General Hospital Commentary: New Jack City

Viewers got a shock when Jack Brennan changed overnight as Charles Mesure exited and Chris McKenna took over the role. Will the recast change course for Jack and Carly? Meanwhile, Sidwell has an unexpected connection to Natalia, and the walls are closing in on Cyrus. Let’s discuss that and more in this week’s General Hospital commentary for the week ending February 07, 2025.

Dear readers, I can’t deny my disappointment that Charles Mesure opted to leave GH. I adored his version of Jack Brennan, and the chemistry he had with Laura Wright. Carly and Jack seemed like an inevitability, but many of the romances on General Hospital these days are taking way too long to get anywhere.

Not a lot of love in Port Charles

Jason hasn’t had a love interest since he returned. Ric and Ava hold promise, but we are only one kiss in on what could be. Liz and Lucky finally started to get somewhere this week, but their reunion is moving at a snail’s pace. It also continually gets interrupted. Jordan and Isaiah seemed like they had some serious relationship vibes, but then Brick shows up in town. Suddenly, it all feels uncertain which direction the writers are going. Trina and Kai were starting to get some sparks, and then the writers decided to cripple Kai. 

Joss is mourning Dex and on the hunt for his killer and Dante is mourning Sam. Although we are hopeful that he and Lulu will reunite eventually.

New Jack, new act?

Maybe new Jack (Chris McKenna) will grow on me. We haven’t seen enough of him yet to form an opinion. On the downside, he doesn’t have the sexy Aussie accent, and I haven’t yet witnessed the Jack Brennah swagger. But I have an open mind, and I hope in the coming weeks he captivates me and makes me fall for him in the role. I really want to like him. I want him to be a new love interest for Carly and for everyone to be wrong about him using her.

Natalia’s connection to Sidwell

In other news, as you know, I have been whining about Natalia for quite a while. But today, we got a clue about her past. I didn’t know why she was still in town after Blaze left, and I didn’t understand why the writers would blow up two promising couples like Dex and Joss or Cody and Sasha but keep Sonny and Natalia together who have never captured my interest as a couple. But perhaps the writers have been playing the long game.

When Sidwell’s goon called in to report to Jenz today, he was reporting not on Sonny but on Natalia. Jenz seemed surprised to hear Natalia was with Sonny. Is Jenz her husband? Her ex? Why is he tracking her? Is he Blaze’s dad? How does Natalia play into his orbit? Now I’m interested. Perhaps the writers had a plan all along, or perhaps they made this up on the fly, but either way, it at least gives Natalia a reason to be kept on the canvas.

A blast from General Hospital’s past — and a loose end

Another name that perked up my ears was Austin Gatlin-Holt. Is it possible that Austin is still alive and not as dead as we thought? There is reason for hope, since soaps rarely mention names of presumed dead characters without reason. 

If Roger Howarth shows up in town and is in cahoots with Cyrus by choice or coercion, I won’t be mad. But I’m still mad about the destruction of Liz and Franco. The one time that General Hospital did a redemption story where a serial killer became a good guy, and it worked.

All eyes on Cyrus, especially at General Hospital

Unlike Cyrus. It’s clear that Cyrus is going to die soon, because about a dozen people in Port Charles want him dead. Top of the list are Lulu, Josslyn, and Danny, and Trina, Portia, Curtis, Laura, Martin, Lucky, Liz and many others No one would shed tears if he died. Maybe Austin will return to kill Cyrus and become the town hero and get his job back at General Hospital.  

Liz and Lucky discovered another patient who had a mysterious heart attack and died after being visited by Cyrus, and I suspect the Turning Woods list will turn up even more names. It’s weird that it has taken a hunt for a serial killer to help Lucky and Liz reconnect, but I don’t care about the how’s and whys, only that they are reconnecting. When Liz told Lucky that she can’t be anyone’s angel and he told her that he only needed her to be herself, my stone-cold heart melted a little.

Things are heating up with Lucky and Liz

My heart melted even more when Lucky pulled Liz into his arms to dance. I screamed, “Yes, finally!” at my TV. But before I was able to get too invested, Ric came knocking at the door and interrupted them. The General Hospital writers are super big fans of interruptions. Readers, if I was in the arms of my One True Love and he was about to kiss me and someone knocked at my door, you can bet I would finish that kiss before I went to the door.

Sure, Ric was there to share the happy news that Liz was cleared of murdering her patients, and was free to go back to work, but even so, I am weary of that tired tactic of slowing down plots.

Justice is on vacation in Port Charles

Okay, let’s talk about Sidwell. So, he was in some part of the world where there were no laws, so he couldn’t be held accountable for the horrible things he did. He then comes to the town of the people that he kidnapped and tried to murder, but he can’t be arrested because there are no laws where he came from? This doesn’t make sense to me. The people he held hostage are all in the town he just moved to. Can’t they still go to the cops and say, “Hey, that new PC resident held me hostage and tried to kill me, and I have four other witnesses in town that will tell you the same.” Has Anna called Robert and Holly and told them Sidwell is in town — or that Sasha is knocked up?

