It was a heartbreaking week when tragedy struck, and Sam suddenly died. Was it a result of donating a part of her liver to Lulu or did something more nefarious happen? What happens next, and is there hope for Sam to return sometime down the road? Tamilu is back with a new General Hospital commentary for the week ending November 01, 2024.
Tragedy strikes at General Hospital
Dear readers, Sam McCall is gone, and I have all sorts of real feelings about the death of a fictional character. It had to happen right after Dante proposed, and right after, they were so happy planning the future and sharing their celebratory news. Ugh.
I’m sad for the loss of this character who has been so interwoven into many storylines. I’m mad at ABC for firing a beloved 20-year veteran of the show to save money and then, inexplicably, hiring a dozen unknown actors that we don’t care about. And I’m perturbed because Kelly Monaco hinted that her abrupt dismissal was retaliation against something. When she finally tells her side of the story, I will believe her.
Heartbreaking goodbyes
But all that being said, the storyline this created, and the power of the acting I have seen this week has been superb. When Alexis learned that her daughter was gone and wanted a blanket to warm her up, I started crying. I didn’t stop until the end of next week’s previews when Jason tells Spinelli it’s because of Sam that he has Spinelli as a friend. Nancy Lee Grahn, Steve Burton, Dominic Zamprogna, Genie Francis, Maurice Benard, Kate Mansi, Kristen Vaganos, and even our GH kids, Finn Francis Carr as Rocco, Cosette Abinante as Scout, and Asher Antonyzyn as Danny all turned in moving performances.
Watching each character hear the news of Sam’s death and react to her loss in their own way was so true to life. When someone dies, and you have to make one horrible phone call after another to family and friends to inform people about the loss, the wave of grief is overwhelming.
I think about Nancy Lee Grahn as Alexis, who should 100% submit her scenes for Daytime Emmy consideration. When Alexis, who just lost her firstborn child, had to tell Dante and Rocco, Sonny and Laura, and Molly and Kristina before she even caught her breath, it gutted me.
Missed opportunities
Imagine if the writers hadn’t sent Finn off to Seattle. Imagine if Finn, Alexis’s AA buddy, was around. It would be a perfect time for Finn to step in and support Alexis. But no, he’s been banished to the Pacific Northwest (which, in truth, is preferable because the West Coast is the best coast, IMHO.)
Something else made me sad, but I hesitate to bring it up… perhaps some of you thought about this, too. Isn’t it sad that Jax can’t be here to say goodbye to Sam? Jax and Sam had a relationship during the “Dead Man’s Hand” mystery. I was watching old YouTube videos – here’s part one of 39 parts for your entertainment.
I know that Ingo did this to himself and will most likely never be back on GH, but I miss Jax being part of the storyline. When you have been watching this show as long as I have, the history of two characters matters. Sometimes, I miss Jax, the character, so I think they should recast him.
The drama behind the drama
But back to Sam. Can you believe The Powers That Be fired Kelly and then made Fair Samantha lay there dead for days while people wept at her bedside? That seems somewhat cruel. Can you imagine how she felt laying there in her fake hospital bed, knowing it was her last day on the job after two decades? Can you imagine being able to show NO emotion while castmates filed in one after another to cry over her? I bet a lot of those tears from her co-stars were genuine and heartfelt. There were so many gut-wrenching scenes.
Tears, tears, and more tears
I turned General Hospital on in my bedroom, closed the door, and got a new box of Kleenex because I knew I would need them. I teared up so many times! Watching Jason explain to Scout about the essence of a soul vs. a lifeless body. Watching Laura gently instructing Rocco how to pray. Watching Rocco crying to Laura about his regrets from being envious of Scout and Danny for having their mother. Watching Alexis with Molly’s and Kristina’s heads in her lap as they cried together. Watching Dante tell Sonny that Dante blamed himself for Sam’s death and how Dante had abandoned Sam in recent weeks to sit beside Lulu’s bed. Watching Sonny pull Dante into a deep hug and not letting him go. Readers, I was bawling.
But yesterday, when Alexis crawled into bed with Sam, snuggled up next to her, and tucked the blanket in? Oh, my Lord, I couldn’t breathe. When she yelled up at the sky to God, “Bring her back!” There was lots of sobbing going on. I have experienced loss, grief, and heartache. Those scenes were so spot on that they reminded me how that felt.
