General Hospital Commentary: “C” is for Criminal Intent

It seems like Port Charles has more criminals than good citizens walking the streets these days. Is that what viewers really want to see? A General Hospital commentary for the week ending November 6, 2026.

Yikes, it’s getting dangerous to live in Port Charles. What’s with all the baddies on General Hospital lately? I love good soapy drama, but I watch to see good conquer evil. I love a good redemption storyline, but before forgiveness can take place there must be accountability. The time must fit the crime, even on a soap. I definitely don’t want to see bad people rewarded, which is exactly what seems to be happening these days.

Cuckoo Heather is Back

Everyone loves a good soap villain, including me. I’m an unabashed Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) fan. She is my all-time favorite villain. Helena will always reign as the Queen of Bad, and no one can convince me otherwise. She was a master at crazy shenanigans that would often target Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and the good people of Port Charles. But as much as I loved her, I also cheered when she was inevitably vanquished. It is the way of soap villains. Helena would be off-screen for a time (finding clever ways to wiggle out of her legal troubles) so that she could return to wreak more havoc on the good citizens to Port Charles.

General Hospital had a perfect formula for balancing the scales of justice that allowed the good guys to prevail and for Helena to be punished — but always with a path to return. Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roché), Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), and Stavros Cassadine (Robert Kelker-Kelly) also benefited from this style of soapy writing. Heather Webber (Alley Mills) did too — until she didn’t.

Heather Buys Spoon Island

This week, Heather showed up at the Cats Eye (which she had rented out) to apologize to Trina and announce that Heather had bought Spoon Island! Excuse me, what?! The plan is for Heather to take up residence in Wyndemere and build a relationship with Ace before he finds out that he comes from a long line of unhinged homicidal maniacs. Heather is worried that he will be horrified by what Heather has done, but she forgets there’s also Ryan Chamberlain and all those crazy Cassadines hanging out in that family tree. The poor kid. He’s going to need a lot of therapy, so perhaps it’s good that Kevin is raising him.

How did Heather afford to buy Spoon Island and Wyndemere castle? She won a huge settlement against the manufacturer of her defective artificial hip. It’s obscene. In the real world, Britt, Sasha Gilmore (Sofia Mattsson), and the other families of Heather’s murdered victims would have sued Heather for wrongful death and been given that money that Heather is now lavishly spending in her bid to buy redemption.

Heather’s State of Mind

I completely agree with Portia that cobalt poisoning didn’t drive Heather to murder. How do I know this? Long before Heather received that artificial hip, she attempted to murder Diana Taylor. It was quite a shocking scandal back in the day. Heather was obsessed with Elizabeth’s father, Jeff Webber (played by Richard Dean Anderson), but he had fallen in love with Diana. Together, Jeff and Diana were raising his and Heather’s son (Steven Lars). I didn’t feel sorry for Heather. She had sold her newborn son on the black market.

Heather terrorized Diana up until Heather’s mother killed Diana. I will concede though that the LSD dose Heather had intended for Diana to consume — which Heather had accidently ingested — did make Heather quicker to act on her diabolical impulses. But by her own admission, Heather was on the run from her crimes when she met Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom) — off screen — in 2001. She continued to turn up in Port Charles to stir up trouble and torment people right up to 2004 when she had the hip replacement. The same year that Heather murdered Detective Ross Duncan. Heather had been causing mayhem and attempting/committing murder for decades before the cobalt poisoning.

Heather’s “Redemption”

I find it strange that Steven Lars didn’t call his sister Elizabeth to give her a heads up about Heather’s relocation. I also find it odd that Heather had no idea that Ace has been living in Ireland for the past year. Has she not stayed in touch with Laura? it’s hard to tell. Heather’s energy is so chaotic. She seems completely oblivious to the fact that people are genuinely terrified of her. Heather taking up residence in Port Charles is like Jason Vorhees opening a summer camp for teens. How could she possibly think that is what is best for anyone let alone Ace?

