General Hospital blog - May, 2023

May 1st, 2023

Valentin reveals himself to Victor's guards to keep them from looking for Laura, Drew, and Curtis. Victor guesses that he has an accomplice, so Laura decides that their best move is to give him what he wants. She lets guards find her so that Drew and Curtis can take them out and grab their uniforms. As he takes her to Victor, Curtis heads for the Haunted Star to save the hostages. Obrecht comes up with a believable delay for Victor's plan, but he wants to keep moving forward, using Valentin as a test subject. Scott thinks that Anna, Holly, and Robert are going to let Obrecht be collateral damage, and he threatens to tell the WSB everything they're trying to keep secret. Holly chloroforms him and announces that she's going to Greenland. Robert wants to go, too, but Anna takes his place. Sonny asks the Pikeman rep who tried to shoot him, and the rep claims that it was a third party who wasn't connected to them. Sonny is displeased when the shipment he's agreed to let them bring through his territory contains explosives. He's not eager to work with Pikeman again, but the rep tells Brick that an arrangement would be a smart move for Sonny. Dex records everything, so on top of everything else going on, Michael now gets to decide whether to proceed with his plan. Nina tries to take back her anonymous SEC tip, but Martin tells her that the investigation is already in motion. Later, Sonny fills in some details, like the fact that Drew hasn't been nabbed yet because he's off looking for Obrecht. Nina has some big regrets now, and she's worried that the SEC will track down Drew and arrest him before he can save Willow. Michael and Willow spend much of what should be their wedding night talking to Carly about the SEC stuff. It kind of turns into Willow and Carly's attempts to get Michael to see that Sonny isn't always horrible.

"Now, boys." It's almost like Drew and Curtis are Laura's minions.

Congratulations to Holly for finding a way to shut Scott up!

Okay, who's moving explosives through Port Charles? (Please be Jerry. Please be Jerry. Please be Jerry.)

Whoops, looks like Brick's going down, too.

If you'd asked me before this episode who might keep Michael and Willow from being alone on their wedding night, Carly would be my #1 answer. Though I guess technically Nina was responsible, and she would be my #2 answer.

May 2nd, 2023

Valentin offers to work with Victor to save the world (in a more ethical way than Victor has planned) if he'll release his hostages. When Victor won't agree, Valentin offers himself up as a test subject. Victor doesn't consider Valentin his son anymore, so he has Obrecht inject him with the pathogen, which starts working immediately. Posing as one of Victor's guards, Curtis gets Trina's location from Spencer and is able to locate her. She refuses to leave without helping him rescue Spencer, so Curtis lets her provide a distraction. Willow nags Michael again about coexisting with Sonny, at the very least, so their family doesn't have to choose between the two of them. Michael decides this is the time to tell her what he and Dex have been up to. For some reason, this really gets to her, and she passes out. Robert does everything he can to keep Elizabeth from going into Anna's room and discovering that a) Anna left and b) Scott's unconscious in there. Just as he gets her to agree to stay out a little longer, Scott regains consciousness, calls the WSB and blabs about Victor's biological weapon. Dex tells Josslyn that he got everything he needs to send Sonny to prison, and it's now up to Michael to deploy it. Josslyn's torn, knowing that Sonny's kids will be devastated to lose him, but she also wants him to face justice. Portia and Marshall are basically filler, but it's nice that she has someone to offer her support while she's waiting for news on Trina and Curtis.

Willow, PLEASE stop bugging Michael bout Sonny. He gets it. He does. Leave him alone.

I can't believe there was no wedding reception. Olivia made all that food for nothing!

I feel like Robert would know how long chloroform lasts.

Elizabeth calling security on Robert would have been hilarious.

Way to unplug the phone and do absolutely nothing else to prevent Scott from calling the WSB, guys.

Won't Sonny be suspicious when Dex doesn't get busted for the Pikeman stuff?

May 3rd, 2023

As Valentin's symptoms progress, Obrecht insists on giving him the antidote, but Victor wants to see what happens. Obrecht thinks he's in this more for revenge than to do scientific research. Valentin mostly thrashes around a lot, but then he starts hallucinating Helena, who says she's there to drag him to Hell to be with her forever. Drew and Laura's plan for him to pose as a guard who captured her goes smoothly and they find the lab where Obrecht was working. When Victor and some guards catch them there, Laura uses a moment of chaos to grab the pathogen. Curtis and Trina save Spencer but get delayed in escaping because he's unconscious for a while. Next they're able to just waltz into Ace's room and take him from the woman watching him, and now they just need to get to the plane the rescuers arrived on. The WSB agent summoned by Scott keeps Robert confined to Anna's room, but Robert is able to communicate with Felicia and fill her in on what's happening. She calls Frisco, but he won't be able to help – when he refused to give the orders the bureau's board wanted, they replaced him with someone who's already called for the island to be nuked. Nina pretends not to know anything about the SEC investigation while Carly fails to grasp what it means that her assets have been frozen and is all, "The wedding was really great, and everyone who was actually invited to it agrees." After she runs off to be with Michael, who's worried that this is the end for Willow, Nina tells Ava that she feels bad about getting Drew caught up in everything. Ava casually says that he deserves punishment if he committed a crime, and Nina shouldn't feel bad about that. Brook would like Tracy to stop holding how she helped Chase over Brook's head. Tracy would like Brook to accept that she and Chase are eventually going to end up together. T.J. and Elizabeth are filler.

"It's hardly practical, is it?" So now Victor's concerned with what's practical?

It's great that Laura nabbed the pathogen, but why would anyone touch anything in a known madman's lab with their bare hands?

