Sofia Mattsson (Sasha) and Johnny Wactor (Brando) took fans
along for the devastating, emotional journey Sasha & Brando went through
when coming to terms with letting go of their baby Liam. This past week’s shows started with Sasha
& Brando getting the upsetting news that their baby was found to have
little to no brain activity. Mattsson
and Wactor displayed how desperate their characters were with trying to come up
with a way to get their baby home as soon as possible and that they would provide
care for their baby at home. When the
news started to sink in just how dire Liam’s situation was; Wactor showed in
his facial expressions and body language how Brando slowly started to accept it
while Mattsson showed just how in denial Sasha was. Sasha had a moving conversation with Brando
that Liam is the only family she has which makes it that much more difficult to
face having to let him go.
Later on, Brando received support from Nina (Cynthia
Watros). Brando was hoping to find a
miracle so that he and Sasha didn’t have to say goodbye to their son. While talking to Nina, Brando was reminded
that Nina had survived coming out of a long-term coma and that maybe his son
could do the same. Wactor’s tears and
the sound of desperation in his voice tugged at fans’ hearts; they could feel
just how badly Brando wanted to save Liam and their family.
Meanwhile, Sasha needed a moment with Liam and then Sonny
(Maurice Benard) joined her. Sonny talked
about how he had to make a difficult decision when it came to letting go of his
father, Mike. He had to do what was
right for his father vs. avoiding the pain it would cause him [Sonny] to lose
him. Sasha realizes she must do the same
for her son. Brando & Sasha meet
back up and decide they have to say goodbye to Liam. Fans definitely needed tissues on hand for
these heart-breaking scenes. Sasha
requested to hold their baby after he is taken off the machines and Brando
leans over to kiss the baby while she holds him. Sonny’s father, Mike (Max Gail) appears to
help take baby Liam to heaven and that they will be ok. When Brando and Sasha see Sonny, Carly, and
Nina after they let go of Liam, Sasha breaks down in Brando’s arms. Mattsson had been crying heavy tears
throughout the whole week’s episodes, but that final cry after the baby was
gone will be unforgettable. Fans could
feel Sasha’s pain through Mattson’s powerful performance.
Mattsson and Wactor showcased what it truly means to support
their screen partner; the give and take they had to carry out those heavy
scenes was fascinating to watch. It also
allowed fans to experience the emotional rollercoaster with their
characters. The storyline has been a
controversial topic on Twitter – Mattsson gave birth in real life recently, the
story in general is heart-breaking, it’s right before the holidays, and it’s on
the heels of Jason’s presumed death.
Wactor himself had addressed the controversial topic on Twitter:
“I want to thank everyone for being so invested in
watching Liam’s journey. It’s obviously
an incredibly painful storyline that has left many of you with the question, simply
put, “Why?” Why tell a story of two new parents, with a shaky foundation but
who have hope to maybe be something together, and then take away the greatest gift
they’ve ever had before they even get to truly cherish and nurture that gift,
their baby boy Liam? Why this story during
one of, if not the roughest stretch of time in many of our personal lives? Why
during the holidays? Especially, when
General Hospital is many of yours escape.
An escape that is expected to provide joy in times of need. I won’t speak on the timing, appropriateness,
etc. BUT I will offer my speculation
from my end as a player in telling stories.
We tell stories that are often times extreme, rare, and worst case scenario. These stories are painful. Painful to watch and painful to play. This story about Liam is especially
devastating due to the child’s innocence ad unfair circumstances. Imagine the pain of those families that have
suffered these circumstances in their own real lives. This story is for them. To show them that we see them. That something so terrible and seemingly uncommon
and unbelievable can be recognized by the storytellers they watch and they get
to see their story shared with millions of viewers. Perhaps, that brings them comfort in some way. Being seen.
And perhaps as not so gentle encouragement to people everywhere to be
grateful for the things we do often take for granted. One of them being life. Our own life and the life of our loved
ones. Especially during the
holidays. So often we can get caught up
in buying gifts and receiving gifts and prioritizing such as the most important
part of the holidays when really the most important is being with those you
love and are still with you on these holidays.
Life is precious and fragile and death, although inevitable for everyone,
can come unexpected. So…I share this not
because it’s the “right” answer to the question “Why?” There is no right answer. This is just my speculation. My understanding. And I think conversations
that are so geared towards understanding are far more productive and helpful to
everyone than a conversation where the goal is to be right. I hope my understanding of Liam’s storyline
is helpful. That is all. Again, I’m so thankful to all of our fans for
watching, the kind praise and truly just honored to have such sparked such fervent
conversation with this story. Hope to
bring everyone some undisputed JOY in the storylines to follow. Much love.
And happy holidays.”
Wactor’s statement shows just how much thought and consideration
went into the story. No matter which “side”
fans are on in the debate; all would agree that Mattsson and Wactor have been doing
a phenomenal job carrying out the storyline.
General Hospital
Brad gets out on parole and will be staying with his aunt,
Ms. Wu who does not want Britt anywhere near Brad.
