General Hospital Recap: Dante And Nina Take The Stand, Anna Gets A Blast From The Past And More
On the December 18 episode of General Hospital, Anna’s (Finola Hughes) past collided with her present, Jason (Steve Burton) desperately sought assistance from Josslyn (Eden McCoy), Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) helped Carly (Laura Wright) grasp that Jack (Chris McKenna) had been manipulating her from the get-go, and Tracy (Jane Elliot) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) were both called to testify at Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) trial. But that’s not all that happened, so keep on reading for the full scoop.
The Next Chapter
Anna was meditating when Pascal came over the PA system and instructed her, in French, to face the wall so he could bring in her lunch. Reluctantly, Anna followed the orders, and once he entered her quarters with a serving tray, Pascal questioned why she wasn’t working on her memoirs. As they continued the conversation in French, an exasperated Anna wondered where he’d brought her and why he’d left her a notebook, but Pascal didn’t provide any answers, only admired how she’d been keeping herself occupied while held captive. Once done eating, Anna angrily picked up the tray but felt something on the bottom. Taped to the underside was a package wrapped in brown paper, which turned out to be a paperback copy of The Crystalline Conspiracy by P.K. Sinclair — a novel Faison had written under a nom de plume based on his and Anna’s time working together as spies. Upon reading the inscription, “For My Muse — C,” a horrified Anna tossed the book across the room.
A Painful Truth
Still pretending to be the doting girlfriend, Carly gushed when Jack gave her a necklace as an early Christmas gift. He questioned why she hadn’t been at the hotel the last few days, so she covered by saying she loved being at home during the holidays. Plus, she wasn’t expecting to see much of him while the manhunt for Valentin was ongoing, Carly added. When Jack sighed that Lulu was blocking him from speaking with Charlotte, Carly wondered if he needed her to speak with her cousin. Averting her gaze, Jack replied that he’d never want to involve Carly or her family in his work. Carly concealed her fury over Jack’s remark and offered to speak to Lulu on his behalf, then the couple kissed.
Once Jack had gone, Valentin emerged from the attic. Carly filled him in on how Lulu wasn’t letting Jack speak with Charlotte and added that she believed Jack truly wanted to keep Charlotte safe. Scoffing that Jack was only kind when it benefited himself, Valentin asked how Carly had gotten involved with him in the first place. She explained how Jason had been forced to work with the FBI, which eventually led to her visiting Jack in prison for information on how the FBI worked, and then Agent John Cates taking her to court on racketeering charges. Putting the pieces together, Valentin deduced that the charges were dropped when the video evidence disappeared, since the WSB had technology that could manipulate files. “Hold on. Are you telling me that Jack made the evidence against me disappear?” an appalled Carly questioned. “Well, it wasn’t Santa Claus,” Valentin wisecracked.
Although horrified to realize the lengths Jack had gone to, Carly wiped tears from her eyes as she mused that Jack never told her because he must not have wanted her to feel like she owed him something. Calling her interpretation dangerously naïve, Valentin relayed that Jack never told her because he was withholding that information until he could make the most use out of it.
Going For Broke
Brad took Britt to Café Cherie to catch up, where they celebrated their reunion over champagne and a five-course meal. Brad wanted all the details about her supposed death, so Britt gave him the rundown on how she’d been drugged after Heather’s attack and smuggled to a five-star resort in Croatia by her father’s former associates. In exchange for an experimental drug that kept her Huntington’s at bay, she helped with their top-secret cold fusion research. Although Pascal was her handler, her orders came from the top guy, Jenz Sidwell, Britt explained, and Brad recognized the name as the father of Lucas’s new boyfriend, Marco. Continuing her recap, Britt shared how Jason had eventually rescued her and brought her back to Port Charles. But as relieved as she was to be free of the prison she was in at the Five Poppies, Britt confided, she was still being forced to do Sidwell’s research if she wanted to continue receiving her medication. After expressing their happiness to be back in each other’s lives, Britt and Brad had a stare-down when it came to paying the bill and realized they were both too broke to cover the tab.
Visitation Rites
After taking Charlotte home from school, Nathan waited for Lulu to return from the courthouse, and she confided how much she appreciated him helping her out. She vented her fears that Charlotte would leave with Valentin if given the chance, but Nathan assured her that based on the conversations he’d had with the teen, Charlotte loved her mother. Jack then knocked on the door, demanding to speak with Lulu alone. To Brennan’s dismay, she insisted that Nathan stick around, and when she refused to allow him to talk with Charlotte, Jack threatened to take her down to the WSB headquarters to talk. Since she shared a daughter with a wanted fugitive, Jack claimed, it was a matter of national security. Standing her ground, Lulu dared Brennan to take her in, but Nathan refused to let her be questioned without an attorney.