If the writers brought Heather back to correct their wrong (that stupid cobalt poisoning defense) then I’m game. But if this is about Heather’s redemption then I’d rather she take that journey somewhere far away from Port Charles. I accepted Franco’s (Roger Howarth) brain tumor defense — very reluctantly — in part because I didn’t spend decades watching him do awful things to so many characters that I loved. I didn’t watch him repeatedly use children to punish their parents, kidnap, assault, and murder people. There was Michael’s rape, but that’s a discussion for another day.

This is about Heather.

Sometimes Bad is Good, especially on General Hospital

I’d much rather see Heather be a true villain. Yes, she was twisted and evil, but she was also good drama. She was someone you knew would eventually get what she deserved. Alley does a fantastic job playing Heather as a true soap villain. She’s a phenomenal actress with a huge range. If you want proof, watch The Wonder Years where she played a loving 1960s mom who had her own awakening as her children grew up and prepared to leave the nest. The exact opposite of who Heather is. Personal growth is a foreign concept to Heather.

I have no interest in seeing Heather being good. She’s a much better villain and someone who is much more interesting being bad. Some characters shouldn’t be redeemed because they’ve done too many unforgiveable things. Helena, Faison, and Heather all fall into that group. I’d rather see Trina expose the truth about Heather, take her down, and send Heather back to a high security prison for the criminally insane like Miscavige. This way Heather can break out whenever General Hospital wants to reign a little terror on Port Charles. That’s a much better use for a character like Heather.

Circumstantial Evidence

Carly is in trouble. Three months ago (we learned compliments of a flashback) she regifted a bracelet that Jack had given her. Charlotte loved the bracelet with a “C” charm and off she went. Charlotte wore that bracelet up until the night that Jack died when it got caught up in his jacket as she swam into him in the pool. Later, the bracelet made an appearance as Drew and Ava buried Jack’s body.

An Incriminating Discovery

This week, Detective Joe Fitzpatrick (Jonathan Bennett) caught Valentin and Carly at Jack’s grave and the circumstantial evidence mounted quickly against the lovebirds. Not only did Valentin have Jack’s finger (in a plastic baggie) in his pocket, but the bracelet was quickly traced back to Carly, since she wore it while she dated Jack. Oh, those pesky selfies and candid shots on our social media pages.

I have no idea why Carly didn’t just tell Joe that she had returned the gift to Brennan a few days before he vanished, and she had no idea why he still had it on him. Instead, she let the circumstantial evidence paint a bleak picture, so she could protect Danny and Charlotte.

Cause of Death

Back at General Hospital, Brennan’s autopsy results revealed that the station chief had drowned in the pool, and that he’d had high levels of alcohol and a sedative commonly used in hospitals, including General Hospital. However, we don’t know how Jack ended up in the pool. When we last saw him, he was in the elevator feeling the effects of the sedative that Ava had slipped into his drink. Even if someone else murdered Jack, Ava and Drew are partly to blame because Brennan was in no shape to defend himself against an attack. At the very least, they are looking at involuntary manslaughter charges. If anyone looks in their direction.

Prime Suspects

As Friday’s (November 6) episode drew to a close, Dr. Tristan Rogers (Dean Geyer) decided to give the police two new suspects to look at: Drew and Ava. The two of them have been as thick as thieves lately, constantly huddled together and having tense conversations. Danny also mentioned to Carly that he and Charlotte had seen Drew and Ava together as Danny and Charlotte were fleeing the scene of the crime.

But who would murder Brennan? It’s unlikely Brennan ended up there randomly. That’s not how it works on a soap. Someone lured Brennan there and killed him. If you had asked me last week, I would have said a random enemy or Willow. But I’m beginning to think it was someone with something to hide. A person who saw Brennan as a threat. Someone who has ties to the underworld of international terrorists. A person who can have their past wiped. Someone like Jude Jacks (Will Traval).

