Paula's Soapbox

Spinelli should be grateful that Maxie did not want to marry him because obviously it does not take much to turn her head. Granted she and Franco have great chemistry. And of course General Hospital could not have a movie star join the show without giving him a "love" interest, but Franco made Maxie look like a foolish young girl. In fact as the days pass I think Maxie will find that she has a lot to be embarrassed about. Not only did it take very little for her to cheat on Spinelli, but she essentially slept with Franco on a dare, all the while convincing herself that she was in control of the situation. However, Franco was the only one that really got anything out of their encounter. He was able to use someone close to Jason for his perverse mind games and get that same person to basically insist on sleeping with him, all without ever having to agree to do the Crimson shoot. From the moment Maxie met Franco it was obvious that she was attracted to him and did not trust hers...

Franco's highly anticipated art exhibit was unveiled on Monday's General Hospital, provoking a spectrum of reactions from observers. Luke assumed Franco was nothing more than a fraud, peddling shock in exchange for money, while Dante couldn't take his eyes off of the presumably fake crime scene photos hanging on the wall. At one point he noted their familiarity which makes me think that they were recreations of actual crime scene photos. One photo in particular showed a body positioned in the same way Franco arranged Joey Limbo's body. Taking this into account it would seem that either Franco is manipulating crime scenes in order to send some sort of message or he is manipulating current crime scenes to look like previous ones. And while this can be nothing more than an educated guess until more information is revealed, one can be certain that Franco is fixated on Jason. Even his brief conversation with Sonny did not seem to hold as much value as the mere possibility of...

James Franco may not have known a lot about soap operas when he decided to take part in one, but judging from today's General Hospital it almost seems surprising that this is new territory for him. Granted, he was only in a few scenes, in fact one of them was replayed from yesterday's episode, but he seems to possess an understated mysteriousness that is so befitting of soaps. I believe this quality will be especially beneficial to him on a show like GH where the characters are so complex that most of the time it is difficult to tell the good guys from the bad guys. And while viewers still know very little about the character Franco, it appears, at least for now, that he is the latter. Throughout today's ambush Franco watched nearby with a kind of childlike wonderment, as if he were getting some sort of satisfaction out of all the violence and longed to be a part of it. At one point he even appeared to be mimicking everyone's moves like he was studying some sort of arti...

I knew that it was only a matter of time before Lulu crossed the line and revealed Dante's secret. For weeks she has talked about his undercover assignment in the most inappropriate places as if she were hoping the wrong person would find out about it. And today someone finally overheard her. She told Dante that she had warned Johnny against trusting him, a statement that quickly provoked an argument. It was during this argument that Lulu blurted out everything Dante has worked so hard to keep hidden, including the fact that he is Olivia's son. Johnny, who had secretly overheard this argument, went to Olivia's where he confronted her about what he had heard. I have to say as annoyed as I am by Lulu, in fact I am dangerously close to hoping that Dante finds someone else, Olivia hasn't exactly been a walk in the park either. And today I was reminded of how ridiculous it has been for her to be so worried about Dante's safety when she has the power to ensure it. Months ...

For about a week General Hospital fans have undoubtedly played the minute-long James Franco promo over and over again, trying to gain some insight into his contribution to the show. Included in this promo was an image of Claudia's body inside a chalk outline, with her head surrounded by a pool of blood. Upon seeing this image, speculation immediately began that perhaps the mysterious, and aptly named, Franco had retrieved Claudia's body from the ground in order to snap pictures of it. Today, viewers saw a close-up of her body within this chalk outline, but as it turned out this wasn't Claudia at all. Instead this body was revealed to be a model dressed as Claudia who was presumably allowing herself to be photographed by Franco. Obviously these pictures will be sent to Jason as part of some sinister plot, even as he tries to figure out who sent the picture of Claudia wrapped in tarp. To be honest, I find the real mystery to be how someone could move quickly enough to take a ...

It has been fascinating to watch Jason question his lifestyle after seeing the way Michael has glamorized it since Claudia's death. Perhaps for the first time ever Jason has been forced to confront what he does for a living and is finding out what a profound affect his choices have had on those around him. It is ironic, although not surprising, that this sudden realization happened because of one of Carly's kids instead of his own. And while it would have been nice to see Jason make the decision to steer clear of mob violence for the sake of his son, I think it took Michael essentially holding up a mirror for him to see the full impact of this violence. Obviously if it weren't for Michael's personality shift Jason would not be questioning his duties as Sonny's enforcer at all. His decision to assume less violent duties within the organization actually has more to do with setting the right example for Michael, than regretting his own life choices. Regardless of wheth...

While I am glad that Jason was able to convince Sonny to allow Michael to live with Carly and Jax, it may be too little too late. I am not sure if anything short of going to jail will cause a profound change in Michael's attitude and behavior. Obviously living with Sonny wasn't a good idea, despite Sonny's claims that he was helping Michael deal with everything that happened. I must have missed that episode because the only thing I have seen Sonny do is pat Michael on the back for a job well done. On the other hand I am not sure if Carly can do anything to help Michael either. As Sonny pointed out, even if they confess everything to the police, Michael will be a target of Anthony Zacchara. And as much as I hate to admit it Sonny is probably right. However, it is clear that Michael needs some sort of intervention because quite frankly this kid scares me a little. And I don't think he would hesitate to kill again should the opportunity arise. Meanwhile, Sonny's other...

