Paula's Soapbox

With all the things that General Hospital has gotten wrong lately, they seem to have an uncanny ability of making successful matches out of the most unlikely couples. Before Georgie died, and Maxie was at her most selfish, no one would have ever thought about a Spinelli and Maxie romance, let alone a non-wedding, but somehow it worked and the audience loved it. And even though this lovable pair has seen less screen time lately and are likely headed for turmoil, I suspect they will follow the same necessary pattern of break-ups and reconciliations that most soap supercouples do. When Olivia Falconeri landed in Port Charles, I never would have predicted she would be involved with Johnny Zacchara. Olivia was not one to keep her opinions to herself, especially when it pertained to the mob lifestyle, so a relationship with a Zacchara seemed like a long shot at best. Moreover, Johnny is roughly the same age as Dante, so a pairing between him and Olivia wasn't even on anyone's radar ...

As far as soap weddings go, the moments leading up to the Spixie ceremony were quite understated. There were no snipers waiting in the balcony, no explosions, no ex-lovers, no arrests, and no one kidnapped the bride on her way to the altar. Still, when the big day arrived Maxie was in a nightmare, literally not figuratively. This nightmare brought forth every doubt and fear she had suppressed about marriage, including every warning Mac had given her about marrying Spinelli. She awoke with Robin and Lulu standing over her in full wedding garb waiting to help her get ready to walk down the aisle. And as she got up and readied herself for the wedding she appeared every bit the nervous bride, but after a while something changed. All of her doubts and fears seemed not only suppressed but abolished and she became a much calmer version of herself. Whether this meant that she had simply come to terms with her decision to marry Spinelli or something inside of her felt truly ready to take that l...

On Thursday's General Hospital Jax went to see Dante at the hospital to offer to let him stay with him and Carly. While he was there Sonny walked in, prepared to let Dante stay with him and Claudia instead. As Sonny and Jax exchanged words, Jax spotted Dante's badge on the table and covered it with his hand to conceal it from Sonny. Moments later, Jax left with the badge in hand while Sonny talked Dante into recovering at his house. Once Sonny left, Jax walked back in the room and let Dante know that he was aware he was Olivia's son, the cop. Jax then offered to help put Sonny in jail, knowing all too well what this would entail. Jax is definitely beginning to exhibit the same behavior as his brother. He is using information that only he or a limited number of people know in order to get something he wants, in this case Sonny out of his life. And just like Jerry, it does not matter how doing this will affect those around him. And he thinks Sonny should be in jail! Meanwhile...

On Tuesday's General Hospital Lulu questioned Dante about the police badge he was hiding underneath his hand. And of course he was able to provide a plausible explanation and evade suspicion by telling her it was stolen. I must say that I am a little surprised that Lulu bought this lie considering how much she prides herself on being able to spot a con a mile away. One would think that since she is Luke's daughter she would not only be able to spot a con, but an undercover police officer as well. Perhaps her thinking is a little cloudy right now though because she is obviously drawn to Dante. This was made even clearer today when Ethan came to see if she would talk to Nikolas about his sudden need for vengeance. She and Dante had been playing cards and she agreed to go talk to Nikolas if Dante cut a high card. As it turned out Dante did cut the high card, but Lulu cut a higher one. Later it was revealed that Lulu had several cards tucked away, ensuring that she would get to sta...

After watching Tuesday's General Hospital it seems that Maxie may have to marry Spinelli whether she wants to or not. It was obvious that she accepted his proposal because Mac forbid her to do it, but when Lulu told Kate about the engagement she insisted on marketing the Spixie wedding for Crimson. Speaking of Kate, what a waste of talent it is to have Megan Ward only appear on the show once every few months or so. I am amazed that they could not find a storyline to place her in that keeps her on screen more than that. I remember watching her on Season 1 of Party of Five and thinking that they should have extended her storyline rather than killing her off. Perhaps she and Johnny will pair up once Olivia gives in to Sonny's advances. Wouldn't that make for an awkward work environment at Crimson ?

Fans of GH's Maxie and Spinelli, or Spixie as they are affectionately referred to, received a treat on Monday as Maxie finally accepted Spinelli's proposal, or did they? Spixie's long anticipated engagement was bittersweet because in the minutes leading up to Maxie's acceptance of the proposal she was hoping that Mac would forbid it so that she had an excuse not to marry Spinelli without breaking his heart. That plan fell apart when Mac ultimately did what Maxie wanted and she insisted that she could marry whoever she wanted, including Spinelli. She then accepted Spinelli's proposal but it was clear to everyone in the room that she only did so out of spite. Spinelli was the only one who was blissfully unaware of what had just occurred. As a fan of Spixie myself I am unhappy with the way this is playing out. I was hoping that Maxie would either whole-heartedly accept Spinelli's proposal or he would agree to momentarily put that aside until she was ready. With the...