Teresa Castillo as Sabrina Santiago (IMBD) Thoughts & observations of Port Charles happenings.
Patrick, Sabrina & Baby Gabriel
On 5/27, I was really confused as to why Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) would give her son, Gabriel, her last name instead of Patrick’s and how Patrick didn’t flinch at this, but baby names would be the least of my ‘Patrina’ concerns as their story developed over the month. For 6 WEEKS, Gabriel was in NICU, being prematurely born after a hit-and-run car accident on 4/24 (current suspects are Luke and Rafe). We saw all of these gentle moments; everyone connected to Sabrina and Patrick had their hearts invested and just when it seemed like we’d finally see the child recover, he died. Ay, yi. In the DEC 2013/JAN 2014 edition of “LIPC” , I argued that Sabrina shouldn’t have been pregnant in the first place, but since she was and Castillo soon had to go on maternity leave, I suggested that, at a speedy pace, Sabrina miscarry and maybe go into a depression and want to leave town for a while. I made this suggestion with the assumption that Sabrina’s child would be used as a tool to keep the impossible love triangle with Robin going. Once it seemed that wasn’t the case thankfully, I was more open to the idea of a Patrina baby as the writers put some cards on the table to improve the situation and make it convenient. Sabrina gradually toughened up, detached from Patrick and became Carlos’ savior, setting the stage for a Patrick-independent storyline and at last, some sort of joy. Maybe this baby would actually be more about her than him (especially when the writers played with Carlos being the father; I’d love for Jeffery Vincent Parise to get more camera time). Castillo’s exit was set as Carlos worried Ava made good on her threat to harm Sabrina: she could’ve been forced into police protective custody, which would’ve driven Patrick (Jason Thompson) insane.
Oddly, the writers blew all their cards away; why I’m surprised, I don’t know. Sabrina gave birth, briefly lost touch with reality after watching Gabriel die and went back to Puerto Rico with Juan to regroup. I’m sure the rationale for this was the tragic drama and Patrick having another reason to resent Robin because she wasn’t there to support him (actress Kimberly McCullough isn’t currently on the series). Was there no other way to keep the emotions high? Killing Gabriel felt like a cheap stunt. The 6 weeks had no payoff, coming off like filler until Castillo’s exit date and a possible longer-term storyline (and a new character for the next generation) was relinquished for temporary commotion. You might ask: well, what about Patrick and the vehicular homicide charge? That’s not temporary? Patrick has enough cause to be angry with Robin; that fire isn’t in desperate need of gas at all. As for the “Who done it?” part of the story, that would still be there and the culprit would still face serious charges worthy of a soap courtroom. Yes, the grieving and funeral scenes were powerful (I was in tears multiple times; Castillo and Thompson did great work), but I still question the necessity of the death and debate which outcome would be more lastingly useful. Last month, I expressed my surprise that this new (circa 2012) writing team would kill A.J. Quartermaine, knowing that Quartermaine deaths were the most complained about story facet of the 2000’s. Child deaths are also on the list, most notably Jake Spencer (the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan, adopted by Lucky Spencer) in 2011. I’m not sure what they’re thinking about, especially after being on a baby-boom roll.
Sam, Silas & Nina
On 6/3, Silas (Michael Easton) went to Danny Morgan’s birthday party and was surprised to find his wife, Nina (Michelle Stafford), who he thought died after being in a 20-year coma. At first, his current girlfriend Sam (Kelly Monaco) was gracious, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and tried to conceal their relationship so Silas could have a moment to get Nina settled and wrap his head around the revelation. Prior to Nina being hospitalized, Silas had an affair with Ava Jerome. Nina resolved to work on their marriage and was soon pregnant. Around the same time, she was supposed to inherit assets from her father’s will. Her mother, Madeline, didn’t want Silas around and tried to drug Nina to induce a miscarriage. The baby died, but Nina unexpectedly went into a coma. Silas didn’t know Nina was pregnant until recently. Nina woke up decades later, learning what her mother did and that Silas had a child with Ava, who now lives with him and his nephew Rafe. She has no money (so she says), requires around-the-clock rehabilitation care (not true, but we’ll get to that) and has next to nowhere to go. Kind of a big deal, right? Not really, says Samantha!
