When the Dust Settles: GH

On Monday's General Hospital it was revealed that Dante would not need a kidney transplant. This is quite shocking considering that I, along with many others, assumed his need for an organ would provide the perfect opportunity for Olivia to tell the truth about Sonny being his father. This is what I love about the way that GH has been written lately. Just when you think you have things figured out, you don't. Typically soap viewers are fairly savvy when it comes to figuring out what is going to happen on their favorite soap. They have watched for so many years that they have seen virtually every possible scenario play out in one form or another. So shocking an avid soap watcher proves almost impossible sometimes, especially when doing so within the parameters of character and storyline logistics. And so far at least General Hospital is doing this quite while, maintaining that critical balance between shock and storyline.

Speaking of shock, viewers were finally able to see what happened to Johnny after the warehouse ambush. Spinelli had somehow managed to get him help, where he was eventually taken to Mercy, apart from the carnival victims. I guess this explains why no one ever saw him come into the ER last week. At Mercy, Spinelli informed Johnny that Bernie had been notified of the warehouse incident and was going to tell Claudia what happened. Johnny objected, telling him that if Claudia knew that something had happened to him she would be out of control. He also attempted to tell him about Claudia's part in Michael's shooting, but of course he passed out before that could happen. Elsewhere Bernie was telling Claudia about Johnny being shot, causing her to fly into a fit of rage. She later went to see how Johnny was doing but was greeted by Spinelli instead, who was waiting for Johnny to get out of surgery. She then started yelling at Spinelli for not telling her what had happened, then slapped him across the face. I must say, viewers have forgiven Claudia for a lot of things lately, but slapping Spinelli the way she did is not likely to be one of them. Moreover Claudia's reaction to finding out that Johnny had been shot was so reminiscent of her father that it bordered on scary. This was particularly evident when Spinelli told her that the doctors did not expect Johnny to survive. This is when she decided to turn her rage on the right person, Anthony, unaware that Johnny would receive an encouraging prognosis moments later.

Elsewhere Elizabeth was receiving an unexpected marriage proposal from Lucky. She told him that she wanted some time to think things over just to make sure they were making the right decision, then immediately went to Wyndemere to talk to Nikolas. Nikolas had just returned from the hospital, where it was clear that he still intended to hurt Rebecca. Oddly enough as Elizabeth was arriving at Wyndemere, Ethan was arriving at Lucky's to tell him about Nikolas's plans. Obviously Lucky knows that something is going on with Nikolas because he saw the dress that he bought for Rebecca, but in front of Ethan at least, he seemed eager to give Nikolas the benefit of doubt. Underestimating Nikolas is something that Lucky will eventually regret, considering that at that particular moment Nikolas was kissing Elizabeth.

While I like the plot twist that came with the Nikolas and Elizabeth pairing I must say that I have never been so eager for a cheating soap couple to be caught. Nikolas is making me sick with all of his head games and the way he seems to disregard Lucky's feelings. As predicted, viewers are seeing a darker Nikolas, with a colder, more unforgiving heart. And Elizabeth seems to be mesmerized by all of this. She even left the hospital to go see Nikolas. And where was Jake? Surely he had not been sent home already because she had just left Lucky outside of Jake's hospital room. Furthermore this was still the day of the carnival. And if Jake was still in the hospital, why was Lucky at home? Did he think Elizabeth was keeping an eye on Jake? If Lucky and Elizabeth cannot do a better job than that Jake would have been better off with Jason. In fact, now that I think about it, every time Jake's life has been in danger, Elizabeth has been with him, without Jason.