A bridge too far

Does it feel like things have gone too far with some of the characters and couples? Are Sasha's latest troubles good drama or cruel torture? Should Finn and Liz rekindle things or make a run for it? Buckle up -- there's danger ahead in this week's Two Scoops of truth and consequences.

I love good soapy dramas. It's why I've been a soap opera fan for pretty much my entire life. General Hospital has always been my favorite, but I was also a fan of All My Children, One Life to Live, Loving -- The City and Port Charles, not so much -- and, of course, Ryan's Hope. ABC's daytime lineup has always been my jam.

I understand that bad things are going to happen to my favorite characters and that they are all going to go through stuff -- frequently. Brushes with death, falls from grace, terrible choices, and, of course, illicit romances are just a few of the challenges that most soap characters face during their lifetimes. It is the bread and butter of soap opera storytelling. Even those who wander down a dark path can find redemption if the writers are willing to invest in the character. Everyone loves a good redemption story, so we've seen it happen often.

It can't always be sunshine and rainbows for characters because viewers would get bored with things quickly. Happiness isn't dramatic or compelling on a soap. In fact, often it's a one-way ticket to the backburner. The key to good storytelling is balance -- and respect for the viewing audience.

Sasha's current predicament is neither. It's awful and downright painful to watch. Let's set aside the fact that this is Sasha's third relapse in as many years. Why would Dr. Montague do this to Sasha? I don't understand why he approached Gladys or what's in it for him. Why would he risk losing his medical license and his freedom to help Gladys? Is Gladys paying off his gambling debts with Sasha's money? Is she exchanging sexual favors for drugging her daughter-in-law? We have no idea because the writers haven't disclosed that to us.

Instead, Gladys and Montague went from gambling acquaintances to partners in crime in the blink of an eye, and it was off to the races, destroying all of Sasha's progress. Sofia Mattsson gave birth to a baby girl in June, so it appears the writers decided to send her off on maternity leave by having her character spend another stint in rehab. The lack of imagination is astounding. My two-year old niece could have written a better storyline, and hers would have had unicorns.

I loathed Gladys for the longest time, but her support when Brando and Sasha lost their son showed me a side of her that I honestly didn't think existed. She further proved herself when she stepped up for Sasha after Brando died. I was genuinely surprised by how much I liked the dynamic between Gladys and Sasha. Two lost souls who had made a family. It was wonderful -- until it wasn't. It was clear that Gladys' gambling problem was triggered by her grief over losing her son, and for that reason, I always believed that Sasha would have forgiven Gladys for dipping into her money, even if Gladys had cleaned out her account.

If anyone understood grief, it was Sasha. However, Gladys went too far by throwing her lot in with Montague. You don't come back from that kind of betrayal. It was gross that for years, Gladys claimed that Brando was dead because she was ashamed of his addiction, but what she's doing to Sasha is infinitely worse.

I don't understand why the writers seem to hate Sasha. They had her hand over her first love to her best friend, they sent her down a path of addiction, nearly killed her off, did kill off her baby and her husband, publicly humiliated her, stripped her of her independence, and now they have her falling victim to Gladys and a sleazy doctor. To what end? This is not compelling television. I don't take pleasure in watching someone suffer, and Sasha's suffering has been endless.

I would have preferred an empowering storyline. Sasha isn't an idiot. She shouldn't have trusted a doctor giving a recovering addict a sedative of any kind, she should have been keeping track of her finances, and she should have noticed that Gladys is frequently out late into the night, even though she doesn't have a single friend in town. Why couldn't Sasha have put the pieces together, busted Gladys, taken back control of her life, and gone on a nice vacation to reset and pamper herself a little? I don't want Cody to save Sasha from Gladys' vile intentions; I want Sasha to save herself.

Gladys is rotten to the core, and she deserves nothing less than Sonny's worst. I hope he sends her on a one-way trip to the Pine Barrens along with that worthless doctor.

Now, let's talk about Kristina and her cockamamie desire to be Molly and T.J.'s surrogate. My son-in-law's sister was a surrogate for two families, so I know a bit about this subject from talking to her. Yes, a family member can offer to be a surrogate, but doctors advise against it unless the person already has children. There are several reasons, but the primary one is that it tells doctors if the surrogate has a history of healthy or high-risk pregnancies. For obvious reasons, the latter would exclude the candidate as a surrogate.

