A Critic’s Review of General Hospital: Small Circles of Trust and Sibling Rivalry

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. Here, we lead with optimism. Unfortunately, we don’t always get what we want. So here’s a review of GH’s week, which included boxing gym showdowns, prenup problems, two-second fugitives, and plenty of complicated conversations.

What I Am Feeling This Week: Rivalries
(Sonny vs. Jagger; Jake vs. Danny; Ava and Nina)

Watching GH this week, I couldn’t help but be mesmerized by the boxing gym showdown between Sonny (Maurice Benard, who just celebrated his birthday) and John (Adam J. Harrington). When I thought about the rest of the week, I realized I wanted to highlight a couple of others, for better or worse.

New/Old Rivalry: Sonny Corinthos vs. John “Jagger” Cates

This rivalry’s been brewing for a while. While I enjoy the addition of Adam J. Harrington into the mix, I hadn’t encountered that moment where I felt his character really clicked for me. Now I have. It was in the boxing gym when Jagger and Sonny went toe to toe, so to speak. Heck, they almost went punch to punch.

Turns out, Sonny wanted to antagonize FBI Agent Cates and get him kicked off the stolen weapons/mobster killing case. What that scene showed me is that Jagger is no pushover. He can really develop into a nice rival for Sonny. Here’s the exchange that sealed the deal for me. I don’t mind saying it was kind of hot. And I want to see more.

So, yeah, I talked to Carly. And I will talk to your children. And I will talk to your bodyguards. And your housekeepers and your barista and your doorman and your priest. I will talk to whomever I want whenever I want. And until you get jurisdiction over the FBI or simply die of shame…there is nothing you can do to stop me.

John “Jagger” Cates, Thursday, February 29, 2024

Meanwhile, Sonny countered with Jagger being a bad husband to Karen (then Cari Shayne), to which I might have attempted a massive eye roll, considering Sonny’s track record.

Sibling Rivalry: Jake Webber vs. Danny Morgan

Also, I enjoyed Jake (Hudson West) and Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) mixing it up in Friday’s episode, even though we discovered Danny’s vaping. It’s probably because Jason (Steve Burton, ) is back this coming week, but I appreciate the quality time anyway. I hope they continue to show more of them figuring out life and even being adorable in the face of a “celebrity” like Blaze. Normally, I don’t like surly teens taking up space on my shows, but I don’t know. I’m enjoying their getting some attention and I hope it continues. Jake really had Danny’s back and I hope he realizes that at some point.

Better Not Happen Rivalry: Ava Jerome vs. Nina Reeves

Finally, I have a bad feeling about besties Ava and Nina. The conversation they had at the beginning of the week was so unsatisfactory. Because Ava’s busy trying not to cross any lines with Nina or with Sonny, because, as we all know, Ava’s basically the only person in Sonny’s circle of trust. And Ava and Sonny keep having these heated moments. Actually, both Nina and Ava had their own self-interests at heart here.

I’ve been going back and forth on whether the outgoing headwriters would actually resurrect Sonny and Ava on their way out (or is this something the new headwriters are backing, I’m not even sure). But I do adore these two being besties even with their crazy past. I don’t want anything to touch their friendship. But I fear, I won’t get what I want here.

Other GH Thoughts

Better Not Be Bluffing: Now Réal Andrews (Taggert) is teasing a potential return to GH (find out the details here). Yay!

Still Processing: The jury’s out on the Blaze’s (Jacqueline Grace Lopez) mom coming to town. We’ve only seen a little so far. While Natalia didn’t seem warm and fuzzy, seeing Eva LaRue on GH was great.

Sonny’s Wrath: Well, it seems like Sonny’s the most angry at Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Michael (Chad Duell). Apparently, He and Carly are already on better terms.

Key Conversation #1: Sonny and Nina finally had it out. And, again, it was unsatisfying. It felt like Old Sonny was back and NIxon Falls Sonny had left the building. For now, I’d like Nina to forget about Sonny, she needs to move on. Because, honestly, aren’t most people in Port Charles reckless and petty?

Key Conversation #2: Drew (Cameron Mathison) and Carly (Laura Wright) had their own conversation and their relationship remained intact. But, it does feel on shaky ground. I don’t know if that’s because Jason (Steve Burton) is on his way back. As annoyed as I am with Drew, Carly says she wants him to put Pentonville in the past and I don’t know if anyone can do that. Sure, it was only a few months, but still traumatic.

Maxie and Spinelli: Maybe it’s just me. Even though I get a bit of Maxie’s (Kirsten Storms) perspective of wanting to fix her financial problems, I don’t think what Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) did was that bad. And it shouldn’t have ruined such a significant moment for them. I liked Maxie’s follow-up conversation with Felicia (Kristina Wagner). Especially when Maxie said, “How many growth experiences should one person have?” Kirsten Storms killed that line.

Burning Soap Questions and Random Comments

• Do you think Nina made any headway with Sonny?
• Is Drew done with getting payback against Nina or not?
• What characters are not getting enough airtime right now?
• Why can’t we see more of Trina (Tabyana Ali) grieving and picking herself up after such a devastating ordeal?
• Are you looking forward to more Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Nina scenes?
• Is it just me or did Joss (Eden McCoy) find Dex (Dex Heller) in record time? I thought this was going to be a whole sweeping and epic search. It feels like she made a call and voila, there he was. Now Michael wants her to take Dex back to PC. Why did he leave in the first place?j
• Finally, Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine) is everything. That is all. I mean, I don’t like everybody screaming at her over the prenup debacle, but I love the way she handled it all. She made me feel for Tracy.

General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.