Day Two

(Six Episodes: 5/2, 5/3, 5/4, 5/7, 5/8, 5/9)

Major Developments:

1. Carly sets Sonny up. Sonny spends the night in jail.
   
2. Lucas gets worse, but has many visitors.
   
3. Felicia tells Luke she loves him; Luke tells her he cannot reciprocate.
   
4. Gia and Nikolas make up. Nikolas severs ties with the Cassadines.
   
5. Emily tracks Zander down, but he rejects her.
   
6. Skye fits right in with the Qs.
   
7. Melissa decides to stay at General Hospital.

Carly Sets Sonny Up for Arrest

In the penthouse, Carly asks Sonny to give up the mob business to ensure the safety of their family. Sonny firmly responds that he will never leave his business. Carly brings up having a baby again and Sonny once again refuses to consider it. He tells Carly that he loves her but has no intention of changing his mind about leaving the mob or having a baby.

Carly goes to the hospital to talk to Bobbie but Roy stops her, telling her about Lucas and Bobbie's need for rest. Carly asks Roy if he could arrange for Sonny to get arrested by the FBI. Carly describes her plan for Sonny to tell all he knows about the mob in exchange for immunity and a new life under the witness protection plan. At first, Roy refuses to help Carly, warning her that the plan could backfire and land Sonny in prison. Carly then tells Roy about Sonny's birthday bomb and reminds Roy that Bobbie would be devastated if Carly or Michael were hurt or killed. Roy counters that he does not think Sonny would give up names but agrees to help Carly. Carly promises to get Roy the necessary information to set up Sonny for arrest. Carly stresses that Sonny must never find out that she was involved in the set up, because he would never forgive her for her betrayal.

Meanwhile, on the phone in the penthouse, Sonny orders that the person responsible for the bomb be found and punished. Taggart arrives with a subpoena to search the penthouse in connection with Sonny's obstruction of justice (in not reporting the birthday bomb). When Sonny denies receiving the bomb, Taggart is amazed at Sonny's apparent lack of concern for his family. They continue to argue, returning once again to the topic of Deke, as Mike comes into the penthouse. After Taggart leaves, Mike and Sonny discuss Sonny's cruel childhood and Mike apologizes to Sonny for not having been a good father to him.

Ron Hale is one of my favorite actors on General Hospital and one I'd like to see more often. However, I am tired of seeing the same scenes about Sonny's bad childhood and Mike's failures as a father. I recognize that we had this scene as a precursor to Sonny's claustrophobia in jail, but I'm still tired of hearing Mike apologize to Sonny for having failed him.

Roy arrives at the FBI office and discusses setting up Sonny with Agent Ford. He proposes a deal to deliver Sonny to the FBI with the condition that Sonny would not be prosecuted but given immunity and placed under witness protection. Agent Ford wonders about Roy's motivation, and Roy reminds him that he owed Roy for having restored him to his job.

Back at the penthouse, Carly tells Sonny that they need to accept each other for who they are. Sonny and Carly promise to love each other no matter what happens. Sonny receives a phone call. Carly eavesdrops on the conversation and hears Sonny agree to go to the warehouse in a half hour. After Sonny leaves, Carly meets Roy at the hospital and gives him the information regarding Sonny's meeting in the warehouse.

Sonny Is Arrested

At his coffee warehouse, Sonny confronts Sorel's employee who had delivered the bomb to Sonny. As Sonny threatens the man, FBI agents break in and arrest Sonny. At the police station, Agent Ford offers Sonny witness protection in exchange for the right information about the mob. Sonny refuses.

Meanwhile, at the hospital, Carly thanks Roy for helping her set up Sonny. He warns her again that the plan carries risks. Roy receives a call from Agent Ford letting him know that Sonny had been arrested but that he was refusing to talk. Carly immediately bolts to the police station disregarding Roy's advice to just stay calm and go home.

At the police station, Carly reassures Sonny that she will do all she can to help him. Sonny asks Carly how she knew that he had been arrested. Carly lies saying that one of Sonny's men had called and told her. Sonny tells Carly that he must have been set up by someone close to him and advises Carly to trust no one. Carly tells Sonny that she loves and trusts him and will stay at his side no matter what happens.

