2001 Reveals
Soap Opera Weekly
November 6th, 2001 Vol. 12 Issue 45
Hit Or Miss: The Mother Of All Reveals On OLTL
by Travis Kinsey
WHEN IT COMES TO BIG SOAP REVEALS, One Life To Lives's Jessica not being Clint and Viki's daughter was about as big as they come. Still, the "I'm-your-real-daughter" twist has been so overdone that these scenes could easily be have been ho-hum. But this revelation was anything but boring, thanks to some brilliant ensemble acting.
Erika Slezak's Viki has always been formidable, and she was here too. A person would be crazy to mess with this woman when she's mad. But Slezak had a worthy adversary in soap newcomer Melissa Archer. As Natalie, Archer gave as good as she got. Before the big reveal, Nat toyed with Viki, warning her that she didn't know what she was in for. As foolish as such a statement sounded in light of who Nat dealing with, Archer made the words believable and ominous, getting right in Slezak's face, bringing an intensity to the scenes that heightened the drama long before the actual reveal.
When the secret finally did come out, Barbara Garrick's performance as Allison, the plan mastermind, was chillingly calm. As simply as if she was reading a grocery list, Allison recited how she took Nat as a baby and replaced her with Jessica. Garrick's matter-of-fact tone demonstrated that Allison is as deranged today as she was when she kidnapped newborn Natalie. Garrick let Allison relish being in control, and the simple pleasure she exhibited was positively scary. Interestingly, the person most affected by the reveal had the least to say.
Erin Torpey held Jessica almost in suspended animation as these scenes played out. The look on her face went from disgust to shock to a surprising - though tentative - acceptance. As Viki fought valiantly against what she was being told, Torpey played Jessica as someone who, while obviously shocked, was entertaining the idea that what she was hearing could be true. Jess said little, but we can't say enough about these electrifying scenes."
