General Hospital Recap: Liz Takes A Big Risk For Jason, Michael Rejects Willow And More!

On the July 31st episode of General Hospital, Jason’s (Steve Burton) search for answers landed him on Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) doorstep, a desperate Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) pleas were shot down by Michael (Rory Gibson), Drew (Cameron Mathison) proposed a truce to Curtis (Donnell Turner), Carly (Laura Wright) had reservations about Josslyn’s (Eden McCoy) love life, Anna (Finola Hughes) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) opened up to one another and more. Keep reading to find out how it all went down.

Rejection Notice

At the Quartermaine mansion, Willow told Michael that he had been right about Drew all along. Rather than gloat, Michael told her he was sorry that Drew had not been sincere with her and warned her that he had manipulated Willow in ways she wasn’t aware of. Willow braced herself. Michael broke the news that when she had come to see him in Germany, he’d never been informed of her presence. He explained that he had been lonely and in pain and would love to have seen her. She was confused as to why the receptionist lied that he didn’t want to receive her visit. With horror, it dawned on Willow that Drew had instructed the receptionist to thwart them from meeting.

Michael and Willow agreed that they likely would have been able to work out what was best for their kids if they had been able to sit down together back then. Her eyes glistening with tears, Willow pointed out that they were in the same room now. “So please,” she urged. “Can we figure out what to do about our kids together?”

Michael backed up and told Willow, “It’s too late.” She didn’t understand why he was so insistent on following the court’s ruling to the letter, suggesting he was doing so only because it got him everything he wanted. “Don’t do that,” he shot back. “This is not what I wanted!” Willow grew more heated and implored him to work with her on a new arrangement the court could then sign off on. “I’m sorry, Willow,” he replied. “I don’t want the kids to see you.”

Willow was floored and hurt and wanted to know how much longer Michael planned to punish her. He denied the charge, declaring that she was not good for Wiley and Amelia right now. Michael said he understood what Willow was going through, feeling betrayed by the person she most trusted, “and I can tell you from experience: when you get burned, you need to heal. And that takes time.” “How much time?” she wept. A tear fell down Michael’s cheek as he reiterated that in her current state, she was not in a place to be a parent. Willow spat that she would never forget that she came to him, begging to see her children, and he had turned her away. She grabbed her purse and stormed out.

Record Time

At Liz’s, Drew insisted to Elizabeth that his main priority was helping Willow reunite with her children. Liz advised him to back off his fragile ex before answering the knock at her door. Her surprise guest? Jason, who was not thrilled to see his twin.

Drew immediately accused Jason of following him. Jason countered that he was there to see Liz and offered to wait outside. She ushered Jason in and told Drew, “It’s time for you to go.” Before doing so, Drew implored Jason to speak to Michael on Willow’s behalf. Jason snapped that Willow was being kept from seeing her kids because Drew had ripped her life apart, “and now she’s stuck picking up the pieces of a life that you destroyed.” Drew exited without another word.

Liz noted that Jason not beating up Drew represented progress. Jason praised Liz for so generously allowing Willow to stay with her, then broached the reason for his unannounced drop-in: He needed a favor. Specifically, he wanted to look at hospital records related to the disposition of bodies. She pointed out that if she obliged and anyone found out, she could lose her job. Jason assured her they wouldn’t, and that his ask had nothing do with Sonny or the business. “This is personal,” he said. Liz got her work laptop and logged in, commenting that she wouldn’t be doing this for anyone but him. “I guess I still trust you,” she observed. Jason smiled. She then left him alone in her living room with the open laptop. Jason sat down at the computer and typed Britt’s name into the search bar and learned that Britt’s body had been released to the Lawrence Mortuary.

When Liz returned to the living room, Jason thanked her and she showed him out after a brief touch-base about Jake’s overseas travels with Aiden and Lucky. “Jason, be careful,” she told him. “I will,” he promised.

Jason headed straight to the mortuary, where an administrator pulled Britt’s file and discovered that the date and time of Britt’s cremation had been omitted on her paperwork. “There’s no record of it actually happening,” she noted. The administrator shrugged it off, though she’d never seen such a mistake happen before. Jason, of course, thought there was more to the story….

Danger Zone

During a morning filled with Outback-caused chaos in their household, Anna tried to arrange a meeting with Emma and Gio to make a schedule for the dog’s care. Emma said she couldn’t meet tonight because of her commitment to Professor Dalton. Gio flung open the door to leave for work and found Dante standing there. The quartet made small talk about Outback, and Dante and Gio had an awkward exchange about his new living arrangement before Gio headed out for work, joined by Emma and the dog.

Once Dante and Anna were alone, she told him that spending time with Gio had shown her that the two men have a lot in common. “Really? Well, that’s cool,” said Dante, who lamented that he hadn’t been able to get to know his newfound son because every time he walked into a room, Gio ran out of it. Dante told Anna about Rocco stumbling upon information about his birth and Britt’s role in it and that Rocco had reached out to Obrecht. Anna was taken aback to learn that Obrecht was back in Port Charles. Dante opened up about how Rocco not hearing the story of his origin from Dante and Lulu had created mistrust in their relationship. Between the situation with Rocco and his distance from Gio, “I’ve about all the uncertainty I can handle,” Dante sighed.

