The dark and twisted road to perdition

Peter felt the walls closing in on him even as Liesl was shipped off to The Hague to stand trial for his crimes. Meanwhile, Charlotte brought a special guest to Violet's birthday extravaganza, and Jason passed along a message to Sonny from Cyrus. In Port Charles, the road to perdition is littered with bouncy castles, unicorn piatas, and snakes.

Another week in quarantine, and I'm more grateful than ever that I have General Hospital to help kill the monotony of being stuck indoors day after day. The weather has been downright wintry, so I can't start working on my flower beds and garden, and I'm not one of those people who is addicted to news channels. There are only so many reality shows about rich housewives, fancy restaurants, and the world of yachting that a person can watch, so I found myself venturing to Netflix and a jaw-dropping documentary about a tiger king that left me traumatized and reluctant to ever order another pizza again.

Before anyone asks, no, I don't think that Joe was wrongly convicted, and yes, I most certainly do believe that Carole Baskin fed Don to the tigers.

That brings me to Charlotte and her attempt to do away with Ava the Cleopatra way -- a snake in Ava's purse. Helena would be proud.

I had so many questions about Charlotte's plot to commit mayhem, chief of which is how she managed to schlep a big canvas bag with a squirming snake into the party without Lulu or the other adults taking notice and inquiring, "What's in the bag, Charlotte?" Also, where did Charlotte get the snake?

I'm terrified of snakes, so I don't know enough about them to identify whether the snake that Charlotte stashed in Ava's purse was venomous or not. It doesn't really matter because what Charlotte believes the slithering reptile to be capable of is what really counts. If she believed that it was deadly and intentionally set it loose on Ava, then Lulu and Valentin have a very big problem on their hands.

Scarlett Fernandez is a wonderfully talented young lady, so I really look forward to this storyline playing out. I love that the writers are exploring this aspect of Charlotte's psyche because it's actually something that I've touched on several times in my columns since Charlotte was introduced as Valentin's daughter. Children are observant little sponges who understand far more than most adults give them credit for, and Charlotte's little impressionable mind has been exposed to quite a few of Valentin's shady shenanigans over the years.

Intentional or not, Valentin has been grooming Charlotte since birth to follow in his footsteps by lying to her about her mother while at the same time teaching her that he is the only person that she can trust. Worse, he has taught Charlotte that everyone is disposable, including a mother. He was accused of murdering Nikolas, next he made Claudette vanish from his daughter's life, then he used motherhood as a means to tether Nina to his side, and finally, Valentin has treated Charlotte's real mother like the enemy since the very beginning.

Additionally, time and again, Valentin has selfishly uprooted Charlotte's life. First, with Claudette, then with his on-again, off-again relationship with Nina, and finally, with his quest to be the head of the Cassadine family. It's really no wonder that the poor child has been acting out since the previous school year when she bullied Aiden and cheated on a test. Instead of addressing the underlying issues that led Charlotte to do those things, Valentin downplayed the events. When Lulu tried to set some boundaries and make Charlotte accountable for her actions, Valentin and Nina undermined Lulu by assuring Charlotte that she's better than everyone then placing her in an accelerated learning program.

I can't really blame Charlotte for resorting to Valentin's tactics to deal with her problems because she hasn't been taught better. But what happens next? As much as I think Valentin is to blame for Charlotte's behavioral issues, I don't think the answer is cutting him out of Charlotte's life. If anything, that will just make things worse because he is the only person that Charlotte trusts.

Valentin might be on a mission to avenge himself against all those who wronged him, but I do believe that he loves Charlotte above even himself. Can he fight Helena's genetics and a lifetime of being raised a Cassadine to do right by his daughter? It won't be easy, but I do think, for Charlotte's sake, Valentin will try.

Then there's Nina. Her knee-jerk reaction when she learns about Charlotte's troubles will be to comfort both Charlotte and Valentin.

I saw the writing on the wall that Nina and Jax will not last much longer when she warned Jax that she was far more like Nelle than he realized. I didn't really expect Nina and Jax to last very long because I always saw Jax as more of a rebound fling to help Nina get past the pain of loving Valentin. Jax was good for Nina's ego and someone to show her that there can be a good life after Valentin, but I don't think Nina and Jax are meant to be together, especially if it turns out that Nelle is indeed Nina's child.

If nothing else, Carly will put the kibosh on Jax and Nina by reminding Jax that Nelle can't be anywhere near Josslyn.

I still have my doubts about Nelle's maternity, even though we saw Nelle with the other half of Nina's necklace. I can totally see Madeline Reeves and Frank Benson being in cahoots over an illegal adoption, but I really can't see Madeline allowing someone like Frank to raise her granddaughter. The fact that Madeline gave her granddaughter the pendant necklace as a keepsake suggests that Madeline did care about the child. Likely, Madeline only gave the child up for adoption to keep Silas Clay from claiming his daughter. I don't think malice toward the baby had anything to do with it.

