Episode Discussion II: The TFGH

[Artsda]

So Drew was out fast, that was funny.  Especially considering he chose Carly's kids and her over Scout. 

Carly quit already. How is he firing her? 

Carly must rush over to the hospital for what? It wasn't because she cares about Dante and Sam. Instead she's asking her "why she's being like this?" 

So they're going to write in Steve's tattoos?  Jason got them while he was gone? 

Of course Willow is going assist a criminal and not tell the police. It's ok for her and Michaels approval list to commit crimes. 

Danny's jumping for any crumb Jason will give him. He wants see Jason ships him away now that his real son Michael is going to help him. 

Go Sam for pointing out Dante was raising the deadbeats son to Carly. 

Marshall is still around why?

Drew and Jordan?  Interesting chem test. 

Chase you should be questioning Anna's actions and motives.  

 

[Grinaldi]

I am all in on Drew and Jordan. Why? Because I only have 30 minutes for lunch and they are an easy fast forward.

Supposedly tomorrow Jason is going to explain where he has been and why. Let's see what they've come up with. 

Edited March 14 by Grinaldi

[Asp Burger]

10 hours ago, ciarra said:

I would think Jordan/Drew would be a bit awkward, considering that he ran over her (while he was temporarily blind). 

Ran over her kidneys! Stupid Drew. So dramatic.

[sacrebleu]

9 hours ago, DanaMB said:

If only…

Hmmm... Petite, dark haired, nurturing. Willow is def Jason's type. And WilSon ( 🏐)  would make everyone's heads explode, so I'd be all for it. 

🤣

 

[Winston Wolfe]

14 hours ago, sacrebleu said:

It was Marshall who abandoned his family without a word for decades.

They can miss me with all this 'lets track down the doctor and make him explain himself' 

Yes, because Heaven forbid that Marshall get a second, third or even fourth opinion.

[GHScorpiosRule]

Has Burton always had those tattoos? Did make-up cover them up in the early years when he did go shirtless? Or is this something new?

Add me to the list that thought that Jason was going to suddenly wake up and shoot Willow.

[Cheyanne11]

13 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Has Burton always had those tattoos? Did make-up cover them up in the early years when he did go shirtless? Or is this something new?

He got the sleeve after he left in 2021.  My guess is the show just isn't going to comment on it, as if Jason just always had it.

[KittyQ]

16 hours ago, Sake614 said:

Yeah but then he said she was the best editor the magazine ever had so she said she’d stay

The "best" for one issue! It is unclear who is actually working at Crimson for the next issue, because the very, very involved and astute businessman Drew hasn't gotten a replacement for Carly yet as far as we know. We haven't seen Carly showing up at the office and making those fabulous deals since she "quit", so who's driving the bus? (Wouldn't it be ironic if that next issue turned out to be even better than anything Carly or Nina produced?)

[AManfred]

44 minutes ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Has Burton always had those tattoos? Did make-up cover them up in the early years when he did go shirtless? Or is this something new?

He has them over on Days-- I thought maybe they were for his character there. To each, his own, I guess...

[Auntie Velvet]

16 hours ago, Grinaldi said:

Any doctor who treated Marshall 40 years ago would be his age if not older or dead. This is a boondoggle of a story which sucks because this actually is a real social issue that we should talk about. These kinds of race-based misdiagnoses still happen today. But this fits and starts story carries no weight and is doing little to nothing to bring attention to the issue

Maybe it will turn out that the doctor was doing this to tons of Black activists -- just keep them zoned out on drugs to kill their spirit. So while he might not remember Marshall specifically, he might confess that he and possibly other colleagues were doing it deliberately.

I'm already over Jason showing us his tummy every five minutes while he "checks his wound." We get it, Steve. You've been working out.

 

Edited March 14 by Auntie Velvet

[KayVeeTeeVee]

On 2/29/2024 at 9:46 AM, CeChase said:

I know.  This is my fear.  I know I'm dreaming that they can commit to a countervailing moral force, but it's a fine dream.  Did Patrick ever cave?  I think he was the one who never did, no?

