ALL: Characters Who Went Up Against the Alphas (and Won)

[Faulkner]

Whether it’s Victor Newman or Sonny Corinthos, Stephanie Forrester or (Bev’s) Alexandra Spaulding, these soaps all have big powerful characters that routinely crush the competition. They aren’t very easily rattled and typically have people around town quaking in their boots.

But once in a while, they come up against a force not quite so yielding.

For example, I love how Mary Kay Adams’s India gives as good as she gets against Beverlee McKinsey’s Alex on scenes I’ve watched from their time on GL. And we all saw how Connor pulled one over on the great Lucinda on ATWT.

What other examples do you have of a character who squared up with one of the soaps’ alphas—and maybe if they didn’t “win,” they at least put up a fierce enough fight to make the oh-so-powerful character look vulnerable? Someone mentioned that Judith Chapman’s Charlotte Greer was the only character to strike fear in the heart of the unflappable Maeve Ryan on RH.

Or perhaps there’s an actor who usually steamrolls through scenes, yet they finally met their match, à la Stafford’s Phyllis vs. Rowell’s Dru on Y&R?

Edited December 27, 2023 by Faulkner

[BetterForgotten]

I guess Lorie Brooks is the only one who managed to get one over Victor. 

[Maxim]

Well it's obvious that the person who managed to destroy Stephanie's life - take her husband, her sons and her company was Brooke Logan. That little girl from the valley. After witnessing Brooke and Eric's wedding, Stephanie had a stroke and lost her memory while driving, leading to months of living on the streets as a homeless woman. 

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[Faulkner]

And they sort of punished her for that. Lame. Victor as this behemoth is so boring.

Sheila Carter got some good licks in as well. At least for a bit.

[Faulkner]

Justice for Faith Roscoe, who should have been a more formidable foe to Sonny on GH:

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[Maxim]

Great topic btw. I am interested to know more about characters like these and their arcs.

[Soaplovers]

I know that people think Brooke got one over Stephanie.. but the problem with that is that she constantly was trying to get Stephanie's approval.  Sheila, on the other hand, didn't care one bit for Stephanie's approval after awhile and usually got in some good retorts and also physically harmed Stephanie.

India.. and to a lesser extent Sherry Stingfield's Blake were the only two characters that matched Alexandra in terms of presence and one liners.

[Antoyne]

Faith was my favorite during the time she was on GH. Naturally she had to lose and die.

[Liberty City]

Cynthia Preston was wasted; I would have loved to have seen her vs. Maura West when Ava came on.

[Faulkner]

Oh god yes. They’d have been fire as adversaries.

It’s so anti-drama to make characters invulnerable. Eff actors’ egos and/or writers having a hard-on for certain characters.

Indeed. She had total ice in her veins. Plus, when God was painting the Cynthia Preston doll, he painted her FIERCELY. 

[Liberty City]

Yup. Ava vs. Faith would've been amazing, and then with the [brief] re-introduction of Olivia Jerome. Whew. Female domination.

[Antoyne]

I honestly would’ve also liked to have seen how Claudia and Faith interacted. They had similar trajectories except Faith never fell for Sonny.

[Liberty City]

The whoel Claudia arc was so poorly handled it doesn't even make sense.

[j swift]

The first character that comes to mind is Loving's Kate Rescott.  After struggling financially for years, and having her daughter go through numerous traumas to find acceptance, Cabot Alden admitted to Kate that his family swindled her father out of a fortune.  Kate declined the remuneration that Cabot offered, but maintained her dignity and was one of the few citizens of Corinth to wind up with a happy ending.

To some degree, I think Lucy Coe also fits this brief.  She masterminded Kevin O'Connor's double jeopardy defense in his murder trial.  And eventually went from a med school librarian to a CEO of an international cosmetics firm by standing up to the Quartermains and the Taubs to get what she deserved. Lucy is a scheming con artist, but she's always targeted the wealthy.  So, she's like the Robin Hood of Port Charles.

Also, I recall a few court cases over the years when a have-not persevered over the privileged members of the town, however no specific examples spring to mind.

Edited December 28, 2023 by j swift

[SoapSurvivor]

Sami was the bad girl that stayed coming out on top until Lauren Koslow showed up as Kate Roberts.