November Rain

Greetings! As the old song goes, “I guess you wonder where I’ve been…” or probably not but that felt good. 

As you can probably guess, consistency isn’t my strong suit. With my job, I really didn’t have the time or the energy I needed to work on this blog. I barely had the time and energy to keep up with my soaps. Then in March when Covid-19 shut down the world, I was sent home to work and suddenly had a lot of time to write about soaps. Once, I got my bearings and decided to devote time each day to share my thoughts, soaps stopped filming and then ran out of new episodes. All I can say is thank God for Days Of Our Lives and their advanced shooting schedule. Otherwise, I would have had nothing but throwback episodes to occupy me during quarantine. Not that I didn’t enjoy them. 

Watching old episodes of The Young and the Restless reminded me of why I love soap operas. There was nothing better than Y and R in the 90s.  Side note, GH, if Y and R could give me a week of the Winters, the Newmans and the Abbotts, I don’t understand why I couldn’t get a week dedicated to the Quartermaines. You gave us a week of Sonny and Carly. Ok. We probably needed that. You gave us a week of Jason and Sam. I didn’t need that but I’m sure there is a legion of fans that did. You gave us a week of Sonny’s kids. That’s kind of where you lost me. The Quartermaines were a staple on GH long before the Corinthos clan and I know you had five episodes in the vault that you could’ve aired. There is probably a whole generation of soap fans who don’t know Jason Quartermaine. The bright eyed sweet son of Alan and Monica who wanted to follow in their footsteps and be a doctor. They never go to know about the peacemaker who lost his virginity to his not quite cousin, Keesha Ward and the accident that turned him into a mafia hit man and changed the dynamics of such a dynamic family. If heaven forbid, we find ourselves in that situation again keep that in mind please. That’s all I have to say about that.

The name of this post is November Rain for two reasons. 1. I love the song by Guns N Roses. 2. Although the climate was pretty clear on General Hospital, it rained debris from two different explosions. Let’s get into it.  

November swept into Port Charles with a pressure cooker and swept right back out with a block of C-4. At least, that’s what I’m assuming that bomb was made of. I guess we’re waiting on forensics. But more on that later. 

Let’s start at the beginning, Anna Devane. Oh Anna, Anna, Anna. For a badass superspy, you sure keep making bad choices. Keeping the secret about Peter’s maternity is just going to come back to bite you…everywhere.  

First of all, it was easy to live in denial about Peter’s possible involvement with the attempts on Franco and Andre’s lives and Drew’s disappearance when we thought Anna was Peter’s mother but now that she knows the truth, the alarm bells should be ringing loudly. This man is the love child of a terrorist and mercenary. There’s no changing that. The most excited I’ve seen Peter is when Alex told him the rules didn’t apply to him and offered to help him reach his full potential. Something tells me she didn’t mean as a media mogul. It’s only a matter of time before poor Spinelli goes missing when Peter decides he’s too much of a threat to his future. How many people is Anna willing to sacrifice in the name of Peter’s happily ever after?

Secondly, there’s Maxie’s unborn child to consider. When Alex shows back up—and she will show back up because I don’t believe for one minute she’s dead, another miscalculation on Anna’s part—to kidnap that baby, everyone’s going to wonder why. If they know that Alex is Peter’s mother, they can take the necessary precautions to safeguard the little one. By the way, if Finola Hughes is willing to pull double duty for a while, Alex being obsessed with Peter and his offspring the way Helena Cassadine was with her sons and grandson would make for some awesome soap opera entertainment. Just putting it out there.

And what about Finn? He already left Anna once behind Peter for Violet’s safety. When he finds out she lied to him and told Valentin the truth, I suspect that will be the end of them. They had a good run and I enjoyed their banter but the truth was they were never going to last. That might give Anna and Valentin the chance he’s been hoping for most of his life. To be honest, I wouldn’t mind it either. Valentin is more Anna’s speed. They can have great adventures together. 

