Just Saying - November Sweeps edition

For November’s big murder they killed Emily Quartermaine. Are you freakin’ kidding me??!! Number one, it really wasn’t a twist. Nikolas was shown all upset at the beginning of sweeps and it was clearly over a woman. Who else would it be besides Emily? Number two, what do the GH execs have against the Quartermaines? They have been dying out hard core in recent years. A.J. was brought back just long enough to die, Justus was murdered in yet another mob war, Alan died of a heart attack barely eight months ago and now Emily was strangled. Yeah, this really makes me want to watch. Why would I want to invest in anyone when they’re just going to be killed off during the next sweeps period anyway?

Nikolas holding onto Emily once she was gone was pretty heartbreaking as was Elizabeth crying over her friend’s dead body, but there was still so many things that irked me over this death.
For starters, why didn’t Emily get any sort of goodbye scenes with people? There was a moment in the stables with Elizabeth where they exchanged I love yous and discussed drinking tequila and making wedding plans, but other than that, nada. I was also ticked about the people that suddenly expressed interest in Emily’s passing, i.e. Sonny and Carly. Yes, I know Sonny and Em were “in love,” but their connection, as well as Emily’s to Carly’s boys, has not been mentioned in months. And what is this business with Lucky? I mean they are the oldest friends out of the musketeers, right? Lucky couldn’t get any kind of “oh my God she’s dead” scene before he went missing (what is up with that anyway)?

And what about Robin? Robin and Emily were friends many moons ago, yes? She would have been a perfect person to come in and stop Nikolas from shooting himself. They could have talked about going on with life when you think you can’t because after all, Robin is the poster child for tragedy. And then there’s Tracy. I know her and Emily weren’t the closest, but the fact that there were no other Quatermaines to have family moments should have meant that Tracy got some sort of scene by default.

I’m glad that I got to see Edward and Monica for a minute (post ball), but it really would have been much better if Emily survived a trip to the hospital and then died so there could have been some sort of goodbye scenes. When Jason broke the news to Monica, I was actually shocked by her reaction, but pleased. I know it’s supposed to look like “poor Jason, Monica doesn’t want him at the funeral,” but it was nice to see someone call Jason on his part in all of this. I could really be down for a Jason tries to quit the mob storyline (like that will ever happen). It will be interesting to see how this funeral plays out. Emily is getting a funeral, right?

Before I continue with the complaints, I just want to take a moment to say how pleased I was with the Alexis/Ric scenes. From Alexis’ verbal assault on Trevor to Ric apologizing to Alexis at the hospital, it was all quite expected, but superb.

In case you missed it, here’s the latter:

Alexis: What should I tell Molly?
Ric: Tell her I'm looking forward to it. I was lying there helpless, looking at my father with his -- with his empty regrets, and I thought to myself, "In 20 years, is this going to be -- is this going to be me with Molly?" I got to break that cycle, Alexis, and it starts with you and me. I want to make peace.......... There's too much to carry -- you know, the blame, the anger..........Look, you're a great mother, and -- and a fairly amazing woman. It's -- it's just time that I treated you accordingly.
Alexis: I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do with all this.
Ric: Just accept it, okay? I'm just hoping for a ceasing of animosity here. I -- hey -- I know it's a hard habit to break, but I'll try to lead by example, prove to you that I -- I mean what I say.
Alexis: I'm not perfect, and I'm -- I'm certainly not blameless. But for our daughter's sake, I could try not to hate you anymore.

In real world, I wouldn’t think twice about making amends if I was Alexis, but because these two were royally screwed all in the name of a Jason and Elizabeth's hookup, I’m totally willing to develop a case of amnesia if the writers are toying with putting these two back together. The chemistry between these two actors alone would be worth it.