Taggert should have gone to Greenland, too. It would have been nice to see him and Curtis working together to rescue Trina.

I was skeptical of Curtis' clearly well-thought-out plan to simply walk in and take Ace, but hey, it was successful, so I guess we learned a lesson about not underestimating him.

Donnell Turner did great with the stunt work in those fights with the guards.

Carly, you have no income and your assets have been frozen. You can't afford to pay for pie with a $20 bill and not collect your change.

What was the point of Nina playing dumb about the SEC stuff when she already talked to Sonny about it?

Oh, the ridiculous hypocrisy of Ava basically saying, "Drew did the crime so now he should do the time." Woman who murdered Connie for the dumbest possible reason says what?

Who knew Tracy was so good with kids?

May 4th, 2023

Victor doesn't think Laura will smash the vial holding the pathogen and kill everyone in the lab even if it means saving the rest of the world. Obrecht tries to tell her that the pathogen isn't active without UV light, but a guard shuts her up. Laura calls Victor's bluff and breaks the vial, but of course, nothing happens. Anna arrives and there's a gunfight, during which Victor grabs the pathogen and Obrecht, and takes off. Curtis shows up in time to save the others from guards, but then a computer comes on, and Laura – who recognizes it as being like the one she and Luke dealt with 40 years ago – doesn't think it's a good time for them to leave. Meanwhile, Holly ambushes Victor and Obrecht. Curtis sends Spencer, Trina, and Ace to the seaplane the rescue team arrived in so at least the three of them will be safe. Trina's reluctant to leave him and makes it clear that, father or not, she loves him. They have to fight the nanny, but once she's been subdued, they're able to use the satellite phone to call Jordan and request backup. Jordan tells them to get to the plane and get out of there because the WSB is sending drones to blow up the island. The Hellucination urges Valentin to stop fighting and let himself die, but he manages to keep holding on until Anna finds him. T.J. tells Michael and Carly that Willow's screwed, basically, and since she's unconscious, it's up to Michael to decide what happens with her care. He doesn't want her to have to stay in the hospital, but T.J. thinks it's for the best, no matter how much she hates the thought of dying there. Willow wakes up before Michael has to make any decisions, and she agrees to stay in the hospital. Sonny, Carly, and Josslyn all suspect that Ned was the anonymous SEC tipster, and he'd better hope that Sonny gets distracted or starts suspecting someone else, because he's really displeased. Nina accepts the offer she previously rejected to get out of town for a while, but the trip gets canceled when they learn from Dex that Willow's taken a turn for the worst. Just when it looks like Robert's going to get dragged off for crossing the WSB, Diane comes to his rescue. Not that it'll do anything for the people who are about to be nuked on the island, but hey, it was the best Felicia could do. No one really cares what's going on with Josslyn and Dex right now, right?

Ooh, don't let Nina find out that Laura was willing to sacrifice Willow to take down Victor.

Me: "Come on, she's not gonna do it." (Laura smashes the vial) Me: "Oh, okay, she's gonna do it."

Since the pathogen doesn't do anything when it hasn't been exposed to UV light, I assume this will end with the rescuers just destroying all of it in the lab.

Can we get a ruling from the Hellucination on the name Ace?

Is there a pilot on the seaplane? Because if not, I don't see Spencer and Trina getting off the island.

They came so close to Curtis and Trina having an "I love you"/"I know" moment on May 4th.

"Intentions matter." Well, Joss, be sure to tell that to the judge when Carly goes on trial for insider training. I'm sure they'll take it under consideration.

That said, how many times do we need to hear Josslyn's input on, like, everything? Nothing at all against Eden McCoy, but half of her screentime is a waste of our time.

May 5th, 2023

Laura and Curtis guess that Mikkos had a second weather machine installed on the island so he would have that and the pathogen as double backup in case the other weather machine failed. The password to shut it down is the chemical formula for carbonic snow, the artificial blizzard meant to freeze the world (and currently about to freeze Port Charles, as it's just started snowing there). Somehow, 40 years later, Laura remembers the formula and is able to save the town. Holly taunts Victor by telling him that Ethan is safe and that she's the reason he's been having his, um, complications in bed. Drew sneaks up and knocks Victor out, but Obrecht also gets knocked out in the scuffle, which makes Drew panic. Fortunately, she's fine, and she and Drew call Carly to tell her that they'll be home soon to save Willow. Robert spends the whole episode trying to get through to the new WSB director, but he keeps hitting dead ends. When word comes that Victor is trying to escape on the Haunted Star, the director agrees not to nuke the island and has the drone strike redirected to the yacht. Spencer and Trina spot Victor trying to escape with the pathogen, and Spencer follows him to the Haunted Star to try to end things once and for all. He knocks Victor out moments before the redirected drones take aim at the yacht. Valentin thinks Anna's another hallucination, and even when he believes that she's really there, he doesn't see any way that he'll survive and get to be with her. She goes into the room Victor stuck him in, willingly exposing herself to the pathogen so he won't be alone if he does die. Obrecht snagged the antidote, though, so they'll both be okay. Willow asks Nina to leave Carly alone, then modifies that to kind of ask her to make peace whether Willow lives or dies. I need someone to hug Portia, and also to tell her to stop talking about how much she dislikes Spencer. Michael, Carly, Josslyn, Sonny, and Sasha mostly just hang out and take up space.

Who decided there should be another weather machine? Who??

Laura should get to be mayor for life for this.

I think it qualifies as irony that this all started a year and a half ago with Victor trying to access something in Drew's memory and is ending with Laura saving the town by accessing something in her memory.

