So, the final episode of One Life to Live aired yesterday. I have mentioned before that one of my guilty pleasures for the last almost nine years has been this soap opera. So, I’m unashamed to admit that I watched, and cried, (kind of a lot, but I blame that on the pregnancy).

There were many unexpected elements of the finale, and while I hate that the show had to end, and I especially hate that it couldn’t wrap up as neatly as it should have, (due to the fact that when they filmed the last scenes, they thought the show would be continuing online, which then fell through almost immediately after they yelled “that’s a wrap”), I think that as far as endings go, it was done in the best, and most unexpected, way possible.

Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert! Spoiler Alert!

You’ve been warned!

The last episode resolved a few things for fans, and enough different things that most of the fan base should have walked away with at least something to be happy about.

Clint discovered that Jessica really was his biological daughter after all. This was a big deal, because many fans were furious that she was ever made Mitch Laurence’s daughter in the first place. And, even though it didn’t matter to their relationship, (Clint will always be Jessica’s daddy, no matter what any piece of paper could say), it made a difference in who Jessica thought she was, and meant that she didn’t have to live with the stigma being the biological daughter of a monster.

Speaking of Clint, he and Vicki got the happy ending that most fans wanted, with him proposing again. Clint and Vicki belong together. End of story. It couldn’t have ended any other way.

There were references to old characters, some of whom had been killed off, (Bo’s son, Drew), and others whose actor had died, (the inimitable Phil Carey, and his character, Asa). And there were surprise appearances by a few characters, including Brody, with his visit to Jessica, and Markko and Langston, welcoming Starr to stay with them in Los Angeles.

There was a birth, there was an arrest, there were goodbyes and hellos. There was laughter and there were tears. There was anger and joy. What more can you ask of a soap opera on any day, much less on its last day? Perfect soap opera writing.

And then there was the surprise ending. For months, Trevor St. John has said that he, (and therefore his character, Victor Lord Jr., who was supposedly dead), wouldn’t appear in the last episode. And, for the most part, I believed him. Toward the end, I thought that there might be a reference to Victor in the finale, something alluding to the fact that he didn’t die after all. I even thought that they might use a body double to show that he was somewhere. But I didn’t really expect that the last scene of the show would be Victor, tied to a bed, being held captive by crazy Allison Perkins. This is a win-win situation for a lot of fans. Fans of Trevor St. John’s Todd, (and Walker, and Victor Lord Jr.), get the satisfaction of knowing that he is, at the least, alive. And fans of Roger Howarth’s Todd also get satisfaction, in knowing that he didn’t actually murder his twin brother, (even if he thinks he did!).

It makes you wonder what could have happened if the show continued online. It also makes you wonder if Trevor St. John is going to be joining the cast of General Hospital, along with Roger Howarth, Kassie DePaiva, Kristen Alderson, and Michael Easton, and if he is, what will that storyline look like?

As much as I loved the surprise ending, however, the best moment, I thought, was a brief scene towards the end of the show. It happened between Bo and Nora, a couple with a lot of history on One Life to Live. Bo told his “Red” that he loved her, and she responded in kind. The scene, although almost certainly scripted, was also completely real. You could tell that the emotion, especially on the part of Robert S. Woods, was completely genuine, and that made it all the more difficult, and yet enjoyable, to watch.

It’s nice to know that in some small way, and maybe even for just a short period of time, part of One Life to Live will continue to live on, with some of its characters traveling to Port Charles. It’s still a loss, however, to know that this iconic show has gone black, and will never be filmed again.