The sins of the father

Griffin helped Sonny see the light, but was it too late for Morgan? As lives are poised to be altered and relationships tested, our columnist ponders who will be brought to their knees and who will walk away unscathed.

I love it when the writers surprise me, and they certainly did that in spades this week with an explosive ending on Friday that left Morgan's life hanging in the balance.

A couple of weeks ago, I expressed my disappointment that the writers hadn't taken advantage of Bryan Craig's exit by having Morgan fall victim to Paul's murder spree at the hospital. I thought that killing off a key character like Morgan would be a great catalyst for interesting storylines and a chance to propel several characters in new directions.

I had accused the writers of being afraid to go there and to push a boundary that is seldom crossed -- killing off a legacy character. I was wrong, and I happily admit it because this week Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman appear to have gone there and then some because they wrote it so that several key people -- including Morgan's own father -- might have had a hand in ending the troubled young man's life. Brava, ladies!

Now, I don't generally encourage the death of a legacy character like Morgan, but these are dark times for the soap opera genre as a whole, and especially GH with its poor ratings, so desperate times call for drastic measures. Granted it's easier for me to entertain the idea of Morgan being killed off because I was never really a fan. I found the rebooted version vastly different than the sweet, quiet, thoughtful, and intelligent child that I watched enter the world under tragic circumstances -- brought about by Sonny's protective hand when he burst through the front door with gun blazing.

Perhaps that's one of the reasons that I found it laughable when Sonny had the audacity to stand in a church and proclaim to Griffin that none of Sonny's children would ever be hurt by his violent lifestyle because he would always safeguard his loved ones. That a bolt of lightning didn't strike Sonny down and turn him into a pile of ash is a miracle in and of itself. I guess Sonny forgot how he'd planted a bomb in Johnny's car when Kristina was hanging out with him or how he shot Dante in the chest because he found out Dante was an undercover cop. Or how about the time Michael stood next to Sonny in the warehouse and was shot in the head by a bullet intended for Sonny?

Sonny has never been able to protect his family -- especially from himself.

I have to agree with Sonny though. Griffin was being a bit sanctimonious and self-righteous, but I give him a pass because his heart is always in the right place. Plus, Griffin asked the questions that many of us posed through the years. I found myself marveling at the arrogant convoluted way Sonny's mind worked when he justified killing his enemies as doing God's dirty work.

Miracle of miracles, Griffin managed to make Sonny see the error of his ways and get him to call off the hit, but was it too little, too late?

Methinks it was, and Sonny will soon have to face the wrath of a grieving mother when Carly figures out exactly what happened and Sonny's possible role in the explosion. It wasn't exactly a well-guarded secret that Sonny was gunning for Julian, and since it was Julian's car that blew up -- likely claiming Morgan's life in the process -- there's a very high probability that Sonny's contract killer planted the bomb in the car.

The foreshadowing was ripe this week, so there's a pretty good chance that Morgan perished. Carly's tender message about how much she loves and needs her son, Sonny telling Carly that he feels like everything is going to be okay for the first time, and of course Ava having a major attack of conscience because she knows that switching out Morgan's medications combined with her efforts to undermine his relationship with Kiki led to him getting drunk and staggering out of the bar in a volatile mood.

I just hope that Sonny doesn't pull his usual stunt of going off his meds and indulging in a destructive manic tantrum that forces everyone around him to put their own hurt aside to save Sonny from himself.

For once, I'd like to see Sonny be truly held accountable for his actions without mitigating his dirty deeds. He didn't just order a hit on Julian -- he lied to everyone he promised to be honest with. Repeatedly.

I don't expect Sonny to go to jail, but I do expect him to finally pay for his deadly plots by losing everything and having to rebuild his life in a way that honors the son. It's long past time for Sonny to stop his self-indulgent ways and put his loved ones' needs before his own.

However, Morgan's possible demise doesn't rest squarely on Sonny's shoulder because, as I mentioned earlier, Ava had a hand in it too. She might not have planted the bomb, but she sent Morgan off the rails. In the end, though, the person most responsible for Morgan's fate is Morgan himself. He chose to drink alcohol and steal a car. Manic or not, Morgan knew right from wrong.

