Volume II, issue i
October 1999

The Floating Rib: Beginning in Ending: The Structure of Soap Episodes
by Arda Clark

Despite a soap's general quality of never beginning and never ending, each day's episode has a defined beginning, middle, and end. And while the narrative has the potential to unfold in numerous ways, the daily episodes have fairly consistent and recognizable formats. In this article, I'd like to examine the structure and organization of the daily episodes we watch.

General Hospital currently opens with a prologue that recaps the narrative from prior episodes. Frequently, though not necessarily, the recap contains highlights of the previous day's episode. There's enough information given in the "Previously on General Hospital" segment to allow viewers to know immediately what the day's stories will be. Prior to the current recap format, the show would begin by repeating scenes from the previous day, or by having characters rephrase something previously said, or by having someone describe to a third party an event already seen by the audience. In many instances, the rephrasing was awkward, and seeing or hearing dull exposition of scenes already seen would leave the faithful daily watchers frustrated. I like the current recap format because it eliminates the awkwardness of retelling, while simultaneously allowing infrequent or new watchers a glimpse of what they might have missed.

Following the prologue and the opening credits, Act I of six acts begins. (The use here of the term "Act" is not arbitrary; the divisions are identified as "Acts" in the scripts.) While the prologue identifies the featured stories of the day, Act I unveils the specific conflicts in the stories. In a typical episode, three or four stories are presented in Act I. (Occasionally, episodes may focus on one story only. For example, the episodes surrounding Lucky's death dealt exclusively with the shock and grief of those who loved Lucky. Almost always, however, three to five stories are juggled in each episode.) Acts II through V develop the conflicts further, with a climax typically occurring at the end of Act III, the midpoint of the episode. By the end of Act VI, each of the conflicts is somehow resolved, complicated, or temporarily placed on hold. While detractors may complain that nothing happens in soaps, devoted viewers know that by the end of each episode, the day's stories have indeed taken a step forward toward the eventual culmination of the story arcs.

The stories presented together in an episode are not of equal dramatic weight. The episode aired August 6, 1999, contained four stories, identified here in the order presented: 1) the mixed pairings of Jax/Alexis and Ned/Chloe; 2) Katherine's pregnancy; 3) Sonny's manic-depressive behavior; and 4) Felicia's discovery of Faison. (A fifth story--Jason's re-entry into the mob--is not introduced until Act IV, as a side note to Sonny's manic depression story.) In this episode, the Faison/Felicia confrontation is the most urgent, since Faison represents a true and immediate danger to a protagonist. The story of Sonny's manic depression is less urgent, although it is the primary story of the day. Third and fourth in urgency are the tales of Katherine's pregnancy and the misadventures of the mixed pairs. The sequence of presentation, however, is directly inverse to the urgency of the stories. On a basic level, regardless of the relative emotional wallop of specific stories, soap operas ply the viewers' emotions by first withholding information and then rewarding. Thus, true to the soap opera genre, Act I of the August 6 episode presented its most urgent story last.

The specific conflicts presented in Act I were as follows: Ned and Alexis are frustrated by their inability to be with one another while they take part in sham marriages designed to fool Chloe's Aunt Gertrude. Nikolas and Elizabeth are trying to move on with their lives and with their friendship, following the death of Lucky; in the meantime, Katherine is using a home pregnancy kit to see if she might be pregnant with Nikolas's child. Hannah and Juan commiserate in feeling shut out of Sonny's life, while Sonny is consumed by his destructive mood swings. Felicia demands to know why Faison has been following her, but is stunned when Faison accuses her of having followed him and suggests that Felicia take her leave.

In addition to laying out the episode's conflicts, Act I has the function of grabbing and holding the viewers' attention. While the majority of viewers are probably frequent, if not daily, watchers, the script writer must make sure there is enough information and tease in Act I to hold the attention of new or infrequent watchers. Even faithful viewers may take cues, consciously or subconsciously, from Act I to tune in or tune out. So Act I needs to be crisp and must give a quick overview of the conflicts. None of the stories are developed in great detail in Act I. There's just enough given to hold the viewers till Act II.

In Acts II through V the stories are developed in greater detail. These Acts typically do not duplicate the sequence of the stories in Act I. Most often three of the four or five stories are developed in each act. Usually, the two primary stories of the day are shown in each act, with the third slot taken by the third or fourth (or possibly fifth) stories in alternative fashion. The diagram below shows how the stories (identified by a "short hand" description) were presented in the August 6 episode:

Act II almost always begins with the last story presented in Act I. This appears designed to pick up and carry the momentum created by the last (and most urgent) story in Act I. Thus, Act II of the August 6 episode began with Taggert informing Mac that the officer tailing Felicia had lost her track. While Mac and Taggert go off to find Felicia, the action shifts to the continued confrontation between Faison and Felicia. Felicia declines to leave, and asks Faison where Robert and Anna are. In the next scene, Hannah tries to dissuade Juan from feeling neglected by Sonny, while realizing that she herself doesn't understand why Sonny shuts her out. We next see Ned and Alexis say their reluctant good-byes, while Jax and Chloe continue to charm one another. As Ned and Chloe leave at the end of Act II, the expressions on all four faces, despite attempts at bravery, betray their frustration and sense of loss. Entirely missing form Act II, is the story of Nikolas's troubled relationship with Katherine. The latter does, however, open Act III.