Maybe someday I'll stop laughing about Ace sleeping through the major events of the episode, including the drone strike.

I don't buy Obrecht caring about Valentin getting the antidote, but whatever.

"It's okay, because you redeemed me." Ew.

Raise your hand if you care even the slightest bit how Sonny feels about Willow dying. Yeah, I thought so.

May 8th, 2023

Trina tries to stay optimistic that Spencer survived the drone attack, and is in fact the only one who insists that he might still be alive. A recovery mission turns up a body, and Valentin's not too disappointed to see that it's Victor's. The Port Charles crew is all dismissed from Greenland after debriefing with the WSB, and Trina's about to reluctantly get on a plane to go home when Spencer pops up, seemingly unharmed. Willow wants Michael to destroy the evidence that can send Sonny to prison because it's more important to keep the Corinthos contingent intact and save Donny and Avery from trauma. Carly and Dante talk about the SEC stuff (instead of the fact that his sister-in-law is dying; the writers won't let him care about that, I guess) and how Sonny stepped up to help. Diane is a little surprised that Sonny did that, since with Carly out of the picture, he could have had full custody of Donna. Sonny is actually willing to do pretty much anything to keep Carly out of prison, including meddling with a federal case. Diane wonders if she might sell out Drew if it means keeping herself free. Nina asks Sam to tell her about Michael and Willow's wedding, because Sam never gets to do anything anymore. Eventually they get to a much more fitting conversation about how Sam has been in Willow's position, discovering on her possible deathbed that her mother was someone she hated. Nina whines about how Willow thinks of Carly as more of a mother than she does her actual mother, and Sam advises her to ask Carly to help her connect with her daughter. We're supposed to care that Josslyn is upset that Spencer might be dead.

Why was Valentin the only person with Trina today? Why did she get stuck looking after Ace? Why was Laura only in the last scene? I mean, Trina's only known Spencer for a couple of years; Laura's his grandmother and his known him his entire life. Why didn't we get to see her worrying about him?

Also, why did that WSB guy take Trina to see a dead body when Valentin could have gone by himself? All three of her parents are going to flip.

So according to Willow, people should only be punished for their crimes if they don't have loved ones who would be negatively affected. Okay.

Knowing Michael, he probably will just ditch the case against Sonny, and he won't give much thought to how much that'll screw over Dex.

Morgan mention – drink!

Wait, Diane thinks that Sonny would let Carly go to prison just so he could have fully custody of Donna? Come on!

"Anything I do is in Carly's best interest." BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Sonny's a comedian now.

Why would Nina ask Sam for details about the wedding when she could have asked Sasha instead?

Sam, no, please don't encourage Carly and Nina to interact. I don't want to have to watch it.

I feel like they designate a writer whose job it is to always ask, "How can we make this about Josslyn?"

May 9th, 2023

For the next stage of her treatment, Willow has to undergo strong chemo and stay in isolation, which means the loss of much of her support system. She's also not confident that she'll make it through the transplant. Michael tries to bolster her with a visit from the kids. Nina bites the bullet and asks Carly for help with her and Willow's relationship, but Drew and Obrecht show up just then. Minutes later, SEC agents come for Drew. Diane rides to his rescue and delays any questioning that might take place, but it's pretty clear to everyone that he's in a lot of trouble. Brook, Olivia, and Tracy all think that Ned called the SEC, and one of them is proud of him for being a shrewd businessman. Ned insists over and over that he didn't do it, but even if he had, it's not like he committed a crime. Drew also believes that he did it, and as soon as he sees Ned, he punches him. Robert basically asks Diane if she wants to go steady, which she agrees to. When she leaves to go help Drew, Holly shows up, fills Robert in on what happened in Greenland, and makes a move. Diane returns just in time to see her kissing him. Obrecht is outraged that Drew, who she considers a hero, is being targeted by the SEC. Nina barely keeps it together as she rants, and it may not be long before she spills that she was behind the anonymous tip. Josslyn realizes that since Sonny doesn't care that she and Dex are together, they can take their relationship public. Tracy disapproves. It looks like Sam and Dante's next investigation will be about who really ratted Drew and Carly out to the SEC.

While Willow's in isolation, can we get a Michael/Willow break? Also a Nina and Sonny and Carly and Josslyn break?

Drew hitting Ned feels out of character to me. I also find it strange that everyone believes he's the whistleblower. Sam and Dante seem to be the only people who are even the slightest bit skeptical.

Sam, not Carly, called Diane for Drew? Interesting...

Notice that Ned said he would never send the SEC after Carly and Drew at Michael and Willow's wedding, not that he would never do it at all.

I can't believe Holly didn't interrupt Robert and Diane again.

I'd love it if the next time there's a scene in Robert's office, the plant he poured the champagne in is dead.

Hmmm, looks like Nina might crack sooner than I thought she would.

