I'm curious -- why exactly does Jake feel obligated to stay with Hayden? If her story was true -- which we know it's not, since Jake is Jason, and Jason is married to Sam -- then at the very least, he walked out on his wife. During a camping trip. In the middle of the night in late September near a sketchy stretch of deserted road in Port Charles where bad things always happen. Oh, and he was so fed up with Hayden that he threw his wedding ring at her before marching off to brave the world with just the clothes on his back.
What kind of obligation would one have to someone they had walked out on under those circumstances? Especially when that person doesn't feel a smidgen of recognition for the person claiming to be their spouse. Jake has made no secret of the fact that Hayden is a complete stranger to him and that he doesn't feel the instant connection and attraction he felt when he first laid eyes on Elizabeth or the same sense of friendship he felt when he met Carly.
Two "strangers" were more familiar to Jake when he first met them than the woman claiming to be his wife, so I'm confounded as to why he would move in with Hayden instead of taking a wait-and-see approach until he gets to know her. It's also creepy to see Hayden try to seduce Jake because she's taking advantage him by exploiting his brain injuries. I love Rebecca , but Hayden is no better than a prostitute at this point for agreeing to sleep with Jake in exchange for Ric's money. Worse, she's hurting truly innocent people who have never wronged her in any way.
I'm on board with Carly with this one. Jake should be blinded by all the red flags fluttering around Hayden and her convenient story.
Yes, Hayden has pictures and documents to make a compelling argument, but the truth is that each of those things are incredibly easy to obtain with some patience, Internet access, and Photoshop. There should be friends and family -- who can back up the claim with a DNA test -- lining up to see Jake before he jumps into Hayden's bed and reluctantly plays house with her.
I'm also a little baffled by what Hayden and Ric expect to happen when Jake goes "home" to Beechers Corners. Do they not realize that their story will quickly fall apart when Jake meets Hayden's friends and family? The story was made up by Ric, so while Hayden might manage to persuade one or two people to go along with her lie, she can't convince everyone.
The minute Jake finds out that Hayden lied, he's going figure out that Ric was behind it and hightail it to Elizabeth's doorstep to expose Ric as a fraud. Jake and Liz will be hitting the sheets before the door slams Ric on the butt as he leaves.
Ric is a fool if he thinks Liz will forgive him for driving away the man she was falling in love with, no matter what Ric's excuse is. Even now, it's clear that she's only settling for the one she can have, since she can't be with the one she wants.
The sad part is that if Ric had been a little patient and let things play out, he might have gotten exactly what he wanted without betraying the woman he claims to love but continually manipulates.
As the week drew to a close, Jake began to have very vivid memories of his former life. Important moments with Sam pushed their way to his conscious mind through dreams and flashbacks -- like when he discovered a badass motorcycle under a tarp in Johnny Zacchara's former garage.
The question is, are Jake's memories of loving Sam returning or are his feelings of loving her returning? If Jake is recapturing those lost feelings for Sam, then all hope for Jake and Liz are dashed, freeing Elizabeth up for Ric.
Unless, of course, Sam has truly moved on and loves Patrick enough to stay with him despite Jason's return from the dead.
I'll give everyone a minute to stop laughing.
Sadly, Sam will dump Patrick faster than a hot potato the minute she learns that Jason is alive.
I received an email the other day, suggesting that it was strange that Jake would see himself in the flashbacks as he is now rather than who he used to be, but I think it makes sense, since Jake doesn't remember yet that he's Jason. Jake only knows himself as Jake, so it's only natural that he would see himself as he is instead of as Jason Morgan.
After this week, it's clear to me that as much as Sam cares about Patrick, she's only moved on from Jason's "loss" not her love for him. Jason is and will always be the love of her life, so she will never love a man more than she loves Jason.
However, Jason has clearly changed. Yes, he still has awesome Ninja-like reflexes and wicked gun skills, but he's different. He has a deep sense of right and wrong and a strong moral fiber that I suspect would prevent him from ever becoming a mob enforcer again. He's only working for Julian because Sloane forced him to, and he only resorted to violence to save a life, not take it.
Time will tell what will happen with Jake when the truth about his identity is revealed and whether his heart will remain with Elizabeth or return to Sam. One thing is for certain, though -- the road to love will be an interesting journey with lots of twists and turns because Ron Carlivati is writing this story.
There is no question that when the dust settles, Ric will lose Elizabeth once and for all. I'm not worried about her, though, because if she doesn't end up with Jake/Jason, I'm sure Nikolas will gallop in on his trusty steed to sweep Elizabeth off her feet. Finally.
Speaking of Nikolas, I have to say that Tyler Christopher is looking mighty fine these days. I'm not really happy with Nikolas' behavior, but I refuse to give up on him just yet. There's still plenty of time for him to right his wrongs and tell both his cousin and Elizabeth the truth.
