So I haven’t written about General Hospital in quite a while. To be honest, it’s because other than being psyched that Robin is back, I’m pretty ambivalent about what’s going on. There are pairings I like and stories with potential but I’m feeling kind of lukewarm when I want to be boiling over.

First, what’s right? Well, Anna, Duke, and Robin – Thank you God! Robin, Patrick and Emma – Double thanks! Everything else? Just makes me say, “eh.”

I love Michael Easton, but Silas Clay with Sam Morgan = paint drying. I loooove Roger Howarth but I’d be lying if I said I’m really into Franco. I absolutely freak over Maura West and actually love the character of Ava, but come on…as hot as Morgan is it’s beneath her. Where’s her leading man?

All of that pales in comparison to my devastation at the disappearance of Elizabeth Webber. Where is she?

I understand that when new writers come in they bring their own ideas and characters. I went with Britt and Sabrina and it was fairly entertaining for a time. The thing is – they aren’t the reason I watch. I don’t want to watch Britt’s love story with Nikolas or Sabrina dealing with Patrick’s rejection and what to do with his baby. I DO want to watch Nikolas and Patrick. And if I’m watching Nikolas and Patrick I feel like I should see Liz more than Britt, Sabrina, or even SAM. What’s up with all this Sam is everyone’s best friend now?

I like Silas, Ava, Derek/Julien, and Sonny. It’s a decent story. I like the way Morgan, Molly, TJ and Rafe have been drawn in as well, but I want more than a mob story.

Here’s hoping that as we move into 2014 we get a seriously juicy secret between Ava and Silas. Here’s hoping that newbie Nathan West instigates a love quadrangle with Maxie, Dante, and Lulu and doesn’t just relegate Dante to the background as Lulu moves on. Here’s hoping that they actually have a plan for Elizabeth. That she sees some romance with Nikolas, or Dante, or Nathan, anyone but AJ who just seems like a dead-end for her.

The fact that I wrote this whole reflection without AJ even coming to mind shows how this rotation of stories makes me forget about characters off-screen. Does GH have too many characters? I know, I know – ratings are at their highest in years – and despite the tone of this review I understand why. Carlivati and Valentini know soaps. They get them in a way that no one has since the 1980’s…so. I guess I’ll just shut up, keep watching, and stay lukewarm while I hope for some couples with real chemistry.