As General Hospital fans wait with bated breath for Kelly Monaco’s unfortunate departure as Sam, rumors continue to swirl that Sam will die off the soap’s canvas. Although we’ve speculated Sam’s death could tie into the return of Lulu, we’ll have to see what actually happens.
Now let’s assume that Sam does die. The question we then have is what would happen to her kids? Currently, she’s built this nice family unit with Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) where they raise the three children they brought into the relationship. While Rocco (Finn Francis Carr) in many ways has seen Sam as a mother figure with Lulu in a coma, Dante has played a mentoring paternal role for both Scout (Cosette Abinante) and Danny (Asher Antonyzyn). That’s all bound to change in Sam’s absence.
For Scout, with her mother gone, she’s likely to start living with her real father Drew (Cameron Mathison), full-time at the Quatermaine estate. No one will probably challenge his claim to his daughter as he’s a respected businessman turned politician. Plus, while alive, Sam hasn’t had any major co-parenting disagreements with him. However, we can’t say the same when it comes to Sam’s co-parenting relationship with Jason (Steve Burton), especially these days.
From the moment Jason returned from the "dead" after almost three years away from Port Charles, Sam has blasted him for never putting Danny first. She noted he was willing to throw years away with their son in an effort to spare Carly (Laura Wright) from going to prison, and the private investigator further commented on Jason’s dangerous lifestyle. Whether he works for Sonny (Maurice Benard) or the dearly departed John Cates (Adam J. Harrington), Sam believes trouble seems to follow Jason.
It’s because of Sam’s strong feelings that Jason is incapable of prioritizing Danny and staying away from danger, that we believe in the event of Sam’s untimely death, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) will fight for custody of Danny.
If you’re wondering how Alexis could possibly make such a move when she’s in the midst of trying to beat a murder charge, we’ll gladly remind you that Alexis didn’t actually kill John Cates. Additionally, we believe it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes to light, and she’s again walking the streets of Port Charles without suspicion. So by the time Sam passes, Alexis could be beyond the John Cates ordeal.
As for why Alexis would challenge Jason for custody of his own child, she may want to do whatever is necessary to keep Danny safe and understands Sam’s concerns. Not for nothing, Alexis had similar concerns about Kristina when it came to Sonny. And since Alexis is Danny’s maternal grandmother, she may want to do what she can to protect him and his best interests.
With that being said, we don’t think Jason will just roll over and allow Alexis to take his son from his only living parent in this day and age. Since coming back to Port Charles, he’s been making an effort to connect with both of his sons, and Danny in particular is quite fond of Jason. Their shared bond may push Jason to retain custody and it could sway Danny to rebuff Alexis’ attempts to keep them apart.
But let’s say Alexis and Jason do engage in a custody battle. We can imagine things getting ugly rather quickly. For starters, Diane (Carolyn Hennesy) and Alexis would likely face a hiccup in their friendship as the former has been Jason’s attorney for years and would probably represent him in court. Could the two survive the chaos of a custody hearing when personal attacks could get downright low? Diane knows Alexis has many skeletons in her closet, so if they’re brought out before a judge, that could be wreaking ball to their bond.
Then there’s the Carly factor. Everyone in Port Charles knows Carly is a pitbull when it comes to defending Jason, lashing out at his naysayers. Could Alexis survive the Metro Court owner’s attacks?
While Carly would take Jason’s side, what about the rest of Port Charles should they be called as character witnesses? Alexis and Jason could both discover who their allies and friends truly are rather quickly.
As Sam’s departure from General Hospital inches closer, we’ll be paying close attention.
New episodes of General Hospital air weekdays on ABC. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Hulu.
