Cults, cancer, and eye-popping casting news

The Dawn Of Day cult took center stage this week on General Hospital with their creepy potions and ugly garments, but that's not all! Oscar's cancer is progressing, and hearts are breaking. Casting shakeups are making us wonder who will still live in Port Charles next week! Let's unpack all this baggage in Two Scoops!

Dear Readers, I want to start this week with a couple of love letters.

First up, Eden McCoy. I remember when they first SORAS'd Josslyn. I thought Eden was hired solely because of her uncanny resemblance to the stunning Laura Wright. Her looks may have had something to do with it, but dang, that girl can act her butt off.

She has been showcasing her power this past week, especially in interactions with Oscar and Carly -- every scene is so spot-on. Josslyn's fear, strength, love, and loss are pouring out of her eyes. I can barely look at her without crying right now. When Oscar eventually dies, I am convinced that Eden is going to keep me mourning for a fictional GH character as I was when B.J. died and when Stone died. I thought that Oscar might get a last-minute miracle, but I fear the time for miracles has run out. The scene where Josslyn asked Oscar what he wanted to do with the rest of his life, and he patted the bed, and she lay down beside him was tear city in my house.

At least he will get the wish of his family reuniting together in the Q mansion, if only for a moment. Garren Stitt is holding his own, playing a dying teen with all the emotion that entails. I wonder if he had any idea this is where the story would go when he first signed on to work at GH? How will this end? Will Oscar die? Miracle Cure? How will this story unfold? Do you think that Drew and Kim will end up together (and potentially make a new baby)? Will Charlie get left by the wayside? Will Josslyn eventually end up with Cameron? I'm anxious to see how this all unfolds. I'll keep tissues handy.

Readers, if you have read this column for any length of time, you know I have MAD LOVE for Michelle Stafford. Before she was in Port Charles, I watched her for years as Phyllis on The Young and the Restless. When I heard that GH snagged her for the role of Nina, I was downright giddy.

Do you have an actor that just mesmerizes you? In the music realm, for me, it was Prince. I couldn't take my eyes off of him. In the soap world, I've had a few over the years, like Tony Geary, Roger Howarth (God help me, I even liked him as Todd Manning,) Genie Francis, and Michelle Stafford.

That's the short list. Truthfully, I have loved many daytime actors and the genre itself. But let's be honest, sometimes they are in dreadfully dull storylines. I get bored quickly and fast-forward past snooze-y scenes. But I *never* fast-forward Michelle's scenes because she doesn't do snooze-y. She can take any plot and make me care about it by the sheer strength of her spirit. She's electric.

In my opinion, Michelle is irreplaceable. She left Y&R, and Gina Tognini stepped in -- and she is excellent, but she wasn't the whirlwind Phyllis that I had known and loved for years. I loved Cynthia Watros on Lost, and I'm sure she will do a great job on GH, but Nina won't be Nina anymore. I have to train my mind not to compare the two of them and just treat her like an entirely different character.

I'm lucky because I watch both shows, so I can still get my Michelle fix. I'm sad for all the people at GH who love her and happy for all the people at Y&R who adore her, and I'm hoping that Cynthia has any chemistry at all with James Patrick Stuart, because I want my Nina and Valentin.

Valentin will have his hands full this summer with Nu-Nina, fake daughter Sasha, angry nephew Spencer, repressed bully Charlotte, mad Grandma Laura, absent Lulu, and suspicious Peter on his trail.

It's going to be hard for me to see him looking at someone else with the passion he has for Nina. His eyes might be the only thing that could convince me to accept someone new in the role.

On the flip side, I feel bad for Gina Tognini, who just lost the role of Phyllis over at Y&R. I thought it would be sheer poetry if Gina got the role of Nina, but truthfully, I don't know if she has the tenderness required. The thing about Michelle (yes, I am back to her) is that she does both fierce and vulnerable with equal perfection.

Okay, readers, let's get down to it... Casting news aside, the big story this week was all things CULT. Dawn of Day ruled the show all week long, with brief breaks for Oscar's cancer and Ryan's severed hand.

Kristina was all set to take part in Shiloh's creepy ritual and get branded as one of his "Trust" members, but Jason liberated her against her will. Why do you suppose Shiloh and Harmony are so afraid about her taking the cup? What did they drug her with, anyway? Date rape drugs? LSD? Iocaine powder? Did they make her swallow a tracking device? I don't know what was in that cup, but I am intrigued to find out.

The whole cult story is hard to watch. There are so many lost souls out there, searching for someplace to fit in, to feel they belong, and there are so many people willing to take advantage of them.

Shiloh is such a creep, but he's also so charming and likable that I almost find myself getting sucked in! "Well, maybe they have it all wrong, maybe he is a nice guy." I know better, but I want to believe the best of people. Sometimes, Shiloh is so warm, supportive, and caring to Sam, Kristina, Oscar, and others, I have to remind myself that ultimately, he is evil. Consider how he turned the cold shoulder to Daisy and made her grovel to get back in his good graces. Consider his creepy visits to Willow. "Oh, right, he's a bad guy." But I have to keep reminding myself.

Side note: Haley Pullos' scenes this week were stellar. Give us way more Molly, please.

Kristina was rescued (or kidnapped) and is being held against her will in Sonny's safehouse. Here's how deeply she is in this -- even after having been drugged and knocked out cold by DOD, she is still fighting the notion that Dawn of Day is not good for her!

Hey, girls -- HOT TIP: if someone has to drug you and make you pass out and do creepy rituals to win their approval, you do not want their support.

