The Spencers
The Spencer section dominates this review, because as I begin with Lucky's death, I include all the scenes from that episode here. In addition, these pages hold a lot of transcription. I found that as I read the lines, they still had the power to bring me to tears, even without the visuals and sound and despite the distance of time. These were powerful episodes, and they stand on their own with little commentary from us, even in this format. And at the time, we didn't write much about the initial episodes; we simply shared an unspoken understanding that they were wonderful. As episodes went by, we had more to say and comment on. I've chosen not to add too much commentary to what we said then, only a little description and a few thoughts I've had since the shows aired. So though some of the early scenes go without comment, we talk about them later as we discuss the episode as a whole.
The scenes from the night of the fire appear together as the first section, to preserve the timeline and cuts from one set of characters to another. After that, things are broken up by character. We end with some comments in general about the storyline and the real life events that surrounded it.
I. Laura Agrees to go to Paris With Stefan While Luke Reads to Lesley Lu (4/19)
Laura: "My gosh. I haven't been there in so many years, not since Lucky was a tiny little baby."
Stefan: "And you remember the Parisians as haughty and rude?"
Laura: "Hmm, no, not really, but, I don't know, maybe I had an unfair advantage because no one can resist an adorable baby."
Stefan: "Would you be brave enough to take your chances with someone slightly less adorable?"
Laura: "Paris is such a magical place. I'd love to go there with you."
Luke: "I guess I was just waiting for a special occasion. You know? Isn't there a holiday called 'take a princess to work'? Mm-hmm. Isn't there? I guess I was waiting for that. But Lucky told me that I wasn't being very smart, that I was missing a lot of really nice time with you by waiting for special occasions because every time I'm with you is special."
Nikolas: "Is this it? Good, because it's the only fairy tale collection I could find. And since it's your dad's time, he'll read you a story, ok?"
Luke: "Ok, I'll bet you have these memorized by now, but where's the one you want? I've always liked these illustrations. These drawings are nice. Oh, this one. Ok. Ok."
Lesley Lu: "No, that one over there."
Luke: "Ok, ok. 'Long ago in a magical land, across a phosphorescent sea, there was a brave, handsome prince in love with a princess. And the princess loved him back.'"
Laura: "Lulu would love Paris."
Stefan: "Lulu?"
Laura: "Oh, she's not invited?"
Stefan: "Of course."
Laura: "Well, you know, actually, she goes to bed by 8:.30, so that would kind of curtail our evening activities."
Stefan: "We'll bring along a nanny."
Laura: "And we'll need someone for Foster, too."
Stefan: "The dog?"
Laura: "Mm-hmm. Oh, the French are fabulous with dogs, and poor Foster has never seen Europe. You don't mind, do you?"
Stefan: "You're teasing me."
Laura: "Would I do that?"
Stefan: "You're one of the few who would."
Laura: "Ok, so Lulu, the nanny, the dog, and a dog walker. So how far will you go here? Can we throw in a couple of preschool playmates, maybe an entire petting zoo?"
Stefan: "I will transport a three-ring circus if that's what you require."
Laura: "I really would like to take Lulu to Paris."
Stefan: "Then we shall."
Laura: "Someday, when she's older. But right now I would love to go to Paris with you alone."
It was interesting to me that Luke was spending more time at home just as Laura was spending time away. The irony was that Luke would be there to hear about Lucky, beginning to find a reunion or peace with Lulu, with his past, because of Lucky, while Laura's choice to look towards the future would keep her from being there to hear the news.
II. Elizabeth Arrives at the Scene of the Fire (4/19)
Fire Chief: "Bad break. Sorry. Notify the family?"
Mac: "Not yet. I'm waiting for confirmation to make the call."
Fire chief: "Hell of a job."
Mac: "Theirs is worse. Come on."
Elizabeth: "No. Oh, god, it's not Lucky. It's not Lucky! Let me see him! Let me show you! Please, please--let me see!"
Taggert: "Listen to me--you do not want to see him like this. Do you hear me?"