Speaking of reckless acts, why in the world would Jason give chase? I've been in a car with an SUV driving behind me. Even with the low beams, the light from a taller vehicle can be blinding at night. Judging by the way Morgan squinted when he looked in the rearview mirror, he was a bit blinded by those lights. Also, on what planet is it a good idea to call a distraught drunk person while they are driving? It was dangerous all the way around, and Jason is damn lucky that Morgan didn't crash.

While Morgan was spiraling out of control and jumping to wrong conclusions, Kiki was moving on with Dillon -- another sign that Morgan was not long for the world.

I'm not sure how I feel about Kiki and Dillon as a couple, primarily because I've never had much use for Kiki. She pretty much summed it up when she told Dillon that she jumped from guy to guy. She's always comes off as a bit of a sponge who has zero ambitions. It's only recently that she's actually shown a spark of independence by getting a job and a glimmer of self-awareness when she conceded that she was Morgan's crutch to avoid dealing with his issues.

Time will tell if Kiki is evolving, but Dillon is going to have his hands full over the coming weeks because all soap opera characters have an annoying habit of making any tragedy all about themselves, even if they had nothing to do with it.

Across town, Alexis continues to sink into the abyss of alcoholism because these days her favorite accessory is a glass of wine. I empathize with her plight and get why she's hurting. She lost her husband, but more importantly, she lost her career, which has left her feeling worthless and lost.

Nancy Lee Grahn has been consistently knocking it out of the ballpark and giving us stellar performances since everything fell apart for Alexis. She has a wealth of work to choose from for the Emmy reel this year, and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if she walked away with a win in the lead actress category.

I don't think Alexis would be in the mess she's in if Julian hadn't cost her her career. Yes, she loved Julian, but he wasn't exactly the first man to disillusion her and turn out to be a scoundrel. Alexis has always had a knack for picking the wrong guy like Ric Lansing and Jerry Jacks who hide their black hearts behind charming veneers. However, her career was everything to her -- the one thing that she was brilliant at and that she could always count on, no matter how bleak things got for her. It was her port in the storm when she needed an escape from her problems. Without it, she's rudderless.

Unfortunately, Alexis is going to have to hit rock bottom before things get better because she's a master at deception, thanks to a childhood growing up in Helena's diabolical shadow.

Speaking of Cassadines, it looks like Valentin will soon be rearing his head in Port Charles because not only does he had a romantic connection to Nina, but it turns out he also has history with Claudette.

I'm not exactly sure that I believe Claudette's claims about Valentin because she is a compulsive liar, but then again, I've seen how ruthless Valentin could be. Any man willing to murder a child in cold blood isn't someone who would draw the line at controlling and threatening a girlfriend.

However, the fact that Claudette knows Valentin raises a lot of questions about that dark lock of hair she produced. Was it Valentin's? Is Charlotte perhaps Valentin's daughter? A DNA match between Nathan and Charlotte is certainly possible if Valentin is the father because Nathan and Valentin are first cousins, since their fathers were brothers Victor and Mikkos.

I think Maxie is quite wise to urge Nathan to take a paternity test once Claudette produces Charlotte.

Anyone have any idea what happened to Jax? He was there one moment and vanished the next -- apparently with Josslyn in tow.

Why was Paul put in a Pentonville jumpsuit and transferred to Pentonville when he was captured, while Julian lingered in lockup for weeks, dressed in prison blues and awaiting trial?

Speaking of Paul, why does everyone talk as if he has a chance of getting out of jail? Last I checked, he ruthlessly killed and attempted to kill over half a dozen people.

Ned shares a story about his eighth birthdayNed: "Our mother dressed me up in a tie and short pants."Dillon: "I'm so sorry."

I love William deVry but I am not sure how he can be redeemed from trying to kill Alexis. -- RAH

Hayden allowing her mother to sacrifice herself like that was cold, wanting to celebrate with Finn the next day was damn near psychotic. -- Mel

How are we supposed to invest in any new character on the show if they keep changing from bad to good and back again every time TPTB feels the urge to do something "shocking" to keep the audience tuning in, or whenever they just want to write some other character off the show? -- 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

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