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General Hospital delivered heavily on the black comedy and bumbling heroine front – two of my absolute favorite genres and character traits. Even characters that had always had me unsure had me curious, wanting to root for them to do well! How did that even happen and in such a short time? As you’ll see, a lot is possible in Port Charles so let’s get down to it!
Olivia Falconeri’s Diary
She was never on my list of favorite characters as I found her too grating, no matter what scene she was in (personal preference) but lately, Olivia Falconeri has been serving it. Her life has turned into something of a late-90s to early 2000s romantic comedy, full of mix-ups and bumbling lines that have turned her into someone a lot more endearing than the shrieking mother she was known to be. We’ve all seen her pining over the unavailable Ned Ashton for weeks now, always almost mustering up enough courage to confess to him only to shrivel away again whenever he began to moon over Alexis Davis. The writers even borrowed from these classic films when Olivia professed her love to Ned right in the middle of his breakfast date with Alexis at the Metro Court, pouring her heart out to the man that she feels a real connection and companionship – only for everything to switch in just a flash, revealing it all as a daydream. This Inner Olivia does not feel that Ned shares any common points with Alexis like he does with her; she thinks they’re complete opposites. Though I’m sure some may like Alexis, Olivia is the clear heroine in the story because you want to root for her; Alexis isn’t bad per se but she is stringing Ned along as everyone knows, pretty much just buying time until she’s comfortable within herself again to be with Julian Jerome (Yes, hurry! We’re thirsty for this reconciliation!). You couldn’t possibly not raise up a fist for Olivia when she stood her ground against Ned’s senseless denial of her (this time for real) confession, letting him know that still being friends would be far too painful for her and that they have to go their separate ways. As soon as there’s a spark again, the fire of Julian and Alexis will ignite once more and Ned, who for some reason is putting all of his trust into Alexis just because they have a “past,” will unfortunately get burned. I just hope Olivia sticks to her word and doesn’t give into him crawling back to her – at least for a little while. They are adorable together!
Helena Cassadine & the Chamber of Secrets
This is an honorable mention as it wasn’t a huge scene though it does have the potential for setting up a hefty story down the line. We have to bring up the fact that Helena Cassadine strolled out of Spoon Island’s Chamber of Secrets so nonchalantly, as if it and its probable series of tunnels were her main means of entering and exiting a room. C’mon, we know you teleport so show us that instead! It’s with this entrance that the viewers have begun to see Helena as becoming a bit too cartoony. I prefer to have my soap villains not be too serious but when the writers have your practically undead grandmother living in the walls of your mansion without you noticing? Nikolas, you’ve got to do something about that! I don’t want to burst out laughing when Helena enters a scene, I want to feel unsettled with a kind of tar like taste on my tongue whenever the character is around, that or I want to be laughing at the misfortune of the person she’s tormenting. But I digress for in the context of this scene, Helena’s secret passageway entrance made sense. She threatened Nikolas this week; basically promising to convert him into one of Spencer Cassadine’s feared townies should he not take up the helm as the Cassadine heir. Her crawling out of the walls like a basilisk made those warning words have a bit more depth in the way that we now know Helena can keep an eye on Nikolas from even within his own home, without him even being aware of it. Should her grandson try to turn on her or not behave the way she wants him to, there’s literally nowhere Nikolas would be able to hide from her. Nikolas made it clear that he wanted nothing to do with the madness that comes with being patriarch of the Cassadine family so I doubt Helena will be getting a swanky room upstairs anytime soon. Hopefully the matriarch has a king sized bed in these passages to keep both herself and her brainwashed soldier boy warm this Christmas.
Jordan’s back on the court
Jordan Ashford was someone that I had hoped would be fleshed out in due time; a gorgeous, talented actress had taken up her reins and was making the most of a character cursed to be in scenes with just Shawn Butler (just a bad character, nothing against the actor). After learning some strange, off handed backstory about her and Shawn’s past affair leading to the death of TJ Ashford’s father, I really thought the only time we’d ever see her now would be on the arm of Shawn especially with her firing from her undercover assignment last week. The good person in me couldn’t wait to see her reunited with her son again, for him to be proud of his mother for not perpetuating the stereotypes that he hadn’t been comfortable with when he learned Jordan was pushing drugs. The smile that shined on Jordan’s face when she spoke to Anna Devane about now being able to tell TJ the truth about her career just showed how dedicated she was to her son. She never needed anyone else’s approval or for anyone to ever accept her except for her son which I find very powerful. What was even more powerful was when those dreams were shot down out of the sky when Jordan’s mission was reinstated, you could see the crushing feeling right on her face, knowing that the lie of a life she lead would have to persist. With all of the new mob shakeups and Ric Lansing’s disappearance, someone on the inside was needed and Jordan was already deep within the Jerome clan inner circle. Though reluctant, her readmission was smooth as Julian Jerome and Carlos Rivera both easily welcomed her back into the fold without a clue about her double agent status. Now nothing is ever cut and dry in the soap opera world but in this sense I hope it does pan out well, at least for Jordan. Anna painted a nice picture of Jordan being the one to save and find Ric which would not only make Jordan her son’s girlfriend’s hero but certainly a hero to her son! I want the best for her because I want more of her! Unfortunately, second time arounds are almost always different from the first. There are lots more players now in this Port Charles mob war, not just two rival factions, which means there’s now more danger of Jordan getting exposed.
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