General Hospital Two Scoops For the Week of March 9: The REAL Dynamic Duos of Port Charles

General Hospital tried a little something different this week after ending last week with what looked to be the best night of Carly Spencer's soap opera life. Rather than pulling out all the love in the afternoon stops, GH focused on friendships, sisterhood, brotherhood, parenthood, and heart. Of course, we still had our fair share of soapy goodness mixed with 'What the heck?' moments, but the message was clear — stories that come from character are the best soap stories you can find.

The morning after...

Carly and Valentin are our new faves | Image: ABC

Since this is a soap and our Friday "cliffhanger" was something we never expected to see a few short months ago (and even in the seconds before the shocker began), we had to start with Carly and Valentin in bed. And then we had to register that this was really happening. Carly and Valentin were in bed.

When Carly showed up at Steinmauer in a bad black wig and ridiculously big glasses, all we could do was groan at the idea of Carly being plopped into yet another story in which she didn't belong. We never imagined that Valentin would eventually spend the next few months living in Carly's attic (which started as a place to crash while waiting for Anna) while completely falling for her.

Then came a few turning points in this highly unusual frenemy-ship. Carly brought Charlotte to see her lonely dad on Christmas. A month later, Carly was ready to venture out into a blizzard on foot just to find Valentin and let him know that Carly was okay. That night, Carly and Valentin became friends. Last Friday, they became a lot more than friends. And this week, we have no idea what they are, but we didn't get enough of them to find out.

Jarly time...

Carly is letting Jason be a big boy | Image: ABC

Instead, we got Jarly. Sure, it started with Caradine wondering if they had made a mistake and quickly deciding that it didn't matter if they had. They looked as if they were ready to go for another round when Jason came roaring in, because why not just visit someone's bedroom when you can't find them in the kitchen? That was a little heavy-handed of a plot device just to get Jason to see Carly's been sleeping with the perceived enemy, but it worked.

What followed was some real talk between real friends. That 2021 two-week fever dream in which Carly and Jason declared they were one another's real true loves (we were sure Sonny and Sam may have wanted some words) is still thankfully a thing of the past and we are back to "You and me against the world" — PLATONICALLY!!!!

With Steve Burton's latest (temporary) departure imminent, Jason and Carly cut to the chase by Thursday. They are going to allow each other to live their own lives and make their own decisions. That's a switch from the last eight or nine years since Jason's first return from the dead. Jason and Carly used to make their own decisions, despite their BFF status, but the lines got blurred for a while. Now, Jason is off to save Britt (while making arrangements for Danny...just in case...) and Carly is going to get Josslyn out of the WSB while enjoying some side time with Valentin. (Who could blame a girl?)

The only question we have is — did Jason plan not to tell Danny goodbye until Carly reminded him that he should? Yep, Valentin is an infinitely better parent than Jason. Infinitely.

About Valentin...

What can we say? We love him. He is our favorite soap opera boyfriend, despite poisoning Carly with polonium a year ago. He meant to kill Jack, so it's all good. But who couldn't love a man with such panache that he just sits there twirling a gun in his hand when his new girlfriend's ditzy super spy daughter gets out of the shower? (Joss, ya think you might want to hide your gun better or did they not teach you that at your accelerated WSB course?)

Valentin might claim that he is only looking out for number one, but we saw him fantasizing about Carly just minutes before Jason arrived. He's not just sticking around for himself. He is sticking around for Carly. And Charlotte. He's ready to resume his life as a single dad to a teenage daughter. Maybe he'll even kick Sonny out of his house.

Oh, Nina! Oh Willow!

Willow finally realized she has a devoted mom...we think | Image: ABC

Nina just can't stop backing up the big ol' bus on friends and surrogate daughters, all in the name of her loony tunes daughter. Nina knows damn well that Willow shot those bullets into Drew's back and secretly wants to congratulate her, but she also had to make sure that Willow didn't go to prison. And that means that she has to pump Charlotte for information about her father, thus ruining that relationship. We love Nina, but we don't feel sorry for her in this situation.

