Highway to hell

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but sometimes the road to hell is paved with not so good intentions, fear and lies.

They say the road to hell is paved with good intentions, but sometimes the road to hell is paved with not so good intentions, fear and lies. Sometimes it is the road you choose. For example if you allow your brain damaged brother or doting mother take the fall for a crime you committed, you're probably on a fiery path.

Okay, okay, I will cut Kristina a little slack because she doesn't yet know that Alexis took the rap for her. But she does know it wasn't Michael who caused the accident and still hasn't said a thing to ease his guilt or give him hope.

Several of you have written and suggested that Kiefer is the real culprit. That is highly possible; in fact it would be very soap-like for them to pull the old bait and switch on us. However, I have three problems with that, 1) I believe the accident already happened by the time Kiefer arrived. I'm a little fuzzy on the timing. 2) Alexis' car has a scrape and paint on it from Claudia's car where it actually made contact. 3) If Carly is telling the truth, and the car she saw was a small white hybrid, what are the odds that Kiefer drives one too?

As I said, it's possible, and even likely that Kiefer is going to be the guilty party. But I hope not. I would rather have it be Kristina for multiple reasons. It would open Alexis' eyes to the truth about Kristina. It would bring Sonny back into his daughter's life, because he will have to help her out of the jam if she was the hit and run driver. When Kristina watched Sonny with Michael when he thought Michael caused the accident, she looked almost envious of Sonny's concern for his son.

If Kristina is guilty, it would also set up a rivalry between Claudia and Kristina which could be juicy good fun to watch. Guilt would also allow Kristina's character to grow and blossom, like Maxie after Georgie's death, or Lulu after her abortion. Trials make us grow up and this one would set Kristina on a pathway to maturity.

Some people never grow up, for instance Claudia. What sort of mature woman would put out a hit on Michael, her stepson, and a teenaged boy who suffered brain injury and a year long coma because of her? She is selfish, immature, and hell bent on revenge. Now that she has discovered Michael wasn't the driver, will she reach Jerry Jax before another horrible "accident" occurs?

That having been said, Sarah J. Brown was brilliant this past week both as a grieving mother, and as a vengeful mob daughter. I loved the scene where she and Johnnie talked about the kind of mother she would have been. It was clear that motherhood would have changed Claudia, but the instant that baby died; her first impulse was to call Jerry Jax. Never a good sign. There were several powerhouse scenes this week they kept me glued to my set, another week my fast forward button got no action. When Sonny was praying in the chapel and Johnnie came in Sonny said he and Claudia would find the person responsible for her crash and get revenge.

When Johnnie dropped the bomb that it was Michael, Sonny was hesitant to believe it at first, but when Johnnie convinced him, Sonny started with personal guilt because he bought Michael the car in the first place against Carly's wishes, then swiftly moved to anger.

He tracked Michael down at the Quartermaine's and unleashed a tirade of hateful accusations at the son we know he adores. He spewed venom at Michael up to and including "You killed the baby tonight. Your baby brother died because of what you did!" OUCH. That was a brutal but powerful scene.

But just as quickly, Sonny shifted into concerned father mode and apologized. He became tender and supportive and worked with Michael on a solution. Sonny told Michael he would take responsibility for the crash, because he is the one who bought Michael the car. Sonny promised to bring Diane in to defend Michael and get him out of trouble. Maurice Benard and Drew Garrett worked magic together in both scenes this week.

Another power couple emerging is Sam and Kristina. Kelly Monaco hasn't been given a lot of meaty scenes in the past few months, but she is suddenly being utilized again and with brilliant results. The heart to heart talk she had with Kristina was so vivid and real and warm.

Big sister Sam confessed her sins to little sis Kristina and admitted she understood what it felt like to want to lie to cover up your misdeeds. Sam pointed out how flawed that logic is and how terribly wrong your life can go when it's built on lies. Kristina didn't break down and confess, but Lexi Ainsworth's Kristina had a trembling lip and a teary eye and it was clear her sister was reaching the depths of her heart.

