Teresa Castillo as Sabrina Santiago (IMBD) Thoughts & observations of Port Charles happenings.
Patrick, Sabrina & Baby Gabriel
On 5/27, I was really confused as to why Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) would give her son, Gabriel, her last name instead of Patrick’s and how Patrick didn’t flinch at this, but baby names would be the least of my ‘Patrina’ concerns as their story developed over the month. For 6 WEEKS, Gabriel was in NICU, being prematurely born after a hit-and-run car accident on 4/24 (current suspects are Luke and Rafe). We saw all of these gentle moments; everyone connected to Sabrina and Patrick had their hearts invested and just when it seemed like we’d finally see the child recover, he died. Ay, yi. In the DEC 2013/JAN 2014 edition of “LIPC” , I argued that Sabrina shouldn’t have been pregnant in the first place, but since she was and Castillo soon had to go on maternity leave, I suggested that, at a speedy pace, Sabrina miscarry and maybe go into a depression and want to leave town for a while. I made this suggestion with the assumption that Sabrina’s child would be used as a tool to keep the impossible love triangle with Robin going. Once it seemed that wasn’t the case thankfully, I was more open to the idea of a Patrina baby as the writers put some cards on the table to improve the situation and make it convenient. Sabrina gradually toughened up, detached from Patrick and became Carlos’ savior, setting the stage for a Patrick-independent storyline and at last, some sort of joy. Maybe this baby would actually be more about her than him (especially when the writers played with Carlos being the father; I’d love for Jeffery Vincent Parise to get more camera time). Castillo’s exit was set as Carlos worried Ava made good on her threat to harm Sabrina: she could’ve been forced into police protective custody, which would’ve driven Patrick (Jason Thompson) insane.
Oddly, the writers blew all their cards away; why I’m surprised, I don’t know. Sabrina gave birth, briefly lost touch with reality after watching Gabriel die and went back to Puerto Rico with Juan to regroup. I’m sure the rationale for this was the tragic drama and Patrick having another reason to resent Robin because she wasn’t there to support him (actress Kimberly McCullough isn’t currently on the series). Was there no other way to keep the emotions high? Killing Gabriel felt like a cheap stunt. The 6 weeks had no payoff, coming off like filler until Castillo’s exit date and a possible longer-term storyline (and a new character for the next generation) was relinquished for temporary commotion. You might ask: well, what about Patrick and the vehicular homicide charge? That’s not temporary? Patrick has enough cause to be angry with Robin; that fire isn’t in desperate need of gas at all. As for the “Who done it?” part of the story, that would still be there and the culprit would still face serious charges worthy of a soap courtroom. Yes, the grieving and funeral scenes were powerful (I was in tears multiple times; Castillo and Thompson did great work), but I still question the necessity of the death and debate which outcome would be more lastingly useful. Last month, I expressed my surprise that this new (circa 2012) writing team would kill A.J. Quartermaine, knowing that Quartermaine deaths were the most complained about story facet of the 2000’s. Child deaths are also on the list, most notably Jake Spencer (the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan, adopted by Lucky Spencer) in 2011. I’m not sure what they’re thinking about, especially after being on a baby-boom roll.
Sam, Silas & Nina
On 6/3, Silas (Michael Easton) went to Danny Morgan’s birthday party and was surprised to find his wife, Nina (Michelle Stafford), who he thought died after being in a 20-year coma. At first, his current girlfriend Sam (Kelly Monaco) was gracious, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and tried to conceal their relationship so Silas could have a moment to get Nina settled and wrap his head around the revelation. Prior to Nina being hospitalized, Silas had an affair with Ava Jerome. Nina resolved to work on their marriage and was soon pregnant. Around the same time, she was supposed to inherit assets from her father’s will. Her mother, Madeline, didn’t want Silas around and tried to drug Nina to induce a miscarriage. The baby died, but Nina unexpectedly went into a coma. Silas didn’t know Nina was pregnant until recently. Nina woke up decades later, learning what her mother did and that Silas had a child with Ava, who now lives with him and his nephew Rafe. She has no money (so she says), requires around-the-clock rehabilitation care (not true, but we’ll get to that) and has next to nowhere to go. Kind of a big deal, right? Not really, says Samantha!
