It's hard out there for a prince

Nina drove a wedge between Sam and Silas, Spencer ran away to help Britt spend time with Nikolas, and Ava reached out to Julian for help. Lies, schemes, and a daring escape made for an exciting week in Port Charles but were those truly victories or just a matter of jumping from the pan into the fire?

It might be hard out there for a prince, but I sure wouldn't mind having a Tylerccino served to me in bed every morning -- even with the flowers floating in the mug.

What's a Tylerccino? you ask. You need to watch Celebrity Wife Swap with Tyler Christopher and Ronn Moss's wives, Brie and Devin, to find out. Trust me, it's worth it because I fell just a little bit deeper in love with Tyler after seeing him with his lovely family.

Not only do I get Tyler's dry sense of humor, but I also identified with his comment to Ronn about Tyler not being blessed with the kind of genetics that allows him to eat whatever he likes without consequences. Me, too, Tyler. Me, too.

Interestingly enough, I saw shades of Tyler's on-screen son, Spencer, in his adorable little boy, Greysun. Both boys are precocious little heartbreakers with very strong personalities who look up to and try to emulate their fathers. However, for good reason, Spencer is a little larger-than-life than your average young boy.

I've gotten a bit of negative feedback about Spencer because there has been a significant amount of focus put on the character since Nicolas Bechtel stepped into the role. I suspect that the spotlight is on Spencer lately because of Nicolas' incredible talent. Even Spencer's detractors agree that the actor is wonderful. It takes considerable skill to memorize the lines that Nicolas is expected to learn for his scenes and then to deliver them with impressive ease and panache the way that Nicolas does, so I get why the writers are having a little fun with his character.

The primary beef about Spencer seems to be that some viewers expect a child on a soap opera to be little more than a prop -- to essentially be seen a few times a year, to be heard even less, and to be prone to frequent bouts of Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome (SORAS).

I understand that not everyone is going to enjoy children as much as I do and that there are those who tune in to General Hospital because the show is geared toward adults. It's true that daytime is saturated with children's shows, so it's nice to have a few catering to the adults. However, children are a part of the fabric of our society, so to relegate them to the background and only trot them out for holidays and birthdays would never work, even on a soap opera, because everyone on soaps would look even more unfit as a parent than they already do.

I like the children on General Hospital because they are interesting, not cookie-cutter angels who only develop personalities after they've quietly survived puberty. Josslyn is a bloodthirsty little vixen who is well on her way to a future filled with murder and mayhem, while Emma is everyone's sweetheart. Cam is the All-American boy next door versus Spencer who is hurtling down the path to spoiled bad-boy prince status. I enjoy watching this next generation of characters evolve, so I don't mind Spencer carrying on about his love for Emma, plotting to keep Cam from becoming his stepbrother -- which would so serve Spencer right -- and sputtering with outrage when Cam knocks him down a peg or two.

I grew up with Jason, A.J., Elizabeth, Lucky, and Nikolas, so it's pretty cool that I get to watch their children grow up too.

Sadly, I think that Spencer made a grave mistake by deciding to run away to force Nikolas to spend more time with Britt. If Nikolas stays true to character, this will backfire on Britt in a big way because no parent would ever tolerate someone endangering their child under any circumstances.

At the close of Thursday's show, it was confirmed that Spencer had been gone overnight. Despite his maturity, Spencer is still a nine-year-old boy who is on his own in a city currently overrun with mobsters and heroin-laced cocaine that has already claimed the life of a teenage boy.

Britt playing along with Spencer's scheme sends the message to Spencer that it's okay to lie to and manipulate his father and another message to Nikolas that her wants and needs are more important to her than Spencer's safety. Additionally, it was Britt's lies that led to her losing Nikolas in the first place, so why would she think that resorting to the same destructive behavior might win him back? Britt obviously hasn't learned a thing from the fiasco with Rocco.

On the mob front, Jordan is closing in on Fluke, but the closer she gets to her target, the more mistakes she seems to make. Case in point, rendezvousing with Anna in the park despite the fact that Mickey has already busted Jordan chatting it up with the police commissioner at that very same secluded spot. Plus, Mickey has flat-out told Jordan that he doesn't trust her. Jordan should be using more caution, not getting lax.

