Will the new heavy hitter in Port Charles K.O. Carly and Sonny’s Marriage?

In the short time that they’ve been hitched, GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Corinthoses have dodged bullets and bombs, played dead, welcomed back deceased lovers, and spent almost as much time in divorce court as the bedroom. But can Sonny and Carly’s marriage survive the arrival of a clean-cut lawyer in a nice business suit? Hmm…

A Hit With The Missus
Holed up in a Venezuelan jail cell, scruffy prisoner Ric began eavesdropping intently the minute he heard Sonny’s name mentioned. Then, upon being freed, he pulled out his razor and pinstripes, and hopped a plane to PC. Now, he’s all tangled up inn the lives of the mobster and his wife–and she, for one, seems to enjoy having him there.

“She likes that he goes afer what he wants, kind of like she does,” says Tamara Braun, who plays Carly. “But he’s also been very helpful and very kind to her. She wants someone to believe in her, wants someone to show her some attention and to value her for her mind and her creativity.

He has time for Carly, which is something that Sonny doesn’t have for her right now,” she adds. “He’s been very busy with Brenda, of all people. Perhaps Carly has softened those walls that she normally puts up around her because she needs someone to appreciate her in those ways right now.”

The Insecurities & Exchange Commission
Sonny doesn’t mind that Carly has outside interests. In fact, he’s all for her opening anotehr nightclub. “He’s excited by it,” says his portrayer, Maurice Benard. “He’s glad that she’s doing something for herself and having fun with it. He’s into that. He’s not threatened by that. I’ts Ric he’s threatened by.

“When Sonny sees Ric, something happens inside him,” he adds. “Something makes him uneasy. Ric is trying to brainwash [his] wife. Maybe. For a man like Sonny, that kind of thing is huge. If a man like Sonny thinks his wife is being talked to by another man, maybe telling her, ‘Hey, Sonny’s a good guy, but….’ that kind of stuff gets men like Sonny enraged. It’s a threat because, obviously, inside of Sonny, he believes that ‘but’ about himself.”

In the past, Sonny’s insecurities have been touched upon in his battle with Jax over Brenda. “But,” notes Benard, “This is different because he’s married and has a family. There’s a stability there that’s being threatened. He obviously feels, within himself, that there’s some truth that he isn’t fulfilling his wife’s needs. He would. He would never admit it though.”

The Green-Eyed Monster
He many not have to. For once in Carly’s life, she is in control of every aspect of her future, and if she decides that Ric would be a better match fo rher, that choice will be hers. “It’s about time!” laughs Braun. “I don’t think Carly would mind if Sonny got a little bit jealous. She’s not playing it that way, at all. I want to make that clear. That’s not her intention. She wants her club running. She wants someone smart to work with, although she can’t ignore the fact that Ric’s good-looking! She doesn’t mind his attention, bt she’s not putting him in Sonny’s face [specifically] to make him jealous.

“I think any time a woman and a man spend a lot of time together and there’s an ease and comfort with them, it would give poeple reason to be worried, whether it’s a reality or manifested,” she continues. “If Sonny happens to feel threatened, I don’t think it would be such a bad thing for his ego. And it might be good for Carly, too. Let him realize that she’s a pretty great woman and make him value her a little more.”