It was another miracle when Maxie woke up from her coma fresh as a daisy. Will her return put an end to Nathan and Lulu’s growing feelings? Things are getting dangerous on Spoon Island as Lucas overheard an eye-opening conversation between Marco and Sidwell. Let’s discuss that and more in an all-new General Hospital commentary for the week ending February 13, 2026.
Dear readers, I know that you are as delighted that I am that our beloved Kirsten Storms is back and awake. I know it’s an odd thing that we get so caught up in the lives of people we don’t actually know, but I was worried about Kirsten and have been invested in her updates on her health, her surgeries and recovery. I have been watching her on General Hospital for so long and I love her and want the best for her like she’s my own kid.
A soapy recovery
When I heard Maxie’s voice telling James, (the adorable Gary James Fuller,) that he was not going skating without a helmet, my heart lit up! Sure, Maxie was in full makeup, including false eyelashes and was fully dressed, but maybe that’s how they do things in fancy private hospitals.
I’m just happy Maxie is awake. But wow. The timing! Just as her presumed dead husband and BFF decided to start dating, she wakes up almost to the minute. It’s as if the universe said to her brain, “Hey girl, some ho is trying to steal your man!” and it awakened her from out of the blue.
A bad case of loving you
There is so much soapy drama in store for us. Maxie and Spinelli. Maxie and Nathan. Lulu and Nathan. Lulu and Dante. But also, is Nathan actually Nathan? If he isn’t, Maxie will know.
Maxie just woke up like she’d had a little cat nap on her sofa. Maxie didn’t know she had a heart attack and had been in a coma for six months, and she took the news rather nonchalantly. It was almost a shrug. I’m not complaining, just surprised by the way it played out. I’m happy about it because this means they aren’t going to drag out her hospital time for months.
Reunions and news
By the end of Friday’s episode, Maxie had caught up with her kids, and she assumed that James had started calling Spinelli “daddy.” But Felicia told her that Nathan was alive and we were left with Maxie’s stunned facial expression to dwell on it until Monday when we finally get to see her real reaction! I for one cannot wait.
The best reaction to Maxie waking up was from the one and only Damien Spinelli who ran in for a hug with his beloved Maximista with the force of a train. I am so worried for his heart. Everyone has a type and I have a soft spot for nerds.
Soapy tropes
Thankfully, BLQ interrupted Nathan and Lulu before things progressed too far. Just as Lulu and BLQ were having a heart to heart about all the reasons that Nathan and Lulu should not get involved, they got the call about Maxie waking up. Crisis averted? Or will these two star-crossed former coma patients be unable to resist their feelings? Oh wait. Now Maxie is a former coma patient, too… Is this trope possibly being overused???
Bailey Lu makes an appearance
Maxie asked about Bailey Lu, but she was at the Q mansion. It was so sweet to see Bailey this week, I was afraid next time we saw her would be in college. I enjoyed her tender scenes with Chase, even though he’s on my naughty list right now.
A fall from grace
I did not believe Chase when he promised Dante that he would not interfere again in the investigation on Drew’s shooting. He is 100% going to interfere.
When Willow’s crimes are discovered, seeing Chase’s reaction is at the top of my list. He has been completely bamboozled by Willow. It’s a phenomenon my BFF and I have discussed for years. Women can usually see through other women, but there is a certain sort of man, like Chase, who will fall for the “damsel in distress” act 100 out of 100 times. Willow is playing Chase like a fiddle, and he is so sure that he is saving her. Sometimes the damsel really is in distress, so I can’t fault Chase for trying to save her. He genuinely thinks Michael tried to frame her.
When Chase finds out his innocent angel is a cold blooded two-time attempted murderer, it will destroy him. And by that time, he may have lost his job, BLQ and everything he holds dear trying to save someone totally unworthy of him. Worst of all, he already did this once with Nelle! Let’s hope Nina doesn’t have any more long-lost daughters out there.
I’m too messy
It’s better to be like Michael. Be with a girl you know is a hooker up front and just accept her messy past. Jacinda and Michael are cute together. Paige Herschell is a great addition to the General Hospital cast and General Hospital is good about redemption stories. Barbara Jean Spencer went from hooker to head nurse at General Hospital – and maybe Jacinda has a similar trajectory in store. From hooker to Chief Marketing Officer of Crimson or something.