Something tells me Dr. Finn is going to end up with his stepmother. After he forgives her for not telling him Chase is his son and not his brother. I mean c’mon, that theory has been bandied about since Chase’s character was introduced as Finn’s brother. We all knew there was more to Finn’s estrangement with is father and stepmother than his father remarrying too quickly after his first wife died. I am absolutely ready for that reveal and fallout. Chase shouldn’t have any problem processing that.

I say that sarcastically, of course. Chase can’t even process that he and Willow won’t be getting back together, at least not any time soon. For a detective, he sure can be dense. It’s one thing to come clean about the lie he and Sasha concocted to push Willow and Michael together for Wiley’s sake. It’s quite another to tell Willow he’s still in love with her. Could his timing have been any worse? What exactly did you expect to happen, Chase? For Willow to fall in your arms about an hour after she consummated her marriage to another man? And was that supposed to happen while they all sat vigil for Sasha? I think not.  

Oh Sasha, girl, my heart aches for you. That may be a poor choice of words considering her current condition but it’s still the truth. Sasha has had a rough time. She lost her man and her best friend in one fell swoop in order to protect Wiley from a maniacal mother. It wouldn’t have been so bad if she had other people to support her but she didn’t. Michael and Willow were her support system. She hurt the people she loved and loved her, and feeling lonely and burdened by the guilt and secret she was carrying, she turned to something to help ease her pain. I totally get it. Cyrus faking compassion because he wanted to use her as a guinea pig for his new product is a scumbag move. I don’t know why I was surprised but I was. 

With the truth out, I know a lot of fans are hoping the couples will swap back but I don’t know if that’s what I want. I like Michael and Willow together. They were always supposed to be end game as far as I’m concerned. I knew it the moment they met in the grief support group. If Sofia Matteson and Johnny Wactor are sticking around, I wouldn’t mind seeing a Sasha/Brando pairing. He’s been where she is. Plus, he’ll need someone to help him get over the loss of Dev. I might even get over the fact that his name is Brando. I mean I loved The Godfather as much as anyone but come on. And if Amanda Setton is heading back to the canvas, I would love a Chase/Brook Lynn match up. Setton and Josh Swickard have amazing chemistry. I picked up on that even before Chase and Willow broke up. Not to mention Willow is probably pregnant as I type, which just solidifies the bond she and Michael formed over Wiley.

Can Elizabeth and Franco get a chance to catch a breath? If he’s not being accused of murdering Kiki, he’s being strapped to a gurney and having Drew’s memories implanted into his brain and being raped by an emotionally unstable woman. Yeah, I said it. Kim Nero raped Franco. Having sex with a man when you know is not in his right frame of mind is rape. She should’ve been ashamed of herself and I’m waiting for the day when she shows back up in town with FrankenDrew’s baby. Won’t happen any time soon since Tamera Braun is back on Days but I’m still waiting. Then they had to deal with Nikolas and Ava undermining their marriage. They literally just got over that and now the brain tumor is back. I know the soap opera rule of thumb is that couples can’t be happy for too long but damn! They seem to have more than their fair share of problems. And it’s never something that one of them did. It’s always outside forces threatening them. Can they have one happy holiday?

Speaking of which, I love Ava and Nikolas. And I’m not just saying that because I’ve had a soap opera crush on Maura West for twenty-five years. I could write a whole post about how much I adore her and what she brings to every character she plays. (Side bar: it’s been ten years and I still miss As The World Turns. That wound is still fresh and deep.)

Ava’s never really had a love interest since she’s debuted on the show. I mean, I guess you could say Morgan was a love interest but she erased whatever they had when she tampered with his meds, sorry. There were a few dalliances and flirtations, and then there was Griffin. While I loved Griffin and I enjoyed the softer side he brought out of Ava, they were never going to work long term. Griffin was a former priest after all and was always going to sit in judgment of her. Then there was Ryan. I don’t think I need to go into why that wouldn’t work but just for kicks, the man was a serial killer who encouraged all of Ava’s worst impulses and murdered her daughter. Talk about going from one extreme to another.

