Here comes the son

Things are heating up in Port Charles, and it's not just the weather. Will Finn hit rock bottom because of a tragedy? Can Sam keep Danny from following in Jason's footsteps? Mac is back from helping Frisco, but did trouble follow him? Let's find out in Two Scoops of sizzling summer shenanigans.

Sam is on a mission to safeguard Danny from Jason's poor choices. She was determined to find out what kept Jason away from his sons for two years, while at the same time actively trying to keep her son away from Jason. She's furious that Jason let Danny mourn him, and she fears that Danny -- who idolizes his father -- will want to follow in Jason's footsteps. Now, as a mom, I understand why Sam would not want that. Jason leads an exceedingly dangerous life with a lot of criminal activity sprinkled in to keep things extra spicy. Unfortunately for Sam, that horse left the barn and is now galloping through the forest.

Sam's appeal to Carly for assistance was an intense scene, and both ladies made some good points. Carly calling Sam out for fighting to start a family with Jason was valid. Sam knew going in who Jason was, and she knew that Jason would always put Sonny and Carly first because Jason had repeatedly shown her that he would. Once Danny was conceived, Sam couldn't un-ring the bell, and truth be told, she didn't want to. For years, Sam had stars in her eyes when it came to Jason, and she painted him as a larger-than-life Robin Hood-like hero -- much like Carly does now -- to Danny and anyone else who would listen, which is precisely why Danny is desperate to emulate his father. He sees Jason as a dark knight, fighting for the underdog and dispensing justice by dispatching the bad guys to their just deserts.

But Sam was right, too. Carly loves knowing that Jason puts her, Sonny, and their passel of kiddies above all others in his life. Carly doesn't see Jason disappearing from his sons' lives as a terrible choice because, in her view, Jason can do no wrong. Whatever transgression Jason might commit is always justified in Carly's eyes. I loved it when Sam called Carly out for all the times that Carly tried to protect both Morgan and Michael from Sonny's world, even going so far as to have Sonny relinquish his parental rights at one time. The only reason Carly didn't stick to her decision to keep Sonny away from the boys is because Sonny ended up wooing her back to his bed.

I was rather surprised, though, that Carly didn't tell Jason about Sam's visit when Carly stopped by the warehouse to share some other news with her best friend. For some reason, Carly seems to think that Drew's bid for Congress is more detrimental to Jason than Sam's concerns about Danny. By the way, wasn't Jason's dirty laundry recently aired in an Invader hit piece following Jason's arrest when he was the prime suspect in the warehouse shooting? I'm also a bit bewildered by what Carly expected Jason to do about Drew's plans since it's not like Drew would listen to Jason or much care about how his political ambitions might impact his twin.

Now that Sam has the answers she's been seeking, her inclination is to blame Carly, but the truth is, Jason made the choice to cooperate with the FBI without any input from Carly. The person that Sam should be talking to is Jason, and she needs to start being honest with Danny about who Jason really is. Preferably, with Jason there to back her up. Danny is more man than child, and it's long past time that he be treated as such. Jason is no Robin Hood. He's a mobster.

Despite how things are between Jake and Jason, I feel that Liz has handled things far better with her son than Sam has with Danny. Clearly, Jake has no illusions about who Jason is, but he also knows that Jason is someone he can trust to have his back -- when Jason is around. Jake doesn't have a desire to be like Jason because he understands that what Jason does could land him in jail for the rest of his life if caught. Danny sees Jason as invincible, but Jake knows better. As complicated and turbulent as things are between Jake and Jason, it's based on truth and reality. Liz is giving Jake the space to work through it with Jason, and she's being supportive by listening rather than interfering.

Sam needs to take a closer look in the mirror at her own actions because she's making some pretty reckless and dangerous choices herself. Not only did she conspire to steal a federal agent's badge and hack into the FBI's database, but she's putting herself smack dab in the middle of Jason's mess. What kind of message does that send to Danny? If Sam can't stay away from Jason, why should Danny? Sam's "do as I say, not as I do" philosophy is part of the problem and one of the reasons that Danny seems drawn to trouble lately.

Speaking of trouble, it seems that Valentin framed Anna for being in league with Brennan and running Pikeman. Ahh, true love. As if hearing Valentin's voice on the other end of the assassin's burner phone wasn't proof enough of Valentin's guilt, this little stunt is just more confirmation that Valentin is not the man that Anna believed him to be. The question is, will she be able to take him down when the time comes? I hope so, because Valentin seems perfectly capable of throwing her to the wolves to save himself.

