{"id":1601,"date":"2025-04-04T21:05:40","date_gmt":"2025-04-05T01:05:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/?p=1601"},"modified":"2025-04-05T10:52:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-05T14:52:37","slug":"general-hospital-commentary-april-fools","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/danjkroll.com\/blog\/general-hospital-commentary-april-fools\/","title":{"rendered":"General Hospital Commentary: April Fools"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

April kicked off with an impressive milestone and some great soapy moments. These days, fools abound in Port Charles because no one seems to make smart choices. Will Kristina do the right thing? What will happen when Liz finds out that Lucky is keeping an explosive secret? Let’s discuss that and more in this week’s General Hospital <\/em>commentary for the week ending April 04, 2025. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

April showers might bring May flowers, but on General Hospital<\/em>, it brings out the fools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Happy Anniversary General Hospital<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

April 01, 2025, marked the 62nd anniversary of General Hospital’s<\/em> premier episode on ABC. How impressive is that?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It blows my mind that our beloved soap has been on the air longer than I’ve been alive. At one time, ABC had four soaps in their daytime lineup, including All My Children<\/em> and One Life to Live<\/em>, but General Hospita<\/em>l has reigned supreme, and I couldn’t be more grateful. I’ve been watching for almost as long as I can remember. I don’t always love the storylines or the direction of the show, but my love for the characters and actors has been enduring. Even at its worst, I would rather watch an hour of General Hospital<\/em> every afternoon than anything else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I love this show, and I always will. The good Lord willing, it will be on the air for another 62 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A trip down memory lane <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I’m a sentimental fool, so I was all set to get up in my feels when General Hospital<\/em> aired their episode to commemorate the special milestone. I even had a box of tissues on hand. I wasn’t disappointed. Not too much anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The episode started off strong with a trip to the memorial wall where photos of our most beloved actors\/characters who have passed are lovingly displayed. My eyes always well up with tears when I see those treasured faces. Edward Quartermaine (John Ingle), Lila Quartermaine (Anna Lee), Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) and Bobbie Spencer (Jackie Zeman) are dear to me because they are part of core childhood memories watching General Hospital<\/em> with my mom after school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This year’s anniversary episode was particularly emotional because I know that Leslie Charleson’s photo will soon be joining the group. It’s going to be gut-wrenching to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

General Hospital’s new Monica Quartermaine Cardiac Care Center<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

