The One Key Ingredient Missing From General Hospital’s Michael/Willow/Chase Love Triangle… That We Aren’t Actually Missing at All
Doing the right thing has put Willow with the wrong guy.
Truth be told, General Hospital‘s Michael/Willow/Chase story shouldn’t work. For one thing, what started as a quadrangle — with Sasha in the mix — turned into a triangle when Ms. Gilmore wound up drifting into a completely different storyline thanks to her involvement with (and pregnancy by) Brando.
And then there’s the fact that, unlike in a typical soap triangle, no one is actually torn between two lovers. Instead, Willow is married to one man but truly in love with another. While her heart did at one point belong to Chase — and many fans hope she may rediscover those feelings — she is currently written as being all-in with Michael.
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So what’s the one thing this storyline is missing? A villain. A bad guy. Someone who is very clearly in the wrong and deserving of the audiences vitriol.
That is, after all, the norm when it comes to soap triangles. Think Alan Quartermaine trying to literally bring the roof down on wife Monica and her lover Rick, or Sam hiring men to make Elizabeth believe that being with Jason would put her children’s lives in danger. (Sidebar: Wasn’t it cool to see how far these two have come when this week, they bonded while declaring their independence from Jason?)
It’s not simply a General Hospital trope but more a soap staple. The Young and the Restless‘ Phyllis is generally seen as having destroyed Sharon and Nick’s marriage. Days of Our Lives‘ Sami still resents John for having come between her parents, Marlena and Roman. (In both cases, of course, the truth is far more complex.)
This time around, however, everyone truly believes themselves to be doing the right thing. Willow stood by Chase’s side — and eventually became his wife — when it seemed this was his dying wish. Chase wasn’t, as so often happens on soaps, faking an illness in a desperate attempt to prevent Willow from being with Michael. Could we see good guy Chase go dark if he discovers that his new bride’s heart belongs to another? It’s a distinct possibility, although it seems more likely that he would step aside to allow them to reunite.
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So the question is, General Hospital viewers, do you think the storyline needs someone who can be perceived as the bad guy? Or is it enough that the notoriously vicious and cruel fates are working overtime to screw with three people who have the best of intentions? Hit the comments section to tell us whether you think Willow might rediscover her feelings for Chase during their marriage or if her heart truly belongs to Michael now. Then check out the gallery below in which we look at 20 of daytime’s greatest love triangles to see if you can ascertain who was the “bad” person in each.
