On 4/24/2026 at 6:46 PM, DeeVee said:

Her death amounted to pretty much nothing except causing this big gap on the show that was felt for years. Part of the problem was the lack of other Reardons on the canvas at the time. But even if they couldn't have found a way to bring them in even briefly, many possibilities were left on the table: Ed and Lillian being ostsracized, their good reputations left in the dust, Ed drinking again, the impact on Ed and Lillian's professional relationship, Michelle finding out why the accident happened--that would have impacted her relationship with her father for years! Rick, too, because he loved Maureen (was he on the show at the time? I can't recall).

This is why I wanted Nola to find out about the affair and cause of death two years later..when she returned. Michelle, Rick, Bridget and AM would have all had to deal with their perfect "parents" having this horrible cloud over them. Nola who had been gone for years would turn her guilt over not being there for her sister to torturing Ed and Lillian (and give Nola a good reason to go back to her bad ways for a bit.)This could have given PS something to do at the time as Ed finally returns to the bottle, and Holly rushes in to help him (so its Ed causing the issue in the Folly relationship..not Roger, though he would love Ed fall from grace and make use of it.)

On 4/24/2026 at 2:04 AM, Paul Raven said:

Smart writers, like Bill Bell rarely killed off major characters so when he did there was drama. Otherwise, characters were recast or just left town, leaving the possibility of a return of an actor open w/o having to jump through hoops to explain their return.

He usually did a good job with those exits. They either just faded away, or they left town after a round of heartfelt goodbyes. You could tell they thought about the impact down the line. Phillip’s death set up Nina for years of stories, and kind of grew up that younger set of characters because of the tragedy.