A very wicked Thanksgiving

Cesar escaped from a hole in the ground to reunite with the League of Doom, Julian came clean to Alexis then helped her rescue Luke, and Michael made some major changes in his life. Danger lurked all around as loved ones gathered to celebrate Thanksgiving in Port Charles.

It was a short week but jam-packed full of shocking revelations, unexpected twists, sharp turns, and a few pleasant surprises.

I freely admit that I have never really liked T.J. His behavior this week illustrated what my main issue with him as a character is. Please don't misunderstand, I do appreciate that it was upsetting for him to learn that his mother and Shawn had lied by painting his father, Thomas, as a hero who had died with honor rather than revealing that Thomas had been shot when he had attacked Shawn during a jealous rage. The truth sucks, but it's not as if it will have any significant impact on T.J.'s life. Did T.J. really expect Jordan and Shawn to tell a kid a truth like that?

Frankly, I think that T.J. would have been just as angry if he had stumbled onto this information on his own, which he would have because there really is no such thing as secrets on soaps. Even when someone dies, their secrets find a way of leaking out. Shawn and Jordan were in a no-win situation regardless which way they went with this.

By the way, I don't for a minute believe Jordan's letter to Shawn when she claimed that a DNA test had revealed that T.J. was Thomas' son. That had the stink of dirty lie all over it. This is a soap opera -- of course Shawn is T.J.'s father.

After learning the sordid truth about Shawn and Jordan's affair, the question of T.J.'s paternity, and Thomas' death, T.J. hotfooted it over to Sam's penthouse to talk to Molly. I really felt bad for T.J., but he completely lost me when he turned into a three-year old by picking something up from Sam's coffee table and throwing it across the room. The object bounced off the wall then hit the floor as T.J. huffed and puffed about Shawn and Jordan's betrayal.

That was simply not cool. Not only does T.J. not own the penthouse and the objects within it, but there is a very young child who lives in that home. Granted, Danny wasn't at home at the time, but I'm quite sure that Sam doesn't allow Danny to throw his toys around during a fit of anger, so I doubt that she'd appreciate T.J. doing it. T.J. is eighteen and in college, which means that he's a grown man. It's time to act like it.

While T.J. was having a temper tantrum in Sam's penthouse, Alexis was visiting Julian in jail. I did the happy dance when Julian finally came clean to Alexis about everything, including Ric's innocence and Luke's doppelgnger. Julian offered to take Alexis to Luke if she got him out of jail, so Alexis paid Anna a visit.

Anna had a mountain of her own problems to deal with, but we'll get to that later.

After Anna reluctantly agreed to release Julian, Alexis and Julian headed to Miscavige, where Luke had a busy day escaping from a straitjacket, picking a lock, and then visiting with Fluke followed by Helena who appears to never go anywhere without her great big trusty sharp knife.

Julian gave us a few clues about Fluke. First, Fluke had introduced himself to Julian as Peter Caspin during their stint in the witness protection program. Second, "Peter" had confided that there was a man in Port Charles named Luke Spencer who looked exactly like Peter. Julian had asked if Peter and Luke were twins, but Peter had given Julian the impression that Peter's face had been surgically altered to look like Luke.

It's entirely possible that Peter could be a twin or another identical cousin like Bill Eckert, but I doubt that is the direction that Ron Carlivati is going in. That would be rather anticlimactic, especially after this week.

I'm fairly certain that Larry Ashton is Fluke because he has a similar build to Luke and because of Larry's exchange with Michael about Kiki. Larry never met Kiki, so why ask about her? Additionally, Larry had referred to her as Michael's "beautiful bird," which was the kind of thing that Fluke used to say.

I suspect that Fluke is wearing a Larry Ashton mask.

I want to believe that Alexis rescued the real Luke, but I can't trust that right now because of that pesky mask issue and the fact that Jerry Jacks is unaccounted for. It's possible that Luke really did persuade Helena to let him live, but it's more likely that Helena and her coconspirators pulled a fast one by switching the real Luke with a Luke 3.0, a.k.a. Jerry Jacks.

One thing that I am certain of is that Fluke is not Faison because Fluke would have been obsessed with Anna rather than Kiki.

I had several favorite scenes this week, including Alexis' reaction to learning that Ric had been innocent and that Molly had been right all along. Adding to Alexis' stunned disbelief was the realization that Ric had "died" an innocent man and that Julian was to blame.

Duke said it best this week when he told Anna that they had both done the wrong things for the right reasons.

That applies to Julian as well as Duke and Anna, but unlike Anna, I do believe that Alexis will forgive Julian for what he did. It will be difficult, but I think it will get a whole lot easier when Ric returns. And I have no doubt that Ric will be back because Jordan's boss pretty much made it clear that she needs her to wrap up the case because Ric was eager to leave the Witness Protection Program.

