Where have all the baddies gone?

Does it feel like GH has cleaned house of all the bad guys now that Peter, Cyrus, and even Elijah have been vanquished? Could the writers be poised to usher in a new super villain, or is someone from the past lurking in the wings to wreak havoc on Port Charles this summer? Let's discuss.

And just like that, all the baddies are gone. Cyrus Renault was carted off to a federal prison somewhere in the Midwest, where he presumably will not be able to organize another band of thugs to run the prison and start up another criminal organization, while Henrik is dead -- for now.

Yes, I know Finn and Liz tossed his lifeless carcass into the freezer, but I don't trust dead bodies in that lab. They have a nasty way of defrosting back to life.

There are a few reformed villains like Dr. Liesl Obrecht (one of the best characters on the canvas), her daughter Britt Westbourne, Ava Jerome, and of course Valentin -- who was once the most feared Cassadine of them all. Each is currently in redemption mode, so, for now, the streets of Port Charles are safe. The only criminals lurking are the Robin Hood mobsters of the Corinthos organization, who only target other mobsters and various whack-a-mole villains that occasionally pop up in our favorite seaside city.

Was it an intentional move on the part of our intrepid soap scribes? Is there a reason that Nelle Benson, Julian Jerome, Chloe (not her real name, but who really cares?), Peter, and Cyrus were all felled in surprisingly quick order? A part of me can't help but wonder if a new group of dastardly troublemakers is lurking in the wings, waiting for an opportunity to wreak havoc on the poor unsuspecting peeps of Port Charles.

There is a good possibility that our new friendly country doctor Austin could be a wolf in sheep's clothing, but his story is just beginning. I haven't even caught his last name, which makes me suspicious. Could it be that it will be familiar to us decades-long viewers? We've gotten some hints about him. His family owns quite a bit of land in Pautuck, he's a doctor (of some sort), and he has a keen interest in ELQ business. Also, he may or may not have put a camera in the room where Maxie was held prisoner.

Even though he gives off some shady vibes, Austin did save Dante from meeting a fate similar to Chloe's when he shoved Dante out of the way as they approached the hidden mineshaft that Chloe fell into. Austin also provided Dante with a rope to shimmy down said mineshaft, where Dante promptly found Chloe -- and no baby. That little development will no doubt lend credence to the theory that Chloe handed the baby off to Peter before she met her untimely end.

I have to be honest -- as much as I might complain about the various villains who terrorize Port Charles, I do it with love because their evil is necessary. They make things interesting, and, more importantly, they give the heroes and heroines a purpose as much as a foe to vanquish. It's the soap villain who will often push our favorites to their limits -- and sometimes beyond. They give us suspense and chills, and have us shaking our fists with fury -- sometimes in the span of one hour.

I don't know what the writers have planned for Austin. I can't imagine that they brought Roger Howarth back only to have his character commit unforgiveable acts against the people in Port Charles. Why kill off Franco if you're going to repeat the mistakes of the past? My gut tells me that he has an edge of darkness; it's what Roger does best. Will he be the hospital's new chairperson? We will have to stay tuned.

Austin might not be the only threat looming on the horizon.

Jason and Carly have a mob problem. It seems a new mobster has his eye on Port Charles, and he considers Carly to be the weakest link of the Corinthos organization because she's an inexperienced outsider. Not surprisingly, Carly was deeply offended by the suggestion that she doesn't inspire fear in the dark, twisted hearts of hardened criminals.

It was at that moment that I realized that Jason was going to have to save Sonny's organization from not only the Novak crime family, but Carly, as well. From the resigned expression on Jason's face, he had a similar epiphany. Let's face it, Carly has never been in the same league as Sonny and Jason when it comes to organized crime. Being married to the mob is quite different from being a mobster. She doesn't have Sonny and Jason's keen instincts, patience, or insight into what it takes to run a criminal empire,, partly because Sonny and Jason always kept her at arm's length from the business.

Carly has always been too emotional, impulsive, and just plain all over the place to be effective as a criminal, much less hold a leadership role for an army of mobsters. Carly foolishly believes that because she enjoyed the benefits of being closely tied to men who inspired others to follow them into battle that she's now qualified to lead the troops herself, which she most definitely is not.