Now back to regularly scheduled critique:

Someone who fared only slightly better than Emily was Luke and while I’m always happy to see Mr. Spencer, I was disappointed by his lack of involvement in this sweeps period. How ridiculous was it that they gave him a heart attack not once, but twice? Are you serious? The only thing that was remotely enjoyable was Luke’s continued snarking despite his predicament. Scott and Logan helping the loveable scoundrel was pure soapy goodness considering the Baldwins are his sworn enemies, but of course, instead of saying thank you, Luke offered a “go to hell.” Ah, I would expect nothing less than you, Luke. At least while he was flat on his back, Luke kept me mildly entertained with his conversations with Tracy. A few of my favorites included:

Luke: If you don't stop yapping at me like a wife, wife, I'm going to trade you in on a younger model.
Tracy: Hmm. Huh, too bad your heart couldn't take it -- ha.
[Luke chuckles]
Tracy: You are so lucky to have me.
Luke: Don't I know it. We're a damn good match. You make me almost happy. I kind of like that.
Tracy: Now you're really scaring me.
Luke: I'll make you a deal. You stop hovering, and don't turn into some kind of diet-monitoring pain in the ass, and I won't die on you.
Tracy: It's a deal.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Tracy: How are you feeling?
Luke: Like somebody parked an R.V. on my chest. And they said I didn't have a heart.
Tracy: Well, you've been abusing it for years. It finally staged a protest. I can't say I love the timing, but it could have been worse.
Luke: You think?
Tracy: Yeah. You could be face down on the floor in a bar in Sri Lanka with some floozy who doesn't speak English.
Luke: Floozy speaks English. You're thinking of trollop.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Luke: If it is, you might want to let me get a word in. It's ironic that my ticker jumps its track here, in the house of Cassadine. Mikkos, Stefan, and Stavros must be laughing their flaming asses off.

In possibly one of the most ridiculous plot points of the century (Robin‘s premonitions are in the top 10 because really, what the hell are those?), Anthony Zaccharra thought Leyla looked like his dead wife. Um, the only reason some that new should have been brought into this storyline was if they wanted Anthony to think he killed his wife again. A newbie is expendable and viewers wouldn’t have to worry about the loss of a beloved character. Oh wait, this is GH I’m talking about. Nevermind.

If you really wanted something soapy, Anthony should have thought Emily looked like his wife. She could have gotten lost in the lake during the storm and Anthony could have kidnapped her leaving the town to believe she died. But of course, that would only work if you wanted to do something midly soapesque.

So I have to say I thought that sweeps was good for Robin’s character as far as showing off her spunky side as well as her compassion. First of all, I loved how mouthy she got when she told Anthony her name was Cinderella. While I’m thinking about it, can someone please give Patrick some lessons in dealing with psychos? Even Leyla knew she needed to work Anthony if they wanted to get anywhere. Secondly, Robin tried to hide Leyla to protect her, Robin helped care for her after she was shot and then Dr. Scorpio apologized for any poor behavior she may have exhibited since her breakup Patrick. If this doesn’t prove she’s a big person, I don’t know what will. Could you honestly say you would do and say all these things to your ex’s new play thing? I didn’t think so.

Speaking of Dr. Drake, it was nice to FINALLY get to hear more of his perspective on the whole daddy issue. He sort of offered an apology and then explained that he’s concerned Robin and the child will suffer if he turns out to be a lousy father. Sadly, any good will these pretty words produced were lost when he returned to the hospital. Number one, why would he treat Jerry without so much as a “this bastard blew my life apart this year, but I’ll save him because it’s my job” considering their history? Number two, why was he so amazed at Leyla taking a bullet? Pretty sure Robin jumped in front of him during the Jerry/Craig debacle. What’s that? We’re supposed to forget about that storyline? So this means Robin never actually jumped in front of that gun? Okay, well now that we’ve cleared that up…

I’ve already discussed the Lucky/Sam/Jason/Elizabeth paternity reveal so I’ll move along with the mob news. In a not so shocking confession, Sonny professed his love for his work. And I quote:

Sonny: I like what I do. I mean, you know, I know it's wrong, but I'm willing to, you know, do everything I can to get what I want, and I -- I do everything in my heart to protect the people who are around me. I -- I don't want to -- I don't want to stop, I don't -- whatever it costs.

