General Hospital blog - December, 2022
December 1st, 2022
Nina enlisted Sasha to oversee the decorating of Rice Plaza for the holidays, and she asks Willow to give her a hand. Willow questions why Nina put Sasha in charge, thinking Nina's just trying to make herself look good. Nina calls her selfish and asks why Willow, who seemingly has a perfect life, can't do something nice for a friend. Willow tells her to shut up, shut up, and shut up some more, and accuses her of only coming over to try to get close to Wiley once again. Then she passes out. Josslyn's helplessness when faced with aiding Ava and Dex has made her decide that she wants to be a doctor. Carly thinks she might have the wrong motives, like, maybe she wants to be a doctor because she has feelings for Dex? Because...he only likes doctors? I don't know. Josslyn is pretty sure her decision isn't related to that, but she admits to having feelings for him. She's not sure how or if she'll act on them yet, but she does know that it's time to end things with Cameron. Michael finally tracks down Dex, who tells him everything that happened after he helped Anna escape. Michael's not happy that he made Josslyn an accessory to a crime or that Carly's now adjacent to the situation. Dex now needs to double down on his efforts to keep Josslyn at a distance, which is obviously really bad timing, considering she's probably about to tell him she has feelings for him. Brook spent all night writing a letter on Chase's behalf, but Dante tells her the review board is already meeting, so it's too late for her to influence them. Brook calls someone she thinks can help, even after Dante told her not to. Chase talks to Sasha about his and Brook's mess, and Sasha notes that she could have been doing what she thought was best for him the same way she and Chase once made a decision they thought was best for Michael and Willow. She thinks that her guardianship and Chase's relationship issues could even be karma. Unfortunately, his bad karma continues when he learns that he's officially not going to be reinstated as a cop. Valentin acts as an intermediary for a company called Pikeman that wants to move shipments through Sonny's territory. Sonny would get a lot of money out of the deal but isn't sure what's in it for Pikeman or Valentin. He's inclined to turn it down, but Valentin tells him that he basically doesn't have a choice – either he does Pikeman's bidding or he makes some very powerful enemies.
Willow yelled at Nina to shut up the same way I always want to. New hero over here.
Nina, what about Willow today made you think she was in the condition to do anything other than lie on the couch?
I don't know, I don't see Josslyn becoming a doctor. Then again, I don't know what I see her becoming.
"Do you want to become a doctor because it's safer than admitting you have feelings for Dex?" ...What?
Let the record show that it took 46 minutes for Cameron to come up in Carly and Josslyn's conversation, and Carly was the one who brought him up first.
By Christmas, how many weeks will it have been since Josslyn and Cameron last had sex? Just curious...
December 2nd, 2022
Willow doesn't seem any worse for wear after her blackout, and even better, Carly gets Nina to see that being around Willow is bad for her, so she needs to stay away. Michael is much more worried about Willow's condition than she is, and he thinks they should start telling people about her diagnosis so they'll go easier on her and save her some stress. Dex lets Josslyn play doctor with him (not like that) (not yet), then tells her to go away and stay gone. She thinks he's trying to protect her from the danger that comes with working for Sonny, and though she still thinks he's crazy to keep that job, she's fully informed and willing to overlook it, basically. She urges Dex to admit how he feels, which he does by kissing her. That's when Sonny shows up. Victor makes Nikolas go visit Spencer, who would rather talk to anyone else in the world. He tells Nikolas that Victor said he'd get Spencer his birthright early if Spencer kept his mouth shut about Nikolas sleeping with Esme. After Nikolas leaves, Victor gives Spencer a very paternal "I'm disappointed in you" lecture, which Spencer couldn't care less about. Cyrus joins them and demolishes Victor in front of Spencer, accusing him of trying to kill Martin and Laura. Victor's like, "Guy who held Trina and Portia hostage and sent an assassin after Britt says what?" On the bright side, Spencer might be done with both of them. Dante tells Sonny that he knows what Sonny did to Dex months ago and that Sonny had something to do with Anna's escape. He's going to keep quiet because he can't build cases against Sonny, but he can't promise that they'll be able to continue this routine forever where Sonny commits crimes and Dante pretends he didn't. Sonny swears that if the day comes when Dante has to arrest him, he won't love his son any less. Later, Dante confides to Sam that he worries that he and Rocco will someday have the same father/son dynamic. She assures him that that won't happen and that Rocco only has love for him. Drew tells Michael that he and Carly are keeping things very, very casual because there's a chance that the SEC will bust them for insider trading. They decide that it's time to suck it up and make up with Ned. Drew reveals that he and Carly are interested in each other, but he thinks the time might just not be right for them. Michael encourages him to go for it since life is short and they might not get another chance. The second Drew sees Carly again, he kisses her and suggests that they start sneaking around. Then he gets a message that there's a lead on Willow's birth family, so that relationship is going to start with lying, it seems. Sam helps Sasha with decorating and they bond a little over their losses. Sasha's finding that doing things for other people is helping her get through her grief.
Is it just me or did Eden McCoy and Evan Hofer crank up the chemistry a little?
I would worry about Spencer spending time with Cyrus but Spencer should be getting out of there soon, and hopefully his release will sever that connection.
Drew doesn't think it'll look weird if someone sees him at Carly's house while she's not there?
Sam and Sasha should have become friends a long time ago. They've experienced similar losses and they have, like, eight mutual friends.
Between her conversation with Chase yesterday and her advice to Nina today, Sasha's turning out to be the most level-headed person in town. And that's after two breakdowns!
December 5th, 2022
Olivia's disappointed in Holly for her actions toward Robert and wonders if something else was going on there that they didn't know about. Robert leaves her in the dark but fills Laura in on everything so they can work together on bringing Victor down. Mac warns Valentin that if Victor had something to do with what happened to Holly, Mac will take him down. Laura and Valentin start putting pieces together, and while Laura guesses that Ethan's sudden disappearance is significant (which Robert later confirms), Valentin figures out that Victor took him, and further figures out while talking to Felicia that Lucy's alive. She reluctantly gives him the name of a contact who might know how to reach Anna so he can pass the information on to her. Josslyn hides while Dex tries to get rid of Sonny, then dodges questions about where he was and who he was with after he was shot. Eventually Josslyn reveals herself, which makes Sonny mad that Dex is still hanging around her, as if it was his fault that she helped him, or as if he should have let himself die instead of accept her help. But once again, Sonny decides to take a chance on Dex, and he confirms that if/when he solidifies the business deal that Valentin set up for him, Dex will take on more responsibility. Willow still doesn't want to reveal her diagnosis to anyone, even though Michael warns that she's not going to be able to keep it quiet for long. She advises him to deal with his issues with Sonny so he can let go of his anger and focus on their family. Michael tells Dex that he's calling off his revenge scheme and Dex's help is no longer required. Dex tells him about Sonny's new business arrangement and his belief that they're really close to being able to take him down. Britt plans to throw a big birthday party for herself on New Year's Eve, then leave town so her loved ones don't have to see her deteriorate. Austin disapproves of this decision, since the people who care about her won't get to wrap things up with her on their own terms. Drew has found a woman who lived on the commune with Harmony and is on her way to Port Charles to answer his questions. Carly pretends she's supportive and happy about the development, but she secretly calls Olivia and asks to be alerted when the woman arrives at the hotel. Mac tells Cody that the necklace is gone, so he's out another inheritance (or would be if Leopold had been his father). Cody wonders if the bad decisions he's made in the past were due to nature or something else. He's warming toward Mac, and we're supposed to think he might have told him the truth about the paternity test if Felicia hadn't interrupted, but I'm not that naïve.