I like Nikolas with Ava because they’re both morally ambiguous. They want to be good for the ones they love but have a tendency to cross a line or two when necessary. I think they get each other on a level that no one has before. Not to mention the love/hate chemistry is reminiscent of Alan and Monica Quartermaine or the early days of Sonny and Carly. 

Maura West has chemistry with anyone she shares a scene with and what she has with Marcus Coloma is no different. I look forward to seeing where the two of them go, story wise, especially when Ava loses her brother. And we know that is coming any day.

Which brings me to Julian. At this point, death would be too kind for this dude. It would serve him right if he ended up right back in prison, fending off Cyrus’ and Sonny’s goons from all sides. Don’t get me wrong. I love William deVry. I’m going to miss him. He’s an excellent actor and he makes Julian Jerome more than a one-dimensional villain. It doesn’t mean he still isn’t a villain. I know there are a lot of people who love Julian but lets’ be clear. When he returned to town, his goal was take over Sonny’s territory and re-claim the title of mob king. He got a pass because he was working for Fluke. Then he ordered the hit on Duke. A big no-no for me. 

 Julian’s excuse has always been that he was forced to do bad things to keep his family safe. First from Fluke, then later from Olivia St. John. What was his excuse this time? Who was in danger? The answer is no one. Yes, Lucas would have been devastated but as Cyrus pointed out, rather vehemently I might add, Lucas had no right to that child! 

I know some will argue that his life was in danger from Sonny but his life is always in danger from Sonny. Brad lied to Julian about Wiley too. He was under the impression the birth mother was some homeless woman. I’m almost certain that if Julian had gone straight to Alexis when he found out the truth about Wiley and told her everything, she would’ve helped him found a way to maintain the tenuous truce. Instead, he came up with the brilliant idea to kill Brad and ended up almost killing his son. You would think he would’ve stopped there but no. He continued to dig the hole deeper for himself. At first, I wanted to be on his side because I wanted him to have some type of relationship with his kids but he blew that all to hell when he married Nelle. I still had sympathy for him until he kidnapped Wiley. If his plan was to kill Nelle, he could’ve left the tot sleeping in his nursery. And he chloroformed Monica Quartermaine! Chloroformed. The. Quartermaine. Matriarch. But did he stop there? Nope. He assaulted poor Martin Gray to get the evidence against him that turned out to be a fake out letter. Ha! All that led us to where we are now. I don’t know what Julian thought would happen when he turned to Cyrus. He’s a more dangerous blackmailer than Nelle and that’s saying something. Julian should’ve taken Nikolas up on his offer to flee the country. I don’t know why Julian insisted on staying around. It’s not like his family wants anything to do with him anyway. Instead, he encouraged his sister to engage with the serial killer who murdered her daughter and tormented her. I think that’s when I finally lost what little respect I might have had for Julian. His saving grace has always been the love and loyalty he has for Ava. But he compromised that to save his ass. That’s kind of who Julian is. Willing to throw anyone under the bus to save himself, including Marcus Taggert. I was so glad Cyrus didn’t take that information at face value and told Julian he still owed a debt. Not glad that the payment was in the form of blowing up The Floating Rib. Let’s talk about it.

Cyrus Renault is a bad man. And I don’t mean a bad man because he’s Sonny’s nemesis. He’s not like Alcazar or The Balkan (yeah, I wish I could forget that too). Cyrus is a genuinely bad man, inside and out, with no redeeming qualities. I’d liken him to Manny Ruiz but I wasn’t really watching GH faithfully during those days so I’d just be guessing. There are a lot of people who don’t like Sonny. He’s a tyrant. He’s hypocritical. He puts his own need for power ahead of his family’s safety. Those are all valid arguments but I challenge those same people to tell me a time when Sonny disregarded the safety of innocent people to take out an enemy. Yes, he’s taken shots. Yes, he’s planted bombs. But I don’t recall him opening gunfire among innocent people or bombing public places. I could be wrong. Feel free to correct me. 

