Family ties and lies

Victor is shaking things up, Peter is about to meet his maker, and Willow is learning a valuable lesson about eavesdropping. These days, it's the lies that seem to bind families. It's time to shed some light on this week's Two Scoops of deception.

Yikes! What a nest of liars we have residing in Port Charles. It's hard to keep everything straight, but I'm going to give it a try.

Let's start over on Spoon Island, where a few little bombshells were dropped. Nikolas learned that Ava already knew that he had once hired a hitman to kill Hayden. I'm not sure why Nikolas was surprised that Ava had sussed it out, since it's pretty much an open secret that all the key players already are privy to. It would have been more shocking to me if Ava hadn't pieced it all together.

The other revelation -- and to me the far more interesting development -- was Victor's admission that he had taken care of the Hayden Barnes problem. Not because Nikolas had requested help but rather because Victor was being a protective uncle. Did Victor also kill Naomi Dreyfus? Nikolas and Ava believe that he did, but I'm not so sure. If Victor had been pulling Naomi's strings, it meant that Hayden was alive (was she the mystery woman in Victor's secret prison?), and Naomi was firmly under his thumb. Why kill her off and leave her body to be found?

My theory is that Peter killed Naomi to make certain that she didn't reveal that he was in cahoots with Victor. Peter is known for going rogue, and Naomi's murder didn't seem well thought out. It always felt like it had been done on the spur of the moment. Could Naomi's murder be one of the reasons that Victor and Peter's partnership soured?

Speaking of which, I think Victor might be behind Peter's poisoning -- if Peter dies. I have my doubts, because I've seen him cheat death one too many times to trust these Friday cliffhangers. It's entirely possible that Monday's episode will open with Peter at GH, recovering from an allergic reaction to prison food. True, there was a lot of foreshadowing throughout the week that Peter's time was nigh, but it could have been a smoke screen. I just don't put it past Peter not to find another dastardly villain to cut a deal with -- perhaps the person that Victor warned his ragtag family of misfits about on Thanksgiving -- who created the poisoned-eggs murder as a ruse to spirit Peter to a secret lair where Peter could lay low while the world celebrated his "untimely demise."

Kind of like when Victor rescued Peter from the hospital's basement freezer after both Dr. Finn and Nurse Webber confirmed that Peter was dead. Dead as a doornail. Short of Peter's head being put on a pike in the middle of Rice Plaza, I will always believe that Peter is alive and biding his time.

It's unlikely that Selina Wu was behind the poisoned breakfast. I just can't imagine her using Brad to carry out the hit. It doesn't jibe with her efforts to secure his parole and to keep him away from Britt's bad influence. Also, when you send a hitman, you don't pick someone who can lead the police straight to your front door. I suspect that Brad was an unwitting participant to the tainted breakfast, which is just one more reason it's unlikely it was orchestrated by Selina.

Selina's men would know to keep Brad far away from a hit on Peter.

The attempt on Peter's life has all the earmarks of a Cassadine hit. Helena loved a good poison, and Victor -- as we have come to learn -- was a pea in the same deadly pod. Also, Victor had some unfinished business with Peter. Victor is not the type of man who lets a person walk away from stabbing Victor in the back. I'm pretty sure Peter's fate was sealed when he bribed Victor's men to turn against Victor and then took over Cassadine Island.

So, if Peter is truly dead, it's Victor who gave the order.

Folks, I am really digging Selina. She is a cool mob boss lady, and I love that she and Sonny are the last two standing and pretty much a united front. I hope it stays that way. With Jason gone, it would benefit both Sonny and Selina to work together. Let them divide up the other three territories and be done with it. I don't see any point in adding more mob bosses to the mix, especially since it hasn't worked out well in the past.

Unless Brad gets popped for giving Peter a deadly breakfast, it appears that Brad will soon be out of jail. I'm very much okay with that. Brad has paid his dues, and Britt could use his support as she comes to terms with losing Jason. Now that his Aunt Selina is around, I'm hoping that the writers have some exciting things planned for the months ahead. Maybe we'll get a glimpse or two of Lucas, as well.

