GH: Hayden's Departure

Below are my thoughts about Hayden Barnes' (Rebecca Budig) departure from Port Charles and "General Hospital".

Since this is my blog, and I try not to lie about things when it comes to story, it took me a long time to warm up to the character of Hayden. Her original story being a con trying to trick Jason (Billy Miller) bothered me. Her story with Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) and diamonds wasn't to my liking either. How romantic, Nik had her shot to keep her quiet, and instead of dying, she went into a coma. Having her become Elizabeth's (Rebecca Herbst) half-sister only reminded me about my frustration of lack of Webber presence on canvas. Never having their shared father show up even with a recast, was extremely annoying.

Eventually my feelings for her changed, I didn't care about Finn (Michael Easton) either, but somehow Hayden and Finn clicked. Tossing both of those characters in scenes with Jane Elliot's Tracy didn't hurt, as this odd trio at least was something different. Also it finally meant that Michael Easton wasn't stuck in a story with the characters he played with as either John McBain or Silas Clay, which was a huge relief.

Anyway, Hayden and Finn nearly died of some fake soap opera illness. He figured out a cure, using Roxy the lizard to save them. Unfortunately he was addicted to a highly illegal drug, which kept him alive. They got through all of this, while Hayden developed a legitimate friendship with Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner). This helped strengthen his character as well.

Eventually Hayden discovered she was pregnant, but ultimately decided to continue the pregnancy even with Finn's problems. Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gatti) blamed Finn for losing her job at the hospital, and wanted Finn to pay by hurting Hayden. Obrecht did some research and found Hayden's former husband Jared Preston Jr. (Matt Corboy). He wouldn't stop calling her by her old name Rachel, went to prison for her, as she drove drunk and caused a young girl to be paralyzed. Hayden couldn't deal with the situation, and lied to everyone. She convinced Finn that they should get married right away, and go on a honeymoon, to a country without extradition. She decided to embezzle from the hospital, with a fake dummy company, but backed out, and ran leaving only her engagement ring behind.  The hospital isn't pressing charges as Hayden didn't actually steal any money for long enough to spend it.

Curtis didn't want to help Finn find Hayden, as he wanted to be a friend to his friend. Finding out it was Obrecht's fault, she left changed his mind. Hayden believed that Finn didn't want her even though they were to be married that day at the Quartermaine mansion. At least, Finn wasn't at the altar when he found out that Hayden wasn't coming to the ceremony.

This is a huge open door for the character. I hope they don't forget about the pregnancy, and the baby who is a Webber. I'm not expecting a recast or a SORAS anytime soon, but how often does GH leave a story so wide open. It is sad that Elizabeth finally had a relative that wasn't a child and this happens. We'll probably see Rebecca Budig acting again in another project sometime soon, as she's been in the business (gasp) over 20 years.