General Hospital Commentary: Dirty deeds and explosive twists

The week ended with a blast that destroyed a warehouse on the piers, but there’s more trouble ahead. Alexis has plans for Danny and Scout, and Michael made a shocking discovery about Drew and Willow. Buckle up for a new General Hospital commentary of dirty deeds and explosive twists for the week ending November 8, 2024.

Sam’s tragic and unexpected death has rocked Port Charles and upended both of her children’s lives. It was one of the worst explosive twists of the year that many fans dreaded but were unable to stop. As bad as it was, it paved the way for a lot of powerful performances, starting with Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis). There were so many scenes that deserve accolades that I hardly know where to begin, so I’m going to start with the one reaction that I could have done without.

It’s Kristina’s world, and everyone else better not forget

A grief-stricken Alexis headed to Sam’s penthouse to share the heartbreaking news with Sam’s squabbling sisters Kristina and Molly. The scenes were intense. Poor Alexis could barely get the words out that Sam had died before she was thrust into the position of having to comfort both Kristina and Molly. You’d think that two women who had just lost their own child could understand the need to put their broken mother first, but you’d be wrong. Despite Alexis’ shattered heart, she still had to ask her daughters to put their differences aside — at least for the time being.

A few hours later the family arrived at the General Hospital to talk to T.J., but the snipes and jabs between Sam’s wicked half-sisters continued. Molly snapped at Kristina, and — as is typical with a narcissist — Kristina made Sam’s death all about herself. When T.J. explained that an autopsy would provide answers, Kristina jumped up and immediately objected to her sister’s body being put through that ordeal. The pain on Alexis’ face, while Kristina explained in graphic detail why Kristina didn’t want Sam to be cut open made me want to reach through the television and slap Kristina. It was thoughtless and cruel.

Kristina’s self-absorption didn’t end there. Kristina made her way to the hospital’s chapel where she railed at God for taking Sam from her. Not a single mention of Sam’s poor children, Sam’s grieving mother, Sam’s other devastated sibling and of course Sam’s heartbroken fiancé. It was all about how God had punished Kristina by taking both her baby and her sister.

Kristina is the center of her own universe. It’s why I’ve grown to detest the woman that she’s become. She’s completely unlikeable these days, so Kristina’s grief doesn’t move me. Why isn’t she checking on her brother Dante instead of calling her brother Michael to run over to the hospital to hold her hand?

I feel marginally more empathy for Molly since she seems to be sensitive to Alexis’ pain, but the digs at Kristina are petty and unnecessary right now.

Soap operas are notorious for explosive twists, so I’m hoping that Sam turns up alive sometime down the road. I know it’s wishful thinking. Why would Kelly Monaco want to return to General Hospital after the way she was written off, but I will always hold out hope. After all, Jake returned from the dead.

A mother’s grief

As a mother, I couldn’t imagine the loss of a child. When my brother-in-law unexpectedly passed away in 2009 it blindsided my beloved mother-in-law and crushed a piece of her precious soul. We all saw it. She loved her other three children just as fiercely, as well as her grandchildren, but the pain of losing a child cast a shadow over her heart that stayed with her until the day she died just a short two years later.

Nancy Lee Grahn has done a magnificent job of portraying a mother’s grief. Without question, her performances throughout the week have been Emmy worthy. I imagine much of the pain we see in Alexis was fueled by Nancy’s own personal feelings over losing a beloved co-star who has played her daughter for the better part of two decades. Those scenes couldn’t have been easy for Nancy.

I was a weepy mess for days.

After spending time with Dante, Sonny stopped by the lake house to console Alexis and help her with funeral arrangements.  I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the visit, and the tenderness that Sonny showed. Sadly, Sonny knows what it’s like to lose a child and connect with one later in life. He understands Alexis’ regrets.

This is why honoring and respecting history is important. Sonny and Alexis have a long and complicated past that has taken them to a place where Alexis was able to lean on Sonny in her darkest hour. I’m getting emotional thinking about those poignant scenes as I write this. I hope Maurice Benard is nominated for a Daytime Emmy for that performance. He deserves it.