At any rate, as much as I hope that’s true, I wonder what would happen if Sasha and Daisy showed back up in Port Charles? At one point I had hoped Michael and Willow would reunite, but that was before she went full wackadoo. Wackadoo Willow. I like it.
From tragic damsel to evil shrew
However, it bothers me somewhat because Willow always was a character we felt sympathy for. Her horrible mother Harmony, the creepy cult leader Shiloh, having her baby die and thinking Jonah was Wiley, having cancer and nearly dying to ensure she could give birth to Amelia, etc. She has made a lot of questionable choices, but she was never evil. So, to now have her be the sort of person who would shoot someone in the back in cold blood and inject them in the neck with a powerful stroke-inducing drug seems to have come out of nowhere.
Certainly, I thought Willow was guilty of being stupid and falling for Drew, but I believed all those hints about Willow being the shooter were red herrings and a new shooter would emerge. Someone that Drew had enraged in prison, or that Drew would be revealed to be Shiloh, or…something.
All in the family
But General Hospital has been doing a lot of rewriting history.
Alexis told Danny that any relatives he and Charlotte have in common were 150 years ago, but I am not 150 and I remember these three Cassadine men: Charlotte’s Grandpa Victor, Danny’s Great Grandpa Mikkos, and their brother Tony. But I know not all my readers have been watching since the 70’s like me. Thanks to TVFan43 for posting this photo with the comment, “Well, look at this. Victor (Charlotte’s grandfather) standing next to HIS BROTHER Mikkos (Danny’s great grandfather) but according to Alexis, Danny and Charlotte share an ancestor a hundred years ago…”
I thought maybe I was being too sensitive about this, but when I go on X and check the comments, everyone seems to feel this pairing is just gross. Poor Georgie, if her mom wasn’t sick, maybe she would have been out roaming around with the other teens, so Danny didn’t have to hit on his cousin. Or as @AlexNever347 put it, “Just so damn gross on their part.”
But that’s not the only thing going on.
Family first
There’s trouble in the Scorpio family. Emma is on her way to San Francisco to tell Robin that Anna has had a mental breakdown.
Readers, wouldn’t this be a perfect time for Robin and Patrick to pay a visit to General Hospital? Sure, I know, Jason Thompson is on The Young and the Restless as Billy. But other soap actors have done double duty, like Wally Kurth on both Days of Our Lives and General Hospital. Why not Jason Thompson? At least for a brief window. Robin and Maxie were close. It would make sense for them to come home to see Maxie and Mac and to be with Emma for a visit.
One thing I keep thinking, I am desperately missing Luke Spencer right now. If he heard Slim had a breakdown and was in some mental hospital in Paris and held on charges, he would become Dr. Von Schemerman and bust her out of there, so fast. We don’t have a single character on General Hospital right now that has that pure soap rogue energy that we need to take a storyline like this to another level. Robert Scorpio would be right behind him.
Where have all the cowboys gone?
Cody has the rogue energy, but he’s too busy moping about Molly’s book because he is also such a whiny wussy. Luke never had such insecurity issues. Good Lord please give me a character with some swagger. No one could ever replace Tony Geary or Tristan Rogers, but I miss those devilish rascal kinds of characters.
No, I have not forgotten about my beloved Valentin. He definitely has the rogue energy I am smitten with, but he is on another mission right now and has to keep hiding in Carly’s attic.
Don’t fence him in
If Valentin was not a wanted man, he would definitely be on a plane with his petite to save Anna. But alas. While I love the build up with Valentin and Carly, I am ready to Valentin to break free. Let him best Cullum, topple Jack, and take over the WSB for all I care. Just get him out of the attic. He’s too big of a character to be contained in one room. Well, Sometimes Carly lets him out for cocktail hour, but they always get interrupted.
The plot thickens on Spoon Island
Readers, let’s take an informal poll. Let me know who you think is creepier: Pascal or Cullum? I was sure it was Pascal until the Cullum and Joss scenes during the snowstorm. How Joss stayed in that room with him for hours, I’ll never know. I got major heebie-jeebies just watching him stare at her. Ew.