I'm afraid for Sam right now. Sam is pretending she doesn't know what's going on with Kristina, but because she and Jason keep having their supposedly private conversations out loud in public places, I fear Shiloh will catch on to the fact that she played him. If so, what will he do? Drug her? Make her put on that skeevy burlap dress? Will he have Harmony mix up her witch's brew for Sam to drink? Put his brand on Sam's back? Rape her? It's hard to tell how far he will go if he feels he has been betrayed.

I can't decide on Neil. Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Is he on Sonny's side, or is he a DOD plant? I have been suspicious of him from day one, but I can't decide if my spidey senses are onto something or if I have just become cynical in my old age. What do you think, readers? Yay or nay?

Another burning question: is Anna really Robin's mom? If not, if the writers have decided to rewrite decades of GH history, I am going to be highly irritated. If the story is Anna is afraid of what is true and what isn't, okay, fine, I will go along on that ride. If the story is "Everything you have believed all these years is a lie, and Robin isn't Anna's daughter," then the powers that be should be prepared for a lot of incensed soap viewers making angry phone calls to their office. (Which they won't answer.) And relentless online campaigns. (Which they will ignore. Julexis, anyone?)

We don't have a say in how this story unfolds, but I hope that Anna's worst fears are wrong and that Robert and Anna are indeed Robin's biological parents. Any other outcome is totally unacceptable to me. If they want to mess with a parental issue, make Peter be Alex's son. It would make sense that Alex would sleep with Faison. I hereby give you permission to make Anna Peter's aunt.

Finn rehearsed his proposal on a skeleton, which I guess is a step up from the bearded dragon, but I wish he'd just propose to the real flesh-and-blood Anna. But the timing has been off, and he's not the kind of guy to grab her arm and say "Listen, woman, I need your attention for five minutes. I am trying to propose over here."

But readers, we can't forget the thing we know that Finn doesn't know... Somewhere out there is Hayden with Finn's kid. She left him messages, which he didn't respond to, but this is GH, and May sweeps are coming -- there is a strong possibility that Hayden will show up. Rebecca Buddig posted on social media back in November that she'd "see us next year for a few episodes." So now it's next year, right? Is Hayden just stopping by to drop her kid off for Finn to raise? If so, does Anna want to be a stepmom? Does Robin want a little sibling younger than her kids? Hayden's bombshell will absolutely impact Finn and Anna's future, but when that will happen and how, I have no idea, just speculation.

My years of soap viewing say it will be either right before (or right after) Anna and Finn tie the knot. What do you think about this, readers? Would you welcome Hayden's return, or do you want her to stay put?

A fun twist would be if she showed up with Nikolas Cassadine on her arm and we found out the two of them had been in hiding together all this time and raising Finn's kid together. Isn't it time for Nikolas to come home? And Lucky, too. C'mon home, boys; Laura and Lulu need you. I know I keep saying this, but it keeps being true.

Another gal who needs a man to lean on right now is Ava. The plan that Felicia, Laura, and Ava came up with to use Ava as bait to make Ryan jealous is dangerous, but Ava is willing. Rumor has it she is going to tap Scott to be her fake boyfriend. I confess, I wish he were her real boyfriend. I really like the two of them together.

Of course, I also liked Scott with Laura back in the day, with Lucy, with Dominique, with Bobbie -- and I guess the bottom line is that I just love me some Kin Shriner. I have been watching him on GH since way back, and I wish Scott had love in his life. The character of Scott has been a hero, a villain, and everything in between, but no matter which side of the line he is dancing on, I always root for him. Kin Shriner's humor and charm pierce through any cockamamie thing Scotty Baldwin does and makes me want Scott to be happy.

No one talks about Dominique much, but the love story between Scott and Dominique is one of the sweetest love stories ever on GH. A sad story, but so much tenderness. Watch this scene for yourself and tell me I'm wrong.

Could Ava be Scott's next great love? Are they both capable of redemption? I think Griffin was a little too holy for Ava. Lucy and Scott had promise, but she is in love with Doc. I think Scott and Ava are a good match. They both want to be better people but sometimes can't quite hit the mark. I love them both, in all their flawed glory. However, I don't want Ava to get Scott killed as bait for Ryan, because I have no doubt that Ryan can still stab with his one attached hand.

And what about that... So, Ryan is out wandering the streets of Canada with one bloody, severed arm? I know they have free health care in Canada, but if Ryan showed up with a missing limb, wouldn't the Canadian hospital alert the authorities in the US? "Hey, we got one of your boys up here, and he seems a little off. I think this guy cut off his own arm. He keeps babbling about some broad named Ava. Maybe some sort of van Gogh thing. Is anyone looking for a one-armed fugitive?"

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Maxie and Peter seal the deal? Will Dr. O work up a snazzy surprise number for the Nurses Ball? Will Molly forgive her sister for pretending to be a cult member and not filling her in? Will Dante get un-brainwashed and come home to Lulu, or does she need to find a new love interest? Will Brad finally have to admit that Wiley is Michael's kid before Shiloh tattoos the baby?

Will Ava, Laura, and Felicia start a support group called AKBASK (almost killed by a serial killer)? Will you rejoice with me in the One Life to Live and All My Children references on GH this week -- like a nod to Billy Clyde Tuggle (AMC) and Destiny (OLTL)? Will I ever find a gym like Sonny's where there are only ever two people working out at once? (Sign me up!) Will Port Charles be okay with the fact that their D.A. is possibly a cult member? Will Jordan realize that if her job might be negatively impacting her health and endangering her life that she could...quit?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.Tamilu

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.