Meanwhile, we began with a close-up on a photo of Lucky and Elizabeth as she hears the sirens. She calls his number; the phone is out of order. So she gets dressed and leaves to go to him. We had cut from the Webber house to the fire; we see a body in the bed, in flames.
III. Nikolas Tells Luke that Lucky is Dead (4/19)
Luke: "'A rainbow appeared above the castle. And the princess was reunited with her prince.' Hmm. [telephone rings] Well, why don't we--[ring] Why don't we find a story about peasants. Would you like that? I'm a little tired of all that aristocracy."
Lesley Lu: "Hey, what's that one?"
Luke: "Oh, no. Here's the one we like. 'Lucky and the beanstalk.'"
Lesley Lu: "What's that cat one?"
Luke: "The cat one? Oh, yeah, that's part of the Lucky story. Ok, it starts here. Here we go. 'Once upon a time, there was a lad named Lucky.' You really want to get to that cat, don't you?"
Lesley Lu: "This one."
Luke: "You can't do it. No, you have to wait. 'He was a happy young fellow with a skip in his step and a laugh that lit up the sky.' You're sneaking ahead. You're going to find out what happens before you're supposed to know. 'He had a sparkle in his eye and a kind word for everyone.'"
Lesley Lu: "That is him."
Luke: "Yeah. That's his picture. See that sparkle in his eye?"
Lesley Lu: "Mm-hmm."
Luke: "'He was gentle but strong--'"
Nikolas: "I'm sorry. It's later than I thought, and I promised that I would have her asleep by bedtime. Lulu, can you be a really big girl for Nikolas and go put on your pajamas all by yourself? Ok."
Luke: "Yeah, will you do that? Will you brush your teeth and put on your jammies and then come back and we'll read this story together? Ok, sweetie pie?"
Nikolas: "Ok, thank you."
Luke: "Ok."
Luke: "What?"
Nikolas: "Oh, god, Luke. It was the police, and--"
Luke: "What happened?"
Nikolas: "The--you know, the garage that--"
Luke: "Garage? Where Lucky lives?"
Nikolas: "Yeah. Oh, jeez--there was a fire, they said."
Luke: "Fire? Is Lucky all right?"
Nikolas: "And there--they found a body in there."
Luke: "Well, not Lucky."
Nikolas: "They said he was dead, Luke."
Luke: "Not Lucky!"
Nikolas: "They said he was dead, man."
Luke: "Not Lucky."
Luke: "A fire? How?"
Nikolas: "I didn't ask a lot of questions. You know, I couldn't. I was just--"
Luke: "They found Lucky?"
Nikolas: "They found a body, so--"
Luke: "In Lucky's room?"
Nikolas: "Yeah, so maybe it was somebody else's, you know?"
Luke: "Stay with Lulu. Don't say anything to her yet. Laura's with your father. All right, if she calls in, you say nothing to her. You understand? Nothing. Not a word. I tell her. I will tell her, if I have to. If it's true, I will tell her."
Nikolas: "Ok."
Luke: "Can you handle this, Nikolas?"
Nikolas: "Mm-hmm."
Nikolas: "Lulu, come here. Oh. Yes."
Lesley Lu: "Where's daddy?"
Nikolas: "Something came up. He had to go, ok? He said he was sorry and that he'd see you again very soon. Oh, come here. I'm going to read to you, though, ok? Would you like that? And after that, you have to--"
Lesley Lu: "Read that one."
Nikolas: "Ok, but after that, you have to promise me that you'll go to sleep, ok? All right, come here. Let's get up here. There you go. Let's try this one. Ok. This is 'The prince of the sun and the prince of the moon.'"
I really liked this scene, given Luke and Nikolas's history. Nikolas was the one that told Lucky something Luke should have been the one to tell; and now Luke has come to the point where he can trust Nikolas to let him be the one to tell Laura. In the initial onslaught of trauma, these two were, by chance, together. Nikolas came through, respecting Luke's rights where Laura was concerned without question, and Luke knew he would. Lovely.
I also loved the small, throw-away reference to the story Nikolas was going to read Lulu. "The Prince of the Sun and the Prince of the Moon." That represented for me, in such a nice way, Lucky and Nikolas. All of the story choices were beautiful, from the princes who "loved him back," to the tale of Lucky Luke and Lulu had obviously made the alterations on together, to the two princes.
