General Hospital has been particularly thrilling and engaging lately, and we’re not trying to throw shade on it. But here’s the thing: when you watch the way Days of our Lives handles its legacy characters, you’ll spot a pattern that feels like cotton candy compared to GH’s stale old popcorn. DAYS may not be perfect, yet they’ve mastered one small miracle in soap-craft: characters leave for a bit — then come back. And the fans? They breathe easy knowing this.
Key Takeaways
- DAYS keeps its legacy characters within reach — even brief returns remind fans they’re still part of the story.
- GH often lets its veterans fade away without closure, leaving storylines (and viewers) hanging.
- Characters like Scotty and Frisco deserve periodic returns that honor their history and deepen the show’s emotional fabric.
- Familiar faces create comfort, connection, and continuity — the heart of why fans stay loyal to daytime.
Silence Says Too Much About Who GH Forgets
Take the beloved supercouple Bo (Peter Reckell) and Hope (Kristian Alfonso). They’ve been off the canvas, then suddenly they’re back — bright, brief, beloved. Then there’s Lucas (Bryan Datillo) — a recurring presence who hops on and off, but always has the door left cracked open. That pattern sends a message: we’ll miss you, but we’ll see you again.
Now look at GH. Let’s talk Scotty (Kin Shriner), a legacy ambulance-chasing lawyer type who’s been around in ghost form, yet his presence feels more “maybe gone for good” than “see you later.” He disappeared in August 2024, right smack dab in the storyline about Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) bipolar meds being tampered with. Despite fan outcry and the actor’s own insinuations that he’d like to return, Scotty hasn’t even been mentioned on-screen.
Legacy Characters Are the Soul of a Soap
And then there’s Frisco (Jack Wagner) — globe-trotting spy, dad to Maxie (Kirsten Storms), a character perpetually mentioned but rarely seen. He had been mentioned as working his way up the WSB ladder to director until Laura (Genie Francis) set out to save the world from Victor’s (Charles Shaugnessey) nefarious plot to wipe out 80% of the population. Frisco was then ousted and replaced, presumably bumped back down to the field agent level.
If Frisco’s really jet-setting for the WSB, why can’t he drop into Port Charles now and then? A cameo, a crisis call home, a “hey daughter, Dad’s back” moment. That’s not just storytelling — that’s connection. Why does this matter? Because soaps trade in familiarity. They trade in history. When characters vanish with no trace, the emotional ledger goes blank. We didn’t get closure; we got a locked door. DAYS keeps the door ajar. GH locks it.
So here’s the ask: Bring Scotty back. Let Frisco wander home. Not full-time, maybe just enough to remind us the canvas is wide, the past matters, and this town — Port Charles — still holds notes from the theme we’ve been humming for decades. Because when you leave the fans wondering, “Why isn’t he here?” you lose something fragile: the knowledge that your favorite might walk back in. And that is the comfort fans deserve.
GH always has great ambition, bigger plots, and visual polish. But sometimes the heart of daytime is simpler. A character you recognize, a voice you haven’t heard in a while, a return that says, “We remember you.” DAYS gets that. GH should give it a try.
