"I look forward to our complications."
Dear readers, when I heard Liz and Finn's conversation on GH, I thought about a relationship in my life where having that conversation could have changed the trajectory of things, but we never had the conversation.
Have you ever had a relationship that seemed perfect and promising, but there were so many obstacles that seemed insurmountable that you didn't even know where to begin? A relationship where the path forward was unclear, and so you just...froze?
But whoever wrote that scene for Liz and Finn recognized that situation and thought, "Let's write them out of this hole." If only I had a good dialogue writer who would follow me around and help me work through complicated situations, that would be sublime!
Finn said (paraphrased), "I'm a recovering addict, and I'll struggle with this all my life. I'm a loner, and I don't like people very much, and I like looking into a microscope more than into a TV. I used to be involved with your sister." Liz said she loved TV, acknowledged the sister thing, and said microscopes give her headaches, but most of all, she is scared. Finn admitted that he was scared, too. He told Liz he investigated transferring to another hospital because seeing Liz all day is a distraction to him.
They went through their list of items and worries. They concluded that they wanted to move forward in the relationship despite the list of complicated things standing between them. They didn't even mention when they moved Peter August's supposedly dead boy into a freezer together. They decided to, despite the list of obstacles, move forward. Liz ended with the great line: "I look forward to our complications."
But most of us don't have complications because we moved a dead body together. Instead, it's stuff like, "I have asthma, and you're a chain smoker, so I won't be able to breathe if I live with you." But you don't say that because you don't want to sound judge-y. Or "I have dogs, and you hate pets, so this can't work." But you don't say that because it would sound crazy to choose a dog over a human. Unless you have ever owned a dog, in which case, it makes perfect sense. Am I right? Most people won't risk having those conversations and trying to overcome those things. We see an obstacle we can't resolve in our own brain and assume it is insurmountable without ever having the talk Liz and Finn had today. I loved that scene.
Readers, I can't quite put my finger on why, but I liked everyone better this week. The characters I had written off made me give them a second look all week long. (except Gladys. Her, I will hate forever, no matter what.)
Is it new writing, or am I just in a cheerier mood? I don't know, but today, the Liz and Finn scenes made me feel hopeful that a second go-round for these two won't leave me feeling as empty as their first attempt. When Liz and Finn were together before, and Liz was mid-mental breakdown, I just could not take his meddling and her sniping at him over meddling. This felt different, and I am willing to open my mind about this pairing and let the writers take me on a journey. Their date was very satisfying.
The entire time Michael was using Dex to spy on Sonny, I loathed him, but today, just as I was starting to soften my feelings toward Michael, too -- he told Willow he did not want her to go back to nursing school because he wanted her to focus on their family. How very Ken. Hey, Michael, see the Barbie movie and hear about how hard it is to be a woman. You need that speech desperately. Willow just fought and beat cancer, and that included a bone marrow transplant and months of chemo. If the lady is anxious to get back to school, support her! Celebrate her! Help her study! She can do that and still be a mom. All that said, I like Michael more now that he has let go of his evil plot against his dad.
In like manner, I found myself softening to Nina this week. I still do not want her with Sonny, but her scenes with Willow and Kristina were tender and nuanced, and I warmed up to her. Totally unrelated: I think it's astounding how long Willow's hair is, considering she's been having cancer treatments for a year. I know this is a soap, but I have watched many a friend battle cancer and lose their hair and have hats, wigs, and scarves galore to cover up hair loss, so noticing that Willow had very long, luxurious hair just struck me.
I also like the scenes with Nu-Kristina and Nina. I like that the writers are highlighting Krissy's LGBTQ center and shining a light on homeless youth in that community. As a nana with a transgender grandchild, I have witnessed their heartache and rejection; this issue is near and dear to my heart. I appreciated the scene with Trish, the server at Metro Court, sharing the story of her brother Teddy.
I know this is a hot-button issue, and some people will be riled up about the storyline. Still, I hope that people will give the writers a chance to tell a story and will open their hearts up enough to be moved by the suffering of a group of people they may not understand. I hope that GH will highlight a few stories of some of the young people who come to Kristina's center and see if this storyline can open a (kind and respectful) dialogue of viewers with opposing beliefs.
