General Hospital Commentary: Harpy Days

Ric escaped a coven of lunatic harpies, but is that really the end of his troubles? What does Valentin know about Britt – and Faison’s secret project? There was lots of clever misdirection, a few tantalizing clues, and a shocking soapy twist or two. Let’s get into it in an all-new General Hospital commentary for the week ending October 17, 2025.

What a delightfully fabulous week we had on General Hospital. Each and every episode starting Monday through Friday was sheer soapy perfection. The acting, the drama, the history, the surprises, the pacing, and of course the hilarious one-liners gave us soap opera storytelling at its finest. I cannot rave about my beloved soap enough this week. Let’s kick things off in Switzerland with a blast from the past and an infamous supervillain. 

Top Secret: Project Faison

After meeting Valentin’s demands to arrange a visit with Charlotte, Jack got down to brass tacks and demanded answers. Jack wanted to know what Valentin knew about the project that Faison had been working on at the time of Faison death. Oh, and the name of Faison’s partner. Valentin didn’t provide a name for the mystery person, but he did confirm that there was indeed a partner-in-crime. If Jack wanted more, Valentin wanted a visit from Anna before sharing more nonanswers and vague information. 

Jack unwisely decided against inviting Anna into the circle of trust. Fool. Anna is right, there are no coincidences when Faison is involved. Two of his children are back from the dead. That’s not a miracle. It’s trouble with a capital “T.”

Faison was a criminal mastermind, but he never had the discipline – or the money – to carry out his sinister plots. That’s what the Cassadines were for. The Cassadines were also into world domination. Faison was in it for the chaos and terror. There is one Cassadine in particular who checks all the boxes for what Jack is looking for, and he was exceedingly adept at faking his death. That would be Valentin’s big bad papa, Victor.

The nine lives of Victor Cassadine

I know that many suspect Peter August, Faison’s spare son who had longed for his father’s approval, might be behind this plot. I do agree that he is probably involved, but this intricate plot is not his style. He doesn’t have the money to bankroll an operation like this, and I just can’t see Sidwell answering to someone like Peter August. 

But Sidwell would definitely align himself with someone like Victor Cassadine. A man who ran the WSB – a few times – who had connections and sleeper cells all around the world, and who would be keenly interested in a project centered around cold fusion. This is a man who came close to ruling the world with Ice Princess technology not too long ago.

Peter was never that ambitious. Peter was interested in revenge, financial gain, and Maxie. In that order. Peter never worked beside his father. He was only ever an underling. Not so with Victor. Victor and Faison had been known to partner up on several occasions. It’s why I’m almost certain that “C” stands for Cassadine, and that Victor had a body double on ice in Greenland in the event that his plans went awry and he needed to make a quick escape without raising suspicion.

I can see Collette Moreau reporting to Victor, her old boss. Peter was just a DVX agent flying on the coattails of his father. 

A dysfunctional family affair

Dear readers, I was so happy when I heard that Kelly Thiebaud was returning to General Hospital. I couldn’t wait to see what the writers had in store for her once it became clear that she would be reprising her role as Britt Westbourne. It took years for me to warm up to Britt, but I did. Toward the end of her last run on the show I was even shipping her relationship with Jason. But my excitement has slowly turned to annoyance. I don’t like this demanding, manipulative, acid tongue woman she’s become. She treats everyone like garbage, especially Liesl, and acts like she’s the victim when she’s the one who has hurt and betrayed everyone.

All the growth I saw Britt make before her tango with Heather is gone. Why? I need to understand this shift.

Was Liesl an abusive and horrible mother to Britt growing up? Absolutely. Liesl had no business raising a child. Nathan was lucky to have been spared Liesl’s harsh parenting style However, Britt forgave Liesl for all of that. She understood that her mother was a deeply damaged creature who had been blinded by her devotion to an abusive and twisted narcissist like Faison. Liesl and Britt worked through all of that and came out the other side with a close and loving relationship.  I don’t get this chip on Britt’s shoulder when it comes to Liesl, and it’s time for the writers to address it because it certainly wasn’t there before Britt faked her death.

All is not as it seems with Nathan either

Did anyone else notice the odd expression on Nathan’s face when he and Anna shared a hug in Anna’s office? There was something very un-Nathan-like about it. It’s an expression I would expect to see on Peter’s face because he loathed his aunt. I imagine that dislike only intensified after Anna shot and presumably killed him. It was that cold expression that set off alarm bells and made me think that perhaps Peter was indeed alive and posing as his brother Nathan. I really hope I’m wrong, but something is definitely up with Nathan. 

As much as I want to believe that Nathan is alive, I’m almost certain Peter underwent plastic surgery to look like his brother. That is why Maxie had to be put in a coma. She would know instantly that the man with her husband’s face was not in fact not her beloved husband. Britt’s reaction also points to an imposter. Her lackluster welcome to her beloved brother returning from the dead can best be described as leery. It’s almost as if she knows Nathan is not who he appears to be. Yet, at the same time, Britt is clearly protecting him. 

