Soaps In Depth
August 6, 2002
When Worlds Collide

This week on ONE LIFE TO LIVE, Lindsay makes her most daring move yet: She escapes from prison! But before she can even get beyond the clink’s doors, she hits one obstacle after another. She’ll soon discover, however, that her travails on the outside will make jail seem more like juvenile hall when she comes face-to-face with Nora!

Lindsay Fights For Her Life!
As Lindsay readies to make her big break, she thinks nothing will stop her. “Lindsay is a lot tougher than when she went in,” maintains her portrayer, Catherine Hickland. Especially after she survives a savage beating. “R.J. hires Tillie to kill Lindsay, all so that he can [save face with] Keri about his past. She figures it out because she heard [R.J. and Tillie] talking in the visiting room, so as it’s happening, she is putting two and two together. And the fight is very violent.”

“After that,” Hickland continues, “Lindsay is just thinking one minute at a time. And at this minute, she just is thinking about getting free.”

Allison and Lindsay Break Out!
Alas, Lindsay’s freedom will not come cheap, and cellmate Allison Perkins will make her pay dearly for it. “She knows that Allison is very dangerous,” Hickland acknowledges. “Being in prison all these months, she’s had to outfox everyone –Allison the most – but they are also allies, and Lindsay knows Allison is her only way out.”

The duo escape via a laundry room vent, and Lindsay manages to blackmail R.J. –whose murder plan went awry – to provide the getaway car. But when R.J. is nowhere in sight when the jailbirds get outside, Allison thinks that she’s been set up and forces Lindsay back into the rat-infested vent. When R.J. finally does arrive, Allison frees her prisoner, but remains skeptical. Thinking the whole scheme is a trap, Allison insists that the trio split up in separate cars as they head to the safe haven that R.J. has arranged: Rae’s empty home.

Is Nora Heading For Trouble?
Meanwhile, Nora is dealing with a schemer of her own: Blair Manning! Determined to break up Nora and Troy for Sam’s sake, Blair is back in bad-girl mode when she plants a hotel key in Troy’s pocket, and later arranges for Hedy to leave a seductive message on the M.D.’s answering machine.

When Nora finds the key, she decides not to question her lover about it. “Nora is not a jealous person,” insists her alter ego, Hillary B. Smith. “If she had anything more than idle curiousity about his past [or other women], she would investigate it herself. The relationship still is in its discovery stage. ‘I want to know you better…I want to know all about you.’ Right now, they are having that first thrust of emotion.”

“Plus,” she adds, “he just adores her son, so it’s perfect.”

Given Nora’s confidence, it’s not surprising that she drops everything when she gets a call from her little boy. Away at camp, Matthew has forgotten the special pillow that Starr gave him, and Nora promises to bring it right away. Unfortunately, her car breaks down en route on Llantano Bridge.

Lindsay and Nora Have a Run-In
What happens next is most shocking to Nora, who believes that she has put her past wit Lindsay behind her. “Nora has not been imagining the moment [when she’ll come face-to-face] with Lindsay at all,” says Smith. “She just has been trying to pick up the pieces of her life, and rediscovering love and what it feels like.”

“But she has never underestimated Lindsay,” the actress continues. “She’s afraid of her. She knows what the woman did to her. She changed her life in so many ways…ruined her marriage…the paternity of her child. Everything that Nora had is gone because of that woman. Nora has always overestimated being careful about Lindsay.”

“However,” Smith concludes, “she has no idea that Lindsay has made a break for it.” For a brief, blissful while, at least. What happens next could change the futures of both sworn enemies forever.

JAILHOUSE ROCK
While her character rotted away in prison, Catherine Hickland felt like she had a lock on a good time

Now that Lindsay has made her jailbreak, Catherine Hickland admits to some real-life separation anxiety. “There were some real tears when it was over,” she says of her months-long storyline. “In prison, we were very isolated from the rest of the cast, and I got to meet some terrific new people, work with some really talented girls, and have some real bonding experiences with other actresses. And our Fourth of July show was just amazing. We did it one day, everyone sang live, and the dancers were just gorgeous!”

“I felt so sad when the prison [episodes] were over,” she concludes. “Heather MacRae (Tillie) and the others were just terrific human beings and wonderful performers. I will miss them all.”