Return of the parapets
The only man I care about on Spoon Island is my sweet Lucas and thankfully he has finally wised up to the fact that Marco isn’t who he said he was. And miraculously, the parapets are back on the walls of Wyndemere, so maybe some General Hospital intern just pulled the wrong slide of the exterior shots the last time we saw Wyndemere? Who knows.
I certainly don’t want Lucas to be pushed off the parapet, but I don’t want Marco to go over either, because Lucas is stuck in the mansion with a nest of vipers and he will never make it off the island alive if any harm comes to Marco. My guess is that Marco will try and sweet talk Lucas with the same lie Marco gave Britt. It’s just a one-and-done with his dad and then he and Lucas can start their beautiful life together free and clear.
I never thought I’d hear myself say this, but at least when Brad was lying to him it was to protect Lucas from the pain of knowing his baby died. Team Brad. There, I said it.
The blind leading the blind
Liz may not be the best person to give Lucas love advice as she hasn’t had much luck in that department herself. I mean, she’s on her way to have a Valentine’s Day date with Ric after the whole panic room baby stealing thing. But I’m not mad about that. Liz is one of my favorite characters on General Hospital and I always root for her. And right now, I am rooting for Ric, too. I really hope he’s on the up and up, but because everyone keeps asking, “Do you think we can really trust Ric?” I kind of think the writers intend to give Ric a hidden agenda. I just hope it doesn’t pit him against Sonny again.
Spoiler alert: Skip the next the next paragraph if you don’t want to have things spoiled.
With Steve Burton exiting General Hospital for a few months, Sonny will need someone he can lean on, so maybe Ric and his brother can bond for real if the writers will allow it.
Romancing the Don
Speaking of Sonny, this is the longest Sonny has ever gone without a woman for as long as he has been in Port Charles. He hasn’t really had a love interest since he and Nina broke up. They keep hinting at something between Sonny and Justine, but nothing has happened between them. Is that the direction we are heading in? He doesn’t seem to be interested in going back to Carly, Nina, Alexis or Ava, so…?
And the father is …
Across town, Portia got the results of her DNA test and revealed that Curtis is the father of her baby. At least that’s what she said. But did she or Britt switch the test results? We may not find out for twenty years. Donnell Turner (Curtis Ashford) has chemistry with Portia and with Jordan, but I am rooting for him to go back to Jordan. He should not have left her in the first place.
I like Portia as a doctor and as a mom, but as a partner? Nope. She has lied to Curtis about so many things, and the trust has been broken. If he went back to her for the sake of the baby, he would have to look over his shoulder every time she left the house. Just let Portia be with Dr. Gannon and they can have their cabin together while Curtis lives the high life with Jordan.
What will happen tomorrow dear readers?
Will Carly and Valentine share one glass of wine too many and kiss? Will Dante accept the job as police commissioner and then get to fire Chase when Chase caught red handed tampering with evidence? Is Michael ever going to look at his keys ring and realize there are too many keys?
Will Cullum bottle up some Cigarillo smoke and release it into the vents of Anna’s French mental ward? Will Lucy and Ava come to blows fighting over the monstrous Sidwell? Is Ava going to unleash her wrath on Jenz if any harm comes to Lucas, or will she and Carly team up for a double whammy?
Will Rebecca Herbst ever show her age? Wow she looked amazing in that black dress on Friday’s episode!
Will Michael start leaving extra shirts at Deception just in case? Will I ever stop being giddy about seeing Miguel Morez in the halftime show?
Only tomorrow knows dear readers and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
Before you check out
Be sure to click on the link to read Dan J Kroll’s latest Beyond The Gates commentary: Plans Get Made. Life Happens. We Adjust. Who will Nicole end up with: Carlton, Kial, Ted — or a secret lover?
tamilu
Cullum keeps saying that Anna went rogue. Brennans’ first response should have been.. how? What exactly did Anna do? What’s Cullum going to say? It’s national security? Cullum has been referrred to as “a director” in the WSB, not as “the Director”, so can’t Brennan go over his head?
Brits’ lab is the same room where they kept Anna prisoner. A microscope and a few test tubes. Wow, state of the art facility!! The local high school lab is probably more impressive. I doubt that the writers know any thing about cold fusion. If Britt is just crunching the numbers from the research, who’s doing the research now that Dalton is dead?