It seems I was wrong about Kiefer. Apparently he does scare easily, so easily in fact that he took out his fear on Kristina by backhanding her across the face. Call me crazy but if Kiefer really wanted to avoid retaliation from the mob he would stop abusing the mob boss's daughter. Of course that would imply that Kiefer is actually capable of rational thought, which he clearly is not. Aside from the fact that he repeatedly threatens both Kristina and Michael, Kiefer never seemed to make the connection today that Michael, not Kristina, was responsible for the visit from Max and Milo. Obviously Kristina will forgive Kiefer for this "misunderstanding", and not just because of the dynamics involved in abusive relationships, but because Kiefer called her the same thing Sonny called Claudia the night she was killed. And while viewers will undoubtedly note distinct differences between Sonny and Kiefer, Kristina will likely come to the conclusion that if it was acceptable for Son...

I think that Spinelli may have given Jason the nickname Stone Cold a little too hastily because clearly that title belongs to Michael. I knew that killing Claudia would have a profound impact on Michael, I just never expected it to affect him in the way that it has. In a few short days he has gone from being a nice kid with a tendency to act impulsively, to a somewhat scarier version of Sonny. In fact Jason should follow his instincts and tell the police the truth if he wants Michael to have even the slightest chance at a normal life. And he should probably do that sooner rather than later, considering that Michael has already given Max and Milo their first assignment. Granted, someone needs to warn Kiefer to stay away from Kristina, but he doesn't seem like the type of guy who scares easily. If he was, he wouldn't be making a career out of tormenting the mob boss's kids. Aside from that, I was surprised at how quickly Max and Milo agreed to harass a teenager, particularly ...

As satisfying as it was to see Carly finally confront Jax about keeping the truth from her in order to protect Jerry, I actually found myself agreeing with Jax. And believe me no one is more shocked by that statement than I am, but it is true, for once Jax acted as the voice of reason. If Carly does not want Michael to follow in Sonny's footsteps then she should not have encouraged covering up Claudia's murder. I thought the whole reason Carly made Sonny sign over custody was to prevent his lifestyle from affecting their kids, yet she is allowing Michael to actually learn from him. And as Jax pointed out, Michael will likely encounter long-term psychological issues as a result of what he did, especially if he doesn't receive proper help. He was also correct in his assessment of the cover-up itself in that the truth will eventually come out anyway. In fact the truth already seems to be coming out. Aside from the fact that the entire town already suspects that Sonny or Jason ...

In watching General Hospital sometimes it is easy to forget the kind of life that Sonny and Jason lead, and how that life permeates the existence of the children in their inner circle. However, if the amount of violence that surrounds them was ever in question, Wednesday's episode left little room for doubt. To say that I have mixed emotions about this episode is an understatement. And this comes as quite a shock considering that I knew beforehand what was going to happen. I was just unaware of many of the specifics and the overall tone that the show would adopt. Claudia's death and the moments leading up to it were quite simply tragic. There really isn't a more accurate description than this. It was, without a doubt, a tragedy no matter how you look at it. Claudia helped deliver Carly's baby even though she could have just as easily made her way out of the country, avoiding retribution from Sonny or Jason. And in these moments it was easy to recognize the good in Claud...

From the moment Claudia Zacchara arrived in Port Charles she was an enigma, a mystery. No one knew exactly what she was after or just how far she would go to get it. She was the character that you hated to love and loved to hate. From viewers, she commanded a range of emotions from empathy to disgust and then back again, often within the same scene. This set her apart from typical soap villains, making her a tragic figure of sorts, which of course makes her death seem all the more tragic. Claudia's death left many questions unanswered. One could always assume that her actions were the direct, and in some cases, the indirect result of her upbringing, even though this was never fully addressed. Growing up she wasn't just surrounded by violence, but appeared to be the target of it on many occasions, often the result of her own father's actions. In many ways this made her an ideal partner for Sonny, capable of understanding the emptiness that comes with feeling unloved. And it ...

Carly and her baby may have survived the car crash, but the danger is far from over as Claudia continues to pose a threat. Of course that threat may have been greatly reduced if the PCPD bothered to search for the two women, or at least let somebody else search. I never realized that Mac had the ability or the resources to put the entire town on lockdown. He had Jason cuffed to a table in the interrogation room/makeshift jail cell to keep him from killing Claudia, like Sonny doesn't have other employees or the ability to kill Claudia himself. Moreover, as Alexis pointed out, Mac arrested Jason on the presumption that he was about to commit a crime. If that were legal, Mac should have most of Port Charles behind bars! And as if Mac didn't have enough things to control, he assumed the role of Jax's babysitter by not letting him fly his helicopter in the rain. Since when do the local police get involved in controlling the airways? At least Carly had Spinelli, Dante, Lulu, Sam,...