In Act III, Nikolas and Elizabeth's friendship is underscored by a gift Elizabeth makes to Nikolas of a portrait she has painted of Lulu. Laura joins Elizabeth and Nikolas, and the three delight in Lulu's portrait and their mutual good feelings. Laura, however, privately notes with concern the budding relationship between Nikolas and Elizabeth. Next, Jason tries to explain to Sonny that although Jason may understand Sonny's motivation in keeping Hannah away from him--to shield her from his violent mood swings--Hannah does not understand. Faison meanwhile continues to taunt Felicia, claiming to have led a "quiet little life" not realizing that he was the "subject of such heated speculations"--speculations that he had died in a boat explosion killing Robert and Anna Scorpio along with him. Felicia momentarily takes heart from Faison having obviously faked his death, and asks if he had faked Robert and Anna's deaths as well. When Faison retorts with "Why would I go through the trouble?" Felicia's hopes for finding Robert and Anna alive are dashed and Act III closes with that climactic revelation at the midpoint of the episode.

By the end of Act III, the conflicts have been laid out and developed. The situation in each story is tense or bleak. Ned and Chloe have left for Rome leaving the mixed pairs frustrated. We still don't know whether or not Katherine is pregnant, and we're concerned that her potential pregnancy will threaten the warm feelings we've just witnessed among Nikolas, Liz, and Laura. Hannah and Juan are still dejected over their exclusion from Sonny's life, while Sonny is still alternating from violent outbursts to apologies for his behavior. And Felicia's momentary hope that Robert and Anna may be alive has been destroyed. In other words, things are bad all over. The first half of the show has done its job of setting up and complicating the day's stories. Acts IV though VI will bring resolution and release of tension. As we'll see, however, each resolution will contain seeds of future conflicts.

In Act IV, Laura, now alone with Nikolas, expresses her concern that although Elizabeth is exactly the kind of girl she pictures Nikolas with, she knows that Elizabeth still grieves for Lucky and she doesn't want Nikolas to be hurt by developing feelings for Elizabeth. Nikolas insists that his feelings for Elizabeth are feelings of friendship and that he'll always be "Lucky's brother to her." Nikolas puts to rest Laura's concerns resolving the issue raised in Act III. Despite Nikolas's protests, however, long-term soap viewers would recognize that Laura's concerns foreshadow an upcoming change in Nikolas and Elizabeth's relationship from friendship to intimacy. Viewers also know that Lucky is still alive, and can foresee the potential of Lucky returning to town, just as Nikolas and Elizabeth fall in love. While Laura's concerns may be alleviated by Nikolas's protests, the seed for potential future conflict in Nikolas and Elizabeth's relationship has been planted.

Sonny, meanwhile, continues in Act IV to justify to Jason his exclusion of Hannah from his life. Jason asks Sonny to at least tell Hannah what he's telling Jason--that Sonny's afraid that his outbursts will scare Hannah away. Their exchange is interrupted by Benny who has come to remind Sonny of an important meeting Sonny is about to miss. When Jason offers to take Sonny's place, Sonny insists that Jason not go. Sonny recognizes that Jason's offer to take Sonny's place at the meeting signals Jason's return to the mob.

Benny's interruption not only ends Sonny and Jason's exchange regarding Hannah, but the manic depression story itself is temporarily nudged aside by the story of Jason's re-entry into the mob. The next scene takes us back to Sonny's story when we see Hannah and Mike at Kelly's discussing Juan and Sonny. Juan's father comes in and Mike overhears Armando blaming Sonny for Juan having been beat up. Mike stands and confronts Armando.

In Act V, Mike defends Sonny by telling Armando that Sonny had done all he could to keep Juan safe. More importantly, when Mike returns to converse with Hannah, he provides her with significant insight into Sonny's nature by telling her "Why couldn't he [Armando] keep his mouth shut? I mean, Sonny beats himself up bad enough without help from other people." Next we see Jason explaining to Sonny that he, Jason, no longer has a reason to stay away from the mob, having given up his rights to visit Michael. Jason adds that Sonny's in no shape to attend a meeting. Sonny gives in, telling Jason "Do what you want." In the following scene, Faison informs Felicia that he has returned to Port Charles because he is fond of the city, because he wants to clear his name, and because he wants to renew his acquaintance with Felicia. Shifting to the mixed pairs story, Alexis's (and the viewers') curiosity is piqued when Jax suggests a distraction to Alexis, who sorely misses Ned.