Curtis being the baby daddy was predictable. It was the choice that creates the most conflict and tension, and keeps all these characters tied together for more story lines. If Isaish was the father then He and Portia just go on their merry way and no more family Ashord drama. Can’t have that!
How long before Jordan gets tired of bowing at the altar of Curtis?
Trina needs to realize that if had gone to the police instead of Alexis, Portia would never have been called to testify at Willow’s trial.
I absolutely agree about Trina but how long would Portia have lied if she hadn’t been busted?
Do you mean if Trina had gone to the police right after the shooting? By the time she found out about the ringtone, Portia had already testified. It would not have made any difference at that point.
Trina knew from the first day that both Curtis and Portia were suspects. She also didn’t say anything when Curtis was arrested. She knew her Mom was going to be called on the stand, she sat int he crowd and she didn’t say a word.
Tamilu, I am so glad that I’m not the only one who takes issue with Portia’s behavior. I spend a lot of time avoiding discussion of Curtis and or Jordan on X. I get they are not innocent but that doesn’t make Portia a saint either.
I agree that Portia isn’t a saint and deserves to be held accountable. However, the writing is one-sided, and the show portrays Curtis and Jordan as innocent. They had an emotional affair long before Portia slept with Isaiah. Trina acts as if she didn’t see Curtis and Jordan kissing on Thanksgiving before Portia’s infidelity was revealed. Moreover, Trina is unaware that Portia was planning to resign and confess tampering with Heather’s results before Curtis convinced her not to submit her resignation to the board even before she cheated. I simply request that the writing be less biased and that all parties involved in this storyline be held accountable. Until then it maybe difficult to support Curtis and Jordan. On another note, I prefer Jordan away from Curtis.
You would think that Jordan is smart enough to have learned her lesson the first go round with His Holiness. Curtis is just so sanctimonious, it’s only a matter of time before he starts having issues with Jordan……again!
I have no problem with Curtis realizing he made a mistake (big time) leaving Jordan due to his high standard of honesty. Curtis realized the day of his marriage to Portia that she has played him twice – first pretending she was single, then not telling him that Trina was his bio daughter for 20+ years.
That is a lie of a personal nature. Totally different than Jordan standing by her lies done while she was working undercover for the DEA, not lying about their personal relationship perameters. Jordan never betrayed Curtis like Portia did.
Chase never learns, does he? First, he almost blew his career in Florida when he fell for Nelle’s damsel in distress act. Then, in PC he gets suspended because he assaulted Valentin. He ALMOST didn’t get reinstated. But he risks his career yet AGAIN to go behind the PCPDs back and investigate Drew’s shooting on his own. He deliberately undermined their case and because of that, he helped Willow go free. He was demoted for those actions and now he’s working behind Dante’s back to prove Michael was the shooter. That is NO longer his job. He stole Michael’s keys to find out if one of them fit Drew’s door. He will make sure Dante finds out about the keys which will force him to arrest Michael for Drew’s shooting. When everything comes out, Chase deserves to get fired, period. I hope Brook Lynn tells him to go visit Finn and Violet in Seattle for a while, a LONG while until she sends him the divorce papers!
Don’t forget – Wylie saw Chase put the keys under the counter…..
Tamilu, another great column, thank you! To your question, Cullum is definitely the creepier dude. He looks like a wax figure and pushes his agenda with veracity. I think the show is setting up Pascal to look like an idiot, but he may be the mastermind behind all the shenanigans. I hope this story wraps up soon. I think the bigger issue I have is Wallow. I know there are many fans who like her dark-side emerging….but I am just so tired of her and Drew. So adios for a month (or many) … There are so many other interesting possibilities, like Dante and Liz, Ric and Liz, Carly and Valentin, Maxie and Spinelli (yes) and Nathan, Cody and Molly, etc. I also wish the unresolved stories would be addressed (Pikeman, Jagger Cates murder, TJ and Taggert absence, and the list continues…) Please GH writing team, bring stories to CONCLUSION!
Random Observations, jotted down as usual during the week’s viewing:
Great to see Val first thing Monday’s Episode!
LooseLips Coe? Not so much.
