General Hospital Recap: Maxie Decides Between Nathan and Spinelli, Sonny Kisses Justine And More
The Monday, February 23 episode of General Hospital was full of tense moments! Maxie’s (Kirsten Storms) reunion with Nathan (Ryan Paevey) at his gravesite led her to decide which man she wanted to be with, Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) had a heart-to-heart about his place in Maxie’s life, Michael (Rory Gibson) accused Chase (Josh Swickard) of framing him, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) made a promise to Wiley (Viron Weaver), Josslyn (Eden McCoy) shared some news with Gio (Giovanni Mazza), and Justine’s (Nazneen Contractor) vent session to Sonny (Maurice Benard) led to them sharing their first kiss! Get all the details below.
All Keyed Up
During Michael’s interrogation at the PCPD, Ric informed Dante and Justine that Wiley had seen Chase handling Michael’s keys before the search warrant was even written, adding that he hoped Officer Chase didn’t have anything to do with the sudden idea to search Michael’s key ring. Knowing Ric had a point, Justine dismissed Michael, and as the attorney and his nephew left the police station, Ric advised Michael to keep his distance from Chase. Dante confirmed to the Acting D.A. that the idea to subpoena the keys had indeed come from Chase, and Justine seethed that tampering with Michael’s keys suggested Chase had tampered with the traffic cam footage as well. Defending his former partner, Dante wanted to have a conversation with Chase before they jumped to conclusions.
Coming To Blows
In the Quartermaine kitchen, Alexis explained to Brook Lynn and Chase that they’d have to start the adoption application process over again, prompting Chase to worry that his demotion would hurt their chances of being selected. Alexis promised to make sure the agency saw them as the loving and stable couple she knew them to be, then headed back to her office to start working on their new application. Once alone, Chase sighed to Brook Lynn that he’d never have been able to forgive himself if what happened with his job affected their chance to begin a family, and they imagined what it would be like to have their own child running around the Quartermaine estate one day.
Their talk of the future was interrupted when Michael stormed in and confronted Chase about planting the key on his keychain. To Brook Lynn’s horror, her husband and cousin got into a fistfight, which was broken up by Dante when he arrived home. Chase denied that he’d planted the key, but Michael shouted that Wiley had seen him with the keychain and accused him of playing dirty. Jumping to her husband’s defense, Brook Lynn told Michael it was unacceptable for him to take out his anger on Chase. After the couple stormed out, Michael swore to Dante that he never had a key to Drew’s house, and Dante replied that PCPD could no longer build a case against him because the evidence was now compromised. Then, Michael asked his brother point-blank what he believed, and Dante professed that he believed Michael was innocent.
Meanwhile, at the Cain house, Wiley woke up from a nightmare, missing his room at his dad’s. Comforting her son, Willow hinted that he’d be spending so much time at her house that eventually it would feel like home again. When Wiley fell asleep in her lap on the couch, Willow flashed back to the day she planted the house key on Michael’s keychain.
Starting Over
Later, Alexis was in her office when Ric arrived to tell her the latest about the PCPD’s investigation into Michael and Chase’s interference. As their conversation turned to his brother, Ric insisted that he’d changed, having realized how important family was, and, aside from Molly, Sonny and his kids were the only family he had. Alexis was skeptical that he’d actually turned over a new leaf, but Ric assured her that his time in her basement made him realize how alone he’d been, so he’d buried his vendetta against his brother because he wanted more from his life.
Endless Love
During an emotional reunion at his grave, Nathan explained to Maxie that he had no memory of what happened to him during the seven years that he was presumed dead. Decaring that he still loved her, Nathan acknowledged that while it felt like no time had passed for him, everything had changed for her. Recalling how broken she’d been after Nathan’s death, Maxie confided that her immense grief was why she didn’t see Peter for who he really was, and how happy she’d been to reunite with Spinelli.
Nathan wondered what that meant for the two of them, but didn’t want to pressure her into making a decision. Stating that she loved both him and Spinelli, Maxie confided that dragging things out would make it harder on the children. Then, declaring that she’d made her choice, Maxie told Nathan that she loved him and always would.
It’s Always Been You
Back at Maxie’s house, Spinelli told Lulu that despite Jason and Brook Lynn’s insistence that Maxie would choose him over Nathan, he feared that the love his longtime partner had for her back-from-the-dead husband ran deeper than the love Maxie had for him. Trying to be positive, Lulu reminded him that Maxie loved him, too. But when Spinelli claimed Nathan had been Maxie’s hero, Lulu grew melancholy and stated that you couldn’t stand in the way of a love like that. Not realizing that she was speaking about herself and her feelings for Nathan, Spinelli chuckled that Lulu had given Maxie and Nathan considerable thought. Then he noted that Jason and Brook Lynn had encouraged him to fight for Maxie, but if she wanted to be with Nathan, he didn’t want to deny Maxie what her heart desired. Lulu tried to be encouraging by reminding him that the life he built with Maxie wouldn’t just disappear, but Spinelli tearfully conceded that he didn’t want Maxie to stay with him out of obligation because he wanted her to be happy, even if it wasn’t with him. Hugging her friend, Lulu declared that made him a hero, even if he didn’t end up getting the girl.
Later, Spinelli was looking longingly at a family photo from Halloween when Maxie arrived home. When she shared that she’d seen Nathan, Spinelli assumed she’d picked the other man. He was overwhelmed with emotion when Maxie declared that while she’d always love Nathan, she was in love with him and he was her home. The couple sealed their reunion with a kiss.
Tea & Sympathy
Catching up with Sonny at the Brown Dog, Gio unloaded about how much he missed Emma and his worry that she’d decide to move back to California for good. He thought about moving to the West Coast to be with Emma, and Sonny joked that Grandma Olivia would miss Gio too much. They parted ways when Gio received a text from Josslyn, who was on her way to meet him. However, before Sonny made his way to the door, a furious Justine rushed in. When she groaned that she’d had an awful day, Sonny offered to keep her company. Justine vented that she’d arrived in Port Charles with a perfect record but had since lost her cases against Ava and Willow. Worse, she knew she had the right suspect in Drew Cain’s shooting, but Willow had slipped through her fingers
When Sonny tried to reassure her that it wasn’t her fault that the jury hadn’t convicted Willow, Justine was gobsmacked that he was being so understanding because people would always question his son’s innocence due to her failure as a prosecutor. Then, she stormed out. Sonny followed Justine to her car, and after she insisted she didn’t need his sympathy, he replied that sympathy was not what he felt for her, and they kissed!
Across the tavern, Josslyn asked Gio if there was anything she could do to help Emma, saying that even though they weren’t the best of friends, she cared about her. With a chuckle, Gio asked if that was why she’d given them the address to Dalton’s lab, and Josslyn replied that she wanted to help Emma then and wants to help her now. Bringing up the day she showed up at Anna’s apartment, Josslyn showed Gio her copy of The Crystalline Conspiracy and told him that Cesar Faison had written the book under a pseudonym. When she wondered if Emma might want the book to help with Anna’s treatment, Gio begged her to drop it, because hearing about the whackjob Faison was only going to upset Emma more. Agreeing to let it go, Josslyn then told Gio she thought he should go to California to surprise his girlfriend.
Meanwhile, after her conversation with Spinelli, Lulu went to the Brown Dog to drown her sorrows and was surprised when Nathan walked through the door.
Now that Maxie has decided to stay with Spinelli, should Nathan and Lulu explore a relationship? Does Sonny have an ulterior motive in romancing Justine? Will Willow get away with framing Michael? Share your theories about what you think will happen next on GH in the comments below!
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