Lost memories and pier pressure: Another day at the beach on General Hospital

Lucy disappears, Holly returns, Carly has a beach day, Robert has two babes flirting with him, Anna gets framed, Cyrus is reformed, Nina won't go away, and so much more on this week's GH. Let's discuss it all in this week's Two Scoops

Dear Readers, I was convinced that Lucy was the bedraggled, soaking-wet person clawing her way onto the shore. But lo and behold, it was our dear presumed-dead Holly, the lovely Emma Samms. Holly Sutton is one of my favorite characters, and I am delighted she is back.

My husband, who pretends he doesn't watch GH, said, "If my ex-wife washed up on shore, I'd push her back in." And we laughed and laughed.

But Robert was thrilled to see soaking-wet Holly. He insisted that she get checked out at GH, which she was inexplicably hesitant to do.

I don't know what to think here, readers. And I know you are in the same predicament because so many exciting theories were floating around the GH Twitter feed yesterday. Is Holly really Holly? Or is she Anna's evil twin sister, Alex, in a Holly mask? Was the woman that shot Lucy actually Alex back from the dead? (If so, Alex looked super cute in that plaid hat she stashed in Anna's trunk.) Was Deputy Mayor Ashby, Victor's lapdog, the one wearing the mask?

Or perhaps it *was* Anna who shot Lucy, and she doesn't remember because she's under mind control? But then again, Holly was acting scared. Why didn't she want to go to the hospital? Why did Holly turn off Robert's phone ringer? Did she know Anna would call him for help after being framed for murder by Victor? Holly claims to have no memory of where she has been these past two years, but is that true? Why did Holly not want to call her beloved son Ethan? (Nathan Parsons, please come home.)

Holly said the last thing she remembers was working on a case with the WSB. The WSB that Victor used to head up. Coincidence? Is Holly brainwashed like Drew was? Is there some secret tarot card that would make her mask up like Anna and shoot Lucy? Or are Holly showing up and Lucy's disappearance not related at all?

Phew. I am dizzy considering all the possibilities that everyone came up with! Which theory is your favorite, or do you have an idea I didn't cover? Let me know!

But readers, there are more mysteries to solve. Is Victor graciously sending Valentin on a lovely visit with Charlotte? Or did he just want to get Valentin out of town so he could frame Anna? Is Valentin coming home, or is Victor holding him hostage on Cassadine Island? That darned Victor. He's so handsome and charming and...deadly.

Brief detour, here's my hope for Charlotte. She's been gone long enough that I hope when Charlotte does come back, they have SORASed her (Soap Opera Rapid Aging Syndrome), and she's now the same age as Esme and Spencer. I would love to see an angry, feisty Charlotte come home and take on Esme. Imagine Charlotte coming home and sneaking into her old home at Wyndermere and discovering Esme in the attic. Oh, what juicy fun that could be. Either A) Charlotte would side with Esme to take down Nikolas so she could get her house back, or B) Charlotte could have been swayed by Uncle Victor that she must defend team Cassadine against the world. I'd happily watch either of those scenarios play out.

On the other hand, I am glad that the Carly vs. Peyton storyline is wrapping up. It was nice seeing Linda Purl and having her character apologize to Carly. I was genuinely pleased to see some character growth and reflection for Carly, but too many finer plot points bothered me.

For instance... I lived in San Diego for 25 years and currently live in Florida. I can 100% guarantee that the beach they filmed on was in Southern California and not in Florida. Which, of course, makes perfect sense, as GH is filmed in L.A. But could they have at least picked a beach like Coronado, which is flat, instead of a rocky coastline that doesn't exist in Florida? The whole "Virginia used to sit up there on the cliff and watch me wrangle crabs" made me howl because there are no cliffs on Florida beaches. If you're curious, here's what Jacksonville beach looks like.

While we are on the topic of Florida, allow me to take a moment to thank my dear and fellow scooper friend Liz Masters for filling in for me. I live in SW Florida, and my entire town was leveled by Hurricane Ian. My husband and I had to evacuate to Ohio to stay with family until it was safe to come back. Liz messaged me and offered to fill in; I was so thankful. I had so many worries on my mind, and she took one away. We are back home now, and our house had minor but fixable damages. Many of my neighbors lost their homes completely.

The lady directly next door to me lost her whole home. The pieces are piled out by the curb, and her entire 80-year life and all her memories are washed away. (Another of my 80-year-old neighbors sneaked into the rubble and saved her photo album for her. Heroes come in all ages.). The randomness of one home standing and one being leveled weighs heavy on my heart. I'm thankful we had a home to return to, but I wept for those who lost everything. My city looks like a bomb was dropped on it. Thank you to Liz for filling in for me and everyone who sent me kind and encouraging messages. I appreciate your caring hearts so much.