I’m sure Ava felt the same!!
Loose Lips Coe and her Wildly Flapping Hands.
First she’s Flapping her Hands in Jenz’s, then Ava’s Face, then she runs over to Sonny’s and starts Flapping her Hands in Sony’s Face yammering on about Ava and Sidwell…
I’m surprised Sonny didn’t shoot her.
Why does anyone put up with that Conceited Shrew?
And where was Fizz?
Fizz should have come out and Gacked on her Shoes!
More Dogs!
Less Loosely’s Wildly Flapping Hands (and Mouth!)
Back to Val…
I can’t believe those Idiots left Anna in France.
What did Val break when he got off the phone with France?
His phone?
How wasteful.
~~~
Hey, it looks like they let some Kids out of the Attic this week!!
So THAT’s what Bailey Lu looks like!
Zedis Lapedis!
Maxi is Up!
I love the way people on Soaps wake from a Six Month, Four Year, or Decade Long Coma and just get up and walk around like nothing ever happened.
Jeez, with my Early Onset Rigor Mortis (aka Arthritis) I can’t get up from my chair at work after sitting Four Minutes without falling over.
How do they do it?
Maxi even managed to get dressed and apply False Lashes in her Coma!
I’m so happy for Spinelli.
I want Maxi and Spinelli together.
ShrewLu can have NotNathan, because he Isn’t.
I mean, has NotNathan visited Maxi in Boston even once??
Maybe send a Post Card?
~~~
Speaking of WakeUp Calls, looks likes Lucas’s Little Marco Bubble has Burst.
Toldja!! Ya should listen to your Sister!!
Lucas always falls for Weasels.
At least Brad is Amusing. Sort of.
Loved your column, Tamilu. Cullum & Pascal both creep me out too & I think Cullum is more cold & calculating, it’s about power & control for him, while Pascal is downright evil. I think he enjoys the bad stuff he does. If Faison had a previously unknown to us all brother, it would be Pascal, that dude is twisted.
I’m so happy Kirsten is back and that Maxie is awake. I so hope they let Maxie and Spinelli be end game here. They have worked through so much and built such a sweet, beautiful family. Kirsten is younger than my daughter is, but that’s how I feel about her too and have kept up with what she feels comfortable sharing, hoping & praying for all good & healthy things for her. These folks become like family when they’re in our homes almost daily for decades. Not to mention the joy they bring with their acting talents & providing an escape from whatever we’re dealing with in real life, now more than ever.
They’ve pretty much ruined Chase for me. Every time I see him I’m reminded of the old (dating myself here,) cartoon character Dudley Do-Right from The Rocky & Bullwinkle Show. It’s just too much, too cheesy and all sorts of ick. I just can’t. I hope BLQ wakes up sooner rather than later & kicks him to the curb, let Dudley the Delusional go be with Wicked Willow, if she finally succeeds in doing away with Dastardly Drew. I’d like to see them pair BLQ with Dante, let them have a go at establishing a little family with Gio. Maybe not for the long haul, but at least test it out, if it’s good, then yeah, why not? BLQ deserves someone who will be loyal to her, respect her, love her for herself & not Dudley who has become rather pushy about adopting when it’s clear BLQ feels they aren’t ready, and with good cause, too. Listen to your gut, BLQ! Not someone like Ol’ Dudley because he’s too busy chasing nefarious, phony Willow & because it really looks like Dudley suffers from what I call “I must rescue needy women” syndrome. The man who will risk losing a wife and/or family every time to play hero to some other woman rather than fix what’s broken inside that makes them think that’s the only way to feel good about themselves. BLQ is too smart & strong to waste her life like that. When the Willow story wraps up (please, sooner rather than later writers, really, really tired & so over Dastardly Drew & Wicked Willow forever,) either Nelle will return from the dead & he’ll be back to obsessing over her, or there will be another female character he’ll want to play the hero for. Yet another potential client for Kevin Collins if he wasn’t in Ireland. Come home, Kevin, too many of your fellow Port Charles citizens need you.
Every time Curtis detonates a marriage or a life, the fandom scrambles to crown a woman the villain and hand him a sympathy medal.
At some point we have to stop pretending that’s analysis and call it what it is: denial.
Curtis is the common denominator.
