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GH Rundown for the week of October 26!

Two big things happened last week: Jonathan Jackson returned and Claudia was finally busted.

I get that Jonathan Jackson returning to play Lucky is a big deal, but the character hasn’t been off the canvas. So for him to say, 'Remember me?' in his first scene and for the promos to say Elizabeth’s ‘first love returns’ was annoying because the character didn’t go anywhere and it kind of negated Greg Vaughan’s tenure as Lucky. I don’t mind a nod to the fact that Jackson has returned, but maybe Elizabeth could have said he looked different or something similar and the promos could have just trumpeted Jackson returning.

That said, in my opinion, Jackson returning to the role he originated makes a huge difference. His scenes as Lucky with Luke and Elizabeth hold a different weight than they did with Greg Vaughan. I tried to imagine Vaughan in those scenes Jonathan had last week and I didn’t think they would have had the same depth. I know the writers didn’t utilize Greg as much as they should have, but I also think the actors have different strengths and these quiet emotional scenes are where Jonathan shines. On the other hand, I can’t really see Jonathan Jackson having the same appeal or chemistry Greg did in his scenes opposite Kelly Monaco (Sam) or even Kirsten Storms (Maxie). Now that Jackson is back, I am really looking forward to watching Lucky delve into his relationships with Luke, Liz and Nikolas.

Claudia was finally outed as the mastermind behind the hit that put Michael in a coma and I really enjoyed the build up to it. Jason’s frustration was evident, as after hearing the CD, Sonny just told him he had a party to go to, which was also kind of hilarious. Sonny’s calm before the storm, lulling Claudia into a false sense of security about her party, was fantastic as well, but then Sonny blew up. I’m not a fan of his outbursts and would have liked him to have been a bit more reserved in his anger, but I suppose it was necessary this time around so that Kristina could witness her father’s dark side.

I enjoyed the fast and furious pace of the party scenes and especially liked that Dante put Jax in his place about busting Sonny because A) he does not have to answer to him and B) he was so right about Jax never being able to get the goods on Sonny himself. I also enjoyed his scene with Mike, as he is already looking out for him even though he doesn’t know they are related. Then of course there was Maxie and Tracy teasing and questioning Lulu about Dante, which was cute and fun. As for a non-Dante related scene that I enjoyed, I was happy Johnny stuck up for his sister when Sonny outed her. Even though he’s pretty disgusted with Claudia these days, he still loves her and is loyal, which makes him more complex.

While I enjoyed the quick pace and seeing everybody at the party, I had a few questions. Where was Spinelli? Who did Luke run off to meet? More importantly, if the cops were holding everyone at the party to question, how did Luke get out? I also found it odd that Robin told Patrick no one could have predicted how Sonny reacted upon finding out the truth. Really? Because I think anyone who knows Sonny could have predicted that, especially Robin. Also, why was Mayor Floyd there? He was nowhere to be found when his wife died, but he shows up for Claudia’s party?

Of course other things happened last week as well, such as Dante helping Lulu when she was accidentally drugged at the photo shoot. He was such a gentleman, but yet funny when he found it hard to resist her actually coming on to him. I can't wait to see them finally get it on, but I’m loving the build up of her reluctantly warming up to him. And we got another great shot of a shirtless Dante. Always a good day in my book.

I’m a little unclear as to why Michael would warn Johnny that he knew about Claudia, but I was glad to see him have a conscience and not just want her wiped out like Sonny and Jason. I did like that Jason went to Johnny to tell him whatever happened with his sister, it had nothing to do with him and Johnny responding that he wouldn’t go against the organization, but he had to protect Claudia. They said a lot without actually divulging what they were talking about and it showed the respect they actually do have for each other.

Morgan and Molly rescuing Johnny was cute, but how did Morgan open the door so easily? Was it not locked?

I surprisingly enjoyed Claudia and Olivia’s knock down, drag out fight. Maybe it’s because Claudia really had so much coming to her for her despicable treatment of just about everyone on the canvas that it was fun to watch someone actually take their frustration out on her. I am getting sick of Olivia’s secret though. With Claudia gone, at least there will be one less person she can argue with about Dante being Sonny’s son.

I’m confused about Luke and Tracy. She hired replacements for Luke and Ethan and made it clear she was less than happy with her husband, but she went to Lucky’s surprise party for Elizabeth and also Claudia’s party with him. Not to mention, Luke and Ethan got right back to work, without another mention of their look-a-likes or repairing things with Tracy. I guess I shouldn’t expect things to make sense though, considering how muddled the whole Helena kidnapping thing was.

Overall I think it was a good week with Jonathan Jackson’s return and the build up to Claudia getting busted. This week should be a doozy!

That’s all I got this time around. What did you think of last week’s GH? Feel free to share your thoughts below.

- Lori Wilson