The secret about Nina and Willow is out, and things are very messy indeed. Nina is devastated, Willow is shocked, Carly is filled with regrets, Sonny is indignant, and Michael hates everyone.
Before I dive into all of that, I want to take a moment to recognize the powerhouse performances that we were treated to by all the actors involved in this twisted little saga. Cynthia Watros, Laura Wright, Katelyn MacMullen, Chad Duell, and Maurice Benard were at the top of their games throughout the week as the bombshell about Nina being Willow's mother dropped. The scenes have been explosive, riveting, and Emmy worthy. Everyone deserves a big round of applause.
I might not like all the characters involved, but I have oodles of respect for the actors. Cynthia Watros did an amazing job, and there were even moments that she had me tearing up for Nina. The same goes for Laura Wright. Both ladies are fantastic actresses, and we are incredibly lucky to have both of them on GH.
Let's be honest. Neither Carly nor Nina's hands are clean. Both have a long and sordid history of terrible choices and horrible transgressions. In a drinking game of whataboutism, we'd be passed out cold long before we got through the lists of their sins.
As much as Sonny and Nina would like to believe that Carly kept the secret out of petty spite, it's actually far more complicated than that. There are several reasons that Carly kept quiet, not the least of which was Willow's insistence that she had no desire to learn that her biological mother was someone like Nina. Does that make it okay? No, it doesn't. However, it wasn't with malicious intent, either.
Carly had seen with her own eyes -- time and time again -- just how toxic things were between Nina and Willow. Nina was relentless in her quest to have a place in Wiley's life, and to minimize Willow's. That's why Nina's knee-jerk reaction to learning that Nelle was her daughter was to run over to the Quartermaine mansion and tell Wiley that Willow is not his real mother. When Nina learned about Willow's cancer, she didn't go to the gatehouse to offer well wishes and help. No, Nina weaponized the cancer and accused Willow of putting the baby ahead of Wiley.
From the moment that Nina first laid eyes on Willow, she has not liked her. Back then, Nina resented Willow for suggesting that Charlotte was anything less than perfect. Things got so nasty that Willow ended up getting fired as a teacher because of Nina. Their relationship never really improved, and it definitely deteriorated when Nina found out that Wiley was her grandson.
That brings me to Michael and Wiley. Carly loves Michael, and she knows what his fears are about Nina. She pretty much admitted as much during her conversation with Michael when she told him that she'd been afraid of what Nina would do when she learned that Willow was her daughter. The thing is, Carly was right to be concerned. Even now, Nina has visions of mommy/daughter spa dates and shopping trips dancing through her head, despite the fact that Willow had made it clear that nothing has changed for her.
Was there a bit of spitefulness mixed in with all the reasons that Carly kept silent? Probably. Carly doesn't like Nina any more than Nina likes Carly. Let's be clear, Carly owes Nina nothing. She never has. It's Willow who was entitled to the truth from Carly. As Willow said, she's not a delicate flower. She survived losing a child, so she can certainly handle the truth about her biological family.
Sonny is the last person who has any right to judge Carly -- or anyone else, for that matter. The man has killed countless people during his career, and his own secrets ripped apart his family. I get that he loves Nina, but Carly is still the mother of half his passel of kids. How is going to war with Carly over Nina going to help mend fences with Michael?
Carly and Michael have always had a very close and loving relationship. In many ways, Michael has been his mother's protector, so of course he would forgive her sooner rather than later. I never had any doubt of that, despite what Michael told people. Carly's loyalty to Michael has always been unwavering, and his to her. Sonny's betrayal of Carly is one of the reasons that Michael went on the warpath with Sonny.
Instead of arguing with Carly, Sonny should have focused on bringing the family together for Willow. Save the recriminations for later. Willow needs peace right now, and she needs everyone to be there for Michael if the worst should happen. Not that it will. There's little to no doubt in my mind that Willow will survive. She might get worse, but even the writers can't be so cruel as to give Nina another daughter only to kill her off, too.
More than likely, Nina's bone marrow will save Willow. If not, there's Liesl. Once Willow has her baby safely in her arms, and she's on the road to recovery, she will be ready to deal with Nina. Willow is a kind soul. She tries to see the good in people, she believes in second chances, and she has a compassionate heart. It might take some time, but eventually, Willow will let Nina into her life. At least, she will be open to it.
