Crazy calling

Todd gives Luke a scare when he visits Luke at the cabin on Friday the 13th. Jason and Sam confront each other about kissing other people, and Steve offers some sage advice to his sister, but continues to be blind to Heather's true nature. It's time to catch up and dish about what's been going on in Port Charles with this week's edition of Two Scoops.

I have a new favorite ringtone! Now, I just have to decide who I'm going to assign Todd's "Crazy calling" ringtone to. I have several candidates in mind.

I love Todd. I know, I know...he's not a good guy, and he lies like a rug. Starr summed it up best. He doesn't trust anyone, because he's so completely untrustworthy. Todd will lie about anything to anyone.

However, Todd makes me laugh, and I love to laugh.

Todd is the type of guy who cloaks his thoughts in sarcasm and hides his fears behind a healthy dose of bravado. He pretends that he doesn't need anyone, when in truth he's desperate to have that one person who will always have his back, regardless of what he does. I suspect that is why he allows himself to be blackmailed by a lunatic instead of telling the truth about Sam's baby.

I imagine that Todd's also terrified of being locked up after eight years of captivity and torture at the hands of a woman who was supposed to have loved him. Todd has never known the love of a parent or parent figure, except for perhaps Viki, his elder sister. However, even she has turned her back on him because of what everyone believes happened to Victor, so he has good reason to fear abandonment.

Todd did wrong, but he was lied to and manipulated by a master. I was actually happy when he revealed this week that he's been plagued by a "new sensation that people call guilt," because it means that Todd might be evolving. I like to see that in characters, because it keeps them interesting.

I also have it on good authority that actors like to be challenged, so they love it when their characters continue to grow and change, and do the unexpected.

Todd barging into that cabin in the woods, wearing a Jason Voorhees hockey mask and coveralls, and brandishing a machete, was completely unexpected and hilarious. I loved Luke's reaction. Ron's nod to the horror classic Friday the 13th was fantastic and even made the teens running around my house today chuckle.

Several of the girls are now hooked on General Hospital thanks to the clever writing and the absolutely lovely romance brewing between Michael and Starr.

Oh, and Michael sans his shirt the other day didn't hurt either.

The girls loved it when Michael paced the hallway outside of Starr's apartment, practicing ways to say hi and give her flowers. It was a really cute scene, especially when the camera switched to Starr on the phone talking to her bestie, Langston.

I love how Michael has gone from an angry kid, determined to get into the mob, to a kind young man who has a pretty decent head on his shoulders.

I think that Starr is going to need that in the coming months when the poop hits the fan and Todd's nasty little secret is exposed. Odds are, Jason will go gunning for Todd. Not that I blame Jason.

Heather, of course, isn't the least bit troubled by what she did. In Heather's twisted mind, it was just what Sam deserved for trying to keep Heather from her precious Steven Lars. Steve is both brilliant and moronic.

Brilliant for calling Jason out for kissing Liz, and reminding Sam that it's Jason that Sam should direct her anger at, not Liz. It always irks me when people blame the person that their significant other cheated with, rather than the significant other. Jason is the one who made promises to Sam, not Liz, so Jason is the one who betrayed Sam. If Jason didn't want Liz, no amount of seducing on Liz's part would have worked. Example: Carly.

Carly tried very hard to get Jason back into her bed after their split, but he never succumbed to her numerous attempts at seduction, because he didn't want to. Sam accusing Liz of seducing Jason, as if Liz had somehow made Jason do something that he otherwise would not have done, was silly.

Does Liz have romantic feelings for Jason? It appears so. The scene outside of Kelly's, when Liz tried to convince Jason that their kiss hadn't meant anything, pretty much sealed the deal for me. It was written all over her face and in her tone that the kiss had meant something to her. However, I applaud her for trying to do the right thing by urging Jason to put Alan's ring back on, and work things out with Sam.

At least someone is thinking straight. The same can't really be said for Jason, Sam, and John. Jason is so stuck on his "Sam stopped trusting me in Hawaii" song that he's letting the woman that he claims to love slip further and further away, rather than suck it up and keep trying to work things out.

Frankly, Jason has had it too easy when it comes to the ladies. Women have always been blinded by that bad-boy image, those tight t-shirts stretched over awesome pecs and broad shoulders, his piercing blue eyes, and blindingly good looks. He's always left it to the women in his life to decide if they can handle being a part of his life. As a result, they've done all the work and inevitably made the compromises and sacrifices. Jason has never really had to fight for a woman, so he doesn't know jack about wooing his wife.

Meanwhile, Sam is in full self-destruct mode. Understandable, given all that she's been through since her honeymoon from hell, but something that she should recognize about herself when her life falls spectacularly apart. She desperately needs professional help dealing with her anger and loss, instead of leaning on John.

It just makes Sam look bad to be calling Jason out for kissing Liz, after she had been making out with a guy whom she admits to feeling a strong connection to. A guy who is in a relationship with a woman he has a child with. If Sam and John have a bond, then they should explore it when they are free to explore it.

Then again, it wouldn't really be a soap if people made the right choices. However, at least own it. I don't like the way that Sam keeps saying that she and John were drunk when they kissed, as if that somehow makes it a little bit less wrong. She admitted to Kristina that John didn't do anything that Sam didn't want, so what's the point of saying that they were drunk?

I remember the scenes of Sam and John's kiss. They might have been buzzed, but I don't buy that they were drunk. They weren't slurring their words, swaying on their feet, or stumbling around. It's as if she's suggesting that the alcohol made them do it, but it didn't. It was bound to happen eventually, because that bond that they feel is blossoming into more each time that they are together.