Don’t ever try and tell me that Sonny doesn’t quit the business because he can’t. It’s because he doesn’t want to and I now have proof. The mobster also confessed his love for Kate, much to the dismay of Carly, but really she wasn’t upset. She’s just concerned for Sonny and not the least bit jealous because she’s in love with Jax…….

Riiiiiggggttttt.

Speaking of Carly, she was happy that Jax once again surfaced (literally), but then she was strangled. Turns out we not only have one killer on the loose, but two. Could somebody please inform the higher ups that less is more?

I think maybe the #1 thing wrong with sweeps was the overabundance of newbie scenes. For example, who is this Nadine chick? She had quite a few scenes and I don't have a clue who she is nor do I care. She listened to Nikolas spill his guts (when he should have been talking to family) and I guess she's interested in Spinelli which is irksome considering Georgie likes him. And what about this Detective Harper guy? Where the heck is Cruz? I demand you give him back right now!! Sweeps are a time for vets. I haven't known these characters long enough to be invested in them so really they're just a bore and make want to tune out.

It looks like our grande finale is as follows:

1 dead heiress

2 dead handlers

1 dead servant

1 maimed D.A.
6 dead mercenaries
1 case of appendicitis
3 head injuries
2 heart attacks

2 gunshot wounds

1 flare up of a knife injury

1 critically injured pyscho

P.S. - Expect some retroactive posts in the next few days now that life has finally given me time I finally to catch up on the last two weeks of GH (thank God for recording devices). In case a trip down memory lane will reopen some old wounds, you've been properly warned.

Delayed

Because sweeps will be over in a few days, I've decided to hold off on this week's General Hospital review. I'll wait and sum up my thoughts on this ridiculous story arc until later this week. To all my American readers, happy early Turkey day!!

The Shot Heard 'Round the World

Lucky finally knows the truth (thank God) and did you see that shot he got in on Jason??!!

I am beyond relieved that this "secret" is finally out in the open and I am so pleased (I know you don't see me say that much) that Lucky was allowed to react appropriately. The way he's been written recently, I figured he'd have to play the sad puppy dog, say that he knew all along that Jake wasn't his and walk out with his tail between his legs. Two, three scenes tops before Elizabeth and Jason started making out. Not that I don't have any faith in the power that be's ability to write characters equally or anything.

So my heart absolutely broke for Lucky as he worked through the stage of denial. I mean, the poor guy actually thought Jason was behind all of this. He believed Jason was forcing Elizabeth into helping him steal "his son." It broke my heart because after everything Elizabeth has done to Lucky, he still had faith that she would never hurt him this way.

Watching the denial turn into anger was a thing of beauty. Lucky called Liz a quote "lying whore!" (although that may not be the correct term for the situation, I'm giving my boy a pass because he was pissed and rightfully so). Then he punched Jason.........and we got to see it!!! Don't believe me? I have photographic proof:

Not only did we get a punch, but we got some verbal abuse as well:

Lucky: I should kill you right now you son of a bitch!

How does it feel to have someone threaten your life for a change, Jase?

Elizabeth went on to explain her reasons for the lie and while at the start she may have truly done it to protect Lucky, by the end, I honestly believe she was doing it to keep from admitting what she had done and tarnishing her halo. Therefore, her apologies seem hollow to me and apparently to Lucky as well.

Elizabeth: I was wrong. I was totally and completely wrong and I am so, so sorry.

Lucky: I don't give a damn how sorry you are.

Jason: Do you want an explanation or do you want to leave, because I'm not going to stand here and let you yell at Elizabeth.

Lucky: Well, then why don't you go ahead and shoot me right now because that's what you do isn't it? (to Liz)You wouldn't care if I died anyway, would you?

It was sad that Lucky thought that Elizabeth wouldn't care if he died, but after the way she's treated him, do you blame him for thinking that way?

So Lucky calling Jason a coward and a lawbreaking killer to his face was pretty sweet because he stood there and took it, but do you know what was even better than that? Spencer punching Morgan in the face. Oh you don't know what that looks like? Here, let me show you:

I know this is a hooray Lucky/Greg Vaughan post, but I enjoyed Sam pointing out that this whole mess started with Elizabeth's lie because Elizabeth actually appeared to feel guilty. I think that's been my whole problem with this storyline actually. Neither Lucky nor Elizabeth are completely innocent, but I could sympathize with Lucky because he came off as apologetic while Elizabeth came off as smug and bitchy.

