Some days are diamonds (some days are stone)

The writers are ramping things up and giving us cliffhangers that are absolute gems. Is Victor plotting world domination again? Is Britt's diamond necklace the Ice Princess in disguise? Will Trina be able to get Spencer out of her system before she loses Rory? Let's discuss in this week's Two Scoops of Sweeps.

How do you know exciting things are headed our way? Shocking cliffhangers, and exciting twists and turns when you least expect them. There's been so much good stuff going on in Port Charles lately, I hardly know where to start. Heather Webber is back, Liz came face to face with Daddy Dearest, and Willow got some bad news at her prenatal checkup, but let's start with those delightfully toxic Cassadines.

To anyone who thought Victor might have somehow found redemption, I'm sorry. I know the sting of disappointment of being disillusioned by someone I liked. Unfortunately, Victor's carefully constructed faade has cracked, and the real Victor is starting to bleed through. Victor is a real tough cookie with a long -- and very sordid -- history of breaking hearts through evil deeds. I understand the temptation to give Victor the benefit of the doubt because Charles Shaughnessy is absolutely charming.

There were even moments when I started to question if Victor had changed. Certainly, fatherhood would have an impact on a man like Victor, but nope. Victor is still a demon. He's the man who held Robin Scorpio hostage for eons to carry out his mad science experiments, who carried out all manner of mayhem while at the helm of the WSB, and who -- along with his brothers Mikkos and Tony -- attempted world domination using a weapon of mass destruction.

People like Victor have no desire to seek redemption. It's simply not in his nature to think of the greater good because he only cares about himself and power. It's why Valentin is wise not to trust his father.

That brings me to Holly Sutton.

Holly washed ashore with no memory of the last two years. In the short time she's been in Port Charles, there have been several sketchy moves on her part, like turning off the ringer on Robert's phone, her reluctance to call her son Ethan, and her almost reserved behavior around the love of her life, Robert. Then, there was the shooting on the docks when Lucy was shot and fell into the water, which happened right around the time Holly surfaced further down the beach.

Like Jordan, Robert, Dante, and anyone else with half a brain cell and no ulterior motive (I'm looking right at you, Arden), the setup is obvious. Arden's eagerness to charge Anna screams "minion of Victor." Why not? Ashby is in Victor's pocket.

Viewers know that Anna did not pull the trigger on Lucy, so who did? The drone footage shows Anna, but footage can be tampered with, and Anna has an evil twin named Alex Merrick who was presumed killed in the open sea but whose body was never recovered. In the real world, that would be another layer to the tragedy, but on soaps, it means the person is alive and well. This is especially true for villains like Alex.

What we know about Alex is that she's not only Peter's mother, but she is exactly the type of person who would be in cahoots with Victor. It begs the question: is Alex back and hiding in plain sight beneath a mask of Holly Sutton? Call me jaded, but that slap that Holly gave Victor is exactly the type of move I would expect from Alex to throw suspicion off of her. Additionally, it would explain why "Holly" was hesitant to go to the hospital for medical treatment and why Holly seems almost blas about her amnesia.

I don't buy that it's the British way. It's the way of someone like Alex who is incapable of emoting genuine feelings.

I'm delighted to see Emma Samms back on GH, and I really hope if Alex is posing as Holly that it will lead to Holly's rescue. The last time we saw Holly, she was a prisoner, and recent events suggest that Victor was the one holding her. Is he still? Could Holly, Lucy, and Luke be together in one of Victor's secret lairs? Not going to lie, I would love that twist! Doubly so if Jason pops up, too.

Since we are on the topic of the Cassadines, I have a theory about Britt's necklace. I'm almost certain the Ice Princess was broken up into the diamond gems that make up the necklace found in Peter's safe deposit box. Cody's lack of surprise at seeing the valuable bauble left little doubt in my mind that he was in Port Charles for that very thing. Given that Cody believed he was the son of Leopold Taub and his penchant for skirting the law, it's entirely possible Cody is part of the axis of evil that spawned the likes of Peter August, Cesar Faison, and Jerry Jacks.

