It was a great week for General Hospital viewers who aren’t John Cates’ fans. We got to see him taken down a few pegs by several characters. Indeed, the Cates, Carly and Jason drama was the big focus this week and, thus, is a big portion of this column. A major return was also announced, which has many fans giddy. However, two storylines continued to be major drags, and Cody and Sasha’s fans were again sidelined this week as there was no Mac follow-through.

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Cates Gets Called Out, Big Time!

Last week, I called John Cates the male version of Natalia, as there was just nothing likable about the guy. He’s as pompous as she is, but at least she got some sense knocked into her recently, what with outing her daughter to the world. So it was glorious watching one character after another call Cates out day after day. Jason was first up, finally realizing Pikeman was just Cates’ excuse to come to Port Charles to take Sonny down, and everything has been about his hatred of Sonny. It must have been like hammering nails under Cates’ fingernails for him when Jason told him, “Sonny hasn’t been right about a lot lately, but he was right about you!”

Anna was next up to call out Cates. I agree with many viewers who have found Anna’s flip-flopping annoying, but she’s just one of the many characters who underwent personality transplants during the recent writing shift. She wants to take Sonny down but gives Valentin a way out of his crimes, even knowing he set Jason up to be killed! Still, we got a bit of the old fiery Anna back when she called Cates a coward and a bully, using the power and title of his job for his vendetta and saying that he was no better than Sonny. More splinters under Cates’ fingernails.

However, the big moment came when Carly finally put on her big-girl pants and stopped letting everyone, especially Jason, solve her problems. She turned herself in to Cates in what turned out to be an epic moment. Carly’s been a character who, over the past few years, has gotten under my skin because the rules she applies to everyone else don’t apply to her or her family. This week, though, I loved her! Watching her berate Cates in public and in front of so many people — like Sonny, who hates him — was amazing. The look on Cates’ face was one of, “Oops, I may have soiled myself a little!” All he could do was call her bluff and haul her in.

Carly’s Down But Not Out Yet!

Jason was stopped by Joss before leaving town in the nick of time. Before that, viewers were treated to an emotional conversation between Danny and Jason about his leaving. Jason showed a lot of vulnerability, opening up to Danny about his regrets about leaving him and how it was never his choice, though admitting his past actions factored into it. I do wonder, though, how Danny will react when he inevitably learns his dad has put Carly and her family over his own.

The moment many have been waiting for finally happened when Sonny learned Jason never betrayed him and was forced to work for Cates and the FBI to save Carly. Of course, at that moment, it was all about what Cates was doing to Carly. Sonny hasn’t stopped to think about Jason too much, and I look forward to when he and Jason finally come face to face now that the truth is out there.

I know this is an aspect of “soap unreality” we just have to accept, and I’ve said it before, but all Cates has is Carly’s one statement on that tape at a meeting with the five families. There is no other proof she had any involvement with Sonny’s Mob business because she was never involved! On Friday, Sonny noted the absurdity of this situation, even if it wasn’t the writers’ intention. Sonny commented that the feds have been trying to take him down for years, and nobody’s been able to do so. So basically, one statement is all the evidence needed to send Carly away for 20 years for the crimes Sonny’s been getting away with for decades? As Diane noted to Jason, she plans to argue Carly lied, it was all a bluff. Again, there is no proof that Carly was this big bad lady mobster.

It took longer than I expected, but the words I and other viewers have been expecting to hear were finally uttered… “This is all Nina’s fault!” Yes, Michael was quick to point out to Nina that his mom was in this situation because she kept the truth of Sonny being alive in Nixon Falls a secret. This while at the same time begging Nina to help him save Carly. I’m enjoying watching Michael needing Nina’s help to save his mom and watching Nina be the bigger person. Take notes, Michael! I was not expecting Nina to ask for this to make things square between them and for them to both put the ugliness and nastiness behind them. Could this finally bring a real truce between Nina, Michael and Carly?

