Volume I, Issue vi

February 1999

GH in Review by Amy McWilliams

View a section by clicking on the links below, or read the entire review by scrolling down. The review takes up 8 separate pages, but the navigation at the top and bottom of each remains consistent.

General Hospital

Carly/Jason/Robin

Carly/Jason/Robin cont.

Sonny

The Cassadines

The Cassadines cont.

Mac and Felicia

Justus

Jax

The Spencers

Bobbie

Lucky and Elizabeth

Laura

The Quartermaines

The Cassadines cont.

Helena: "Well, you look like a man who's done that before."
Jerry: "Once or twice. I do enjoy the bubbly."
Helena: "Oh, I find that deliciously refreshing. Gallant men are a dying breed."
Jerry: "Is that because you've had them all dispatched?"
Helena: "Oh, now, you have obviously been misinformed. I am as gentle as a kitten and quite harmless, I assure you."
Jerry: "The truth be known, Helena, I do find you somewhat charming. And you're right--not nearly the barracuda you've been made out to be. So, why estranged from your family? I mean, by rights, you should be running it."

Helena: "And then there's the added distraction of Stefan's obsession with trying to prove that Luke Spencer was behind Katherine Bell's fall."
Jerry: "Now, that must be the champagne talking. I haven't heard anything about Spencer being connected with the accident."
Helena: "Well, it's common knowledge. What's astounding is that Stefan managed to prove it. It should take more ingenuity than my ineffectual son possesses. He must have hired someone to assist him."
Jerry: "How can anyone prove it? I mean, apart from your son and Laura Spencer, there were no eyewitnesses to the accident."
Helena: "There was one--Katherine herself. Stefan's investigator undoubtedly spoke to her. Now, Katherine happened to mention to me that you were making inquiries about her forged will. Well, wouldn't it be ironic if it turned out that you were Stefan's investigator?"
Jerry: "And here I thought tonight was going to be unspeakably boring."

Ah, Luke would be jealous. I was surprised to see Jerry leave the table, however, since it seemed like he was ceding the field or at least tacitly admitting to what Helena suspected.

Stefan: "Alexis, this is the third time I am speaking to this damn machine. There are things you need to be aware of--legal issues that may arise concerning Nikolas--and you need to be prepared. I hope that impresses upon you the urgency of getting back to me. Please do so at once."

I included this just because it amused me. As used to his language as I am, sometimes Stefan's verbiage just cracks me up.

Lucky: "Have you--have you spoken to our mother?"
Nikolas: "No, but it's on my list. You know, when I heard the words, you know, 'I'm your father'--"
Lucky: "Everything shifted."
Nikolas: "Yeah."
Lucky: "And you knew the world would never be the same."
Nikolas: "Yeah."

Ironically, Lucky is the one most qualified to understand what Nikolas is going through because of Nikolas, who told him that Luke raped Laura (although it would have come out one way or another, of course). I found it interesting to hear the pronouns go by. Laura is "our mother" not because they both love her or are both related to her, but because they are brothers unified not by her desires but by her lies. Both fathers have lied, but the shared mother has lied twice as often.

Lucky: "Thanks for the warning. I think I can handle it. I've been on Helena's hit list since the day I was born a Spencer."
Nikolas: "So what you think?"
Lucky: "About what?"
Nikolas: "Our mother."
Lucky: "She lied--again. I mean, what else is there to say? Maybe she and my dad were meant for each other. Man, this shouldn't be a shock to us."
Nikolas: "I know."
Lucky: "We were both there the day she came down the stairs barefoot. We both thought the same thing."
Nikolas: "I know. You think it's still going on?"
Lucky: "Man, trying to figure out our mother's more than a full-time job. We got better things to do."
Nikolas: "You think your father knows?"
Lucky: "Yeah. Yeah, he knows."
Nikolas: "Yeah. See, remember--remember at the end of my father's--my father's trial? And that morning I came to you to the boxcar and suggested that you check on Laura? And then I mentioned the look your father gave her before he left the courtroom while she was still on the stand. And I told you, he took off right after that."
Lucky: "That explains the fight."
Nikolas: "Yeah."
Lucky: "See, I went over there to make sure everything was cool. And I didn't hear everything, but I could tell they were fighting. I mean, it was intense because it ended with him storming out."
Nikolas: "Yeah. It must've been when he found out. The prosecution asked Laura if she and Stefan ever had physical relations, and she answered no. And somehow your father realized that she was lying. You know what I can't believe? I can't believe this never occurred to me. I always said that I thought of him as my father, that no one could've been a better one to me than him, but what never occurred to me was that he is my father. And, you know, there were little clues everywhere and they weren't even subtle. I mean, how could I have missed this?"
Lucky: "You wanted to believe the story you were being told."