Doctors also prefer that surrogates are in healthy, stable relationships. My son-in-law's sister is married and has three kids of her own. She was also an egg donor to one of the couples, so along with a complete physical and drug testing, she underwent genetic testing, and she had to see a therapist before she could proceed with the surrogacy. There's a lot to it, and most doctors would strongly advise against Kristina being a surrogate.

Ironically, Maxie's journey as a surrogate is a cautionary tale that underscores why it's a bad idea to turn to family or friends for a surrogate. If you follow me on Twitter, you likely saw a really good discussion that I had with other viewers about Maxie's surrogacy. Some of it, I had forgotten. I think I blocked it out because it was just too much.

Pretty much everyone in the discussion agreed that it was a horrible storyline from concept to execution. Shortly after the embryo transfer, Maxie tripped and suffered a miscarriage. Later that night, she slept with Spinelli and got pregnant with Georgie. Yep, you read that right. She got pregnant a few hours after she miscarried. Like I said, a rotten storyline from start to finish.

Naturally, Maxie fell in love with her unborn child, so handing over "Connie" proved to be easier said than done. In the end, everyone lost. Dante and Lulu lost their baby, Maxie lost custody of Georgie and her friendship with Lulu, and the viewers lost respect for a beloved character.

I wish people would be honest with Kristina instead of tiptoeing around it. Someone on Twitter suggested that Alexis was afraid of Kristina, which is spot-on. The truth is, Kristina is not emotionally stable enough to be a surrogate. Even Lucy -- who carried Serena for Dominique -- was unable to take a step back from Serena's life. To this day, Lucy sees Serena as her daughter. Kristina is lying to herself if she thinks that she's not going to form a strong attachment to the baby. When Lucy makes it back to town, perhaps she can have a chat with Kristina.

One of the most exciting developments for me was Lucy and Felicia's trip to Pine Valley, where they met Jackson Montgomery (Walt Willey). I couldn't have been happier because I have loved Jackson for years, and seeing him was like running into an old friend. In my head, I heard All My Children's theme music playing when he appeared on my screen and greeted the ladies. I was eager for news about everyone, and I almost resented Lucy for not asking him. I know it's irrational, but it's been over a decade.

Pulling characters from All My Children and One Life to Live is a brilliant move. They are fully developed characters with rich and fascinating histories, and I could see several characters fitting in seamlessly on GH. Heck, Dr. David Hayward (Vincent Irizarry) and Anna had a child together -- Leora -- and Skye Chandler Quartermaine started out on All My Children.

Back to Jackson. If he represents Martin's wealthy ex-wife, then there are a few ladies that I can think of who could afford to pay Martin $50,000 a month in alimony. In a previous column, I mentioned Krystal Carey (Bobbie Eakes), since Krystal could be quite scrappy, and she was Tad Martin's love interest when Michael E. Knight was on AMC. Krystal also has a connection to Jackson because she once worked for him as a paralegal. When the show ended, Krystal was the owner of a restaurant and bar. Is that where Jackson is taking Lucy for dinner?

Then there is Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), but she's a long shot. If Martin had been married to Erica Kane, Lucy would have known it because it would have been splashed all over the papers, as would her divorce and sizable alimony payments. Erica is an icon in the fashion industry, and her name has been mentioned on GH over the years in connection to Crimson. However, Erica does have a daughter who ticks all the boxes.

Kendall Hart (Alicia Minshew) has ties to the cosmetics industry. She was the founder and co-owner of Fusion Cosmetics, and she was the CEO of Enchantment Cosmetics. Kendall is very rich, and she loves Jackson like a father. She would definitely turn to him to take care of her alimony payments. On top of that, Kendall has a set of sharp claws, and she isn't afraid to use them.