Sonny tells Agent Ford that he will not talk unless he is told who set him up. Roy arrives at the police station and tells Sonny that he was the one who set him up. Sonny wants to know how Roy could have set him up when he didn't know Sonny's whereabouts. Roy lies, saying he had been in Agent Ford's office when Ford received news about Sonny's birthday bomb. Roy claims he had then brokered a deal on Sonny's behalf that would allow Sonny to exchange information about the mob with immunity. Sonny is not convinced.

As Day Two opened with the episode of May 2, Roy was walking the hospital corridors with great difficulty. But by the end of Day Two, he was nimbly walking the halls without any suggestion that he had been shot three days prior or that his wounds needed re-stitching just the day before.

Sonny Spends the Night in Jail

While Sonny is being escorted to a cell, Roy explains to Carly the severity of the charges against Sonny. She says she's sure Sonny will talk because of his claustrophobia. Sonny, meanwhile, becomes agitated and begins to hear in his head the fights Deke and his mother would have. He remembers being locked in a closet while Deke battered his mother and his feelings of helplessness about being unable to help his mother.

Carly visits Sonny and recognizing his reaction to being caged, tries to calm him down. Sonny warns her to not let the police know of his claustrophobia. Sonny says he will control his claustrophobic reactions by focusing on who might have betrayed him. Carly persists in trying to persuade Sonny to take the deal being offered by the FBI. Sonny sneers at the notion of witness protection and continues to try to figure out who would set him up. He realizes that whoever set him has to be someone very close - perhaps someone as close as Carly:

Carly: Sonny, I would do anything for you.
Sonny: I know.

Suspicious, Sonny sends Carly home.

Tamara Braun assumed the role of Carly beginning with the May 2 episode. Since I've been a great admirer of Sarah Brown as Carly, I knew that the transition to accepting another actress as Carly would be rough. What I didn't anticipate is the extreme roughness of the transition.

It may be that had Tamara Braun been cast as another character, I might have liked her fine. She may well be a skilled actress, but I cannot tell, since nothing in her connects me to the Carly I've known for the last five years. When I see her, I see none of Carly's history. Her eyes and face seem blank to me and I can't connect to her passion or her pain.

I know nothing about the back politics at General Hospital. I know nothing about why Sarah Brown left, but I know that the recast has been fumbled. Recasts are always difficult on a soap, but replacing someone as powerful and passionate as Sarah Brown required greater wisdom than what has been demonstrated. Carly's storyline should have been temporarily wrapped up before Sarah Brown left, to allow time to search for a new Carly and to allow the audience to lose some of the identification of Carly with Sarah Brown.

There has been a great deal of speculation on message boards that Sarah Brown left because she was unhappy with the story of Carly's betrayal. Many posters have viewed Carly's betrayal as out of character for someone who relished being a mob moll and who knew that betrayal was the one thing Sonny would never accept. But Carly is a complicated, changeable character. Betraying Sonny (for his own good) is not so farfetched. But we needed to be shown compelling reasons for the betrayal and we were essentially asked to see the birthday bomb as the proverbial straw. The combination of the unexplained shift in Carly and seeing a new actress in the role made the whole month seem surreal to me. Fortunately, Maurice Benard's performance didn't seem to suffer from the changes. So I hung for deal life to his Sonny and tried to convince myself it wasn't so awful.

Gia and Nikolas Make Up

In the morning, Nikolas tracks Gia down to her hotel suite, where she is thumbing through Ego magazine. He apologizes for accusing her of trying to derail his renunciation of the Cassadines. She surprises him by telling him he was right about her--that she is a user and a thief. When Nikolas ignores her suggestion that he cut her out of his life, Gia asks if he believes that she isn't just after his money--that she really cares about him. Nikolas says yes, and he and Gia make love. Later, Nikolas confirms that he will continue with his plans to file the renunciation documents.