I don't like Cody. He's a liar, a misogynist, a blackmailer, and a lousy worker because I hardly ever see him at the stables, doing his job. The writers haven't given me any reason to want to root for this guy other than to dangle the possibility he is Mac's son. I might be in the minority, but I really hope it's not true. Mac deserves better, and the fact that Maxie -- who is the worst judge of character on the planet -- likes Cody suggests that this is going to end badly for everyone.

I want Britt to find love, but not with Cody.

Now, let's get to the Webbers. Big things are happening, starting in Monterey, where Elizabeth has come face to face with Jeff. Hallelujah! This story has been 25 years in the making.

Elizabeth and Terry lured Jeff and Carolyn Webber to a coffee shop so Elizabeth could break into her parents' home and look around for anything that might shed some light on what happened to Finn's wife Reiko in that stairwell so long ago.

I loved every single one of Elizabeth's scenes on Friday's episode. The flashbacks, the photograph of Audrey on the mantel, and, of course, the much-anticipated moment when Elizabeth and Jeff saw each other. I'm thrilled that it's Jeff and not Carolyn who found Elizabeth in the house because it was Elizabeth and Jeff's reunion I most wanted to see. I'm slightly disappointed Jeff has been recast -- I had a mad crush on Richard Dean Anderson at one time -- but I'm a fan of William Moses, so I'm eager to see where this goes.

But I'm leery, too. I don't want the writers to throw Jeff under the buss the way his brother Rick was when Chris Robinson reprised the role. Jeff Webber isn't just a past character, he's Steve Hardy's son, Monica's ex-husband, Laura's uncle, and the quintessential good guy -- heroic, dashing, and kind. Everyone loved Jeff because he was a brilliant doctor, a generous soul, and, of course, incredibly handsome. Jeff was so revered that even after he left town, people would continue to talk about him and occasionally visit him.

Jeff's only flaw was his relationship with Elizabeth.

By all accounts, Jeff and Carolyn were close to Jeff's son, Steven Lars (whose mother is the infamous and newly recast Heather Webber), and their daughter Sarah. Elizabeth believed it was because both Steve and Sarah had an interest in medicine and a desire to become doctors, while Elizabeth was more of a free spirit. True, Elizabeth went into nursing, but that was to honor her grandmother Audrey and happened long after she had lost contact with her parents.

If I recall correctly, Sarah also lives in California, so I would not be surprised if she lives close to her parents. Unfortunately, Steven is serving time in Memphis for murder. Steven was a genuinely kind and caring man, but he made a horrible choice when he was faced with a dying teenage girl in desperate need of a lifesaving transplant and a comatose prisoner serving life for murder. It was all very sad, but prior to that, Steven had always spoken highly of both Jeff and Carolyn.

I had goosebumps when Elizabeth walked in that house and saw the family photographs. It was the closest Elizabeth had been to her parents in decades. Monday can't get here fast enough for me, but I'm also conflicted because we can't ignore the elephant in the room -- Jeff and Carolyn's profound neglect of their daughter for over half her life, including times when she desperately needed their support.

It's strange because I'm ready to give Jeff a free pass for even a weak excuse, but I'm going to have a much higher standard for Carolyn. She's an unknown. I have no emotional attachment to her because the character never appeared on-screen. What little Elizabeth has mentioned hasn't been flattering. Carolyn had been critical of her youngest daughter, and she had often made Elizabeth feel inferior to Sarah the golden child. Carolyn's only redeeming quality is her portrayer. I've loved Denise Crosby since her days as Tasha Yar on Star Trek: The Next Generation.

The other big twist this week was the return of the infamous Heather Webber. Where Heather goes, chaos soon follows.