IV. Taggert Keeps Elizabeth Away From the Body (4/19)
Taggert: "How'd you know to come? Who called you?"
Elizabeth: "It's not Lucky. I know it. That body, it's somebody else."
Taggert: "Do you have any idea at all where your grandmother is?"
Elizabeth: "You're not hearing me. I would know, all right? Whoever that is, it's not Lucky."
Taggert: "We'll do tests."
Elizabeth: "I don't need any tests. Lucky's reflexes are too quick."
Taggert: "The fire spread fast."
Elizabeth: "So he got out, if he was even in there."
Taggert: "Elizabeth, listen, they found the--the person was found in Lucky's room--there was a witness who was parking his car, said he saw Lucky enter the building just before the fire broke out."
Elizabeth: "That doesn't mean that--I know it's not Lucky. It's not Lucky. I need to see--"
Taggert: "No, Elizabeth, Elizabeth, listen to me. Listen to me, ok? That is not an image you want to carry around in your head. Do you understand what I'm saying to you?"
This scene ended with a shot of Taggert holding Liz through the window of the closed ambulance door. I liked that very much--the door closing on something, on somewhere she couldn't go.
V. Bobbie Arrives (4/19)
Bobbie: "Mac. How bad?"
Mac: "It's bad."
Bobbie: "Lucky?"
Mac: "We think so. We're pretty sure."
Bobbie: "He's not--"
Mac: "He's gone, Bobbie."
Bobbie: "Oh, god, no. Oh, god, no! No! No! No!"
Mac: "Bobbie."
Bobbie: "No!"
Mac: "Bobbie?"
Bobbie: "Where's Luke?"
Mac: "We've got word to Luke."
Bobbie: "Where's Laura?"
Mac: "We're working on--"
Bobbie: "Oh, god, where's Elizabeth? Where's Elizabeth?"
Mac: "Elizabeth is fine. Elizabeth is fine. She's over here. Ok, come on. She's over here. Ok?"
VI. Stefan and Laura Continue to Plan (4/19)
Stefan: "Will you really be comfortable leaving Lesley Lu?"
Laura: "Well, it's only for a weekend. And Amy's been sort of lobbying for a weekend with her niece anyway, so I'm sure that she's going to be thrilled about it. And I think that Lesley Lu will probably enjoy it."
Stefan: "But how will you feel?"
Laura: "Strange."
Stefan: "Well, then, we'll take her."
Laura: "Oh, no. No, no, no. No, I have to do this. I want to do this for myself."
Stefan: "You know, Lulu and Amy could stay here, perhaps. They could swim, stroll the gardens, ride. Oh, perhaps Nikolas could visit and keep them entertained."
Laura: "No, you know, I don't think so. Not this time, anyway. I think we should do it at our house because, you know, it'll be a little less awkward for Lucky and Luke."
Stefan: "They won't be pleased about this trip."
Laura: "No, they won't be. But I am. I'm tired of apologizing for the things that make me happy."
VII. Elizabeth and Luke Face the Truth (4/19)
Elizabeth: "I know what they're thinking, but it's not true. Lucky's fine. He's not hurt. I can feel it. Lucky and I--we're connected. If something terrible happened, I would know. We're meeting for breakfast tomorrow morning. He's probably just out finding something special. He introduced me to New York pretzels, you know? Hey, do you know that we're moving to New York? Did he tell you?"
Taggert: "It hasn't hit yet. She can't let it. You know, maybe she's right. Maybe it wasn't Lucky. I mean, you know, there's nothing wrong with a little hope."
Mac: "Even if it's false?"
Taggert: "Yeah, I know. It's just that, you know, these--those two kids, you know, they were joined at the hip, you know, and--I don't know how she's going to get past this. Any word from our good citizen who owns this legitimate business?"
Mac: "Nothing on Jason, or Mike Corbin, although Corbin's beside the point."
Taggert: "On the other hand, he is Corinthos' father. Oh, speak of the devil."
Sonny: "What happened?"
