Guiding Light Discussion Group -- Fletcher's son Ben

Guiding Light Discussion Group

Topic: Fletcher's son Ben

Topic Posted by: cindy
Date Posted: Sat Oct 3 16:40:18 2009
Additional Comments: I finally watched the last show from start to finish. The comment about Fletcher's son Ben.... who was his mother and did he die? Don't know why it matters any more, just curious. Thanks.

Posted by: Edward
Date posted: Mon Oct 5 13:04:35 2009
Message:
Ben was another example of a character in a long line of characters thoroughly and needlessly trashed by TPTB. They had no idea who to pin a stupid string of murders on, as is the case with just about every soap serial killer storyline, so they chose to suddenly make Ben psycho and create a history of childhood sexual abuse to support it. First they made him a psycho killer, and then we were supposed to feel sorry for him because he had been molested, like that somehow justified him becoming a murderer. The entire thing was an insult to victims of childhood sexual abuse.

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The destruction of Ben Reade was Ellen Weston's handywork. She'll probably go down in history as one of GL's worst headwriters. Right up there with David Kreitzman.

Posted by: Troy Nichols
Date posted: Sat Oct 3 21:58:34 2009
Message:

If I recall correctly, Ben Reade was the son of Kyle Sampson and Maeve Stoddard. Kyle got together with Ed Bauer's ex-wife, Janet Mason and left town with her. They and her father were all involved in a plane crash which killed Janet and her father and landed Kyle in a permanent coma.

Maeve married Fletcher, and then she herself died in a helicopter crash. After Maeve's mother came to town and tried to take Ben away from Fletcher, the latter was awarded custody of Ben and he adopted the boy. Ben was best friends with Bill Lewis and Michelle Bauer growing up.

Fast-forward to 2003. Ben had returned to town and tried unsuccessfuly to snag Marah Lewis (whose heart belonged to Tony Santos). Ben began dating Marina Cooper (who started having feelings for Marah's brother, Shayne). I don't remember the reasoning behind it, but Ben was later found out to be the culprit behind a string of serial killings called the Garden of Eden Murders. Ben held Marina hostage, and I think that there was struggle with Shayne over some syringe with poison in it that Ben was planning to use on Marina and then himself. Ben ended up with the poison injected into him and died at Cedars Hospital with his former stepmother, Holly Lindsey by his side.

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Let's not forget that Bill and Ben were half cousins , Billy and Kyle were half brothers thru their mother Sally

Ben's sudden change in behavior was explained by the writers as sexual abuse in his childhood (at camp or something like that), when that was nowhere near the case when viewers watched Ben growing up. Many were outraged that his history would be so callously rewritten like that, just to make him the killer. I remember it supposedly had something to do with the actor wanting to leave the show or tptb deciding to cut him. But I think many really liked Matt Bomer as Ben, and liked him with Marina, and tptb wasted that opportunity. eom

Posted by: luvgl
Date posted: Sat Oct 3 18:30:13 2009
Message:
If memory serves, his mom was Maeve (sp). He was a psycho and died violently, but I don't remember the details at the moment. I'm sure someone can tell you tho.