Revenge is a dish best served in Port Charles

Confession might be good for the soul, but not necessarily on soaps. Will Spencer regret blackmailing his father? Is Ava about to face Nikolas' wrath? And what happens to Portia when Curtis learns the truth about Trina? Revenge is a dish best served cold because it leads to lots of sizzling drama, especially in Port Charles.

Nina is on a mission to punish Carly for keeping the secret about Willow because Nina feels that Carly could have saved Nina a lot of nasty confrontations with Willow if only Carly had told the truth sooner. I have no doubt that Nina would have been nicer to Willow if she'd known that Willow was her daughter, but it shouldn't have taken that for Nina to be civil. Nina should have done it for Wiley.

Nina's horrible relationship with Willow is all on Nina. From the moment that Nina and Willow met, Nina has been a bully. Every time Willow tried to extend an olive branch, Nina ended up beating Willow with it. Eventually, Willow stopped trying, and I didn't blame her. Even when Nina found out that Willow had cancer, Nina raced over to the gatehouse and promptly weaponized it.

I want -- need -- a scene between Michael and Nina where he asks her, "So, what do you think about Willow's decision to protect her unborn child -- your granddaughter -- now, Nina?" There are some things that you should never ever say to a parent. At the top of that list is that it's better to mourn an unborn child than for a child to mourn a parent. Where was this mindset when Nina was keeping Sonny from Avery and Donna, who were mourning their father?

Nina is emotionally stunted. She always has been, and it's why Nina is plotting Carly's downfall instead of figuring out a way to make peace with her very sick daughter.

Please, don't misunderstand. Nina has every right to dislike Carly, and to be hurt that Carly kept the secret about Willow, but context is important. Carly doesn't like Nina any more than Nina likes Carly. Carly didn't tell Nina that Nelle was her daughter, so Nina accused Carly of murder. When Carly was mean to Nina on the phone, Nina decided not to tell Carly that Sonny had washed up in Nixon Falls. On and on it goes.

I find it interesting when I read comments saying that Nina has paid a higher price for her transgressions than Carly has. Has she? Really? Nina has a support system of friends and family who love her, a thriving career as both a fashion editor and the co-owner of a five-star hotel, and she got the guy. Sonny chose Nina over Carly. On top of that, Nina now gets to have an opportunity to finally know one of her children.

Carly was wrong, but she owed the truth to Willow not Nina.

Nina's quest to punish Carly will hurt Nina more than Carly because the one person that Nina wants a relationship with -- Willow -- is going to resent Nina for choosing vengeance over peace, especially when Michael gets swept up in Carly's legal mess. I'm not saying that Nina should forgive Carly, but Nina isn't any better than Carly. Let it go and focus on repairing the damage with Willow. It would be the wise thing to do, but that's not how people roll on soaps.

Nina seems poised to strike a blow against her rival by turning Carly in for insider trading. The writers weren't subtle about it, either. Right after Drew and Carly reconciled and made love, they rehashed why it's so important for them to keep their relationship a secret. A few scenes later, Drew and Carly sneaked a quick hug in the hospital's hallway, where Nina just so happened to see them. It doesn't take a crystal ball to see where that's going to lead.

If Michael does get charged, I doubt Carly would let him go to jail. She'll fall on her sword to spare her son that nightmare, and I do believe Sonny would help. Michael was raped in jail, so I can't see Sonny being okay with Nina endangering his son like that. Sonny loves his children, bad blood or not.

Now, let's talk about Harmony.

What was Harmony doing in the light? Didn't she murder people and help groom and exploit young women for a sexual deviant cult leader? I would expect Harmony to be in a much darker -- and infinitely warmer place -- than the bottom of the stairway to heaven. I know Willow likes to see the best in people, but even she must know that following Harmony anywhere would be an incredibly bad idea.

I honestly didn't understand what the point of the scenes between Harmony and Willow were. It would have made sense if Willow had confronted Harmony about the murders and lies and if Harmony had been remorseful for the awful things that she'd done, but that's not at all what we got. I found the entire encounter slightly disturbing, between Harmony repeatedly referring to Willow as "Kali" -- despite Willow's demands not to -- and Harmony's efforts to steer Willow away from the land of the living. It was a very strange near-death experience -- and a wasted opportunity for Willow to get some closure.

I would have preferred if Silas Clay had welcomed his daughter on the other side. At least then it would have made sense why Willow might have been tempted to follow her parent into the light.

Speaking of Silas, Elizabeth confessed to Finn.

Elizabeth was horrified when Carolyn told her about Nikolas' plans for Esme. Elizabeth decided that she'd had enough with Cassadine shenanigans, so she told off Nikolas and came clean to Finn about everything, including that Esme had been imprisoned in the north tower before washing up on the Haunted Star. Elizabeth was prepared to go to the police, but Finn stopped her. Why should Elizabeth do time for a crime of Nikolas' making?

