A little chaos does the heart good

Romance is in the air, but will everyone find their happily ever after, or are some relationships doomed to end in disaster? As Curtis digs up dirt in Florida and Patient 6 makes his way to Port Charles, lives are about to change, and relationships will be tested.

Know what we need? A good old-fashioned disaster storyline. A blackout on Halloween with all the crazies escaping D'Archam and wreaking havoc in Port Charles or a tornado ripping through town, forcing friends and foes to band together to help each other dig out of the rubble. It's time to shake things up and to give us a little fun, and some CGI. A little chaos would go a long way in dusting off the cobwebs and getting things back on track.

We have a lot of storylines going on, but to be honest, only a few have snagged my attention. The rest feel like the writers are making it up as they go along and hoping that something will stick. Nothing feels new or fresh.

Don't get me wrong, there are a few romances that are working, and I do love the characters -- even the dastardly ones -- except for one or two. Ahem, Amy. Also, Steve Burton's storyline is good so far, and it definitely has oodles of potential, but it is dragging just a tad too much. Hopefully, that will change next week.

This week, Griffin reached a crossroads when Father Corey showed up to let Griffin know that the bishop had decided that Griffin's half-decade leave of absence from the church had been more than enough time for Griffin to repent and reflect. He ordered Griffin back to his parish to resume God's work, but Griffin balked because he has conflicted feelings about Ava and his vow of celibacy.

I kept waiting for Gopher, I mean Father Corey, to suggest that Griffin take a trip on the Love Boat, since prayers and reflection hadn't worked, but instead, he gave Griffin a hug, made the sign of the cross, then wished Griffin luck sorting out his feelings. Man Landers the good father is not.

Despite everyone, including Ava, accusing Griffin of hiding behind his collar, Griffin denied it. To prove that he knew what he wanted, he kissed Ava then made love to her. Unfortunately, before the sheets had even cooled, Griffin was back to agonizing over whether he should leave the church or not. I loved it when Ava told him that he hadn't made love to her like a man who had doubts. Boom.

I was pretty disappointed in Griffin because the very fact that he had slept with Ava should tell him all he needs to know about his vocation. The church might have been his calling at one time, but clearly that is no longer the case. Heck, what he did with Ava was sin, but that didn't appear to cross his mind as he lamented about how the church had meant everything to him.

I felt bad for Ava because Griffin is leading her on. That said, though, I'm certain he'll be back, but I don't think that Griffin and Ava will last. Griffin needs someone like Ava to force him to make some difficult choices, and Ava needs Griffin to help her find redemption. Morgan's death profoundly affected her, and she desperately wants to be a better person. Griffin can guide her through that journey, and she can help him, but when they reach the end of their journeys, they will find friendship, not love. I think they are simply too incompatible to go the distance.

Kevin and Laura are different.

In a surprising, but not completely unexpected, twist, Kevin popped the question to Laura, but his timing was horrid because they were sitting in Kelly's at the time. Worse, he admitted that he had thought about doing it during their recent trip to Paris, but he had never found the right time. Laura told Kevin no because she wanted a far more romantic proposal than being asked a life-changing question over a BLT while she was complaining about Valentin.

I grinned like a loon when Kevin warned Laura that he would make her suffer by keeping her on pins and needles until he found the right place and time to give her the fairytale proposal that she had always dreamed of. Genie Francis and Jon Lindstrom have fantastic chemistry and their characters have rich histories that complement each other. That's why they have what it takes to go the distance.

It makes sense why Kevin and Laura were drawn to each other and why they have a strong connection. Kevin gives Laura the adventure that she craves with the stability that she needs to keep her emotionally balanced, and in return, Kevin has the love of a woman who cherishes him for who he is and doesn't feel compelled to play childish games.

I like Lucy, but I always felt that she took Kevin for granted and never truly appreciated what a great guy he was, which is why she ended up cheating on him repeatedly over the years with Scott.

I can't wait to see what Kevin does to give Laura her fairytale proposal. It's one of the things that I'm looking forward to on the show.

I'm also looking forward to seeing Patient 6 or -- as I call him, Jason -- return to Port Charles and come face-to-face with the women in his life, starting with Sam then Liz.

Mainly, I want Patient 6/Jason to see Liz because when he "died," he believed that Jake was dead. I can't wait for him to learn that his son is alive. Patient 6/Jason's reaction to Liz living with Franco should also be interesting because he only knows Franco as the serial killer who raped Sam on their wedding night.

