The Ides of March

An act of sabotage, a curse, a threat, and Helena's final requests leave the good folks of Port Charles reason to beware of the Ides of March. Several are poised to make important changes in their lives, but will they find happiness? Open up this week's Two Scoops to find out -- no weird-shaped key required.

Finally, Helena's last will and testament was read -- and by the grand ole dame herself, no less.

It was wonderful to see Helena one last time, and in typical Helena fashion, she milked it for all it was worth by making certain that she went out with a mystery, as well as a few parting shots along the way. Oh, how I will miss her. She made bad look good.

I'm fairly certain that Helena's gifts -- "Jake's Adventure," the penny, the box of grisly mementos, the empty envelope, and the key -- are all linked in some way to that creepy painting she bequeathed to Nikolas. It was the teapot that clinched it for me. I noticed a shadowy figure in the teapot when I looked at the painting, which seemed odd -- even odder than the paint-by-numbers style. I can't imagine Helena commissioning a painting like that unless it was to send some kind of message.

Also, we are dealing with Helena, who never did anything without an ulterior motive.

The question is, does the key Laura was given unlock a true mystery or lead down a rabbit hole to nowhere? I wouldn't put it past Helena to play one of her head games with everyone, but Helena was entirely too evil and diabolical to settle for going out with a whimper rather than a bang. This is a woman who relished violence and had a very close relationship with death. I suspect that Laura was wise to fear that tossing the key away wouldn't stop whatever Helena had put into motion.

My hope is that Helena decided to unleash Valentin Cassadine -- the bogeyman even Helena feared -- on the good people of Port Charles and that Valentin will appear in the form of Michael Easton.

I want to see Michael play a bad guy for a change -- and not just any bad guy but one who can pick up Helena's mantle and take it to another level. It would shake things up and be a brilliant departure from the kinds of characters Michael has played in the past like campy Caleb Morely and good guys John McBain and Silas Clay. I also think Michael Easton as the new Teflon Cassadine would give his character potential longevity.

Look how long Helena stuck around and how prominent she was during the height of her reign.

I don't want Michael to return only to end up in the exact same position he was in with Silas Clay. We have an extremely talented cast on the show, but too many of them are not being utilized to their full potential. It happened with Michael, and it's happening with Roger Howarth, Michelle Stafford, Genie Francis, and Kathleen Gati to name a few. It's frustrating to know that we have these heavy-hitter actors that other soaps would kill to have, and they are reduced to a handful of scenes a month.

Some don't even get that. When was the last time we saw Rick Hearst? Did Ric Lansing get lost in the Chandler Mansion's attic, looking for skis or something?

Right now, the show is a hot mess with lots of storylines and too many secondary characters.

I have no interest in Valerie or Curtis individually, so their budding romance is doubly boring. I would much rather the writers focus on Nathan and Maxie's romance because I actually love them together. I want to find out about Nathan's wife and why he never mentioned her before. More importantly, I'm curious to know why he said, "I love you Claudette," when he's so clearly in love with Maxie.

Additionally, we have pointless scenes that do nothing to advance a story, which is crucial when you have so much going on. A perfect example of this was Dante and Valerie's little chat.

Why was it necessary for Dante and Valerie to have an encounter in the file room? It just reminded me why I dislike each of them, and it was completely unnecessary, since Valerie has already made it clear that she is moving on, while we saw Dante and Lulu work things out. Valerie would have figured things out, so there was no need for Dante to tell her.

Now, if Valerie and Lulu had had that talk, then it would have been significant because they are the ones who need to forgive each other, not Dante and Valerie. Dante and Valerie just need to stay away from each other.

Meanwhile, far more interesting storylines were playing out during that same episode, like Griffin revealing that he's Duke's son, Laura trying to solve the mystery of the key from Helena, and Julian sabotaging Crimson. I would have preferred the writers to focus on those storylines because those involved multiple characters and had forward progress.