It always amazed me that Nikolas never suspected. Lucky's right though; he never wanted to. Nikolas, however, is getting what he wanted most--two parents, present in his life, who love him. Lucky, on the other hand, has just received new evidence of the desintigration of his world with the belief that his mother has been cheating on his father here, in the present. I give him a ton of credit that he didn't once take that out on Nikolas.

Stefan: "Until now, I have made every decision concerning Nikolas' life. Now I need your help. My instincts are to go after him, bring all my force to bear, make him come back here. But I'm--I'm emotional. I'm feeling off balance. Perhaps that's not the best course of action. What are your thoughts?"
Laura: "Well, Luke and I chose to let Lucky go. And because of that, I know there's a part of Lucky that we'll never get back. I wouldn't do it that way again. And this is an entirely different situation. It's an entirely different secret. I really believe that Nikolas needs to hear our side of this. The sooner, the better."

I resented, somewhat, the fact that Laura got to try out an approach on Lucky, learn that it didn't work, and adjust accordingly for Nikolas. That's irrational, of course, because the secrets and lies are so different. That she was thinking of Lucky's reactions, however, only added to her insistence that they make this right for Nikolas as soon as possible.

Stefan: "I told him that all of his questions had answers and I would give them freely. Suddenly, I have nothing. We cannot lose him."
Laura: "We won't. We're not going to lose him. It'll be all right."
Nikolas: "Should've known you'd be here."

Nikolas: "You say that you were going to tell me together. But I think that was something that you wanted to do out of kindness, out of loyalty, because this isn't your doing, is it? He lied to you, too, didn't he?"

It was interesting to me how Nikolas alternated between a sarcastic, almost angry response to his mother's presence and the desire to give her the benefit of the doubt. It was also interesting that he asked to hear the story from her, rather than from his father, first:

Nikolas: "When I thought back, I realized something--the way you spoke of my father before you went away and after you came back wasn't the same. You spoke of him the way everyone did--the way his servants did, his pilot, Alexis. It was as if you were--you were trying to be careful, like you were trying not to offend me. When you came back, something changed. I would ask you about my father, and it seemed as if you were describing someone else. It's because you were. You learned something that you didn't know years ago. When you left me with him, you thought that I was the son of your husband."
Laura: "First of all, Stavros was not my husband."
Nikolas: "Semantics."
Laura: "No. No, no. I realize that the Cassadines may not recognize a marriage outside of the Russian church, but I was married and my husband was still alive. Nikolas, it's important to me that you understand that I never cared about some archaic ideas about what makes a child legitimate. To me, you were mine, and what mattered to me was your life, not your birth certificate."
Stefan: "That may not quite answer your question. You're right--the lie was mine."
Laura: "Well, no. That's not entirely true, either. Yes, when I found out that I was pregnant, I knew that there was a strong possibility that Stefan was the father. And you know what? I prayed that he was. And in my heart, I believed that he was. But I couldn't say it then or now, to you or to anyone. Do you know why?"
Nikolas: "Because of Luke."
Laura: "Partly."
Nikolas: "And because you thought you were protecting me."
Laura: "Yes. That's true. But do you know from what?"
Nikolas: "The truth."
Laura: "No. No. It--it really was never like that. There was never a moment when the two of us looked at each other and said, "no one must ever know." Back then, on the island in those days, there was no doubt in my mind that if the family ever found out that we were lovers that I would be killed. And if you were lucky enough to be born, you would be killed, too." Nikolas: "So, if the risks were so high, then why did you do it?"
Stefan: "Your mother was starved for kindness, I for affection. We--"
Laura: "No. We were in love. Nikolas, we were in love. And I am so glad to finally be able to say that to you because without Stefan, I probably would have gone mad. I probably would have thrown myself into the sea. God knows what I would have done."
Laura: "When I found out that I was pregnant, Stefan was the first person I told. And I didn't know how he was going to react. I didn't know if he would suggest that we run away or if he would insist on defying Stavros and Helena and telling them everything, although that would have resulted in the end of all of our lives for sure. You see, none of these things were ever spoken about at that time, strange as that may seem. But when I told Stefan that I was pregnant, I saw all of it flash across his face, and all he said to me was, 'You and your child will have my every loyalty.' Those were his exact words. Nikolas, do you know what he did? Listen to me. Do you realize what that meant? Your father loved you and me enough to let go of any claim to us, of any hope of ever having us as his own family to ensure our safety."

