General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Daniel Avery]

"Looks like I have more in common with Sonny than I might like....?"

 

[Emelee]

Joss is being so played by Brennan. But why? Why does Brennan want Joss to work with/for him and WSB? Suspicious. I have always thought Brennan was a bad guy. I never bought that he's suddenly good. The way he does anything for Carly even though they had not even been together has always felt off. And now when he's basically led Joss to commit murder and helped her cover it up, to manipulating her to join WSB, I feel it stronger. Brennan is bad news.

I thought Cyrus's murder would be a whodoneit mystery. Well, at least it will be a Joss in trouble story.

I still can't get over BLQ and Dante being portrayed close in age. If she was 16 when she got pregnant, it was disgusting of Dante to sleep with her. He must be at least 6-8 years older than she is.

I wonder if Jason will pretend to be a bad father to Sasha's child. Or if he will feel forced to play a more involved father. At least they can say that the child is a Quartermaine without lying about it.

 

[Emelee]

Where is TJ?

The actor has been taken off contract and is now on recurring.

 

[Daniel Avery]

It's pretty dumb for everyone to get worked up over Jason being arrested for killing Cyrus. Not only is their no proof he killed Cyrus, there's no proof he's even dead. It is perfectly logical that someone being exposed as a serial killer would skip town (if not the country), yet everyone seemingly has jumped to the conclusion Oh, he must be dead. On what evidence? Why aren't they operating on the assumption that Cyrus's place would have no blood, etc, because none had been shed? Only the viewer, Joss, Brennan and Colette know what really happened.

And speaking of dumb....Brad, you're such an idiot.
Ms. Wu: You are going to quit working at the hospital.
Brad: Oh, please no. I love my job.
Ms. Wu: Okay, but you have to pay me back somehow.
Brad: Here's some blackmail material I held over Portia's head.
Ms. Wu: Thanks. Now Portia will fire you instead of you quitting.
Brad: D'oh!

 

[Emelee]

It's pretty dumb for everyone to get worked up over Jason being arrested for killing Cyrus.

How many people have Jason killed? Like 15? I'd assume he had killed Cyrus.

I think most assumes it because Cyrus's secret place had been almost surgically cleaned. A man like Jason would know how. But he's never leave 2 of his hairs behind after cleaning the murder site.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Also conveniently glossed over is the fact that Jason's DNA is identical to his now-unidentical twin Drew. Diane could muddy the waters quite easily by pointing out that the hairs could be Drew's, who also has no alibi but an equal motive for killing Cyrus (that is, revenge for killing Sam, who was ex-wife to both twins and mother of their children).

 

[Emelee]

Also conveniently glossed over is the fact that Jason's DNA is identical to his now-unidentical twin Drew.

That's a problem when soaps go from having identical twins to fraternal twins. The same DNA is no longer the same. But it also means that people look dumb for not seeing a difference between the twins before.

B&B's Phoebe and Steffy stopped being identical twins when Jacqueline MacInnes Wood was cast and MacKenzie Mauzy was still on. GH's Jason and Drew stopped being identical when Steve Burton returned last time and Billy Miller remained.

So I assume Jason and Drew are fraternal twins who just looked identical for a while. Much like Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen who are actually fraternal twins.

 

[Daniel Avery]

They're still said to be identical twins in their DNA, though the show would be well served to retcon them as fraternal. Burton, Miller, and Mathison have/had radically different body styles. I recall some flashbacks they did to Drew's life in the Navy (where he met that cult leader Shiloh) where they had Burton play Drew (to reflect how he looked pre-accident/Jake Doe) and it was....weird, because the actor playing Shiloh had to go from talking eye to eye to Miller's Drew to looking up to Burton's flashback Drew.

Too bad Ava can't repeat history and run over Drew again with her car, because I would do anything to have that arrogant smirk wiped off his face.

 

[Monzo]

I expected that the week in which GH had direct soap competition for the first time in 20 (or more) years GH would be on fire, instead it was just a slow burn with lots of filler scenes like Trina & Kai and the endless conversations about how evil Drew is, who by the way didn't sleep with his son's or brother's wife, but only with his nephew's wife.

In terms of logic, what bothers me most at the moment is Josselyn as a WSB agent. If she had come up with this weird idea herself, it would be okay, but that Brennan sees her as the right one doesn't make sense. The lead she had to follow was more like Cluedo than WSB. At least now we know why Brennan had to be recast.

