CHRISTINE BARTOLUCCI/ABC
Love And War: GH added much-needed conflict to Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) and Finn’s (Michael Easton) snoozy relationship when Finn fell off the wagon.
How do you jazz up a ho-hum story? Throw a battle in!
We finally got some heat between GH’s Finn and Liz, but it was at the expense of Finn’s sobriety and his father’s life. That’s okay — nobody wanted to watch Gregory die an agonizing death from ALS, so him passing away in his sleep off-screen worked. After dealing with the police, paramedics, etc., recovering addict Finn eyed a bottle of bourbon (a gift from the well-meaning Cerullos) and decided to pour himself a glass. And another. Liz found Finn drinking, they had words, and she said she was taking Violet home with her.
Over Finn’s dead body.
Finn: “You can stay here and make friendship bracelets with Violet or you can leave. Those are your two choices.”
Dr. Hamilton Finn being mean? Good. His character has been all over the map, from a lizard-loving Silas Clay doppelgänger to a drug addict who slept with his stepmother to an insecure doctor so afraid to ask Liz on a date that he stuttered through their first 1000 interactions. If it takes alcohol to make Finn interesting, Nurse Baldwin can handle it.
Gregory’s death also impacted Tracy. She had developed “real feelings” for Gregory, as Lois put it, and had even seemed — perish the thought! — happy lately. This came as news to Ned.
Ned: “I’m a terrible son.”
Lois: “She didn’t snark at anybody! I kind of missed it.”
True. Tracy’s newfound joy really messed with the Quartermaine snarkometer, so hopefully that’s over.
Anna hasn’t had much to do lately, so they’ve got her confronting Sonny, Jason, Brennan and Carly. She rightly called Brennan on stabbing himself to get out of prison and accused Carly of being involved with him.
Carly: “I barely know Jack Brennan and we certainly don’t have a ‘stab myself to see you’ kind of relationship.”
Anna: “But you did visit him in prison.”
And then she went to see him in the hospital. What’s up with that?
Elsewhere, Alexis and Mason Capwell … er, Fergus Byrne … hurled accusations at each other in an Albany diner like the old Santa Barbara days, except their GH repartee went in circles. Alexis is determined to get her law license back; Fergus is representing Ava Jerome (?) to stop that from happening.
Alexis: “Ava is literally a murderer.”
Fergus: “Doesn’t make her accusations less true.”
Alexis: “Neil never mentioned a brother.”
Fergus: “My brothers and I had issues.”
Whatever this turns out to be, I hope a giant “A” doesn’t fall on Alexis’s head.
As for Ava, the buzzards are circling as she alienates most of Port Charles. Her roommate, Sonny, is fighting with everyone.
Sonny: “My sons turned on me.”
Ava: “Plural?”
Michael and Dante are trying to protect him but Sonny sees only danger and paranoia. Carly had the line of the week:
Carly: “What are you going to do when you run out of traitors? Who are you going to blame for the man you’ve become?”
Valentin for messing with his meds and Ava for covering it up — but we’re a looooong way from that reveal.
I thought we’d have to wait longer for Y&R to reveal that Victor locked Jordan in a cage, but Cole was on it. He found his aunt being held captive, went straight to Michael, and the two of them actually stood up to The Great Victor Newman.
Michael: “We’re taking you out of here and putting you in a real prison.”
Jordan: “Oh, thank God!”
Victor (entering): “I’ll be damned if I allow that to happen.”
Harsh words followed, but the men convinced Victor to acquiesce by using his Achilles heel: What if Nikki found Jordan in the basement and fell off the wagon? Plus, Victor would go to jail, blah blah. Victor called the authorities and said he found “that Jordan woman” on the banks of the river. Cool, thanks, they responded. (Reason #900 why Police Chief Paul Williams is missed in Genoa City.)
But if you thought The Mustache was okay with being challenged, think again.
Victor (to Cole): “You and Michael betrayed me and that I will not easily forget.”
Daddy hates him, so cue Victoria wanting to marry Cole again in 5-4-3 ….
B&B’s Hope has been in limbo since Thomas left, so they cranked up her rivalry with Steffy. Those stepsisters go at it like Dynasty’s Alexis and Krystal!
Steffy: “I was watching you turn into your mom.”
Hope: “I wasn’t using your brother.”
Steffy: “Yeah, you were.”
Hope: “Focus on your own life and your own husband.”
Is Hope’s attraction to Steffy’s husband revenge? Or do they have genuine chemistry? Either way, Hope is stirring the pot and I’m here for it.
Hope (to Finn): “Take your wife out of the equation. What would you want? It’s your birth mother’s wedding.”
Finn followed Steffy’s orders not to attend Sheila’s wedding to Deacon but then he went to pick up pizza at Il Giardino — because even though Deacon is the owner it is the only restaurant in L.A. — and ran into his psycho mother getting married.
Finn: “It was the last thing I expected.”
Steffy: “How many times do I have to tell you this? I don’t want you to have a relationship with Sheila!”
Clearly she will have to tell him many more times because that fight is a once-a-week event now. The nuptials between the murderer and the attempted murderer/embezzler were ridiculous but I have to admit, it’s the first time I’ve heard the phrase “missing toe” in a wedding ceremony. I was hoping Sheila’s enemies would show up and stop it, especially after this exchange:
Eric: “Deacon and Sheila are getting married today?”
Ridge: “Bad news travels fast.”
Eric: “I’m one to talk, having been married to Sheila myself.”
Can we please have a scorched-earth battle between Eric, Ridge and Sheila? While I’m asking for things, throw a few flashbacks in, too. Thanks.
I was all set for a rollicking catfight on DAYS when Nicole found out Sloan had stolen her baby, but no such luck. Instead we got Eric, Nicole and EJ recapping the entire story standing at the front door of the DiMera mansion.
Eric: “Sloan just confessed to me. The night of your accident, Dimitri never took your son to the hospital. He brought him to Sloan. Dimitri was on the run. He left the baby with her. Our private adoption had just fallen through. She kept your son. She told me and everyone else he was our adopted child. Jude is your son. He belongs with his mommy.”
EJ: “The doctor said our baby was dead.”
Eric: “I can’t explain what happened at the hospital. The only thing that matters is your son is in your arms. You’re going to run your own test to prove it is true.”
Nicole: “When I held Jude I always felt like he was my son. You agreed to a DNA test to prove it wasn’t true.”
Eric: “Sloan said the results were tampered with.”
Nicole: “It’s incredible. Our son! I always felt he was my boy. I guess it has something to do with parent’s intuition. When it’s your child, you know.”
If she knew, why didn’t she pursue it? And how were the first words out of Nicole’s mouth not, “Are you kidding me?” She went from “Cool, Jude is mine” to this:
Nicole: “That bitch stole our baby. She needs to be arrested!”
Eric handed over the diaper bag, shared a tearful good-bye with Jude and left. My interest piqued when Eric called the cops but Sloan took off before Rafe showed up to arrest her and then four days went by. Talk about anticlimactic!
As I write this I have not seen the showdown, but a DAYS promo promised scenes of Nicole confronting Sloan and then slapping her.
Nicole: “I missed six months of my son’s life because of your lies.”
Thwack!
Allow me to amend my argument: A good fight can jazz up a ho-hum story … if they tell it right.
Hey. It’s only my opinion.
