It finally happened. Kelly Monaco’s time has come on General Hospital.

After more than 20 years on the series, Kelly Monaco’s Sam has finally left General Hospital.

Characters departing the long-running ABC soap opera is nothing new. Given its more than 60 years of ever-evolving drama, fans are always on edge that some of their favorite Port Charles residents may be on the way out at the drop of a hat.

Just this year, audiences shared worries that Maurice Benard’s Sonny was set to retire from General Hospital after more than 30 years of appearing in the series, but that turned out to be false.

However, that does not look to be the case for Kelly Monaco’s Sam (who fans were scared was on the way out in recent weeks), as she says goodbye to the series.

Sam Leaves General Hospital

It has finally happened. During the October 31 episode of General Hospital, Kelly Monaco’s Sam got her send-off and left the series for good.

This came after a weeks-long storyline involving the longtime soap character, in which she was going to have to go under the knife for a risky liver transplant.

The episode preceding this operation was one of melancholic sadness for both fans and the character in-universe, as Sam had a chance to say goodbye to everyone she loved in the series, hinting heavily that the procedure was not going to go well.

Well, exactly that happened (kind of). Sam made it out of surgery fine, being shown for much of the episode sitting in her bed in the Port Charles hospital rooms.

She got to have a few conversations post-operation, most importantly talking to her daughter Alexis who finally admitted that Sam’s longtime romantic flame Dante was perfect for Kelly Monaco’s character.

This came as elsewhere in the episode, Dante himself revealed to his son that he had asked Sam to marry him and she had said yes.

Everything seemed hunky-dory for the fan-favorite soap character, but then, tragedy struck. While looking fine one moment, Sam began to crash.

As Alexis told Jason in the hospital hall, “One second, she was happy about her future, and the next second her face went white, and she could not breathe.”

The hospital staff, including Portia and Lucas, tried to save Sam as she crashed, doing chest compressions and using a defibrillator on here, but it was not enough.

After extensive work trying to save her, they finally call it. Pronouncing the longtime character dead once and for all. Sam’s medical team was visibly stunned by what had just happened.

She has seemed fine, and then simply was not. It was speculated within the episode that it could have been the result of an embolism that could have ultimately taken her out, but her exact cause of death remained uncertain.

Why Did Sam Die in General Hospital?

While some fans me still be reeling from Sam’s death in General Hospital, there is a real-world reason for her Kelly Monaco’s character being written off the series.

It was first reported back in August that Monaco, who had been a part of the series since October 2003, would depart the show after more than twenty years.

This came by way of writing from Soap Opera Network, which revealed that, according to its sources, Sam was to be written off and killed in an upcoming storyline and that Monaco was “blindsided” by the decision.

Some have speculated that the character’s departure could have something to do with failed contract negotiations between the General Hospital brass and Monaco herself, but those claims have been unsubstantiated.

On finding out her character was being written off of the show, Monaco took to Instagram (via People), telling fans that she had “worked for decades to build [Sam’s character]” and that the team behind the show has been “slowly dismantling her.”

She would follow this up, saying “I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free,” potentially hinting there may be something more nefarious afoot when it comes to her character leaving the show:

“‘No primary role’.. do your homework. When Billy Miller was fired, Sam’s storyline stopped. Stripping Sam of every characteristic she had. Something I worked for decades to build… Slowly dismantling her, into a character that I did not recognize, let alone the audience. Call it what you will… retaliation at it [sic] finest. I will give a proper statement. The truth will set you free.”

While her time may have come to an end in the series, that does not mean Sam’s presence will not continue to be felt though.

It has been teased that in the next few episodes, her death will slowly start to make its way around Port Charles, eventually making it to Dante, the man who was hoping to marry the ailing Sam.

Surely, his reaction to the news will be devastating for Dante, setting up a major emotional beat for Sam’s former romantic flame.