General Hospital fans left heartbroken after Sam's tragic death

Although General Hospital fans had known it was coming for months, when Lucas called the time of death on his sister, Sam McCall, it was a shock to the system for many. Kelly Monaco had played Sam for 21 years, taking her from a con woman with a sense of adventure to a heroine and mom who just wanted a stable life.

Sam McCall's devastating death

As Sam's loved ones learn of her death, GH fans have to come to terms with the loss as well. Sam's future seemed so bright as she and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) made plans for their blended family after he proposed, but even that moment was bittersweet as Sante fans knew what would come before the end of the week.

Watching Jason's (Steve Burton) and Alexis' (Nancy Lee Grahn) faces as they knew their girl was in trouble left us on the edge of our seats. When Portia (Brook Kerr), Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst), and Lucas (Van Hansis) finally knew it was time to give up on Sam, the GH fandom took to social media to praise Kelly Monaco and ask why Sam's story had to end this way.

General Hospital fans left sad and confused

Sam had just done a selfless thing and donated a part of her liver so a comatose Lulu could still have a chance at life. With Alexa Havins being cast as the new Lulu, we know the character will finally wake up after four long years, but now Sam will be gone.

Longtime Sam fans don't understand why their favorite character had to be sacrificed and believe she deserved better.

"Still in disbelief that Sam McCall is gone," @mina_middy wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "She/Kelly deserved so much better than this. Will cherish the memories. Thank you to the beautiful and talented Kelly Monaco for portraying one of my favorite characters."

Sam fan @quartermainiac pointed out that Sam's death did not follow the traditional soap opera death format when a beloved longtime character dies, which felt like a slap in the face to some.

"When a soap character's death is not important: 1. Mid-week, not a Friday. 2. No cliffhanger. She's dead-dead. Sam McCall was an important character."

Others were shocked that GH interjected a scandalous affair story into the episode where Sam McCall died, and then promoted the scandalous affair on social media and not Sam's death. This came after several non-longterm characters exited or died over the past two years with much more fanfare.

"I watched promo after promo and constant heavy focus on Finn, Gregory & Britt’s exits, just to name a few, while Sam who was around 21 years is ushered offscreen like an afterthought," wrote @moiraswigs. "The vindictiveness to the character, actress & her fans is cruel."

Fans have been asking why Sam had to be killed off since news of Monaco's exit broke in August. X user @TaysBattleCry expressed those sentiments.

"Ugly tears. #GH made one of the worst decisions ever, killing off this legacy character! Her family needs her more than ever," they wrote. "They could have written her off in so many ways without killing her. The crazy part? It feels like they brought back Jason just to watch Sam die."

When the October 30 episode began, Jason brought Danny and Scout to the hospital to visit their mom. We thought we'd get some final scenes between Sam and her kids, but it wasn't meant to be. That understandably upset many fans, including @Kryingkrys.

"Sam didn't even get to see her sisters OR HER CHILDREN?! Oh, this show is nasty work. Outrageous!"

Tributes to Kelly Monaco poured in

While Sam fans grieved in disbelief, they didn't forget their favorite actress who had given them more than two decades of entertainment and joy.

"Sam is now gone and it was absolutely heartbreaking to go through watching her go," tweeted @sjcalways. "Thank you @kellymonaco1 for the amazing job you have done the last 2 decades bringing Sam to life. You made her a character that will last in hearts and memories for always."

In the end, Sam and Monaco fans promised to be there for each other as they mourned this iconic character.

"Sending out a big group hug to all the Sam McCall/Kelly Monaco fans no matter who you shipped her with," wrote @carolinagal2976. "It's a sad day for us all. We love you Kelly!!!!"

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.