May 10th, 2023

Drew is ready for a war with Ned, who, of course, just keeps saying that he didn't do anything. Even when he swears it on Lila's memory, Olivia doesn't believe him, but Brook now does. Tracy suspects that the SEC is more interested in Carly than Drew, since she can give them dirt on Sonny. For some reason, Drew thinks that Tracy wants him to let Carly take the fall. Diane makes it clear to Robert that she's not going to be in a love triangle, and if he's still interested in Holly, she's walking away. Robert tells her that he's happy that Holly's alive, but that's very different from wanting her back in his life. Diane can tell that he's not completely done with Holly, so she's not going to pursue anything with him until he is. Meanwhile, Holly tells Felicia that she wants to stay in Port Charles and get back together with Robert. Portia begs Taggert to help her convince Trina that a relationship with Spencer will only lead to danger and heartbreak. Taggert learned his lesson with Gia and knows that that will just make Trina resent Portia more. Things are going great for Sasha, who thinks it's all because of Gladys. That's the same Gladys who spends more of Sasha's money, then gets invited to another poker game to spend (well, lose) more of it. Maxie's supposed to make an appearance on the home-shopping show Sasha broke down on, but she's sick and knows she won't be able to make a good impression, so she appeals to Sasha to take her place. Laura thinks that Curtis and Trina's relationship has improved since the wedding, but he doesn't want to push her to take a DNA test, and he's worried that she'll never want to. Spencer is more determined than ever to get custody of Ace. Drew is able to find a silver lining to the SEC mess: He and Carly can go public now.

I like the development of Brook believing Ned, after all the stuff they've overcome to get back to a good place. Maybe she and Chase will team up to find out who the real tipster was.

How did Drew get from "Tracy thinks the SEC wants Carly to give them dirt on Sonny" to "Tracy thinks I should turn on Carly"?

"What would I do without Gladys?" Let's find out!

Why isn't Maxie allowed to do anything interesting anymore?

So...that's it? The adventure stuff is over? We're not getting any follow-up on Luke?

All the mentions of Nikolas today better mean something.

May 11th, 2023

Trina lets Taggert know that she's changed her mind and wants to do the paternity test to find out whether he or Curtis is her biological father. Both agree that their relationship won't change no matter what the results say. She just doesn't want her family to have to live with any more secrets, and she feels the need to know the truth. Tracy's only request of Brook in exchange for how she helped Chase is for Brook to go back to work at Deception. Well, that and report to her everything going on in R&D. Brook objects to participating in corporate espionage, but Tracy forces her hand by calling Chase and inviting him to lunch so she can tell him that she, not Brook, is really the one who got him his badge back. Chase is officially back at work, and Dante immediately gives him a bunch of cases, including Cody's. He's curious about Tracy's motives and interest in him, so Dante suggests that he play along and be a detective. Maxie makes a good argument for why Sasha should go back on the home-shopping show and face her fears, but Gladys won't approve. Sasha's able to convince her to relent, sure that her co-workers' support and faith in her will help her get through it. Cody asks Selina to let him into another poker game, despite the fact that he's facing charges for theft and she has no desire to be associated with him. Gladys supports that, of course, but even though both of them are bugging her and she wants to cut them both off, Selina gives Cody another chance. Portia and Curtis only get a bit of a reunion, and it seems like they might address where their relationship stands, but Hursley, the WSB agent who kept bugging Robert, interrupts. He tells Curtis that the agency is impressed with his work in Greenland and wants to make him an off-the-books field agent. Curtis isn't interested, but Hursley thinks he'll change his mind when he goes back to the Savoy and realizes it's not as exciting as saving the world. Now that everyone's back from Greenland, Spencer and Esme get to go back to living under the same roof – yay!

It was really sweet of Trina (and very in character) to tell Taggert first that she's going to take a paternity test.

I'm not sure what's up with Tracy but I do know that she's being wasted. Unless she's going to be back for a significant amount of time and they can afford to waste some of it.

I like the dynamic of Cody and Gladys as bickering children and Selina as their fed-up mother.

"If that's supposed to be your calling card, it should be a joker." Ooh, nice one, Selina.

May 12th, 2023

Michael has decided to respect Willow's wishes and not have Sonny busted for the Pikeman deal. Dex is understandably frustrated since he only sees two options for himself: run away or get killed. As he tells Josslyn that he has to leave town, Michael goes to see Sonny. Amazingly, Nina feels so guilty about how far she took things with Carly (and Drew) that she wants to come clean to Willow. Apparently she thinks her honesty will make Willow want to have a relationship with her. Ava tells her how ridiculous that idea is, since Sonny will turn on her and she'll just make everything worse. She convinces Nina that she's gotten away with murder, so to speak, and needs to keep her mouth shut. Sonny confronts Valentin for not giving him full details on the Pikeman situation and putting him in a dangerous situation. Valentin claims that Pikeman helps the government provide weapons to smaller, more helpless countries so they can stand up to big threats. Sonny is willing to work with Pikeman again, but only if they find out who tried to kill him. Scott approaches Obrecht in hopes that she's past their problems and ready to get back together. She tells him that she still loves him, but her feelings are complicated because of what happened to Britt, and there won't be a reunion. Willow can't do much while she waits for her transplant besides talk to Obrecht about how they're family and everything's going to be okay, and bug Josslyn about who she's dating. I'm not sure that Carly and Drew really grasp how serious their situation is, though with Carly being represented by Diane, she may not have that much to worry about.

Is Michael going to tell Sonny that he has enough on him to put him in prison? That would be interesting.

Nina cannot be this stupid. I refuse to believe it.

"I know there's going to be consequences. Shouldn't I face them?" You've spent a year and a half trying to avoid that! Why are you changing now? Also, stop taking advice from Ava!!!

Willow joking that she wishes that Carly and Michael hadn't respected Josslyn's privacy and had said who she's dating was both funny and a total sister-in-law thing.

People keep calling Drew and Curtis heroes, but is Laura getting any credit? Yeah, Drew and Curtis saved the hostages, but Laura saved the whole town!

I hope so much that Drew tries to hire Martin as a lawyer and Martin has to come up with a good reason for not being able to represent him.

