
Guys, I’ve been doing a lot of traveling as of late, so this edition of LIPC includes about 2 weeks more of storyline than normal. I’m going to try to keep things concise and make sure to comment on the major plots. Thanks for reading.
Which one of Sam’s pairings is the best? Nikolas or Ric for Liz? Should Britt and Ava pay? Vote in my polls here! :)
Sonny, Ava, AJ & The Anniversary Episode
In case you missed it, AJ (Sean Kanan) eventually put it together that Ava did in fact shoot and kill Connie Falconeri and it wasn’t him. Feeling cornered and in a pickle (like she did when Connie threatened to out her and Julian’s plan to take Sonny down), Ava (Maura West) turned a gun on AJ and told him she couldn’t afford for the truth to come out. When she pulled the trigger, it wouldn’t fire, leaving AJ an opportunity to wrestle with her. He had her by the throat when Sonny (Maurice Bernard) walked in, which gave him instant flashbacks of AJ’s 1st attempt on Connie’s life. Sonny lost it, picked up Julian’s gun and shot AJ in the chest. To cover her tracks, Ava told Sonny that AJ became irate and tried to kill her after being denied a job with the Jerome’s. Instead of selling this same tale to the cops (for whatever reason), Ava encouraged Sonny to come up with an alibi (she already had one) and set up Julian (William Devry). Julian was cleared as a suspect and tensions built as Ava and a guilt-ridden Sonny (he vowed to Michael he would never harm AJ) hoped the comatose AJ would die and never identify them as involved. AJ did die (3/31), but not before telling Carly (Laura Wright) that Sonny shot him “because of Ava.” ‘CarSon’ channeled, Carly reluctantly promised Sonny she’d keep quiet.
I have a few thoughts. We know that when Michael (Chad Duell) finds out AJ (his biological father) died at the hands of Sonny (his adopted father), he’s going to hate Sonny and Carly with a fiery, burning passion. As a fan who was always annoyed with CarSon’s Michael worship/favoritism, I can’t wait for this to happen; maybe their true son, Morgan (Bryan Craig), will have an opportunity to get closer to them. As a CarSon fan, however, I feel bad for them; this is going to suck. I also really like Ava, so I’m dreading the fallout with her character. Hopefully, she isn’t being written into the hole she seems to be, with no allies or reprieve. Now, let’s talk about AJ’s death. The character of Alan James Quartermaine Jr. had been off canvas for almost a decade, and in less than 2 years after his return, he’s dead again?! I never liked AJ, but I loved to hate him. Killing him again was such a poor and unnecessary decision on the writers’ part. One of the biggest complaints and sore spots for fans before the new writing team arrived in 2012 was that the Quartermaine family had gradually dissipated, death after death. There was so much optimism that the Q’s would get a second wind with the contentious son back from the dead, ready to reclaim his child and ELQ stake by finding a lost heir. Except, the battle for ELQ became arduous and silly, the mystery heir plot had disappointing results and Connie’s murder trial was stunningly brief. This outcome was reportedly the catalyst for Kanan’s decision to go back to the “Bold & The Beautiful” on CBS, as he told TV Guide magazine. GH head-writer Ron Carlivati tweeted that Kanan’s comments had “no class,” but in my opinion, Kanan didn’t say anything harsh; he just expressed disappointment over his storylines. Was that really that wrong to do? Anyway, Kanan leaving shouldn’t have affected the plot to where AJ had to die because everything was ridiculously convenient: AJ was in a coma, the usual soap exit-strategy. Escorted by a ghost Emily, Alan, Lila and Edward, AJ walked up the hospital stairs into a heavenly light on 4/1, GH’s 51st anniversary. Fans on Twitter were overwhelmingly dismayed: “Happy anniversary! We killed another Quartermaine! Is this really how we’re going to commemorate it?,” one fan posted. @Aislyn3 said “That last shot was a travesty. It shined a HUGE light, literally and figuratively, on GH’s worst mistake in 51 years.”

The other major part of the anniversary episode was the CarlyPalooza. The role of Carly Benson (who later became Carly Quartermaine, Corinthos, Alcazar and Jacks) has been popularly portrayed by 3 talented actresses: Sarah Joy Brown, Tamara Braun and the current Laura Wright. In the hospital sanctuary, Sonny and Carly discuss AJ’s shooting and their history together. As they pass milestones, a different actress appeared. It was like “A Carly Christmas Carol!” Kudos to whoever cooked that idea up; it was enjoyable, exciting, a great surprise and wonderfully nostalgic. Viva La CarSon!