Alley Mills -- who many will recognize from The Bold and the Beautiful and The Wonder Years, has taken over the role from Robin Mattson, who I believe retired from acting. Alley appears to have embraced the role because the minute the guards announced they were from D'Archam, I knew exactly who the wild-haired woman in the orange jumpsuit was. Olivia's bloodcurdling scream confirmed it.

Of course, Heather is back. Heather has a very long and well-documented obsession with her eldest son's baby daddy.

It truly is an embarrassment of riches, and I'm so ready for all the Webbers to come together.

In other news, Carly has chosen a new last name. She will henceforth be known as Carly Spencer, in part to honor her mother, but also because she feels like she belongs when she looks into Bobbie's eyes. I love this because I still remember how much motherhood meant to Bobbie and what she went through to have a family. I will never forget how devastated she was when B.J. was killed, and all the heartache she endured adopting Lucas -- but also during her custody battle with Tony. Bobbie's relationship with Carly was filled with so much pain in those early days and plenty of ups and downs over the years as they slowly found their way and forged a real bond.

Bobbie has her faults, and she's made plenty of mistakes, but she's a loving and devoted mother. Carly legally taking the Spencer name is a beautiful tribute to Bobbie and Carly's journey. Carly has come a long way, and I'm eager to see where she goes from here. I really hope she is through with Sonny because, as much as she may have loved him, he always chose himself over her and their children. Six weddings and seven divorces is not love -- it's utter dysfunction.

Hopefully, Carly's new outlook will rub off on Josslyn. I love Eden McCoy, but Josslyn is getting on my last nerve. Listening to Josslyn, you'd think poor Jason was used and abused by Sonny, and then, when Jason was down and out, Sonny spit on him. That was definitely not the case, and Josslyn's little speech about Jason was ludicrous and illustrated just how clueless Josslyn is about who Jason really was.

I understand that Josslyn is angry at Sonny for hurting Carly. I can also appreciate that she doesn't approve of Sonny's criminal lifestyle -- even though she had no problem with it when she was living under Sonny's roof or when her mom and Jason got hitched to run the mob together -- and she feels Dex was unjustly treated by Sonny. I have no issue with Josslyn trying to save Dex from Sonny's world, but her rose-colored view of Jason is just too much. It's not grounded in any kind of reality.

Jason was a mob enforcer. That's not an administrative position.

Jason chose to kill for Sonny. Heck, he fought for the position. No one twisted Jason's arm. In fact, just the opposite, because the Quartermaines did everything in their power to get Jason to walk away from Sonny's world, and Jason adamantly refused. Instead, he turned his back on his family, and he actively shunned them until they accepted his choices. He never wavered, and he remained loyal to Sonny until the day he "died." Jason had endless opportunities to retire with Sonny's blessing, but Jason didn't. He chose Sonny -- and Carly, too, for that matter -- over his parents, his lovers, his wife, and even his children.

What Josslyn neglected to tell Dex was that Sonny was equally loyal. Well, as loyal as a man like Sonny can be. Still, there was little that Sonny wouldn't have done for Jason, and many would agree that Sonny probably loved Jason above all others, including Carly and the children. Sonny and Jason had a special bond that was forged in violence, heartache, and decades of friendship.

Josslyn needs to worry less about Dex and more about her relationship with Cameron because it's painfully clear that she and Cam are over. She pretty much admitted it to Oscar's memorial rock. Sure, Cam will be hurt, but he will survive. He's young, handsome, and a great catch.

Since we are on the subject of honesty, I am hoping Trina has finally realized that Rory is not the guy for her. If she's fantasizing about Spencer while she's making out with Rory, then she should take a step back. Rory is a nice guy, and I was really hopeful in the beginning that he would be the one to help Trina get Spencer out of her system, but I haven't seen any sparks between Rory and Trina. Not even a glimmer.

There are plenty of sparks between Trina and Spencer.

