How many times in our lives have we thought something through and then proceeded to act with great clarity because we were *certain* of the outcome...only to discover that we were dead wrong?
Welcome to Dante's world.
He wrestled with his options once he found Michael. He went round and round about it all in his head. He eventually landed on the notion that the best choice would be to turn Michael in so he could assuage his guilt. He honestly believed Michael would get a suspended sentence and counseling. He said so to anyone who would listen. He promised his kid brother. But he was absolutely wrong.
Everyone in Port Charles, except Lulu and Olivia, now openly despise him. A lot of fans despise him, too, and frankly that troubles me. Okay, sure this is a Soap and we all love Michael. (Even though he's now played by a kid we've known for all of 12 seconds.)
But let's take a step back and remove ourselves from our Soapy Bubble of denial. If this was in your hometown, and you saw a story on your local news that a mobster's teenage son had killed his crazy gangster princess stepmother by whacking her in the head with an axe handle, would you be rooting for him to be set free? Um no, of course not. But on GH, bad is good and good is bad, and we've all fallen victim to their twisted logic.
But not Dante. He has a clear picture of right and wrong. He believed in the system and trusted that Judge Carroll would be lenient with Michael. Dante was trying to free Michael from a life of shame and guilt. He was *sure* Michael wouldn't see the inside of a jail cell. But Dante was very, very wrong. Judge Carroll opted to give Michael a 5-year sentence with a possibility of parole in 2 years. No counseling. No community service. Actual prison. Michael's being fitted for the orange jumpsuit and is headed to the slammer. Maybe GH will spice things up and Michael will be Anthony Zacharra's cellmate.
My husband, who pretends he doesn't watch GH, said maybe Anthony will offer to let Michael into the Zacharra organization. Seems unlikely since Michael killed Claudia, but in truth, Anthony never much cared for his daughter anyway.
Were you shocked at the sentencing? No, me neither. After everyone in town said, "Surely the judge won't give him jail time," and "No way Michael is going to Pentonville" -- I knew he was doomed. Talk about foreshadowing... It's kind of like when six or seven people on a soap mention how much they wish someone was dead, it's a sure bet they are gearing up for a murder mystery and are laying out their suspects.
In the warped reality of Port Charles, the upright cop with a moral code ends up the bad guy and outcast of the town while the thugs who covered up a killing are the heroes.
Thus, the extended Corinthos/Jax clan all blamed Dante for Michael's fate. They refused to accept their own part of the blame or realize Michael was in that spot because of the actions of his crazy mob family.
The one person in town who actually hit the nail on the head was Tracy Quartermaine. Tracy reminded Carly that Michael was AJ's son and that Carly stole him from his biological father and took him into the center of the mob. What part of that is wrong? Sure, AJ was a drunk and a little narcissistic, but at least he wasn't a hit man or a mob boss. Tracy claimed Michael was in the situation he was in because Carly let thugs raise him. And she was right.
Michael did, after all, kill someone. Accident or not, he bashed his stepmother's skull with an axe handle. It would do the adults in his life a world of good to stop blaming Dante and start changing their lives before Molly, Kristina, and Morgan end up the same way.
Speaking of Molly and Kristina, I have felt the hole left by Rick Hearst during this whole storyline. Ric Lansing was Kristina's stepdad and is Molly's real dad -- it's hard to imagine a family crisis of this level that wouldn't have brought him home to help, or at least to gloat.
His love/hate relationship with Sonny would have been a perfect fit in this storyline. I could also see Ric buddying up to Dante to annoy Sonny, and certainly to comfort Kristina and Alexis in the aftermath of Kiefer's death. It's a shame he's wasting away on the Bold and Beautiful with only an occasional scene. A waste of a remarkably talented actor, in my humble opinion.
But enough of that, let's get down to what really matters: Lulu and Dante finally had sex! They were naked in bed with spaghetti. Pasta never looked so sexy before. We waited for months to see the two of them take their relationship to the next level and they didn't disappoint. I wonder how long this couple will be able to stay solid with the amount of opposition they face.
It's going to be a difficult road to travel but something tells me they have what it takes to walk through this fire. I think the more obstacles a couple successfully overcomes, the stronger the bond. One day they wake up and realize the love they have for one another is the strongest and truest connection they know on Earth. They decide that if they have to sacrifice everyone and everything to be together, they will.
Lulu has always been loyal to her family, but this time, she sided with the man she loved and it's costing her everything to take his side. But after several failed attempts at love, she realized True Love is worth everything she has to give up to claim it. Her family, Carly in particular, is railing at her, calling her a traitor, and accusing her of all sorts of awful things, but Lulu has accepted those insults calmly because in her heart she knows she made the right choice. There is an inner peace she has found in her love for Dante that no one can shake.
