Yesterday, it was confirmed that the would-be Lavery is really notorious Port Charles baddie Cesar Faison, played once again by Anders Hove. Not enough of a shock for you? At the end of the show, Faison paid a visit to the real Duke, who is very much alive. GH Head Writer Ron Carlivati spoke exclusively to Digest about pulling off what he aptly calls "a double whammy."Soap Opera Digest: Sneaky, sneaky, Ron! Having sat on this secret for weeks now, how excited were you to actually take in Friday's episode?
Ron Carlivati: I was just excited as a viewer watching it because I thought they did such an amazing job. I was not expecting that mask to look so real and the way they did it, it really was very exciting and very shocking, I thought. I think they have a very good idea of where we were going, but I still think it's very exciting to watch it play out.
Digest: Was the Faison reveal your game plan all along when you brought back Duke?
Carlivati: My thought even before you saw Ian with Kimberly [the first time] was that it had to be Faison that was behind the whole thing and that's who took Robin. I think it's the one that makes the most sense. So Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and I talked about, "What can we do in that reveal that will be a little different and not make it so obvious?" And then we came up with the idea of showing Ian. So, then it just became the trick of, at what point are we going to go for it and reveal it? And I felt it couldn't go on so long because I knew people were angry at the way Duke was behaving.
Digest: What was the thinking in revealing the real Duke to be alive right away?
Carlivati: I thought it was important to show him alive the same time we were showing that this wasn't the real Duke because I knew there was going to be a lot of disappointment from fans who felt, "Oh, you dangled the return of Duke under our nose and then you snatched it back." I didn't want people to be upset and angry. So we made the decision to do a double whammy and show Real Duke at the end of the day. And you will see in the ensuing days how he was able to appropriate Duke's fingerprints, his memories, etc. Faison felt that the only way to make Anna love him was to have the face of someone that she could love in return, which only leaves a few options, such as Robert or Duke. Duke was the one who was accessible, so that's what he went with.
Digest: Were you excited to get the audience reaction to that Friday cliffhanger?
Carlivati: I was! There was something going on with Twitter. If I'm able to, I like to see what people are saying live during the show. I was so excited for Friday. I was like, "I can't wait to see people's reactions when this happens!". It's exciting and we really run with it. It's a story you won't have to wait for months and months to see unfold. It just goes like gangbusters from today on.
SoapOperaDigest