Odd that the protestation that Stavros was not her husband was not in support of Luke, but to legitimize, somehow, her feelings for Nikolas. The point was that no matter which brother fathered Nikolas, he was a bastard. And that didn't matter a whit to her, because she loved him and she loved his father. I loved the moments when Stefan tried to step in and explain and Laura stopped him and declared first that he was not solely to blame and second that their love was real. Finally, when she pointed out that Stefan had denied any claim on her as well, putting herself on the same side as her abandoned son, Nikolas could confront his father. He did so, with the story of his mother still in his ears--a story of love.

Nikolas: "You despised him."
Stefan: "He was my brother."
Nikolas: "He had everything! Even your only child."
Stefan: "I loved you because you were Nikolas, not because you were mine."
Nikolas: "What would you have done if I was never born?"
Stefan: "I have no idea."
Nikolas: "Oh, I think you do. You would have led the sort of life that Alexis has. Yeah. Yeah, you would have pursued your own studies, turned your back on your family, made your own way, your own name."
Stefan: "I would have been the poorer for it."
Nikolas: "All these years pretending that I didn't have a father and you didn't have a son--was that fulfilling to you? Did you like that?"
Stefan: "Nothing else I could have done could ever mean as much! All that is good in me comes from you."
Nikolas: "How--how can that be? You're the parent, not the other way around. All that is good in me comes from you."
Stefan: "Forgive me."
Nikolas: "Forgive you for what? Huh? For my life? I hated that you hid the truth from me. But I understand your reasons. I mean, I'm not even--I'm not even saying that it was wrong. I just wish that I would have known. I wish that I would have known that the man I loved more than anything in the whole world and the man that I missed the most in the whole world was the same man. You understand me? You're my father. And you were always there, and you never said anything. Why did you do that?"
Stefan: "Oh."
Nikolas: "Why did you do that?"
Stefan: "Oh."
Nikolas: "Why did you do that?"
Stefan: "Oh. My son. My son."

Anger mixed with relief and even joy as Nikolas moved through the options Stefan had faced--the brother, a life alone. Like Laura before him, he did not understand how Stefan could devalue himself so much so as to think Nikolas would be better off not knowing him as a father. Finally, Stefan's words failed him, all but the two he'd been waiting his entire life to say. He and Nikolas embraced, and Laura left them there together.

Oh how I loved this scene. The other came out of an accidental (?) revelation, before Nikolas had all the pieces in place to accept it. He needed to hear Laura's story first; he needed to know that he was loved by both of his parents before he could admit that underneath it all, he was thrilled at the news. But it was more than that. There was a balance of emotion that made this one feel better to me. Nikolas didn't sit, unmoved, chin in hand, and Stefan didn't completely fall apart. The contrast wasn't as sharp, and the performances were better. I didn't understand Nikolas's reaction, really, in the first scene, but I did here. There was a development, as well, from Nikolas's calm greeting through emotion for both characters.

