Editor's Choice

When the Bough Breaks...

GH demonstrated that you can't just tune in during sweeps for the show's big moments by having one of it's most compelling stories climax in June.

The paternity puzzle known as Baby John began in February, when Courtney died shortly after giving birth to her son with Nikolas. Her ex-husband, Jax, faked the results of two paternity tests in order to raise the boy as his own. In Jax's mind, he was saving the child from the clutches of Nikolas' evil grandmother, Helena. But John also enriched Jax's life by helping him realixe his long-awaited dream of fatherhood, and drawing him closer to former enemey-turned-lover Carly. Jax knew he was operating on murky ethical ground by keeping a baby away from his biological parent, and wrestled with the morality of doing the wrong thing for the "right" reasons.

That compelling setup led to a lovely spring day in the park for what was supposed to be a happy occasion, John's babtism. But events quickly spiraled out of control, with life-changing complications for everyone in attendance.

Part of what made this tale resonate was the way GH mined its history. Seven years ago, Robin sent Carly's life into a tailspin by telling the truth: AJ, not Tony, not Jason, was the father of her son, Michael. Fast-forward to the present: Robin, of all people, discovered that Carly was abetting Jax in the paternity cover-up and faced the dilemma of either telling the truth for the truth's sake, or keeping John in a safe and happy home that wasn't really his.

Oh, the irony. Prior to the reveal, Nikolas apolgized to Jax and Calry for conducting a third paternity test (which Carly had secretly sabatoged). "I appreciate your honesty," Carly responded. Nik even asked Robin and Alexis to put aside their animosity toward Carly for the baby's sake. Robin couldn't hold it in anymore, but when she finally told Nikolas the truth, no one, including Nik, believed her. Then Jax confessed.

A quartet of fine performacnes accentuated the poignancy woven through each taut and tender beat of this tale. Tyler Christopher brought new levels of humanity to his stoic prince. "You ignored Courtney's last wish for her child and kept up a lie," said an incredulous Nik. "It's up to me to protect my son, Jax, not you!" Ingo Rademacher was deeply touching, tossing aside Jax's happy-go-lucky persona to reveal a gaping wound at the prospect of handing over the baby he'd come to love as his own. Laura Wright danced between Carly's false indignation and true desperation as she frantically tried to keep John with Jax, while Kimberly McCullough displayed Robin's righteousness-tinged-with-regret at the painful result of doing the right thing.

The addition of the baby is guaranteed to change a family, but on GH, a fight over the fate of a tiny tot left a town altered in its wake.

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