Today,
as All
My Children airs its final episode
with actresses Eden Riegel and Elizabeth Hendrickson (who have
left the series to try their luck elsewhere), we say goodbye
to one of American television's longer-running lesbian storylines--a
storyline which has alternately entranced, infuriated, delighted
and frustrated viewers over the last four and a half years.
It
began in July, 2000 when Riegel was introduced on the ABC daytime
drama as the latest actress to play Bianca Montgomery, the daughter
of the show's matriarch, Erika Kane (Susan Lucci). Bianca had
been played by several different actresses over the years, and
Riegel stepped into the role when the character was a teenager
who reappeared in Pine Valley after a long absence in which
the character was explained to have been living with her father
in Seattle.
Shortly
after returning to Pine Valley in 2000, Bianca came out as a
lesbian--first to friends and short-term love interests, then
to her mother, who did not initially react well to the news.
Erika eventually warmed to the idea, however, and the mother-daughter
relationship was restored after much drama. Bianca became friends
with, and then fell for, Maggie (Hendrickson), but when Bianca
finally declared her feelings for Maggie in January 2003, Maggie
gave her the "you're my best friend and I love you, but
I'm straight" routine.
A
few months later, Bianca met Lena (Olga Sosnovska),
a woman who initially feigned interest in Bianca as part of
a plot to steal her mother's perfume formula, but unexpectedly
found herself developing real feelings for Bianca. When Bianca
and Lena fell in love, Lena gave up her evil ways, but before
they could get too cozy, Bianca was raped by Lena's former partner,
and ended up pregnant, eventually giving birth to a daughter
she named Miranda.
Lena was written out of the series in April 2004 when Sosnovska
landed a leading role on a British television series. Lena and
Bianca kept up a long-distance relationship (Lena had returned
to Poland) via the phone for awhile, during which time Maggie
decided she was in love with Bianca. Bianca turned her down
because she was in a relationship with Lena, but by the time
Lena finally broke up with Bianca in late 2004, Maggie was just
getting serious with new boyfriend Jonathan (Jeff Branson).
Meanwhile,
Miranda was kidnapped and believed to be dead from March to
December of 2004, and Bianca spent much of 2004 embroiled in
that storyline.
Throughout
this time, Bianca and Maggie maintained their friendship,
and there were moments (including a few kisses) where it looked
like their relationship would turn romantic despite Maggie's
initial claim to be straight, but the timing was never right--until
now.
