Applause Applause

Soap Opera Weekly

May 25, 2010

By CWG

Although their characters are usually on opposite sides, Susan Haskell (Marty) and Melissa Archer (Natalie) were perfectly in sync in the wake of Marty's miscarriage.

Archer's Natalie gingerly entered Marty's hospital room, hoping to apologize for all the cruel things she had said prior to Marty's fall. "I didn't mean it," Archer blurted out nervously.

With a clenched fist, Haskell responded with rage. A wincing Archer seemed to unwind from her tight, guilt-ridden coil as Natalie took her punches. Archer moved closer, as if Natalie wanted to comfort the grieving Marty. "You don't get to clear your conscience," Haskell barked to maintain their divide. Then Haskell's voice softened and she looked away as Marty wondered aloud about what her baby might have been like. Archer's eyes filled with tears and her lips started to quiver as Natalie listened.

Haskell showed her character's fragility when Marty completely broke down, first holding her face in her hands and then clutching her stomach. "How could I have been so full of life one minute and so empty the next?" Marty wept, as Natailie wept along with her. Archer awkwardly reached out...and Brody's interruption kept Natalie from making contact.

But Archer and Haskell's connection during the heartbreaking scenes was obvious. The actresses volleyed their emotions with broad, powerful strokes in a finals match beautifully played by two pros.