Shhh, it's a secret!

It was an interesting week with some unexpected developments that sent things in some rather surprising directions. Jordan and Curtis' trip out of town took them way out of the friend zone, Sam and Liz banded together -- briefly -- and Julian asked Jason to help topple an enemy. Two may be company, but it's also trouble in this week's edition of Two Scoops.

Liz is desperate to find Franco, but that search is greatly impeded by the fact that no one except for his father and pseudo-daughter care. In fact, most would throw a party if they learned that Franco had met with a foul and wicked end.

Understandably, Sam is at the very top of that list, so when Liz showed up asking for help and confiding that she thinks Alexis killed Tom, Sam laughed it off as the ramblings of a delusional woman desperate to exonerate a guilty man. However, Sam heard a little kernel of truth in what Liz said, so she paid her mother a visit.

To my utter shock, Alexis did what I never expected her to do -- she told Sam the truth. All of it. Every single ugly little detail from getting drunk, running down Julian, and fleeing the scene of the accident to her violent encounter with Tom the rapist in the alley on the night he was stabbed to death with a knife that Alexis recalled waving in Tom's face as she taunted him that he'd messed with the wrong person.

Liz doesn't for a second believe that Tom was rehabilitated in prison, so she assured Sam that if Alexis and Tom's paths had crossed, then Alexis had killed the rapist in self-defense. Sam was horrified to realize that Liz's theory had been eerily accurate when Alexis recounted what had happened to Sam.

On top of that, Sam now knows that Alexis' drinking problem had been as bas as she had -- on some level -- feared.

Alexis and Sam's discussion was gripping and brutally honest, especially when Sam admitted that she'd known that her mother was in trouble, but she hadn't known what questions to ask, so she'd found it easier to simply ignore.

I know it might have sounded cold, but I understand what Sam was talking about because I've dealt with addiction in my family and know from personal experience that sometimes it's easier to pretend everything is being managed than to deal with all the issues that led to the problem.

Contrary to what Alexis might say, there is far more to Alexis' drinking than what Julian did to her. That was bad and likely the catalyst, but the problems Alexis is trying to drown go well beyond Julian's betrayal. Alexis witnessed her mother's brutal murder, was forced to give her child up for adoption by a cold and unfeeling father, and had the evilest of evil stepmothers. If that's not enough to make Alexis a dysfunctional mess, I can name at least a dozen other horrors she's suffered through the years, including a bout with lung cancer.

I also found it realistic for Sam not to be quick to "forgive" Alexis for being drunk when she watched Danny and nearly caught the kitchen on fire. Of course Sam loves her mother and will eventually give Alexis a second chance, but Sam has a right to be angry that Alexis endangered Danny.

Asking for forgiveness does not automatically guarantee that you're given it. It's a process that can take time because you need to rebuild trust.

I commend Alexis for being honest with Sam, and I applaud Sam for making a point of assuring Alexis that she's proud that her mother took the steps to dry out and attend an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting.

Soap opera characters are seldom that forthcoming about their ugly skeletons -- even the best of them -- unless they've been cornered or someone yanks the closet door open and everything spills out.

It's refreshing to see Alexis taking accountability for all her wrongs. But how far is Alexis willing to go?

It will be interesting to see if Alexis will be honest with Diane about the hit-and-run as well as Tom's murder or if she focuses on getting her law license back.

I don't think Alexis killed Tom. My gut tells me that the person responsible is Gene, the owner of the bar.

Not only is Gene a disposable character, but he never mentioned Alexis to the police when there really was no reason for him to keep quiet -- unless he had a secret. Perhaps he caught Tom in the alleyway after Alexis left, and things escalated when they traded angry words. Alexis might have witnessed the altercation but blacked it out either because of shock or the alcohol she'd consumed.

There's also the possibility that Seth killed his brother, but that seems unlikely because he appears to genuinely believe that Franco committed the grisly murder.

What baffled me most this week was Sam's stubborn -- and quite reckless -- determination to go to the storage unit alone to rescue Franco rather than take Kiki up on her offer to go with her. As Kiki pointed out, Sam is very pregnant, and it was a potentially dangerous situation.

It's unfathomable to me that the writers would make Sam look so stupid.

Almost as stupid as Liz chasing after Seth to question him about why he knew something that only a few had known -- that Franco had locked Tom in a dog crate.

However, if anyone can turn lemons into lemonade, it's Sam and Liz.

Sam decided to grab a fire extinguisher and bust the cheap padlock that had been used to lock Franco in the storage unit where Franco was quickly succumbing to what I can only assume was hypothermia, since he'd only been in the storage unit for twenty-four hours. He also had a nasty gash on his head, so he might have had a concussion too.

Regardless, Franco was in bad shape, but Sam got to him in the knick of time -- and stayed there to chat with him because she wanted to make sure he doesn't rat out her mother to the police. I know it seems heartless that she didn't immediately call for help -- and perhaps it is -- but Sam despises Franco, and the fact that she's there and offering him a chance at being rescued is more than he deserves after what he put her through.

Meanwhile, Seth became emotional as he admitted that, after he'd escaped from Franco's studio, Tom had called him and poured his heart out to Seth about the ordeal. Elizabeth was immediately suspicious and asked if Tom had mentioned anything about turning the tables on Franco and locking Franco in the crate where Tom had been kept. Seth was furious at the suggestion that Franco had an alibi for Tom's murder, but Elizabeth clarified that she believed that someone other than Franco had been responsible for Tom's death.

