Truth, justice, and the American way

As Americans across the nation celebrate Independence Day, several in Port Charles looked for answers. Some wanted the truth for personal reasons, while others were on the hunt for justice and a little revenge.

Folks, I honestly don't know what to make of the shenanigans that went down in Port Charles this week.

I could have sworn that Alexis was running around town a few years back, fanning herself constantly and complaining of hot flashes -- and now, completely out of the blue, she's pregnant?

But wait, there's more. After Alexis told Sonny that there's something he needed to know, he hotfooted it over to Metro Court to drop the bombshell on Julian that Alexis was expecting Julian's fourth child. Gobsmacked -- and for good reason -- Julian decided to stop by the local drug store to pick up a home pregnancy test on his way to Alexis' house where he promptly asked her to pee on a stick and prove that she is indeed with child.

Alexis reluctantly agreed and produced a positive pregnancy test. However, across town, Anna paid Sonny a visit to get an update. He gleefully gloated that Julian had taken the bait.

Bait? Was Sonny referring to Alexis' pregnancy? Suddenly I wondered if it had all been an elaborate ruse hatched by Anna and Alexis during their chat in the interrogation room following Alexis' release on bail. If so, how did they manage to fool the pregnancy test? I had visions of Anna asking some poor pregnant woman to pee in a cup and giving it to Alexis to have on hand in case Julian showed up asking for evidence of the miraculous pregnancy.

As the week drew to a close I still had no idea if Alexis was truly pregnant or not, so I don't blame Julian for being skeptical. He should have questions because when a woman Alexis' age misses her period, it's usually because of menopause not an unplanned pregnancy.

Additionally, I would think the first thing Alexis would do is run to the hospital for an emergency visit with Kelly Lee because Nina was right that it's a high-risk pregnancy, even without the stress of an impending murder trial.

I'm going to need to hear Alexis break the news to her daughters or see her have an ultrasound before I believe that Alexis is expecting a visit from the stork. Unlike Julian, I don't trust that home pregnancy test.

By the way, why is Anna asking Alexis to wear a wire? This is the 21st century, and Anna has connections to the WSB. Surly they could loan her one of their latest high-tech gadgets that looks as innocent as a pin or hair clip to use to record Julian's confession. Heck, planting bugs all over the house would be far more efficient, not to mention less conspicuous, than that circa 1970 wire Anna pulled out of her purse for Alexis to use.

Moving on, I would pay money to see someone stuff a sock in Sonny's mouth. I get that Julian is a bad guy, but so is Sonny. Why are Julian's crimes any worse than the things that Sonny's done over the years? Sonny would have killed Carlos, too, if Anna hadn't convinced Sonny that they could use Carlos to get Julian.

It annoys me that Sonny acts as if he's better than Julian. Julian didn't use Danny as a human shield, like Sonny claimed. Sonny put Danny in that position when Sonny threatened to kill Julian the minute Julian banked that bone marrow. If your choice is to be killed or live, how many people -- who aren't suicidal -- would choose to die?

I also don't think that Julian is necessarily willing to let Alexis take the fall for his crime. He appears to genuinely believe that Alexis will get acquitted because the case against her is weak and circumstantial. All the police have is a knife and a tiny window of opportunity. Diane just has to put Anna on the stand to establish that even the police don't think that Alexis killed Carlos. Although, I'm a bit surprised that Diane hasn't managed to get the case tossed simply because it's not being prosecuted in good faith.

Jordan is the worst police commissioner ever.

I have zero respect for Jordan, not only because she closed the case -- knowing that everyone is certain that Julian murdered Carlos -- but also because I can't think of a single case that she's actually solved. Even Shawn, the father of her child, is rotting in prison for a crime he didn't commit despite Hayden's repeated attempts to talk to Jordan at the Nurses Ball about what had really transpired the night Hayden was shot. Jordan refused to hear Hayden out because Jordan was more interested in her date than in hearing new information that might exonerate Shawn.

It's no wonder there are more criminals than ever these days who are walking around that town, free as a flock of birds.

I felt so sorry for T.J. this week when he confronted Jordan about Shawn, and Jordan had the audacity to tell T.J. that she had zero regrets about lying and would do it again if she had to. I couldn't blame T.J. for being furious with his mother and for feeling betrayed, because every single time he turns around, he catches Jordan in another lie.

