Jimmy Deshler was Rafe Kovich Thoughts & observations of Port Charles happenings.
Patrick, Rafe, Sam, Silas & Nina
This paragraph is mostly plot summary, so you can skip to the 2nd one to read my thoughts on this crew. Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) nifty detective work lead her and Patrick (Jason Thompson) to the person who ran his family off the road and caused the premature birth and subsequent death of his son, Gabriel. It was Rafe (Jimmy Deshler). As the clues pieced together, everyone close to Rafe learned that he was responsible for the accident and was using cocaine (laced with heroin as later learned). When he went to Silas’ apartment to get his things and go on the run, he heard a standing Nina (Michelle Stafford) plotting against Silas. To keep Rafe from exposing her plans to make her husband suffer (he had an affair with Ava Jerome before she went into a coma 20 years ago), she reminded him of his dyer situation and gave him money and a car to get away (7/2). Molly (Haley Pullos) came across him and got in the car, insisting on a drug intervention. Rafe revealed that he wasn’t on drugs the night of the accident and that someone put him up to it. Before he could say who that someone was, he collided with a police blockade (7/7). Both he and Molly had head injuries. Molly recovered, but Rafe’s condition was life-threatening and required immediate surgery. Given it was the 4th of July (and it’s soap-opera land), Patrick was the only surgeon available. Silas (Michael Easton) feared Patrick would seek revenge and not properly work on Rafe, but chief-of-staff Dr. Obrecht persisted and the procedure happened. Patrick’s darker conscious appeared to him (Thompson’s characterization of “Bad Drake” was fantastic), arguing that he could cut a vein and no one would know, but Rafe bled out anyhow and was declared brain-dead. Silas instantly accused Patrick of intentionally trying to murder Rafe. Patrick later confided to Sam that he thought about hurting Rafe, but didn’t follow through (7/11). Hoping it might deter Silas from taking his claims to the press, Sam shared Patrick’s secret while Nina was eavesdropping around the corner (7/17). To protect the hospital and beat Silas to the punch, Dr. Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) launched a press conference. Nina told a journalist about Patrick’s private thoughts and he was cornered on camera. Obrecht closed the conference and fired Patrick as a precaution (7/22). Sam didn’t give Silas the benefit of the doubt, charged him with breaking confidences and telling Nina what Patrick said, and blamed him for firing. This further angered Silas about Sam’s unwavering trust of and loyalty to Patrick. Overwhelmed by all the gradual discord and hurdles, Sam broke up with Silas.
Ok, now that I’ve told you the story, time for thoughts. I was disappointed that Rafe was killed. The kid was finally getting interesting and he was axed. Rafe needed to stay on canvas if for no other than 2 reasons: 1) There aren’t enough teenagers as is, and 2) he was the last major link to the Port Charles soap spinoff. All of Silas, Sam and Kiki’s “shoulda, coulda, wouldas” about paying more attention to Rafe were like scripted representations of how the writers neglected him themselves. I hate when characters like Rafe are brought on, used to propel others and then done away with. Clearly his death was a tool for this insanely fascinating Patrick vs. Silas vs. Sam storyline, so I can’t say that it was unnecessary, but I can’t help but wonder if there was another way to make the 3-way tension happen. Could there have been the same amount of conflict if Rafe was comatose or on-trial? I think so and longer term too. Rafe didn’t have to die for the Luke secret to stay buried either; car-crashes are great at erasing memories in soap-land. After all, Molly herself couldn’t remember that Rafe was put up to the accident. Speaking of Molly, Pullos stole the scene where Silas had to pull the plug on Rafe. Rafe’s uncle, cousin and adoptive mother were in the room and his crush had me most in tears. One of the longer-term conflict points could’ve been Molly throwing her all into helping Rafe recover and beat criminal charges, while her boyfriend TJ continues to fester with resentment.
