If I'm ever framed for a crime I didn't commit, please remind me not to hire Diane. I want a lawyer who fights as hard to defend me as Diane fights to get Carly convicted.
I realize that a stint at Shadybrook is the lesser of two evils, but what about taking a closer look at Nelle's past? Nelle opened the door herself when she testified about her mission to obliterate Carly's life because she thought Carly had wronged her. I'm quite sure the judge would have been interested in hearing that Nelle was suspected of murdering her fiancé and that she had spent time in a sanitarium.
The judge is supposed to listen to the evidence objectively, so he has to at least consider the possibility that Nelle might have risked her unborn child's life in her quest to send Carly away for life. Diane could have easily provided sufficient reasonable doubt to earn an acquittal.
After all, Diane has successfully defended guilty clients with far less.
Instead, Carly's fate now rests in Jason's hands. The same idiot who actually had the nerve to tell Carly to fire Diane in the middle of a trial and stick it out in Pentonville -- a violent state prison where her son was raped -- until he could clear Carly's name. Jason had faith that Carly could handle it.
Let's see, waiting for freedom in a nice comfy sanitarium or a snake pit? Pass the Fruit Loops because I'm headed to Shadybrook.
I waited patiently for Carly to punch Blockhead in the face, but for once, she kept her hands to herself.
Meanwhile, Michael, thankfully, sees Nelle for exactly who she is, and he enlisted Spinelli to help prove that Nelle has been moonlighting as a gaslighter.
I was so worried that Michael would fall for Nelle's lies, and he might have if she hadn't overplayed her hand by taking things too far with Carly. At first, I wondered what Nelle hoped to accomplish, because there was no way that Michael would ever side with Nelle against his mother. Never. Then I realized that there was no point in trying to make sense of a crazy person's reasoning. Nelle does what she does because she's a lunatic.
I can't wait until Michael is able to get his poor child away from its mother and Nelle is carted off to her own padded room. Karma at its best.
That said, Chloe Lanier is a joy to watch as she peels back the layers of Nelle's damaged psyche, bit by bit, to reveal a rotten core. She does bad to perfection, and it's going to be interesting to see how long Michael can keep up his charade without her realizing that he has her number.
During Friday's episode, Michael was caught trying to hack into Nelle's computer, but he managed to give her a perfectly innocent explanation. However, for just a second, I saw a glimmer of doubt in Nelle's expression, which means that she's going to be extra vigilant for any sign that Michael is playing her. Working in his favor is Nelle's confidence that she has everyone, except Carly, of course, fooled.
Another fascinating twist is Alexis' newfound desire to delve into her past. I'm intrigued. I recall the days when Mikkos Cassadine terrorized the good people of Port Charles -- and the world -- with his big diamond and ice machine. Good times. I can't wait to find out what Valentin knows about Mikkos and what that diamond wristwatch has to do with Alexis. Did Valentin have the Ice Princess broken up into tiny pieces, and that's Alexis' share? Was it a gift from her father? Something that belonged to her mother?
I can't wait to find out. This is a story that has so many possibilities, and I love that it's drawing from the past. Just, please, no rewrites.
I'm certain that as soon as Julian realizes that Kim is still very much hung up on Drew, he will be right back in Alexis' orbit. Russian stories are always tragic, so Alexis is going to need a sympathetic shoulder to lean on when the dust settles. I desperately want that shoulder to belong to Julian.
Frankly, Kim surprised me when she agreed to give Julian a second chance, because I thought she was more honest with herself than that. Sure, Drew is unavailable right now because he's in the middle of a divorce and his life has been turned upside down, but he won't be in that place forever. She waited this long for him, so why not a bit longer?
It's not like Drew hasn't loved and lost before. He was about to marry Liz when he was told that he was Jason, and Jason's implanted memories surfaced. Drew loved Sam, but he will get over her because he doesn't have a choice. Sam has already moved on, and he knows it.
I'm thrilled that Drew took Monica up on her offer to move into the mansion. Not only will it give Michael a trusted ally in the war against Nelle's machinations, but I love the idea of a house full of Quartermaines.
By the way, I'm really enjoying Patty McCormack as Monica, but I miss Leslie Charleson. Get well soon and hurry back!
In other news, it turns out that last week's cliffhanger ending was misleading because Nina wasn't responsible for Peter's abduction, after all. Well played, writers. Well played.
Michelle Stafford's performance was sublime when she confronted the man she believed was responsible for her brother's heartbreaking death. I had chills as she raged at Peter, at one point accusing him of using Nathan as a human shield. Wes Ramsey was equally magnificent because the anguish Peter felt was palpable, right down to his shaking hands and quivering chin.
The scene belongs on an Emmy reel.
The real kidnapper, not surprisingly, was Liesl. Liesl didn't really have a game plan until Nina made it clear that she would not be complicit to murder. Liesl dialed back her anger and agreed to keep Peter long enough to elicit a "voluntary" confession that would guarantee him a nice long stay in Steinmauer.
I had an ear-to-ear smile throughout the cabin scenes once Liesl showed up. I've decided that Nina and Liesl are the new Lucy and Ethel. Peter currently is Fred Mertz, so neither lady has much use for him, which is quite unfortunate for him because the rest of the world, including his mama, assumes that Peter is on the lam.
While Peter was busy matching wits with Liesl and Nina, who had no idea that supplying sustenance for Liesl's prisoner was considered aiding and abetting, Anna was in Berkeley, breaking the news to Robin that Robin has a big brother -- Henrik Faison.