I'm starting to suspect that perhaps Valentin is engaging in a little payback for Anna nearly killing Charlotte. I say this mainly because the Valentin we're seeing seems more like the Valentin that we first met when he held a group of Port Charles denizens hostage on Cassadine Island and shot Nikolas. Valentin is cunning, diabolical, and deadly. In other words, Helena would be proud. It's no wonder she feared him above all others.

I don't care if it can easily be debunked that Anna isn't the head of Pikeman; the fact that Valentin would set her up like that seems spiteful and risky. Things don't always work out as planned. Just ask Drew how his plea deal with the SEC went for him. Valentin's easy declaration of love to Anna at the end of Friday's episode sounded anything but sincere, and it reinforced my suspicion that vengeance was guiding Valentin's actions.

I don't know where this is headed, but I really hope that Valentin picks up where Helena left off. We need good villains, and Valentin is brilliant. He has the money and the resources to escape capture, lie low, and return to wreak havoc another day. Let him. It could be so much fun, especially if he builds a little army of supervillains like himself. Jerry Jacks would make an excellent general.

Unfortunately for Anna, it doesn't bode well for her that Agent John Cates is following Valentin's Etch A Sketch map straight to her because he seems determined to believe the worst of her. I can't decide if John is utterly inept as an agent or secretly working for the other side. He can't possibly think that someone as worldly and savvy as Anna would be foolish enough to exchange emails with Jack -- the ex-head of the WSB and Pikeman -- to arrange clandestine meetings so they could plot hits on Sonny and hash out shipping schedules for their illegal arms. It's preposterous. Given who Anna and Jack are, why would two people with easy access to all kinds of top-secret technology resort to 20th century methods of communication? It makes no sense.

Also, what evidence did John offer to secure that warrant to access Anna's personal email? From what I saw, John only has a misguided hunch based on Anna attending spy school with Jack a million years ago and a few visits to Jack's hospital room. Has John forgotten that Anna is pretty much investigating the same thing that John is? She's there for the same reason that John keeps showing up -- to gather information. Unlike John, Anna is actually getting somewhere.

I like Adam Harrington, so I want to like John, but he acts like a villain, which makes me feel as if I don't really know him. That, in turn, keeps me from getting invested in him. John's behavior is sketchy and antagonistic, which is not how I would expect a good agent to act. I want Adam to stick around, but not if John continues to act the way he does. It's why I'm really hoping when the Pikeman storyline reaches its climactic conclusion that we get a better understanding of who John really is. If he's going to take up residence in town, the writers need to go a little deeper with him and give us a reason to care.

Adam and Laura Wright have great chemistry, so I wouldn't mind seeing John and Carly have a summer fling. What delicious soapy drama it would be for John to be torn between duty and Carly. I also wouldn't mind seeing Carly in a position where she faces an equally difficult choice. Should she let the man she loves do the wrong thing or should she do the right thing and face the consequences for her actions? Let's be honest -- that recording isn't proof of criminal activity. Diane could easily argue that Carly lied because she was desperate to protect her family.

I did notice, though, that it didn't occur to Carly to throw herself on the sword for Jason when John showed up in her office with a bottle of Champagne. I thought that was quite telling, since inviting John to file charges against her would free Jason of any obligation to the FBI.

My favorite episode of the week was the one on Wednesday. I shed happy tears and sported a silly grin on my face for most of the episode because Mac is back, and I was so delighted to see John J. York gracing my television screen. He looked fantastic, and Mac's reunion with Maxie and the rest of the family was everything that I could have hoped for -- sweet, heartwarming, and fun. Felicia finally showing up at the end of the episode and sharing a surprise reunion with her beloved husband was perfection. As a longtime viewer, I thoroughly enjoyed every single second of it, and it's one of the reasons why I think soaps are such a wonderful genre. Not only are the characters a part of our daily lives -- sometimes for decades -- but their portrayers are near and dear to our hearts.

I wish John nothing but the very best and continued healing. I can't wait to see what's ahead for Mac. Will we hear more about his secret mission in South America with Frisco? I was intrigued, especially since Frisco is the former director of the WSB. In fact, Jack Brennan is the one who replaced him, which means Frisco's ouster is connected to Pikeman, too. Could Frisco be on his way back to wrap up this storyline? I'm praying to the soap gods that he is because that would be an awesome development.

I want Maxie's children to meet their grandfather -- and for Frisco to see what he's missing out on. I loved the guy back in the day, but he turned out to be a horribly selfish father and husband.