May 15th, 2023

Without mentioning his evidence against Sonny, Michael tells him that he wants a truce for the sake of the family. Sonny asks where Nina fits in, and though Michael still wants Willow to call the shots when it comes to her, he and Sonny agree not to try to influence their partners either way. Josslyn wants to run off with Dex, but he knows that she would come to regret leaving her family and friends, as well as giving up her goal of becoming a doctor. She agrees that if it's best for him to leave, he should, then changes her mind and convinces him to stay and come up with a solution that will allow him to leave the mob, remain in town, and not die. Haven isn't happy to have Sasha back on her show, but when a producer notes that they could make her break down again and get a ratings boost, she goes all in. They bring back Flora, who's much more sympathetic, and hype up Sasha's appearance by suggesting that she'll give a repeat performance. Brook (who's already back at Deception) catches on, and she and Lucy are ready to throw hands with Haven, but Sasha doesn't want to ruin the opportunity to make a good impression. Anna and Valentin are eager to spend some time alone after all the chaos they've gone through, but Robert ruins their plans simply by showing up. Mac tries to avoid Cody, since it's a little awkward that he arrested him and all. Cody hopes to get Scott to represent him, but Scott has no interest in that until he learns from Mac and Felicia that Taub's necklace was lost when the WSB sank the Haunted Star. Realizing that Cody and Serena are the only people with a claim on the necklace, Scott offers to represent Cody if Cody will join him to sue the WSB. All Cody has to do is sign an affidavit saying that he's Dominique and Taub's son. Gladys lost big in Selina's latest poker game and now owes her $85,000. Selina suggests that she take it from Sasha. Nina seems to think that she could get Carly to agree to clean the slate and start over, which will make Willow want a relationship with her. Drew believes that honesty with Willow is the better bet here.

Of course Sonny doesn't think that he has to compromise here. Michael wants a truce, so Michael has to do all the work.

I really, honestly think that if Dex asked to quit, Sonny would let him. Can't hurt to try, right?

Sasha should reveal Haven's scheme on-screen and tank the network.

"Sometimes she saves me. Sometimes I save her. Sometimes we get trapped together. We like to mix it up." Valentin, you're going to make me like you.

Robert: "I like mine al dente." Valentin: "I have no idea why I would need to know that." Valentin!

Scott and Cody suing the WSB could be fun. Spencer should get in on that, since they almost killed him.

$85,000. Freaking A, Gladys.

May 16th, 2023

Haven and a producer put the sound of a crying baby in Sasha's earpiece, then act like everything's normal. Cody threatens to streak on live TV if they don't cut it out. As soon as the sound is gone, Sasha gets it together and gives a perfect performance that results in a ton of sales. Brook catches Cody and guesses that he saved the day, but she doesn't say anything to Sasha. Instead, she and Lucy encourage Sasha to take back control of her life, inspiring her to decide that she's done with her guardianship. Nina gives Carly what sounds like a genuine apology for blaming her for how bad things have been between her and Willow. Carly brushes it off, since Nina claims to want her help to connect with Willow but only thinks about herself, not what's best for her daughter. Nina admits that she's glad that Willow has had Carly around, but she won't take Carly's advice to respect Willow's boundaries and be patient. Diane and Holly lay things out on the table about the love triangle and how Holly expects Robert to choose her. Diane is skeptical that things will work out between them, since they didn't before and they haven't exactly made an effort to get back together before now. She also doesn't think that the current DA will be able to hold on to a relationship with someone who likes to cause trouble. Speaking of trouble, Robert spots Holly talking to Selina and gets suspicious. He really wants someone to tell him what to do about his love triangle, which, of course, Anna won't do. He can't decide between the familiarity and comfort of an old love and the challenge and excitement of a new one. Selina offers to forgive Gladys' debt if she'll feed Selina information on Sonny's organization. Alexis confides to Felicia that she's not fulfilled by her work at the Invader and hasn't figured out yet how to reach her original goal of providing something good for the community.

Excuse me, but Sasha did NOT need Cody to come to her rescue.

Haven, you gaslit Sasha the exact same way Ric gaslit Nina, and no one should ever be happy to be compared to Ric.

"Those baby sneakers are not going to sell themselves!" For sale: baby sneakers, never sold.

Robert, discuss your personal life with your brother, not your ex.

Glady's best bet here is to tell Sonny everything.

It would've been funny if Selina had wanted Gladys to give her dirt on Deception, and we'd had Gladys and Brook committing corporate espionage at the same time.

May 17th, 2023

Selina knows that Curtis might be Trina's biological father, and she thinks that having a daughter would make it difficult for him to continue doing the adventurous stuff he no doubt developed a taste for after what he did in Greenland. She offers to doctor the paternity test results to come up however Curtis wants them to. He firmly tells her not to and accuses her of wanting to find something she can hold over his head. When he goes to meet Trina for the test, he tries to make sure that the lab is secure and no one will be interfering, which just confuses Trina. Holly asks Anna to help her get back into the WSB, since Ethan has a bunch of debts and is apparently incapable of going legit long enough to settle them. Holly's pretty desperate and could easily go bad to get money, which she knows would be a big obstacle to getting back together with Robert. Robert's concern over Holly's connection to Selina make him obsess over getting a warrant to search the Savoy for proof that Selina's committing RICO violations. Dante can't get him to settle down, so he calls in Mac. It turns out that Mac already has a team surveilling the Savoy, and he tells Robert to back off and let them follow through. Robert ignores him and goes straight to Selina to talk to her about her dealings with Holly. Spencer is back to trying to get Esme to give up Ace, and he thinks the best way to do that is to basically distract her with other things until Ace is no longer her whole world. He'll be happy to know that Alexis is already on it, hiring Esme as the Invader's receptionist. Laura's pleased that Esme will get the independence she wants without leaving town, but she's worried that the old Esme will emerge and Alexis will have to deal with her. Portia asks Ava to help her convince Trina that dating Spencer is only going to lead to trouble and danger. Ava urges her not to do anything that will push Trina away and advises her to stay out of it. There's absolutely no way Portia's going to do that. Ava, Anna, and Laura all get invitations to the reading of Victor's will. Felicia wants to talk to Diane about Robert, and at first it sounds like she's going to ask Diane to bow out of the love triangle, but then she says that she's not sure that Robert and Holly's love for each other is as strong as it used to be.

