If I'm guilty of love, let me do my time

Ace is on the run, Esme is back and mad as a hornet, Adam's dad is just as creepy as we expected, Carly's the new face of Crimson, and everyone is wondering what is up with Drew. Let's discuss this and so much more in this week's Two Scoops.

Before we get started -- I had originally planned to call this column What's your name? Who's your daddy? until Soap Central's Dan J Kroll sent me a text message to point out that I've used that title before. Okay, several times before. The first was in 2004 when Diego learned that Lorenzo Alcazar was his father. The next was in 2009 when we learned that Luke Spencer wanted Ethan to be his son. And then, I used it again in 2016 to talk about how confused Charlotte must be with all the various father figures in her life. You can read all three of those columns by clicking the links in this paragraph. If you want to check out all the columns that have ever been posted, you can do that here.

Oh, my dearest readers, poor baby Ace must be so confused. Our favorite adorable baby has just been sent out into the world with a total stranger who happens to be his father. I am certain Ace probably believed his big brother Spencer was his daddy, but alas. He is now a baby on the run.

I understand that Prince Nikolas is in a world of legal trouble if he ever gets caught, but honestly, I think he might be given some leniency because, at first, he genuinely believed that Esme was the Hook killer. Was it illegal to keep her hostage? Sure, but he thought he was protecting the community from a serial killer and protecting his unborn child from being born in prison. I think a jury might be sympathetic to his plight. Considering the victim was Esme, a woman who had terrorized his wife for months, filmed and released revenge porn with Joss and Cam, and was the pawn of a serial killer trying to break up Nikolas' marriage, who could blame him? All of Esme's crimes have plenty of witnesses, and I am convinced that any of Port Charles's legal eagles could weave a portrait of a man driven to the brink by a young woman set on destroying him at the wishes of her psycho father.

If I was on that jury. I'd side with Nikolas. He didn't beat Esme, he didn't assault her in any way, he made sure she ate, and he had a nurse come in and check on her regularly. Not that I am condoning keeping women captive, but I think he could get off with a light sentence, considering the circumstances. Maybe Nik and Esme can cut a deal. He will get Spencer to keep quiet about her memory being back so she doesn't have to be held accountable for her crimes if she will recant her statements and say she stayed at Wyndemere by choice. Then, they can share custody of Ace. No, that will never happen.

I am just glad that Nikolas is back, and I am happy Adam Huss is taking this moment to heart. I was so touched that he watched old scenes of Tyler Christopher and tried to find that soulfulness we loved in Tyler. It moved me that it mattered to him that he carry on Tyler's legacy. I am tearing up writing this because Tyler was so beloved by so many of us, and knowing that Adam took that to heart before picking up the pieces of Nikolas Cassadine made me a little emotional. Thank you, Adam, for honoring Tyler and our love for him by giving Nikolas Cassadine a beating heart again.

The reunion scenes with Nikolas and Spencer were very tender. Nicholas A. Chavez did a fantastic job showcasing spencer's growth as a character. The Spencer of old would never have allowed Nikolas to explain his actions, nor would he have allowed his father's words to penetrate his heart. But this Spencer, more mature, more loving, and impacted by having Trina in his life, urging him toward his better self all this time, has made Spencer a more compassionate man.

Sadly, all these beautiful scenes are ushering Nicholas Chavez out of Port Charles while he goes to film Monsters: The Lyle and Eric Menndez Story. This is a Ryan Murphy project. Great for Nicholas Chavez, but maybe not so great for us. Ryan Murphy is like Amy Sherman Palladino, as in they use actors they like in multiple projects. I hope we get Nicholas Chavez back in Port Charles, but if he does well -- as we all know he will -- Hollywood will be coming for him. I hope when he hits the big time that he doesn't forget about how much his soap fans adored him in the early days of his career.

But it's a weird business. Over the years, I always thought we would lose Tony Geary -- he was a phenomenal actor. So many times, I would see movies with mediocre acting and think, "Tony Geary could have acted the hell out of this part." So, breathtaking talent doesn't always equal movie stardom. But with our young Mr. Chavez, I just have a gut feeling he is about to launch into space and reach the stars. I am rooting for him; I want the whole world to recognize and celebrate his talent. But I also still hope he returns to GH. I know I can't have both things.