When Lucky went inside to vent, Greg Vaughan once again broke my heart with the tears and verbal expression of what his character should do now.

Lucky: I held him, I watched him grow. I see traces of myself in him.......What am I supposed to do? I mean, what about Jake? Am I supposed to suddenly turn my back on him? I mean, how does that work?

By the end of the day, Lucky realized that Sam has known the truth for the while and I'm sure they'll be dealing with that tomorrow. I hope that Lucky finds out who's kept this secret from him including Lulu. I'd like to get a scene where Lucky tears into Lulu for not telling him the truth, mostly because it would nice to see someone yell at her for a change. I'm sure if I get it, it will be awesome, but you know what's even better than that? This:

Sigh. That never gets old. I wonder if I could get that blown up to poster size and put on my wall.

Just Saying

Oh show, how do I hate thee? Let me count the ways.

The biggest reason I hate you this week is because of how you're ruining the character of Luke Spencer. Luke FREAKIN' Spencer!! Have you no shame? First, Lucky goes missing, which by the way is getting annoying because it is now totally cliché that Lucky is constantly dying or missing. Lucky is unlucky we get the joke so please STOP IT!! Anyway, Luke's kid is missing, but does he go after him? No. He stays put in the stupid ballroom. Seriously? Wasn't it Luke Spencer who broke into the MetroCourt to save Lulu and was all screw everyone else I just want my kid? That's what I thought.

Speaking of the MetroCourt, Luke and Jerry's screaming match over what to do was ridiculous. Why should Luke listen to him? As a matter of fact, why should anyone listen to Jerry? Is everyone's memory really that bad? Remember that little hostage thing about 8 months ago where Jerry held Lulu at gunpoint?

This same man is now suddenly playing hero so everyone thinks it's alright to do what he says? Whatev.

Sadly, Luke Spencer spent the majority of the week doing nothing. He told everyone it was best to stay put and then did so himself. Um what? The real Luke Spencer tells everyone it's best to stay put and then he goes running in the opposite direction. You know, toward the danger. Tracy showed up, quite hilariously I might add, and while these two play well off of each other Luke's dialogue is quite frankly pissing me off:

Luke: Tracy, I'm serious. This marriage has changed me. It's kicked me out of the rut that I've been in for so long. And now, no matter where I go or how long I'm gone, you've given me something I never had before -- a reason to come back.

You didn't have a reason to come back? Um, what about the Haunted Star? Quartermaine boose? Barbara Jean? Lucky? Lulu? Oh that's right. The powers that be have decided to turn her into a banshee shrieking, mini Carly. Nevermind.

Finally, Luke goes after Zacchara (by the way, how did Z know who Luke was?) and in the middle of it he has a heart attack. Are you serious? This is your big cliff hanger? Number one, a heart attack is a complete ripoff of February sweeps when Alan met his demise from that totally unnecessary cardiac arrest (yes, I'm still bitter about that). Number two, I'm not concerned about Luke dying because

a) The writers are surely not that dumb. Thousands of loyal fans would quit watching which would cripple GH's already faltering ratings and/or the same fans would storm the General Hospital set with pitchforks.

b) Tony Geary would never let his character go out with so mundane an exit as a heart attack.

Oh no. The infamous Luke Spencer would go down with guns blazing. He'd single-handedly save the entire town by diffusing all bombs save one (the world's only bomb unable to be diffused) and while the counter ticked down he'd tell his angel he'd see her soon before singing "Happy Trails" or "Don't Fence Me In" with a cigar in one hand and a bottle of brandy in the other, at the very least. Why? Because he's Lucas Lorenzo Spencer damn it!

Another vet who keeps getting treated like crap is Alexis. Why must they keep picking on her? I mean appendicitis? Really? I'm wondering who Nancy Lee Grahn ticked off because I swear it looks like there's a contest going on behind the scenes to see who can come up with a new way for Alexis' body to continually betray her.