Patrick, Sabrina & Baby Gabriel
On 5/27, I was really confused as to why Sabrina (Teresa Castillo) would give her son, Gabriel, her last name instead of Patrick’s and how Patrick didn’t flinch at this, but baby names would be the least of my ‘Patrina’ concerns as their story developed over the month. For 6 WEEKS, Gabriel was in NICU, being prematurely born after a hit-and-run car accident on 4/24 (current suspects are Luke and Rafe). We saw all of these gentle moments; everyone connected to Sabrina and Patrick had their hearts invested and just when it seemed like we’d finally see the child recover, he died. Ay, yi. In the DEC 2013/JAN 2014 edition of “LIPC” , I argued that Sabrina shouldn’t have been pregnant in the first place, but since she was and Castillo soon had to go on maternity leave, I suggested that, at a speedy pace, Sabrina miscarry and maybe go into a depression and want to leave town for a while. I made this suggestion with the assumption that Sabrina’s child would be used as a tool to keep the impossible love triangle with Robin going. Once it seemed that wasn’t the case thankfully, I was more open to the idea of a Patrina baby as the writers put some cards on the table to improve the situation and make it convenient. Sabrina gradually toughened up, detached from Patrick and became Carlos’ savior, setting the stage for a Patrick-independent storyline and at last, some sort of joy. Maybe this baby would actually be more about her than him (especially when the writers played with Carlos being the father; I’d love for Jeffery Vincent Parise to get more camera time). Castillo’s exit was set as Carlos worried Ava made good on her threat to harm Sabrina: she could’ve been forced into police protective custody, which would’ve driven Patrick (Jason Thompson) insane.
Oddly, the writers blew all their cards away; why I’m surprised, I don’t know. Sabrina gave birth, briefly lost touch with reality after watching Gabriel die and went back to Puerto Rico with Juan to regroup. I’m sure the rationale for this was the tragic drama and Patrick having another reason to resent Robin because she wasn’t there to support him (actress Kimberly McCullough isn’t currently on the series). Was there no other way to keep the emotions high? Killing Gabriel felt like a cheap stunt. The 6 weeks had no payoff, coming off like filler until Castillo’s exit date and a possible longer-term storyline (and a new character for the next generation) was relinquished for temporary commotion. You might ask: well, what about Patrick and the vehicular homicide charge? That’s not temporary? Patrick has enough cause to be angry with Robin; that fire isn’t in desperate need of gas at all. As for the “Who done it?” part of the story, that would still be there and the culprit would still face serious charges worthy of a soap courtroom. Yes, the grieving and funeral scenes were powerful (I was in tears multiple times; Castillo and Thompson did great work), but I still question the necessity of the death and debate which outcome would be more lastingly useful. Last month, I expressed my surprise that this new (circa 2012) writing team would kill A.J. Quartermaine, knowing that Quartermaine deaths were the most complained about story facet of the 2000’s. Child deaths are also on the list, most notably Jake Spencer (the son of Elizabeth Webber and Jason Morgan, adopted by Lucky Spencer) in 2011. I’m not sure what they’re thinking about, especially after being on a baby-boom roll.
Sam, Silas & Nina
On 6/3, Silas (Michael Easton) went to Danny Morgan’s birthday party and was surprised to find his wife, Nina (Michelle Stafford), who he thought died after being in a 20-year coma. At first, his current girlfriend Sam (Kelly Monaco) was gracious, seemed to understand the gravity of the situation and tried to conceal their relationship so Silas could have a moment to get Nina settled and wrap his head around the revelation. Prior to Nina being hospitalized, Silas had an affair with Ava Jerome. Nina resolved to work on their marriage and was soon pregnant. Around the same time, she was supposed to inherit assets from her father’s will. Her mother, Madeline, didn’t want Silas around and tried to drug Nina to induce a miscarriage. The baby died, but Nina unexpectedly went into a coma. Silas didn’t know Nina was pregnant until recently. Nina woke up decades later, learning what her mother did and that Silas had a child with Ava, who now lives with him and his nephew Rafe. She has no money (so she says), requires around-the-clock rehabilitation care (not true, but we’ll get to that) and has next to nowhere to go. Kind of a big deal, right? Not really, says Samantha!