Baby Blues

We learned quite a bit this week about Britt’s mystery one-night stand. Jude Jacks is the son of Port Charles’ public enemy number one, Jerry Jacks. Jerry not only held the Metro Court hostage (which makes Jude’s stay there even more brazen), but Jerry is the reason that Alan Quartermaine died of a heart attack. Jerry also poisoned the town’s water supply. Yet, Jude strutted his way through town like he owned the place. Is Jude DVX? It would certainly explain why he couldn’t afford to have Brennan around. And how he was able to scrub his past.

If there was any doubt that Jude was bad news, his visit to the Quartermaine mansion wiped it away. The way Jude pushed his way in and demanded his daughter Phoebe be handed over was not the act of a good man. There was no concern about how that might impact Phoebe, who has only known Brook Lynn and Chase as her parents. It was callous, uncaring, and ridiculous. He knew he was never going to walk away with Phoebe. His goal was to put the fear of God into Brook Lynn and Chase. It was exactly how Jerry operated.

Cousin Jude

According to Josslyn, Jax had warned his daughter against having anything to do with Jude. Josslyn revealed that Jude had reached out looking to connect with his uncle a few years back, but things had quickly soured and Jax had sent Jude packing. I believe it because Jude has a delusional belief that he’s somehow entitled to a share of Jasper Jacks Enterprises. It makes no sense. Jax built JJE from the ground up. Yes, his father gave him the startup money, but Jax repaid both John and Lady Jane tenfold for that gift.

The Dead Man’s Hand

For those who are newer to General Hospital, it’s important for you to know about John Jacks’ (Peter Renaday) wealth. The Dead Man’s hand was a set of cards that gunfighter Wild Bill Hickcok had been holding when he was murdered. It was believed that whoever possessed the cards — a pair of black aces and eights — would enjoy incredible luck and great wealth. John Jacks built a considerable fortune after he got his hands on the legendary cards. But there was a snag. John Jacks stole the cards, and it set off a chain of events that ultimately cost John his life.

Like I said, Jax owes Jude nothing. We watched Jax build his company into the empire it is today. We also saw Jax repeatedly take care of his family financially, including Jerry.

Sailing Takes Me Away

That brings me to Jax’s solo sailing trip around the world. I know that Jax has talked to loved ones about his dream to one day sail solo around the world. We also know that Carly and Jax had a conversation about Josslyn joining the WSB, and that shortly afterwards Jax decided to take the trip and leave Josslyn in charge of JJE in the hopes of Josslyn leaving the WSB. I’m still not sure what about Josslyn’s college studies — political science, medicine, and spy school — made him think that Josslyn was capable of running a multibillion-dollar empire, but I was willing to suspend disbelief. It’s a soap.

What I can’t get passed is Josslyn’s absolute lack of concern for Jax given Jude’s appearance. We saw her figure out that Ric had planted a bug on Hudson (Troy Lennon Appel) in 45 seconds flat based solely on her spy senses (and a handy bug sweeper that she carries in her clutch purse), but she has no concerns about Jax’s trip? None? Really?

A Three Hour Tour

I’m not a sailor, but even I know that embarking on a solo sailing trip around the world isn’t like hopping on cruise ship and embarking on an adventure. You need to prepare. Stock up on supplies, map out a route, and set things in place. It’s a dangerous endeavor, and not doing those things would mean certain death. I don’t care how rich you are, it’s not a spur of the moment trip. Yet, that’s exactly what it was for Jax. That alone should have been a red flag.

I’ve been saying it from the beginning that something is off with Jax’s trip. I’m more certain than ever since Jude’s arrival. Jude isn’t in town just for Phoebe, and I suspect he’s not really after JJE either. Not directly. It has something to do with whatever has the WSB interested in JJE.

Jerry’s Achilles Heel

My theory about Jax is simple. Jerry and Jude are up to something, so Jerry took steps to keep Jax from getting swept up in it. Jerry has always loved his brother and has tried to protect him from Jerry’s worst impulses. Back when Jerry unleashed a deadly biotoxin on the town’s water supply, he didn’t offer Josslyn the antidote because he loves his niece. It was because Jerry loves Jax, and Jax loves Josslyn.

