The Winner!

General Hospital was officially named the best soap, but viewers probably would have believed that even without the Daytime Emmys' blessing. But what makes the show so good? Well, it's time to find out in this latest Two Scoops commentary.

Dear readers, it's no surprise to us that GH won Best Drama at the Daytime Emmys last night, right? We know full well that it is the best show in daytime. I'm glad the voting members of the Academy recognized and rewarded this show that has been part of my life for four decades. I love it. You love it, too, or you wouldn't be here reading my column.

Every show in daytime has its ups and downs, storylines that hit the bull's-eye and storylines that don't capture the viewers' attention the way the writers hoped they would. But I have never been able to quit GH. Even in the Casey the Alien years, I still had to stick around and see what happened next.

I'm excited that Maurice Benard won the Best Actor award. This past year with the Alzheimer's storyline was powerful, and both he and Max Gail nailed every scene. I went through many boxes of Puffs over the months. As I am revisiting scenes in my mind, I'm tearing up, months later, over this storyline.

I saw that some people were indignant that Maurice said that Frank Valentini told him he was the star of the show. Um, he is the star of the show. Just like Eric Braeden (Victor Newman) is the star of The Young and the Restless. On their respective shows, they both play the central characters that the plots typically revolve around. That truth doesn't take away from the talents and contributions of any other actors in the ensemble. The fact is, those two men play the character most central to their shows. I don't see that as controversial.

Before Tony Geary retired, I saw him as the star of the show. When he retired, Maurice stepped into that leading man slot. Think about how challenging it has been without the character of Sonny. As another character, Maurice is still on the show, and people are losing their minds over it and begging for Sonny.

I think Mike the bartender is a swell guy. I like his budding romance with Nina (played by the lovely Cynthia Watros). But, like you, I am waiting for "Mike" to arrive in Port Charles, looking for Nina, and have Carly spot Sonny from across the room. I am jonesing for that scene. I am so ready for it. Why? Because Maurice is the star of the show. I want Port Charles's orbit to be aligned again.

Congratulations to all of the cast of GH who were nominated this year (even Wally Kurth, who was nominated for that other daytime show that I have heard is good but have never watched).

P.S. If you saw the award for Studio City and said, "What's that?," you should 100% go to Amazon Prime and check it out. Many soap vets on there you will recognize, and fantastic soapy drama.

But now to this week. I don't know where to begin. So, I guess I will start with the creepy-ass serial killer bear. Avery got a new teddy bear, and it had the voice of serial killer and stalker Ryan Chamberlain. Some of you suspect that Spencer Cassadine is behind this, terrorizing Ava because he disapproved of his dad's marriage to a woman who betrayed him. Let's say you're right. How did Spencer from France get Ryan's voice saying particular creepy things into a Build-A-Bear in Port Charles? And have someone break into a hotel suite that conceivably he wouldn't even know they had moved into to plant it? If it does turn out that it's him, I will have a lot of questions. As for me, my money is still on Ryan. He's totally faking his paralysis and scheming with someone like Heather Weber, who is infamous for being able to escape from institutions.

I don't really care who ends up the villain; I just don't want Nikolas and Ava to break up. I really love this pairing. Nikolas and Ava can be their authentic selves together. One is not the sinner and the other the savior. When Ava was with Griffin, he was an actual priest. When Nikolas was with Emily, she was angelic, shot with lighted halos over her head. Nikolas and Ava were trying to be better versions of themselves to live up to their holier counterparts. That's not a bad thing; of course, we should always strive to be better human beings. But now, in this relationship, they can breathe easier and rest in the fact that they are loved unconditionally by someone who recognizes they are flawed and chooses to love them despite their imperfections. That's nicer, isn't it?

I'm also enjoying Jason and Britt, and their boxing scenes this week were light, fun, and overall adorable. Side note - Kelly Thiebaud was radiant at the Daytime Emmys last night and just stunning in that green dress! I like the relationship that Britt and Jason have formed, and I like that Jason smiles more with her. Britt has woken up some of Jason's inner joy, and I love to see that side of his character. Jason and Sam were tortured lovers for so long, their relationship morphed into just crying and fighting most of the time, which is simply not enjoyable to watch.

Carly isn't crazy about it, but she always takes issue with anyone between her and Jason. The friendship of Carly and Jason is one of my favorite relationships on the show. I would give anything to have a friend that loyal. There have been times when I thought I had that kind of relationship, but when things got complicated, that supposed "ride or die" person vanished.

When life's genuine traumas hit, you have a list of people you assume will be there for you, but sometimes they aren't. When my mother was dying, I was a sobbing mess. Some of my closest friends avoided me because the emotion of the situation was too much for them. Instead, people I only had casual friendships with, people who had also watched a loved one die, stepped up to walk with me because they had experienced that sort of heartache and loss, too. But to have that ONE friend, like Carly and Jason, have each other, that ONE person you can count on for any situation, night or day? Oh, what a beautiful thing that is.

I love that relationship more than any romance on the canvas, past or present. And now I'm crying again. I'm blaming COVID. Consider how many connections this past year have deteriorated over a shot. I'm serious. I have family and friends who stopped speaking to each other over who got a shot and who didn't. Can you imagine this ever happening before? Like someone saying, "I got a flu shot, and you didn't, so now I hate you!" It's all madness to me.

But I digress. So, let's suppose Jason and Britt stick. Where does that leave Sam? Rumor has it that Drew Cain is coming back from the (assumed) dead. But played by Cameron Mathison versus Billy Miller. I love Billy Miller, but I really want Drew Cain's character back, so I am very open-minded about this recast. Drew is Scout's dad, Sam's former husband, and an overall nice guy. Will he come back with his former memories intact or still searching? Will Drew grieve the loss of Franco? Was he living on some island, serving umbrella drinks, calling himself Alan, with amnesia the past two years? Hard to predict, but I am anxious to find out.