It's amazing how much effort is put into finding the killer of a serial killer (Cyrus), while the search for the killer of an FBI agent (Jagger) came to nothing.

 

[Daniel Avery]

It's amazing how much effort is put into finding the killer of a serial killer (Cyrus), while the search for the killer of an FBI agent (Jagger) came to nothing.

When Austin was murdered at another cabin in that area*, the show similarly "lost interest" in finding out who killed him. Much later, one of the writers defensively tried to argue that since Austin was killed at that cabin out in the woods in Pautuk that the PCPD did not investigate because it was out of their jurisdiction. Welllll that doesn't seem to affect the PCPD's going out there to investigate Cyrus's disappearance (or his "assumed murder" as it were).

* It was established that Austin owned several vacation cabin rentals in the Pautuk area; he even helped Maxie give birth to Bailey Louise in one of them. They haven't said for sure, but I get the impression that the cabin Cyrus was killed in is close to (but not the same one) the one Austin was killed in.

One aspect of Joss's "instant career" that bugged me the most was the fact that they never once mentioned what she'd be getting paid. I know it's a soap and the woman is an heiress on both sides of the family*, but if I'm going to be risking my life on the regular with only minimal training, I'd better be making serious bank. They save money on benefits, since It's kind of understood that WSB agents don't have "retirement plans", if you know what I mean.

* The show has to pretend Jax no longer exists, but it would help legitimize Josslyn a bit if they played up the fact that "the daughter of an international financier" could travel in high-brow circles without arousing suspicion.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Cody and Molly?
At this point, couples are just being put together randomly.
I may not be the majority, but I like Natalia, because Eva LaRue is very good.
Yes her character was unsympathetic at first, but that is the writing.
People on soaps do far worst and are redeemed.
Natalie's prior marriage to Sidwell could lead to some interesting scenes.
Shouldn't Tracy be consulted about partnering with Sidwell?
Just a thought

 

[Daniel Avery]

Nothing regarding Deception makes a lick of sense from one month to the next. I know soaps use their businesses as "MacGuffins" but in Deception's case they don't even try to make it make sense. They've said all along that it's publicly traded, yet Lucy, Maxie, Sasha, and Valentin were said to own 1/4 each. Selina Wu supposedly invested in the company, then Valentin disappeared without any word about what happened to his shares. Then Lucy somehow gave Tracy controlling interest (when she should only have had 25%), and Sasha was told she had to forfeit her 25% when she resigned as their model (not sell it, just give it back--ridiculous). Tracy promised to give Deception to Brooklyn, but BL cooked up a plot with Maxie to have Tracy give the company to BL, who would then sign it over to Maxie. That scheme was soon forgotten, and Lucy went back to acting like she runs the place. Sonny invested in it and "encouraged" the hiring of Natalia for a job (CFO) that any publicly-traded company has to have in order to be allowed to operate. And never mind the fact that the company goes from feast to famine every few weeks. It's either in the midst of some highly successful sales streak, or they're about to go bankrupt because some new product isn't ready or an endorsement deal falls apart on Home and Heart. But it is hard to invest (emotionally) in any of their latest travails because it all feels so slapdash and un-grounded in reality. From one week to the next, Deception changes its tone, its staff, its direction, and its goals.

 

[ChrisSumner]

I agree with you Daniel, I don't understand anything involving Deception. The ownership as you've explained doesn't make any sense but that would be okay if the stories being told were interesting. This QVC mess has been a disaster and I don't understand because the majority of the characters involved in Deception are interesting. I don't understand why it's not a more fun and fashionable business. I also hate the way Lucy is written on modern GH. As someone who came in as a Port Charles fan, it's been incredibly difficult to go from such a complex Lucy to this one-dimensional buffoon we get on GH. I've always felt Sasha should've been brought on as one of Lucy's daughters to help ground her. Maybe that would've helped us understand and empathize with some of her business decisions, as a way to build a legacy for her daughter.

Beyond Deception, I do think GH is very watchable. It's the only other US soap I watch. I feel like they were in survival mode for 2024 and threw as much as they could at the wall, much of it working in the second half. Right now I feel like the show is in a good place but I need them to commit and pay off some of these stories they're setting up. Modern GH has a habit of dragging their feet and especially being up against a show like BTG, they need to get it moving.