Nina will have to make a choice: hold on to her anger at Carly or forge a relationship with Willow. Willow has already forgiven Carly, and Michael is well on his way, so Carly clearly isn't going anywhere. It will be up to Nina if she wants to pay the price of admission to Willow's life. I don't expect Nina and Carly to ever be friends, but if Ava can forgive Nina, then Nina can certainly make peace with Carly.
Michael is another one who needs to take a long, hard look in the mirror because his mission to take down Sonny is just going to bring more pain to his family. Hasn't there been enough of that? I hate that Michael took time out from worrying about Willow to sneak a visit with Dex in the stairwell. What was that? If Michael isn't careful, his vendetta is going to be his downfall.
I still don't trust Dex. He's doing something very dangerous, so he has no business getting involved with someone -- let alone his boss's sister and the target's stepdaughter. Also, if Dex is so into Josslyn, why not just walk away from the job? Why is Dex so determined to take Sonny down? It's starting to feel personal. Admittedly, I love Cameron, and I think Josslyn did him dirty, but there's so much about Dex that we don't know. What little we do know doesn't bode well. He's a skilled liar and manipulator with a violent childhood and a history of getting into fights.
It stinks that Cameron had to find out about Josslyn and Dex the hard way -- catching them half-dressed in her dorm room -- but I'm glad he knows. Josslyn can pretend Dex had nothing to do with the breakup, but it was clear to me that she was instantly drawn to Dex, and she checked out from her relationship with Cameron from that point on. That's fine. It's why it's called dating. Few people marry their first love, and I never expected Josslyn and Cam to last. I did expect Josslyn to be honest with Cam. She should have told him that there was no hope for a reconciliation because she had already moved on with Dex.
Perhaps if Josslyn had been honest, she could have spared Cam the pain of catching her in a compromising position with Dex. What happens next is on Josslyn, but I can't shake the feeling that Dex is bad news, and she is in store for a lot of heartache.
The other big twist was Esme's court hearing. Esme, who has been charged with framing Trina for the revenge porn and the attempted murder of Oz Haggerty, was remanded to Spring Ridge until after her trial. It was my theory that Esme had faked amnesia for this very reason. Telling people that Nikolas had kept her captive would have only cleared her of the Hook attacks, but she was never going to walk away from the hospital a free woman.
Instead of Ryan, Esme unwittingly had an encounter with her mother -- Heather Webber. Heather was in fine form, spinning her delusions and veiled innuendos like the little spider that she is. While I enjoyed the scene, I was a bit disappointed that Esme didn't see Ryan. That will be the real test.
It doesn't really matter if Esme has amnesia or not. Amnesia doesn't change who a person is. We saw that with Sonny when he ended up in Nixon Falls. "Mike" had bipolar disorder, mad skills in the kitchen, and all the lethal instincts that Sonny had honed over the years. "Mike" was still Sonny but without the memories.
Esme is still Esme.
Esme wasn't a reluctant accessory in the stalking of Ava; she was Spencer's partner in crime. Esme was the one who hatched the scheme to frame Trina for posting revenge porn, and she tried to kill Oz Haggerty by drugging his drink. These were not petty crimes. Trina could have spent years in prison, and Oz nearly died. Esme also risked her unborn child's life with that stunt on the parapet, so she was never an innocent victim.
I think it's very telling that Esme has absolutely no interest in her pregnancy. Sure, prior to the amnesia, Esme talked to her unborn child, and she even referred to the baby as "Ace." But she also took a big risk playing with those prenatal vitamins and setting that fire in her bedroom -- also, that backflip from the parapet. I cannot stress enough how much that told me Esme only cares about Esme. The only reason that Esme is still pregnant is because she's a fictional character.
I applaud Spencer's desire to protect his unborn sibling from Nikolas and Esme. With Marcus Coloma soon to exit the role of Nikolas Cassadine, and Esme being Esme, I imagine Diane is not going to have much of a problem in court. In real life, Spencer wouldn't have a snowball's chance. Not only is Spencer a convicted felon and still on probation, but he doesn't even have a home. He lives with his uncle -- the mob boss.
The best thing to come out of this development is that Spencer and Ava have finally made peace. I said it before and I'll say it again: I want Ava to be the mother that Spencer never had. They had such a wonderful dynamic before that stupid fire left Ava disfigured, and it was unfair of Spencer to hold that against her for all these years, especially since it turned out that Nikolas was not even dead.
