General Hospital Commentary: The Naughty List (The Worst of GH 2025)

With the good comes the bad. Last week Liz Masters and Tamilu shared their picks for all the wonderful things in Port Charles. Now, it’s time for the worst in this Part II special edition General Hospital commentary for the week ending January 02, 2026.

This time last year, General Hospital viewers were mourning the death of Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco), who fell victim to evil Cyrus Renault’s (Jeff Kober) demented thinking. We were also spitting nails over Molly’s foolish decision to accept Kristina’s offer to donate her egg and carry Molly and T.J.’s (Taj Bellow) baby. Sadly, neither baby Irene nor Molly and T.J.’s marriage survived. Since then, T.J. has vanished into the ether.

Part of the problem was the revolving door of writing teams that General Hospital went through. Some of them had vastly different ideas about the direction of the characters. Drew and Willow fell victim to a radical shift that have turned both characters — once loved by viewers — into two of the most loathed creatures on the show. I’m pretty sure Sidwell is more liked by viewers than Drew and Willow combined.

Drew in particular has only grown more despicable this past year, and once again lands himself at the top of the 2025 Naughty List.

Who shot Drew?

Liz Masters

For months, everyone in Port Charles has been wondering who shot Drew. Was it Michael, in a cold-blooded rage intent on keeping Drew away from Wiley and Amelia? Was it Willow, who snapped and shot the man who had betrayed her once too often? Or was it more calculated? Did Willow steal the Q gun and shoot Drew in the hopes of framing Michael? The truth is, we don’t care. Viewers lost interest mainly because Drew is that unlikeable. Willow too for that matter.

The problem with Drew is that General Hospital has decided to turn him into a moustache-twirling bad guy straight out of an old-fashioned cartoon. There is no low that Drew won’t stoop to, including using his grieving daughter to punish those who won’t bend to his will. I hate this storyline. It’s not good drama. It’s a daily exercise in frustration because somehow Drew and Willow are never really held accountable.

Mr. Cain goes to Washington

Drew needs to go away. Die, move to Washington, get snatched by Casey, the alien. I don’t care how it happens I just need Drew to go away and to take Willow with him. But not with Scout. I would love for Scout to go live with her Aunt Molly for a while.

Tamilu

Drew needs a come-to-Jesus moment where he realizes how evil he’s become. I swear, I almost wish the shooter was Scout so Drew would have to look in the mirror and see the monster he’s become looking back at him. If we are ever going to be able to accept him again, he needs to realize his wrongdoings and atone for how badly he’s messed things up since Sam died.

Bring Kelly Monaco back to haunt Drew’s ass. But he can’t keep being evil forever with zero consequences. We are seeing enough of that outside of General Hospital to last a lifetime.

No clear direction

I can’t believe we still do not know who the shooter was. I think maybe it’s because the writers haven’t decided yet. Are the writers waiting to see who doesn’t renew their contract and then backtrack and rewrite the storyline to match it? The shooter has been a “he” and then a “she” and now a “he” again.

Spoiler alert: Skip the next paragraph if you don’t want to read about rumors. You’ve been warned.

I read a rumor that Scout is going to speak out and say she saw the shooter, but she wasn’t even home! Trina and Kai were in the house, wouldn’t they have noticed Scout in the house alone?

And the bit about Nina having Jack erase the footage… I mean, Spinelli could recover it in three keystrokes, right? He could also delete all the incriminating photos that Sidwell has on Laura and Sonny while he’s in hacker mode.

Willow’s fall from grace

But the very worst part of this hideously told tale for me is the demise of Willow. She has lost her entire moral center. She is perfectly okay with Drew framing Michael for the shooting. The same Michael who allowed her into his life, allowed her to adopt Wiley, and who sat at her bedside night and day — once she finally told him that she had cancer.

I’m also fairly peeved at how ridiculous Chase is being about Willow. Chase was married to Willow, and she cheated on him with Michael. Chase has seen her steal into the Q house multiple times. How can he still view her as an innocent waif? How could he have forgotten how selfish she truly is? But then again, Chase fell for Nelle, too. If he loses BLQ he’s a moron.

