Dear readers, I'm going to make a bold statement in this turbulent time in history.
We are blessed. If you are alive and reading this column, you are blessed. A virus is ravaging the world, and somehow, we have managed to stay safe at home and watch soap operas, a thing we love. So, I shall repeat it -- we are blessed.
Sure, we might be short on funds from not working, a little bored from the monotony, being driven mad by a family we can't escape for a Target run, and worried about our future, but still, blessed. Would you agree?
This week, some of you celebrated Passover, and some of you will celebrate Easter tomorrow. Others of you are celebrating other things: birthdays, retirement, graduations, a week without coughing, finding toilet paper at Walmart, finding nail polish that will take off your overgrown gel nails...(I wish!) There are so many celebrations, big and small, still happening amid this tragedy.
I couldn't write this week without saying how thankful I am for the world of Daytime Drama. The escape and entertainment soaps provide have kept my mind off the horrors of the world for a while. I am also thankful for Dan Kroll, Soap Central, and this delightful community of people who love soaps. Your willingness to discuss with passion and speculate with wonder about what will happen next has cheered me up. I'm thankful for the actors and writers who engage with us on social media and post photos from home with their kids, pets, messy houses, and no makeup on that remind us that we are all in the same boat. Their transparency and good humor demonstrate our shared humanity.
Just like us, they are without work right now. Soaps have shut down production across the board. Their community has been impacted by this virus, and three of our own beautiful GH ladies potentially had the infection but were unable to be tested. Chloe Lanier (Nelle), Paulina Bugembe (Valerie), and Emma Samms (ex-Holly) -- you can read the details here.
Keeping our beloved daytime actors and their production crews safe is the most important thing! So, this means we must embrace the fact that we have a limited number of shows left before we run out of new content. To that end, GH has instituted "Flashback Fridays," showing previously aired episodes of the show. I'd love to talk about those, but I can't because Hulu isn't airing them with the new episodes. I am (thankfully) working while they air, and I count on Hulu to view the show. I tweeted my request out to Hulu. Go retweet it a million times until we Horton Hears a Who them. (We are here! We are Here! We are HERE!)
That having been said, the first new episode I saw that was flashback heavy was a little hard to watch. But once I realized why it was being edited that way, trying to stretch things out so we could have new material for a little while longer, I started to melt into it and just enjoy thinking about all of those old stories. Especially the juicy Nelle and Carly stuff! I had almost forgotten about Nelle putting Morgan's scarf, all bloodied up and ripped, on Carly's desk and spraying his cologne at the grave! How twisted and evil! No wonder Carly hates Nelle for life!
Carly, played by the powerhouse performer Laura Wright, has been almost civil to Nelle, trying to appeal to her as a human being rather than just antagonizing her. "Yes, I was a mess, too, but I turned my life around, and so can you." She is giving her wise counsel. She is admitting her mistakes and trying to keep Nelle from repeating them. She's acting almost like -- a big sister. Is it possible that someday their relationship could turn around?
I absolutely adore Chloe Lanier. I think she's a wonderful actress. She can emote and portray such tenderness and woundedness in some scenes that she makes me forget what a twisted bitch Nelle can be in others. I'm rooting for Nelle. She has gone from being a one-dimensional villain to being sympathetic, a child who was told stories that she believed and who is all alone in the world.
Now, let's talk about the heart necklace... Three theories are floating around out there, and I want to discuss them all and get your thoughts!
Theory one: Nelle has the other half of the heart necklace, so that means she is Nina's daughter, case closed.
That very well could be! Moving forward, Nina may accidentally grow close to Nelle as she is trying to manipulate her. Perhaps Nina will start feeling maternal toward Nelle. Or maybe Nelle will find out Nina is secretly working against her, try to push her down the stairs, and then discover she's her mother! Then, those two crazy girls will have to work their way back to a real relationship.
Theory two: Nelle was married to Shiloh. Shiloh had Willow's necklace from her pledge, and he gave it to Nelle and told her to hang onto it. Perhaps he even told her to use it get even with Willow for him. This theory supposes that seeing the necklace with Nelle is a red herring that GH is using to misdirect our attention, and maybe Willow is Nina's real daughter.
Theory three: (and the craziest theory of all) is that Nina, in a coma, delivered twins. Maybe Nelle and Willow are sisters! This, my friends, is why I love interacting with GH fans on social media. They have lots of passionate and inventive ideas about what's coming up around the corner!
So, which of these three seems the most likely? Personally, I like the idea of Nelle being Nina's daughter.
Imagine the fun and soapy hijinks to come if Willow married Michael for the custody battle, and Nina dug in and decided to help her new daughter, Nelle, fight for her child. Readers, we know that our Jax would never help Nelle or do the dirty dealing necessary, so Nina would be forced to go crawling back to Valentin for help. I don't know about you, but I want more Valentin in my life.
