Love and romance are the essence of daytime, the keys to the genre. They have been for decades. While an occasional spy caper or mob plot can stir up the drama and intrigue, focusing too heavily on both can be a drag. And it’s not really what soap fans tune in for. That’s why General Hospital needs to can the espionage and mob stuff and focus on love.
General Hospital: Crime in the Afternoon
The show has been too heavily centered on both for far too long. In the past few weeks, there was a mob hit that nearly killed Sonny (Maurice Benard) and injured Dex (Evan Hofer). Selina Wu (Lydia Long) has grown increasingly dangerous. And madman Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) has been running dangerously amok in his quest for the Ice Princess necklace, culminating with having Anna (Finola Hughes) shot and kidnapping Spencer (Nicholas Chavez), Liesl (Kathleen Gati), and baby Ace. It’s to the point where you’re wondering, are you watching a soap or a never-ending episode of NCIS?
GH: Love and Romance
It’s left the soap lacking in what matters most – the romance department, particularly intricately crafted love stories. There are flickers of potential successful duos, like Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Spencer and Trina (Tabyana Ali), although both tend to stall more than they move forward. Anna and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) have emerged as a powerful veteran couple, but that’s due more to the caliber of the two actors portraying them than the material they’ve been given.
Other twosomes, like Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Sonny, Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison), Sam (Kelly Monaco) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), are going nowhere plot-wise. Meanwhile, Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) long-drawn-out leukemia battle has made her “romance” with Michael (Chad Duel) a major downer and a snooze to watch.
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Time for A Shift General Hospital
General Hospital needs to adjust its storytelling style moving forward. The soap needs to nix its convoluted crime capers and start concentrating on its couples and creating real heartfelt plots for them. There’s nothing soap fans adore more than a perfectly paired supercouple and a well-written love story.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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