General Hospital Commentary: I Hear Pickleball Is All the Rage

It was a week of upheaval and turmoil — and pickleball. Is the show moving in the right direction? Let’s discuss that and more in a brand-new General Hospital commentary for the week ending August 21, 2026.

Dear readers, I feel a little sorry for Lulu right now. I mean, this girl is the badass daughter of Lucas Lorenzo Spencer and Laura freaking Webber. But now General Hospital’s writers have made her a helicopter parent who spends her days tracking her kids on the “Find My” app and does little else. 

Confessions of a Helicopter Mom

Every now and then we see Lulu acting a s a reporter and supposedly interviewing people, but we never see her get those stories published, or see anyone reading them, or watching their impact around town. As a writer myself, I can only imagine how depressing it would be if you wrote your heart out and no one ever read it.

When Lulu burst into Carly’s house and broke up what was about to be a very sexy scene from our new favorite supercouple Caradine (Carly and (Valentin) Cassadine), I was as peeved as they were. I am smitten with every beautiful scene between Laura Wright and James Patrick Stuart. When they discussed still being together in six years, it made me swoon. But I digress.

Back to Lulu

Readers, I grew up in the 70’s in a world where your parents shoved you out the door in the morning and said, “Go play” and didn’t see you again for hours. There was literally a PSA that aired at 10:00 p.m. asking parents if they knew where their wildlings … ahem … kids were. Also, I grew up on a lake, so my mom started taking me to swimming lessons when I was 5 years old to ensure I was a strong swimmer since I was going to be on the water my whole life. My dad was a fisherman, we had a boat, and I could maneuver around on a moving boat from the time I was in kindergarten.

When Lulu freaked out that Danny and Charlotte were on a boat ride it seemed excessive. Danny and Charlotte are both 17 years old on the show. That means that in a matter of months they will be 18, and either one of them can go anywhere they want in the whole entire world without Lulu’s permission. At what point do you start trying to prepare your kid for that? Charlotte has had an unconventional childhood, to say the least, and traveled all over the world, so a little boat ride seems tame compared to other things she has experienced.

Co-parenting With Valentin

I understand why Lulu hates Valentin for keeping Charlotte from her for so long, but now, she knows he loves Charlotte and would do anything to protect her.  Even Laura has warmed up to Valentin and trusts him where his daughter is concerned. So, If Lulu lets Charlotte live with Valentin but is going to spend every waking minute tracking her movements, I think that’s a little nutty. 

I laughed and laughed during this exchange:

Valentin: “…Seems like you need something better to do with your time. And it doesn’t have to be a romantic interest either. I mean, it could be a hobby.”

Carly: “He’s right. There’s pickleball. Everyone’s doing it.”

Enter Ric 

But the next scene gave me pause, because it showed Ric going to Lulu and trying to enlist her help in getting Dante away from Liz. My first though was, “Oh no, is this a chem test?” 

I am not okay with Lulu and Ric being a love interest, so I hope I read that wrong. Ric and Alexis? All day, yes please. Nancy Lee Grahn and Rick Hearst have wonderful chemistry. Lulu and Dante reunion? Maybe, but I am hoping that Cassius comes back and Lulu falls for him AS Cassius. As for Dante? I know it’s a pipe dream, but I sure would love Sam McCall to come back from the dead.

Why not? Many other General Hospital characters have had a resurrection, so why not Sam? But if Sam did come back, I would want her with Jason on a hot date at the Noodle Buddha. But hey, I don’t work for ABC, and no one cares which couples I want, except for maybe a few of you, dear readers.

Soul Mates  

Laura told Lulu that you can find more than one love in a lifetime. She talked about her previous marriages and how each love was different. Laura had Scott (x2) Luke (x2) and Kevin. But I don’t think she was including Wackadoo Stavros. Can Lulu find love again and if so, who would you like it to be?

Willow Makes Her Move

Across town, a shirtless Chase was carrying in boxes as Willow reluctantly moved back into the Quartermaine gatehouse. Really, Chase? After your wife has told you repeatedly about how uneasy your devotion to Willow makes her? When Willow sent Yuri away, I thought, “Uh oh” but thankfully BLQ arrived before Willow had the opportunity to play Weeping Willow and fall into his arms.

I always try to see into the future on soaps, and I can’t decide if moving Willow back to the Q estate is leading to: A) Michael and Willow reconciling, or B) the breakup of Chase and BLQ.

What Does The Future Hold?

Frankly, it could go either way. First, BLQ is still hiding the fact that she was the other driver in the Curtis and Portia accident, and second, Hudson is suspicious of Phoebe’s adoption and may try to take her away from BLQ and Chase. Could their marriage survive those two blows? I doubt it.

But on the other hand, Katelyn MacMullen and Rory Gibson have such palpable chemistry, the writers would be fools to pass up the opportunity to reunite them, regardless of how messy it would be to unravel Willow from all of her misdeeds and reform her into someone we could root for again.