No one puts Elizabeth in a corner

Liz Masters

It’s no secret that both Tamilu and I love our girl Elizabeth Webber Baldwin. Rebecca Herbst is an incredible actress who has been on the show since 1997. It’s where she met her husband Michael Saucedo (Juan Santiago) and went on to have three beautiful children. She’s been in the center of some huge storylines and two wildly popular pairings: Lucky Spencer and Jason Morgan. She deserves better than playing cheerleader to Lucas’ bad romance, Willow’s only friend, and Lucky’s enabler. Our General Hospital writers are missing such a golden opportunity to finally give us Liason. Liz and Jason have an entire fanbase who have been waiting forever to get a happily-ever-after.

Do it already.

If not, then at least give Liz a storyline. Have her go to visit Nikolas, speak at his parole hearing, and bring him home so he can kick Sidwell out of Wyndemere and off Spoon Island.

Tamilu

Dust mites and product placement in general — having actors do scenes only to hawk a product — is not new. Who can forget the thrilling week when everyone in Port Charles was guzzling V-8 juice? But when the viewers have been begging the writers to give Rebecca Herbst a meaty storyline and we find out, to quote Ralphie in A Christmas Story that it’s “just a cruddy commercial/” (Be sure to drink your OVALTINE!) We get annoyed. This year Liz has been Willow and Portia’s sounding board, Lucky’s mommy and now the spokeswoman for dust mites. She deserves better.

(Lack of) Love in the Afternoon

Liz Masters

I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. We can’t have nice things on General Hospital — especially romances. The minute a couple finds love and happiness the writers pull out their poisoned pens and go to work. “Not today, you little soap nuts” I imagine them saying as they scribble furiously. It seems sometimes that the only kind of romance they can write are bad romances. Things start out well enough, but then the dumb lies and silly secrets creep in. I’m looking at you, Portia and Curtis.

I miss the days of supercouples.

Tamilu

Dex was killed off the end of last year and Joss was launched into a romance with Vaughn who has now vanished. Trina was in a romance with Kai until he betrayed her and her parents and now, they are reunited, but for how long? Liz has no love interest. Ava and Ric had a fling which was promising but ended up with him tied in the basement. Lucky and Liz fizzled out and he left town.

Britt has come back and has had exactly one kiss with Jason when all we wanted from her return was for her and Jason to hook up. Nathan is back but Maxie is in a coma. Lulu, and Dante are seemingly never ever, ever getting back together. Portia and Curtis are on the rocks, and Jordan and Curtis have only kissed. Michael has been loveless since Willow cheated on him. There was Sasha, but she left town with Daisy to be safe from some baby moving (at the hands of Willow) and never returned. Yeah, there’s Jacinda but it’s early days.

Love on the rocks

Sonny has had his longest dry spell in decades. Alexis is single but not ready to mingle. Lucas and Marco have a relationship, but we all know it’s going to implode soon. Carly was in a real relationship with Jack, but now she’s playing him. Valentin is in town as a fugitive and his beloved Anna is a hostage. BLQ and Chase’s seemingly idyllic marriage is about to fall victim to Chase’s inability to stop trying to save Willow.

Molly and Cody could be a tremendous couple if the writers ever tire of writing near-miss scenarios for them. Gio and Emma are adorable, but there is more dognapping going on than romance. We were all so excited when Lulu was recast and awaited their reunion, but now all this time later, Lulu and Dante (Lante) are still apart.

Liz needs a lover. Ava needs a lover. Alexis needs a lover. Anna needs a lover. Let me see Mac and Felicia canoodling. Let’s see Laura and Kevin cuddling under their Christmas tree. Find another gentleman like Gregory for Tracy Q. Jason needs a lover. Sonny needs a lover. Shall I go on? Spice up our soaps with some romance, please.

