General Hospital Recap: The Walls Close In On Michael, Laura Fears For Ace’s Life and More
The January 2 episode of General Hospital kicked off a new year in Port Charles, and Willow’s (Katelyn MacMullen) trial was still a hot topic of conversation. Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Kristina (Kate Mansi) fought over the new direction the attorney decided to take to ensure her client would be acquitted, Sonny (Maurice Benard) tried to advise Michael (Rory Gibson) on how to best handle his testimony, and Justine (Nazneen Contractor) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) put their heads together about how to proceed without the prosecution’s missing evidence. Elsewhere in town, Molly (Kristen Vaganos) and Cody’s (Josh Kelly) romantic morning was interrupted, Jordan (Tanisha Harper) and Curtis (Donnell Turner) made a promise to one another, and Laura (Genie Francis) received her new orders from Sidwell (Carlo Rota), who found himself a new target to exploit! Keep on reading for the run-down!
It’s Complicated
After spending the night together, Cody made Molly pancakes for breakfast. He asked if Molly felt he was a bad influence, and she replied that she was taking her sister’s advice to start living her life. Cody invited Molly to spend the day with him, but just as he picked her up in his arms to return to his bedroom upstairs, Felicia and James arrived for a riding lesson that Cody had forgotten about. Realizing what they’d interrupted, Felicia offered to bring James back another time, but Molly insisted that the boy try out the new saddle he’d gotten for Christmas. Molly and Cody said good-bye to one another, but things got awkward when James asked if Molly was Cody’s girlfriend, and he answered “yes,” but she replied “no.”
Play Nicely
Laura called upon Charlotte to babysit Ace, since the little boy’s nanny was sick, allowing Laura to focus on an important meeting. Charlotte offered to take her cousin to the park, promising that they’d be perfectly safe with her security detail since she didn’t believe her father would approach her in broad daylight anyway. After a conversation about Valentin (that his reputation was the reason everyone was so hyper-vigilant about protecting Charlotte), Laura eventually agreed to let her grandkids head to the park.
Later, Ezra arrived and informed Laura that Sidwell wanted her to support installing helipads on Spoon Island and the piers. Laura argued that it wasn’t fair to the people of Port Charles for Sidwell to land his private helicopter on public land just because he didn’t want to take the launch back and forth to the mainland. Unaffected, Ezra munched on nuts as he replied that it was her job to sell it to the citizens. He advised Laura to just give their boss what he wanted because she didn’t want to see what Sidwell was like when he didn’t get his way.
A New Target
At Bobbie’s, Marco and Sidwell discussed Willow’s trial. Sidwell stated that if Willow were to be convicted of shooting Drew, the congressman would be useless on Capitol Hill because they’d never get him reelected. It would be even worse if Drew were impeached and convicted of blackmail, so they needed a new contact in Washington to ensure their import businesses remained intact. Although he had the local politicos under his thumb for now, Sidwell added, Laura didn’t like being told what to do, so they had to make sure the mayor stayed in line by reminding her of what she stood to lose.
Meanwhile, Jordan and Curtis woke up in bed together and vowed not to repeat the mistakes that tore them apart in the past. He was determined to prioritize not only their relationship, but the one he had with Trina as well. They headed to Bobbie’s, and she exchanged brief pleasantries with her boss and his son before they settled into a table across the restaurant. When Curtis asked what it was like to work for Sidwell, Jordan replied that it was the best job she’d ever had but divulged that she had her own agenda, based on her suspicions about his criminality. Curtis told her that she didn’t have to share details with him, but offered to be there if she needed him, and she responded that she was going to enjoy her work… up until the moment that she took Sidwell down. Later, their conversation returned to their rekindled relationship and how they’d kept secrets from each other in their marriage the first time around. Jordan wondered if their situation was any different now since they both had things they couldn’t tell the other. The pair vowed to always have difficult conversations, even if they’d rather avoid doing so.
Outside, Sidwell was finishing up a phone call when Charlotte and Ace approached. She was surprised that the man knew who she and her cousin were, and Sidwell told Charlotte that he knew her grandmother. When Marco came outside, Sidwell introduced him and explained that Charlotte once lived at Wyndemere with her father. Ace began to get restless, so Charlotte decided to take him home for his nap rather than treat him to a cookie like she’d planned. But before they left, Sidwell warned her not to take her eye off her cousin for a moment since children that age loved to wander off. Alarmed, Charlotte forced a smile as she thanked Sidwell for the tip, then grabbed Ace’s hand and led him away. After Charlotte and Ace left, Sidwell told Marco that Charlotte was Valentin’s daughter, and they could use a man with Valentin’s talents on their current project. Marco pointed out that Valentin was a fugitive, but Sidwell was confident that they could use Charlotte to bring her father on board. Marco deduced that this is why his dad had laid the charm on so thick with Charlotte — up until he made a veiled threat against a child. Laughing, Sidwell said he’d only meant to send a message to Mayor Collins.