I loved the idea of honoring Monica with a cardiac care center. I also appreciate that Monica’s absence was unavoidable because Leslie had been gravely ill when the episode was taped. The writers made the right call. I’d rather think of Monica at home nursing an illness than see a stand-in. The writers also did a good job of laying the foundation for what is sure to unfold in the coming weeks. It sucks, but with Leslie gone, Monica’s character should be retired. A recast would never feel right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I did have a bit of an issue with the characters waxing poetic about Monica’s years as General Hospital’s Chief of Staff but saying next to nothing about her incredible career as a cardiac surgeon. She was Chief of Cardiac Surgery for most of her career. That’s why the center is so fitting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Equally disappointing was the lack of presence of Monica’s family and flashbacks of the things they referenced. Oh, Tracy and Ned were there, but where were Jason, Danny, Wiley, and Amelia? Jason’s absence was especially glaring because he popped up in the very next episode. He should have been there for the center’s unveiling. Wiley and Amelia too. The only flashbacks we were treated to were of Lucy, which were completely unnecessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Surely Carly could have picked up her grandchildren so that Wiley and Amelia could have seen their great-grandmother honored. Heck, their grandfather financed the project. It just seemed strange to me that both Jason and Danny live with Monica, but they didn’t attend. I can understand why Jake wasn’t there since he’s off studying art in Europe. Unfortunately, Scout is saddled with a bitter vindictive dad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overall, I give the episode a solid C+. It was nice, and I appreciate the effort but there was room for improvement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The April’s fool award goes to…<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Kristina Adela Corinthos-Davis!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristina has been unhinged since she got it into her head to be Molly’s surrogate. Everyone — viewers and denizens of Port Charles alike — saw that the surrogacy was never about Molly and T.J. It was about Kristina. It’s always about Kristina. She wanted to feel valued, adored, and respected. The problem is, Kristina is a broken soul and never puts in the work. She has spent her life being coddled by two indulgent parents who have always jumped in and fixed her problems to spare their precious daughter from having to face the consequences of her actions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This time, Kristina has gone too far. She decided to rid herself of Ava by cutting the brake lines of Ava’s car. Or was it Ric’s car? I’m a bit fuzzy on whose car it actually was, but both Ric and Liz ended up paying the price for Kristina’s deadly impulse.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Folks, I’m so done with this character. I know that I’ve said that countless times, but it’s so true this time. How is she any better than Ava if she’s willing to commit murder to assuage her need for vengeance? What if Avery had gotten into that car with her mother? It’s time for Kristina to pay a price for her actions. Ava did. She had Avery ripped out of her womb in the vilest of ways, lost custody of her for years, and Ava suffered horrific burns after Morgan died. Ava has also done a few stints in jail, and she lost her daughter to murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On soaps, that’s justice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I always considered Irene to be more T.J. and Molly’s daughter than Kristina’s. Who knows how things might have played out if Irene had lived, but Kristina would never have been able to cut T.J. out of his daughter’s life. It irks me how Kristina completely dismisses T.J. and Molly’s loss as secondary to hers — except when it benefits her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucky’s a fool too<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Dear readers, I’m shocked that Lucky covered for Kristina. Not so much in the beginning when he thought Ric had been the single occupant of the car. Lucky has no love for Ric, so it made sense that Lucky would send Kristina off before anyone could overhear her confessing to cutting the brake lines. However, all bets should have been off once Lucky realized that Liz had been injured too. That goes double when he arrived at General Hospital and saw her unconscious in the emergency room. Shame on Lucky for keeping silent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lucky claims to love Liz, but his loyalty appears to be to Sonny and Kristina. What Kristina did wasn’t accidental. It was deliberate and deadly. Liz deserves better. I find myself saying that a lot <\/a>when it comes to Lucky and Liz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I want to ship Lucky and Liz, but it feels like they are in two different places in life. Liz is a fool for love, and Lucky just comes off as a fool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No rest for the wicked on General Hospital<\/em><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

That brings me to our resident evil fool, Drew. Drew grows more diabolical by the day. He’s also growing increasingly reckless the more morally corrupt he becomes. Soon, even Willow will see him huffing and puffing his threats to all the people he once claimed to care about. She’ll make excuses, but one day — when the truth smacks in the face — she will look back and see all the signs she willfully ignored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way Drew stormed into Portia’s office and cruelly threatened to blow her world apart if she didn’t rein Curtis in was ugly. That’s not Oscar’s father or the man who forgave Kim Nero for all her crazy antics. The Drew spitting venom at Portia is not the kind and honorable person I remember putting his life on the line to save others whenever danger lurked. He’s not the selfless man who flew to Greenland to help defeat Victor and bring Liesl home in time to save Willow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I refuse to believe that the beatdown in Pentonville changed Drew this much. We’ve seen him endure so much worse and retain his integrity and strong sense of right and wrong. There’s an evilness in Drew these days that seems to be growing daily. That kind of wickedness doesn’t just happen. The seeds had to be there from the start, which we definitely did not see during Billy Miller’s days or even Cameron Mathison’s early tenure on General Hospital<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s why I can’t shake the feeling that something else is going on that will eventually explain Drew’s newfound scorched earth philosophy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma is no fool<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Folks, Emma has grown on me. Braedyn Bruner has completely won me over. I will admit that I didn’t like the character shift when Emma first arrived in town, but things have quickly changed. The scene with Finola Hughes when Anna tried to read Emma the riot act was sheer soapy perfection. Braedyn’s performance was powerful and moving. Whoever wrote that scene needs to write more, and Braedyn needs more time in the spotlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I teared up when Emma explained why the Quartermaines meant so much to her. As she shared the story about Edward, I saw that scene play out in my mind as if I were watching it again. Edward’s stylish newsboy cap perched atop his head, the sweet smile he flashed as he gave a thumbs up from his wheelchair. Ugh. I’m getting all teary-eyed just writing about it. It was such a poignant scene, made even more bittersweet by the passing of John Ingle weeks later.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emma’s heartfelt words transported me back to that beautiful moment and Edward’s selfless sacrifice. Here is a clip:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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