It was a wonderful life

Liz Masters

It breaks my heart that we are losing a generation of incredible actors that I’ve grown up watching. Jackie Zeman (Bobbie Spencer), Chris Robinson (Rick Webber), Leslie Charleson (Monica Quartermaine), Denise Alexander (Lesley Webber), Tristan Rogers (Robert Scorpio) and now Tony Geary (the incomparable Luke Spencer) have all passed in the last few years. It sucks. That memorial wall is getting much too crowded and I hate it.

This might shock some, but I loathed Luke for many years. To me, he was always a rapist who time and again chose adventure over his family. It’s no wonder Lucky inherited his father’s wanderlust. Eventually, Luke acknowledged his greatest sin, but I wasn’t a fan. For me, it always tainted his relationship with Laura.

It wasn’t until Luke and Tracy started creating sparks that I softened. The Dark Luke storyline was also pivotal because we finally learned through Luke’s trauma what his life was like growing up. We saw his abusive father in action and how it shaped Luke. As much as I disliked Luke, I was impressed with Tony’s acting. That man was a powerhouse actor. We were blessed to have had him.

When General Hospital killed off Luke, I refused to believe that a Cassadine had bested him. I always held out hope that Tony would return for one last appearance to prove me right. Now, that will never happen.

Tamilu

I started watching General Hospital back in 1977 when the girls from my high school started talking about Laura. I wanted to fit in and be able to talk about it, too. General Hospital started at 3:00pm and my bus didn’t get to my house until 3:15pm, so I begged my mom to watch the first 15 minutes of General Hospital for me every day so I wouldn’t miss anything, and she got hooked, too. I grew up in the Cleveland TV market and Lynda Hirsch was on our local WEWS Cleveland news doing soap updates, and I made my Mama watch those, too. Yes, you heard that right, soaps were SO big they actually had a dedicated soap correspondent on our local news station! 

Tony Geary steals my heart

When Tony Geary started in 1978 as Bobbie Spencer’s brother Luke, I didn’t think I would like him. Bobbie wanted him to stir up trouble for Scotty and Laura, because she wanted Scotty. I was so mad at her! But when I saw Luke and Laura look at each other, holy crap, my teenage heart could not take that level of heat! They mesmerized and captivated me; it was all I thought about! Every day at high school, all the General Hospital girls would discuss yesterday’s episode and sometimes I got to share the dish that Lynda Hirsch said on the news, and it made me super popular with a bunch of other 16-year-old soap nerds. 

The real Triple L Diner

Do you remember that scene in Miracle on 34th Street when the little girl (played by a young Natalie Wood) sees the house, and yells at Santa, “Stop the car!!!” After hopping out of the car, she runs into the house.

Back in 1993 when Luke, Laura and Lucky arrived at the Triple L Diner, my husband (who claims he doesn’t watch the show) and I were driving to upstate New York to attend my nephew’s wedding. Like the girl in the movie, I yelled at Jeff, “Stop the car!!” Why? Because we were driving past the Triple L Diner! I said, “That’s Luke and Laura’s diner from General Hospital.” He said, “No it’s not. All diners look just like that.” I said, “No! That’s the one! I am sure!” I hopped out of the car in my wedding clothes and ran into this diner and lo and behold, I was right. (Naturally.)

The owners had photos of Luke and Laura up everywhere, and stories about General Hospital filming there, and I almost missed the wedding in my fervor to be inside the Triple L. Somewhere in my storage unit I have memorabilia. 

Here’s an article about it if you care.

A trip to Amsterdam

Now, in 2025, I am 64, and just this year I took a trip to Amsterdam, and low-key stalked Tony and his beloved husband Claudio. We booked a hotel in Amsterdam that I saw Claudio post about hoping they’d be having brunch there on Easter. 

I even messaged Claudio and said, “Hey, I wrote about Tony for 20 years on Soap Central and I’m here in town, I’m staying in the hotel you guys posted about and I’d love to meet you if you’re around.” (Okay my message was way gushier than that, but I don’t want to embarrass myself even worse than this) But, crickets, of course. I am a total stranger, and I knew it was a long-shot, but I had to try. 