Another character who popped up and then disappeared -- as I had feared -- was Parker. We had this big bombshell dropped on us when it was revealed that Kristina had propositioned a woman, and then poof, Parker was gone, and Kristina was right back to lying and keeping secrets from her parents.

I honestly thought Kristina had gotten over Parker until this week because there was absolutely nothing to indicate that Kristina was pining for anyone during the few brief scenes she's had since Parker's unexpected visit back in January.

Despite the atrocious pacing with this storyline, I do like Kristina's insistence that she doesn't know if she's gay or not because she's always been attracted to men in the past and Parker is the first woman that she's ever had romantic feelings for. It bothered me how Molly immediately assumed that Kristina was gay without question simply because Kristina has feelings for a woman. It was like Molly had completely negated Kristina's past romantic life, including her very real love for Trey Mitchell.

I really commend the writers for fixing that on Friday when Molly and Kristina talked about sexual fluidity and the possibility that Kristina might be bisexual.

Although, I do think Molly is wrong about Sonny. It's not that Sonny is homophobic, but I can see him having an issue with Kristina coming out as bisexual or gay. He has preconceived notions about his children and has always had a hard time accepting their choices if they didn't mesh with his wishes. That's why Sonny expressed his deep disappointment in Kristina for getting suspended from school rather than focusing on what drove her to take such drastic action, which was a fear of letting down her parents.

I'm not saying that Sonny should have given Kristina a free pass, but he should have taken Alexis' lead and been a bit more understanding and open to discussing everything in a calm and rational manner. Kristina is an adult and should be able to make her own way in life, which is something that Sonny doesn't respect. It's not like Kristina is a self-entitled moocher like her brother Morgan.

Sadly, I suspect Sonny will blame Parker for "corrupting" his daughter, and Kristina knows that.

Carly made me all kinds of crazy this week, but she was spot-on when she theorized that the professor had seduced Kristina but chickened out at the last minute. I believe that is exactly what happened -- not only because Kristina genuinely believed that Parker reciprocated her feelings but also because of Parker's actions. A happily married professor who was cleared of wrongdoing wouldn't turn up at their student's home on the pathetic pretext of asking them to remove anonymous postings with salacious accusations as if that student is the only one who could have an issue with her.

Parker can't actually believe that there isn't one or two homophobes lurking among the sea of students on that campus who might feel they were unfairly treated by her. Even on a soap opera, that is ludicrous.

I can't decide what frustrated me more about Carly this week -- her scenes with Ava or her outlandish request for Olivia to drop the lawsuit because Lomax sent the Health Department to shut down Metro Court.

I couldn't understand why Carly would try to block Ava from seeing Avery and then threaten to get custody of Avery, knowing that Ava has all the power at the moment. If I had been in Ava's shoes, I would have taken Avery home right then and there. Surely, Ava could find an adequate replacement for her nanny if the nanny is still dealing with a family emergency. Plus, there's Julian and Alexis to turn to for help if a nanny isn't available.

That's exactly what Ava should have reminded Sonny of when she showed up on his doorstep and he told her flat-out that she couldn't have Avery. I was really disappointed that she meekly asked him to keep Avery awhile longer and then left with her head practically hanging in shame. I also hated that smug look on Sonny's face when he called his associate to thank the man for sending the black rose and threatening card to Ava.

There's a reason that the judge ruled against Sonny. As Carly pointed out, those circumstances haven't changed. Sonny and Carly should try to get along with Ava for Avery's sake and show Ava that when it comes to Avery, they will work with Ava.

I realize that it's a two-way street, but I can't blame Ava for not extending the olive branch when Sonny continually threatens to take Avery away, kill Ava, and raise Avery as Carly's daughter.

I take comfort in the knowledge that Sonny's stunt will backfire on him eventually when Ava finds out that he was behind the warning -- not her lieutenants. I can't say that I will feel sorry for Sonny when Ava punishes him by taking Avery back because it's what he deserves.

I was also annoyed that Carly's knee-jerk reaction to Lomax shutting down the hotel was to ask Olivia to drop the lawsuit. Not only has Carly always been a fighter, but the violations are bogus and could easily be challenged in a court of law, especially under the circumstances.

