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February sweeps is off to a pretty good start for General Hospital. There has yet to be any explosions or disasters, the modern soap sweeps staple. What we’ve gotten so far centers around character-driven material rather than plot points which is okay with me. This type of stuff is the reason that I watch soaps. It was a week full of angst in Port Charles with complicated relationships and a few new introductions.
Big fast-paced action stories can be a lot of fun to watch but at the same time they often lack an emotional draw. Soaps don’t have budget to really tell those kind of story lines with the same kind of quality that prime time has either. A shoot out isn’t going to look as good on General Hospital as it does on Blue Bloods. Good writing can make up for that. I felt like GH had a lot of well-written moments last week. Dante and Lulu said goodbye to each other but the scenes where done in a mature way that was respectful to their fanbase. Mac, Felicia, Anna and Robert got their heroics on. Liz and Jason worried about their son after history repeated itself and he was hit by a car. Tracy and Laura traded snark and support for each other. Scotty visited his son before offering Ava some legal advice. My only real complaint is the editing. We didn’t get nearly enough of some stories and way too much of other stories. It would have been nice to see more of the Scorpios strategizing on how to take down the bad guys. And I didn’t need to see a whole week of Morgan and Kiki on a date or a repetition of Sam crawling in Liz’s basement.
As always, I wasn’t able to share my opinion on everything that happened on GH last week. If you want to share your thoughts on anything I did or did not mention, leave a comment below or tweet me and we’ll chat.
Week in Review for General Hospital episodes that aired between the dates of February 1st -5th.
Nature vs. Nurture
My heart broke for both Nina and Franco last week. Nina was afraid to have sex and now Franco is afraid to have a baby. This couple’s biggest issue seems to be getting on the same page with each other and the struggle is real. They want a lot of the same things but at a different velocity. Nina and Franco’s relationship is at a good spot right now. They both have careers, a home together and now an active sex life. Their individual reactions to their happiness is different though. Franco is comfortable with their stability and isn’t ready to do anything that could change that. Nina however wants to go full steam ahead to the next phase. She’s always wanted a baby. Since Franco and her are committed to each other why wait?
The situation with Jake has impacted Franco. He sees a lot of himself in Jake which has opened up some old wounds. Franco was also a very troubled child (and, for awhile, adult) and remembers his own pain as well as the pain caused to others. “I can’t imagine bringing a child into this world and looking into his eyes and seeing myself staring back.” It’s hard for Nina to wrap her head around. She adores him, seeing him as someone loving and kind. I think it hurt her not only that he doesn’t want to have a child but that he doesn’t see in himself what she sees. Nina thinks she can push the issue but Franco really doesn’t want a baby.
Nina is looking at her ability to have a baby with a combination of naivety and determination. There are lots of ways to have a baby so even if she physically can’t have a child then she still has other options. For her, the concern is not about DNA. She just wants to be a mom. So what does this mean for Franco and Nina? There really isn’t a middle ground when it comes to the subject of deciding whether to have a child. I have no predictions on where this will lead; there are a lot of possible paths to be chosen. I’m enjoying seeing the emotional beats played with this couple and the characters driving their own story.
Hot For Teacher
Fans were happy when GH brought back Sonny and Alexis’ daughter Kristina. The fact that she is being given an edgy story line is icing on the cake. Kristina’s schoolgirl crush on her professor has a lot more layers to it than just doodling hearts in her diary. Parker is a married woman after all. But the attraction doesn’t appear to be only on Kristina’s end. “You propositioned me,” Parker accuses Kristina. “Because you wanted it!” she responds. With Parker being married and Kristina her student, they can’t act on their feelings. But the situation is even messier than that because Parker is getting negative reviews from a mystery student and blaming Kristina for trying to sabotage her career. Kristina denies any wrong doing but if she isn’t attacking Parker than who is the real culprit? Maybe Parker’s wife or another less well-meaning student who also has a crush.
I really enjoy this story line. Lexi Ainsworth is a great young talent and there is chemistry between Ashley Jones and her. The story calls to mind Bianca’s journey on All My Children with the young daughter of the lead character coming out. Other than that similarity though, this is very much Kristina’s own story. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens next. Is there a romantic future for Kristina and Parker a.k.a. #Prissy? Will Kristina get her heartbroken? What happens when Kristina’s family learns the truth?
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