Soap Opera Digest
May 13, 2003
Performer of the Week

Catherine Hickland (Lindsay, ONE LIFE TO LIVE)

In the nearly five years since Catherine Hickland bravely created the character with the lowest self-esteem on soaps (and that’s saying something), she has pulled off a minor miracle. Because as over-the-top and cruel as Linday can be, we still love her.

If proof is needed of this wonderfulness, look no further than the weeks since Lindsay blew away her ex-husband (Sam), thinking he was actually her ex-fiance (Troy). Hickland let Lindsay’s madness come in stages, like a shade being slowly drawn. She staggered around shell-shocked at Sam’s memorial as if wounded, wailing siren-like to Troy, “You should have been the one!”

Still, nothing was as harrowing as her confession to her daughter. Harangued by visions of Sam (and the real-life Mitch encouraging her to pursue those thoughts of suicide), Lindsay broke in front of Jennifer. Clutching her stomach, tears streaming down her perfectly made-up cheeks, she gasped, “I can’t think, I can’t breathe.” Then, the admission out, Lindsay’s cheese finally slid all the way off the cracker. As Jen looked on in horror, Lindsay’s sanity evaporated as she muttered, “He was with her. It wasn’t right. Everyone knew. Everyone saw it…I was burning up, I felt like my insides were on fire.”

Riveting. Yet, we don’t hate killer Lindsay. Instead, in her madness, she has become a new person, revealing a well-mannered, kindly side. A little Stepford in her blanked eyes, a quiet calmness to her movements, and at last, she fits around town. But we won’t worry. Sane Lindsay will be back soon, running around persecuted and vindictive. We can wait: She’s wonderful either way.