The Renunciation

Gia and Nikolas deliver the renunciation documents to Stefan at the hospital. Nikolas accuses Stefan of having stolen the documents and threatens Stefan with arrest should he break into his house again. Gia gives uncle and nephew some time alone. Stefan angrily admonishes Nikolas to never dismiss him again, reminding him that he raised him. Stefan then insists that he is not angry at Nikolas, but at himself. He then tells Nikolas how much he loves and admires him:

Stefan: The first time I saw you Nikolas, your mother was holding you. And I just--I just couldn't believe that you were Stavros's son. Then when Laura fled the Island, word reached us that Stavros had died. In that moment, I knew my destiny. I'd always secretly believed that I was your father and then I had proof. Or so I thought. And it was so natural--being your protector, shielding you from all the dangers all around you. But at some point I became exactly what I was trying to protect you from. A monster, I believe you've called me.
Nikolas: I never--I never called you a monster.
Stefan: No? Nonetheless, I have become a part of the legacy of our family that reflects only the negative, and as a result of that I've lost you--I've lost myself. Now I have said that this was rash--your actions were childish--but I was wrong. What this represents to me, Nikolas, is that you have become a man. You've become a man, Nikolas, who is willing to act on his convictions regardless of the pressure to do otherwise. And that requires courage. Now I taught you courage, but it shames me to see you walk away like this in spite of me rather than because of me.

Nikolas suggests that Stefan also abandon the family, but Stefan declines, saying that the "war is too deep" in him. He adds that he needs to protect Nikolas and he would see the war to the end. He also reminds Nikolas that Lucky is still vulnerable to Helena's machinations.

I've always liked Stefan best in his role as Nikolas's father/uncle/protector. It was nice to be reminded of their deep connection, and it was nice to see Stefan's unconditional love despite his strong disapproval of Nikolas's actions. The scene belonged to Stephen Nichols, whose performance was powerful and moving.

Lucas Has Visitors

In the morning, Felicia visits Lucas and tries to comfort Bobbie who has become more worried about Lucas. Felicia thanks Roy for having called her to let her know about Lucas. She then tells him the story of BJ's death and how grateful she is to Tony and Bobbie for donating BJ's heart so Maxie could live.

In the waiting room, Luke thanks Laura for coming to support Bobbie. Luke tells Laura that he was pleased to hear Lucky apologized for refusing to help Luke with Helena's disks. Outside the waiting room, Scott anxiously watches Luke and Laura talking, but is encouraged by Laura's warm reception as he comes in. Scott gives Bobbie a troll doll to pass on to Lucas.

Lucky and Elizabeth visit Lucas and bring him a video game as a gift. Bobbie tells Lucky that they still don't know what's causing Lucas's high fever and Lucky assures her that Lucas will be just fine.

Outside Lucas's room, Elizabeth tells Bobbie how worried Lucky has been about Lucas and adds that she was surprised to learn how close he was to Lucas. Meanwhile, Lucas reminds Lucky of his visit to the Brownstone (the night Lucky dropped the virus in Lucas's drink). Lucky seems unable to remember the visit.

Bobbie resists Tony's plan to do another spinal tap on Lucas, but Tony prevailed and he wheeled Lucas away for more tests.

Luke and Felicia: Up on the Roof

At the hospital, Luke thanks Felicia for coming to see Lucas and Bobbie. Felicia tells him she is still mad at him and Luke apologizes for ignoring her. He then suggests that they retreat to a private location to discuss their relationship. Laura overhears Luke's suggestion and became upset.

On the roof, Felicia admits that although she had agreed to a relationship without strings, she now wanted more. Luke asks her to be more specific, and Felicia tells him that she loves him and that she wants to be loved back by him.

Luke: Well, ''love'' is a--a very big word. A word I haven't used in a very long time. To be honest, I don't think about that word much. Except that it's complicated and seems to have a lot of strings attached to it, and when those strings get tangled up, a person can choke.
Felicia: You know I'm a mom. I'm not asking you to fit into pizza nights and soccer games. I just want to fit into your life and see how it feels, and then we can go from there. This isn't about strings; this is about feelings.
Luke: Well, to be honest, I don't know if I can do that. I mean, I'm not saying that I can't or I wouldn't try, or that you don't deserve it--because if that's what you want, you do deserve it. But truthfully, I don't know if it's even in me to love anyone anymore. I've had a lot of cold, hard nights with the bottle, and when that bottle is dry, the emptiness of it seems to fill me up. There used to be feelings there, I guess. There must have been once. I don't know where they went, or maybe I do. But the truth is, Felicia, I still got strings wrapped around me. And when they get tugged, bells go off.
Felicia: You're still in love with Laura?
Luke: It's no secret that I loved my wife. I gave her everything that I had to give. Everything. I'm not sure anything's left.

