The re-marriage of Eric Forrester and his first wife, Stephanie, was something fans desired almost as much as Stephanie herself. Although the union didn’t come off – Thanks to Sally Spectra planting a sexy snapshot of Eric making love to Lauren inside the minister’s Bible – viewers were treated to the intense emotional drama they’ve come to expect from original cast members John McCook (Eric) and Susan Flannery (Stephanie). For their portrayals of two friends who lost a second chance at a life together, SOAP OPERA MAGAZINE names these talented veterans Stars of the Week.
“Whenever there’s a scene between John and Susan, you always end up with something interesting, because they’re so committed to what they’re doing,” praises B&B supervising producer-director John C. Zak. “However, with these wedding scenes and the aftermath, John and Susan did some of their most powerful work ever.”
What made Flannery’s performance particularly appealing in her confrontational scenes with Eric was that she showed Stephanie’s rarely seen vulnerable side. “Susan chooses, it appears, to have that only with Eric, Ridge and Taylor because of her feelings for those characters,” McCook observes. “I think that’s perfectly appropriate. As angry as Stephanie was over the photograph, Susan didn’t have Stephanie yelling – except for a word or two – and that made the scenes all the more interesting.”
Compelling and intimate moments do not exist in a vacuum, however. If Stephanie wasn’t so invested in Eric, her sense of loss wouldn’t have been as dramatic. “When it comes to Eric, I think both Stephanie and Susan see him as that Achilles’ heel, that one weakness in her life,” Zak says. “And in doing so, she’s so much more vulnerable to him.”
Likewise, Eric played the repentant groom with loving sincerity, pleading with Stephanie to not only forgive him but to marry him anyway. “When Susan falls into that unprotected place, it becomes involving for people to see and involving for me to play off,” McCook maintains. “It’s touching to see Susan so affected by what I’m giving her as an actor.”
McCook, too, conveys a special fondness for his character’s partner of many years, to the point where Eric apparently put aside the reasons why he divorced her in the first place. “I think if Eric were seeing how much manipulating Stephanie’s continuing to do to this day, he’d be pretty surprised,” suggests McCook. “Still, Eric’s made it absolutely clear in the time following the aborted wedding that he wants to win her trust and he’s committed to marrying her. Eric will woo Stephanie very much in Italy.
“However, if Eric does end up marrying Stephanie, he’d quickly see that (meddling) quality of hers raise its ugly head again,” McCook hints. “So, in terms of them finally getting together, I don’t think it’ll be a done deal, even if the deed is done.”
By Michael J. Maloney, Soap Opera Magazine, 1997