By 
Last week’s General Hospital was better than the preceding week. I choose to watch a good chuck of it offline so maybe that helped. It felt like there were lighter moments between lovers, family and friends to break up the depressingly predictable vibe I’m getting from the demise of Morgan Corinthos.
It’s a little hard for me to contain my disappointment regarding the fallout from Morgan’s death thus far. The actors are all doing a great job and I’m sure there will be awards come Emmy season but the story itself is just not what I wanted. Hopefully the next few weeks will change my mind.
I wasn’t able to write about everything that happen last week. If you would like to share your thoughts on anything I did or did not mention, please leave a comment below.
General Hospital Week In Review for the episodes that aired October 24th-28th.
The Good Girl
As tired as I am of Sonny’s recurring man-pain, I really enjoyed the scenes between Robin and Sonny on the bridge. The mob boss was at a low point, possibly finally admitting his part in what happened with Morgan, and contemplated ending things. Robin showed up to save the day with hope and kind words, an act of heroism that’s unusual on GH nowadays. She urged Sonny not to be a coward and to be the man that his son had needed him to be. The interaction between the violent mobster and the sensible nurse was needed in this story. Kudos for the excellent use of history regarding the talk of Stone. Though I don’t agree 100% with Robin’s views on Sonny (he was not a good father), her compassion came from a genuine place rather than a forced plot point.
GH really needs a character like Robin. I admire Kimberly McCullough for persuing her career in directing. She is doing quite well and I’m thankful we still get to see her visit her old stomping grounds from time to time. I would still like to see a real effort made to bring on a permanent good girl character, a voice of reason for Port Charles’ many unreasonable inhabitants. The last attempt to do this was Sabrina and that didn’t work out too well in the end. After Sabrina’s murder, TVGuide reporter Michale Logan tweeted the following:
Logan and I don’t necessarily share the same taste in soaps but I agree with his point here. GH has more than its share of femme fatales and anti-heroines. It would have been nice if more of an effort had been made to salvage Sabrina. She would have been a great part of the fallout regarding Morgan’s death. Michael could have examined what happened to Morgan because of Sonny’s choices against the safe environment he would like for Sabrina and Teddy. But having Sabrina as Port Charles’ guarding angel was flawed and I completely understand why she may not have caught on with some viewers. She was only vaguely connected to GH’s history via Juan Santiago, making her ties to the canvas a little weak. She was initially paired with the show’s should-have-been leading man Dr. Patrick Drake in a manner that for many screamed “Robin’s replacement”. Making her Michael’s love interest and Tracy’s Quatermaine’s friend was great for the role but then those stories didn’t get played. GH more recently attempted to have Valerie Spencer as their new ingenue. Val is a sweet young woman who took care of her ailing mother and became a cop because she likes to help others. But the writers hopped her into bed with a married man without solidifying any real feelings between Val and Dante or developing the new character first. She belongs to a major core family but never interacts with any of her relatives. Playing her more with her family and making her pals with someone like Griffin would do wonders. GH needs to do better if they want to endure the audience next time they introduce a good girl.
Carly 2.0
Nelle and Michael discuss his family.
I want to know more about what’s up with Nelle. There is a lot being teased with the character and I’m not sure if I should like her or not. So far Bobbie is the only one who seems to have any suspicions of the seemingly harmless interloper. I think Nelle may remind her a little bit of her daughter. The common theory is that Nelle is Carly’s vengeful offspring. Seeing how a Nelle and Michael pair up is being teased and Morgan kissed her, I doubt that Nelle is a long lost relative. I mean she could be but this ABC Daytime not HBO’s Game of Thrones so it’s unlikely. It’s pretty clear at this point though that Nelle is not the innocent she pretends to be.
