Hot Contents: Dante and Lulu

Dante Falconeri and Lulu Spencer

Dante Angelo Falconeri and Lesley Lu "Lulu" Spencer are fictional characters from the ABC daytime drama General Hospital, and have been deemed a popular pairing since their on-screen romance began; certain sources have deemed them a supercouple. Lulu, the only daughter of famous supercouple, Luke and Laura (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis), is currently being portrayed by Julie Marie Berman. Dante, the long-lost son of mob boss Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) is currently being portrayed by Dominic Zamprogna.

Background

Backstory

Lulu (Julie Marie Berman) had been paired with many different characters before Dante (Dominic Zamprogna). She is first with her stepbrother, Dillon Quartermaine (Scott Clifton), in 2005 when she breaks up his marriage to Georgie Jones (Lindze Letherman). In November 2006, the producers began teasing fans with the idea that Lulu would be paired with newcomer Bradford Anderson, who was playing computer geek Damian Spinelli, but the characters stayed friends. The show soon paired her with Logan Hayes (Josh Duhon) who was later revealed to be the long-lost son of her father's longtime enemy, Scott Baldwin (Kin Shriner). In 2007, Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash) breaks up Lulu and Logan. Fans seemed to get behind the pairing but, within the story, Johnny decides he is not good for Lulu when she kills Logan in self-defense and ends up in a mental hospital.

The difference with Dante and Lulu is that there is not a third party. Neither of the characters are in a relationship at the time when they meet. The Spencer and Corinthos families also have a history. Sonny Corinthos was scripted to marry Luke Spencer's niece, Carly Benson (Sarah Brown), and the on again/off again pairing have two children together; Sonny and Carly are also a supercouple. Sonny and Luke have been friends ever since Sonny inherited the organization of Frank Smith, who Luke worked for in the late 70s.

Casting

Since the announcement of the character in the summer of 2008, there has been much speculation about who would portray the character of Dante. First Tom Pelphrey was considering the role. He had just relocated to California leading fans to believe he was joining the cast. Pelphrey later released a statement saying he wanted to seek work outside of daytime. Then in October 2008, it was announced that David Lago had reportedly been cast as Dante. All seemed to be going well except for the fact that Lago had never actually signed a contract and the deal fell apart. Lago instead returned to his former job as Raul Guittierez on The Young and the Restless. In late spring of 2009, it was announced that Canadian actor Dominic Zamprogna had been cast as the character of Dominic Pirelli. Seeing that the character had the same name as the actor led to much speculation among fans. On July 8, 2009, Dominic is confirmed to be Dante Falconeri.

The character of Lulu had been played by numerous child actors since the character's on-screen birth in August 1994. In 2005, the character is Sorased and Julie Marie Berman is takes over the role of Lulu. Berman earned her first Daytime Emmy nomination in 2007 shortly after her debut. In 2009, she won her first award for Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress for her portrayal of Lulu, and won her second consecutive Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Younger Actress in 2010.

Writing

General Hospital headwriter Robert Guza, Jr. had fans glued to their televisions with the start of this iconic pairing. The history between the two families alone would make for a great story. According to a statement made by Guza in a soap opera magazine, Dante and Lulu always felt that it was them against everyone else and now it literrally comes to that. With the exception of Olivia and Luke, to some extent, the couple would face the wrath of family and friends over Dante turning Michael in to the cops. One of the positive things that happens in this whole (Michael story) arc is this strongly reinforces Lulu and Dante's connection in a big way."

“	Lulu and Dante are a couple we are committed to...you can expect their romance to flourish during this sweeps period and throughout the year. These two are now connected more than ever before.	”
—Robert Guza, Jr.

Storyline

Lulu Spencer meets Dominic Pirelli in July 2009 at the local bar, Jake’s. Though Lulu appears to be annoyed by his cockiness and cheesy pickup lines, she pays more attention to Dominic when her brothers Lucky (then played by Greg Vaughan) and Ethan (Nathan Parsons) demand that he stay away from her. After they beat him up for mouthing off, she takes him to General Hospital and leaves him in the hands of the no-nonsense head nurse Epiphany Johnson (Sonya Eddy). The meet up again when Lulu is filling in for a waitress at Kelly’s Diner; as Dominic is venting to Lulu about walking in on his mother and her boyfriend in walks his boss, mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) telling to back off. Dominic later finds Lulu at General Hospital after she accidentally glues her hand to her hair. He begins teasing her and Lulu gets him to go away by pretending she is dating, Dr. Matt Hunter (Jason Cook).

