Sorry seems to be the hardest word

Heartache abounds as some wallow in grief, others are tormented by secrets, and still others struggle with their insecurities. It's a sad, sad situation, and it's getting more and more absurd.

Before I dive this into this week's trials and tribulations of the good people of Port Charles, I'd like to take a moment to applaud the writers for the outstanding episode on Friday, February 9, 2018, when Nathan was laid to rest. It was beautifully written from beginning to end. Tears sprang to my eyes the moment that Jordan solemnly broadcast Nathan's "End of Watch Call," and I wept as Maxie pulled out the sonogram picture with Nathan's blood splattered on it. By the time everyone was assembled at the cemetery, I was well into the ugly-cry, thanks in large part to Nina's emotional eulogy.

The end of the episode, when Lulu finally offered her condolences to Maxie, was a perfect setup for the next day and the showdown that was to come.

"You should be sorry. You killed him," Maxie snapped at Lulu, who returned Maxie's furious glare with an expression of stunned disbelief. It was as if Maxie's anger had completely blindsided Lulu.

My brother is a police officer, so this storyline hit very close to home. Up until the episode aired, I had serious doubts that I could even watch the funeral because I know what's it's like to live with the fear of getting that phone call and how your heart leaps into your throat whenever you hear about a fallen officer on the news because, in that moment of sheer panic, you wonder if the worst has happened and no one was able to reach you. I'm incredibly proud of my brother, but I would be lying if I didn't admit that I wish he'd chosen a safer career path.

I sobbed during Nathan's funeral, and I couldn't take my eyes off the coffin draped with an American flag because I kept thinking about my brother, who welcomed his first child just two short months ago. It was surreal, and Spinelli's stirring rendition of "Danny Boy" completely did me in.

I know it's early in the year, but I would definitely keep that episode handy when the Emmys roll around.

Now, on to Maxie and Lulu.

I suspected that Maxie would blame Lulu because this is a soap opera, and Maxie had been furious at Lulu when she first found out about the plan to flush Faison out of hiding.

Maxie is grieving, so it makes sense that she would revert to the initial anger that she had felt. She's overwhelmed with loss, and the rage offers her a buffer from the despair. As long as she's angry and has a target for that anger, she doesn't have to deal with the fact that Nathan was a willing participant in the events that led to his death.

There was a bit of painful truth in what Maxie said to Lulu, though. I don't blame Lulu for Nathan's death, but Maxie was right about Lulu rushing headfirst into situations without always considering the ramifications. Also, Lulu should have apologized, even if she wasn't in the wrong, because it was what Maxie needed to hear.

What Maxie didn't need to hear was for Lulu to defend herself. Not then. Not yet.

Lulu needs to apologize because Maxie is her best friend, and Maxie is hurting. It's not about being right, it's about doing the right thing.

Later, after the storm settles and the grief becomes more bearable, Maxie and Lulu can talk things out and put things into perspective. It's only when they can each accept that the only person responsible for what happened to Nathan was his father, Faison, that they will each find some measure of peace. Again, Nathan was a police officer. His job was to catch the bad guys, so Lulu going to Nathan for help wasn't a silly thing to do.

Speaking of Faison, his last will and testament was read on Friday, and not surprisingly, he had a few tricks left up his sleeve. He offered Drew the key to regaining his memories, and he offered Henrik on a silver platter to Jason, but with a caveat -- one of the twins must die for the other to get what he seeks.

The will claims that everything is locked up nice and tight in Faison's safe somewhere in Denmark and that the executor of the will keep watch over it until the terms of the will are met. Outraged, Anna demanded to know if was even legal to set a stipulation like that in a will, but I wondered why it even mattered. Now that Jason and Drew know there's a safe and that said safe holds all the answers to their questions, what's to stop them from joining forces and going after the safe and/or its contents? Surely a mob enforcer/deadly assassin and Navy SEAL are up to the task.

A little adventure could be a good bonding experience for the twins, and I do want Jason and Drew to eventually bond. I hated that Jason and A.J. never made peace, so I don't want to watch Jason have another dysfunctional relationship with a brother. Well, at least not more dysfunctional than it already is.

I really dislike Drew being made to look like a jealous lunatic while Jason stands there, blinking innocently, as if he would be okay with his wife snuggled up next to her ex and their child, reading bedtime stories, while he was left waiting in the car.

Who does that? Apparently, Sam.

I'm getting quite frustrated with Sam because she seems to be genuinely in love with Drew and happy in their marriage -- until she looks at Jason. Then she turns into a tongue-tied, doe-eyed, swooning damsel. It's no wonder that Jason can't let go because he sees the same thing that I do, and it's clear that it makes him wonder if maybe, just maybe, there's a chance that she wants Jason, not Drew.

I fully expected a triangle between Drew, Sam, and Jason, but I didn't expect the writing to be so heavy-handed. Obviously, we are supposed to see that all those people -- Carly, Sonny, Robin, Diane, and Spinelli -- are right about Sam marrying Drew out of obligation rather than true love. Never mind that none of those people has spent any significant time with Sam and Drew since Jason returned, and the only conversations they've had with Sam have been one-sided lectures about how Sam is lying to herself about being in love with Drew.

If Jason and Sam are the endgame, then the writers made a grave mistake having Sam marry Drew. Making him the bad guy to justify Sam running into Jason's arms will only compound that mistake. These are supposed to be adults, not high schoolers.