Robert, please put the multimillion-dollar necklace in a more secure place than your desk drawer.
Valentin's figuring out all sorts of stuff, isn't he? Maybe next he can figure out what Selina's holding over Britt's head.
Clearly Sonny hasn't learned anything from the past or from parenting if he thinks Josslyn will listen when Dex says she can't be around him.
It would be hilarious if Carly went to extremes to screw up Drew's meeting with this former commune member, and then Phyllis popped up and was like, "Oh, I knew Harmony back then – ask me anything!"
If Lulu knew Britt wanted to have a party on the Haunted Star, she would scream for five straight minutes.
I loved everyone's reactions when Josslyn caught Drew and Carly kissing (again).
"That DNA test result was my loss." Awww! Maybe Cody will tell Mac the truth for Christmas.
December 6th, 2022
Cyrus continues trying to convince Spencer that Victor is evil and can't be trusted. He gives Spencer a pair of little turtledoves so he can keep one and give one to Trina. He's on a quest for redemption and thinks he and Spencer are alike because Spencer's owning up to his mistakes and trying to do better. Esme tries to turn Elizabeth against Nikolas by hinting that he and Ava did something horrible to her. Nikolas shuts her down but Esme thinks she's planted enough seeds of doubt. She asks for a Christmas tree, since picking one out is part of her favorite childhood memory, but she wants to be able to go get it herself. Nikolas may have softened toward her, which is a mistake, because she definitely has something up her sleeve. Victor basically spells it out that once Ava and Nikolas are officially over, he wants Ava for himself. He also still has plans in motion even without the necklace, and Eileen greases some wheels to get him closer to what he wants. Curtis gives Jordan a wedding invitation, then probably regrets it when he can't get her to tell him anything about the Captain Hook investigation. He seems to feel he's entitled to it just because he lives with Trina. It's not clear if their conversation has any effect on the situation, but she RSVPs no. Alexis wonders why Esme didn't kill Elizabeth the night of their run-in, if Esme's the killer, and where she disappeared to afterward. She'll have someone new to bounce ideas off of because Curtis wants to work with her to find the killer. Finn gets his own idea and goes to see Nikolas. Rory and Trina have reached their three-month anniversary, and Trina's still half happy, half uncertain. Ava admits to being envious because Trina's with a nice, solid guy. She can sense that Trina still might have feelings for Spencer, and she advises her to keep her distance from complicated men. Jeff visits Heather to blast her for approaching Cameron and warn her not to go near any of his family. He should have also told her to stay away from Ryan, because she's definitely interested in connecting with him, and that wouldn't be good for anyone. Portia wants Marshall to undergo genetic counseling, but he still doesn't see the point. Stella thinks they should just spend the holidays being grateful for all of their blessings. Alexis bugs Finn again about talking to Elizabeth, whom he's basically been avoiding since he assumed that they were done. He tells her it's more complicated than she realizes, but Alexis thinks they can still fix things.
"Is Victor prone to asking for forgiveness?" Of course not – he never thinks he's done anything wrong.
Nikolas might be able to shut Esme up about her captivity by telling her that the police are looking for her, and if she goes out in public, she could get arrested.
Curtis, please. Jordan doesn't owe you anything, especially not privileged information from an ongoing investigation. Knock it off.
A Curtis/Alexis team-up? That could be interesting.
No offense to Epiphany, of course, but Marshall would be more fun with Stella.
December 7th, 2022
Felicia finds a number on one of the Ice Princess diamonds that isn't a typical serial number. She, Laura, and Robert wonder if it's a code, and whether that's what Victor's really after, rather than the diamonds themselves. Valentin finds Anna at Tiffany's house in Ireland and lets her know that Lucy's alive. She tries to talk him out of his plan to go find her, but it's not like Valentin is going to back down from helping his girlfriend. Felicia warns them that Whitten has a lead on Anna's location and is sending a team to Europe. As Anna and Valentin prepare to leave, someone shows up at Tiffany's door. Cyrus and Victor posture with each other, still clashing over whether Victor is a bad person for Spencer to be around. This may be the last time they see each other, though, since Victor managed to get Spencer out of prison early on a conditional release, the condition being that he has to live at Wyndemere. That's an early Christmas present Nikolas doesn't want. Jeff has finally seen the error of his ways, and he apologizes to Elizabeth for the way his and Carolyn's decisions affected her life. He hopes she'll be able to forgive him someday, but right now, she's mad that she was never given the chance to heal after that first trauma, and is only now learning what happened. Finn thinks Esme is hiding out on Spoon Island, and he bugs Nikolas to do an intensive search for her. Nikolas resists at first, then says he'll make sure the staff keeps a closer eye out. Finn spots Esme's prenatal vitamins but doesn't ask any questions. Cody gets drunk to deal with his feelings about losing his inheritance, not having any family, and getting on Britt's bad side. He tells Sam and Dante that he's leaving town, and only one of them is sad to see him go. Sam brings up Cody's juvenile record while they're alone, and Cody tells Dante about it. He wonders if he's suffering karmic punishments for things he's done in the past. Whatever he and Dante did back in 1996, it's bad enough that they think they could still be in trouble today. Both want to keep it buried, and Dante passive-aggressively tells Sam to drop it so Cody can have a break. Britt's big party and all the planning going into it are making her a little sentimental, and Terry's starting to wonder what's going on with her.
Everyone keeps overlooking the possibility that Victor will use Drew in his big plan.
I love how Felicia keeps finding stuff out that keeps Anna a step ahead.
"It doesn't make any sense." It never makes any sense, Anna! Nothing on this show ever does!
