Daytime TV Performer of the Week: ‘General Hospital’s Katelyn MacMullen Is a Force as Willow Dumps Drew at the Altar
Opinion
Have you ever dug yourself so far down into a deep, dark hole that you didn’t even realize what you’d done until it was almost too late to dig yourself out?
That’s what happened to poor Willow Tait on General Hospital, played by Katelyn MacMullen, who brings both vulnerability and strength, and awareness and delusion to her character. The young woman had turned in one cult (Dawn of Day) for another (blind devotion to morally-challenged Drew Cain, played by fan favorite Cameron Mathison).
Fortunately, Willow finally saw the light thanks to Curtis (Donnell Turner) and dumped Drew just as they were about to get married.
For her portrayal of a woman riding a roller coaster of co-dependent dysfunction, TV Insider is bestowing Daytime Performer of the Week honors on MacMullen.
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
We saw just how far Willow had gone in terms of her blind devotion to Drew when she shrugged off Dr. Portia Robinson’s (Brook Kerr) revelation that Drew was going to frame Michael (Rory Gibson) as an unfit father.
But learning that Drew had slept with Willow’s mother, Nina (Cynthia Watros), took the wedding cake. On what should have been the happiest moment of her life, Willow asked Drew right at the altar if he’d been intimate with Nina. Hearing Drew’s confession was all Willow needed to end things with him during the ceremony in front of invited family members and friends.
MacMullen has been bringing a heightened, fragile quality to her character ever since she lost custody of her kids, Wiley (Viron Weaver) and Daisy, to their father, Michael. The actress has played Willow as both a frayed nerve and a myopic mother, believing that committing herself to Drew was the only way to get her children back into her life.
It would have been easy for Willow to have continued with the ceremony, but once we saw her pull her hands away from Drew, we knew she was ready to call her groom out on his cheating ways.
“I was such an idiot,” Willow proclaimed to Drew in front of Lucy (Lynn Herring), the wedding officiator, and invited family and guests. “Every time I listened to you, I gave Michael ammunition against me.”
The script called for Willow to act as if a light switch had been flicked, and MacMullen dove into the terrific material that allowed her character to choose independence over Drew’s machinations.
“Your lie hurt my son. You make it possible for Michael to take my children away from me,” Willow asserted. “I trusted you, and now I have nothing.”
While this moment showed Willow digging into her strength, MacMullen’s performance made one thing clear – Willow is still quite fragile. She bolted over to Carly’s (Laura Wright) to see her kids, still in her wedding dress and mascara ruined from crying. Willow hoped that by dumping Drew, she could pick right up where she left off before she fell under his spell, but that wasn’t going to happen.
Willow may have thought the world would see that she was different, but MacMullen played her character as a woman still in hysterics. The more Willow realized she couldn’t see her kids, the more it became apparent that the manic mother still has far to go.
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
MacMullen got to bring a calmness to her character after she sought refuge with Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) at her home. Liz offered her fellow nurse a haven, fresh clothes, and a place to vent her feelings. “I can’t believe how much of my life I let him control,” Willow confessed to Liz. Willow likened Drew’s manipulation of her to when she was controlled by Shiloh (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) and Harmony (Igna Cadranel). “I swore I would never let something like that happen again, but here I am,” Willow marveled.
Willow’s attorney, Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst), advised his client to hold off on trying to see her children. While she’s made progress, Willow’s far from being perfect. She couldn’t help herself from charging over to the Quartermaine mansion and making a plea with Michael about seeing her kids once again.
Willow, seeing Drew’s controlling side, is at the beginning and not the end of her journey to becoming the stable mother she needs to be in order to see her children. MacMullen plays Willow as a daughter filled with anger towards her mother, but Nina’s not the bad guy in all this.
On one hand, Willow has the awareness to realize she’s once again in a position she’d never promised herself she’d be in again. On the other hand, what’s to say it won’t happen a third time?
MacMullen plays Willow with her heart on her sleeve and her head on straight (well, straighter than it’s been in a while!). But she has a way to go, and it’ll be rewarding watching Willow mature from this setback, in time.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
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It's Emmy time for KM! She has earned a nomination at LEAST for her last few performances!! She knocked it out! The courthouse scenes, and the wedding scenes! GO Katelyn!!
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I agree she is definitely a soap opera award winner in my opinion, she played this whole Drew Cain fiasco 100%. She made the audience express genuine raw emotions good and bad, based on all comments and reviews. From the looks of attraction to that first kiss leading to this storyline, it touched on many emotions of various degrees with the viewers. I vote Emmy for KM.
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O
Willow's children are Wiley and Amelia, not Daisy. Daisy is Michael and Sasha Corbin's daughter.
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Nope Daisy is Cody's.
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C
Katelyn is knocking it out of the park but Willow deserves no sympathy. She stalked an infant to run her mom out of town, knowing Sasha's sad history. She had no qualms when Portia told her Drew planned to frame Michael for drug abuse. Willow is an irredeemable loser.
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I think you should get your facts straight…….Daisy is not Willow’s daughter, she’s Sasha’s. Willow didn’t go to the Quartermaine’s, she went to Carly’s.
Geez!
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Secret something else who can persuade you me romantic next week mouths my thinking rethinking manifestation undefiled have a plan implies maybe plan implies else who can make sure profitable not being word about it is a little bit more Do you to the of my blaming me romantic and then I have a lot to be able anyway to make sure profitable not going for it seems like post a alignment Defense Against Transport and the other one that I have seen the money I can see you to the right Lying Oath dental care certificate insure policy unless I can would definitely confirmed conquest co-exist nonexistent in contact me Resort yourself asked asked way to live accountable for letting him know if I have any problems refuser I have a plan to make sure profitable because they are not necessarily true redemption I have to say something else I can see you go room if they radical ideas means I will take it is a little bit more Do something else I have seen in my first place in my head and then a vulnerability v I will be there and I would can see see you go this talk about it but received confirmation from doing the other one 30pm disturbing the most effective reaction in review apart anyway to get you a new order ready made also to when upon themselves they also get the most recently submitted submitted right now plan Lot of dreams true spiritual life easy and mind and the night restart and the other one that you can persuade for a plan for the heads up smell like a little women she
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I think, Kate deserves an Oscar, Her Portrayal, as a heartbroken 💔 and mentally exhausted young mother is on point, I've struggled with mine... and her emotions are on point....I hope that the Chracter Willow gets a break soon and able to give her children a hug and let them know she loves them
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Drew Cain cheating affairs affiliated exploit Disrespectful irritating various aspects hope comment even makes sense to make it easier persuade you for letting him view reverse and then search the most recently Hostile control does circumstances that you are doing well Locations in your life time and for letting us stay in our relationship and then search the night and the other things abide are breaking into my credit score and it wasn't even better Promised can persuade the money was absolutely nothing much more complicated process provider misunderstanding Communication Easy ways to the address of dreams not only way of knowledge contained in your room inspection so much for doing
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What are you trying to convey in this post?
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With no punctuation, your comment is hard to read. I enjoy reading the soap opinions of other fans. With a little editing, I would like to read your opinion too. Just a constructive thought, not meant to be rude or judge.
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R
A terrible story line, poor acting.
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Yes because you could do it all so much better
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