And Willow? We're not even sure if she meant it when she told Nina that she now knows just what her mother will do for her and is forever grateful. Was that all part of Willow's kind and tender act, all to ensure that Nina will remain her willing slave?

Willow is also now Sidwell's unwilling slave, but something tells us she will find a way out of this mess of her own making. She is just stuck with yet another child in the house while she continues to torture her locked-in husband. While we all know Willow wanted her own kids and was willing to kill to get them back, she didn't anticipate having to rip Scout from Alexis. She was clever enough to appease Alexis by offering to let Danny see Scout, but we can't see how having Scout in the vicinity works out for her. With all her faults, she really doesn't want to see Scout hurt. So again, Sidwell might be messing with the wrong woman. When it comes to her kids (and she considers Scout to be hers), Willow is not playing around.

"You're my person"

At least Maxie and Lulu made up...we guess | Image: ABC

We are still not sure how we feel about Maxie and Lulu's insta-reunion for a variety of reasons. First, you don't take your BFF's man, even if he is not your man anymore. That is a girl code that soaps have broken one too many times with women just shrugging it off, but not Maxie. Nope, Maxie is keeping it real, just the way she should. When Lulu decided to pursue something with Maxie, it never occurred to her that Maxie was just in a coma and might wake up any day. And neither did 'Nathan', and that is wrong.

And about Nathan? Well, there is no way this is Nathan or at least not Nathan in his pure form. This man couldn't care less about Maxie. He woke from a car accident thinking it was 2018, learned Maxie was in a coma, shrugged, got his job back, decided he wanted Lulu, and was willing to "make things work" with Maxie — if he was forced to. Maxie made the right choice with ever-loyal Spinelli, but that doesn't mean her best girlfriend gets to make Maxie's not-dead husband her boyfriend. Also, as Maxie said, Lulu is her person. Cause that's how friendship works. And you don't share men with your person. So, let's see how this goes because we don't see it going smoothly. At. All.

General Hospital sister act

Molly and Kristina are close again...for now | Image: ABC

We're not sure where GH is going by bringing Molly's endometriosis back into play. We thought it was a forgotten plot point used just to facilitate the surrogacy story. But endometriosis is very real and very debilitating, so having it affect Molly's everyday life is certainly authentic. Clearly, Molly has been neglecting her condition, as it has gotten worse. Is the show planning on an endometrial cancer storyline or is endo being used as another plot point just so Molly can tell Cody she doesn't want kids?

One thing it has already done is solidify the renewed sisterly bond between Molly and Kristina. We have no idea why that bond was ever messed with at all. There was no reason to bring angst to the Davis girls with a surrogacy story that didn't even result in a live birth and a new generation. Thankfully, GH seems to have forgotten what it turned Kristina into for nearly two years and she has become likable again. Phew. Of course, Molly will eventually learn that her mother and sister tied her dad to a gurney in Alexis' basement with a ball gag in his mouth. And the angst will begin again. As it should.

Sonny and his lawyers

A career criminal needs a lot of lawyers | Image: ABC

While this was supposed to be a nice brotherly bonding breakfast, we couldn't help but laugh at this shot of Sonny holding court with his various lawyers. We'd say Diane was missing, but Alexis was her proxy as she extolled Diane's virtues, believing that Sonny was about to fire her partner and BFF. Even Justine was in the shot. She is not Sonny's lawyer, per se, but maybe she is...

We just hope and pray this change in Ric is the real deal. Let him keep his wit and his edge, but a true sibling relationship is just what Ric and Sonny need. And with Jason about to take another extended break into the nether, Sonny is certainly going to need a pal.

GH also treated us to Sonny and his musician this week, aka Sonny and his grandson. Good on Sonny for telling directionless Gio that he needs some direction in life. That's a grandparent's job, while Gio's actual parents seem to barely remember he is alive.