Kind of like Helena and her "Manservant," Thor. Okay, just kidding, but Helena gets the funniest lines of the week, every week. I really want to be walking around with a guy someday and introduce him to people as my Manservant. Of course, I also want to answer my phone "Tis I, the Jackal" but I haven't gotten that brave yet either.
Helena and Thor foolishly spoke about the true paternity of Elizabeth's baby out loud in public. (As all people in Port Charles with huge secrets are prone to do.) Unfortunately, they caught they eye of the ultra-suspicious Tracy Quartermaine, and she's poking around in the matter with the aid of poor unsuspecting Epiphany. Something tells me Tracy will be kidnapped and stashed in some Cassadine lair, and Luke will have to come and spar with Helena to find her. Just a blind guess.
When Lucky caught Helena sniffing around Elizabeth, the two had an excellent verbal assault and Lucky promised Helena he'd "either show her the inside of a jail cell or a coffin" and I wanted to kiss the writer who wrote that line right on the lips. Brilliant choice of words.
Readers, for a while now I have anticipated the big scene between Kate and Sonny when he confronted her about knowing Dante was his son. We got it Friday and was it just me, or did it nearly put you to sleep, too? It was deeply unsatisfying. Maybe it's because Kate has been gone so long and all their sizzle is gone, or maybe it was just written badly, I can't decide.
I can decide one thing; I miss Aaron Refvem. We already lost Drew Garrett, and I was taking Chad Duell a day at a time, but when they threw in NuMorgan, it was too much change all at once. Perhaps we've been spoiled -- the casting directors got it right the first time they aged the kids. All four, Michael, Morgan, Molly, and Kristina were excellent recasts of the aged characters, not a dud in the bunch. So it was tough to see one go, and now a second -- especially a kid as beloved as Aaron Refvem's Morgan.
That kid could cry at the drop of a hat and had sincerity oozing out of his pores. So just like last week when I moaned about Michael being recast right before the climactic moment of a storyline, they threw in NuMorgan the day we got the news that Michael had been sentenced to prison...Boo! Instead of sizzling, the moment fizzled because the kid we cared about was gone.
Yeah, I know I said the same thing last week about Michael, but it's true again this week with a recast Morgan. As with Chad Duell, I am willing to give Aaron Sanders a chance, but I was mad as soon as I saw him as he's older or at least appears older than Aaron Refvem. Thus, the lines that were written for a little boy seems less convincing when coming from the mouth of a "12-14"-year-old - IMDB doesn't list his exact age, just that he's 12-14'ish... Refvem, on the other hand, is 10, so did they age the character..2 to 4 years? Eek gads. Enough already.
Back to what was good... Jonathan Jackson's speech to Judge Carroll about Michael made me cry openly. What is it about Lucky that gets to me so much? Jonathan Jackson, I heart you.
I also appreciated the tip of the hat to GH history with the Robin and Jason scene. Robin has often been portrayed as a villain for telling AJ that Michael was his son, but Jason was finally willing to concede that maybe Robin had it right all along and even apologized to her.
Steve Burton has brought Jason to an emotional peak and we see that every moment of every day he is on the verge of collapsing into sobs for letting Michael down. Jason's commitment to Michael was solid and eternal and Jason can barely look at his own reflection without seeing how tragically he failed at keeping his promises. Because Jason's character is more subtle than others, I don't think Steve Burton gets the credit he deserves. But rewind last week's scenes and watch his eyes - they are pooling with tears in nearly every scene. Every time I saw his eyes, mine filled up with tears, too, because I know how it feels to regret a choice deeply that you can't wish away and have no possible way to fix or undo. Steve Burton has captured that angst perfectly this week.
If you hate spoilers, skip to the next paragraph because I have a doozy for you and I can't keep it to myself. Okay, are all you spoiler haters gone? Good. For the rest of you, a quiz...What do Carly and Sonny do in tragic situations? That's right, a hot night of grief sex, and baby it's coming. They are going to wallow in their failure over Michael horizontally. I wonder if that will send Jax into the arms of Kate, Skye, or Claire?
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Dante and Lulu have after-sex pepperoni pizza, or lasagna next week? (Or maybe an official Lante cupcake!) Will Helena smother Shirley with a pillow to make Elizabeth go mad again? Will Maya be put under Sonny's lame protection for her kindness to Michael? Will Maxie keep the same hairstyle for a single week ever? Will Johnny go back to teaching piano lessons to appease Olivia's desire for him to be a good boy? Will Spinelli call Winifred for rebound sex after Maxie dumps him? Will Helena have her way with Thor before her next brainwashing session with Spencer?
