By Elynne Chaplik-Aleskow

Guiding Light Head Writer David Kreizman made a Shakespearean choice in how the saga of Jonathan and Tammy would end as Tom Pelphrey and Stephanie Gatschet leave the show.

The scene of Tammy's death was one of the most heart wrenching moments I have seen on television due in large part to the brilliance of Tom Pelphrey's acting. He grabs Tammy, the love of his life, and orders her to breathe while using his body to almost physically inflate her lungs. When Tammy takes her last breath, Jonathan jumps onto the bed to hold her close. His cries of utter agony and despair are so real that anyone who has lost a loved one again relives their own pain and longing for a different outcome.

That the Guiding Light writers chose not to give these characters a happy ending was akin to the plots of Shakespearean tragedy. The relationship of these lovers was pure in their devotion but was encumbered by their being cousins. In this sense, Tammy's death expiated them from their "sin." It had to be the character with the heart of sweetness, played so movingly with understated emotion by Stephanie Gatschet, who faced death.

In addition to this plot line which mirrors Shakespeare's tragedies, the "sin" of Tammy's mother Cassie taking her sister Reva's husband had to also be atoned for. The emotional confusion and resentment of the audience who are true to the couple of Reva and Josh needed a catharsis, a dramatic release. The death of Cassie's daughter and the suffering she is now experiencing is again a mirror of Shakespeare's tragedies in the sense that the happy outcome of Cassie and Josh has suffered a catastrophic interruption.

I offer a prologue to Tom Pelphrey's career as he leaves the Soap Opera genre. I see in him the Brando, Nicholson and Streep of his generation. His talent has no limits. His individuality is the core of his portrayals. He is not a good actor. He is exceptional. Whether it is the world of theater or film that is blessed by his talent, in Shakespeare's language, I wish him "such things as dreams are made on."