General Hospital’s Esme Pulls Her Nastiest Stunt Yet — Plus, Does Operation Demeter Mean What We Think It Does?

Credit: ABC screenshots (3)

This week fans said goodbye to Sydney Mikayla as Trina on General Hospital, and she sure went out with a bang. Esme, unfortunately, took her plot against Trina to the next level. Liz found herself still without answers as to who is haunting her, and we got our first big clue as to what Victor is up to. Finally, Friday’s cliffhanger certainly seemed to set up Willow as Nina’s daughter. 

Sick and Twisted

Just when you thought Esme couldn’t sink any lower, she outdid herself in a number of ways. The bruises her loving father Ryan gave her when he manhandled her she skillfully played off as being done to her when Carly grabbed and confronted her over the sex tape. Actually, do we even call them sex tapes in the digital age? Nikolas taking Esme to the ER had me scratching my head because such developed bruises likely wouldn’t have appeared instantaneously. But, medicine on GH never follows the laws of reality. However, she used his concern to get crazy close to him. I had already suggested in last week’s column that Esme might sleep with Nikolas, or make it look like she did, and that seems to be where this is headed.

Above: Esme seems to be charming and conning Nikolas as easily as she did his son. (Credit: ABC screenshot)

More: Sydney Mikayla’s individual goodbye messages to castmates

Spencer and Trina’s scene, which was Sydney’s last, was fantastically acted by both of the young performers. They each had amazing and clever dialogue, I’d even go so far as to call the whole conversation very existential. Trina trying to force Spencer to open his eyes to Esme was simply sad on Spencer’s end. The fact that he thinks Esme’s all he has in the world shows how warped his thinking is by his hatred for Ava and on some level still, Nikolas.

This was the scene for me. Y’all! My heart fell right out my chest! The chemistry! I wanted him to tell her he loves her so bad! #SydneyMikayla will be missed. #GH https://t.co/yUAvuU7aFS

— STWBubbles (@BubblesStw) March 18, 2022

Of course, the spying, and jealous Esme put the final part of her revenge scheme into place by slipping the burner phone into Trina’s bag and then calling the police on her. I’m sure her plan will work initially, and Cam and Joss will turn on Trina. Though I really hope I’m wrong and they stick by Trina’s side. Also, there are a lot of issues with the believability that Esme could pull all this off. Spinelli could hack the phone and trace its geolocation unless Esme managed to turn that off, to prove it wasn’t always where Trina was. There also, even if not displayed on the screen, should be a timestamp and signs the video was edited down. That could prove Esme planted the recording device. Esme was also at Spring Ridge when the phone mysteriously found its way into her purse, so Trina could easily claim Esme has framed her again. And as many viewers have noted, Esme’s prints are all over that phone!

After finally confronting Spencer about his feelings for Trina, Spencer finally started to wise up to Esme’s games. As he put it, “You say Trina is behind the tape, but everyone else says it’s you!” She refused to answer whether she did it or not, and walked out leaving Spencer hanging. Yeah, I’m definitely seeing Esme being found in bed with Nikolas after Spencer painfully rejects her, which will be her words, not mine. I have to say, her character may be twisted, but Avery Pohl is a brilliant actress and crazy good at playing… well, crazy. I wouldn’t be shocked if both she and Sydney are up for Daytime Emmys this season.

More: Has General Hospital unknowingly shaken up the teen scene?

I Always Feel Like, Somebody’s Watching Me

Finn and Jake’s talk was eye-opening for Liz, who learned Jake wasn’t behind the things happening to her and he has been talking to her parents Jeff and Carolyn online for months. When Liz’s father was brought back up last October, fans were hopeful he or both Jeff and Carolyn might return to Port Charles. Heck, Carolyn has never been shown! Now that they’ve been mentioned again, it sure looks like they could return. Fans still are hoping the show won’t go down the Dissociative Identity Disorder storyline for Liz, which sadly is the one theory right now that looks to make the most sense. However, I’ve also suggested that somehow it could be Heather Webber tormenting Liz, even if she’s just orchestrating it from the mental asylum.

