23 minutes ago, carolineg said:

36 minutes ago, Vee said:

I think they were/are, even if I hate that romance. But I also think having Anna close was beneficial to his plans whatever they may be.

I do think Ava is working with Valentin and I'll be a bit disappointed if she isn't and is on her own trip. I also suspect she may have caught feelings for real in the process, which is equally typical Ava tbh.

The way MW is playing it makes me think she's up to something, but does have feelings for Sonny.  Unfortunately, that's my least favorite part of this (potential) story.  I could see Ava being pretty high on the fact she's getting all of Sonny's attention and trust, but I have also seen this story played out before with Sonny and (insert random FBI agent here).

Okay, I don't know if this happens often or not, but here Vee & I are in lockstep, agreeing to beat the band. 

Anyway, about your last sentence, been there & done that with Sonny before, maybe so. Could be that is inevitable with Sonny being the way he is & being in so much story over so many years. Y'all all have a longer history with GH than I do but this is the absolute worst I've seen him  in terms of isolation & not trusting people he should while trusting only one person who he should not be. 

I mean think about it. News that Dante is awake. Sonny would have been AT THE HOSPITAL in 10 minutes flat! But, no, little miss Ava deftly talked him out of going. WTF?! 

6 hours ago, Jdee43 said:

I had to laugh; whenever Sonny does something stupid or is acting weird, it's always his meds; he's not taking them or someone is screwing with them. We've seen this many times through the years. How about for once going with the reason Sonny acts like this is just because he's a bastard? The on-going attempt to explain away or gloss over his ugly, evil aspects and make Sonny ultimately lovable and a good guy is ridiculous. A cuddly mobster and his hit man has never and will never work on a daily soap opera.

It makes no sense the way Sonny is acting toward Jason.  He must still be jealous after walking in and Jason and Carly about to consummate their marriage.

How in the world is Jason bail eligible?

I see where Sam is coming from, but she's behaving like Jason's last two disappearances was his fault.  Moreover, did Sam not think having kids with a mobster would create problems from the get go?

Seeing Molly as the ADA furthers my conclusion that characters in law enforcement --especially on a show like GH where the criminals are a part of the community---should not be attached to the canvas because of clear conflicts of interest. Sonny is Molly's uncle and Jason was his lieutenant.

Edited March 30, 20241 yr by Planet Soap

4 minutes ago, Planet Soap said:

Seeing Molly as the ADA furthers my conclusion that characters in law enforcement --especially on a show like GH where the criminals are a part of the community---should not be attached to the canvas because of clear conflicts of interest. Sonny is Molly's uncle and Jason was his lieutenant.

To give the writers their due credit, they did have someone point out the conflict of interest & suggest that Molly should really recuse herself. I know half the world doesn't like Joss but some times she absolutely sees the obvious that no one else is seeing. 

1 hour ago, Vee said:

I don't love the thought, but she has fallen for worse and/or dumber people while also up to her classic nasty business. As long as she's in it I'm happy.

I think my worst fear is Ava being up to something and it's working and she pulls back because she loves Sonny.  It will all blow up in her face and she'll look stupid again.  I have little use for Ava myself, but I can't deal with another woman being changed by the love of a short, greying, shouty, past-his-prime mobster with a million kids.*

*Obviously, this doesn't refer to my feelings on the eventual Sonny/Brenda reconciliation lol.

1 hour ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Okay, I don't know if this happens often or not, but here Vee & I are in lockstep, agreeing to beat the band. 

Anyway, about your last sentence, been there & done that with Sonny before, maybe so. Could be that is inevitable with Sonny being the way he is & being in so much story over so many years. Y'all all have a longer history with GH than I do but this is the absolute worst I've seen him  in terms of isolation & not trusting people he should while trusting only one person who he should not be. 

I mean think about it. News that Dante is awake. Sonny would have been AT THE HOSPITAL in 10 minutes flat! But, no, little miss Ava deftly talked him out of going. WTF?! 

Meh, Sonny's been in worse places.  Starting in the late 90's he was drunk and going through depression when both Lily and Brenda died and very isolated.  He was worse when he was with starting his romance with Emily (sorry to bring that up) before he was diagnosed and when he was off his meds when Brenda left him and tried to kill Jax and shot Robin.   

IMO, this isolation and manic behavior started quite slowly and is a bit understandable when you think about his life circumstances to the point where people around him wouldn't necessarily think he was off his meds or ill, but just in a bad place.

15 minutes ago, carolineg said:

I think my worst fear is Ava being up to something and it's working and she pulls back because she loves Sonny.  It will all blow up in her face and she'll look stupid again.  I have little use for Ava myself, but I can't deal with another woman being changed by the love of a short, greying, shouty, past-his-prime mobster with a million kids.*

I think if she's in on it she's gonna get caught, that's inevitable. But it's also in Ava's nature to sometimes act a fool over men beneath her lol. She's always been equal measures vicious, brilliant and at times stupid. Remember, she brought us Aunt Denise and carried on with Morgan all over again while wearing the damn Party City fright wig and talking like Lois.

