A Critic’s Review of General Hospital: Mob vs Medical and Other Musings

When it comes to General Hospital, every fan has their own opinion – and Soap Hub is no different. For five days we sat and watched the good, the bad, and everything in between, and now we offer you a handy review, and a cheeky critique, of the GH week that was.

General Hospital: A Critic’s Week In Review

Call us crazy, but it seems like GH is attempting a stealth reset. Gone – at least for the time being – are the over-the-top villains, and in their place are a hard-edge mob family and a potential mother-in-law from hell.

And for the first time, in a very long time, it seems that the soap will actually be living up to its title. Sure, the past few months or so (and it feels even longer) we’ve seen Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) working around the clock to cure his grievous brother, and we’ve had many scenes set inside the titular medical center.

But with Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson) now the chairperson of the hospital board, and the battle for the position of Chief-of-Staff heating up, it’s starting to feel like the GH of old.

And for the fans of mob stories – and we’re well aware that you’re out there – you have the fast-approaching battle for supremacy between the Novak family and the united front of Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) and Jason Morgan (Steve Burton).

Now, for the stories that just aren’t working. First, there’s the Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard)/Willow Tait Chase (Katelyn MacMullen)/Michael Corinthos (Chad Duell) triangle. It’s boring.

It was boring when first teased; it was boring when the writers shoehorned in a “deathbed wedding” between Chase and Willow, and it’s extremely boring now that they’ve insisted on prolonging it with this whole, Chase needs the will to walk again angle.

And then there’s the whole Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) actively keeping an amnesiac Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) away from his family. It was not a good storyline when the writers embarked on it months ago, and it’s still not a good storyline. It’s completely ruined the character of Nina, and redemption will never again be had.

She could come back from kidnapping Ava Jerome Cassadine’s (Maura West) baby. And she could come back from all the other questionable decisions she made. But not this one. There’s no fix for this character assassination.

So, in the future, we hope to see far more hospital hijinks, a small dose of the action and adventure that General Hospital is known far and wide for, and a whole lot less of pointless triangles, and pointless ruination of beloved players.

Further GH Musings

* Though still intriguing, the Who’s Stalking Ava storyline is coming dangerously close to overstaying its welcome. Here’s hoping that in the next week or so, we finally get some closure. And we’re crossing our fingers that the villain’s identity will be a shocker, and worth the wait.

* Why was Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) so panicked by Dante Falconeri’s (Dominic Zamprogna) revelation that they’d found faux Nurse Chloe’s (Kimberly J. Brown) phone and gone through its history? Didn’t she communicate with partner-in-crime Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) via her burner phone?

* Do our eyes deceive us, or is this show actually gearing up for a storyline starring domestic partners TJ Ashford (Tajh Bellow) and Molly Lansing (Haley Pullos)? General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.