Revenge to the highest bidder

Enemies became frenemies to take down a couple of bad boys, heroic acts masked some dastardly deeds for two, and villains conspired to stir up trouble. Throw a log on the fire, grab a nice hot beverage, and get ready to unwrap all the twists and turns of another exciting week in Port Charles.

Don't you hate it when your hit man doesn't take your call? Peter sure does, because that was his plight this week as he tried to stop hit man #2 from killing Andre and Franco before Andre could undo the mess that Shiloh created. Apparently, Anna's little talk about holding onto the one that Peter loves -- even if he had to fight himself -- sunk in just in the nick of time. Unfortunately, hit man #2 was too busy attaching a huge silencer to his gun before storming the operating room to kill Andre, so he missed Peter's call.

Luckily, Andre isn't just an incredibly handsome face. He was able to fight off the hit man until Peter arrived to save the day, but I found myself a little confused by some of the events that transpired afterwards. Why did Peter throw away the silencer? Why take the risk, especially since most hospitals are equipped with security cameras pretty much everywhere? I didn't understand why Peter was even concerned about the silencer because it's not like Andre hasn't been targeted by a hit man before. Trying to make it look like a random stranger tried to kill Andre was stupid.

Also, a handkerchief from your pocket might wipe away fingerprints, but there's also a strong likelihood that it will leave trace DNA evidence behind. I watch the ID channel.

While Peter braces for Franco to wake up and remember that Peter was Helena's partner, not henchman, Liz is singing Peter's accolades for saving Franco. Meanwhile, FrankenDrew keeps us waiting with bated breath, wondering if he will open his eyes as Franco Baldwin or Drew Cain -- or if he'll even emerge from his deep sleep.

I don't think it will come as a shock to anyone that I'm hoping for Franco Baldwin to wake up. Not because I'm a huge fan of Franco's -- I'm not -- but I didn't like this bait-and-switch with Franco for Drew from the onset. It felt like a cheap parlor trick, and I hated how almost everyone -- on the show -- readily accepted Franco as Drew and how some even suggested that it was for the better.

It made no sense, and still doesn't, so I'm eager to put this whole FrankenDrew mess in the past. Good riddance, I hope.

Not that Peter's problems end with Franco. Even if Franco wakes up with none of Drew's memories, hit man #2 lived, and Jason filled Anna in on Peter's connection to Bryce Henderson (hit man #1) and Shiloh. It appears that Peter's days are numbered in Port Charles. True, Ryan killed Bryce, but Anna is bound to find the money trail to the person that Peter paid off to arrange for Bryce to room with a serial killer. If she finds that, then she's likely to find the connection between Peter and hit man #2. It appears that all things lead to Pentonville.

However, what truly sealed Peter's fate was Maxie. Maxie channeling her inner Pollyanna and telling everyone how wonderful Peter is, how happy they were, and how he had completely turned his life around was the kiss of death that doomed their relationship and Peter's redemption. I've been watching soaps long enough to recognize the signs that Maxie is going to end up with egg all over her face in the very near future.

Honestly, I still don't understand what the big deal is about FrankenDrew "remembering" that Peter was Helena's partner. Everyone in that town knows that Helena never had partners because she was in a league of evil all her own. At best, she had temporary alliances. Plus, the conversation between Anna and Jason illustrated that it's not a secret that Peter kept Jason drugged and hidden for five years to use against Faison. How is learning that Peter at one time foolishly believed that he was Helena's partner worse than that?

Until Peter started hiring hit men to kill people, his redemption had been going pretty smoothly. I'm not sure why he mucked everything up over what is essentially much ado about nothing. Regardless, this is another storyline that appears to be reaching its climax, so we shall learn Peter's fate in the coming weeks. I think that rather than sending Peter to jail, Anna will give him an opportunity to skip town.

I like Wes Ramsey, and I think that Peter could be an interesting villain who periodically returns to stir up trouble in Port Charles. With Helena and most of her minions dead, we need a new generation of interesting and clever villains besides Jerry Jacks to give the heroes and heroines of Port Charles someone to vanquish.