When Jason went in, they played that montage of old JaSam scenes, which hurt my heart! When he said, “I remember it all.” I cried, “ME TOO!” at the TV. Ugly cry time! When Steve Burton cries, I cry. I tried explaining this phenomenon to my husband, but he just looked at me like I had three heads.
A bright spot in all the sadness
One thing I always think about is that whoever does GH’s casting is superb. This new batch of young actors is all so promising. Friday’s episode was the most emotional scene we have had from Rocco since he was cast, and he absolutely nailed it. Scout running into Drew’s arms, and Danny trying to be as stoic as his father Jason, but with the emotions whirling inside was incredibly moving.
Remembering Jasam
As to the title, back in the Jason and Sam heyday, they had a few songs used as their theme song. One was Just You and Me by Jayson Belt, which they played during the flashbacks. Another song used for both JaSam and Lante (Lulu and Dante) around that time was Smile by Ryan Webster.
That song landed me a friend! I wrote about his song in my GH column, and he wrote to thank me. We stayed in touch, and then, when Ryan played in San Diego, we went to see him and shared some beers. (Bonus: The handstamp for the bar said, “Fcktard,” and my husband, who pretends he doesn’t watch General Hospital, still calls that place the Fcktard Bar. Ryan Webster is a genuinely lovely person and a fantastic musician.
I am glad today is Friday because I need two days to recuperate before we watch Spinelli to learn about Sam, Joss and Michael find out, and for Lucas to fall apart. Will Brad be there to support him? (I am trying to will this into existence) And, of course, I want to see how Carly makes it all about her and volunteers to raise all of Sam’s kids. LOL. It’s just a joke. You know I love Carly.
Meanwhile, at the Quartermaine mansion
While this crisis is going on, another crisis is unfolding at the Q house. Cody’s drunken outburst caused Willow’s secret to escape, and guess who was there? The P.I. that Ned hired. But sadly, sans dog. Ned got the video he needed to blackmail Drew. Tracy and Ned giggled with glee at their good fortune. To Drew’s credit, he did the thing I always say every time a blackmail story comes along; you’re better off just confessing. ‘Yeah, I kissed my nephew’s wife. You got me,’ Drew acknowledged. So now, Ned and Tracy have no leverage; they have made a mortal enemy of Drew, and he’s never going to vote with them again.
But speaking of Drew, while I love Cameron Mathison in general, it was Billy Miller’s Drew who had the grand love affair with Sam, and in my mind’s eye, I imagined that version of Drew getting the news of Sam’s death. He was so soulful and expressive. It’s not fair to compare actors; everyone has different gifts.
Temporary Michael learns about Willow and Drew’s kiss
Just like this week, the day the secret came out, Chad Duell was away, and they had Robert Adamson filling in. I love the actor; he was great, like Noah on The Young and the Restless. But I was peeved that GH broke this big secret on the day that Chad Duell wasn’t on the show. Thankfully, it was just a one-day absence, and we got to see Chad’s reaction the next day. As I predicted, he got hammered and slept with Sasha.
Michael knows Willow is still lying to him about a second kiss. Still, he has to lie about sleeping with Sasha, too, so apparently, he was willing to pocket the second kiss for a later date. Will this marriage survive, or will Michael go back to Sasha, and Nina and Willow fight for Drew? Nina conveniently left that part out of the story.
Sasha’s addiction
As to Sasha, if that girl starts on the pills again, I will fast forward every scene she is in until she retires. I honestly can’t take another round of her and drugs. I keep feeling like either Sofia Mattsson or Josh Kelly is leaving the show because I can’t see another reason to break up this up-and-coming couple. Maybe Cody will take Holly up on her offer to move some illegal diamonds. My guess is that she stashed them in his room. It was odd that she was up there snooping around when he wasn’t there.
I loved Robert and Holly back then, but frankly, now I prefer him with Diane Miller. I know Holly is the love of his life, and he may not be able to resist her siren song, but I hope he tries.
Cleaning house
Speaking of sirens, did Olivia leave town? Why is she not at the hospital and all up in Dante’s grill? She’s been gone since Lois came back, and I prefer Lois with Ned. So, I’m not complaining… I’m just curious.