I'm really starting to like the theory floating around that Rory is the Hook. Not only does he have a build similar to the killer's, but he's the last person anyone would suspect. I know Diane said her attacker was a woman, but she was traumatized and might be confused. There's also a possibility that the Hook wore a long wig under all the dark clothing in case anyone saw him near the scene of the crime. What better way to throw off suspicion than to have the police look for a woman rather than a man?

Women are known to favor poison, but a hook is a pretty up-close-and-personal way to kill someone. Brando was a trained fighter who was used to working out and physical labor, so I can't see someone tiny like Esme beating him in a fight. Ava, yes, Esme could beat her. But I can't see someone untrained beating Brando during a life-or-death fight. As a police officer, Rory is trained, and he could have been able to overpower Brando in a fight.

Finally, Willow got some bad news at her prenatal checkup. Are Britt and Terry finally realizing that Willow has been stuck in her first trimester of pregnancy for six months -- or however long it's been? We can only hope, because I'm getting tired of Willow sharing all her secrets with T.J. rather than the father of her baby. Michael has a right to know that she has cancer because it impacts his child. I like Willow, but she has a martyr complex that just won't quit, and it's starting to make her look reckless.

It's one thing to delay treatment for cancer until the second trimester to avoid harming the development of her unborn child, but it's not cool at all that she's not taking the least bit of care of herself. Willow continues to work instead of resting, and she hasn't told anyone except T.J. about her condition, so she is constantly on guard, which adds unnecessary stress on her and, by extension, the baby. Therefore, the news that Willow's condition has deteriorated did not surprise me. I was expecting it.

Sadly, the writing is on the wall. Michael is not going to learn the truth from Willow anytime soon. Nina has it in her stupid noggin that pregnant Willow is canoodling with happily partnered T.J., so obviously Nina is going to make some kind of public spectacle where she accuses Willow and T.J. of cuckolding Michael, and Willow and/or T.J. will have to come clean. Then, to twist the knife, Willow -- who is barely hanging on by a thread as it is -- will collapse and require a lifesaving transplant or transfusion, forcing Carly to reveal that Nina is the only one who can save Willow.

Predicable, but I'm eagerly looking forward to every single titillating bit of it, especially the part where Nina realizes how horribly she tormented her own daughter. Karma, baby. Sweet, wonderful karma.

I'm hooked, and November Sweeps is looking mighty sweet.

Why do some prisoners at Pentonville get to entertain visitors in a private room, while others have to meet with a wall of Plexiglass between them?

I am so happy that Drew finally visited Oscar's Meadow. I was starting to wonder if Drew had forgotten about his firstborn son. Now, can we give Drew a real storyline, and maybe make him part of the mission to take down Victor?

Preach, Ned! I loved Ned going off on Michael about using the last name Corinthos and only being a Quartermaine when it was convenient -- a truth bomb that needs to be thrown in Michael's face every time Michael starts ranting about the evils of Sonny.

I laughed when Terry told Britt to run the scans on Willow, and Terry would be back at GH by the time the results were in. It takes approximately seven hours to fly from California to New York, so was Terry planning on using one of the teleporters?

Probably not a SPOILER, but just a dream of mine -- Dex is AJ's son. -- Lucky Lady

I have three candidates for The Hooker: Rory (as you've said) who is doing it to be a hero for Trina (anyone else notice that Rory is very much smaller than the slabs of man meat they usually cast as cops, perhaps so he can be mistaken for a woman), Esme's mystery mom who is out for revenge, and as a wild outside-the-box choice, the deputy mayor. Fourth could be Trina in a fugue state, but I doubt they'd go there, especially with what happened with Elizabeth over the last year. -- NotGoingToTakeIt

It is often on tv and mystery books that that police are not the first to solve things. But when they made Jason and Sonny the best people in the town and had the cops come to them for help it made a new low. They can do better. Wouldn't it be great to have the young African American female top cop be really smart and solve things with no help from Sonny? -- Mary Keeley

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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