And Jax, aka Candy Boy.  Oh, and Taggert.  I want Taggert back.  For Trina to not even MENTION him is a sin.  But GH is good at that, i.e. Lucky and Lulu.  Oh, and Violet not asking about her mother.  Do better, GH.

[KittyQ]

17 hours ago, Grinaldi said:

He's a doctor, of course he's upper middle class. They don't take a vow of poverty. As if Portia didn't buy a beach house from a billionaire.

Why does everyone assume this long-ago doctor had some malevolent purpose with his diagnosis? Maybe medical science wasn't that precise 40+ years ago and the diagnosis was just wrong, based on flawed results. RL example: I have two conditions that were diagnosed many years ago (at least as long ago as Marshall's); relatively recently, two of my current doctors told me that they wanted to verify those conditions since the conditions had been frequently misdiagnosed years ago because doctors didn't know then what they know now. As it turns out, both conditions were correctly diagnosed in my case, which is kind of a good news / bad news thing.

[ciarra]

1 hour ago, KittyQ said:

Why does everyone assume this long-ago doctor had some malevolent purpose with his diagnosis?

They want to show that racism was the cause of the misdiagnosis.  He was arrested during a protest and sent to a mental health facility.

 

[Desperado]

The “flashback” in the last minutes better not mean Jason/Carly/Sonny will be treated has as heroes for overcoming the bad FBI/Pikeman.

Also, don’t you try to take away sexy Beach Boy Jagger from me, show!

Edited March 14 by Desperado

[KittyQ]

17 minutes ago, ciarra said:

They want to show that racism was the cause of the misdiagnosis.  He was arrested during a protest and sent to a mental health facility.

 

I'm fuzzy on Marshall's history, so thanks for the background. Are they thinking this was some type of retaliation, or was his behavior post arrest so erratic? Protesting alone doesn't seem to be significant to that kind of diagnosis.

It does seem odd that someone could continue to get medication for decades without any other doctor's sign-off. I can imagine that in a mental facility there might be a tendency for doctors to see what they expect to see and go along with the original diagnosis, but once he got out at some point, wouldn't he get some re-evaluation? Lately, it is hard to get a prescription renewed constantly without seeing a doctor periodically. 

[Cheyanne11]

6 minutes ago, KittyQ said:

It does seem odd that someone could continue to get medication for decades without any other doctor's sign-off. I can imagine that in a mental facility there might be a tendency for doctors to see what they expect to see and go along with the original diagnosis, but once he got out at some point, wouldn't he get some re-evaluation?

Part of why this storyline is poorly written.  Apparently didn't see a doctor for FORTY YEARS but kept taking his meds.  GMAFB.

[CeChase]

26 minutes ago, Desperado said:

The “flashback” in the last minutes better not mean Jason/Carly/Sonny will be treated has heroes for overcoming the bad FBI/Pikeman.

Also, don’t you try to take away sexy Beach Boy Jagger from me, show!

This is so upsetting.  I wouldn't be able to watch this, totally seriously.  I just couldn't do that to myself. 

[KittenPokerCheater]

Did Jason explain why he got the arm tattoo?  

It doesn't look like the tattoo artist did a very good job.

Edited March 14 by KittenPokerCheater

[Auntie Velvet]

I am delusionally hoping that Cates is still a good guy in the universe of this show.... That he recruited Jason to infiltrate Pikeman or whatever the current black ops entity is this go-round. And somehow, uh, Jason had to get tattoos to look legit to the bad guys?

Even if Cates "blackmailed" Jason, unless he threatened to kill his whole family, Cates really wasn't doing anything out of pocket. Jason definitely had done enough unsavory stuff that it would be totally appropriate for the FBI to try to leverage that to get Jason to work for them.

[ciarra]

49 minutes ago, KittyQ said:

Are they thinking this was some type of retaliation, or was his behavior post arrest so erratic? Protesting alone doesn't seem to be significant to that kind of diagnosis.

I think the writers wanted to shine a light on the long history of medical abuse of African Americans, and their (well deserved) continued mistrust of the medical system.

I believe Tuskegee was indirectly mentioned (by Stella?).

