Sex, Love and Betrayal

While the seeds of a Sonny/Carly union were planted during Sonny's last depressive episode, when Carly stayed with him until Jason arrived to take over, it was unthinkable that these two would ever have more than an extremely reserved "understanding" of the other. Sonny never concealed his instinctual hatred of Carly, and took every opportunity to vilify her, to her face and to Jason, odd behavior for a man who treats his real enemies with more respect. But his behavior was not so odd when we consider Sonny's self-hatred. Sonny tells her, after Jason has discovered they've slept together, "You're a two-bit tramp. And I'm worse than you are--a trap door that leads to a black hole." For Sonny, Carly's crimes are that she is just like him, a damaged soul who damages anyone who comes close, and worse, she never blames herself for the damage she causes. Carly first accuses Sonny of "setting her up" for Jason to discover them, though she initiated the sexual encounter, and then vows that she will get Jason to forget about their betrayal, that it was "nothing." Sonny replies: "Kid yourself, sweetheart, but don't try to kid me." Sonny sees through Carly's every lie and manipulation and calls her on them every time.

Carly's hatred of Sonny had more to do with the piece of Jason's heart that Sonny held; in short, she always wanted Jason's undivided attention and Sonny thwarted that wish at every turn. It didn't help that Sonny's sole mission was to rub Carly's face in every mess she ever made. But while Carly doesn't have such a clear vision of Sonny, she does have moments of insight, especially when forced to really see him. She's able to make connections between what he has suffered and who he is today. She saw his humanity during his depression and again when she realized the full extent of his panic on the elevator. Both times she reacted with her mothering instincts, trying to calm his fears. But, eventually, in true Carly fashion, she later tried to use both episodes to manipulate Sonny into giving her what she wanted.

So how is that these two would end up in bed, betraying the best friend they ever had? Ironically enough, for the very same reason: both of them misunderstood scenes they had witnessed earlier in the evening involving their loved ones. While Sonny had been living with Hannah for some time, living with the knowledge of her betrayal, that she was an F.B.I. mole, what rankled him the most was seeing her hand on Taggert's shoulder. What was simply a gesture of friendship on Hannah's part was misconstrued as a sexual overture in Sonny's view and he immediately announced to Jason that he was kicking her out that night. Likewise, Carly went from having a particularly nasty fight with A.J. to finding Jason dancing with Elizabeth at Kelly's, another gesture of friendship misconstrued.

When Carly went to Sonny to find out what was going on between Jason and Elizabeth, she walked into an already burning house. Sonny was waiting for Hannah to return so he could expose her. Carly's entrance provided the perfect opportunity for him to unleash the wrath that had been simmering for weeks. What starts out as a typical taunting match between the two, throwing past sins at each other, ends up becoming an opportunity for both to expose the other, but ultimately they end up exposing themselves. Carly initiates the sexual banter, falling back on her natural instinct to use her sexuality when she feels the balance of power is out of her hands. She wants to show Sonny that he is just a man after all, lusting after his best friend's girl. Sonny takes the bait, saying he wants to show Jason who Carly really is and thus set Jason "free." What is painfully clear, though, is that both are operating out of desperation, diving recklessly at each other to salve the pain of their own damaged lives.

Mothers and Others

The original source of their pain has been well documented on the show, and clearly falls on the nurture side of the nature vs. nurture question. They've both been shaped by what was missing in their childhood. Both have abandonment issues, Sonny by his father and Carly by her birth mother and adoptive father. Perhaps less apparent is the emotional abandonment that both suffered: Sonny's mother failed to protect him from the abuse of his stepfather. How could she remain with a man who continually beat her only son? Sonny has long had a less than desirable view of women, which is almost always cast in a Madonna/Whore light, a dichotomy that, interestingly enough, has both his mother and Carly fitting easily on each side of the divider. After all, how could his mother continue sleeping with her son's abuser? During her "seduction" of Sonny, even Carly understands this flaw in his thinking, though her observation doesn't quite hit the mark exactly: "You hate it that you want a woman because we're so inferior, we're so untrustworthy, except those little angelic beauties like your mother, like Lily or Hannah--whoever else, right?" Likewise, Carly is both a mother and whore, but that Sonny is finally able to reconcile the two images of Carly into one-that she is simply Carly, flaws and all-shows how much their emerging relationship has changed Sonny in just a short time. In a very telling exchange, he debunks the ideal "goodness" of his mother that he has always carried and recognizes the very real traits that make Carly a good mother:

Sonny: This is going to work out ok--you and I being parents and--you're a hell of a fighter and a kid needs that in a mother.
Carly: Ah, it's in the genes--Bobbie's.
Sonny: Well, be glad for that. I loved my mother, but she wasn't very strong. You seem to be somebody who will--not let anybody hurt their children.