While Jason and Drew are busy trying to decide what their next move is, the gleam in Anna's eye when she heard that Faison's safe contains information about Henrik suggested that she already knows what hers will be. Her first stop after leaving Diane's office is likely to be Denmark. Then again, we have no idea what Faison has in store for Anna come Monday, but it's a safe bet that it's not going to be anything good.

Did Faison know the truth about Henrik? Unlikely. I can't see Faison sitting on that information when he could have easily used it to his advantage years ago. Anna would have done anything that Faison asked if she knew that the son she had tried to safeguard from his father had ended up in the monster's clutches.

However, it turns out that Faison wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed. After all, this was a guy who decided to confront a son he'd only learned about from a newspaper article without bothering to find out what Nathan looked like before hunting him down. I guess Helena truly was the brains of the operation.

That brings me to the other Cassadine who has reared his devious head in this twisted tale of secrets past -- Valentin.

Was Valentin telling the truth about the midwife? Is it possible that he only now realizes there's a good chance that the midwife lied and that the baby Anna gave birth to might be Peter? Or did Valentin lie, and he was the one who delivered Peter into Faison's hands? A lot of possibilities, most of them ending badly for Valentin when Anna realizes that he knew where to find her son and didn't tell her.

Valentin and Nina's sudden getaway is also pretty suspicious now that we know there's an association between Valentin and Peter. Did Valentin leave Wyndemere vacant that fateful weekend because he knew there was a good chance that Faison would use it as his home base when he returned to confront Nathan? If so, Valentin might have bigger problems to deal with than an angry mama bear looking for her cub. There's a very strong likelihood that Nina will walk out on Valentin and never look back if there is even the slightest of chances that he had a part in luring Faison to Port Charles.

Nina wouldn't forgive that. Ever.

Folks, I have to admit that my first impression of Max Gail as Mike Corbin wasn't favorable because he seemed nervous, unsure of himself, and not at all like Ron Hale's version. However, it soon became clear that all of it was intentional. It wasn't Max who was fidgety, anxious, and confused; it was Mike. Once that sank in, I was hooked.

Max is doing a fantastic job of portraying a man struggling with his memory, who recognizes that something is clearly wrong, yet he's too terrified to admit it because the possibilities of what could be ailing him are frightening.

Max has such an expressive face that it's hard not to get choked up each time fear crosses his expression as Mike is faced with a confusing situation.

Ironically, I recently read a news article about research targeting a certain enzyme that could completely reverse the buildup of plaque on the brain, which is a key component to Alzheimer's. The timing of this type of storyline couldn't be more ideal, if that is the direction they are going in.

Finally, Nelle put her plans for Carly into motion, but what that plan is remains to be seen. Nelle has been full of impressive promises and dire predictions but very short on details. From what I can tell, it has something to do with having a "man" terrorize Carly, but I'm not sure how that benefits Nelle. Everyone around Carly is exceedingly protective of her, and Sonny has access to people like Brick and Spinelli. If someone starts stalking Carly, then the family will close ranks to keep her safe.

Not that it really matters because Nelle has embraced her crazy with both arms and is writing her own reality as she goes along. She believes that Michael is in love with her and that they can live happily ever after, raising their baby together, once Carly is out of the way. She's also promising to pave the way for Ava to be reunited with Avery while using Ava's laptop to create the voice that she's using to take down Carly. Rounding out Nelle's list of achievements this week was her impressive manipulation of Monica when she pitted Monica against Carly.

I'm enjoying watching Nelle unravel. She's so much more interesting.

Why would Spinelli take someone that he suspects has alcohol poisoning home instead of to the nearest emergency room?

Amy has some nerve, pointing fingers at Ava. Sure, Ava has done all manner of terrible things, but Amy's hands aren't exactly clean. Not that long ago, Amy stole a man's identity then defrauded thousands of readers, so she has no room to judge anyone.

What's with the circa 1980s recorder that Nelle is using? Couldn't she achieve the same effect with more efficiency on a burner phone?

It's just so weird that first, TPTB let Nikolas go, then they blew up Morgan, unceremoniously kicked Hayden (and her pregnancy storyline) to the curb, wrapped up the Cassandra/Opioids storyline at warp speed, and then they wrote Laura off the show, right in the middle of a promising mayoral campaign storyline, and now Nathan's dead and gone before Maxie's even halfway through her pregnancy with his child! Usually, when they drop storylines and characters, it doesn't make as loud of a "THUD!" as all those did. Then they brought back Julian, added Peter, and now they're bringing back MIKE?? Sometimes this show reminds me of the Haunted Star on New Year's Eve. It's just wandering aimlessly out to sea, and nobody's steering the boat. - Scrimmage

I'm in line to blame Lulu. Faison may have pulled the trigger, but it was Lulu who came up with the idea for Nathan to go public and wrote the article believing that somehow she -- the 5 minute career journalist -- could take down an internationally hunted felon that has eluded every law enforcement team for years. Lulu is beyond stupid. -- Lisa Echerd

I cracked up when Peter pulled that lighter fluid out of his pocket. My Dad used to keep lighter fluid in his desk drawer. He quit using it in 1989 and the desk STILL smells like lighter fluid! - Debbie

How is it possible that Carly is getting more annoying as the weeks go by? I didn't think she could reach this level of being a gnat you just want to swat at over and over again. I give my credit to Laura Wright because she is an amazing actress and the fact that I have such strong feelings about Carly being intolerable means she is good at what she does. Her goading Nelle with being in a mental institution I am not even going to address given her history as well as her son and husbands struggle with bipolar. -- BCAD

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

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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