The clandestine meetings in the park are downright cringe-worthy. A quick "casual" encounter can be passed off as coincidence one or two times, but Jordan and Anna meet there on a regular basis, and they look dreadfully conspicuous doing it. If anyone were to pass by, I'm certain they would wonder why two women were quietly muttering to themselves as they sat on a park bench with their backs to each other, pretending they were alone. Additionally, it's always broad daylight!

That said, I do hope when all is said and done, Anna and Jordan become friends because I like the mentor role that Anna seems to have taken with Jordan. Perhaps they can bond over killing Mickey Diamond.

Did anyone else catch that Mickey introduced himself to T.J. as Bob Massicotte, a Drug Enforcement Agent who just so happens to be Jordan's boss? I know that it's not Mickey's real identity because if it had been then he would already know that Jordan is an undercover agent. However, it did make me wonder if perhaps Mickey was already onto who Jordan might be. Next week should be quite interesting, especially now that things are really heating up between Shawn and Jordan.

Judging by the kiss that we saw on Friday, this isn't the first time Shawn and Jordan have been down this road, which means that there's a very strong likelihood that we will eventually learn that T.J. is Shawn's son. I suspect that is the real reason that Jordan decided to send T.J. to stay with Shawn.

One of the most exciting developments this week was Nathan's decision to find a way to prove that Levi not only called Immigration, but that he is up to no good. Yay. The sooner Levi's lies are exposed, the better. I want Maxie to learn the truth before the wedding, not after, because I'm afraid if she stays with Levi for much longer, she will pop up in a scene wearing a hemp sack and earth shoes, which admittedly might be an improvement over that hideous monstrosity of a dress she ran around in this week. Just one more grievance to lay at Dingo-boy's feet -- he sucked Maxie's keen fashion sense right out of her soul.

Maxie proved yet again that she can take a bad decision and make it exponentially worse when she decided that marriage would solve Levi's deportation and legal troubles in Australia in one fell swoop. Of course, we all know that this was exactly what Levi had intended, but it's still frustrating to watch, especially since a green card marriage wouldn't stop the deportation of a criminal who is wanted in his native land.

Not that I believe Levi's claim for a minute. I think he flat-out lied about being a wanted criminal in Australia to explain why Maxie returning with him to the Outback was not an option. It was quick thinking on his part, but that might just be his downfall because if Nathan can prove that Levi is not in danger of being arrested in Australia then it gives credence to the argument that Levi used the lie to manipulate Maxie into marriage.

In other romance news, Sam decided to end things with Silas after Nina tipped a reporter off to Patrick's little struggle with his conscience during Rafe's operation. I can't blame Sam for initially jumping to the conclusion that Silas had betrayed her trust by talking to the reporter. As far as she knew, only three people were aware of Patrick's secret: Patrick, Sam, and Silas.

However, Nina's little stunt just might be her undoing because Sam has a sneaking suspicion that Nina somehow managed to sneak up to the hospital's rooftop to eavesdrop on Sam and Silas' very private conversation.

I'm disappointed that Sam and Silas are over, but I had a sense that there was a little bit of foreshadowing going on when Sam admitted that she had imagined how she might feel if Jason had returned the way that Nina did. I wasn't surprised that Sam couldn't say for certain if she would be able to walk away from Jason, but I think the circumstances are far different between Sam and Jason than Silas and Nina because Jason has been gone for less than two years, while Silas spent decades without Nina.

I'm not going to give up completely on Sam and Silas until Jason returns and we see what's up with him. It's encouraging, though, that Sam and Silas at least parted on amicable terms.

Meanwhile, Nina's co-conspirator, Rosalie made a new friend in the park when she chucked her cell phone into the bushes, hitting Morgan in the head as he passed by. Poor Morgan, he should have seen that as a sign to run.

I haven't decided if Rosalie is simply misguided or if she's just a different shade of Nina-crazy. I get that Rosalie doesn't like Silas, but there's no crime in a man moving on after 20 years of being separated from his comatose wife. Yes, Silas cheated on Nina, but now that I've gotten to know Nina, I kind of see why.

My main issue with Rosalie at this point is not her attitude toward Silas, but rather her willingness to help an obviously mentally unstable woman ruin people's lives. How do you justify that? Nina needs therapy not revenge.

Alas, I don't think it will end well for Nina should she proceed with her plans to tangle with Ava. Ava is like the proverbial cat that always lands on her feet. Just when you think Ava's down for the count, she finds a way to turn things around. She produced a little bambino to make herself bulletproof when Sonny found out she murdered Connie. After Delia failed to produce the coveted flash drive and was sent packing, Ava managed to scrape together $1000 to buy a phone call. Naturally, Julian was reluctant to help his homicidal sister, so Ava played her ace in the hole by revealing that Sonny killed A.J.