I'm not 100 percent sure that all the Scripture Cyrus is reciting is real. He might be making some of it up.
Nikolas is SO BAD at crime. Helena is seething in Hell.
So there's no statute of limitations for whatever Dante and Cody did 25+ years ago when they were minors?
December 8th, 2022
Anna and Valentin's surprise visitor is Martin, who's willing to buy that Anna didn't kill Lucy and wants to work with them to find the real killer. They resist letting him tag along, but he comes in handy when Whitten and some WSB agents arrive and they need a distraction while they flee. Martin pretends he knows Tiffany and came to Ireland to grieve, but has no idea where Anna is. Whitten doesn't believe him and threatens to shoot him. Valentin reveals himself so he can back up Martin's story, but it's just another distraction so Anna can come overpower Whitten. She knocks him out, and Martin tells the WSB agents that he collapsed unexpectedly while Anna and Valentin head off to figure out how to take down Victor. Spencer doubts that Nikolas wants him to move back in, and though Nikolas swears he does, he obviously can't have any more people living at Wyndemere while he's trying to hide Esme. He lies that it's a bad arrangement because he and Spencer won't be able to keep from fighting, and they'll just ruin Christmas for everyone. Since Spencer is in Victor's care as part of his conditional release, this gets rid of Victor as well. At dinner to celebrate their three-month anniversary, Rory invites Trina to meet his parents at Christmas, then tells her he loves her just as Spencer shows up. Ava accompanies Jordan as she questions Ryan about Esme. He thinks the letter Alexis got that's supposedly from Captain Hook is the real deal, but Captain Hook isn't Esme, since she wouldn't use a phrase like "me and mine." Apparently local gossip sites have written about Ava and Nikolas' separation, and Ryan wonders why she's still wearing her wedding ring. Sonny gets involved, because of course, and advises Ava to cut Nikolas loose. Elizabeth doesn't think that she'll be able to be with Finn anymore now that she knows she's indirectly responsible for Reiko's death. Finn is willing to move past that, and though Elizabeth is on the verge of agreeing to stay together, she worries that the secrets she's keeping about Esme make her unworthy of his love. Sonny visits Heather to intimidate her into agreeing not to tell the police anything about Dex's identity (he claims it's because that could help them find Anna). Heather wants to team up with Ryan somehow, and I think we should all be very, very afraid.
Martin, you do NOT want to be a fifth wheel to those two.
Why would Whitten think that Martin would help the person he believes killed his girlfriend?
I thought the episode was going to end with Ava showing up at Wyndemere, asking to move back in. Just when Nikolas thinks he's good to go, he has another person to kick out.
Jordan and Ava, why are you taking the word of a serial killer? Sonny, why are you taking the word of a crazy lady?
Who says "me and mine" at all?
I'm starting to think I should add Hayden mentions to the Morgan/Kiki drinking game.
December 9th, 2022
Ryan and Heather have a history, having met decades ago while using aliases and fallen in love. She guesses that he's faking his condition and threatens to out him, but she'll keep quiet because she's the one who ended the relationship and she feels like she owes him one. Ryan says he owes her two – he knows that when she left, she was pregnant with his child. Spencer wants a new start with Trina, who thinks too much has happened for that to be possible. He seems willing to walk away and let her be happy with Rory, but Victor reminds him that Cassadines don't quit. He also implies to Rory that he should be aware of the appropriate time to bow out, and pockets the turtledoves Cyrus gave Spencer. Elizabeth tries to steer Finn away from thinking that Esme's on Spoon Island, but somehow she just makes him more sure of it. The good news is that he finds something that distracts him. The bad news is that it's a bottle of prenatal vitamins just like the one he saw at Wyndemere, and now he thinks Elizabeth is pregnant. Josslyn goes to Sonny's to pick up Donna, but Sonny's out and Nina's there, so that's fun for no one. Nina expects a fight, but instead, Josslyn thanks her for taking Sonny away from Carly and freeing her from her dangerous husband. Thoughts of Dex make Josslyn try to deny that she's anything like Nina, or that she has feelings for someone who's bad for her. Nina starts putting together that Josslyn and Cameron aren't 100 percent happy and that Josslyn has eyes for Dex now. Sonny jerks Dex around for a while, making him think he's made too many mistakes to keep his job and might even get killed over it, but he ultimately gives Dex a gun and, for all intents and purposes, a promotion.
Welp, I doubt anyone had "Heather is apparently Esme's biological mother" on their show bingo card.
Once again I have to commend Jon Lindstrom for going long stretches of time without moving, especially considering how much Alley Mills was touching him.
Have Finn and Elizabeth even slept together? Is he going to think the baby is Nikolas'?
Elizabeth is sucking at this cover-up so supremely badly. It's actually embarrassing.
Does Nina really not know how many women Sonny's been with over the years?
Nina, I'm going to give you one warning: Don't.
Dex, to be Sonny's #2, all you have to do is stand in the background and glower. Start practicing now.
December 12th, 2022
Elizabeth tells Finn that she's pregnant with Nikolas' baby, though I'm not sure why he buys this, since she's an astonishingly horrible liar. If she'd told him sooner that she hooked up with Nikolas, Finn might have been able to get past it, but the lying pretty much cinches the end of the relationship for him. Heather and Ryan fill in some missing pieces about Esme: Heather accidentally left one of Ryan's "souvenirs" from his serial murders with Esme when she abandoned her, and Esme used it years later to track down Ryan. Heather still has the others, so Ryan better trust her to keep them hidden. He tells Heather that Esme has gone missing and that Ava almost killed her, so on top of being one of Captain Hook's targets, Ava is now on the radar of two psychopaths. Spencer goes back to Wyndemere and starts drinking to deal with the pain of knowing that he's lost his chance with Trina. Nikolas urges him not to give up hope, since he hasn't given up hope that the two of them will reconcile. Little does Spencer know that Trina's currently confiding to Ava that while things are awesome with Rory and there's no reason for her not to be head over heels for him, she can't stop thinking about Spencer. Ava's basically like, "Yeah, love's a jerk sometimes; you should follow your heart." Trina texts Spencer to welcome him home, which is all the hope Spencer needs at this point. Ava then follows her own heart to Wyndemere to see her estranged husband. Esme doesn't get the field trip she requested, but she does get a little Christmas tree, which Dimitrios, the guard who has a soft sport for her, gives her some decorations for. So Spencer isn't the only one with hope that things will work out. Drew meets with Denise, the firefighter who knew Harmony back in the day, but Carly has already talked her into feeding him lies that back up Harmony's story about how she got Willow. Carly doesn't get to monitor the conversation since Willow invites her to have dinner with her. Willow drops lots of hints about not necessarily being around for her kids, but Carly doesn't catch on.