As Friday's episode drew to a close, we saw that Seth had an array of sports trophies nearly identical to the ones in the storage unit where Franco had been trapped, indicating that Seth had abducted Franco.

I think Seth is an upset brother who desperately wanted to believe that his brother had been reformed in jail, but deep down inside, he realized that Tom hadn't changed a bit. I think Seth is angry at Franco, but he's not homicidal. At least, I hope not, because I like Seth. He seems like a decent guy who was stuck with a twisted sibling.

Speaking of twisted things, Julian decided to spike Jason's coffee with something that make Jason very ill but not sick enough to die. Julian's objective was to get Jason's attention, and that seemed the most efficient way -- at least that's how Julian saw it.

Julian explained that Rudge and Rudge's boss were a danger to Julian and Jason's loved ones, so Julian wanted Jason's help to take Rudge and the boss lady down. Jason wanted to know the boss lady's name, but Julian's lips were sealed until Jason agreed to partner up with Julian. Jason refused, so Julian walked away with his secret.

Why is Jason such an idiot?

Even if Jason had no intention of honoring his promise, he should have played along with Julian simply to get the information he wanted. Julian was darn near to bursting at the seams to tell Jason all about Rudge and the crazy boss lady, but Jason's arrogance made him blind to the obvious, and Jason foolishly missed his chance to get some real answers.

Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Jordan's commitment to Andre was tested big time when Curtis took her down memory lane with some delicious comfort food, a game of poker, and a steaming hot kiss that led to some serious necking in bed before Jordan put a stop to things.

Curtis snickered because he knew that Jordan wasn't immune to his charms. He'd felt the passion during their kiss and had felt the simmer of attraction ever since she'd slapped him at the police station. Jordan immediately went into denial and claimed that she'd been mad at him at the police station -- not lusting after him.

I find it frustrating when women act like that. It seems infantile -- not to mention pointless.

Jordan's tongue had happily been tangling with Curtis' just minutes earlier as they both writhed on the bed and moaned with passion. Pretending that she didn't feel anything was an obvious lie.

I would have had far more respect for Jordan had she conceded that she was drawn to Curtis, but there were a ton of reasons the two of them had no business getting involved, the least of which was the bad blood from their days working undercover and her betrayal of her marriage to his brother.

However, I don't think Jordan should be quick to write Curtis off despite all the reasons they shouldn't be together because I definitely saw sparks between the two of them. Plus, Jordan is a single woman, and she's allowed to test the waters if someone catches her interest.

Andre is a great guy, but if Jordan is drawn to another man enough to have a passionate make-out session, then perhaps Andre is not the guy for her.

Another woman who's with a guy not for her is Carly because as much as she loves him and he loves her, he simply refuses to be honest with her. Every time he has the opportunity to come clean, he opts to lie and deceive. It's a default setting with him.

It's unlikely that Sonny slept with Nelle, but he doesn't know that. It's shameful that he's letting Carly once again put everything on the line to be with him, and he's doing the one thing she asked him not to -- lie. After everything they've been through, he still can't trust her with the truth, which speaks volumes about their relationship.

I understand that Sonny is afraid that Carly will be mad and end things with him. In all likelihood, that's exactly what she will do, but it wouldn't last. Eventually, Carly would forgive Sonny -- even for sleeping with Nelle -- because he'd been honest, and she will revert to her default setting ,which is to blame the other woman.

Carly is nothing if not consistent, and she consistently faults the other woman when it comes to Sonny. In this case, she might also catch Nelle in a great big lie.

Liz was right when she told Nathan that the truth always came out, so it's only a matter of time before Carly learns the truth about Sonny and Nelle and then uncovers what really happened in the bedroom on that fateful night when Nelle set out to put a diabolical plan into motion.

Finally, I'm trying very hard not to despise Nina, but it's getting harder and harder with each passing day because it's as clear as the foam frothing from the corners of her lips and the rabid gleam in her eyes that she's desperate to be Charlotte's mother. It frustrates me because I do believe that Nina is a good person, but her obsession with motherhood is her downfall, and Valentin exploits it like a pimp does his ho.

I desperately want Nina to do the right thing, but as time ticks by, it looks less and less likely to happen, and that's disappointing because her fall is going to be that much greater. And fall she will because, as charming as Valentin appears to find Nina, I don't see any spark of love.

Plus, at some point, Charlotte is going to realize that Lulu had had just as much right to be a part of her life as Valentin did and that "Papa" kept them apart, knowing the truth. If Nina sides with Valentin, then Charlotte will grow to resent Nina just as much as she will her father.

Did anyone notice that Franco misspelled Liz's last name in the note for help he wrote? We'll blame it on stress.

I find it interesting that Dillon uses a cheap storage facility to store his expensive equipment instead of the mansion's basement, which I have to imagine is far nicer.

Does Sonny not have an accountant to take care of the bills? I couldn't understand why Morgan's credit card bills hadn't been paid for months.

I thank the day this wonderful actor [James Patrick Stuart] was added to the cast! The way he contorted his face and body to make the viewers see that he was a tortured soul moved me! -- lovethosedimples

I don't remember Ava running over Jason. That one slipped my mind. I did laugh at Ava's self righteous speech about her not having run anyone down while drunk, as though she is somehow better than Alexis even though Ava killed Connie in cold blood. -- Stacy Logan

Loved Maxie and Nathan's wedding, just wish they had it bigger and more cast there but I loved it and bout time. I especially loved the flashbacks of their relationship together. -- Emmalee

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts about the show. I love hearing from readers so please feel free to email me or leave a comment below.

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.