The funeral for Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) was this week, and it was underwhelming. It was impossible to ignore how woefully inadequate the funeral was as a sendoff for a legacy character like Sam. After twenty years on the show, Monaco deserved more respect.
There was controversy over Monaco’s exit from the show, but leaving that aside, the final farewell to such an established character was a slap in the face.
The montage of clips at the end of the funeral episode where Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) was sitting with daughters Molly (Kristen Vaganos) and Kristina (Kate Mansi) was emotional and heartfelt. But it didn’t really capture the character’s long history or complicated growth over the decades. And the eulogies given by her friends and family fell flat. They seemed perfunctory and shallow, not the tributes the character or the actress deserved.
The Eulogies
Starting with Lucas (Van Hansis), he didn’t even get to say goodbye to his sister. It makes sense that he was feeling guilty and feeling like Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Alexis might blame him for Sam’s death, but he should have been given the chance to say goodbye. It’s not very likely that a brother wouldn’t give a eulogy for a sister he loved.
How did no one notice that he wasn’t there? And no one went to find him or check on him? It seems like whether or not they want to admit it, some of Sam’s family do think he was somehow connected to Sam’s death. No one has really been reaching out to him or trying to include him as they all try to process their grief.
Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) eulogy was a huge disappointment. Elizabeth and Sam have a history that rivals many of the longest-running relationships on the show. But in her eulogy, she barely mentioned their long history.
Maybe it’s a hot take, but I thought it would have been a better tribute to Sam and Monaco if Elizabeth had talked more about the conflicts they used to have and what it took for them to eventually work through them.
Their checkered history and ultimate friendship that took decades to form shows huge character development for both characters. It also says a lot about the bond between the actresses who have been working together for more than twenty years. But that was glossed over and summed up in just a few carefully worded sentences. A connection of two decades warranted more recognition.
Now Lucky (Joshua Jackson) isn’t the best at communicating his feelings, so I wasn’t expecting a lot from his eulogy. But it was so much worse than I expected. Lucky sounded like he was listing off talking points when he was talking about Sam’s sacrifice and how it saved Lulu.
Lucky had a long history with Sam, just like Elizabeth did. He cared enough about her to have an affair with her at one point. It was strange that he didn’t mention anything about their history in his eulogy and only talked about the transplant. He mentioned that he and his family will always owe Sam a huge debt, which is true and was a nice recognition for Sam. But Sam should be remembered for much more than just her final act of generosity.
Jason’s (Steve Burton) eulogy wasn’t very eloquent, but it was straight from the heart and very true to character. It was the only one I felt really talked about Sam as a person and her complicated history.
Part of what made Sam special was how she overcame her troubled and criminal past to become a loving mother and partner. But her friends and family didn’t talk about that as much as they should have, except for Alexis. After Alexis, Jason came the closest to giving the kind of eulogy that Sam deserved.
The final montage
Sam’s final montage, which played at the end of the funeral episode, did capture some of the high points of Monaco’s 20-plus years on General Hospital. But a couple of minutes of quick clips was just not enough to sum up the blood, sweat and tears that Monaco put into the creation and development of Sam McCall.
Monaco originated the character and except for a few brief recastings over the years, Monaco was the one who made Sam the complicated character she was and was responsible for Sam’s transition from troubled young woman to mature mother and partner who was active and present in the lives of the people she loved.
Kelly Monaco, and Sam McCall, both earned a sendoff that highlighted the character’s long life and growth throughout the years. Neither got it. But to Monaco, GH fans will never forget Sam’s journey or the care and love that you put into crafting this character.
New episodes of General Hospital air on weekdays on ABC. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Hulu .