General Hospital’s resident town crier

Speaking of which, is it just me or is Cody getting to be super annoying? Why would he go blab all over town that Jason was the father of Sasha’s baby just because he saw them talking? What a tool. 

That might work to Jason and Sasha’s benefit though. If people think Jason is the father, they won’t be speculating that it might be Michael. I like the idea of Jason playing along and pretending he’s the baby daddy until Michael gets home, to protect Michael’s baby and Sasha. It’s easy for me to imagine them setting up a cozy little home. Sasha could help Danny grieve for Sam, and they could be a happy little family. That is, until Michael comes home and then it all blows up, maybe after the baby turns one. I mean we have to fall deep in love with them so we can be destroyed when Jason gets his heart broken again.

Maxie, the General Hospital oracle

Maxie has been advising half the town, but is anyone listening to her? She advised Emma to consider that Anna was a spy and stop trying to sneak around. Maxie advised Nina about the Drew and Willow situation. Maxie is trying to be a friend to Drew, Willow, Nina. Lulu, Brook Lynn and the trouble is, and trust me I have been there, their interests don’t align. Being Switzerland is hard. You know a situation isn’t good when Carly and Nina are contemplating partnering up. I swear though, they would be the best allies. Can you imagine having those two she-devils as your enemy? Drew better run to D.C. and hide.

Finding new lows

Drew gets worse by the day.

It’s hard for me to remember when I liked or cared about Drew at all. He was an honorable and good man, now he’s scheming and plotting and sneaking around like a deranged stalker. One thought I have had is, is this the real Drew? Do you recall after Drew came home from Pentonville everyone was talking about his temper and about how much he had changed? Was there some switcheroo in prison?

Are there triplets instead of twins with Jason and Drew? That’s the only thing that would make sense as to Drew’s complete turnaround in character. Maybe it’s an undead Shiloh in a mask back to torment Willow. I don’t know, but the Drew we see today bears very little resemblance to the guy who showed up in Port Charles in the Billy Miller era, and even the early Cameron Mathison era. Something has shifted.

Dante’s inferno of grief

Something has shifted in Dante, too and it’s understandable. Dante’s fiancée was murdered, he’s been kicked off the case to find her killer, his brother Michael is in a burn ward after a terrible accident, and his ex-wife just came out of a year’ long coma. Our beloved Dominic Zamprogna should be submitting scenes for Emmy consideration because he is absolutely nailing Dante’s unraveling.

Dante is on the edge of losing it every single day and we are watching him try to hold it together minute by minute. 

Alexa Havins is doing a magnificent job of capturing the fierceness and tenderness in Lulu’s heart. When a character is recast, I always hold my breath waiting to see if they can capture the magic of the character, and I feel like Alexa has definitely done that. She has a vibe similar to Julie Marie Berman and to me, her Lulu feels like classic Lulu, and I embrace her wholeheartedly.

I appreciate the scene when Lulu told Dante how much she appreciated Sam’s generous heart, and the willingness Sam had to put her life on the line to save Lulu. Loved that she gave Dante permission to talk about Sam with her, to remove those walls and fears for him, to give him a safe space to share his grief and loss. I know it will take time for those two to find their way back to one another, but building a friendship is a great start.

Sonny’s promise

Another heartfelt scene I loved this week was with Alexis and Sonny. Nancy Lee Grahn and Maurice Benard have always had chemistry, and even in their mutual grief over Sam, they were mesmerizing on screen together. Alexis told Sonny that she hates this world, and that her grief was too heavy to carry. Sonny assured her that she didn’t have to carry it alone and that he would walk with her through it. A genuinely precious scene. 

But will Sonny be around to keep that promise? If he doesn’t heed the medical warnings and get a pacemaker to deal with his heart issues, he won’t be around to protect anyone. Is there anyone who can get through to him? Maybe Carly, but she doesn’t know.

I have a feeling that Ms. Wu and Jenz are going to be duking it out over Sonny’s territory while he is in the hospital. But will it be General Hospital or one far away from Port Charles?

What will happen tomorrow dear readers?

Will Portia get tired of Brad blackmailing her and just admit her sins? Are Ms. Wu and Jenz destined team up to be a supervillain couple? Will General Hospital ever hire security guards who are alert enough to notice and keep a banned serial killer out of the hospital? Can Lucas forgive Brad after a few more trips to the gym and bicep flexes? Will Drew be more careful about leaving his clothes in Willow’s sofa cushions the next time he has his way with her? Will Tracy overhear that Sasha’s baby is Michael’s? (I hope so.)

Who else in Port Charles will begin a story with “I was at a random bar in Mogadishu?” Will Joss drop out of medical school and become a WSB agent since she’s actually pretty good at it?

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

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