How exactly did it benefit T.J. to continue to believe that a dead man was his father rather than the man that T.J. had grown to love and respect? Shawn was more of a parent to T.J. in the short time that T.J. lived with Shawn than Jordan ever was. I base this on Jordan's history and how she sent T.J. to live with Shawn. She allowed T.J. to believe that he was unwanted and too much of a problem to deal with just because she didn't want her son to know that she was doing a stint in jail. That lie, more than any of the others, had a profound impact on T.J. and left wounds that will likely never completely heal.

It was laughable when Jordan reminded T.J. that she was his mother and demanded that he show her some respect.

Respect is not a right -- it has to be earned, even by parents.

That said, I found it interesting that Jordan showed more emotion and genuine regret for hurting T.J. in her voicemail message to him than during their talk in her office. It's a shame that Jordan is dating Andre because I think she could benefit from some therapy sessions.

Speaking of Andre's patients, Morgan is riding high because Kiki chose Morgan and gave Dillon walking papers.

I'm not a psychiatrist, but I can't imagine that Andre would encourage Morgan to pursue a relationship with Kiki this early in Morgan's recovery. If nothing else, I would think that Andre would want to have a couple of sessions with Morgan and Kiki to help determine if the relationship can be healthy and beneficial to both Morgan and Kiki.

From what I can see, it's not. Morgan has unreasonable expectations, and Kiki clearly has feelings for Dillon because they always seem to wind up kissing when they are in each other's vicinity.

I understand Carly's concern, but I didn't agree with her tactics when she confronted Kiki. As much as it pains me to say it, Sonny is right -- Morgan needs to learn to deal with his own life and his own problems. Morgan is a man not a child. Even if Morgan was a child, there are boundaries that parents should not cross.

Years ago, a boy that my daughter knew broke up with his girlfriend because he had a crush on my daughter. My daughter and his ex-girlfriend were close friends, so the mother of the ex-girlfriend called up the boy and berated him for breaking her daughter's heart and told him what a terrible person he was for liking my daughter. I was aghast when I heard about it because the kids were just 14 years old.

Mind you, my daughter wasn't even allowed to date at that age, but I thought it was commendable that the boy admitted that he liked someone else -- even though he couldn't date that person -- and bowed out of the relationship. It was the mother I was disappointed in because I thought she was an idiot for letting her daughter date at such a young age and then getting far more involved in it than she should. The message she sent her daughter was that she should hold on to someone who doesn't want her.

Part of growing up is learning to have healthy relationships and recognizing when a relationship sours and turns toxic.

Carly was not doing Morgan any favors by interrogating Kiki and piling on the guilt about how Morgan's whole world revolves around Kiki and it's up to Kiki to protect Morgan's delicate feelings because he's fragile and vulnerable.

A friend of mine told me that in Kiki's shoes, she would have ended things with Morgan right then and there because of Carly's interference. I had to agree. Who wants to deal with a mother like Carly?

It's obvious that Morgan is going to get his heart crushed by Kiki because Kiki is in the relationship for all the wrong reasons. She loves Morgan, but I think she feels that she owes it to both of them to try to make things work now that he's mentally stable.

I guess we will see just how well Morgan's treatment is working when he deals with losing Kiki to Dillon. Dillon made a valid point -- why should Morgan worry about Dillon if Morgan and Kiki are happily reconciled?

Meanwhile, Finn languished in jail and went through what appeared to me to be drug withdrawal rather than the symptoms of a vague terminal illness that he and his wife picked up on their travels. I suspect that this may be a setup for a House-type storyline, where the brilliant drug-addicted doctor consults on cases as a team of young doctors learn and treat the patients.

I feel wicked for admitting it, but I squealed with delight when Dr. Mayes became the latest apparent casualty of the "Angel of Mercy" stalking both patients and staff alike with a deadly syringe filled with derisifol.

I knew Dr. Mayes wasn't the killer when he suddenly started blathering about how some patients shouldn't be saved and had expiration dates. It was way too obvious and seemed much too soon for the writers to wrap up the storyline. This storyline has all the earmarks of a Sweeps Week reveal, so I expect it to drag on at least until fall if not next spring.

I was fairly certain that nothing would happen to Liz, but I didn't expect Dr. Mayes to fall victim to the serial killer. I thought it would be the patient, so it was a great twist and nice little surprise that the pompous doctor was attacked. As I said, I'm not sad to see the last of Mayes.

With Finn effectively cleared, the eyes of suspicion will once again land on whoever was at the hospital during the time of the injection, including Franco, who suddenly loomed in the doorway, sporting an odd expression as he watched Liz try in vain to save Mayes. It was particularly suspicious because Franco had just returned from visiting Heather after cryptically revealing that he'd found a new outlet for his creative energy.

