So, are we all now clear on what Beggars Night is? If not, then you haven't been paying close enough attention to General Hospital this week. Shame, shame.
Basically, Beggars Night is the act of double-dipping on trick-or-treating by going out the night before Halloween to beg for candy, which I'm totally down for. Truth be told, there are a lot of Beggar Nights throughout the year for me. Just ask my kids; I'm always sending them text messages requesting them to pick up sweets and whatnot on their way home from school, work, or wherever they happen to be.
This year, Halloween took somewhat of a backseat on General Hospital, but there were a few costumes on parade. Josslyn went as -- surprise, surprise -- a child of the corn because Children of the Corn has been her favorite flick since she was a gleam in her daddy's eye. Meanwhile, Cam and Emma opted to go the couple route by dressing as what I'm pretty sure were cute little puppies. Patrick and Sam also matched somewhat with Patrick going as a lumberjack and Sam as an impromptu tree.
I was a little disappointed at the lack of costumes because I love Halloween, but the wonderful Ron Carlivati made up for it by giving us three spectacular treats: Sonny's full confession to Morgan, Franco and Carly's wedding from hell on the Haunted Star, and Nina's swan dive into insanity when she showed up at the brownstone with baby fever.
However, before I jump into all of that, I would like to say that I loved the twist of Larry Ashton being dumped on the Quartermaine terrace instead of Luke in exchange for the fifteen-and-a-half percent shares of ELQ that Tracy had secured for Jerry Jacks. Tracy completely deserved the double-cross because everyone warned her not to trust Jerry since he's well known to lie like a rug, even when it's completely unnecessary. Plus, there were some seriously huge warning flags that Luke was up to no good, not only with Spencer spilling the beans about Luke's plans and threats, but also Luke's obsession with gaining control of ELQ.
Additionally, Ned, Morgan, Kiki, Michael, and even Monica have all had alarming exchanges with Luke that they had tried to warn Tracy about. Jerry having Luke's phone proved nothing because these days it's incredibly easy to clone a phone if you have access to the right technology -- which Jerry does.
I'm just saddened that poor Alice got screwed out of her shares of ELQ because of Tracy's rash actions.
Frankly, I suspect there is far more to Larry's appearance in PC than meets the eye because he didn't seem all that surprised to be stateside or to hear that he'd been a victim of a scam spearheaded by Jerry Jacks.
It's disappointing to watch Tracy continually make a fool of herself over Luke. She's smarter than this, so I expect more from her than taking Jerry's word at face value. You don't need to be a viewer to know that something is very off with Luke. Luckily for Luke, Julian knows where he is, so when this all finally ends -- and it better happen sooner rather than later -- Julian might be able to use the information to get his sister out of hot water over Connie's murder.
Sadly for Sonny, he might not fare as well when his dirty deeds are revealed to the world.
As the week drew to a close, Sonny made a full confession to Morgan about not only killing A.J. but Ava's role in Connie's violent demise. Naturally, Morgan refused to believe his father, which I can't really blame the kid for. Sonny easily lies when it suits his purposes.
What bothers me more than anything about Sonny's confession to Morgan is that Sonny mitigated his guilt by painting himself as the victim too. Sonny was careful to end the incriminating recording of Ava's cold confession before Morgan heard Sonny's ugly confrontation with A.J. Instead, Sonny opted to tell Morgan that Ava had manipulated Sonny into shooting an innocent man by making Sonny believe that A.J. had truly killed Connie.
It's true that Ava did everything in her power to persuade Sonny to fire the fatal shot, but in listening to Sonny tell his side of things, it's clear that he's not really sorry for killing an innocent man but rather for betraying Michael by breaking a promise. The truth is that Sonny had been itching to kill A.J. for years. I don't hear true regret from Sonny for taking an innocent man's life because Sonny continues to malign and berate A.J. even in death. Even knowing that Ava framed A.J. for Connie's murder and practically poured the booze down A.J.'s throat, Sonny shows absolutely no regret for how badly A.J. had been wronged.
I get that Sonny despised A.J., but Sonny was not then nor is he now a better man than A.J. I'm not saying that A.J. was a saint, but Sonny continuously kills people and justifies it through incredibly selfish reasoning. At the close of Friday's show, Sonny had contract hits on two people: Franco and Ava.
Ava's date with the Grim Reaper is pure revenge for killing Connie. However, Franco's death is a little more complicated. Sonny wants to ensure Franco's silence about A.J.'s murder, and he wants to free up Carly because Sonny wants her for himself.
Sonny places hits on people with the same frequency that people tamper with tests results at the hospital.
Despite Sonny's penchant for killing people, he paints himself as a loving and honorable family man who lives by a "code." However, that code tends to be flexible, depending on the circumstances and Sonny's narcissistic view of things. That is the crux of my problem with Sonny.
Morgan was right; it will be a double blow to Michael's heart when Michael learns the truth about what Sonny did and how far Carly had gone to cover up the truth, even going so far as to try to persuade Michael to let sleeping dogs lie by not digging into Ava's possible role in A.J.'s death.
