General Hospital: Perkie's Observations

Sam the "shoot before asking questions" has been beaten like that? That should have been something bought up years ago or during the time Jerry Jax was manhandling her.

Thanks for the recaps. I still cant watch this until Kris tells the truth

OMG, thank you, Perkie... I've been reading your recaps and the comments for days, just waiting for everyone to get why Sam is so pissed and absolutely not able to believe that Kristina is lying.  I also believe Krissy feels she has no other choice but to lie, because she is absolutely terrified of Keifer.  You can see it when he's anywhere near her.  Today I got the impression that she feels she'll never be able to break free from him.  So, why anger him even more by admitting he beat her, because it's just going to be worse next time.  I'm looking forward to Monday.

It was brought up years ago, in 2004, when Nico came back into town, started smacking her around while she was pregnant, and gave her a black eye.  It was also brought up in 2007 when it was made known that Bill Monroe found out she was scamming him, so he decided to beat her to death instead of turn her into the cops.  She ended up having to kill him in self defense.  I've always believed the beatings she's had to endure are the reason she is able to fight so well, (TMK anyone?).

Ethan is turning out to be the true victim in this story. I feel for Kristina but I still can't get over the fact that she blamed Ethan for her beating. Her fear of Kiefer and wanting to protect Kiefer makes sense because that's how it is for a lot of abuse victims but she shouldn't have IDed an innocent man.

It's such a stupid plot point. It damages the storyline and the audience's sympathy for Kristina IMO.

I hated how Alexis didn't hear those Kristina and Kiefer but it was good soapy drama.

If the writers want me to CONTINUE to feel sorry for Ethan's plight, they have to stop making him so damn STUPID!!! First, he goes around offering these HALF-HEARTED denials, and then he doesn't even bother to BRING UP the possibility that perhaps it's Kristina's CREEPY boyfriend Keifer who may have beaten her, and now he has the STUPID, STUPID nerve to show up on Kristina's doorstep ALONE and in violation of a restraining order???? Just put a bullet through this guy right now if you're not gonna at least write him as PARTIALLY smart and level-headed!! I am starting to question who I should be rooting for here----the liar or the idiot!! Please don't turn Ethan into a stupid character just to accomodate this story!!

Secondly, regarding how PATHETIC Ethan's denials have been,  I HOPE the writers are scripting them to be so (BLAH!) and this is not just Nathan Parson's "phoning it in" because I really like Nathan Parsons, and I'd hate to find out he's pulling a "Tyler Christopher" and giving me 50% instead of the 100% I'm used to from the actors on this show!!!

Sonny needs to stop whining every five minutes, because his kids are screwed up PRIMARILY because of him. He neglected Kristina basically her whole childhood, and Alexis was clearly too busy snuggling up with mobsters and faking insanity to get her daughter the much-needed therapy that could've prevented her from choosing someone like Keifer as her boyfriend in the first place. Not that it's Alexis' fault, but she taught Kristina how to make bad choices in men through her own despicable examples. Who else was she supposed to learn from?? Sam??? Those two have the worst luck in men in the whole damn town!!!
 

You're not crazy, Perkie.  Laura Wright did a beautiful job in what was a very well-written scene.

ITA.  I also loved the look on Lisa's face when she realized that she wasn't getting dismissed (and that's saying a lot because I haven't liked a single thing in any scene this Lisa has been in up until now).

Secondly, regarding how PATHETIC Ethan's denials have been,  I HOPE the writers are scripting them to be so (BLAH!) and this is not just Nathan Parson's "phoning it in" because I really like Nathan Parsons, and I'd hate to find out he's pulling a "Tyler Christopher" and giving me 50% instead of the 100% I'm used to from the actors on this show!!!

THIS!

Ever since bringing Kristina to the hospital, Ethan has pulled a complete 180. His attitude is very defeatist.

I'm biased as a Kristina/Ethan fan but I wish that he would show more life when people are accusing him. He just lets everyone walk over him. I want him to be more adament about never hurting Kristina or better yet for him to be pissed at her for lying.

