Emily is gone (kind of) but Nikolas hasn't learned how to face it yet. First is that slight problem that he can't even recall if he's the one who killed her or not. Second problem is the ballroom is a big bloody mess, and he's all out of Mr. Clean Magic Erasers. (Those things really ARE magic, by the way.) Third problem, Grandma Leslie dropped by with Spencer to remind Nikolas that he's a Daddy. Really, can you blame her? Luke dropped off Lulu when he was grieving Laura's mental breakdown, and next thing you know, Lulu is 20, so we can only assume that Leslie got stuck raising her for over a decade. Leslie obviously doesn't want to get tricked into raising Spencer, too. Sadly, her plan didn't work, Nikolas didn't snap out of it and say "Oh yeah! I have to take care of my kid!" He convinced Grandma Leslie to keep Spencer for a little longer. We can only hope he will hire Leslie a nanny helper who is a bit less whacked than Colleen.
Monica isn't doing so well with the loss either. When Jason told her about Emily's death, I thought she was going to kill him herself. She lunged at Jason like a wild animal. As Monica was quick to point out, AJ, Alan, and Emily are all dead now thanks to nefarious characters that involve Jason either directly or indirectly. Monica disowned her only remaining child, and banned him from Emily's funeral. He didn't even try to argue with her or explain, he just looked terribly wounded.
Monica has the support of the rest of her family however. Ned and Dillon came home for the funeral. (And for the traditional Q Thanksgiving Pizza.) What a welcome sight those familiar faces were to these green eyes. This week we actually had sightings of Bobbie, Leslie, Monica, Ned and Dillon. They had scenes with actual lines and human interaction and references from past plotlines. I was so delighted. I thought to myself "I would trade 12 Coop's for one Ned or Dillon."
When the GH veterans get a chance to show up, they shine. When you see the range of emotion they are capable of displaying, you realize how badly we are cheated on an average week when they hide these characters in the background.
When Bobbie reminded Monica that she understood what she was going through, I started crying about the storyline she was referencing which happened years ago. Bobbie's daughter B.J. was killed in a school bus accident, and Maxie, whose heart was failing got B.J's heart when she died. I remember those scenes so clearly, Bobbie wrestling with whether or not to pull the plug on B.J. and give Maxie her heart, Felicia in sheer joy that they had found a donor heart to save Maxie and then melting in sobs when she realized it was B.J.' death that was to become her miracle, Tony Jones laying his head on Maxie's chest to hear B.J.'s heart beating after it was in Maxie's chest - tear jerking, heartbreaking, and infinitely memorable. All Bobbie had to say was "I do have painful experience to draw from." and I saw those old scenes unfold in my head as if it were a memory of something real.
I don't like to see Monica and Edward sad. I don't like to see Luke flat on his back needing bypass surgery. These fictional characters actually matter to me; in fact, they've been more loyal to me than most of the real people I know. That statement may make me certifiable, but it's true nonetheless. I mourn when they mourn, I worry when they worry - this week I felt such concern for Carly about how she would break the news of Emily's death to Michael and Morgan, and how that loss would affect them. I know they aren't real people, but even so, I worried. Maybe I am looking for pointers on how to handle grief since I have had so much loss in my own life. I just keep hoping some soap character comes up with a better solution for compound grief than random sad prayers and tequila.
In other happenings in this 3 day viewing week, Ric and Alexis have decided to try to be friends for Molly's sake. Robin and Patrick have decided to try to let go, even though their love is still strong, they just can't figure out a way to make it work. Johnny hates Trevor, but is pressured into forming an allegiance with him. Spinelli gets invited to Thanksgiving but still doesn't understand how Georgie feels about him. Lulu and Logan discover she can't cook a chicken. Maxie and Georgie argue over why Felicia never calls, which of course means she will call soon. (Old soap ploy. If a character has been away for awhile, right before they come back, everyone in town has a sudden urge to talk about them, thereby bringing the newer viewers up to speed about who they are and why they matter and what their burning issues are before they arrive.)
Luke and Tracy got lovey dovey in his hospital bed, but he balked at the idea of bypass surgery. Skye showed up at the Q's with Lila Rae and was welcomed into the fold. Lila Rae worked her magical cute baby healing powers on Monica until she spotted a photo of Emily across the room, and the cute baby spell was sadly broken.
Lucky is still missing. Sam behaved like a total beyotch (per usual) and verbally attacked Liz while she grieved over Emily. No matter how much you despise someone, most people would have the decency to give their grudge a rest while said enemy was mourning the death of a loved one. Not Sam, she took that as the perfect opportunity to attack Elizabeth and whine about how badly she treated Lucky.
Every time that conversation comes up I want to punch the TV. Lucky was on drugs and cheated with Maxie over and over and over for months. Liz walked in and found her husband in bed with Skanky Maxie and slept with Jason *1* time. Once. The same night that Jason caught Sam sleeping with her stepfather Ric. So how did Liz get to be the bad guy in this scenario? She was reacting to Lucky cheating on her. Sam has become so cruel and downright despicable. She has no redeeming value in my opinion. For all we know, she's the one who strangled Emily to get even with Jason. I wouldn't put it past her, would you? And she'd rationalize it too, like she did when she watched Baby Jake get kidnapped. What a waste of a character she has become.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will seeing Dillon with Georgie make Spinelli jealous? Will Trevor make Johnny tend to Anthony's roses? Will Lucky turn up again before his Dad has bypass surgery so we at least have a couple of blood donors on hand? Will Nikolas have another blackout and forget all about Emily and think he's still engaged to Katherine Bell? Will anyone but me wonder why Port Charles residents were celebrating Halloween before the ball, and Thanksgiving when it ended, as it was supposed to be 16 hours all told? Will Kate get her darling hairdo back now that the pin curls have probably fallen out in the rainy boat ride back to Port Charles? Will Alfred get stuck cleaning up that bloody ballroom by himself?