Is it Nathan? I don’t know. His scenes with Nina on Friday were pretty compelling, but he’s almost too perfect. Why isn’t Nathan trying to see Maxie? Why does he treat Spinelli like a stranger? It’s odd that he’s not desperate to find out what’s been going on with him for the past seven years. Nathan was a decorated police officer, but he seems uninterested in solving the crime of his abduction. Has he even asked about the events that supposedly ended his life?

Anna was right, Nathan doesn’t look like a man who has spent seven years comatose in a bed.

Wicked Willow

One of my favorite moments this week, heck this year, was watching the police make two arrests in the shooting of Drew Cain. It was so soapy good. After the police found the gun and proof that Nina wasn’t with Willow at the time of the shooting, Nina was taken into custody while dining out at Bobbie’s. The writers had a fantastic job of setting things up by strongly implying that Carly would be the one taking the fall for the shooting. Even Carly believed her arrest was imminent, which made it that much sweeter when Chase walked up to Nina and informed her that she was under arrest. Carly was as shocked as Nina. Well played, writers.

Meanwhile, Willow was enjoying a supervised visit with her kids at General Hospital when Anna and Dante marched in and promptly slapped a pair of handcuffs on a stunned Willow. 

Is Willow the shooter? 

I have no pity for Willow. She has been the master of her own disaster since July 4, 2024, and a menace to everyone since she lost custody of the kids. I do believe Willow shot Drew, and I’m also certain that it was premeditated. I know some will defend her by saying Willow isn’t capable of such evilness, but I don’t agree. She didn’t think twice about using a newborn baby to terrorize Michael and Sasha. She might not have harmed Daisy during those episodes, but we don’t know how far Willow would have gone if Sasha hadn’t packed up and whisked Daisy far away from Port Charles.

When I watch Willow with Drew these days, I don’t see a woman blindly in love. I see a woman pretending to love a man that she secretly hates. I’ve noticed that more often than not, it’s Drew who initiates their hugs and kisses. Willow is always quick to end it. It took quite a bit of cajoling from him to get her to agree to move in, and when she finally relented, she looked about as thrilled as she would be at the prospect of having a root canal without Novocain.

I suspect Willow stole that gun from the Q mansion with the intention of shooting Drew and framing Michael. I think she made that decision sometime after her wedding disaster, but the judge’s death was the catalyst that spurred her to put the plan into motion. A few days later, Willow tried to return the gun on the pretext of Scout visiting Monica, but that didn’t pan out, so she returned later. That’s when Chase caught Willow sneaking in through the kitchen. 

Michael isn’t innocent either

During Michael’s conversation with Diane, Sonny, and Carly, it was clear that Michael knows far more about Drew’s shooting than we were led to believe. Did Michael see Willow shoot Drew? I can see Michael keeping quiet about the shooting to protect his children from learning that their mother was a would-be murderer. Everyone assumes that Michael was at Liz’s house to plant the gun, but what if he was there looking for it? To use the gun as leverage by threatening to give it to the police if Willow didn’t drop her custody bid. 

If Willow is indeed the shooter, it would make sense that the gun was at Liz’s house, since Chase thwarted Willow’s effort to return it.

All of the episodes of General Hospital this week were about smoke and mirrors. We think things are black when they are white, so the shadier the writers tried to make Michael seem the more convinced I became that his actions were being mispresented.

Papa Bear

I can’t deny that Michael sounded cold when he and Brook Lynn talked about Willow, but he also sounded very protective of his children. Michael has good reason to be concerned about Willow, especially if he saw her shoot Drew. She messed with Daisy, let Drew fill Wiley and Amelia’s heads with lies, and upended their lives. Any decent parent would be in bear-mode to safeguard their children.

I saw nothing wrong with what Michael did in setting up a supervised visit with Willow. At worst, he’d be stuck taking their kids to these visits until Willow inevitably messed up. At best, it would happen far sooner, and a licensed professional could testify about it in court that Willow is too unstable to be around the kids. In the end, I truly believe Michael wants Willow to get better. She’s never going to do that as long as she’s with Drew. She needs a nice long stay at Shadybrook. Until that happens, he has a responsibility to keep Wiley and Amelia safe from Willow’s poor choices.

Congressman Checkers

Drew was also a recipient of some karma this week. The writers set things up perfectly by having Drew place a call to Sidwell and arrogantly demand to see his minion. Pronto. Drew’s smugness would not last long.

Sidwell arrived as ordered, but he quickly turned the tables on Drew. Drew got a hefty taste of his own nasty medicine when Sidwell informed Drew that Sidwell had a cache of damaging evidence against Drew that could send Drew to jail for years. To make matters worse, Sidwell made sure that Drew, not Sidwell, would take the fall for the judge’s murder. That teaches Drew to underestimate someone that everyone warned him was pure evil.

Checkmate

Ever since Drew went dark, he foolishly believes that he’s the smartest person in the room. He’s not, and this week Sidwell gave Congressman Checkers a lesson in chess. It was a beautiful thing to behold. Drew’s astonished expression when he realized that he’d been outwitted gave me sweet, sweet satisfaction.

More moments like this please. 