It's no wonder as to why everyone thinks he's guilty.

 I so agree!She is a liar.And my opinion I think she lied about Ethan just to get back at him for rejecting her.This is deffinatly one pathetic sick chick..

I think they're trying to show that being a con man is now coming back to bite Ethan on the ass.

He's basically a professional liar so why would anyone believe him?  Why would anyone think that a girl would say he beat her when he didn't?  And, what chance does he have when that girl's father (and sister, as mentioned in an earlier post) has a "shoot first and ask questions later [never]" attitude?  Defeatest?  Maybe, but not enitrely unrealistic.

Then you either aren't watching the show or you only believe what you want to believe.  I have seen not one thing that suggests Krissy is lying for revenge.  If she was, she wouldn't be begging her father not to kill him and begging her mother not to press charges against him.  Everything that has happened this week has shown that she blamed Ethan before she had a chance to think it through, and now regrets that decision.  But because she is so afraid of Keifer and because the lie got so big, she feels she can't go back on it now.  Now, all she's trying to do is work the situation so everything about it just goes away.

I completely agree Analiza. I think Ethan has been acting like a guy who realizes that part of the reason why no one believes him is because he did nothing but lie to those same people for the first several months he knew them.  I think he also feels a little guilt for grabbing Kristina by the arm.  But it's not like he's exactly lying down over this.  He is still denying his guilt, he is just doing it in a nuanced way, which  I think is to NP's credit as an actor.

I personally love this storyline.  I think it's just great soap.  I had stopped watching GH a while back, and then I got sucked back in the Dante/Sonny storyline and now this one.  I don't think for a second that Kristina is blaming Ethan out of revenge. I think she reflexively blamed Ethan when she was drugged up and traumatized in the hosptial because she thought it was the only way to save Keifer's life, and she did not think Sonny would kill Ethan.  I don't think she thought through the ramifications of blaming Ethan then, but she's in too deep to back out now and she is also concerned for Keifer's life.

The story is COMPLEX.  Yes, it would be great if all victims were 100% pure and sympathetic, but that's not the way it works in the real world and is certainly not the way it shoudl work on soaps.  Just because its not a Lifetime Movie of the Week scenario where the victim is a saint doesn't mean that Kristina is any less of victim.  Keifer DID beat the crap out her.  She was his victim then and I think she continues to be his victim by trying to save his life by wrongfully blaming Ethan.

I just think it is a good storyline and I think it is being well-written (for the most part) and very well-acted by all parties involved.  I have not thought that about GH in ages, with the execption of the Dante storyline.

It seems to me that Kristina's years of lies and crimes are catching up with her.  Maybe she has now told one lie too many.  I hope when the truth comes out that Ethan is still alive and that Kristina is charged with filing a false police report and actually gets punished for it and then a lot of therapy.  Otherwise she will continue on with her long time pattern of lying, commiting crimes, blamming others for them and getting away with it.  Maybe if she had been punished for causing the car accident that killed Claudia's baby she might not be lying about Ethan now!

The story is COMPLEX.  Yes, it would be great if all victims were 100% pure and sympathetic, but that's not the way it works in the real world and is certainly not the way it shoudl work on soaps.

Kerfuffles...THANK YOU.

I have been enjoying the story so far.  I'm not a violent person by nature, and I believe that violence begets violence, but I'm not so sure I could initially keep my cool and agree to let the justice system take care of things if someone I loved was brutally attacked.  Watching everyone deal with the fallout has been so compelling for this very reason.

Can't wait to Sam go comando on Kiffer.

Ethan had the oppurtunity to say to many that Keifer could have beaten Kristina.  You would think that he would if hes being accused of such a crime.  I still feel bad for  him though!

I'm getting sick of all the interruptions now with Dante and Lulu.  Its getting old real fast. 

Can't wait for Monday to see what Kristina has to say to Ethan.  I don't want this to drag for so long!!  I hope the truth comes out soon!