When did Elizabeth become such a bad liar?
Imagine tanking your entire relationship to protect Nikolas. I wouldn't even consider it. Elizabeth should have said that Cameron got Josslyn pregnant (partly because I still think Josslyn might end up finding out she's pregnant after she ditches Cameron for Dex).
"And you believe the word of a psychopath?" Right? Thank you for always being the reasonable, logical one, Trina.
Of course Ava went to Wyndemere. She's so predictable.
Nikolas, you forgot to tell Spencer to stay out of the north tower...
I actually thought Willow might tell Carly about her diagnosis, but then I realized that if Carly knows she's looking for her family partly because she could need a bone marrow transplant, Carly would probably come clean about Nina. She's vengeful but she's not going to prioritize revenge over Willow's life.
December 13th, 2022
Ava wants to move back into Wyndemere, but of course she's picked the exact wrong time and Nikolas has to come up with a reason for her not to right now. Then Elizabeth shows up and lets Nikolas know that she lied to Finn about being pregnant, so now they have a whole other mess to deal with. She wants to tell Finn the truth, but Nikolas talks her out of it. They hope Finn will keep his promise not to tell anyone about the "pregnancy," unaware that Finn has just run into Ava. (He doesn't tell her anything, though.) Willow is upset to hear from Drew that her birth mother is (allegedly) dead and had no other family. When she says that she was more invested in connecting with her family than Drew knows, he puts that together with other things she's said and done, and realizes that she's sick. He agrees to keep quiet and suggests some other routes they can take to find her family. Denise assures Carly that she told Drew everything Carly paid her to, but the payout wasn't enough to cover Willow's fake birth father, so Denise didn't say anything about him. If Carly wants her to say that he's also dead, she'll have to provide more money. Carly pays up, still believing she's doing what's best to protect Willow. Shell-shocked by what happened with Elizabeth, Finn goes to Charlie's and orders a drink. Alexis and Gregory are there, and she's able to talk him out of doing anything that would jeopardize his sobriety. She's sent Gregory away during the conversation, but he knows what it was about and is grateful to her. Spinelli did what Austin asked and ran the Society Setups algorithm on Austin and Maxie, since he didn't feel like he had a choice. As he's about to hand over the results, Spinelli realizes that he's compromised his morals way too much and he needs to call everything off, even if it means criminal charges. Maxie catches them fighting, so Austin comes clean. Not only is Maxie mad at both guys, possibly enough to be done with Austin, but now Britt knows that Spinelli's behind Society Setups. Sonny wants Nina to develop a good relationship with Donna, but for once in her life, Nina knows that she needs to keep her distance. She's worried that she'll use Donna as a replacement for the child she didn't get to raise, and she doesn't want to hurt Donna if things between her and Sonny don't work out. Sonny tells her that he's in this for the long haul and considers her family. Alexis nicely (especially for her) asks Gregory to leave his lecturing in the classroom and refrain from always giving his opinion.
I'm really enjoying Nikolas slowly losing control of everything he thought was going great.
They've done this before and it's still funny: When Drew and Willow were discussing her biological family, "What Child Is This?" was playing in the background.
I kind of wish Nina had seen Drew hugging Willow, just so she could end up being wrong about something else.
I'm confused – when Maxie said that none of her friends like Austin (which should be another red flag for her), she mentioned Drew. When have Drew and Austin spent more than two minutes together? Also, are Drew and Maxie really friends?
Oh, dear, I hope Maxie and Austin don't break up over this.
Austin, "I only did one shady thing" isn't a great defense.
December 14th, 2022
Trina confides to Josslyn that she doesn't have the same feelings for Rory that he has for her, and it's because of Spencer. She insists that she doesn't want to be with Spencer, but Josslyn knows she's in denial. She thinks Trina should be honest with Rory and let him decide if he wants to keep dating her when it's not guaranteed that she'll eventually love him. Trina would like to hold off for a while, but Josslyn insists that she tell Cameron immediately – Rory! She means Rory! Everything with her and Cameron is fine, and she definitely can't relate to Trina's love triangle! Spencer catches up with Cameron, sharing that once his sentence is officially over, he plans to go back to Europe, since there's nothing keeping him in Port Charles. Cameron tells him all about Dex, for some reason, and Spencer decides to step in and order Dex to stay away from Josslyn. Then he decides to punch Dex, like, you've been out of prison for less than 24 hours, and you could be on your way right back in. Dante tells Jordan and Rory that the venom from Captain Hook's attacks is from a semi-aquatic Southeast Asian snake. Having gotten praise from Jordan and wanting to be more involved in a case involving his girlfriend, Rory takes it upon himself to visit someone who might have smuggled the snake into the country. Obrecht is really struggling to accept Britt's fate, and Nina gets her to spill that Britt has Huntington's. Sonny weighs in, because of course he does, and though Obrecht is angry at first that he's butting in, she feels better when he says how nice it was to spend Mike's final chapter of life with him. On top of the party, Britt has been working on her will, and she tells Brad that she's leaving everything to him. She doesn't tell him that he's going to get everything much sooner than he expects, though. Maxie vents to Cody about Austin, thinking that she's in yet another relationship with someone who's not who she thought he was. She urges Cody to fix things with Britt.
Is it bad that I expected Cameron (and maybe Dante) to think that Spencer broke out of prison?
My guess is that either Rory will get himself killed, which will make Trina feel too guilty to move on to Spencer, or he'll be injured and Trina will hold off on breaking up with him.
Some days are normal. Others, you find yourself wondering which characters could have access to venom from a semi-aquatic Southeast Asian snake.
Given the choice between a hook in the gut and watching more Sonny/Nina scenes, I would have to give the decision some serious thought.
Freaking A, Nina – can't you go ONE DAY without digging into someone else's business?
