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‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: Controversy Over Franco’s Redemption — Is Bringing Back Elizabeth’s Rapist The Way To Do It?

By Kim Brandow
Published on: 03:21 PST, Nov 17, 2016

There is some controversy brewing on General Hospital recently that has many fans questioning the show’s morals when it comes to violence against women and the men who do it. Rape is a touchy topic to cover, especially with a soap that has now had two major story lines over the years on this particular act of violence. The show has just brought rapist Tom Baker back, which has stirred many emotions as it involves new couple Elizabeth Webber and Franco Baldwin.

Tom Baker raped Elizabeth when she was a teen, and now that he has been released from prison, Franco is on the warpath. On Wednesday’s episode of General Hospital, Elizabeth’s man paid a visit to the unsuspecting rapist to protect his girl. While Franco could very well have killed him right then and there, viewers later saw that Tom is indeed alive and well. Now that Liz is relieved that Franco is fine, the twosome is about to make some romantic plans to spend some special time together, as Soaps She Knows has stated. However, Liz is also supposed to run upon a nasty surprise as well. Does it have anything to do with Tom Baker or is it something else?

The controversy is that Franco also has a violent past. While he didn’t actually rape Sam Morgan, he did make her and Jason believe that he did, and that leaves a bad taste for some General Hospital viewers. Yes, they explained that a brain tumor was the cause of his previous acts of violence, and Franco has tried to redeem himself and try to be a better person, but some are not big fans of him being paired with Elizabeth because she was actually raped.

However, there are just as many viewers who are thrilled to have this couple together and are begging for more. Franco’s mission is to protect Liz from her rapist, and he went over there to threaten Tom. He could have just killed him, but it looks like he chose to scare him off instead.

The good news is that Tom will probably just leave Elizabeth alone for now. The bad news is that he seems to be making his rounds elsewhere. He showed up at the bar where Alexis had just met with Jax and was seen at the end of the episode handing her a drink. The previews for Thursday also had her waking up in an unfamiliar place wondering what had happened the night before. The speculation is that she was either completely drunk or that she was drugged. Did Tom Baker strike again?

The blooming love story between Franco and Liz certainly has its complications. While many are appalled by the General Hospital writers trying to redeem Franco through Elizabeth’s past, others are instead applauding this story line. There is no doubt that actors Rebecca Herbst and Roger Howarth have definite on-screen chemistry between them, but viewers are cut right down the middle as to whether they see this romantic relationship as gross or as one of the great soap couples ever.

Daytime Confidential had touched on this subject of trying to redeem Franco by bringing in Tom Baker and reliving his girl’s rape story so many years later. They had commented on how writers Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman had to learn the rich history of this General Hospital story and to write the past of Liz’s rape into the present one where she and her new boyfriend, who also has a history, will learn how to deal with the circumstances that they are in.

This is all a part of Franco realizing just how much his past actions have impacted Sam Morgan’s life and this all strikes some viewers as being insulting to the character of Elizabeth. They feel that the redemption of Franco should not be at Liz’s expense. This has brought up some fiery posts on social media on both sides of the coin.

What are your thoughts on General Hospital trying to redeem Franco this way?

[Featured Image by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images]

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