Carly is great at running a hotel and restaurant, but she's not even proficient at firing a gun. How are you going to go up against armed thugs determined to kill you when you can't even defend yourself properly? Mobsters aren't exactly an honorable lot, so the rules of engagement are pretty loose, at best. Worse, she didn't work her way up in the ranks, which is an important component in the hierarchy of organized crime. That's why they have positions like boss, underboss, consigliere. Oh, and enforcer. Those positions are earned, not given.

People generally bristle when someone cuts in line, and I can't imagine that a group of mobsters is any different. To be honest, I really don't get why Carly doesn't just hand things over to Jason. It's what Sonny would have wanted. Everyone, especially Carly, knows that.

More and more, I get why Jason is drawn to Britt. Britt has her problems, to be sure, but she's a calm port compared to Hurricane Carly.

One of my favorite scenes of the week was Liesl stopping by Pozzulo's to take Jason's measure, and to ask him to safeguard Britt by killing Peter the first chance he has. Liesl is confident that Jason is more than up to the task. What had me tearing up, though, was when Liesl broke down about Britt to Jason because he was the only person that she could be honest with about how Britt's possible prognosis had shattered her. Kathleen Gati is such a phenomenal actor who just keeps peeling back new layers of Liesl.

There was a time that I despised Liesl (eons ago, when she was obsessed with Faison), but the writing -- and the consistent powerful performances -- have won me over. Plus, my dad was German, so I had an Oma (she was a wonderful lady) who I would spend summers with in Germany once we moved back to the United States. Many of Liesl's German expressions take me back to my childhood Sielmingen with my Oma and Opa, when they would spoil me with German chocolates, day trips touring castles (a passion of mine), and long afternoons "spazieren" through the woods.

Kathleen's German accent is spot-on, as are her German pronunciations, which I assure you is no easy feat. Now, if only the writers would give us more Scott and Liesl. Sigh Maybe next week.

The upcoming episodes should be quite interesting because, as Friday drew to a close, Chase and Willow exchanged I dos. No sooner had the newlyweds sealed their union with a kiss, than Chase began to rapidly decline. He was whisked to his hospital room while Finn, Liz, and Gregory retreated to the nurses' station to take a look at the new paternity results, which revealed what many of us had suspected last week when Finn's first serum failed -- Gregory is, indeed, Chase's father. It felt like a wrong had been righted.

I was never a fan of Finn and Chase being father and son. I enjoyed their brotherly dynamic and felt that making them father and son was fixing something that wasn't broken. Like Gregory, I am delighted by the news that he is Chase's father. If I didn't know that Chase was going to be cured by the new serum (educated guess, not actual spoiler), I might have been quite bummed out that he had flatlined before he learned the wonderful news.

Now, before anyone fires off angry emails, please hear me out. I'm not giving Michael and Willow a free pass or even a hint of one. As far as I'm concerned, they aren't martyrs; they are cowards. They had several opportunities to tell Chase the truth about where they stand with each other and with him, but they didn't. They took the easy way out by not speaking up, and now they have made a bigger mess of things than if they'd been honest in the beginning. Michael and Willow deserve to be miserable. It's all of their own making.

However, I do have an issue with Chase, too.

Prior to falling ill from the poison, it's not like Chase and Willow were back on track and ready to get hitched. Chase knew that Willow cared for Michael and that she had, in fact, slept with him. He also knew that she was torn between her feelings for Michael and her feelings for Chase. That's why Willow had gone to Chase's apartment the night that he collapsed. If he hadn't been rushed to the hospital, Willow would have told him that she had chosen Michael.

Marriage to Willow was definitely not anywhere near the table when Chase collapsed. Yet, from the moment that Chase woke up in the hospital, it was the only thing on his mind. He decided that, because Willow was at his side when he regained consciousness, she loved him unconditionally. True, Willow didn't dissuade him of that notion, but it's strange that Chase doesn't have any doubts about her, even though several people have picked up on the way that Michael and Willow look at each other whenever the other is near.

Not Chase, though. Not only is he blind to what others can see, but he doesn't seem to have any concern that Willow might have accepted his deathbed marriage proposal out of pity. I'm sorry to say, but it makes Chase look really selfish. If you truly love someone, you help them let go. You give them permission to love again, to find happiness. It's what I would do.