December 15th, 2022
Dante arrives at the apartment of the possible smuggler in time to hear a gunshot. Inside are Captain Hook's two latest victims, the smuggler (dead) and Rory (alive). As Finn, Portia, and Elizabeth work on Rory at the hospital, Elizabeth tries to figure out if this was really an attack by Captain Hook, since she's pretty sure Esme couldn't be behind it. Curtis takes Trina to the hospital, where Rory tells her he doesn't regret saying he loves her so soon, then flatlines. Nikolas moves his and Elizabeth's scheme along by giving Ava divorce papers. She thinks someone's forcing him to do this, or that he believes he doesn't have a choice, until he tells her that he got Elizabeth pregnant. This effectively heads off their possible reunion, and now Ava has a new name at the top of her list of enemies. Josslyn and Cameron are mad at Spencer for hitting Dex, who doesn't really seem upset about it, to be honest. Spencer tells Trina that he's moving back to Europe as soon as he can, since he can't find what he needs in Port Charles: someone who will feel pain about not having him around. Curtis and Alexis start their partnership with information Curtis got from Trina (who got it from Ava) about the PCPD getting Ryan to help them profile Captain Hook. They're together when Jordan calls Curtis and asks him to get Trina to the hospital, and Gregory texts Alexis that she needs to get there. She and Gregory hear that Rory needs anti-venom and remember reading about that in Captain Hook's letter. Portia feels weird planning her wedding while there's a killer running around. Elizabeth urges her to stick to her plans, since they need something good to look forward to. Finn tells Gregory that he and Elizabeth are over, and he's been trying to hide his sadness from Violet but hasn't succeeded. Gregory thinks they might still be able to work things out, because Gregory hasn't learned about all the insanity going on there. Maxie has pretty much convinced herself that she made a mistake falling for Austin. Sam spins it to note that she's following her instincts and getting out before things get really horrible. Dex kills some time for us by having flashbacks about Josslyn.
So does the gunshot we heard mean Rory shot Captain Hook? That should make her easy to identify.
You can never be 100 percent sure of anything on this show, but I'm about 99 percent confident that Esme isn't the killer. Even if she'd gotten out of Wyndemere, the odds are pretty slim that she would go kill the smuggler.
Yep, I think that's going to be it for Rory.
Good makeup on Michael Blake Kruse. He looked baaaaaaaad.
I still think Nikolas should tell Ava eerything. She'd keep her mouth shut (and as long as they're married, she could).
I'm not sure Elizabeth has processed yet that she'll be going to Portia and Curtis' wedding on the anniversary of her own marriage to her late husband.
December 16th, 2022
Rory's dead and Trina's biggest regret is not telling him she loved him after he said it. She hopes that wherever he is, he knows that she'll never forget him. Rory managed to do one last good deed before his death, as Elizabeth finds an earring in his pocket that most likely came from his killer. That means the police could have some much-needed evidence, as well as the hint that any woman who turns up with an earlobe injury could be the killer. The police are still operating under the assumption that Esme is the killer, but Elizabeth gets them to accept that that's looking less and less likely. She calls Nikolas to warn that he could be walking into a trap at Wyndemere, but when she joins him there, Esme's present and accounted for, with no sign that she wasn't there the whole time. Ava threatens to play Nikolas' fake confession to Esme's murder during their divorce trial unless Victor makes her settlement a little more generous. He calls her bluff, pointing out that people will guess that he's covering for her. Laura wonders what Victor was trying to gain when he got Spencer released early, since he already has Spencer's loyalty. Nikolas admits that he's betrayed everyone close to him, and Spencer later confides to her that he blames himself for everything Esme's done because he's the one who brought her to town. Laura encourages him, telling him that he's shown that he's a better person now. Spencer decides to stay in town, both to be there for Trina and to make sure Esme is found. Anna and Valentin are the filler, just in Amsterdam this time.
Aww, 'bye, Rory. You were a good guy.
Not to have sympathy for a possible criminal but the smuggler isn't going to get any compassion from the public with Rory dying at the same time.
I bet if Ava had run into Finn after she heard about Nikolas and Elizabeth's "hookup," she would have slept with him.
Waiting for Elizabeth to ask if she can take a look at Esme's ears.
"I feel like we owe it to Marty to try to find Lucy." Uh, you owe it to LUCY to try to find Lucy.
I need Tracy to pop up while Anna and Valentin are in Amsterdam.
December 19th, 2022
Ava tells Nina everything she learned from Nikolas and vows revenge on him and Elizabeth. Elizabeth claims that if she'd known that Esme wasn't Captain Hook, she wouldn't have covered for Nikolas, but he notes that she didn't call the police even before thinking that; her first instinct was to help him. He offers to release her from their scheme and pretend she was never involved, but she thinks it's too late, and it's better for their kids if they keep moving forward. She'll probably regret that now that Ava has tracked her down. Alexis fact-checked the story Denise told Drew about Willow's birth mother's death, and her source says it's not true. Phyllis overhears them discussing Harmony and reminds them that she was pretty shady. Drew himself remembers how she supposedly lied to Carly about Nina being Willow's birth mother. Drew decides to talk to Denise again, and just as he's accusing her of lying – within earshot of Nina and Phyllis – Carly arrives. Willow's going back and forth between being confident that she can beat her cancer and worrying that she can't. Michael tries to keep her optimistic that they'll find a bone-marrow donor through the national registry, now that they know (supposedly) that chances are slim that she has biological relatives. They consider skipping an appointment to find out if the baby is a boy or a girl, but they want some good news to share, so they get an ultrasound and find out they're having a girl. Josslyn thinks that Dex is done with her after his little dust-up with Spencer, so she basically decides to harden herself toward him before he can hurt her. Carly doesn't make it a secret that she would like for them to end things before they can start, because Josslyn's already in enough danger with a serial killer running around. Sonny assigns Dex to guard Josslyn for a little while, and Josslyn is unable to keep her facade or stop herself from crying in Dex's arms. Chase is really, seriously, super-done with everything related to Brook and music, even though he made a commitment to perform at some town event and do a song with Blaze. However, he doesn't completely hate Brook, and I think it's just a matter of time before he wants to rekindle things.
"Will you promise me that you won't do something you'll regret?" The problem is that Ava won't regret doing something horrible, so that's basically impossible.
I almost feel bad for Elizabeth. Almost.
Not to get anyone's hopes up but they just booted Marcus Coloma a month after Tyler Christopher expressed interest in coming back...
Hey, people, don't have your conversations about your crimes and cover-ups in the chapel.
Too bad Nikolas didn't swear Ava to secrecy about Elizabeth's "pregnancy" like she did to Finn. Cameron's going to find out from someone other than Elizabeth, isn't he?
Elizabeth: "This is emotional blackmail." Nikolas: "I know. Is it working?" Ha!
So much for Sonny wanting Dex to stay away from Josslyn, huh?
