What Did General Hospital’s Lulu And Dante Have To Do With Michael Going To Jail?
On the November 17th episode of General Hospital, Lulu (Alexa Havins) had a tearful conversation with Carly (Laura Wright) in the wake of Rocco’s (Finn Carr) arrest in which she referenced the role she and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) had played in Carly’s son Michael (Rory Gibson) being sent to jail for killing Claudia Zacchara. That dramatic storyline unfolded back in 2010, not long after Dante first appeared on the canvas. If you’re a longtime GH fan who’s fuzzy on the details of Lulu and Dante’s involvement in Michael’s imprisonment or a newer viewer who missed that story altogether, fear not! We’ve got you covered with a full rundown.
Death Becomes Her
Late in 2009, Michael killed his stepmother, Claudia, by bludgeoning her to death with an axe-handle after coming across Claudia attempting to abscond with a newborn Josslyn. In the immediate aftermath, Jason covered up evidence of the crime. Michael began acting out, both resenting his family and showing signs that he was jealous of Sonny’s growing reliance on “Dominic Pirelli” — who was really Dante, working undercover to infiltrate Sonny’s organization and take the mafioso down. At the time, neither Sonny nor Dante knew that they were father and son, the product of Sonny’s teenage tryst with Olivia.
At the start of the new year, the cops stumbled upon Claudia’s body, and Sonny became the chief suspect in her death. Michael was livid when his dad informed him that he had picked “Dominic” to succeed him in his organization — and when Michael then overheard a conversation between “Dominic” and Johnny Zacchara in which “Dominic” claimed to be an undercover cop, he ran straight to Sonny with the news. After Sonny got confirmation that Michael was telling the truth, he shot “Dominic,” at which point Olivia revealed that Sonny had just shot his own son! Dante pulled through and Michael was, of course, quite surprised to learn that Dante was actually his brother.
When Sonny was arrested for Claudia’s murder, he decided not to fight the charges to stop the truth about Michael’s involvement from coming to light. Michael attempted to confess, but the authorities thought he was lying to protect his dad and Mac Scorpio, who was commissioner at the time, dismissed him and sent him on his way. Dante, however, did believe that there was a strong possibility Michael was telling the truth, which he confided in his lady love, Lulu (Michael’s cousin). As Dante began digging into that theory, believing that at the very least Michael had been present when Claudia died, Sonny grew increasingly concerned that Michael might blab, so he shipped his son off to his private island.
Full-Court Press
Sonny’s trial got underway, with the defendant claiming that he killed Claudia in self-defense. When Dante took the stand, he covered that Sonny had shot him, but offered testimony that painted a vivid picture of Sonny’s guilt in Claudia’s demise. Pressed by the prosecutor, Dante also reluctantly admitted that he believed Michael had been a witness to Sonny’s deadly assault on Claudia. Dante had hoped to safeguard Michael from having to testify, but that was looking increasingly unlikely.
As the trial bore on, Dante found himself feeling more and more protective of his newfound kin, and he was even held in contempt of court for trying to block his youngest half brother, Sonny and Carly’s son Morgan, from having to testify. Michael was subpoenaed to take the stand and Dante flew down to the island to deliver it. When he tracked Michael down, Michael confessed to Dante that he had killed Claudia — but Dante didn’t believe him, even when Michael proffered proof: his shirt from the night of the crime, covered in Claudia’s blood.
Dante and Michael flew back to Port Charles and Dante sent the shirt to forensics for testing, unsure of what he would do if it confirmed Michael’s story. He was with Michael in his loft when Lulu showed up, and Dante informed her of Michael’s confession, making it clear that he didn’t buy it. Michael told Lulu that Dante just didn’t want to believe Sonny was innocent.
Forensics phoned Dante with the news he’d been dreading: Claudia’s DNA was on Michael’s shirt. Dante took off for Sonny’s, where he confronted his father with the truth. Sonny didn’t deny it, explaining why he had taken the fall for his son. He urged Dante not to intervene, and to protect Michael by allowing Sonny to go to jail. Dante felt greatly conflicted. He confided in Lulu, who vowed to stand by him no matter what he decided to do.
After learning from Sonny that Michael’s fate essentially rested in Dante’s hands, Carly headed to Dante’s loft, and she was upset when she realized that Lulu, her cousin, had helped Dante conceal that Michael was back in town instead of alerting her. She accused Lulu of putting Dante before her own family and warned that she was ruining Michael’s life. Lulu was stung, but insisted that it was up to Dante to decide how to proceed.
Sentence Structure
It was a conversation with Lulu that led Dante to realize what he needed to do. He headed to the courthouse, and walked into the courtroom just as the jury was prepared to deliver its verdict. Dante announced that he had new evidence that needed to be heard and declared that Michael, not Sonny, had killed Claudia. He recounted to the judge how Michael had confessed to him. Outside of the courtroom, Carly angrily lashed out at Lulu. “How can you be so selfish?” she ranted. “How can you sacrifice your own flesh and blood because you’re hot for some cop?”
Lulu defended herself, insisting that Dante had done the right thing and that Michael wanted to confess, but Carly was unmoved in her belief that Lulu had betrayed the family by not letting Sonny take the fall for Michael. Dante tried to reassure Lulu that Michael wouldn’t do serious time for the crime. “It’s obvious that he killed Claudia to protect his mother and his baby sister,” Dante reasoned. “He’s got no other priors. He’ll get a suspended sentence, community service, counseling, and then he’ll get a chance to start his life over again.”
Michael then took the stand, and under oath, he issued a full confession. The judge ordered that Michael be sent to jail to await trial, with Dante placing his own brother under arrest. Carly went off on Lulu again when Lulu told her she was sorry that Michael was in jail, fuming, “You’re sorry that he was walked out of the courtroom in handcuffs, huh? Thank you. Thanks for that. I mean, thanks for that heartfelt sympathy. And I need you to do me a favor, okay? Tonight, when you’re getting horizontal with your heroic Dante, make sure you look him in the eye, and you see my son sitting in a cell.”
Lulu and Dante remained confident that in light of all the extenuating circumstances and Michael acting in defense of Carly and baby Josslyn, Michael would get a slap on the wrist. Instead, he was sentenced to five years in Pentonville for manslaughter, leaving Dante and Lulu greatly shaken and deepening Carly’s rage toward Dante and Lulu for their handling of the situation.
Conversation
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