Instead, the wedding felt like Chase was selfishly trying to mark Willow as his with his dying breath. That was further underscored when a pitiful Chase asked Michael to slide the wedding ring on Willow's finger. It was a bridge too far because most grooms would ask their new bride to help them. It's just another example of Chase being made to look manipulative, even when he isn't meant to be.

Michael and Willow are in too deep now, so when Chase makes his miraculous recovery -- and he will -- they will no doubt decide to stay the course -- especially if Chase ends up having lasting ramifications from the poison. However, love has never been denied on a soap opera, so eventually, Chase will learn the truth about Michael and Willow's relationship. The question is, will he be quick to understand and forgive them as he expected them to be when he manipulated their lives for the greater good?

Likely not. That's not how the drama rolls on soaps.

Finally, Jordan decided to quit as police commissioner. She scored herself and Taggert a sweet deal with the Feds: full immunity in exchange for testifying against Cyrus about all the crimes he coerced them into once he was released from Pentonville. Oh, the look on Cyrus' face when Jordan dropped that little bombshell on his smug head right before the police ushered him off to a federal prison where nobody knows his name. For a man like Cyrus, that's purgatory.

I give Cyrus a year before he finds a way to slither out.

Meanwhile, Laura was having none of Jordan's resignation. Mayor Forgiveness decided that Jordan was too good at her job to lose. I have no idea what Laura is basing this on, since Jordan is generally the last person to solve any crime in Port Charles. Sure, she shot Cyrus and arrested him, but Jason shot Cyrus first, which is why Cyrus ended up at Portia's house. It was Laura and Curtis who alerted the police to Cyrus' whereabouts when he fled the shootout at the pier, not the search dogs or police helicopters.

In Port Charles, the citizens solve more crimes than the police do.

I love Laura, but I really have to question her effectiveness as a mayor. How can the people have confidence in a police commissioner who can be blackmailed into breaking the law and who was willing to frame someone to put them behind bars?

I think it's time to find another police commissioner -- or reinstate Mac.

I think Jordan is much more suited to work as a private investigator. This way, she wouldn't have to worry about breaking a few laws or sharing her work with her significant other. Taggert is currently between jobs, so he would make a perfect partner to team up with. I know Sam has an agency, too, but I'm certain they could all work something out. Perhaps they can all join forces to take down the next band of villains.

As I said earlier, it's the baddies that give the heroes and heroines a purpose -- and exciting storylines.

If Helena's not-so-secret lab under the hospital was sealed off, how did Finn and Liz access it? Why does it have a big ol' freezer down there, and electricity? Why seal it up instead of using it for good? So many questions, but those are my top three.

Yikes, Sasha's baby bump is quite impressive for someone who is eight, possibly, twelve weeks pregnant. Maybe she's having twins? Triplets? It would be fun, for a change, to see a woman actually give birth to identical twins on the show instead of slinking off to have them in secret. Seriously, though, congratulations to Sofia Mattsson, who is expecting her first child. Such an exciting time for her and her husband, and I'm praying for a smooth and healthy delivery. Much love to the happy family.

It's Baaaaack!! And it's even BIGGER than EVER!!! The Corinthos Bowl O Moss!!! It seems to be THRIVING without the Teflon Don! Seriously, isn't Everyone?? -- Missez Premise

Nina, of all people, should realize that Sonny's feelings for her are really his amnesiac brain's way of projecting his unremembered feelings for Carly, and his dependence on her, onto the nearest available candidate. He did the same thing when he first met Sam and tried to turn her into a substitute for Brenda. Sam was NO Brenda back then, and Nina is no Carly NOW! -- Scrimmage

The problem with the Chase story is that it requires that in order for it to work, no one can spend time looking for Peter's secret stash of antidote -- not the police and/or Jackie (who is an investigative reporter, and [who] found Florence on the thinnest of leads). Also: there's nothing in the story that makes it reasonable that Michael and Willow can't tell Chase that they are together. IF the show had said that the toxin works quicker when he's stressed, I can see not wanting to upset him, but, to my knowledge, that wasn't established...so it's only about 'gosh that would bum Chase out' rather than 'our news could literally kill him' which is a pretty thin motivation and why it doesn't really work. -- Andrew

I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to leave a comment below or email me.

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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