Let’s rewind to where this actually started.
Curtis didn’t spiral because of Portia.
Curtis spiraled because Drew wouldn’t hand him permanent control of Aurora.
So what did Curtis do?
He teamed up with Michael.
He played insider games to seize Aurora.
He installed himself as CEO.
Then he used the company to publicly go after Drew.
That feud is the root of everything that followed.
Drew didn’t target Portia out of nowhere. He bought Brad’s blackmail specifically to control Curtis by proxy. Portia was collateral damage in a war Curtis started because his ego couldn’t tolerate not being CEO.
And here’s the part people conveniently skip:
Portia told Curtis she changed Heather’s drug test.
Curtis agreed it was understandable.
He was afraid Heather would go after Trina.
Then Curtis paid Steven Lars to make Heather disappear.
He was in it.
He endorsed it.
He escalated it.
But when the fallout hit, suddenly Portia is the lone criminal and Curtis is a betrayed husband?
Interesting rewrite.
And while we’re talking patterns:
Curtis wanted out of his marriage to Jordan.
He emotionally exited first.
He pursued Portia while still married.
Curtis now wants out of his marriage to Portia.
He emotionally exited first.
He tried to sleep with Jordan while still married.
This is not coincidence.
This is choreography.
And before someone jumps in with “Portia had someone waiting too” — yes. She slept with Isaiah after the marriage was already over in practice. Adults are messy.
The difference is structural.
Curtis builds his next relationship inside the current one and then blames the woman for being there when he jumps. He did it to Jordan. He did it to Portia. That’s not symmetry. That’s a habit.
Portia didn’t invade his marriage.
Jordan didn’t sabotage his future.
Curtis invites emotional replacements because he refuses to leave cleanly.
And Trina’s anger, as understandable as it is, is aimed at the wrong target. She’s furious that her mother fell off a pedestal, but the man she’s defending is the same man modeling emotional exit strategies as conflict resolution.
That’s the blueprint she’s protecting.
Not truth.
Not accountability.
Pattern.
Portia is flawed. She lies. She rationalizes. She makes terrible decisions under pressure.
She also confessed.
Under oath.
On the stand.
After trying to confess five times earlier and being stopped by Curtis — which makes him an accomplice, not a victim.
Meanwhile:
Trina destroyed evidence tied to attempted murder.
Curtis tried to hire someone to kill Drew.
Curtis ran illegal gambling.
Curtis stole Aurora.
Curtis hid secrets that could bury entire careers.
But the woman who told the truth is the one people want jailed.
The math is not mathing.
This isn’t justice.
It’s scapegoating dressed up as morality.
Curtis isn’t pursuing accountability. He’s laundering his own guilt through Portia while pretending he just arrived at the crime scene.
And Trina isn’t protecting truth. She’s punishing her mother for being human after worshipping a myth.
If Curtis didn’t exist, half this storyline wouldn’t either — and the fact that people still think Portia is the origin of the chaos proves how badly everyone wants a woman to be the villain instead of the man who lit the match.
Fun column but Nathan was not in a coma. He just doesn’t remember the last 7 years (supposedly). Or at least, the doctors did not think he would have been in a coma based on his health. Maybe they should reconsider because apparently you can wake up from a months or years long coma and be up and ready for whatever you want to do. So maybe they just couldn’t tell.
I also don’t have a problem with the way Alexis described Cassadine history. Is there really that much difference between saying you have this common great-great-grandfather/great-grandfather and that guy’s sons were brothers? Interesting that she only focused on the man though not his wife. Who should be as equally related to them as her husband. Maybe because Danny was asking about the Cassadines? Or could this be a weak point if the show decides to make Danny and Charlotte not related? There’s been all kinds of illegitimate children in Cassadine history, maybe it went back to that generation. And yeah, yeah, changing history is bad and all; but if after decades of Cassadine drama, if Mikos and his heirs were not even Cassadines at all, that would be hilarious.
The actor who plays Cullum was on the Steve Burton/Bradford Anderson podcast a couple of weeks ago, and he seemed like such an earnest, nice guy, it affects the way I think of his character. Or rather, I know Cullum is bad and he’s eventually going to go down. But I still want the best for the actor. It can be fun to play a villain, right?