Blogcritics The critical lens on today's culture & entertainment
It was a week of parental relationships last week with Robert and Luke off to rescue Skye and her child, Noah confronting Patrick about his reckless behavior, Lucky focusing on his children to get clean, Jason, Liz, and Sam nervously awaiting paternity results, and Emily fearing for Nikolas and Spencer in the care of Nanny Colleen.
It was Luke and Robert to the rescue… sort of. Skye noticed the dynamic duo and had to cover their presence by diverting Lorenzo’s attention to the movements of their unborn child. Not a fool, he knew something was up and held the would-be-heroes at gunpoint. Arguing with each other about who was at fault allowed Skye to once again bash Lorenzo over the head with a vase, knocking him unconscious. It would now seem escape was certain, except hard labor set in.
The comic relief Luke and Robert offer is almost as endearing as the dynamic relationship these two actors seem to share. The onscreen male-bonding commodity is unmatched, not even by Jason and Sonny. I look forward to the duo becoming a trio, albeit short lived, when Laura is added to the picture next week.
Patrick had developed a reputation for being willing to treat patients with AIDS, and on several occasions last week was the doctor of choice for HIV positive patients. On Thursday, as Patrick prepared to operate on one such patient, Noah showed his fatherly concern and implored his son to stop with the high-risk self-destructive behavior. After making his worries clear, Noah didn’t consider his son’s relationship with Robin as part of the young doctor’s high stakes game, he identified him as an adrenaline junkie whose need to test fate will eventually destroy him. When Patrick complained to Robin that his father was being melodramatic, Robin said she wasn’t sure Noah was wrong this time.
If there is anything better than Noah and Patrick angst, it’s Robin and Patrick angst. As much as the father and son tension is interesting, the couple’s insecurities — not only with themselves but over their relationship — make them the most interesting pair on the show. If only we could get a little more than the minimal doses of scrubs from the writers.
When Maxie arrived at the Quatermaine mansion thinking she was there for a settlement check, what she found was Mac. She was then forced to bring her stepdad up to date on the baby and the negligence claim against the ELQ company. Mac put a quick end to the complaint against ELQ and told Maxie baby or no baby, he would not support a relationship between her and Lucky.
Maxie fist complained to Georgie, and after a fight with Lulu, ran off to get comfort from and twist her knife even deeper into a recovering Lucky. Lulu, who had come to warn her brother Maxie was still trying to manipulate him, replacing drugs with this baby she wasn’t even sure existed, she found the girl with Lucky and another argument ensued.
Lulu asked her brother if he had any proof that Maxie was pregnant (smart girl!) and Lucky insisted, as his recovery necessitated, he was going to take responsibility for everything he had done and take care of both his children. Later Mac showed up and told the former detective he would make sure he had nothing to do with either Maxie or the baby, nor would he ever have his job back at PCPD.
Maybe he should have filled Ric in. In an attempt to keep Liz from relying on Jason, he showed up at Lucky’s hospital room, in his capacity of DA, to tell the man, as a favor to Liz, when he was finished with his recovery he could have his job back. Lucky better listen to his former partner, owing Ric Lansing a favor is not a good position to be in.
After securing Liz’s future with Lucky, Ric went one step further and attempted to put an end to Jason. After calling Sonny to meet both of them at Jason’s apartment, he goaded the mob hitman by talking bad about Sam. Jason leapt over the hood of a car and began pounding on Ric, determined to kill the one he hates most. Sonny showed up in the nick of time, saving his brother no matter how much Jason begged to let him kill Ric. Realizing his friend had been setup by his brother, Sonny sent Jason out of the country to give him time to “fix everything.” Eventually, Jason reluctantly agreed, after saying that if Liz was carrying his child, he would do anything to protect that child from Ric.
Just about everyone in town was suspicious of the why Jason had lost his temper and unleashed his anger on Ric. Though his career is not the least bit secret, the man is often controlled and not prone to outbursts. The most suspicious of all is Alexis, who confided in Lainey she thinks Jason must have discovered Ric and Sam’s one night stand. Sonny threatened Ric -– telling him if he didn’t drop the charges against Jason, he would tell Alexis of his affair with Sam. Ric called Sonny’s bluff, believing he wouldn’t hurt the mother of his daughter while she was fighting cancer. Friday’s show ended with Sonny about to finally tell Alexis what she already knows.
I, for one, will be glad to see this go wide open. It get’s pretty tiring when there is suppose to be a “big secret” and, in reality, it is a secret to no one. Everyone knows Sam and Ric did the nasty and it’s time to quit with the hush-hushing and deal with it. Either Alexis is going to forgive (I doubt it) or things are going to change dramatically. Either way, let’s get on with it already!
Creepy Colleen, the psycho nanny, continued to drug Nikolas in order to get “cuddle time” with the prince. When Emily walked in on her crawling into bed with her ex-husband, she implored Nikolas to consider firing Colleen, insisting her crush on him was becoming dangerous. Nikolas blew off the threat, still believing the series of accidents had been caused by his unbalanced grandmother. Later, when Colleen tried to put a negative spin on Emily’s behavior, Nikolas made it clear to Colleen if he was ever forced to choose between having Emily in his life or her as a nanny to his son, he would pick Emily.
Still convinced that Coleen was bad news, Emily went to her brother’s henchman and asked for a detailed background check on Colleen. Jason’s computer snoop, Stan, came back with evidence that three of her previous employers had met dire circumstances, two of them were dead and one was missing. Armed with the evidence, Emily headed to warn Nikolas as Colleen yet again slipped her mind-altering drug into the Cassadine’s tea.
Warning! Spoilers and News Ahead!
With clues provided by Soapzone, it looks as though Liz will decide it is best for all concerned if Lucky is her baby’s father, and will destroy the test results, leaving her the only one who knows the actual truth. Of course, I don’t see it remaining a secret for long. The only question is what tragedy will make it a necessity for the truth to be told.
According to General Hospital Scoops, Ric will not be happy about Alexis forcing him to back down on his attempted murder charge against Jason. In turn, Alexis will unleash her anger at both Ric and Sam over their steamy night together… and turn to Sonny. I’ll be very happy to see this story finally move forward a bit, and with Alexis in Sonny’s house, you can count on some sparks flying between her and Carly. Or maybe not. GHH2 says distraught and ailing Alexis will gratefully accept help from Carly.
Helena and Emily team up against Colleen. Say what!? I’m sure Helena will have something to say about Laura’s return and how she may influence Nikolas as well.
The following YouTube video is a preview of what’s to come over the next four weeks as Genie Francis returns to General Hospital to reprise her role of Laura. The soap opera plans to honor the twenty-fifth wedding anniversary of Luke and Laura’s wedding (which remains the most watched daytime event) with several memorial scenes and a commemorative episode on November 16 – the couple’s anniversary. Laura Webber Spencer will awaken from her catatonic state on Wednesday.