Britt, Nikolas, Liz, Dante & Lulu
Man, how I have loved this storyline since it was revealed that Britt’s son, Ben, is really Dante and Lulu’s (Britt stole their embryos). To cope with her guilt, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) wrote a confession of sorts on the back of a flyer. She unknowingly swapped the flyer with another piece of paper and, long story short, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) found it and couldn’t wait to give it to Lulu (Emme Rylan), even though they were all presently at Britt and Nikolas’ engagement party. Britt joyously cuddled Ben while a smiling Nikolas (Tyler Christopher) finished a toast, when Lulu came charging in, demanding her baby back (3/25). Everyone thought Lulu had suffered a mental breakdown, but once Elizabeth arrived with the proof, it was no longer a party. Elizabeth’s snickering and snarky remarks made it abundantly clear that she was more focused on sticking it to Britt and keeping her away from Nikolas, versus being sensitive to the pain and stress the news would bring. Prince Nicky had enough and gave it to Liz like no other, calling her out and kicking her out of his house. The scolding was scorching, but Nikolas told no lies. Liz didn’t think or care about how humiliating and crushing it would be for Nikolas to learn in front of everyone that his fiancé` had lied to him their entire relationship and stolen his sister’s child. Now that everyone was gone and couldn’t get the satisfaction, Nikolas unloaded on Britt and had her leave immediately, with no place to go. He grabbed her by the arm and slung her out of the door when Lulu reported Dr. Obrecht, Britt’s mother, had kidnapped Ben. Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) held Liz hostage at her home for outing Britt, with passports and items ready for Britt to leave the country with Ben and start a new life. Britt decided to do the right thing and take the police to Ben. Obrecht shot Liz before being arrested (4/8). Dante tried to arrest on Britt for stealing their embryos on 3/27, but Diane, the slickest lawyer in PC, argued that embryos have no monetary value and Britt had not committed a crime. Britt was subsequently set free.
Christopher always gives an extraordinary performance and soap newcomer Thiebaud has been so striking and impressive that even though Britt deserves everything she’s gotten, my soul pangs for her and even though Nikolas has every reason to loathe her, I almost want to yell “Jerk!” at him. I felt all of Britt’s confliction and agony as she had to turn her mother (of whom she just bonded with) over to the law and say goodbye to Ben; I nearly cried! I couldn’t handle the usually chilly Obrecht shedding a tear and being worried that she wouldn’t see “Britta,” the daughter she formally was ashamed of, again (Gati is a gem). I was even reeled in when Britt sadly observed Nikolas’ love for Liz as they tried to slow the bleeding from the bullet wound. Obrecht and Britt were finally fully humanized and now, there’s more to love, like and/or watch for than their fiendishness and bitchiness. I was worried that after losing Nikolas, Britt’s arch would have nowhere to go for a while, but the writers are thankfully keeping it moving with 2 new relatives (I’ll explain in a moment) and another sinister fastball from Obrecht: she told Dante` that he has another child (4/11). Did a 2nd woman receive one of their embryos? Maxie’s baby doesn’t really belong to Lulu, does she (I sincerely hope not)? Sidebar: What’s up with Nikolas’ instincts lately? Despite hints, clues and history, he was oblivious to all the catacomb activity around Robin’s return, Victor was the only one to take Spencer & Crew’s claims about Heather at Wyndemere seriously and now, Nikolas won’t hear Spencer (Nicolas Bechtel) out about Luke’s threat to Sonny?! The Prince is usually much sharper than this.