You have to admit, Nina emphasizing Sam’s lack of suspicion in Patrick to Silas and creating distrust by giving the journalist that tip was well-played and pretty smart. I’m eager to see what she’ll do to Ava (Maura West). Nina is kooky, eccentric and calculating; I’m enjoying her so far, really. Although Sam’s hunch that Nina is up to no good is accurate, it’s largely unfounded and just comes off childishly jealous. If the writers wanted to show Sam’s keenness, they should’ve given her something more concrete to go on. On the other side, the dialogue between Patrick, Sam and Silas has been great. When an appalled Silas defended himself against Sam’s assumption that he squealed on Patrick, every other line I was like “Checkmate!” “Checkpoint!” Sam quickly believed Patrick when he said he only thought about killing Rafe, but refused to consider the plausible possibility that someone overheard her conversation with Silas on the hospital roof. Then, she believes the wheel-chair bound Nina (as far as Sam knows, Nina can’t walk) listened in when there’s no elevator to the roof (making Sam look even more jealous, foolish and desperate)! I cackled when Silas said “When I said that to you the other day [that someone could’ve eavesdropped], you said that was impossible…Now, all of the sudden, of all things, someone confined to a wheelchair overheard us?” Silas asked Sam when she stopped trusting him and she gave some B.S. answer that they’ve spent so much time apart lately. Being involuntarily away because of unusual and pressing circumstances makes you untrustworthy? When you met him, he was the twin brother of a serial killer and a viable attempted murder suspect himself in incapacitating a wife you didn’t know about right away (that he also cheated on), but your trust is shook now? Laughable! If you’re familiar with my writing, you know I that I’m not the biggest fan of the SiAm pairing, so prepared to be shocked: I thought the breakup was kind of whack. I understood Sam’s decision from the angle that they’re currently on divergent wavelengths and their lives are over-complicated, but to hinge so much of her reasoning on Nina was ridiculous. Silas is so obviously not interested in being with Nina and he’s assured Sam of that multiple times, but she’s convinced somehow that Silas is secretly pining. Ok, girl. It’s more like your insecurity is getting the better of you. Before I move on, how funny was it that they had the press conference in the middle of the hospital? Guess they didn’t want to build a separate set. Oh, and Patrick and Sam’s conversation about her being a “bad ass” (8/1)? So cute (that is, if you can put “cute” and “bad ass” in the same vicinity)!
Patrick, Rafe, Sam, Silas & Nina
This paragraph is mostly plot summary, so you can skip to the 2nd one to read my thoughts on this crew. Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) nifty detective work lead her and Patrick (Jason Thompson) to the person who ran his family off the road and caused the premature birth and subsequent death of his son, Gabriel. It was Rafe (Jimmy Deshler). As the clues pieced together, everyone close to Rafe learned that he was responsible for the accident and was using cocaine (laced with heroin as later learned). When he went to Silas’ apartment to get his things and go on the run, he heard a standing Nina (Michelle Stafford) plotting against Silas. To keep Rafe from exposing her plans to make her husband suffer (he had an affair with Ava Jerome before she went into a coma 20 years ago), she reminded him of his dyer situation and gave him money and a car to get away (7/2). Molly (Haley Pullos) came across him and got in the car, insisting on a drug intervention. Rafe revealed that he wasn’t on drugs the night of the accident and that someone put him up to it. Before he could say who that someone was, he collided with a police blockade (7/7). Both he and Molly had head injuries. Molly recovered, but Rafe’s condition was life-threatening and required immediate surgery. Given it was the 4th of July (and it’s soap-opera land), Patrick was the only surgeon available. Silas (Michael Easton) feared Patrick would seek revenge and not properly work on Rafe, but chief-of-staff Dr. Obrecht persisted and the procedure happened. Patrick’s darker conscious appeared to him (Thompson’s characterization of “Bad Drake” was fantastic), arguing that he could cut a vein and no one would know, but Rafe bled out anyhow and was declared brain-dead. Silas instantly accused Patrick of intentionally trying to murder Rafe. Patrick later confided to Sam that he thought about hurting Rafe, but didn’t follow through (7/11). Hoping it might deter Silas from taking his claims to the press, Sam shared Patrick’s secret while Nina was eavesdropping around the corner (7/17). To protect the hospital and beat Silas to the punch, Dr. Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) launched a press conference. Nina told a journalist about Patrick’s private thoughts and he was cornered on camera. Obrecht closed the conference and fired Patrick as a precaution (7/22). Sam didn’t give Silas the benefit of the doubt, charged him with breaking confidences and telling Nina what Patrick said, and blamed him for firing. This further angered Silas about Sam’s unwavering trust of and loyalty to Patrick. Overwhelmed by all the gradual discord and hurdles, Sam broke up with Silas.
