Soap Opera Digest October 30, 2001
Three To Tango
Sonny And Carly’s Relationship Takes A Turn For The Better
On GENERAL HOSPITAL ... But Will Alexis Cut In?
Wethinks GH’s Sonny doth protest
too much when it comes to trying to get estranged wife Carly out of his orbit. And
so does Carly, which is why each day, hour, minute and second since he booted her
for double-crossing him to the cops months ago, she’s been using every trick in the
book to win back her conflicted crime boss. This week, however, Carly makes some
real progress in her quest, as she and Sonny are thrown together in yet another unusual
situation. But will a secret weapon named Alexis blow her plans fore the future to
bits down the line?
In the wake of Mac gathering the suspects in the Sorel
murder investigation (which comes to a conclusion this week) together in a creepy,
old mansion, the flame is turned up higher underneath potentially guilty parties
- Angel among them. By week’s end, an unllikely collection of conspirators - Sonny,
Carly and Jax - come together to spirit Angel out of any possible fixes. And it’s
in that conspiring that Carly is afforded a close moment with Sonny that makes all
the difference in the world: He admits that he still loves her.
"Which Carly’s
always wanted to believe," smiles Head Writer Megan McTavish. "It’s a huge
encouragement for her when he does admit it. But it’s almost doubly frustrating for
Carly that Sonny acknowledges the feelings because she has no idea whether he plans
to act on them. Can she get him to act on them?"
Good question. But on infinitely
complicated by an outside threat to their up-and-down romance. While your natural
inclination would be to see that complication as Angel, you’d be wrong this time,
says McTavish. "Angel is bounced out of the picture of Sonny and Carly."
she relates. "That ceases to become an issue between them."
What is
(and could become more so) is the tight relationship between attorney extraordinaire
Alexis and Sonny. While Alexis may not be a rival for Sonny’s heart right now, she
is certainly one for his head. And who knows where that could lead. "Sonny
and Carly absolutely still love each other and there is still the passion between
them," note McTavish. "But a barrier is still there ... trust. That is
a barrier Alexis has crossed. You see, Sonny and Alexis trust one another in a way
that Sonny cannot trust Carly. So it becomes, does trust develop into love or does
love develop into trust? It could go either way."
Not that Alexis is anywhere
near acknowledging the latent romantic feelings she has for Sonny, as evidenced in
the steamy scene she had about him last week. "I think she doesn’t have a clue
about how she feels about Sonny," sighs Nancy Lee Grahan (Alexis). "It’s
not a conscious thing for her. She thinks this is something that is just off-limits
and not something that could happen." Which isn’t to say Sonny is not slightly
aware that the twosome shares a connection. Nods Maurice Benard (Sonny), "Sonny
cares about Alexis. And he knows that she digs him. That’s what makes it fun."
And fun is a large part of the reason why a number of fans have responded so positively
to potential romance between the lady lawyer and her criminally inclined client.
"Maurice and I didn’t plan any of this." assures Grahan. "But I think
the audience responded to it because it wasn’t spelled out for them. Room was left
for them to contemplate things and say, ‘I wonder where this is going.’ I can see
where people might find this fun to watch. It happened organically.
So, where
do they go from here? Stay tuned, teases McTavish. "Sonny and Carly still share
a passion, a chemistry. This woman is in so many ways the wrong woman for him. But,
at the same time, she’s the right woman. On the other hand, there is a trust and
a friendship and a caring that has always been between Sonny and Alexis, and could
[circumstances] shove him into perhaps seeing Alexis in a different way? That’s absolutely
going to be the emotional story for the next month or so. It’s not an easily solved
thing. So, as one threat [to the Sonny/Carly relationship] leaves, another threat
comes. Just when you think it’s safe [laughs]."