Thanksgiving in Port Charles

General Hospital tried to stuff a lot of story into a short Thanksgiving week. They are buns in the oven, characters done as toast, a medical miracle to relish, and, of course, there’s always a big turkey. What’s what and who’s who? Find out in this General Hospital commentary for the week ending November 29, 2024.

Dear readers, ’tis the season to give thanks. Even though it was a short soap week, I discovered several things to be thankful for at General Hospital.

Giant turkey Drew won the election and will soon leave for Washington, D.C. As she learns she is pregnant with Michael’s baby, Sasha has a little holiday cinnamon bun in the oven. That fact should be the final nail in the “Millow” marriage, and Michael is toast. NuLu is awake, and she is effervescent as a zesty holiday mimosa.

Yes, you heard me right. Although I was pulling for Julie Marie Berman or Emme Rylan to return as Lulu, I immediately loved the recast. Alexa Havins Bruening’s previous work was unfamiliar to me. I didn’t watch All My Children when she was on as Babe Carey, but my first impression was that she would rock this role. I got big Spencer gene vibes from Nu Lu the second she woke up after four years in a coma and drug her stiffened body out of bed.

Is it realistic? No, but who cares? Sometimes, that stuff drives me crazy, but I am in a season where I exist solely on escapism, so give me all the crazy, far-fetched plots you’ve got. Let me giggle at its absurdity and block out the chaos in the real world.

Dragging NuLu

NuLu stole some stinky sweat outfit from a nurse and dragged herself across town to a place she thought was home. She lifted up the rock and found her house key but found someone else living there. James screamed, “Stranger Danger,” and Lulu bolted. She is trying to find a touchstone. Lulu is confused. Lulu seemingly believes she has only been in a coma for a few weeks instead of a few years. When she asked Cody the date, he told her it was November 26th. She seemed relieved that she had only been asleep for a short time. But we know It’s been four years. It all became clear when she saw her first glimpse of SORAS’d Rocco.

Readers, I have a bad feeling about Laura. Where is she? I have a hard time believing that Laura would not be visiting Lulu when she’s right in town. Or at least send Kevin if the “Mayor Business” leaves her unable to visit. How did Cyrus quickly cozy up to the staff and convince them he was Lulu’s authorized decision-maker? I heard Laura tell Cyrus multiple times that he needed to get her permission to visit Lulu—wouldn’t she have addressed this with the hospital staff?

Cyrus, a changed man (but not really)

I feel conflicted about this twist. All this time, we were supposed to believe that Cyrus was a changed man and that he had genuinely been redeemed. But apparently, Cyrus killed Sam and intended to kill Lulu, or at the very least kidnap her.
I grew up in the church and have witnessed many stories of genuine redemption. Men who were in gangs and then became community leaders. People who struggled with addiction and sobered up and spent the rest of their days helping others, my father included. I like redemption stories. But Cyrus tricked us all. Or maybe he didn’t trick you, and I’m just a sucker. I had my doubts at first, but consider how long it has been since Spencer was in prison and Cyrus protected him. He’s been faking it for a really long time.

Gone. Poof. Redemption undone. Cyrus is the General Hospital bad guy again; if he killed Sam, there is no return from this. He can’t go to Pentonville for 6 months and say he had a brain tumor or metallosis and have us forgive him.

Elizabeth is being set up to take the fall. So, to whichever of her exes can catch Cyrus and clear her name, Lucky, Jason, or Ric, I will gladly allow you back into her heart and will not criticize you for a term of six months.

A long list of ex-lovers

She really has a long list of ex-lovers in town right now. I will always be sweet on Liz and Lucky, but I also have fondness for her relationships with Jason and Ric.

Don’t hate me, but I am rooting for Ric and Ava in the dead pool baby storyline. Kristina, who was once my favorite Corinthos child when Lexi Ainsworth played her, is now on my “please have her run off and join the cult again” list.
Kristina is lying through her teeth about Ava pushing her, and we all know it. The more Ric badgers Kristina, the more convinced I am that Sonny is going to beat him to a pulp after the trial. But Ric is in the right this time. Will Sonny see that? No, absolutely not. But I think Molly is starting to see that her dad is right and that Krissy, not Ava, is to blame.
Rick Heart is such a welcome addition to the cast. I am delighted that they brought him back home to General Hospital. Ric brings something out in Jason and Sonny that I’ve been missing. Their absolute contempt for Ric makes me laugh.

Do you know what else makes me laugh? The way the writers keep trying to push Sonny and Natalia on us.