Alexis loves Julian, and he certainly loves her. That has been an unwavering constant since the moment he learned who she really was and that they had a family together.

Folks, I have loved Anna and Duke for decades, so I was thrilled when they reunited, but after this week, I have decided that Duke is better off without Anna. I have no idea what has gotten into Anna, but Duke was spot-on when he called her out for being a hypocrite. He was absolutely right when he accused her of not trusting the justice system to keep Faison confined any more than Duke had trusted the justice system to take Julian off the streets.

I also loved that Duke pointed out that Anna had lied to him by not telling him the truth about Faison just as much as Duke had lied to her when he had given Sonny a false alibi.

I'm kind of proud of Duke for letting Anna know that he's taken over for Sonny then walking away from her. Now, I just pray that Lucy doesn't sink her clutches into Duke while he's on the rebound. I'd much rather see him with Bobbie.

The moment that I had most anticipated -- besides Michael's confrontation with Sonny -- was Michael's showdown with Carly. It was everything that I could have hoped for and more. I am so happy that Michael has decided to legally change his name to Michael Alan Quartermaine. Thank you, thank you, and thank you, Ron Carlivati, for that. I'm also tickled pink that Michael moved in with Monica.

That's what I call karma, Carly.

I didn't feel the least bit sorry for Carly because you reap what you sow, and she did a whole lot of sowing. Carly doesn't get it, and I doubt she ever will, but the bottom line is that she has repeatedly put Sonny before her own son, not just by exposing Michael to Sonny's dangerous world but also by helping Sonny cover up A.J.'s murder and then trying to manipulate Michael to stop digging for the truth about A.J.'s murder by exploiting Monica's grief.

Ha! Monica is made of far sterner stuff than that. The truth not only set Michael free, but Monica as well. Monica can rest easy knowing that A.J. had not murdered an innocent woman and that the person responsible for his murder went to jail. Carly can sniffle all she likes about how she loves Michael, but in the end, it's clear that she loves Sonny more.

Heck, it's Thanksgiving, and instead of being at home with her young daughter, Carly took a trip to Pentonville to visit the man who cost her a son.

My favorite moment of the week was the annual Quartermaine pizza Thanksgiving dinner and the family honoring Edward's tradition of singing a song of thanks before digging in.

Random Observations

I love Haley Pullos' new look. Bangs really suit her, and boy, has she grown up to be a stunning young lady.

Spencer's Pilgrim costume was so adorable. I loved that he was celebrating Thanksgiving so enthusiastically.

I despise Britt, but Kelly Thiebaud rocked that red dress. The best-dressed honor definitely goes to Britt this week.

The most chilling moment of the week was seeing Cesar standing on the docks, lighting his hand-rolled clove cigarette. No one does the evil eye quite like Faison.

Things that tickled my fancy

Tracy feels the need to remind Patrick that Sam isn't exactly a superheroPatrick: "After Larry left, Sam used her superpowers and was able to open up the lockbox."Tracy: "Oh, well, those aren't superpowers. Those are basic thieving skills. So, did you find anything in it?"

The undercover WSB agent asks Liesl if what President Kennedy had said during his speech in Berlin truly meant that he was a jelly doughnutSerge: "Take it easy, Mr. Cassadine. You're really not supposed to handle me like that. It messes with my chi."Liesl: "You! Where is my Cesar?"Serge: "Hey, German, right? Does 'Ich bin ein Berliner' really mean, 'I am a jelly...'?"

For the record, Ich bin Berliner is the proper way to say it, but it means that you were born in Berlin, which President Kennedy was not. Therefore, it was the best way for him to convey his message, which was that he considered himself a citizen of Berlin. However, in Berlin, ein Berliner is actually "a jelly doughnut." Most Germans refer to themselves as Deutch or the region of Germany they are from, but seldom by the city they were born in or live in.

Luke and Helena verbally spar as only they can Luke: "No. I'm not letting you in my head. You are dead. You -- you are a rotting corpse."Helena: [ Laughs] "And certainly no member of my family ever bounced back from the brink before."Luke: "There was no brink with you. I shot you, point-blank, in the heart. I watched you die."Helena: "But it was not a silver bullet."Luke: "So, what? You're a werewolf now?"

Later, Luke tries to insult HelenaHelena: "Haven't you learned by now that anything is possible? I had far too many plans to remain on the sidelines."Luke: "Pl-plans? Wait a minute. You're working with that satanic doppelgnger of mine. Come on. Level with me, you moldy corpse."Helena: "Ooh, I love it when you talk sexy."

I hope those of you who celebrate Thanksgiving have a happy and safe holiday.

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

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