Destruction better result in Reconstruction (warning spoilers)

Soap  fans have favorites.  That’s how it is always.  Favorites they REALLY  love, favorites they love to hate, and favorite they REALLY hate.    Every one else pretty much falls into  that daily routine of mild /  moderate interest to  downright indifference.  But  one thing is clear during “hard times” for favorites,  the fans watching suffer every bit as much as their favorite character.  Right  now on General Hospital Sonny fans are hanging on by a  thin thread, biting finger nails, closing eyes, skipping scenes and counting weeks to see when their favorite can return to some normalcy and start turning things around.  It is painful to watch a character you love fall apart a little more every day, do some horrid things and know that it will be a long road back.

GW is spinning a tight tale here, interspersing a bipolar disorder  theme with a visit inside of a mobster’s mind, slowly being twisted more each day due to the lack of chemical balance caused by stopped medication and the natural violent disposition and thought process of a mobster.  They overlap more each day as the stoppage of  badly needed medication takes it toll, clouding for viewers  the issue of where the stopped medication ends and the self destructive natural violence of the mobster begins.  Clearly, Sonny is on a violent bipolar spiral which clouds his judgment and intensifies his violent side.

It is clear that fans will choose sides according to agenda, but in all fairness, the blame game if it must be played at all starts with the  patient who refuses his medication.  After that it is a  frightening spiral into hell for viewer and patient as the results of that action cloud common sense and intensify violent reactions.

Haters will use this story line to spin the blame game and hide behind terms like “free pass” but the fact is that nobody riding out a bipolar breakdown is a winner nor is he getting a free pass.  He has by his own bad choice put himself inside the gates of his own private hell.    The other side of the coin is the tendency for fans to want to excuse ALL of Sonny’s choices and blame it on his disease.  That is just as bad because the whole purpose of this trip to hell and back is to educate people about the disease not to excuse it’s character for making bad choices.  Those must be separated and dealt with along with the bad decision to stop medication.  GW has his hands full but he has one ace in the hole and he knows it….a multi-talented, courageous, knowledgeable actor who happens to have experienced this himself and is doing an amazing job of showing a truly torn,  self destructive, confused, frightened man whose tough façade erodes more daily as he falls deeper into the emotional destruction his disease and his choices have resulted in.

One only hopes that viewers stop worrying about winners and losers and see what is the real story here.  Sonny we are told will lose everything and believe in nothing, he will be stripped of his dignity, humiliated publicly and his character will start to find ways to heal.  That is the real challenge here.  Fans have been mesmerized by Maurice’s performance, his ability to show a vulnerability beneath the horrendous decisions and actions of Sonny as his mental health crumbles.  He shows how cleverly one minute Sonny can still hide  his mental state and then within moments fall deeply into a state that is clearly disturbed and confused.

Maurice once again put himself out there to show this side of the disease.  He and his fans deserve to see a light at the end of the tunnel, hope and layering for a character that has been extremely hard to watch if one loves that character as his many, many fans do.  Please, GW,  reconstruct and improve when this is over because the journey has been a very, very hard one for many Sonny fans who love this character.

When the healing starts, please allows us to see CHANGE and layering, to enjoy more of Maurice in the Sonny character, a man who combines charm, humor, romance and family love so appealingly.  Give us hope for making this long ugly journey.

Related articles

Fear the Beast
Bipolar Disorder Overview
Open Directory Project: Bipolar Disorder

Stay Fabulous!

Spoilers

Tuesday, August 23
*Sonny seeks solace in the General Hospital chapel & stews in his greatest regrets.
*Sonny is able to get Michael to see his point of view.
*Kristina lashes out at Sonny, but he sees something is wrong.

Wednesday,August 24
*Abby calls Michael out on his irresponsible support of Sonny over Jax.
*Abby and Johnny learn they have a lot in common.
*Things get ugly between Sonny & Abby!
*Sonny & Abby don’t hold back the verbal punches.
*Dante arrives to find Sonny & Carly fighting over Jax.

Thursday, August 25
*Mac comforts Alexis as she morns Jax.

Friday, August 26
*Things come to a head when Michael annoys his mom by taking Sonny’s side.

Monday, August 29
*Michael sides with Sonny!

Thursday, September 1
*Something is “off” with Kristina!
Kristina gets ill.

Friday, September 2
The hospital has 2 medical issues it has to deal with!

