GH is my happy place

Sometimes you need a little smoldering Julexis lovin' to get you through real-life drama. And a little time spent pretending can conjure up all sorts of ideas like how to explain Jason's brainwashing and how Tracy should be ushered off the canvas. Step in to the world of make-believe in this week's Two Scoops commentary.

Last week, I had the occasion to spend a week in a hospital. Not as a patient but as a visitor to a loved one. I was there 12-14 hours a day every day for a week and had the opportunity to see the doctors and nurses in action.

Here are my observations... Real nurses don't get as many breaks as GH nurses do (or hardly any). They are understaffed and overburdened. They work 12-hour shifts multiple days in a row. They had to call nurses in from a sister hospital to help as they were short-handed. No layoffs were pending, and there was more work to be done than they had hands to do.

None of the nurses had time for flirty fun with the doctors. None of them was planning a ball or practicing dance numbers. They were angelic. They were kind and helpful. They provided excellent care for their patients. (Except for that one mean nurse. You know who you are.)

Just like on GH, the doctors are miracle workers. They took something that was broken and fixed it. They took something that was dead and resurrected it. We somehow drew the lottery ticket (answered prayers) that got us the Patrick Drake of the hospital, the guy whose surgical skills are legendary. I thought about what it must be like to be him, to wake up every day knowing you will probably save someone's life. And this week, he saved the life of someone I dearly love.

These long days at the hospital watching a loved one in jeopardy were wearing on my soul. I cried gallons of tears. I was shaking and scared. Me, who never snaps at anyone, was snappy with people I loved. Even now, I am still on edge. Do you know what helped take my mind off the real hospital drama in my life?

Watching the pretend hospital drama of General Hospital. The actors of GH must know that they entertain us, but I wonder if they know they are our free therapy sessions, providing healing to the wounds of our souls? I have watched this show for 40 years now (egads!), and so often it is not just fluff to entertain me, but a comforting, familiar place to land during life's greatest trials. Thank you, GH cast and writers. Thank you for being there like an old friend.

I am crying at my desk as I write, thinking about how much it helped me to watch the shenanigans of the people of Port Charles this week. It was my sigh of relief at the end of long, grueling days. It was the way I stopped thinking about things that were too hard to think about. It gave me solace. There were mysterious houseguests, creepy clown paintings, long-awaited romantic reunions, scarecrows, and newly celebrated engagements! So much to unravel this week. Let's dive in.

Jake is afraid of someone, which might turn out to be Jason's former portrayer, Steve Burton. Since Burton is no longer on The Young and the Restless, I can envision an amazing tale told in flashback scenes where we finally find out what happened to Jason and Jake on Cassadine Island. I would absolutely love that, so I hope my imagination is headed in the same direction as the GH writers'.

What do you suppose Jake witnessed? We know that Jason was programmed to do evil. Did Jake witness some of his brainwashed dirty deeds? If so, then maybe Jason will have to cut Franco some slack, as he himself did evil things when he wasn't in control of his brain. Or maybe not, because hypocrisy seems to be the way of things on GH.

Take Carly, for instance... Carly did pretty much the exact same thing to Bobbie when she came to town that Nelle did to her. Carly broke up Bobbie and Tony's marriage and was set on revenge for the mom who gave her up for adoption. She proclaimed that she would never forgive Nelle, although Bobbie forgave her.

Nelle, I think, had a better reason for revenge than Carly ever had. It turned out to be a lie, of course. If you believed that someone bought your kidney when you were a child, I suppose that would be a legitimate reason to be angry with them and want justice.

Nelle is doing her best to make amends; she refused to press charges against Jax, because really, who could ever stay mad at Jax? Carly is correct, though. I do believe one of Nelle's main motivating factors right now is trying to get back into Michael's good graces. But I do think Nelle also has a basic sense of decency and a good heart underneath all those years of anger.

Will Michael forgive her? Of course, he will. Poor Michael. He is the kindest Corinthos and the least lucky in love. If Michael forgives Nelle, I imagine Carly will be up in his face about her for months about it. Right up until Nelle gets pregnant and gives Carly a grandchild, then maybe she might get the forgiveness she seeks.

I love stories about redemption. I love people who are messed-up that find their way back to sanity, clarity, and goodness. Maybe that's why my day job is at a church. I am surrounded by people who "used to be" something else -- "I used to be a gang member;" "I used to be a drug addict;" I used to be in prison." And now they have fought their demons and come out on the other side as loving, warm, wonderful people who are contributing to society and helping others who are trying to make it into the "used to be" category.

I believe people can change. I believe that Finn can beat his addiction to Zen-Zen and come back whole and healthy and ready to be in a real relationship with Hayden. But Hayden isn't so sure.

That's the hard part of trust -- once you betray someone's trust, even if you change, the damage you did before you changed can leave scars that some people don't want to revisit. Finn was cruel to Hayden while he was detoxing. He scared her by becoming physical, and he said terrible, cruel things to her. He might come back clean and sober, and she might still say, "Nah, I'm good." And walk away from him.

I don't think she will, because have you seen Michael Easton? But she might.

Sonny does not seem capable of change. He also shows very little remorse for the cruel things he does. He recorded Jax admitting to buying Nelle's kidney and had him arrested, not even considering what it would do to Carly and Josslyn. When Michael pointed that out, Sonny shrugged. He couldn't care less who he hurt by taking Jax away; he just wanted Jax out of the picture.

