Hard truths

Readers, could it be that after all these years Sonny Corinthos is finally going to look at himself in the mirror and realize he is (gasp!) abusive to women?

Readers, could it be that after all these years Sonny Corinthos is finally going to look at himself in the mirror and realize he is (gasp!) abusive to women?

I didn't think he'd make it through the entire therapy session, but he did better than I thought. He didn't throw any bottles at the wall or break the doctor's window or make Kristina cry. It was a banner day in Sonny-land.

I loved the way Friday's show ended. After Sonny dropped off Kristina, he actually thought about the discussion at the therapy session. On the way home he -- brace yourself -- considered the possibility that there might be some truth to the discussion. I am dying for Monday's episode to air to see how Carly responds to his question. In Sonny's mind, abuse only means punching someone. But because of Kristina's ordeal, he has had to rethink all the things he once thought were true. As always, Lexi Ainsworth did the material justice and is playing Kristina's therapy with real emotion, which makes it genuine and interesting to watch.

General Hospital was kind of a snooze the past week, but they are on the verge of tackling a couple of tough subjects so for that I give them credit.

Last week I glossed over one of those tough subjects and someone I deeply respect called me on it...I will take another pass at it and try to shed light on it -- Michael's attack in prison.

I did a little research and the stats are grim. There are about 2.5 million people incarcerated in the U.S. as of last year and the number of inmate on inmate attacks of violence as well as guard/inmate violence is on the rise. A majority of people who are in prison will be beaten, raped, or brutalized in some manner during their stint behind bars.

I know some people think "They have it coming." I am not among them. Certainly, some people commit heinous crimes and we can't feel too sorry for anything that befalls them. But then, there are kids -- a kid who got caught with weed, or a kid who broke into someone's car, or whatever minor crime they committed - who get prison time and instead of being rehabilitated end up savagely attacked and scarred for life. We ignore that it happens, we push it out of our minds, and we're wrong to do so.

In GH's case -- Michael has so many strikes against him -- he's Sonny's son, and the prison is filled with people who hate Sonny. Michael is also a defenseless innocent, Jason's two boxing classes notwithstanding. Michael's crime was that he genuinely acted in self-defense to save his mom and baby sister from Claudia. But he still got sentenced to maximum-security prison -- and with all the deals of protection on the table, still Michael was attacked. Possibly raped and certainly beaten.

What will become of Michael? When he is eventually released, he will never be the same kid he was when he went into prison. He will have wounds that never heal and anger he won't be able to blame on his brain injury. We think it's horrific because it's happening to a character we care about on our favorite soap -- but what about all those real-life Michaels who suffer the same fate? Shouldn't we care about them, too? I urge you to do a little research and find out about the state of prisons in your state, and sign petitions or volunteer or do whatever positive thing you can do to combat this type of violence and brutality within our jails and prisons.

As mad as I was about the recast, Chad Duell is really growing on me and is doing a great job playing the wounded and broken Michael. I loved Drew Garrett and was sorry to lose him, but it doesn't make me appreciate Chad's fine work on this brutal storyline any less.

Now, back to the stuff that bored me... Brook Lynn cooking and reminiscing with Dante about the old neighborhood was dull. Funny that in all the time Dante was in town, he never mentioned what great pals he was with Brook Lynn, but we are expected to buy that they were thick as thieves. And Lulu? Who goes to the market to buy flowers for their dinner table and comes home with goldenrod? If you guys write me and tell me that you buy goldenrod instead of actual flowers, I will mock you in my head.

While I think this storyline is headed somewhere, it hasn't gotten there yet and I'm impatient. When Brook sat next to Dante on the sofa, she was nearly straddling his thighs but Lulu didn't seem to notice. But by the end of Friday she was beginning to realize Maxie might be right -- Brook Lynn is trouble.

At least GH addressed the problem I saw with this plot all along -- if Brook needed money, all she has to do was suck up to Great Grandpa Edward for it.

I swear Soap Opera People problems slay me.

"Oh no, Edward will only write me a blank check to cover all my debts if I live in his giant mansion and attend college!" PLEASE GOD, GIVE ME THAT PROBLEM.

Not to mention Elizabeth's big problem "Oh no, the rich handsome prince who impregnated me wants me to move into his mansion with my kids and quit my job and be waited on by servants." PLEASE GOD, GIVE ME THAT PROBLEM.

Or Maxie -- "My pretend husband isn't fawning over me right now so I have an emergency backup handsome doctor to date to make my boyfriend jealous. PLEASE GOD, GIVE ME THAT PROBLEM.

Hell, I'd even be okay with being imprisoned with Luke Spencer.

But, yes, I know, it's all about escape, isn't it?

Like Robin escaping to Africa. My husband and I actually got into a slight skirmish about those scenes. He was trying to defend Patrick's point of view, but I pointed out that Patrick was also in the locker room eavesdropping on his old girlfriend earlier in the week. As I recall, he was jealous of Lisa dating someone else, so maybe he's just a jealous idiot in general. While I agree you should consult your spouse before flying to Africa for three weeks, I don't think he was very supportive about Robin's opportunity in general.

If you want to see a supportive relationship right now, the best example is Sam and Jason. Jason made a choice to go to prison for five years knowing full well it would impact Sam drastically, but she opted to support Jason and stand beside him during the difficult season in their relationship. I think it's pretty clear we are heading towards a prison wedding and I only hope they find a loophole for Jason to get out in less than five years because it's already boring with Jason in jail instead of interacting with the rest of the characters. Sad but true, Jason, resident hit man, is somewhat the one that makes the world go round in Port Charles.

Since Franco is headed back to GH, something tells me that they will have to spring Jason from prison to help catch Franco before he starts a new killing spree.

Sonny and Johnny are about to start a mob war, and Olivia is stuck in the middle. If she had the sense God gave a goose, as Scott Baldwin used to say, she's steer clear of both of them. Here's how I see things playing out... In Tamilu's crystal ball, I see Brook Lynn hooking up with Johnny, Sonny seducing Claire Walsh, and Olivia having a one-night stand with Jax in a moment of weakness over one or the other of those two liaisons. Pure guessing here -- just noticing the sparks flying between certain people and trying to guess where it's heading.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Max find a hooker who makes house calls to the slammer? Will we ever know why Diane kept wiping down her pumps at Sonny's house? Will Nikolas buy some more of Shirley's ugly jewelry to score points with Liz and then deny that is what he is doing? Will Steven and Elizabeth both have to move into Wyndemere after their stupid bad investment falls through? Will anyone believe Lucky that Luke is in danger from Helena or will he have to set off to search for Luke alone? Will anyone wash off that nasty spoon Dante was licking sauce off of instead of putting it back in the pot? Will we ever see Kate and Coleman do more than kiss across the bar? Will Jason stop Carly from luring Spinelli and his chip-filled brain into her crazy scheme? Will Kristina explain how she got all the rival mobsters numbers on speed dial in her phone?