While I am giving out kudos. I want to focus on Katelyn MacMullen. Willow has had some incredibly brutal scenes with Nina and with Michael this past week. She spent so many months lying on the couch, dying, this past year, I had almost forgotten how formidable and fierce Willow can be.

Willow is facing a double betrayal, with her mother and her husband keeping things from her. Willow is lashing out, justifiably so, with those who have kept her in the dark about things that concerned her. Michael had somewhat decent motives. He was trying to keep his dad and Willow happy, and his knowledge wouldn't have changed the outcome for Drew.

But Nina? Her motives were vindictiveness. To those of you who stand on your high horse and say, "Well, Carly and Drew committed a crime!" Yeah, sure, Carly and Drew committed a crime, but as I have mentioned previously, Nina doesn't care about crimes.

She's no McGruff the Crime Dog. She's married to Sonny and is besties with Ava, so if she was opposed to crime, those two wouldn't be in her life. She would be appalled by their behavior and would be nauseous thinking about everything they have gotten away with. But Nina doesn't give a rat's *ss about crime. She merely wanted to stick it to Carly, and everyone knows it.

Back to Drew for a minute. Everyone is talking about how he has changed, and I can't decide if we are going to learn he is still under some sort of mind control or if this is an entirely new problem. Did he sustain brain damage in Pentonville? Did his entire life of trials suddenly catch up to him at once?

All I can say is that Friday's shocking conclusion was totally unexpected. When movers were packing up Nina's office and Drew (played by the dashing Cameron Mathison) strode in with an evil gleam in his eyes, I was giddy. Drew tricked Nina into signing termination papers from Crimson by threatening to shutter it. When Drew told Nina and he had already replaced her. I thought, "Wait, is Kate Howard back from the dead?" because, contrary to Nina's bellowing, she did NOT make Crimson; Kate Howard did.

But no, Carly is the new editor in chief of Crimson. That's right, Carly, another woman with zero experience, is taking over a fashion magazine, kind of like Alexis taking over a newspaper she has no experience in running. Fun!

Mind you, this is right after Carly told Sam and everyone else in town that all she cared about was protecting Bobbie's legacy and ensuring that "Bobbie's," a.k.a. Kelly's, remained successful. But apparently, the urge to stick it to Nina by taking over her magazine was just too strong. Is this just a stunt, or is Carly really changing careers? I dunno. It could be fun -- or total chaos.

I still would rather see Carly back at Metro Court. I loved her there. I would rather see Alexis practicing law again. I loved her there. I would rather see Nina... well, honestly, I would rather not see Nina anywhere. My level of hatred for her grew exponentially as she screamed at Drew about how she made the magazine and how everyone would quit if she wasn't there.

Guess what? They won't.

How do I know? Because I have worked at jobs where this has happened, the old leadership gets axed and new leadership is installed, and no one quits, because they need their job and they can't afford to take a stand if it leaves them unemployed and without money for their house payment. Drew is seeming colder and colder as the days go by. What is happening to him?

Does this tie into Jason's return? I have heard a few theories that Jason might have regained his long-forgotten memories under that rubble, and the man coming back to us might not be Jason Morgan but Jason Quartermaine. Oh, my, what a lovely plot twist that would be. Imagine if Jason actually remembered Monica and went to her and called her Mom and meant it. Imagine if Sonny wanted Jason to kill someone, and he said he wanted to go back to medical school and be a doctor instead. Imagine if Carly had to choose between the new/old Jason or his brother Drew, who was always a poor substitute for the real thing?

I love the idea of Jason being the two Jasons combined, retaining his old Q memories, and his Jason M memories, and trying to find his place in the world between darkness and light. I'd be riveted. But then, I'd really want Emily to come back from the dead, the Natasha Livingston version, because of the connection Emily and Jason had.

I had so many scenes last week that made me giddy -- like Sonny telling Nina, in no uncertain terms, to stay away from him. He doesn't want her help with Cyrus, but I think in private, he might be whispering a sigh of relief that Cyrus has backed down from pressing charges.

