Asp Burger

Before I expanded that to see the clip with it, I thought it was going to be Emily and Zander. They had a fantasy dance sequence to her "I Deserve It" from Music in late 2000 or early 2001.

The writing is always telling us that one of Sonny's kids is like him...and expecting us to forget that we hear that about all of them. When Sonny was "dead," we had that scene of Dante visiting Carly and hearing how much he was like Sonny. We heard a lot about how MoreGun was the most like him when the bipolar story was going on. And didn't Willow recently tell Mykill that even though they aren't biologically related, he and Sonny are so much alike? Today it was Kristina's turn. "Of all my kids, she's the most like me."

I wonder if Laura Wright and Becky Herbst are friendly and want to work together. That's plausible, although it's equally plausible that Carly just has to make an appearance in everyone's story. I actually do think they're good in scenes together, but doesn't it seem we've had pretty much this same one several times over the last few years? At the graveyard (just post Franco), at Liz's house, at some sit-down place where they talked about their history, now at the hospital? Even the dialogue is the same. "I know we haven't always gotten along..." "I know we've said a lot of terrible things to each other..." "I know we're not friends..." Even Carly knows, because she said, "I know I've said this before" in yesterday's remix.

I've seen mentions here of the Sasha actress making words sound weird, but I've never personally been socked in the face with an example until Friday's episode. When Sasha was confronting Gladys about lies, it sounded as though she said, "I'm talking about your lice, Gladys!"

They did get off to a rough start when Michelle Stafford was playing Nina. Nina was at that time involved with Valentin, and she thought Willow was being unfair to Charlotte because Charlotte was "strong." In fact Charlotte really was being a brat and was one of the kids bullying Aiden. But almost from the moment Cynthia Watros took over the role, that was being put in the past. Nina apologized for her past behavior and was supportive of Willow during whatever Willow drama was going on (Shiloh, etc.). They had a pretty good relationship until the grandmother angle came in with Wiley, especially with Nina telling Wiley about Nelle.

Gregory's medical mystery reminds me that Alexis has the worst luck with new friends. Either they're only buddying up to her to further an evil agenda ("Liv" Jerome, Kendra Bauer, Harmony Miller) or they're marked for death.

I think she really is getting the Carly Jr. writing, where what looks to me like an entitled attitude is "knows her own worth"; what looks to me like rudeness is "speaks her mind" and "can't remain silent when she knows something is wrong"; what looks to me like being a shitty fickle friend is "expects those she loves to live up to a high standard," etc. For the purposes of someone like Dex, whatever negative quality you see in Josslyn gets a funhouse-mirror distortion that makes it something good. And she is clearly a writers' pet at this point.

Joss is brave and strong, and when she loves, she loves with her whole heart. Not just a part of it!

They're a Sam/Patrick rerun. That was another relationship that just seemed to be happening because both parties' previous love interests weren't around anymore. No momentum, no strong foundational story (like, some dangerous thing throwing them together), and just so-so chemistry. If and when they break up, I wonder if she'll needlessly use his full name when she talks about him, like she does with Patrick. "When I was living with Dante Falconeri..." I don't even mind them, but it's hard for me to remember the content of a Sam/Dante conversation. Like, ever. The only scene of theirs that really stands out is the one in which he was coaching her on her batting stance for softball and there were sexual undertones. That isn't to say this was even a good scene.

Kidding aside about how it looked like a date, the Dex/Sonny dinner further emphasized for me that a Jason return isn't necessary or desirable. Presumably, as long as there's a Sonny, he's going to need a major underling/enforcer/male talk-to, and there can only be one at a time. (Remember the speed with which Zander was kicked to the curb in 2002?) Dex is better in that role now than Jason would be. He's younger, more of a blank slate, thus less predictable. Except for Carly and her brood, everyone besides Sonny that Jason had a vital relationship with had died or had become peripheral in his life. Whether you were Team Liason or Team Jasam 15 years ago, both were over. Jason/Britt, obviously, has been foreclosed too. Most of the Quartermaines are gone. Monica's never on, and probably will go for good if and when Leslie Charleson officially retires. Jason's kids are never on either. If this story develops with Dex ultimately becoming Sonny's loyal right hand for real, there's more potential there. I know Steve Burton's diehards will never stop hoping for another return, but the show is well set up now without him. And he may not be worth the expense. His last departure didn't exactly cause plunging ratings. (The ratings weren't great before, and they remained not-great after.)