Revisionist History 

I’m annoyed about Willow’s “Stepford Wife” speech, claiming that she was forced into a domestic life like a doll in a dollhouse, when at the time, all she wanted was to be Michael’s wife and to be a mother to Wiley and Amelia. Now General Hospital’s writers have rewritten it like she was miserable that whole time. That Stepford wife version of Willow was the one we spent years rooting for and caring about, and now the writers want to make sure she was never real. That bothers me.

I was also annoyed at how low Willow was willing to go when Kai came to offer his letter of resignation. She insinuated she might be able to infer that Kai was the one who shot Drew since he was in the house without permission. Ugh. That woman would throw anyone under the bus to save her own skin. I wouldn’t be surprised if she blamed Scout for shooting her dad. Which, frankly, after Scout’s conversation with Rocco, that she kind of wishes he still couldn’t talk, I can’t blame her.

Behind The Scenes

I read that Chad Duell was shocked that General Hospital recast the role of Michael. Apparently, he thought he could just come back after his extended break. I feel sad for his misunderstanding, but truthfully Rory is just so good in the role and has elevated the character of Michael beyond anything Michael was before. I understand why General Hosital took his absence as a chance to recast. Chad did some excellent work and had some great years at General Hospital, but this new version of Michael is just…more. I think smoldering is a good word.

To Honeypot or Not

Poolside at the Metro Court, Lucy and Serena had a slightly tense encounter where Serena informed her mom that she does not want to play honeypot with Michael anymore. Lucy was discouraged but she still thinks Serena and Michael might be a good love match. As for me, I am not feeling it. 

Lucy is so confused that she seemingly rented the same apartment to Joe and Lucas, which is a cheap plot device to put these two men in the same apartment. I know they are each other’s new love interest, and I am looking forward to that, but I was hoping for more of a slow burn friends to lovers’ sort of story instead of sudden roommates, but I will give the writers the benefit of the doubt and see where it leads.

Love On The Rocks

Okay readers, I am not sure what happened. I was all in for Britt and Jason at the start, but since he came back from his break, I am less gung-ho for their pairing. Is it just me? The “I swear this is the very last lie” thing is getting boring, because we know it won’t be.

I sympathized with Britt — I believe her that she didn’t think Cassius was the mastermind — because we know he wasn’t. But if her life was in danger again tomorrow, would she do anything to stay alive including lie to Jason? Of course she would, and honestly, so would we, right? But that fire I once felt for Jason and Britt has flickered out and I am not sure why.

A New Direction

Maybe because if Jason is really planning to turn his life around and go legit, Britt may not be the best match for him. As I keep saying, I am still rooting for Liz and Jason to talk about Jake someday and pretend they know each other. Why don’t they have a more fleshed out relationship?

Maybe they should finally spring Nikolas Cassadine from prison and let him reunite with Britt. No, wait, I am already second guessing myself. I want Prince Nikolas with Ava.

Drew’s New Partnership

So, readers, how do you feel about Ava partnering up with Drew? I’m sure it will be entertaining viewing, but I just do not like Drew, so I don’t want him with my Ava because I adore her. The thing with Maura West is, she has chemistry with everyone she is paired with and elevates them just by her presence in a storyline. But can she elevate Drew enough for me to like him? That would be some sort of dark magic. He did apologize to Portia, so maybe there is a shred of humanity left in him?

Operation: Take Down Sonny

I do not understand why Drew is focused on getting revenge on Sonny. What did Sonny do to him? Did he shoot him? No, that was Willow. Did Sonny inject Drew with paralytics and leave him languishing in a wheelchair for months? No, that was Willow and Nina. Did Sonny go against Drew’s wishes and let Scout hang out with Danny? Nope, Willow again. So, explain to me why Drew is focusing all of his energy on Sonny? It doesn’t make any sense to me. If he was plotting against Nina and Willow, I’d be all in. But he’s not.

Also, I am not sure what Drew’s angle is in asking to be a consultant at Aurora Media again. I do like the idea of Drew and Michael bonding over their shared trauma of surviving Willow, but I think that will be a long time coming. If it does happen, if Drew and Michael team up to take down the deadly duo of Nina and Willow, I’d forgive Drew all of his sins.

Sidwell Returns (To Our Screens)

Sonny went to see Sidwell on Friday’s (August 21) episode, and although Sonny said he wasn’t there to gloat, it seemed very much like gloating. “Beige isn’t your color” Sonny taunted. When Sonny told Sidwell he was going legit, Sidwell’s hearty laugh made me laugh, too. I really do enjoy Carlo Rota. Sidwell stated that his son (Marco) was dead, and Sonny bounced back with the fact that Sonny’s son (Michael) was nearly killed in a firebomb. Sidwell blamed Cullum and Sonny said, “Oh. Blame the dead guy. Real classy.” Haha. These two are hilarious.

I fear that Sidwell mentioning Justine to Sonny was foreshadowing, because now that he knows Sonny cares about her, Justine will definitely have a target on her back. Do you like the relationship between ADA Turner and Sonny?

C.E.O and Super Spy 

In other Port Charles news, Josslyn is trying to get out of running JJE (Jasper Jacks Enterprises), but Carly bullied Hudson Parker to get Joss to change her mind. If I were writing General Hospital, here’s what I would write.

