General Hospital: January 2023 Discussion Thread

[Taoboi]

1-13

 

AHHHHHHH!!!! WELL GO ON, ANNIE DUTTON!!! YOU BETTA SAY GO TO HADES, YOU SELFISH B*ITCH with your WHOLE CHEST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I was...

 

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I live for Nina vs Carly scenes and THAT did not disappoint. If Nina was overdue to give a 'if looks could kill' look at Carly. Now...GET...CARLY.

 

For the abruptness of this happening, I have to admit these last few episodes have been pretty good. But they have been doing it slowly, but surely. Though I did side-eye Joss with Michael. Why? Of course, they remember they are brother/sister. The better for the moment when she finds out Dax really works for Michael to take down Sonny. So clear.

 

I really enjoyed the Brook Lynn/Chase scenes (FYI...hmmmm hot yoga Chase). But AS wears black well. It was nice to see them with Wiley and hinting at working on some of their issues. I don't want Sasha and Cody around them, but I did like them bonding over losing people they were in love with. I had actually forgotten about Brando for a while. And went aha! Could they turn into a scheme team? Time will tell. 

 

I really, really, REALLY loved the Liz/Cameron scenes. All the stuff going on with Liz right now. And Cameron losing Joss. You would think they would not be so islanded from each other. And it had crossed my mind a couple of weeks ago so it was great to see. 

 

Oh...how I hollered at Diane walking into that questioning room like old times. And a Jason mention. Her logic was of course on point. 

[ranger1rg]

I like CW a lot, too. Great actress. But you're so right about the work she's had done. She's really overdone it with the fillers, and she's also bug-eyed at times. I can understand getting a refresh, but this is ridiculous.

[Noel]

Cynthia is beautiful - inside and out. That's my girl diva right there. 

[titan1978]

It was like old times and I also had a smile on my face.  I love her in this mode.

[Taoboi]

Same.

 

It really has been a minute since she did it like that, too. 

 

It also reminds me her and Alexis are overdue a friend moment. Have they interacted lately since Alexis started being head of the paper?

[AbcNbc247]

Ok what?

Willow had such a massive hatred of Nina that it made her look like a psychopath, but Carly almost lets her die and it’s all good????

The way Willow spoke to her, you would think Carly was a child. 

Hopefully, Michael doesn’t forgive so easily. Not just because it would make sense, but it could also be good story purposes too. 

[Taoboi]

It's funny you should say that. 

 

I was thinking watching earlier back to when Michael cut them out of his life and went full Q and how brief it was. Has it been the same amount of time since Sonny got back from Nixon Falls? It does not feel like they are going to call a truce regardless of how things 'appear' right now. 

 

And then throwing Carly into the mix. Would Michael go there?

[AbcNbc247]

Nah… Sonny’s been back a lot longer than the time it took for Michael to go full Q, and then make peace with him.

It could work if they play it right though. With Michael cutting both Sonny and Carly out of his life, that could allow them to rebuild their relationship and pave the way for a reunion. And Michael’s stubborn resistance could drive Willow into another man’s (TJ’s) arms 

Edited January 19, 2023 by AbcNbc247

[Liberty City]

Exactly! I know AJ wasn't in his life for that long, but Michael cares more about Sonny banging Nina than he did about Sonny shooting AJ and killing him. At least post-AJ's death, Michael became Michael Quartermaine (a far improvement from Michael Corinthos) and took Avery from Sonny, and even was going to give her the name Avery Quartermaine. But this...? All because Sonny followed his pecker to greener pastures? Sure. Michael, honey, you are not a child anymore. Act like it.

[j swift]

I think Dante's motivation is much more interesting than Michael's and I wish he was more of the center of the story.  I appreciated that scene with Sam where he admitted that he hadn't done anything wrong, but he often looked the other way at Sonny's criminal "activities".  So, if Dante was manipulating Michael to finance a scheme to bring justice to Sonny that would be a better twist, in my opinion. 

That being said, I am always hung up on what part of Sonny's business is actually against the law.  I know he is to blame for many other crimes, but in terms of business, he resists selling drugs, he doesn't use extortion which is the usual modus operandi of the syndicate.  I doubt he cheats on his taxes, since he was a shareholder in ELQ and donated to GH, so he would have had to disclose his IRS forms.  He imports coffee, but is that illegal?  It feels like @Vee's concerns about network interference in the writing has had a major influence in censoring the plot so that Sonny never seems culpable for any federal crimes.

[titan1978]

Am I wrong in remembering he had some hand in Port Charles prostitution?  I recall Tammy being a sex worker that had been a dancer at Sonny’s club, and then it became unsafe for her to work when they told one of those get out of the mob stories for Sonny/Jason Late 90’s, very early 2000’s era, before she ran Kelly’s.

I always assumed he did gambling, sex workers, money laundering through his other holdings, maybe running guns too.  I know it has been made clear that he does not allow drugs.

[Vee]

I've discussed this before and AFAIC he absolutely did run prostitution. I remember the Tammy stuff too. Sonny and Jason used to run protection for hookers all across the PC area in the late '90s. This was onscreen from what I recall, but the show pretended he never dealt in sex work later.

The insistence that Sonny 'only imports coffee' has always been a convenient fiction. At his height he ran weapons, gambling, sex, etc until TPTB started pretending he was 'like a firefighter,' per Courtney's take in the early 2000s. He also still has many offshore or Puerto Rico-based casinos, etc. which I'm sure run a ton of vice including women and drugs. My personal take is that Sonny's organization still runs everything it always has - it's just distributed amongst his various subsidiary companies, associates, etc. so he can pretend he doesn't touch it or take money from it. Including probably some drugs. Were the show less micromanaged by the network or FV and more free to touch this topic, that's where I'd start: Scorpio breaking it down onscreen.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Vee

[dragonflies]

Yep and also didn't he get Karen hooked on the drugs too? I know he was sexing her up as well

[j swift]

Agreed that Sonny's stripclub was sketchy and filled with fraud, but I'm asking about what the feds could convict him with in his current business.

At least modernize it and have Sonny be involved in online gaming and sports books.  Spinelli could be doing the programming, they could launder the credit cards through the hotel, it would make more sense and involve more characters.

I mean how many Gen Zers are out there playing poker with cash?

Edited January 19, 2023 by j swift

[Vee]

His offshore casinos, etc. have been in play at least as recently as Claudia Zacchara, when she and Sonny visited them during their marriage in 2009 (and were often seen or referred to throughout the 2000s, when Sonny would take women or family there). There has not been any noted change in how his businesses have been depicted since then. That's why most of us believe nothing has changed despite how the writing elides the topic.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Vee