a way of flirting. I myself have often teased friends and family members in similar fashion, gently mocking a catch phrase someone uses all the time or a distinctive gesture.

Sonny is used to intimidating people, even the women in his life. Carly reacts to him differently than anyone else ever has. She goes toe-to-toe with him, and bursts his brooding bubble with her willingness to poke fun at his larger-than-life persona. When Sonny parrots Carly's expressions, I see it as a way of showing her that he is paying attention to her, even when he sounds dismissive. Attention is something the affection-starved Carly craves. Sonny lets her know that the things she says are registering with him. She often said that only Jason knew the real her, that only around Jason could she be her authentic self. Now she is learning that Sonny notices the things that make her unique as well, and that he appreciates her more than either of them ever anticipated was possible.

There is a certain teenage silliness to the playful way they imitate one another, to be sure. That's part of its charm for me. Carly and Sonny have both been such drama-soaked characters. They have suffered much, and brought most of the travails on themselves, either directly or indirectly. Both have seen loved ones suffer and even die as a result of their actions. Both have tremendous emotional scars and a high level of self-loathing. Both are pariahs of sorts, accustomed to verbal attacks from otherwise decorous Port Charles citizens whenever they go out in public (and sometimes even when they are at home in the penthouse minding their own business!). On his birthday, Sonny had only to walk across the dining room at the Port Charles Grille to become the target of venomous remarks from both Edward and Alan. Even Audrey Hardy does nothing to try to mask her disdain for the criminal Mr. Corinthos. Carly has been the recipient of even more insulting remarks and petty slights; the wedding shower where all the guests save one brought presents for Michael rather than her (and the sole exception, Emily, insulted her openly with rude remarks while gifting her with a negligee) stands out in my mind. I would not argue that these characters have done nothing to inspire the harsh feelings some feel toward them. Still, from their perspective, it must be draining to be reminded constantly that public opinion is not favorable toward them and that most folks assume the worst of them.

In this atmosphere, it is refreshing to see the pair carve out a private space where they can share a playful side to their natures, where they can revel in having a kindred soul with whom to connect. What would be an insult from anyone else--throwing someone's words or gestures back in his or her face--has become a form of endearment between these two. When Sonny teasingly imitates Carly's whine, it has the slightest of edges to it, but it also shows her that he is listening to her specifically, not simply responding to her as a generic "woman" in his life, lumped in with all the other women he has known. When Carly mocks his imperious tone, she is letting him know that he does not need to put up such a macho front because she can see through it anyway.

Maurice Bernard and Sarah Brown do seem to be enjoying their scenes immensely. However, I remain convinced that the impersonations that Carly and Sonny have been swapping lately are signs that the characters, not just the actors, enjoy one another's company.

A Small Thing I Don't Like:

I am not philosophically opposed to recasts. I accept some with equanimity--Tom Hardy springs to mind. Others I adamantly opposed--I never warmed to the new Justus, and did not miss him when he disappeared from our screens. The news that GH was recasting Lucky did not bother me, since it seemed a logical move, given the corner GH painted themselves into by showing us that Lucky did indeed survive the fire. I did not have strong feelings one way or the other about NuLucky; I only prayed whoever filled the role would be able to act.

I have been pleasantly surprised at how well NuLucky has worked out so far. The actor seems to be doing a fine job. We have been given time to adjust to a new actor in the role as Lucky was slowly reintroduced. First we just caught glimpses of Helena's captive, but did not hear him speak. Then we had scenes in which he interacted with Helena. His scenes gradually grew longer, and we heard more and more from this young man. Now he's back in Port Charles and we have seen him talk to his little sister and to Mike. (I am writing this on the weekend after he and Elizabeth came face to face on the dock, so I don't know if he will wind up talking to her or if he will run off, as he did with Luke and Laura.)

This was a good way to help viewers adjust to the new Lucky. A lot of the differences between Lucky before captivity and Lucky after can be ascribed to changes the character underwent while being held, rather than simply to the fact that a different actor is portraying him. This Lucky is quieter, more thoughtful and circumspect. Old Lucky was a lot like his father--fast-talking, quick to act, a little hotheaded, instinctual. Truth be told, this Lucky acts more like Stefan--watchful and contemplative, always thinking three moves ahead before he acts. I use a chess metaphor deliberately. When Faison first started using chess as a way for Lucky to earn information, I found it an odd choice. Lucky did not strike me as a chess player; he didn't have the patience. Now, however, he is an accomplished chess player, and he seems to have a chess player's temperament, as does Stefan. He has acquired patience over the past year.

So, if I'm satisfied with the recast, what small thing am I going to complain about? The reshooting of old Lucky/Elizabeth scenes to replay in flashbacks, that's what. First we had the scene of Lucky bringing Elizabeth gifts from Canada, then we had the memorable scene where Elizabeth asked Lucky to kiss her. I fail to see the reason for having Jacob Young re-shoot these scenes that Jonathan Jackson did originally. It complete undercuts the whole point of having the character off-stage so long before he was reintroduced. Also, as my editor-in-chief has reminded me, several characters have spoken about how Lucky will have changed and grown during his absence. One scene in particular stands out: after the audience had seen Lucky but before Laura had learned he was still alive, we saw her growing tearful during a conversation with Elizabeth at the hospital as she noted how quickly the young girl was growing up and wondered aloud how different Lucky would look by now if he had not died. Why undercut the value of having characters comment that Lucky would undoubtedly look different now by then giving us flashbacks with NuLucky in them that show, gee, what do you know, he looks basically the same?

