Well, looks like it’s really over. Vanessa Marcil Giovinazzo took to twitter last night to reveal that this upcoming Thursday, June 9, is her final tape date at General Hospital. Exactly a year ago today, GH fans were buzzing over the announcement that the soap superstar was returning as Brenda in August.
For two months, we wondered about her return story, how her presence would shake things up in Port Charles. Would she visit Edward? Would there be another stab at the Sonny/Brenda/Jax triangle? Was she connected to Franco? Was Brenda pregnant with Jax’s baby when she left in 2003? Will she reunite with her BFF Robin? Will she continue to drive Jason crazy? What will Sam think? How pissed off is Carly going to get? And, will General Hospital fans finally be happy?
So what ended up happening? A lot of disappointment. After spending the rest of the summer in Rome, Brenda didn’t make her way back to Port Charles until the fall. Did we have a big character-driven love triangle or quad? Hell no. Instead we had Brenda hiding out from and then being captured by the cartoon supervillain, The Balkan. Another mob storyline that viewers hated. It’s a shame that Bob Guza wasn’t fired a year ago – the year of Brenda could have been so much better.
As for the ratings? It took over six months for GH to go up, and that was during Brenda and Sonny’s wedding – which was probably the only “must see” moment as the utilized most of their cast and gave off one hell of a cliffhanger (Sam was recovered from the limo explosion and not Brenda).
This exit shouldn’t really come a surprise to her fans, since she told Access Hollywood earlier this year that her time of the show was almost over. There was a lot of speculation about Vanessa’s contract when she agreed to return. ABC and Guza were saying she was back for the foreseeable future, 2 to 3 years it seemed. Surprise, surprise, ABC lied, in reality, she only signed on for a year. Vanessa was the only one who told the truth. She was always adamant that this was a “visit.”
A year ago, fans were just happy that she was coming back. A year later, thanks to Guza’s horrible writing, the fans are split. A large group cannot wait for Brenda to leave Port Charles after eating up all the storylines for a year. Meanwhile, another group of loyalists are sad to see her leave and are just hurt at the way the regime wasted her return. I think viewers just wanted to see Brenda interact with the other characters. I’ve actually enjoyed Brenda’s story the past few weeks since she got her kid back and is facing Sonny’s wrath for giving his daughter Kristina advice on older guys and wardrobe. It’s a shame that with Bob Guza gone, we won’t be able to see what kind of stories new head writer Garin Wolf could come up with for Brenda. Vanessa has mentioned that there will be a twist in her return. Hopefully since Ingo Rademacher is also on his way out, Wolf can find a way to write Brenda and Jax off together and even make him the father of her son, Alec.
So what did you think about the year of Brenda? It’s pretty safe to say that once again, General Hospital fans deserved so much better. Honestly, I hate to quote a band like Fall Out Boy, but Guza and the current GH regime deserves nothing better than mediocre at this point: “Thanks for the memories, even though they weren’t so great.” At least this return promo received an Emmy nomination. Honestly, if only the shows were as good as the promos.
Vanessa has made it clear that she would be open to returning for another visit. Hopefully, there’s still a show that she can return to.
I would HATE to see Brenda exit with Jax! Even though I did like them together at one point in the show, it’s clear to me that it’s really always been about Sonny and Brenda. Over the weekend, I escaped into the early years and watched most of the 90s and early 2000 shows that included Brenda and Sonny. They have such a fantastic, unforgettable history! I was mesmerized for hours and hours! If there’s even the slightest chance that GH’s time is nearing an end, I seriously hope that the writers don’t forget the history of this fabulous couple and ruin it. Otherwise, I hope that Vanessa will have an opportunity to return in the future with the promise of better writing and a much improved story for her character. Sonny and Brenda are the best soap couple ever. Even better than Luke and Laura of the 80s! Fingers crossed that if the show is cancelled, someone will realize that GH could survive during evening primetime as a once per week drama! Then Vanessa wouldn’t be able to turn them down due to the crazy schedule that is characteristic of daytime tv!