General Hospital Watching General Hospital

[Daniel Avery]

I am quite interested in this Hudson guy. He was introduced as a really dangerous man that daughter Phoebe has to be protected from, but only Ethan was aware of it. Now Hudson knows Phoebe is his daughter because of Josslyn telling him too much. But also adding that Hudson works for Jax/JJE creates a connection with Josslyn.

First of all, we only have speculated he is the father of Phoebe, when in fact he might just have been tasked with finding the baby by someone else (presumably the real daddy). Unless something was said in the past two episodes, since I'm a few episodes behind. I've also been thinking a bit more about this whole plot point with Ethan and Hudson. It feels like the stuff with Ethan (beating him up, bugging the room, etc.) was totally separate from this version of Hudson who's been dealing with Josslyn. It feels to me as if that stuff with FauxEthan and Hudson in Oslo was filmed out of sequence and then dropped into episodes that had already been filmed. it's hard to explain, but maybe it had to do with Nathan Dean's abrupt departure which necessitated some quick rewrites and scenes edited into those episodes, because the actor playing Hudson seemed to be playing two very different versions of the character.

If I had to guess, Hudson is part of a group of baddies who are trying to take over JJE. Perhaps Jax is not just out on a sailboat but is being held captive while they try their own hostile takeover, and their plan got a bit more complicated when Hudson arrived to discover that Josslyn is not some vapid little Nepo Baby they could easily trick into handing over the reins. Maybe Jax is Phoebe's real father and the baddies somehow believe that they have to get rid of all of Jax's heirs in order to clear a path for a takeover.

 

[Emelee]

Was that Jack Brennan dead in the pool? How did he get there? He was last seen in the elevator, drugged and dizzy. Why would he wander off to the pool and fall in? More likely he had "help". Someone murdered him. And because of Drew turning off all cameras and alarms at Metro Court, it won't be possible to check the security footage.

Sidwell and Curtis in jail together. Something's got to happen. Will Sidwell end up dead?

 

[Daniel Avery]

I've about had my limit with this whole "car accident" storyline. The entire story is built upon what was Jordan's fault, not BrookLynn's. The writers have to know this since they occasionally acknowledge it in dialogue, but they spend the other 98% of the time slamming BrookLynn and making all this other stuff (esp. Curtis's asinine behavior) her fault. In fact, someone (Tracy would be logical, though Ned would be a nice change of pace) would point out that BrookLynn could very well be dead right now had she not been alert enough to get out of the way of a car that had swerved into her lane. I do wish they would play up that "Jordan almost killed us all" aspect from BrookLynn, who used to be so much more spunky and combative and would at least take up for herself.

I think it is also fair to say that Curtis is an adult who should be able to manage his own worst impulses. No one "made" him punch Isaiah except Curtis himself.

 

[Monzo]

GH remains my favorite US soap, but my enthusiasm has waned. The storyline surrounding Jordan’s accident is one reason for this, but there are other things I dislike too—like the surprising alliance between Ava and Drew. Just recently, Sonny had Ethan protecting Ava, and now they can’t stand each other again—plus, Ava is foolish enough to get involved with Drew. I can't really understand Drew's hatred for Sonny, because when Drew still believed he was Jason, Sonny was understanding—even when Drew left the mob for the sake of his family with Sam. It was only when the real Jason returned that Sonny immediately dropped Drew, but is that really a reason for so much hatred? And who is actually stopping drugs from entering Port Charles now? I thought that was always Sonny’s job.

I’ve always had mixed feelings about Nina—especially when Michelle Stafford played her—but I had eventually warmed up to her. However, after she pushed Drew into the lake to die—right after seeing how much Scout loved her father—she’s back in my bad books. Willow doesn't offer anything exciting anymore either, though it was surprising that the writers actually managed to make her an interesting character for a while.

Rocco is a character I think many fans like, but I don't care for him at all. The potential romance between Rocco and Scout doesn't appeal to me in the slightest, given that the two lived together as siblings in Sam and Dante’s household for so long.

I wasn't a fan of Jacinda and don't miss her, but Serena isn't really an improvement. Kelly Kruger is the typical blonde actress who never disappoints in soap roles but doesn't exactly wow you either.

I’m not sure yet what to make of Josselyn’s new mission. Among the new characters, I like Hudson more than Tristan, but neither is someone I’m particularly excited to see on screen. I like Alimi Ballard because he’s Alimi Ballard, but I’m not really connecting with his character yet. A little fun fact: Another actor who played a regular detective in later seasons of the original CSI like Alimi Ballard did has joined the cast—Geoffrey Rivas, as Warden Alvarez. Watching the scenes with Curtis, I felt that Geoffrey Rivas has more acting talent in his little finger than Donnell Turner has in his entire body.