Luke then tells her that he is unable to focus on a relationship because he has "a full plate" in front of him. He adds that he doesn't know how long it will take him to figure out what Helena is up to, and that he doesn't want Felicia involved. Felicia thanks him for his honesty and leaves the roof while Luke watches.

Felicia and Mac Get Closer

Later, Felicia is in the waiting room when Mac, in Groucho nose and glasses, surprises her. They laugh and then reminisce about BJ's death and Maxie's heart transplant. Mac tells Felicia that he wants her back, but that she can take her time to decide. He invites Felicia to dinner and she accepts.

Felicia runs into Luke again and tells him that she plans to rekindle her relationship with Mac. Luke tells her that she should do whatever makes her happy. Felicia and Luke kiss and tell each other that they have no regrets for the time spent together.

Lucky's Programming

Nikolas sees Lucky outside Lucas's hospital room and mentions his concern regarding Helena. Lucky insists that he is free of Helena's programming. Gia and Elizabeth propose that they all get together that night. Nikolas tells Gia that he feels sorry for Stefan, while Lucky tells Elizabeth that he wishes Luke would forget about the Cassadines the way that he (Lucky) has.

In the lobby of the hospital, Luke asks Laura for her help in decoding Helena's disks. (Felicia overhears Luke ask Laura for help just like Laura had overheard Luke earlier inviting Felicia to a more private location.) Laura suggests several potential code words and Luke jots them down.

Stefan approaches Luke in the hospital lobby and tells him that Nikolas has renounced his Cassadine heritage. Stefan proposes that Luke help him keep Nikolas in the Cassadine family in exchange for his help in keeping Lucky safe from Helena. Laura joins them and angrily asks Stefan to leave Nikolas alone. Laura wonders why Stefan can't see that the pressure he places on Nikolas only makes him more distant. Stefan accuses Laura of being shortsighted and discloses his suspicions about Helena controlling Lucky.

Later that night, in an arcade, Lucky sees Helena's face superimposed on the screen of an arcade game. He repeatedly shoots at the image with the game gun. Meanwhile Elizabeth, Gia, and Nikolas discuss the Cassadines. Lucky joins them, but when he hears Helena's name, he impatiently announces that he does not want to discuss the Cassadines and returns to his game. Lucky next sees images of Luke and Laura on the game screen. His fingers are poised on the trigger when Elizabeth approaches him. Seeing his distress, Elizabeth wonders what is wrong. Lucky says that whenever she touches him, he feels everything would be fine. He then suddenly falls to his knees and asks Elizabeth to marry him.

Lucky assures Elizabeth that his proposal is not impulsive, but based on his deep love and devotion to Elizabeth. Lucky presses Elizabeth for an immediate answer to his marriage proposal, but Elizabeth asks for privacy to discuss it.

Elizabeth and Lucky Are Engaged

Elizabeth and Lucky go to the park to talk in private. Elizabeth says she needs more time to consider Lucky's proposal and wonders why Lucky is in a sudden rush to get married. He tells her he has loved her and wanted to marry her for a long time. Lucky presses his suit, and as Helena watches from the bushes, Elizabeth agrees to marry Lucky.

Scott and Laura Go Out

At Deception, Scott persuades Laura to get out of the office and takes her to an arcade. They discuss their long-ago marriage and Scott tells Laura he wants to get to know her again. Laura tells Scott that she needs more time and Scott agrees to give her time.

Emily and Zander Break Up

Emily arrives at the Canadian border town searching for Zander. While Emily fantasizes about re-uniting with Zander, Zander runs into his old criminal friends and asks to join them in a crime they are plotting. When Zander goes to the bridge to meet his friends, he finds Emily. Emily tells Zander about Edward's blackmail and, apologizing profusely for having hurt him, declares her love for him. To Emily's surprise, Zander rejects her, telling her that if she truly loved him, she would have trusted him and told him the truth about Edward's blackmail attempt. Emily points out that she was trying to save Zander from jail, but Zander tells her that he can no longer trust her. When Zander's friend arrives on the bridge, Emily becomes outraged as she realizes that Zander has returned to his life of crime. Emily accuses Zander of using her to get out of a murder charge and of having told her that he loved her only to get her into bed. Insulted, Zander walks away asking Emily not to follow him. Emily is left alone on the bridge, crying.