Edited March 14 by ciarra

[CeChase]

24 minutes ago, Auntie Velvet said:

I am delusionally hoping that Cates is still a good guy in the universe of this show.... That he recruited Jason to infiltrate Pikeman or whatever the current black ops entity is this go-round. And somehow, uh, Jason had to get tattoos to look legit to the bad guys?

Even if Cates "blackmailed" Jason, unless he threatened to kill his whole family, Cates really wasn't doing anything out of pocket. Jason definitely had done enough unsavory stuff that it would be totally appropriate for the FBI to try to leverage that to get Jason to work for them.

This is my hope too, but it is probably delusional.  This would fall right in with decades of pro Sonny writing, and Mo never wanting a male who could outshine him.  Would he really agree to have sexy Jagger be the good guy up against him?  I mean, I'm worried. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

30 minutes ago, Auntie Velvet said:

Even if Cates "blackmailed" Jason, unless he threatened to kill his whole family, Cates really wasn't doing anything out of pocket.

Aw HELL NO!!!!!!!!! Even if he did blackmail him, so the fuck what?

6 minutes ago, CeChase said:

This is my hope too, but it is probably delusional.  This would fall right in with decades of pro Sonny writing, and Mo never wanting a male who could outshine him.  Would he really agree to have sexy Jagger be the good guy up against him?  I mean, I'm worried. 

DAMMIT! But you know what? I am TEAM JAGGER. My eyes just couldn't roll hard enough at seeing Anna brief Mooby about the investigation, as if he's not a criminal, but just a daddy worried about his cop son.

[YaddaYadda]

Jason can call himself a mercenary all he wants. What he really is is an informant for the FBI because of whatever Jagger is holding over his head. He can miss me with his "sad" face and teary eyes.

[dubbel zout]

2 hours ago, ciarra said:

I think the writers wanted to shine a light on the long history of medical abuse of African Americans, and their (well deserved) continued mistrust of the medical system.

Same, but of course it's being handled in the most ham-handed way possible. And the pacing is beyond terrible.

Is baked ziti the only thing Lois (and Olivia) know how to make?

I wish Jason had shot Dante, if only to stick it to Carly and Michael's faith in Jason. But no one is ever wrong when it comes to Jason.

Of course Drew would go to prison again for Carly in a heartbeat. He's choosing her over his daughter. Hmm...

Can Friday please be the last day we see Heather?

 

[Auntie Velvet]

Speaking of the ziti, after Lois and Sonny discussed having just finished it, didn't he say Ava was out bringing Avery to school? I'll admit I'm not above eating pasta for breakfast, but still.

[GHScorpiosRule]

24 minutes ago, YaddaYadda said:

Jason can call himself a mercenary all he wants. What he really is is an informant for the FBI because of whatever Jagger is holding over his head. He can miss me with his "sad" face and teary eyes.

I know, right? Was-waa-waa. Cry me a river.

And WHY is Jagger wasting time with Cujo? But I cackled at his line to get about how it got under her skin every time he mentioned Jason’s name.🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

Molly has NO BUSINESS bring the ADA on this shooting- so many conflicts of interests, but this is the same show that had Edward and Epiphany on the same jury -I think it was against Jason?

Despite the gag-worthy remarks, it’s nice to see Anna thinking with smarts again.

And what happened to the commissioner’s office? It’s so ridiculous that Anna is holding meetings in the freakin’ interrogation room!

[ffwbe]

I bet it’s Carly that they are holding over Jason’s head. They’ve been going so OTT with the Jarly talk and if the RICO case they have on Jason is from the time he and Carly were running the mob, they can probably make a case against Carly as well. 

[Sake614]

32 minutes ago, Auntie Velvet said:

didn't he say Ava was out bringing Avery to school?

Yes he did. Which had me thinking it was the next morning. Until Drew showed up at the gate house and Willow offered him a glass of wine. And when he was leaving, he said he was going to bed. Then Danny came back to the hospital and Sam chastised him for coming back after she sent him home. And John showed up at Carly’s house and it was pitch black outside. 
 

Does Avery go to night school? 

[Cheyanne11]

1 hour ago, YaddaYadda said:

Jason can call himself a mercenary all he wants. What he really is is an informant for the FBI because of whatever Jagger is holding over his head. He can miss me with his "sad" face and teary eyes.