So, in a real-life context, is it accurate that Britt couldn’t be charged for stealing Dante and Lulu’s embryos? Well, like most viewers, I assumed that reality was altered-which is one of the things that makes soaps entertaining and fun-for the sake of the script, but as it turns out, it might not have been too much of a stretch. Just out of curiosity, I contacted law offices and university law programs in New York and California, and the answers I got were quite interesting. The folks in California informed me that there weren’t any federal laws on the books specifically regarding the stealing of embryos, which would bring discussion as to whether value could be assigned to them. They (most of the lawyers and law professors I spoke with wanted to be anonymous for their own legal protection) suggested that Dante and Lulu could more easily get results focusing on custody of Ben and the violation of medical ethics. In New York (the state in which these fictional characters live), the opinion was different. A NYU Clinical Law professor, who’s research focus was family law and parental rights (among other areas), said that the embryos could be argued as property of the hospital, and therefore, charges could be brought on grounds of larceny. I found it interesting that the professor emphasized property of the hospital, as opposed to property of Dante and Lulu. One NY law office was pretty confident in saying that Britt could be charged with larceny and referenced me to the landmark case, Kass vs. Kass, in which embryos were considered property with value and property of the gamete donors (AKA the owners of the egg and sperm joined). Kass vs. Kass was pivotal because it was the 1st case brought before the court involving invitro-fertilization and frozen embryos. It was also ruled that any agreements between the gamete donors made before cryopreservation is binding. The Embryo Project Encyclopedia has easy to understand briefs on the case here and here. The final verdict? Based on the information I gathered and the precedence set by Kass vs. Kass, Britt could’ve been detained and charged. However, it’s not unreasonable Diane would argue for Britt’s freedom, especially if they were not in New York, due to the lack of prior cases and concretely-defined laws.

Whew, ok, I have plenty to say about the writing in this area; there are pros and cons. Again, in case you missed it: Silas (Michael Easton) married a woman from a wealthy family named Nina. Nina’s mother, Madeline (Donna Mills), thought he wasn’t good enough to be married into their family and hated Silas’ guts even more when he cheated with Ava Jerome and sired a daughter, Kiki (he didn’t know about Kiki until later). Nina seemingly attempted suicide by overdose, but there was suspicion of foul play. Nina’s brother, Nathan (Ryan Paevey), grew up to be a cop and pursued Silas and Ava as suspects. Through a bait and switch plan formed by P.I. Sam (Kelly Monaco), it was discovered that Madeline was the one who killed Nina and tried to frame Silas (4/7). Madeline claimed that it was an accident and she was trying to kill Nina’s unborn child so it wouldn’t reunite her and Silas. Nathan arrested Madeline. Across from her cell, Madeline sees Dr. Obrecht: they’re sisters! DUN DUN DUN! Nathan is really Obrecht’s son! DUN DUN DUN! Britt and Nathan met at the Floating Rib, got drunk and almost had sex (4/10)! AAH! DUN DUN DUN! Thank goodness the newly returned Maxie (Kirsten Storms) interrupted the almost-incest; there wasn’t even a kiss. Filling in the history gaps for the audience, Obrecht and Madeline rehashed their youth. The siblings were criminals (?) and parted ways when Obrecht ran off with Cesar Faison and left her son (not sure who the father is) with Madeline, who changed her name and accent, striving for an affluent American life. Being the bright (and hilarious) crayon she is, Obrecht figured that since Nina was the sole beneficiary in her father’s will, Madeline may have had more despicable motives.
When this storyline 1st hatched, I thought “Good, they’re about to make Silas interesting and maybe a little dirty,” but the cat-and-mouse game between Nathan and Silas got lengthy with no major surprises or changes (no Nina on top of that; I’m not sure if that was a good thing or not) and the doctor seemed definitely innocent. Soap and TV-drama favorite Donna Mills (how cool is it that she’s on the show?) got in the game and things picked up, but now that’s it’s off the ground, it still does nothing for the character of Silas. This plot-ball has been passed on to Obrecht, Britt and Nathan, with Mills as the coach. “The problem with this Nina tale is that it’s built around an off-screen past with a faceless character no one has an emotional connection to,” TV Source Magazine’s Ryan White-Nobles tweeted. There’s almost nothing to latch onto; no reason to get invested. The writer’s couldn’t go off the strength of Silas’ relationship with Sam because the Nina issue had nothing to do with her, even though there was an effort to give her an integral role. Sam is nearly plot-less and occasions to get her involved elsewhere in addition were passed upon. Why wasn’t she fuming that Alexis was romantically entangled with Julian? Why wasn’t she a liaison between Alexis and Molly when Molly was trying have sex and live with Ric? One could say “She was a little caught up and busy,” but time where she could get away was still spent in Silas’ bubble. Sam was reflecting on the concept of losing a child after being exposed to Lulu’s paternity troubles and felt the compulsion to be with her own infant son. Sweet, right? She was easily talked out of doing that and opted to have sex with Silas instead (3/25). Seriously? That was very unlike Sam and an interruption of a tender thought. Which reminds me, I’m still not sold on them as a couple. I cracked up laughing when Silas was hesitant to go into his ransacked apartment (someone broke in), meanwhile, Mighty Mouse (AKA Sam) whipped out her gun and was anything but afraid. “I do not run,” Sam asserted. On 4/4, when Silas tried to talk her out of physically being in the middle of trapping Madeline, Sam had to remind him that she was a trained P.I. who had done far more dangerous things. Silas isn’t a fit for her. He isn’t tough enough and he doesn’t quite comprehend the power she yields.
