“Oh, my God!  Was That An Actual Wedding I Just Saw?” 

I pretty much enjoyed this past week of “General Hospital.”  The stories seem to be on a more even keel and headed toward that wonderful place known as “Balance.”  All sorts of things happened and all kinds of people got to interact with each other.   It’s still not the perfect soap opera, or anything close to it, but there are definitely positive steps in that direction. 

Dillon had scenes with Ned and Edward.  It was great.  I love that old curmudgeon, Edward Quartermaine, and it was wonderful to see him expounding his own brand of relationship advice to Dillon.  Those two need to interact more often. 

Ned jumped on Dillon’s case when he found out that Dillon had been working for Lorenzo Alcazar.  Good for Ned.  Dillon seemed absolutely shocked to hear himself getting lectured, which doesn’t surprise me since his and Ned’s mother, Tracy, doesn’t exactly seem like the most “parental” person in the world.  I hope Dillon realizes Ned’s words were motivated by love and concern for his little brother.  Awww. 

We got to see some humorous interaction between Alexis, Cameron and the “Baby Barnyard” toy Cameron had purchased for Kristina.  Those scenes were quite funny and that’s exactly what this show, and those particular characters, need more of right now.  I have no doubt that humor is the way to go when it comes to a possible romantic pairing between these two.  They are at their best when they nitpick at each other over the most unimportant things.  Also, the show has been too dark and depressing for way too long now.  There’s room for drastic darkness, it is a soap opera after all, but let’s have some laughs along the way, too.  See?  It’s “balance.” 

Who else was interacting this past week, much to my delight and surprise?  Here’s my list. 

Courtney and Mike 

Lucky and Emily 

Liz and Emily 

Mike and Bobbie 

Bobbie and Carly 

Alexis and Kristina (Yay!) 

Zander and Cameron 

Zander and Alexis 

And last, but certainly not least… 

Luke and Alcazar. 

I have to say a few words about Luke and Lorenzo meeting in the hallway outside of Stefan’s hospital room.  It was as if I was witnessing a historical moment.  Anthony Geary steals every scene he’s in as Luke and over the years, there have been few characters who can keep up with him.  Off the top of my head I can think of Sonny Corinthos, Scott Baldwin, Bobbie Spencer, Laura Spencer, Lucy Coe, Stefan Cassadine, Helena Cassadine, Robert Scorpio, Sean Donnelly, and now…Lorenzo Alcazar.  I just know it.  One current “great” and one future “great.”  It was, well, “great.”  I hope they have many more scenes together.  Ted King definitely has the screen presence and acting ability required to handle a scene with Anthony Geary. 

Bobbie is long overdue to be interacting with other characters, especially her own daughter Carly, who has been to hell and back throughout this pregnancy.  I’m sure she needed her “Mommy” many times through this, but “The Powers That Be” just didn’t think we needed to see that.  Me thinks they thought wrong and I hope they’ve seen the errors of their ways and continue to include Bobbie, much more, in the future. 

I think there could be some awesome chemistry between Bobbie and Mike.  I know better than to hold out any hope that that will ever happen, but it’s nice to imagine Bobbie and Mike having a story of their own. 

Then amid our typical darkness and despair…we had an actual wedding.  Can you believe it?  Many of you who have ever read anything I’ve written before probably know I am NO fan of Courtney and Jason as a couple, so you may be wondering how I could possibly have enjoyed their wedding.  I’ll tell you why I enjoyed it. 

*No one blew up. 

*No one was on a deathbed. 

*No one got shot. 

*No one was left at the altar. 

*No one was lurking around the corner with a gun. 

*No one got kidnapped. 

*No one was getting married knowing full well they’d rather marry someone else. 

*The two characters getting married are actually in love with each other. 

*No previously unknown or presumed dead spouses showed up. 

*They weren’t getting married just because there’s a baby on the way. 

*Neither was marrying for money. 

*They weren’t surrounded by a bunch of characters who normally don’t even like them, much less who would turn up for their wedding. 

*The bride looked beautiful. 

*The groom looked handsome. 

*The bride and groom seemed legitimately happy and thrilled to be there. 

*The wedding started, proceeded without interruption and concluded peacefully. 

See what I mean?  It was just a wedding!  It was a wedding for the sake of a wedding.  That’s it.  No stunts.  No crap.  Just a much needed shot of romance and sweet sappiness on a show that needs a lot more of that kind of thing.  Sure all hell can break loose before or after these romantic moments, but as I mentioned, it is a soap opera and romance should be a key ingredient.  I hope Jason and Courtney’s wedding heralds the beginning of a more romantic GH. 

I thought Steve Burton (Jason) definitely pulled out all the acting stops for that wedding.  Did he look like an authentic groom, or what?  I’m not referring to his clothing, either.  While he was certainly a handsome, sharp dressed groom, it was the look on his face that said it all.  He looked joyous and scared to death at the same time.  I swear I could see the vibrations of his heart beating.  No man looks that way unless they are getting married or having their newly first born placed in their arms for the very first time.  Steve, who has experienced both of those things in real life now, had that look down.  I just wanted to cry for him (tears of happiness) and really, I can’t believe I’m saying that. 

Not surprisingly I’m sure, while there was stuff I liked, there was also stuff I didn’t like, though not nearly as much as usual.  That’s excellent in my book. 

I did NOT like how Skye gushed and fussed over Jax when he returned.  Yeah, she threw that glass of water in his face, which was good, but she shouldn’t have stopped there.  She should have hit him over the head with a chair and then stomped him into the ground with her high heels for the way he treated her.  And I could not believe all that drivel she was spewing to Ned about how Jax was the best man she’d ever known, blech, blech, and blech!  Since when? 

