General Hospital Finally Gives Us What We’ve Wanted for Ages — and Sorry, We Hate It
They say you should be careful what you wish for, and General Hospital is proving that to be true. Because they’re ramping up a story that we’ve kinda sorta been advocating for a couple years, and yet they’re doing so at the worst possible time.
Ever since Jason’s latest resurrection, Drew has been a character existing in a state of flux. He broke things off with Carly, developed a caustic-bordering-on-cruel side and threw himself into a hate-fueled sexcapade with Nina.
Truth be told, we love this new version of Drew if only because he’s, well, interesting. Up until recently, we’d found Cameron Mathison’s take on Drew to be boring as heck.
It didn’t particularly help that his romance with Carly felt entirely forced, as there was no real reason for the two to be together. It felt like a case of writers saying, “Hey, Carly can’t be with Jason so why not put her with his twin brother?”
As ideas go, it wasn’t the worst. But sometimes what look like a good idea on paper doesn’t translate to the screen. That was definitely the case with Drew and Carly, through no fault of portrayers Matihson and Laura Wright. For whatever reason, the pairing just never worked.
Now, Drew is throwing his hat into the political ring as he’s hoping to become a member of Congress. Like the pairing of Carly and Drew, this probably seemed like a great idea on paper.
And for a long time, we’ve championed the notion of soaps incorporating real-life issues and relatable topics into their storylines. But given the current environment, maybe politics isn’t the best road to go down.
It is, at best, a mixed bag. For example, we loved the recent scene which found Trina discussing the topic. “I think it’s important to vote and all, but I’m just not into the political scene these days,” Trina admitted. “It’s just a little too chaotic and overwhelming.
I know what I’m for and what I’m against, not saying I’m not interested in those issues, I just… I’ll make sure I’m up on them before I vote in November.”
It was a great moment and we loved that having Trina speak those words provided a reminder and a strong role model to younger viewers.
But do we really want to spend the next several months watching Drew campaign for office, or embattled mayor Laura fighting to maintain her position as rightfully concerned citizens like Portia demand she be removed from office?
Not necessarily. (Especially given that it makes no sense that Laura would be championing the potential release of longtime loon Heather.)
Worse, not only has Willow been inexplicably drawn into a messy situation thanks to the kiss she and Drew shared, but she’s been taken away from the hospital in order to work for “The New Tomorrow Institute.”
Sorry, but we need more folks working at the titular medical center, not fewer! The hospital is the very heart of the show, and the few folks who still work there are rarely featured.
If there’s a positive side to this story, it’s that it involves an ever-growing number of players. Michael doesn’t know his wife kissed Drew. Sasha does and shared the secret with Cody. Curtis is supporting his pal’s run for office. So it is slowly but surely evolving into an umbrella story.
All of which puts us in the rather uncomfortable position of admitting that while General Hospital is trying to give us something we’ve longed for, we’re not loving the road down which they’ve opted to travel. In the coming weeks and months, our soaps will provide a much-needed escape from the reality of our increasingly divisive political scene. So maybe we can just cut to the chase, have Drew’s campaign quickly derailed by the reveal of his involvements with Nina and her daughter, and move on?
Pretty please?