Now that Jax is being deported and has a lifetime ban to Australia, will Carly follow? I predict that if she does, they will come back married. He will be an American citizen then and won't be subject to ICE. Just a thought. I would love to see that happen. Give Sonny to Ava, and they can snipe at each other for a few years. However, I kind of like Ava with Scotty. Kin Shriner and Maura West have chemistry.

But it is nothing compared to the fiery chemistry of William deVry and Nancy Lee Grahn. Readers! That hot Julexis reunion made me swoon.

My husband, who pretends he doesn't watch GH, watched that episode with me and said, "Now that was some good acting." As I am writing, he yelled across the room -- "Remember to write about how great that scene with Alexis was." (He does not know any actors' real names.) He added "Julian was no slouch, either, but that part when Alexis told him why she couldn't be with him was the best acting of the week." I agreed and said that if I was Nancy Lee Grahn, I would wrap up that scene and include it in my Emmy reel, and my husband said, "Yes! Add that! Say that!" I honestly have never seen him this excited over a scene on GH, so hats off to Nancy Lee and William for making my husband admit he watched GH and comment favorably on a scene. Everyone loves Julexis, even people who pretend they don't watch the show.

Julian lied to the cops and said he kidnapped Alexis to keep her from being arrested for aiding and abetting, but how will he get out of this mess? He has to depend on the magnificent legal maneuverings of Scott Baldwin, of course. Scott has a trick or two up his sleeve and will probably be able to make a very good case that Julian acted on Olivia's orders and was in fear for the life of his family. Will it fly in court? It has to, or we can't have a true reunion, and we need a true reunion.

The Davis girls will fight their mother every step of the way, but perhaps someday Julian can win them over again. P.S. I love Davis girls scenes.

I can't imagine a day when there will be a Quartermaine girls' scene, even if it turns out that Samira is one of Edward's bastard children. I am still not convinced that the painting of the unknown lady isn't actually Tracy. We don't know if any of the story is true -- everything we know has come from Lord Ashton (compulsive liar), Samira (total stranger and highly suspicious), a random Turkish monk (may or may not be an actual monk), and the shady ICE agent who used to be a monk? (I'm still trying to figure that one out. That is the same guy we saw lurking in the shadows in the monastery, right?)

This is not my favorite storyline right now. When I see Samira, I yawn. I don't know her, I don't care about her kid, and it doesn't make any sense to me why kidnappers wouldn't take a check just as well as a painting to get the same amount of money. Maybe there are diamonds inside the frame? Maybe a key to a nuclear bomb? Maybe the painting leads to Luke, since his name came up this week? No clue. I just know that at present, there are too many holes in this storyline, and I'm losing patience with it.

But the sad truth is that Jane Elliot is retiring (so sad!), and this storyline will pave the way to the end of Tracy Quartermaine's journey. I'm hoping it will lead her to Luke. Maybe this is the writers' way of giving her and Luke one more adventure for the road. I don't want this to end. I don't want Port Charles to be without Tracy Quartermaine.

But, Jane Elliot is 70 years old and has been working on the show since 1978. If I had been working someplace for 39 years and was 70, I'd want to retire, too. Even so, it will be sad to see her go. I have loved so many of her scenes over the years, but one scene in particular was etched upon my soul. After Edward died, Tracy was in the Quartermaine crypt, talking to the ghosts of her family about being the last person left standing. That is my lot in life, too -- both of my parents and my sister are gone, and that scene was important to me and helped me grieve a thing I could not name. She is an incredible actor, and she will be greatly missed. She brought a fire to Port Charles that can never be replicated. I adore her.

Who will Monica spar with? Just think, Monica won't have to defend the fact that she owns the house anymore. Tracy also gave Ned and Olivia her blessing, so Ned can marry Olivia without some crazy Quartermaine curse hanging over their heads. Will the wedding happen while Tracy is still in town? Let's hope so, because it won't be any fun without her ripping apart Olivia's Bensonhurst style.

One more shout-out to a GH actor: Ryan Paevey. As I mentioned, my family had a long, emotional week at the hospital, and I came home, looking for escape. I remembered that I had recorded the Hallmark film Unleashing Mr. Darcy, starring GH's Ryan Paevey.

The story is a light version of Pride and Prejudice with lots of cute puppies thrown in, and of course, the charm, good looks, and talent of our beloved Mr. Paevey. This movie warmed my heart, made me smile, and helped me escape for a couple of hours. The good news is he was magnificent in this film. The bad news is that Hollywood will notice and steal him away from us. Kind of like they did with Justin Hartley for This Is Us, but I can't be mad about that because it's easily the best show on television. If you haven't seen the movie, it's airing on Hallmark again on May 21 at 3:00 p.m. (check for your time zone).

What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will the creepy clown painting be replaced with Heather's BLT painting? Will Brad fake the lab tests to make it look like Dr. Finn is using? (Of course he will; he's a weasel.) Will Robert come to help Laura, since she called and asked so sweetly? Will Charlotte get tired of Easter egg hunts and tea parties and want to play something different? Now that T.J. has given Jordan and Curtis his blessing to date, will we see him again before Christmas? Will Sonny discover Ava's role in switching Morgan's pills? Will Nelle's kidney surgery scar show up during bikini season or vanish like Maxie's heart transplant scar? Will Samira's daughter be 5 or 25? Will the DNA test prove she is a Quartermaine, and will Finn get busted for running it? Will Port Charles ever be the same without Tracy Quartermaine? (No, of course it won't.) Will Luke make one last appearance in Port Charles to rescue his love?

Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.Tamilu

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