Just Breathe - A Sonny and Alexis Website

Soap Opera Weekly
January 29, 2002
Cover Story: GENERAL HOSPITAL BATTLE
CARLY OUT, ALEXIS IN!
THE BATTLE FOR SONNY: Alexis makes her move
Alexis, fans rejoice! This week on General Hospital, Alexis finally decides it's time to tell Sonny how she feels about him.
So, what took so long? "Alexis is a master of control," offers Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis). "She's ethical, and he is not hers to be had. There's another woman involved."
That would be Carly. "Another thing, too, this is not the kind of man she'd think would be appropriate for her," Grahn points out. "This is sort of like college, where your heart goes pitter-patter and you do things you normally wouldn't do or say. I don't think she had that experience in high school or college, but she's having it now. She's more mature than this, in her appearance and how she thinks of herself."
Even when Alexis tried to forget her favorite client by accepting a date with Scott at the PC Grill, whoops, there's Sonny…and Courtney… and Mike! When a fight breaks out at Sonny's table (the man can't even go out for a burger without causing a scene), Alexis ditches Scott and brings Courtney back to the penthouse. Alexis does her damnedest to play peacemaker and defends Sonny to Courtney, revealing the details of his troubled childhood and estrangement from Mike. When Alexis offers Sonny a shoulder to cry on later, she decides she can't hide her emotions any longer.
"I hear a lot of people like Sonny and Alexis as a couple," muses Grahn. "I think the network is going, 'Oh, now what do we do?' This [romance] came out of the blue, which is what happens in real life."
Sonny and Carly fans certainly didn't see it coming-and they're not happy that Alexis is in and Carly is out.
"Alexis comes across as Sonny's mother, not his lover," slams bouncybrunette on the Web site wicked-games.com., which comes as no surprise to Grahn, who knows what she's up against. "The Carly fans are tough. I wouldn't want to meet them in an alley," she cracks. "They're going to beat me up."
But the growing legion of Sexis supporters is standing strong. "This will be the new supercouple of GH," predicts sonnydaman at wicked-games.com. "These two confide and trust each other like I have never seen them with anyone."
Maurice Benard, who's had a long in the Sonny/Carly relationship, supports a Sonny/Alexis pairing, too. "It's just there," he marvels. "We're in a scene and there's no work. This relationship came subtly-it wasn't forced. It wasn't like 'OK, let's get a chick and put her here with this guy.' Whatever happens now will make sense."
Benard adds that each of his leading ladies-the other being Tamara Braun-shows a different side to Sonny. "Nancy brings out the fun side, and Sonny cares about Alexis a lot," he offers. "The fun and the caring is nice, also the teasing that I like to do. Tamara brings out the pain and the love."
Which begs the question: What happens to Carly now?
"Ah, Carly loves Sonny-there's no doubt about it. But interesting things happen to her," teases GH head writer Megan McTavish. "We opened her up, got her in a business deal with Jax. We got Zander watching her for Sonny. I would just say that unexpected romance is a theme for this winter."
Don't count Carly out of this triangle just yet. "Carly is close to Mike. That will bring Carly and Sonny into each other's orbit again," promises McTavish. "It also brings Alexis into his orbit again. So, the question becomes, "Does all the emotional complication draw Alexis and Sonny closer together? And if so, what is Carly's response?-Joanne Gallo