MovieChat Forums > Falcon Crest (1981) Discussion > Richard, Lauren, Maggie

Richard, Lauren, Maggie

posted 7 years ago by JaneThree
3 replies | jump to latest

Maggie and Richard were my favorite storyline by far on Falcon Crest, but it was also stressful to watch. It was the only time I've seen a couple where you knew they were madly in love, knew he truly wanted and needed her, wanted to be married to her, but you couldn't trust him and you never knew which way he would bend. I tend to identify with the female characters, so I thought Maggie's position in that marriage was stressful. In order to experience that kind of love, you have to be completely open, vulnerable, and giving, but then you're setting yourself up if your partner really can't be trusted if certain situations come along. Richard never did a good job shutting down other women. He didn't cheat, per se, while married and living with Maggie, but I felt that women would come along and he'd let them think they had a shot, and when they were separated I found his affair with the Melissa lookalike completely sleazy and slimy. Just like I found him getting up and dirty dancing with Melissa while he was with Maggie slimy and sleazy. I like Melissa, but I think Jeff Frelich didn't know where the storytelling boundaries should be where she was concerned with other characters.

Anyway, I know they paired them because David Selby and Susan Sullivan had amazing chemistry together. In terms of the characters, he wanted her because he trusted her, and she sort of represented this totally unconditional love that he'd never had. HOWEVER, looking how their story played, I don't think that marriage ever functioned properly BECAUSE she didn't keep him in check. She wasn't the type. There's no reason a wife should have to be keeping her husband in line; Maggie let people be who they were, but I think this set up for just repeat issues with Richard. A pattern of happiness, tension, stress, relief, happiness, uneasiness, etc.

I have come to believe he really needed an Angela type. Someone just like his mother. Angela didn't mess around. Lauren kind of bored me, and I didn't think Richard was truly in love with her BUT she didn't mess around either. She wasn't irresolute like Maggie could be. She was "You sell your part of Falcon Crest to your mother or we're not getting married." So he did. Yes, Richard was very much reduced by then, having lost Maggie, been in jail, etc. But still, he needed a boss. Lauren was a good woman too (Richard would never have respected a "bad" woman who tried to control him), but she had serious boundaries and limitations. It wasn't as romantic, but I think it would help that marriage survive instead of it lurching from crisis to crisis like Richard and Maggie.

[–] jarrodmcdonald-1 7 years ago

I really enjoyed reading your comments. You put a lot of thought into Richard's relationships. Though you didn't talk about his earlier pairing with Cassandra which produced his son.

Susan Sullivan and David Selby were (and still are) very close friends. So when Robert Foxworth was leaving the show, it made sense for the writers put Maggie with Richard.

I didn't care for Maggie's death at all...it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back for me and I tuned out for the remainder of the last season (until the final episode). It would have been better if she had just started to show a bit of backbone then went off on a book-signing tour and divorced him. Or else she could have left it open for him to come track her down if/when he was ready to have the right kind of marriage. I found her death to be totally unnecessary.

[–] Withrow68 7 years ago

A well written piece from a knowledgeable fan. My compliments. Richard, because of his lack of a mother growing up and thinking his mother abandoned him, was seeking women who would mother him. So, he was drawn to women who, while not gold diggers,would share his ambitions, be turned on by them, or co-opt them for their own agendas. The problem was that she had to be subtle about it, lead from behind, or top from the bottom. Otherwise, Richard's alpha male, business prodigy and maverick side led him to push back like a rebellious teen.

Diana Hunter was a friend with benefits who tried to keep Richard on point and reigned in. Pamela Lynch was a scolding, nanny type, the difference being that Pamela loved him. Terry Ranson wanted to use to launder her past and achieve social mobility that her money could not buy, but also fell in love. Meridith Braxton refused $5 million owed from Richard as she was turned on by his power and ambition, not his money. Poor Cass Wilder just fell in love, but the relationship was doomed by her earlier deceptions.

Maggie thought she and Richard had a deal: He gets his ultimate good girl. But in return, he has to be a good boy. The problem was that in being good for Maggie and after making peace with Angela, Richard got bored. That boredom landed him in jail.

Richard loved Lauren. However, it was simply the love some guys come to feel for their kids' nanny. Richard is so impressed with her mothering skills, that he wants her to raise them. But this is not practical if they are not together. Having lost her children in an accident, she is desperate to have kids to raise. So, they build a love around an unspoken deal. Lauren also had experience in dealing with this kind of man because of her relationship with her brother and knew she had to be aggressive, to close the deal forcefully to get Richard out of Falcon Crest. She's the mom figure, guiding Michael, Kevin, Danny, AND Richard.

[–] doubledragon-19441 7 years ago

LOL how the hell do you drown in your own pool. I feel as though this unceremonious death was the result of Susan Sullivan having a falling out with the writers.