For real.  Fuck this fucking show trying to make Jason out to be the martyr, John to be the bad guy, and still having the balls to sell Jason/Carly as a love to end all loves when it went over like a lead balloon the last time the rewrote history to try and make it happen.

 

[Daisy]

so wait let me get this straight. Jason has rocks fall on his head and somehow doesn't die. Doesn't come home for at least a year (it feels like 2 at this point?) for whatever reason. John finds him first somehow, and goes work with me or I'm sending you and yours to jail, and instead of coming home, telling his friends and family that "yes, you know, I'm alive, hey mom."  and call Diane to get him out of this mess (as she always does). he's just... doing what John is telling him to do and being all pouty sad face about this?

go jump on the Pennsylvania side of the river you big dumbo. 

[GHScorpiosRule]

Another that made me cackle was the SLS  noticing the tattoos and then saying “What happened to you?” as if they were torture scars.

And of course we don’t get an explanation.

Edited March 17 by GHScorpiosRule

[Artsda]

Anna waxing poetic about Jason and I'm same breath claims she's impartial?  What a joke.  

If Jason is in Quantico and doing something for Jagger I don't believe Jagger is the killer bad guy after Sonny. 

[TVbitch]

If they make John a bad guy my head will explode. He is the first rootable character to enter the scene in forever. Sounds like Jason is protecting Carly, so of course he will be hailed a hero for killing people for all the right reasons. Does Hallmark make a thank you card for that?

Congratulations Willow,! You have checked bingo boxes "treated a mobster's gun shot wound", "committed crimes", and "allowed criminals and guns to hide out near where you live with your children" ....you are officially a mob moll! 

[Grinaldi]

I'm also not getting Jagger is the big bad vibes either. They put him on contract so they have long term plans. But the RICO violations they have must be for Carly (or Michael somehow). They are the only people he would do this for. Sonny can take care of himself.

But for this to feel satisfying the big bad needs to be someone we know. Ava maybe but that feels like a real stretch. She has not been secretly running some major organization for two years. She's been too panicky and reactive. And Cyrus would be a letdown. Then is it someone we know who is off canvas? 

The most dramatic reveal would be Morgan. Or maybe Julian? 

But if Jagger really did break bad that's some Rick Webber level retconning. Do not want.

[driver18]

1 hour ago, Daisy said:

so wait let me get this straight. Jason has rocks fall on his head and somehow doesn't die. Doesn't come home for at least a year (it feels like 2 at this point?) for whatever reason. John finds him first somehow, and goes work with me or I'm sending you and yours to jail, and instead of coming home, telling his friends and family that "yes, you know, I'm alive, hey mom."  and call Diane to get him out of this mess (as she always does). he's just... doing what John is telling him to do and being all pouty sad face about this?

go jump on the Pennsylvania side of the river you big dumbo. 

 

There is clearly more going on here. We were just shown a small scene. A small piece of the puzzle. i don't expect that we will know the full story right away, but with Mulcahy (and Korte) running the show, I think we can expect more complex storytelling than we're used to, and it sure looks like it's not going to drag on as the previous HWs would have done.

[Bringonthedrama]

2 hours ago, Daisy said:

so wait let me get this straight. Jason has rocks fall on his head and somehow doesn't die. Doesn't come home for at least a year (it feels like 2 at this point?) for whatever reason. 

Yep, he's been gone two years and three months if it's March in GH world.  It was two years as of November/Thanksgiving time 2023. 

[ciarra]

2 hours ago, Daisy said:

Doesn't come home for at least a year (it feels like 2 at this point?) for whatever reason.

You can bet the reason will be noble. 

Jason is a Mary Sue.  He has no flaws, is self-sacrificing*.  He never shoots the wrong person. 

*see: Jason goes to prison to protect Michael.

[jsbt]

3 hours ago, Grinaldi said:

I'm also not getting Jagger is the big bad vibes either. They put him on contract so they have long term plans.

Not necessarily. Often these days at GH a contract is just in place to keep an actor in play for the duration of a storyline.