It's so ironic that we have begged for more scenes with Kristina for years, as viewers have always adored Lexi Ainsworth, and since Dawn of Day, we have barely seen her. Then, the powers that be change actors, and Kristina is front and center, as is Molly. Is this their way of making us accept the new actors and giving them a chance to get to know them better? I hate to admit it, but it's working, at least for me. As I watched the sisterly scenes between them this week, I tweeted that I didn't hate them. I am not at the "like them" or "love them" phase, but I am at the "willing to give them a chance" phase.
That being said, if I had a choice between hot love scenes with Sprina or Molly playing with a stuffed horse, I would choose Spencer and Trina!
At first, I thought that perhaps Nicholas A. Chavez and Tabyana Ali were on vacation or something, but no, they were on this week, but not in scenes with each other! That irked me.
I enjoyed the scene with Trina confiding in Dex. Maybe now she will understand what Joss saw in Dex and the choices Joss made. I think it's about time for Cam to come home so possibly Trina can be a friend to Cam and help him make peace with what happened last year. Emma needs to come home for the summer and connect with Cam; she is 20 now, so it's perfectly legal.
Back to Sprina... Spencer Cassadine has never listened to anyone in his entire life since we got to know the kid version of his character when he was ten years old, so why is he listening to meddling Portia now and staying away from Trina? I am glad that Josslyn gave Spencer grief for abandoning his girlfriend when she needed him most. And why was Krissy pushing Spencer to go to the park with Esme? Gross.
No one else on earth would expect a grown man of 20 years old to be the caregiver for his baby brother. Esme was a nightmare, but she loves Ace and would never hurt him. If Esme skipped town with Ace, how long before someone in the Cassadine or the Corinthos family found her? I don't understand the fear of leaving her alone with her baby for an hour. Hopefully, Grandma Laura can come home soon and tell Spencer to visit Trina.
But now, Laura and Kevin are going to the creepy sub-basement of Wyndemere, where the evil lab-orrr-story is housed. If I were Laura, I would not step foot in that place without an entire army backing me up. Good things never happen at the Cassadine compound. When Laura mentioned Stavros having Lulu chained up down there, I thought, "You'll be next if you don't get the heck out of there." Laura got a flash of inspiration, and she said she knew exactly where they were going next, and I am curious to see where she is heading. To Ava? To Emily's twin sister Rebecca Shaw? To that crazy lady in the woods that thought Nikolas was a mountain man named Connor Bishop? (When these random GH names pop into my head, I wonder how I can remember that but not where I put my hairbrush.) Next week should be fun.
But back to Lulu. We finally heard her name mentioned this week and saw a stunning grown-up Charlotte back at her mother's side. What a delightful surprise to see Scarlett Fernandez home again. I am jonesing for the reunion between Charlotte and Papa now that James Patrick Stewart has brought his alter ego back to Port Charles. If Lulu is about to wake up, will it be Julie Marie Berman, Emme Rylan, or someone totally new?
All I know is that the sweet little love affair Sam and Dante have going will be complicated (there is that word again!) when Lulu comes out of her coma. Will Dante want to stay with Sam or try again with Lulu? Before she went into her coma, I think she chose dull Dustin instead of Dante, so if he chooses Sam, I'm okay with that. Sam and Dante seem like a real couple to me, it never feels forced between them, and I get happy when they are on, so there are my two cents. I would welcome Lulu's return, though. I am confident the daughter of Luke and Laura could find a new love interest in no time flat.
But Portia? Not so much. She's become very annoying to me. I am rooting so hard for Curtis to turn to Jordan as he recovers and for the two to reconnect. Still, I am torn because I also like Jordan with Portia's brother Zeke. If I must choose, I will select Curtis with Jordan just because I think Portia needs a time-out to be alone and snap out of her need to control everything.
It's funny because Aunt Stella used to be that person who was always meddling and manipulating, and she drove me nuts. But now, Aunt Stella learned her lesson, and she went from making me crazy to filling up my heart with her warm, sage advice and the way she uplifts everyone she encounters. Vernee Watson is fantastic, and we are so lucky to have her in Port Charles.
Carly got knocked down a few pegs last year and lost everything, but she is climbing back up and starting a new venture at Kelly's. A look passed between Carly and Sonny this week that made me jittery; it felt like a small tease that maybe they were on their way back together. I am one of those viewers who think Carly and Sonny are endgame. I am still waiting for Sonny to discover that Nina turned Carly and Drew in to the SEC.
