General Hospital's Best of the Week, March 23-27, 2026: A Kid With a Gun, Jason in Cuffs, and Everyone Making the Worst Possible Choices

This week on General Hospital had the distinct energy of a show that woke up and chose chaos before coffee. Nothing lined up neatly, nobody made the obvious call, and every situation that could’ve been defused instead got handed a lighter and a gentle push. It’s the kind of week where you don’t just watch, you brace. Because once one thread starts to unravel, suddenly you’ve got a kid with a gun (Rocco), a double agent on life support running the room (Cullum), and Jason Morgan once again volunteering as tribute for everyone else’s bad decisions.

Spotlight scenes

This week didn’t so much unfold as it detonated in stages, each louder and messier than the last. You had Rocco (Finn Carr) stepping into a moment no one his age should even be orbiting, let alone controlling, standing there with a gun like the universe had skipped about ten chapters of his life.

It wasn’t just shocking; it was the kind of scene that makes you sit forward and think, “Well… that’s not going back in the box.” And of course, nothing around it slowed down to process what that actually means, because this is Port Charles, where emotional fallout gets about five minutes before the next crisis kicks the door in.

Meanwhile, Jason (Steve Burton) found himself right back in that familiar spot where doing the “right” thing somehow still lands him in cuffs. He was hauled in, surrounded, and quietly taking in the consequences while everyone else tried to catch up to a situation he saw coming three moves ago. The frustrating part isn’t even that he’s in trouble; it’s that half of it feels avoidable if only someone would say the obvious out loud. But no, we’re still stuck in that classic setting where crucial information is treated like a family heirloom that no one’s allowed to touch.

So he heads off, possibly toward somewhere cold, remote, and deeply inconvenient, while the people who could’ve backed him up are still trying to piece together what he already knew.

And then there’s Cullum (Andrew Hawkes), who somehow manages to be both the center of everything and completely horizontal for most of it. Lying there in the ICU, hooked up to enough tubing to qualify as modern art, yet still driving the plot as if he has a remote control tucked under the pillow.

Joss (Eden McCoy) entering that room felt like the moment the show took a breath and then immediately decided not to exhale. You could feel the tension tighten because now it’s not just about what’s happened; it’s about what someone might choose to do next. And hovering over all of it is that growing sense that the lines between the “good guys” and “what are you even doing” are getting blurrier with each episode. Honestly, at this point, the only thing more unstable than Cullum’s condition is everyone’s decision-making around him.

Verbal knockouts

Tracy (Jane Elliot) circled Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) like a cat that already knows where this is going when the topic of fostering baby Phoebe came up. BLQ tried to soften the edges, admitting, “Yes, Chase’s (Joshua Swickard) steadfast belief in Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and the lengths he was willing to go to help her were…” and Tracy, because of course she did, slid in with, “Unnecessary? Misguided? Myopic?” BLQ quickly course-corrected with, “Difficult!” — which felt less like a correction and more like damage control before Tracy really got going.

Carly (Laura Wright), fully aware she’d walked straight into her own mess, owned it without much grace or sugarcoating while talking to Valentin (James Patrick Stuart). “I have hideous judgment. Look at my track record!” It wasn’t self-pity so much as a brutally honest audit she probably didn’t need help completing.

Valentin, refusing to let his résumé go unnoticed, tried to rebrand himself mid-conversation with, “I’m the guy who froze his ass off in your shed.” Not exactly romantic, but oddly specific enough to make his point.

Joss and Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) alliance came with a side of moral gymnastics, as Joss suggested Britt take advantage of her access to Cullum and finish the job. When Britt hesitated, Joss conceded it was “a big ask,” which might be the understatement of the week. Britt didn’t miss a beat, firing back, “What a gift for understatement you have, Agent Jacks.”

And when Joss pivoted to volunteering herself, Britt gave her a long, measuring look and replied, “You…a baby WSB agent, will assassinate one of your own higher-ups?” — less a question, more a reality check wrapped in disbelief.

Wardrobe MVPs

Ava (Maura West) didn’t just win Wardrobe MVP this week; she walked in, claimed it, and left everyone else wondering why they even bothered getting dressed. That red-and-black blouse paired with the leather pants wasn’t an outfit, it was a statement… and possibly a warning. She looked like she could sip a drink, ruin your life, and still make it to dinner on time without smudging a thing.

Pop culture shoutouts

Martin (Michael E. Knight), in full theatrical panic mode, informed Laura (Genie Francis) that he was skipping town and felt terribly about abandoning her in what he dramatically labeled “the wolf’s den,” with Tracy cast as the wolf.

Then, mid-metaphor spiral, he changed to something worse. “She’s really more of a honey badger,” he said, as if that somehow clarified things instead of escalating them into National Geographic chaos. And because Martin never met a sentence he couldn’t overstuff, he tacked on, “And you know she’s gonna do everything and anything she can to block this zoning ordinance just so Satan doesn’t get spooked.” Laura explained that Tracy’s horse's actual name is Hades.

Now, about that “honey badger” detour. Martin wasn’t just being random. Honey badgers are fierce creatures that don’t scare easily and tend to charge directly at problems, consequences be damned. In other words, he accidentally described Tracy perfectly, then dressed it up like a joke so he didn’t have to admit he was genuinely intimidated.

And his Satan/Hades mashup? Classic Martin brain scramble. Satan is the devil figure from Christian tradition…basically the embodiment of evil and temptation. Hades, on the other hand, comes from Greek mythology and rules the underworld, less fire-and-brimstone villain and more grim bureaucrat of the afterlife. Martin blended them like a theological smoothie, and Laura had to step in before he accidentally turned Tracy’s stable into the gates of hell.

