Dear readers, I pride myself on being able to predict what is going to happen next on General Hospital. Sometimes I pause mid-episode and say to my husband, who pretends he doesn't watch GH, "Here's what is going to happen." I'm often right, because I have been watching soaps for four decades and have their number. But did I predict that Kristina would trip over Jagger's duffel bag with a force so hard that it would send her flying through a third-floor window at Metro Court into the pool below? Nope. I. Did. Not. See. That. Coming. Neither did all the people at the Metro Court pool, because the reaction shot of everyone's faces as Kristina fell will live on in the Soap Twitter Hall of Fame!
Maybe the writers saw that we weren't enthralled with the impending custody battle. Perhaps the new writers' storylines kicked in, and they are tying up loose ends. I don't know what the reason was for the sudden switcheroo in the plots, but I can't say I'm sad. I was not looking forward to months of Molly and Kristina battling each other in court over this baby, but it was what I anticipated.
This sudden change in storyline has allowed Tajh Bellow to finally have the opportunity to shine and come into his own. Finally, he's not a sidekick to Molly and Kristina; he's not the doctor on call at GH, giving patient updates to a worried family. He has his own storyline about him, and I am thrilled. Watching T.J. weep as a grieving father who has now lost two unborn children was heartbreaking and incredibly moving. When T.J. sat against the door, sobbing, with baby socks in his hand, I tweeted, "Give him the Emmy now." And I hope he gets a nomination this year. Don't get me wrong, I love the usual suspects, but damn, can't someone new shine for a change?
Molly and Kristina are hugging and loving one another, but how long will that last? If Molly and T.J.'s marriage does not survive this latest tragic loss, will Molly still feel so kindly toward her sister?
Kate Mansi did a beautiful scene with Nancy Lee Grahn when Kristina wept for her baby. Now that there is no custody battle on hand, Kristina can admit in her heart that the baby she was carrying was her flesh and blood, growing inside her body all these months. It was heartbreaking, and she did a superb job as a grieving mother.
But then there is Molly. Readers, I confess that I am not a fan of Molly right now. People always say, "Everyone grieves in their own way." Molly won't give their baby a name. She won't help make funeral arrangements. She's left everything on T.J.'s shoulders. When T.J. begged her to stay home from work and said he needed her, she went, anyway. When T.J. sat by the door, sobbing, Molly stood in the hallway, heard him crying, and walked away! Cold. I am starting to think Kristina was right to believe that she might be a better mom than her sister.
I won't tell you what I yelled at the TV, because this is a family-friendly column, but you can probably guess. I know she is in denial and having a hard time dealing with what happened. But I'm still mad at her for running away from the man who needs her right now. Maybe it's the perfect time to free T.J. and let him find a new partner.
But let's get to the root of the problem. The baby is gone because Kristina went to confront Ava in her hotel suite, and Jagger left his luggage, apparently packed with a trampoline that caused Kristina to launch airborne when she stumbled over it.
There are rumors afloat that both Maura West and Adam J. Harrington are on their way out. I hope these rumors aren't true, but the writing has them both backed into a corner. I don't know how they will squirm free of Sonny's wrath. Sure, he's back on his proper medication now, but before he's all the way healthy again, who knows what he may do?
But Sonny isn't the only one who hates Ava right now. People with a reason to want revenge on Ava include Kristina, Molly, T.J., Jordan, Carly, Alexis, Jason, Natalia, and Nina. There are a lot of people in Port Charles who have no love for our favorite mob vixen. Heck, maybe even Valentin will be gunning for her when he discovers that Ava changed his half meds plans for Sonny to no meds. If anything happens to her, everyone will immediately think it's Sonny, but who do you think will try to kill her? As of today, my money is on Kristina.
What do you think, dear readers? Will Ava and/or Jagger be killed, or will they run away together and return at some future date? Alexis implored Sonny not to listen to Kristina's plea for revenge, but Sonny made no promises. Sonny is still catching up on his meds, so if he does do a bad, bad thing, Scott can represent him and get Heather and Sonny out of their crimes in one big double trial.
I have come to love Adam J. Harrington in a short time. I was curious about what was next for Jagger, but I fear I will never know. Meanwhile, GH has upped Charles Mesure to full-time status, along with Kristen Vaganos. I am happy to see Brennan will be back, because he is an intriguing character, but I fear that all that is down the road for Molly is sorrow. She lost a baby, and her relationship is in trouble; however, her dad, Ric, is on the way to town, so there is some potential for a good father/daughter storyline.
Back to Heather. The scene with Heather and Trina was long overdue, and let me say, Tabyana Ali is getting really good at that one tear rolling down her face thing. She wouldn't give Heather the satisfaction of breaking down sobbing in front of her, but she could not stop that one giant tear from escaping her eyes. Her rage at Heather and Esme is still present, despite the revelation that Heather suffered from metallosis when she committed her crimes.
Heather swore that she wanted to serve her sentence. Scott Baldwin convinced her otherwise, and she will try her luck in court to overturn the verdict against her. As I have mentioned before, although I love Ally Mills and enjoy her performance as wackadoodle Heather Webber, my love for GH history prevents me from accepting this premise. Heather was nuts and dangerous long before she had hip-replacement surgery. But with soaps, sometimes, you just have to go along for the ride.
I have the feeling that Kevin Collins is going to have a full appointment book, between Sonny getting back on his meds, Kristina's grief counseling over losing her baby, rehabilitating Heather to live in polite society when she gets out, and Willow getting counseling about why she is hot for her husband's uncle.