I also found two mother/son scenes very enjoyable this week. The first was the discussion between the radiant Jane Elliot and her charming and handsome son Ned. These two have played mother and son on and off for so long, you can see the genuine connection between them in scenes together. Anytime they are on-screen, it just brings me joy. Second was the scene with Michael and Carly as they discussed the many bad choices they had made for the right reasons, trying to protect their families. Carly ultimately forgave Michael for keeping the Nina/SEC info from her. Both of these mother/son scenes were heartwarming.

Another scene I loved last week was when Spencer did the "poof" gesture at Esme when he let her know that he knows her memories are back because she called him "Spence" and told him he always gets away with everything but then tried to backtrack and said, "or so I've heard..." Yeah, sure, Esme. That scene was fire. Avery Pohl played a lovely amnesiac, but I am glad Esme's memories have returned because she was a "fun to hate" villain. I don't hold much hope for her redemption when her first instincts are to turn to Heather and Cyrus for help. This makes me certain that if Ryan wasn't dead, she would be going to him, too.

But why Cyrus? Cyrus is Laura's brother, and it seems he wouldn't cross Laura to save Esme or get Laura's son thrown in prison. I am not sure of the angle here and not sure why Cyrus was her first thought of a comrade. Cyrus summoned Laura and Spencer to his hospital bedside to discuss Ace and Nikolas, and Laura was right when she told Spencer that Ace would be better with the two of them than either Esme or Nikolas. Poor Ace has the same misfortune as Esme -- both of his parents are a little loopy. Avery Pohl is absolutely acing these scenes (no pun intended) of a mom desperate to find her child and realizing her freedom is on the line.

Meanwhile, other scenes left me cold. I want to say up front, I hold no ill will against Kate Mansi. She's a lovely actress. But all the scenes with Kristina these days just leave me wanting Lexi Ainsworth. I say this all the time, and I am going to say it again; people aren't interchangeable. I don't feel the emotional wallop of what Kristina is going through because this isn't the Kristina I care about. Lexi started on GH in 2009 and was in and out of Port Charles for fourteen years. Now, when the character of Kristina finally gets a front-and-center storyline, they replaced Lexi, their Emmy award-winning Kristina, and I'm still mad about it.

Am I being a whiny baby? Perhaps. But that's how I feel. And I couldn't care less about Blaze. Again, no disrespect to the actress playing her, I am just not invested in this character at all. If I were just a casual GH viewer and not expected to write about GH, I would probably fast-forward through all the Kristina scenes except when she's with Sonny. I miss Lexi, and I know many of you do, too.

Also, finding out that Adam's dad is some rando and not Alcazar or the child of other people we know was a letdown. I was so pumped up when I heard rumors that Ted King was back on GH property, and I had myself convinced that Adam was going to be Alcazar's son, and Sonny would get to play opposite his real-life son as the fictional son of his rival. But alas, no such luck. Adam's dad is just some random jerk who is a bully to his kid.

Courtney Fulk is doing a fantastic job filling in as Joss while Eden McCoy is taking a break. I appreciate her stepping in as a temporary recast. But I also really miss Eden, and I am looking forward to her return. Joss will have a lot to deal with, like finding out that Dex was willing to murder someone for Sonny and having Adam's dad as an enemy. Joss may have to call in Sonny for backup, since her real dad is a deadbeat who never shows up when she needs him. Yes, that's another dig to recast Jax.

What will happen tomorrow dear readers? Will anyone realize Jordan is in trouble and go looking for her? Will that be the thing that gets Curtis back on his feet? Will Carly fumigate the Crimson offices to make sure all of Nina's germs are killed off? Will Esme go to more criminals for help, or will she ever think about going to her biological Uncle Kevin, whose house she has been living in for months? Will Dex decide he looks good in a lab coat and give up mob life for med school? Will Laura ever snap out of it and stop falling for Esme's act?

Will Ava let Nikolas hide in the catacombs beneath Wyndemere with baby Ace? Will Sam and Carly be able to remain friends once Jason comes home, or will they once again be frenemies competing for his attention? Will Cyrus' bruises be even lighter on Monday? Will Finn and Liz play 20 questions with more doctors to prove that Finn was totally innocent in the malpractice lawsuit against him? Will Drew and Anna have more depressing cocktails together, discussing their woes?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.Tamilu

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.