The woman truly has a gift for turning lemons into lemonade.

Unfortunately for Ava, she might just have been better off staying with Sonny because Mickey seems all too eager to put a bullet in her. I don't know what Fluke's hold is over Mickey, but it's quite powerful. Mickey doesn't appear to fear anything except Fluke.

The Say What? Award this week goes to Olivia when Nikolas expressed his outrage over his underage son being given a room at Metro Court without being accompanied by an adult. Olivia promised to look into it and vowed that heads would roll. I wonder if she planned to start with her own head, since she was the one who set the precedent by renting a room months earlier to T.J. and Molly for an illicit night of teenage bliss.

The What Not To Do While Working Undercover Award goes to Jordan, who broke into Mickey's hotel room and then pulled out her trusty recorder to state her name, badge number, and mission before ending the recording with a reminder that she'd better get busy before the bad guy returned and caught her. I guess Jordan wasn't too worried about that recording falling into Mickey's hands if she were caught because...well, I'm not sure why.

Finally, can it be true? Is Ned really moving back to Port Charles? Be still, my beating heart, for another Q has returned to the family fold.

Things that tickled my fancy

Spencer decides to hide out at Metro CourtBellhop: "There you go. So, the gym's on the fifth floor. You can access it with your room key."Spencer: "I should hope so."Bellhop: "So, when are your parents arriving?"Spencer: "Soon, soon. But my father told me to give you this."Bellhop: [Chuckles] "Thanks, little Mr..."Spencer: "Moss -- Ronn Moss."

Lucy and Bobbie argue about who Scott belongs withLucy: "Okay, look -- I-I admit that Scott and I have a lot of things to work through, but you -- you are a -- a gate crasher, you're an interloper. You have no right to be a part of this, and you certainly have no right to my man."Bobbie: "Scott isn't your man. He's my man. And I intend to keep him."Lucy: "Well, good luck with that."Bobbie: "Luck isn't gonna have anything to do with it, 'cause I intend to use all the tricks I ever learned back when I was turning them."

Levi tries to manipulate Mac and Felicia into giving their blessings for him to marry MaxieLevi: "Maxie, you're just in time. I was just asking your mum and dad for their blessing."Maxie: "Oh! What did they say?"Levi: "Well, they haven't given me an answer yet."Felicia: "Well, sweetheart, if you really love Levi and this is what you want..."Mac: "Maxie, what your mother is trying to say is, 'no way in hell!'"

Felicia is on the phone with Mac when a distraught Lucy arrives at the Floating RibLucy: "Felicia, I-I have to talk to you right now or I'm going to combust now."Felicia: "Got to go. Defcon Lucy."

Franco persuades Nina to give art therapy a tryFranco: "Great. We need a picture of you. Something from the '90s, maybe. Something from before. Like, when you had a Scrunchie and your hair was all teased up."Nina: "That's the '80s."

A minute with crazy-NinaNina: "My mom took my baby because Silas was having an affair. I could have watched maybe a little boy, maybe a little girl, grow, walk, talk, drive. I would have had pictures of the prom, of graduation. I don't have any of that because of Silas. He owes me a baby."Rosalie: "Whoa. Okay. Okay. You're saying you want a little -- a little baby?Nina: "No, Rosalie. I want everything, and he's going to pay up."Rosalie: "You need to back this up a little bit right here. Now, I know I'm your employee, but I also care about you."Nina: "Do you really? Thank you."Rosalie: "You're welcome. You also may not like what I'm about to say to you."Nina: "Well, with a preface like that, I'm braced."Rosalie: "I know Dr. Clay hurt you and he deserves to pay for what he did to you."Nina: "Yeah, but?"Rosalie: "But, getting pregnant and spending the next twenty years of your life using that baby to punish him -- that's not going to make you happy."Nina: "No, no, you don't understand. Just like you said, my husband hurt me. He betrayed me, but I love him. I do love him and even though -- yeah, it's about revenge, but it's about empathy too. I want -- I want him to feel what I went through. I want my husband to feel the pain and the loss."Rosalie: "And then what?"Nina: "And then we understand each other, and we become closer."

Until next time, dear readers, take care. Liz Masters

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