Dear readers, if Sprina (Spencer and Trina, for the uninitiated) don't kiss by Valentine's Day, I will scream loud enough that they will hear me in L.A. at the ABC studios. So many thrilling things happened in Port Charles this week, but I am starting with the one that sets my heart aflutter.
When Spencer and Trina were sitting at a table, staring into each other's eyes, and confessed that they weren't faking their relationship, my weary old heart started beating with anticipation -- was this the moment we have been waiting for?
Nope. Thus far, Trina has only admitted to being Spencer's faithful friend and recognizing that he has matured this past year. She told him that she stood up for him against her mother and would stand firm. But not that she wants to be his woman forever and make passionate love to him. Spencer is keeping his cool and pretending he is also content to be friends and not burning with desire for Trina. He has been completely in love with her since the day they met. But hey, I will be patient for a bit longer. Writers, take note; Valentine's Day would be perfect for them to kiss!
Readers, imagine if Spencer gets custody of Esme's baby, and Spencer and Trina raise Esme's baby together. Then, Esme gets her memory back. Yikes. As long as Esme, Ryan, and Heather are around, Spencer and Trina may have a dangerous road ahead of them. But if GH writers decide to send Sprina on the run to Beecher's Corner to hide out in a barn, I will pretend I don't remember it's a recycled plot.
Meanwhile, Trina and Spencer's pal Cam got his heart absolutely smashed when he went to see Joss, only to find a half-naked Dex in her room. Readers, William Lipton did a spectacular job on these scenes this week. His heartache, anger, and absolute shock that Joss lied to him were all over his face, in the crack of his voice, and in the tears welling up in his eyes. I want to state right here and now that I am Team Cam.
I am disappointed in Joss. In truth, I am disappointed in Joss for all the times I did the same thing in my life. Joss wasn't honest with herself about her growing feelings for Dex, and she lied to Cam about it until it all blew up in her face. She should have broken up with Cam before she slept with Dex. Or she should have avoided Dex at all costs and stuck to Cam because, you know, Dex is a mobster. (Or so she believes.) The choice she just made is leading her down a road of heartache. Carly knows that road well and tried to caution Joss about what this choice will cost her.
But Dex isn't really a mobster yet. He is just pretending, working for Michael to take down Sonny. But why? Several theories are floating around. One view is that Dex is a secret kid of A.J.'s, coming to take down Sonny for revenge -- and that he and Michael will end up being half-brothers. One theory is that Dex is Brenda's son, who may also be Sonny's son, and he's mad about being abandoned. All I know is that when Spencer called Dex "errand boy," I laughed so hard I spit my boba tea onto my shirt.
Joss told Cam "over is over" and that she owed him nothing in one breath and then asked Cam to keep her affair with Dex secret so Sonny wouldn't kill him! What? She was so unnecessarily cruel to him. I hated her for it! Cam is definitely a better person than I am because I would immediately be at Sonny's door, saying, "Hey, Sonny, I thought you would want to know that your errand boy is banging your stepdaughter."
It really hurt my heart when Joss said she owed Cam nothing. Who helped you pick up the pieces of your broken heart when Oscar died? Who has been your friend since you were five and wept with you over every heartache? Who stood by you when the sex tape scandal made you a pariah? In my book, she owes Cameron an outstanding debt of gratitude for a lifetime of faithful friendship. But alas, she has already forgotten about all his love and sacrifice. It happens, but it's sad. Again, I repeat, I'm Team Cam.
The worst part is that when Joss discovers that Dex was a plant Michael was using to take Sonny down, she won't even be mad about it because she wants Sonny taken down, too. I don't get it, really. Sonny has been good to all his kids their entire lives. Regardless of what he does for a living, he's not abusive, and Sonny is not cruel. He has given them everything a father could give a child, a roof over their head, an education, and unconditional love.
Yeah, I know, he's a mobster, but this is one of those morality discussions we need to have. Let's weigh two men against one another -- Sonny is a mobster and has done some shady things over the years, but he has been an incredible father to his children. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's dad is supposedly a saintly doctor serving in Doctors Without Borders. Still, he and his wife brainwashed their daughter to keep her from remembering a tragedy. Jeff sent her to live with her grandmother and abandoned her for 30 years. Which one of these two is the "good guy" here? To me, Sonny is a better father, even though he breaks the law for a living. I would love to hear your thoughts on this.
