Why General Hospital Should Have Modeled Triangle After Days of our Lives

It was set to be a blockbuster of a story as Steve Burton returned to the role of Jason Morgan on General Hospital. In the story, his wife had moved on with a man, Drew (Billy Miller), who thought he was Jason. That setup will sound familiar to fans of Days of our Lives, back when Roman (then Wayne Northrop) returned to find John (Drake Hogestyn) living his life.

Days of our Lives Triangle

John truly believed that he was Roman — and the woman they both loved, Marlena (Deidre Hall), was torn in two. This was back in the early ’90s, and it was incredibly compelling as fans were also split in their loyalties. The show milked the triangle in a few different ways, with those around the three leads reacting to the quandary too.

And it had lasting consequences. Marlena returned to the real McCoy but couldn’t deny her lingering feelings for John. The two engaged in an illicit romp on a plane that was witnessed by her daughter with Roman, Sami (Alison Sweeney), who spun out of control for over a decade and daughter Belle (Martha Madison) was conceived!

General Hospital Triangle
Opportunities like this don’t happen often on soaps, but few fans would argue that GH didn’t take full advantage of the gold mine they could have had with their three powerful actors in this story. Sam (Kelly Monaco), like Marlena, had to be convinced that the man with the right face was truly her lost love, but she never seemed torn.

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Also, once she did realize it was Jason she truly loved, the story ended. Drew was spun away from her orbit, barely given his own story with a son he never knew about from a lost love he didn’t remember. Viewers were set up and ready for huge drama to be delivered only to have Miller leave the show and heroic Drew was killed.

Missed Opportunity

The show had done a lot to set up Sam as no longer wanting the mob life. Drew left Sonny (Maurice Benard) and chose Sam and their family. That was the story — but instead, Sam went right back to being a Jason apologist, risking their lives, and now her children are living without their mother and viewers are living without compelling drama.

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