It's Always Sonny in Port Charles

Everyone's talking about Sonny, and much of it isn't good. Are his days as the mob boss with a heart of gold coming to an end? Can Dex really find redemption by switching sides? What will Ava do about Sonny's medication? Let's discuss in this week's Two Scoops of Sonny days.

Folks, I'm conflicted. I have not been a Sonny fan for quite some time. It wasn't one thing that turned me against him, but rather a combination of things that shifted my perspective. I remember Maurice Benard as Nico Kelly on All My Children, so I was excited to see him join the cast of General Hospital a million years ago, until he was shown to be a sleazy mobster who owned a strip club and got Karen Wexler hooked on drugs.

However -- as is often the case with good writing -- things turned around for me when Sonny fell for Brenda Barrett and showed remorse for what he'd done to Karen. He even vowed to never allow drug trafficking in his territory, which even Karen appreciated when she made peace with Sonny. Sonny's remorse and his effort to do better showed growth, and for a soap character, that can make all the difference. For a time, it did.

Sonny's love story with Brenda was one for the ages -- a true supercouple who hooked me from the start then shattered my heart when Sonny left Brenda at the altar. I hated how it sent her spiraling, and I was so angry at Sonny, even though I knew that he loved her. I wanted to fall in love with Brenda's romance with Jax, but I couldn't because it was clear that Jax would always be Brenda's second choice.

Sonny's relationship with Carly didn't endear him to me, either. I hated every second of their toxic love. They always brought out the worst in each other and treated each other horribly. They never pushed the other to be a better person, but rather enabled each other to be two selfish, awful people. Worse, they had children, and those poor kids had a front row seat to years of dysfunction. It's frankly only through the miracle of soaps that Michael, Morgan, and Josslyn didn't grow up to be axe murderers.

It's one of the reasons that I just can't be mad at Michael for going to the lengths that he did to make Nina pay for not telling anyone that Sonny was alive and an amnesiac in Nixon Falls. Where do you think Michael learned those dirty tricks from? Same with hiring Dex to take Sonny down by gathering evidence of Sonny's crimes. I didn't condone those things, but I understood why Michael took those drastic actions. Let's be clear, what Michael did with Dex was just as legal as Nina reporting Carly and Drew to the SEC, but both those things were a betrayal nonetheless, especially in Sonny's world.

Not that Sonny hasn't committed his own fair share of betrayal, but his hypocrisy is the least of his sins. I grew to abhor Sonny because, over the years, I've seen him do some pretty horrific things in the name of retribution. He has murdered traitors in his organization, his mob rivals, and personal enemies. A.J.'s death was the final straw for me. However, as much as I have grown to dislike Sonny, I'm torn right now because I know that he's spiraling through no fault of his own. I have compassion for his situation, but I also fear that it's going to be his get-out-of-jail-free card. Literally.

Sonny should pay for his crimes, but will he? Unlikely. Part of the problem at the moment is that it's not exactly clear when Valentin began to tinker with Sonny's meds. Was it when Sonny first returned from Nixon Falls or later, when Valentin approached Sonny about moving arms for Pikeman? Was Sonny's order to have Dex picked up and hung from a meat hook in the freezer a result of a lower dose medication and grief over losing his cousin to the Hook killer or just Sonny being his awful self? I don't know, but I do know that it will be important down the road when Valentin's role in Sonny's troubles is exposed.

I suspect that this twist will also shift Laura and Anna's view of things when they learn that Sonny was essentially unmedicated during that assault with Cyrus in All Saints Church. Not that it matters, because even without that bit of information, it's likely not the silver bullet to take Sonny down that Anna seems to think it is. Diane will be able to plead this down because, by Cyrus' own admission, he provoked Sonny. Laura and Anna might see things more clearly now and be ready to take Sonny down, but will they feel the same way when they learn what Valentin has done?

After that scene between Laura and Anna, my friend Vanessa said, "That conversation between Laura and Anna! Sonny has to have road rash 'cause they were dragging him!" She's not a Sonny fan, either, but both Laura and Anna were pretty harsh. Don't get me wrong, better late than never, but we are skeptical about their commitment to their new mission. Also, their reasons for having their blinders ripped off about Sonny seem a bit contrived.

Dex confessing that he'd been ordered by Sonny to kill Cyrus -- a hit that Sonny ultimately stopped -- doesn't strike me as something particularly awful in the scheme of things that Sonny has done. I get death by a thousand paper cuts, but I would have preferred if Anna had simply decided that it was time for her to do her job and bring law and order to the city instead of letting the Dimpled Don of Port Charles stop the bad guys.

Laura's epiphany was a bit more personal. She saw the light about Sonny when she got a gander at the horrific shape that he left Cyrus in after the beatdown in church. However, will she still see Sonny as the evildoer she does now when she learns that Valentin exploited Sonny's bipolar disorder? After all, if Heather deserves a second chance because she suffered from cobalt poisoning, doesn't Sonny deserve the same grace?