Above: Will Liz’s parents finally return to Port Charles? Or are we in for another letdown? (Credit: ABC screenshot)

Sinking feeling they are going to waste Liz’s parents’ storyline by using it as a device to try to build up Finn as her s/o. He’s been a part of every time it’s been mentioned & he’s already heavy handed in the gaslight S/L. I’m NOT here for that. #GH

— GG (@MOURNinGLORY88) March 18, 2022

Operation Spring Awakening

Watching Drew play Victor and pretend to be under his control via the fake tarot card was a lot of fun until Carly came upon them and ruined the whole plan. Good job Carly! However, they did come away with what Victor is looking for, something called Operation Demeter, which was part of Drew’s past during his navy days. And while those memories don’t exist in his head, there have to be files on it out there that Spinelli could locate. Indeed, Sam proposed bringing him in on the operation to Dante by the end of the week, and naturally, the detective was against it. She called him out on his bruised ego over needing Spinelli’s skills, forcing him to admit she was right. The scene between the two felt way more comfortable than much of their others that the show has forced upon viewers in trying to make us believe in them as a couple.

Above: Fans may not be feeling their romantic chemistry, but Sam and Dante do make a good detective team. (Credit: ABC screenshot)

Sam and Dante seem to be hitting other bumps in the road while working this operation. When Dante wanted to shut things down after Victor tested Drew to throw Yohan off the bridge, Sam told him that she trusts Drew and to let him play this out, and for Dante to trust her. Dante appeared a little shaken. In trying to move forward, it seems as if Sam is denying any feelings for or connection to Drew that she still has. However, Maurice Benard has teased that Carly and Drew appear to be a thing coming up soon, which I have been dreading. It feels like poor Drew is simply a Jason replacement for Carly, who was hit hard learning that Monica was having him legally declared dead.

More: Recognizing Erika Slezak’s iconic OLTL role 

Indeed after they were left alone on the footbridge, Carly and Drew had a heart to heart about Jason, Sonny, and other things. After Drew left her, Carly was looking like a love-struck teen as she clung to the bridge’s beams. The two do have amazing chemistry, but it seems Cameron Mathison has chemistry with everyone on the show. Carly learning from Drew what the cards and words to control him was, and then joking it could come in handy if she needs to teach Nina a lesson, was actually really funny. Likewise, it felt like Drew joking, “What, the tarot card made me do it isn’t a good legal defense?” was a pot-shot at Days of Our Lives and the current possession, aka the devil made me do it, storyline.

Above: Victor played the wrong card again and revealed a major clue with a connection to mythology. (Credit: ABC screenshot)

As for what Operation Demeter is? Well if you know your Greek mythology, Demeter is the goddess of agriculture and harvests. But she is most known for the story of Hades and Persephone, the latter who is her daughter and the goddess of spring. In the story, Hades kidnaps Persephone and makes her his bride, and takes her down to the underworld. Demeter and Persephone are heartbroken at being separated, and eventually, it is decided that she spends six months with Hades in the underworld and six months in the earthly realm with her mother. The story has several meanings for the ancient Greeks, and the reason for the changing seasons is one of them. Just last week I had wondered what happened with the wacky heatwave in February that everyone was mentioning, which was suddenly completely dropped. My original theory that this connects to the ice princess and Mikkos’ weather machine may not have been that far off after all.

More: Why Peter August’s death was such a letdown

Odds and Ends

• I’m always one who loves when soap operas use the vets more, but Anna and Felicia’s adventure in Austria really could have been condensed to them returning home and telling the story of what happened.

• With so many shipping Brook Lynn and Chase, it amazes me that their characters are reduced to one episode a week if we are lucky. However what we got was amazing, and Chase singing one of BLQ’s songs to convince her she could have a career as a songwriter was swoon-worthy.

• Sonny realizing his drinking was turning him into his step-father was a powerful scene, but I’m still not convinced they won’t take this into a full-blown alcoholism storyline. Just because it means more story for Sonny.

• Harmony’s initial shock when Nina told her they had someone in common, and she didn’t seem to immediately realize it was Wiley, just further seems to cement that they are going to make Willow turn out to be Nina’s daughter. And Phyllis, Nina’s nurse, recognizing Harmony as Lorainne Miller seems even more damning. Then there is Willow’s mysteriously passing out. While it could be a pregnancy storyline, it seems more like they are setting up the old “she’s going to need an organ transplant” soap trope.

• Alexis telling Shawn she wasn’t ready to give their relationship another try, and perhaps they already missed their chance, was heartbreaking. Shawn’s entire return to the show feels like so many wasted opportunities.

• Michael’s arrest for punching the sleazy tabloid reporter for once had me feeling sorry for him because, like Chase, he was provoked into it.

These are just my thoughts and opinions. Agree or disagree, or have something else you need to speak out on, please leave a comment below.

Before you go, be sure to check out our One Life to Live cast then and now gallery. And yes, General Hospital fans, you’ll find a few familiar Port Charles faces among the mix!