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Digest Salutes The Best In Daytime
Lucky's "Death,"
GENERAL HOSPITAL

And was it ever. First to witness the horror was Lucky's true love, Liz, who, sensing something was amiss, ran to the motorcycle shop, only to find it engulfed in flames and chaos. "Oh, my God--Lucky!" she cried hysterically as a sympathetic Taggert held her back.

Slowly, the dreadful news crept through town...to Bobbie...then Nikolas...then Luke...then Sonny and Jason. Luke raced to his son's home, only to witness with his own bleary eyes that the nightmare was true. "I'm sorry," whispered Sonny, who knew that Luke believed the fire was a retaliatory message from Moreno. "Well that makes all the difference," Luke choked. "What's a dead son between friends?" Pow.

Luke the left to find his estranged wife, Laura. In what will become a scene for the ages, brilliant actors Anthony Geary (Luke) and Genie Francis (Laura) tore out their hearts for us, expressing the bottom-of-your-soul pain of losing a child.

From there they somehow made it to the morgue to identify their son's body. No words were necessary to see that they believed the charred body was Lucky's--the horror, shock and revulsion on their faces spoke volumes.

Even more intense was the scene just outside the morgue where Luke and Laura ran into Sonny and Jason. "Murderer," Laura snarled at Sonny, before directing her venom at Luke for even introducing the mob into their lives.

Back with Liz, the scenes were quieter, but no less compelling, as the teen went home and struggled to wrap her mind around the fact that Lucky was gone. Emmy-nominee Rebecca Herbst (Liz), who already proved her worth to GH with Liz's rape storyline, pulled out a subtle performance that ran the aching gamut of emotions seamlessly.

At the end of that day, and of the days to follow, GH's crack team of writers and intensely talented actors continued to offer up the on-the-mark aftermath of a loved one lost. And exhausted Liz leaning on friends and memories for support...Laura struggling to go on ("I don't know how to do this," she wailed to Nikolas)...Luke, in his solitude, weeping over visions of his lost "hero"...all in P.C. coming together to grieve at the emotional memorial.

But that's the beauty of GH. The symbiosis between the expressive writers and the formidable talent allows arcs like this to brush every storyline. Even when we joyously learned that Lucky was indeed alive, it wasn't just a story about one character, but about the lives of those who would be impacted by this revelation.

For now, we're left with what feels like a ticking time bomb in our laps. What will Faison do with Lucky? How far can Luke and Laura fall? What will Lucky's loved ones endure if they learn he is alive, but can't get to him? When will Faison be unmasked, and by whom?

We're counting the seconds. Tick...tick...tick....