GH is definitely on a house-cleaning spree. We have had a lot of people leaving for good lately, including Blaze, Finn, Violet, Marshall, and Sam We are also missing the likes of Valentin, Charlotte, and Olivia. We know Leslie Charleson is not returning anytime soon due to health issues, but at the Q house, Monica is always upstairs, and somehow, that comforts me. Heather got out of prison and is off to live with Steven Lars. Scott Reeves was such a welcome sight, but it was just a short visit and not long enough. But getting Heather out of town seemed right. She whispered to Ace that she would be back, and I don’t doubt it, maybe next sweeps period. We had so much drama with Portia about Heather getting out, and then she left town by the end of the day. A bit anticlimactic.
A reason to smile
I always enjoy the GH holiday episodes, so despite the sad week, I liked seeing the kids trick-or-treating, and costumes. I especially loved Spinelli’s skeleton suit and Georgie’s Zenon costume, a nod to Kirsten Storms old character! So fun.
Another relationship I want to mention is Maxie and Cody. They are delightful onscreen together, and their banter seems so natural. I hope the relationship between these two siblings grows and that they find a way to add Sasha to the family.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers?
Will the writers make us cry every day up until the Quartermaine Thanksgiving Pizza? Will Drew ask Willow and Nina to be sister wives? Will Sasha end up pregnant with a Q/Corinthos baby because Michael has potent sperm like Sonny? Will Ava and Ric have a fling? Will we find out that Laura’s brother Cyrus is responsible for Sam’s sudden “heart attack” just like I am convinced he’s the reason that Lulu’s ventilator suddenly went off right after he “prayed with her?” Will GH be preempted all week for endless election updates? Will I put up a little Christmas tree tomorrow?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
Tamilu
More Of Tamilu’s commentaries
If you want to check out everything that Tamilu has written in her “Greetings From the Road” series of columns, visit her Author Page.
I agree with what you said. As much as I hate that Sam died, her death does make for great scenes and it has the potential to have impact for months and even years. I could foresee Danny being upset that his mom died to save Rocco’s mom, and his anger driving a wedge between the two of them that could last for years, à la Jason and A.J. As for Kelly, I really hope that Beyond the Gates will cast her or that she will land a fabulous Netflix series. She deserves better than how TPTB treated her these past few years. So do her fans.
I would love to see her on Young and Restless with Jason Thompson!
Tamilu,
You do not have three heads, I have been watching at least as long as you, and you summed that feeling up perfectly. There is unbalance in the characters gone, and missed opportunities. Alexis (NLG) and Jason (SB) and Sam (KM) all deserve Emmy’s! Nancy for the honest grief and anger of a parent losing losing her child and when Jason felt Sam’s presence gone when he stepped in the room and could not immediately look at Sam as his tears started it were my ugly cry moments, and Kelly Monaco keeping it together through all those scenes. Amazing.
Thank you! GH has always had an incredible amount of talent and whatever storyline is thrown at them, they give us Shakespearean worthy performances even when the source material is fluff. Nancy Lee Grahn getting into bed with Sam and covering her up is going in my mental file of Tony putting his head on Maxie’s chest to hear BJ’s heartbeat. It still makes me cry!
There were so many moments that broke me, but none more so than when poor little Scout ran into her father’s arms and said, “My mommy died” in that sad little voice.
I’m with you Tamilu! Where the heck was helicopter mom Olivia?
I thought the “But she’s a hero” comment was really heartbreaking. Nothing like watching a kid get hit with the reality that good deeds do not always get rewarded. And now Halloween is ruined for the poor girl.
I agree with Tamilu that the standout among the kids was the young man who plays Rocco. He had so much going on there–shock, grief, guilt–and played it convincingly. We expect good things from Nancy Lee Grahn, Steve Burton and Dominic Zamprogna, and they certainly delivered. But I also thought Van Hansis (I hope I got the name right) as Lucas was very powerful. Especially, since he probably met Kelly Monaco a couple of weeks before those scenes. The other actors at least have years or decades worth of history to pull from.
Making a lasagna? Getting accent lessons from Lois’ vocal coach? Checking the pond out back to look for Eddie’s leather pants?
Thank you Tamilu – I hope you are putting up your Christmas tree as I type and that it gives you joy!
This was a rough week, made more difficult with the knowledge of the behind the scenes.
I, for one, await Kelly’s statement.
I haven’t put up the tree yet but I have put out a family of glittery reindeer, some snowmen, and a few other little items. Not everyone in my household is as ready for Christmas as I am. They think Thanksgiving has to come first. Blah. LOL -But in my bedroom, it’s Santa land.
