Making the Rounds at General Hospital – The Hows and Whys

As mentioned and shown in a video clip last week, we got a sneak peak at the Metro Court explosion and were then shot back in time 16 hours to begin an hour-by-hour 24-esque look at what led up to it. On Monday through Wednesday we were treated to that same two-minute video clip, shown from a different character's perspective. At first it was really a nice effect but by Thursday, when it was repeated again with a rock/montage effect, I was just sick of seeing it. The Metro Court is going to explode. Okay, I get it. (Many of the clips are available on Youtube if you are the rare viewer who hasn't seen it yet.)

True to prediction, there are enough hostages to truly affect every major character on the show, and the crisis ties in with storylines already set into motion. I'm still unsure if it's living up to the hour-by-hour hype. The story isn't really unraveling at any different pace or timing than normal, but it is gripping, sweeps-worthy material.

Before the hostage crisis could shift into gear, we were treated to the return of Kin Shriner in the roll of Scotty Baldwin. After checking into the hotel, he went to visit Laura, where he was nearly caught by Luke. The two did eventually run into each other outside the Metro Court, where Luke worried about Lulu and Bobbie, and Scotty also expressed concern for Luke's sister. Hate and venom were exchanged by the two and a mention was made of the Port Charles Hotel fire years earlier and a hint of connection was drawn between the two events and Scotty. There was also a hint that somehow he is wrapped up in the unraveling "who killed Rick Webber" mild mystery.

Early in the crisis Mister Craig ordered two of his number-named accomplices to take Maxie hostage into the vault to retrieve the briefcase, which was Lorenzo's mysterious shipment. Notice how no heroic effort was made to save her. Is it a sign of how low a character's likeability has sunk when, as a viewer, you're cheering the choice?

While the bad guys were trying to locate the briefcase, Sam, in the lobby, pushed the silent alarm alerting the police and closing the state-of-the-art vault. As part of the high-tech security, it cannot be re-opened for twelve hours. One accomplice escaped and Maxie and Five are left alone with the briefcase, which will explode if a code is not entered once every twenty four hours.

The only man who knows said combination, Lorenzo, is in the hospital. Missed shrapnel from being shot in the head by Sonny last week caused a brain-bleed and Patrick insisted if he didn't operate immediately, Lorenzo would die. With little other options left to him, Lorenzo began to tell Skye the code to the briefcase, only to lose consciousness before he could complete the process. The doctors Drake, with Patrick leading the charge, wheeled Lorenzo to the operating room, neither aware of the developing crisis at the Metro Court.

Since the team trying to steal the shipment have the lobby locked down, but apparently could care less about the rest of the hotel, Lucky and Cruz are able to evacuate the fund-raiser attendees from the restaurant via the stairs, and compile a probable hostage list. Meanwhile, Jason, with Spinelli's help, was able to crack the Metro-Court's computer system and determine the sought after item. Jason then went to Skye, looking for information that will save Sonny, Carly, Sam, Liz, and the others.

When Mr. Craig discovers it will be twelve hours before he can gain possession of the briefcase he decides to whittle away the hours by playing sadistic games with the hostages: "Do fill-in-the-blank or specific hostage will be shot." When his intent to actually follow through with the threats were called into question, he shot Robin. The other hostages watched in horror as she slipped into shock. Lulu, Liz, and Emily tried to stop the bleeding, but were left with limited tools to help her.

Eventually Mr. Craig did take a call from the police outside and when he realized the connection between the Police Commissioner and his first victim, he relayed the news to Mac that his niece "was bleeding to death as they spoke."

News filtered from Mac, to Jason, to Patrick who was updating Skye on the surgery when he heard Robin had been shot. He tried to hand off his scalpel to Noah, but Drake Sr. insisted his son was better suited to finish the surgery. Jason pressed Patrick to get Lorenzo conscious as soon as possible because without the code to the briefcase, everyone trapped in the Metro Court would surely die.

So the stakes are set high. A sadistic madman is holding half of Port Charles' residents at his mercy while the other half worry and wait for word on their loved ones. Who will make it out alive? It's typical high stakes drama associated with February Sweeps.

Warning! Spoilers Ahead!

(Spoilers are drawn from a number of websites, dedicated to keeping the fans who just have to know, in the loop. The list includes Soap Zone, General Hospital Happenings Two, Soap Central, and Scoops and Spoilers.)

• When Lorenzo eventually regains consciousness he will have forgotten everything regarding the silver briefcase and its contents. Patrick will be blamed for rushing the surgery to get to Robin.
• Some spoiler sites are hinting the choice of Robin as the first victim is not as random as it appeared. Are Robert or Anna somehow involved with Mr. Craig and the mysterious shipment?
• Liz will begin to experience stomach pain, and will eventually spill the paternity secret that is haunting her.
• In a casting move that has outraged many a fan, Alan Quatermaine will not survive a heart attack. It has been implied the character will have short arcs, haunting Tracy from beyond.