I did not know Alan was going to die and I was shocked. I applaud the writers for showing a different side to Alan in the final weeks of GL and want to thank Ron Raines for the amazing ride he has given fans over the years as Alan Spaulding.

I didn't know either but kinda saw where it was going, just couldn't believe it.

I tell you this has been one of the best!!!!! I will miss GL. I admit it was done with true class and I will forever view Alan as the 2nd best villian ever (right under Roger Thrope)!

I really can not believe it is only three mor shows left of GL. I am so at a lost.

So, I have definitely had Kleenex handy these past two days. It has been two Superb, Excellent GL Days. I just cannot describe in words how sad this is, and how big this all really is. Ron Raines is just, oh, a wonder. That is what I am going to miss-the cast. No other show on television has such a rich, pure, diverse and outstanding cast of characters. Really. If GL does anything right, they sure as hell can spot good talent. This cast, this family of mine, I am going to miss SO much. So much. After Friday, there will be no more Beth, Philip, Josh, Reva, Lillian, Buzz, Billy, Vanessa, none of them I just, ugh. Am crying as I type. As much as I blame Ellen Wheeler for things, I am going to hand it to her- she has orchesteated a beautiful, so far, ending for the best show to ever grace the waves of television.

I had no idea Alan was going to die, but the way things played out, it makes sense. When Philip started talking, and they didn't show Alan..I had a feeling. Then, as it continued on..I knew. This one hurt..not as much as maybe Phillip dying, but it hurt. I always liked Alan. I agree - aside from Roger, he was the best villain on GL. I personally could not give a flying rat's ass about Edmund and all of that nonsense..It's not even worthy of screen time at this point.

Great article - and I agree - this one is in my tops of all time. Still hard to believe it's almost over. It's even harder to believe that someone, somewhere wouldn't have taken a chance on a show with 2 million built-in viewers with the long history and endless story possibilities available if given the chance.

Oh wait..that's right..they weren't.

Ron Raines and Grant Aleksander deserve Emmy nominations. Their performances were heart breaking. I cried when Phillip found his lifeless father's body.

Bravo to both actors. Bravo to the writers. Bravo to the crew.

I think this episode shows how well Wheeler's vision can be rendered into reality.

Also, as J. Bernard said, "the smoking hot Mel & Cyrus" are a couple!!!

P.S.

CBS, you suck for canceling this wonderful show. P&G you suck for not finding another home for this show. You should have looked back at your pioneer roots and tried to syndicate GL or launch it on the web.

Bravo to GL today! I'm still giving "Coops Death" episode accolades but this show just brought it and kicked it out of the water. This episode said, we are down, but we are not out yet. They hit every beat like you said J. and just brought magic to the screen. I stayed away from spoilers for a long time for GL and had NO idea Alan was going to die. I was SHOCKED and held back tears the whole episode. Whenever Grant came around Ron and realized he was dead I was screaming NO and the tears were out soooo fast. This is daytime at it's best, and GL at it's best, at the country club, with the right people and the right acting. This is outstanding drama series stuff right here, but it's a shame that that title will probably never be given to a cancelled show in the 2010 Emmys. That will show em'! Nevertheless, this visually appealing, well written show deserves my applause.

Honest to God, I felt like someone had hit me hard in the stomach while watching the scene where Alan has 'died'.

Just too 'real life' for me I guess.
Powerful stuff.
I always liked Grant Aleksander's portrayal of Phillip, and today I was reminded of just how good an actor Grant is.

Oh, and I felt for Alan..I really did. Sometimes, I think that people get a 'sixth' sense of when they are about to die...They start making amends and saying things that they normally don't say...Nice things....And Alan was doing that these past few episodes.

SO real.

Great show

I guess I'm a bad GL fan. I felt cheated. I thought the writing was once again awful.

IMO, Alan deserved to die. But going out as a hero?? He becomes a hero because he does something to save his son? That's not a hero, that's what a parent does. And Alan owed Phillip. Big time. The writing is so insulting. I'll never understand how people can simply forget that he almost killed his son and murdered a young woman. And he never felt any guilt or remorse for it. And yesterday's episode took everything to a new level. This Alan propping was just as bad as making Jeffrey the rapist a hero and a saint. I don't care if you liked the character Tammy or not, Alan killed her and having HER family toast this man was maddening. Yes you can forgive but NOT FORGET!! And that was the toast was. I wish they had made an effort with the writing. If they had written the characters as they should have, it would be more of a tribute.

Elvara,

You are correct about the show's writing being inconsistent and illogical.

But the show is ending and there has to be exceptions made.

Alan's death allows him to make up for his past sins and pay for them simultaneously.

I understand that josstheguy. I really do. But instead of wasting time for weeks on storylines Jeffrey/Edmund/Marina/Dinah/Mallet etc. that make no sense whatsoever, the writers/EW could have spent more time on this Alan story and a couple of other storylines and do justice to them. This whitewashing/hero worshipping of Alan in one episode is insulting to Guiding Light and the fans IMO. {sigh} But what can I expect with Ellen Wheeler.

I thought yesterdays episode was simply amazing. Grant Alexander has been so consistently great since he returned and since I love Alan and don't really care about the whole Tammy mess I'm happy he got to die a hero.

Robert Newman who I think is often forgotten thanks to the powerhouse Zimmer, is so understated and underrated and I'm glad that he gets to shine one last time.

I been laugh and crying this week watch my Guiding Light, 1st its been great see all my old friends coming back but I hated that they don't going have Josh and Reva be together because Josh and Reva is my Guiding Light. So I feel like Justin Dees what's the fuck!!!