So Sam was beaten by men before?  Was she not a con just like Ethan when she came to town?  Amelia had files on the four men Sam conned and stole from including Bill Monroe who was Amelia's father, and Sam never claimed to be beaten by any of them.  She did say killing Bill was self defense but it was in the heat of the moment because of his reaction to her conning and stealing from him and trying to get away from him before he caught on to her act.   Amelia even had someone pretend to be one of Sam's other marks and blackmail her for money, and Sam just wanted the guy to go away because she did not want her past revealed.  Tracy even was able to find out about Angela Monroe-the name she used while conning Bill Monroe-  before Amelia came to town and Sam gave in to Tracy's demand to stay away from ELQ, and Edward because she did not want any one in PC to find out about her past.  So sorry having Sam go all "used to be victim" in this storyline does not work.  Sam never cared about any of her marks, Kristina thinks she loves Keifer and had a crush on Ethan so her situation is very different.  Kristina is also a teenager whereas Sam was an adult conning, stealing, lying, and putting herself in dangerous situations knowing the possible otcome of her actions.  
Sonny remembering his abuse as a child and his mother's ia at least believable because it is part of the character's history.  Sonny is a well developed character but Sam 's backstory seems to change whenever it suits the writers.  The one time Sam "acted" like a possible victim was when she went after Lucky by saying how she was scared of Jason's lifestyle, and then Lucky thought he neede to protect her from Jason.  That con of being scared died the minute she volunteered to go undercover against the Russians and the counterfeit drug ring.  She was once again written as the "tough" con woman.  So while Alexis is going off on Sonny for making Kristina's beating all about him, she needs to let Sam have a bit of the same speech.  

Coolblue you are totally off.  Sam was only about 20 when she was with Nico - the guy that forced her into the chop shop.  He was so violent with her that when he showed up in PC, Carly at one point had to jump in save Sam. We saw how terrorized she was with Nico.  She never really talked about her marks aside from Bill Monroe, who instead of going to the cops came after her with a fireplace poker.  We also were told last year during the scene between Lizard and Sam during the Russian mob showdown at the cabin that Sam's dad put her in to the life of the grift and that people were always coming after them and they were surrounded by violence.  She talked about having to get a gun to back some violent guy off her so-called father.   We know her father had no concern at all for Danny or Sam - he locked Danny in the basement for gosh sakes so it wouldnt surprise me if he got violent with Sam at times too. 

coolblue - Not that I approve of Sam's violent behavior right now because I don't but when she was conning all those men she was barely out of her teenage years.  They also showed her being brutally beaten by Bill Monroe when she killed him in self defense.  Maybe you weren't watching back then, I don't know but they have shown the abuse in Sam's background on more than one occasion over the years so I do understand why Kristina being beaten would bring up those memories.  However I do not think beating up on Ethan is excusable and she should have been arrested for that.  Two wrongs do not make a right and when she learns the truth I hope she  grovels for Ethan's forgiveness!

I am still a new poster on here and I only got to watch for a few minutes today. I tape them to watch at night.  We don't have Soap Net.  During the assembly of prospective jurors my  22 year old stopped by for lunch.  We saw the "jurors", Alice, Coleman and Lisa and we both looked at each other and laughed.  Now this poor kids has had to endure my soaps all his life, he works in a grocery store where they sell the Soap magazines and occasionally will catch part of an episode if I am home and he comes by.  We both said that there was no way that they would pick Coleman or Alice (he did not know who Dr. Lisa is-who I can't stand).  And the next thing you know they pan over to watch them take the oath!!!  He said, "You watch some crazy stuff there, Mom."  I have previously commented about the Kristina/Ethan storyline and I don't like it, especially as there has been a time or two that Sam has questioned Kristina about Keifer and Ethan has seen it himself, and doesn't say anything.  While this is great acting on the part of the actress that she is so young and seemingly believable, I do not like the storyline.  I know this is a soap opera and there are PSA's at the end but you would think that along with those PSA's they would show the parents getting help for the child as opposed to running all around town seeking revenge.  I love GH and OLTL and will watch until my dying day, but I wish this storyline would go away or the truth and the therapy needs to start soon or I will FF this part, which I have never done so far.  Kudo's also to Maxi and Lulu today.  Maxi's explanation of what it was like for her as a sick child make you really understand her a little more.  I remember well that storyline and while Maxi has grown as a character you really got to see and understand her history a little more.  Great acting by some very young woman today.  Thanks for making my evenings! 