Writer #1 - Giving Alexis cancer even though she's never smoked? Been there. Done that.

Writer #2 - How about we give her appendicitis at the exact moment she's trapped on an island where it's impossible to give her an appendectomy?

Writer #1 - Brilliant idea! High five!

Another thing that irks me is why when the room is stocked full of medical personnel, did no one examine Alexis? Oh that's right. Leyla did. She's so fabulous that when Alexis told the nurse she was fine, she backed off without actually examining her. Does anyone else remember a certain incident on the night shift when a certain student nurse left an HIV-positive pregnant woman with placental accretia on an elevator with Spinelli so she could go chat with some patients in her native tongue? How does this woman still have a job?

On a positive note, Nancy Lee Grahn is a freakin' chemistry machine and I got to enjoy some good scenes with Jax and Ric.

How good of a friend is Alexis? She offered to wait, despite her agony, for Jax to find Carly, a woman who hates her guts. Well who knows where she is :::cough:::with Sonny:::cough::: so Jax decided to leave. He was last seen getting Alexis to safety (which wouldn't be necessary if the writers would quit trying to kill her from the inside out) and Ric is unconscious so that means no more interaction between these characters. Effin show.

Since I sort of got off on a Carly tangent I think we should continue. First of all, if Carly tells me one more time how Ric chained her to a wall, I'm going to scream. If this is how it's going to be, I think it's only fair that people like Ric get to throw Carly's past in her face everytime they meet.

Why hello, Carly. Remember the time you came to town with the sole purpose of seducing your mother's husband as revenge for her giving you up for adoption and then you shot him point blank in court? Good times.

Carly generally annoys me, but she definitely gave me some giggles this week when she told Sam to quit shrieking. It was a great pot/kettle moment. Ah yes and the winner this week for the best anti-Carly statement came from Jason.

Carly: What did you guys do to him, how much blood did you take? Sonny?
Robin: Carly, we are all guessing here. We don't have anything resembling the right equipment. We don't know --
Carly: So we have no idea when he's going to wake up --
Jason: Carly, please, leave Robin alone and help Sonny.
Robin: Jason, I'm sorry. I -- I thought he was fine.
Jason: No, no, no, you have nothing to apologize for.

Not only did Jason DEFEND Robin to Carly, but he told Robin NOT to apologize. The writers even took it a step further and had Sonny express concern about Zacchara hurting Robin. Someone remembered that these characters all used to be friends? Now I know I must be hallucinating.

While we're on the subject of Sonny giving Ric a transfusion, I want to go on record saying this does not make him a hero. He only did it so he could, excuse my bluntness, keep screwing Kate.

Sonny: I don't give a damn about my brother. I did it for you.

I rest my case

Spinelli's presence fluctuates from entertaining to annoying, but this week, he earns major points for knocking Lulu out.

I'm sorry but she talks WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYY too much these days and between her and Carly I have learned the meaning of the phrase "Silence is golden." Unfortunately, Nadine told Lulu what happened once she regained consciousness which sucks because it means Lulu will start yelling again, but Nadine does get some points for some straightforward point she made:

Nadine (to Jason): I'm sorry, but I still don't see who put you in charge.

Nadine (to Spinelli): Just because you don't race around with a gun insisting on doing everything yourself doesn't mean you're a wimp. It means you're smart.

Did she just inadvertently call Jason stupid? Nice! Unfortunately, I had to take all those points back when she suggested that her, Spinelli and Elizabeth should all go outside to meet the gunman. Right. So, when can we start killing the newbies?

Finally, what's up with psycho Zacchara? Did he eat his Popeye spinach or what? How is it that Nikolas couldn't take him? I don't understand how he keeps getting away. I'm disappointed guys. I mean, tiny Maxie managed to get a good hit in with that vase. Oh well. Maybe next week. Oh and while we're discussing Maxie, Lucky, honey you know I love you, but was it really wise to leave Maxie to find her own way back to the ballroom when the psycho managed to snatch her from said full room of people?

At the end of week two, the body count is as follows:

2 dead handlers
1 dead servant
1 maimed D.A.

