The question of the true love of Erica Kane.  To me, the love of her life was Tom Cudahy.  They should have reunited, although I doubt that the two performers (Susan Lucci and Richard Shoberg) would have enjoyed the repetition.

As I said before, I think the love of Erica's life was her father, Eric.  No man ever could fill the hole in her soul that her father's absence had left.  After him, though, it probably would have to be Nick Davis.  I think he understood her better than anyone (save for Mona).

I love Tom/Erica, but I don't think they were meant to be together in the end. Erica, to me, represented what the young, immature Tom wanted. He was the handsome, masculine football player, and she was young, petite, beautiful, glamorous - the perfect football player's girlfriend/wife. Their relationship was more superficial than anything else when you consider how different their values were and that they wanted different things for the future. Once they drifted apart and grew up a little, Tom finally accepted that Erica would never be the wife he wanted her to be, and Erica realized he wasn't going to help her on her road to stardom, but they could still be flirty and fun with each other from time to time.
 

Idk, I think the love of Erica's life was Erica. None of the men ever loved her as much as she loved herself, but she kept looking for the one who could.

33 minutes ago, All My Shadows said:

Idk, I think the love of Erica's life was Erica. None of the men ever loved her as much as she loved herself, but she kept looking for the one who could.

Erica Kane: the original girl who "loved me some me," lol.

But seriously, @All My Shadows, you have a good point.  IDK whether I agree with you 100 percent, however. 

IMO, Erica was, at heart, a very insecure woman.  Eric left her and Mona when she was nine years old.  His abandonment caused her to believe that he left because she wasn't "good enough."  On the one hand, that sense of unworthiness drove her to become a celebrity as an adult (so she could prove to her daddy and to herself that she was good enough).  But, on the other hand, it also caused her to make very poor choices in life and ruin all her relationships, save for those with Mona, Mark and Bianca.

I could be wrong, but I don't think a person who truly loved herself would do that to herself.

Edited January 15, 20241 yr by Khan

She was the domineering woman who wanted to be domineered.

Tom did realize that Erica would never be the wife that he dreamed of.   However, it was Tom (in my opinion) who was best for Erica and was the true love of her life.

I don't think that Erica ever located the man who could or would dominate her.

12 minutes ago, danfling said:

She was the domineering woman who wanted to be domineered.

IDK whether that was true either, @danfling.  If anything, Erica wanted a man who would allow her to pursue her dreams to the fullest and never get in her way.  After all, that was why she and Jack broke up (again) in the ABC finale: she finally had the opportunity to become a movie star, but Jack wanted her to forego that and concentrate on their wedding (IIRC, lol).

On 1/8/2024 at 6:38 PM, Jonathan said:

By the end of the show, Jamie Lunar transformed into a reminiscent version of past Liza. Despite the age gap between Jamie Lunar and Michael E. Knight (as well as Debbi Morgan and Darnell Williams), I didn't find it a big deal, unlike some fans and the press. Throughout her previous roles, Jamie Lunar consistently portrayed characters who seemed older than her actual age.

the thing is She IS OLDER lol. We're supposed to believe she what, she married Adam at like age 5? lol 

6 minutes ago, dragonflies said:

the thing is She IS OLDER lol. We're supposed to believe she what, she married Adam at like age 5? lol 

If people have no problem accepting SORAS, then how is it any different? When Jacob Young played JR, were we supposed to believe that Dixie slept with Adam and gave birth to JR when she was 10?

2 hours ago, All My Shadows said:

If people have no problem accepting SORAS, then how is it any different? When Jacob Young played JR, were we supposed to believe that Dixie slept with Adam and gave birth to JR when she was 10?

Exactly.  There was/is an age difference between JL and MW, but it wasn't egregious.  I mean, it's not as if they had recast Liza with Kirsten Storms.

I guess I would have been upset if JL had been a terrible actress, or if Liza suddenly was written as a helpless, brain-dead victim.  But JL always has been good at playing snarky bitches, and AMC's writers smartly wrote to that.  Besides, when you consider the alternative - Beth Ehlers as Liza! - you're just glad AMC dodged what could have been the mother of all bullets.

Edited January 15, 20241 yr by Khan

Erica learned very early in her life that men leave you and go away.  She always wanted a man in her life because she didn't want to feel the void of her childhood again, but not a specific one. She was hurt as a child and she became a drama queen in order to learn how to play with her pain. 
I don't think that Erica believed in love. Only in the pain it brings you.

Edited January 15, 20241 yr by Sapounopera

Erica and Travis?

What went wrong there? 

12 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Erica and Travis?

What went wrong there? 

A question for the ages, lol.

Edited January 16, 20241 yr by Khan

17 hours ago, Paul Raven said:

Erica and Travis?

What went wrong there? 

He was the father of the only child she actually wanted.

Erica's abandonment complex is canon straight from Agnes Nixon, but something I've never thought much about is the psychology of being the child of a celebrity. We can list a number of stories of celebrity children who wanted to go into the business, their famous parents discouraging them, laying down the law that they'd have to go about it the "right" way by getting formal training and NOT getting any nepo favors... was this a missed note, or notes, in the storytelling of Erica? Did AMC ever explore the idea that Erica wanted to be famous because her dad was? There's the nepo argument that it's only natural for a child to take interest in the vocation of a parent, but there's certainly something different about being the kid of a teacher, doctor, lawyer, et cetera, versus a Hollywood director (even if he was a hack?). I find myself in this moment interested in the psychology of Erica in the broad scope of celebrity children from Liza Minnelli, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rumor Willis, Brooke Hogan, the Kardashian-Jenners, and so on. On top of that, look at the Rachel/Erica archetypal connection where they were both young attractive department store models carrying the currency of good looks, but Rachel did not have a famous dad and was content to attract a "good" husband/marry "well", she didn't need the fame like Erica. Would Erica have even craved Hollywood and Vine without the allure of Eric's career?

https://archive.org/details/all-my-children-january-26-1987-most