Is it killing people at the hospital? Did Franco overhear Mayes practically beg the killer to target him by arrogantly talking about how certain people shouldn't be saved? On at least two occasions now, Franco has been at the hospital when the killer struck. Franco also confided to Heather that he'd been having dark thoughts similar to the ones he'd experienced prior to having a brain tumor removed.

Could the tumor have grown back? I hope not. I also hope that Franco isn't the Angel of Mercy because I like him. That might not be a popular view, but I think Roger Howarth brings much needed levity to the show, especially these days when there is so very little of it.

I was happy that the show took the time to clarify that Franco and Liz are not biologically related, although they do have a complicated connection. I've seen a lot of comments and have received a few emails insisting that Franco and Liz's relationship is incestuous, so I know that this was an issue for more than a few viewers.

To reiterate what the show confirmed, Franco and Liz each have different parents, but Liz's father was once married to Franco's mother and had a son with her, named Steven Lars. Steven is Jeff's eldest son, while Liz and her sister Sarah are his children from a marriage to a woman that Jeff met after leaving Heather and Port Charles.

I'm not sure how I feel about the kiss between Franco and Liz. I was happy about it until Franco became a potential suspect in the deaths at the hospital. I want to believe that the Angel of Mercy is Amy because I simply don't like her, and I feel she's unnecessary. Plus, Amy has free access to the drug dispensary, and we saw Amy talking to Liz before Hayden donned a set of scrubs and tried to retrieve Finn's package of drugs from overseas, which means she was there for at least one of the Angel of Mercy killings.

You would think that the hospital would be more careful about leaving lab coats and scrubs lying around for the killer to don after what happened to Lucas, but you would be wrong because they remain as accessible as patient records and the hospital's mail.

If Amy isn't the killer, then I hope she's the next victim because I'm very much over her, and our cast is far too bloated as it is. It seems like every other day, we are meeting someone new.

Case in point, Claudette. At least, that's who it appears to be based on the number of times her name has been mentioned -- what I refer to as the Beetlejuice effect - and when Nathan recalled shooting Claudette's lover, we saw Griffin's flashbacks of being seduced by a woman in the bedroom. Griffin's memory of a woman wearing a distinctive ring and the scene of the woman wearing the very same ring as she read the online announcement of Nathan and Maxie's wedding makes it clear that Claudette is hopping on the next bus to Port Chuck.

Finally, in England, Jason is hot on the trail of Nikolas and Ava, but the wily duo decided to charter a private plane to Cassadine Island where they intend to lay low until Ava sells the real Weeping Naiad, which always sounds like "Weeping Gonad" to me.

Nikolas doesn't intend to return to Port Charles, ever, and plans to stay "dead" to the world. I have no idea how his cockamamie plan will work long-term, since Spencer knows that Nikolas is alive, and it's unlikely that Spencer will keep the secret until he turns 18 and can join his father in hiding. Plus, I'm pretty sure there are like a dozen satellites trained on Cassadine Island, including one belonging to the WSB, which are monitoring goings-on at the Cassadine stronghold. Why Nikolas would go there is a complete mystery to me.

Did anyone else notice Alexis' hair at the end of Monday's episode? It was sopping wet and hanging down as she sat in the tub, exchanging text messages with Sam, but on Tuesday, it was suddenly dry as a bone and stylishly pulled up.

I can't figure out where Heather is because I thought they had built a special wing for her at Shadybrook, since she kept breaking out of Miscavige, but that waiting room looks an awful lot like the one at Ferncliff.

Anna stops by to visit SonnySonny: "Welcome."Anna: "Said the spider to the fly."

Heather makes a veiled MacGyver reference when Franco asks about Liz's father, played by Richard Dean AndersonFranco: "You were married to her father, so I was wondering if you had any insight."Heather: "I haven't thought about Jeff Webber in a long time, but if you want to know, okay. Let's see, he was very handy around the house. Give him a paperclip and a spool of thread, and he could start a car."Franco: "That's cool."

I've learned to live with Sonny's hypocrisy when it comes to other mobsters but what I can't buy is how Sonny is working with the police and hasn't been whacked by the Five Families for it. -- redboy70

nik/ava is the only story keeping me watching right now. LOVED the tyler and maura part, but the rest has been funny enough to keep me laughing. -- ctshar

I'd welcome back T.J., but it seems like lately, every time he shows up, something bad happens...usually to HIM! You'd think he was the one Helena put a curse on. -- Scrimmage

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

Until next time, take care.Liz Masters

What are your thoughts on General Hospital? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.