A good example is this Sidwell story. I think they struck gold with Carlos Rota and making Natalia his ex-wife is the first time I've had any interest in this character. They need to bring on one of their children and cement this story. I also feel like they never want to commit to the mob stuff these days but I say go ahead and give us another mob war. Sonny has been so de-fanged in recent years but he's still in the business so I wish they'd fully play it.

Something they did well that I've grown to love is bringing back Lucas. I didn't expect much considering their history with LGBT characters but his screentime has remained steady and Van Hansis is miles more enjoyable as a mature adult than he was as whiny Luke Snyder on ATWT. He is ooozing chemistry with anybody they put him in scenes with and despite the character being gay, I feel like if they're smart they'll use him for all he's worth. He's good enough that I think any fears they may have should be overlooked.

 

[Jock Ewing Fan]

Great job by Amanda Setton! She is really at her best.
This is NOT LULU's business! What a hypocrite
Jane Elliot is great as always.
Ric Hearst has been quite good in his return

 

[Daniel Avery]

If the show really does want to raise the stakes (and suspect count) in a potential "Who Shot Drew?" plotline, have Drew be the one who reveals Gio's parentage to the Q family. Tracy, Lois, Ned, Olivia, Gio, BLQ, Chase and Dante (maybe even Lulu) would be angry enough to blow him away. PC has a history of killing the messenger. None of them would likely do it, though I'd enjoy seeing Olivia do it and thus give her and Ned something to do as the Q's close ranks to cover her tracks. Martin knows the secret and is acting as Drew's attorney, so Drew is in close proximity to the secret.

I will add that I don't want Drew to die, just have a JR-esque shooting---not because I have any use for Drew or CM, but because poor Scout doesn't deserve to become an orphan by having both parents murdered in less than a year.

 

[Daniel Avery]

They felt the need to re-visit the idea that Ava is suddenly destitute, which never really made sense since she was already wealthy prior to getting that divorce settlement from Nikolas. But anyway, I thought they'd gotten past that. Then they revisited her 'partner-in-crime' relationship with Portia and it hit me: the test results! [follow me on this]

Nina has the combination to the safe in Drew's new house. Carly and Nina are trying to find dirt on Drew, so I'd expect Nina to go snooping and find----Heather's test results. Drew would want to keep his blackmail material close at hand. So Nina gets it out of the safe and gives it to Ava, who then can give it to Portia to end Drew's hold over her. But how much would such a thing be worth to Portia? Ava is supposedly in bad shape financially, so maybe she would demand a handsome sum of money from Portia for that piece of paper. And considering the alternative, Portia would probably pay it.

Another bit of speculation: Marco, the guy Lucas seems to be hooking up with in Miami, is probably affiliated somehow with Sidwell. A few weeks ago Sidwell and Lucas had a random scene together where Sidwell appeared to be flirting with Lucas. I'm thinking Sidwell was just trying to discern just who would grab Lucas's attention better (a man or a woman), and this "chance meeting" with Marco was no accident. Marco's "company credit card" had a prominent "JS" logo on it, as in "Jens Sidwell" (maybe). I can't yet figure what Sidwell would want/need from Lucas, or why he would throw a handsome guy at him to turn his head (so to speak), but what if Marco is in fact Sidwell's son or stepson, the previously mentioned Eloi (estranged son of Natalia), who was supposed to be a musician?

 

[Monzo]

I'd be surprised if Marco weren't Natalia's son, but if he were, Natalie would have three homosexuals in her family, which I find just as surprising. At least Natalia is no longer the most superfluous character on the show, because Emma has overtaken her. Everything Emma does could be done by another character.

At the moment, there are too many forced scenes for me, like the confrontation between Sasha and Willow in the hospital. That was a bad scene to underscore the animosity between the two women.

Looking back, I'm glad we knew right away who killed Jagger and Cyrus, because I don't like murder mysteries that lead nowhere, and if a "Who Shot Drew?" is actually on the cards, there won't be any consequences for the shooter. No consequences would be okay, as long as we didn't have to sit through weeks of investigations. I long for the days when even the killer of an unpopular character like Lisa Niles went to prison.

