General Hospital Recap for Friday, January 24, 2025: Willow stands up to Tracy, Kai gets bad news

In Baden Baden, Germany, Carly is devastated. She almost throws a glass across the room but sinks to a chair to sob. There was a knock at the door, but when she opened it, Carly was surprised to see Brennan. He had a meeting in London and an impulse to check in on her. He was glad he did when he saw she was a mess.

Brennan and Carly ordered room service, and she told him that the clinic said Michael was doing well, but she wasn’t allowed to see him. She understood but didn’t feel good about it. She still wanted him to be at the clinic so he could heal like Ava did. Carly told Brennan that although she was upset about it, Michael’s needs came first.

Brennan respected her choice. Carly said she felt like everything was her fault. “Michael was burned because he was at Sonny’s, and it was my decision to bring Sonny into Michael’s life,” Carly explained.

Carly admitted to Brennan that she ignored the dangers of Sonny’s life so that Michael would have a dad. She blamed herself for her choice to put Michael in the hospital today. Brennan told her there was no point dwelling on past mistakes. “That way, madness lies,” Brennan advised.

Brennan shared a story about a mission that went sideways and how each person dealt with their guilt. He got choked up, saying that he lost a good friend that day, but he couldn’t change what happened, he could only learn from what went wrong. Carly agreed that she learned the hard way that holding onto the what-ifs when she lost Morgan wasn’t healthy. Brennan offered to help Carly get in to see Michael, but she said she had it covered. However, she did need a ride, and he happily obliged.

Drew walked into Curtis’ office and said he didn’t like how things ended between them. He wanted Curtis to know that he wasn’t trying to double-cross him intentionally. Drew said he knew how it sounded, but he was trying to do right by both Curtis and Michael. Now that his nephew was out of the picture, he thought they could pivot the situation to something that worked for both of them.

Drew admitted he wanted control of his company back and suggested a stock sale. He claimed he just wanted ownership of his own company back. “You want to cut Michael out while he’s recovering from third-degree burns?” Curtis asked. Drew said Michael didn’t even need Aurora, and Curtis would remain CEO. Drew said Curtis was doing amazing things and just wanted to get a majority share of the company he founded. Curtis said he made a good point, but he’d rather resign than take his deal.

Curtis told Drew he wouldn’t betray Michael if he was down the hall, so he definitely wasn’t going to while he was in a burn unit. He told Drew he didn’t even recognize him and wondered what happened to him. Drew explained to Curtis that the more he was around politics the more he wanted in, and around that same time, he and Willow formed a connection. Drew believed his connection with Willow was stronger than what she had with Michael. He pointed out that Willow’s wouldn’t be the first marriage to end, as Curtis’ had.

Drew said he was trying to placate Michael because he felt guilty and screwed over Curtis in the process. Curtis knew Drew had been looking out for his best interest, and now he was doing the same. He told Drew he’d rather have Michael in his corner than Drew. “So if you’re ultimately successful in stealing Willow from your nephew, then you would have gotten what you wanted. But then, you got to find a way to live with yourself,” Curtis said bluntly.

Drew reminded Curtis he was the newest Congressman on the Appropriations Committee. He warned if he wasn’t gaining financially from Aurora, there was no reason to help the company succeed. “You’d rather sink your own company than see it succeed?” Curtis asked. Drew gave Curtis one more chance, but Curtis told him, “My answer stands. Now get the hell out,” as he opened the door for him to leave.

At the gatehouse, Willow called and left a message for Drew to call her. Nina came over, and Willow told her she had made a huge mistake. Willow told Nina that she didn’t think coming back to the gate house would be that big of a deal as she’d lived there for years but realized that was before all the ugliness. Tracy came in the door and announced she wanted to set some new ground rules.

Willow stood up and told Tracy that she was the one who had the charges dropped for taking her kids but reminded her she could have them reinstated. Tracy wondered if Willow was so dazzled by Drew’s faux-hero persona that she had to have it at any cost, or was she just more conniving than she’d given her credit for. Tracy said Willow was profoundly untrustworthy. “I think there’s a little more Nelle in you than we realized,” she added.

Tracy warned Willow that if she didn’t act responsibly with the kids, she’d lose them. Nina argued that the kids belonged with their mom. Willow added she was compromising, and if she didn’t stop, they’d go to Nina’s apartment, and Tracy could explain to Monica why they were gone. Tracy told her there was one non-negotiable condition: Her boyfriend couldn’t visit her on the property. “If you are compelled to look into Drew’s lying eyes, you will have to do it somewhere else. You know why? Because he is banned from this property — permanently!” Tracy snapped before walking out.

Nina told Willow she was proud of her for being one of the select few people who could say they stood up to Tracy Quartermaine. Willow was intimidated that Drew was banished and thought she should follow his advice and move back to Nina’s with the kids.