In the end, it's unlikely that Sonny will truly be held accountable for his past or present crimes because Valentin pretty much guaranteed him a second chance. The question is, what will Sonny do with that? Will he finally retire? I think the narrative that he serves an important role by keeping the streets of Port Charles safe from worse bad guys is both antiquated and nonsensical. That's the job of the Port Charles Police Department. It's time to let them shine.

It's not like Sonny can't be a part of the action. As a retired mob boss, he can be a helpful asset to Anna and Robert as they fight the new wave of supervillains spearheaded by Valentin. If Anna and Dex can find redemption by switching sides, why can't Sonny? Who knows, maybe I'll start liking Sonny again.

Now, let's talk about Ava. After pilfering a couple of random pills from Sonny's prescription bottle to help her sleep, she realized that something was off because they didn't make her groggy. I had a big issue with this. Why would Ava do something so reckless? Granted, Sonny isn't likely to have dangerous narcotics laying around, since he refuses to traffic in drugs, but she knows that he suffers from bipolar disorder. Why would she take his pills, especially since he needs to take them daily, or there could be consequences? I might understand if Sonny had something like an antihistamine or melatonin in his bathroom, but taking someone else's prescription meds is playing Russian roulette.

Luckily for Ava, the pills did nothing except arouse her suspicions, so she had the capsules tested and quickly learned that Sonny is not receiving the correct dosage of medication. Ava now finds herself in familiar territory, but what will she do about it? Will she repeat one of the darkest moments of her past and take advantage of Sonny's fragile mental state, or will she do the right thing? If she does the latter, there's a chance that Sonny's attitude toward her will revert back to what it was before he invited her to move in. However, it could also score a few points with him. Lying definitely will not.

I love Ava, so I really want her to do the right thing. Not for Sonny, but for herself and, more importantly, for Avery. Poor Avery will already grow up to learn some pretty ugly and heinous things about her parents, so I really don't want this to be added to that list. It's bad enough that Ava tampered with Morgan's medications and sent him down a dark path that led to his tragic death.

I don't have an issue with Ava and Nina's friendship falling apart, though. That never made sense to me, so I look forward to Monday because the previews look explosive when Nina confronts Ava. I'm really curious to see what Ava has to say for herself and if we finally get some insight into what is driving Ava to spin her web of deceit with Nina and Sonny. She seemed genuinely surprised that Sonny's meds had been tampered with, which suggests to me that she isn't in league with Valentin. Also, the way that she sniffed Sonny's cologne seemed more the act of someone with romantic intentions rather than malicious ones.

Lately, all roads in Port Charles lead to Sonny. Not just Dex fast-tracking through the police academy so he can get a shiny big target on the back of his brand-new police uniform, but even Jason can't stay out of Sonny's orbit. I applaud Jason for focusing on his legal business at Corinthos Coffee, but I have no illusions that Jason is ready to go on the straight and narrow. He's clearly setting up shop in the warehouse to keep an eye on Sonny and jump into action if needed. If he wanted to turn over a new leaf, he would sell his half of the coffee business to Sonny and carve out a new life for himself and his sons.

I don't see that happening, nor do I see Jason and Carly reconnecting as lovers anytime soon. That message was driven home by two important scenes. The first was during their talk when Carly gave Jason the CliffsNotes version of what led to her divorce from Sonny. I loved that scene because Carly explained everything without playing the blame game and painting herself as the victim. It was refreshing to see, especially juxtaposed to Nina, who can't seem to stop spreading gossip about Carly -- much of it wrong.

Carly is no saint, but she does recognize her own shortcomings and follies. She owns her garbage and takes ownership of her wrongs, especially these last few years. She's come a long way from the days when she was a mean-spirited, selfish shrew who only cared about money and power. It took decades for me to warm to Carly and even longer for me to like her, but since Nelle Benson blew into town to wreak havoc on her life, I've seen a different side of Carly emerge. She's grown as a person. There were times she faltered, but she would pick herself up and try again until she finally learned to take accountability for her actions and strive to do better.

Carly was clear with Jason when she told him that she most definitely committed insider trading. She took full ownership of losing her half of the hotel, and she didn't complain about having to pay a $5,000,000 fine. Some will say that she got away with the crime, but I disagree. She got a plea deal, which happens every day in our legal system. Did Drew pay a higher price? Sure, but that was his choice. Carly did not ask him to fall on his sword for her, and she was prepared to go to jail if necessary.

Carly could have gotten her hotel back on several occasions, but she wanted to do it on her own terms. The old Carly wouldn't have hesitated to let someone buy back the hotel for her the instant she lost it, and she would have gone after Nina like a heat-seeking missile for keeping Sonny hidden in Nixon Falls and sleeping with him when he was supposed to be working on his marriage. There's no denying that Carly despises Nina, but she puts the blame of Sonny sleeping with Nina squarely on his shoulders. That stunt at Crimson was more about humoring Drew than sticking it to Nina, which was why Carly told Drew that it was a one and done deal.