December 20th, 2022
Elizabeth holds up pretty well against Ava, who's very open about wanting to seek revenge and thinking that Elizabeth is a horrible person. Elizabeth tells her she lost the baby, and Ava actually feels bad for her and wonders if she should pursue revenge right now. Nikolas tells Spencer about the fake affair with Elizabeth, which Spencer somehow finds even worse than his fling with Esme. He's going to use this as motivation to be a better man than his father, and he's more eager than ever to leave town when he's able to. Carly hints to Denise that she'll pay her more if Denise makes up a story to cover for her lie, so Denise tells Drew that Willow was already with Harmony when she arrived at the commune. She adds that Harmony seemed like she was scared and running from something. Drew buys this and thinks that Harmony might have kidnapped Willow. Carly's relieved that her secret is still a secret, but her plan backfired a little: Now Drew thinks that Willow might still have family out there, so she'll have to come up with another way to keep him from finding them. Dex definitely isn't done with Josslyn, but she's still holding back until she's ended things with Cameron. Sam may be tired of Cody, but he still tries to do something nice for her by connecting her with Dante, who's been working overtime and keeping his emotions to himself in the wake of Rory's death. Mac lends a hand, letting Cody see once again that he's a great guy and he's probably made a big mistake not being honest about the paternity-test results. Nina tells Phyllis that she's done apologizing for her past (uh, I don't remember her ever apologizing for it, but okay) and she's happy and moving forward and blah blah blah, she's still upset that she never got to have children.
Ava, if you think Elizabeth could get struck by lightning just walking into the chapel, you should get zapped the second you put your hand on the doorknob.
Elizabeth: "You left Nikolas months ago." Ava: "So what? I leave Nikolas all the time." Ha!
Nicholas Chavez, submit this episode for your next Emmy considertion."
I tried to imagine myself asking my father, "Whose girlfrind did you bang this time?" but my brain just threw up an error message.
Nikolas: "My mother made me a better person." Spencer: "You were worse than this before?" OUCH.
Mac is a better father to Dante than Sonny is.
December 21st, 2022
Trina's family tries to give her a nice Christmas while still acknowledging that she might not be up for it. She confides to Josslyn that she feels responsible for Rory's death, since he died investigating a case connected to her. Josslyn tells her she's entitled to feel however she feels, but the only person responsible is the killer. Also, she needs to stop putting everyone ahead of herself like she always does. Trina decides to honor Rory by making him a Christmas ornament and attaching the tab from the soda can he gave her when they first met. Gregory tells his two mopey sons to basically suck it up and make Christmas Eve good for Violet. Brook lends a hand by calling in a favor with someone and getting the committee who took Chase's badge to reconsider his case in the spring. She still needs someone to fill in for him at the town event, but Ned tells her she'll have to deal with that on her own and face the music (har har). Fortunately, Chase shows up, though it's not clear if he'll sing. Spencer spends Christmas Eve with the Davises, taking in how well-adjusted they are and how successfully they've built lives that don't revolve around the Cassadines. He's worried that he's doomed to turn out like Nikolas. Alexis tells him that he'll never escape the Cassadines, but he'll survive them. He needs to find something that matters to him and discover who he is as Spencer, not Spencer Cassadine. His first instinct is to go see Trina. Drew wants to tell Willow that her biological family might be out there after all, but Carly urges him to wait. He gives her a keychain from Jacksonville and says she'll find out later what the key on it is to. The writers finally call time of death on the failed experiment that was Maxie and Austin's relationship, and the two of them amicably break up. Marshall gives Curtis a picture of their family from when he was a child and expresses how happy he is to spend Christmas with his son. Finn's ready to throw in the towel when it comes to relationships, but Gregory reminds him that Violet came out of a failed romance, so he shouldn't be so sure that he'll never have a good one again. Josslyn drives off the road on her way home from Trina's.
"Sorry your boyfriend died; maybe these four Christmas trees will cheer you up." Interesting logic.
Maybe Jordan can hire Chase as a civilian consultant or something to help with the Captain Hook investigation.
Shout-out to everyone who got through scenes with Gregory Harrison with a straight face while he was wearing the world's sparkliest tie. Looks like I'm going to say the same thing tomorrow about Jon Lindstrom and his Rudolph accessories.
Molly: "You can never have too many socks." T.J.: "That's true. And I would know, 'cause I am a doctor." Hee hee.
(After Spencer says he's leaving) Molly: "Was it something Kristina said?" More Davis women in 2023, please.
Tamara Braun is out at Days of Our Lives, so I say bring back Kim (and her secret baby with Julian) and put her with Austin.
It looks like they're setting it up for Josslyn to be a sitting duck for Captain Hook (or at least we're supposed to believe that), which means Trina's going to end up having a full-on breakdown. But also, the teaser for tomorrow's episode says, "Dex comes to Josslyn's aid," so I'm not too worried.
Lots of Disney branding in this episode. It makes sense for Violet and Finn, but I'm not sure Alexis would have a Mickey Mouse pillow.
December 22nd, 2022
Spencer wants to use himself as bait to lure Esme out of hiding and bring her to justice. At first Trina wants to leave things to Jordan, but she decides to help him by making it look like she's turned to him after Rory's death. The DNA on the earring from Rory's attack matches Ryan's ex, Gloria, who died 30 years ago. Dante, Mac, and Felicia go question him, interrupting as he's about to open a Christmas present from Heather. He won't tell them anything, since Ava's not there, but he later confronts Heather because the earring was supposed to be with his other "souvenirs." Chase fulfills his agreement to sing at the town event, and after just 20 seconds back in Linc's proximity, he's back on board to help Brook take him down. However, he won't get back together with her since he's still mad about the way she made decisions for him. Dex comes to Josslyn's rescue after her car trouble, and they end up making out again, despite her desire to end things with Cameron before anything more happens there. Nikolas gets drunk and hangs out with Esme, who taunts that she's basically his only friend. He does a couple of kind things for her (possibly just so she'll stop complaining) and doesn't catch on that she's secretly happy because her plan with Ryan is going exactly as she'd hoped. Ava takes Avery to visit Carly, which leads to awkward silence between Avery's moms, then the revelation that Ava and Nikolas are done because he cheated on her. Carly's like, "We're not going to be friends or anything but I do feel your pain." Donna made a Christmas wish for Sasha to have a good new year. She should have wished for Sasha to get more screentime. Rory's death makes Nina think of Nathan, because she can't go five seconds without making something about herself.
I love the idea of Spencer and Trina possibly faking a relationship to lure Esme out, having no idea that she's not going to show herself.
Shouldn't Josslyn have a bodyguard with her at all times?
Think Avery's walkie-talkies will end up letting someone overhear something they shouldn't (Chekhov's walkie-talkies)?
LOL at Brook announcing that Dante was the runner-up in the ugly Christmas sweater contest and Dante being like, "I did not enter any such competition" but accepting a ribbon anyway.
