For nearly two years, General Hospital fans have been waiting for Alexis Davis to finally discover that Neil Byrne was not a drug addict and that he did not die via accidental overdose. Instead, he was murdered by Harmony Miller as Alexis slept next to him in her bed. Then, reveal day finally came — but not with the Alexis we have been used to for the last 25 years.
General Hospital Needed Familiarity
When an actress is so identified with a character, a big moment in that character’s life should feature the actress the audience knows. Nancy Lee Grahn has been Alexis since 1996, except for when Susan Diol subbed for her in 2001. Alexis was so traumatized by Neil (Joe Flanigan) dying in her bed after a night of passion that she turned to alcohol again and ended up spending time behind bars while also losing her law license. When Alexis was to finally learn that Harmony (Inga Cadranel) killed Neil, Stephanie Erb should not have been playing the role.
While the actress is talented and subs often come in for a few days — as Priscilla Garita had to fill in as Harmony a few weeks ago — when a major story reveal arrives, a soap should make every effort to have the familiar performer playing the pivotal role.
Nancy Lee Grahn Needed Time Off, GH Could Have Adjusted
While it’s not Grahn’s fault that she needed some time off for minor back surgery, it also should not have been impossible for GH to pace a few scripts differently or delay the reveal by a few weeks so that Grahn was playing Alexis when she learned Harmony murdered Neil. Fans waited two years for this reveal; why would another few weeks hurt especially as it would have been taking place during May sweeps.
If the scripts couldn’t be adjusted to work with Grahn’s surgery, why couldn’t the scenes on the cliffside have been filmed all at once, even if airing over the course of several days? The scenes took place all on one set and at least fans could have seen Grahn’s Alexis react to this revelation that a man was murdered beside her in her bed one fateful night. Currently, fans feel like we were cheated out of something and we’ll never get that moment with Alexis back again.
General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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