I don't want to see Brad and Lucas rekindle things. That bridge was vaporized, but it would be nice if both men can have some closure and move forward. Hopefully, Brad has learned a very valuable lesson and follows Britt's lead by turning over a new leaf. I think both Brad and Britt can be good for each other. Watching Selina and Liesl butt heads over the kids will be an added bonus.

Meanwhile, Willow is learning a valuable lesson about not listening in on other people's private conversations. No good ever comes of it.

Once again, Willow has found herself in a position where she has a choice: tell the truth or lie. Guess what Willow picked? Again. Willow has decided that it's in everyone's best interest to keep mum about Sonny -- or should I say "Mike" -- and Nina's secret. Don't get me wrong, it's a crummy situation to be in, but Willow was the one who chose to stand there and listen instead of making her presence known or, better yet, just walking away the second that she heard voices.

After the way that Willow lectured Michael about not filling her in regarding his plans to have Nina charged with crimes in Pennsylvania, she owes Michael the truth about what she heard. I get her not going to Carly. It's not Willow's place to tell Carly about Sonny's emotional affair -- and make no mistake, that is exactly what Sonny and Nina are now engaging in -- but Michael is a different story. Willow can't demand total honesty from Michael when she won't give it to him.

I will give Willow some credit. Everything that she said to Nina was true. Sonny and Nina are sneaking around and having hushed conversations. That is wrong. Keeping the truth from Carly protects Nina far more than it does Carly.

However, Willow is in a relationship with Michael, and this secret is about his family. Willow owes no loyalty to Nina, especially after all the horrible things that Nina has done to Willow in the few years that they've known each other. Nina can blame her attempt to undermine Willow's relationship with Wiley by telling him that Willow was not his mother on grief, but I saw it all unfold. Nina acted out of spite. As for Sonny, Willow isn't particularly close to him, either. There's no reason for Willow not to tell Michael.

It's for Michael, not Willow, to decide what to do about this secret. Michael should be the one to choose whether his mother is told or not, or if the secret should remain buried. Michael should also have the opportunity to decide if he wants to discuss the matter with Sonny. Willow keeping quiet only puts her in the middle of Sonny and Nina's conspiracy to keep the truth from Carly. It's a no-win situation and a great way to put her own relationship with Michael on very shaky ground.

I really hate how Willow is so quick to judge others when she herself always opts to take the less honorable route in any given situation. It's a pattern that is really starting to make me question if Willow is as good as she likes people to believe she is.

I don't excuse any of Brook Lynn's lies. If you read my columns on a regular basis, you know just how hard I've been on Brook Lynn. Faking a pregnancy to con Valentin out of controlling shares of ELQ is a terrible low. I don't care how bad Brook Lynn feels now or that Valentin is far from a saint. It was an awful thing to do and when her lie is exposed, Ned is going to be crushed to find out that there never was a grandchild. Lois, too, for that matter, but I have less empathy for her, since Lois hasn't even bothered to visit.

It was all a devious lie to manipulate someone for company stock.

That said, I have no idea how Willow didn't choke on her words when she talked about finding a way to move past Brook Lynn's lies. Excuse me? How did Willow become the victim in all of this?

If Brook Lynn had slept with Chase, gotten pregnant, and lied about the baby's paternity, it would have been between Brook Lynn and Chase. During that time, Willow's heart had already belonged to Michael, not to Chase. Willow had no claim on Chase, and she married him under false pretenses. She's the last person Chase and Brook Lynn should be groveling to or seeking forgiveness from.

There was a time that Willow was one of my favorite characters, but her double standards are beginning to grate on my nerves. She seems to cut all the wrong people slack for their sins and hold those she cares about most to impossibly high standards -- certainly higher than the ones she lives by. I hate the way she's been written lately. She's so sanctimonious.

Despite my issues with Willow, she is a good friend to Sasha.