Also, even though Esme might have amnesia now -- which I'm more inclined to believe since her talk with Nikolas -- she most certainly did not have any memory loss prior to leaping off Wyndemere's parapet.

There's no question that Esme committed crimes, including attempted murder, and she needs to pay for them. What Esme did to Josslyn and Cameron was vile, and Trina certainly did not deserve to get framed for a crime that could have sent Trina to prison for years. Also, let's not forget that on top of trying to kill Oz Haggerty, Esme spent months helping Spencer terrorize Ava. At one point, even Avery was targeted as part of the scheme.

I'm fine with Esme being redeemed, but there needs to be a reckoning first. I love Ava and Valentin now, but that wasn't always the case. Both have done despicable -- even evil -- things in the past, but they paid the price for those deeds, and they atoned for their sins. It wasn't overnight or even a few weeks. It was a process, and that included making amends to the victims that they could. They've done their penance, and each makes an effort to be a better person than they were.

I need to see Esme take a similar journey before I'm ready to let her wicked past go. A few weeks of amnesia does not a redemption make.

I am delighted that Dante and Sam are finally working to track down Esme's nanny, Maggie Fitzgerald. I'm almost certain that Maggie will be revealed to be the person behind the poisoned hook, so I'm looking forward to learning more about the mysterious nanny. She seems to be the key not only to the hook attacks but also to how Ryan and Esme ended up finding each other. With serial killer parents, and a possibly homicidal nanny, it's no wonder Esme ended up as she did, and it's why I'm still not 100 percent certain that Esme isn't faking the amnesia.

While Sam and Dante search for Maggie, friends and family gathered to say goodbye to the Hook's latest victim -- Britt Westbourne. Everyone gathered in the hospital's chapel for the memorial service, except Josslyn. Josslyn was a no-show. She told Dex that she had to skip the memorial service because of her niece's birth, but that was complete malarky. Sonny and Nina managed to attend. By the time the memorial service started, Willow was out of surgery and recovering in the ICU.

Let me be clear, I have nothing but love for Eden McCoy. She is a fantastic actress, and her performances are perfection. It's the writing that I have an issue with. Ever since Joss met Dex, she has changed. She makes endless excuses for Dex, but she rages at Sonny as if she just now realized that he's a mobster who does bad things. I get that Joss is mad at Sonny, but it's too much. Yes, Sonny was unfaithful to Carly, but let's be honest -- Carly and Sonny have been married and divorced so many times that they probably have their own clerk at the courthouse.

I'm no Sonny fan, but he's always been loving and supportive to Josslyn. He's treated her with nothing but kindness, and he's been there for her whenever she needed him. Did Sonny choose Nina over Michael? Yes, but Michael isn't a child. He's a grown man with a family of his own. He doesn't need Josslyn fighting his battles.

If anyone should understand a cheating heart, it should be Josslyn.

I want Josslyn to let go of her anger at Sonny for Donna and Avery's sakes and for her to focus on med school. I'm tired of hearing Josslyn carry on about the evils of Sonny while hooking up with his enforcer-in-training. Perhaps if Josslyn wasn't blinded by her hatred for Sonny, she'd see that Dex isn't exactly what he seems, and he's keeping secrets.

Meanwhile, Josslyn's old pal Spencer is embracing his Cassadine side.

Ava decided to give Spencer some leverage over Nikolas by sharing the link to the video of Nikolas' false confession about pushing Esme off the parapet the first time that Esme took a flying leap. Spencer was practically giddy with joy when he saw the confession, but Trina, not so much. Trina wisely pointed out that Nikolas is not a foolish man, and Spencer should ask himself why Nikolas would record such a damaging confession. Trina also questioned what Ava's role was in the whole thing.

Spencer didn't care because the video gave Spencer the means to exact his revenge against Papa Cassadine. Spencer promptly blackmailed Nikolas -- in a chapel. Poor Laura had to witness it all.

Adam Huss stepped into the role of Nikolas because Marcus Coloma was unable to film his final scenes. After Friday's episode, it appears that Adam is only in the role to usher Nikolas off canvas. Nikolas' goodbye to Laura seemed final -- as if Nikolas intended to leave town. I hope that's the case because I certainly don't want him to die. Unfortunately, Nikolas made a beeline for Wyndemere, where Ava was. Ava has zero flips to give about Nikolas' pain, and Nikolas is a man with nothing left to lose. That's a dangerous combination on a soap opera.

What the writers have in store for us on Monday is anyone's guess, but it doesn't bode well for Nikolas. I know that he's done terrible things, but I want there to be hope for him to return a changed man -- literally and figuratively. I've loved Nikolas since the first day he arrived in Port Charles with his Uncle Stefan. Laura doesn't deserve to lose Nikolas again, especially when she has a daughter in a coma and a son living a continent away who never visits. It would be cruel.

