‘General Hospital’ Week In Review: Lucky chases his demons, Monica and Jakson bond, Ric gaslights Nina

I don’t care

Sonny popped the question to Carly and she said yes. Yay? This default super couple is awful. The only plus side I can manage to come up with to this random repairing of a couple who’s “love” story ended years ago is that it allows me to exercise my right as a soap viewer to fast forward. When I don’t watch their scenes, I don’t feel like I’ve missed out on anything.

During the awesome umbrella story of Hallowedding/AJ’s murder reveal/Michael Quartermaine, I’d often use the hashtag #Sonnyistheworst when live tweeting. I had so much fun during that time. Yes, I hated the character of Sonny but I was having fun doing so. Sonny is still the worst and not for any reason that provides an ounce of entertainment value. He’s not only villainous, he’s boring.

I suspect years from now that the instant forgiveness Michael has given freely to Sonny will be discussed as one of the worst creative descissions done by a soap, right up there with Guiding Light killing off Maureen Bauer. Michael’s rejection and vengeance on Sonny was not only justifiable, but more importantly it would have created years of story. Why would anyone think it was a good idea to kill that? I suspect what happened was that a very vocal group of Sonny fans were upset and this feedback was misinterpreted. Sonny fans were suppose to be upset. They were supposed to feel something. That was the point. I see fans now complaining that Sonny has no purpose and nothing to do. They’re right. Removing that story didn’t protect the lead of the show. It rendered him useless.

There was a beautiful set up for some growth for the mobster who has been on an aimless rinse and repeat of mob wars and womanizing for more than a decade. I wanted self-reflection from not only Sonny, but from those around him who had mistakenly trusted him. I wanted Sonny to have to exam himself as a man and as a father. We didn’t get that story and now there’s nothing left for Sonny other than more of the same. And I no longer have a reason to care.

He Drives Me Crazy

Ric took his plans to get Nina’s fortune further this week by starting to make his wife doubt her own sanity. Viewers seem to have a lot of different thoughts about this, none of which I think are wrong. I feel a lot of conflicting feelings about it myself and that is part of what is keeping it interesting for me. I feel sorry for both Ric and Nina in the story line but for different types of reasons.

Nina seems to have a sick feeling in the pit of her stomach that something isn’t right, but she’s not sure just what. Rather than direct that intuition towards the husband she barely knows and has been warned about, she’s suspecting herself. We haven’t gotten much information as to the cause of Nina’s irate behavior. She dumped her boyfriend who cared about her, got married to a shady lawyer after he showed her a little attention and decided to become BFFs with man at the heart of it all, he two-timing ex-husband Silas. Huh? It’s strange behavior even for her.

There seems to be a reason behind it all though and that’s gotten my attention. Awhile back Dr. O hinted at a skeleton in Nina’s closet, something from her past that Dr. O seemed to think made Nina unworthy of Franco’s adoration. This secret was alluded to again when Ric asked Madeline how Nina got the way she is. What made her break in the first place? Madeline avoided answering, but it’s clear that there is some dark family secret that nobody wants out.

Madeline and Nina’s relationship is not that of the typical mother and daughter. Madeline seems jealous of Nina and particularly of her relationship with her father. Nina’s father left her everything and Madeline nothing. Madeline seems to take great offense to that. I don’t think it is just greed, because if she had a good relationship with Nina she could just depend on her daughter for finances. She doesn’t have a good relationship with Nina though. She seems to fear and loath Nina with random dashes of concern appearing from time to time. What’s that all about?

Ric is expertly manipulating the situation with his smooth, smarmy charm. I really don’t think he has any interest in sharing Nina’s money with Madeline. He’s toying with her as much as he is with Nina. Ric works well as the handsome cad.

Ric following up his attempt to win Liz, a woman he truly loved, with some dangerous liaisons does make one wonder what happened to the less villainous Ric who had returned to Port Charles to spend time with his daughter. Maybe he’s being one of those guys who takes out his bitterness from a previous relationship on the next girl who comes along. The explanation isn’t really there. If Nina’s big secret is as bad as I think it is though then I suspect that he’ll end up regretting his actions later.

I don’t think this is going to write Ric into a corner he can’t get out of. I think he’s going to end up looking bad again only this time no panic rooms were needed. For Nina, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. She has hope that when all is done she’ll have Franco who loves her and some issues resolved. So what will happen with Ric though? After he hits rock bottom, the only way for him to really go is up.

I’d like to see Ric paired with Jordan. I think he needs a woman who is strong and will make him want to be better. He had that to an extent with Liz, but that didn’t work out because she didn’t return his feelings. I want a swoon worthy romance for Ric where he can change his ways and be rewarded in the end.

For a peek at what’s happening this week, check out our General Hospital Spoilers.

Photos courtesy of ABC.