I have adored Tony and his portrayal of Luke Spencer for so long. In my mind, no one and nothing in soaps have ever touched the raw energy of Luke and Laura. Tony and Genie’s chemistry was the stuff of legend. 

A different time

I can’t believe Tony is gone. I had hoped against hope for years that someday he would pop up again and prove that Luke had never died at all, because he’s immortal in my mind. And I know there were some problematic storylines back then — Luke’s rape of Laura wasn’t the only one. If today’s generation watched all the old soap plots I did back in the 1970’s and 1980’s, their hair would catch fire.

Karen Wolek and Marco Dane, and casual afternoon prostitution on One Life To Live, Michael Baldwin stalking Cricket on The Young and the Restless, Todd gang raping Marty on One Life To Live and then later dating. There were so many others.

The first supercouple

Luke and Laura went on after the rape to fall in love and marry. Despite their violent beginning, they became Daytime’s most beloved couple. Their wedding in 1981 still holds the record as the highest rated soap episode ever – 30 million viewers tuned into to watch them take their vows!

Tony Geary had a swagger and confidence that you could not look away from or resist. I never fast forwarded a scene he was in, although during the Fluke days I was tempted. No matter who he was paired with in scenes, male or female, he was sizzling. He never phoned it in. Luke and Robert, Luke and Holly, Luke and Sonny, Luke and his baby sis Barbara Jean (Bobbie), Luke and Felicia, Luke and Lucky, Luke and Carly, Luke and Helena, Luke and Spanky Pants (Tracy), Luke and Natasha (Alexis), Luke and Vlad (Stefan), Luke and Slim (Anna).

The nicknames, the chemistry with every single solitary person. Tony was so magnetic. If you came to General Hospital in the past decade and never got to see him work, I feel sad for you. A small screen was too small to contain his entire spirit. He should have been on the big screen and in 3D. But I am glad Hollywood left him in Port Charles for me to adore for decades of my life.

The final act

Since Tony’s retirement, I have enjoyed watching his happiness from afar. The sweet posts from his precious husband Claudio filled me with joy. After a life of giving everything he had to us, he finally found contentment and happiness and…rest. But I never dreamed he would be gone from this earth so soon and I am crushed. 

It’s an odd thing to shed tears for someone you have never met, but who feels like a family member. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel his loss, and I know you do, too. My heart goes out to all who knew him in real life and loved him deeply. The General Hospital cast has had way too many losses in recent years. Each one chips away at us and the world they created for us all these years. 

I hope that ABC honors Tony’s work with a standalone episode filled with clips and interviews. I want that and I bet it would be their highest rated prime time special ever. Because he was simply the BEST.

Wanderlust Lucky

Liz Masters

I was so disappointed by Jonathan Jackson’s return which lasted all of a blink of an eye. Instead of capitalizing on the rich history between Lucky and pretty much everyone on canvas, the writers seemed lost with what to do with him once he arrived in Port Charles. They didn’t delve into the years that Lucky was an absentee father to Aiden but rather brushed over it and had the two jetting off for father-son vacations. Such a missed opportunity. There were so many.

If you’re going to lure a star like Jackson to the show, do something with them. Erika Slezak was another example of a missed opportunity. They crafted a silly storyline for her then gave her a get-out-of-jail free card in the eleventh hour. Ronnie’s story could have been so much better if the writers had made it less predictable. It still irks me that all of Tracy’s family showed Ronnie — a stranger — more loyalty than they did Tracy.

Tamilu

Like Liz, I was very annoyed at the way Lucky’s return was handled. We spent a month watching him play Dread Pirate Roberts poker with Sidwell. (“I’ll most likely kill you in the morning”) and then when he got back to Port Charles, Lucky would have a scene and then vanish for two weeks. He’d have another few lines and then vanish again. I thought they brought Jonathan back to finally give us the L&L2 happy ending we always wanted. These two childhood sweethearts who had both been through so much and made so many mistakes were finally mature and solid and would get a second chance at their forever love. I adore Jonathan Jackson, but if he is dead set on never coming back to L.A., then by all means recast Lucky and give us our happy ending.