For newer viewers who aren't intimately acquainted with the GH family tree… Michael's biological dad is A.J. Quartermaine. Jason is A.J.'s brother. Drew is Jason's twin and, therefore, also A.J.'s brother, so that's how he is Michael's uncle.
I don't want to think the worst of Drew, but... is it just me, or do you feel like if Willow had said "Yes" to his offer to go on a business trip to L.A. together, Drew would be all over her as soon as he got her alone? I don't want to think he is a creep, but he's giving me creepy vibes.
Michael is working with Nina and learning to trust her bit by bit, but when it comes out that Nina is sleeping with Drew, that Willow kissed Drew, and that Nina knew it, I don't think Michael will feel so generous toward Nina again.
I am thrilled, however, to see Jason and Sonny in the same room together without Sonny hurling accusations at his bestie. It took Sonny hitting rock bottom and a suicide attempt to do it, but I think those two crazy guys are on their way back to being brothers.
Maurice Benard and Bryan Craig were spectacular together this week. Whenever I see actors that GH casually tossed away that are so wonderful, it makes me wonder why. Maurice Benard has always had fantastic chemistry with his on-screen kids, and watching his State of Mind channel and seeing how great he is with kids in real life makes me feel like Mr. Benard genuinely thinks of his on-screen kids as his own and forms bonds with them that show up on camera. Watching Ghost Morgan talk Sonny down from the ledge was heart-stopping and tense—but so beautiful. Morgan implored his father to stay on earth for the kids still there who need him, and Morgan absolved his father from being responsible for his death.
I have an enormous amount of respect for Maurice Benard. He has been so open about his own mental health struggles, inviting others to have a safe space to share their own battles, and opening up a conversation for all of us. Everyone either has mental health struggles of their own or knows someone who does. His tireless efforts to remove the stigma and bring hidden things into the open are a gift to viewers—and everyone else, too.
Watching this scene as Sonny grapples with his worth and wonders if he could fix his kids' problems by leaving this earth was heartbreaking. When they showed the roof, and Sonny wasn't there, my heart started pounding out of my chest, and when Kevin Collins opened his door and Sonny was standing there asking for help, I wept openly. I once had a friend who took his life, and I only wish some beautiful ghost had come and convinced him to stay.
Sonny knows now that Jason is not the enemy, but I am still waiting for the bro hugs to begin. Cough them up, you two! Steve Burton is such a light that even when he's playing a hitman, that light can't be dimmed. I hope that as Sonny and Jason come back together, they consider all they have been through and make different choices. They have not spent real time together since Sonny was Mike back in Nixon Falls, and Sonny hasn't met the version of Jason who has been working undercover for the FBI for four years. I want this to be a reset for them both. I want them to have a heart-to-heart and say, "Too much harm has come to both our families; what can we do differently?"
Let's not forget that someone at that Five Families meeting recorded Carly. My money is on Ms. Wu being a spy. I would love to see Sonny and Jason team up with Anna to bring her down or something.
Dex made new choices, and now he and Joss are back to canoodling. I am happy to see them reunited. I appreciate Dex more and more every time he is on, and I especially appreciate the tender way he interacts with Josslyn. After she saved Kristina from the pool, they kissed, but Dex stopped her from taking the next move. He noted that she had just been through a trauma, and he didn't want to take advantage of her. He wanted to be worthy, to be the man he thought Joss deserved. Joss said, "Love isn't a job or a to-do list. It doesn't have to be earned. Love just is."
Joss did such an incredible job as a lifeguard in a medical emergency situation, I hope the writers reconsider having her change career paths because she would be an incredible doctor. This show is called General Hospital, and we barely have any doctors or nurses left.
Another performer I would like to highlight this week is Scarlett Spears, who plays Donna. There are many beautiful and precious kids on GH, but Donna may be the best little actress I have seen in a long time. Many soap kids are a little wooden because this is their first acting role, but Scarlett seems like an old pro and delivers lines with such believability that she wows me. Sometimes I worry about her. She works so much on GH and other projects, and I hope she has time to be a kid, too. But unrelated Nana worries aside, she is knocking it out of the park.
When Donna had Sonny's pill bottle, I knew that the "Sonny's off his meds" storyline was about to end, and for that, I am grateful. If Ava leaves the show, will Donna lose her sister Avery, too? I am sure Ava will steal Avery if she goes on the run. But if she meets her maker instead, Donna may have to get bunk beds.
I also enjoyed the scene with Portia and Liz, in which Portia affirms Elizabeth in her role as head nurse. It was terrific to hear Epiphany's name mentioned and that Portia values Liz in the role. We all want days like that at work, when someone notices that what we do matters.
Another beautiful scene this week was Aunt Stella talking to T.J. about grief and telling him that grief is love with nowhere left to go, and that's why it feels so heavy. This scene was beautifully written and acted out with tender perfection by the perpetually wonderful Vernee Johnson.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Natalia convince Kristina to dump Blaze so the two of them can leave town forever to relaunch her career in L.A.? Will Carly call a glass guy to find out why one tiny pregnant woman stumbling into the hotel window caused her to fall three stories into the pool? Will Liz and Sam eventually get juicy storylines again, or will Liz keep being the vanilla pudding bringer, and Sam will just keep being Dante's sounding board?
Will Carly fire her front desk staff for not telling her someone fell three stories into a pool at her hotel? (Or did they call Olivia?) Will T.J. get to become a father when he discovers that the first surrogate lied about miscarrying and actually had their baby? Will Jagger, Ava, and the rando pharmacist hide out in Nixon Falls or Beechers Corners? Will Drew break any more elevators to have alone time with his niece? Will Sonny do a TED talk on how revenge doesn't give you peace? (Who would know better than him?)
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
- Tamilu