I just expected more from Carly.

Finally, I love that Griffin was revealed to be Duke's son, but I think the writers missed a huge opportunity by not making him Anna's son as well. I know that it would have required some rewriting of history to make Anna's pregnancy further along than it was when she lost her and Duke's baby, but in this case, I don't think anyone would have minded. Soap opera children are often stricken with the rapid aging syndrome, so why not in utero?

I hate that Anna doesn't have family in town, and making Griffin her son would not only have given her family, but it would have made Griffin a legacy character with strong ties to Port Charles by being Duke and Anna's son and Robin's half-brother.

It's not too late, though, because it would be easy to have it revealed that the woman who had raised Griffin had been in league with the Jeromes and had agreed to raise the baby that Anna and Duke were told had died. Imagine the position Anna would be in if Julian were to put the pieces together when he met Duke's son, Griffin Munro, and figured out that his crazy sister Olivia had orchestrated the whole thing to punish both Anna and Duke.

It might be the get-out-of-jail-free card that Julian will need when Sonny drags Carlos back to town.

I had an interesting chat with a friend this week about Julian. She was annoyed because Julian was sabotaging Crimson and causing trouble for Nina, Maxie, and Dillon. She really likes their dynamic and enjoys the Crimson storyline. However, I pointed out that Julian is actually providing Nina, Maxie, and Dillon with a great storyline, and it's fun to watch them outwit Julian's attempts to destroy the magazine. I spent years watching Edward, Tracy, and Jax doing all manner of underhanded things to build and maintain their empires, so it doesn't bother me that Julian is trying to find a way to save his own media empire by sacrificing Crimson to avoid paying a crushing tax bill.

I'd rather have Julian play corporate games than get dragged back into the mob because Ava needs help. It would be an incredibly foolish move at this point because the morally corrupt Mayor Lomax made it clear that she's going to keep a close eye on Julian.

Finally, Jason and Sam are reconnecting on all cylinders, even though Jason's memory hasn't returned. Sure, he gets a few flashes here and there, but nothing extensive, and I for one find that to be far more interesting and realistic. I said from the very beginning that I want Jason to carve out a new life for himself and for him and Sam to fall in love all over again. They appear to be well on their way to doing just that -- provided Helena's curse died along with Helena.

To refresh your memory, Helena told Sam, "I curse you, Samantha Morgan. You, those who begot you, and those you beget. And all those who touch you. You and yours will never know happiness -- in this life nor any other."

Sam laughed it off until this week when she pricked her finger on Jason's memorial plaque. I'd like to believe that the removal of the plaque was the first step to Jason becoming a Quartermaine again and starting a new life with Sam, and the cut a mere coincidence, but Helena was a crafty minx, and some of her curses had some meat to them.

However, I'm a firm believer that love conquers all, so while Helena's curse might cause some trouble for Sam and those around her, in the end, I do believe that Jason and Sam will find happiness with each other in spite of Helena.

I find it puzzling that Sonny and Max managed to find out everything that happened with Kristina except the most scandalous part -- that Parker is a woman.

I think Elizabeth should publish Jake's Adventures and get the last laugh by raking in millions.

Poor Jordan, even she sees the undeniable sparks between Andre and Anna.

Why would Nina and Maxie use the same printer who screwed up their last issue -- especially when he refused to take responsibility for the mistake -- and not babysit the issue to make sure it was done right?

Hayden warns Curtis not to say anything negative about Nikolas because Nikolas is going through a difficult timeCurtis: "What's the matter? Drawbridge broken?"

Franco tells Liesl that Helena wrote "Jake's Adventures"Liesl: "Ach du lieber. I wouldn't read a grocery list written by that woman -- not without a priest's blessing first."

Now, I turn the spotlight on you, dear readers. Please, share your thoughts about the show in the comment section below. I love reading what everyone has to say.

Until next time, take care.Liz Masters

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