I also hope she doesn't pull back over new feelings for Sonny, but I'd never really considered that possibility. I doubt whatever happens will get to a point where Ava would be able to do so even if she wanted to. I suspect she'll be exposed before then.

54 minutes ago, Vee said:

Remember, she brought us Aunt Denise and carried on with Morgan all over again while wearing the damn Party City fright wig and talking like Lois.

They really have put Ava through the old ringer, haven't they, lol?

To me, having Ava fall for Sonny as she simultaneously plots to ruin him would be an almost total retread of what happened between him and Claudia, and we all know how THAT turned out.  (I just hope there's room enough for two in Claude's grave in the woods, lol.)

Edited March 30, 20241 yr by Khan

I’m still puzzled why Sonny sought out Ava in the first place and why she’s earned trust with him (unless he’s on to her and playing her too), but that’s just me. These stories are always repetitive with Sonny and Jason, so hard to invest until we know both characters are being written out or due for a serious downfall (which won’t happen).

Agreed with the others who said the kid playing Rocco is much more natural and confident than the other boys on the show. I didn’t feel like I was watching a young actor trying to act in his scenes yesterday and that’s a good thing. 

Edited March 30, 20241 yr by BetterForgotten

39 minutes ago, BetterForgotten said:

These stories are always repetitive with Sonny and Jason, so hard to invest until we know both characters are being written out or due for a serious downfall (which won’t happen).

For me, the problem has always been that I am being asked as a viewer to invest myself emotionally in these mobsters, when I know what real-life mobsters do and the impact they have on our communities.  Even though Sonny and Jason have been sanitized for our entertainment, that doesn't change the fact that in order for them to appear at all sympathetic to the audience, their adversaries, including those who work in law enforcement, have to be incompetent, psychotic or somehow more amoral than Sonny and Jason are by comparison.

I'm not saying GH glamorizes or romanticizes organized crime - although, let's be honest, Sonny and Jason (and Luke) have received more than their fair share of propping over the years - but I do think it's irresponsible for any show not to portray the full reality of organized crime or even show these sociopaths - and that's who and what mobsters are, ladies and gents; they are, at their core, sociopaths - receiving true comeuppance in the form of lengthy imprisonment and/or death.  I felt that way when shows like "The Sopranos" were all the rage, and I definitely feel that way in 2024.

Edited March 30, 20241 yr by Khan

3 minutes ago, Khan said:

For me, the problem has always been that I am being asked as a viewer to invest myself emotionally in these mobsters, when I know what real-life mobsters do and the impact they have on our communities.  Even though Sonny and Jason have been sanitized for our entertainment, that doesn't change the fact that in order for them to appear at all sympathetic to the audience, their adversaries, including those who work in law enforcement, have to be depicted as incompetent, psychotic or somehow more amoral than Sonny and Jason are by comparison.

I'm not saying GH glamorizes or romanticizes organized crime - although, let's be honest, Sonny and Jason (and Luke) have received more than their fair share of propping over the years - but I do think it's irresponsible for any show not to portray the full reality of organized crime or even show these sociopaths - and that's who and what mobsters are, ladies and gents; they are, at their core, sociopaths - receiving true comeuppance in the form of lengthy imprisonment and/or death.  I felt that way when shows like "The Sopranos" were all the rage, and I definitely feel that way today, in 2024.

Reading up on the Pikeman deal, apparently Sonny is okay with dealing arms but not drugs, lol. Is that any better especially in the midst of a gun violence epidemic?

How did Jason become a militaristic super soldier? He was a med student before the accident and I didn't see him get any formal training after. 

At this point, about 30 years into Sonny & Jason, we have to apply an extreme suspension of disbelief, especially when it comes to their quasi morality.

SB: I would argue that since 2017, Jason has overtaken Sonny as the male lead of the show. 

53 minutes ago, Planet Soap said:

 

At this point, about 30 years into Sonny & Jason, we have to apply an extreme suspension of disbelief, especially when it comes to their quasi morality.

SB: I would argue that since 2017, Jason has overtaken Sonny as the male lead of the show. 

This is a soap had had a current character, Anna Devane, have a whole ass story with Casey the Alien from Lumina. I have long ago suspended belief with GH if I am being entertained.

Guza shifted Jason to the center towards the end of his last tenure, and now we are veering closer to that again. It was really noticeable once Dante arrived. Sonny’s stories quickly became about his kids more than him directly.

As far as Sonny goes, I think this is one of the most organic manipulations he has had in years. His isolation started with his missing year in Nixon Falls, his relationship with Nina which cut the cord with Carly and Michael. Jason dies, Then Michael went after him through Dex. Nina and FCC. He was already isolated and ripe for manipulation. Then Ava and possibly Avery are in danger, and he lets an actual viper into his orbit, and she’s the only one there. One betrayal after another, his meds are off, and someone that knows his security is taking shots at him. Then Jason arrived and Dante is shot. His last safe person. I see one long line of events leading to this moment. 

