New year, new leaf

2016 kicked off with a great big bang as Lulu and Johnny locked lips, Mac and Anna identified Kyle's body, Sonny finally regained some feeling in his legs, and Robin agreed to marry Patrick -- again. Will it be a banner year or a dud? Our columnist takes a look at a short but jammed-packed week of changes and interesting possibilities.

I know that the Scrubs (Patrick and Robin) romance is being rushed to give them a happily ever after ending before Jason Thompson departs the show, but I don't care. I'm happy that Patrick and Emma will get to ride off into the sunset with Robin. It's so much better than what I thought would happen when the truth about Jason finally came to light and Sam inevitably drifted back to the love of her life.

I'm delighted to know that Patrick -- and especially Emma -- will be living the life that they had always envisioned because Patrick is a genuinely good guy, and Emma deserves to have some of her dreams come true after everything that she's been through. I'm a bit sad that most of their happiness will unfold off-screen, but I can live with that because I know that it's out of the hands of the writers. True, they could have recast Patrick, but to what end?

I'd rather know that Patrick is happy somewhere in the world with Robin and Emma than to see him suffer as Sam reunites with Jason and he loses his close friendship with Elizabeth because she lied.

Patrick's departure gives us the added bonus of wrapping up Robin's storyline as well. It was a loose end that had always hovered like a dark cloud over Patrick's relationships and tainted whatever love he felt for other women. As a viewer, I always knew that if Patrick realized that Robin had been forced to leave him to protect both him and Emma, it would change how he felt about Robin and ruin whatever relationship he was in.

As they say, the proof is in the pudding, because as soon as Patrick found out the truth about Robin, he realized that he had never truly gotten over her.

As much as I adore Sebastian Roche, I've grown weary of Jerry Jacks's antics with Robin. He's a deliciously evil villain, but I never truly understood why he relished torturing Robin as he did. Is it jealousy because Jax loves Robin like a sister? Whatever the reason, it's blessedly over and done with because Robin is free and Jerry is on his way to Steinmauer Maximum Security Prison.

I was rather surprised, though, that anyone thought it would be a good idea to stick Jerry in the same prison that Faison escaped from like a million times. Nothing against Faison, but Jerry is far more diabolical and devious than Faison because Faison always relied on the help of others like Helena and Liesl. Clearly, Jerry will be back. I just hope that next time it will be in a far worthier storyline.

I also hope that we will get occasional visits from Emma because I adore Brooklyn Silzer. She's such a talented young actress, and with Emma's grandmother Anna still residing in Port Charles, there's no reason Emma can't visit during various school breaks.

Despite how quickly things are zooming along with Patrick and Robin, I was happy that she managed to squeeze in a little heart-to-heart talk with Jason on the footbridge that was so special to both of them. I loved hearing Robin reminisce about Stone and talk about the struggle she went through when she first learned that she was HIV positive. I remember watching it all unfold, and I recall how much Jason helped Robin through the darkest part of her life. It was a wonderful nod to the show's history.

I vividly remember how shocked I was when it was revealed that Robin was HIV positive because, as she said, in those days it was still very much a death sentence. I was crushed because I thought that Robin would be killed off, since those were the days before spoilers. It's quite a testament to how progressive soap operas can be because they actually showed us that people could live with HIV.

I think my favorite moment on the footbridge was when Jason told Robin that her story about him was the first one that had actually touched him. I love that Jason doesn't understand how people can glorify his life as a mob enforcer because I feel exactly the same way. Even Spinelli, as sweet and genuine as he is, has a skewered view of things because Spinelli focuses on the positive aspects of Jason's old life rather than the negative, including the very real threat of danger that forever loomed over Jason's loved ones.

I have always believed that Sonny took advantage of Jason during a time when Jason was vulnerable and dealing with not just the recovery from a serious brain trauma, but also the struggle to forge a new identity for himself because the car accident eradicated his memories as a Quartermaine. Had Sonny left Jason alone, I suspect that Jason would have eventually chosen a different path for himself than the one Sonny guided Jason down.

I agree with Robin -- Jason is once again standing at the same crossroads he was at the first time he woke up without any memory of his life. It's going to be interesting to see what choices he makes this time around.

I've been pretty vocal about my desire for Jason not to regain his memories for a myriad of reasons, including that I don't think it's fair for Sam, Sonny, and Carly to get the miracle that was denied Alan and Monica back when they watched their son wake up from a coma without any memory of them. However, the main reason is because I will always wonder if Jason loves Sam because he remembered her or if it's because they truly are destined for each other.

I think it would be far more meaningful if Jason were to fall in love with Sam as he is now, not because his memories suddenly returned along with his feelings of love for her. What would it say about who the love of Jason's life is when he fell in love with Elizabeth without the baggage of his past, but he felt no real connection to Sam?

I'm okay with Jason having occasional flashbacks of meaningful moments, like when he saw Sam wearing the star necklace that he gave her, but I think it would be a powerful testament to their love if they recaptured what they lost not because his memories flooded back, but rather because their love is just that strong.

Okay, let's recap what we know about Curtis. He's connected to Shawn, he's T.J.'s uncle, and he's an ex-cop from Baltimore who knows all about Franco. Oh, and naturally he has a complicated history with Jordan. Something tells me that he's not her brother. If he is, then the writers are fools because there's some powerful good chemistry between Jordan and Curtis that should be explored.