By the end of Act V, we're at what might be called a "point of no return." The resolutions offered in Act VI will be an organic, logical follow-up to the story so far. At this point in the episode, we've seen the resolution to two situations raised after Act I. Nikolas has assured Laura that his feelings for Liz are platonic, and Jason has rejoined the mob. We know resolution is at hand for the mixed pairs, although we don't know precisely what Jax has in mind. We've seen both Sonny and Hannah gain greater understanding for one another, although we don't know what either one will do. We know that Mac and Taggert are on their way but we don't know if they'll find Felicia, and we don't know what more to expect from Faison. And, while we still don't know if Katherine is pregnant, we know we'll know very soon.

As Act VI begins, the unresolved conflicts are one by one treated. In Act VI, we discover that Jax intends to fly Alexis to Rome to join the "honeymooning" Ned and Chloe. By joining Ned and Chloe in Rome, Jax and Alexis have an opportunity to be with the partner they each long for. The planned trip to Rome is the resolution to the conflict presented in Act I.

We had seen Katherine in Act I testing to see if she's pregnant. We don't see Katherine again until Act VI, when she knocks on Nikolas's door. The question raised in Act I--is she or isn't she pregnant--is answered by her blunt announcement to Nikolas that she is pregnant. Because this is a simple revelation--in the sense that she either is or isn't pregnant--this is a revelation that could not have come prior to Act VI. Although a week later the audience discovered that Katherine was not pregnant, the August 6 episode ends with an answer to the day's question.

We next see a determined Hannah walking past Johnny and insisting on seeing Sonny. We believe that the conversations they have each had with others--Hannah with Juan and Mike, Sonny with Jason and Benny--have brought Sonny and Hannah closer to understanding one another. But as Hannah faces Sonny at the end of the episode, neither they nor the viewers know what they will do.

Felicia cringes in Act VI as Faison reaches for her face bemoaning "one of fate's more grotesque jokes--that the most beautiful and unforgettable women are married into the Scorpio family." He then states that Anna had died because of "her bad judgment" (in choosing Robert instead of Faison). By the end of the episode, Mac has come to Felicia's rescue, but not before Faison has compared Felicia to Anna and has threatened Felicia saying "It's an unspeakable weight in my heart to think of you making the same needless error, to think of such beauty and fire being snuffed out so senselessly." While Mac rescues Felicia from immediate danger, Felicia is still threatened by Faison's fascination with her.

As we've seen, the end of the episode signals an end to the specific conflicts presented in Act I. Each resolution, however, carries within it the potential for greater conflict. We have an answer to the question "is Katherine pregnant" but the answer contains huge conflicts for Nikolas, Elizabeth, Helena, Laura, and Stefan. Mac's arrival at the end removes Felicia from immediate danger, but it signals the beginning of the confrontation between Mac and Faison. We have reason to believe Sonny and Hannah are closer to understanding one another, but we still want to know which way Sonny's mood will swing. We're delighted with the prospect of Jax and Alexis joining Ned and Chloe, but we still want to see the lovers reunite. And just to make sure our attention doesn't wane, bits of scenes from the next episode are shown in the "On the Next General Hospital" segment. This last segment acts as an epilogue to the day's episode, neatly complementing the prologue, the "Previously on General Hospital" segment.

In the ending of this episode is the beginning of the next episode. As the prologue for the Monday, August 9 episode begins, we see Katherine telling Nikolas she's pregnant, Hannah insisting on seeing Sonny, Jax and Alexis making plans for Rome, and Mac telling Faison his "sick games" are over. Each segment of the prologue is directly from Act VI of the Friday, August 9 episode. And we move forward to Act I, where that day's specific conflicts are laid out.

The illustration I've used is almost too neat. We don't always see episodes where the stories in Act VI match so precisely the stories laid out in Act I We don't always see scenes from the prior day's Act VI in the following day's Prologue. But every episode does have a structure and frequently the structure parallels what I've described.

Does this mean that I look for and analyze the structure of every episode? No, I'm rarely aware of it. Most often, I'm interested in the narrative, the dialogue, the acting. Indeed, the beauty of the structure lies in its invisibility. The structure of the episode may be compared to the framework of a house. Just as a house would collapse without a framework, so would the narrative collapse without a structure. When we admire a house we might notice its finishing materials--the flooring, the cabinetry, kitchen and bath counters, fixtures--but we don't think about the lumber and steel beams supporting the house. Similarly, in a soap script, the structure is invisible, thus allowing the story and the performances to shine through.

Back to the Front Page