Cyrus has been showing out since he was sitting behind bars in Pentonville. Coordinating three shootouts in three different locations simultaneously is bold, badass super villain move. We should’ve known then this dude wasn’t going away easily. But even I was surprised when he blew up the rib joint. Ava made an excellent point when she shouted, “When is the Floating Rib ever empty?” Excellent question. Another point: why would Jason agree to meet there after hours? Julian is an idiot. And because he’s an idiot, two people are dead and two require brain surgery.

Poor Dev. He survived on the mean streets of Turkey, traveled half way across the world and entered the country undocumented only to perish in the explosion. A casualty of the mob war in a world Sonny didn’t want him to have any part of. Ironic, huh? And he didn’t make the best choices right before the end, did he? He pulled a snake move with forging Joss’s diary and he was a bit of a jackass to Trina and Joss but he was a teenager. Who didn’t make a bad decision when they were a teenager? He realized he was wrong and I think he was about to come clean to Cam about everything before he was interrupted by Danny and later a suspicious package. It’s going to take months before Cam, Trina and Joss figured out what Dev did if they ever do. And just how much loss are these children supposed to endure? They finally began healing from Oscar’s death—with the help of Dev—and now they have to bury another friend? That seems a little traumatizing even for GH. And who is going to round out the foursome? Will it be Spencer Cassadine? Because I can forgive Dev’s death. I just hope it’s someone. Because I’m not in the mood to see any love triangle with the three of them. Best friends fighting over a guy is not a good look. And I don’t want Cam to become a new version of Liam Spencer or Ridge Forrester, waffling back and forth between women. 

Poor Dustin. I think we all saw the writing on the wall when Dante returned, didn’t we? I mean he’s the love of Lulu’s life. Dustin was really just a placeholder. I hate to say it because I dug Mark Lawson on One Life to Live. And if Dante had been killed off, I would have loved him as a long term love interest for Lulu but alas that was not to be. When Dante first returned I thought Lulu was going to make the same mistake Sam did when Jason returned. She was so focused on making sure Drew felt secure, she ignored her feelings and rushed into a marriage with him only to hurt him more later. The explosion saved us from that agony. 

Did GH have Lulu survive the initial explosion only to kill her off a few days later? If so, that would be incredibly cruel. I’m already feeling some kind of way about Emme Rylan leaving the show. Lulu Spencer can be incredibly annoying and self-righteous but she is the only daughter of Luke and Laura Spencer. Her presence is necessary. There was a time when she and Carly carried on the legacy of the Spencer family pretty much all by themselves. Taking Lulu off canvas just seems unnatural to me. Unless they plan on bringing back Julie Berman. I mean I prefer Emme Rylan but Berman did originate adult Lulu and the Lulu/Dante couple that became so popular, so I’d accept it. Let’s just keep our fingers crossed that Lulu goes into a coma and is transferred to a long- term care facility for a short period of time. Although what was the point of bringing Dante back if Lulu was leaving? It makes little sense to me and I’m not happy about it. But I’ll keep watching to see where they plan on going with this.  

And Franco better wake up the same way he went to sleep. I don’t know why I’m saying that like there will be consequences and repercussions because anyone who knows me, knows I’ll keep watching GH. I have been known to quit The Bold and the Beautiful from time to time but that’s another discussion for another day. 

Jaw Dropping Moments

Did anyone else’s mouth drop open when Brook Lynn pulled that pregnancy test out of her purse?  

I was not prepared for Ryan to keel over with a knife in his back in the visitation room. And by the looks on their faces, neither were Ava nor Sonny. Does Cyrus have all the guards at Pentonville on his payroll? 

I did not expect for the bomb to detonate when Julian placed the call. Nice touch.