More importantly, this muddles the establishment of NuLucky as a changed young man, by showing us NuLucky in OriginalLucky scenes. Let me explain. The kissing scene was, when originally shown, an outstanding scene precisely because of the qualities Jonathan Jackson brought to the role. There was an air of young innocence to Jonathan Jackson's Lucky, and he played that scene in a way that neatly balanced Lucky's desire to kiss Elizabeth and his awkwardness given the situation. Lucky was achingly young and sincere at that point in his life. There was a certain playful sarcasm to his words, to be sure, but it was mixed with a wealth of other notes.

Young's Lucky seems older and less, for want of a better word, virginal, and these qualities carried over, despite the actor's best efforts, into the flashbacks. In the flashback of the "kiss me" scene, Lucky seemed more sure of himself, more teasing and less flustered than the original scene played. It was very subtle, to be sure, but there were differences between this Lucky and the original, and it showed. Suddenly, we were reminded that Lucky was not merely a year older and deeply changed by the ordeal to which he had been subjected, but that he was being played by a different actor. The suspension of our disbelief was disturbed, in my opinion. I was reminded that this was an actor playing a role, by being confronted with him doing a scene I still clearly remember another actor doing previously.

I really did not see any reason to give us these flashbacks. Luke and Laura spoke, during their pursuit of Lucky, of scenes from their earlier adventures in such a way as to evoke them vividly for those of us who saw them first time around without needing an actual visual image from the past, thus neatly keeping us rooted in the present while recalling the past. When Luke spoke fondly of young Laura in her sarong, it brought it all back for me; if we had actually seen a flash of a teenage Genie Francis with a flower in her hair, the emphasis would have shifted from the fact that Luke remembered that summer with a smile. We could just as easily have had Elizabeth reminisce about the time she asked Lucky to kiss her without seeing the scene for ourselves. Earlier in the same episode, in fact, she described for Nikolas the first time she laid eyes on Lucky, outside Kelly's diner when she stepped outside to smoke. There was no flashback, and the reminiscing was far more effective for its absence.

Perhaps GH writers felt a flashback was necessary because Elizabeth was sitting alone on the bench, and there was therefore no one to whom she could relate her memories. Even so, it could have been done without giving us a complete recreation of the scene with the new actor. Couldn't they have at least have taken a minimalist approach? We could have seen a glimpse of NuLucky partially obscured, shot from the side or back, and then focused on Elizabeth herself in flashback, hearing a brief line or two from her side of the scene, perhaps her initial statement about wanting to feel normal again by doing something she was afraid of, like kissing a boy.

By the way, these awkward flashbacks make me appreciate even more the far-more-effective use of flashbacks we have had in the Bobbie/Roy story. True, A Martinez bears an uncanny similarity to the original actor, so it was possible to use the original footage of the shooting. Early in the reintroduction, however, we also got glimpses of a young Bobbie expressing her delight at the engagement ring a young Roy had given her, and in that scene, we see the back of Roy's head but do not hear any dialogue from him. That's the way to use a flashback when the actor has changed, in my opinion.

A Small Thing I'd Like to See:

It struck me one day, as Carly was calling for yet another cab to pick her up at the Quartermaine mansion (okay, this was some time ago), that I would love to see her actually riding in a cab. Remember the scene when the driver of the limousine in which a kidnapped Bobbie sat waiting to be freed turned around and, to Bobbie's surprised relief, it was Roy? I would love to someday see a cab driver turn around to speak to Carly and see, to my delight, that he is none other than our old pal Slick. Long-time viewers must remember Slick, the sartorially-challenged cabbie who was once a close friend of Uncle Luke. I would love for Carly to meet Slick, and for Slick to meet her.

GH has a long tradition of colorful, humorous minor characters, and I have missed them in recent years. Yes, we have Reginald, and I am pleased that he has a love life with Leticia, although I do wish she were fleshed out into a more entertaining character in her own right, comparable to our beloved butler. Claude the bartender has the potential to be such a character, if we saw just a bit more of him. While he is the butt of comedy--Luke's running gag about firing Claude--he does not supply much comic relief himself, though I suspect that could change. Otherwise, there is a real scarcity of such slightly eccentric characters.

There are plenty of back-burner characters (just ask our own Judy)--Lesley, Amy, Audrey, Dara, Mike, Tammy, etc., etc. They do not fit my vision of "colorful," however, nor, with the exception of Amy, are they primarily used to supply humor. Andreas and Mrs. Lansbury are distinctive minor characters, as opposed to backburnered regulars, but they are not particularly funny characters, either. What is lacking lately are deliciously eccentric minor characters who add color to the GH canvas and set it apart from other soaps. I would love to see Madame Delphina try to convince Chloe Morgan to make designs for Delphina's Dress Shop, for example, or Officer Rick administer a Breathalizer test to AJ.

V and Simon fit the mold perfectly, but they are off exploring the wide world. I miss them. Wouldn't it have been wonderful if Luke and his ladies had bumped into them somewhere during the recent globe-spanning quest for Lucky? Or if Jax and Chloe had discovered them traipsing around St. Petersburg? Who knows where that cruise around the world might take the pair? I can see it now: Laura, having left Stefan in the capacious closet on the "Haunted Star," told him she would call the authorities to let him out once she and Luke were safely away. It would have been a fun twist to have her signal a passing cruise ship instead, one that just happened to include Simon and V among the passengers. How I would have loved to hear V yelp, "Mr. Cassadine?" as Stefan was brought aboard.

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