Patrick, Sabrina & Baby Gabriel
On 5/27, I was really confused as to why Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) would give her son, Gabriel, her last name instead of Patrick’s and how Patrick didn’t flinch at this, but baby names would be the least of my ‘Patrina’ concerns as their story developed over the month. For 6 WEEKS, Gabriel was in NICU, being prematurely born after a hit-and-run car accident on 4/24 (current suspects are Luke and Rafe). We saw all of these gentle moments; everyone connected to Sabrina and Patrick had their hearts invested and just when it seemed like we’d finally see the child recover, he died. Ay, yi. In the DEC 2013/JAN 2014 edition of “LIPC” , I argued that Sabrina shouldn’t have been pregnant in the first place, but since she was and Castillo soon had to go on maternity leave, I suggested that, at a speedy pace, Sabrina miscarry and maybe go into a depression and want to leave town for a while. I made this suggestion with the assumption that Sabrina’s child would be used as a tool to keep the impossible love triangle with Robin going. Once it seemed that wasn’t the case thankfully, I was more open to the idea of a Patrina baby as the writers put some cards on the table to improve the situation and make it convenient. Sabrina gradually toughened up, detached from Patrick and became Carlos’ savior, setting the stage for a Patrick-independent storyline and at last, some sort of joy. Maybe this baby would actually be more about her than him (especially when the writers played with Carlos being the father; I’d love for Jeffery Vincent Parise to get more camera time). Castillo’s exit was set as Carlos worried Ava made good on her threat to harm Sabrina: she could’ve been forced into police protective custody, which would’ve driven Patrick (Jason Thompson) insane.
Oddly, the writers blew all their cards away; why I’m surprised, I don’t know. Sabrina gave birth, briefly lost touch with reality after watching Gabriel die and went back to Puerto Rico with Juan to regroup. I’m sure the rationale for this was the tragic drama and Patrick having another reason to resent Robin because she wasn’t there to support him (actress Kimberly McCullough isn’t currently on the series). Was there no other way to keep the emotions high? Killing Gabriel felt like a cheap stunt. The 6 weeks had no payoff, coming off like filler until Castillo’s exit date and a possible longer-term storyline (and a new character for the next generation) was relinquished for temporary commotion. You might ask: well, what about Patrick and the vehicular homicide charge? That’s not temporary? Patrick has enough cause to be angry with Robin; that fire isn’t in desperate need of gas at all. As for the “Who done it?” part of the story, that would still be there and the culprit would still face serious charges worthy of a soap courtroom. Yes, the grieving and funeral scenes were powerful (I was in tears multiple times; Castillo and Thompson did great work), but I still question the necessity of the death and debate which outcome would be more lastingly useful. Last month, I expressed my surprise that this new (circa 2012) writing team would kill A.J. Quartermaine, knowing that Quartermaine deaths were the most complained about story facet of the 2000’s. Child deaths are also on the list, most notably Jake Spencer (the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan, adopted by Lucky Spencer) in 2011. I’m not sure what they’re thinking about, especially after being on a baby-boom roll.
Sam, Silas & Nina
On 6/3, Silas (Michael Easton) went to Danny Morgan’s birthday party and was surprised to find his wife, Nina (Michelle Stafford), who he thought died after being in a 20-year coma. At first, his current girlfriend Sam (Kelly Monaco) was gracious, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and tried to conceal their relationship so Silas could have a moment to get Nina settled and wrap his head around the revelation. Prior to Nina being hospitalized, Silas had an affair with Ava Jerome. Nina resolved to work on their marriage and was soon pregnant. Around the same time, she was supposed to inherit assets from her father’s will. Her mother, Madeline, didn’t want Silas around and tried to drug Nina to induce a miscarriage. The baby died, but Nina unexpectedly went into a coma. Silas didn’t know Nina was pregnant until recently. Nina woke up decades later, learning what her mother did and that Silas had a child with Ava, who now lives with him and his nephew Rafe. She has no money (so she says), requires around-the-clock rehabilitation care (not true, but we’ll get to that) and has next to nowhere to go. Kind of a big deal, right? Not really, says Samantha!
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