Sonny has committed his fair share of dirty deeds for decades, but I can appreciate an act of kindness.

Life without Sam on General Hospital

There’s no denying that Sam was an integral part of Port Charles’ society, and that she leaves many loved ones behind. Dante is lost, her children are traumatized, and her friends are in shock.

I still can’t imagine General Hospital without Sam.

I know that Alexis is grieving, but her sudden decision to have Danny and Scout move in with her is baffling. Don’t get me wrong, I understand her desire to have Sam’s children close during this awful time. However, both Danny and Scout have fathers, each of whom has legal rights. Why is Alexis talking to Olivia and Dante about where the kids will live as if Jason and Drew don’t have a say? I adore Dante, but he doesn’t have any legal standing in the matter. Besides, Dante has enough on his plate without adding a contentious custody battle to the pile.

Dante has to navigate the loss of his fiancée, and he needs to stay strong for Rocco. Poor Rocco is filled with guilt because he feels as if he might have had a hand in Sam’s fate by asking God to spare his mother if something should go wrong during the transplant surgery. Laura said all the right things, but Rocco didn’t look convinced. I wanted to hug him as tightly as Laura did.

Luckily, Rocco has some good news on the horizon that will help heal those wounds. The same is true for Lucas, who is currently tortured with thoughts that he might have done something to contribute to Sam’s death. Rumor has it, Sam was murdered, so I suspect Brad will be the one who clears Lucas’ name and gives his ex-husband some peace of mind. Brad will also be sure to use that to his advantage in his quest to woo Lucas back.

As for Danny and Scout, I’m sure Jason might be open to letting Danny move in with Alexis — if that’s what Danny wants. Drew is a different story. If he wins the election, he will take Scout with him and hire a nanny to watch over her while he’s busy in Congress. Alexis is not going to win that battle. Despite Drew’s faults — there are oodles — he’s a loving and devoted father. He’s also filthy rich.

Of course, with General Hospital anything is possible including Drew losing custody of his daughter to Alexis. But it seems improbable.

Drew and Willow’s dirty deeds are revealed

News of Sam’s death wound its way to the Quartermaine mansion. After Jason dropped Danny and Scout off, Scout raced to her father’s waiting arms. “My mommy died,” she cried in a small forlorn voice. It gutted me. There is no way Scout will want to be separated from her father if he moves to Washington.

When Willow learned of the tragedy, she didn’t waste time tracking down Drew to offer him a shoulder to cry on. Oh, she took a minute to leave Michael a voicemail message with her condolences, but as soon as she hit end call, she high tailed it up to the nursery where Drew was putzing around. Naturally, he was alone and more than happy to share his grief. To my utter disgust, that quickly morphed into sex on the floor. Where the children play. Eww.

Not only that, but the house was filled with people and staff. Drew and Willow have no shame.

Willow is a faithless person who has no moral high ground to stand on. A woman in love with her husband who treasures her marriage and family does not do that. She’s been carrying on an emotional affair for months, and she finally acted on her desires.

General Hospital is notorious for Who’s the Daddy storylines, so I fully expect Willow to end up pregnant in the near future. After all, she did sleep with Michael earlier that morning when he got home from his one-night stand with Sasha. More on that in a bit.

I spy with my nanny cam eye

If you follow me on X (formerly Twitter) then you know that I enjoy live tweeting during General Hospital, which airs at 2:00 pm ET Monday through Friday in my area. My post about Drew and Willow and their down and dirty deeds on the nursery floor had viewers talking. Most of it was negative.

Michael learned about Willow’s betrayal thanks to a nanny cam. After receiving a notification, Michael opened the app and got an eyeful of Drew and Willow doing the nasty. Talk about an explosive soapy twist. I was certain the writers would drag it out until Willow inevitably turned up pregnant and beyond.

Michael got drunk and slept with Sasha, so he’s not innocent either. However, Willow’s actions seem worse because she’s been lusting after Drew for months and lying to her husband. She says the right things; ‘I don’t want to break up with my family,’ ‘I love my husband’ and ‘My family is everything to me,’ but it rings hollow, especially now.