Perkie..am glad u understood things from Sam's point of view. That's pretty much what I was thinking all week, just didn't feel like creating a big argument. I don't support the violence she tried to inflict on Ethan, but my first thought was If someone were to beat up my beautiful little sis, I would wanna inflict bodily harm on them before going to the cops, that may not be the smart thing but it's animal instinct, u gotta protect ur own.

Jury selection was laughable, don't even get me started.

alstonboy4315, u're so right, why can't Ethan just say to the cops that Keifer has been abusive to Kristina before, I mean not necessarily pointing the finger since he doesn't know for sure but at least create some doubt.

It might be to viewers who hate him that Sonny is making this all about him, but I believe if any of us were in the same position, we would actually look back and see what we suffered, reliving every violent detail and wanting to do anything to stop it from happening to our child, sibling, etc.. The writers are just doing it in a way that it looks like Sonny was the one abused, instead of Kristina.

Is anyone else having trouble getting on this site?

Re: the abuse s/l. I think the writers have done an injustice to this powerful story by having Kristina name an innocent man. I know in reality the abused protect the abuser but falsely accusing someone is not a good message to relay. It has also taken the sympathy away from the victim. And why couldn't they have had PI Sam put together the time line? That she was with Ethan at the time Kristina said he was beating her? Would have been great conflict between Sam/Alexis/Kristina.  

Hope Sonny's so called trial is over soon. it is becoming more of a joke everyday. At least it gives us a chance to see Diane.

 I love this S/lL I think it is one of the best stories GH has done in the past years....
Yes it has troubles ,But the story feels so real , Many woman tend to protect their abuser, So does Kris ....
You could feel that she is still scared of Kiefer, and she is still in emotional state, so she does not know what to do,,,
Again Lexi and CH are amazing 

Sam - Sam had abusive past she been played  by men since she was a kid, her father used her , he boyfriends hit her it took a lot of time till she got strength and till she felt confront in her own skin....
What happened to Kris brings the memory of her own abusive past the time that she was weak and wasn't sure of her self , I liked what she told Jason that was so real and so true Jason does not know what it feels to be weak and that someone hit you and you can't fight back...   again amazing well written scene , Kelly was amazing at that scene....
I love how Jason was understanding and just tried to be calm and listen to her....

I love the CarSon scene- that was again so good and so well written , Sonny had abusive past that brought  him to where he is today ,of course he will think of his past when his little girl is   suffering like he and his mother were... I love Carly there trying to show him that it is not the same KRIS HAS PEOPLE AROUND HER THAT WILL HELP HER, And i think she has amazing people yes they are not perfect no one is but they will help her... Again amazing performance by MB and LW.....

I liked the Spixie scenes....

I loved the Jury selection scenes , it was funny and it gave me a smile in a really dramatic scene... I love Alice and Coleman there they will give me a good laugh...

my 2 cents:

i can understand why some viewers think that sam's abuse is coming out of nowhere because she doesn't bring it up unless it's relevent. others have already posted how the show's addressed her past, but i'll add that she took the blame for danny starting a fire and had to flee her home. she's basically been her only ally since a young teen.

unlike sonny who wears his " my stepdaddy beat me and all i got was this lousy cartel" t-shirt at every opportunity.  having said that, i also understand how this is bringing up bad memories for him just like sam and others that are affected. i just get annoyed with sonny doing this because it's his logic and reasoning for everything. which would make sense, if he hadn't already been out of the mob numerous times and chosen to come back regardless of his families safety. johnny was right - realistically any thug could have beaten krissy as revenge against sonny.

i have to applaud carly. i totally thought the first words out of her mouth would be krissy will be alright because sonny is the bestest, truest, most wonderful father ever! but she surprised me and made it about krissy and the strong women in her life. colored me impressed.