Other Thoughts

Drunk Alexis makes me as happy as a drunk Katherine Chancellor or a drunk Nikki Newman. Is that wrong?

What evidence did Dante get off Peter’s computer?

I hope Milo and Epiphany breaking up is the set up for a fantastic romance storyline for Sonya Eddy. She is amazing in that role and I have a whole storyline and family idea for Epiphany whenever anyone is ready.

If Britt Westbourne says one more time that Cyrus was cleared of all charges, I just might lose it. She’s supposed to be smarter than that. She is a doctor. Her parents are Cesar Faison and Leisl Obrecht. Britt has been cleared of charges in the past too. It doesn’t mean she didn’t do it.

So y’all just gonna recast Lucas and not say anything? Did you think we wouldn’t notice?

I’m not sure who Sonny’s new employee, Trent was that we saw Wednesday but if anybody’s thinking about expanding his role, I’m here for it. He’s kind of cute.

Brad Cooper stole Michael’s baby and then asked him to be his godfather. He let Willow sit in jail to protect a child that she thought was hers when he knew her child had died. He blackmailed Julian with a lie that led to everything that transpired after that, up to the explosion at The Floating Rib. Being stabbed is the least he deserves. 

I thought Sonny put Taggert in Kate’s old house to keep an eye on him. Whose eye is on him? He’s been seen more out and about more than he was before he was “killed”. Sit down somewhere! 

When Finn recovers from his gunshot wound, I hope he’s available to sponsor Alexis and Sasha. He’s going to have his hands full. 

Jax and Carly keeping the truth about Nelle from Nina is not a smart move. First of all, Carly of all people should know that the truth always has a way of coming out. Secondly, she can say it’s for Nina’s own good but we all know it’s for Carly’s own good. So many things can happen if Nina finds out the truth and the first thing that comes to mind is another round of court regarding Wiley’s custody. If Nina can’t have a relationship with her daughter, she’s definitely going to want one with her grandson. The second is Carly being charged with Nelle’s murder. If Nina finds out Carly lied about the last time she saw Nelle after she finds out Nelle is her daughter, she’s going to be out for blood. I have a feeling they’ll be another visit from that Pennsylvania cop.  

Did anybody else notice the chemistry between Jason and Britt? Methinks if Sam cuts and runs, Jason won’t be alone for too long. 

Maxie is the snarkiest hostage. Remember when Levi kidnapped her and Lulu? She was the same way with Alex. It reminds me of when I was a kid and my mother said if anyone ever kidnapped me, they’d bring me back pretty quickly and pay my parents money.

When Ava reminded Julian that Cyrus had already had Trina kidnapped once and his response was, “So?” I was surprised she didn’t slap him across his face right then and there.

I didn’t want Olivia and Robert to get together because I’ve always been a fan of Olivia and Ned. But Ned’s been such a tool as of late it would serve him right for the truth to come out about his night with Alexis. Ned should be careful. Robert may be getting up there in age but I believe he could indeed have Ned in a wheelchair until Christmas.  

Alex’s pressure cooker gas explosion was freaking soap opera evil genius at its finest. 

Every time Genie Francis cries, I get choked up. Her anguish is palpable. I’ve been watching her on GH all my life and her level of talent never ceases to amaze me. 

I love education with my entertainment and that’s exactly what I got on the special women’s voting rights episode that aired November 2nd. I’m all about girl power so thanks for that.

Wait just a minute, Dante Angelo Falconeri, you are the one who left your family and cut off all contact. You don’t get to come back for five minutes and accuse Laura of giving up on Lulu. Mind your manners, sir.

Is Ava going to put Julian out of his misery like Travis did Old Yeller?

Well, I think that’s about it. I know this was a long one but I had a whole month’s worth of episodes to cover. If I missed anything, feel free to let me know in the comments or you can email me at thelastsoapfan@gmail.com. 

Until next time, which hopefully will be a lot sooner than it was this time. 

Sincerely yours, 

The Last Soap Fan