Good fun! (Soaps.com)
Big news last week! Jonathan Jackson is returning as Lucky, which means Greg Vaughan is out; Sarah Brown is going to The Bold and the Beautiful; and the biggest shocker of them all: James Franco will be appearing on GH for two months! It was a lot to take in, but in my opinion it was all positive stuff for GH and soaps and in general.
I feel bad that Greg Vaughan has been let go. He is a good actor and did a good job portraying Lucky, but I feel that Jonathan Jackson really is the soul of the character. He just seemed to have a depth that the previous two Lucky’s didn’t have. It has a lot to do with the actor, but also the writing. Today’s Lucky is not the same that first butted heads with Nikolas, worshipped his father and helped Elizabeth through her rape, which led to them falling in love. It will be interesting to see Jonathan’s take on Lucky’s current circumstances: kids, being a cop and his distance from Luke and I wonder if this will lead to real love again for him and Elizabeth. It will definitely add a new twist for when he learns about Nik and Liz’s affair. Regardless, Lucky has been on the fringe for so long, that with Jonathan returning, the character is bound to be front and center with his own storyline with a renewed interest from many of the fans.
Even though Sarah Brown is leaving her role as Claudia, we got word last week that the talented fan favorite will still be seen on Daytime. Not only will we still be able to see Sarah on our small screens on The Bold and the Beautiful, but we’ll also be able to see her with Rick Hearst (ex-Ric) again since she will be plopped into a story involving his character of Whip Jones. I always felt they shortchanged their coupling on GH by forcing Claudia with Sonny. They really had great chemistry and played well off each other, so it will be fun to see them in a new setting where they will hopefully get to play out what we didn't see in Port Charles.
Finally, the third piece of buzzworthy news is that movie star James Franco came to GH offering his services. It’s pretty shocking that an actor of his caliber would agree to be on a soap opera, let alone be the one to approach the show with the idea. I personally cannot wait to see what he will do in his two months in Port Charles and I imagine many people feel the same and will tune in out of curiosity, if nothing else. Who knows, maybe those people who tune in just to see the A-list star on a soap will stick around to find out what happens to the other characters once he’s gone.
So now, on to the onscreen action from last week…
I loved that Maxie and Spinelli didn’t get married, but still enjoyed such a fun party afterwards at Jake’s. I’m so happy they didn’t break up over this and can now be the happy, fun couple they should have been before the marriage issue came up. It really was sweet, funny and just plain perfect.
The scenes that stood out the most for me during the reception were: Mac getting drunk and having fun. He was cute flirting with Alexis, but I’m not sure I see them as a couple. She needs someone with a bit more edge than him I think. Jason and Sam really are just hot and him tying his pink tie on her was explosive evidence of that. I’m not sure why Ethan was at the reception and playing cards with the kids. I suppose it was so he could sing karaoke, but his presence there was really my only complaint of the reception since he so obviously stuck out. Carly and Jason’s scene outside of Jake’s reminiscing was sweet as it allowed them to appreciate each other instead of their usual dynamic which is her running to him with her problems and him being harsh with her.
Should he stick around? (Soaps.com)
I was bummed when Robin nixed Patrick’s suggestion that they sing karaoke again, because their previous duet was one of my favorite things to happen on GH this year. We did get Patrick in a duet with Mac and then Coleman, so at least we got that.
After the wedding and reception, it was back to business as usual and Alexis confronting Sonny about Kristina was spot on. Her telling him he should stop having kids because he had more than he can handle as it was, was pretty perfect. Then we got little Molly asking Sonny about his criminal activities. Sonny’s facial expression was hilarious! Gotta love that Molly.
Kate and Olivia interacted a bit after Kate almost blew Dante’s cover. It was so nice to see the cousins sharing scenes. We really need more of that.
Luke and Helena are back. I’m only excited about this because it will bring Nikolas into the Cassadine world again, which I actually enjoy. And with the addition of the new Cassadines that are reportedly coming to the canvas, it will be a nice respite from the mob world. Not that I mind that part of GH, but mixing it up is always a good thing.
Lulu and Ethan went off to find Luke, which I think Lucky should have been included in. If Jonathan Jackson was already back in the role, I’m sure he would be leading the charge, but I digress. Didn’t Lulu and Ethan’s scenes feel more like two potential lovers about to embark on an adventure where they would discover their feelings for each other instead of a brother and sister looking for their father?
Kiefer is ramping up his creepy abusive demeanor towards Kristina, which for some reason makes me want him to stick around after this storyline wraps up. After watching other soaps with teen actors, I really appreciate his acting chops and hope he has more to do on the show because he’s pretty darn good.
Claudia has learned one of the worst kept secrets in Port Charles, which is that Dominic is really Dante, who is really Sonny’s son with Olivia. Even though Sarah Brown is leaving, she is thankfully going out with some good action and drama, instead of just getting on an elevator and saying, “See ya later.” At least she’ll see Rick Hearst in the fictional town of L.A. when the elevator doors reopen. Can’t wait!
That’s all I got for this week. How about you? Share your thoughts on all the onscreen and offscreen action below!
- Lori Wilson