As for Patient 6/Jason's encounter with Sam, I'm certain that it's going to be one of those cliffhanger Friday moments where they run into each other at the Noodle Buddha or on the pier where he "died." Of course, Sam is going to think he's a Cassadine plant, but that's where Liz and Franco will come in because they will be able to explain how it's possible to have two Jasons walking around.

The bigger story, though, will be the struggle that Sam will face when she has to choose a brother. She basically has two Jasons -- one who is a mob enforcer and one who gives her everything that she's always wanted with Jason.

It's for that reason that I'm certain that Billy Miller's Jason is really Drew. If there was any doubt, the writers erased them when they made a point to remind us through multiple conversations that there has been a fundamental change in Jason since his return because the old Jason wouldn't have hesitated to be at Sonny's side when he faced the mob bosses to announce his retirement.

I'm curious to see what Sam does. If Patient 6/Jason does return to his role as enforcer, and if Sam does go back to him, then she will be a hypocrite for having held Jason/Drew to a higher standard than she ultimately held herself. Then again, the heart wants what it wants, which is why Sonny and Carly are still together despite a half-dozen divorces.

I'm hoping that Sam's heart wants Jason/Drew because she's happy with him, and he can give her what the real Jason can't.

The truth is, I always thought that Jason was just as selfish as Sonny because they both wanted to have their cake and eat it too. They never made any sacrifices; it was the women who did and, by extension, the children because they gave up normal childhoods for bodyguards, danger, and occasional trips to Sonny's island to hide out from various enemies.

When faced with the options, Jason/Drew chose his wife and family. He chose to buy his father-in-law's media empire and go into business with Sam because he wants to share every aspect of his life with her. A life that doesn't include bullets, bombs, and enemies lurking around every corner. The real Jason never did. Like Sonny, he always told himself that he could safeguard his family, but in the end, he couldn't even safeguard himself.

Speaking of danger, Huxley Lynch is back on our screens, and I heard the two words that I had hoped to never hear again: Weeping Nyad.

After wincing and waiting for the shudder of disdain to pass upon hearing those dreaded words, I tried to give Huxley another shot. I generally don't dislike characters unless they are pointless or intentionally written to be vile creatures -- like the two Russian goons searching for Patient 6/Jason.

As I watched the scenes with Patient 6/Jason and Huxley, I experienced a sense of dj vu, but I had no idea why. Then it hit me. It was during the poker scenes when Patient 6/Jason caught Huxley cheating and Huxley started rambling. I realized that Huxley was a darker, more sophisticated version of Spinelli, right down to his youthful appearance.

It made me wonder if perhaps Huxley had had a tryst with a Ms. Spinelli some 30 or so years ago.

Meanwhile, Michael hired Curtis to clear Nelle's name. Until this week, I thought it was because Michael was certain that Nelle was innocent. That he believed all of her perfectly logical explanations for very questionable thing that arose and made her look guilty as sin.

For example, the $50,000 that Nelle donated to Morgan's foundation. That was so completely shady, starting with Nelle's explanation. There was a flaw in her answers that made it clear to me that the donation had been all about manipulating Michael.

Nelle claimed that she had made the donation anonymously because she knew that Sonny and Carly would think she had a hidden agenda, but Michael also asked why Nelle hadn't mentioned it sooner. Nelle claimed that she had intended to earlier, when she had told him that she had an idea about how to make peace with Carly and Bobbie, but she had invited Michael to tell her about his plan first.

If the money had been donated to impress Carly, then why make it anonymous? Answer: It was donated to impress Michael. Nelle wanted Michael to know about the donation, but on her timetable, not Carly's. The revelation that Nelle was a champion swimmer in high school and Valentin's little chat with her outside of Nina's office when he accused Nelle of being an opportunist who carefully made herself all things to all people only solidified my suspicions. Suspicions that Michael is starting to share.

I've seen a few theories about Zach's death from Zach having faked his death with Nelle's help to the possibility that he committed suicide. I'm not sure about faking his death because I don't recall anyone mentioning that Zach's body hadn't been recovered. Given the way that Sharon shares every gut-wrenching detail of her loss, I would think "and we couldn't even bury Zach next to my mother" would be at the top of the list of grievances against Nelle. I haven't heard that, so that makes me think that a body was recovered.

