As any of you in business know -- the best-laid plans sometimes fail soundly, and the only way you can reach your intended goal is to take on the attitude of a GPS and readjust your route.
Bob Guza had GH on a certain route, it was clear the show had gotten lost, and now Garin Wolf has been appointed as the GPS for GH to try to steer it back on track. This won't be an easy task, because he can't just unravel all the storylines of the past decade overnight -- he has to slowly change course. Dear readers, this will take a little time, so I urge you to be patient and give him the needed time to turn this around.
We can't give up now, because if viewership takes a dive, we lose GH. I have hope that things will turn around. I've heard happy rumors like Leslie Charleson may appear as Monica, and that Ingo Rademacher might not be gone for good. That's a start.
So much happened this week. I don't know where to start.
Luke. Always start with Luke. I read an interview with Tony Geary this week, and he said he's enjoying the current storyline with Luke spiraling out of control, because he feels his strength as an actor comes when he "rip(s) open my heart and bleed(s) for the people."
The scenes this week where Luke tells Lucky he is resigning from fatherhood were brutal to watch. It couldn't have worked with anyone besides Geary and Jackson -- their chemistry has been a thing of beauty since Lucky was a youngster. That scene alone should win them both Emmys assuming they even have Daytime Emmys anymore when there are only four soaps left on the air.
People have written to me and said this is out of character for Luke. Well, dear readers, I shall now rip open my own heart and bleed for you -- when I was 21 years old, I was in a horrible accident. I was behind the wheel, fell asleep, and one of my friends was killed in the crash. I think perhaps I can speak to this better than most... No, whatever Luke is doing now is not out of character. When something you do causes someone else to die -- it changes you. What your character was before -- that vanishes into a dark place, and you have to deal with all that churning anger, hatred, sorrow, remorse, and a whole host of other emotions.
Luke won't be Luke until he learns how to handle this tragedy internally. I'll give the writers a lot of grace with this because of my own experience. I did a lot of insane things for a few years after my accident, and if it takes Luke awhile to find himself again, I will accept that as a viewer.
On the other hand, I will not give the writers nearly as much grace with crazy Lisa Niles. She has been sneaking around town for way too long, and it seems someone would be out looking for her. Just because she stole a security uniform doesn't mean a hospital would let her in armed, now, does it? Wouldn't the actual security guard say, "Hey, who's that chick with the birth control glasses on, she doesn't work at my company?"
Even so, Lisa gained access, has taken hostages, held a crazy mock trial, and has shot our beloved Spinelli. If he actually dies, I will be crushed. Leave it to Maxie to mouth off to an armed lunatic -- that's very true to her character. I hope this will make her realize how much she loves Spinelli, but I don't really see that in the cards. Maxie and Spinelli were such an offbeat and magical couple; I don't think I will ever be able to invest in the Matt/Maxie union. Spinelli's impassioned speech to Lisa was heartbreaking. He does indeed know how it feels to pour your entire heart into a relationship and have it come to naught. He's such a sad, sweet character.
For me, the funniest line of the week was Sonny to Mayor Floyd when the school refused to give Michael his diploma after his fistfight with a hooligan. Mayor Floyd is giving Sonny a lecture about his criminal lifestyle and how his bad reputation made life hard for Michael, and Sonny responded, "I want that diploma and I want it now, otherwise you're going to have to experience how I got my reputation firsthand." Loved it. It's scenes like that that make me wish I knew a mobster. Just to be able to shut down self-righteous bullies.
Huzzah -- Michael is officially a graduate and off of parole! I actually thought Carly was going to cave in and hug Dante for that little gift. Michael is now free to work at the SonnyBucks coffee warehouse. Let's wager money on how long it takes for that job to dissolve into some mob shenanigans... Especially with Anthony behind the scenes pulling the puppet strings on poor messed up Michael and Michael's itch to prove himself in the family business.
The other funny part of the graduation was Alexis and Carly patting each other on the backs for their great mothering skills. Um, really, you two? Your kids have been shot, kidnapped, beaten, locked in jail, and have run away to Mexico for an entire summer, and that's just for starters. I hate to break it to you ladies, but you really aren't such great moms.
Laura was a good mom before she went catatonic, but that didn't stop her beloved son Lucky from torching his old family home. I find that more troubling than Luke's behavior, frankly. I can almost understand the actual torching of the place, but it was so strange that Lucky was so nonchalant when Dante walked up -- if Lucky was so far gone that he set fire to his house -- shouldn't he have doubled over weeping when he realized what he had done instead of being so totally emotionally disconnected? I didn't get it. If any of you got it, by all means feel free to tweet or email and enlighten me.
When Siobhan ran inside, I thought, "Oh, so this is how they are going to clear the path for a Lucky/Liz reunion." But I don't even want a Lucky/Liz reunion until the real Liz is back on set. I get so angry when scenes we have been waiting for happen with the wrong actors in place. I have a list in my head -- like when Anna Lee died and they had Lila's memorial with the wrong Edward. Ack! (Get well soon, Becky.)
While I am anxious for Lucky to discover that Aiden is his son and for Lucky and Elizabeth to find their way back together, I will cry if it happens without Rebecca Herbst. Siobhan will probably live to dish up more Irish wisdom anyway.
Mac, the worst cop ever, wrongly assumed that Luke had torched the Spencer house, and Dante didn't tell him otherwise. Convenient scapegoat - since Luke is out of the picture and supposedly not coming back -- but I doubt Lucky will go along with that lie. For the record, Mac wasn't always a bad cop, and here's hoping under Garin Wolf's reign, Mac grows a brain back. Maybe then Alexis will find him more her type.
Alexis may soon be a granny if Spinelli is right and Sam is pregnant. She is currently trapped in hospital lockdown with Prince Nikolas, so let's hope no cramping occurs until Jason outsmarts the cops and saves everyone from Lisa. (C'mon, you know it's going down that way, right?)
One general comment -- if I were Lulu, I would so be on that plane to Paris with Dante. What is she thinking!?! Dear Anyone: Offer me a free all-expense paid trip to Paris in five-star hotels and see how quickly I can pack. Just sayin'...
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Ethan risk the Pine Barrons to peck Kristina on the cheek? Will Laura come back from Paris to find out why Lucky burned down Mary Mae's house? Will Luke hire Abby to come and run the whorehouse? Will Anthony enter his roses in the Port Charles Fair? Will Un-Elizabeth ever go home to see Cam and Aiden, or do they cry when they see Fake Mommy? Will Maxie ever learn to shut her yap? Will Patrick be so afraid of turning a woman crazy by having sex with her that he cuts Robin off? Will Molly set her sights on Milo when she sees Kristina's older boy romance going so well?
