A Kiss Before Dying?
Soaps In Depth
Nov. 28, 2000
As Chloe’s conditions takes a turn for the worse, her relationship with Stefan gets passionate.
This week, GH’s Stefan encounters an unexpected glitch in his plan to get even with his murderous mother, Helena; his own feelings for his unwitting pawn, Chloe. After they share a shocking kiss, her illness intensifies, and she falls unconscious. Then her abductor must make a life-altering decision for all concerned. Will he damn the woman he hates or save the woman that he may be starting to love?
“Stranded” on the island for months with only each other for company, Stefan and Chloe couldn’t help but grow close. Thus, as the week begins, he gives her a lesson in the Cassidine’s game of choice-chess-and she proves to be a worthy opponent. Later, as they continue to share their deepest feelings, their eyes lock, and he interprets it as an invitation.
The first kiss between the introverted Stefan and the free-spirited Chloe originally was to be played as an impulsive act, with him taking a leap of romantic faith. But after his portrayer Stephen Nichols took a second look at Stefan’s fear of taking risks of the heart, the plan was altered.
“I can ask her in a roundabout sort of way, but if she’s not inviting me with her eyes, it’s not going to happen-“I’m not kissing her”, the actor explains. “It’s got to be, “Listen, baby, you wanted it, I gave it to you, and now I want to her how you feel.’ He’s too guarded to be impulsive-especially now in this situation. If he trusts her, if there’s some trust, and there’s reciprocation, then he would be more likely to be impulsive. He has to grow to that.”
For her part, Tava Smiley believes that her alter ego in essence did ask for Stefan to pucker up. “When you’re in a position of not wanting to admit your feelings, even to yourself, you still might want something,” she ventures. “A part of her is feeling like she’s not sure what her situation is with Jax, yet she’s developing feelings for Stefan.”
Meanwhile, according to Stefan’s master plan, Chloe continues to be haunted by visions. But when she collapses, everything that he has worked for is sent into flux. As much as he wants to stick it to his Mommie Dearest, he also must do something to help Chloe.
“When she passes out, I know instantly what it’s about, acknowledges Nichols, referring in character to his withholding of Chloe’s medication. I realize in those moments how much I care for her. That will hit me by surprise.”
Adds Smiley, “Chloe has had some bouts that the audience and Stefan haven’t seen. She was trying to live in denial, but not for denials sake. It’s more to focus on the positive.” Ridden with guilt and concerned for Chloe, Stefan realizes that if he doesn’t get her help, she will go blind-or worse. At the same time, he is beginning to be aware of the extent to which he has been scarred by his past, ventures Nichols. “Being excommunicated from everybody and knowing that his own mother has done this to him has a tremendous psychological impact on him.”
“But, he adds,” the clever thing that has happened on the island is that Chloe found this journal from when Stefan was 10 years old. If she had not found that, there would have been no reason for me to open up even a little bit to her. If the manipulations would have continued, yes, maybe I would have been attracted to her physically, but there would be no real human connection without a devise like that. From the moment she started reading that journal and telling me that she liked the little boy, it reminded me again of who I once was.”
At the same time, Chloe got ideas about who Stefan still could become. “She is intrigued by the way he has turned out,” admits Smiley. “She wants to break him open. He’s a challenge.” “Yet her heart has gotten involved because she has so much feeling for him, she adds”. “Here he is, the brother of her best friend Alexis. Even though he sometimes comes off as a dark character, Chloe knows how much Alexis loves him, and that definitely affects her. Chloe knows that he is worthy of that love by the fact that Alexis is a smart woman-if she can love him that much, it must be worth it.”
Frightened by Chloe’s collapse, Stefan agrees that they must leave the island-in spite of the brewing storm at sea. “Getting her back to civilization is all that matters,” says Nichols, who adds that Stefan doesn’t like his mask being pulled off. “He can be very manipulative and a great game player. But his emotions are very close to the surface.
“You can expect him to pull back immediately until he feels there is some trust that has developed-especially (in light of) his relationship with Laura and all that…he’s deeply hurt,” he continues. “He’s never going to put himself out there for anybody unless he’s sure it’s going to be reciprocated.”
no comments