I don't blame Morgan for keeping the secret from Michael because Morgan's priority right now is the baby that Ava is carrying. Even though Morgan's eyes are opened to who Ava really is, it doesn't change the fact that she's carrying a Corinthos baby, which Morgan feels obligated to protect. That means keeping Ava safe too. I don't think Michael will hold it against Morgan too much when he realizes that Morgan kept quiet about Sonny shooting A.J. to protect the baby.
Unfortunately, I doubt Michael's relationship with Kiki will fare as well as his relationship with Morgan. Rosalie just might end up with Michael, after all, because I can't see Michael staying with Kiki when he learns that she knew the truth -- at least part of it -- and continually confided to Morgan.
It is a little irksome that everyone acts as if Michael is made of spun sugar and incapable of dealing with the truth. In his shoes, I'd probably be pissed and insulted that the people who claim to love me the most trusted me the least.
As for Kiki, I suspect that she won't be brokenhearted for long because, despite their insistence that they are just friends, I see sparks between Morgan and Kiki.
I would love for Michael to learn the truth about Sonny's role in A.J.'s shooting, and A.J.'s innocence in Connie's murder, next week, but I'm not going to hold my breath because playing Sonny's video confession of A.J.'s murder would force Anna to make an arrest and Scott to prosecute Sonny for murder.
I can't see that happening because Maurice Benard is a leading man and a star of the show. Then again, Sonny did fire Alexis, and Diane just recently gloated that she had beaten Scott in court by getting a wife acquitted of murder even though the woman had been found standing over her murdered husband's body with the weapon in hand. Could she do the same for Sonny?
Ideally, Michael will cut ties with his parents then align with Jason when Jason's memories return. It would be fascinating to watch Sonny versus Jason with Carly stuck in the middle.
So far, I really love how Jason's return is being handled and how cleverly Ron Carlivati explained Jason's changed appearance and different personality.
It was what I had hoped for because I don't think it would have been fair to Billy Miller to expect him to play Jason the way Steve Burton did. Steve Burton was able to make the character his own, so Billy should be afforded the same courtesy.
It always seems to work better that way. Just look at Carly. Sarah Brown, Tamara Braun, and Laura Wright have each put their own personal stamp on the character, which has made Carly an enduring character.
It's not that I want Jason to completely change. I like Jason being a badass, but I also like this new lighter side of Jason that we are seeing with Elizabeth. There are shades of Jason Quartermaine in "Jake." He's more animated, shows a sense of humor, and seems more open with his emotions than "The Borg."
I would also like for Jason and Elizabeth's relationship to be given a real chance, in part because I wouldn't mind seeing where Patrick and Sam might end up
Plus, it would be a little too predictable for Jason to suddenly recover all of his memories and move back into the penthouse to live happily ever after with Sam, so if they are truly the end game then I hope the road back to each other takes some time and has a few detours.
I like the chemistry between Billy and Rebecca, and I like that "Jake" is bringing some joy into Elizabeth's life after all the misery she's endured since losing Jake.
Speaking of misery, Carly is about to get heaps of it unloaded on her as Franco confronts her about being a "lying, cheating whore" in front of their wedding guests. Josslyn could barely contain her glee as Carly stared at Franco in shock. Not surprisingly, Franco's "Hell, no" was the last thing Carly had expected to hear as she stood at the altar, exchanging wedding vows with Franco, but she can't really be shocked that her affair with Sonny was discovered by her paranoid mad genius fiancé.
The biggest question I now have is what Heather's role is going to be in all of this. Does Franco plan for Heather to kill Carly, or is she in charge of playing the videos? I really can't wait to see what happens on Monday because even though Carly is the one screaming and yelling in the previews, she's the one who lied to both Franco and Michael about pretty much everything. If anything, they should be yelling at her.
Finally, Nina's marbles have officially spilled out and scattered to the four winds. Nina got her hands on two vials of medications: one that is a paralytic and another that induces labor. She then proceeded to hotfoot it to the brownstone, where she promptly injected Ava with the paralytic -- which has to be exceedingly dangerous for Ava's unborn child, despite Nina's claims to the contrary.
As Ava's limbs slowly succumbed to the drug's effects, Nina laid out her plans to inject Ava with the labor-inducing medication so Nina can rip the baby out of Ava's womb then pass it off as Nina's own. Of course, the plan is completely insane and will never work because the brownstone isn't exactly in an out-of-the way location. Morgan, Kiki, Rosalie, and Silas all know that Ava is hiding out there, and now Sonny does too.
I also doubt that Nina knows the first thing about birthing babies or has the basic medical instruments needed to successfully accomplish a healthy delivery.
How will Ava stop Nina? Can she? I've seen speculation for months now that Kiki might be Nina and Silas' daughter. If that is true, then the time for Ava to drop that little bombshell on Nina would be before Nina carries out her diabolical plan.
Meanwhile, Madeline is fully aware of what her daughter is up to, yet she's patiently waiting in Liesl's office for a phone call confirming that the deed is done. You gotta love those crazy Westbournes -- the lunatic gene is strong on the female side.
