Dear readers, I hope you are having a wonderful weekend so far and shaking off the worries of the week. From the end of 2019 through today, life has been madness.
Our daily dose of GH or whatever other art we are filling our soul with to silence the questions we ask ourselves when we stare into the Grand Canyon-sized void in our souls keeps us sane. And yes, I know that's a run-on sentence. When my Grammarly tells me it's a long and confusing sentence, I will refuse to change it. That's how rebellious I am feeling today.
But I digress.
This week, GH gave us a rare treat: a stand-alone episode about a single character who has been part of the GH landscape for 25 years. Alexis Davis, a.k.a. Natasha.
This was a powerful episode that took us into Alexis' past, her childhood, and allowed us to see some of the wounds that made her the complicated woman she is today. It explained why she ran over Kiefer. It explained why she pushed Alcazar. It explained why her love life has been a bit of a mess; why she was drawn to men like Ric, Sonny, and Julian; and why she blew her shot with truly decent guys like Ned.
Nancy Lee Grahn is one of my favorites, both on-screen and off. The character of Alexis is in turns silly, sarcastic, witty, intelligent, fierce, loyal, impulsive, and reckless. Those three words that came out during her session with Kevin were perfect: Fighter, Idealist, Advocate.
The first scene in prison where she immediately goes into "Advocate" mode and starts helping a woman with her legal case lit up my heart. When the watch started ticking again, I cried. Suppose GH has a plan to tell the stories of women in prison -- like Orange Is the New Black style. In that case, I'm totally in favor of leaving her in prison temporarily to see those storylines. I think that could be very powerful, and it could help shape Alexis' future once she gets out.
It is possible to be reinstated after disbarment. I Googled it! They have to apply for reinstatement, retake the bar exam, and "have a period of time with the absence of misconduct." I don't know how actually being convicted of a felony plays into that. Still, it's GH, so I feel confident Alexis will be practicing law again. Perhaps even, with her daughter Molly by her side at a practice called something like "Davis Girls, Esquire."
Maybe Kristina, played by the powerhouse Lexi Ainsworth, can become a life coach for her clients and help them find their way again on the outside. (GH writers, here is my plea! Give Lexi some more scenes. She devours every line you give her and breathes it back out like fire! Give her a new storyline!) Perhaps Sam and Spinelli can resurrect the Jackal/McCall P.I. biz and help the Davis girls research their cases. The Davis girls can rule the town!
I loved seeing the flashbacks of Alexis as Dobson; Alexis and Ned; Alexis at Kelly's with Jax, Ned, Finn, and Valentin. I was a little sad we didn't get an Alexis and Julian montage, but maybe William DeVry did not sign the paper saying they had the right to use his image. I don't know how that crap works; I'm just a writer.
Side note, young Ned looked like Elvis to me in his Eddie Maine days. That storyline seemed so implausible at the time, but then I met a guy just like Ned/Eddie. By day, he was a high-powered executive at a Fortune 500 company, traveling the world, doing big business deals. But in his off time, we used to write songs together. He had this entire music studio in his house. He was an incredible guitarist. He sang, mixed, and wrote beautiful music to my mediocre lyrics.
I asked him if any of the people that worked for him had any idea that he had a rock-and-roll heart. He said, "No, and they never will." He had an entire secret life as a musician and didn't want his subordinates to know. I wondered if he had a grandpa like Edward Q that thought his *gift* was an embarrassment to the family. But again, I digress.
Back to Alexis' portrayer -- I adore Nancy Lee Grahn in real life, too. She has gotten a lot of flack sometimes for being outspoken, but I love that she is straightforward and refuses to be silenced. I hate it when people say, "Shut up and act." Or "Shut up and play football." Or "Shut up and ..." fill in the blank. If you, like me, are an American citizen, one of your rights is that you get to speak your mind. She can say whatever she wants, and people can choose to follow her or unfollow her. No one ever says this to non-famous people. No one ever says things like "Shut up and cashier." Or "Shut up and drive your truck." It's as if a segment of our population feels like if you are successful, you lose your rights to free speech. You don't.
I took a class called "Dangerous Writing." America is filled with a history of people who wrote and said things considered dangerous when spoken. Still, those written dangerous words were the things that prompted action and change and made the world better. An example that will be familiar to most everyone, "I have a dream...," spoken by Martin Luther King Jr., changed our nation. While it is hailed as something of great beauty, remember that when he gave that speech, it was considered divisive and dangerous. People wanted him to stop saying things that shook the foundations of racism they had so carefully crafted. (I know, I am way off topic, but I have a little ADHD, and my brain goes places on its own.)
At any rate, I like that Nancy Lee speaks up passionately for what she believes in and takes firm stands on important issues. That makes her braver than half of our Congresspeople and Senators, who want to remain neutral so they can't be blamed for anything.
The entire episode was a triumph, in my opinion. It showcased Alexis' fantastic storylines over the years, honored her work, explained her psyche, and entered her gracefully into prison. I am genuinely hoping the things she realized in Kevin's office will be a catalyst to propel her into a robust and healthy future. I hope the words of comfort she gave to scared and sad little Natasha will quiet those nagging voices in her head.
The one scene where she broke down and told Kevin that she was always trying to hold everything together for everyone probably resonated with many people. Or was it just me?
Kudos to the GH writers for a beautifully crafted episode and Nancy Lee Grahn on 25 years of riveting work on GH. Here's hoping Alexis' next post-prison romance doesn't end in a "dead in the bed" scenario. She deserves to love and be loved for real with a nice guy.