Ok, now that I’ve told you the story, time for thoughts. I was disappointed that Rafe was killed. The kid was finally getting interesting and he was axed. Rafe needed to stay on canvas if for no other than 2 reasons: 1) There aren’t enough teenagers as is, and 2) he was the last major link to the Port Charles soap spinoff. All of Silas, Sam and Kiki’s “shoulda, coulda, wouldas” about paying more attention to Rafe were like scripted representations of how the writers neglected him themselves. I hate when characters like Rafe are brought on, used to propel others and then done away with. Clearly his death was a tool for this insanely fascinating Patrick vs. Silas vs. Sam storyline, so I can’t say that it was unnecessary, but I can’t help but wonder if there was another way to make the 3-way tension happen. Could there have been the same amount of conflict if Rafe was comatose or on-trial? I think so and longer term too. Rafe didn’t have to die for the Luke secret to stay buried either; car-crashes are great at erasing memories in soap-land. After all, Molly herself couldn’t remember that Rafe was put up to the accident. Speaking of Molly, Pullos stole the scene where Silas had to pull the plug on Rafe. Rafe’s uncle, cousin and adoptive mother were in the room and his crush had me most in tears. One of the longer-term conflict points could’ve been Molly throwing her all into helping Rafe recover and beat criminal charges, while her boyfriend TJ continues to fester with resentment.
You have to admit, Nina emphasizing Sam’s lack of suspicion in Patrick to Silas and creating distrust by giving the journalist that tip was well-played and pretty smart. I’m eager to see what she’ll do to Ava (Maura West). Nina is kooky, eccentric and calculating; I’m enjoying her so far, really. Although Sam’s hunch that Nina is up to no good is accurate, it’s largely unfounded and just comes off childishly jealous. If the writers wanted to show Sam’s keenness, they should’ve given her something more concrete to go on. On the other side, the dialogue between Patrick, Sam and Silas has been great. When an appalled Silas defended himself against Sam’s assumption that he squealed on Patrick, every other line I was like “Checkmate!” “Checkpoint!” Sam quickly believed Patrick when he said he only thought about killing Rafe, but refused to consider the plausible possibility that someone overheard her conversation with Silas on the hospital roof. Then, she believes the wheel-chair bound Nina (as far as Sam knows, Nina can’t walk) listened in when there’s no elevator to the roof (making Sam look even more jealous, foolish and desperate)! I cackled when Silas said “When I said that to you the other day [that someone could’ve eavesdropped], you said that was impossible…Now, all of the sudden, of all things, someone confined to a wheelchair overheard us?” Silas asked Sam when she stopped trusting him and she gave some B.S. answer that they’ve spent so much time apart lately. Being involuntarily away because of unusual and pressing circumstances makes you untrustworthy? When you met him, he was the twin brother of a serial killer and a viable attempted murder suspect himself in incapacitating a wife you didn’t know about right away (that he also cheated on), but your trust is shook now? Laughable! If you’re familiar with my writing, you know I that I’m not the biggest fan of the SiAm pairing, so prepared to be shocked: I thought the breakup was kind of whack. I understood Sam’s decision from the angle that they’re currently on divergent wavelengths and their lives are over-complicated, but to hinge so much of her reasoning on Nina was ridiculous. Silas is so obviously not interested in being with Nina and he’s assured Sam of that multiple times, but she’s convinced somehow that Silas is secretly pining. Ok, girl. It’s more like your insecurity is getting the better of you. Before I move on, how funny was it that they had the press conference in the middle of the hospital? Guess they didn’t want to build a separate set. Oh, and Patrick and Sam’s conversation about her being a “bad ass” (8/1)? So cute (that is, if you can put “cute” and “bad ass” in the same vicinity)!
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