That Carly gives credit for her good mothering instincts to Bobbie shows how far she's come in reconciling some of the pain associated with being adopted out by her birth mother. But Carly still exhibits the learned mothering instincts of her adoptive mother, which is to use her child as a way to solve her problems. Carly is well aware that she was adopted to help save the marriage of her adoptive parents, a plan that failed miserably and left her adoptive mother an emotional wreck. The emotional negligence in Carly's upbringing is apparent in Carly's general view that she always needs a man to take care of her. Save for the few months it took to establish herself in Port Charles, Carly has never been without a man to prop her up. Her attempt to leave Sonny and strike out on her own with Michael was laughable because it was obvious that she had no intention of making a go of it. She was simply trying to get Sonny to beg for her to stay.

Sonny and Carly's damaged personalities actually complement each other very well, and as they glimpse into each other's lives, they are drawn closer to each other. It's apparent that their upbringing has caused them to be distrustful of themselves and others. It is an issue that resonates loudly in both of their lives. Sonny's relationships with Brenda, Lily and Hannah hinged on trust alone. Perhaps because of this, he is able to point out to Carly that he thinks she's been "running scared" all her life. In a rare moment of insight and honesty, Carly is stunned, and admits that "I've often thought about what it would be like if I stopped in my tracks and I, you know, decided to trust someone." While they are both burdened with this inherent distrust of others when it comes to matters of the heart, the process of pulling together "for the children" into a family has pushed them both into becoming the parents they both desperately needed as children. Sonny says, "We're trying to build something here. I have, you know, a home for Michael and the baby, something different than we had when we were growing up." And later, in a wonderful, lighthearted and ironic juxtaposition of scenes, we see them separately counseling Juan and Emily about love and sex:

Carly: ...it's more than not being able to keep your hands off each other. It's also friendship and commitment. And ultimately, it's about trust.
Sonny: The most important element in love is trust. And, in my experience, the most elusive. Trust is the jackpot. When you got that, you got everything.
Carly: Huh?

Here we get a glimpse into Sonny and Carly as parents of older children, and it seems rather accurate. Sonny commands respect from Juan, who already sees him as a father figure, while Carly is ridiculed and laughed at by Emily, causing Carly to finally just blow up and call her a "little brat." Carly clearly has a lot further to go than Sonny, but that's understandable considering she has not had the range of experience that Sonny has. As Sonny tells Juan, "Once you open your heart, you can't protect it from breaking." Sonny has learned first hand the truth of this statement, and he continues to risk heartbreak as evidenced by his purposeful relationship with Hannah. Carly has never opened her heart to anyone, not even Jason. If she had, she wouldn't have felt the need to marry A.J.. Her lack of trust in herself and Jason, and her inability to be open and honest with those she loves has kept her from knowing what Sonny knows: love is worth the risk.

Redemption

Is it possible for the two most-hated residents of Port Charles to gain redemption by opening themselves up to each other? I find this the most intriguing promise of this storyline. I'll even go as far to say that Sonny and Carly are a perfect match, because while Sonny has a clear view of Carly's faults, Carly, when forced to consider Sonny, usually sees his value. Perfect complements since Carly can't see her own faults or Sonny his own value. Likewise, they either have or have experienced what the other most wants: Carly has a child but has never known true love, while Sonny has had a good brush with love, but has never been granted a child. Sonny even acknowledges that they're a good match when he tells Carly "You hold grudges. I hold grudges...but we cancel each other out. Two negatives make a positive. It's scientific fact. You know what I mean?" Together they could help heal each other in ways their previous partners couldn't, simply because there is a better understanding of what the other has suffered.

If Sonny and Carly are able to grieve the loss of their child together, to be a family despite that loss, then it could spell the end of what many residents of Port Charles (and a few viewers) would call their Reign of Terror. There is no doubt that both have a long history of destroying those who get too close to them, but what will happen when the person getting close is almost a mirror image? Already we see the signs of change. When Carly learned of Sonny's abuse as child and his ambivalent feelings about his birthday, she didn't try to use the information to manipulate him later. Instead, she suggested, however inappropriate, strategies on how they could downplay birthdays in their family's future. Also, when they were still operating under the terms of a marriage of convenience, and were about to have sex simply because it seemed like the thing to do at the time, Sonny tells Carly, that it "doesn't have to be like before," meaning that there could be, um, some warmth in the act. Carly agrees, but is still hesitant. She exclaims, "Ah! I don't know what the big deal is. You know the damage is done." And Sonny's reply, that he doesn't "want to do any more damage," is the shared goal they both seem to have. By opening up to each other, especially after the loss of the innocent that brought them together, the damage just might, in fact, be done. Or at least in this chapter of their lives.

Back to Front Page of Issue

Back to Top