To me Alan dies when he shot Philip, when he was responsible for Tammy's death. You can't redeem a character after that. I wish in his scene with Jonathan he had taken responsibility for Tammy's death, and said he was sorry. I hated the scene between Alan and Buzz. Alan- hero-hey Buzz, remember how your son Coop died. It would have been nice if Alan apologized to Buzz for his part in Coop's death. After he took responsibility for those actions, then let him die. It would have been much better for him to die after that. I really hope they don't waste time with a funeral for Alan. Having a funeral without Alan-Michael, that would make no sense.

I too thought this was a terrific episode. I was sad that Alan had to die to complete his redemption, but think the way his death was revealed was awesome--viewers who weren't expecting it caught on about the same time Phillip did.

I did wish, though, that the writers had varied his dialogue a bit more. "It's what any parent would do for their child" is a cringe-worthy line once. It was repeated in the last few episodes enough to make me want to take a drink every time I heard it.

Great work J Bernard!

Y&R could SORAS Abby and hire Marcy Rylan when she'll have her baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
this whole week on GL is full of tears and happy/sad moments

Personally, I think the writers screwed us once again. Even though Alan was quite the villain, he finally found peace and redemption, only to die a few minutes later.

A recent article I read about Guiding Light said that the show lost a lot of viewers as many of its popular characters were killed off. I recall Jenna's and Maureen's heartbreaking deaths, as well as Nadine's graphic murder. More recently, Ross, Coop and Gus died in tragic accidents.

In the midst of that, I remember how GL, especially during the Santos mob family era, seemed to be a show where everyone was yelling and lying to each other. When they launched the "Find Your Light" theme 2 years ago, I was hoping the show itself would find its light. Instead, we were faced with a new production model, while not all that bad, was supported with boring writing that made the whole experience feel like family home videos without any action, drama (or even memorable flashbacks)strung together into a daily 1 hour show.

Instead of dying, Alan should have been able to live out his life doing good and perhaps making up for his past sins. Perhaps he could've helped make Spaulding Enterprises a more humanitarian company while taking time to become acquainted with his great-granddaughter and playing chess with Buzz.

Springfield has had so much tragedy over the last few years, so until yesterday, it was nice to see that things were being tied up in a mostly happy way. Now, Buzz, Lillian, Billy and Vanessa will forever have a death hanging over their wedding.

Way to go, writers! Thanks for leaving a bitter taste in our mouths!

Instead of dying, Alan should have been able to live out his life doing good and perhaps making up for his past sins. Perhaps he could've helped make Spaulding Enterprises a more humanitarian company while taking time to become acquainted with his great-granddaughter and playing chess with Buzz.

That would have been fabulous if GL had been given a 10 year renewal.
Instead, it will be off the air. This Friday.

As someone who didn't watch GL very often, it just could never hold my attention I chose to tune back in for the last two weeks. I saw this episode and Monday's and have to say that it was not just one of the greatest episodes of GL but of any soap I've seen in the most recent years. It's a bit sad that GL has finally hooked me and it will be over in a few days. Alan's death scene took me by surprise and really resonated. At least GL is going out in style and quality.

Alan could have dug up Tammy's corpse and violated her skull and then killed Johnathan, Daisy, Jeffrey, and Cyrus in a mad murder spree and I would have still been crushed by his death. Alan Spaulding is worth ten times all of those crappy characters combined.

I still can't believe this show will be history in 2 days.

Lawd ! I just thank God David Kreizman didn't write that scene (Alan's death)...

I could just imagine that David Kreizman would have penned a "Weekend At Bernie's" type of ending, where Phillip would have taken Alan's corpse to the Wedding reception as planned....Phillip would have 'concealed' Alan's death from everyone.....! Holding Alan up, propping him up..etc etc.

Just the opposite of what Alan did to Phillip back in 2004...When Alan hid the fact from everyone that Phillip wasn't dead, but was very much alive !!!

Thank you Jill Lorie Hurst for giving GL a proper send-off.

Daytime Emmy's '010 The enire cast of GL, excluding the obvious bimbos, all deserve lifetime achievement emmy's. And Jill Lorie Hurst should win something. Like, best last stunt attempt as a writer award. Lol. Kudos to the fabulous cast.

Daytime Emmy's '010 The enire cast of GL, excluding the obvious bimbos, all deserve lifetime achievement emmy's. And Jill Lorie Hurst should win something. Like, best last stunt attempt as a writer award. Lol. Kudos to the fabulous cast.

Alan could have dug up Tammy's corpse and violated her skull and then killed Johnathan, Daisy, Jeffrey, and Cyrus in a mad murder spree and I would have still been crushed by his death. Alan Spaulding is worth ten times all of those crappy characters combined.

BRA-VO! Could not have said it better. This is Alan Spaulding!! This is like Tony Soprano dying!

BTW - Did anyone else notice the weird look on Alan's face at the very end of his last "living" scene? I wondered why he looked either unhappy or disturbed. Guess he didn't feel well!

I don't know...I guess if you choose to over ANALyze every little detail, you can find fault in just about anything. I choose to enjoy these last precious few moments of GL. I honestly don't think it could be much better than it has been thus far.

Grant Aleksander made me cry.
Robert Newman made me feel lonely and disconnected like his character.

I agree that the acting was absolutly great but I'm still angry that they killed Alan. It just doesn't work for me.

Sorry! Double post!