Kelly Monaco’s 5 best storylines as Sam McCall on General Hospital

October 1, 2024, marked the 21^st anniversary of Kelly Monaco’s first airdate on General Hospital. It’s a bittersweet anniversary because it was announced in August that Kelly’s time playing danger-junkie-turned-mama-bear Sam McCall would soon come to an end.

When rumors began to fly that Sam was slated to be killed off, the backlash was swift. Almost immediately a petition was started by fans demanding that the powers that be reverse the shocking decision. #IStandWithKelly has been trending on X (formerly Twitter) for weeks and fans even took to renting a billboard on Times Square to make their voices heard. Whether these efforts prove to be successful remains to be seen, but there’s no denying that a large chunk of viewers are not happy to see Kelly go.

Kelly Monaco was an ABC daytime star before she landed on GH, having started her soap opera career as Livvie Locke on Port Charles in 2000 where she was paired with Michael Easton’s vampire rock star Caleb Morley. They were an instant hit, but despite their popularity with viewers, it was not enough to save the soap from cancellation in 2003. However, it did lead to her first Daytime Emmy in 2003. Kelly snagged a second nomination in 2006 for her role as Sam McCall.

In 2005, Kelly temporarily moved to prime time to showcase her skill on the dance floor when she was cast as one of the stars on Dancing with the Stars. Kelly and her dancing partner Alec Mazo charmed the audience and the judges becoming the first mirror ball trophy winners at the end of the show’s maiden season.

But it’s Kelly Monaco’s work on GH that has made up the bulk of her career to date, so let’s look back at what are easily her top five best storylines.

The Dead Man’s Hand

This was the storyline that kicked things off and introduced viewers to Kelly Monaco as Sam McCall. It was an action-packed storyline filled with suspense, intrigue, and unexpected twists and exciting turns. Oh, and a lucky set of cards with a shocking story that was ripped from the pages of American history.

Sam was a treasure hunter and deep-sea salvager who was after the infamous set of cards that gunfighter Wild Bill Hickok had been holding when he was shot dead. Sam needed the cards to help finance the exorbitant cost of caring for her beloved brother Danny (David Greenman) at an upscale boarding school that catered to people with special needs like Danny.

The cards were considered to be invaluable because they were believed to bring the person who had them good luck and wealth. Once lost, misfortune and even death would befall the unlucky previous owner. John Jacks (Peter Renaday) — father of Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) and super villain Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché) — had stolen the cards years earlier and amassed a fortune, but things took a dark turn when the cards vanished. Initially, Jax had attributed his father’s rapidly declining health and subsequent death to the missing cards, but it was eventually revealed that John Jacks had been murdered by the son of the family he’d stolen the cards from.

Sam was a beautiful, feisty, independent young woman who was drawn to danger, owned her own salvage ship, and had mad chemistry with every man she encountered, including mob boss Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), which led to a brief affair and surprise pregnancy.

A Mother’s Grief

While the romance between Sam and Sonny didn’t last, Sam found true love with his enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). As her due date with Sonny’s baby neared, Sam and Jason made plans to raise the baby together, but their dreams were shattered when Sam collapsed during a heated exchange with Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) who desperately needed the stem cells from Sam’s unborn child’s umbilical cord to save Sonny’s other daughter Kristina. It turned out that Sam had had pre-eclampsia, and even though she had collapsed at the hospital and was rushed into surgery, her daughter Lila was stillborn. At the time, neither Sam nor Alexis knew that Sam was Alexis’ biological daughter, so Sam spent a long time hating and blaming Alexis for the tragedy.

The scenes at the hospital before Sam collapsed were intense, but nothing could prepare the viewers for Jason having to break the awful news to Sam, and Sam’s heart-wrenching reaction. Kelly Monaco did a magnificent job of portraying Sam’s utter despair at learning that her precious baby had died. Even if you didn’t like Sam, it was hard not to feel for her loss.

Horror Honeymoon

Sam and Jason went through a lot to be together. They made several attempts to tie the knot, but fate always seemed to have other plans. On September 22, 2011, Jason and Sam, known affectionately as JaSam, were wed in the garden of the Noodle Buddha, a Chinese restaurant they loved. The intimate ceremony was officiated by Robert Yi (Teddy Chen Culver), the grandson of the restaurant’s owners, while his grandparents served as witnesses. Afterwards, Sam and Jason were given two special figurines to symbolize their union: a dragon for Jason and a phoenix for Sam.

But there are no real happy endings on soaps. As Jason and Sam embarked on their tropical honeymoon, trouble followed in the form of serial killer Franco (James Franco). Franco wanted to punish Jason, so Franco targeted Sam. After drugging and kidnapping Sam, Franco forced Jason to watch on a video feed as Franco made his horrific intentions clear.

It was all a sick illusion, but the damage was lasting. Not only did Sam have to live with the belief that she’d been raped by a serial killer, but she soon discovered that she was pregnant. Was Jason or Franco the father? Sam didn’t know, and she didn’t want to for the longest time. It was hard to watch her grapple with this situation because Sam had spent years longing for a child and she had gone through a lot to be able to carry one, including surgery.

Kelly Monaco did an outstanding job of taking us on Sam’s journey of healing, which took years. Even though the writers eventually revealed that Franco (by then recast with Roger Howarth) had never raped Sam it didn’t matter. The damage had been done, and Sam emerged a stronger person. In the end, Sam proved to be a true phoenix.

Metro Court Hostage Crisis

In 2007, Jerry Jacks slipped into town with a new face and a team of armed-to-the-teeth mercenaries with plans to seize control of Metro Court and hold everyone inside hostage. They were after Lorenzo Alcazar’s (Ted King) briefcase in the hotel’s vault. The events played out in real time, each episode representing an hour of the 16-hour ordeal. As police commissioner Mac Scorpio (John J. York) tried to negotiate with “James Craig” for the release the hostages, things were growing dire inside for several of the hostages. Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) suffered what would prove to be a fatal heart attack, and Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) was shot and slowly dying. Adding to the urgency of the situation was the revelation that the briefcase Jerry was after had a bomb onboard that would detonate if a specific code was not entered every 24 hours.

What made the briefcase so valuable? It was a biological weapon.

Kelly Monaco was at the top of her game as Sam was cast into the role of unlikely hero as she played a pivotal role using her skills to help Jason take Jerry Jacks down. Her actions that day led to Sam being offered a job as host of a television show called Everyday Heroes.  But that’s another story for another day.

Dawn of Day

Sam has always been fiercely protective of her family. Doubly so after losing not just her daughter, but her beloved brother. She spent years risking her freedom and her very life to make sure that Danny received the help that he needed, so it was no surprise that Sam would spring into action in 2019 when she realized that her sister Kristina (ex-Lexi Ainsworth) had gotten indoctrinated into a cult run by a sleazy man named Shiloh (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) who initiated his young acolytes by giving them a drug cocktail and sexually assaulting them. Kelly shined in this storyline as Sam kicked butt and saved Kristina from Shiloh’s nefarious intentions. Kelly had other storylines after this, but this was her last big one. It was around this time — as the storyline concluded — that the late Billy Miller (ex-Drew Cain) exited the show.

Now, it’s your turn. What do you think? What were your favorite storylines featuring Sam? Comment below and let’s discuss. And be sure to check out some of my other articles here.