Jerry would know all about Jax’s dream to go sailing around the world because despite everything the brothers were as close. Well, as close as Jerry could be with anyone. Knowing Jerry as I do, he would see kidnapping Jax — and putting him in a cushy prison — as protecting his baby brother. In the end, we only have Hudson’s word for Jax’s absence. Hudson is not a reliable source because we already know that he’s secretly working against Josslyn.

Secret Allies

Are Hudson and Jude in league? Definitely. But how they are connected remains a mystery. Is Jude Hudson’s father? Older brother? Hudson’s interest in Phoebe feels personal, like they have a familial connection. Time will tell. I don’t know what Jude and Hudson are up to, but I have a feeling that Josslyn will be forced to work with Sonny before this is all over.

Deceptive Practices

Speaking of secret agendas, Serena (Kelly Kruger) and Lucy (Lynn Herring) hatched a new plot to get their greedy mitts on Deception. They’ve become General Hospital’s version of Dumb and Dumber. I’m so incredibly disappointed with how Serena turned into a Lucy 2.0. This is not the sweet, kind, honest, and intelligent child I watched periodically grow up. It’s certainly not the way I ever imagined Serena would turn out.

After failing to trick Jason into signing over Michael’s shares of Deception, Lucy and Serena hatched a new plan. Plan B was to try to give Carly a false alibi in exchange for the coveted shares. I cannot tell you how much I despise both Lucy and Serena. They act like Jason is dumber than a box of rocks. Luckily, Jason wasn’t foolish enough to take Serena up on her stupid offer. He told Serena to stay out of it and left. Did Serena listen? No. Of course she didn’t. Serena marched herself down to the police station, but she stopped short of entering. Will she have a change of heart? One can hope, but I’m not holding my breath.

Serena’s Fan Club

In case you were wondering who Serena’s number fan was, it’s Serena. Serena sat in Bobbie’s and proudly shared all the outlandish ways she was able to bamboozle people. In the name of saving animals, of course. She wanted Jason to be impressed with her ability to sell a lie. He looked at her the way he does Danny when Danny does something ridiculous. I keep hearing that General Hospital hopes to spark a romance between Jason and Serena. I hope not because I don’t see any chemistry between the two. The problem is the writing for Serena. She’s as annoying as Lucy and equally full of herself.

I want to see less of Lucy and Serena, not more.

Apple Trees

That brings me to Willow and Nina. Two more morally corrupt people. Willow is trying to get her mother out of jail. I’m sure she’s concerned about Nina’s welfare, but I’m also certain that Willow is worried that her mother might crack. She need not be because Nina is all about falling on her sword for her children.

My flabber was completely gasted when Nina brought up Nelle and made the wild accusation that Carly killed Nelle. Excuse me madam, that is not what happened. We all saw the scenes that led up to Nelle’s death, and her final seconds before presumably falling to her death and being washed away. Nelle tried to kill Carly. Repeatedly. But when Nelle was hanging from the edge of the cliff, Carly did her best to save Nelle. Despite everything. Nina has absolutely nothing to base her claims on. It’s just her delusional mind making things up. That same damaged mind also tells Nina that her love could have cured Nelle of the violent homicidal tendencies that ultimately led to Nelle’s downfall. It’s nonsense.

Nelle was a bad apple. It turns out that her twin is not much better. The only reason Willow hasn’t added murder to her list of crimes yet is because she’s a lousy shot.

Chasing the Truth

I’m really hoping that Willow’s lawsuit against Lulu backfires. I’ve been waiting over two years for Willow to face some real consequences for her actions. We have so many criminals getting away with their wicked ways, and Willow is at the very top of that list. Nina too. So is Drew. Now, Ava too.