And while Michael may have blamed Nina for his mom’s troubles, Anna pointed fingers in other directions. When Jason blasted her for letting Valentin go and creating a mess for him and Carly, she was quick to ask when he and his BFF were going to take some responsibility for the situation they were in, which was the result of their skirting the law for years. Preach, Anna, preach! Even Jason had to admit she was right.

Of course, now we wait and wonder how Carly will get out of this mess. Or will she actually spend some time in the slammer before she is acquitted somehow?

Where in the World is Brennan?

A new mystery fell into Anna’s lap this week, as all traces of Brennan in Port Charles and Pentonville appear to have vanished. It was as if he was never there. Say it ain’t so, tell me we haven’t seen the last of Brennan! I chuckled when they finally acknowledged his sudden name change. Anna told the warden that Jack also goes by John sometimes. But it is looking like Brennan was right all along, he knew things that nobody wanted getting out should he go to trial. Anna hinted in Friday’s episode that not only might the WSB want him silenced, but he seems to know something about Cates and the FBI that could be damning. Oh, pretty please, let this be the dirt needed to undermine Cates’ reputation in Carly’s upcoming trial! Wouldn’t it be something if Cates was the one to end up in prison when all is said and done, not Carly, Sonny, Anna, Valentin or Brennan?

Ava and Cates Sitting in a Tree

Last week, I commented how it seemed inevitable Cates and Ava would be paired up because there were no other characters to be romantic options for them. However, I didn’t expect it to happen this quickly! Pretty much all the characters on this show are hypocrites at one point or the other. Still, it seems funny that Cates tries to paint himself as this upstanding law-and-order guy, the complete opposite of Sonny, yet he’s jumping head-first into bed with a former Mob princess!

For a few weeks, many viewers have wondered if the show was setting up a “Who killed… or tried to kill Ava?” storyline. Suddenly, though, it feels that we are instead looking at a “Who killed John Cates?” mystery. Everyone but Ava hates the guy. Of course, Sonny would naturally be the prime suspect, and it doesn’t help that he had armed himself and was ready to take out “Jagger” at the end of Friday’s episode.

Perez Hilton Causes Drama, No Surprise!

I’ve tried my best not to spend a lot of focus on my weekly columns on the Kristina and Molly surrogate storyline because, like so many other fans, I have not liked it since its inception. And as if Natalia’s remarks about Kristina and Ali, and outing them weren’t infuriating enough, TJ and Molly decided to challenge her for the title of Worst People in Port Charles. First, I just want to get one thing out of the way. I was never a Perez fan or follower, but it feels like he’s so 2000 and yesterday. Wasn’t he canceled himself because of his behavior and scandals? That said, I thought Kristina and Blaze were great on his show, and it seemed to accomplish what they set out to do.

So how did Molly and TJ react? They made a segment that had nothing to do with them or their baby all about them and their baby. It’s as if they heard nothing except Kristina lay claim to their kid, which she did not. TJ’s attitude towards Kristina these past few months finally rubbed off on Molly, who hopped on the trash-Kristina train. Molly lashing out at Kristina, claiming she has all the lesbians on the internet rooting for her, Blaze and this baby, and then throwing her past failed relationships in her face as a reason she shouldn’t be a mother… disgusting! I still don’t like this surrogacy storyline, but Molly and TJ now have me fully on Team Kristina/Blaze if this goes to court! And speaking of court, hot on the heels of the news of Lucky’s return, Molly’s father, Ric Lansing, is returning to General Hospital! Though last we saw him, he was in prison for trying to scam Nina out of her fortune and also the fiasco with Jake Doe/Not Jason/Drew? So… does he even have the ability to practice law anymore?

Jeepers Creepers

Finally, the scenes between Willow and Drew at the lake were just over-the-top creepy. Willow couldn’t take her eyes off a wet and fresh-out-of-the-water Drew, and later, he couldn’t help but watch her and Michael kissing. Yup, there is no way these two aren’t going to give in to passion at some point, and my money is on little Wiley being the one to catch them!