Sam also had some good scenes with Alexis this week, but at the end I just wanted to shake Alexis. Alexis was deeply rooted in the "my kid would never do that" sort of denial. But when it became clear her kid would do that sort of thing. Alexis selflessly stepped up and took the blame to save her daughter.

Jason and Sam have teamed up to find the kids, and in the interim they are apparently feeling a little tingly around one another. When Jason tried to wipe off some smeared oil from Sam's cheek, there was some definite chemistry between them in that one small touch. Let's face it, Jason is due.

Jason hasn't been with anyone in eons, so he has to look at hot Sam and at least think about it. And for comic relief, the bit about Spinelli turning Jason's car into a hybrid was quite amusing. Of course it was the catalyst, if Sam hadn't had her head in the engine, she wouldn't have gotten grease on her face and Jason wouldn't have had a reason to touch her.

One scene I didn't really get this week was Ethan and Lucky crazy ape beating Dante for shooting a game of pool with Lulu. Sure, the guy works for Sonny, but Lulu had only met him 10 minutes prior, so the brothers teaming up to beat Dante to a pulp for simply shooting a game of pool with their sister before he had even had one date with her was a little over the top. Maybe the scene was designed to bring Lucky and Ethan together, so they have a reason to finally bond?

We got some more pieces of the puzzle regarding Dante this week. When Olivia saw him at Kelly's trying to rent a room from Mike and he gave his fake name Dominic, Olivia didn't bat an eyelash. This gives more credence to the fact that Dante is an undercover agent and Olivia knows he is working a case in Port Charles. Wouldn't it be funny if after all these years the person to take Sonny down was his own long lost son?

Another scene of interest to me this week was the revisiting of the Nikolas/Elizabeth pairing. When Nik was in the stable all bruised up and Elizabeth had to help him out of his shirt, there was a look between them that sizzled. I am not sure how this will play out.

Eventually, Nikolas will find out Rebecca just came to town to scam him, will he believe her feelings turned real along the way? Who knows. But in the interim, I can foresee a dalliance between Nik and Liz to kill time in between. Maybe Lucky will be at odds with Nik for stealing his ex wife while Lucky and Ethan grow closer? Of course I am merely speculating. Readers, here's the beauty; I actually care how these things turn out. And you do, too. Last week when I wrote about the improvement on GH, many of you wrote to agree and you were downright enthused about the changes. GH continued their great start with a great follow up and we were treated to another riveting week of drama.

In fact, I'd like to share some excerpts from letters I got this week from viewers who are as excited as I am with the improvement in the show the past few weeks.

Lenora wrote: Agreed with every word in Two Scoops. I couldn't get enough of the show last week. I had been recording the show so that I could fast forward through most of it (one episode, I saw all of 8 minutes). But, last Tuesday, I sat down at three and watched it all and at the end wondered, "Where did the hour go?" I can't believe the improvement.

Sharon wrote: Kudos, Tammy. As always, I'm right there with ya. Last week was GOOD GH, finally! Morgan blew me away and I even got choked up when Claudia watched her baby's heartbeat slow.

Vicki wrote: I definitely agree that GH has made some pretty great improvements of late! One more thing I want to add though...I think I like where they are going with this Kristina/Kiefer storyline. For years we've watched Alexis make horrid choices where men are concerned and now we get to watch how this trickles down and affects Kristina's choices.

That's just a few, but I love those letters, keep 'em coming.

What will happen tomorrow dear readers? Will Alexis find shoes to match her orange prison jumpsuit? Will Edward send Alice to track down the kids and retrieve his license plates? Will Jerry hurt or protect Michael when he finds him? Will Spinelli ever blurt out his proposal to Mac? Will Lulu fall for Dante because she thinks he is a bad boy and dump him if he turns out to be a good boy? Will Morgan spill grape juice and Jax and Carly's white furniture? Will Rebecca pick a style and stick to it for two days?