Do you believe that Pikeman was the anonymous buyer of Wyndemere? I think so. I think that set will be used as Pikeman's base. 

As someone who hasn't watched GH on a regular basis since the '90s, I was really excited the week before last.  The day-to-day writing was an improvement, and I was like Charlie Brown with Lucy's football at the thought of a dramatic, long-term unbrella story on a soap in the 21st century that made sense. 

This past week was a bit more rocky, and in fact cheapened some of what worked for me or I at least tolerated in Mulcahey, et al's first full week...  The stakes of characters like Anna and Carly's daughter with Jax (I think?) washing their hands of Sonny aren't nearly as dramatic if they're still hero worshipping Jason.  And I could kind of dig Laura and Heather bonding (and suspend disbelief about walking back at least Heather's most serious crimes) until I watched those scenes with Trina this week, and I remembered that oh yeah, Laura's grandson just died and she could have been talking to this perfectly lovely woman said grandson loved instead.

But I powered through and Friday was at least compelling, even though I still have questions about where all this is going.  I'm hoping for the best next week.  It's still weird to me that I've watched GH more this year than I have in the past 2.5 decades...it figures this would be my midlife crisis.

A few random observations/questions:

I really cannot keep track of Sonny and Jason's children/grandchildren, especially the ones with Brenda and/or Robin–esque mothers.  I don't think it was this hard for me to figure out Bob and Kim's blended family on ATWT, and in this case I actually saw at least some of these characters' origin stories.

Did Brook Lynn and Monica have an actual, meaningful relationship?  I recall Brook Lynn was the one who explained Monica's absence when I tuned in for Bobbie's sendoff, and it was the same this week.  Or was that just a coincidence?

Edited March 30, 20241 yr by DeliaIrisFan

42 minutes ago, Aragorn said:

Do you believe that Pikeman was the anonymous buyer of Wyndemere? I think so. I think that set will be used as Pikeman's base. 

I've wondered if it wasn't Nik buying it through a shell corporation so he could be anonymous. 

35 minutes ago, DeliaIrisFan said:

The stakes of characters like Anna and Carly's daughter with Jax (I think?) washing their hands of Sonny aren't nearly as dramatic if they're still hero worshipping Jason. 

Yes, Joss is Carly's & Jax's & her hatred is laser focused on Sonny. 

35 minutes ago, DeliaIrisFan said:

And I could kind of dig Laura and Heather bonding (and suspend disbelief about walking back at least Heather's most serious crimes) until I watched those scenes with Trina this week, and I remembered that oh yeah, Laura's grandson just died and she could have been talking to this perfectly lovely woman said grandson loved instead.

Laura's inattention, literally neglect, of Trina is something many fans hate. 

35 minutes ago, DeliaIrisFan said:

I really cannot keep track of Sonny and Jason's children/grandchildren, especially the ones with Brenda and/or Robin–esque mothers.  I don't think it was this hard for me to figure out Bob and Kim's blended family on ATWT, and in this case I actually saw at least some of these characters' origin stories.

I may mess this up!! It's as much a struggle as Salem. 

Sonny's children: Dante (Olivia), Michael (who are his bio-parents? Carly is either his mother or as if), Kristina (Alexis), Donna (Carly) & Avery (Ava). 

Jason's children: Danny (Sam) & Jake (Liz). 

Sam's other children: Scout (Drew)

Liz's other children: Cameron who is off at college, Aiden who bakes & is gay. 

Olivia's other child: Leo (adopted by Ned)

Maxie's children: James (Nathan) & Georgie (Spinelli)

Carly's other child: Joss (Jax) 

Alexis's other children: Molly & Sam

Now, we wait for corrections! LOL 

 

4 minutes ago, Contessa Donatella said:

Yes, Joss is Carly's & Jax's & her hatred is laser focused on Sonny. 

Laura's inattention, literally neglect, of Trina is something many fans hate. 

I may mess this up!! It's as much a struggle as Salem. 

Sonny's children: Dante (Olivia), Michael (who are his bio-parents? Carly is either his mother or as if), Kristina (Alexis), Donna (Carly) & Avery (Ava). 

Jason's children: Danny (Sam) & Jake (Liz). 

Sam's other children: Scout (Drew)

Liz's other children: Cameron who is off at college, Aiden who bakes & is gay. 

Olivia's other child: Leo (adopted by Ned)

Maxie's children: James (Nathan) & Georgie (Spinelli)

Carly's other child: Joss (Jax) 

Alexis's other children: Molly & Sam

Now, we wait for corrections! LOL 

 

Thank you!  Yes, I know Carly is Michael's birth mother, and AJ was his bio father - well, unless Carlivati or whoever rewrote that at some point.  And Molly's father was Ric Hearst's character, I think, so that means she's related to Sonny as well?  It all just seems really excessive, and made this week's fight scene that was already bad in every way somehow even stupider.

I also didn't know how long Ned and Olivia had been together, so I assumed Ned was Leo's biological father.  That's an interesting detail.