General Hospital remembered it's a soap opera this week, folks, and we couldn't be more thrilled. For pure soap fans that have been absorbing this genre for decades, this past week was what it's all about. A week full of returns, reveals, reunions, romance — OMG! Inject it into our veins! Now!
Fabulous fallout leaves GH on fire
What even happened this week on GH besides everything? There was literally not one wasted moment, not one scene that didn't capture our attention. We don't remember having a soapgasmic week like this in forever, and it doesn't seem to be letting up.
The fallout from the Gio reveal was everything we could have hoped for and more. A retcon teenage pregnancy that nobody asked for, which would connect Dante and Brook Lynn forever, was met with resistance at first, but has become one of the most compelling tales we have seen in years. It's given us some of the best drama we've ever seen on GH, with performances that have ripped our hearts out, made us angry, and made us fall in love.
From Brook Lynn's anguish, Lois' panicked pain, Dante's confusion, Olivia's fury, Lulu's excuses, and especially Gio's sheer shock, have left us with our jaws on the floor all week. It's the same writers and the same producer we have had for years, but this week, they decided to create a proper soap again, telling us that they have known how to do it all along.
We will admit that GH has been steadily improving from the nightmare it was a year ago, but we did not expect anything like this. After years of storyline build-up without a proper payoff, we were prepared for the worst once again, but for once, that is not what happened.
It was an abbreviated week with only four episodes, but every single one packed some sort of punch. There is a lot to unpack, so let's start now.
Lois gets her due
There's been a lot of debate this week over who was more to blame for the Gio mess and the way Gio learned who he truly was. Lois and Lulu seem to be the two who fans have an issue with, and our favorite Port Charles pals seem to agree — especially Brook Lynn.
The one person Lois lives for is her daughter. When she first learned she was pregnant back in the 1990s, she decided she didn't want her child to grow up amongst the Q clan, considering their often backstabbing and chaotic ways. So, she decided her grandchild also needed to escape them. In the process, she kept both Brook Lynn and her son close, but never bothered telling Brook Lynn. And now, Brook Lynn wants nothing to do with her. For the moment, we don't blame her.
Brook Lynn was right about so much. Why would Lois not tell her and Gio the truth once Camilla died and Brook Lynn was an adult? By then, she would have been able to make up her own mind whether to throw more chaos into Gio's life or leave well enough alone. Something tells us Brook Lynn would have wanted to be his mom, but Lois didn't give either one of them a choice.
However, Brook Lynn is not the only one furious at Lois. Ned is heartbroken because he had no idea his teenage daughter was pregnant, and Olivia is enraged because she watched her own grandson grow up without ever knowing he was her grandson. Dante hasn't even gotten to Lois yet, but when he does...well, we can't wait.
Lulu's turn in the barrel
Dante did get to Lulu, and it certainly did not go well. Frankly, she deserved everything she got. Not for one second do we believe that Lulu wasn't trying to get back at Brook Lynn for this mess. Their rivalry was reborn before Lulu ever found Marty's notes from Lois, with Lulu misjudging Brook Lynn over and over again. Four years had not passed for her, but it had for Brook Lynn, a woman who had gone through a ton of positive changes.
Dante just called it like he saw it when he ripped into Lulu. She had no business sticking her nose into this mess; she had been told that over and over again by multiple people, yet she did it anyway and now doesn't want to live with the consequences.
Even during her post-ball chat with Cody over beers that her new liver would not enjoy, Lulu thought the situation would work itself out, and everyone would be happy. The truth was out there. If there was a little initial emotional anguish, that was a price to pay for Dante now knowing he had another son. Cody didn't seem to think so and gave Lulu some food for thought. By the time Dante got to her, that food seemed to go in one ear and out the other.
Lulu was aghast that Dante was so mean to her. She didn't set out to find his son. No, she only took notes and typed out everything she knew with question marks as she stared at her computer screen and pondered her next move. Either Lulu was lying to Dante or lying to herself, because her big mouth is what set this all in motion. Lois may have told the initial lie, but it wasn't up to Lulu to reveal it.
Tracy took our breath away
Yes, this is our weekly ode to the wonder that is Tracy Angelica Quartermaine, the new magnificent GH matriarch. Our acerbic Q queen is the heart and soul of her family — and this soap — of late, and we wouldn't have it any other way. The look of sheer shock on her face when she learned that Gio was her great-grandson was a sight to behold, but not as gripping as what came next.
Tracy's humanity shone right through as she started talking about having two sons, a grandson, a granddaughter, and now a great-grandson. As she instinctively went around the living room showing Gio what was his — including a photo of his great-great-grandparents, Edward and Lila, she took our breath away. Then, she made Gio cry, so we cried too. When she put her hand to Gio's face and he silently broke down, we wanted to scold her for doing that to our sweet boy, but the moment was too wonderful, as is our Tracy.
We can't get enough of 'Gemma'
This week, GH also decided to finally go full speed ahead with Emma and Gio. It feels like the start of an old-fashioned soap opera young summer romance, the kind we grew up on and maybe need in our lives when middle age and real life bring us down.
The scenes on the footbridge had us kvelling (it's a Yiddish word often spoken in Brooklyn, so Gio would get it). GH really went there and used the footbridge for its intended purpose, for a boy with no past and a girl with no future to fall in love. Or, at least the cousin of the boy with no past and the daughter of the girl with no future. It's where Jason and Robin fell in love, and Carly has been invading that space just a little too much for our tastes over the last few years.
Now, it can be known as Emma and Gio's footbridge. We were hoping they would have a nice little summer on the run story, but it looks like those hopes were dashed. However, they could return to the footbridge for their inevitable first kiss. Get on that, GH.
Where has this Michael been all our lives?
Oh, that's right. Michael Quartermaine Corinthos re-emerged this week a new man. Literally. This Michael is not much like the old Michael, and not just in looks. This one is a little more reserved, a lot more intense, and a lot less high-strung. This one doesn't remind us of an extension, Carly. Instead, he seems to be his own man who will thankfully be a little more independent than his overbearing mother.
This Michael is not about to put up with anything from that insipid Willow or anyone else, for that matter. Has Dark Michael entered the chat? If so, he is more than welcome. We already see the chemistry between Rory Gibson and Sofia Mattsson, and we want more. It's time to see what Misha 2.0 can do. That custody hearing that starts next week will tell us whether they have what it takes. (We think that they do.)
Nope, nobody feels sorry for Willow
Oh, no! Poor Willow had a sad this week. The children she tried to use as leverage when her husband was near death in an ICU burn unit are now with their recovered father rather than their sociopathic Uncle Drew and their nitwit of a mother.
How dare Michael make her choose between her children and what we assume is the best sex she's ever had, or why would she even be with Drew at this point? Michael doesn't want me to be happy! Wahhh! Does anyone cry more than Willow? Does anyone deserve to cry more than Willow? Probably not.
When she broke down outside Carly's front door, all we could do was sigh, nod, and laugh. The girl made her bed with Drew in it. Now, she has to lie in it. This zombie girl is beyond help, and we are done with her. She actually handed her cult leader Lila Quartermaine's engagement ring because he told her to. And he said they would save it for Amelia, not his own daughter, Scout.
That brings us to another question. Where the heck is Scout? She performed in the same number as Wiley, yet Drew took off with Willow to retrieve Wiley and Amelia and left Scout...at the Metro Court? Did she take an Uber home? Poor Scout. (And poor Sam. First, Lulu is ruining her liver with beer and Drew is forgetting that their child exists.)