I kind of like how Selina's just inviting herself into other plots. Let's cause some chaos, Ms. Wu!

I figured Holly would go to Selina for money. Bad idea!

Yeah, I'd go to a different hospital if I were you, Curtis.

Heh, Spencer's all, "Let's get devious and make Esme do what we want," while Alexis is getting it done in a straightforward manner.

"What kind of man sleeps with his son's girlfriend?" Portia asks the woman who slept with her daughter's boyfriend.

I hope Victor left everything to Ace on the condition that Esme change his name.

May 18th, 2023

Holly tells Robert that she's still in love with him and really wants to be with him, but right now she needs to focus on protecting Ethan. They agree that they've missed their chance to rekindle things, and though they'll always care about each other, they need to move on. Trina's worried about things changing after the DNA results are in, so Taggert assures her again that their relationship will stay the same. She tells Portia that she's still mad at her, but not as mad as before. I'm sure Portia will ruin that soon enough, since she's more determined than ever to get Spencer out of Trina's life. Curtis confides to Jordan that he feels like he's disrupting a family by getting the test done. Jordan reminds him that Portia put this all in motion, so it's on her. Curtis then admits that he's desperate for the test to show that he's Trina's father. Then he and Jordan kiss. Spencer is unhappy to hear about Esme's new job at the Invader and even more unhappy to learn that she almost split town with Ace. He warns that no matter where she takes his brother, he'll find them. Molly is officially diagnosed with endometriosis and told that her chances of conceiving naturally are low. It's a big blow to her, and though it's hard on T.J., too, he's more concerned with her feelings. Esme thinks that her job offer from Alexis is just a set-up by the Cassadines. Alexis talks her down, then has to explain to a disapproving Sam that this is her opportunity to put an extra set of eyes on Esme. Sam, Alexis, and Spencer get invitations to the reading of Victor's will, though Sam has no interest in attending. Trina thinks Spencer should sit it out, too, but he thinks Victor had some contingency planned, and if something bad happens, Spencer wants to be the one to stop it. Alexis gives Sam an update on her friendship with Gregory, which hasn't really gone anywhere, though he helped with her article about the Greenland stuff. She wants to respect his wishes, but she also wants to help him. Sam's like, "I don't know, I think you'll just have to be an adult and be patient or something."

The Robert/Holly stuff was so un-soap-like. Who just makes mature decisions about their relationships like that? Who acts like an adult and realizes that sometimes you have to let go of what you want because it's for the best??

Does Taggert really need to take a DNA test? Like, Trina's will either match Curtis or it won't. I would think that Taggert would only need to participate if there were a third guy out there who might be Trina's father.

Portia, you sound like Ava. That's really bad.

This show just loves giving its female characters fertility problems.

I give it less than a week before Kristina offers to be a surrogate for Molly and T.J.

LOL at Sam saying "normal" is in her DNA. You're a Cassadine and a Jerome. None of those people has ever been described as "normal."

May 19th, 2023

Josslyn asks Sonny to fire Dex so he can be free to make his own decisions about his life. Sonny notes that she knew what Dex did when they first got together, so does this mean something has changed? Also, if Dex wants to leave the mob, he needs to ask Sonny himself. Dex isn't happy that Josslyn went to Sonny on his behalf, but he moves past that quickly. Josslyn seems to think that she can pull anything and get him to forgive her, so next she goes to Michael. Taggert tries to convince Portia to back off of Trina, fully knowing that she's not going to. He thinks she's so focused on Trina because it's a distraction from her issues with Curtis. He urges her to fight for her marriage, and start fast because Curtis might not wait around. In fact, Curtis seems ready to get back together with Jordan, who stops their makeout session because she needs to know where they stand. She isn't sure if she's a rebound or if he's really over Portia. Curtis isn't sure, either, and he asks for time to figure it out. Maxie tells Sasha that Cody came to her rescue on TV, and she's not happy about it. Nina manages to shut up about Willow for five seconds (after talking about her for five minutes) to acknowledge that Sasha's doing well and encourage her decision to petition the court to end her guardianship. She'd better act quickly, because Gladys strikes out trying to get money from Sonny in the guise of a Deception investment, and she's running out of ways to get money. Scott and Cody are supposed to talk more about him signing an affidavit saying he's Taub's son, but then Cody inexplicably starts talking to James, and Obrecht is like, "James deserves to hang out with Cody because he never got to know Nathan," like, does she think Maxie and Cody are going to get together and Cody will become James' stepfather? I don't know what's going on here. Michael and Dante need to talk about something new if they want me to write anything about their conversation.

Josslyn just pulled a Robin. That didn't turn out well for her and Jason.

Yessssss, Taggert! Keep giving Portia hard truths! Also, I love that he was the first person to figure out that Jordan stopped the elevator on purpose.

Portia says she wants Trina to see exactly who Spencer is, but she doesn't get that Trina has already seen that and doesn't care. Nothing Portia does is going to change her mind.