What I like most about this scene is the potential for Laura, oddly enough. I don't want this to be the last we hear of her talking to Nikolas about her time on the island. I want her to be able to talk to him honestly about the bad things too, admitting them to him and allowing her to really know them again so that she can make a clear decision about her own life--to see the bad and good in both options where before she only saw the good in Luke and forced herself to see the bad in Stefan. She's been forced by circumstance to face the pain in her other family's past, and now, with the security of Nikolas and Stefan united by the truth, she can face the pain here too.

I'm also extremely glad that Nikolas did not find out from Luke, and that both Stefan and Laura were going to know that, as well as Lucky. That he knows and told Alexis is bad enough. If he had told Nikolas, it would have been worse.

Stefan: "And one other thing--"
Nikolas: "Yes. Yes, I will come home. And if you don't mind holding dinner, I'll go to Lucky's right now and grab my stuff."
Stefan: "He lied to me."
Nikolas: "Shocking."

I loved Nikolas's idealism, and that Stefan was willing to simply share in it for this happy moment. What I loved more was that with this new-found security and solidarity, they could actually joke about Lucky Spencer. Too cute.

Alexis: "Look at her--sipping her Earl Grey, so elegant, so invincible. Enjoy it while you can. Your tour of duty is just about over."

Helena: "My, my, Natasha. Are you having an attack of backbone? My advice is fluids and plenty of rest until it goes away. It always does."
Alexis: "As a little girl, I always hoped that I would grow up to be--well, not like you, of course, but the end of you. You won't begrudge a little girl her dream."
Helena: "And what promises has Stefan been whispering in your ear this time?"
Alexis: "That was before I ever heard my mother's name, let alone her voice. The voice you stopped in the interest of--would it be fair to say the purity of the Cassadine blood?"
Helena: "That might be one way to put it."
Alexis: "Well, you won that battle. Really, how much of a challenge could my mother have been? But do you ever stop to ask yourself if you won the war?"

Alexis: "Do you remember what Stavros used to call me when we were children?"
Helena: "It was 'little' something. 'Little toad.'"
Alexis: "'Little ugliness.'"
Helena: "Oh. Ah, that's it. Why? Oh, were you traumatized by that? You poor darling."
Alexis: "Do you want to know what he called you behind your back? 'Mother Ugliness.'"
Helena: "What a petty, unimaginative little lie."
Alexis: "You see? You always said that knowledge gets you power. And by the way, I agree. There is so much you don't even know about your beloved family. Let's see. How many years have you spent groveling at Nikolas' feet only to have him ignore you and throw you out of the house?"
Helena: "All right, Alexis. You are obviously dying to have me ask it--what is it that you think you know, exactly?"
Alexis: "That my mother will get her revenge on you yet."
Helena: "Well, well."

Well well indeed. I absolutely loved Alexis's confrontation with Helena. It was as though she was doing a warm-up there before going on to Wyndemere and Stefan, and it was beautiful to behold.

Nikolas: "I'm busy, so make your threat and go on your way."
Helena: "You're upset. Oh, and I know why. It's because I greeted you as 'sweet prince,' isn't it? I apologize. "Hamlet" is such a morbid play, with all of those twisted family loyalties."

Helena immediately went to Nikolas, and I wondered if she was starting to put things together or if she was just fishing for information. Nikolas dismissed her.

Alexis: "Does Nikolas know?"
Stefan: "Laura and I discussed it with him earlier today."
Alexis: "Was it a tender family moment? That would have been a Cassadine first."
Stefan: "I've been aware your accomplice might take you into his confidence. When did Luke tell you?"
Alexis: "Doesn't have anything to do with Luke. This is between you and me, your corporate right hand, your chief legal counsel, and, by the way, yet you never saw fit to mention this?"
Stefan: "I was trying to protect my family."
Alexis: "I am your family."