Remember that time you tried to unalive me?

Dear readers, I’m unsure if you remember this because the writers have completely dropped this storyline… Sonny murdered Jagger Cates in cold blood. Do you remember that Sonny and Carly are supposed to pretend to be a couple because she’s his alibi? We have not heard a peep about Jagger or his murder. We have not seen Carly and Sonny fake dating each other for weeks now. I think this is the longest time Carly has been without a man in her bed since she came blowing into town as Sarah Joy Brown.

But I digress. I have seen Sonny and Natalia together multiple times. When I see them, I snore because they put me to sleep. It has nothing to do with the talent of either one of the actors. They are both wonderful actors. I don’t care what shows they have been on before. I don’t care if they like working with each other in real life, and I don’t care what the writers’ reasons are for pushing them together. At some point in time, the writers have to realize that the couple is not gaining any traction and put us out of our misery. Natalia should have left town with Blaze. Also, I have to point out that when Liz and Finn fizzled, and Natalia and Sonny were a snoozefest, Alexis Davis had mad chemistry with both of those guys. When does Alexis get a man again?

Michael Corinthos is outta here — but how?

Meanwhile, please send more (Don’t call me Cobra) Kai Taylor and Trina. More Cody and Lulu. Or more Dante and Lulu. I can’t decide. Was it just me, or did you think Cody and Lulu had a little magic sprinkled on them? But Dante needs her more, right? Tough call. I can’t see how everything is going to play out. There are too many variables at play here.

I am trying to put my soap brain to work. Sasha is pregnant with Michael’s baby. Michael is still married to Willow. But Chad Duell is leaving General Hospital, and GH executive producer Frank Valentini has said that the show will not be a recast. Does that mean Michael is being killed off? Will Michael move away with Willow and their kids to save their marriage? Will Willow choose Drew and go to D.C., while Michael leaves with Sasha and their new baby? Are the writers about to forget that they just made Sasha a Scorpio? I am trying to come up with a plethora of scenarios, but I no longer have the inside gossip to satisfy my curiosity.

There are no plans to recast his role at this time, but you never know in daytime. I can promise a great story for Michael and his family when Chad exits in the new year. (2/2)

— Frank Valentini (@valentinifrank) November 24, 2024

Gray skies are gonna clear up

This brings me to this: if you are reading this, it means you are probably familiar with Dan (Dan J Kroll, obviously), Liz Masters, and me from our work on Soap Central. We are all thankful that you’ve found our new space here. But I miss talking with so many of you. I talked to some of you almost daily. (Here’s looking at you, Arlene!) But I disabled my Twitter account because it’s gotten too chaotic and mean for me. I have moved to BlueSky and Threads, so if you have moved there, please find me! Here is my Bluesky name – tamilu40.bsky.social, and on Threads, I am just Tamilu.

Now that Curtis knows Michael is telling the truth and Drew is about to kick him back down the ladder, will Curtis help Michael stage a coup? And where will that leave Curtis in the long run? Back at the Savoie, or in charge of everything?
In next week’s previews, we see Drew threatening Jason that if he moves into the Q household to be with Danny, Drew will take Scout and move out. Dude, weren’t you already moving out to go to Washington? Ugh. Poor Scout got stuck with her least capable parent.

Has anyone noticed that Joss spends more time with Gio than with Dex lately? Is Dex leaving, too? If Joss gets romantically involved with Gio and then finds out he is Sonny’s son, that might be a deal breaker. That’s not been confirmed yet; just a hunch after all of Lois’ shady eyes every time Gio and Sonny’s names are mentioned.

General Hospital questions

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Chase and Brooklyn succeed in getting pregnant for Christmas? Will we ever see Ned instead of just his Bensonhurst sister wives? Is the Quartermaine mansion be officially certified as an orphanage? Will it be registered as a magical house at Hogwarts since it changes sizes season by season? (Now it has 50 bedrooms, but they said it was too crowded not long ago when only half as many people lived there.)

Will Lucky and his unkempt hair be able to scare off Cyrus, or will Mama Laura have to step in and give her creepy brother the final blow? Will anyone ever notice that Martin is missing right after he got that sexy shave and ditched his Foghorn Leghorn accent? Is there a chance that Valentin be home for Christmas to see Vanna under the mistletoe? Will Charlotte be happy that her mommy is awake, or has Uncle Victor brainwashed her again? (No way he’s dead.) Will I be able to find my holiday spirit before Christmas?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.

– Tamilu