Side note, I can see Alexis and Finn getting together after Evil Peter gets him hooked on drugs again. Or maybe that's not the plan. Maybe Peter means to kill Finn, but instead, the tainted cup goes to Gregory, who was really growing on me as a character, and kills him. As soon as I heard them talking about how much Violet loves Grandpa and saw that "coffee wheel of death" lazy Susan spin, I thought, "Oh, no, Gregory is going to die." I hope my soap instincts are wrong, but probably not. Gregory will probably die, and then Chase will find out that Cyrus faked the DNA tests. He will be enraged that Gregory died thinking he didn't have a son when he actually did, and Chase will kill Cyrus. (Yeah, I know, I'm a wannabe soap writer.)
Bottom line, I am tired of Evil Peter. Please, someone, just end him. If you want to kill him off, great. If you want him to escape and run off to live with the probably undead Faison, fine. Just, please, wrap up this storyline soon.
Now on to funnier things: Ryan sending Ava a rubber hand in a box. Readers, did any of you watch Knots Landing back in the day? Or am I the only AARP-aged woman out here? It reminds me of the episode where some creep left a heart in a box on Karen's doorstep. But it was too many years ago, and I don't remember the plot or the character's name who left it -- but it scared the daylights out of me when I was a teenager.
We all know Ryan is faking catatonic like so many GH crazies before him, and he's definitely doing things to torment Ava. I'm always astounded that lunatics find partners willing to carry out their evil plans on GH.
Like the waiter who agreed to drug Finn for Peter. Why? I mean, dude... don't agree to drug someone for a psychopath.
Next up: Brook Lynn. First, she is a brave girl faking a pregnancy around crazy little Charlotte. Charlotte would absolutely push BLQ's ass down the infamous Q death stairs to try to kill the fake baby so she doesn't have to share her Papa with another kid. But I don't think that's where we are headed this time. Here's my prediction... Brooke Lynn is faking a pregnancy to get ELQ back. Maxie is pregnant for real and trying to find a place to stash her baby. If you don't see a baby swap storyline coming, you haven't been watching soaps long enough.
The way I see this playing out, Britt will realize that Brooke Lynn isn't really pregnant and tell Maxie; the two of them will propose that Brook Lynne takes Maxie's baby while faking its death to fool Peter. Brooke Lynn will agree, as it suits her purposes, too. When Peter is finally caught or killed, BLQ will give the baby back to Maxie, and Valentin will realize he's been duped.
I realize that Peter has a gun to his head right now, but as much as I want Peter to pay for his crimes, I don't wish to see Valentina or Anna murder him in cold blood. Leave that to Jason when he gets out of prison.
Maybe having shady Scotty on Jason's side will speed up his release. As more and more people realize Jason is innocent, he should have an army outside helping him bring down Peter. Carly will probably blow whatever plan they come up with, though, as her urgent impatience to free her protector is going to cause her to do something drastic. I know it. You know it.
Here's the scene I am waiting for -- the scene where Liz tearfully apologizes and begs Jason's forgiveness for ever assuming he would hurt Franco. People who loved Jason and Liz together over the years, the "Liason" crowd, will not accept that Liz would turn on Jason this way. It was too pure, and Liz always saw and assumed the best in Jason. Indeed, their relationship has grown more contentious since Liz got involved with Franco. Still, at her core, I can't accept that Liz thinks Jason would sloppily murder Franco. Ugh.
Liz's friend Nikolas Cassadine is playing with fire, trying to help his Aunt Alexis by re-kidnapping Florence Grey. Seeing Ava and Laura partnering to help Nikolas resist his worst impulses makes my heart smile. I love when they allow characters to grow. Ava went from a one-dimensional mob diva to a woman that a pillar of the community like Laura can embrace into her family and respect as her daughter-in-law.
Genie Francis' Laura is the undisputed matriarch of Port Charles -- the mayor and every residents' keeper -- and I embrace that shift wholeheartedly. Maybe because Genie and I are about the same age, I see that shift in my own life. The girls at my former office called me "Cool Aunt Tammy" and "Office Mom" - which made me glad because they knew they could come to me with their problems and secrets. When they went out partying, they invited me, even though I was their mom's age. Sometimes I went, because, in my heart, I am still their age, even though my gray roots give me away.
Laura, too, has the ear of several generations of citizens who know she has been through some things, has wisdom to impart, and will care about the state of their hearts. I love seeing Laura in this light. Here's what Laura is missing right now: Lucky. Isn't it time to bring him home? At least for a visit.
Which reminds me... when is Roger Howarth coming back, and who is he going to play? Still Franco? Drew? Lucky? Todd Manning? An entirely new character? Whoever he's playing, I hope they don't make us wait too long. I miss his face.
What will happen tomorrow, dear readers? Will Joss play volleyball on her bad ankle and have to attend PCU? Will Florence's taste for hummingbird cake be the end of her cushy stay with Nurse Bobbie? Will anyone explain why BLQ's throat doesn't have a scar? (No one even mentions it disappearing or asks her when she's going to sing again, since she's obviously fine now! It bugs me.) Will Valentin and Carly become BFFs while Jason is in prison? Will Alexis' prison coach get several more clients before this Peter/Jason storyline wraps up?
Will Spencer come home after graduation and steal Joss from Cam? Will Sasha head straight to Brando's bed now that Michael cut her loose? Will Willow ever decide which boy she actually loves? Will Olivia win some Citizen of the Year award for her kindness to the woman who slept with her husband and nearly murdered her son? Will Ava put the creepy rubber hand in her art gallery, under glass, and title it "A Helping Hand," and get some unsuspecting art customer to pay $8,000 for it?
Only tomorrow knows, dear readers, and I will tune in tomorrow as long as there are tomorrows.
Tamilu
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