As for Drew, the only thing that interests me now is whether anything he does will lead to Monica's death, I mean something like a heart attack or stroke because she's so upset about what Drew did, or whether the writers don't want to tie her death into something tragic. Monica's death is constantly expected these days, but what actually happened to Audrey? Where does she live? Rachel Ames is still alive, so I assume Audrey will live as long as Rachel Ames lives, but how is that supposed to play out? Audrey dies, and it's acted as if Elizabeth and her sons visited her every week, even though Liz hasn't mentioned her in years.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Yes, all this talk about moving the mausoleum made me wonder if such a thing might end up being what they say "killed" Monica or at least hastened her death. Her husband, at least two of her kids and her in-laws are buried there. I would assume Tracy has ordered all the Q's to keep this whole thing with Drew and the mausoleum from Monica in order to keep her from getting upset, but maybe she finds out via that article in the Invader.

Monica is supposed to be the Chairman of the Board of the hospital. Michael and Tracy are also supposed to be members of the board. I wonder if they will address the absences of Monica and Michael, perhaps appoint Tracy as acting COB to vote on behalf of Monica, and Michael's seat being temporarily filled by Carly since she ends up in everyone else's stories eventually.

If Ron Carlivati were still writing the show, I could see him writing that Monica rallied back from her illness and depression to sneak up on Drew and push him down the stairs. She'd then get back in bed and lead everyone to believe she had slept through the whole thing. Drew would have a TBI and wake up not remembering anything that has happened since he started looking like Cameron Mathison. Monica would pass away soon after and take the secret to the grave.

I recall the joke about Audrey that she was "reduced to a honking horn". Whenever they needed an excuse to get the boys out of the scene, an offscreen car horn would be heard and Liz would shoo the boys out the door because "Grandma Audrey was there to pick them up". But now that the boys are basically grown up (Aiden looks older than Lucky now!) they don't need Grandma to pick them up. If anything, they should be picking her up. They said that Gail and Lee Baldwin had moved to Florida at one point (we never saw them leave, Scotty just started saying they'd moved), so I would not be surprised if Liz would say something similar about Audrey to excuse her absence from Monica's funeral.

 

[Monzo]

When Trina had two missed calls on her cell phone, one from Mum, the other from Dad, I wondered who she had saved as her dad. Taggert was MIA at her birthday party.

Why was Jason allowed to leave the country, and why wasn't he arrested by the capable ADA when he returned home? What kind of justification is it that a professional killer like Jason would never leave DNA at a crime scene and therefore apparently doesn't face any charges?

I think the directing was very smart with the Carly and Brennan sex scene. Both actors are obviously not in Men's Health shape, but it was cleverly hidden. Carly and nuBrennan are unfortunately no more than okay, but at least it's better than her relationship with Drew.

It's getting tiring that Tracy always has to be enthusiastic about characters who initially don't click with the audience: after Finn, Gregory, and Cody, it's now Gio's turn. There's nothing subtle about it.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Why was Jason allowed to leave the country, and why wasn't he arrested by the capable ADA when he returned home? What kind of justification is it that a professional killer like Jason would never leave DNA at a crime scene and therefore apparently doesn't face any charges?

It was determined that since there was no body and no evidence of a murder, they couldn't make charges stick. In this case, they were correct to go that route, since only the viewer (and Joss/Brennan) knows for a fact that Cyrus is dead, so it played poorly onscreen seeing all the characters acting as if they knew he had been murdered.

I think the directing was very smart with the Carly and Brennan sex scene. Both actors are obviously not in Men's Health shape, but it was cleverly hidden. Carly and nuBrennan are unfortunately no more than okay, but at least it's better than her relationship with Drew.

They'll never recreate that crackling chemistry from Charles Mesure again, so I've decided not to pine for what might have been. McKenna might as well be playing a new character, sort of like this NuEmma who is Emma in name only, and CM's Drew will never line up in my mind with OG Drew, played so well by Billy Miller.

If they were going to "cure" Carly so easily from Polonium poisoning, why give it to her in the first place? I mean, we all know what happens to victims of polonium in the real world, and no way/no how would they have Carly lose a hair on her head, much less experience multiple organ failures and wasting away in weeks. They should have just said Valentin put an unnaned, soap opera poison in the bottle and cured her just as quickly. The tainted champagne spilled on the hotel room floor, and Brennan was walking around GH with the bottle in his bare hands, a bottle tainted with polonium. But I didn't see today's show so I don't know if they've dealt with THAT.

Was all this just so they could refer to Robin's having cured Luke of similar poisoning years ago? Because all I could picture was a funny scene where Robin (whose hatred for Carly burns with the heat of a thousand suns) would be on the other end of the phone to Anna, trying to decide whether to help.