Here is my very belated summary of the last two episodes of One Life to Live. The episodes felt wistful in tone even if the people involved with the show believed it would continue during its final taping days.
On Thursday, one of the themes was saying goodbye as the people in Llanview were bracing themselves for the last episode of Fraternity Row. There were viewing parties all over town. The Buchanan Mansion, La Boulaie, and Llanfair had the program on their sets. While the characters said goodbye to their favorite show, they also said goodbye to certain people who were moving out of town. Starr (Kristen Alderson) took Hope with her as they were moving to Los Angeles. Rex (John-Paul Lavoisier), Gigi (Farah Fath) and Shane (Austin Williams) were going to be the latest to join the Buchanan outpost in Great Britain as Shane got into an animation school in the UK.
As part of the goodbye to Fraternity Row, Viki (Erika Slezak) spoke in a television interview on “The Blanca Show” as the mother of a former soap star Megan Gordon (Jessica Tuck). She was given a speech that summarized what it is like to be a soap fan for many viewers. It didn’t exactly mirror my experience, but it was poignant. As she made her comments, we saw the characters focused upon that fit her comments like those we watched grow up and there was a shot of Starr for example. Generations of families sat together. After the episode of Fraternity Row ended, we saw the emotions of those watching. The ending disappointed some people, while others were not, just like in real life. In this section, there was a short scene with Viki, Clint (Jerry verDorn) and the twins Jessica (Bree Williamson) and Natalie (Melissa Archer). The dialogue was about Fraternity Row ending, but this emotional Clint speech felt like it was about how the people who worked on OLTL will deal with that loss. I was stunned they didn’t make it a Viki speech, because it spoke from that point of view.
Starr said goodbye to her parents, her brothers Sam (Patrick Gibbons Jr.) and Jack (Andrew Trischitta), and sister Dani (Kelley Missal), Tea (Florencia Lozano), and her grandmother Addie (Pamela Payton Wright). While watching Fraternity Row, one inside joke was how the main female could character has been a man, which was at one point the rumored story for Roxy (Ilene Kristen). Poor Sam was so confused by that plot twist. We saw Starr in LA with her best friends Langston (Brittany Underwood) and Markko (Jason Tam). Cole (Van Hughes) appeared and the four friends were reunited. Sadly this happiness in California was short-lived as Starr lost Hope and Cole in General Hospital’s Port Charles. Tea was thrilled to be reunited with her brother Tomas (Ted King) after John rescued him from Baker (Jonathan Earl Peck). The irony was that Baker was also watching Fraternity Row, and missed the end of the episode due to John.
After Starr left, Blair (Kassie DePaiva) was heartbroken. She and Todd (Roger Howarth) commiserated and became intimate in her room. This was a love scene many audience members waited years for, and it was a happy surprise that time was taken to show Blair and Todd together again. That happiness was short-lived as John (Michael Easton) who put Todd under arrest for killing Victor (Trevor St. John) interrupted them during the afterglow phase.
Matthew (Eddie Alderson) didn’t want to deal with the reality of being a father. He avoided going over to the Buchanan Mansion staying home with David (Tuc Watkins) who told him things straight. David felt that if Matthew didn’t accept his situation that he was not someone he wanted to know. Matthew got to the house, after Fraternity Row ended. Just in time for Destiny (Shennell Edmonds) to be in labor with their child on the couch in the living room. Destiny’s grandparents Frankie Faison and Tonye Patano) were also there for the birth of their great-grandchild. The scenes in which the baby boy was born were not realistic, though in this case it was a good thing. Matthew came up with a name for the baby, which was Drew. Drew was his older brother (Bo’s son), who died in the line of duty as a police officer, before Matthew was born. While this was going on Shaun (Sean Ringgold) tells Vivian (Kearran Giovanni) got back together as he realized he didn’t care whether or not they would ever get married. The most emotional scene at the Buchanan mansion was seeing Bo (Robert S. Woods) break down after the baby was born and saying “I love you, Red” to his wife Nora (Hillary Bailey Smith).
At Llanfair, Viki and Clint awaited news about Jessica’s paternity. Yes there was yet another DNA test, but Clint did not pay anyone to tamper with it. When they received the results, which were dragged out through more than one segment, it was revealed that yes Allison was telling the truth and Clint is Jessica’s father biologically as well as emotionally. After the happy news was revealed, Brody (Mark Lawson) stopped by to see Jessica and they spoke about where they are now. When Clint finally got Viki alone, he proposed. This scene seemingly was the last one ever filmed of One Life to Live.
The last episode began with a voiceover by Allison “my aim is true” Perkins (Barbara Garrick). She was talking to someone off camera about her script about the life of Victoria using all of her last names. During the final moment of the program, it was revealed that Allison was speaking to Victor. He was tied to a bed and was being held hostage. This episode was the definition of a cliffhanger. The book Allison was writing ended up appearing on General Hospital this week, which was a weird tie-in and call back to One Life to Live.
Unlike some other soap operas, the final two episodes played as bittersweet. There was no “oh wow let’s look to our great future” or the actors playing happy while trying to mask their emotions. I appreciated that, as even if at the time they thought the show had a good chance to continue, many people were moving on to look for other jobs. So even if it wasn’t known to be a goodbye, it played as one for certain performers as things wouldn’t be the same.
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