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General Hospital definitely had it’s ups and downs during the week that was. I found myself really having fun watching Port Charles’ legal eagles this week. While the not-so-mysterious mysteries have been treading water or flatlining, the courtroom drama was delightfully entertaining. It was a nice treat amongst too many unanswered questions and retconned story lines. It was worth struggling through the bad stuff to watch these scenes.
This Week in Review is for General Hospital episodes airing August 17-21, 2015. A lot happens in one week on GH so if there is something I didn’t discuss that you would like to share your thoughts on, please leave a comment below and I’ll chat with you. This week I chose to focus on my favorite and least favorite stories.
Law and Order
By far my favorite part of last week’s GH was the courtroom drama surrounding Franco’s trial. It was all just so amusing to watch. On oneside we had scheming Ric out to stick it to the man who’s getting in the way of his plans to dupe Nina out of her money and on the other side we had wacky Scotty grasping for straws on how to keeping his never do well son out of jail. Ric, you looked handsome as heck in your suit strutting around the courtroom but I can’t resist an underdog. Team Scotty all the way.
Kin Shriner was the performer of the week. He gave viewers a little of everything, showing his range as an actor as well as the versatility of his character. Scotty started out the frustrated father/lawyer who appeared to just be winging it and hoping for the best. I couldn’t stop laughing when he tried to make the jury think his former assistant was hard of hearing in a weak attempt to discredit her as a witness. But then Scotty pulled a rabbit out of his hat by calling Denise to the stand, waved a DNA test in front of her and exposed her as Ava Jerome. This was all done much to Franco’s chagrin. It appears that Scotty is going to keep his son out of the clink whether he likes it or not.
I’m going to take a step back now and talk about Ric’s surprise witness, Morgan. There was something that I picked up on during Scotty’s questioning of Ava that I think will connect to Morgan’s testimony later. Morgan’s testimony was damaging to Franco’s case. It really showed Franco in an unflattering light and Scotty was unprepared at the time to cross-examine the young man. But he does have the right to recall him to the stand later. And when/if he does, I suspect he’ll bring up the guest registry at Julian’s apartment again. Scotty was able to prove that Silas payed Denise a visit the day he died because he had signed in with the guard. Which means Morgan also signed in that day before he bedded Denise.
Rough Retcon
There was a lot of talk about being bi-polar this week on GH in regards to both Sonny and Morgan. I knew the whole “Morgan could be bipolar” story was coming up. I am also more okay with the possibility of him being Silas’ killer now than I originally thought I would be (lots and lots of story there). However, I found myself becoming uncomfortable with this story line mostly due to the conversation that was generated regarding Sonny’s murder of AJ.
I’m going to begin by saying that I don’t know a lot about bipolar disorder. It’s my understanding though that it doesn’t turn someone into a murdering mobster. That seems a little offensive to assume that someone who is taking care of themselves and living with the disorder is a danger to society. The conversation between Michael and Sabrina, as well as some of the comments made by Carly, just didn’t sit well with me. I understand that in soapland things are not the same as in the real world but to say that Sonny deserves pity for killing someone has an ick factor to it.
I was hoping that the story of Morgan’s bipolar disorder (a few liberties have been taken with past story line to make this happen) would be more of a social issue story and more about the young man’s struggles with it. Instead it’s about how Sonny feels it’s on him. Say what? So instead of Sonny feeling guilty about his bad parenting and violent lifestyle, he feels guilty about something he had no control over? This is what makes him feel bad? I have no words…well no words that are very nice to say anyways.
This story line is still very fresh so hopefully it will turn in the right direction. I would like to see the disorder treated with a bit more respect and maybe look at some of the real obstacles that it can create. Put Morgan in therapy and, this is important, show it onscreen. Discuss the different forms of treatment. Be gentle with the topic of bi-polar disorder without excusing violence.
As for Sonny’s role in the story, this character is a mess and not in a good way. I understand that Sonny and his portrayer have a fanbase but that shouldn’t regulate the character to never having his flaws examined. That’s boring and quite frankly a little insulting to viewers. Let Sonny actually look at how his awful behaviors as a father and human being have effected his children’s lives. And let others do the same. I’m looking at you Carly….
Winterthorne is coming
New web series Winterthorne is premiering this week on August 27. It features a soapalicious cast including GH’s Kirsten Storms and Kathleen Gati. The series is from Michael Caruso, the creator of hit online soap DeVanity, and tells the tale of the Winterthorne family’s power struggles in the quest to rule the candy empire. The series stars Day of our Lives’ Martha Madson in the lead role as well as John Paul Lavoisier (One Live to Live, Beacon Hill), Linda Grey (Dallas, The Bold and the Beautiful), Gordon Thomson (Dynasty, Santa Barbara, DeVanity) and Kevin Spirtas (One Live to Live, Days of our Lives). Make sure to check it out!
Check out what’s ahead this week with our General Hospital Spoilers.
Photos and video courtesy of ABC.
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