Quote

But for this to feel satisfying the big bad needs to be someone we know. Ava maybe but that feels like a real stretch. She has not been secretly running some major organization for two years. She's been too panicky and reactive.

In fairness, I say again Ava is not known for her subtle reactions lol. She didn't have the greatest poker face during the A.J. saga either. Any time someone mentioned Connie's shooting she'd break out the bug eyes, her lip would twitch and she looked on the verge of shitting her pants. It was part of the charm.

I will comment more later but I personally wouldn't be shocked to see Wagger break bad. It's been done with nobler characters on this show many a time. I really don't care either way, but it would be nice to not see his lovely little speech invalidated too much. That is something Guza loved to do.

Edited March 15 by jsbt

[Grinaldi]

15 minutes ago, jsbt said:

Any time someone mentioned Connie's shooting she'd break out the bug eyes, her lip would twitch and she looked on the verge of shitting her pants. It was part of the charm.

What I remember most was her repeatedly protesting "I had nothing to do with that poor woman's death." It was her catchphrase. 

I had no great love for ASJ's Jagger so my comparing him to Rick was hyperbole. I just would find it unsatisfying. And I like this actor and feel like he serves a purpose on this Sonny-loving canvas. If he's a means to an end, grey character on the right side of the law, great. If he turns out to be a mustache twirler then I have no interest in that story. I also think he has potentially real chemistry with LW.

The story is barely started and as @driver18 said, we should be expecting more complex storytelling with PM and EK. I'm just struggling to game out a satisfying reveal of what's really going on. For now i will settle for the fact that no one has been brainwashed, had plastic surgery or used the word microchip. 

[Mirabelle]

Or thawed out from the Cassadine freezer. 

[jsbt]

1 hour ago, Grinaldi said:

What I remember most was her repeatedly protesting "I had nothing to do with that poor woman's death." It was her catchphrase. 

And then she hit the bar with ol' hamhock Carlos, shrugged over a cocktail and was like 'yeah, I wasted her!' Good times.

I honestly have no real investment in Wagger a) because I feel the character is unnecessary and b) because I think the casting is so off. Harrington has done a pretty good job since the scripts began to improve, but from the very beginning under the prior writers this whole thing has seemed like another of the same old setup of 'character from the past comes back with a beef against Sonny' we've seen a dozen times so it feels like a futile excursion to me. I don't need him to hang around for long, but I would like to see his valid points not undermined in the same way Guza so often used to do it.

Edited March 15 by jsbt

[Asp Burger]

Michael's non-reaction to Willow's news of the Drew/Carly breakup was funny to me. To be fair, he did wrinkle up his face a little while saying, without expression, "Wow. Uh. Too bad," as if Willow had just reported that a play outing for Wiley had to be postponed because of rain. Then they moved on to discussing everyone's favorite topic of the last week, Jason.

"Wow. Too bad" probably was a realistic reaction for a thirtysomething guy whose mom's boyfriend of a couple years has moved on, but Michael and Carly normally get so overwrought over each other's relationships.   

I think we can see the way this is going to go: a repeat of the "Drew the Superfluous" writing from 2018. if Spare hadn't already been used as the title of someone's memoir...

[jsbt]

Drew dipped on Carly in record time lmao. All he had to know was that Jason was alive and inside the United States and he hit the meme.

I found their break-up quite rushed but I'm not complaining; anything that ends a lot of the onscreen nonsense is fine by me. I just hope certain elements (Drew and Jordan) are the last vestige of the past team. If they want to say Kristina woke up having miscarried that baby I won't complain either. I like how they shrugged off the Crimson thing in half a line - 'ahh, whatever!' And you know that if not for the writing change we might have had to tolerate that for another year.

I have a very hard time buying certain people being split on Jason shooting Dante. I can't see Sam buying that or many other people who knew Jason well, and Sonny is a struggle unto itself for me but I fanwank that atm by assuming he is paranoid, possibly off his meds and maybe still feeling jealousy re: the Carly situation from a couple years ago (which to their credit they had him address as a factor on Thursday). Nonetheless, I handwave it because the drama makes for something more interesting than everyone in town rallying around St. Jason again. I was also glad to hear Faux!Molly address her old hero worship of Jason and Sam.