Valentin wandered into Carly’s kitchen like a man casing the joint, raided whatever she had on hand, and somehow emerged with coq au vin like he’d been secretly moonlighting as a Parisian chef this whole time.

Carly’s reaction wasn’t just impressed, it was slightly offended, as if she’d just discovered he’d been hiding an entire personality trait in a back pocket labeled “surprisingly domestic.” However, a knock at the door sent Martin vanishing upstairs to the attic, while Carly, without missing a beat, dumped his portion of the meal so it looked like she’d been dining solo all along.

For the uninitiated, coq au vin is a classic French dish that sounds fancy because it is. It’s chicken, slowly braised in red wine with mushrooms, onions, and herbs, until everything melds into this rich, savory situation that basically announces, “someone here knows what they’re doing.” Which makes Valentin's pulling it off even more suspicious.

The eyes have it

Friday didn’t so much end as it crept up behind you and whispered, “This is a terrible idea,” while Joss did it anyway. She slipped into the ICU like she’d already committed to the outcome, standing there with Cullum hooked up to machines, still and silent… which, in Port Charles, is basically just a dramatic pause before things go sideways.

There’s a beat where it almost feels like she might actually go through with it. No speeches, no theatrics, just that cold, “this is what needs to be done” energy. And then—because timing on this show has a wicked sense of humor—Cullum’s eyes snap open. Not gradually. Not gently. Just awake, locking onto her like he’s been waiting for exactly this moment. Now, when the heck is Monday going to get here?

Observations, complaints & unhinged theories

Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) noticed a “slide bite” on Jason’s hand, which is a bit rich considering it’s the same tell Rocco walked around with — like the world’s most inconvenient matching set.

A slide bite is a firearm-related injury that happens when the moving slide of a semi-automatic pistol snaps backward during recoil and catches the shooter’s hand, usually the web between the thumb and index finger. It’s quick, painful, and leaves a very specific cut that basically screams, “Yep, this person fired a gun recently.” In other words, not exactly the kind of thing you want showing up when you’re trying to sell a different version of events.

Carly admitting that working with Valentin was exciting does absolutely nothing to refute her claim that she has poor judgment. If anything, it’s Exhibit A. But then you look at Charlotte (Bluesy Burke), Lulu (Alexa Havins), and Rocco's heroics, and there it is — that sharp, restless Spencer streak flickering right behind the eyes. The kind that leans toward chaos to see what happens. That’s when it hits you: Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) may be gone, but that energy? Still very much roaming the halls.

If Nathan (Ryan Paevey) turns out to be a villain who still has a thing for Lulu, it’s not hard to imagine him instantly sizing up the Jason/Rocco situation, doing the mental math, and letting Jason take the fall. One clean move, and suddenly Jason’s off the board while Nathan gets to quietly advance whatever game he’s playing with Sidwell (Carlo Rota) and Cullum.

Brad (Parry Shen) being there for Lucas (Van Hansis) feels like a slow burn waiting to happen. The kind where he shows up, does the right thing for once, and they start finding their way back to each other… right up until Brad inevitably does something spectacularly stupid and sets the whole thing on fire again.

I don’t think it’ll happen, but there’s something satisfying about the idea of all the “good guys” actually comparing notes for once. Carly/Valentin, Joss/Britt, Dante/Nathan, Jack (Chris McKenna) — all of them holding different pieces of the same mess and finally putting it together. It would be chaotic, unprecedented, and honestly a bit overdue. Especially, if they’re the ones who have to take on something as big as the Cold Fusion device. And if we’re really leaning in, sure… maybe it takes the Ice Princess to power it. Why not embrace full legacy chaos while we’re at it?

Things I yelled at the TV

I have to say, since last Friday, I've yelled quite a bit at the TV. First up, when Dante told Jason that Cullum wanted to see him at the PCPD, I yelled, “Just say Cullum is working with Sidwell!” You could practically hear the solution hovering in the air like a missed cue. That one sentence would’ve cleared the fog, stopped the spiral, saved everyone a heap of trouble. But no. Jason continues his long-standing tradition of not consulting me before making decisions.

A few “Uh oh's” escaped me, too, most notably when Cullum casually materialized on the pier where Britt was waiting, like the universe had decided subtlety was overrated.

Then came the grand finale of Monday. Rocco, standing there with a smoking gun actually in his hands, and I yelled, “Oh, fudge!” Only I didn’t use the word fudge. Not even close. That was less a reaction and more a full-body betrayal.

Jason, meanwhile, still had options. He could’ve called Cullum dirty and let that settle. Let Dante chew on it. Let doubt creep in before the WSB bundled him off to what might as well be the penal colony on Rura Penthe (ask your closest Star Trek pal to tell you what that means!).

And Britt just walks into Cullum’s ICU room. I yelled, “Why are there no guards outside his door?” I mean, I’m not complaining for the sake of the story. By all means, leave the door wide open for someone to help Cullum kick the oxygen habit. But realistically? Come on now. We’ve all seen a hospital before.

EPILOGUE

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And the real kicker? None of this feels finished; it just feels… paused mid-explosion. Jason’s fate is still hanging in the air, Joss just stepped into a moment she can’t walk back from, and Cullum, inconveniently conscious, is very much not done causing problems. Meanwhile, half the town is holding pieces of the truth like mismatched puzzle parts and still refusing to compare notes. Which means, naturally, next week is probably going to take everything that’s already on fire and ask, politely, if it can burn just a little brighter.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital on ABC and Hulu.

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