I assume we'll find out later that Selina saw Curtis and Jordan kissing and she'll try to use that to blackmail him.

Jordan and Diane should hang out. They have the same philosophy about not wanting to be the third in a love triangle.

"$35 million will buy you a lot of sports cars and a lot of therapy." Heh. Thanks, Scott.

What do we have to do to get Sam and Dante plots so they don't have to constantly be supporting characters in their families' storylines?

May 22nd, 2023

Sonny tells Nina about Michael's offer of a truce on the condition that they both stay out of the Nina/Willow situation. Nina's like, "I'm happy for you, but also I'm sad because I can't have what I want, but really, I'm glad you get to have your family back, but P.S. boo hoo hoo for me." Sonny feels bad that she thinks he puts his family ahead of her and asks her to marry him. Josslyn blasts Michael for backing out of his plan and leaving Dex hanging. Michael notes that Dex still has the option of leaving town. He fully doesn't care that Dex and Josslyn don't want to be separated, and also doesn't seem concerned that his sister might get her heart broken. Drew thinks that Carly should testify against him to save herself from prison time. She refuses, so he suggests that they find a way to get Ned to use whatever contacts he must have to get them off the hook. Thinking like a Quartermaine, Drew comes up with the idea to blackmail someone he cares about. Tracy is, of course, the best option. Gladys tells Selina that she saw one of Sonny's men giving Dex a bunch of money, which means something big must have happened. Selina humors her by taking $5,000 off her debt, then gives her until she returns from a trip to see her mother to come up with the rest (plus interest). She confides to one of her guys that if Gladys can't produce the money, Selina hopes to get a favor out of Sonny. Tracy has lunch with Chase so she can berate him for not forgiving Brook after all she's done for him. Gregory objects to her intensity and gets into it with her, leading to Finn having to place peacemaker. Cody tells Sasha most of the truth about what he did for her, though he claims that he backed off because he saw that she was handling the situation fine herself. She's grateful and wants to be friends with him again. She also no longer believes that he stole the bracelet, but she also doesn't believe that Gladys was the person who framed him. Gregory wants to take Finn, Chase, and Violet to Disney World next week, which Finn notes is really short notice. Combine that with Gregory's insistence that he protect Chase as much as he can for as long as he can and I don't think it'll take Finn and Chase long to assume that he's dying.

I think we all know how this will go: Carly will find out that Nina was the whistleblower right before she and Sonny are supposed to walk down the aisle.

Yeah, Nina, how dare Michael be supportive and let Willow make her own decisions! What a horrible husband he is!

Michael and Portia are about to learn the same lesson: The more they say that Josslyn and Trina shouldn't be with Dex and Spencer, the more they'll want to be with them.

Morgan mention – drink!

I guess I'm the only person who remembers when Carly told Drew to be like Lila instead of Edward, because blackmailing Tracy is not something Lila would do.

More Tracy, less everyone else, please.

A Sasha/Cody relationship would only make both of them more boring, not less.

May 23rd, 2023

Nina thinks that Sonny's just suggesting marriage to cheer her up, but he's actually been carrying around a custom-made ring for days. She does that victimized thing where she's all, "Eventually you're going to realize that you don't really want to be with me, so why should we make a commitment?" until he convinces her that he doesn't want to live without her in his life. Anyway, they finally get engaged, and Carly overhears them while they're celebrating. Brook is unhappy to learn that Tracy meddled in things with Chase and belittled him for not basically worshipping Brook. She got through to him, though, and he decides he'd rather accept Brook for who she is and forgive her than hold her to a higher standard and never be with her. He enlists Finn for a Say Anything moment, which ends with him and Brook making up and reconciling. Finn thinks that Tracy's plan backfired, but she gloats that everything worked out just as she wanted. Spencer can't keep his mouth shut for even five seconds when he runs into Dex, who's much more patient than I would be while Spencer claims that he knows Josslyn better than Dex ever will. Things continue falling apart until Spencer throws a punch. Dex deflects it and hits him instead, leaving Spencer to explain to Trina that he acted like a child. Carly's mad that even though Olivia believes that Ned is the SEC whistleblower, she hasn't kicked him out. Olivia notes that Carly and Drew did commit insider training, so all Ned did was tell the truth. Carly decides that the should avoid this topic to preserve their friendship. Josslyn complains to Trina about how Michael's acting about her and Dex. Trina can relate to being in a relationship that not everyone supports, and she reminds Josslyn that all that matters is that they know they're with the right people. Brook starts doing a little detective work about the SEC whistleblower, deciding that it's less likely that it was someone who wanted to hurt both Carly and Drew than someone who just targeted one of them.

Apparently there are people out there who like Sonny and Nina together. I don't get it.

Dear Olivia's full-body eyeroll at the sight of Sonny and Nina making out: Same.

As much as I want Brook and Chase together, they're just going to fight AGAIN when he finds out that she kept yet another secret from him.

I just love watching Trina train her boyfriend to be nice like he's a child or a dog. Really, she could knock his attitude out of him by pointing out that physical violence is going to make a judge think he shouldn't have custody of Ace.

"I tried to be nice to the guy." Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Tell me another one, Spencer.

Tracy: "I've been married a few times." Ned: "More than a few." At least none of her marriages overlapped, bigamist.

Ugh, Carly, you don't get to police how other couples fight.

Ned can try to trace the SEC tip to the whistleblower all he wants – it'll just take him to Martin, who's protected by attorney-client privilege.

