Small sacrifices

Several faced critical junctures in their lives, which forced them to ponder the price of happiness. A teenage act of rebellion, dire visions, and two crumbing marriages -- can they be saved, or is it too late?

Sonny plucked a page from his old playbook and lured Carly to his island in San Juan, Puerto Rico, on the pretext that she needed to sign some paperwork for the liquor distributor. Carly merrily kissed Josslyn goodbye, hopped on a private jet, and took off for a day trip to Puerto Rico to sign some papers that evidently needed to be dropped off at the local bank before the end of the day.

Cue a liquor distributor running on "island time" and a timely monsoon that hit during a romantic stroll on the beach and knocked out the power, and you have the perfect setting for a seduction. Carly held up her end by slipping out of her wet clothes and into a sexy blue slinky robe.

Side note: Laura Wright's curly mane is absolutely gorgeous. Stop taming her locks with harsh implements of torture. I think she looks stunning au naturel.

As Sonny lit candles and mixed up a couple of potent mojitos, Carly was dealing with a riot of emotions because the island was a bittersweet reminder of Morgan and of the days when she and Sonny were a happily married couple spiriting their children to the island for vacations -- and the occasional stays when things got a little too hot in Port Charles during Sonny's various mob wars. Good times.

Sonny was charming, understanding, and completely focused on seducing Carly by candlelight. He clearly wants her to call off the divorce, but Carly remains determined to end things, at least on paper. It's the relationship that she's having trouble with because despite everything, Carly loves Sonny. That will never stop, and she's not sure if she can truly move on if a part of her heart will always belong to Sonny.

Ironically, Carly went through a similar struggle during her earlier years with Sonny because she once loved Jason with the same intensity.

I think Carly has accepted that she and Sonny will always be a part of each other's lives, but they can't be married because marriage has never worked for them, no matter how hard they tried. Also, Carly has Josslyn to consider, and Josslyn has no intention of forgiving Sonny anytime soon.

Sonny can shrug and justify having Jax deported all he wants, but in the end, Josslyn was the one who paid the highest price because Sonny made certain that her father would never be there for some of the important milestones in her life like her graduation, Sweet Sixteen, first prom, and so on. That's not something a volatile teenager gets over, especially when she has spent years yo-yoing between her mother and stepfather's bitter breakups and joyful reconciliations, dodging assassins and bullets, and being told that her stepfather is just a coffee importer.

I did enjoy Sonny and Carly's scenes in the bungalow on Sonny's island, but mainly because they reminded me of the past when I always rooted for Sonny and began to see Carly as something other than a scheming shrew who shamelessly used her son to keep herself in the lap of luxury. Carly was those things and more, but over time, she has evolved and become softer, wiser, and a lot more self-aware. She takes responsibility for the things she does, and she can admit when she's wrong.

Sonny? Not so much. Sonny has regressed and proven time and again that he is unwilling to make even the smallest of sacrifices for the sake of his loved ones.

Sadly, it's usually the other way around.

If Carly needed another reminder of why she shouldn't be near Sonny, an enemy managed to come calling during her romantic interlude with Sonny. I'm not sure how Garvey managed to slither onto the island, since it's been a long-established rule that Sonny's island is a safe haven from all his enemies, the one place on earth where everyone is supposed to be protected from his enemies. No one gets on or off the island without being cleared through Sonny's security, and there's a heavy presence of his men on the island who are supposed to make sure no one slips between the cracks.

How the grieving brother of one of Sonny's recent victims -- a man who is newly released from prison, is a known associate of Julian's, and has a history of violence -- did what no one had managed to do before is a mystery and proof once again that Sonny can never truly protect his loved ones from his lifestyle.

I guess we can blame it on the blackout, which apparently didn't have any impact on Jason's supersonic jet landing in the middle of the night. A good thing, because Jason was able to race to Sonny and Carly's rescue and save the day.

Seriously, when is someone going to buy Jason a cape?