December 23rd, 2022
A winter storm has basically put Port Charles in a standstill, with roads unplowed and flights canceled. The Quartermaines slowly start gathering visitors, including Austin, Cody, Molly, T.J., and an unnamed pregnant woman who somehow wound up in a super-rich neighborhood after participating in a live nativity scene. Ned frets about the change in plans from a small Christmas as Olivia rushes to make sure there's enough food. Unsurprisingly, the pregnant woman goes into labor. The baby's breech, and Austin determines that they need to get the mother to the hospital, or, barring that, bring in an OB. Good thing Cody knows one. Britt successfully delivers the baby, whom the mother names after her, which means Britt will live on, or at least her name will. In an added bit of Christmas joy, Jordan comes by after hearing about an incident at the house and gets to spend some time with T.J. after not thinking she would get to. Maxie is the victim of a canceled flight, which means she can't get to Portland to see Georgie, who's there visiting Ellie (hi, Ellie!) with Spinelli. Nina finds out that there are available private planes for her to use in Toronto, assuming she can get there. Brook secures her one, and Austin arranges for Maxie to take a boat there. But on the way from Toronto to Portland, weather grounds the flight and Maxie ends up in Edmonton. Just as she's starting to accept that she won't get to spend Christmas with her daughter, Spinelli and Georgie arriving, having had the same idea to fly through Canada to get to her. Sasha wants to fulfill Brando's New Year's resolution to fix up his motorcycle before 2023, so she spends Christmas at his garage. Sonny finds her there and lends a hand. Britt has a bunch of stuff planned for Christmas, since she thinks it's the last one she'll be able to fully enjoy. She runs into car trouble and ends up at Brando's garage as well. When Cody calls to summon her to the Quartermaines', she and Sasha hop on Brando's bike and head right over. Elizabeth may not have her parents around, but she has Scott and Laura, who are better parents to her than Jeff and Carolyn ever were. Ellie thinks Spinelli still has feelings for Maxie, and she doesn't seem to have any problems with that. Part of that is because she's moved on and has a new boyfriend: Griffin.
I'm not sure why no one suggested calling the unnamed pregnant woman's snow-plow-driving husband, who could plow a route to the hospital.
Bah humbug, Ned.
Ellie! What a great surprise! Also, when she said she was dating someone who used to live in Port Charles, my first guess was Griffin, so I'm more excited than I should be that I was right.
There's, like, a 99 percent change that Sonny has connections that could get Maxie to Portland, so why didn't Nina call him?
Everyone's all, "Sonny and Nina should spend Christmas together" – shouldn't he spend it with, I don't know, his children?
December 26th, 2022
People are way more concerned than they should be about Trina suddenly having a change of heart toward Spencer and becoming friends with him again. Sam and Trina defend him to Marshall, Sam by noting that he put his freedom on the line to help Trina, and Trina by saying that some lies turn out to be for the best. The two of them make sure they're in a picture with Laura that will appear on the Invader's website, their first attempt at luring Esme out of hiding. Esme may not see it but Heather does, and she's not happy about it. She asks Portia about Trina while Portia's determining whether she's ready to go back to Darkham. Heather tries to delay her return by offering Mac and Robert a deal: In exchange for a permanent transfer to Spring Ridge, she'll buddy up to Ryan and find out what he knows about Esme. Robert is open to the deal, since the police need all the help they can get, but he promises Mac that Heather will never get what she wants. Delivering the baby on Christmas has made Britt realize how precious life is, and she's showing it by being more agreeable with Terry and urging Maxie and Brad to get along. Terry has some questions, which she takes to Austin. He's just now caught on that Britt is throwing her birthday/New Year's Eve party as a big goodbye before she leaves. Cody has become a town hero, somehow, for his part in the baby's delivery. Mac is all, "You're a better guy than you think; maybe if you'd been my kid and I'd been around when you were young, you would have more confidence; also, if you ever want to talk about that big thing you and Dante are covering up from your youth, I'm here." Dante's mostly grateful to Cody for helping him reconnect with Sam, as if they don't live together and it wouldn't have happened without Cody's involvement.
All these people who don't think Trina knows what she's doing with Spencer don't know Trina very well.
Is Britt going to give notice at work before she disappears?
Really, Austin is just now figuring out why Britt's throwing this party?
Come on, Cody hardly had anything to do with the baby's delivery. He stood in a room where a baby was born. So did six other people.
I appreciate Dante mentioning that he heard a gunshot because that needs to be followed up on. Did Rory shoot the killer?
December 27th, 2022
Drew got a picture of Josiah, the head of the commune where Harmony once lived, and he and Carly get to work trying to match it to recent pictures of men in the area named Josiah. Carly finds the right one while Drew is out of the room and stashes it in her bag before he can see it. She suggests that they take a break and get away for a while so they can be alone. He agrees, but he also tells one of his reporters to start visiting Josiahs in person to find the right one. Cody tells Britt that when he first came to town, he only took an interest in her because he knew Faison and Taub had had a connection. By the time they found the necklace, he'd developed real feelings for her. Britt appreciates his honesty but tells him they're never going to make things work. He thinks it's because of her hesitancy and resistance, and she doesn't tell him any difference. Brook thinks she's sick because she's been feeling weird since she and Chase ended things. Maxie has to let her know that she's fine physically – she's just in love. Now her mission is to win Chase back. On the other side, Sasha doesn't think Chase should be so quick to say that he and Brook will never try a relationship again. Gladys has played in a couple of Selina's poker games and is already in debt. She buys in to the next game with a pair of diamond earring Sasha gave her for Christmas and is clearly contemplating using Sasha's money to pay off her debt and keep getting access to games. Sonny meets with a guy named Roman Hume for that Pikeman deal Valentin set up for him. Everything goes much more smoothly than Dex anticipated, but he mentions to Sonny that Roman is clearly ex-military. Sonny doesn't get why that's a big deal, and he's sure there's nothing to worry about. Britt has a secret meeting with Selina to get documents she can use to disappear (with the promise that she'll never be in contact with Brad again). Michael gives Willow encouragement after Wiley yells at her for always having doctor's appointments and not spending enough time with him.
Sooner or later, Drew and Carly are going to get caught and I'm going to laugh really, really hard.
LOL at Carly calling timeout "jail." A force of habit, I'm sure.
Morgan mention – drink!
Brook: "Maybe I'm dying." Maxie: "No, sweetie, you're just experiencing human emotions." Sure, why not?
Are they teasing a Sasha/Chase match? Good luck getting everyone to let go of Brook/Chase.
Roman Hume. What a soap name.