Drew used his Navy SEAL skills to save Cyrus from a shiv to the gut this week, and readers, please don't mock my naiveté, but is it possible that Cyrus' out-of-body near-death experience genuinely impacted him? I think yes. I believe his imaginary conversation with Laura about redemption moved his soul forward in his quest to be a better man. Right now, Martin and Laura are skeptical of him with reason, but he's giving his money away; isn't that a sign of something? Jeff Kober plays Cyrus nuancedly; he rides the line between good and evil like a tightrope walker. Is he good, or just exceptionally good at pretending to be good? I am not 100% sure, but I am willing to go along on this journey with him, and I am rooting for his redemption.
Despite saving Cyrus' life, Drew was shipped off to solitary confinement. This worries me. I hope he has something sharp to start carving Scout's name into the wall again, but I pray he won't be there long enough to need it. In days of old, Monica would be at Pentonville, pounding her fists and demanding that her son be sent to a low-security white-collar prison. And for those of you who would say he's not her son, he is not by blood but is in her heart, just like his brother Jason.
Speaking of Jason, I am still missing him fiercely. I heard Steve Burton's time at Days of our Lives is up, and I got hopeful. He would greatly help Sonny and Anna's dilemma of "Which one of us were they aiming for?" The gun was a WSB gun, but was it a rogue agent, a former enemy of Anna's, or someone gunning for Sonny with a borrowed gun? Sonny and Anna got interrupted before they finished their conversation.
But when Valentin showed up, Anna finished her conversation with him by saying, "I love you." And I absolutely melted. If you have been around awhile, you will know that Valentin has been pining for Anna for decades, starting when he was a young, confused, and disfigured man. But now he's totally dreamy, with no hunchback in sight, and Anna has fallen under his very romantic spell. I hope he serenades her because I enjoy hearing James Patrick Stuart sing. Can you imagine going to work and getting paid to make out with him? Oh, Finola Hughes, you are one lucky girl.
If Olivia plays her cards right, she might be a lucky girl, too, and land Eddie Maine. Hearing about her bad girl phase made Eddie pause and give his forgotten wife a second look. This is starting to feel like 50 First Dates -- if you haven't seen it, you should. It's got Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler. She has a brain injury that causes short-term memory loss, and every day, he has to make her fall in love with him all over again. Olivia isn't actively trying to make Eddie fall for her; she wants Ned back, but those things that Ned loves about Olivia seem to be a turn-on for his alter ego Eddie, too.
Leo is the catalyst for Eddie being kinder to Olivia. The funniest line this week was when Olivia asked Eddie to look around the bar and see if he saw any other grandparents there. Eddie looked stunned, considering that he might be old enough to have a grandchild. Wally Kurth is doing a splendid job playing Eddie, and it seems he is having a lot of fun. So am I -- for now -- but I hope we get Ned back eventually.
One more. Austin was way more fun Friday than they had ever let him be before; his impression of Sonny made me cackle. Today, it finally seemed clear that Austin is a pawn, not a criminal mastermind. I liked the playfulness between him and Ava, despite their serious subject matter. Ava pointed out that Austin is not a very good criminal or liar. That's a good thing. I'm more willing to embrace their relationship if I think he is a good guy caught in a bad situation.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Kristina slip her egg into the surrogate carton to try to become her sister's donor? Will Valliant fall behind a sofa cushion and get lost for another decade? Will Mama Carly make those famous cookies at Kelly's and get rich with an online baking business? (Let's hope so, because she can't sell five million in BLTs.) Will Joss like working at Kelly's this summer so she has ample opportunities to meddle and boss her friends around? Will Finn and Chase be mad that Tracy, who has only known Gregory for three days, noticed his ALS signs before they did?
Will Anna take back her "I love you" from Valentin when she discovers he is the one who connected Sonny with Pikeman? Will the Q's take pity on poor Cody and find a substitute horse feeder for one day so he can recover from his stab wound? Will Lulu come out of her coma and be stunned to find that her mother and Valentin have bonded? Will Esme befriend Kristina and try to get dirt on Joss? Will Eddie finally remember Lois and ask for Olivia to set up a threesome with those two wild Bensonhurst chicks? Will Brick listen to Sonny's advice from Friday's previews and keep Mason alive a little longer?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
Tamilu
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