Playing with fire and trying not to get burned

The flames of retribution burned on Spoon Island while Carly endured another kind of hell at Ferncliff, thanks to Mary Pat -- and Dr. Lazarus. Who is the mysterious doctor, and what will happen to Peter? Will he be consumed by the fire or rise from the ashes a new man?

Folks, Mike's story is killing me. There is so much about what he's going through that resonates with me because my own father struggles with a myriad of serious health issues that makes each moment that we still have him more precious than the last. It's hard. It's hard on my dad, and it's hard on those who love him because we are powerless to fix things. It's a horrible feeling.

I know Sonny's pain and his frustration. I live it every day, so watching it unfold with Mike and Sonny (different illness, same eventual outcome) leaves me sobbing at times, but surprisingly, the story also helps me. I find a measure of comfort and some assurance when I see Sonny struggle with some of the same things that I do. It lets me know that my feelings are not strange or bad and that I'm not alone. On a day when things can be overwhelming, it helps to see a scene where you can go, "Yes, exactly! That's exactly how I feel!"

I've had several of those moments during Sonny and Mike's scenes over the past couple of months.

I just wish the writers hadn't inserted that stupid body from Croton into this storyline because it's completely unnecessary. It's not like Sonny will ever be convicted of anything and sent to jail to serve his time, which means that the body is much ado about nothing. Mike and Sonny's story is compelling enough to stand on its own without throwing in a hide-and-seek game with a skeleton involving a bunch characters that no one has heard of prior to now.

The only shocking revelation to come out of this mess was Jason's quick assurance that he would kill Julian if Sonny deems it necessary.

What?

At first, I thought I had missed something, but I rewound my DVR, and sure enough, Jason agreed to kill Julian to keep the secret about the body buried under the pub's foundation. Julian. Sam's father. Danny's grandfather. Jason didn't blink or take a moment to ponder the consequences of such an action, he simply nodded and promised Sonny that he would leave it up to the boss to decide. I was stunned.

It's true that Sam doesn't give two hoots about Julian, and she has absolutely no desire to have a relationship with him because of what he did to her mother. However, I seriously doubt that Sam would be okay with Jason popping a couple of caps into her father then dumping his body in the nearest woods.

But not in Croton! Never in Croton. Please, for the love of soaps, stay out of Croton.

The fact that Jason didn't even consider Sam's feelings on the matter said a lot about his priorities and where she stands. I don't think Sam is quite prepared for that. It was different when it was just her, and children were something they just dreamed about having in the future. She has two very real kids now, and they are her priority. Danny loves Julian, as do Alexis, Lucas, and Leo. People Sam loves dearly would be affected by Julian's death, so she's definitely not going to be okay with Jason gunning down her father simply for having the misfortune of buying a bar that had a body buried under it.

Jason clearly thrives on being a mob enforcer, and it's a role that he has no intention of giving up. Eventually, his sons will realize what he does, just like Michael, Morgan, Kristina, Molly, and Josslyn each had figured out what Sonny did by the time they had entered middle school. It's only a matter of time before that happens, and I don't think Sam is going to feel comfortable with Jason's lifestyle once she has to explain it to their son. Again, Sonny and Carly's children are proof that it's impossible to keep dad's occupation hidden forever.

As long as Jason remains Sonny's right-hand man, I think he's better off being a weekend dad type. It's better suited for his lifestyle and at least the children will understand that there's a high price to be paid for Jason's choices. Frankly, I'm tired of seeing the mob lifestyle glorified. It's not realistic. Even Tony Soprano saw a therapist.

Speaking of criminal fathers, Liesl finally decided to make Peter pay for his father's sins. She appeared in the doorway of the barn, clutching a Molotov cocktail in her tight little fist, while carrying on about how she'd been a crushing disappointment to her parents and to Faison. As Liesl rambled on about sending Peter to hell, it became clear to me that Liesl had well and truly snapped.

A sane Liesl would never have run out of that barn and left Nina behind. She loves her niece, and she knew what Nina meant to Nathan.

I firmly believe that Liesl suffered a breakdown because she not only lost her beloved child for whom she had sacrificed so much, but she lost him at the hands of the man she loved more than herself, who also died just mere hours after their son. Learning that Peter was Faison's son with Anna, the woman that Liesl despised with every fiber of her being, was just too much. Liesl lost it, and everything that followed has been the result of that descent into madness.

I love Liesl, and Kathleen Gati is one of my favorite actresses, so I do not want to see Liesl carted off to jail, never to be seen again. If ever there was a temporary insanity case, it's Liesl's situation. Kathleen's scenes with Michelle Stafford were some of the best I've seen, and it broke my heart to hear their grief-stricken confessions. I am rooting for both Nina and Liesl to get out of this mess with as few repercussions as possible. Peter can earn himself major brownie points by refusing to press charges. Honestly, it would be the compassionate thing to do -- and it would honor his brother's memory.