Taggert: "You know what? It looks like a fire to me, Sonny, like the one at your warehouse, you know. Only this time, a kid got killed."
Fire chief: "Commissioner?"
Luke: "Was it Lucky? Are you sure?"
Sonny: "Seems to be."
Luke: "Is this you handling things? This is you making sure everything's under control? You took on Moreno. I trusted you. I took you at your word, and my boy is dead?"
Sonny: "I'm sorry."
Luke: "Well, that makes all the difference. I mean, what's a dead son between friends? The important thing is you're sorry. It should have been you or me. Not Lucky."
Mac: "There aren't any words--"
Luke: "No, there are, commissioner. You can tell me that that wasn't my son in there."
Luke: "I guess they need me at the morgue."
Mac: "Do you need a lift?"
Luke: "No. I--I have a stop I have to make."
Mac: "Fine."
Luke: "I can do this. I can do this."
Luke: "I have to get to Laura. Can you--can you stay with her?"
Bobbie: "Of course."
Luke: "Jason. A funky old garage, a couple of bikes. Somebody else's kid. When you count up your business losses, don't forget to put my son on the list."
Sonny: "A.J. or Moreno?"
Jason: "Whoever it is they're going to pay."
Elizabeth: "Tell them--tell them it's not Lucky. Someone broke into his room or--you sent him away on a job or something, didn't you? Where's Lucky? You have to know."
Taggert: "Elizabeth, forensics has found something. Are you up to taking a look?"
Elizabeth: "Yeah. Oh. It's Lucky's subway token. He must ha dropped it on his way out. Where'd you find it? It was downstairs, right? You found it downstairs, didn't you?"
Taggert: "They found it on the body."
Elizabeth: "Oh, god! Oh, god, please, no! Oh, please!"
I loved the lines about "I'm sorry." Laura says I'm sorry all the time, and various characters have commented on its ineffectuality. But Luke has also discussed the phrase, saying that he never says it, since he believes you simply have to live with what you've done. Rather than seeing it as a phrase used to indicate sympathy, he sees it as an expression of guilt and/or regret. He rarely uses it, and Sonny knows that. But Sonny says it anyway, because it's all there is to say.
Joan: "I have to credit Jackie Zeman and Becky Herbst for incredible work in these scenes, and, amazingly, Real Andrews. Why oh why do they saddle him with this stupid Dara/Justus triangle when he can play scenes with Herbst (and John York, about Elizabeth) that tear my heart out?"
Amy: "Agreed! His voice as he asked Mac if there was any hope was incredible, and his moments with Liz were absolutely perfect. I have to say that the relationship I want to see more of is Taggert and Liz. Not a romance, not even a friendship, really, but I want to see more of him dealing with what he's had to go through with her and for her."
"Becky was amazing, and Jackie Zeman was also perfection. Mac was lovely too. Everybody was at the top of their games. The one you left out was one of my favorites--Sonny. From the flirting--which he does so well--in the limo to receiving the news and arriving at the docks, steady as a rock. But when he faced Elizabeth--when he turned to face Luke as Luke climbed, as it was, out of the rubble? Amazing. Here is another person--Lucky!--who may have died because of Sonny. Not only does he face his own grief and self-blame, but he faces the pain he knows too well in Liz's face. I adored that he was the one to support her as she sank to the ground, to hold her, and to cry with her."
"But I'll join the people who gave kudos all around--everybody was perfection, in my book. The most haunting moment was Luke walking onto the scene. The most painful moment was Luke and Laura on the docks. But the most incredible (non-Luke) moment for me was Sonny easing Elizabeth down to the ground. Here is a man who blames himself for the deaths of multiple people--Lily, Brenda, Joseph, etc.--who knows full well that this fire could be because of him. Yet that's not what he was feeling, I think, at that moment--despite Luke's accusations and his quiet vow with Jason to find who did this. Instead, I think he saw another who had lost their love in fire."
"(Of course, I have to admit that, through my tears, I was secretly thinking of the final scene from West Side Story at that point...)"
