Credit: ABC screenshot
Another week in Port Charles and it felt like General Hospital was serving up far too many of their second-tier storylines. With the truth about Marshall out, it seems it’s going to lead to another revelation. Spinelli is definitely behind Society Setups, but does anyone care? Dex working for Michael was an interesting twist, but it’s still a rehashed storyline. Finally, Britt going viral definitely stole the week.
Britta’s a Meme
Britt waking up after the Society Setups fiasco to an intervention by Obrecht and Brad made for a great episode. Obrecht telling her daughter that she had become a meme was simply hilarious, but what was Brad thinking? I mean I would have recorded Britt and Cody too, but as BLQ told him, you don’t send it out to social influencers! Still, the GIF of her in the pool that everyone was looking at was pretty funny. The episode also had great heart, with Obrecht breaking down and wishing her daughter could learn to embrace every day as a gift.
On the bright side, Britt could have gone viral for worse… Just ask Joss and Cam! (ABC screenshot)
Britt and Cody’s banter after the matter was well done, and the two of them definitely have chemistry. I’m really looking forward to learning more about Cody, and why Dante seems to want him out of town. What does Cody know about Detective Falconeri that could be so bad seeing they haven’t seen one another basically since they were teens?
You Made the Right Decision
Thankfully we were only exposed to Willow’s ranting for a single day this week. After the ordeal with Nina and coming to understand blood doesn’t make you family, she decided not to search for her biological mother. The fact that she believes the lie Harmony told Alexis about Willow being abandoned by her mother at a commune is puzzling. Out of all of Harmony’s lies, she chooses to believe that one as being the truth?
No Nina and Wiley drama was a win for viewers (ABC screenshot)
Willow also has discounted the fact that she has a father out there too. Well, sadly a dead one. But really though, this plot point is only about one thing, easing Carly’s conscience. Carly told Willow she was making the right decision, which eases Carly’s burden. When the truth finally comes out, I can just hear Carly saying, “I thought I was doing the right thing! You said you didn’t want to find your birth mother!” Meanwhile, Willow keeps dropping hints about how tired she’s been lately, so we know some kind of medical crisis is coming.
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No Better Than Sonny
I really didn’t see the twist that Dex is working for Michael to bring down Sonny coming. Still, does it make this story any more compelling? Michael seems to only have a problem with what Sonny does when he’s at odds with him. As I noted in last week’s column, there was a time when Michael wanted to run Sonny’s business.
Dante’s a great character, just not a good match for Sam (ABC screenshot)
Sonny venting that Michael has one set of rules that applies to himself and another for Sonny was on point. But Dante was the voice of reason, who naturally Michael is ignoring because he’s convinced himself that Dante is on Sonny’s side. At this rate, Wiley’s going to grow up with an angry, bitter father focused on revenge, which Dante said makes Michael a no better role model than Sonny. Plus, I can’t wait to hear what Carly with have to say when she eventually finds out what Michael is doing. Yes, I actually do want to hear Carly’s opinion for once!
Ava Bought a Vowel!
Watching Esme continue to flirt with Nikolas has been cringeworthy. Plus when Nikolas asked if he needed to pick anything up at the pharmacy for her and she said she had it handled, it seemed clear they were talking about the morning-after pill or a pregnancy test.
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One turn in this story that is long overdue was Ava figuring out that Spencer’s reunion with Esme was a game he’s playing. Sadly Spencer basically turned tail and ran when she questioned him whose side he was really on. I really would like to see these two team up to take down Esme. Then there is Trina, who has been found guilty by the PCU Title IX police and facing expulsion. She too has a plan to trip Esme up and get her to reveal what she did. Finally, Sam is closing in on Esme’s nanny Maggie. Unfortunately, I smell a twist coming…
Esme claims to be playing the long game… A 9 month-long game? (ABC screenshot)
This story is giving me vibes of what is going on with Jan Spears on Days of Our Lives. Jan was sprung from prison when she ended up with a high-risk pregnancy, and I can’t help but think General Hospital is going to go that route with Esme. Basically, even if Esme is exposed for framing Trina, if she has a Cassadine baby in her belly, Victor will make sure she doesn’t see a day in Statesville. There is also the matter that we don’t know if Esme and Spencer’s reunion involved sex. So if she’s pregnant, it could be a way to expose the affair if everyone assumes it’s Spencer’s baby.
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Odds and Ends
•Laura deduced that Liz had been on sleeping pills for over a year, yet only started acting out recently, so something must have triggered her. Just like Violet helping to reveal it was Liz was tormenting herself, it took a non-doctor to figure out it was not just the pills. With Finn deciding it’s time to reach out to Liz’s parents, I can’t help but suspect it was Aiden and Violet discussing Grandpa Jeff last fall, and Liz tearing up the photo of her father, that started it all. If that is the case, we may finally see her parents return.
• So indeed it does appear that Spinelli is behind the Social Setups app. Does that mean matchmaker Zelda Tolesco is just a face and a front for the business? More importantly, does anyone care about this storyline? And as many viewers noted on the recaps, since when does Carly care so much about what’s going on with Spinelli? Now that she doesn’t have to worry about Nina and Willow, is this her new cause?
• So Marshall was diagnosed with schizophrenia. If they had him struggle for years after leaving his family and letting them believe he was dead I might feel the storyline at least made sense. But no, he never had a single relapse or issue but decided to stay away for decades. After Curtis and Portia talked about inheriting the disease, it seemed Portia had concerns, so this storyline could expose Curtis as Trina’s father finally.
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• Brando confronting his mother and Sasha about whether Sasha was back on drugs could have been the perfect way to just end this storyline and move on. But no, Sasha and Gladys are continuing to hide the truth from Brando. Like Marshall, this is one storyline taking up a lot of air space and is just dragging. However, I thought Brad Schmidt, who stepped in temporarily for Johnny Wactor as Brando, did a phenomenal job.
Click on the below photo gallery of our Summer previews and predictions for the soaps.