Random observations
I'm impressed that Sam had random fake fall leaves lying around her house to hot glue to a nice brown leather jacket and string together through her hair. I probably would have grabbed an old bed sheet, cut a pair of eye holes in it, draped it over my head, and called it a day.
Did anyone else become distracted during the scenes in the Quartermaine crypt, trying to read everyone's marker, date of birth and death, and memorizing who was where? Oddly, only Jason's marker didn't have a date of birth and death.
Why do people keep booking the Haunted Star for weddings? How many disastrous weddings have to take place there before someone realizes that the ship is jinxed?
Things that tickled my fancy (Warning: It's jammed packed with extra goodies because the writing was on fire this week)
Liesl enters her office, where Madeline and Nina are hiding out
Liesl: "I see the intriganten (translation: schemers) are still plotting away in my office."
Nina: "Oh, Auntie Liesl. I haven't had the chance to thank you. Thank you so much. Oh! If it weren't for you, I would have been arrested. I was just defending myself against Silas. I was so frightened."
Liesl: "Don't strain yourself. I'm doing this for Nathan. He cares about you. Other than that, I don't want to know about any of the details. I have my own problems."
Madeline: "She always does."
Later, Liesl leaves her office
Liesl: "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go speak to nurse Johnson. Keep your plotting down to a dull roar. The last thing I need is for the hospital board to find you both here."
A simple wink-wink to last year's Halloween episode or a foreshadowing of Faison's return?
Nikolas: "Hey, why don't you come sit on the couch and watch Beetlejuice with us? Come on."
Spencer: "Beetlejuice is so last year."
Cameron puts Spencer in his place after Spencer makes a snobbish remark
Spencer: "Well, well, well. I should have known that the townie would be out begging for candy on Beggars Night."
Cameron: "Oh, I don't have to beg to get what I want. I just have to smile. That's how I get candy... and how I stole your girlfriend."
Welcome back, Diane
Diane: "You should have seen Baldwin's face. He actually thought he had an open-and-shut case just because the widow Fairbanks had an ironclad prenup and, well, granted, was found standing over her husband's dead body with the murder weapon in her hand. But the district attorney needs to familiarize himself with two simple words, those being 'reasonable doubt.' The jury took ten minutes -- came back with a verdict of not guilty." [Laughs] "Right -- right now, Baldwin is just licking his wounds in a fluffy hotel robe. Well, that's an image, isn't it?"
Madeline returns to update Nina after spending the night staking out the brownstone
Nina: "Oh! Why did you take so long?"
Madeline: [Sighs] "'Thank you, Mother, for sitting up all night in a car in an awful neighborhood that the gays have yet to discover.' I was stalking your enemies per your instructions. The least you could do is offer me a little ibuprofen."
Nina: "Really? You want me to give you drugs?"
Madeline: "Never mind."
Anna goads Sonny
Anna: "The whole town knows you can't stand her. And for all you know, your son could have fathered that baby. I mean, that's gonna make Thanksgiving awkward."
Sonny: [Laughs] "We'll manage."
Anna: "You know, this is purely out of my own curiosity, but have you ever assembled all your children and their various mothers in one place at one time?"
Children can be so ungrateful
Madeline: "I guaranteed your husband's imminent departure from Ava's residence."
Nina: "We'll see about that."
Madeline: "Don't break a nail thanking me."
Shawn informs Franco that Sonny sent a wedding gift -- a deadly bullet
Franco: "A bullet, huh? You know, everybody says it's the thought that counts, but if I'm being honest with you, we would really prefer a more practical wedding gift -- you know, like a toaster."
Liesl enters Jason's hospital room while he's entertaining Liz with his impersonation for Dr. O
Liesl: "I see someone is feeling better."
Jason: "Dr. O. We were just talking about you."
Liesl: "Is that so? Given the sloppiness of your dialect, I had assumed you had recovered childhood memories of Hogan's Heroes."
A minute with Nina's special brand of crazy
Madeline: "How dare you hit me?! What is wrong with you?!"
Nina: "You said that my husband is cozying up with Ava and sleeping with her."
Madeline: "That is not what I meant to imply!"
Nina: "I cannot believe this is happening to me again! Not with her! I cannot believe this!"
Madeline: "You have to calm down."
Nina: "I don't have to calm down, Mother! Silas is my husband! He is my husband! We made a promise to each other. We made vows to each other, and he has broken them before. Oh, my God. He's having an affair again. He's having an affair again with her! Does it not matter to him that those pictures of he and Ava are seared into my brain?! Does it not matter to him? Does he not care about my feelings?! Can he not see the pain that I'm in?! Can he not see it?!" [Hyperventilates] [Voice breaking] "Am I invisible?" [Quietly] "Am I invisible?"
Madeline: "Are you all right?"
Nina: "Of course I'm invisible to Silas". [Sighs] "All he sees is Ava. It's all he sees. But I know how to make him take notice."
Madeline: "How?"
Nina: "I'm going to kill Ava then I'm going to kill Silas."
Until next time, dear readers, take care.
Liz Masters
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