Alexis: "And I should be grateful. I know I should be grateful. I'm always grateful. Grateful and happy just to walk in your shadow. Do you know that I grew up constantly aware that I was can you begin to comprehend how that made me feel, to always play servant to your master?"
Stefan: "I never made you feel like a servant."
Alexis: "Really? Why did you lie to me?"
Stefan: "Lied? You have done nothing but lie to me, Alexis--telling me Katherine was my lost sister, Natasha. You conspired with Luke Spencer, my sworn enemy."
Alexis: "All worked out for the best, didn't it? Or would you rather be married to Katherine right now? She may have been a casualty of war, but it was never, ever a war on you. It was a war on Helena. And had things worked out as planned, you would be thanking me right now."
Stefan: "Had it not been for your reckless war, the Cassadine empire would not be in the worst jeopardy it's ever faced!"
Alexis: "The Cassadine empire is in jeopardy because you took your brother's wife into your bed! There is no first son of the first son, and I have a rightful claim to what you've hoarded! All--all you had to do was trust me. All you had to do was treat me with the same loyalty and the same respect that I have always treated you. All you had to do was treat me like an equal. Instead, you cheated me. And I will not be ignored by this family anymore."

Stefan: "Alexis, if this is about you feeling secondary--"
Alexis: "This is about me feeling like nothing. Like nobody."
Stefan: "I tried to make you feel like somebody."
Alexis: "I was somebody. I had a mother and a father like everyone else. Your father, in fact. My blood was and is as blue as yours."
Stefan: "I didn't know it then."
Alexis: "But you know it now. And you knew it when you purposely kept from me what was mine by law. You had no right."
Stefan: "Is this about right or about money?"
Alexis: "This is about identity--mine. And I want it. I'm claiming it. I demand it."
Stefan: "Alexis, I am sorry you feel slighted, but neither your feelings nor mine come first. When Nikolas was born, I had to fight for his life. How long do you imagine an infant son of Laura's and mine would have survived? My mother or brother would have cut him down before his first birthday. But as Stavros' son, as the heir, he could not be touched. Now, what would you have had me do?"
Alexis: "Stavros has been dead for years. And as far as Helena is concerned, instead of one heir, we could have all joined together to reckon with her. Unless you don't think that I can."
Stefan: "Alexis, you have deceived me, plotted against me. And Helena--you've allowed Helena to work you like a puppet. Now, given all that, I was to share with you a secret that means life or death to Nikolas?"
Alexis: "You know very well that I would never, ever do anything to hurt Nikolas."
Stefan: "But you must see I have had good reason to doubt and mistrust you."
Alexis: "Your reasons are very clear, Stefan. You don't think I'm worthy of my share of the inheritance. To you, I'm just poor, little orphaned Alexis who became a Cassadine by accident. And a girl, no less. And it's such a shame. She's got a good heart. She just isn't good enough."
Stefan: "Oh, but you are good enough, Alexis. Which is why when you think this through without anger, you will see that spreading this information among every member of the family, letting god knows how many relatives cannibalize the fortune, you will be destroying the Cassadine power base, which will destroy you in the process. Alexis, don't let your anger bring down this family. Let Nikolas lead. It will rest well with your conscience, for you do, when all is said and done, have one."
Alexis: "Obviously inherited from my mother. God rest her soul. But you be warned--if provoked, and I am provoked, Cassadine before me. I am, after all, my father's daughter."

I loved this. I loved the language of paternity, and Alexis's claiming of her father as well as her mother in the scenes with Helena and Stefan; like Nikolas, she was now able to claim both parents equally.