Carly has been forgiven by nearly everyone she wronged in record time and finally got to spend the night with Drew. Nina won't forgive her, but I have to tell you I was screaming at my TV when Nina was saying to Ava how unforgiveable Carly's sins were -- to the woman whose baby she tried to steal by inducing labor. No matter what you think of Drew and Carly as a couple, you have to admit that watching them make love was very enjoyable -- two ridiculously pretty people making out is always a delightful thing to watch, in my humble opinion.
Nikolas has decided to use Elizabeth's parents' talents for his own ends. He is attempting to blackmail Carolyn into brainwashing Esme the same way she did Elizabeth to suppress Esme's memories, so Esme won't ever remember that he held her hostage. My favorite part of this scene was when Nikolas told Carolyn of all the times he was there for Elizabeth when Carolyn wasn't. None of that was untrue. But that still doesn't mean she should brainwash some pregnant chick for him.
Will Carolyn succumb to this to spare Elizabeth prison time? She ought to. Carolyn owes her. But Liz will be furious at Nikolas when she finds out about it. Basically, everyone in his life is disappointed with him right now; Uncle Victor, Laura, Spencer, and Ava are all mad at him. Nikolas signed Spoon Island and Wyndemere over to Ave in the divorce. Still, he swore to her that when she knew the whole story, they would be together as a couple someday.
Sadly, since Marcus Coloma is gone now, and we have not yet heard if the role of Nikolas is going to be recast, we may be waiting for a very long time for that prediction to come true. I am beating the drum loudly for Tyler Christopher. He was always one of my favorites, and I am rooting for GH to give him another chance. I really think people have the capacity to change and break the cycles of addiction. One only needs to look at Robert Downey Jr.'s life as a great example. He was a perpetual rehab resident for a while and then got clean and starred in a gazillion Iron Man movies. I want Tyler to have a chance to redeem himself.
I try my best to be positive about all the actors on GH, but I will say without hesitation that Tyler was one of the best GH ever had. I get excited thinking about scenes between Tyler Christopher and James Patrick Stuart because they have the same capacity to play menacing and tender with equal believability. I am hoping for a GH miracle here, and I know many of you are hoping with me. And in case you have forgotten, Tyler and Maura West sizzled together. That pairing would bring new life to Ava and Nikolas. I'm excited just daydreaming about it.
Of course, Valentin is dead now...oh, wait, he's just fake dead. No thanks to his sleazy ex Renee. I thoroughly enjoyed the scenes with Anna, Valentin, Robert, Mac, Felicia, Lucy, and Martin. It made me think of the old spy days with Luke, Laura, Robert, Holly, Sean, and Tiffany. I loved when Robert was reminiscing about how Laura held off Frank Smith with a machine gun, and now she's the mayor, and about all their sordid pasts. What a great nod to GH history. Keep these nods to the past coming for the GH 60th, please.
They want Victor to believe that Valentin is dead, but unfortunately, Victor is a little too cheerful for a man who just heard his son is dead. He isn't buying it. This game of cat and mouse rarely ends up with Victor on the losing end. It's been so long, and we still don't know his ultimate plan for Port Charles. Maybe they are saving it to all come to a head during the big GH 60th anniversary season. Maybe Luke will have to come back from the dead to save the town from an evil Cassadine plot again.
I don't know, but I know that I will miss Charles Shaughnessy when Victor is eventually caught. Since he negotiated for Ava to get Wyndemere, is he planning on staying there with her? I can see Ava, Spencer, and Victor teaming up to take Nikolas down on the custody of Esme's baby. Nikolas has truly lost everything. I can't decide if they will kill him off, if they'll lock him up on Cassadine Island, or if he'll just slink out of town, homeless and in despair.
I really pity Ace, the baby Esme is carrying. The baby's grandparents are two serial killers (Ryan and Heather) and Laura -- once again, Laura is the only salvation this child will know. Genie Francis is so good in every scene with every person daily. She's my absolute favorite, the reason I started watching GH, and she's part of the joy that makes me continue watching. This week, her scenes with Elizabeth were so beautiful and heartwarming. When Liz said, "You're the mother I wish I had had," I had to grab a couple tissues. Also, the scenes with Laura and Spencer are precious. He knows she's the one person he can always count on. I swear, I try to be a grandparent to my grandkids by thinking, "What would Laura say?" when they tell me about their trials of life. I want them to know I am always a safe harbor for them, just as Laura is for her kids and grandkids. I love you, Genie.