Therefore, my theory is that Frank did indeed facilitate the adoption of Nina's daughter, but he kept the necklace as an insurance policy. Perhaps he planned to use it to pass Nelle off as Nina's daughter when the time was right -- and Madeline was dead and unable to dispute that Nelle was her granddaughter. I'm not sure of the why, but my gut tells me that the writers have another twist in store for us because Willow actually looks like Silas' daughter, whereas Nelle doesn't look like Nina or Silas.

Jax was right; Nelle is mentally unwell, and no amount of acceptance and love can fix what is wrong with her. Lest anyone forget, Nelle did admit to killing her first fianc, and she had every intention of killing Michael. If Sonny hadn't come along and saved Michael, Michael would have perished in the car explosion. Nelle also took pleasure in torturing Michael by trying to blame him for their son's "death," and she showed a reckless disregard for her unborn child when she goaded Carly into an altercation at the top of the staircase in the Quartermaine mansion and in opting to give her newborn to Brad rather than to Michael.

How did Nelle know that Brad's adopted son died of SIDS rather than something Brad did? She didn't, but she didn't care as long as Michael didn't get Wiley. Every time Nelle had an opportunity to make things right, she opted not to. Heck, since leaving jail, Nelle has pretty much picked where she left off with lies, manipulations, and playing the perennial victim.

I just know that once Nina finds out that Nelle is her daughter, Nina will blame herself for not being able to save Nelle from the likes of Frank. Worse, Nelle will let Nina wallow in guilt so that Nelle can exploit it to her advantage. Knowing Nelle, Nelle will feel justified because Nina should have known the minute that she laid eyes on Nelle that she was Nina's long-lost daughter. Nelle is delusional like that.

If Nina and Valentin end up back together, I want Valentin to be on a different path because Nina is right about one thing. She is a lot more like Nelle than Jax understands. Her reminder of the lengths that she went to in order to steal Ava's unborn child was a stark warning of what Nina is capable of when she feels desperate. I'd like to think that Nina is in a better place and much stronger than she was in the months following her emergence from a two-decades-long coma, but this is a soap opera. Things can change on a dime.

Willow would be a far more grounding influence on Nina, which his why I'm really rooting for her to be revealed to be Nina's daughter. Perhaps Harmony is Nelle's mother. Given Harmony's history, I can see her getting mixed up with a man like Frank when she was young and searching for her place in life. Perhaps, Harmony took Willow because things got violent, and she knew that Nelle would be safe with Frank because she was his daughter. Time will tell, but I'm just not ready to accept Nelle as Nina's daughter.

So, will Willow marry Michael or not? It appears more likely than ever now that Chase has realized that Willow will never forgive herself if Nelle ends up getting any kind of custody or visitation with Wiley.

I have no idea what Diane is thinking by pushing for a marriage between Michael and Willow. How in the world are Michael and Willow ever going to pull off a loving and healthy marriage when both are currently with other people? Nelle could get a whole parade of witnesses to testify that both Chase and Willow were in a loving and committed relationship until Nelle decided to take Michael to court, seeking custody of Wiley. I doubt any real judge would be fooled by Michael and Willow's marriage of deception.

Despite this twist having all the signs of things backfiring on Michael and Willow, I do look forward to seeing where it goes. Don't get me wrong, I do enjoy Michael and Sasha's chemistry as well as Chase and Willow's, but this is a soap opera, and happily ever after endings just don't work unless the couple is riding off into the sunset -- and off the canvas.

I see potential between Michael and Willow. I also see sparks between Chase and Sasha, so I would like to see how things play out. Things could get really good, especially if it turns out that Frank did a bait-and-switch with Willow and Nelle as infants.

Imagine Nelle's fury when she learns that, oops, no, she is not Nina's daughter -- Willow -- Wiley's new stepmom -- is!

Folks, it's no secret that I'm not a Sonny fan. It has nothing to do with Maurice Benard. He's a fabulous actor, and no one could ever replace him as Sonny. However, Sonny is a mobster, and over the years, I have stopped buying his excuses about being able to keep his family safe from his criminal life.

My infatuation with Sonny began to wane back when Michael was shot in the head by an assassin's bullet intended for Sonny. It was proof that despite Sonny's best intentions and Jason's valiant efforts, they couldn't safeguard the innocent people around them. That's why I applauded Drew's Jason when he opted to choose a life with Sam over Sonny and the mob. I was thrilled that at least one of the men got it.

No matter how much money or power you have, it means nothing if your loved ones are sacrificed to hold onto it.

As the years passed, and Michael and then Morgan tried to be a part of their father's criminal organization, I realized that they wouldn't have been interested in pursuing that lifestyle if Sonny, Carly, and yes, even Jason, hadn't glorified it. The boys idolized Sonny and his power.

That's why Sonny's little chat with Nikolas about Spencer made me boiling mad. Who is Sonny to lecture anyone about anything? Not only is Sonny embroiled in a mob war where his family has been targeted, but Sonny has also faked his death a time or two, and if I recall correctly, he even kept his loved ones in the dark about one of the faked death plots because he needed their grief to be real and believable.