5 dead mercenaries

1 case of appendicitis

3 head injuries

1 heart attack

So the whole mercenary thing isn't quite adding up for me, but I don't suppose it ever will because fixing plot holes isn't high on GH exec's list.

I'm just saying.

Caps courtesy of Clarissa and Laurieluvsliason

Investigating 101

Kendall's new plan to frame Greenlee was definitely an upgrade from her dumbass plan to secretly write fake journal entires on Greenlee's computer. It was about as ridiculous Amelia's you-killed-my-father-so-now-I'm-going-to-make-you-famous revenge plot on GH.

While it was an improvement, this revenge plot is as full of holes as a slice of swiss cheese so it's bothersome that the police department couldn't see right through it. Example: The first discrepency between the two stories was whether or not Kendall called Greenlee. Would it really have been that hard to snatch both of their phones and check the call log? It's not rocket science. Geez!

One thing the Pine Valley PD did do right was stick Aidan in a cell next to Greenlee. He assaulted an officer so he could keep her company. Awwwww....I heart him.

Just Saying

It's time for sweeps again and this November, the big storyline is so innovative!!!!

...... that is, if by innovative you mean a complete ripoff of old storylines that really aren't all that old to begin with. Let's review shall we?

1. Giant ball at Wydemere (old Bacchanalia at Wyndemere circa 1998)

2. Massive storm renders people captive (hurricane that forces people to stay put at Alcazar's party circa July 2005)
3. Telling the story one hour at a time format (ripoff of February '07 sweeps which was a ripoff of Fox's 24)

Way to dig deep guys. Way to dig deep.

Le sigh. What's done is done so I suppose I should be happy for the few good scenes this show gives me and be thankful for all the duds that provide me with so much to criticize.

The whole angry Nikolas thing is interesting, but I think he would have seemed more scary if the only people he attacked weren't tiny women. Let's see, he held a letter opener to Carly's throat, held Sam over a ledge and shoved Robin and none of those actions are frightening because these women are not that big (sidenote: what's with all the violence against women anyway?). He beat up Patrick this week, but my complaint is why couldn't I see him stab Jerry? I didn't even get a flashback and I kind of think knifing Jerry was the least Nik deserved to do as far as payback goes. Why is it that certain people :::cough:::Sonny:::cough:::Jason:::cough::: can be seen beating up people day in and day out, but when it's there turn to get roughed up, it's done entirely off screen? It's not fair I tell you, not fair!

Something I do like about whatever this illness is, apparently telling the truth is a side effect. First Nik told Liz how it is:

Elizabeth: You know I couldn't be happier that you and Emily have found your way back to each other. But if either of you are hoping that attending this ball will do the same for me and Lucky, please don't, because it's not going to happen.
Nikolas: No, Elizabeth, you’re far too selfish to go back to Lucky.
Elizabeth: Lucky and I agreed that having a divorce is the best thing for our family. We don’t want Cameron and Jake --
Nikolas: Right, right, but you slept with another man and lied nearly a year, and now he's the one walking away from the marriage with nothing!

Then he dished some out to Emily, but it was really meant to have been said to half of Port Charles:

Nikolas: Wait, who the hell are you to trash my brother?
[Waltz music plays]
Nikolas: You and Lucky have been friends longer than anyone, but there's always that special someone who seems to be just a little bit more important.
Lucky: Nikolas, you don't have to --
Nikolas: I'm so sick of you sticking up for the almighty Jason, and for reasons that completely escape me, you want Elizabeth to be with him no matter who it hurts in the end.
Elizabeth: Nikolas, stop it!
Nikolas: Forget that his marriage is over, and that his sons might be exposed --
Elizabeth: Don't yell at her!
Nikolas: What?

Ah. I love the truth.

Overall the whole ball thing has kind have been just meh for me. It's probably because I'm bitter over the fact that there are no Q's at the party. You know, the party where Nikolas was announcing an endowment in Alan QUARTERMAINE's name. Seriously GH? WTH? In fact, there are like zero vets which is disappointing because I used to be able to count on getting my annual dose of vetty goodness during sweeps. I swear these execs are like vet Nazis.