But I digress. Back to GH! Another part of the Carly storyline that left me scratching my head is Drew. When Drew was in captivity, he spent his days carving Scout's name into a wall for years. I have not seen Drew in two scenes with Scout since his return. Does he ever go to visit her? If so, why can't we see it? There was a possibility teased that Sam and Drew may still have some lingering feelings and that Sam and Dante's relationship might end up as a love triangle. But that never materialized.

Instead, Drew became Carly's new puppy, following her everywhere, and seemingly that is all he does. We never see him at work. We never see him visiting his kid. He's all Carly all the time, up to and including flying to Florida to traipse after her. Readers, I have had many a flight delay in my life, and when I was laid up in SFO airport due to fog, none of my friends showed up at the airport Hilton to check and make sure I was okay. Do I have bad friends, or are Drew's actions weird?

I think it's B. I think it's weird that the writers have made Drew, who was once a fascinating character, a former Navy SEAL, father to Oliver, mind implanted with Jason's memories, father to Scout, and former love of Sam's life into just a guy who follows Carly around town. There are hardly any traces of the original Drew, played by Billy Miller. I understand that since Steve Burton left GH, Carly doesn't have a best friend. I know why they put Drew into that slot, but at least Jason went to work and shot people for Sonny in between babysitting Carly. I wish the writers would expand Drew's horizons. I love Cameron Mathison. He's so likable and watchable. I wish they'd give him something worthy of his ability to play.

Another storyline that's bugging me is the Brit/Cody storyline. We all know Brit is leaving the show. Thus, I am not allowing myself to get invested in whether Cody and Brit care about one another because she will be gone soon. I am interested in whether Cody is Mac's son because that storyline interests me. I would love to see Mac discover that he had a son with Dominique and become a dad to Cody and mentor him into becoming a better man. I would love to see Maxie playing sister to him. Maybe Cody could be the one to discover that Austin is up to no good and protect his new sister by busting him and his creepy-ass Pautuck cousin Mason.

Readers, I know you are probably at home saying, "Let it go, Tamilu, let it go." But seriously, why couldn't it be Franco helping Liz through her mental breakdown and repressed memories instead of Finn? I will never understand why Austin exists, and Franco doesn't. In my humble opinion, Finn should spend his free time trying to track down Hayden, the mother of his precious daughter Violet.

Now, let's talk about Diane. I am so glad Diane survived the Hook and is still among the living in Port Charles. I adored her scenes with Robert this week. They sparkle together. I would not mind a little romance between the two of them if Holly ends up being...not Holly. Tristan Rogers and Carolyn Hennesy have chemistry. Diane's epiphany about her life makes me curious about how the writers will write her moving forward. Is Diane about to undergo a renaissance? If so, I am here for it.

I am also intrigued by the idea of redeeming Cyrus Renault. I don't buy that he is an entirely new man just yet, although I do believe that is possible. His interest in protecting Spencer might be purely transactional. Maybe he's just trying to get in Laura's good graces by watching her grandson. Or perhaps, he wants to be connected to his family and is sincere in his desire to keep his nephew safe. I love the twist that despite Sonny's protection and the Cassadines' bribes, the person who ends up saving Spencer might be Cyrus. Imagine Martin, Laura, and Cyrus having a happy family Christmas visit at Pentonville.

At first, I hated the idea of Spencer being locked up for three months, but this new twist with Cyrus made it more interesting. I am happy to see Jeff Kober back on my TV screen. I hated Cyrus as a villain, but I am enjoying him as a potentially reformed villain. Of course, the actual storyline I want to see with Spencer is his lips all over Trina, but I guess I have to wait.

Trina absolutely did not want to go to Comic Con with Bory, and can you blame her? I don't know why I don't like him, but I don't. Rory seems like an excellent upstanding guy, but all I want is for Trina to kick him to the curb and go to prison to see her boo, Spencer. But you know, if someone seems too good to be true in soaps, then they usually are. Theories abound that Esme and Rory are in cahoots, and he was hired to keep Trina out of Esme's way. Maybe he's on the lookout for her when she hooks someone. But if the Hook claims another victim while Esme is locked up in Wyndemere, who is your next guess on the identity of the killer? Some predict it's Esme's nanny out to avenge all the people who wronged her precious charge. That's an interesting theory, but only time will tell.

Sometimes our theories are immediately shot down. Like when Esme first said she was pregnant, many of us assumed she was lying or that the baby was someone else's. But now that she's locked in the tower, talking to her baby bump and calling Spencer the baby's brother, we must assume that A) She is pregnant and not faking, and B) Nikolas is indeed the father. I am not mad about that because this will be a big soapy drama for years to come.