Poor Brando and Sasha are waiting for news about their newborn son, Liam Mike. As Friday's episode drew to a close, a solemn Britt and Dr. Fitzgerald entered Sasha's hospital room to give the nervous parents the results of the EEG. Will it be good, bad, or somewhere in between?

I'm hoping for good, but this is a hospital drama, so I'm bracing for bad news if the writers opt to go a different route by having Brando and Sasha raise a disabled child. Not that a disability is the worst news. It's not. As we were reminded this week, Sonny and Carly's daughter was born with spina bifida, and Donna is doing very well. Many disabled children grow up to have full and rich lives.

What I don't want to see is Liam die. I don't think I could watch Brando and Sasha have to say goodbye to a son that they both love with all their hearts. That would be cruel and frankly unfair. Brando and Sasha have overcome so much, and they are such a sweet couple. I don't want to see their little family torn apart.

It's one of the reasons that I want Gladys on a slow boat to anywhere except Port Charles.

Whatever pity I had for Gladys evaporated when she complained about the name that Brando and Sasha chose for their son. The poor wee babe is hooked up to tubes and being kept under cooling blankets in an incubator, but all Gladys can obsess over is her grandson's name. It was in that moment that I realized that Gladys is incapable of change. She's as empathetic as a brick.

I'm sorry, but being a young single mother isn't an excuse for selfish and bad behavior. Gladys told people that her son was dead, and she lapped up the pity the lie generated. She shamelessly exploited it to manipulate people, including Carly and Sonny, who really had lost a son, which I found particularly egregious.

Instead of respecting Brando and Sasha's wishes, or even consulting with them first, as Carly suggested, Gladys decided to call the baby "Mikey" because she thought the name Liam wasn't rugged enough. I hope that Brando and Sasha limit Gladys' time with Liam because that woman doesn't deserve to be a grandmother. She doesn't even deserve to have a pet rock.

It really makes me wonder about Brando's father and why he's not part of the picture. Did Gladys tear his head off after they mated? It wouldn't surprise me in the slightest.

Finally, it's that time of year. My next column will be a review of 2021 -- the good, the bad, the best, the worst, and a few honorable and dishonorable mentions. Without giving anything away -- I don't want a big ol' lump of coal in my stocking from Dan Kroll -- I will be discussing the trend of killing off characters only for them to return from the dead. Over. And. Over.

Is there a soap clich that you are tired of? How do you think GH can improve in 2022? I have some ideas, but they will have to wait until next time.

As Ava searched the castle for her car keys, I couldn't help but wonder. Do Nikolas and Ava keep their cars in a garage (picture the Batcave) on Spoon Island and are they ferried to the mainland in them, or are the cars stored in a warehouse on the piers? Until I'm told otherwise, I'm going with Batcave.

Did you catch the name switch? Madame Wu (Lydia Look) went from being "Nina Wu" to "Selina Wu." I approve of the change, since we already have a Nina. I imagine that's what spurred the decision.

Lucy's scenes with Sasha were some of the best this week. I loved how she talked about Dominique and Serena, and the miscarriages that Lucy suffered. I like this Lucy so much more than the scatterbrained Lucy who prattles on like a runaway train skidding off the rails. That Lucy gives me a headache.

Stone Cold, sucked into a Vortex under the Tunnel Rubble on the Island, gets Spit Out and ends up on the Pennsylvania Side of the Mediterranean Sea, in Llanview, where he will emerge as Jason Quartermaine, MD, played by (the Fully Vaccinated) Trevor St. John. -- Missez Premise

I had another idea about the mystery prisoner. Although I'm hoping for Holly, I vaguely recall Helena sending a picture of Claudette to Val, after we thought she was dead. Then the story was dropped. But Claudette could be held on Cassadine Island, as a means to control Val in the future. -- Kim LaSota

It is already a creepy coupling of Sam (Kristina's older sister) with Dante (Kristina's older brother). Then when you think of Leo's relationship with both (Dante's baby brother and Sam's baby brother), It is super creepy! -- Jane

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

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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.