Back in Port Charles, Josslyn jump-started her rebellious years with a kegger at Carly's house. It seems like it was just a year or two ago that Josslyn and Spencer were scampering around Spoon Island and plotting against Cameron and Emma.

Oh, wait, it was.

I'm not sure how to reconcile Spencer being Charlotte and Emma's age while Josslyn is suddenly closer to Molly's age. Meanwhile, Cameron remains frozen in preteen purgatory despite being the oldest one in the bunch! I digress, though.

Josslyn is acting out because she's sick of watching her mother settle for less. Her solution is to let loose, which I suspect is an attempt to force Carly to focus on Josslyn rather than Sonny. Carly is about to get a big dose of karmic payback in the form of a daughter who is just like her. As if that's not enough, Carly's son has decided to start dating the girl who imploded Carly's marriage.

Nelle knows she's going to have to pay the piper eventually when Carly finds out about Michael and Nelle, but until then, Nelle is going to enjoy her turn of good luck. Nelle managed to land a great job and a date with Michael all in the same day. You'd think she'd count her lucky stars and make every effort to stay out of trouble, but nope, she decided to cozy up to Nina by encouraging Nina to pursue a relationship with Charlotte regardless of how Lulu -- the child's mother -- feels about it. Nelle's logic is that it should be Charlotte's decision, not Lulu's.

I get that Nina and Charlotte share a bond because Nina was married to Valentin for a hot minute, but it's not like Lulu is the Wicked Witch of the West. Lulu is a loving mother, devoted wife, successful businesswoman, and upstanding citizen in the community. She adores her daughter and wants to give Charlotte a wonderful life.

I hated that Nelle stuck her nose in a situation that really didn't concern her. It makes me wonder why. Like Nina, Nelle hasn't known Charlotte all that long. However, Nina, at least, seems to recognize that it's in Charlotte's best interest to settle in with Lulu and to develop a real bond with her mother, while Nelle acts like Lulu is little more than a babysitter. Could Nelle be projecting her own issues onto Charlotte? We heard a lot about Nelle's father, but I don't recall her saying much about her mother.

Regardless, Nelle is playing a dangerous game because Lulu is Michael's sister-in-law, and Charlotte, by extension, is his niece. He's not going to be happy if Nina causes trouble for Lulu because Nelle is whispering in Nina's ear.

As for Nina, she must finally realize that the bad side of Valentin -- the one he never shows her -- is very bad indeed.

Spencer's emotional breakdown in Nina's office was very hard to watch. I know Nina was as moved as I was when Spencer tearfully told her in heartbreaking clarity that he grieves deeply for his father every single moment of every single day, and it's because of Valentin's actions that Spencer had everything ripped away from him.

And that, folks, is the crux of my issue with Valentin.

Valentin killed Nikolas, and he tried to kidnap Spencer with heaven knows what intention.

Valentin entered that room on Cassadine Island, knowing that he would kill both Nikolas and Ava after he forced Nikolas to sign over everything. Valentin didn't care as he watched his nephew tumble over the balcony to his death with a gunshot to his stomach, and Valentin had zero remorse for robbing an orphaned child of his legacy.

These were scenes that played out on our screens a year ago next month. Until the writers can right these wrongs, I can't see Valentin as anything other than a killer, a bully, and a thief. Yes, he had a rough start in life, but that doesn't justify the atrocities he has committed.

I hope Nina moves on because, as much as Valentin claims to love her, Kevin was right; Valentin wasn't honest with her. He wanted Nina to love an illusion, not the man he was.

Speaking of honesty, why is Jordan putting up with Auntie Stella's antics instead of just telling Stella the truth about Thomas and T.J.?

I get that Stella is angry about Jordan cheating on dead Thomas and lying about T.J.'s paternity. I also understand why Stella thought Shawn had been responsible for Thomas' death because the cover story does sound damaging, but Stella angrily confronting Jordan in the squad room, calling her names, and behaving like a lunatic did not endear her to me. It was the wrong place for something like that, and it made Stella look far worse than she was accusing Jordan of being.