May 24th, 2023

Curtis confides to Drew that he thinks he may have give up on his marriage quickly – his marriage to Jordan, not Portia. Drew cautions him against calling things with Portia quits too quickly, since he'd just be doing the same thing over again. Meanwhile, Portia thanks Jordan for everything she's done for Trina and asks her advice on how to save her marriage. Carly and Diane discuss the insider-trading case, and in a nutshell, Carly has no options for getting out of it other than throwing Drew under the bus (which she won’t do) or giving the feds something on Sonny (which she really won’t do). She’s resigned to accepting the consequences of her actions. Kristina has big plans for the housing she's going to open for teens, but Sam thinks she's focusing on the wrong things. She goes way overboard criticizing Kristina's decisions, then gets annoyed with Alexis for not backing her up. Alexis has actually learned her lesson about standing back and letting Kristina handle her own life, so now she and Sam have basically swapped positions. Nina and Sonny agree to tell Ava about their engagement before Avery, but Avery spots Nina's engagement ring and changes their plans. Ava puts on a happy face, then privately tells Nina that if Sonny ever finds out that she's the SEC whistleblower, they'll be done forever. Molly and T.J. handle their situation in exactly the wrong way, by getting into a big fight about why she never told him about her symptoms. She alternates between feeling guilty for not being able to carry T.J.'s baby and wanting to avoid the topic altogether.

Finn should have the same talk with Curtis that he did with Chase yesterday.

Portia! We do not ask our estranged husbands' ex-wives for advice on fixing our marriages!

Jordan, re: the stuck elevator: "I don't know what you're talking about, and neither do you." Nice.

"I didn't mean for it to be insider trading." I don't even know how to respond to that. Your intentions don't mean anything! You committed a crime!

Did Sam suffer a head injury? Why is she acting like this?

Speaking of people who acted out of character today, hey, Molly.

May 25th, 2023

Nina doubles down on her decision to call the SEC, desperate to get rid of Carly so she can have Sonny all to herself and try again to develop a relationship with Willow. She seems to think that she can make Drew believe that Carly's going to turn on him, which could get him to turn on her first. Sonny goes to tell Carly about his engagement, which she already knows about and has basically resigned herself to be okay with. She updates him on the SEC case and he presents a theory that Pikeman is behind the tip because they want Carly to turn state's evidence against him. He gives her permission, since it could save her from prison time, but Carly refuses again. The Davises try to comfort Molly, but Kristina accidentally makes things worse. But since they're the Davises, of course they all make up. Jordan confides in Anna about her and Curtis' makeout and decides that she's going to try to get him back. She's in for a shock because Curtis wants to try to work things out with Portia, and he's going to start by moving back home. Stella pops back into town and wisely goes to see T.J. first, since he's the least likely to be mad at her for blowing up Portia and Curtis' relationship. She gives him some advice about Molly, namely to support her and focus on her feelings right now.

Nina is just...so exhausting.

I can't see Carly turning on Drew. That would be a full-on villain move. And Nina has completely lost it if she thinks that Drew would turn on Carly.

I know the back-to-back Kristina/Molly recasts weren't planned, but the timing is really bad.

I'm sure Curtis' decision not to tell Portia that he and Jordan made out and almost hooked up will in no way come back to bite him.

Jordan deserves a love interest who's not part of a triangle. May I suggest the soon-to-return Zeke?

May 26th, 2023

Nina tries to befriend Diane, who doesn't bother to hide the fact that she wants nothing more than a cordial, professional association with her. That means absolutely no talk about her personal life. The two of them and Sonny discuss the SEC stuff and the possibility that the DOJ sent the SEC after Carly to pressure her to turn on Sonny. Nina thinks Carly might actually do it. Later, when Olivia brings up the Ned situation, Nina tells her that the feds seem to want Carly to turn on Sonny. Willow's loved ones gather at the hospital as she gets ready for her transplant. Though everyone's supportive, as always, her biggest boost comes from Sasha. Another day, another Quartermaine fight about whether Ned is the SEC whistleblower. He vows to convince Olivia that he's innocent. There's also discussion of Brook's return to Deception, which Drew is curious about, since it comes at the expense of what seemed to be a good career move as a music manager. When he gets Brook alone, he has questions about what Brook and Tracy seem to be hiding, since it seems to go beyond just Brook being grateful to Tracy for helping her get back together with Chase. Anna thinks that Holly's departure is kind of a blessing, since Robert is now free to pursue Diane. He's not sure she's still interested in having a relationship with him, though. Josslyn tells Carly that she asked Sonny to fire Dex, but not any details about his secret work with Michael. She also says that she and Michael had a fight because he disapproves of her relationship with Dex.

Oh, Diane haaaaaaaates Nina. I love it.

Please, I'm begging, can I have a Nina detox? I'd love, like, a month, but I'll take a week. Please.

Olivia, Nina's not your friend! Don't talk to her about stuff! Go sit with Diane.

If the DOJ wanted to use the SEC stuff to get Carly to flip on Sonny, they would have contacted her by now. Why is everyone jumping to the same conclusion without even a shred of evidence?

To me, Ned and Olivia's real problem isn't that she thinks he's the whistleblower, it's that she refuses to believe him when he says he's not. What does that tell him?

May 30th, 2023

Laura, Spencer, Ava, Alexis, and Martin gather to view Victor's video will, which, in typical Cassadine fashion, contains weird stuff:

• Ava: a picture of a gargoyle, her "first true love"
• Alexis: a matryoshka doll that represents her and her daughters
• Sam: tarot cards, which she can use to see if her luck with love changes
• Charlotte: a Cassadine crest pendant to remind her of who she is and who she'll become
• Valentin: the finger from a statue of Apollo