General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Emelee]

I'm not sure if you see the "coming attractions" clips that ABC airs right before the closing credits, but at the close of Thursday's episode, they showed Friday previews with him awake. I've learned not to take it as gospel, however, because they've been known to put clips from character dreams, etc. into the previews as if they're "real".

I'm glad they pointed out in dialogue that if Dante got moved to the long-term care facility, then poor Rocco would have two comatose parents in the same building. Odd that the hospital was talking about the move already, since Dante was only shot three days ago in "show" time.

I don't. Living in Sweden, I can't even watch GH. It hasn't aired in Sweden for years now. I read recaps of each episode.

 

[Emelee]

Today's episode.... did not expect that Valentin is now head of Pikeman, and has been for a while. Not only that, he's making sure that Sonny gets 60% placebo pills on his bipolar medication. That explains why Sonny is acting so weird and is so angry with everyone.

And then there's that snake Ava. Hiding Sonny's phone and making sure he's close to her. Is she working with Valentin, or is she working only for herself? With a best friend like Ava, Nina is better off making friends with Carly.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I also worry that if Valentin is "in deep" with Pikeman, then it calls a lot of other established plots and situations into question. Valentin has long been the CEO of ELQ (mostly offscreen). Does this mean Pikeman has its hooks in ELQ? I have to wonder if they will say that Austin's murder was a Pikeman thing, that all those threats Ava was getting was them trying to get her into line. Note that all the notes and such stopped as soon as she moved in with Sonny. I want to believe that Ava is being blackmailed/strong-armed into helping plot against Sonny, but it's getting harder to believe some of this isn't her own motivation. Maura does "shady behavior" so well, going back to her days as Carly Tenney on As the World Turns, so it might be hard to tell what's Ava just having fun and what is her doing as she is told to do.

 

[Emelee]

I also worry that if Valentin is "in deep" with Pikeman, then it calls a lot of other established plots and situations into question. Valentin has long been the CEO of ELQ (mostly offscreen). Does this mean Pikeman has its hooks in ELQ? I have to wonder if they will say that Austin's murder was a Pikeman thing, that all those threats Ava was getting was them trying to get her into line. Note that all the notes and such stopped as soon as she moved in with Sonny. I want to believe that Ava is being blackmailed/strong-armed into helping plot against Sonny, but it's getting harder to believe some of this isn't her own motivation. Maura does "shady behavior" so well, going back to her days as Carly Tenney on As the World Turns, so it might be hard to tell what's Ava just having fun and what is her doing as she is told to do.

Good catch, she really hasn't received any more threats or notes. Maybe those were threats to get her working with Pikeman.

I am not 100% sure that Ava is working with Valentin, but the pieces would fit perfectly. She's trying to seduce Sonny, her best friend's husband. She's handing him alcohol every now and then. She hid his phone. It's almost as if she's gaslighting him to get him in her control. Against everyone he loves that "can be a problem".

And if she's not working with Valentin, he must be very pleased with her actions.

I hope she's working with Valentin, hoping to take over his organization herself, and merge it with Pikeman. It would be much more interesting to see more characters joining up against Sonny's organization. Not just Valentin.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

I also worry that if Valentin is "in deep" with Pikeman, then it calls a lot of other established plots and situations into question. Valentin has long been the CEO of ELQ (mostly offscreen). Does this mean Pikeman has its hooks in ELQ? I have to wonder if they will say that Austin's murder was a Pikeman thing, that all those threats Ava was getting was them trying to get her into line. Note that all the notes and such stopped as soon as she moved in with Sonny. I want to believe that Ava is being blackmailed/strong-armed into helping plot against Sonny, but it's getting harder to believe some of this isn't her own motivation. Maura does "shady behavior" so well, going back to her days as Carly Tenney on As the World Turns, so it might be hard to tell what's Ava just having fun and what is her doing as she is told to do.

I hope this isn't the beginning of writing out Valentin. The character is excellent - a Cassadine who isn't obsessed with the Spencers, and can be thoughtful, layered and driven, depending on the situation. Ava's reaction suggest that she may have a bigger role in Pikeman. OK, Maura West is a terrific actress, and it is about time that Ava showed more of who she used to be (Still is?).
Would rather see Sonny with Eva LaRue.
Don't want to see Carly with Jason. I liked her with Drew, but now I wonder if Cameron Mathison is leaving soon.