I didn’t see any hesitation in Willow when she and Drew began to tear off each other’s clothes. It was only afterwards that she showed regret. I didn’t buy it. Willow has zero credibility. She and Drew deserve each other.

Don’t shoot the messenger

Prior to bumping uglies with Drew, Willow confronted Sasha in the Quartermaine kitchen about blabbing Willow’s secret to Cody. Sasha was quick to remind Princess Does No Wrong that Willow was still lying to Michael by not telling him about the second kiss.

I loved seeing someone give Willow a taste of her own medicine. Willow’s sanctimonious attitude grates on my nerves, especially when she came in hot and berated an apologetic Sasha. Doubly so when Willow seemed to question Sasha’s character because Sasha had lied about her mother. Perhaps if Willow had been more trustworthy and less judgmental, Sasha might have confided in her. Willow wasn’t exactly a bastion of honesty when she first arrived in town, so she needs to sit herself down.

Of all the explosive twists this week, I most looked forward to Willow finally learning that Drew has been sleeping with her mother. However, Willow clearly hasn’t seen the video of Cody calling Drew out. She seems to be blissfully unaware that Drew has been committing quite a few dirty deeds with Nina. How long until someone lets that feral cat out of the bag? Don’t forget, it’s on video.

Back to Sasha. I love this new side of her. I hated the idea of breaking up Cody and Sasha but learning that she’s a Scorpio has been good for her. There’s a fire in her that was lacking before. Shockingly, I also saw a spark of chemistry when Jason showed up to rescue her.

Unfortunately, I fear the writers have other plans for Sasha because she had sex with Michael. We all know that these things are never random, and these types of secrets never stay buried. Will Sasha also end up pregnant too? It’s just the kind of explosive twist that soap writers love.

Kaboom!

When it comes to edge-of-your-seat action, no one does it better than General Hospital. Mostly.

It wasn’t exactly an explosive twist that Sidwell and his henchmen ended up in Port Charles. In Africa, Sidwell made it clear that he intended to retrieve his stolen cache of diamonds from Holly. To that end, he stormed the Quartermaine mansion and snatched Sasha during her chat with Carly. How Sidwell knew that Sasha was Holly’s daughter when Robert had no clue is beyond me. But I’m willing to overlook that plot hole because I’m a sucker for action.

While I appreciate the effort of the CGI-explosion, I found the whole thing a bit anti-climactic because there was no payoff. After Sidwell got his sack of diamonds, he blew up a warehouse and escaped. Jason managed to save Sasha and get away. Even Brennan, who appeared to take the brunt of the blast, walked away relatively unscathed and none the worse for wear.

When will justice prevail in Port Charles? I wanted Sidwell to get some much-deserved comeuppance.

Despite my issues with this wasted opportunity, I did enjoy Robert’s reunion with Sasha and the warm hug father and daughter shared. It made me misty-eyed. I love that Robert and Sasha have each other now. Will Robin visit Port Charles to meet her half-sister? And where in the world has Ethan been? He has two good reasons to visit Port Charles: Lulu and Sasha.

Ethan is all about the dirty deeds so he would definitely shake things up.

General Hospital Quick Takes

Speaking of missing siblings, Bailey Lou was conspicuously absent during the Halloween scenes. Did Maxie drop her invisible daughter off at the Quartermaine mansion? It is the hottest daycare in town.

Have the writers forgotten that Maxie was born on Halloween? How sad that no one wished Maxie a happy birthday or gave her so much as a homemade card.

I cracked up when Carly stormed into the unisex locker room and warned Brad to get away from Lucas. After Brad slinked away, Carly proceeded to remind Lucas why it would be a bad idea for him to reconcile with his ex. This, from the woman who married a mob boss a half dozen times or so.

A final word

A few weeks ago, I shared the first installment of Dan’s Manor Makeover series. Well, he’s back with the third installment, so be sure to check it out. It turns out, windows are quite fascinating.

I love hearing from readers, so please be sure comment below.

Happy viewing,

Liz Masters

For more commentary, be sure to check out my author’s page.