COMING SOON THE WEEK OF AUGUST 29TH

*Kristina is upset with Sonny.

*Lulu eavesdrops on Lucky and Dante

*Carly and Alexis discuss Jax and Sonny.

*Shawn and Carly get closer.

*Something is wrong with Kristina.

*Lucky and Lulu argue.

The following spoilers may have come from GHH

Siobhan manages to leave a note in the aftermath of Anthony’s attack.
Elizabeth fears Lucky will blame her for what has transpired.
Lucky doesn’t see Siobhan’s note.
Lucky later battles the urge to succumb to his addiction.
Matt helps Elizabeth cover when Steve confronts them about the missing drugs that Elizabeth used to help Lucky while he was going through withdrawal.
Matt finds the message (on a pillow?)

Lucky and Elizabeth go down a familiar path in the wake of the murder.

Maxie attempts to bring back “Spinelli”, by bringing The Jackal, P.I. to Georgie’s grave.
“There’s a lot more going on with him than meets the eye, ” says Bradford Anderson in SOD.
For a brief moment, Maxie’s plan works, and an emotional glimmer of Spinelli shines through but it doesn’t last, and Spinelli’s condition is about to get a whole lot worse.

Bradford Anderson explains in SOW that he’s thrilled with the dramatic shift in tone for Spinelli. “He’s losing himself in many ways, and that’s what I’m really interested in playing. Garin said it’s going to go to a dark place. Spinelli’s got a long and winding road ahead of him, and it’s not necessarily good. It’s very clear that he’s headed in a direction that is very dark. There is something really wrong with him, and the possibilities can be really interesting. ”

The Jackal, P.I., decides to take up residence in a dumpster for 24 hour surveillance of the bakery.
The Jackal suspects that the bakery’s name is a clue.
He could actually be on to something at Luzetta’s Bakery.

Diane breaks up with Max with Spinelli sitting between them, while on a stakeout.

Anthony and Skye continue to plot against Tracy.
Johnny arrives in time to overhear Skye and Anthony scheming.Unaware of Jax’s hidden retreat, Carly faces off with Sonny for being a murderer.
Carly prevents Sonny from seeing Morgan, and threatens to put Morgan in military school.
Dante happens upon Sonny and Carly fighting about Jax.Alexis confronts Sonny over Jax.Abby and Michael have had a solid relationship, but this week, cracks begin to show. Andrea Bogart previews in SOW, “The difference in their age is being played out now. Abby is really in love. She cares for somebody and wants to stay in that world, but she’s fearful now of what Michael may or may not do. He’s in a place of soul-searching and figuring out what he likes, what he doesn’t like, where he’s supposed to be. Abby made a lot of mistakes and went down some bad roads that she’s trying to get herself out of. And, it’s that nurturing thing that women often have. They want to save someone else from making the same mistakes they made, and I think that’s what’s playing out, which is ironic because it’s the same thing they connected on – that they both have been through so much. It will be interesting to see how it plays out, to see if he comes into his own and realizes that he doesn’t have to follow in any footsteps. He can make his own path.”Later, a dejected Abby crosses paths with Johnny, and the two discover that they have more in common than they had previously realized. “Brandon and I were just talking about this. We were laughing: He and I are from the same parts of the world. We both grew up in the Midwest. We followed the Cardinals and all that kind of stuff. It was interesting taping that day. It was like, ‘Hmmm, I wonder what they’re doing right now.’ Every time I get a script, it’s exciting to see who I’m working with and what kind of underlying tones there are to it. I love working with Brandon, so we’ll see what happens. They’ve laid some potential possibilities there.”Despite his recent seizures, Jason begins to conduct business from his hospital bed. Sam puts her foot down, and the two share a romantic moment as they plan their wedding.Robin shocks Jason when she explains the cause of his seizures.
Apparently when Jason was in the car accident (the one with AJ years ago), something flew up his nose and lodged into his brain and has been floating around ever since!
“Robin explains that a particle from the dashboard of AJ’s car went through my nose and migrated to my brain. It’s now trying to force its way out. They have to operate to get it out of its going to get worse.”, explains Burton in SID.Maxie brings Sam’s engagement ring to the hospital as everyone waits on Jason’s outcome.