I’d make Hudson the bad guy that Ethan claimed he was. Maybe Jax has no knowledge of this, is being held captive somewhere, and Hudson is trying to get Joss to sign over JJE to him. This entire thing is all a ruse. Perhaps Jerry is behind it. Joss realizes something is amiss, so she goes out looking for her father with all of her mad spy skills and finds her dad and rescues him, ushering Jax back onto the canvas. It would most likely have to be a recast though, as Ingo Rademacher burned his bridges with ABC.

I can’t see General Hospital rehiring Ingo after all the bad blood that has transpired between the two parties.

Bring Jax Back

But having Jax back on canvas makes sense. It’s always bugged me that Jax has left his daughter unsupported through her many, many trials. She has buried two boyfriends (Oscar and Dex) and has been kidnapped, shot, etc. and not a peep from her Dad. 

So, having Jax randomly give Joss control of his company while he sails around the world without a phone call to Carly or Josslyn makes me feel as if something is amiss. I will be interested to see how this all plays out.

Anna’s Ghost Problem

Readers, I love Anna Devane, but I do not like Peter August, even in ghost form, and this plot with Anna and Ghost Peter is annoying me. When Anna went to Sonny and asked to buy a plot of land he owns but demanding that no one, not even Diane, can know anything about this property, I thought, “Uh Oh, here’s the repackaged plot of Liesl holding Peter August captive in a cabin.” Is Anna going to build a cabin and kidnap and torture Britt? Seems like it. And that sounds like zero fun at all. That sounds like a storyline tailor made for a fast-forward button.

I loved the conversation this week between Sonny and Anna where they talked about mental health, and Sonny suggested Anna seek therapy. She nodded like considering his wise words, but Ghost Peter will never let that happen.

Curtis Heads To Pentonville

Curtis is spending as much time as he can with baby Desmond and I do feel sad that he is going to be away from his son, even though it’s his own fault. Isaiah dropping the civil suit against Curtis is a nice gesture, but only after Curtis was sentenced to ten years in prison. I like Isaish and Portia together, and I used to want Jordan and Curtis back together, but Jordan has changed and is less sympathetic than she once was. Will she really wait for Curtis for ten years? I doubt it.

Gutpunch 

I have to say watching Curtis get his fingerprints and mug shots done during Friday’s episode really hit me. I wish General Hospital was brave enough to do storyline on the injustice of Curtis getting ten years for punching Isaiah, but so many others in Port Charles pardoned of far worse crimes. In the old days, soaps took on controversial social issues and educated and informed people about sensitive topics like abortion, AIDS, PTSD, etc. But now, the audiences are so polarized that if they even touched a topic like racial bias in sentencing, (Black males received sentences 13.4 percent longer, and Hispanic males received sentences 11.2 percent longer, than White males.) half the audience would tune out for fear of hearing statistics that don’t align with their world view.

It’s a weird timeline we live in.

More Trouble for Trina

Trina is devastated by her dad heading to Pentonville. The song that she sang at the end of Friday’s episode, as she rocked baby Des, was so sad and beautiful. Trina thinks this is her biggest trial, but she doesn’t even know she has a stalker yet. Who do you think it is? Simon the record executive, Kai’s friend Quinn, or someone else? I vote for Quinn. It just seems weird that Quinn popped up all of a sudden and wanted to make peace with her. He’s got that skeevy Remy (on The Bold and the Beautiful) vibe.

Laura Goes On Vacation

I am glad that Laura is going to visit Kevin and Ace in Ireland, but Kevin isn’t coming home anytime soon. Why? Because Jon Lindstrom he is absolutely killing it over on Beyond the Gates as Joey Armstrong, and I can’t imagine him leaving a front burner role like that to come back to General Hospital and be a background character. But I do hope Ace comes back with Laura, although if he’s been SORAS’d her might be 7 by now.

It’s a good thing Laura left her key with her responsible grandson Rocco instead of wild child Charlotte who is already working to frame Drew with her partner-in-crime Danny. It’s a good thing school starts soon before those two go on a crime spree. Does Charlotte even remember that this kind of scheming is what got her shot by Anna?

What Will Happen Tomorrow, Dear Readers?

Will Dante (please) come to my house and help me put furniture together and order pizza? Will Joe and Lucas bicker over baseball until it’s football season? Is Ava going to rent out her spare bedroom to Drew,now that Lucas is moving out?

Will Quinn keep volunteering at the animal shelter after he ties Trina up in his basement? Will New Ric revert to Old Ric when Liz turns down his marriage proposal? Is Michael going to regret leaving Jordan in charge of Aurora Media since she has zero experience, or is people with no experience being in charge of things just the way of the world now?

Will (supposedly) ex-WSB agent Tristan Roberts be the one who exposes Joss and Z for lying their asses off about Cassius Faison? Will Carly and Valentin really still be together in six years? (I hope so!) Will Rocco listen to Grandma Laura about Drew being a very vindictive man, or will he keep chatting up Scout at the pool? 

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

– Tamilu