Not for a minute do I think Spencer will inadvertently out his father by giving Jason's wedding ring to Emma for Sam to find. That would be way too easy.
As for ELQ, that's business, not personal. Michael is going to face periodic attempts at hostile and secret takeovers. It's par for the course with big business. I'm sure Tracy will be there to help Michael protect their family business, so he will ultimately prevail over Nikolas.
What won't be easy is what Michael might be facing from a far more dangerous adversary -- his idiot brother and Morgan's moronic sidekick, Kiki. Not because Morgan and Kiki hatched the perfect plan to get Avery back, but rather because they cooked up a cockamamie scheme that is certain to lead to innocent people getting hurt. And, of course, Michael will be blamed for their folly.
It's a good thing both Morgan and Kiki are the two dimmest bulbs in the package, so they are not likely to cover their tracks very well for very long.
By far, my favorite episode this week was the 52nd anniversary episode, which finally unlocked the secrets to the Spencer family's past and revealed what drove Luke to the dark side.
I'm a little uncertain what exactly Luke is suffering from -- dissociative identity disorder or periodic psychotic breaks due to a suppressed memory -- but that didn't detract from the story as the events of the fateful day that Tim and Lena Spencer died unfolded. It was quite the sad saga.
My heart instantly broke for Patricia from the moment we first saw her -- trembling, bound, gagged, and her eyes shimmering with tears -- at the nursing home. Knowing she suffered from an advanced stage of multiple sclerosis only made it worse.
Dee Wallace was sublime as Luke and Bobbie's older sister, Patricia.
I felt bad for what happened to Luke -- I truly did -- but it seemed to me the one who truly suffered and sacrificed the most was his sister, Patricia. As the eldest child in an abusive home, Patricia endured the dysfunction the longest and saw things that made her realize that Tim was getting increasingly worse. She tried to protect her mother and siblings by standing up to her violent alcoholic father, and when things turned tragic, she was the one who made the difficult choices and gave up everything to save her siblings.
I'm not trying to diminish what Luke went through -- accidently killing your mother and being pushed to into a blind murderous rage by your father is horrific -- but Luke had blocked it out, while Patricia was the one who lived with the nightmare for 52 years. She was the one who was forced to disappear from her siblings' lives in the hopes of sparing Luke further trauma.
Talk about sisterly love.
I sobbed like a baby when Patricia died. I truly didn't expect it, even though in hindsight, I should have. As I re-watched the episode, I saw Patricia slowly growing weaker as the scenes progressed. The signs were there, but I was too wrapped up in the story to notice the first time I watched it.
I was completely unprepared for Patricia to die, and I felt terrible for Valerie, who won me over just as quickly as her mother did. I really hope Valerie sticks around. She's beautiful and feisty -- and now has a reason to stay. I have a feeling she's going to make it her mission to exact some vengeance on her uncle because it's clear that she despises him. It won't be a great leap for her to blame him for Patricia's death, since her mother had been in frail health and obviously not strong enough to endure the trip to Port Charles.
It won't matter to Valerie -- at least not for a while -- that Patricia made the choice to return to the house on Elm Street or that Patricia was thrilled to finally be reunited with her brother and sister. Valerie is grieving for the only family she's ever had, so her anger will cloud her judgment.
However, I doubt Luke will ever go to jail or even face charges for Tim and Lena Spencer's deaths unless he outright confesses and takes a guilty plea. Scott might want to charge him with the crimes, but the only witness, Patricia, is gone, and she didn't make her statements in front of anyone who would testify against Luke in court. Additionally, Lena told Phil Brewer that she had fallen down the basement stairs. Any evidence linking Luke to Tim's death is long gone -- not just because 52 years have passed, but also because Bill Eckert and Patricia made an effort to cover up the death. Plus, the house recently had a bomb go off inside it that sparked a fire.
Speaking of which, why were only Bill Eckert's remains found in the basement but not Tim Spencer's? Didn't Patricia say she and Bill sealed Tim in a basement wall?
I'm okay with Luke not facing charges for the deaths of his parents because Lena's death was truly an accident, while Tim deserved every whack his son gave him. This was a man who was fully prepared to walk away from his abused children and leave them in the state's care so he could live out the rest of his life as he pleased. Tim didn't love his children -- or his wife.
My favorite scene was at the end when Luke was surrounded by Tracy and his sisters, as well as the ghosts of the Spencer children from the fateful date of their parents' deaths. It was a perfect ending for a gripping show.