Clearly, Charlotte needs Nina to come home and get her some psychiatric care. My husband, Jeff, who pretends he doesn't watch GH (and in honesty hasn't watched with me for a while; he can't make the "escape from reality" viewing like I can), said, "So, tell me, is the cute little girl evil this week?" and I had to tell him about the tripping Jax incident...
Molly received the news that T.J. hadn't "ghosted" her and that he had been kidnapped and was recovering at GH from a severe beating. As Molly rushed to get dressed and go to GH, we were shocked to see a shirtless Brando emerge from her bedroom.
Wait, what? Oh, my gosh. Haley Pullos has been on GH for a decade now, but I confess I still think of her as adorable little Molly. Seeing her have a one-night stand with the hunky Brando threw me off for a minute. But, readers, I have to tell you, once I reminded myself that she is a grown woman, I really embraced the idea of this shocking pairing!
I know some of you will vehemently disagree, but I could get on board with a Brando/Molly pairing. A few longtime soap viewers have predicted Molly will end up pregnant, and that is indeed a possibility. I was trying to retrace Molly's family tree to make sure they weren't related, but no, Molly is Ric's child (Sonny's half-brother), and Brando is related to Mike (Sonny's dad), so since Ric and Sonny have different dads, they aren't related by blood. (Phew!) That having been said, family reunions might still be awkward.
T.J. was returned a little worse for the wear, and I'm glad he's okay, but the things his mom did to get him released have made her a dirty cop. If Jordan ends up in Pentonville and Mac has to take over the PCPD, I'm okay with that. After all, Jordan actually did frame Cyrus. Even though he's evil and deserves punishment, that wasn't the way to handle it. That phone call Jordan made on the burner phone? We all suspect that it was Taggert and that he's still alive, hiding in one of Sonny's safe houses, right? Maybe when he gets out, he will call Jason by his name instead of "Anger Boy."
Trina's rage is justifiable, and I can see her genuinely spiraling out of control after the truth comes out. Basically, every adult in her life is lying to her and has betrayed her -- except for Ava. I love the mother/daughter-like relationship they are forming.
Ava is being motherly to Trina and is trying to be a good fake wife to Nikolas. I know we are at a standstill right now, and stories are moving along at a slower pace than usual, but I am highly anticipating the day Nikolas and Ava actually kiss. Before everything happened, they had a bond and an attraction, and I want them to remember that. We can't see the flashbacks, of course, because back then, Nikolas was played by Tyler Christopher.
As much as I loved Tyler, I am enjoying watching Marcus Coloma morphing into Nikolas. I pray the writers will give him some lighter scenes when things are back in production because, while Nikolas has always been more reserved and formal due to his princely upbringing, he also smiled and had tenderness and warmth mixed into the reserve. I want to see Nikolas laugh.
Now to the flashback episode! Seeing Eden McCoy take on the role of young Carly, James Patrick Stuart put on his Frank wardrobe, and Cynthia Watros in a wig and glasses to become Virginia was a lot of fun. I hope they had as much fun shooting as we did watching it. When Eden McCoy was cast, the resemblance she had to Laura Wright was uncanny. She actually looks like she could be a child of Jax and Carly's, right? Having her play young Carly was inspired. It was great backstory to see that Carly had, in fact, encountered Li'l Nelle, presumably before she was evil and crazy. But for all we know, she was secretly evil -- like Charlotte is -- back then, too.
And now, one thing I am kind of over... Jason and Sam sneaking around to see each other. Jason told Sam, "No more," this week, but we all know they will keep "accidentally" bumping into each other. Oh, my friends, I can't watch them clumsily sneak around for stolen kisses for two more years. Get Delores a new job in Albany and let one of the judges in Sonny's pocket take over the case. Anything, please.
But I loved, as I always love, the Jason and Carly scenes. I have two besties, one male and one female. One is my college BGFF, a beautiful lady with whom I have had a million adventures. One is a guy I graduated from High School with. He's my BBFF. Like Jason and Carly, we just get each other. I love seeing that kind of friendship mirrored in Jason and Carly's relationship. "Oh, you did something idiotic, and you need to be bailed out? Sure, I'm on my way." I'm thankful for the comfort of friends who love you even when you are at your most unlovable. Jason has bailed Carly out of some serious jams, but she's done the same for him. She never has to wonder if anyone has her back; she knows Jason does!
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will we still be safe in our houses for Memorial Day? Will Nelle win her lawsuit against Bobbie and Monica and make them finally retire? Will Cyrus rent a room above Kelly's now that he's been kicked out of Metro Court? Are there any other hotels in Port Charles? Will Shawn ever get out of prison and come back to see his son? Did I forget all about him until Curtis called? (yes.) Will Chase and Sasha be the maid of honor and best man at Michael and Willow's wedding? Will Josslyn keep sneaking out on quarantine until she gets kidnapped like Trina and Cam? Will we realize that even in a time as dark as this one, there are still blessings to count?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows. (And this time, there might not be for a little while due to the production stoppage. But keep checking in because we might have some creative ideas for the writers for when our shows are back on the air!)
Tamilu
What are your thoughts on General Hospital? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
