“If at first, you don’t succeed, try, try again” could be a motto for some soap couples — but not all. One couple who should have thrown that mantra out the door a year ago was General Hospital’s Elizabeth and Finn.
General Hospital Had It Right A Year Ago
Most of the time, if a soap pairing is panned by the majority of the fandom for over a year, the soap will cut its losses and end things. That’s exactly what GH did last December when Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) reverted back to her independent, feisty, and sometimes-scheming self, telling Finn (Michael Easton) she was pregnant with Nikolas’s (Adam Huss) child to help her bestie with his Esme mess.
A sigh of relief could be heard across much of the fandom, but for some reason, GH thought if they just rested the pairing for a few months, they could try again later and people would forget why they hated Elizabeth and Finn together to begin with.
The most glaring problem with this couple is that there is absolutely zero chemistry between them. That is not to say the actors aren’t talented and trying, but Elizabeth and Finn are just better off as friends and co-workers than lovers. If that was the only issue, maybe fans wouldn’t feel as strongly about how wrong they are for one another, but it’s not the only issue.
The other glaring problem will always be the way their “love story” (if you can call it that) was first written. Finn took on the role of Elizabeth’s protector when he barely even knew her, declaring what was wrong and right for her, while also trying to run her life.
On top of that, Finn became the focus of Rebecca Herbst’s 25th-anniversary story when it turned out a teenage Elizabeth pushed Finn’s wife down the stairs years ago, indirectly leading to Reiko’s death and Liz’s decades-long estrangement from her parents.
It felt like a slap in the face to Elizabeth fans, which was another reason why it felt fitting that Finn and Elizabeth seemed to end as 2022 did. Boy were were wrong.
GH Broke What It Fixed
As 2023 began, we looked forward to a fresh start for both characters — away from one another. However, GH truly believed if we didn’t see Liz and Finn together for a few months that we’d forget everything that was wrong with them the first time.
That didn’t happen. Their “dates” are still awkward, the chemistry is still non-existent, and Elizabeth doesn’t seem to have a life of her own without Finn. In fact, we see her more with his daughter than with her own sons.
There was nothing sexy or romantic about Finn teaching Liz how to tap a tree for maple (in October?) just before they had sex for the first time. And, there was nothing sexy about him licking said maple off her fingers. Unfortunately, it all seemed quite icky, cringy, and wrong.
We are not sure why GH continues to force a pairing that the majority of fans either vehemently hate or couldn’t care less about, but that’s what the show has done through part of 2021, all of 2022, and most of 2023. Please, let 2024 be better — for the characters, the actors, and the fans.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for times. Remember, you can always find the latest GH spoilers, recaps, and news on Facebook at General Hospital Daily. Also, meet fellow fans and talk all things GH with our Facebook community group.