I also want to take a moment to mention how much I enjoyed Jason Thompson, Ryan Carnes, and Rebecca Herbst's performances as Dr. Steve Hardy, Dr. Phil Brewer, and Nurse Jessie Brewer. Jason Thompson had John Beradino's portrayal of Dr. Steve Hardy down pat, while Becky's mannerisms as beloved Jessie Brewer were spot-on. Bravo to both of them because they each captured the essence of what I loved about both Steve and Jessie.
Ryan Carnes also did a wonderful job portraying Dr. Phil Brewer (Jessie's husband), but Phil was a little before my time, and he didn't have the same lasting impact on the show's history as Steve and Jessie did, so I couldn't tell if he captured the spirit of Phil the way Jason and Becky did with Steve and Jessie.
Laura Wright also deserves accolades for her flawless performance as long-suffering Lena Eckert Spencer and rocking that 1960's housewife look.
I recently received feedback from a reader who assumed that I didn't like Ava because I call her out on her ish and didn't mention her in my last column when Ava asked Silas to end her life before she withered away from the cancer that is slowly killing her.
First, let me clarify that I absolutely love Ava. I think she's a delicious blend between Faith Roscoe and the immortal -- literally -- Helena Cassadine. However, Ava has been painted into a corner right now with the cancer and the fact that she was caught on tape, confessing to Connie's murder and framing A.J.
I didn't say much about Ava's request because other than Ava asking Silas to show some compassion and end her life before the cancer claims her, there hasn't been much else going on with the story. At that point, Silas hadn't even given Ava an answer. Do I understand her reasons for wanting to go out on her own terms? Absolutely. I've lost several loved ones to cancer -- two in just the past few years. It's brutal and painful for everyone, so I would never judge someone for deciding to choose their time like Brittany Maynard did or deciding to fight until the end.
People like Lauren Hill, who has terminal brain cancer known as DIPG are the true faces of cancer. Each person should be able to decide the journey they take in life because it's their life to live, not ours.
However, Ava lives in the soap world, so there is a good possibility that Silas will find a last-minute cure, and Ava will be set free on a technicality. One astute viewer wrote in to suggest that Ava could be given a compassionate release from jail that will allow her to remain a free woman once her cancer is cured. But, until there is some real movement in this storyline, there's not much for me to comment on.
While I'm on the topic of the Jeromes, I'm not sure what to feel about Olivia and Ned's decision to keep lying to Julian. On the one hand, I understand Olivia's desire to keep Julian from finding out about the baby because it's clear that Julian has decided to stay in the mob. On the flip side, though, Olivia made her bed when she slept with Julian.
Did Olivia learn nothing from her lie about Dante? Julian has a right to know about the baby, but that doesn't necessarily mean he has a right to be a part of the child's life while he's up to his eyeballs in criminal activity. I'd have far more respect for Olivia if she would just come clean to Julian then seek full custody of the baby until he goes legitimate.
If the Eckerts are Luke's maternal relatives, then why do Luke and Bill look exactly like Tim Spencer? Is there a Flowers in the Attic twist coming up?
Spencer's Phantom of the Opera mask is absolutely perfect for him. I know he thinks he's horribly disfigured, but the truth is, he's young, and his father has a massive fortune at his disposal. Oh, and it's a soap opera. Spencer will be just fine.
Alexis continues trying to put the embarrassing incident behind her
Alexis: "I cannot believe that I'm behaving this way in front of my -- my daughter's boyfriend, so just forget everything I said."
Patrick: "I'll try."
Alexis: "And everything you saw."
Patrick: "Done."
Alexis: "And know that this will never, ever happen again."
Patrick: "Great."
Alexis: "Great."
Patrick: "I have to say, though, I-I might have a solution for the problem."
Alexis: "A time machine?"
Patrick gives Alexis a final parting shot
Patrick: "From your nips. Lips. Lips -- I meant to say 'lips.' Alexis?"
Nina and Franco engaged in a little blackmail with Olivia
Olivia: "That's Carly's table."
Nina: "She'll totally understand."
Olivia: "She will not totally understand at all. How am I supposed to explain any of this to her?"
Franco: "I have no idea. That's your problem."
Nina: [whispers] "She just tramped in."
Ric assures Cameron that Cameron doesn't need to worry about Spencer
Ric: "First of all, no D.A. is going to bring charges against you. I mean, the incident was -- was investigated, and it was deemed an accident. And second of all, no jury is gonna convict you."
Cameron: "How can you be so sure? Spencer's a Cassadine. They have lots of power."
Ric: "Yeah, well, you got the best representation in town -- me."
Cameron: "So you'll do it? You'll be my lawyer?"
Ric: "Yes, I just need a retainer."
Cameron: "Mine's at home. I only wear it at night."
I hope everyone has a safe and happy Easter.
Take care and happy viewing,
Liz Masters
What are your thoughts on General Hospital? What did you think of this week's Two Scoops? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