"I complain about the show some days, and I hit days where I actually want to fastforward. But I always know it's good--and the people are good. This is one of those times where GH surprises me. Where actors surprise me. Where Genie and Tony blow me away--when I thought they had blown me away so many times that I knew already what they were capable of. Where actors who go days without even being on, or play the same kind of scene over and over, get material that is both subtle and powerful, writing that allows them to show everything about their character with just a few words. Fantastic."
VIII. Luke Tells Laura that Their Son is Dead (4/19)
Laura: "Luke? What? What is it? What happened?"
Laura: "Oh, my god. It's not Lulu, is it? Please, tell me she's all right."
Luke: "No, no, no."
Laura: "No? Good."
Luke: "It's Lucky. There was a fire. He's gone, Laura."
Laura: "What?"
Luke: "He's gone."
Laura: "No."
Luke: "Yes."
Laura: "No. No! No! No! No! No! No! No! No!"
I was touched by the fact that Laura first asked after Lulu. Some people criticized her, saying she didn't think to ask about Lucky, but I found that to be quite sweet. She and Luke have always known Lucky would be alright, even when Laura worried. Lulu is the one who can't protect herself. Perhaps it showed a bit of distance on her part from her son, but I prefer to think of it as her having finally made a bit of peace with his living situation after their earlier conversation.
Joan: "Well, perhaps not since Lear did his five 'nevers' and howled over the death of Cordelia was I more chilled over the initial Geary/Francis scene on the docks. First of all, Geary was beyond my poor ability to praise. He looked like a man still standing after a limb had been cut off. The change in his physical appearance from the father snuggled with his daughter into the haggard, rheumy-eyed wreck sunken into his overcoat was simply amazing. And Genie. What can I say? I'm so sick of the rumors about their not wanting to work with each other. If it is true, then they are superhumanly able to come together for scenes like this and transcend personalities in a good cause. If it is not true, how superbly this scene shows them at their most connected and available, emotionally, as actors."
Amy: "My God! This was incredible! One of the best questions I've heard for a soap actor was to Jackie Zeman at an event last winter: 'How do you act scenes in the present when you already know what will come later?' Tony's giggles with Lulu turning the pages too soon when he knew what would come later in the very same script? Amazing. I vote for an Emmy for Genie and Tony next year, based only on this one episode. And the week's just begun."
"In the same vein, I loved the contrast of the happy, hopeful Laura to the scenes at the end--the howl, as you put it ['Howl' was the title of Joan's email], of pain. What that contrast served to prove to me all over again, however, was that Laura does not belong with Stefan, however happy he makes her. I don't doubt but that she'll chide herself for not being in her own house when the call came--for not knowing, instinctively, that she was needed. But no matter what pain there is in the Spencer family, she is a part of it and belongs there. She may not know that, though I think she does and refuses to see it, but it was very clear to me."
"The scenes with Genie and Tony stunned me. I've seen these two in so many types of scenes, and this was the most incredible so far--and they would continue in the next episode. Maybe it's simply the number of years and scenes they've played, but I simply can't stack Nichols and Francis against them, even on their best day."
"On a side note, The general physicality of grief has been fascinating to watch. Already, two people have collapsed--Liz and Laura--at the news. Bobbie would have, in her hysterics, but she knew that she had to take care of Liz--and would have to take care of Luke. And Luke--he immediately knew that he'd be wanted at the morgue, and knows that he can't let himself feel this and express this fully until after that task is done. His self-control, seeping out only in his tears--his quiet restraint after the first raised word to Sonny--amazing. Laura weeps and bangs the docks---amazing--but Luke steels himself because he knows what they have yet to go through--that he has to help her get through that. And later, we know, he'll collapse into Bobbie's arms. Truly beyond words."
"But at this point he had to be under control, and I found it amazing that he immediately told Mac that he knew he'd have to go to the morgue. I read his forced calm through that lens--the first outburst, the raise in temper with Sonny, but calm and steady for the rest, knowing that he was going to have to ID the body at the morgue and that he couldn't let himself feel until all the tasks ahead of him--especially that one--were done. I'm not sure I believe he was being strong for Laura, as somebody online suggested. I think he was being strong for himself."