Once back at Laura’s, Charlotte told her grandmother that she’d run into Mr. Sidwell while she was out with Ace, and he’d sent his regards. When Laura pressed Charlotte further, she was terrified to hear that Sidwell had told Charlotte to keep an eye on Ace because children were reckless at that age and could be gone if you looked away for an instant.
Changing Course
Having decided to simplify her legal strategy, Alexis gave Suzanne her updated witness list and explained to her assistant how she was now planning to go after Michael as a single, plausible suspect. Suzanne wondered if Alexis was taking her lead from the anonymous letter she’d received, but the attorney quickly denied it, since the letter was unsubstantiated. However, Alexis stated, she planned to do everything she could to prove what was in that letter was true.
Later, Kristina arrived to an empty living room and began reading one of the files on the coffee table. When Alexis returned to the room, Kristina blasted her mom for framing her brother for a crime he didn’t commit. Alexis retorted that, having examined the evidence, she was confident that if the police had done their job, Michael would be the one on trial. As they continued to argue, Alexis said she had reason to believe Michael had been at Drew’s house the night of the shooting. Having seen the note in the folder, Kristina shot back that Drew may have been the one who sent the letter and claimed he was using Alexis to make sure Michael paid for Willow’s crime. Alexis contended that it was her duty to build the strongest case she could to provide reasonable doubt for Willow, not only for her client but for Scout and Sam as well. Because Scout’s well-being was at stake, Alexis warned Kristina not to give Michael a heads-up about the new direction the case was taking. She added that Michael was a grown man and could take care of himself. The conversation left Kristina torn between wanting to protect her brother and her niece.
Prepared For Battle
At Justine’s office, she and Dante met about the corrupted traffic camera footage. When she questioned if anyone in the department could have tampered with the footage, he frowned that a few days ago, he would have said no, but now he wasn’t ruling anything out. Justine acknowledged that losing the footage was a blow, and Alexis would use that evidence gap to create doubt for Willow and pin the crime on someone else. Justine noted that even though Michael had been cleared, he was still a viable suspect, but she also wanted to know what Curtis had met with Selina Wu about that night.
Suzanne then arrived with Alexis’s revised witness list, which included Dante, Ezra Boyle, Jacinda, Tracy, Michael, and Elizabeth. After Alexis’s assistant left, Justine moaned that, based on the new witness list, Alexis was going to suggest the PCPD was premature in its focus on Willow as the shooter. Agreeing, Dante suspected that Alexis would accuse him of not pursuing Michael as a viable suspect since they were brothers. Justine reminded Dante to just be transparent and truthful during his testimony, and she’d object if necessary. She added that Alexis dug her own grave by trying to throw Portia to the wolves on the off chance that it would save Willow, and the move had worked in their favor. When Dante asked if she was prosecuting the case because it had been Anna’s investigation, or if she believed Willow was guilty, Justine replied that the beauty of the law was that it didn’t matter what either of them believed. They followed the letter of the law to present the facts in the best possible way they could, while Alexis had to defend her client to the best of her ability. And once both sides had their say, it would be up to the jury to decide the outcome.
Read Between The Lines
Sonny invited Michael over and shared how he’d run into Justine at Café Cherie. Informing his son that the acting D.A. had her sights set on him, Sonny asked if Michael had been subpoenaed for the trial. Michael replied that he was already on Alexis’s witness list, leading Sonny to deduce that both lawyers were going to set Michael up to say something he’d regret. Michael figured that Alexis was going to make a case that he was potentially the shooter, and Sonny predicted that during cross-examination, Justine would use Michael to establish Willow’s questionable judgment. She’d trap him into saying bad things about his ex-wife, Sonny warned, and if Michael lashed out on the stand against Willow, true or not, that would forever impact Wiley and Amelia. Frustrated, Michael countered that he wanted his kids to know the truth about their mom, how she’d consistently put her needs above theirs, and that he’d do anything to protect them. “Anything?” Sonny questioned pointedly.
Angry, Michael roared that he knew what his father was insinuating. And in this scenario where he’d framed Willow, the final nail in the coffin would be getting on the witness stand and making sure everyone knew what his ex was capable of so she’d be put away for good, because that was the only way his children would finally be safe. “So, what are you telling me?” Sonny demanded to know. In response, Michael coolly stated, “That when I do finally get on that stand, everything I say will be for the benefit of my children.”
Will Sidwell go after Ace to send a message to Laura? Do you think that Kristina will warn Michael at the expense of Scout? Should Molly and Cody clarify the status of their relationship? Share your predictions about GH in the comments below!
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