Every girl who dates Jason, Sonny, and Johnny must be singing that song in their heart. If you date a mobster, chances are you'll end up as collateral damage. So learn that Bruno Mars song fast, ladies.
The women of Port Charles can't keep themselves from falling for the gangsters in spite of the plethora of warnings they've gotten over the years from people who love them. But let's face it, if they heeded those warnings, we wouldn't have much of a soap now, would we? And how can any woman resist Sonny's dimples?
Sonny and Brenda have been trying to make it down the aisle for more than a decade; in fact, it's been 14 years if my math skills serve correctly. Most of the town tried to talk them out of getting married, evil schemes cropped up on every side. They had the Balkan, the very dapper serial killer Franco plotting against them - and even a mid-wedding confession of a deep, dark secret, and still true love prevailed! Our dynamic duo are finally man and wife -- Mr. and Mrs. Sonny Corinthos.
Readers, I wept through this wedding. Why? Because the dialogue was perfect, because the characters said and did what I hoped they would - because love won. These two messed up, broken people fought their way across a decade plus of time and around the globe to be together.
Carly interrupted the wedding and forced Brenda to tell Sonny her deep, dark secret about a baby she'd failed to mention to Sonny. Readers, I have rooted for this couple as if I am rooting for myself; I've been so invested in the outcome of their love story. I was petrified that Sonny and Brenda would be thwarted again. But the writers surprised me and instead gave us magical lines like this:
Brenda: "Sonny, I love you, but I know you'll never forgive me for this."
Sonny: "I want to. For once in my life, I want to forgive you. But it's not what I do best. I mean, I've got so much anger inside of me. It's like a weapon that I want to hurt people who hurt me. And I know I've hurt you a lot. And where did it get us? You know, years apart. Maybe that was okay, because I needed those years to fall. And realize that... my life was screwed up because I could not trust the one person who loved me; who supported me. Why, why couldn't you trust me?"
Brenda: "Because I think you're going to leave me."
Sonny: "But you always think someone's going to leave you, but the thing that you don't understand is that you push them away. As soon as someone says they love you, you wear a wire or you keep a secret. Because that's the easy way. [Sighs] Because if they stay, then they'll realize that you're not worthy of love, and you don't deserve it, because that's what your dad did to you. That's what you held onto your whole life. But I'm going to tell you right now, your father lied to you. Because you do deserve it. You know why I know? I know because I love you. And you know what, even when I'm angry or disappointed, even when on our wedding day you keep something from me, it doesn't matter. Because I'll forgive you. And one more thing. I want to marry you."
Love in the afternoon was back in full force this week, and I loved it. I got the happy ending I'd been waiting for with Sonny and Brenda. Of course, it only lasted about ten minutes, because we can't linger too long on happy endings now, can we? Just as Sonny and Brenda were about to pull away from the reception -- KABOOM! Sonny's car exploded with what we believed to be Brenda inside.
What happened next will make it onto everyone's Emmy reel next year. The reactions of each character to the thought that Brenda just blew up on her wedding day were pitch perfect.
I've always loved Ingo Rademacher as Jax, and it's mostly because he's pretty. I am a shallow, shallow woman. I enjoy looking at Jax. He's the most delicious piece of eye candy. But this week, I was absolutely wowed by his performance as he confronted Sonny about the explosion. In all the years Ingo has been on GH, I have never seen him on fire like that in any scene. As Jax taunted Sonny and urged him to put a gun to his head and take his own life, Jax was fierce and raw. When he snarled "How many more people have to die?" there was anger in his eyes that made me gasp. It was a brilliant and realistic scene between two men who have been enemies for years and finally let down the charade of being polite in public. So to the writers, I beseech you -- give Ingo more material like that to play -- he nailed it.
Not as dramatic and more nuanced was Chad Duell, whose subtle facial reactions broke my heart. There he was after a beautiful night with Abby, happy, kissing the girl he loved, and then he heard the sirens in the background and realized they are headed in the direction of his dad's wedding reception, and his face just fell -- all the glow of love and twinkly eyes from moonlit kisses vanished, and dread crept in -- such a subtle shift, but more evidence of the amazing young performer Chad Duell has become. He never overacts as many daytime actors are prone to do -- he trusts his audience to pay attention, and they do. I can say the same for Steve Burton -- when Jason got the news of the explosion, he looked like someone had punched him in the gut with a wave of pain crossing his face slowly.