It's weird to me because there was a time when I loved Nina, but Nelle turned that around, too.

I'm disappointed that Jason bought the hotel for Carly, but the writing was on the wall that she would take it back when she spent the night in John's suite and couldn't stop complaining about all the ways the hotel was going downhill. I was hoping that Carly would agree to repay Jason for the hotel rather than accept it as a gift outright, but that's how it goes on soaps. Friends give each other hotels and newspapers to run. I need some friends like that.

After their little heart-to-heart chat, Carly and Jason agreed that they were happy with where things stood between them -- friends. Afterwards, Carly returned to the diner and practically shoved Josslyn out of her way when she saw John walk in. That one made me giggle, and even Josslyn saw the sparks between Carly and John. There was definitely no missing that smile Carly had on her face when John gave her his phone number.

John seems to be a good guy with a tendency to go rogue, which gives him the kind of edge that Carly loves. There's also the fact that John allegedly has evidence of RICO crimes against Carly, which creates a bit of a dilemma for him if he should fall for her. I'm still not entirely certain that he's not bluffing about that, but if it was a lie, that, too, will have ramifications. How would Carly react to that little bombshell if she were to learn that the new man in her life kept Jason away from her and his loved ones for over two years with a lie? Not well, that's for sure. A lot of soapy drama and angst for a relationship between two characters with sizzling chemistry. I love it.

For now, Jason needs to focus on getting his life back on track and doing right by his sons. Jake is angry, and Danny is reduced to sneaking into his father's apartment and acting like a creepy stalker. I get that Sam is concerned, but she should find a compromise so that Danny can visit with his father without committing a felony. I also think it's time for Jason and Sam to have a talk with their son about his obvious misconceptions regarding his father. Jason is not someone who should be idolized or put on a pedestal.

I would like to think that Jason has seen the light and is ready to live a different life, but Sonny is a bad habit that Jason has never been able to quit.

Moving on, my husband and I burst out laughing when Chase and Brook Lynn talked about money. To quote my husband, "That's a soap opera problem, not a real-life problem." We both agreed that if either of us had been a multi-millionaire when we were married 3,000 years ago, we wouldn't have hesitated to use the money to make our lives a little easier. We would have gone on an extended honeymoon, checking things off our bucket lists, and we would have bought ourselves decent cars, a nice house, and anything else that we needed. Life is hard enough, why struggle financially?

I appreciate that Chase isn't marrying Brook Lynn for her money, but if their roles had been reversed, and it was Chase who was filthy rich, would he and Brook Lynn have had that same conversation? I don't recall Willow asking Michael not to use his inheritance to support them. Sam didn't have an issue with Jason's wealth when they exchanged vows, Olivia was happy to move into the Quartermaine mansion when she married Ned, and Ava was spending Nikolas' wealth before the ink had time to dry on their marriage license.

I really hope that Chase and Brook Lynn have a long and happy marriage, so I want Chase to accept all of Brook Lynn, including her millions.

Sonny keeping his meds in a bathroom drawer was odd to me. Who keeps medications so easily accessible when there are small children in the home? Mine were always kept out of reach of the littles.

I saw more of Avery when Ava and Sonny didn't live together. Why is their daughter never in the living room with them, and why are there never any toys laying around?

With all that talk about the broken gas stove at Bobbie's on Thursday and Friday, I half expected the place to blow up at the end of Friday's episode. I was so relieved that it didn't.

I've decided that I do not want Brick anywhere near Jordan. As long as he works for Sonny, Brick could jeopardize Jordan's position as deputy mayor. I want better for her.

I think that Kristina, and others who accuse Josslyn of being hypocritical are ignoring the fact that she's absolutely right about Sonny. Sure, she grew up in his house, and at times benefited from his dirty money and his fearsome reputation, but over the years, Joss has had MANY reasons to reject Sonny, and yet, she always eventually forgave him, usually for Carly's sake. -- Scrimmage

I feel I am in the minority when it comes to Dex. Dex does what he has to do to stay alive. He has been this way from childhood on. He has shown he has honor -- defending the officer's wife, coming to the rescue so many times (the hook), especially with Joss. He has attempted to talk Sonny out of so many things, but in the end he was there as Michael's plant. He could have run the other way -- he didn't. A snitch -- in the end, yes. I see this as point of desperation going to Anna. He did not like what he had become -- and he did that to protect Josslyn when Sonny played the Joss card. -- Humor Me

Well Jason at least is trying to rebuild his relationship with his minor sons, but the same can certainly not be said for "Deadbeat Dad" Lucky Spencer who has been away from his son (by his own choice) for almost a decade. Remember when he left he said he was trying to find himself. Well apparently he's still looking. Just sayin. -- Sheigh McKay

What are your thoughts about what's happening on General Hospital? 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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