Dominic later runs in to Lulu at her father Luke’s Casino ‘’The Haunted Star’’ and Ethan decides to get rid of him once and for all. Ethan attempts to scam Dominic but Lulu stops him before he can do it. Dominic shows his gratitude and they share their first kiss on August 26, 2009. Dominic later asks Lulu to the General Hospital carnival but she is going with Dr. Hunter. Dominic is assigned as the guard to the Corinthos children, but is his by a speeding car driven by Edward Quartermaine (John Ingle) who has suffered a heart attack behind the wheel. Though it looks like Dominic may need a kidney transplant, he recovers. Dominic later sneaks out of the hospital and when Lulu brings him back, she finds a police badge that he claims he stole.

Lulu later finds Dominic spending time on the Elm Street Pier and is shocked when he confesses that Sonny’s wife Claudia (Sarah Brown) is trying to seduce him. He later opens to her about his childhood hero, Lieutenant Vince Poletti who was like a father to him; Poletti was killed by a mobster. She realizes that Dominic talks about the mob like he despises it which leaves her suspicious of his job choice as Sonny’s guard. That night, Lulu is drugged during a photo shoot for her job at ‘’Crimson’’ magazine and witness Dominic’s conversation with undercover cop, Ronnie Dimestico. When Lulu refuses to go the hospital, Dominic takes her back to his apartment where they end up kissing but she passes out before anything else happens.

Sonny later throws a birthday party for Claudia at which he reveals that Claudia was responsible for a botched hit on Sonny that resulted in his son, Michael (then played by Drew Garrett) being in a coma. Claudia freaks out, pulls a gun and takes Sonny’s pregnant ex-wife Carly Jacks (Laura Wright) hostage. Lulu and Dominic team up with Claudia’s brother, Johnny (Brandon Barash) to find the two women. They search the abandoned Zacchara mansion hoping to find her but Lulu then falls through the decaying floorboards into the freezing water below. While Johnny goes to get help, Dominic gets in the water with Lulu to keep her warm, because she is stuck. Dominic is forced to confess that he is really Dante Falconeri, the son of Johnny’s girlfriend, Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) and an undercover cop. He also asks her out on a date just before she passes out. Johnny arrives soon after with paramedics. Lulu promises to keep Dante’s secret only if he changes his mind about sending Sonny to prison.

Lulu is in denial about her feelings for Dante when talking to best friend, Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms). She and Dante go on their first date to the opera and Lulu is brought to tears by the tragic love story. They almost make love for the first time in the back of the limo but stop when they are interrupted by their driver. Lulu is soon kidnapped by the artist/psychopath, Franco (James Franco). Franco uses Lulu and Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) as bate for Dante and Sonny’s enforcer, Jason Morgan (Steve Burton). As Dante is rescuing her, the building they’re in explodes but they make it out alive.

Johnny later confronts Lulu saying that he knows Dante is a cop and warns her that when everyone figures out she’s covering for him, it won’t be pretty. He then tells Dante that he doesn’t want to cause problems for them, but reminds her of all the people she will hurt by keeping Dante’s secret, namely her father Luke and her cousin Carly. Dante realizes that he and Lulu can never last because after he turns Sonny in, he will go back to his life in Brooklyn. Dante tries to get her to admit that they never really had a relationship but Lulu refuses which only makes it harder for him to make her leave. Dante overhears Lulu in a phone conversation with Maxie about her crying herself to sleep but she denies it and hangs up. Meanwhile she drops the personal shopping items for her boss, Kate Howard (Megan Ward) and Dante attempts to help her. She wonders why he cares and Dante says he doesn’t want to put her in danger. To this, Lulu calls him patronizing and sexist and tells him not to tell her it's over. Lulu later learns that her brother Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) is sleeping with Lucky (now played by Jonathan Jackson)’s fiancée, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). This causes Lulu to question her relationship with Dante and he assures her that their relationship is real and that he loves her.

On January 29, 2010 while Lulu is standing up as the godmother for Carly’s daughter, Josslyn Jacks, Dante finally confronts Sonny. Sonny promptly shoots him from point blank range but is shocked to learn from Olivia that Dante is his son. After a few hours with hearing from him, Lulu goes to Sonny’s house but instead finds Dante’s badge and cell phone near a pool of blood. Fearing the worst, she confronts Jason about Dante’s whereabouts. Lulu then finds Sonny at the hospital and takes all of her anger out on him. Sonny assures her that he didn’t know Dante was his son but Lulu doesn’t listen to anything he has to say. As Dante is going into surgery, Lulu professes her love.