I'd rather that Nikolas just leave town and take a long vacation on a beach where he can rest, relax, and reset. He's long overdue for a mental health break.

As for Spencer, it's laughable to think that anyone would give him custody of a newborn. I don't care if he buys a mansion and hires a team of nannies; Spencer is still on parole for stalking his stepmother. That scene in the chapel showed me that Spencer has the capacity to be just as bad and destructive as he accused Nikolas of being.

I also take issue with how Spencer paints his childhood. He talks like Nikolas was a rotten father from the start, but that's just not true. Spencer and Nikolas had a very close and loving relationship for most of Spencer's life. It wasn't until Nikolas returned from the dead and started dating Ava that Spencer turned against his father. Spencer forgave Nikolas for faking his death and staying away, but he absolutely refused to accept Nikolas' relationship with Ava. Why? Because Ava chose to have her disfigured face surgically corrected instead of testifying against Valentin in the wrongful death lawsuit that Spencer filed.

It turns out, Valentin didn't even kill Nikolas. Spencer was consumed with revenge over a murder that didn't happen.

Trina was right. Spencer lived an exceedingly privileged life, and he attended the best schools that money could buy. Even now, he doesn't have to work because he has a hefty trust fund thanks to his father. Spencer needs to grow up, not raise a child. I love the chemistry between Spencer and Trina, but I don't want Trina saddled with a bratty man-child who thinks he has the right to dictate people's lives when he can't even support himself without daddy's money.

Maybe Sonny and Nina could adopt Esme's baby. It would give Nina and Willow an opportunity to bond at mommy and me classes.

Finally, will Curtis and Portia tie the knot, or will Portia's world implode at the altar when Stella gets to the part of the wedding vows where she asks if anyone present knows of any reason that Curtis and Portia should not be joined in matrimony? If Jordan doesn't raise her hand, Stella will. If not, I fear the pressure of Stella keeping the secret will trigger another stroke.

I'm really looking forward to the wedding because I know that there are going to be fireworks. The writers have set everything up for the bombshell to drop, and I, for one, can't wait. I'm tired of Portia's excuses, her lack of guilt, and her hypocrisy. We know that a paternity test will reveal that Trina is Curtis' biological child because that ancestry site that both Trina and Stella used 100 years ago already confirmed that they each had a close relative in town. I just want the truth out. It's long past time.

Trina's dad will always be Taggert because he was the one who raised her. He was there for the midnight feedings, the diaper changes, her first steps, her first words, her first day of school, and all the other important moments and milestones in her life. Nothing will change that. I also have no doubt that both Taggert and Curtis will put Trina's happiness first. The writers did a good job of building a solid friendship between Curtis and Taggert, so when the dust settles, Curtis will have a place in Trina's life with Taggert's blessing.

I gave birth to two healthy full-term babies, and they were half the size of Willow and Michael's "premature" daughter who was rushed to NICU. No wonder poor Willow hemorrhaged.

Go, Stella! She figured out in a few hours what Portia has spent 20 years hiding. Jordan should consider giving Stella a job consulting on cold cases. My favorite moment was when Stella asked Jordan if Curtis and Portia were related. I howled with laughter.

Seriously, how hard can it be to gather evidence against Linc for sexual harassment? Every other word out of his mouth is offensive, and the man couldn't keep his hands to himself if they were glued to his sides. Just ask Curtis for copies of the security tapes.

UGH Mason's back and is now threatening Maxie's kids AND WE STILL DON'T KNOW what he wants Austin to do and who is the "so called" lady boss that Austin must obey her orders. Still a non-story. Dreyne Smythe

IF Willow knew all along she was related to Nina, BRITT, Liesel, Wiley, James- the doctors could have lined up a bone marrow donor early on. Yes, Carly made decisions for Willow that if someone made for Carly, she would have had Jason kill them. That being said, it's not Carly or anyone else's fault that Nina has been a total WITCH to Willow all along. -- LuckyLady

For someone who can't remember her own name, Smirky [Esme] sure is good at remembering everybody else's. She immediately made the connection between Mayor Laura Collins, and Dr Kevin Collins, and she seems to be able to easily recall the names of other people she's been asked about but doesn't remember. If she is faking, she's doing a damn fine job! She even seemed uncharacteristically "girly," getting all dreamy and squishy about Spencer, hoping he's the father of her baby. It will be very telling to see how she reacts when she learns that she's not carrying Spencer's child, but his sibling. So far, I don't believe any tests have been done to determine that baby's paternity, but that's something that needs to be done as soon as humanly possible. -- Scrimmage

Please feel free to leave a comment below or email me. I love hearing from everyone and reading your thoughts.

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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