Let the casting director who recast Michael be the one to pick a new Lucky. And while she is at it, let her recast Jax, too so Joss can have a dad again. And while we are talking about Laura’s sons, it is way past time for Nikolas Cassadine to be released from prison.

I see dead people

Liz Masters

I love a good back-from-the-dead storyline as much as the next soap fan, but General Hospital went a little overboard with it this year bringing back Britt and Nathan in short order. When you do it so often, year after year, it loses its shock value.

The writers need to start by not killing off every character who leaves the show. Send a few off to jail (like Nikolas) or have them leave the country to lay low for a few years and hire good attorneys to get them out of the legal trouble they’ve found themselves in. Helena would do it all the time.

People do move away for jobs and to start over. Most of the residents in Port Charles have oodles of money, so some could simply decide to travel the world. This way, the door is left open for a return without having to induct a new member into the Walking Dead Club.

Tamilu

I would bet that’s not the end. Either Faison or Peter or both is bound to come back, too. Maybe even Sam.

Storming the castle

Liz Masters

I like a good bad guy as much as the next soap lover. I’m an unabashed Helena Cassadine fan, in part because I always knew her time would come and she would be vanquished. And come back another day. Helena had the grace to acknowledge that she was evil to the bone. She owned it. I liked that about her. She was a fun villain to watch because she was unabashedly bad but oh, so classy doing it.

Sidwell, Drew, and Marco are all bad guys with no likeable qualities. Sidwell is arrogant, Drew is vile, and Marco is a snake. I want Jenz and his son out of Wyndemere and gone from Port Charles. They don’t belong on Spoon Island — Nikolas does.

General Hospital really needs to bring Nikolas home. It’s time.

Tamilu

For me the problem with Sidwell is the shrugging. It’s too much like reality. “Yes, we know that Sidwell is a dangerous, violent criminal, and what he is doing is horrible, but – oh well let’s go along with his plan anyway if we can get a discount on this ingredient that we use in our face cream.” Seriously, it makes my blood boil.

We have too many villains right now who never pay the price for their evil deeds. At some point in time, it gets aggravating to watch. The comeuppance is part of the escape. We want to see good people rewarded and bad people punished. It rarely happens that way in real life, but can’t we have a happy soapy ending for our heroes and a total fall from grace for our villains? Please, I beg you.

A few naughty things

Liz Masters

What’s with all the red herrings General Hospital likes to drop in storylines? Every other day, the writers try — rather transparently — to make us think someone other than Willow shot Drew.

What’s worse than red herrings? All the red flags that characters ignore. Lucas knows that Sidwell tried to kill his cousin Lucky, but he thinks nothing of moving in with Sidwell and Marcus.

Pascal showing up in Port Charles as Sidwell’s manservant, knowing he’d had encounters with Jason Morgan and WSB Agent Josslyn Jacks. Josslyn whose uncle is currently shacked up with Marco in one of the wings of the castle.

I hate how Nina constantly excuses Willow’s poor choices. She is such an enabler. They have the most toxic relationship on the show. Nina has no idea how to be a mother.

Tamilu

Trina should not have forgiven Kai and should have a storyline other than being a prop for everyone in town.

Ava and Ric had promise, but it was squashed when he got hog tied in Alexis’ basement.

Does Michael even talk to Sasha and Daisy? I can understand her leaving for a bit, but shouldn’t she have come back now?

Liz talks about her boys all the time, but where are they? Not a sighting of Jake, Aiden or Cam in eons. Won’t they be please come home for Christmas?

Portia’s hypocrisy. She cheated on Curtis and may be pregnant with Isaiah’s baby, yet she flipped out over Curtis kissing Jordan. Also, where is the Co-Chief of Staff Terry these days?

Before You Check Out

If you want even more Best and Worst of 2025, please be sure to check out The Best and Worst of Beyond the Gates, written by our very own Dan J Kroll.

Happy viewing,

Liz and Tamilu