Finally, there is Liza Colby (Jamie Lunar, although I preferred Marci Walker) who was an heiress and a former partner in Fusion Cosmetics. She ultimately pursued a career in law, but that could be why she sent Tracy to do the dirty work. Time will tell, but Liza would make the best partner for Tracy, since Tracy is definitely engaging in illegal activity with Brook Lynn. I know that Diane agreed to represent Tracy in the lawsuit, but I don't think she'll appreciate her client blackmailing someone into committing felonies.

So, did anyone else catch what Esme said when Josslyn confronted her at the hospital? I was gobsmacked that Esme had the audacity to refer to her crimes as "the lies that I allegedly told." Excuse me, Esme, just because you can't remember doesn't mean that the crimes didn't happen. There is no "allegedly" about it. The viewers saw exactly what Esme did, and her amnesia doesn't undo any of it. It's just one of many examples of how Esme consistently downplays her crimes, and I'm tired of her getting away with it.

Esme has zero empathy for her victims, which is quite telling about what is going on inside her head. Any time her crimes are mentioned, she gets offended and plays the victim. That's exactly how I would expect the old Esme to act. Yet, if she so much as hears Nikolas' name, she's lighting the torch and grabbing the rope. She doesn't remember the crimes that Nikolas committed, so why such a strong reaction?

Obviously, Esme has designs on Spencer because she's suddenly everywhere he is. When she ran into Trina, her words were intentional when she made a point of mentioning the parenting class and repeatedly referred to her and Spencer as "we" and "Spencer and I." Judging by Trina's expression, I wasn't the only one who noticed. It was a classic passive-aggressive Esme move.

Esme learned from her father how to play the long game. Ryan pretended to be trapped in locked-in syndrome for a couple of years, so feigning amnesia to stay out of jail would be a cake walk for someone as diabolical as Esme. If Esme isn't faking, her old self is definitely emerging. Either way, trouble is on the horizon. Will Esme be exposed for the scheming viper that she is before Nicholas Chavez leaves to film his Netflix series? I'd love that, but it seems unlikely. Things never move that quickly on soaps.

As much as I love Nicholas as Spencer, I want the role to be temporarily recast because I want Trina to be the one to take down Esme and for Spencer to have a front row seat to it. Also, I want Trina to talk to Jordan about that evidence that Spencer is holding onto because we all know that it's actually legitimate. Jordan can offer much better advice than Dex about how to proceed.

I know that Josslyn was one of Esme's victim's, too, but I feel that Trina has the most at stake -- losing Spencer -- and she was the one who faced years in a federal penitentiary. Had it not been for Oz, Trina likely would have been convicted. Trina should hand Esme her comeuppance, and Josslyn should be the sidekick for a change.

That brings me to Curtis and the shooting at Metro Court's pool. Everyone agrees that Curtis was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Sonny and Anna realized that one of them was the target, but they aren't sure which one. Sonny has already had a Black Ops sniper try to take him out, and he's been facilitating arms shipments for Pikeman. Meanwhile, Anna's past as a DVX agent was recently exposed to the world, and she had someone spray paint "Murderer" on her front door.

Dante revealed that the rifle the sniper used had ties to the WSB, which tells me that the sniper isn't actually WSB. First, an assassin for the WSB wouldn't leave a weapon behind, much less one that could be traced to his employer. It smacks of misdirection. Also, the WSB wouldn't make an attempt on Anna in such a public manner. She'd be kidnapped and never seen again.

I'm certain that Sonny was the intended target, and whoever sent the two snipers wants him to think it's the WSB that is targeting him. Clearly, it's connected to those Pikeman shipments, but I'm not sure how. A long time ago, Cyrus warned Sonny about a West Coast threat, but he didn't share any details. Is Jerry Jacks lurking in the wings? Illegal arms shipments would be something right up Jerry's alley, and he's always had a particular hatred for Sonny because of all the bad blood between Sonny and Jax. Truth be told, I've been waiting years for Sebastian Roch to return. Please, soap gods, make this happen.

Anna's troubles are different. Anna and Valentin assume that Victor was the one who leaked the story to the Sun about Anna's days in the DVX, but that never really sat right with me. Victor was dead and his evil deeds exposed. Why would anyone carry out his last wishes and send Anna's DVX file to a newspaper? Sure, Victor's lawyer seemed happy enough to oblige at the will reading, but he was legally required to do that. Contacting a newspaper was a choice, not a legal obligation.