Interesting thoughts about Jax. He and Sam were ancient history, but he and Alexis were very good friends. She could certainly use him right now. Her support systems used to be Sam, Nikolas and Jax. Now she’s stuck with her mercurial younger daughters and Sonny. In the plus column, Diane I suppose.
The show didn’t have a very clear idea of what to do with Jax during his last run, however, and after the Nikolas and Drew experiments, I am very leery of recasting characters that operate in the gray areas. Drew is just so unpleasant to watch right now. He did not actually get one up on Ned and Tracy as now his alliance with Michael will be shot—that situation was a win-win for Ned and Tracy whether Drew fessed up or not. So could he not have waited a couple of hours to give Willow the chance to tell Michael first? And why exactly was he not taking Scout trick-or-treating? Could he not be bothered?
Anyway, I had this vision of what it must have been like at the GH writer’s table (if that even exists) recently where everyone is sitting around wondering what they can make the audience do to care LESS about whether or not Willow and Michael stay together. How about Michael falls into bed with Sasha! Now we’ve got liars on all sides!
I don’t know if I expect Sasha to get pregnant though. Michael’s already got two small children. There are, in fact, a lot of children on the canvass right now so the writers should probably take a break from adding any more.
You are right that Jax’s last visit was unremarkable. It seems like every time Alexis gets close to someone, Julian, Neil, Gregory, they die. Or move to another state like Finn. I always felt that connection she had with Finn was a missed opportunity- they had more chemistry than Liz and Finn did. As to Sasha, I hope she does end up pregnant just because I am still mad they killed off her last baby. She deserves a little happiness, even if it comes at Willow’s expense.
I say let’s make things really interesting! Willow has slept with both Michael and Drew in a just a few days. She should be pregnant and not know who the father is. Next, Sasha should also be pregnant but not expose her baby daddy yet. Finally, Nina should also turn up pregnant. That would make Nina’s baby Willow’s sibling and possibly the sibling to Willow’s baby. Think of all the drama and all the new Quartermaines!
Nina being pregnant would be a medical miracle. LOL
Spot on, Tamilu, as you so very often are. Echoing your kudos to the younger actors as they’ve done such an amazing job with such a heavy storyline at their young ages. I’m still hoping there’s something hinky about Robert being Sasha’s father, if not, then I’m agreeing with you that someone out of all this icky Drew messing around with Nina & Willow and it dragging Michael & Sasha into play, is most likely leaving. I truly don’t care for the character of Drew without Billy Miller, he will always be the Drew Cain I watched & loved. This current version is just so skeevy and frankly lacking in any care for others, it’s all about Drew and what benefits Drew. No thanks. There’s far, far too much of that in real life now. IF however, they could have Robert not be Sasha’s dad, and IF she gets pregnant from her night with Michael, think of the story possibilities that would have for her and Cody to reunite. I like the character of Cody and would love to see that happen and them end up together. Sasha has suffered far too much pain & agony. Cody has made great strides in changing his ways as well, and I think they both need & deserve a ‘happily ever after’ or as much of one as soaps ever allow.
I’ve noticed too the lack of Olivia’s presence and wondered if they’re doing some kind of testing to see if the episodes with Lois or Olivia, especially in regards to Ned, get better ratings, and plan on making a decision in that regard going forward. Seems like lately there’s a great deal of seeing folks paired in scenes that don’t often interact or if they do, it’s almost like being at the optometrist’s office and being asked ‘which is better, one or two?” LOL It just feels like we the viewers are being asked those questions a lot lately as they’ve been either flatly removing folks (boo, hiss at PTB in regards to the shoddy treatment of Kelly Monaco & her Sam,) or sending them off to places to get them off screen.
Thank you so much Kay! I can’t figure out what they are doing. To be honest, I am a longtime Ned and Lois fan and I was hoping when “Eddie” lost his memory that he would remember Lois and think they were still married. 🙂 I think Lois is a more engaging character overall. She’s involved at Deception, she may have a child with Sonny (which would make Ned furious with her) – Ned and Lois are preparing to be grandparents to the baby Chase and Brooklyn are trying to make – but Olivia is there so rarely it’s hard to see where she fits anymore. Also, I miss Leo. I agree with you that they seem to be doing a lot of random switcheroos right now.