 

[Monzo]

I liked the scene where Anna told Jason that Britt had died, but why did she hide the fact that Britt's heroism saved Josslyn and that Heather was the killer?

I'm always happy when a soap surprises me and that was also the case with the story about Sonny's medication. I thought Sonny was just grumpy and hadn't stopped taking his (right) medication. I'm actually interested to see what happens to Sonny and Ava once he's back on medication.

 

[Daniel Avery]

We saw Sonny go off his bipolar meds when AJ was in town, but in that plot he just stopped taking them entirely. Sonny had promised Michael that he (Sonny) would not interfere with Michael's effort to get closer to AJ, his biological father, but after Sonny went 'cold turkey' Ava instigated a confrontation between AJ and Sonny, who shot AJ and killed him. Sonny ended up going to jail briefly and of course Michael was furious (for a while anyway) and by then everyone had deduced that Ava had manipulated Sonny via the meds. So apparently someone (either Val or Ava) figured out that if they cut his dosage rather than having him go cold turkey, it won't be as apparent that he's going off the rails because he can truthfully say he's taking his meds---though what he's taking is not sufficient to keep him on an even keel.

 

[xab]

It was predictable : Nicholas Chavez is off contract and not coming back obviously.

Why not give the part back to Nicolas Bechtel ? He's quite a grown up boy now.

A visit to a hairdresser and some strengh training would be needed to fit the suit, because Spencer turned into quite a virile hunk, but he should be the first choice.

 

[Daniel Avery]

From what I read, his return would be sort of awkward due to the timing. His contract was coming to an end in a few months, so if he had returned after filming that TV-movie with the intention to leave GH anyway, he would have been back just long enough to play (yet another) Return from the Dead story, only to be written out again or recast. The only reason they would have asked him back would be to be back permanently (be re-signing his contract).

As for Bechtel, if he wants the part back, he should have to audition just like everyone else. The role has changed a great deal since Bechtel's days as an obnoxious little know-it-all being coddled by an over-indulgent father. At the moment though, the show is doing okay without Spencer around.

 

[Daniel Avery]

That Sonny/Anna scene today was oddly hilarious in an I can't believe what I'm seeing way. I mean, last month at this time she was heading up the T-Shirt Committee for the "I Love Sonny Forever Fan Club". The new writers must have been watching the old material and realized that there wasn't enough conflict between characters. So now everyone seems to have a beef with each other, whether it's needed or not!

 

[Monzo]

In case you missed it, David Lautman's (Smoltz) marriage proposal was a topic in the media this week after it went viral.

'General Hospital' Alum David Lautman Proposes to Actress Megan Li Wang with Help from Commercial Where They Met

'General Hospital' alum David Lautman is engaged to actress Megan Li Wang. The pair first met when they filmed a 2022 Lenovo commercial together, and Lautman used the ad to pull off a clever proposal for Wang.

people.com

'General Hospital's David Lautman Goes Viral With Proposal Video

The actor's proposal went viral when his fiancée shared a video of it to TikTok.

www.etonline.com

General Hospital's David Lautman's hilarious proposal to Megan Li Wang went viral on TikTok – see why

The actors met while filming a Lenovo commercial, which played a huge role in their epic engagement

www.hellomagazine.com

Since Jason's return only briefly boosted ratings and they are now back to pre-Jason levels, Smoltz's return may (or may not) boost ratings following David Lautman's unexpected popularity.

 

[Daniel Avery]

I saw this story, but the article I read only said "General Hospital star David Lautman..." but never said who he played! And since he looks so different in real life from how he looked when he was playing Smoltz (pursuing poor Sasha and generally being a jerk) I assumed he was some glorified extra that Daily Mail decided to write about and just overstated his role (like they often do). Well, they kinda did. I mean, he's not been seen since Sasha ended up in Shadybrook. Still, an interesting story.

It would be kind of funny if Smoltz is still working for The Invader and shows up to give Alexis some big scoop....only to find everyone has quit and moved on.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Theory - Valentin is working for the WSB to gather info on a big bad (Victor or Stefan still alive? Mikkos!)
I hope so, because I like the character of a Cassadine who is not hostile to the Spencers and is balanced.
Sonny and Eva LaRue - let us have it!
Carly and Jason remain best friends, please.
Do not bring back Lulu, or at least cast another actress
Do recast Lucky.
Laura and Heather as new besties?
Ava -actually would like to see her return to her former job. Maura West is a superb actress
Jane Elliot is great, no matter what.
Like the Edgier Drew, but give CM better material, and do not pair him with Nina -Yuk
Drew was right about Nina being spoiled, entitled and so on

 

[Daniel Avery]

...but he seems to be okay with that now.