Is it known why Chris McKenna was fired? It seemed to me that he did quite a bit to promote the show (and himself), but it didn't help him. Since we had learned about his exit weeks in advance, it felt like he wasn't giving it his all as an actor anymore, unlike months prior.

 

[Daniel Avery]

Is it known why Chris McKenna was fired? It seemed to me that he did quite a bit to promote the show (and himself), but it didn't help him. Since we had learned about his exit weeks in advance, it felt like he wasn't giving it his all as an actor anymore, unlike months prior.

I have to say I was shocked they got rid of him. When Charles Mesure left the role in a huff, he stated on X that it was because GH had so much backstage politics going on (leadership playing favorites, etc.). McKenna gave the impression he was a "company man" and would do whatever they wanted. He seemingly volunteered to be a mouthpiece for TPTB, offering up various scoops in his social media and making everyone look like a happy family (especially the ones suspected of having made Mesure mad enough to quit). It was as if he realized part of his "job security" involved making viewers forget/overlook any of the favoritism---and if he succeeded, he'd become of those "favorites". Guess the joke was on him.

It was said that Jack Brennan was supposed to get killed off much earlier---like they said about Cullum---but that they extended McKenna's time on the show due to Finola Hughes's unexpected absence. This was why he had so little to do with the ending of the Cold Fusion plotline and was sidelined afterward. The whole dalliance with Nina (which I liked) was done just to kill time, I guess.

 

[Monzo]

I’m actually a bit surprised that GH has now fallen behind BTG (which is not on fire, by the way) in both key female demo ratings, and the gap with The View isn't narrowing either. Still, I’m not really worried about GH, since having a daily soap in a streaming lineup is useful for ensuring people visit the platform every day. Nevertheless, I do wonder why GH is currently losing viewers—perhaps it’s because of the WSB storyline?

Even though the whole WSB arc was entertaining to me for months, my mood is starting to shift. For me, the WSB plot has simply become too unrealistic—even by soap standards, and especially given the current political climate. It’s hard to imagine any global organization being allowed to kidnap a US congresswoman’s mother and take her abroad. It feels like the WSB has essentially become a substitute for Sonny’s mob business in terms of violence. I’m also baffled by how willingly Josselyn is putting her father’s company (and the employees' jobs) at risk just for the sake of the WSB.

It’s surprising that they’re introducing yet another lawyer to Port Charles—and one with a family connection that nobody really needs. Regarding Jordan, I wonder why she still has those scars (especially since they must be a hassle for the makeup department); even though Jack arranged for Michael’s treatment in Baden-Baden, Michael surely knows the right people there by now who would take Jordan on as a patient as a favor to him.

So, who is Trina's stalker, anyway? I didn't really care at first because I figured it wouldn't be anyone interesting, but now that there is news that Heather will be back, I wonder if this will be the easy way out for the storyline...

Right now, I get the feeling that GH is clinging too rigidly to certain storylines—like Sonny and Justine as a couple—regardless of the feedback. I always liked the fact that GH—unlike the CBS soaps and Days—reacts more quickly to fan feedback; however, the shift from traditional TV to streaming has perhaps made things so muddled that no one really knows what the exact viewership numbers are, or whether they are actually dropping or simply shifting from one medium to another.

 

[Daniel Avery]

It’s hard to imagine any global organization being allowed to kidnap a US congresswoman’s mother and take her abroad.

I assume the whole plot point was to accommodate Cynthia Watros taking vacation time. Still, you are correct that this is an unrealistic twist to say the least. Not only is she the mother of a Congresswoman, but she is the editor of a (supposedly) popular American magazine. As a high-profile member of the American press, there ought to be an uproar among mainstream media concerning her being basically kidnapped. At the very least Michael and Jordan (as owner and CEO of Aurora Media, respectively) should be splashing the situation across all their platforms and urging others to take up the cause. Yes, Michael hates Nina but he ought to know Nina's situation would sell a lot of papers. Alexis is still PO'd at the WSB for how they kidnapped Jason and carted him off to Jakarta, so I could even see her advocating for Nina out of principle. Two of Nina's ex-husbands are Sonny Corinthos (well-known mob boss) and Valentin Cassadine (well-known ex-spy and WSB renegade), so if those two were to throw around their influence and resources they could cause the WSB a LOT of indigestion. Also, it is not mentioned enough that Nina inherited an enormous real estate fortune from her father and thus is one of the richer people in Port Charles....likely in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The power that such a fortune would give her ought to be brought to bear on the WSB.

So yeah, the WSB overstepped, but I'd actually forgive them this whole fiasco if Nina returned from her time away having been shown how foolishly (slavishly) she has been doing Willow's bidding. Maybe she can come back having finally gotten a necessary "re-set" to see just how dysfunctional their relationship has become. Hey, a guy can dream....