Sonny's children have been kidnapped, threatened, and even hurt because of their father's choices, so for him to point fingers at Nikolas was beyond hypocritical. I was so disappointed that Nikolas didn't throw Sonny's past in his face, but then again it would have been pointless because Sonny is a "Do as I say, not as I do" kind of guy.

I'm tired of everyone justifying Spencer's attitude. First, it's not healthy for anyone to hold onto resentment (see Nelle), and second, it's not like Nikolas didn't have reason to be worried about Valentin. The man had already proven himself capable of murdering his own nephew to get what he wanted, and Valentin even targeted Spencer.

Why does everyone forget that Valentin had shown up at Spencer's camp to try to kidnap him or that he threatened to take matters into his own hands if Laura didn't get Spencer to back down from trying to expose Valentin as Nikolas' murderer?

I'm not excusing what Nikolas did; I think he would have been much better served to have accused Valentin of attempted murder and to have fought him in court for control of the Cassadine empire, but I'm tired of everyone casting stones and acting like they are better than Nikolas. Sonny has no right to tell Nikolas to stay away from Spencer -- and for Sonny to preach to anyone about parenting is downright laughable.

It's time for Spencer to grow up and stop holding his father to a higher standard than he holds himself. Spencer has been known to have cooked up a few foolish plots that have backfired in spectacular fashion. One of them even resulted in Britt having to flee town. Spencer needs to cut his father some slack and offer Nikolas forgiveness. It's time to return home and to heal the house divided, because I miss the love that Nikolas and Spencer shared.

Finally, Robert is on a mission, and I'm not referring to driving Anna up the wall with a didgeridoo.

Nope, Robert believes Liesl's accusations about Peter framing her. However, he needs for Liesl to go to The Hague to stand trial so that Peter doesn't realize that Robert is on the hunt for evidence to take him down.

While Peter was arranging for a distraction to keep Robert busy, Robert was snooping around Maxie and Peter's apartment. Personally, I would have started at the Invader offices, because it's unlikely that Peter would be foolish enough to leave something incriminating laying around the apartment for Maxie to find, but I'm just thrilled that the game is afoot and Robert is on the hunt to take down Peter.

Sadly, Peter's actions to cover up the truth about his association with Helena turned out to be far worse than the secret itself. How would anyone be able to prove that Peter was Helena's partner instead of flunky when everyone, including the accuser (Shiloh), is dead? Regardless, I really don't see Peter coming back from this unless Drew is discovered to be alive and well. Arranging for Drew's death was the worst of Peter's sins, so he needs to make that right -- and perhaps rescue Drew himself -- if he hopes for any kind of semblance of a life in Port Charles.

However, Peter will have to resign himself to the very real possibility that Maxie will be forever lost to him. I say this mainly because Maxie has been making a fool of herself all around town, defending Peter to everyone who will listen. Maxie is a grudge holder, and she hates being made a fool of. Unfortunately, with Valentin being Lucy's business partner, there's a very real possibility that Peter might have to save Maxie from his mentor's diabolical machinations.

Why doesn't Lulu ask Nikolas to let his niece keep her horse in the stables? It seems to me that if Charlotte is upset about Butterscotch being moved to new stables, then Nikolas might be able help out and perhaps score some much-needed uncle points in the process.

So, Britt took a job in Port Charles, only to turn around and take another job in Boston? Isn't she on probation? Switching jobs might not be a big deal, but I imagine moving out of state might pose some issues.

Flashbacks, flashbacks, flashbacks! We sure have a lot of flashbacks lately, but I'm not complaining. I know that ratings are up, so I think it's a great way to get new viewers up to speed on things. Also, I appreciate that there are only so many new episodes available since GH shut down production. These flashbacks are helping to extend the new episodes until GH can resume filming. So, to those complaining, you need to calm down, you're being too loud. There, are you happy now? You have me quoting Taylor Swift.

With so many folks stuck at home and tuning in to soaps, now is the time to capitalize on that by paying some extra royalties to show some of the classic episodes that will remind lapsed viewers of what they loved about the shows and hopefully draw in some new viewers. My suggestions would be Luke and Laura's wedding, "Click/Boom" when Jax and Brenda committed to each other at the same time Lily was being blown up with a car bomb meant for Sonny, the Hallowedding of Carly and Franco, and the Metro Court crisis when Jerry [Jacks] reappeared on the scene with guns blazing. -- Daffy Sez

Hey did anyone notice that one scene where Jason, in Sonny's Kitchen, looked REALLY annoyed at Sonny's Bowl O Moss Balz and *shoved* it aside?? Was I imagining that??? -- Missez Premise

Max Gail is hitting it out of the park with the Alzheimer's storyline -- it's heartbreaking but he is so perfect. Usually, people are sick in a hospital bed and still look glamorous, but as a lifelong soap fan, I love that they are really committed to making it as real as possible. It sounds to me, though, that Mike has made up his mind to go 'home.' That will be a very sad day on this show to be sure. -- Andrew

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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