General Hospital Review: Shake, Rattle, and Roll

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I'm disappointed, y'all.

In my General Hospital review of the week before last, I was pretty vocal about how boring I found... just about everything. That is, up until the very last moments of Friday.

Jason Protects Sam — General Hospital

The March 2nd episode of the show found Port Charles being shaken up by an earthquake that sent residents all over town ducking and dodging for cover.

I had high hopes that this might be a sweeps-caliber disaster storyline that would unfold over the course of at least a week, potentially with lives on the line and lasting repercussions for the characters.

Instead, the earthquake drama was resolved in just three days, and it never felt even a bit like anyone was in any real danger. Not even Jim Harvey.

What a waste!

Perhaps it's because I remember great "disaster" sweeps storylines like the February 2007 Metro Court hostage situation orchestrated by Jerry Jacks that this is such an utter disappointment.

Now that was a great Port Charles crisis that had actual stakes and major repercussions – Alan Quartermaine's death, Robin getting shot, Liz telling Jason that he was really Jake's father.

While the earthquake storyline this past week had its moments, it wrapped up very quickly and not much happened that will be of lasting consequence.

There was one major exception to that complaint, of course. Sam finally admitting to Jason that she still loves him was an unexpected moment, and it was huge.

Sam and Jason — General Hospital

The scene itself was absolutely fantastic, with stellar performances from Kelly Monaco and Steve Burton. I mean, this kind of passion and emotion isn't easily faked. Specifically, re: Kelly, they might as well start etching her name onto the Daytime Emmy for Best Actress right now.

I've mentioned in the past that, years ago, I was never too keen on Jasam. Actually, I was a huge OG Liason fan – Billy Miller's version of "Jason" (aka "Jake Doe") with Becky Herbst's Liz was good, but I never liked that coupling nearly as much as I loved Liz/Jason back in the mid-2000s.

But guys. I mean. Wow. I never thought it would happen, but I'm aboard the Jasam train, all thanks to what Kelly and Steve have been bringing to the table. Sam was so full of emotion when she confessed that she'd hoped to bump into Jason for even a minute, to hear his voice or see his eyes.

Sam Loves Jason — General Hospital

Don't get me wrong; I still really like Drew and Sam (is their ship name Dream?). But day by day, I'm finding myself inching closer and closer to full-blown Jasam territory. The "I love you" confession post-earthquake aftershock really sealed it for me. Strong writing and acting will do that!

Speaking of Liz...

As we already saw last week, Franco accidentally left Liz hanging on their wedding day because he was busy confronting Jim Harvey.

All of that pseudo-drama ended up amounting to essentially nothing, as Liz immediately recognized that Franco hadn't meant to abandon her at the altar. She faithfully waited for him at the church, despite the imminent threat of aftershocks.

Then, they had sex in the hospital shower. Because... that's a thing you do in the middle of a city-wide crisis, I guess?

Liz and Franco Shower — General Hospital

OK, that shower scene was honestly pretty hot. Roger Howarth and Becky have tons of chemistry together. I just find myself so disappointed, repeatedly, that the writers can't come up with a better storyline for these two extremely talented actors.

On the plus side, we finally have some real movement on the "Did little Franco try to kill little Drew?" storyline.

Jim, who straight up left Franco to die under the filing cabinet after the initial quake, marched himself right up to Drew and Sam once Drew was released from the hospital and told them his story about "Bobby" pushing "Andy" down the stairs with a little glint in his eye.

Jim's story sounded like a tall, desperate tale. It reeked of a man trying hard to cover his shady, shady tracks.

Jim Harvey — General Hospital

I think even Drew and Sam, as much as they dislike Franco, were both a bit suspicious of what he was saying – which is likely why Drew ended the week confronting Franco in the art therapy room and asking if Franco was the man who saved his life or the one who tried to kill him.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Drew and Franco will begrudgingly come together to uncover the truth and deal with sleazy Jimbo once and for all.

Fingers crossed for a quick end to this ever-slogging plot! Maybe this will clear the way for Liz and Franco finding something better to do.

For Liz, it appears that her next major story will involve her accidental knowledge of Sam's enduring love for Jason. She overheard the two discussing Sam's confession in the hospital hallway. Based on her expression, Liz was shook. To say the least.

Liz Overhears — General Hospital

Will this somehow lead Drew to seek comfort in Liz's arms and mess with Liz and Franco's near-wedded bliss? Hmmm... It's a distinct possibility.

Other Port Charles residents dealt with the effects of the earthquake.

Molly was nearly killed but got to the hospital in time, all thanks to Julian.

There was no actual urgency in this storyline – it was always clear that Molly was in no real danger – but this plot maneuver is yet another check mark in the every growing list of reasons why Alexis will eventually forgive Julian and admit she wants to reunite with him.

I'll repeat what I've said for the last few weeks: the writers torched Julian's character, but they've been doing a solid job of rehabilitating him. Much of that is thanks to his relationship/friendship (they're really toeing the line here!) with Kim.

Kim Leans On Julian — General Hospital

The scene between an emotional Kim and "Charlie" in the hospital locker room – which just anyone can enter, apparently – was really sweet. And how soapy was it that Alexis walked in and interrupted them? So soapy.