LOL!!!!!  So true!!  But I still love Sonny.

This is what confuses me about comments like this...  The fact that Krissy falsely accused Ethan is not being sugar coated or swept under the rug.  Every single day, you see the torment and terror Ethan has to live with because Kristina lied.  How, on God's green earth, is that sending a bad message that falsely accusing someone is actually a good thing?  I would understand your point of view if Krissy was sitting around, grinning and happy that she accused Ethan.  Or I could understand if she didn't care that her father wants to put a bullet in him or that her mother wants him in prison.  Instead, you see Krissy dealing with guilt for what she has done, trying to find a way to get Ethan out of the situation she put him in.  Plus, at the same time, she's dealing with fear for what could happen to her if she tells the truth.  I have to stress that when you have been abused and you think your abuser isn't going away, it's very very difficult to confront him about his crimes in front of other people that think he's this wonderful, supportive guy.  In my opinion, GH is showing the truth about the fact that victims often protect their abusers, even to the detriment of others.  And they are showing the ramifications of victims making these types of choices.  Also, if my sister showed up in the hospital looking like Krissy looked, and she told me Johnny down the block did it, I'd believe her with no questions asked, just like Sam.  Yes, Sam is a PI, but she can't be objective in this situation because it's her sister and because it brings up painful memories of her past.

Iloved the show mainly because of Lulu & Dante. I hope it is Dante & NOT Jason who nails Kiefer as Kristina's attacker.

" my stepdaddy beat me and all i got was this lousy cartel"
 

LMAO!  I swear, i am making a t-shirt, with Sonny's face, and those words. HILARIOUS

mayjadjor wrote:  I also believe Krissy feels she has no other choice but to lie, because she is absolutely terrified of Keifer. 

Here's my problem with this part of the story.  Many times, the abuser will isolate the victim, make sure there's no support system there for them to turn to.  Like Sonny's mother, who had a young son, but couldn't say or do anything because Deke was a cop. 

However, Kristina has a billion around her to support her.  Her mother, her sister, her cousin Nik, Micheal, her father, Jason, all of Sonny's men, Carly, Jax, Dante, Diane, heck even Olivia.  She's not alone.  I see no reason for her to continue to be afraid of this kid. 

She is one of the few abuse victims who should be able to say, enough, so I don't understand why she's still scared of him. 

And I'm not sure I saw fear on Friday's episode.  For sure when Kiefer saw her at the hospital, but by the time Kiefer showed up at the lakehouse,  I was seeing way more anger from her than anything else.

alstonboy wrote:  . If the writers want me to CONTINUE to feel sorry for Ethan's plight, they have to stop making him so damn STUPID!!!

I don't see it as stupidity.  I see him being stuck between a rock and a hard place.  He clearly is devastated by all of this. 

First, he's beating himself up over roughing up K when she came to the Star.  Then, he was horrified to find her on the floor like that.  Then she points the finger at him, which confuses him, maybe angers him, but I think upsets him.  Why would she turn on him, when they've been friends.

He hasn't had time to process it all, much less start wondering who really did it, much less set his sights on Keifer. 

I'm hoping in time, he'll remember how much a douche Keifer has been to Kristina and he'll be able to point people in that direction.

But even then, he has to be careful.  He can't just point the finger at Kiefer, becaue no one will beleive him.  They'll think he's just trying to blame someoen else for what he did.  Plus, many of the adults have not seen Kiefer's behaviour before, but have seen him be nice now, like Alexis.

Ethan needs to do what he does best, whichi is to con the truth out of Kiefer and/or Kristina.