I liked Ava's apartment, the one she had for years (where "Liv Jerome" had her tied up). It was one of my favorite GH sets. The gallery is another one, so I'm generally happy to visit Ava World. But I don't see Wydemere going anywhere, especially with Spencer and Victor still around, and Ava now playing mistress of the house. At least we will still get the amusement of a character (say, Sonny) being at Kelly's and deciding to go to Wyndemere, and then walking in while a conversation between two other characters at Wyndemere (say, Victor and Spencer) is still going on. There's all this lip service paid to its being on an island and a launch being necessary to get there, but it takes as much time to get there as it takes me to get to the sandwich place down the street.

And if she's so anti-mob, she should have some issues with Mom as well, since Carly was practically running the thing during the Nixon Falls period, and it wasn't even her first time subbing for Sonny at crime-boss meetings. That was going on way back in the Tamara Braun era, before there was a Josslyn. Oh, that's right, (1) it was Nina's fault for keeping Sonny from his family for nine months, and for the parts that can't cover, (2) Sonny ruined Carly's life, and she spent years making excuses for him and looking the other way.

She had been asking him to let her use the club for her high-stakes card games, and he had been refusing, but then I think he wanted to get his mitts on Marshall's sealed arrest record, and she said she could get it for him under those terms. If that's all he got out of it, it doesn't say much for his deal-making, does it?

It's remarkable how long they were a thing, and they're already fading from minds. I would hardly believe it myself if I could not see the dates in cold print. They met in May 2021, had their first date in September 2021 (Carly and Jason's wedding), and broke up 15 months later, in December 2022. There were a few kisses and many bland conversations, but I can't recall even the threat of a real story for them as a couple. Even for present-day GH, which doesn't do romance well, they were historically inert. I wonder if one or both actors weren't into the pairing.

^ Maxie and Austin were the above scenario, but with all the chairs taken, so you had to stand, and all the worst hits of the '70s were playing.

I don't know anything, and the current regime has been good at keeping departures under wraps (unless an actor dismissal was big news in special circumstances), but Howarth's Franco character bit it in early March 2021. Two years left on the contract at that time, maybe? "Rather pointless" is a good way to sum up all things Dante and Sam. I don't mind them, but they always have seemed like "long-term parking" to me, because neither of them has a better possibility in town at the moment. I mean that's how I believe the writers feel about them, not the way the characters feel about each other.

I read an interview with Adam Huss a few days ago. An interesting detail in that he had auditioned unsuccessfully for both Nikolas and Shiloh. I guess the current policy of GH is to keep names of the runners-up handy if they need a fill-in or (in the case of Trina) a permanent replacement.

It's the Tan O'Malley.

Brook Kerr is a bit Rebecca Herbst-like in her vulnerability. So even if Portia deserves to take verbal lashings, I'm probably just going to feel bad for Portia, because she'll be playing the reactions like "Look, I know I suck, but can you ease up?" It won't help that Curtis's smug ass is going to be one of the inquisitors. I did like Curtis once upon a time, but he's slid.

I know. They look like a cake ornament. Also, the Wiley actor appears to be leaning so as not to be obscured by Brook Lynn. It's hard to photograph 50+ people, but parts of this needed a little more fine-tuning.

Imagine how cluttered it would have been if they had included everyone we're seeing semi-regularly. Gladys. Linc. Blaze. Mason. Cyrus and Martin. Yuri. Brick. Phyllis (I guess it's been a while since she aired). Everyone's kids.

I thought TJ had a hand on Molly's arm, and Kristina was sitting with them. Lipton/Cam's placement is kind of odd. The only time I can remember him even having a scene with anyone he's near is when he was there for Stella's stroke.

Terry's on the ladder.

Thank you, jbst. Jane was the last one stumping me. I was trying to go through process of omission. I knew she wasn't Gladys or Monica or Heather. Cody has made so little impression on me that it took me a while to recognize him too. That isn't my favorite coif for Maura West.

The anniversary photo is within this article. You can click to enlarge, but if you're like me, you still will have trouble deciding who a couple people are. https://people.com/tv/general-hospital-alums-and-newbies-gather-for-epic-class-photo-60th-anniversary/