Michelle Stafford as Nina Clay (TV Guide) Sam is currently being insecure, pretentious, insensitive and self-concerned as hell. I know, she’s been all these things before at varying degrees, but each time it’s hard to watch. Again, Sam initially gave Silas space, but it wasn’t long before she behaved entitled. Sam egged Silas on to tell Nina he was in a relationship and even after he did this and made it so crystal clear that he didn’t want to be with Nina in any way (to the point where it came off almost jerk-like; TV Source’s Ryan White-Nobles noted that the “great love” Silas is supposed to have had for Nina doesn’t reflect on screen at all), she acted so disgruntled when he told her Nina would be staying with him for the time being, saying that she needed “time to think” and they would have to “talk about it later.” I was so shocked at Sam! He was just supposed to put his post-comatose wife (who he cheated on just before) on the street?! Just flick her off like a bug to make it more comfortable for you?! Would Sam ship Jason off to Sonny’s or even worse-Carly’s: “I’m sorry, I got a new boo, so you can’t stay here?!” She tried it. I was about to be more appalled, though. After telling Silas they’d talk later, Sam deliberately went to his apartment, knowing Nina was alone, to “suggest” she stay somewhere else under the pretense it would be more comfortable for her. Yes, Sam, it would be more comfortable for Nina to stay with her younger brother Nathan (Ryan Paevey), who lives like a sardine with 2 other very young people, as opposed to a doctor with a large amount of resources. The nerve!! You’re going to show up at this man’s place and patronizingly tell his wife that she should move out. His wife. Then, when Nina called a spade a spade and told a just-walked-in Silas that Sam had a problem with her staying there, she faked the funk and said “I didn’t ask her to move out, I was just discussing her options…I thought it would be best if we weren’t in her face all the time.” Hahaha! Keep it real, Sam! I didn’t ask her to move out, I just offered up (bad) options of which she could move out and pretend it’s for her benefit. It’s not about Nina! This is all about you! Own it at least! Sam went on to whine to all her relatives and friends that Nina skewed things to make her look bad. No, Sam, you looked bad all on your own. Although I hate seeing Sam be all the aforementioned adjectives, I have to say it’s a well-played move by the writers. As I’ve said in preceding articles, it works to have viewers conflicted about whose side to be on because they’ll be invested in multiple characters (instead of just one) and the outcome. I’m a Sam fan and Nina has villainous motives towards her (and many others). However, when you combine Sam’s boundary-crossing with Nina’s understandable thirst for revenge (she paid for Silas’ schooling too! He owes all of his success to her!), hilarious battiness and sassy partner-in-crime nurse, you’ve got a viewer (me) riding the fence and eating popcorn while watching. I still need to know what led to Silas cheating with Ava; hopefully, I’ll find out now.
In other Sam news, I’m glad she’s doing Patrick’s car accident/homicide case. It’s always great to see Sam at work and having a storyline that doesn’t involve her beau. TV Source Magazine did a great piece on how Sam, like many other female characters unfortunately, are hardly written to stand out on their own from their romances.
Alexis & Julian, Molly & Ric
Haley Pullos (who potrays Molly Lansing-Davis) is rocking my socks and I so hope she gets a Best Younger Actress Emmy nomination for next year. Molly has been coping with the “death” of her father, Ric (Rick Hearst). Julian (William Devry) got arrested after a drug bust and instead of giving up his true boss (Luke) for immunity and putting his family in police protection, he provided the PCPD with falsified information saying that Ric is the head of his organization (5/29). Fortunately, Julian confided the truth in DEA undercover agent Jordan Ashford (Vinessa Antione). Once Commissioner Devane (Finola Hughes) heard the word, she hatched a plan to set Ric free to bait the real drug lord. It was staged to appear that Ric was fatally shot by Nathan in self-defense (6/12). Pullos has been pulling all the stops alongside TV mom Nancy Lee Grahn in heartbreaking and well-written scenes, as their characters embraced and battled it out in the wake of Ric’s arrest. Molly was furious that Alexis barely questioned Julian and did nothing to analyze the possibility of Ric’s innocence. Molly made you wonder which Davis woman was really the lawyer when she so eloquently broke down important facts that made Julian look suspect, capping things off with “I see how it is; you can help Uncle Sonny and Julian Jerome…you can help all of your other daughter’s fathers, but not mine?!” After Ric “died,” Molly decided to move in with Sam. I’m so aggravated with the stupidity Alexis exhibits for sausage. A hit-man shot Lucas, but Ric, who’s quite clever, took the gun and brought it back to his room? Ric would have Lucas shot at family dinner where you were a guest? You’d take the word of a man you barely know, who used your grandson as a pawn? Oh ok.