Nelle has been showing Sonny a lot of concern lately. If the writers plan for Nelle and Sonny have an affair then things could definitely get soapy. Especially if Carly and Sonny reconcile or Michael falls for Nelle. I would like to see more of Michael and Nelle played. The timing of building a new pairing for Michael is a little off with his brother’s death and yet another dead girlfriend but GH needs to start being serious when it comes to Michael’s romances. Chad Duell is 29 years old. If this were the ‘80s or 90s, the character of Michael would already have gotten married, had a kid and/or been one half of a major super couple by now. I liked the bridge scenes with Michael and Nelle. Michael reminded me a lot of classic Jason in those scenes with his leather jacket, stoic demeanor and wishing he had been able to save his brother. It has been great seeing the Quartermaine/Corinthos played as a grown man more recently. I hope that tread continues because I think everyone is a little tired of watching “teenage Michael”.
I actually really liked the one scenes we got between Valerie and Griffin. Would have liked to have had more.
Thank you for your comment Caitie! There are a lot of missed opportunities with Valerie. It’s disappointing that GH hasn’t built better relationships for her & played her familiar connections. And I agree that GH does need to do a better job of using what they already have.
Thank you Jenn for a weekly review which has spoken well for much of what I felt about GH last week – and about GH in general.
I think many of us are struggling with the repetitiveness of the blame game which has overtaken the fallout from Morgan’s story. I know that I am VERY grateful today (November 1) to have a break from this ongoing sameness that, in the past, has lead us nowhere – no long term changes or consequences. Therefore, other than some fine performances, the framework of what should and could be a good story remains undeveloped. We’ll see what happens over the next weeks.
As you have said, there were good things this past week. Watching Franco and Liz deliver the news of solving the two unexplained hospital attacks was entertaining – and I welcome seeing that GH set in action again. Finn and Hayden continue to be appealing and, from someone who did NOT like Hayden for the longest time, that is saying something. Being with Finn has shown that, when they want to, the writers certainly can change fan opinion of characters.
I’m also looking forward to seeing what Valentin will bring to the canvas – pursuing a relationship with Nina, battling wits with his sister Alexis, dealing with Laura’s wrath after Nikolas’s death – and whatever else he can stir up.
Now, for the general topic you raised – the topic of good girls – a discussion related to the welcome visit of the heroine Robin. Sabrina could have filled that role; however, as you mentioned, her ties to the GH canvas were tenuous. Not so with Valerie – a Spencer – related to one of GH’s long time core families. However, for some inexplicable reason(s), the writers have missed the obvious possibilities thus far in failing to integrate into her Spencer family. In the aftermath of Morgan’s death, I have lamented that she did not have a chance to get to know her cousin Morgan. And I have especially lamented that Valerie has not been present to be part of the family grieving process – especially since she has recent experience with deep grief and because the actress playing her can evoke soulful sensitivity and gravitas when the situation warrants. A sad waste, in my opinion.
Re being “a good girl,” Valerie has been caught in a no man’s land between being seen as good (or mostly good) and being bad since her arrival. Perhaps this is why some fans saw her as the scheming interloper trying to break up Dante and Lulu’s marriage – while other fans saw her as lonely, grieving young women who relied too much on the wrong person and made huge mistakes as a result. Seriously mistaken, but still essentially the good person who loved and cared for her mother selflessly and who joined the police out of a genuine wish to help other people. A wish we saw play out in her dedication to solving the hospital murders and in her desire to find the killer to make things right for that other essentially good girl – Sabrina.
But we need to see more of her as a compassionate cop … as a support for her grieving family … as a good friend to Dillon considering all he is going through. As well, I like the idea of her spending time with Griffin. Potential romance or not, these two share that soulful sensitivity I mentioned above; and, as we have seen from their brief but effective GH encounter, an ability to communicate and share ideas.
But we shall see. The writers have had so many shining new toys to play with that they have sometimes missed the opportunities so easily
available to them.
I wish Valerie was having more scenes with her family. I want to see a Valerie and Griffin pairing. I still think Valerie can be a Sabrina like character. I see that Valerie still held to a higher standard.