I like that it seems to be Kristina who will catch on to what's happening to Sonny, since previous writers seemed not to have much use for the Sonny/Kristina relationship. One of the things I like about the new writers is how they're willing to have all sorts of new scene partners, characters interacting who rarely did in the past.

I kept looking at Charles Mesure (Jack Brennan) and wondering who he reminded me of, and it finally clicked.

He looks like Roger Delgado, who created the role of The Master for Doctor Who in the 1970s:

Does this mean Brennan is an evil alien out to destroy the planet? Stay Tuned!

 

[Monzo]

The hate sex between Nina and Drew is the first storyline of the new regime that I don't like at all. It fits Nina's plot-driven actions (tips from the SEC), but a little more sense would have been nice. I can still understand this hate sex somewhat (albeit difficult) with Drew, but not at all with Nina who thinks 24/7 about getting Sonny back.

Sonny is starting to get on my nerves again, but this is probably the time when he's at his best.

 

[Daniel Avery]

All the character chatter the past few weeks about Cyrus Renault being "this weak old man" and how Sonny had "beat an old man half to death" had not really registered with me because Jeff Kober always gave off that tough, authoritative aura that matched Sonny's. I thought it was just the writers overselling the idea that Sonny is an animal now that he's not properly medicated. But seeing Kober's performance today in his scene with Genie Francis, it's obvious he was directed (or he chose) to play like he really is a frail old man. It's a reflection of how good Kober is that it did not feel like he was faking it in order to curry sympathy from Laura, though I think Cyrus really is faking it for the time being, biding his time.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

...but he seems to be okay with that now.

I like that it seems to be Kristina who will catch on to what's happening to Sonny, since previous writers seemed not to have much use for the Sonny/Kristina relationship. One of the things I like about the new writers is how they're willing to have all sorts of new scene partners, characters interacting who rarely did in the past.

I kept looking at Charles Mesure (Jack Brennan) and wondering who he reminded me of, and it finally clicked.

He looks like Roger Delgado, who created the role of The Master for Doctor Who in the 1970s:
View attachment 52307

Does this mean Brennan is an evil alien out to destroy the planet? Stay Tuned!

Interesting observation.

Roger Delgado was great, as the first actor in the role of the Master. He is still the best Master.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

All the character chatter the past few weeks about Cyrus Renault being "this weak old man" and how Sonny had "beat an old man half to death" had not really registered with me because Jeff Kober always gave off that tough, authoritative aura that matched Sonny's. I thought it was just the writers overselling the idea that Sonny is an animal now that he's not properly medicated. But seeing Kober's performance today in his scene with Genie Francis, it's obvious he was directed (or he chose) to play like he really is a frail old man. It's a reflection of how good Kober is that it did not feel like he was faking it in order to curry sympathy from Laura, though I think Cyrus really is faking it for the time being, biding his time.

Jeff Kober is an excellent actor. I hope his "redemption" is real, and that he stays on the show.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

The writing is improving, but some things are a bit perplexing.
Anna was a double agent, Laura knew all about Frank Smith, yet both are surprised
that Sonny could be so ruthless?

 

[Daniel Avery]

It's odd, isn't it? They did the same thing with Josslyn a few weeks back when she inexplicably "discovered" that part of Dex's job was to kill people for Sonny. Her reaction was to quickly break up with him as if some big secret had been revealed. And yet she still remains totally devoted to Jason and defends him to Kristina. What does Josslyn think Jason did for Sonny? Hold his purse?

Of the two ladies, Laura's explanation of her blind spot for Sonny made just slightly more sense, but neither was 'selling it'. Anna's claim that she was grateful to Sonny for helping Robin when she was "away" (presumed dead, then living in Pine Valley) makes for very weak sauce. At least Laura can cite over a decade of friendship between Luke and Sonny, and her daughter being married to his son at one time. Laura has a history of overlooking the crimes of her close relatives (Luke, Nikolas, now Cyrus I guess) and trying to "save them from themselves". My fear, however, is that once the secret of Sonny's altered meds comes out and he recovers, all these detractors will suddenly feel sorry for him and go back to being oblivious of his activities.