Meanwhile, Mac will soon be getting the news that he has a biological son. It really couldn't happen to a better or more deserving man. Not that Mac hasn't been a father -- he raised Robin, Maxie, and Georgie -- but Mac is one of the true good guys. He's a beautiful soul with a pure heart. I love the idea that his genes will carry on, even if it's make-believe. Luckily, Cody is a much more enjoyable character these days, so this will be a great development for everyone. I can't wait for the holidays.

Now, let's talk about Finn. He's mean, self-destructive, selfish, and an all-around unlikeable guy these days because he's been drinking. Heavily. His addiction has reared its ugly head and is riding shotgun. It has changed Finn and turned him into someone who doesn't care about anything or anyone except feeding the beast and finding the escape it provides. Anything that stands in the way of that is the enemy. Michael Easton is doing a phenomenal job showing us Finn's descent to rock bottom. Truth be told, this is the most energized Finn has been in ages, which is a clear sign that Michael's talent has been wasted for way too long. He needs more meaty storylines like this to sink his teeth into because his performances have been Emmy worthy.

Chase and Brook Lynn have every reason to be concerned about Violet because Finn is not putting her first. Not only did he quit his job when Portia and Terry confronted him about his drinking, but he had the audacity to blame Liz because she spoke up. Worse, he went home and got drunk, knowing that Maxie would be dropping Violet off at the end of the day. Jophielle Love is doing an equally wonderful job with this storyline. Seeing Violet find Finn passed out on the floor broke my heart. That poor little girl.

It's why I don't blame Liz for telling Portia about Finn's drinking. We saw before he went to work that he was tempted to take a drink. Had he returned to work, it would have only been a matter of time before he succumbed to temptation. Finn's anger is another issue. It's shocking to me the way he talks to Liz, so cold and vicious. I hate it, but I can't deny that the scenes are riveting.

Will this latest incident be the wake-up call that Finn needs? There's no doubt in my mind that Chase and Brook Lynn will take action next week. Violet thought her father had died -- like her grandfather. No child should have to deal with that, so I fully support Chase and Brook Lynn doing what needs to be done in order to protect Violet. I hope Finn realizes how bad he's gotten, but this is a soap opera. Things could get a lot worse, so my gut tells me that Finn will continue to spiral.

I can't wait to see Alexis and Diane butting heads at work. I just hope their law office will be bigger than the broom closet Spinelli works out of.

It seems wrong that the Quartermaine mansion will be full of people for the summer without Monica (Leslie Charleson) around to oversee the mayhem. Also, Gio moves in, and the next day he's renting out an apartment above the garage? Rather bold for a new tenant, don't ya think?

While on the topic of the Quartermaine family, I get why Drew would like to capitalize on the Q name, but what about Scout? Will Drew and Sam legally change her last name, too, or will she remain Scout Cain?

Lucy was spot-on about Heather, and I love how she gave Scott some perspective by asking how he would feel if Franco's killer (Peter August) had been revealed to have been suffering from cobalt poisoning. We need to see more of that Lucy.

How does Natalia not know who Sonny is by now? He's literally infamous, especially in Port Charles. All it would take is one Google search on "Sonny Corinthos" to see he's a mob boss. Even in the soap universe, Sonny is certain to have a Wiki page.

Yay! Bailey Lou has been found. I had begun to worry that someone had sent that sweet child to the attic to fetch a set of skis. It's how Bobby Martin vanished on All My Children, never to be seen or heard from again.

I was so frustrated with Laura this week. Her scene with Curtis really showed how tone deaf she is about Heather. "She deserves a chance." "The courts will decide." Bah!!!! I'm glad Curtis rubbed the whole Esme situation in her face. -- Catherine Rivera

If anyone has put Dex in danger it is Michael and Josslyn. Was Sonny wrong for putting a beatdown on him? Certainly. But to act as though Dex, Josslyn, and Michael hadn't put the wheels in motion for Sonny is plain silly. I was actually starting to like Dex as a character but his police cadet face turn ushered away all of that goodwill. Perhaps the writers should've made him the Q's new cook instead of Sasha? I don't know. -- Suge Benjamin

I loved Brando & Sasha, so in honor of Johnny Wactor I rewatched a YouTube Playlist of their scenes. What struck me was how much of him was woven into the highlights of their story. Steve [Burton] and Bradford [Anderson] re-posted their first interview with Johnny, although they did another after Brando was killed off. He had so much self-awareness and humor, much of which made Gladys possible, for better or worse. Watching Brando helped me gain perspective about (and set boundaries regarding) relationships with toxic parents. If you catch Carly's bachelorette party, it was inspired by real life🔥. -- Bianca Jackson

What are your thoughts about what's going on 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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