Kim, of course, was emotional because of Oscar's near-death experience.

I wish I could care about that whole thing because, on paper, it's as good a teen romance storyline as any. But young teen romances are very much not my thing in any show, and I just... can't quite bring myself to give a hoot about this one. And about Oscar, specifically.

Oscar Recovers — General Hospital

That said, Eden McCoy turned in one of her best-ever performances as Josslyn worried over an unconscious Oscar in the hospital.

Joss — General Hospital

Aside from Sam's "I love you" confession, the other big, game-changing reveal of the week had nothing to do with the earthquake. It was Anna finding out from her late former midwife's daughter that her baby had been a boy, not a girl like Valentin claimed.

This was something that most viewers already suspected. I was holding out for the possibility that an unknown and heretofore unseen Faison daughter was Anna's kid with the deceased madman. Unfortunately, it's all but explicitly confirmed that Henrik is Anna and Faison's son.

Ugh.

For what it's worth, Henrik doesn't seem to know that Anna is his mother (somehow). I'm curious about that and a few aspects of this "twist."

Anna and Andre — General Hospital

Did Faison know that Anna was Henrik's mother? How did Faison find Henrik? What exactly happened to Henrik's adoptive family that they refused to talk to the midwife about why they gave him up? So many questions! Most (if not all) I'm hopeful will be answered.

On the larger topic of Henrik/Peter, I'm still enjoying his tentative friendship with Maxie. But I'm starting to get concerned that the writers are rushing this along far too fast.

I was hoping that they'd go for a more traditional slow burn. Unfortunately, they've rapidly progressed from acquaintances to shirtless run-ins and sitting on a bed together while they're hotel neighbors.

Shirtless Peter — General Hospital
Maxie Sits With Peter — General Hospital

Nothing to see here, just totally normal interactions between a boss and his pregnant, recently widowed employee!

Of course, I'm a red-blooded American woman, so I can appreciate all this for what it is. Soapy eye candy. Wes Ramsey is quite nice to look at.

To Maxie's credit, she's not indicating whatsoever that she's attracted to Peter in the least. From her end, it's fully platonic. Kirsten Storms is nicely portraying the way Maxie, as an actively grieving widow, is not even capable of contemplating anyone else in a sexual or romantic manner, given Nathan's very fresh death.

For now, I'm enjoying the relationship that is firmly platonic on Maxie's side and burgeoning romantic (and definitely very protective) on Peter's side. It's a nice dynamic.

It was especially sweet to see Peter step up to support Maxie in getting her amnio to see whether the baby inherited Faison's condition. That said, I was relieved that it wound up being Nina, in the end, who attended the appointment with her sister-in-law.

Finally, I continue to be blown away by the work of every actor involved in Mike's dementia storyline. Fantastic writing and wonderful, truthful, raw performances.

This week, I was particularly impressed by Laura Wright, who shines so brightly when she's not stuck in redundant mob-related (or Nelle-related) stories.

Carly and Mike — General Hospital

Laura and Maurice have wonderful chemistry ordinarily, but watching Carly support Sonny as he struggles through acceptance of Mike's condition is truly beautiful. I am not a particular CarSon fan, but it's truly moving.

The scene on Thursday, where Carly and Sonny worked to convince Mike to live with them and let them care for him, was particularly great.

Sonny — General Hospital

Mike reacting angrily, then quickly losing track of what was going on, then Carly jumping in to try another angle to convince him – it was all so emotional. A+ all around.

Stray Thoughts:

  • It slipped my mind to mention this last week, but I love the burgeoning familial bond between Josslyn and Jason, especially since she really is so like Carly. It's a very sweet, uncle-like relationship that I didn't expect the show to put time into developing.
  • It took up about five seconds of screentime, but the sidenote about gender-questioning Dakota saving Trina during the earthquake is great without feeling overly corny or like a lesson-of-the-week.
  • Several characters mentioned the last Port Charles earthquake in 1991. That's the year I was born, so obviously I'm not familiar with that storyline. Anyone who was watching at that time and remembers it – please feel free to chime in and let us all know how the two earthquakes compared!
  • I love Monica, but what in the hell was she thinking inviting Nelle to live in the Quartermaine mansion?

    I would love for Nelle to grow as a character and wind up not being pure, scheming evil. But knowing what we all know about Nelle, Monica's act of kindness is actually a huge overstep and really inconsiderate towards Michael, her actual grandson. Couldn't she have run the idea by him first? Jeez.
  • Andre and Anna working together aren't quite as magnetic as Finn and Anna working together if you ask me. But I still like Andre and Anna as friends.

What did you think of General Hospital this week? Hit the comments to share your thoughts, and don't forget to drop back in again next time!

Review

Editor Rating: 2.75 / 5.0
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Caralynn Lippo is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.

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General Hospital Quotes

Claudia: Oh, you're in a foul mood, huh? Looking for trouble?
Sonny: You know, I have not been fair to you. I know I called you a lying whore, and all that. But hey, you know what? At least you don't pretend to be anything else.

Lucky, it's called cleavage, and it's the best weapon we've got.

Sam