I love that Ava reminded Spencer that he needed to talk to Trina about his plans because he can't rekindle the friendship and continue to make the same mistakes. Ava is right, but at the same time, I hate that someone had to remind Spencer to stop keeping secrets from Trina. I'm rooting for Spencer and Trina, but not if Spencer keeps acting like Trina is made of spun glass. She's a big girl who has faced the possibility of going to jail for a crime she didn't commit, and she buried her first real boyfriend. That's just recently.
Of course, Portia is going to lose her mind when she finds out that not only will Trina not stay away from Spencer, but Trina will most likely get involved with Spencer's custody battle. How far will Trina go to help Spencer? A young married couple in family court is better than a single guy. Just saying.
Portia is exhausting and very frustrating. While I'm sure she wants the best for Marshall, I am equally certain that the main reason she wants Marshall to have a second opinion about the schizophrenia is because she wants to know if Trina inherited the genetic markers for it. Valid, but it really bothers me that Portia is keeping all of this from Trina. Trina is not a child. She's an adult, and she has a right to know.
I find it odd how Portia treats Trina like a ten-year old rather than a grown woman. I'm a mother, and both of my children are grown. I remember the transition years -- high school to adulthood -- so I get Portia's concern, especially since there's a killer on the loose, targeting those close to Trina. I don't blame Portia for being on edge or worrying about Trina's physical safety. However, I draw the line at dictating who they can be friends with.
I would never tell my son or daughter that they couldn't be friends with someone. I'd express my reservations about the person, but I would trust them to decide for themselves because I didn't raise idiots.
Trina is in her second year of college, and until recently, she had a really nice job working at an art gallery. She is a wonderful young lady with a good head on her shoulders. Portia should have more faith in the woman she raised.
Instead of worrying about who Trina is hanging out with, Portia should focus more on mustering up the courage to be honest with the man she plans to spend the rest of her life with. Unfortunately, I don't think that Portia confessing about Trina's paternity at this late date will be enough to save her relationship with Curtis. The time for honesty was before she and Curtis bought a house. If not then, certainly before their engagement.
In the end, that's probably why Portia has remained silent. She knows that the truth will cost her Curtis. The problem is that it's only a secret if no one else knows. Too bad for Portia, Jordan not only knows, but she's been pushing Portia to tell Curtis the truth about Trina. Jordan has no obligation to keep Portia's secret, and I can't see Jordan standing by and saying nothing while Curtis exchanges vows with a woman who is keeping his daughter from him.
I don't know what it's going to take to knock this secret loose, but I hope Portia pays close attention to Carly's walk of shame. It's not easy to face a reckoning because the haters are usually the first to line up -- and they always have the biggest rocks.
What's the point of having a guard outside Esme's hospital room if anyone can wander in? Shouldn't her visitors have been restricted to essential medical personnel and her attorney?
I couldn't believe that Willow would say she had been better off with Harmony. Didn't Harmony drag her from one disturbing cult to another, drug her, put her in the hands of a rapist, and kill people? Nina has done terrible things, but she is certainly not worse than Harmony.
It was recently brought to my attention that Michael has a DNA type. He has now been in love with each of Silas Clay's daughters -- Kiki Jerome, Nelle Benson, and Willow Tait -- and he has children with two of them.
So, if security cameras caught a hazy image of Josslyn on the piers when Britt was attacked, didn't they also capture a fuzzy image of Dex arriving on the scene, firing off a shot, and leaving with Josslyn?
Even though i'll miss the character of Britt, I liked how she died because she sort of went out a hero in that she saved Josslyn. Also I'm wondering if maybe Britt was happy dying quickly instead of suffering from Huntington's Disease. -- Andrew Haas
When Heather was at the hospital, she mentioned to Portia that she knew all about Trina's trial, because they all followed the news at the Institution. If that was true, then she had to know that Esme was in PC. Everyone mentioned they suspected her of setting Trina up, and she testified. So there must be something more to this story. -- Kim LaSota
Totally disagree about Dex and Joss. I LOVE them together. I love the way he looks at her. And he's around all the time because he wants to protect her. Personally, I think he is a cop working to take down Dante and using Michael to do it. He and Joss remind me of Dante and Lulu when they first met and he was a cop. The guy just smells like a cop to me, and he won't drop the deal even when Michael wanted to, so I think he's answering to someone else. As for Cam, he and Joss should have just been friends. She needs someone tough who will call her on her BS and he needs someone sweet and innocent that wants to share a milkshake. -- Kasi Blake
Please feel free to leave a comment below or email me. I love hearing from everyone and reading your thoughts.
Take care and happy viewing,
Liz Masters
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