The lunatic harpies

Nothing was funnier this week than Ric being rescued by Cody and confronting the three harpies (Ric’s words not mine) who had kept Ric drugged and tied to a table in the basement. The clever dialogue kicked off with Ric’s greeting to Alexis as he hobbled into the house with Cody trailing behind him. “What’s wrong Alexis?” Ric asked. “It hasn’t been that long since we’ve seen each other. You don’t have to ask though; I did try something new with my hair,” he added with a sneer.

Ric unloading on Alexis, Kristina, and Ava was pure gold. Everything came out. The blackmail, Kristina’s attempt to kill Ava by tampering with Ric’s brakes, the trust fund embezzlement, and how they hoped to fix everything by returning all of the money – minus Ava’s divorce settlement – before letting Ric go. It was all laid bare for Cody to take in. When Ava offered to pay Cody handsomely to walk away until the wire transfer went through, Ric quickly assured everyone that Cody was a “much better man than that.” Oh, Ric, you are a silly, silly fool. 🤣

It soon became clear to all, Ric included, that Cody was tempted. Ric quickly offered to pay Cody reward money, reasoning that it was a much better deal than “accepting blood money from this crazy coven.” I howled with laughter.

I can’t wait to see how Thanksgiving goes for this whacky bunch.

Poor, poor gullible Molly

As entertaining as those scenes were, I do feel sorry for Molly. But not too sorry because she’s far too smart to believe that crazy story Ric concocted about being sucked into a cult that had kept him drugged until he had somehow escaped into the woods and miraculously happened to stumble across Cody and his trusty sidekick, Outback. 

That goes double for Liz who has caught Ric in more lies than any of us could possibly count. 

Portia’s pickle

Portia is pregnant, but who is the father? Don’t know and don’t care. 

Once again, Portia finds herself in a situation where she fooled around and fell…pregnant. Folks, Portia is too old for this nonsense. I can understand if she’d been having unprotected sex with her husband hoping to conceive a baby, but she’s too smart to go without birth control if doesn’t want to have a baby. There’s no excuse for not using protection, especially when she had sex with Isaiah. Eww. 

I’m not the least bit interested in this plot twist but if I had to pick a father, I would choose Curtis. He’s already saddled with Portia for life because of Trina. There’s still hope for Isaiah to escape Portia’s toxic orbit and find someone nice who doesn’t lie and do terrible things like conspire to pay hookers to drug blackmailing congressmen and alter patient lab tests.

Port Charles Potpourri

Some quick thoughts about other things going on in and around Port Charles.

Why in the world would Kai and Trina wait until the day that Drew was set to go home to return to the scene of the crime and go over what happened the night of Drew’s shooting? They couldn’t have gone, say, the day before?

It really makes me uncomfortable to hear Rocco refer to Britt and her family as his family. They are not family. Nathan is not Rocco’s uncle in any way, shape, or form. Britt and Liesl stole Embryo Rocco, and they kept him hidden from his parents for nearly a year. If Britt and Liesl had taken Rocco as a toddler, would anyone see them as anything other than kidnappers? No. Just because Britt loved Rocco doesn’t make what she did any less wrong. In Rocco’s shoes, I’d be furious if someone had stolen me from my parents. What Britt did was truly awful and it shouldn’t be whitewashed.

I really enjoyed Valentin and Lulu’s conversation about Charlotte. It’s nice to see that they were able to put Charlotte first. That said, Valentin should have given Lulu the heads up about Britt too. It shouldn’t be Charlotte’s responsibility to protect Rocco, but by keeping Lulu out of the loop that’s exactly the position Valentin put his daughter in.

What General Hospital Viewers Are Saying

We love reading what other fans have to say about the show, so please scroll down to the Comments section and share your thoughts. It’s at the bottom of this (and every) column.

Michael’s history of manslaughter

“I think it’s annoying that she [Anna] seems so single minded when it comes to thinking that Michael shot Drew. Plus, I was annoyed that she used Claudia to justify her position.” — Ryan

“…does Anna think a history of defensible killing means a person is capable of cold-blooded murder? Not an academic question for her. Based on her history as a spy & her shooting Carlos in a fit of rage, I think she would have to say yes. She doesn’t know Michael is too measured for that.” — Kathie

“I agree about the Claudia thing, super weird to treat that like it proves Michael is a stone killer.” — CeeGee

Sidwell turns the tables on Drew

You know you really hate a character when you are “pulling for” the likes of Sidwell. 😂

— Pattie Wilson (@phw0923) October 14, 2025

Jason tells Carly that Josslyn is a WSB agent

Laura and Steve really brought to their scenes! Just loved Jason spilling the tea! I knew Carly would smash those roses. Now she needs to smash Jack’s face!!

— Cat ✨🛸🖖 (@NurseChapel11) October 17, 2025

Nope – He promised Joss he would not out her. I hope Jack files charges against him. Two wrongs do not equal a right. Joss is an adult.

— Peggy Salitros (@pbSalitros) October 17, 2025

Before you check out

What’s new in Fairmont Crest? Be sure to check out Dan J Kroll’s latest Beyond The Gates commentary called Break All The Rules.