*Plays “Paper Gangsta” by Lady Gaga* Many a Port Charles mobster has been accused of being a paper gangster, but Julian takes the cake. He’s astonishingly spineless and yellow-bellied. Luke (Anthony Geary) had Julian’s son shot and when Julian caught him attempting to finish Lucas off in the hospital, he didn’t do anything, except to say “get the hell away from my son.” Laughable! Are you kidding me? Luke (who is being impersonated, FYI) later threatened to kill Julian’s grandson and implied his daughter could be kidnapped and sexually violated. Julian didn’t react at all. What the heck?! Julian hasn’t put his hands on Luke, tried have him killed or even cussed him out. He hasn’t ordered any watchdogs for Alexis & Co. either. Luke has Julian so whipped, Julian now has a babysitter named Mickey Diamond. Pathetic.
Before I get off the Davis clan and their affiliates, Danny had cancer, Sonny almost killed himself, AJ died (again), Morgan was in the mob, Alexis is with another criminal and Ric is “dead,” but Kristina Corinthos Davis is still M.I.A. What is life?
In other Sam news, I’m glad she’s doing Patrick’s car accident/homicide case. It’s always great to see Sam at work and having a storyline that doesn’t involve her beau. TV Source Magazine did a great piece on how Sam, like many other female characters unfortunately, are hardly written to stand out on their own from their romances.
Alexis & Julian, Molly & Ric
Haley Pullos (who potrays Molly Lansing-Davis) is rocking my socks and I so hope she gets a Best Younger Actress Emmy nomination for next year. Molly has been coping with the “death” of her father, Ric (Rick Hearst). Julian (William Devry) got arrested after a drug bust and instead of giving up his true boss (Luke) for immunity and putting his family in police protection, he provided the PCPD with falsified information saying that Ric is the head of his organization (5/29). Fortunately, Julian confided the truth in DEA undercover agent Jordan Ashford (Vinessa Antione). Once Commissioner Devane (Finola Hughes) heard the word, she hatched a plan to set Ric free to bait the real drug lord. It was staged to appear that Ric was fatally shot by Nathan in self-defense (6/12). Pullos has been pulling all the stops alongside TV mom Nancy Lee Grahn in heartbreaking and well-written scenes, as their characters embraced and battled it out in the wake of Ric’s arrest. Molly was furious that Alexis barely questioned Julian and did nothing to analyze the possibility of Ric’s innocence. Molly made you wonder which Davis woman was really the lawyer when she so eloquently broke down important facts that made Julian look suspect, capping things off with “I see how it is; you can help Uncle Sonny and Julian Jerome…you can help all of your other daughter’s fathers, but not mine?!” After Ric “died,” Molly decided to move in with Sam. I’m so aggravated with the stupidity Alexis exhibits for sausage. A hit-man shot Lucas, but Ric, who’s quite clever, took the gun and brought it back to his room? Ric would have Lucas shot at family dinner where you were a guest? You’d take the word of a man you barely know, who used your grandson as a pawn? Oh ok.
