There is a great deal of press being generated about the return of Genie Francis to General Hospital after a 4 year absence and her return will coincide with the date that riveted the world and made the covers of People and Time Magazines among others — Luke and Laura Spencer will celebrate the 25th anniversary of their wedding that garnered the highest ratings of any soap opera event in recent memory.
For those who have not watched or kept up, Luke and Laura married in a spectacular ceremony that brought Elizabeth Taylor to the screen as the despicable Helena Cassidine. Luke and Laura have had their ups and downs over the last two decades, but the love the couple shared seemed capable of weathering disasters both natural and man-made. Together they share two children, Lucky and Lulu. Laura also has an elder son from a brief time she spent held captive to the Cassidines.
Currently
Currently, Laura is languishing in a catatonic state in a hospital brought on by a mental breakdown – about the only way for the show to justify Francis’ absence from their canvas and allowing Luke to live on. The controversy that surrounds Luke’s constant descriptions of being a terrible father and his own deadbeat dadness is related directly to the absence of Laura in his life.
There is a feeling that writers are rewriting history for the show, yet the argument can be made that the absence of Laura from his life. Luke is a master of denial, but in some powerfully poignant scenes airing recently – the loss of Laura is very keenly felt by the character of Luke Spencer and there is a celebratory feeling associated with the long-awaited and desired return of Laura to the canvas where she can be reunited with her children and meet her grandchildren – Nikolas’ (her Cassidine son) son John and the step-son of her beloved Lucky – Cameron.
Laura returning should allow the Spencers to heal wounds and fractures in their family relations. She is very much considered the glue that held them together. It is also the next chapter in a love story that captivated millions.
Exaggerating Marriage
While television exaggerates relationships and marriages, it has done a good job of glorifying the union between Luke and Laura. The love story was even enough to overcome the darkness of the tale surrounding Luke’s rape of Laura prior to their love story truly beginning, It has confronted the darkness in Luke over the issue and it has also looked Laura straight in the eye and questioned how she could forgive the act through the eyes of their son who emotionally needed to come to grips with the checkered and questionable past she shared with his father.
Luke and Laura were not perfect. They are not the ideal or the perfect union. Luke puts Laura up on a pedestal and Laura humanizes Luke and takes the edge of his personal darkness and self-destructive behavior. 25 years is a lifetime and for me personally – it’s a reunion that I look forward to. I remember watching the wedding of Luke and Laura while curled up on the sofa next to my grandmother.
What memories of the time when Luke and Laura married do you have?
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