On a side note: Nice to see another awkward scene where Willow and Drew are clearly down to fuck. Not the first time!

Edited March 15 by jsbt

[CeChase]

Maybe the recordings Michael and Dex made on Sonny are going to come into this.  Jason is claiming he's working as a mercenary, isn't that basically what Dex first came on as?  Or something close?  I can't remember.  Anyway, maybe someone got that tape.  Maybe Dex even turned it in.  We really don't know.  Carly thought she destroyed it which is likely a crime.  Maybe the rico charges involve her too and that tape is gonna come into play.  

And I do care if they make sexy Jagger the bad guy.  Enough that I don't think I could watch that.  But I think that may be a red herring.  I don't think he has any involvement in the murders.  We shall see. 

[jsbt]

Wagger most likely has Jason over a barrel on RICO charges against Sonny and probably others in the family, as I believe Grinaldi mentioned. That's how he ensures his cooperation. But he also met Jason in chains at Quantico. FBI HQ is generally not where you set up a black ops kill squad for a private military corporation. So it makes me wonder if Wagger is actually Jason's handler for an undercover op inside that group of mercs.

Edited March 15 by jsbt

[dubbel zout]

11 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Sounds like Jason is protecting Carly

And/or Michael, and I'd also think Jason would try to keep Sonny out of jail if only for how that would affect Sonny's family. So for me, big loud snore at poor poor Jason's dilemma. Not that I really expected something interesting.

6 hours ago, jsbt said:

I honestly have no real investment in Wagger a) because I feel the character is unnecessary and b) because I think the casting is so off. Harrington has done a pretty good job since the scripts began to improve, but from the very beginning under the prior writers this whole thing has seemed like another of the same old setup of 'character from the past comes back with a beef against Sonny' we've seen a dozen times so it feels like a futile excursion to me. I don't need him to hang around for long, but I would like to see his valid points not undermined in the same way Guza so often used to do it.

Same. Sonny will never pay for his crimes, so all of these stories are destined to go nowhere as far as that goes. When Sonny's claustrophobia is treated as a legitimate reason to not imprison him, you know nothing will happen to him. Even if Wagger is a decent foil at the moment, he'll end up like the rest: a Sonny apologist and/or disgraced LEO. Too bad the option of sleeping with Sonny is off the table. That would at least mix things up a bit.

 

[Aymery]

ASJ is not Hispanic so wasn't his Jagger also white? Bagger (Blond Jagger) would make more sense to me.

Edited March 15 by Aymery

[Lugal]

20 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

DAMMIT! But you know what? I am TEAM JAGGER. My eyes just couldn't roll hard enough at seeing Anna brief Mooby about the investigation, as if he's not a criminal, but just a daddy worried about his cop son.

15 hours ago, TVbitch said:

Congratulations Willow,! You have checked bingo boxes "treated a mobster's gun shot wound", "committed crimes", and "allowed criminals and guns to hide out near where you live with your children" ....you are officially a mob moll!

On 3/13/2024 at 6:29 PM, DanaK said:

Is Miss Wu really paranoid that Sonny is in cahoots with Jason on the assassination attempts in order to grab more territory or was she just putting on a show for Curtis and his dad?

Just skimming episodes and the thread, I had a realization:  Does anyone else think that Port Charles is really just that gangster planet from the classic Star Trek Episode A Piece of the Action?

[CeChase]

Patrick and Korte's first credited episode today, chris and dan gone completely.  I am interested to see their writing.  I hope for the best. 

[jsbt]

4 hours ago, Aymery said:

ASJ is not Hispanic so wasn't his Jagger also white? Bagger (Blond Jagger) would make more sense to me.

ASJ was not Latino, but his Jagger was certainly coded 'ethnic' onscreen and he did not present as Sam's Club Keith Urban. So Wagger the recast shall stay for me.

1 hour ago, Lugal said:

Just skimming episodes and the thread, I had a realization:  Does anyone else think that Port Charles is really just that gangster planet from the classic Star Trek Episode A Piece of the Action?

Often.