It is later discovered that Sonny’s daughter, Kristina (Lexi Ainsworth) is being abused by her boyfriend, (Kiefer Bauer). Because Kristina is afraid of what Sonny will do to Kiefer, she IDs Ethan as her attacker when he rejects her advances. Though Ethan is cleared of the charges, to make matters worse, Kiefer ends up dead. Ethan is blamed for that too but it is discovered that Kristina’s mother, Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn) is responsible. The damage is already done when Ethan gets arrested and beaten to a pulp by one of Sonny’s henchmen in jail. Luke is furious and blames Dante, and assures that she may have to choose between Dante and her family. In April 2010, Dante is forced to get Michael (now Chad Duell) back to Port Charles to testify again Sonny who is on trial for Claudia’s murder. When Dante finally does bring Michael home, Lulu helps him hide, but Michael later escapes. When Michael admits under oath that it was him who killed Claudia he sentenced to 5 years in prison. Though they are on everyone is against them, Dante and Lulu stand together. The couple makes love for the first time on May 5, 2010.

Dante's old friend, Brook Lynn Ashton (Adrianne Leon) from Bensonhurst returns to town in May 2010 and Dante finds her singing at the local bar, Jake's. Lulu and Brook's history is quickly revealed and Lulu is kind of suspicious of Brook. Carly has secretly hired Brook Lynn to get Dante into bed to get her revenge against the couple. On August 17, 2010 Lulu walks in on Dante and Brook Lynn half-naked. After throwing Brook out, she realizes that Dante was drugged. Soon after, Lulu forgives Dante and they move on with their relationship.

On October 11, 2010, Dante walks into Sonny's living room to find Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil), his fathers old girlfriend. Dante had worked on a security detail for the supermodel in 2007, however the pair refrain from telling anybody. Through a series of flashbacks it is revealed that Dante helped cover up a murder for Brenda. In addition, Dante helped Brenda when she became pregnant by signing away his parental rights (Carly discovers the document in question). However, Dante tells Lulu that he had never met Brenda. When Lulu caught Dante in the lie, he changed his story by saying that he barely knew her, and didn't think she would remember him. Dante then told his brother Michael that he once had feelings for Brenda, and he thought he had been in love with her.

On January 18, 2011, Lulu breaks up with Dante when she finds out about the murder he helped Brenda cover up in 2007. However, Dante is determined to win Lulu back, and the breakup makes him realize that what he had with Brenda was just a crush, and what he has with Lulu is real. At Sonny & Brenda's wedding, where Dante served as the best man, Brenda objected in order to tell Sonny the truth about the baby. Dante stepped up to explain the rest in detail, and he revealed that the baby was not his, and they lied about the paternity to protect Brenda. Lulu leaves the wedding, visibly upset, and Dante follows her to her apartment. He tells her that he never slept with Brenda, and that he is not going to give up on his relationship with Lulu. At first, Lulu requests some time apart, but the couple later reconciles.

On March 21, 2011, Lulus nephew, Jake, was hit by a car and killed. It is further revealed that the driver of the car that hit Jake was Lulus father, Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary), who is believed to have been drunk. As a result of this revelation, Luke begins on a path of destruction. His alcoholism becomes worse than ever and Lulu has a hard time dealing with it. Dante supports Lulu throughout her hardships with her father. Dante confronts Luke and tries to convince him to pull himself together for Lulus sake. However, Luke decides to skip town as he can no longer deal with his grief. Lulu is heartbroken by her fathers disappearance and convinces her brother to search for him.

When Lucky is unable to find her father, Lulu decides to search for him herself. She leaves a note for Dante and flies to Florida to the bordello where her father grew up. She poses as a business associate of Lukes, rather than his daughter. She meets the dangerous man in charge of the bordello, Javier, and he tells her that he does not know where Luke is but expects him to return shortly. Lulu decides to take a job waitressing at the bordello. Not soon after she arrives, Dante goes searching for her and finds her at the bordello. He gets a job at the bordello as a bouncer in an attempt to try to protect Lulu. He continually pleads for Lulu to return home with him, but she refuses.

Lulus time at the bordello comes to a climax when Javier finds out Dante is a cop as well as Lulu's boyfriend. Javier tries to rape Lulu but Dante arrives in time to save her. Dante assaults Javier and forces him to tell Lulu what he knows about Luke. Javier reveals that Luke is working with Helena Cassadine. Lulu and Dante then travel to the Cassadine island in Greece. Dante tries to pose as a man looking for work, but Helena already knows who he is. Instead, Lulu confronts Helena about her fathers whereabouts. Helena plays mindgames with Lulu and refuses to tell her Luke's exact location. Soon after, Lulu's brother Nikolas appears and lectures Lulu on her search for her father. As a result, Lulu tells Dante that she has decided to return home without her father.

Reception and impact

The couple was an overnight success with fans and critics alike. The couple earned the name, Lante as their squish name. In May 2010, Berman's brother who owns a bakery in Santa Monica, California revealed that he was inspired by the couple and created a cupcake named after them called the Lante.

References

External links

Retrieved from : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dante_Falconeri_and_Lulu_Spencer

Hot Contents

2011/08/30

Dante and Lulu