Jason is quite the womanizer in some of the upcoming dreams.
Carly’s dream takes place inside Jake’s Bar and involves “take charge” Jason and jukebox “action”!
Liz dreams that she’s an artist and Jason’s an architect who is free-spirited and likes to travel and dream.
Sam’s involves Hawaii, bad guys and Jason to the rescue.
Monica dreams that Jason is a doctor who just became Chief of Staff and that Alan is alive.Steve Burton shares in SOW, “We do a whole thing from their perspective of what their fantasies are of how I wake up and who I am. In Monica’s dream fantasy, I’m who she thinks she wants me to be, and it’s the same thing for Carly, Sam and Elizabeth. It’s going to he so cool because I get to play basically four different characters, besides my own.”In SID, Burton says, “I pictured the way Jason Quartermaine would be. He’s almost a combination of Jason Quarteraine and AJ.”Leslie Charleson speaks of her delight to see Burton reprise the role of Jason Quartermaine, who was on the fast track to becoming a doctor before a car crash at the end of 1995 changed his life path. “It was wonderful to see Steve have more words than me for the fist time since I’ve known him. I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed working with him in that capacity. You couldn’t get the smile off my face.”Charleson is also thrilled with Stuart Damon’s re-appearance. “It brought back so many memories for us,” LC smiles. “We got a glimmer of those days gone by, with all the fighting and all the craziness, which was such a gift … You’ll see that Jason’s wearing a stethoscope in those scenes. Well, they first suggested a doctor’s coat and they grabbed Stuart’s old coat, but between Steve’s shoulders and Stuart being taller, it didn’t quite work out.”Liz and Jason fans will also get a glimpse of what might have been had Jason and Lz gotten together. “All I can say is, be careful what you wish for,” teases SB.Matt helps Liz out in a tough situation by replacing the medication.Carly and Alexis discuss Jax and Sonny.Kristina is upset with Sonny.Johnny asks Ethan to get info on Skye for him.

Kristina reacts with tears and takes off after overhearing Ethan flirt with Skye
while downplaying Kristina.

Kristina collapses after running out of the Haunted Star!
Worse yet, Anthony Z. is the first one to find her!

After overhearing Dante and Lucky talking, Lulu is hurt that Dante kept the truth from her regarding Lucky having been drugged.
Lucky and Lulu have an emotional argument.

Carly and Shawn grow closer.

Michael and Edward bond as they wait for news about Jason

Spinelli makes an emotional visit to Jason’s bedside as Sam sits vigil.

Sonny and Anthony cross when Anthony tries to visit Jason.
Patrick interferes and in doing so, makes a big mistake.

“Steve Webber has some secrets of his own…he is not as “perfect” as he seems.Ethan will have a really fun adventure and Lulu ends up involved since she’s always wanted to be like her parents.”Sonny gets in so deep, he can’t pull himself out. It will remind him of his childhood, when he had no power at all.” The key to Sonny getting out of his dark place is in his own hands; Kate will play a big part. She’ll open some old doors and some new ones.According to Garin Wolf, Regarding Sam and Jason’s wedding. “It’s nothing the audience expects, and its nothing that Sam and Jason expected, either. It’s romantic, fun…but there’s always someone who might just drop in. Before [Franco] is through, he’ll throw in the whole toolbox!” As for a baby, there will always be baby talk between them and there will be important baby talk.There’s heartache, redemption and learning ahead for Liz and Lucky.
Siobhan will have a profound effect, but not how you might expect.Luke returns to see the damage he caused. “Luke thinks he knows how to fix [the damage he’s done]. He’s going to get one of the biggest curve balls of all.”There’s a hush-hush secret happening with the Cassadines–even the other writers are being kept in the dark until its “need to know”, as determined by Garin Wolf.Something triggers Spinelli to return and he will try to change, which will throw Maxie for a loop. She’s caught between him and Matt and will have to make an interesting choice.Michael will surprise everyone and then the story goes in another direction. Abby has a big decision to make.

Regarding Patrick and Robin, “Love never dies.”

“Sonny gets in so deep, he can’t pull himself out. It will remind him of his childhood, when he had no power at all.” The key to Sonny getting out of his dark place is in his own hands; Kate will play a big part. She’ll open some old doors and some new ones.

GH gets a new Kate

Tthe role of Kate Howard has been recast.  Kelly Sullivan will take over for Megan Ward as Sonny’s fashionista ex. Kelly has reportedly had small parts on “One Life to Live” and “As the World Turns,” as well as guest starred on “Law & Order: Criminal Intent.” Word is nuKate will begin airing in the fall.