One viewer told me that Nina didn’t deserve to be in jail, but I disagree. She arranged for evidence in a trial to disappear, she’s been Willow’s accomplice for months, she injected Brennan with that serum, and she tried to kill Drew by shoving him into the Quartermaine lake when she thought he was confided to a wheelchair. That’s just the highlights.

Nina isn’t innocent.

A Christmas Miracle

I would love to see the trial go sideways for Willow, for her crimes to catch up with her, and for Willow to be shipped off to Shadybrook where she can get some much-needed therapy. Nina can join her daughter there. The two can spend Christmas paying their debt to society, going to family therapy, and actually growing as people. Will I get that? No, absolutely not. But a girl can dream.

Port Charles Potpourri

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

Security Tapes

If Carly had bothered to watch all the security footage from the day that Jack was last seen, she might have seen Drew and Ava up at the pool or pushing around the laundry cart that was later found abandoned. Instead, as soon as she saw Danny and Charlotte, she hit pause and made a beeline with Valentin to talk to Danny. Why not watch everything and then go talk to Danny?

It also baffles me why the WSB or the PCPD haven’t gotten a court order for those security tapes. One would think they would start their investigation there. Perhaps if they had, they might have seen Ava spiking Brennan’s drink before he stumbled into the elevator. It’s not like she did it in a closet. Ava was sitting right there out in the open at the table, while Brennan had stepped away to take a call.

Rumor Has It

Internet rumors recently swirled that Rory Gibson was on his way out and Michael would be killed off. I couldn’t imagine General Hospital doing something so foolish. Most viewers seem to really like Rory. At least from what I’ve seen. I certainly do. Luckily, Rory set the record straight. He remains on contract and isn’t going anywhere.

Tracy Heads to Thailand

Tracy will be offscreen for a bit. She is flying to Thailand to bail Dillon out of a Thai jail. It seems Dillon’s film making career led him to film in a monastery without permission. Hopefully, Tracy will be back by Thanksgiving.

And The Emmy Goes To

Congratulations to all the 2026 Daytime Emmy winners but a special shoutout to my General Hospital peeps. Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault) earned a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Guest Performance. Very well-deserved. The show also picked up the top prize for Outstanding Daytime Drama. That’s six years in a row! Additionally, General Hospital’s writing team walked away with an Emmy. I couldn’t be happier. I might grumble about things, but I love General Hospital. It’s why I’ve watched for as many decades as I have.

What General Hospital Viewers Are Saying

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

The Good, The Bad, and The In-Between

I do like that Josslyn isn’t just giving Sonny a pass. Sonny never has to do any real work to get anyone’s forgiveness. I don’t get why it hasn’t occurred to Sonny to at least go to her and say, “I’m sorry I hurt you”. That’s why I can’t take it seriously when he says he’s done everything he can think of to repair his relationship with Josslyn. No, he hasn’t. — Ryan

I think Joss has MAJOR abandonment issues mixed in with major daddy issues. Jax was always an irregular presence in her life, we would occasionally be told she was seeing him in Australia, he would occasionally show up in PC but then ultimately leave again…he was never a constant. Sonny leaving them for Nina was the final straw. Ever since then she’s had difficult relationships with all male paternal figures like Sonny and Jack, she tends to be drawn to older guys too….yeah, I think Daddy Abandonment Issues are strong with her. — Georgina Brown

…Dex’s later experiences with Sonny made things worse. But that doesn’t mean Joss’s attitude is rational. If she’s mad at Sonny because his relationship with Nina means his lines about family first are a load of crap, fine. But that has nothing to with his business. Which she had no problems with when she was living under his roof, which she has no problems with for Jason and which she tolerated with Dex. — Kathie

First impressions of Jude

Before You Check Out

Don’t miss Soap Central founder Dan J Kroll’s latest Beyond The Gates Commentary: Half A Second When Hell Didn’t Freeze Over. If you are more of an audio book kinda person, check out his podcast version complete with stories, random asides, bloopers, and more! You can access that here.

Happy viewing,

Liz