By Becca

Episodes, they are a-flying! These days, I feel like I can barely keep track of who’s on the canvas from one scene to the next, but I’m not complaining. All the familiar faces make me amazingly happy, even though I know they can’t stay around forever. Making me less happy? The vampire storyline. I will complain about that.

First off, Rafe gave up Danny to Heather far too easily. He obviously did not believe Heather was a nanny in the Davis household, but he chose protecting himself over protecting a little child. That’s not a way to make me root for a new character.

No amount of baby holding while the others ran around rescuing Sam could erase that initial disgust.

Second, Lucy Coe was far too indecisive in the Windemere tunnels for a woman who’s already told everyone she’s a vampire slayer with conviction.  She needed a pep talk from a ghost, of all things.

I get that General Hospital’s showrunners are trying to do justice to fans of all ABC soap operas on this one show, and I appreciate the sentiment, I do, but that doesn’t mean I care about the return of a character who died only a few weeks ago and I didn’t know from Adam. Or Caleb. Or whoever. Sorry.

Third, the victimization of Sam Morgan needs to stop. Can we call for a moratorium on it?

I’m not asking that all women on the show stop being victims—you need that sometimes for storyline purposes, though more women rescuing men is always welcome. I just want it to stop for Sam, and I’m not even particularly invested in her. She has spent so much time at the edge of swords, guns, or fangs, I’m not sure how she acts when living her life normally. Pinned down, tied up, abused, raped—the poor woman has seen it all, and it has nearly always had a sexual element to it as well. Caleb, Franco, Jerry Jacks, Manny Ruiz—so many bad guys have enjoyed terrorizing Sam the most. I’m tired of it. She and Danny need a vacation away from the madness, and I need to see her happy to ever really warm up to her.

Fourth, why did Caleb’s ring have to come into this? I was willing to write him off as a mental patient and Lucy as having shared hallucinations with Rafe and his mother, but the ring glowed and Caleb switched places with the man in the morgue. I usually like a cheesy prop, but I have no history with that ring, so I could no nothing but sigh when it happened. Hopefully his walk out the morgue door was only a farewell, not a teaser of plotlines to come.

The Ice Princess, however, is another story entirely.

Having never seen it before, I was pretty proud of myself for figuring out what it was before Luke and Laura explained it to Dante and Lulu. I loved Luke and Laura’s shared misgivings and instant deference to each other when figuring out why it had been sent. Protecting their children is something they’ve never failed to do together, no matter the drama between them. It’s only when Laura’s MIA that Luke lets his parental guard down. And it’s only when Laura’s around that Luke resembles the character I found so fascinating in the 90s. At least he’s no longer so dark and depressed. That’s been a welcome change.

Speaking of Lulu, she needs to step away from the bustier and shorts wear look.

I know it’s popular, but … there is no but. That look is horrible, and I don’t need to be a fashionista to know it.

Also in the new looks department:

I am speechless! There is no way Cameron Webber would ever have that tame of hair. Has a recast ever been this devastating? I’m not sure I can recover from this change of child actors. Was I supposed to take something else away from that scene with Laura and Elizabeth? Once I was able to move on from the shock of a new Cameron, I was struck by how Laura embodies motherhood. It pours out of her, and it did every second she spent with Elizabeth.

Honestly, I could probably watch a show of nothing but Laura with her family. Scotty can stay if he wants, too. And Elizabeth is getting some interesting development with AJ. I think giving him panic attacks was a great idea for a vulnerability she could connect with. And who doesn’t love a scene with Tracy ignoring heart attack symptoms?

It’s a Quartermaine tradition at this point. She’s done it with Edward, Luke, AJ, and probably had one with Alan, too, though I can’t remember it. I just love that screwed up family. Besides, any show that involves Tracy declaring “That relish is my manifest destiny!” is a show worth watching.

Prescription for Better Soap: Keep the Quartermaines front and center, so I keep forgetting that Sonny and Kate even exist. Build on Laura’s maternal magic to make the Spencers vibrant again. And for Sam’s sake, please plan some happy for her future. Maybe she can finally have that funeral for Jason and we can all move on?

See you soon for my next prescription!

Becca

Buy my romance novella, Maya’s Vacation, at Astraea Press,  Amazon, or Barnes and Nobles. Follow me on Twitter @thegourmez or on Facebook at my author page!