Falling from the sky

Only three days of shows, but a week's worth of action in Port Charles! People falling from the skies into the arms of a prince! Weddings interrupted! People back from the dead! So much to discuss in this week's Two Scoops.

Happy New Year, dear readers!

I hope your new year is off to a better start than that of our friends in Port Charles!

We only had three new episodes this week, but wow, what a lot of action we got packed into those three hours!

The always-stunning Ava was strutting around in her sparkly holiday dress, looking like a million bucks. (When Ava thinks she is winning, she has the worst poker face ever!) She had that Cheshire cat grin, thinking she was in control of Valentin's fate... right before he pushed her off the parapet and into the water below. I didn't see that coming, and I really liked being surprised. But I knew she wasn't dead. Lots of people have tumbled off that ledge before and lived to tell the tale! Apparently, she landed in the strong arms of Prince Cassadine.

I think Ava is my favorite character on GH right now. She is compelling and layered. Ava is powerful and broken all at once. She is confident and afraid all at once. Her emotions are deep and rich and real. Man, I think Maura West needs to be on the big screen. If I ever sell a screenplay, I will insist she is cast as part of my deal. I have seen so many movies with actors who don't possess her range of emotions. I don't want to lose her on GH, but I want to see her win an Oscar, and I really think she could. Question: what do you think Ava's master plan was before she got shoved off the parapet at Wyndemere?

Next up: Sam and Jason tearfully celebrated her parole and having the holidays together as a family. But then...almost immediately, they were told they couldn't be together while Sam is on probation. Readers, I get the need in a soap to create tension to keep things interesting, but I think they have overdone it with Jason and Sam. Ever since Steve Burton returned, the writers took way too long to reunite them, and then continued to place obstacles in their way. It seems "Ja-Sam" barely get one happy day in between. First, Sam was pretending to be into Shiloh so they couldn't be together. Then, she was in jail so they couldn't be together. Now, she's out of jail, but he's a felon, so the parole officer says they can't be together. It's too much. Can they just get a few months of happiness? Can't we see them go on a picnic or a dinner date at Noodle Buddha or anything?

But readers, perhaps there is a master plan in the works. I have a lovely daydream -- maybe the real Drew Cain is still alive out there. Maybe Billy Miller will come home. Perhaps he and Sam can reconnect, since she isn't allowed to see Jason for two years. I really enjoyed Billy and Kelly together -- they were magic. They had great, fun chemistry. Kelly had more light in her eyes when she worked with Billy. Do you agree? Since Peter is going to be busted, someone will need to run Aurora, so perhaps Sam and Drew can take over where they left off. Do you like or hate that idea?

Jason can stay busy consoling Carly after Sonny uses her lies to him about Nikolas as an excuse to sleep with someone else. This one-night stand will inevitably lead to another Corinthos child because of Sonny's magical sperm that can impregnate anyone at any time. But who will he sleep with? We don't have a D.A. who is trying to bring him down or a babysitter who has drugged him. Maybe he will sleep with Sasha, since she's the love of his son's life, and he basically ruins everything around him. Sonny is incapable of not making things worse. Every time he loses his temper and intervenes in a situation, he escalates it into a war. Reminds me of some politicians...

Readers, I can hardly wait to see Monday's episode! Everyone in town just found out that Nikolas is alive! This will be the test of whether or not I can accept Marcus Coloma in the role. I need to see his tearful reunion with his mama Laura. If the dude can emote enough and keep up with the most legendary soap crier of all time, Genie Francis, then I can wholeheartedly embrace him.

I will have tissues ready for that scene. I don't know why it is, but I started watching GH just for Genie. When I was in high school, all the girls loved Scotty and Laura (before Luke even hit the canvas!), and I wanted to be included in the cool-girl chat, so I started watching GH. Laura was my age! When she cried, I cried, and we both had mascara running down our faces. And today, still -- when she cries, I cry. My heart is just touched by her; maybe it goes back to my 70s teenage girl's heart, but I know I'm going to cry on Monday, and I really want to cry. I have lost people, too, and the mere thought that they could be out there somewhere and just walk back into the world after I have grieved them for years is making me cry now while I am typing. Bring on the tears, Genie. And Marcus -- try to keep up, that's all I ask.