There's also wonderful chemistry between Johnny and Lulu that I wouldn't mind seeing more of.

I've always had a soft spot for Johnny. Don't ask me why because he is a shameless criminal and scoundrel at times, but he's also charming and funny. Plus, I have to say he could have turned out far worse being raised by Anthony and Claudia. I really hope that the writers figure out a way for Johnny to stick around because he's exactly what Lulu needs in her life right now, even if he's helping Lulu plot revenge against Valerie.

I know there are some who object to Johnny and Lulu conspiring to take Valerie down, but I'm not one of them because this is the stuff of soap operas. Valerie is an imbecile if she doesn't anticipate repercussions for sleeping with her cousin's husband -- twice -- and trying to have a relationship with him before the ink is even dry on the separation papers.

I think Johnny's plan is quite ingenious. He clearly intends to use those pictures his friend snapped of Valerie seemingly accepting a bribe from Johnny to torpedo her career as a police officer. I don't feel the least bit sorry for her because that is nothing compared to the pain that she and Dante inflicted on Lulu when they betrayed her and then lied for months. Plus, Valerie had no qualms about defying the no-fraternization rule by agreeing to date Dante on the down-low, which would have destroyed both her and Dante's careers if they'd been caught.

How important can Valerie's career really be to her if she's making out with her forbidden boyfriend while on duty in a public park where people are taking their kids to visit Santa on a busy Christmas Eve?

In a perfect world, Johnny would get a legal pass for his crimes just like Sonny and Ava did and then rekindle things with Lulu, while Dante is forced to sit on the sidelines, getting a taste of his own medicine.

I also hope that with some distance from Dante and a new direction, I will see a different side of Valerie. I want to like the character because I think Brytni Sarpy is a gorgeous and talented actress. Unfortunately, they cast her as the mistress, which didn't do her any favors. It never mattered to me that Valerie acknowledged that her feelings for Dante were inappropriate because I never really saw her try to fight them. She was passive-aggressive in her pursuit of Dante, and she tried desperately to mitigate her wrongs by casting some of the blame for the affair on Lulu. Valerie's defense for the illicit trysts has always been that she and Dante reacted to what Lulu did.

Blaming the victim never flies with me.

My hope is that, with some distance, Valerie will take full ownership of what she did and mend fences with Lulu in a true and meaningful way rather than as a means to maintain contact with Dante. Valerie's reaction to seeing Dante at the Floating Rib on New Year's Eve was a very good start. For the first time, she actually did what she should have done long ago. She cut him off and walked away.

Valerie just needs to stay away from Dillon because there is zero chemistry between the two. I love Dillon, and I'm happy that he's sticking around, but he needs someone like Kristina in his life to shake things up and challenge him. He's definitely going to need someone to turn to for comfort when Paul is exposed for the master manipulator and criminal that he is.

If Mac and Anna have anything to say about that, it will happen sooner rather than later because they just got one step closer to proving that Paul is a killer when they identified the body pulled from the harbor as Kyle Sloane, not Carlos Rivera. May we please have Mac and Anna open a private investigative agency? They make a great team and are fun to watch. Between them and Felicia, they've saved the world -- literally -- at least a half dozen times.

Finally, Sonny had his New Year's Eve miracle when he experienced feeling in his leg and even moved it a smidgen. I hope the first thing Sonny does with that leg is kick Morgan's butt, because Morgan needs it.

I could understand Morgan's reluctance to take the pills if he had no idea what bipolar disease was about or the importance of the medications used to treat it, but that is simply not the case. Morgan had a front row seat to what Sonny went through over the years and knows that even though the medications have side effects, the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages. I do think Morgan was right about one thing though -- he desperately needs a purpose. I just don't believe joining his father's organization is the answer.

What in the world was with those hideous raspberry sherbet colored slacks Sam was sporting on New Year's Eve? Kelly Monaco has a smoking hot body, but that double-belted monstrosity she had on was a hot mess that would have looked unflattering on anyone. The pants should have been burned not put on Kelly's clothing rack.

Why is Sonny able to take medication for bipolar disorder and knock back glasses of Champagne with Carly and not have anyone nag him, but Morgan can't have a beer while he's on the same medications? Remember, Morgan has been repeatedly advised to talk to Sonny about the meds because Sonny takes them too.

Tracy informs Paul that he's no longer welcome at the Quartermaine mansionPaul: "Tracy? Tracy? Glad I found you alone. I think, um, maybe it's time that we discussed -- are these mine?"Tracy: "You don't recognize your own luggage?"Paul: "You packed for me?"Tracy: "Uh, Alice did."Paul: "Why?"Tracy: "Because it would be overly dramatic for me to throw your things out the window."

Hayden apparently hasn't heard of Jerry Jacks's fall from the restaurant terrace or of the people who have survived falls from Wyndemere's parapet and the hospital's roofHayden: "There's no question about what happened. Jason pushed Nikolas off the restaurant terrace. It's a miracle that scaffolding was there to break his fall, or he would be dead."

I hope Dillon doesn't take Maxie's advice about Paul, but I do love the way she delivered itMaxie: "Okay. Well, don't write him off so quickly. He could surprise you. I used to think you were a pretentious, self-absorbed jerk. And now I only think you're a semi-pretentious, mostly tolerable artiste, and that's definitely progress."Dillon: [Laughs] "Thank you for showing up. I guess I kind of needed a dose of Maxie-tude today."

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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