Skye Fits Right in with the Qs

At breakfast at the Q mansion, Skye asks how much money she will get now that she's a Quartermaine. Skye and Rae and Monica trade barbs. Reginald brings in a birthday cake for Monica who blows out the candles stating two wishes: that Skye get a DNA test and that Skye and Rae move out of the mansion. Rae retorts that a DNA test is not necessary, but Skye insists that she will have a test.

Edward, unhappy with Ned and AJ (who had tricked him into admitting his blackmail of Emily), tries to court Skye and promises her shares of ELQ. Alan, angry to see that Edward was already trying to pit Skye against the other Qs, threatens to throw Edward out of the house.

Alan tells Edward that he is ashamed of how he (Alan) had treated Rae and berates Edward for not encouraging him to do the right thing. In defending himself, Edward unintentionally reveals that he knew all along that Skye was alive. Alan becomes further incensed.

Rae overhears Edward's slip that he had known all along that Skye was alive. Enraged, she verbally attacks Edward and tells him about the pain she had felt for years believing her baby had died. Edward counters that he had acted in everyone's best interests. Rae breaks down sobbing. After sending Edward away, Alan apologizes to Rae, and he and Rae embrace, as Monica observes them.

I know little about the character of Skye Chandler prior to her arrival in Port Charles. Not having known her well as Skye on All My Children, I'm not concerned about how the revelation that she's a Quartermaine impacts the history of AMC. She does fit right into the Quartermaine fold, however, and I feel her presence has re-energized the Quartermaines. I would have preferred to see Jane Elliot return as Tracy, but I think that Skye is a good addition to the family.

What I didn't like is the temporary return of Rae to Port Charles. I think Linda Dano does a fine job as Rae, but unless she is to become a regular character on General Hospital, I have no interest in her story. Had she been a regular character on GH, I might have felt more for this woman who had been kept apart from her daughter for so long. But I didn't feel connected to her and her rage at Edward fell especially flat for me. I also wondered why she was so angry with Edward when her own family was at least as much to blame. And what I really resented was how her moral superiority made the Qs look bad. Edward and Alan had been callous toward her and Monica was seen at her uncharitable worst in her treatment of Rae and Skye. Although the Qs are frequently callous and uncharitable, I resented an "outside" character acting as an unflattering foil to them.

The intensity of Monica's reaction to Rae and Skye seemed particularly out of character. Monica is too worldly to be jealous of a lover Alan knew before he met Monica. Her marriage to Alan has been marked by multiple affairs and children outside of their marriage. The revelation of Skye as Alan's daughter should have been something Monica accepted with greater equanimity. I don't mean to suggest that Monica should have embraced Skye with open arms or that her suspicions of Skye as a gold-digger were misplaced. However, her inordinate jealousy of Rae and her refusal to accept Skye as Alan's daughter struck me as childish, particularly when contrasted with Alan's acceptance of Monica's daughter, Dawn.

Melissa Decides to Stay

Melissa goes to see Alan at the Q mansion and tells him that she has decided to stay at General Hospital after all.

Back at the hospital, she sees Roy slam his fist into the wall (frustrated with the Sonny set up). She examines Roy's hand but sees no damage. Melissa asks him why he is upset and Roy tells her that he is involved in a bad situation. Melissa tells him that he cannot be responsible for the bad choices other people make. She then tells him that she has decided to stay at the hospital.

Outside Lucas's room, Melissa inquires about his condition and informs Bobbie that she has decided to stay at General Hospital. Bobbie is perturbed, even while Melissa insists she isn't staying because of Roy.

Felicia encourages Bobbie to get some rest and Bobbie agrees. She decides to give herself a manicure and goes to her locker to get some nail polish. In the stairwell, she overhears Roy and Melissa talking. She tells Felicia that she had seen Roy and Melissa together again, and Felicia assures her that she has nothing to worry about.

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