We all talked about this one too, when Terry asked us what we made of Alexis's reactions in these scenes. Arda began, saying, "I agree that there was something off about it. I expected Alexis to feel betrayed by Stefan's lack of trust in her. (Although she has betrayed him recently, too, he betrayed her many years ago when she had not given him any reason to distrust her.) But she did seem unusually (for Alexis, that is) focused on the wealth of the family and her birthright. And while her sadness over her being treated as a second-class Cassidine rang emotionally true, it seemed misplaced. She would have been treated as second-class regardless of whether Nik was the Cassidine heir or not. So there's a definite shift in the character, and I've been surprised at the lack of discussion between Stefan and Alexis about her role in Kat's fall from the parapet."

Arda makes a good point, that Stefan's betrayal outdates Alexis's by a whole lotta years. He's been lying to her their whole adult lives, practically, and her betrayals have only come in the past year or so. Her first, telling him that Katherine was his sister, was a lie aimed at protecting Nikolas, in fact, just as his lie has been. But conveniently, that didn't come up, and it should have. His exile of her after that lie was what paved the way to her desperation that let her be convinced by Luke to take the action against Helena she so wanted to take. She is to blame, but to find that she had been flogging herself over her own betrayals, that she had allowed herself to be shamed and exiled by him when he had been lying to her all along? To find that the identity she had lost was not her true identity? It made perfect sense to me why she was this angry and demanding retribution.

This is about identity. The first time he threw her out, she learned about her mother and Helena. In shock, she turned to Luke's offer of revenge. That wasn't the identity she wanted; she realized that she loved Stefan and Nikolas more than that. But after a reconciliation, she finds that the thing she had just re-grounded her identity on was not what it had appeared to be. She has found an identity apart from the Cassadines now; Stefan's rejection of her has, ironically, made it possible for her to see herself as an individual. And from that outside position, she can look in. She can therefore question her relationship with Stefan, especially in light of this news about Nikolas.

This is not a matter of money. Like Carly, material goods are the only representation she can find for what has been taken from her--identity, parentage, family, trust. Helena is not the one who took the most from her now. Stefan is. That's a hard blow from an unexpected quarter, and it makes sense to me that she would react violently and fiercely.

It was interesting to see these reactions--Nikolas's and Alexis's--on the same day. Both have learned their true identity from Stefan. Yet while Nikolas gains something from the revelation--the father he wanted--Alexis loses something--the man she trusted. She didn't even mention Nikolas in this scene, and was faulted for not thinking of her nephew. This can't be about Nikolas for her when she's so agitated about herself, much as the rape revelation couldn't be about Lucky for Luke and Laura (at first, definitely, though some would say it never was) because of their personal pain.

Nikolas: "I just--I hate lying about as much as I hate being lied to."
Stefan: "I agree. It's a difficult situation. But you have asked me not to conceal things from you anymore, and I'm trying to comply with your request, treat you as an equal. But if you'd rather not be involved, I will understand."
Nikolas: "No, I appreciate your consideration. I'll do it. I'll make Katherine believe I still have feelings for her."

Stefan: "Well, it's possible you'll see her and remember old feelings."
Nikolas: "Yeah, I'll remember everything. I'll remember the laughter in her voice when I heard her telling Helena that our relationship would turn me against you. I'll remember what it felt like when I realized that I was nothing more to Katherine than a means to an end, as Helena put it. Katherine and I, we were--we were just friends, you know? And suddenly, something changed, and it didn't even occur to me to ask why. I believed her when she said she cared for me. And the whole time she was using the oldest ploy of all. She slept with me to get what she wanted."
Stefan: "I know."

Today on Jerry Springer, "My father, My pimp." I absolutely despised this scene of Stefan asking Nikolas to lie and to continue in his relationship with Katherine. Hated it. I hated that Nikolas did it, but that Stefan would ask him to do it? Ack! This was some perverse version of Laura telling Lucky that someday he would realize that lies were sometimes inevitable. Did I mention I hated it? Katherine has served her purpose in this storyline, I believe, and I'd be more than happy for her to go away now. Instead, we were to be subjected to weeks more of this affair business, and it was only to get worse as time went by. But I'll save that fun for the next time. *G*