But first, Peter has to make it out of the burning barn. Valentin not only failed to help, but he also failed to tell anyone where Peter was. Will Peter rescue himself, or will Finn score some points with Anna by saving her baby boy? My money is on the latter.

Lucky for Nina, Valentin figured things out and rushed to Spoon Island just in time to save his lady love from a horrific death. Unfortunately, Valentin promptly mucked everything up by lying to Nina when she asked if he'd seen Peter. Was he ashamed that he didn't run back in to save Peter or were his intentions more nefarious? I honestly don't understand why Valentin would lie when he'd just done a heroic deed by saving Nina.

I don't think anyone would begrudge Valentin for choosing to rescue Nina over Peter, and I doubt anyone would blame him for not wanting to run back into a blazing inferno, so why not just admit that he saw Peter inside? At least give Finn the chance to run in and save Peter if Finn were so inclined. Lying made Valentin look bad, especially since he's responsible for Anna's disappearance. At least, I assume he is, because Valentin's henchman picked up Anna in a limo, and Finn hasn't heard from her since she left for the airport.

I have no idea why Valentin does the things he does, but I suspect that it's in his nature to self-sabotage. He had a clean slate with Nina, no secrets, lies, or bombshells waiting to drop until he decided to have Anna abducted. Now, he's added another lie to the endless list that he's told Nina. Nothing has changed, which is sad because I really was hoping that Valentin could somehow redeem himself by saving the day and choosing a different path, but a leopard doesn't change his spots.

Valentin will always be his own worst enemy.

Carly's worst enemy at present isn't Nelle; it's Mary Pat and the mysterious Dr. Lazarus who prescribes his patients powerful sedatives without even a passing glance at said patients. Apparently, the word of the nurse who was on the losing end of an altercation with a patient can make the call, which means that Dr. Lazarus is likely not one of the good guys.

I find it strange that Kevin would suddenly go on vacation to visit Laura in Paris without talking to Carly or Sonny about it. Even more odd is the fact that Mary Pat is still at work mere hours after being injected with a sedative herself. Aren't there laws against things like that? I'm surprised that Diane didn't head straight to the courthouse to file a lawsuit against Ferncliff for allowing its staff to work under the influence of drugs.

While Carly is confined to a straitjacket in a padded cell, Michael is hoping that he can continue to gaslight Nelle until he's able to safeguard his child and send Nelle off to jail for attempted murder. So far, so good. Nelle overheard a rather loud conversation between Michael and Jason outside her hospital room as they discussed Michael's plans to cut Nelle out of the will and divorce her after the baby is born. Nelle tried to manipulate a couple of Jason's secrets out of Drew that she hoped to use to take down Jason, but Drew was onto her, prompting her to resort to Plan B.

At the end of Friday's show, Nelle called Chase to let him know that he was right about Michael -- and she needed out of her marriage. I want to believe that Michael and Chase will be able to pull off their plan to fake Michael's death before Nelle catches wind of things, but this is a soap opera, so I fully expect things to go awry in spectacular fashion. There's been way too much buildup for Nelle to go out meekly with a whimper.

Something big is going to happen, and I, for one, am looking forward to it.

I find it strange that there are no security cameras on the docks near the boat launches and harbor master's office, especially given how often people are attacked on the docks and fall into the water.

Great minds think alike! I wondered the same thing that Diane did; how can Carly's victim still be in charge of medicating her? Nothing about Mary Pat is professional, including her reluctance to let Carly's attorney see her client.

Why doesn't the back room in Wyndemere's stables have a fire extinguisher and security cameras, given all the hostages that have been kept there over the past decade?

Milo's scene with Mike and Sonny was both beautiful, and bittersweet. It boggled my mind that, after all these years, TPTB were actually giving Milo a backstory. Who knew that he and Max were only half-brothers? Not me! That only makes their bond even MORE special. Take THAT, Finn and Chase!! -- Scrimmage

Just because Nelle says it, doesn't make it true. Nelle basically admitted she fell on purpose when she nearly lost it talking to Brad a few weeks back. Just because she says otherwise to Ava doesn't mean squat. This woman lies with ease and she clearly doesn't given two cents for the baby she's carrying. It's only and all about getting Michael and destroying Carly no matter what. -- JMOM

Was I the only one who was surprised when Cameron suddenly appeared as a teenager? I just was not expecting it at all. GH has had some good teen storylines in the past, so I'm hoping that whatever they have planned for Joss, Cam, Oscar is interesting. -- lk

How did Andrew Moore suddenly become Andrew Cain if he was raised in a "foundling home"? As I have often stated, Drew needs to be more pro-active in finding out about his past, "Google, Drew. Google." Find your birth certificate and school records with names, addresses and parents/guardians and work from there. Forget about having some sci-fi memory chip inserted into your brain. -- Dreyne Smythe

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

Take care and happy viewing,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.