December 28th, 2022
In the Netherlands, Anna and Valentin meet with an old contact who has a lot of experience with the Cassadines and would love to see them destroyed: Andre. He knows about a base of operations they used to have in Paris that he doubts has been closed down. He wants to come along with them to rescue Lucy, but of course Valentin doesn't want a fifth wheel, especially a fifth wheel who's going to keep trying to convince Anna that her boyfriend can't be trusted. Obrecht learns that Britt plans to leave town after her party, but not the party about how she doesn't plan to come back. They talk about how far they've come and how well they've been able to repair their relationship, and how grateful they are for the way things have turned out for them. Esme continues her charm offensive with Dimitrios, putting together a plan that involves dinner with him, fire, and an unknown-as-yet third thing. Trina still feels bad for wanting to break up with Rory right before he died, but Ava thinks she was brave for trying to do the right thing. Trina makes it clear that she doesn't plan to say anything to Spencer about her feelings in the near future. Spencer tells Ava that he's taking Trina to Britt's party, as if Ava is Trina's mother and she needs to know his intentions. She definitely doesn't need to warn him that if he hurts Trina, Ava will make him regret being born. Spencer also makes a genuine apology for stalking Ava, and she expresses genuine sympathy for his struggles with Nikolas. Cyrus summons Laura for a visit (Martin tags along) to tell her that Victor got Eileen to end Spencer's sentence early, and she can't trust her deputy mayor. He soon realizes that she already knows that and is going to use Eileen to bring down Victor. He wants a crack at Victor himself, framing it as justice for Luke's death instead of what it really is: vengeance. Victor lets Nikolas know that Ava told him about his and Elizabeth's baby, and though he's supportive of any relationship Nikolas and Elizabeth might rekindle, he shouldn't trust her with any Cassadine secrets. Nikolas is like, "Yeah, yeah, she doesn't know anything – why are you hanging around Ava?"
Cool, Andre! I certainly won't complain if former characters keep popping up.
I'm not necessarily saying that Anna and Valentin should work with Obrecht, but she could definitely give them useful Cassadine-related information, and I'm sure she'd love to help bring down Victor.
You know what would be awesome? If Ava and Spencer teamed up to get revenge on Nikolas.
Laura, you don't have to keep going to see Cyrus every time he calls. Just ignore him!
Laura: "You're not God." Cyrus internally, no doubt: "Not yet."
December 29th, 2022
Britt's party is a big hit and she enjoys every minute of it. Austin still thinks she should be honest with her loved ones so they can say goodbye, but she still has no intention of doing that. Esme tries to convince Elizabeth to let her go, insisting that Nikolas will kill her after the baby's born. Elizabeth promises not to let that happen. Esme's plot with Dimitrios goes a lot better, and she's able to pocket a match. Spencer and Trina want to attract some buzz by attending Britt's party together, but they never actually go inside. She tells him that she still considers him a friend, despite what she told him months ago at her party, and assures him that the things Esme's done aren't his fault. She also has some doubts that Esme is the killer and thinks it could be someone who's not on anyone's radar. As they're finally about to go into the party, they get super-close and are about three seconds from kissing. Laura bugs Nikolas about what he did to alienate Spencer this time, then puts together herself that he (allegedly) cheated on Ava with Elizabeth. She's as unhappy about that as she is about the news that Spencer is now in Victor's custody. Nikolas warns her that if she takes Victor down, she'll take her son down, too. Michael thinks the Pikeman deal is the key to bringing down Sonny, since he'll be transporting military weapons that are either bad themselves or that will be used by bad people. Dex warns that ratting Sonny out could put Michael in Pikeman's crosshairs, which he won't want. Terry spends the whole party bugging Finn about his relationship with Elizabeth, then asking Elizabeth what happened, and I think we can all agree that she deserves better.
Ha, Britch Fest. Now THAT'S how you own an insulting nickname.
You can tell how much Kelly Thiebaud and Parry Shen enjoy working together. He said at one point they didn't know the cameras were rolling, and their characters' connection still came through.
The drag queen was great in that mini-M.C. role. New Nurses' Ball correspondent if we ever get another one?
Not one guy in the cast knew what to do during the karaoke performance. It's okay to enjoy music, guys!
All Spencer and Trina's plan is doing is making it look like she doesn't care about Rory.
I can't decide whose attendance at the party makes less sense, Elizabeth's or Finn's.
December 30th, 2022
Britt's party continues rocking, and she loves the video her friends made featuring photos of her loved ones. Austin tries again to convince her to stay and wrap things up with them instead of just leaving, but at midnight, she slips out without anyone but him noticing. Captain Hook pops up on the Haunted Star during the party and sets her sights on Spencer and Trina, but Maxie inadvertently interferes and the killer loses her chance. Speaking of lost chances, the no-doubt-soon-to-be couple misses the opportunity to kiss, and at midnight, they keep it platonic. Laura pleads with Nikolas to push Victor aside and be his own person instead of the person Victor is pressuring him to be. She assures him that it's not too late and promises that nothing he does will make her stop loving him. Upstairs, Esme easily pulls off her plan and escapes her room when Nikolas comes in to put out the fire she started. She's breathed in too much smoke to make a break for the stairs without stopping for air, and he tracks her down on a parapet. She figures that if she survived one fall, she can survive another, and she jumps off rather than letting him lock her back up. Willow is scared that this will be her last New Year's Eve and she won't survive all of 2023, but she's also happier than she's ever been in her life and grateful for all the blessings she has. Michael gives her one more by proposing, and they start the new year engaged. Sam and Dante let Josslyn crash part of their evening together and hear her out as she complains about Sonny (of course) and how he puts people in danger so he can get richer. She feels sorry for Dante, since he's stuck in the middle of the ongoing Sonny/Michael battle. Dante notes that Sonny's been the way he is since long before Dante came into the picture, but Josslyn thinks he's making excuses for his father. Sam advises Josslyn to stop thinking about Sonny and focus on her own life, especially now that she plans to go pre-med and is putting together a plan for her future. That future may not last long, though, since Captain Hook resurfaces on the docks just as Josslyn is arriving to join Britt's party. Finn and Elizabeth basically ruin the party for themselves by being unable to stop thinking about each other.
Who blows out someone else's birthday candles?? Go away, Nina.
Britt mouthing, "He's the best" at Trina behind Spencer's back was cute. Equally cute was Trina refusing to tell Spencer what she said.
Hey, Captain Hook finally wised up and put on a mask!
I guess we can consider Spencer and Trina's plan a success. I mean, they didn't draw out Esme, but they did draw out the person they think Esme is. Also, we now have a definitive confirmation that Esme isn't the killer.
With Nikolas saying he feels like people would be better off if he'd stayed dead, I'm going to say that if they try to convince us in the next few weeks that he's dead, he's just faked his death (yet again).
It looks like Britt is leaving from the docks in the previews, so maybe her last act in Port Charles will be to save Josslyn's life.