I must put the kudos for a great week on hold for just a moment to take ABC and GH writers to task on one issue -- Hey Writers...How come you have to make all the war vets on GH into crazy villains and mercenaries? I mean seriously -- is that what you think of our men and women in uniform? I have kids in the Navy who have done multiple tours of duty in the past decade and guess what -- they didn't come back from fighting in the war to become mob hit men or lynch men for the Balkan. Is it possible for you to have a storyline featuring a returning veteran who struggles with readjusting to "normal" life without becoming a criminal? If so, I'd really like to see it. Between GH and GH Night Shift, I think this is the third or fourth veteran you have written into a psycho. STOP IT.
Back to the good stuff. The Davis girls... Kristina catching Brenda's bouquet and announcing she was going to marry Ethan someday was adorable. Lexi Ainsworth is a shoe-in for a Daytime Emmy this year, in my humble opinion, but I've been wrong before, so don't go to Vegas with that tip. She is consistently good in every scene, day after day. Alexis' bosoms were the talk of Twitter, and thankfully Nancy Lee Grahn played along and suggested her chest should get its own paycheck for last week. And Molly, played by the wonderful Haley Pullos, is going to need to go back to therapy for about twelve more sessions. How many heartaches and scares can one adorable little girl take?
The final Davis girl -- big sister Sam, got into a pickle of her own...The Balkan was hiding in her car and took her captive -- but readers, I still can't decide how this all went down. All I know is this: We saw Brenda get into the car, but the body they pulled out of the car was Sam...
The Balkan had Sam as a hostage, Franco apparently set the explosion, and Brenda is... where? Are Franco and the Balkan in cahoots? Did Franco give Brenda to Theo in exchange for Sam to mess with Jason? Is anyone dead here, or is everyone alive and just in extreme jeopardy? Did Suzanne save Brenda at the last minute?
To be honest, I don't know. I normally keep up on all the spoilers, but this week, I am in the midst of moving and my life is packing boxes and not much else. If you know, by all means e-mail or tweet me!
I hope my guess is right and that Suzanne saved Brenda. Here's the thing -- I really like Adrienne Barbeau, and I think she really likes the Daytime community. I want her to stay on GH. If Suzanne is truly an arch-villain out to destroy Brenda, that means she'll have a short shelf life. Villains come and go on soaps, but Sonny and Brenda will remain standing. So, here's hoping Mrs. Balkan is double-crossing her husband to save Brenda's life. She was very insistent that she needed to get back to the wedding. And frankly, I'm convinced that kid is still alive someplace, too, and that Suzanne lied about him dying.
Also on my A list were the clothes. Brenda's wedding dress and her glittery veil, the elegant bridesmaids' dresses, Alexis' boobalicious blue gown, Suzanne's smart black and white suit, Carly's dazzling gown, Lulu's adorable dress, Tracy's classy outfit, and Diane's stunning ensemble (although she never made it to the wedding) were all breathtaking. We got The Bold and the Beautiful-style runway fashions on General Hospital this week; I loved it! Also, I must mention Lisa Locicero who has the tiniest waist I've seen since my Barbie doll. Gorgeous -- hats off to the ABC costume department!
I'm 4 pages in and still have so much I want to cover, but I have to be succinct... I love the relationship between Edward and Brenda -- it makes me miss my Grandpa. I can't help but root for Lulu and Dante... in spite of all the lies he has told her, we know he does love her. I doubt I could forgive all those lies myself; I have a hard time trusting someone once they've let me down, but maybe Lulu is a better woman than I am. Or, a better-written woman, at least.
Carly's line "How long do you think Sonny will love you when he finds out you made him a grandfather?" was mean, but hilarious. I liked that Carly let it go after Sonny knew the truth and still chose to marry Brenda. She just wanted Sonny to know up-front that Brenda had lied. That made me like her a little more -- hopefully now her vendetta with Dante has ended. That was getting really old. I'd rather see Carly working on her marriage with Jax than seeking revenge on Dante.
Also, a special "WooHoo!" for the un-firing of Rebecca Herbst. I am so happy that I was wrong when I said the Powers That Be would never listen to the fans. I'm delighted she is staying. There is just too much history with Elizabeth's character to throw away. As long as Lucky and Nikolas are still around, there needs to be an Elizabeth.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Jason "No Ordinary Hit Man" Morgan explain how he went from giving Brenda away to saving Sam from Shawn while Brenda was still at the altar? Will all of Luke's kids marry Sonny's kids? Will Siobhan and Lucky's green card wedding be less eventful than Brenda and Sonny's? Will Elizabeth get a new paternity test for Aiden in a city where Helena isn't lurking around? Will Lisa forget about stalking Patrick and tormenting Robin now that she's had some good Johnny Z lovin'? Will anyone ask Brenda why her sister Julia didn't attend her wedding? Will anyone ask Olivia if Kate was upset that Sonny married Brenda?