I agree the show only seemed to care about adoption being more important than blood ties with Alan and Philip. Maybe if they had ever brought Elizabeth back the same would have been the case with her, but Marland didn't seem to have a great deal of interest in Alan's role there either. You could say this is because he wanted Alan to be focused on the fling with Rita and rebuilding his marriage, but Philip still could have been involved. They could have even have Hope resent Philip because she feels like Alan cares more about him than about Alan-Michael.
I can see why the story could have been too convoluted for him to want to continue, but it never plays out that way to me in the available episodes. That may have changed after Cindy Pickett's exit, but even then, a continued focus on Philip would still seem more compelling to me than writing him out so Justin/Jackie could be catspaw in the Carrie story (which I find much more confusing than anything with Philip).
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DRW50 ·