General Hospital’s Chase & Brook Lynn: Josh Swickard On Whether Marriage Will Survive Willow Drama (Excl)
On General Hospital, Chase’s dogged determination to prove that his former wife, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen), did not shoot Congressman Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) has been causing friction on the home front with his current wife, Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) — especially in light of his willingness to believe that her cousin Michael (Rory Gibson), his on-again, off-again best friend, might actually be the guilty party. Soap Opera Digest checked in with Chase’s portrayer, Josh Swickard, to get his take on why his cop alter ego is willing to risk domestic calm to go to bat for his ex — and whether the “Chalynn” fans should be bracing themselves!
Soap Opera Digest: As you see it, Josh, why does Chase feel so called to try to help Willow beat these charges?
Josh Swickard: Well, I think that Chase tries to be objective as a cop, and everybody gets to choose which evidence they’re looking at [laughs]. And Chase might be choosing to ignore some and focus on others! Willow was kind of his big first love, and he’s very happy with Brook Lynn — I don’t think he’s accidentally falling [for Willow again], but Willow has a piece of his heart somewhere that he kind of has to [honor]. I think that Chase’s greatest asset and biggest downfall is that he wants to stand up for someone that can’t stand up for themselves. Michael’s got a pretty big crew around him and lawyers and money and he can defend himself. But Willow is kind of on her own and nobody is vouching for her because of some of the decisions she’s made. Chase is always the guy going, “I get those decisions. I got you.” That’s a beautiful thing when it comes to his marriage to Brook Lynn. With her, it’s, “You did what? Okay, well, let’s get through this together,” you know? He’s just this ever-forgiving guy, and I think sometimes that gets him in trouble, like maybe it’s doing now. Chase has a really big heart — and his heart and his badge are always on a seesaw.
Digest: Why do you think he believes so passionately in her innocence?
Swickard: I think it’s the savior complex kicking in. Chase has really seen firsthand what Willow has been through. He’s seen Dawn of Day [the sex cult she was indoctrinated into, whose deceased leader, Shiloh, impregnated her], he’s seen some of the stuff she’s gone through with Drew, and he’s just kind of made up his mind that she’s a good person. And so he may be seeing the evidence through those googles a little bit, but there are still holes in the evidence. I think he’s just holding out hope that, “Hey, before anyone goes to jail, let’s just really look into this. I’m not saying she did or didn’t do it necessarily, but why are we arresting her when we could be looking at other people?”
Digest: Does Chase worry about the way that he’s approaching this whole situation with Willow is affecting or could affect his marriage?
Swickard: I think they’ve had enough candid conversations about it. Brook Lynn has definitely expressed her views of, “Um, what are ya doing, buddy?” As Josh, as an outsider looking in, I would bet on their marriage any day, the marriage between Chase and Brook Lynn. They’ve been through so much and they’ve had to flesh out so much that their communication is really solid. I don’t think anything will rock the boat — but you know, this is a soap opera and rocking the boat is sometimes fun! So, we’ll see what happens, but I would like to think that Chase and Brook Lynn can get through anything.
Digest: I think it’s been kind of refreshing that Chase and Brook Lynn have had these conversations — not only that they’ve put their cards on the table but that instead of jumping to jealousy or insecurity, she has recognized that it’s an admirable quality in Chase that he will go to bat for the people that he loves and that he cares so much about the pursuit of justice.
Swickard: I agree! I think Brook Lynn has been very mature about the whole situation. I don’t know if I would be if my wife was going out on a limb for an ex! I would like to think I would be just like Brook Lynn, but I do think it’s really refreshing, in a genre where we do like the drama and the suspense, that he’s like, “This is what I’m doing,” and they can have this really mature conversation about it and have it all be amicable. I think it’s really cool.
Digest: It’s been established that Chase is out to, at the very least, help Willow out by making it hard for the jury to convict her of this attempted murder beyond a reasonable doubt. And clearly, he doesn’t buy Michael’s alibi and is gung-ho to prove that Michael was not with Jacinda at the time of the shooting. Now, do you think that Chase really believes that Michael did it, or is he simply trying to point out that Michael could have done it, to create that reasonable doubt?
Swickard: I think it’s a mixture of the two. I would say that Chase knows that Michael is capable of it, but he’s more blinded by trying to prove that it’s not Willow, and, “Hey, if you actually lay out all the evidence, a couple of these things really could point to Michael.”
Digest: Brave man that he is, Chase has volunteered to make the turkey for the Thanksgiving celebration at the Quartermaines, which kicks off on Monday, December 1. It is, of course, a tradition dating back to 1994 that something always goes wrong with the turkey. Maybe Chase will be the one to break the curse, but regardless of the outcome, were you excited when you found out that you’d be playing a key role in the family’s holiday this year?
Swickard: Definitely! When I first came on the show, I never worked with the Quartermaines. I’d always see them together on set and I always kind of thought it was such a fun family. For me to get to be a part of it now is such a cool thing, and what happens on Thanksgiving is really fun. I don’t want to say Chase is central to it, but he’s definitely part of it, and there’s a sweet tip of the hat to Monica that the writers did a beautiful job with, in my opinion. We know that historically, with the preparing of the food, things usually don’t go as planned. I can’t give away what happens, but as an actor, it was really fun… and I would almost venture to say that what happens is something that the fans probably wouldn’t guess.
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