Although, if I had to put money on which bad penny will turn up next, I choose Claudette. Her name has been mentioned quite a bit lately, which usually means an appearance is imminent. Then again, Jax seems pretty certain that Valentin murdered the women and made it look like a suicide. Definitely something in Valentin's wheelhouse, but in Soapland, one has to die like a Highlander or they're not truly dead. Soap characters are hard to kill -- just ask Nikolas.

Valentin might want to hitch a ride with Peter out of town because Nina has decided to join forces with Ava to give the Cassadine boys a little payback. These ladies sure have come a long way from their days of stealing each other's husbands and babies.

I like the idea of Nina and Ava becoming frenemies to deal with Valentin and Nikolas, as long as the codicil strips Valentin of everything and brings Spencer home.

One of my dear friends who watches GH was horrified by what Nikolas did to Ava. I agree; it was pretty despicable to use a mother's grief against her by claiming that her dead child is suffering in hell. That -- and manipulating Hayden to abandon her daughter and leave town -- were definitely not Nikolas' finest moments, but they did drive home to me that Nikolas' latest exile had left its mark on him. He's darker, but who wouldn't be?

Nikolas was forced to sign over everything to Valentin, shot point-blank in the chest, and nearly drowned. That part was very real. Plus, I haven't forgotten that Valentin attempted to abduct Spencer, and he would have succeeded if it hadn't been for Sonny's timely intervention. Would Valentin have killed Spencer? We will never know, but that was certainly the implication. The whole reason that Spencer was forced to go to a boarding school in Europe was because of the danger that Valentin presented to the child, and Nikolas knows this.

We have seen countless examples of how ruthless Valentin can be and to what ends he will go to keep what he believes is his. Valentin is a dangerous man capable of cold-blooded murder, and Nikolas is about to become the key to his downfall. Nikolas' life is on the line, as are the lives of his loved ones. Desperate times call for desperate measures, which is doubly true when Cassadines go up against each other.

I imagine there's also a part of Nikolas that feels that Ava deserved what she got because she had chosen her own vanity over helping Spencer. I don't agree with that sentiment because two wrongs never make a right, but Nikolas does have a vindictive streak, and Spencer is his whole world. If anyone should understand desperation, it's Ava, because she did horrible things to keep Kiki and Morgan apart in the name of protecting her daughter.

At the end of Friday's show, Ava sent out a text message to all the key players in this saga to let them know that she had a special Friday the 13th auction scheduled for the painting of Helena. It's clear that both Nina and Ava do not want the codicil to land in either Valentin or Nikolas' hands, so it's anyone's guess who will end up with the painting or even if the painting will remain intact. I wouldn't put it past Ava to Banksy that portrait of Helena.

It doesn't really matter because the auction means that Laura is about to be reunited with her eldest son. I've been waiting for this moment ever since Nikolas tumbled over the balcony and vanished into the sea. The only thing that I want to see more is Nikolas' reunion with Spencer. Will it be in time for Christmas? I sure hope so.

I am curious to see what happens after the dust settles, because Nikolas was facing some serious legal troubles that prompted him to fake his death and disappear, and I don't think the statutes of limitation have run out on all the crimes. Then again, Hayden was a fugitive of justice, too (she stole money from the hospital), but she returned to town without a knock on the door from Jordan. Will Nikolas be as lucky? Probably not, because Valentin will make sure that if he goes down for attempted murder, then Nikolas will go down with him.

This next chapter is certainly going to be interesting, especially when Nina gives Valentin his walking papers. Will it be at the wedding? The signs suggest that the New Year's Eve wedding will end with Nina ripping Valentin's heart out then stomping on it with her stilettos before waltzing out of the church with Jax -- once again.

Jax's dazzling good looks appeared to have stripped the blinders from Nina's besotted eyes. Not only has she realized that Valentin is never going to be the man that he pretends to be, but she finally accepted what I've long believed was the driving force behind her great love for Valentin -- she fell in love with Valentin and Charlotte as a pair. Valentin knows it, too, which is why he has always dangled Charlotte like a carrot whenever he sensed Nina slipping away. He encourages Charlotte to be closer to Nina than to Lulu because Charlotte is the glue that keeps Nina at his side.

I'm happy that Nina is breaking free because I honestly believe that it's what is best for Charlotte. It bothers me that Charlotte treats Lulu like an aunt rather than a parent because that's not healthy. It's not like Lulu is a terrible mother, because she isn't. She's loving and generous and does her best to keep her kids grounded, which will serve them well through their teen years. Let Nina play the aunt role in Charlotte's life. It suits Nina better, I think.

