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Last week’s General Hospital was cut short when Friday was preempted so that the funeral of former first lady Nancy Reagan could be shown instead. While we may not have gotten our Friday cliff-hanger, the week did provide us with some nice moments. There was a focus on family, in particular the Quartermaines, as we were reminded of the many we have loved and lost.
GH had a pretty good week offscreen as well. On Friday, it was (finally!!!!) announced that long time fan favorite Rebecca Herbst had re-signed a multi-year contract after a tough negotiations. I’m very glad that Herbst’s Nurse Elizabeth Webber will continue to grace the halls of General Hospital’s hospital. I’ve been enjoying Liz’s current story line and am excited to see what happens next especially since the latest chapter in her romance with Jason has come to an end. While I expect her story to focus on friends and family, I also know now is a great opportunity to start planting the seeds for her next romance. This is a soap opera after all.
I wasn’t able to write about everything that happened last week. If there is something that I did or did not mention that you would like to discuss, please leave a message below or tweet me and we’ll chat.
General Hospital Week In Review for the episodes that aired March 7th-10th.
Rage Against The Dying Of The Light
When looking back at the last week, the stand out moment for me was the scenes of Tracy in the Quartermaine crypt talking to her gone but not forgotten loved ones. Jane Elliot is rocking the material she is getting and she gave a perfect rage of emotions which included loneliness, fear and confusion. Tracy’s mind is breaking down on her. She’s slurring her words and forgetting things. She thought her son Dillon was her late brother Alan when he entered the tome. I can’t imagine how frightening it would for a mother to think she may forget her own son or how heartbreaking it would be for a son to worry that his mother may not know him anymore when she slips away. Elliot and Robert Palmer Watkins did a beautiful job of playing the scenes.
Once at the hospital, a battle of the doctors began. Cranky Dr. Mays blurts out to an upset Dillon that Tracy has cancer. He knows this because he’s seen similar situations and because he’s so arrogant that he isn’t willing to test his own knowledge. Griffin has a different theory and thinks Tracy’s illness could be connected to her recent trip to Mexico. Griffin is offered a stern warning to back off by Dr. Mays but he cares too much about making sure all options to save Tracy are explored to let it drop. Luckily his buddy Lucas’ fiancé is a bit of a schemer and Brad offers to let Griffin take a look at Tracy’s test results. There are a lot of theories about what is going on inside Tracy’s head. It will be interesting to see which one ends up being right.
One of the best parts of this story is that, as in real life, this tragic mystery will bring people together. I love seeing Tracy, Monica and Dillon rally together and can’t wait until Ned shows up. Seeing a once strong Tracy lying in a hospital bed, pale and weak is a sad sight but I’m comforted in the fact that the Quatermaines will be there to help her hang on.
The Heart Has A Long Memory
Readers, Jason was never my favorite character though it was easier to like him when he was the forbidden bad boy rather than the misplaced hero. Needless to say it has been tough for me to really get into his current incarnation and the fact that GH hasn’t seemed to know what to do with Jason 3.0 doesn’t help matters. I feel like after over a year the show may have finally started to settle on who this new version of Jason is. I don’t like Jason being plopped back into his role as Sonny and Carly’s loyal BFF. It doesn’t quite fit anymore and the dynamic isn’t the same as it was with Steve Burton in the role. In 2015 when Carly kissed Jakson at midnight, I thought they had a sexy spark but I didn’t feel any of that this past week in their scenes together. I’m not sure if that was deliberate or not. I did enjoy Jason remembering Lila’s kind words to him when he told her he was going to be Jason Morgan instead of Jason Quartermaine. I’ve also always liked Jason’s scenes with Monica so it was nice seeing them talk again.
Jason took down his name plate from the “Wall of Dead Quartermaines”, a symbolic gesture that he’s ready to live the life of Jason now. The next step is rebuilding his life with Sam and Danny. I hope that Jason and Sam are given some good obstacles to overcome together. It would be a missed opportunity if they just get an instant romance. I don’t feel that this version of Jason has really embraced the version of himself that Sam feel in love with and that’s okay. It will be more entertaining to see if Sam and Jason can still be as in love with each other as they once were even though everything has changed. However, their biggest obstacle could be that pesky curse that Helena gave Sam.
Secrets and Lies
Monday began with the prior week’s cliffhanger of Griffin at Anna’s door admitting he had been following her which of course was interrupted before he could give her an explanation. I have my guess about how Griffin is connected to Anna already but I’m interested more in seeing what that means for their story rather than the actual reveal. I think that Anna needs someone now more than ever and I feel that the character of Griffin will compliments her well. Anna does’t seem particularly disturbed by the fact that Griffin was following her. She tells Andre that she’s been followed before so it’s not that big of a deal but I also think it’s because she feels a connection to Griffin already. It’s intriguing that Anna went to Andre for his thoughts on the situation. I think that Anna and Andre have a spark but I’m a little cautious about wanting a romance between them because of Jordan. I like Anna and Jordan’s friendship and I’m not sure I’m ready to see that get messy just yet. It seems that Jordan may end up sabotaging her new relationship with Andre all on her own though. Not only does she keep missing their dates but she has a shady secret that Curtis keeps threatening to expose. We already know that Jordan had an affair with Shawn and that Shawn is TJ’s real father. Is that the scandalous secret that Curtis has on Jordan or is there more to the story?
Kill Your Darlings
I’ve really been enjoying a lot about GH lately but the one issue that really bugs me is the editing. The stories are for the most part good but the way it’s all put together needs some TLC. It seems the really engaging material gets cut while the repetitive and, to be blunt, boring stuff remains. Last week, Paul and Anna had the exact same conversation regarding Carlos at her home and then again at the Floating Rib. That wasn’t necessary and with such a full canvas why not use the air time to check in with another story instead? That is just one example but there have been similar situations. We could have had one conversation between Paul and Anna and been shown the follow up to Kiki waking up from her coma instead of the second conversation. I like that GH has a large cast. It allows the show to be an ensemble and gives Port Charles the feel of being a community. But things need to be balanced more so that good story doesn’t get dropped while other stories trend water on the front burner. I don’t see this so much as the fault of the writers as it is the fault of the individuals who decide what scenes stay and which ones go. Hopefully this can be fixed in the future because I feel that it is the one major element that is keeping GH from being the best soap.
Lines of the week: “The heart has a long memory.”-Jason
“I am a Quartermaine and I don’t take orders from you.”-Dillon
“I’m really just here to secure my inheritance.”-Dillon “Oh honey! I’m sorry I gave it all to charity. Save the owls!”-Tracy
Check out the General Hospital Promo and our General Hospital Spoilers for a look at what’s ahead.
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