*Plays “Paper Gangsta” by Lady Gaga* Many a Port Charles mobster has been accused of being a paper gangster, but Julian takes the cake. He’s astonishingly spineless and yellow-bellied. Luke (Anthony Geary) had Julian’s son shot and when Julian caught him attempting to finish Lucas off in the hospital, he didn’t do anything, except to say “get the hell away from my son.” Laughable! Are you kidding me? Luke (who is being impersonated, FYI) later threatened to kill Julian’s grandson and implied his daughter could be kidnapped and sexually violated. Julian didn’t react at all. What the heck?! Julian hasn’t put his hands on Luke, tried have him killed or even cussed him out. He hasn’t ordered any watchdogs for Alexis & Co. either. Luke has Julian so whipped, Julian now has a babysitter named Mickey Diamond. Pathetic.
Before I get off the Davis clan and their affiliates, Danny had cancer, Sonny almost killed himself, AJ died (again), Morgan was in the mob, Alexis is with another criminal and Ric is “dead,” but Kristina Corinthos Davis is still M.I.A. What is life?
Hannah Nordberg as Josslyn Jacks Other Notes
Ava, Sonny & Morgan: So after maybe a week, Ava (Maura West) discovered she was pregnant. Gotta love soap magic. Now we’re in for an always fun game of “who’s the daddy?” between Sonny and Morgan. Watching West regularly with Maurice Bernard has been delightful. Hearing Ava repeatedly clock Kiki’s tea has been wonderful too. Kiki (Kirsten Alderson) doesn’t find it hypocritical at all to be chastising her mother for hurting Morgan (Bryan Craig), when she’s still in a relationship with the older brother she dumped him for. Speaking of big brother Michael (Chad Duell), I wanted to vomit when Morgan said he wished Ava was possibly pregnant with Michael’s child instead because he’s “the better brother.” WHAT?! It makes my head hurt that the writers are just as delusional with Michael-worship as Sonny and Carly. Michael got another gold star for providing resource-less Morgan with a place to stay and a job. Kiki will be staying in the same brownstone of course. If Morgan is going to be with any Jerome woman, it should be Ava.
Josslyn & Rafe: My prayers were answered! Josslyn Jacks was aged, she sassy and she’s hanging out with lovelorn Spencer. Match made in heaven, those 2! Rafe (Jimmy Deshler) is on cocaine, stealing money from Sam and may be responsible for the accident that killed baby Gabriel. I’m interested! Talk about spicing up the teen scene.
Liz & Britt: Of course Liz dropped her panties for Ric at the 1st request (5/28)! All you have to do is take her up on the Metro Court terrace for a romantic date and ask. Sound familiar? We saw this with AJ! Almost exact! Ugh! It just annoys me how they have Liz (Rebecca Herbst) so open all the time. Anyway, I wasn’t the only one catching the open flood gates and parallels to A.J. On 6/10, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) once again noted Liz was wasting no time cozying up to Nikolas and the ever-funny and keen Diane (Carolyn Hennesy) called Liz out on the real reason she didn’t want to help with Ric’s case: self-preservation and post-traumatic stress from A.J. Liz got it straight, no chaser back to back.
As for Britt, she’s pushing and pulling on her mom again and I hate it. When she’s pouting, angry and discontent, she’s rejects and blames Dr. Obrecht (Kathleen Gati), but reactivates their relationship when she needs help. Britt is now scheming to recapture Nikolas’ attention and seduce him. How do I feel about some Britchiness coming back? I guess it’s okay. *Kanye shrug*
Lulu & Maxie: Why are we getting another Lulu baby storyline? What is this even about? I don’t understand the purpose of it. We watched Lulu (Emme Rylan) obsess over a baby for what, 2 years already? As for Maxie, why are they putting off her reunion with baby Georgie? I hope it’s not in favor of a lover’s quarrel between Nathan and Levi. Can’t we have both?
Anna & Duke: Similar to Liz, Anna got it from both ends when Sonny confronted her about Ric being arrested and killed and Duke (Ian Buchanan) grilled her about Julian being set free on 6/16. If you didn’t know, Julian’s responsible for Anna miscarrying her child with Duke years ago, among other things. To Anna’s upset, Duke rejoined the underworld to exact retribution. He promptly quit working for Sonny once Julian was arrested, but was enraged and resentful when he learned Julian received immunity. Sonny co-signed Duke’s angst and reminded Anna that Duke’s employment had reason to be reinstated. Attending Gabriel’s funeral made Duke’s loss and frustration all the more present and he told Anna he wouldn’t let Julian live while his child is dead. Hopefully, this means Duke will get a front-burner storyline, because Buchanan’s presence is heady. I love seeing Duke get people together! This is a character the current GH generation should get more familiar with.