The message on Anna's door felt personal, and it occurred to me that perhaps whoever vandalized Anna's door was also responsible for the hit piece in the Sun. Who hates Anna, knows about her DVX days, and is stealthy enough to leave a message on her front door without any trace evidence? Anna's identical twin sister, Alex Marick, that's who. Alex's body was never recovered, and she's a DVX supervillain with more lives than a herd of cats.

Oh, those evil twins. They just won't stay dead. I know that Taggert's name was tossed into the hat to replace Jordan as police commissioner, but I wouldn't mind if Anna returned to the position. What better way than to vanquish her own sister once and for all? Taggert would make a great lead investigator for the District Attorney's office.

Finally, why are the writers so intent on putting Finn and Liz back together? Have none of them ever heard of Humpty Dumpty? The writers broke Finn and Liz too many times for this romance to work, let alone feel healthy. It's not on the actors. They have wonderful chemistry, but the writers ruined it with toxic misogyny and constant manipulation.

I actually like Finn quite a lot, but not when he's around Liz. I appreciate that he saw the error of his ways, but a person shouldn't have to try as hard as Finn does to make a relationship work. Sometimes, two good people make a bad couple. That's what has happened here, and honestly, it's why I can't get into Chase and Brook Lynn, either. Like Finn and Liz, Chase and Brook Lynn have had more ups than downs, and even though they are currently in a up, the writers have already shoved them off the ledge with Brook Lynn's foray into corporate espionage.

Finn needs someone who can appreciate his quirkiness and doesn't make him feel like he has to rescue her. A brilliant eccentric scientist who challenges him and loves kids would be perfect. For Liz, I'd like to see her ride to Nikolas' rescue and lead him down the path of redemption. If they find love at the end of that, great, but if not, I'd settle for them getting their friendship back to where it was.

As entertaining as Selina Wu is, she went too far with Gladys. Selina has got to know that Sonny is going to find out that she's been feeding Gladys' gambling addiction, bleeding Sasha's account dry, and basically running amok at the Savoy. Does she think he's going to accept an apology and turn the other cheek? If Selina survives the fallout from Gladys' disgusting deeds, then the writers will make him look weak. Unfortunately, Selina must die for her sins.

I found it exceedingly odd that it took Portia so long to contact Stella and Marshall about Curtis' shooting. If Marshall didn't answer the first call, the next call should have been to Stella. Instead, Portia told the doctor that she had the full support of Curtis' family to make medical decisions, even though she hadn't talked to Marshall or Stella. Why would she say that? As his wife, she had the right to make decisions, anyway, so it was completely unnecessary to make that disclaimer.

I'm confused as to why Michael and Willow can't make love, especially if kissing and cuddling is okay. It seems odd. If Willow feels physically up to it, and Michael respects whatever boundaries she might set, I don't see how it can be harmful to be intimate with one's spouse. My husband had a transplant, and he had a bunch of restrictions in the early days of recovery, but that was not one of them.

Love the idea of bringing Krystal Carey into this. The actor and MEK had great chemistry on AMC. Speaking of great chemistry, I really liked the Spencer/Esme scenes on Friday. Most interesting those characters have been in a long time, and WAY more interesting than the constant fighting with Trina. TA deserves far better than she's been given lately. -- NotGoingToTakeIt

Nina just can't help make a mess of things and hurt innocent children in doing so. She doesn't really mean to hurt Leo or BLQ just as she didn't mean to hurt Donna or Avery. But she can't seem to sort out those consequences. -- Kim LaSota

"Eddie" said he spent the night researching Sonny on the computer. Odd that he didn't research Eddie Maine. Eddie Maine hasn't done anything since the 90s. Doesn't he wonder about the gap in his memory? -- JDF

What are your thoughts about what's happening on General Hospital? Do you agree or disagree with anything that I've shared in this week's column? I love hearing from everyone and reading your thoughts, so drop me a comment in the Comments section below. You can also join us over on the message boards for even more conversation.

Take care and happy viewing,Liz Masters

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