The suicide theory is another story. I can see Nelle keeping silent about that because insurance policies don't pay out for suicides, and lacking a suicide note, it's impossible to prove under those circumstances. Plus, if she did love Zach, then perhaps she remained silent to protect his memory and to spare his family more heartache. This theory was given a bit more weight this week when Sharon revealed the interesting tidbit that her mother had died shortly before Zach and that Zach had taken their mother's loss the hardest.

I still think it was a terrible accident and that Nelle seized the opportunity to let Zach die because their relationship wasn't as happy as she made it out to be, but the suicide angle is a strong second contender.

By far, the most contrived scenes this week were the constant interruptions by Nathan's gaggle of fans who came calling in pairs of two and squealed at the top of their lungs like preteens at their first boy-band concert. Also, Nathan, not Maxie, should have slammed the door shut in teenybopper #3's face when she snidely told Maxie that Nathan's too good for his wife. Were we seriously to believe that Nathan would just stand idly by while someone insulted his wife like that? No way.

It's absolutely preposterous to suggest that Maxie would have an issue about this trivial Man Landers nonsense after everything that she and Nathan have been through. Maxie moaning and groaning about some silly fans showing up on her doorstep and Nathan's occasional promotional appearances are not amusing or entertaining.

If this doesn't turn into a Fatal Attraction storyline with Amy starring as the bunny-boiling psycho, then please, let's end this ridiculous storyline and move on. The actors and the characters deserve better.

My favorite development this week was Kristina's decision to move to Oregon with Parker. Good riddance. If I lived in Port Charles, I would have volunteered to help her pack.

Without a shred of evidence, Kristina decided that Alexis was the one who had reported Parker to the dean because Alexis dislikes Parker and doesn't approve of the relationship. Never mind that Parker did, in fact, violate the school's policy by getting mixed up with Kristina before Kristina dropped out, underscoring one of the reasons why there's a policy prohibiting teachers from dating students or that there was an entire campus full of people who might have done the deed. Kristina decided that Alexis was guilty then promptly blasted her in such a hateful and venomous way that I truly wonder if Kristina even loves her mother.

I hate that side of Kristina because she's the last person who should be judging anyone, much less making unfounded accusations. I will be delighted to see Kristina and Parker fly off into the sunset together.

Who is Oscar's father? There's a good chance the daddy is one of our leading men, so my first thought was Dante.

Why wouldn't Sonny and Carly go to the church where Morgan's grave is to light a candle and talk to their son? It seemed odd that they honored him in the hospital's chapel.

Didn't Laura move to Paris for the experimental LS-49 treatment when she emerged from her catatonic state? She was there for years before she returned to Port Charles, so how could she not have understood what Kevin said to her in French? Even if she didn't master the language, she should have had a basic grasp of it.

I was a bit surprised how quickly Jason was able to pull up a picture of Huxley on his phone. It was almost as if he'd had it saved in his album, which is just peculiar if that was the case.

I think a lot of viewers were disappointed with Nik's turn to the "dark side" starting with rigging the election, which Felicia legally won and then he got worse. I know I was. However, I sense that they may be making Val into a "Luke Spencer" type of anti-hero possibly due to the unexpected popularity of James Patrick [Stuart]. However, I feel that to accomplish this they need to recast Nik to get his murder off his back. -- Dreyne Smith

It's funny when you think about it, but if any woman on the show is a Black Widow, it's SAM! She's admitted doing things FAR worse than anything Nelle has only been ACCUSED of, INCLUDING killing one of her wealthy husbands/marks/victims, supposedly in self-defense. -- Scrimmage

"Ask Man Landers" was cute at first but it's getting old, hope they end it soon with a good note for Amy's brother. I love Valentin and Nina together, I sure hope they keep them that way, they are so good together!!!! -- disqus704a

Whenever I hear Sonny, Carly, Sam or Kristina slam Ava or Julian all I can think is that Sonny is a cold-blooded murderer, AJ and the mob boss he shot for JUST 2. Julian and Ava at least have remorse for their crimes and the pain they have caused. Sonny and Carly justify the pain they cause other people in the name of love of family. Next to AJ's murder his worst crime was his brainwashing of Jason. To hear him and Carly talk you'd have thought the Q's were all serial killers and not a dysfunctional family. Instead of helping Jason he twisted him and made him a criminal, a killer and deprived him of a relationship with his family. -- Doreen2

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

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