Making the Rounds at General Hospital: Tricks and Treats

There was plenty of trickery as well as treats for the viewers this past week on General Hospital as Ric moved forward with his plan to frame Sam and Jason and interfering with Lucky and Liz along the way; Alexis attempted to take back her job; Diego called Maxie out on her pregnancy (or non-pregnancy); and everyone around Laura tried to shield her from the truth.

As revenge against his brother Sonny, and in response to his deep seated hate for Jason, Ric moved forward with his plan to frame Sam, kill Jason, and have Sonny imprisoned. With Lorenzo's help, he obtained a falsified flash drive full of fabricated damning evidence against Sonny and Jason's operation. He planted it in a box of evidence collected in the raid of one of their warehouses, and removed it before it could be decoded. When it showed up at Sam's apartment, she was arrested for using the security clearance of her job at the police station to steal the evidence.

Later Ric needled her with pictures of Jason with Liz, telling the woman Jason was not going to be doing anything to save her. Scared and upset, she hit Ric with a chair and escaped police custody with the help of Detective Cruz, who has been suspicious of Ric all along. While Jason and Sam avoided being caught, the detective relayed his suspicions to Alexis and later to Jason and Sam. As he was filling the young couple in on his suspicions, Ric happened upon the trio at the docks. They feigned a stand-off and, at the very end of Friday's show, Ric had grabbed Cruz's gun and fired in Jason and Sam's direction.

Earlier on Friday's episode he visited Lucky at rehab, misleading Liz to believe he was going to show Lucky the pictures of her and Jason together. Instead, it was other surveillance information concerning Sonny and Jason. Lucky thanked Ric for his faith in him, but said he could not work on a case against Jason after he had tried to frame him before.

So Ric has become the resident bad guy, turning back to his evil ways and blaming it all on Alexis and Sonny and their inability to accept or love him. Funny thing is, Alexis was just fine with Ric until he slept with her daughter. He and Sonny had an understanding until Ric tried to push him over the edge when he was struggling with his bipolar disorder. He accuses Sam of not accepting her part in their one-night stand, but also pushes blame in everyone else's direction. All in all, he's become one of those characters who gives the viewer great pleasure to hate.

Upset Ric had arrested her daughter, Alexis went to the police station, with Sonny's help, to inform Mayor Floyd she was ready to resume her role as the District Attorney. When he seemed reluctant, she threatened to call the press and expose how he was discriminating against a woman with cancer to keep the department "a boy's club." She might have gotten away with it, had she not collapsed when she turned for the phone. It was back to the hospital for her.

Waiting with news of their impending nuptials were Jax and Carly, who happily informed her they had set the date for November 16. Carly asked Sonny to be there and be supportive, setting a good example for their children so they would understand their marriage is over. He agreed. But later, after the couple had left and Alexis expressed reservations, Sonny told her not to worry – the wedding would not happen.

Jax and Carly's wedding just seems to be doomed; even without the floating rumors and spoilers (see below), I would guess it won't happen. The main reason I hate to see it happen is I really enjoy the dynamic chemistry between this couple. As history would indicate, once a soap couple is actually married, said chemistry dissolves and they are on the fast-track to breaking up. I'd rather see the Jax/Carly dynamic play out for awhile longer. So, I'm with Sonny. Don't expect to see a November 16 wedding happen.

At the Halloween party, both Maxie and Lulu tried drinking away their problems. Georgie was upset, both by the fact her sister was drinking while pregnant (or so she thinks) and that Dillon was bothered by Lulu's behavior and was trying to protect her. Professor Marquez was there to be a thorn in Lulu's side, as usual (I found it extremely odd that a professor would hang out at a frat party).

Maxie left the party with Diego and attempted to seduce him. The young man became suspicious when she tried to talk him out of using a condom. She said there was no reason since she was pregnant, but Diego put two and two together and accused her of not being pregnant at all.

I would have loved to hear Maxie answer Diego's charges, but GH cut away from the couple and didn't return to them the rest of the week. I've been saying very clearly for weeks I wasn't buying Maxie's pregnancy claim, and still didn't believe her when she somehow got positive blood results in the test Dr. Lee gave her. I'm curious to see how they'll explain this away.

Luke became extremely anxious when he arrived at Shadybrook to visit Laura and could not find her. Nikolas showed up shortly after and the two split up looking for the woman, hoping to find her before she remembered something that would put her back in her catatonic state. First, Laura went to visit her mother, who was shocked, to say the least. Lulu showed up looking for her, just minutes after she had left.

The young girl confided in her grandmother she didn't know if she could handle it if Laura regressed, and Leslie advised her to just listen to her father. "He always has a way of protecting your mother," Leslie said. Laura next showed up at the hospital, where she talked with Bobbie (also shocked) and ran into Tracy Quartermain (who thought she had seen a ghost). All kept to themselves the secrets surrounding her breakdown.

When Luke caught up with her, Laura pressed him for whatever it was he was keeping from her. He shared a bit of the past and the fact her stepfather, Rick Webber, had died in the same accident that had taken her from them. Laura had brief memory flashes of her stepfather, and said she wanted to remember more.

The couple took off for Beecher's Corners, and the rooming house where they had shared plenty of happy memories. After talking and remembering bits of their past, Laura asked Luke to marry her again at the end of Friday's show.

It's been nice to have this super couple back on the screen and seeing the character of Laura interacting with her grown children. The story is progressing rather slowly and, with a definite deadline of later this month, I hope they are able to cover more ground before Laura slips away.

If you want a sneak peek at the coming weeks, keep reading.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

GHH2 reports Sam will convince Jason not to kill Ric. To return the favor, Ric will set a trap for Sam at her baby's grave. She will be shot as she tries to escape. Look for Liz and Epiphany to help Jason and Sam escape, as well as Sonny and Carly. This site also reports the Jax and Carly nuptials will not go according to plan.

It shouldn't surprise anyone that everyone in town is trying to help these two, especially against Ric.

Patrick will finally say those three little words to Robin, and Dillion will become suspicious of Professor Marquez and protective of Lulu, according to Soap Central.

This one I am more than ready for. Partick and Robin and Dillion and Lulu are two of the best pairings on the soap right now, and it's high time both get some screen time.

Soapzone News says the highlight of November sweeps will be Luke and Laura's attempt at remarriage on the date of their anniversary. Two things will be standing in the way – Luke's quickie Vegas marriage to Tracy and a brewing mob war.