Well, what shall we have for lunch? I heard Nathan’s meat is pretty good.
Ava, Sonny & Morgan: So after maybe a week, Ava (Maura West) discovered she was pregnant. Gotta love soap magic. Now we’re in for an always fun game of “who’s the daddy?” between Sonny and Morgan. Watching West regularly with Maurice Bernard has been delightful. Hearing Ava repeatedly clock Kiki’s tea has been wonderful too. Kiki (Kirsten Alderson) doesn’t find it hypocritical at all to be chastising her mother for hurting Morgan (Bryan Craig), when she’s still in a relationship with the older brother she dumped him for. Speaking of big brother Michael (Chad Duell), I wanted to vomit when Morgan said he wished Ava was possibly pregnant with Michael’s child instead because he’s “the better brother.” WHAT?! It makes my head hurt that the writers are just as delusional with Michael-worship as Sonny and Carly. Michael got another gold star for providing resource-less Morgan with a place to stay and a job. Kiki will be staying in the same brownstone of course. If Morgan is going to be with any Jerome woman, it should be Ava.
Josslyn & Rafe: My prayers were answered! Josslyn Jacks was aged, she sassy and she’s hanging out with lovelorn Spencer. Match made in heaven, those 2! Rafe (Jimmy Deshler) is on cocaine, stealing money from Sam and may be responsible for the accident that killed baby Gabriel. I’m interested! Talk about spicing up the teen scene.
Liz & Britt: Of course Liz dropped her panties for Ric at the 1st request (5/28)! All you have to do is take her up on the Metro Court terrace for a romantic date and ask. Sound familiar? We saw this with AJ! Almost exact! Ugh! It just annoys me how they have Liz (Rebecca Herbst) so open all the time. Anyway, I wasn’t the only one catching the open flood gates and parallels to A.J. On 6/10, Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) once again noted Liz was wasting no time cozying up to Nikolas and the ever-funny and keen Diane (Carolyn Hennesy) called Liz out on the real reason she didn’t want to help with Ric’s case: self-preservation and post-traumatic stress from A.J. Liz got it straight, no chaser back to back.
As for Britt, she’s pushing and pulling on her mom again and I hate it. When she’s pouting, angry and discontent, she’s rejects and blames Dr. Obrecht (Kathleen Gati), but reactivates their relationship when she needs help. Britt is now scheming to recapture Nikolas’ attention and seduce him. How do I feel about some Britchiness coming back? I guess it’s okay. *Kanye shrug*
Lulu & Maxie: Why are we getting another Lulu baby storyline? What is this even about? I don’t understand the purpose of it. We watched Lulu (Emme Rylan) obsess over a baby for what, 2 years already? As for Maxie, why are they putting off her reunion with baby Georgie? I hope it’s not in favor of a lover’s quarrel between Nathan and Levi. Can’t we have both?
Anna & Duke: Similar to Liz, Anna got it from both ends when Sonny confronted her about Ric being arrested and killed and Duke (Ian Buchanan) grilled her about Julian being set free on 6/16. If you didn’t know, Julian’s responsible for Anna miscarrying her child with Duke years ago, among other things. To Anna’s upset, Duke rejoined the underworld to exact retribution. He promptly quit working for Sonny once Julian was arrested, but was enraged and resentful when he learned Julian received immunity. Sonny co-signed Duke’s angst and reminded Anna that Duke’s employment had reason to be reinstated. Attending Gabriel’s funeral made Duke’s loss and frustration all the more present and he told Anna he wouldn’t let Julian live while his child is dead. Hopefully, this means Duke will get a front-burner storyline, because Buchanan’s presence is heady. I love seeing Duke get people together! This is a character the current GH generation should get more familiar with.
Well, what shall we have for lunch? I heard Nathan’s meat is pretty good.
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