No vets for you!

Seriously, when was the last time we saw Bobbie? I looked around the ballroom at one point and it was like newbie stew. I found myself asking who are these people? I laughed my butt off when Logan was talking to Nadine (random newbie) about being new in town:

Logan: Listen, if you didn't know this guy, why would you go out of your way to help him?
Nadine: Because he asked, because he was cute, because it's a masquerade ball, and it sounded like fun. Or how about because I felt like it, and it didn't seem like the end of the world? And if none of tho answers satisfy you, then maybe you're the problem and not this guy, whoever he is.
Logan: Whoa, whoa, hold on. You're a little new around here to be throwing around the attitude and judgment. There are things going on you don't even know about.

I love how he throws attitude around like he's lived here his entire life. He's only been in town about 7 months. Geez! This is probably why I'm all apathetic about this ball, there's a bunch of new people that I could care less about it. I guess the bright side to all of this is if there's no vets at Wyndemere, then there's no way they'll be murdered. On the other hand, being killed wouldn't be different from the screentime they're getting now. Sadly, I'd almost wish for a murder because at least then they'd get some time on air.

Another issue I have with this ball is why the heck is Trevor there? I get why the writers want him there, but couldn't they offer me a reason why? I think they covered everyone else's reasons for being there including Jerry.

(sidenote: Alexis taking him out of spite, funny stuff. Oh and his little comment:

Jerry: Ah. The wind is shifting. This night could get a little messy.

Understatement of the century)

Finally, for all that is good and holy, could you please stop with the CGI effects? It's embarrassing. If you don't have the money to do it right, then don't do it at all. I was seriously embarrassed for Steve Burton. I'm surprised he didn't walk off the set.

There were a few bright spots at the ball so far. I am a sucker for nods to history so I loved Nikolas dancing with Robin (although we should have seen it) and Lucky dancing with Elizabeth in the courtyard. Speaking of Liz, I loved her catfight with Sam, not because catfights are soapy goodness, but because I think Sam threw a punch instead of a traditional slap. See? Women know how to throw a hook too.

I also loved the adorable Robin/Maxie/Georgie bonding moment (Karen Harris, you're my hero!!). I love that someone remembered that just because you don't have several children and various babydaddies, doesn't mean that you don't have family.

Maxie sticking up for Robin to Leyla absolutely rocked!! I don't care that it was probably all just a ploy to set Nikolas off because I so enjoyed watching someone stick up for Dr. Scorpio for once.

Maxie: You could really use some lessons in subtlety, Nurse Mir.
Leyla: Excuse me?
Maxie: Oh, come on. That whole cute, coy act you had going on just so you could break up Patrick and Robin?
Leyla: Actually, Patrick was unattached when he asked me out. And this is your business because?
Maxie: Robin is my cousin, and you're a liar and a skank. Excuse me, I'm not done with you.

(Maxie reaches for Leyla and ends up yanking off her "pearl" necklace)
Leyla: Look what you did!
Maxie: Whoops. That was for Robin.

Bitch is so in.

Of course this is GH so someone's going to die and the first person to get maimed was Ric. This might sound twisted, but how badass is it that he got speared into the wall? Dude didn't even yell out in pain. I absolutely adore Ric and Alexis together so I'm crossing my fingers for some good Rexis scenes.

At the end of the first week, the body count is as follows:

2 dead handlers

1 dead servant

1 maimed D.A.

Does it bother anyone else how easily this soap kills people? Note to actors seeking work: If you're worried about job security, General Hospital is not the the show for you.

I'm just saying.

Calm Looks Good on You

Greenlee and Ryan's little talk Wednesday definitely surprised me, mostly because it consisted of an apology, a rare act on soaps and from what I've seen so far, I'm guessing it's a rarity for Ryan as well. Something tells me Ryan's the type of guy that gets what he wants when he wants it and doesn't feel the need to apologize.

Overacting has been an issue for me with All My Children so that's probably why these calm, subtle scenes were so enjoyable to me.

This:

Was a nice change from this:The former is less distracting, wouldn't you say?