The two faces of Kate

There are many faces in Port Charles. Some are long-time favorites. Some are new neighbors from the town of Llanview. Some are one person with two different personalities. It's getting to know these characters that makes soap-watching so much fun -- and so frustrating. It's time to face the music in this latest Two Scoops.

Before I get into the storylines for this week, I want to express my extreme displeasure over the new theme song that premiered with the updated opening credits. I don't mind the credits being shortened, but note to the person who changed the theme song -- it sucks great big lemon balls. Why fix what wasn't broken? Sure, the bumpers needed updating, but the music? My dog, Maximus, could have composed a catchier tune, and he's partially deaf in one ear.

Now, on to our stories...

It's official; Kate suffers from multiple personalities, or dissociative identity disorder (DID). I have to admit, I kind of blame Olivia -- and others -- for contributing to this, because for years we've heard everyone whine to Kate that she's really Connie "From the Block" Falconeri, not Kate Howard. It annoyed me, because several people in that town have reinvented themselves, including Kate/Connie's chief tormentor, Caroline Benson, who arrived in town as Carly Roberts, a girl whom Caroline had idolized, and whose identity Caroline had assumed after it was believed that the real Carly had died in a car crash.

I'm not keen on the whole DID storyline, because it feels a bit contrived. This is exactly the kind of thing that Ron Carlivati is known for on OLTL. I had really been hoping that he'd pull something new and refreshing out of his bag of tricks, not a tired old faded scarf that was frayed around the edges. However, that said, I can believe that Kate's shooting, and near-death experience on her wedding day, at the church altar, spawned...well, an alter. I can also buy "Connie" being a bit perturbed with Kate for taking Sonny back. Clearly, Connie wasn't all that impressed with Sonny's skills as a lover. Rock on, Connie!

It appears that Connie might have been responsible for the shooting in the parking garage, and Anthony's crash, but I don't understand why Connie would target Dante, or how she had managed to shoot out Anthony's tires, while speeding down a winding road. That takes skill, as Sonny wisely pointed out. Has Connie been hitting the shooting range during Kate's blackouts?

Plot holes aside, I do like the idea of Connie propositioning Johnny to let Sonny find Kate and Johnny in a compromising position, so that Sonny will break up with Kate, but not because I'm particularly interested in seeing Sonny being a man-ho, err free agent, again. No, my hope is that Carly will get wind of it, and that will be the end of Johnny and Carly.

I admit that I'm not a big fan of Carly's. She acts outraged that Todd was blocked from seeing his daughter, yet she has repeatedly done exactly that to various men in her life. She is the last person to preach about a father's rights when she lied to Tony about Michael's paternity, then AJ, then forced Sonny to give up his rights to Morgan, and then turned to Sonny for help to keep Jax from taking custody of Josslyn.

I think that's why I'm really enjoying watching Carly stew in her own juices, because Sam decided to block Carly from seeing Jason, who is recuperating from yet another round of brain surgery. Jason's poor brain has been operated on so much that I'm kind of expecting the Guinness World Record people to come knocking on his door any day now.

However, I have to grudgingly agree with Carly that it's a mistake not to tell Jason about Robin's death. I can understand keeping it from him before the surgery, but not after. Either the operation was a success or wasn't. Regardless, he has a right to know that someone important in his life has died.

Back to Johnny and Connie, I really hope that Carly is right there by Sonny's side if Johnny accepts Connie's offer. Let Carly set her sights on Patrick or Ewen. I'd love to see Carly and Liz vie for a guy's attention, because Carly and Liz have so much history -- and animosity -- between them that it would be wildly entertaining to watch them go head-to-head over a guy. Plus there's the added dynamic that Josslyn has Jake's kidney, so Carly literally owes her daughter's life to Liz.

I don't want Carly paired with Todd Manning, even though he will be sticking around to give Sonny a run for his money. If Blair remains in town, then let her have Todd. If not, then perhaps Kate would be a good match for him. Todd's sister and niece suffer from DID, so if anyone could appreciate what Kate is going through, it's Todd. Plus they both run magazines, even if his is a rag mag.

Speaking of the OLTL characters that have joined the cast of GH, I know that there have been some who have not been happy about this development. I respect that everyone has different views, but the OLTL characters are essentially new characters, except in their case they arrive with fully documented histories. All we have to do to get to know them is pop over to the Who's Who section of the site to read all about them. We have the luxury of being able to skip over all of that uncomfortable getting-to-know-you awkwardness that you get when a new character is introduced, and just dive right into the drama.

I want GH to stick around, not to end up cancelled like AMC and OLTL were. I have not been able to muster any interest in The Chew, or The Revolution, which is an absolutely abysmal show. There is nothing worth watching on ABC's daytime lineup, except GH. I grew tired of The View long ago, so I haven't watched that show in over a year.

Right now, the ratings for GH are up, so something is going right. Is it the arrival of the OLTL characters, who have brought fans from OLTL with them, or the news that some past favorites like Felicia Jones, Noah Drake, and Heather Webber are returning? I don't know, but whatever it is, I hope that the trend continues. Only high ratings will save our soap, and if that takes a one-eyed, one-horned, flying purple people eater joining the cast, then I am all for it.

While I'm delighted by the arrival of the Mannings, I'm really upset that Hope was killed off. I understand why Cole had to die. OLTL ended with Starr and Cole being happily reunited in California, so Starr couldn't suddenly pop up in Port Chuck, sans her baby daddy. But Hope? Did they really have to kill off Hope? I get that they want Todd to have a reason to go after Sonny, but they could have spared Hope to achieve that. Todd requires very little incentive to get pissed and then embark on a quest for vengeance. It's kind of his thing.

