Deconstructing GH: Julexis thrown a lifeline, other stories are drowning

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Port Charles was filled with so many secrets this week it was hard to keep track of them all at times. Some like the mysterious new mob boss and Anna’s past were interesting. Unfortunately, Finn being a junkie and Nelle still remaining a puzzle were not exciting many. Fans of Julexis definitely got a treat this week.

New Year newlyweds.
Valentin and Nina’s marriage was a nice little surprise, though I do feel Nina isn’t thinking clearly. Valentin showed Nina how dangerous he still is given he was not only carrying a gun, but assured her that they’d never hear from Claudette again. Yeah, we need to find out what has happened to poor Claudette, and Nina needs to open her eyes. My heart broke for her when she lashed out at Nathan, who wanted to get her out of the marriage. When she pointed out how love got her nowhere with Silas or Franco, and didn’t need love for her marriage to work, I could feel her pain.

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Anna’s search for the truth.
Andre putting Anna under hypnosis to uncover the truth about her connection to Valentin is giving me major flashbacks to all the times Marlena has done this over the years on “Days of our Lives.” Perhaps that’s why I’m enjoying this storyline. I also enjoy a good soap mystery, assuming the writers don’t drag it out too long.

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Oops she did it again!
I can’t believe we are still watching Alexis ruin her life with booze. First she almost burned her house and grandson down, then she ran over Julian. As Ava said this week, she should have hit her rock bottom by now. Now it turns out she may have blacked out and killed Tom Baker because she was hammered. I asked viewers whether they thought she killed Tom, or if this is just a red herring. Most feel she didn’t do it. If she didn’t, I wonder who did.

Do you think Alexis killed Tom Baker? #GH #Drunklexis

— Dustin Cushman (@BlueWizard75) January 5, 2017

Road to redemption.
Ava quickly realized Julian was blackmailing Alexis because he is trying to save her from drinking herself to death. Ava had some great jabs at him over Alexis’ drinking, including begging to be present when she found out that he dumped all the booze in the house. However, she is a smart cookie and is beginning to realize that everything Julian has done has probably been under someone’s orders. Even Sam began to realize something has been up with her dad. The old Julian showed himself to his daughter when he begged her to stop looking into things otherwise she’d put her whole family in danger. Many viewers are enjoying seeing Julian getting back to his former reformed self.

I love that Julian is the one to help Alexis heal as his explanation/redemption story unfolds simultaneously. #GoodSoap #Julexis #GH

— TotallyRandomRanda (@Random_RJM) December 29, 2016

The mysterious Winston and Jessup.
Violet noted in last week’s Deconstructing GH that Jessup could be connected to the Wu family given the whole Chinese theme they have going on. This would be a great way to bring back some old history and could bring Brad and Lucas back into the story, given the Wus are Brad’s biological family. Other viewers also miss these guys and would like them back on the screen more

@BlueWizard75 @Katehallds I hope we have more than #Brucas from their history of their marriage @RyanCarnes1 @parryshen

— viviana vero rojo (@miteo43) January 5, 2017

Back to the beginning?
With Finn and Hayden now cured of their disease I had hoped we would get to see their storyline go in a new direction. Instead the entire storyline went back to the beginning when it seemed that Finn was a drug addict. Now however he really is hooked on the drug that saved his life. The disease storyline lasted longer than needed, and now we are just extending it out even more. The writers need to come up with something new.

Never-ending Nelle.
As Carly and Sonny found their way back together for New Year’s, Nelle continued to play the caring and supportive friend. We know she’s full of it though. It’s long past time the writers throw us a bone and clue us in on what her beef with Carly is, passed the whole kidney thing.

These are only my opinions. Please leave your own in the comments, whether you agree or disagree with mine.

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Photo credit: Howard Wise/JPI, ABC

– Dustin Cushman