Finally! (ABC)

A look back at Port Charles.

The revolving door to Port Chuck didn’t get much of a break in 2010 with the likes of Dr. Lisa Niles, Franco, Brook Lynn, Maya Ward, Skye Quartermaine, Claire Walsh, Siobhan, Jerry Jacks and the still-lovely Brenda Barrett showing up. There were a few notable departures too, with the demise of Keiffer Bauer topping the list in my opinion. If you’re not sure how you feel about the plot twists and turns from 2010, maybe my take on them will refresh your memory.

Love triangle: Nikolas/Elizabeth/Lucky.
Yuck, yuck, yuck. The character of Elizabeth was eroded considerably by her inability to fight her temptation for the love-of-her-life’s brother! Granted, we saw some human frailty in her when she tried to pass her love child with Jason off as Lucky’s a few years ago, but you’d have thought the girl would’ve learned her lesson, right? If I were Rebecca Herbst, I’d not be pleased.

Cheater: Patrick Drake with Lisa Niles.
When Lisa first breezed into town, I skeeved a little every time she brought up the good ‘ol days with Mr. Robin Scorpio and now I know why. She had a plan and for a while there it looked as if it was working. I don’t doubt for a minute that Robin and Patrick will find their way back together and it might even be enjoyable to watch. What would be even better to witness is a new storyline that lets Dr. Lisa continue her villainess ways paired up with the likes of Johnny. (On a side note, I’m done with Olivia oozing her lust for Johnny. In fact, I think I could enjoy a nice farewell party with buckets of pasta and Chianti as she heads back to Benson Hurst.)

Bad guy meets his maker: Keiffer Bauer.
I have nothing but praise for this poignant storyline. It brought out so many layers in characters who were merely in the periphery. Who would’ve thought that a strong woman like Alexis would have a daughter who allowed physical abuse at the hands of a beau? Who could’ve predicted that Sonny would bare himself in therapy in order to help his daughter gain some much-needed self esteem? And finally, Kristina herself – Lexi Ainsworth played this story with just the right balance of vulnerability, denial and finally strength. The fact that Ethan bore the brunt of the blame for an uncomfortably long period of time made this story even more unnerving.

What goes on behind closed bars: Michael’s incarceration.
Claudia’s death back in 2009 carried over in a big way into the lives of several key players in 2010. While I wasn’t thrilled when Dante came forward with the truth about Michael’s part in the killing, he did redeem himself in my eyes as a loving and protective big brother. Just when I was getting used to Michael not being a red-headed tween…just when I was starting to buy into Drew Garrett as Carly’s beloved firstborn, TPTB swapped him for Chad Duell at the precise moment when we were supposed to be ripped up that such a sweet young guy was going off to Pentonville. To Duell’s credit, it didn’t take long to be sickened on Michael’s behalf when Carter did his damage. I couldn’t have predicted that Jason would willingly get himself sent to prison to protect Michael; that was sheer genius. What we have today is a haunted Michael, but I’m looking forward to watching him overcome in 2011.