But I'm disappointed that Nina and Valentin's third wedding was a bust. I thought his vows and hers talked about the reality of loving someone that you know is flawed and imperfect. I have been married for 31 years, and my husband has seen some sh*t from me and I from him. We are both tragically flawed people, and yet we continue to honor the commitment we made to God and one another in spite of that. Others may have divorced, but the thing we have going for us is both of us have parents who stayed together, so we saw how it was done. My parents were married for 49 years before my dad passed away. My husband's parents just celebrated their 63rd anniversary! No one on a soap has that sort of longevity, but there is a precedent for couples like Nina and Valentin -- you can know someone is imperfect and still choose to love them.

But can they come back from this? I mean, Valentin now has two people he tried to kill who are alive and well -- and dripping wet in his living room. There is no escaping justice. Claudette is out there, too, waiting to testify against him. Will he end up in prison? Will Anna take him back into the WSB? Will he find some loophole to get out of this? Where will he live? Will Charlotte be forced to live with neglectful mom Lulu and end up kidnapped again while Lulu's making out with Dustin or chatting with Maxie? (I know some of you were pissed that I said Lulu was a bad mom, but here I am repeating it. I think she's a bad mom. Has anyone seen Rocco lately? His dad is missing, and apparently, Lulu never does anything with him. Her other kid has had two scary incidents in her care. Boo.

I really like Valentin, and I hope we are not losing James Patrick Stuart. I would be heartbroken. I adore him. He probably thinks I am a crazy stalker because I like virtually all of his tweets. I hope he is sticking around Port Charles, but at this exact moment, I can't see how his alter ego, Valentin, can get out of the jam he is in.

Now, what about Jax? He will have two beautiful blonde damsels to rescue. If Sonny and Carly implode at the same time Nina and Valentin implode, which one will our white knight rescue? It seems the writers are steering us to a Nina/Jax pairing, but I am just not feeling it. I really like Cynthia Watros, but the only person I think she had really off the charts chemistry with was Hurley.

I don't necessarily want Jax back with Carly, either. I'd really rather have Brenda come back to town and shake things up. I am still hoping Brenda is Dev's mom. Rumors have said Dev's dad could be Dante, but that doesn't make sense to me, unless I have forgotten about some 15-year-old affair with Brenda and Dante? But no, because 15 years ago, Lulu was in high school, and Dante was in Bensonhurst with Olivia. I'd rather have Dev be another kid of Sonny's.

Poll: who do you think is behind Shiloh's memorial? I say Nelle. I still think she prison married him. Of course, Not-Tad is mixed up in this, too -- but, dear Lord, I wish they'd drop that accent and let him talk in his own voice. I think Nelle has the ELQ shares that Shiloh got from Oscar. I think Michael got invited to the memorial because it's Nelle. I think all the people who got invited are on Nelle's list of people she wants to ruin. Who do you think is behind it?

By the way, what sort of vetting process do they have at Turning Woods that Harmony got hired? I mean, fresh out of prison to caring for Alzheimer's patients and rehab patients? I think most patients' families would not be okay with that.

I like the pairings of Michael and Sasha, and Chase and Willow. But they are all a bit too content, so when the truth comes out about Wiley, I predict they will all blow up.

Next, just a 2020 salute to Kathleen Gati. When I saw Liesl glammed up for the wedding, I was thinking about how frumpy they used to dress her when she first came on -- clinical and harsh. Then you see her looking so radiant, and you realize two things: Faison was a fool to not love her back, and the hair and makeup people at ABC must have had to really work to make her look frumpy because she is such a gorgeous lady. Also, any scene she is in is a joy -- she always makes me laugh. Liesl gets the best lines, she delivers them perfectly -- I just adore her. I was thinking about when Lucy Coe first came on as a mousy librarian, and now Lucy is the fashion plate of the Nurses Ball. Or how Sabrina Santiago came on in those giant glasses, and then they Cinderella'ed her into a princess for Patrick. GH's hair and makeup people get to have so much fun.

One more topic: what do you think the real story is with Brook Lynn? Was she sexually harassed, or is she into something more profound? Do you agree with Ned's decision not to pay off her contract? Is his tough love too severe, or is he making the right call?

But all these worsts aside, I still love my show and will look forward to every crazy episode in 2020. As I always say, 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.