Occasionally soaps contain scenes that are so off-putting and poorly constructed I find myself wishing I had either misinterpreted them or just skipped them altogether. Fortunately this doesn't happen very often, and when it does it is usually on a soap whose quality has been suffering for quite a while. On Friday, however, General Hospital, a show I consider to be one of the best in daytime, featured one of these scenes. If you watched this episode chances are you already know that I am referring to the scene where Liz's rape became the topic of conversation. It is not that I am against the show making reference to this tragic event because clearly it is a part of Liz's history and the show's history. I just happen to believe that television should handle sensitive subject matter in a responsible manner, rather than placing it in scenes simply because it is convenient. Careful consideration needs to be given to both the setting and the timing so viewers know what message a particular show is attempting to convey when they introduce or re-introduce these topics.
The re-telling of Liz's rape was so ill-timed and in such a poor setting that it made it seem like Liz's only motivation for mentioning it was to keep the truth about her affair a secret. I would even go so far as to say that it seemed like she was using the rape to convince Nikolas and Rebecca that telling the truth would somehow destroy the bond that was formed between herself, Lucky, Nikolas, and Emily years ago. And since Liz's motives for mentioning the rape when and where she did are questionable, it makes me wonder why the show would choose such a seemingly inappropriate time to remind viewers of this ordeal. The fact that Liz was in the middle of Jake's bar as she recounted to Rebecca, Lucky, and Nikolas the details of the night she was raped, while viewers saw clips from this storyline somehow altered the impact this type of storyline should have. In fact it made it seem as if the show was blatantly disregarding the importance of Liz's ordeal by using it as a way to keep Lucky in the dark a while longer. If the overall goal of the show was, in fact, to prolong the Nikolas/Liz/Lucky storyline, then they should have just had Rebecca get amnesia when Nikolas hit her with his car instead of using Liz's tragedy as a cheap diversion.
Liz/Lucky/Rebecca/Nikolas scenes from Friday's General Hospital [no copyright infringement intended]
[no copyright infringement intended]
The re-telling of Liz's rape was so ill-timed and in such a poor setting that it made it seem like Liz's only motivation for mentioning it was to keep the truth about her affair a secret. I would even go so far as to say that it seemed like she was using the rape to convince Nikolas and Rebecca that telling the truth would somehow destroy the bond that was formed between herself, Lucky, Nikolas, and Emily years ago. And since Liz's motives for mentioning the rape when and where she did are questionable, it makes me wonder why the show would choose such a seemingly inappropriate time to remind viewers of this ordeal. The fact that Liz was in the middle of Jake's bar as she recounted to Rebecca, Lucky, and Nikolas the details of the night she was raped, while viewers saw clips from this storyline somehow altered the impact this type of storyline should have. In fact it made it seem as if the show was blatantly disregarding the importance of Liz's ordeal by using it as a way to keep Lucky in the dark a while longer. If the overall goal of the show was, in fact, to prolong the Nikolas/Liz/Lucky storyline, then they should have just had Rebecca get amnesia when Nikolas hit her with his car instead of using Liz's tragedy as a cheap diversion.
Hi, Paula and All!
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you on this. Admittedly,I wasn't watching GH during the Lucky/Liz(Jonathan Jackson days) so I don't have any special allegiance to the characters. I started watching it consistently around the time that Jacob Young started playing lucky.
Having said all of this, I feel like the writers are trying to create a dynamic story line for Liz and Lucky today and it's just not working. I looked at the scenes between the young Lucky and Liz yesterday and that chemistry just doesn't fit now. Perhaps because has Liz has morphed into such an infidel because of her relationship with Nicholas.
The writers also tried a similar tactic when they brought Laura back from her catatonic state. Why bring Laura back when Luke was married to Tracy and had moved on? You can't keep revisiting the past only to have nothing come out of it because LAURA/LUKE or LUCKY/LIZ WERE the thing years ago!
Yes, I think she referenced the rape to draw sympathy (did you see the tears in Rebecca's eyes?. Liz clearly has outgrown Lucky. Wasn't she with Jason not that the long ago? And had a kid with Jason?
This is a story line that needs to be wound up now! And I REALLY don't like Jonathan Jackson as Lucky -- he is SO boyish! Spinelli seems
"middle-aged" compared to Lucky :)
And what did you think of the Franco scenes on Friday with that cop that Dante is working with?
Hope you're avoiding the snow :) Remember James Franco is on SNL tonight!
Paula(s),
ReplyDeleteI found a sort of squirmy "ick" feeling during that scene, especially since, if Elizabeth had those sort of feelings towards Lucky, she sure has it "out of sight out of mind" when she's off with Nikolas. And sensitivity was clearly not evident. They were in a bar, and they weren't alone. There were those people playing pool and the bartender... I can only speak for myself, but when I have some sensitive subject to talk about like rape, I don't blab it out in public to make a point. And poor Tyler had to stand there with that enigmatic "Cassidine" look the whole time. What a waste.
Peggy
Hi Paula!
ReplyDeleteYeah, I can't say that I feel a connection between Liz and Lucky today. I don't think there is enough chemistry between the actors anymore for this pairing to be the success it once was. And I think part of the reason for this is that Liz looks so much older than Lucky now. As I said in the post "The Role of Lucky..." I think Jackson now looks too young for this role. Too much time has passed since he was first on GH and he doesn't seemed to have aged at all during that time.
I think revisiting the Laura/Luke thing might have made for an interesting triangle if Genie Francis had been slated to air longer than she was. It was hard to invest in this storyline knowing that she was only going to be on there for a short while and that her being there probably wasn't going to have any long term impact on the characters.
Yes, Liz was with Jason a while back and had his child.
I have thought for a while now that something was going on with Ronnie. Now to find out that he has some sort of connection with Franco...
Hi Peggy!
ReplyDeleteI agree, Liz was completely toying with Lucky's emotions in that scene. She looked at him as if he was the only man she has ever loved when everyone knows that is not true, regardless of how she feels about Nikolas. This scene was just a mess and not at all necessary for the show. In fact the only good thing I can say about it is they were playing a song in the background that was featured on GH's spin-off "Port Charles". Unfortunately it just wasn't loud enough to drown out the dialogue.
Hi, Ladies!
ReplyDeleteI didn't even watch GH yesterday as I got home late and missed the 10 pm Soapnet airing. So I'm missing your commentary Paula :)))
Getting back to Lucky/Liz, I think you hit the nail on the head, Liz looks so much older (she thinned her eyebrows out for one) and Lucky looks so young! Bad chemistry!
And yes, I had funny feeling about Ronnie, too, during his interactions with DOMTe.
Hi Paula!
ReplyDeleteYeah, you didn't miss much from yesterday's episode, but unfortunately tomorrow marks the last new episode this week. :(
I totally disagree. I think Elizabeth was trying to keep some random girl, who knew nothing about their past, from telling Lucky something that would devistate him. In no way is it Rebecca's place to reveal that particular secret. By telling Rebecca that story, Elizabeth believed that she would show Rebecca what kind of bond her and Lucky have, and how much it would hurt him if Rebecca told Lucky the truth. I agree that Elizabeth might not have gone about it in the best way, but I do not agree that she was just trying to cover her butt. I believe that she was trying to protect Lucky.
ReplyDelete