GH: August 2025 Discussion Thread

[Jdee43]

We've already seen this coma stuff with Lulu; now they are giving it to Maxie? And haven't we already seen Ava hit one of her boyfriends on the head? Why are the writers so blatantly repeating themselves? 

It's pretty obvious that the show has no interest in writing A-level material for either Ava or Ric, and that it sees neither of them as leads. I do hope they keep Ric around though, to flirt with Liz and to continue to fill the sleazy lawyer role now that Scotty's gone.

Edited August 26 by Jdee43

[Antoyne]

It would be such a shame to lose Ric again but I’m biased as he’s been my favorite character on the show since the early 2000’s. I actually think I missed all the years he was off the show as I also dropped GH for years so it’s been nice having him back basically the whole time I’ve been back watching.  Rick Hearst just like Maura West is a total chemistry magnet with just about everyone he interacts with, whether it be friendly, loving, or antagonistic. I hope the show appreciates that because they clearly didn’t give a [!@#$%^&*] that Maura and Rick had perfect chemistry. I’m actually shocked how quickly they would end a pairing that was perfect.

Edited August 26 by Antoyne

[Liberty City]

Credits for Tuesday, August 26, 2025:

Created by: Frank & Doris Hursley
Executive producer: Frank Valentini
Head writers: Chris Van Etten, Elizabeth Korte
Writers: Ryan Quan, Louise Rozett, Cathy Lepard
Director: Jillian Dedote

[AbcNbc247]

Today was strangely campy.

It almost felt Ron Carlivati-like.

[Antoyne]

Kristina, Ava, and Alexis were a funny trio today. But ima need Ric to lock all three of them in a secret room when he gets free for this. Omg why has GH made me always want the worst extremes

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@carolineg this show has truly broken me. I believe this is the second time in 2 days I’m advocating for characters to do heinous acts because the show has me conditioned to it

[prefab1]

Maybe that's Ryan Quan's influence? Agreed that it felt a little too campy at times. Those scenes with Ava, Kristina, and Alexis didn't quite work for me. They reminded me of similar scenes on Days years ago, where Kate, Sami, and Gabi dispose of Nick Fallon's body, but there the camp was totally in keeping with the tone of the show and those particular characters. Here it felt a little forced, with Alexis in particular acting out of character to keep with the jokey tone. 

[AbcNbc247]

Damn. I guess he picked up some bad habits 

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Drunk Anna felt out of character to me too

[Antoyne]

I didn’t think it was really that out of character for her personally as we’ve seen NLG do comedic on occasion, with Ric himself actually. That’s actually when you can still see there’s still chemistry with Ric and Alexis despite everything they’ve been through.

[Taoboi]

All I have to say for now is...Natasha...is that you???

[titan1978]

I felt this way about his Alan-Michael too. Hearst has no problem playing underhanded and even plays it with glee most of the time, not regret. He is fun to watch. Maura is too, they just need to either let Ava go fully villain again like they were toying with under Mulcahey, or give her something real to sink her teeth into.

[Taoboi]

YES.

 

Look at how much fun Drew is having now that he's getting to play a villain. I love to hate him (and Cam is playing that to the hilt) rather than hate him...which is how I've felt about him (outside of his return with that scruff in the prison) for the majority of this Drew's run.

[Vee]

The impression I get (based on very little but inference, admittedly) is that Korte merely tolerates Ava on canvas, and CVE is just happy to have her around doing anything. So it results in them keeping her in B or C-story a lot of the time. That was the shift as soon as Mulcahey was fired where Ava was ejected from Sonny's sphere where her schemes were underway and everyone turned on her, but she got her CVE-created friendships (Nina, Trina) back. Meanwhile her material with Ric, etc. since has been strictly B or C-tier.

Ric and Ava making waves in town could be much bigger story, but it has very notably not been.

Edited August 27 by Vee

[CrazySexyQ]

Spot on. That's how it comes across for me as well. Ric and Ava are merely tolerated in the same way that Liz is. There's no genuine commitment or affection for the characters. 

I'm another who found the Ava/Ric/Alexis/Kristina scenes way too campy. It didn't work for me. Ric is just out of the hospital and suffered a blow to the head. But yet they were all playing it off for jokes. And now he's tied up in a basement? I suppose it's karma for how he treated Carly.

Also, I do have to backtrack on wanting Maxie dead. It would indeed give Felicia two dead daughters and that's too much heartache for her. But I do wish they'd do something with Maxie who feels like dead weight on the canvas. 

[Vee]

I suspect Van Etten is the one with genuine affection for MW/Ava. Based on his interviews (and those of his former partner, O'Connor) I think he's the Ava fan of the two remaining HWs. Historically Korte doesn't seem to be a huge booster for too many outside the Jason/Carly/Sonny family sphere. So as long as Ava has her cute little relationships and fun secondary story CVE seems content, but the issue is it's mediocre low-priority material at best. That was the trade-off when the writing changed hands. That's not a reflection on Ric/Ava, it is a reflection on the storytelling.

Liz OTOH they all treat terribly. As soon as JJ was out the door she's back to being Nurse Jessie.

Edited August 27 by Vee

[titan1978]

The whole story should have been bigger. But it was tied to Lucky and Alexis and Laura, and they got rid of Lucky. Laura and Alexis are not being utilized well either.

I find the show very watchable right now, fun most of the time. But the biggest lingering issue I still have with Valentini is that these stories would feel more important if they played even half of the beats. But what they are subsisting on at the moment is a handful of scenes to establish a secret of some kind, and then some handwringing and finally a big explosion.

And while it has been entertaining, think about the viewer growth they would be seeing if they played the beats better. Like even some movement with Gio and Emma! Things have changed, but the adage of if you build it, they will come has always been true in serialized storytelling.