Esme is just getting to know her mother, but she doesn't know it's her mother. When the nutty lady at Spring Ridge started harassing Esme, and Heather sidled up beside her with a shiv, the guard just stood there, totally oblivious. No wonder so many weird things are going on in Spring Ridge. They hired badly. When Esme sees Ryan, I predict she will react just as she did to Kevin when he went to see her. It's the only face she somewhat recognized. Hopefully, she won't get into the middle of a turf war against her nutty parents.
Sam went to Spring Ridge to visit Esme. Sam is making more headway on the case than the PCPD. I swear, they should put her past aside and hire her as one of their detectives. Dante is the only cop in town until Chase is finally sprung. Sam mentioned to Maxie that she and Dante are going on their first trip together to London. My soap brain thought, "Uh-oh, Lulu is probably about to wake up from her coma." But I love Sam and Dante together, and I love this version of Sam. Kelly Monaco is so lovely, and I am happy her character is finally in a place where she doesn't have to cry and be in danger every damned day.
Back to the PCPD... Jordan is the chief of police, so she can't be out working the beat. If the PCPD would hire some more cops, they might notice that Ms. Wu is running some giant gambling ring in Curtis' club where Gladys has lost all her money and part of Sasha's.
Thankfully, Cody put two and two together and told Ms. Wu they had someone in common. I am not opposed to a Sasha and Cody pairing; I enjoyed the scenes where they got to know each other, and I think there is potential. I am waiting until Mac finally finds out that Cody is his son. I love that Mac is so protective of Cody because he is Dominque's child and feels that looking after him is the right thing to do.
I am also not opposed to Ava and Austin getting closer. I loved the dynamic between Maura and Roger when he was Franco, and I like that the writers have found a way to put them into each other's orbit again. I am glad Ava called Mason out for being there the night she was attacked. Finally, Austin has a tool to back Mason off him. I am tired of hearing about this mysterious person ordering Austin to do things and not knowing who it is.
GH has had a bad habit of dragging out storylines and then having the payoff be so lame, like Marshall's schizophrenia. They alluded for months that Marshall had some mob or criminal ties, and it just turned out he was diagnosed with schizophrenia as a young man? Zzzzz. I hope the payoff with Austin and Mason is better than that. I hope their boss is some villain from the past, someone connected to Jimmy Lee, like Celia Quartermaine or something. Sherilyn Wolter, where are you?
At GH, everyone worries about Willow. Nina just got the heartbreaking news that she is not a bone marrow match for Willow. What? Are you kidding me? All of that lead-up to a big greasy nothing burger? Ugh. So, will Willow be saved by her baby's stem cells? Nina had nothing to do with saving her? Or is Nelle coming back from the dead, since "siblings make the best match"? Or is Sasha a triplet of Nelle and Willow, and Nina's daughter, too? What about Aunt Liesl? Could she be a match? Has anyone tested Wiley, since he's her sibling's child?
I mean, it makes me so dizzy. It's like the writers have never watched a soap before. Nina being the one to save Willow was the story. These two archenemies needing each other to stay alive and repair their fractured relationship, and learning to love one another is the story. This woman who had her babies stolen from her finally having the chance to be a mother and grandmother was the story. But since Nina isn't going to save Willow, what is their motivation to reunite and make peace? I don't get it. Maybe I am impatient, and the writers will wow me with some fantastic possibility I hadn't considered. But, you know, I fear the Marshall syndrome.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Britt's memorial be a somber and dignified affair or a true celebration of life filled with Britt's "joie de vivre"? Will Sonny pound Dex in the face when he discovers Dex defiled Josslyn? Will Jax return from Australia to give Dex another beating because he thinks his baby is dating a mobster? Will Esme's nanny show up in town to fight Spencer for custody of Ace to keep her nanny job? Will Carly realize that Drew is her loyal puppy, and no matter what horrible things she does, he will still desire her above following his own principles?
Will Charlotte follow Helena Cassadine's tradition and try to poison Uncle Victor when she hears her Papa is dead? (P.S. It was great to see Charlotte!) Will Alexis ever get a real storyline of her own again, or is she being punished for something? Will Lucy ever let Martin out of her sight, or will they be locked in that safe house bedroom until Valentine's Day?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
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