General Hospital’s Quarantine Cliffhanger: Accidental Genius or Big Bust?

General Hospital aired its final episode before the coronavirus dictated a production shutdown, and, unfortunately, the cliffhanger fell closer to a whimper than a bang.

General Hospital Cliffhanger

Granted, the show had no control over how things fell into place. The powers-that-be had no clue that the episode centering around the Michael (Chad Duell) and Nelle (Chloe Lanier) custody battle would be the last new one airing for months.

And, as a result, what originally might have been a Tuesday or Wednesday show, suddenly fell into prime position as a cliffhanger. While there were a couple of intriguing moments, most of the show was pretty humdrum.

Cut to the Courtroom

Nelle and Julian (William deVry) took the stand to present a united newlywed front in Nelle’s quest to gain sole custody of Wiley. Questioning and cross-examination of the pair lacked any real punch. Having Nina (Cynthia Watros) take the stand at the last moment didn’t add much intrigue either.

She’d either follow her heart and speak up for Nelle or her head and solidify Michael’s case. It’s too bad Nina couldn’t have seen Nelle’s broken heart necklace and realized she was her daughter just as she took the stand. That would have totally upped the cliffhanger ante and left the audience in serious suspense.

Pregnant Pause

One fortuitous moment: Maxie (Kirsten Storms) realizing she could be pregnant with Peter’s (Wes Ramsey) baby. The surprise twist, which might be perceived as a joyous blessing for the potential mom-to-be, is actually anything but. As viewers know, poor Maxie will ultimately be crushed when she finds out her beloved beau is really a duplicitous murderous thug.

White Lines

Poor, brokenhearted Sasha (Sofia Mattsson) is obviously headed down a path of self-destruction. As she prepared to leave the Deception photo shoot, the worker who gave her a vial of coke to get through the grueling day, handed her another one – for the next time she needs a pick-me-up. Does anyone really want to see selfless Sasha go down this road? Likely not, so seeing her downfall set in motion on the soap’s last new episode was a major downer.

Taking Stock

Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) learned from daddy Ned (Wally Kurth) that there’s a hostile takeover of ELQ in the works, which got her thinking about the shares she sold her sleazy manager Linc (Dan Buran).

In a key scene, Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) interrupted Brook Lynn’s confrontation with Linc, and she gulped realizing he was likely the man behind it all. But it wasn’t really the a-ha moment it could have been had the show known it needed a shocker.

Hope for Holly… and Dante

Last and, sadly, least, instead of gaining steam regarding what really happened to Holly (Emma Samms) and if there’s any positive news about the long-missing Dante’s (Dominic Zamprogna), the soap left fans with pretty much nothing. Robert (Tristan Rogers) made plans to team up with Luke (Anthony Geary) to investigate Holly’s fate, while Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) sought comfort with a psychic regarding her absent son.

Just imagine how different things would have been if GH’s final scene had included shots of the two popular characters, appearing alive and well. That would have left viewers on the edge of their seats until the soap returns. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.