General Hospital Ends the Week on a High Note With a Smart and Fun Tribute Episode to John Reilly’s Sean Donely

Credit: ABC screenshot

This week on General Hospital, Cyrus finally is living up to his villainous potential, but for some viewers, it’s too little, too late. The Nixon Falls storyline continues to drag on, and Friday’s episode was a great tribute to the late John Reilly.

The Quartermaine Hotel

Monica should probably start charging her houseguests because everyone in Port Charles is moving into the Quartermaine mansion. Valentin became a guest in order to keep an eye on Brook Lynn. Hilarity ensued when he, wearing only a towel, accidentally walked into Olivia’s room surprising her. Brook Lynn joking that he saw Olivia naked was actually a really funny scene. It was a nice touch of comedy to what really is an absurd storyline. Yuri, the guard Valentin hired to tail Brook Lynn, should probably be fired because he’s doing a terrible job.

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Meanwhile, Michael invited Chase to move in temporarily when Chase insisted on checking himself out of the hospital. With Willow and Michael unable to stop stealing kisses in secret, poor Chase is bound to get his heart broken sooner than later. This latest plotline is as frustrating to watch as the lie Sasha and Chase told about their affair. Willow and Michael just need to rip the band-aid off and spare us all the misery. While Michael and Willow have their fans, I find them boring to watch. If they aren’t talking about Chase, they are talking about Wiley and his toys. It’s not exactly a riveting romance.

The Ponytailed Mobster’s Losing It

Cyrus finally began to show how ruthless he could be and took the gloves off with his sister after realizing she and Nikolas set him up with the fake family dinner from hell so that Carly could break Jason out of the hospital. Jeff Kober certainly was chilling as he warned Laura she had lost a brother and gained an enemy. This, and his killing one of his own men the week before, really showcased how scary of a villain he can be.

I found the scenes of Laura filling Ava and Nikolas in about Cyrus declaring war on them very well done, and I am really enjoying Ava and Laura’s newfound relationship when it comes to protecting Nikolas. Even Ava and Carly’s scenes have been a nice change of pace, with Ava offering to help Carly deal with Cyrus in any way she can. Unfortunately, many viewers have commented in our recaps and last week’s soapbox that they are tired of Cyrus at this point and just want to see him gone. Cyrus is a great example of a villain that had so much potential, but his storyline wasn’t developed quickly enough, and with the focus on his mother and obsession with Laura, it was hard to invest in his arc.

The show has been hinting that the downfall of Cyrus may be coming soon. Not only has he lost Laura, but Carly handed him his ass, as Ava noted, at the meeting of the five families. Then there was the drama with Sasha. When he found out Sasha was pregnant he became fixated on learning who the father was. She claimed it was a one-night stand, to protect Brando, and really gave Cyrus hell. The scenes of Sasha laying into Cyrus for being obsessed with her were amazing and well-acted by Sofia Mattsson. She delivered a major burn when Cyrus suggested they’d speak again and she replied, “Let’s not!” As for Gladys, who started all this trouble by telling Cyrus about the baby, she’s another character that many fans are tired of.

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My prediction: Cyrus will go down, but won’t be out. If he’s sent back to Pentonville, even just to await trial, he’s going to make Alexis’ life hell.

Nixon Falls… Flat

Speaking of tired, that word best sums up the Nixon Falls storyline that has been predictable where Elijah is concerned since the moment he was introduced. Elijah is scummy, but he’s not a riveting villain. This entire storyline needs to be wrapped up and the town of Nixon Falls never spoken of again!

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“O Canada!”

Jason and Britt made their way to a lighthouse in Canada, where Jason convinced Britt to find out if she had Huntington’s Disease at the local hospital. I’m still finding these two a delight to watch, and am really enjoying seeing Britt’s vulnerable side. However, the show left us hanging on whether or not she has her father’s disease! I just can’t fathom them giving it to Britt after building up this storyline between her and Jason. Then again, General Hospital loves giving its character’s the most awful diseases.

Meanwhile, I continue to find Dante and Sam just ho-hum. Dante’s joking around with Sam that the next time she goes rogue she might not luck out in getting such a nice and good-looking cop was cute. However, their entire argument over the tires and her risking all for Jason felt redundant of pretty much every scene Sam has been in over the past few weeks.

A Special Tribute

Friday ended the week with a bang and a special episode dedicated to the late John Reilly, who played Sean Donely on the ABC soap for years. I usually groan anytime there is a very special episode on a soap, but understand that with legacy characters some mentioning and marking of their actor’s passing is needed. This one I found really fun and overall well done. I also liked that it centered on the vets, and included John Reilly’s real-life daughter as his onscreen daughter Annie. Halfway through the episode, it was clear all was not as it seemed with Sean’s friends getting snatched from the Irish inn, and it reminded me of the old eighties horror film April Fool’s Day which has an ending twist that’s not to be spoiled. The flashbacks were also great. The only part that wasn’t great? That they had to insert Peter into this episode!

Can we keep Annie? Bring her back to Port Charles! #GH #JohnReilly #SeanDonelyTribute

— Jackie ♥ (@StoneColdMcCall) May 21, 2021

As usual, these are simply my opinions. Join the conversation by leaving yours in the comments.

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