Hollow Man

 

As sad as I am to have to admit this - - I was unable to enjoy Luke's intervention last Thursday.  It was beautiful soap: it had great acting (as per usual), it had decent writing (as per almost never), and the entire episode had no mob (is it snowing in hell right now?), and yet . . . . I was unsatisfied.

 

I hate to complain because this kind of emotionally-charged character-driven familial interaction is exactly what I'm always saying that Port Charles needs more of.  It's just that this was an empty and hollow example, it was clearly self-serving grand-standing on the part of head writer Bob Guza, and I refuse to endorse it. 

 

First of all, this was clearly the episode General Hospital will submit for Emmy consideration for "best writing" as if it were indicative of Guza's work as a whole, and then Bob will pat himself on the back for a job well-done when he is rewarded a trophy for writing one quality soapy episode out of two hundred and sixty shows this year.

 

Second of all, I resent the fact that similar to Dante's shooting being all about Sonny and his pain, Jake death has been reduced to a contest between Jason and Luke about their respective pain.  Screw Lucky and Liz and adorable little Jake himself, let's focus on the truly important stuff - - the guilt being felt by a hitman and a drunk who were, at best, peripheral participants in Jake's life.  In retrospect, it's clear that Guza fast-forwarded through Joss's illness and Jake's death because he wanted to move quickly to the "real" story.  Nincompoop!

 

Note to Jason:  Yes, tragedy can strike anytime and anywhere and it can not always be avoided. HOWEVER, surrounding a child with violence does significantly increase those odds so STFU about having a new kid already.  Do it or don't, I couldn't care less, but don't use poor little Jake's death to justify your decision on the subject.

 

Third of all, I applaud the use of flashbacks, but if Guza had bothered to write for the Spencer clan at all for the past five years, they wouldn't have needed to remind viewers how these characters are related to one another, so I am still bitter.  Side note: Where was Bobbie?  No phone call from the wig on a stick in France?

 

Fourth of all, did Guza intend to be so unclear about his story-goals leading up to the intervention or was it sheer incompetence?  Because, seriously, for the past few weeks I was convinced that ABC Disney was trying to get the message out that driving impaired is A-OK as long as one can "hold your liquor" like Luke Spencer can.  It's like Guza is trying to blame Luke's drinking for Jake's death without actually having the balls to say that Luke was drunk when he hit the tyke.

 

Fourth of all, an entire hour?  Straight?  I feel like they should have covered half the intervention at the end of Wednesday's show and half at the beginning of Thursday's to break it up a little, because dear god was that emotionally exhausting to sit through all at once.

 

Fifth of all, any guesses as to whether the writing staff will even remember this plotline or any of the ultimatums given when Anthony Geary gets back from his summer vacation in September?

 

Yeah, me neither.

Comments

[Scrimmage]

One thing I can say, the intervention episode was certainly different. You might call it “A Very Special Episode” of General Hospital, except not so much. I found it somewhat interesting because it was such a radical departure to the usual format of the show, using only one set and an ensemble of characters, dramatic lighting, and camera angles. I’ve always said the strength of the writing team is the way they do interpersonal dialog and today was again an example of that. The show was well written, well-acted, and I liked the surreal way the flashbacks were incorporated. It was an ambitious attempt at creativity, but all in all it fell flat for me. Mostly, I found it depressing and I wasn’t ever entertained or uplifted. I think Luke summed it up best when he called it “pointless.”

I don’t think Luke was impaired when he hit Jake, but that, and not Luke’s drinking is the real reason, the trigger behind this, yet all these concerned loved ones hardly mentioned Jake’s death and the affect it has had on Luke. Luke’s drinking wasn’t out of control until AFTER he hit Jake, and yet they didn’t address Luke’s guilt and remorse at all. I also found the way they staged the intervention insulting, drugging him, tying him to a chair, bringing in a condescending stranger. And for Luke, as furious as he was, the choice between Shadybrook or being shunned by the very people that shanghaied him must not have been very hard at all. If they had been listening to what he’s been saying lately, instead of trying to “cure” him, they would realize that he’s been telling them goodbye because he thinks they would all be fine, and indeed better off without him. All they’ve accomplished is giving him the perfect excuse to take off and never look back, and after that, who could blame him?

Instead of dreary rehab at Shadybrook, they should’ve SUGGESTED de-tox at some plush resort-like facility. Challenge Luke to flush the booze out of his system for 90 days and then see how he feels. They could say that’s the least he could do for them, and I don’t see how he would refuse a reasonable request like that. This feeble attempt at emotional blackmail isn’t going to cut it with Luke Spencer, even in his weakened state of mind. This show only served to further de-construct one of the most iconic characters in the history of the genre. Perhaps that WAS the point.

[Sandy]

The hour was interesting, but at the end Luke was still the ass he always was. He was brought on the show to rape Laura, now at the end of GH he kills a child after drinking all day, or his entire life and we're supposed to cheer? What is up with Guza killing kids, raping women, murdering good people and letting the mob and evil people go free? I'm really getting sick of this soap.