Credit: ABC Disney/ABC screenshot

In last week’s General Hospital column, it only later occurred to me after penning it that Emma was Anna’s holiday surprise, which readers were quick to suggest. However, none of us likely expected a whole new Emma Drake! Nina’s Christmas Eve gathering left a bad taste in our mouths, as did Lulu’s Christmas plans. It was a shorter week due to the holidays, and next year will be similar. However, they managed to pack some pleasant surprises in!

I Won’t Be Home for Christmas

Readers have been hot and cold regarding Lulu’s return and various actions, and this week was on the cooler side. Tracy and Laura both noted that while she rightfully missed Charlotte, and they all wanted her home, Lulu had family here who wanted to celebrate the holiday with her. Dante and Laura’s conversation about Rocco was crushing as they discussed how Rocco had long wanted his mom back home for Christmas. Now he has her, but he doesn’t, as Lulu dropped everything to run off and reunite with Charlotte.

Yes, Charlotte is her daughter, too, and Lulu obviously wants her home with her. But damn, if my heart didn’t break for Rocco. When he told his father and grandmother about Charlotte’s call and his mom leaving, the look on his face said everything. He claimed he understood, but all he wanted was his mom with him for Christmas. This could definitely set up a rift between the siblings down the road.

Not only is Collette tailing Lulu, per Jack’s orders, but Dante is also on his way after her. It’s too bad Valentin found Lulu with Charlotte first! Valentin’s downright scary appearance at the end of Friday’s show was a great cliffhanger. I am glad we have the character back, as I feared they’d rescue Charlotte and Valentin would be lost forever on the run until some time down the road when they decided to bring him back. Bringing Charlotte back to Port Charles isn’t going to be that easy for Lulu now that Papa is back on the canvas. Welcome back, James Patrick Stuart!

Bad Behavior

Emma’s introduction as a Robin Hood pickpocket was done not just to put her in Gio’s orbit but to make it clear this is a new Emma. Since they didn’t pair Gio with Trina, it looks like they hope to hit gold with him and Emma. Hey, they can’t be as dull as Trina and Kai, can they? That pairing still isn’t working.

It was obvious to the Scorpios that Emma was keeping secrets from them. Who transfers out of an astrophysics program at Berkley to come to PCU? Fortunately, they didn’t drag this one out, and we learned that Emma was expelled after throwing a party in her dorm room, which damaged the entire building and displaced all the students. Now she’s moving in with Anna, who she complained is acting like a warden. I’m already missing sweet, nice Emma!

Emma’s run-in with Joss further proves that she is a very different young lady from when we last saw her. I understand the show’s decision to recast the character, as they aged all the other kids she grew up with back in the day. However, she seems to be the latest victim of a personality transplant from the writers, and gloating to Joss about all the time she spent with Cam and how she set him up with Gretchen proved it. Watch out, Joss, it looks like there’s a new mean girl in town!

More: Brooklyn Rae Silzer says goodbye to General Hospital

No One Is Here for This!

Nina’s Christmas Eve gathering was nauseating, with Drew and Willow fawning all over one another. Lucas’ arrival and ripping into Willow was the party’s highlight. Willow telling him they didn’t mean for this to happen and that he had no right to judge them was laughable. As Lucas pointed out, they did mean for this to happen, and Willow has a history of judging the actions of others, mainly Nina’s.

Drew comforting Willow after Lucas’ words and going on about how they found each other was not what I wanted to watch in a holiday-themed episode! We all know Michael is on his way out, so the show clarified in these scenes that they are moving forward with a Drew and Willow pairing. I’m sorry for all the times I complained about how boring Michael and Willow were together now! Nina could put an end to this by telling Willow about her sexcapades with Drew, but that probably will serve as another bomb to be dropped down the road by someone else once Willow and Drew are solid. I hope Nina erased any office security recordings of them…

Diane had the line of the week when she learned from Michael about the nanny cam footage and that they did it in the nursery. “That’s so icky!”

Final Ponderings

Well, we finally learned why Ava is broke! The Cassadine lawyers took all her settlement money, including Wyndemere, back as they named Ace the new Cassidine heir and Alexis the trustee of his fortune. I’ll admit, I am intrigued at how Alexis being dragged back into her family’s business will play out.

Last week, it seemed like they were testing the waters between Cody and Lulu to see if they could be a possible pairing. This week, Sasha and Jason? With Michael leaving one way or the other, it would be a nod to history for Jason to step up and help Sasha raise Michael’s child.

Chase telling Brook Lynn that he once had a crush on Lulu was a major dunderhead move, especially right after she ranted about her history with Lulu. And once again, they are hitting us over the head with the idea that Brook Lynn will be Gio’s bio-mom. This time it was Chase commenting to Brook Lynn, as they took a pregnancy test, about how she hadn’t been pregnant before, so she wouldn’t have that sense or feeling of knowing what it felt like to be pregnant.

More: Michael Easton pays tribute to a lost friend

So, the magic of Christmas has, what, just made Laura and Sonny BFF’s again? Everything from the past year is water under the bridge. And as if Sonny doesn’t have enough medical drama, it looks like they are about to throw in a heart attack based on that quick scene of him grabbing his chest and arm.

That wraps up my thoughts on this short holiday week. Please leave yours in the comments below, and I’ll be back next year with my first batch of thoughts for 2025!