At GH, Lucas is languishing in a medically induced coma, Brad is on life eight of his nine lives, and Julian is wavering between a mountain of guilt and a good dose of fear that forensics will figure out that he tampered with the brakes of Brad's car.

Like a moth to a flame, Alexis is at Julian's side, trying to comfort him through the hardship. I love Julexis (Julian and Alexis), but let me be very clear, I do not want their reunion like this. Secrets have always been their downfall.

I hate that Julian has imploded his life by tampering with those brakes. I realize that he was trying to get rid of Brad because Brad had made him complicit to Jonah's kidnapping and had threatened to tell Sonny that Julian had known the truth about Jonah/Wiley from the beginning, but there were better ways to deal with all of that than trying to kill Brad.

Simply put, Brad is just not worth it.

Julian should have pulled a page out of Brad's book by recording Brad making those threats and talking about how Nelle schemed with Brad to keep Jonah away from Michael. Afterwards, he should have gone straight to Lucas with the truth about Brad and Jonah.

I really don't know how I want this to play out. A part of me wants Julian to be exposed and to take his licks, but another part of me -- the one that loves William DeVry -- wonders why anyone has to know as long as Lucas makes a full recovery. Almost everyone in Port Charles has done horrible things that they've gotten away with, so why not Julian?

Look at what Brad and Nelle have gotten away with!

It's my hope that Nelle's sojourn from Pentonville will usher an end to the Jonah/Wiley story. It's unlikely that Nelle wanted out to hang out at the hospital to visit with Brad, so I'm guessing that she's going to make a move to snatch Jonah and go on the run. There's also the possibility that Harmony could be the catalyst because she just got out of jail due to prison overcrowding then made a beeline to Willow to discuss repairing their family.

Willow questioned her mother's desire to start fresh, mainly because Lorraine was still calling herself Harmony. Harmony insisted it was because she had done some good things as Harmony that she was proud of. I'm so relieved (heavy sarcasm) that drugging young women and sending them off to be branded and raped didn't eclipse the pride that Harmony took in building a community center for Beechers Corners.

It was at that point that I started to question Harmony's redemption. When Harmony referred to Wiley as her grandson, and Willow had to make it very clear that Wiley was nothing to Harmony, I sensed some foreshadowing. Will Harmony try to abduct Wiley, thinking Willow will happily leave Chase and Port Charles to live with Harmony and Wiley?

Honestly, I just want the truth to come out, and I'm not holding my breath that Lucas is going to wake up remembering Brad's confession right before they crashed.

My favorite moment this week was Valentin arriving at Metro Court Restaurant and seeing Griffin, Jax, Maxie, and Laura gathered at the bar. Valentin's abrupt turnabout was hilarious.

Jax needs to seriously consider investing in a door greeter or sign -- something that will cut down on the people showing up on this doorstep, yelling out their business for the whole neighborhood to hear, while incessantly knocking or ringing his doorbell.

I love Scott and Cameron's relationship! Scott being a grandfather is the best thing ever, and I can't wait for Scott to spend Christmas with his grandsons.

One thing we must always remember about Jason is that he will never be Mr. Mom. I would love to see him switch roles a bit from Stone Cold to Mr. Mom, but I just don't ever see that happening. And it's a shame really because he's got ton of experience raising kids and is good at it. -- Nona

TJ and Molly have been together for a long time now, so the interracial thing has been a part of their relationship for that same period of time. Why should it be any different now that they're getting married? Believe me, as a black woman, I understand that this is an issue and I can understand them wanting to bring something like this up on the show. However, whenever the show decides to bring up racial issues, it always seems very misplaced. This would have had a better impact if we'd seen Molly and TJ deal with the issues of being an interracial couple, but to just throw it in now, it doesn't work -- Marci Robin

Drugging and putting his hands on Sam's naked body without consent would certainly qualify as sexual assault. Not only did Franco make JaSam believe he raped her, which resulted in destroying their marriage and deprived them of the enjoyment of Sam's pregnancy and Danny's birth. IMHO, sexual assault should never be taken lightly in real or reel life. -- Marlene

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

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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