Okay, so Willow married Chase because she thought he would be dead in a day, but then he lived. Then she planned to tell him that she only pity-deathbed-married him, but now he is paralyzed and will only try to walk for her. Thus, she can't leave him because he won't want to walk without her. Mentally, I can say, "That's super dumb, just tell Chase the truth." But in truth, I'd probably make the exact same choices she did because, like Willow, I have an extreme sense of honor and duty. I would feel like it was the right thing to do. I would be wracked with guilt if I left Chase to be with Michael just because I loved him while leaving some poor dying handicapped man who adored me all alone. So, yeah. It's dumb, but I'd probably do that, too. Willow was raised in a cult, and I was raised as a Baptist, so same thing (sort of).

Fun side note... In Baptist Sunday School, they taught me to say, "Lips that touch wine will never touch mine." But I'm in the Wine of the Month club, visit every winery I pass, and toyed with becoming a sommelier. So, their brainwashing didn't work on me. But the guilt part stuck.

I predict that Willow will get pregnant with Michael's baby, and she will be forced to tell Chase. Since she hasn't slept with Chase, he might be curious about why she had a baby bump. But knowing Chase, he is just so lovely. He will tell her he forgives her and will offer to raise Michael's baby as his own with her. And then she will fall back in love with him for real and dump Michael, who indeed never wins in love.

Sasha's pregnancy and her budding relationship with one-night stand Brando just hit a snag because annoying Gladys is staying in town. Readers, I don't like her character, and the thought of having her around more does not enthuse me. But, as my friend and co-Two-Scooper Liz noted in her last column, we are fresh out of villains, and maybe opportunistic Gladys is a placeholder until some more baddies come to town. Once Sonny gets back to town, perhaps he will reverse Jason's ban on Brando working for the organization and hire him.

Okay, readers, now to some mini polls. Liz and Finn, or Anna and Finn? Curtis and Jordan, or Curtis and Portia? Taggert and his ex, or Taggert and Jordan? Valentin and Anna, or Valentin and Brook Lynn? Shawn and Alexis, or Shawn and Jordan?

That is assuming Shawn and Alexis ever get out of prison. It seemed like a sweet setup while Nikolas was pulling strings. Still, now Alexis is in solitary confinement, and Shawn can't just spend his days hanging out in the coed prison library with his ex-lover trying to prove Judge Carson is a racist. I'm reasonably sure she is being set up to be our next villain, and I do not believe that she really wants to help Molly for a second.

But let's rewind a minute to Liz and Finn. Finn killed Peter, and Liz, with her tiny body, apparently helped Finn drag the very tall Peter down to the basement freezer. The guilt is getting to Finn, and he's having flashbacks. Liz was about to break and confess all to Jason. I think we all know that Jason would absolutely get the body and move it for her to a place no one would ever find it. But will Anna find Peter's corpse before they move him? I don't think Finn can just carry on like nothing happened. He's going to crack. At least I am happy that he is Chase's brother instead of his dad again.

I am also happy that Monica, Bobbie, and Epiphany can all come back to GH. That was actually a very jubilant scene yesterday. It made me happy. I keep hoping that someone will hire Obrecht back at the hospital and recognize she has grown and changed as a person. She was never a bad doctor; she was just a bad person. GH could use a brain like hers. I feel confident she could have helped Finn formulate his antidote for Chase.

Dr. O will be so happy when she finds out Maxie's baby is alive and well. Maxie almost blew the plan this week by visiting Louise (a.k.a. Bailey) at the Q mansion. I am looking forward to the scenes when Valentin finds out this little girl he has fallen for is not his child but Peter's. I predict he will start out angry and then resolve himself into believing he deserved this fate for unleashing Peter's evil on Maxie and the people of Port Charles. I hope that Louise will get to keep him for an Uncle Valentin for all time.

How long will it take before Maxie discovers that Peter is dead? Here's how I think it might go... If Liz tells Jason, and Jason enlists Spinelli to help him make the body disappear, and Spinelli sees Maxie fretting over Peter and blurts out that he is dead, maybe she can finally bring her daughter home. But that's going to take some time, and in that time, Valentin and the entire Q clan will fall more deeply in love with "Bailey." It's going to be brutal when they lose her.

And now, my very favorite scene of the week: Liz and Carly bonding over grief at the cemetery. That was such a heartfelt scene. Both Laura Wright and Rebecca Herbst channeled every emotion two widows would be feeling and made us feel it, too. These two frenemies, who have bickered and squabbled over the years, are now on the same side -- the side of loss and devastating heartache, and seeing them support each other was beautiful. I don't mind admitting that I cried. Did you?

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Jason find out who caused the explosion on the docks? Will we find out if Dr. Austin is a friend or foe? Will we find out what fake Nurse Chloe's real name is and why she was helping Peter? Will Jackie and Gregory reunite over their shared joy that their son will live? Will Alexis try to make toilet wine in solitary and fall back off the wagon? Will Mike start bottling his famous Tan-O pasta sauce, and Carly will taste it and know he's alive? Will Nina have any hair left after the impending catfight with Carly? Will Joss and Cam ever kiss again? Will Trina's graduation party turn into a mob war spot, since Jason hinted to Curtis that he might need protection? Will Austin turn out to be a secret Q cousin and take over ELQ? Will new Drew have chemistry with old Sam?

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

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.