Curtis wants nothing to do with Marshall until he finds out more
about him first. He enlists Drew to help
him. TJ wants to get to know
Marshall. It is revealed to fans that
Stella knew that Marshall was alive this whole time as well as Curtis’ mother
and that they all agreed to keep it a secret.
Marshall was/is a musician and feels like Curtis owning a nightclub with
an interest in music shows how they’re connected.
Liz wants Peter dead.
She kissed Finn and later confides in Portia and Terry about her kiss
and her conflicted feelings; she does care for Finn but she is still in love
with Franco [her deceased husband who Peter murdered]. She tells Finn how she feels and that she
wants to take things slow.
Willow is mad at BLQ for lying about the baby to Chase. BLQ feels like Willow shouldn’t judge her
considering she cheated on Chase with Michael.
BLQ later tells Chase that she feels like he should defend her so people
can stop thinking the worst of her. He
tells her it would be hard for him to do that considering he’s supposed to play
the victim in the scenario, but he lets her know that he sees her.
Harmony runs into Willow and Willow agrees to set up a day
for her to see Wiley. Harmony also runs
into Alexis and Alexis thinks it will be hard for them to maintain their
friendship due to Kristina.
Kristina doesn’t think Alexis and Sam should work together.
Sam and Scout have a nice moment decorating a Christmas tree with Drew.
Leo goes for an evaluation [to see if he has autism]. Olivia and Ned need to make a follow up
appointment to get the results. When
Olivia and Carly see Nina and Sonny talking; Olivia pulls Nina away to warn her
to stay away.
The Young & The Restless
Noah agrees to work for Newman Media. Faith questions Noah if he’s still interested
in Tessa and he denies it. Tessa asks
Mariah if she still wants to start a family.
Chance admits to Abby that he took on the mission because he
felt like a failure when he couldn’t father their baby. He runs into Devon at Society ad tells him
that he’s afraid he won’t live up to Abby and Dominic’s expectations. Christine lets Abby and Chance know that the
bad guys have been captured. Chance
meets with Paul to determine if he’s ready to go back to work.
Victoria thinks they should send Katie and Johnny to
boarding school and Billy agrees.
Victoria and Ashland go on a double date with Nate and Elena. Nate asks Elena to move in.
Chelsea comes back to Genoa City, but does not return to
Newman Fashions initially. Chelsea asks
Adam if there is any way for them to reconcile and Adam doesn’t think they can. Sharon and Rey are doubtful that Chelsea has
made a full recovery. After Chelsea
meets Sally, she agrees to work for Newman Fashions and she warns Sally to not
go after Adam romantically.
Chloe catches Sally in the act of spying on Billy & Lily
in a disguise. Sally claims she’s doing
it for Newman Media. Billy lets Jack
know that he has been putting on a public show of him backsliding.
Days Of Our Lives
Kate tells Chloe and Brady that they will pay if Phillip is
found dead after she identifies his prosthetic leg. Trask convinces Kate and Victor to have
Phillip be declared legally dead which leads to Brady getting arrested. Kate later
finds Phillip in her bedroom. Phillip
fills her in on his plan to frame Brady for his murder.
Susan warns John that the Devil is interested in Ben &
Ciara’s baby. John finds them, but the
Devil interferes with John telling them the Devil’s intentions. Shawn is later able to tell Ben himself. The Devil strangles Ben and John, but Belle
shows up and knocks her out. Yet The
Devil manages to escape from them. She
goes to Jan, who is still in a coma, and demands she wake up.
EJ tells Susan he plans on divorcing Sami, but Susan thinks
he shouldn’t give up on his marriage. Allie
thinks Sami should get back together with Lucas. Sami destroys the divorce papers to EJ. Rafe kisses Nicole which Ava sees.
Gwen convinces Xander to go on a vacation with her to
London. They run into Rex on their way
out of the Salem Inn, which Gwen was hoping to avoid. Rex tells Xander he hasn’t seen Sarah since
she was supposed to marry Xander.
The Bold & The Beautiful
Ridge and Taylor reunite.
Steffy lets Thomas know that Taylor is back in town and talk about what
their lives would have been like if their parents had stayed together. Ridge
shares with Taylor the struggles he and Brooke are having over Deacon. Taylor asks if Thomas is going to get full
custody of his son. Steffy wants their
mother to stay with her as opposed to Taylor staying in a hotel. Taylor later
meets Finn and she approves of his and Steffy’s relationship. Taylor finds it ironic that Steffy fell in
love with Sheila’s son. She’s thrilled
that Steffy and Liam are no longer together.
Taylor confides in Steffy that Ridge is the love of her life.
Katie tells Brooke that Bill is still trying to pursue
her. Katie is proud of Brooke for not interfering
with Deacon and Hope reconnecting. They
then talk about their own strained relationship with their father, Stephen.
Hope and Deacon realize they both share a love of martial
arts. They practice self-defense moves
together and Brooke later joins them.
Sheila accuses Deacon of taking a janitorial job just to
impress Brooke. She also accuses him of
loving the fact that he’s causing problems for Brooke and Ridge.
Brooke is thrown off that Taylor is back in town. Brooke and Ridge argue over Deacon, Taylor,
and Douglas’ custody.
(Article written by Adriana Grecco)
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