Todd would have been plenty mad without killing off Hope. As a mother of two, I'm really not a fan of watching young children die, and so I'm not happy that I've had to watch Jake, and now Hope, die in less than a year, both of whom were victims of car accidents. Enough already.

I really think that Hope would have been a perfect opportunity to test Michael's resolve to honor Abby's wishes by staying out of the mob. Saving Hope from certain death would have also provided Starr with a plausible explanation for falling in love with Michael so soon after Cole's death. It really was a huge missed opportunity on Ron's part. Michael desperately needs some softening, and redeeming, especially after months of watching him stomp around town, while demanding to be put in a position of power within the mob, so building a life with Starr and her daughter would have achieved that quite nicely.

By the way, as a past OLTL viewer, I was fascinated to learn that Todd is facing murder charges for killing Victor, because it means that no one has yet discovered that Victor is very much alive and well, and being held captive by crazy Allison Perkins. It gives me hope that one day we might see Victor track down his twin in Port Charles to mete out some payback for shooting him.

Elsewhere in Port Charles, Maxie is reeling from the realization that she might have contributed to Robin's horrific death. I loved the scene when Mac showed up at the loft to comfort Maxie, but I was disappointed that it was so short, as were Mac's scenes with his brother, Robert.

Speaking of Robert, his exit was such a disservice to the history of the Scorpios, especially Robert and Robin's relationship. No way do I buy Robert finding the will to live, because he learned that he had a son, whom he had never met, over the daughter that Robin had left behind. I get that he would want to avoid attending the funeral, because it would be like accepting that Robin was really dead, but did they have to send him off on a hunt for a guy that isn't even his son?

It would have been much more believable if Robert had decided that the explosion, which he claimed didn't prove anything, was a setup. I would have totally bought Robert refusing to accept Robin's death, and then embarking on a quest to prove that one of his many enemies had kidnapped Robin. Did they even run a DNA test to confirm that the body was Robin's? Granted, the hospital has a sketchy history with DNA testing, but Anna and Robert work for an international spy agency, so they could have arranged for their bosses to do the testing. Given Anna and Robert's history, I would think that it would be the first thing that everyone would want to do.

Now it's time to hear from the readers. Robin's death remains the hot topic.

• The whole week was good but thursday, March first, was the best episode of GH in a LONG time. Everything clicked. The use of the older characters was excellent. Luke is back. Robert was incredible. The ripple effect of Robins death made Epiphany such a strong character with incredible depth. Maxie was good and reacted very logically. Ewan was great because he explained how shock is your first reaction. - Joe

• Anna and Mac did a great acting job over Robin's death but I think Anna either had something to do with Robin's "Death" or she smells a Cassadine? It looks like the 1980's all over again at GH. Thank God! I hoped they actually give Robert, Anna, and Holly something to do. - Timothy

• Hi again, loved Two Scoops and totally agree about Robin's death and the "reaction" acting. But, for me, this was the week of supreme writing stupidity. In this day when nearly all best-selling novels and highest rating TV shows are police procedurals, where probably everyone with a television in the US has seen some incarnation of Law and Order or CSI's, the lab explosion was a major dose of stupidity. Two supposedly supremely intelligent doctors couldn't figure out that one could hold the door open while the other runs in and gets the protocol and both then get the hell out of dodge? And, do we really think that a lab where toxic chemicals are mixed ALSO has a gas fount in it?! - Monique

Readers were also annoyed with Sam's behavior following Robin's death:

• I know I'm supposed to feel bad for Sam, but I just can't. I'm a Sam fan and I normally love her. But what did she expect from Patrick? She was very selfish and insensitive. I don't know how Patrick kept from slapping her! - Kristy
• I thought I was the only one who thought Sam was being very selfish. For crying out loud, Patrick just saw his wife killed in the explosion in the lab and could do nothing to stop it or save her. She should have given him some time to grieve and come to grips with what just happened. Yes, Patrick was wrong in what he said but he was not himself at that moment and very emotional having gone through that. He was trying to figure out how he was going to tell Emma that she would never see her mother again. - Alison
• Considering what Patrick thinks of Jason, I think Sam should just grab that test tube and run to another surgeon. If Patrick lets Jason die doesn't that mean Robin died for NO reason, even if Patrick hates the reason? - Deborah

Readers continue to show support of Jen Lilley:

• I will add my voice to the many that are ill at the hate mail for the actress Jen Lilley. That is just disgraceful. I think the actress is doing a fantastic job and she sold me on Maxie from the 1st day I saw her. She should get an award for not only her portrayal of Maxie Jones but Jen's goodness of character and strength to hear all that garbage and then show up at the studio and perform her craft with precision and expertise. - Nonniepat
• I'm sorry the girl playing Maxie is getting the hate mail. She's doing a terrific job in a sad situation, and I wish her well. - Sandra

It appears that I'm not the only person who is upset with the decision to kill off Hope:

• Why would you bring Starr Manning(K/A) to General Hospital and kill her child, I am getting real sick of these horrible episode, I just stop watching when the shows get so unkind, I was looking forward to all of characters that were coming from (One Life to Live)to join the show (this stinks). Please don't let that sweet child be gone. - Lisa
• How many body bags on multiple fronts do you need in a week? Robin, the worthless Cassandra/Irina, Cole and Hope, and Ethan is in peril. Cole just cheated death last month on OLTL! UGH! - Joe

I want to extend a big thank you to everyone who took the time to email me with your thoughts. I enjoyed reading all of the emails, so please keep them coming.