Nina noted that Willow stood up for herself and compromised with Carly because she trusted her instincts. She added that the Quartermaines appreciated it and one day, Michael would, too. Willow relented that she should stay where she was after all.

The phone rang on Maxie’s desk so Lulu answered it. When Maxie came in, Lulu asked if she had been hired, but Maxie said again that she was overqualified. Lulu wanted to make money so she could find Charlotte on he own terms. Maxie insisted Lulu would be miserable if she worked there. Brook Lynn came in and asked why Lulu was there. “Didn’t you tell her we’re not hiring her?” she asked Maxie.

Lulu realized it wasn’t about Lulu not being right for the job. “It’s about me not being right for Brook Lynn,” she said. Brook Lynn told Lulu straight up the position was to be her assistant, and it was uncomfortable to have her around. Lulu didn’t understand why Brook Lynn didn’t like her. “I’m not the one who came between you and your boyfriend. You’re the one who did that to me,” Lulu said.

Brook Lynn said it stressed her out having Lulu around because she made her feel like she was just waiting for her to mess up. Maxie agreed that Lulu criticized Brook Lynn all the time. Maxie told Lulu that Deception had a lot of ups and downs lately, and hiring her would be a complication.

Maxie told Lulu there were a lot of things she didn’t know, like how everyone, including Brook Lynn and Chase, tested to be her donor. Brook Lynn added that Maxie’s hard work got her where she was, and Deception meant a lot to her.

Lulu told Maxie she’d never want to do anything to hurt her and told her how important she was. Brook Lynn said she knew how much Lulu cared about Maxie but needed to understand how much had changed for her. Lulu admitted she was trying to catch up with everyone as quickly as she could, but was only looking at things from her perspective and apologized.

Lula explained she had wanted Maxie to side with her, but Maxie didn’t want to be in the middle. Brook Lynn thought her issues with Lulu were in part that she reminded her of the things she had done in the past that she still regretted. Lulu told her she wasn’t alone in that. “We all have regrets,” Lulu admitted. Tracy walked in, muttering about her bad day, but stopped in her tracks. “Lulu, what are you doing here?” she asked.

Lulu shared that they were discussing if she was a good fit and wanted to see if Carly could hire her at the Metro Court instead. “Absolutely not!” Tracy balked. She said as the majority shareholder, she wanted Lulu there and would pay her double. Brook Lynn and Maxie weren’t please,d but Lulu said it was a good opportunity to work with people she loved and respected and accepted the offer.

At Laura’s office, Sidwell met with her and Anna, who introduced him as someone who tried to kill her and Lucky in Africa. Sidwell claimed to feel terrible about that situation but his business was being threatened, noting that they all lied to him and Holly had stolen from him. He said he only followed the laws of the land to protect himself. Anna said the law was against him for taking Sasha, but he pointed out that there were no witnesses or charges. Sidwell took a seat and said he set up the meeting as he was simply an importer, but Laura interrupted to tell him that they didn’t want him in Port Charles.

Anna told Sidwell to cut his losses and leave, but he wanted to prove to both of them he was a law-abiding citizen. They promised to keep tabs on him, and Sidwell welcomed the attention as he felt they would see he was an asset to the city. Laura told him he would find it hard to do business in a town where he wasn’t welcome, but Sidwell looked forward to proving them wrong.

After Sidwell left, Anna noted he was right that they didn’t have a way to charge him with anything yet. Anna thought it stood out that Sidwell’s arrival in Port Charles coincided with the firebombing at Sonny’s apartment. Anna hoped that if the explosion at Sonny’s matched the materials used at the warehouse with Sasha, there would be a chance she could pin both on Sidwell.

Trina saw Josslyn at the hospital and asked what she was doing there. “Trying to stop a murder,” Joss told her. Trina understood Josslyn’s frustration getting answers about Dex’s death. Trina explained she was there to see Kai, and Joss noted that football was very much part of Kai’s identity. She thought Trina was a good influence on him.

Stella came into Kai's hospital room and found him watching a game tape. He told her he was giving away his gifts and flowers to other patients as he was getting out soon. He was waiting to hear from the orthopedist when he could return to playing. Stella encouraged him to take his time recovering and follow the doctor’s orders. She had him laughing until the orthopedist interpreted. Stella left so they could talk.

Later, Trina came to see Kai in the hospital and found him in a bad mood. He told her that his orthopedist told him he would never play football again.

Next Week on General Hospital:

Liz tells Lucky, “Once we tell her what’s going on, she’s going to help us find what we need.”

“He might be heading for trouble,” Laura says to Lulu.

Drew tells Marty that the Quartermaines have another thing coming for banning him from seeing Willow.

“I will take you up on that,” Willow says, smiling.

Kristina asks Sonny if it’s rally the best time for him to be traveling.

A tearful Jason adamantly tells Anna, “I need to do something more for him — now!”

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