That brings me to John. I'm a little confused what his relationship with Natalie is. The scenes in the church, when he met Sam, suggested that John and Natalie were married, but then everyone started to refer to Natalie as John's girlfriend. John didn't correct them, so I'm not sure if John is married, engaged, or just dating Natalie. Married or not, John and Natalie are in a relationship and have a son. That little boy is depending on John to treat Natalie with respect. Making out with Sam on the docks is not cool.

Back to Steve. I love him, but this week, specifically on Thursday, I wanted to slap him the way that Loretta slapped Ronny in Moonstruck when Ronny told Loretta that he loved her and she yelled, "Snap out of it!"

Why Steve is so determined to believe his mother, who has spent a good portion of her adult life in a sanitarium for the criminally insane? It's downright mind-boggling that he takes everything that flows out of Heather's fork-tongued mouth as gospel.

I really feel sorry for Olivia, because she sees Heather for who she really is, which doesn't bode well for Olivia.

Be sure to check out this week's Soap Central Live. Robin Mattson called in during Lisa LoCicero's segment. They gave some titillating hints about what's going to happen in the coming weeks between Heather and Olivia. It sounds positively delicious.

Steve did deliver a great zinger this week, when he told Liz that the last time that Jason and Sam had gotten into a fight, Liz had ended up pregnant. Ouch.

Speaking of babies, I'm not really thrilled with the implication that the only thing that can save Jason and Sam's marriage is finding their son. Every time someone asks what it will take for Jason and Sam to get back on track, the camera panned to the paternity test results sticking out of Heather's purse.

Naturally, Sam didn't see the test results, because Heather had Todd fetch the fashion disaster handbag, according to both Carly and Maxie, before Sam could snatch that big piece of paper sticking out of it.

Honestly, I would rather see Jason and Sam work things out before they are reunited with their son, because then the reconciliation would be about their love, not about the baby. Like it or not, the revelation that the baby was Franco's showed a weakness in their relationship. When things got difficult, and their happily-ever-after was challenged, they quickly fell apart instead of fighting their way through it together.

If Jason and Sam can salvage what's left of their relationship and make it work, then I'm fairly certain that they will be able to weather anything.

Lots of other people were puckering up this week in Port Charles, including Johnny and Carly, which made Todd throw up a little in his mouth when he walked in on the lovebirds. Me too. It's probably wrong, but I chuckle every time that I hear Carly defend Johnny to Todd, because it means that she is going to be eating a whole lot of crow when she finds out that Todd was right.

I'd probably be forgiving of Johnny for all that he's done if he weren't being such a weasel by trying to frame innocent people for his crimes.

Lulu was another one who didn't score any points with me this week when she showed up late for work at the police station and brushed it off as not being a big deal because her job was tedious and unimportant.

Hey, Lulu, there are plenty of unemployed people out there who would kill to have that job! What an ungrateful, spoiled brat. I want so much to like her, but time after time, she does things that make me want to throw my TV brick at her.

I hope that Anna fires Lulu before Lulu has a chance to quit, because Lulu deserves it. Dante was right; it was completely unprofessional of Lulu to blow her job off to console Johnny. At least have the decency to call in sick or late.

Before I sign off, I'm curious who else thinks that Patrick is going to have trouble with Ramon Santiago, the orderly that Epiphany suspected of stealing the Dynexin? Good thing that Epiphany is keeping an eye on everything.

• I have to wonder how many people would stop watching GH if K. Storms comes back to the soap. I really think [Jen] Lilley is the closest to the original Maxie any star can be. She has been doing such a good job I wish the powers that be would leave well enough alone, haven't we given in enough for them. - Diane

• I grew to like Sam and Jason when she was pregnant with Sonny's baby (back years ago). But I've always loved Liz and Jason together and wish the writers had given them a real chance. Fingers crossed, I'm hoping Liz and Jason finally get that opportunity. I kinda like the chemistry between Sam and John... hopefully that relationship fully develops, too. - Loren

• I am so frustrated with the Jason/Sam/John triangle. Why is it that the writers are refusing to keep Jason and Sam happy? I do not want to see Jason with Elizabeth at all. I think she is a hot mess and he does not need that. Sam and John are not bad together but it doesn't work especially since we all know that the baby was Jason's. - Moniemone

• I'm hoping Todd wakes up [and] smells the coffee soon, because it's not in his character to let himself be blackmailed by the likes of Heather. Plus, even he'd have to realize that this is not a secret that you can keep forever and that the longer Tea keeps the baby, the worse the pain is going to be when she learns the truth. - Monique

• What a treat this past week was to watch the actors on GH act. It was riveting to see these scenes: Joe Jr, Sonny, and John in the warehouse, Heather and Luke in the cabin, and Todd and Sam at ME [Manning Enterprises]. Every scene was just so well done. Krissy is easy on the eyes but hard on the ears. This new girl can act, all the young kids can, but her storyline is dumb. Sonny would never put up with this and Alexis is too smart to let these clowns roll into her families lives and turn the place upside down. - Timothy

• I too like the nervous flirting on Michael's part and I think this relationship [Starr and Michael] has real potential. And the added bonus is the friction it will cause between Todd and Sonny and even Todd and Carly and Todd and Johnny. It will be both comical and great drama to watch. I dare Trey to stick a camera in Todd Manning's face and live to tell about it. Now that would be interesting to watch. - Nonniepat

• I do absolutely adore and love Michael and Starr together, and I can't wait to see how their storyline develops. I wish they would just have Starr move in with Michael. Trey is unbearable. - Jill

• OK, this is trivial, but have you noticed that the back page of the Sun always has the weather forecast for Southern California? - Meg

• Lulu and Maxie can't call Patrick on the carpet on his pill popping. Only one person can...... Epiphany! - Louis

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