I’m still not into “Jam,” which is what the yet-to-be-romantic-coupling of Jax and Sam has been nicknamed by their fans on the Internet.  I am still not turned off by them though, so that is still very good as far as I am concerned.  What really gets me is that Sam genuinely seems to not like Jax.  I am not sensing any real “I’ll just pretend I don’t like him so he doesn’t know I really lust after him and am falling in love” vibe from her, and I know that’s what I’m supposed to be feeling right now.  I am just not picking that up at all.  What I did notice, even though they weren’t actually “together” at the Port Charles Grill, is that A.J. and Sam would make one hellacious couple, wouldn’t they? 

Also, the show should NOT have Skye in scenes with Sam OR in scenes with Sam and Jax.  Skye makes Sam look like a total lightweight.  Sam just disappears into the wallpaper.  The chemistry that Skye still has with Jax is the same thing, it just totally destroys in potential spark Jax and Sam might have. 

I am also not liking Emily at all anymore.  The things she said to Zander this past week had me and my husband calling her a bitch after nearly every scene she appeared in, followed by statements like, “Oh NO, she didn’t!” and “Who the hell does she think she is?” and “I can’t believe she just said that!”  When Zander told her their marriage was over and that he deserved better, my husband and I actually applauded, whooped and said things like, “Go, Zander!”  We were thrilled.  She is such a hypocrite.  Bitch. 

What really cracked me up was her little lecture to Zander about why they had to go to Carly’s baby shower and what happened later. 

Emily:  “Here how this works.  Jason is Sonny and Carly’s best friend in the entire world.  I’m Jason’s sister, you’re my husband, that means we’re all connected.  We’re all family and we make an effort to show up for special occasions.” 

Not only is that just a ridiculous statement in and of itself, the fact that Jason and Courtney just blew off the entire “occasion” was hilarious.  I guess by Emily’s standards, they don’t feel “connected” or want to make an effort.  Come to think of it, Sonny only showed up to rush Carly out the door.  Poor Carly.  Things are pretty bad when, over your own closest friends, it’s just your best friend’s sister (whom you don’t really like), and her husband (who trashed your nightclub), who will make an effort. 

Speaking of Sonny showing up to rush Carly out the door, he did that because he thought she was in danger from one of his enemies, right?  I mean, for all he knew, there could be a bomb in the place, but did he give any thought to anyone else’s safety?  Nope.  He didn’t bother to mention to anyone that, “Oh, by the way, we’re leaving because there could be a hail of bullets or a bomb blowing up or something like that at any moment.”  Kind of thoughtless on Sonny’s part. 

Another thing I noticed at the shower was Courtney’s gift to Carly.  Wasn’t that the same baby blanket that Carly gave to Courtney when she thought Courtney was still pregnant?  I realize that’s supposed to have some sort of emotional significance, but all I could think was how cheap Courtney was to “re-gift” that blanket to the same person who gave it to her.  Yeah, I know.  I’m petty.  

Then there’s my beautiful Stefan.  What a travesty.  I just have no words about how his character was written since Stephen Nichols returned to the role a few months ago.  It’s just a damned shame. 

A moment of silence, please. 

***sniff*** 

All right.  I’m okay now. 

I don’t know what to say about Lucky.  That boy needs help.  For starters, the writers need to stop writing him as a boy.  Greg Vaughan is definitely no “boy,” he’s all hunky, lusty man and it’s time the show used that to Lucky’s advantage.  The show really missed the mark when Lucky was tied up in that chair.  He should have been tied up in that chair with his shirt off!  Sheesh!  I mean do I gotta spell it out to these writers?  Lucky + No Shirt + Lucky Tied To A Chair = JenJen’s Naked Lucky Bondage Fantasy. 

I enjoyed seeing Liz and Ric have some scenes together again.  I don’t know what to think about Ric becoming Assistant District Attorney to look good in Liz’s eyes.  Given his past actions, it just doesn’t really seem all that sincere to me and I don’t think Liz should have been impressed by that at all. 

I did think Skye, Courtney, Faith, Georgie and yes, even Emily, looked better-than-ever beautiful this past week.  I don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes that’s making these already beautiful women look even better, but I hope they stick with it. 

Well, that wasn’t a negative thing, so I guess I’m back to the positive stuff again, huh? 

The idea of Jax with no towel is definitely an “uplifting” thought. 

I got a kick out of Skye showing up at Jax’s hotel room in time to see Sam, dressed as a maid, standing there holding Jax’s towel while Jax stood there in all his naked glory.  When Skye started going on about how one shouldn’t “sleep with the help,” I laughed.  That is just so “Skye.” 

I would have liked some jealousy from Jax when he realized that Skye and Ned have become much more than just “friendly” with each other.  That would have been satisfying. 

One thing I definitely enjoyed was this past week’s “mini get-togethers.”  All the people gathered for Stefan’s “trial,” then Ned, Skye, Jax and A.J. at the Port Charles Grille and Lucky, Bobbie, Mike, Carly, Emily and Zander at Carly’s baby shower.  These scenes are always good, whatever their purpose, because we get to see so many people together that we don’t usually get to see together, or at all.  There’s such a different dynamic at play when the history of family and friendships are all mingled together.  New chemistry emerges in unexpected pairings and newer couplings and friendships can be viewed in contrast to others.  Seeing all of that this week also reminded me that we are LONG overdue for a big Quartermaine argument in the Quartermaine living room.  I miss them. 

I hope things continue to stay on a positive track at GH.  I still don’t fully believe that we are going to get that “New GH” because we still have the “Old Powers That Be,” but as each week goes by, I see more reasons to be hopeful. 

And I just keep thinking, “I saw Jason’s heart beating!” 

**swoon**