My last thoughts on Silas: I don’t know if the writers plan on revisiting Silas’ relationship with Ava, but I do want some answers about why he’s been so hardhearted towards her. I know he explained his guilt over Nina made him want to withdraw from Ava, but withdrawing is very different from being unfeelingly dismissive. I want to hear more about why cheated and how he came to do so in the 1st place. What was his dynamic with Ava like? For those of you who are into Silas, do you want to know these things? What would like to see happen for him next?
Other Notes
Luke
Julian learned on 3/24 that Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) is the man who’s been funding his dismantling of Sonny’s empire. As if wanting to take Sonny (a close friend) out wasn’t unusual of Luke enough, he’s been hitting on every woman in sight, began smuggling drugs and admitted to proposing to Tracy (Jane Elliott) to launder money through ELQ. It’s obvious that Luke is either being impersonated or is under some type of influence (a brain chip? Drugs?). Many fans think it’s Jerry Jax in disguise; after all, Jerry agreed to help Julian since he hid Jerry from the police. However, Jerry is too smart to behave so noticeably strange. Another theory is that whatever was done to Luke at the Miscavige Mental Hospital is the culprit, but it was noted in the script that Julian’s been funded since his arrival, which was way before Miscavige. I’m completely confused, have no theories and I love it! Bring on the unpredictability!
Alexis, Molly, TJ & Jordan
RRRRRRRRRR! As I’ve already complained, no matter who’s on the writing team, they have Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) being walked on and/or apologizing for being a parent. On 3/17, I boiled with frustration as I watched Alexis concede to her disrespectful, whining and hormonal child. Alexis completely changed her stance about Molly (Haley Pullos) having teenage sex and begged Molly to stay with her instead of Ric. Of course, Molly proceeded to go on about how Alexis was an “amazing mother” who made her strong, when just a few short weeks ago, she hurled insults at her mother. I also hated how they made Alexis’ natural and valid parental concerns all about Julian. As for her dumping Sean because of his mob work while starting a relationship with Julian, I was glad to see Alexis acknowledge her hypocrisy on 4/8, but she didn’t do much with it. She’s still sexing Julian.
Patrick
I can’t come up with enough adjectives to describe how gifted, brilliant and crafted of an actor Jason Thompson is. He’s a scene stealer. He bewitched me again, taking me through Patrick’s bitter resentment and distress as he failed to manage with Robin’s departure. Going into a rage and frightening little Emma, being cross with Anna and potentially botching a surgery, to say Patrick is hitting a wall is an understatement.
The March 4th Episode & April 1-11
The end of the 3/4 episode killed me. I couldn’t take, I couldn’t deal: Robin’s goodbye and possibly seeing Jason, Sonny shooting AJ (Ava’s jumpsuit that day was everything) and a wonderfully-written confrontation between Anna (Finola Hughes) and Dr. Obrecht. Anna eluded to killing Faison, Obrecht’s great love, but wouldn’t ease Obrecht’s mind by confirming or denying. Obrecht then decided to disturb Anna’s personal peace and suggest Robin may be in inescapable danger. It was delicious soap divadom! I was on the edge of my seat the whole airing and by the credits I was on the floor. The 1st couple of weeks in April have had a steady, exciting flow. I’ve been giddily tuning in.
Franco
Franco (Roger Howarth) knows the skinny on AJ’s shooting. Given that he despises Sonny and Ava and was happy to get the murderous 411, I have a feeling he’s going to be playing some manipulative cards soon. If he does, it will be fine with me, because it might shake things up and it could be the end of him and Carly. That breakup can’t happen soon enough.
Emily
We got 2 Emily (Natalia Livingston) sightings in 2 weeks! YAY! I really wish they’d pull another rabbit out of the hat and bring her back alive. I wrote of my love for the character here.
Well, that’s all. I think. I hope. I didn’t forget anything did I?