Robin took the news as well as anyone could who just learned that the mom they idolized had a secret child with an arch supervillain, and the kid is a cross between Charles Manson and Jeffery Dahmer.
I think Robin was a little bit of a drama queen when she insisted that she never knew her mother at all and that all the special moments they shared over the years are now tainted. However, Robin did assure her mother that she loved her, which means that Robin will eventually put things into perspective and realize that Anna did what she thought was best. Just like Robin did over the years when she was caught in Victor and Helena Cassadine's sticky webs.
Until then, it appears that Anna will find comfort in Finn's arms.
Finn accompanied Anna to Berkeley, which I thought was incredibly sweet, then he promptly bumped into none other than Papa Chase in a coffee shop near the hotel. Finn was rattled and beat a hasty exit, but he later opened up to Anna about his past.
It seems Finn's issues with his father stem from his father moving on lightning quick from Finn's mother's death. According to Finn, his father was having a child with his new wife while Finn was still packing up his mom's things. Livid, Finn decided to ditch his father's surname and take his mother's maiden name -- Finn. Anna sensed there was more to the story, but Finn deflected by calling it an evening. He made it as far as the door when Anna mustered up the courage to ask him to stay.
I've been rooting for Anna and Finn to explore a relationship, so I'm delighted they are in the place they are in.
Cue Hayden's return. (Speculation, not a spoiler)
Finn's relationship with Anna heating up combined with Franco's sudden quest to have Elizabeth's family be a part of their wedding seems to suggest that is exactly where things are headed. It's the Beetlejuice effect. Once a character's name is mentioned three or more times, they appear.
I love Rebecca , so I wouldn't mind Hayden's return. I also want Finn to know about his child because there's no reason why he shouldn't. The problem is that as much as I liked Hayden and Finn in the past, what Hayden did was dirty. She cheated Finn out of their child because she couldn't trust in his love. Finn is one of the good guys, so he didn't deserve that. How much could Hayden have loved Finn if she could hurt him like that?
Then again, Jeff Webber could make an appearance, so it's anyone's guess at this point. What is guaranteed is that someone from Liz's family is going to make a surprise appearance, and Liz is not going to be happy when she realizes that Franco went behind her back.
Finally, Dr. Bensch managed to talk his way out of a sexual harassment complaint by claiming that it had been a misunderstanding. He also submitted a glowing recommendation for Kiki, which makes me wonder if he set Kiki up by suggesting that she meet him in his hotel room. It was all very Machiavellian of him, but was it realistic? I kind of felt like a hospital would have taken an accusation like that a little more seriously than having one meeting and taking the possible perpetrator's word over the victim's.
Kiki didn't report one incident. She revealed everything; the creepy touches, unwanted advances, and inappropriate propositions. How can all those things be explained away as innocent "misunderstandings"? How can there be so many?
I expected more from a hospital with a top-notch legal team. As Monica pointed out, this isn't the first time the hospital has dealt with this issue, so there should be a protocol in place. If not, Alexis is going to have a strong case for a lawsuit.
I was happy that Alexis wasn't satisfied with the hospital's response, but I suspect that Kiki is going to regret talking to Lulu. Bensch will fire back, and I don't think Kiki is prepared for just how far he'll go. Bensch already suspects that something is going on between Kiki and Griffin, so it's just a matter of time before he unearths their dark secret.
It doesn't bode well for Griffin because he's not just Kiki's mother's boyfriend -- he's also Kiki's superior at the hospital.
I found it odd that Drew's assistant had no idea who Kim was. Shouldn't she know who her boss's baby mamas are for emergency purposes? Plus, Kim has visited Drew at his office a handful of times.
Is Peter part camel? Why is he not screaming to use the facilities after being tied to a bed for hours on end?
Are we to seriously believe that "The Ace of Cyberspace," Spinelli, couldn't hack into Nelle's laptop remotely and stealthily download her web browser history and files? Lack of attention to details like that drives me crazy.
I'm really surprised by the amount of criticism being hurled in Diane's direction just because Carly's not on board with her defense strategy. Diane is only being objective and realistic, which is exactly what a good attorney should be. "Hope" is NOT a sound legal strategy. If Diane thought for one minute that there was even the SLIGHTEST chance that Carly could win by pleading "Not Guilty," she would've given her that option, but in Diane's professional opinion, that chance doesn't exist any more than the evidence that can prove Carly is innocent does -- mainly because she's NOT. -- Scrimmage
I like Sam, but when she showed up at the docks in that awful dress and heels, all I could do was laugh. When she told Spinelli, she had to go help Jason, I figured she would go get a gun, knife, flashlight, something she could use and change into some jeans/shirt. If Jason was in trouble how would she help him in a skin-tight dress and no weapons? -- lk
I was disgusted by Kiki and Griffin hooking up, albeit it proves YET AGAIN that she is exactly like her mother. Kiki messed with Michael's meds and Ava messed with Morgan's meds. Ava hooked up with Morgan and Kiki hooked up with Griffin. Like mother, like daughter. -- Meghan Patricia
Your wish for a miracle for Mike gave me a lightbulb moment. I completely lost sight of the fact that Dr. Maddox's memory research was to help those with Alzheimer's. Any chance it's not a coincidence and he will do some memory mapping for Mike??? -- MJ
Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts. I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to email me or leave a comment below.
Take care and happy viewing,
Liz Masters
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