Reiterating his spiel that Valentin could come for Charlotte and Lulu was allowing her daughter to be collateral damage, Jack hit a nerve when he questioned her decision-making as a mother. As their conversation grew more heated, Jack declared that Valentin had raised Charlotte to be his accessory, and when Nathan sarcastically questioned if Brennan was going to arrest a 16-year-old girl, Jack boasted that he was going to be the one to save Charlotte’s life. Realizing he wasn’t going to get anywhere with Nathan standing by as Lulu’s guard dog, Jack suggested Lulu might be playing right into Detective West’s hands. Commenting on how convenient it was that the PCPD gave Nathan his badge back despite him missing seven years of memory, Jack warned Lulu to remember that her friend’s father was Faison.
Plea Bargain
Jason stopped by Josslyn’s apartment unannounced and held up his phone, which displayed a message asking if she swept the place for bugs. Since she did that daily, once Josslyn confirmed they were clear, they discussed how the WSB doesn’t trust anyone, not even their own agents. Needing her help for Britt’s sake, Jason wanted to know how the WSB’s investigation into the Five Poppies was tied to Sidwell, Dalton, and Faison. Joss argued that it would be treason for her, as an agent, to share that intel, but Jason countered that people would assume he’d received the info from Britt. When Josslyn suggested that he just get what he needed to know from Britt, Jason revealed that Britt wouldn’t tell him anything. Practically begging, Jason reminded Josslyn that Britt had twice saved her life, and Britt needed the medication they had. She could trust him, Jason declared — unlike Jack Brennan.
Josslyn then shared that she’d been having second thoughts about working for the WSB ever since Vaughn had disappeared, and she felt like she was nothing more than a tool for her boss since Jack was so single-minded about Sidwell and Faison’s project. Jason vowed that he’d die to protect her and Britt, and Joss agreed that she trusted him more than Brennan.
He Said, She Said
During a break after opening statements, Alexis reminded Willow to be attentive, but not emotional, when the witnesses were speaking, and Dante alerted Justine that the traffic cam footage of Willow outside Drew’s house had gone missing. Once the trial resumed, Turner called Tracy as her first witness. As Tracy walked through her actions after finding Drew bleeding on the floor, Justine questioned if she’d touched or moved anything other than the blanket she used to cover Drew — specifically the softball bat — but Tracy testified that she’d stepped over the bat and didn’t touch anything else. During cross-examination, Alexis questioned why Tracy had gone out in a rainstorm to visit the victim, and Tracy snapped that she’d gone to Drew’s house to confront him for having her friend, Stella, arrested. When Alexis next asked if Tracy had seen Alexis’s client on the premises, Tracy flashed back to the day she’d told Michael she’d seen him outside Drew’s house. She then answered the defense attorney with an honest “no.”
Nina was then called to the stand, and when Justine questioned why she’d provided a false alibi for herself and Willow, Nina claimed that she’d wanted to protect her daughter from going through a witch hunt. Taking over questioning, Alexis prompted Nina to admit that Willow never asked her to make up the alibi and likely went along with it because she thought her mother might have been the shooter. During a recess after Nina’s testimony, Drew crowed to Team Willow that the jury wasn’t buying the prosecution’s weak case. Nina confided that she tried her best to take the blame for the false alibi and then smiled to herself when Alexis fretted about what the jury would think once they saw the footage from the traffic camera.
Next, Dante testified about the forensic evidence related to the gun used to shoot Drew, and how cell phone records and footage from traffic camera 65 placed Willow near the congressman’s home. When Justine tried to submit photographs (and not the original footage, which the prosecution couldn’t produce) from the traffic camera as evidence, Alexis objected, since digital images could easily be manipulated. Ultimately agreeing with the defense, the judge ruled the photos inadmissible, delivering a blow to the prosecution’s case.
During cross-examination, Dante squirmed in his seat as Alexis questioned how Willow became the PCPD’s main suspect on night one of the investigation. The defense attorney established that a large number of people who lived and worked at the Quartermaine estate would have had easier access to the weapon than her client — including Dante’s own brother, Michael Corinthos. Kristina entered the courtroom, and Tracy exited, as Alexis asked Dante if he’d ever considered Michael to be a suspect, or if his personal ties had interfered with his judgment. Justine quickly objected to that statement, and the judge concurred. Dante was then dismissed. Turning back towards the gallery, Alexis was surprised to see Kristina sitting behind Michael — and seemed even more surprised when Justine called Kristina as the prosecution’s next witness!
Why do you think Anna was given a copy of Faison’s novel about her? Is Brennan right to warn Lulu about Nathan’s intentions? What do you think Kristina will say under oath about Willow?
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