The topic turned to what Dante had learned about the courier. Anna noted that just like the courier had been, Dalton was staying at the Metro Court. She briefed Dante on Emma’s expulsion from college back in California, sharing her suspicion that Emma is trying to prove that Dalton is conducting illegal research on animals at PCU. Dante agreed that Josslyn and the WSB were connected to the whole matter. Anna noted that she really needed to figure out what Dalton was up to because she was worried that Emma was “going to get herself into a situation she can’t get out of.”

Dante vowed to Anna he would get her the information she needed. She voiced her gratitude, especially given that his investigation wasn’t official police business and that his experience with the WSB had been “less than positive.” Dante agreed that it had been terrible, but Anna and Emma had been incredible to Gio and he would do whatever he could for Emma. Anna expressed her deep fear that Emma might stumble onto something that could get her killed.

Pool Sharks

At the Metro Court pool, Josslyn updated Vaughn on the disappearance — and subsequent reappearance — of the tracker. Carly arrived and side-eyed the faux couple’s seemingly cozy moment. She pulled her daughter for a private chat in her office. Carly grilled Joss about how well she knew her new suitor, who Carly felt was too old for her. Joss pooh-poohed the idea. Carly admitted that after a conversation with Anna, she was questioning whether Joss could trust Vaughn. Carly professed that if Vaughn was pitting Emma and Joss against one another, “He’s not worth your time.”

Gio, Emma and Outback arrived at the pool deck. The pooch took off and jumped up on Vaughn, who was sunning himself on a chaise. Vaughn was charmed by the furry intruder. Emma asked Gio to go retrieve the dog because she didn’t want to interact with Vaughn. Gio asked why, but before she could answer (or evade giving an answer!), the man in question sauntered back with Outback in his arms. Gio excused himself, and Vaughn apologized to Emma about what had happened with Joss. Emma assured him she was fine and thought he and Joss were perfect for each other.

Joss scoffed to Carly that she and Emma were not in a “weird love triangle” with Vaughn and that Emma had only gone out with him to get back at her for scoring the research position with Professor Dalton. Joss added that she didn’t want a serious relationship with Vaughn and was just having fun. Carly tried to suppress her misgivings and reminded Joss that her daughter could come to her to talk about anything at any time.

Joss returned the pool and she and Vaughn resumed their PDA, which Gio and a grossed-out Emma observed. Emma proudly shared with Gio that she was trying to steer clear of Vaughn because she had stolen his master key, which would give her access to any building on campus — including Dalton’s lab. Opposite this, Joss warned Vaughn that she had managed to allay Carly’s fears about them, but Anna was still suspicious of him and it might only be a matter of time before she exposed him. Vaughn thought that Brennan was likely thinking the same thing and explained that while Joss was with Carly, Brennan had called. “He’s pulling us from the investigation,” Vaughan reported.

Give Peace A Chance?

Stella dropped in on Curtis at work, wanting to know why Trina and Kai broke up and insisting that they were perfect for each other. Curtis was cagey, referencing Trina and Kai having “different points of view” on a certain subject. Stella pitched that they work together to bring about a Trina/Kai reconciliation.

Drew met up with Martin on the pool deck and told the lawyer he knew who told Willow about his affair with Nina. “It was Curtis!” he seethed. As if on cue, Curtis walked in with Stella, continuing their conversation about Trina. Curtis told Stella he wasn’t going to play matchmaker. Stella was fine with that — she’d do it without his help. Curtis then caught a glimpse of Drew from across the deck.

Drew marveled to Martin that he couldn’t believe Curtis had blabbed to Willow just to get back at him. Stella saw Curtis looking in Drew’s direction and remarked that she’d heard about Willow leaving Drew at the altar. Drew approached their table and asked to speak to Curtis privately. After Stella obliged, Drew proposed a truce to his former best friend. Curtis asked if Drew was willing to hand over the blackmail material he was holding over Portia’s head. Drew said he would consider it. Curtis and Drew then agreed that they would keep the peace.

The two men crossed over to Martin and Stella. Stella reminded Martin to turn in his 1040, then walked off with Curtis. “1040? What’s that about?” asked Drew as he sat back down with the attorney. Martin praised Stella as an angel and revealed that she had helped him navigate a sticky insurance situation when he injured his back and the hospital was going to deny him treatment. Drew appeared to file that information away for possible use later. He then told Martin that he hadn’t been sincere in calling a truce with Curtis. “That was me playing the long game,” he crowed.

Going Steady

Michael went to Carly’s office and filled her in on what had gone down with Willow. While maintaining that Willow shouldn’t be near Wiley and Amelia for now, Michael shared that there was a moment during his conversation with his ex where she had been like “the old Willow, the Willow I knew.” He added that when he had refused to give her what she wanted, Willow then reverted back to being irrational and desperate. Michael said he honestly didn’t know when — or if — Willow would ever be healthy enough to be around the kids. Carly pulled her troubled son into a hug.

Willow returned to Liz’s and confessed that she had gone to see Michael, who wouldn’t budge about refusing her access to the kids. “Ric was right,” Willow concluded. In order to ensure that nobody could take her children from her again, she said, “I have to show the world that I’m stable and strong and a good mother.”

Did you enjoy Jason and Liz’s encounter? Is Michael being too harsh with Willow? Let us know your thoughts about today’s episode of GH in the comments below!