I would have preferred that the confrontation had taken place somewhere other than the police station because it underscored that Stella was vindictive and belligerent rather than hurt and sympathetic. I'm surprised Jordan didn't have Stella removed kicking and screaming from the police station with a warning that she could have thrown Stella in jail for disorderly conduct and disturbing the peace.

I wanted to like Stella, but she's just too cruel and judgmental.

I'm also a bit baffled why T.J. would want to have a relationship with a woman who is so openly hostile toward his mother. My kids would be far more loyal than that. In fact, my kids would have set their auntie straight from the onset because they were taught not to lie, especially about something that's not even a secret.

Everyone in Jordan and T.J.'s lives -- except for Stella -- knew that Shawn is T.J.'s father. Hence, Molly didn't think twice about talking to Stella about it.

Finally, Sam has been slowly unraveling for a couple of weeks now, and people are starting to notice. It's hard not to when she's jumpy, weepy, and looking like a zombie because she hasn't slept in ages. Yet surprisingly, no one has yet to suggest that perhaps Sam is having a postpartum issue. The visions and voices in her head strongly suggest that it might be a form of psychosis, but instead, everyone opts to downplay things.

The consensus of those close to Sam is that her "episodes" are a result of her being overwhelmed by having a newborn because apparently taking care of a newborn is a lot more challenging than raising children from one year old and up. Molly also thinks Sam's fierce desire to protect Scout has spilled over onto Jason.

I was stunned when Sam tearfully told Jason about the crippling sense of dread that she's been feeling, and his answer was to leave town, anyway, because only he could properly warn Sonny of the impending danger. Sure, Jason made a show of being reluctant to leave, but all it took was for Sam to say that she would be fine with Molly until he got back. The fact that Sam's voice cracked and she was shaking and fighting back tears the whole time didn't seem to register with him.

I'm not sure what is going on with Sam. My gut tells me that it's connected to Helena in some way. That would certainly be the more interesting angle than a sudden onset of precognitive abilities or mystery illness.

It's time for someone to find a way to break Helena's curses. As much as I love the old gal, if she's dead, then it's time to let her rest in misery.

Nina served Valentin with divorce papers, which begs the question -- how did she get them so fast? It was my understanding that Nathan suggested it at Kelly's right before she popped over to the police station to see Valentin for the last time.

I love Quinn Danvers, but I still abhor Amy. Maxie can't get home fast enough.

Brava, Laura, for scolding Spencer because he acts like the rules don't apply to him. Making him apologize and taking the phone away with a reminder that a phone was a privilege he must earn was downright refreshing. Finally, parenting done right.

How disappointing to have Ava look in the mirror, scream in horror at what she saw, and then just leave it at that. I had hoped for more.

I'm not sure who James DePaiva will play, but I hope he will be around long enough to become a love interest for Carly. Perhaps he will be Ava's plastic surgeon. That would be an interesting twist.

Re: Molly to Sam: "I swear, he (Jason) is going to learn to love multisyllabic words."Beautiful line to put in a script. Honestly, more people might watch soaps if they put in more of that witty banter. All the younger kids I know (20s) are crazy about comedians and things that can bring some glee. Imagine if they could get that daily on a soap? -- Lisa S.

I enjoyed seeing Lucas this week...I like his character, so it would be cool if he was on more and interacted more with other characters. -- lk

I don't recall if it was ever previously established that Curtis and Thomas' mother, and TJ's "grandmother" was dead, but having her sister getting up in everybody's face, and declaring that there will "be no peace," seems WAAAAY over the top. Apparently, when Curtis' mother died, she made Aunt Stella "Boss" of the family. If I were him, I think I'd demand a recount. -- Scrimmage

Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts about the show. I love hearing from readers, so please feel free to email me or leave a comment below.

Until next time, take care.Liz Masters

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