Imagine the day Ava finds out Esme is pregnant with Nikolas' baby. Or Uncle Victor. Or Spencer. Or Laura finds out her new grandchild is also the grandchild of serial killer Ryan Chamberlain. Oh, my heavens, this is going to be so good. Count me in. But Esme should stay away from staircases and parapets until this baby comes.

Readers, I don't want to be mean. But can you imagine this storyline if Tyler Christopher was still in the role of Nikolas? He was so good at emoting. His eyes were so expressive that he could make me weep just by looking forlornly into the camera. Marcus Coloma is a different actor and has a different take on Nikolas. The old Nikolas would have been emotionally broken by his indiscretion ending up in Esme's pregnancy. Still, this new version of Nik just seems panicked -- I miss that emotional depth of the character. I wish the writers would give him a scene where they let Nikolas feel all the feelings and recognize that his one moment of bad judgment trashed his life.

Speaking of trashed lives, I loved seeing Sonny out to dinner with the kids who still like him, Dante and Kristina. Kristina would get way more airtime if I were in charge at GH. If Ethan returns to GH, I want to see scenes with Kristina and Ethan revisiting their complicated past. I am still not sold on Nina and Sonny. I doubt I ever will be. To me, Carly and Sonny are endgame like Nikki and Victor on The Young and the Restless. Sure, they occasionally marry other people, but they eventually get back together.

It seems different this time, but a year from now, will Sonny still be smitten with Nina, or will he have recovered from his Nixon Falls experience and want his family back? It bugs me that Nina is at Metro Court. She has Crimson to run; instead, she's handing out towels at the hotel pool. Why? It seems it's just to stick it to Carly. When she asked Olivia this week to be civil, Olivia said, "This is my civil." I almost spit my iced tea out laughing.

Nina's determination to think the worst of Willow and accuse her of cheating on Michael with T.J. makes me wish Willow would scream at her, "I have cancer, and he's my doctor, you twisted bitch!" (Dear writers, feel free to use this line. I want to hear these words from Willow's gentle mouth.)

Some other things that bothered me this week: I wanted Chase and Brook Lynn to get together for the longest time, but now that they are together, it's fallen flat. Brook Lynne has reverted to being completely selfish, erasing Dante's letter of recommendation for Chase to be reinstated on the police force, even though she knows that is where his heart is. If I knew my husband desperately wanted a job and I saw an email come in that gave him hope of that, I'd say, "Hey! Hurry! Check this out! The PCPD emailed you, and you're on track to be reinstated! I'm so happy for you!" I mean, people are supposed to want the best for their significant others, right? I loved the scene where Ned and Chase were bonding, and Chase was confiding in Ned about his feelings. Wally Kurth and Josh Swickard are sweet together in scenes. I wish they'd let them duet while Chase is still pretending he wants to be a rock star.

But the writers have done very well on the topic of grief. The conversations with Maxie walking Sasha through the beginning stages of grief rang true. I am confident that Maxie still misses Nathan every day, even though she's seeing Austin, even when she was seeing Peter. Because if you have ever truly loved someone, they live in your heart always. My parents are gone, and during the hurricane, I was talking into the sky to them, years after they passed on. Sasha has lost both her beloved husband and her baby this year. I am glad she has a friend like Maxie who knows what grief feels like to walk beside her.

At my former job, we had a group of people who had experienced loss. We called ourselves the Secret Club after an article we read on grief. When one of us had a flare-up of grief, we'd send out a message that we needed a Secret Club meeting, and we'd go across the street to Starbucks and cry together. It was so comforting to have that sort of support and understanding. Maxie and Sasha are now in the Secret Club together, two women who have lost the loves of their lives and have a deep understanding of each other's wounded hearts.

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will women be hesitant to accept diamond jewelry from handsome scoundrels now that they know they may contain surveillance devices? Will Esme name her son Ace as she called him when she successfully picked the lock with the wire from Ava's painting hanger? Will someone explain why the Corinthos men are so dependent on meat paraphernalia, like Michael taking a meat tenderizer to the boat house and Sonny hanging people on meat hooks? Will anyone explain why Epiphany was so enraged at Marshall for encouraging her to pursue her lifelong dream?

Will anyone explain why Nina won't just sell her half of the hotel to Olivia and return to Crimson, where she belongs? Who has time for two jobs and an illicit romance? Will anyone explain why Willow saw bloody footprints the week before Halloween and decided to follow them? Will someone call Nina out for being a hypocrite for assuming T.J. and Willow are cheating on their respective partners when she is a homewrecker? Will Anna get rid of the evidence in her trunk, or will she hide the cute plaid hat to wear five years from now when everyone has forgotten about this shooting?

What are your thoughts on General Hospital? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- and there are many ways you can share your thoughts.