(Sorry I am late in cross-posting this week!)

This past week the residents of Port Charles tried to pick up the pieces after the hostage crisis and explosion at the Metro Court. While family members on the outside tried to get inside, the evil Mr. Craig still pursued his precious shipment.

In horror, Nikolas pulled himself up from the explosion’s force and tried to make his way back into the building after Emily. Sam, Alexis, and Mac held him back and tried to reason with him, but his fear and grief overwhelmed him. When Emily emerged toward the end of Monday’s episode he pulled from his caring family and returned to his woman’s arms. If nothing else, this crisis was a chance for Emily and Nikolas to reconnect and a chance for audience members to remember why these two belong together.

Inside the hotel, Sonny pulled himself from the debris and immediately began searching for Carly, finding her nearby under a pile of rubble that he cleared. The two, battered and shaky on their feet, began to look for Jason. First they found the briefcase which had been armed again. They then stumbled over one of the captors and picked up the gun, which laid near his body. Lucky for them, because it was at that very moment they were met with Mr. Craig.

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In the final five hours before the much publicized Metro Court explosion, Sonny and Carly figured out the code to the briefcase, Spinelli used his Jackal skills for the greater good, and Father Mateo and Max both took bullets for other hostages’ behavior.

The week started with a bit of hope. True to his word, Mr. Craig released Alan for medical treatment, but not before putting a sniper in the second story window. After being helped to the door, he weakly stumbled down the steps of the hotel, and the sniper began shooting at the readied SWAT team. Crossfire ensued, much to the dismay of the hostages, gathered crowd, and Luke and Lucky who watched from their vantage point inside the hotel.

The onlookers wrongly assumed the doctor had been shot, but Luke could see it was actually a heart attack. Though he knew it meant he may not get another chance to save Lulu, Liz, or the unborn child, the father-son team knew they couldn’t watch Alan die, and exited the hotel through the window. They pulled Alan out of the crossfire to a waiting Monica.

Inside the hotel, Emily feared her father may have been killed in the crossfire and let loose on their sadistic captor, pounding on him and screaming. Why he didn’t shoot her, I don’t know. He’s been quick to the trigger with everyone else. I don’t mean to say Emily deserved it; the emotional outpouring was realistic and well acted, and almost as heartbreaking as watching the long-time well-loved doctor become a casualty of the crisis. I’m just saying Mr. Craig’s inconsistencies have been wide and far-reaching…

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As we reached the end of Friday’s episode, we were left with just five hours (and five episodes) until the Metro Court explosion we’ve been mercilessly teased with for two weeks now. In the last week the full focus has been on Mr. Craig, his accomplices, and the hostages.

After going to the door of the Metro Court, Patrick was able to gain Mr. Craig’s attention, and eventually he conceded to the request to accept medical treatment for Robin, but with his own sadistic twist. Patrick would only be allowed to talk Liz through the procedure by phone, Carly would assist, and it could only be performed with what could be found inside the hotel. After Patrick gave a supply list to Liz, Craig sent Nikolas and Sam on a timed scavenger hunt. They were to return with everything on the list in ten minutes or Nikolas would be shot.

Patrick was able to talk Liz through the procedure and all seemed to be going well until she sliced an artery. When Carly insisted Emily be allowed to help them, Craig agreed for a price to be named later. The price ended up being having Carly close on her own. Craig’s mind games had the desired effect on Carly; she was obviously and thoroughly upset by the task, and spilled her disgust to Sonny when she was later able to join him, separated from the others.

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As mentioned and shown in a video clip last week, we got a sneak peak at the Metro Court explosion and were then shot back in time 16 hours to begin an hour-by-hour 24-esque look at what led up to it. On Monday through Wednesday we were treated to that same two-minute video clip, shown from a different character’s perspective. At first it was really a nice effect but by Thursday, when it was repeated again with a rock/montage effect, I was just sick of seeing it. The Metro Court is going to explode. Okay, I get it. (Many of the clips are available on Youtube if you are the rare viewer who hasn’t seen it yet.)

True to prediction, there are enough hostages to truly affect every major character on the show, and the crisis ties in with storylines already set into motion. I’m still unsure if it’s living up to the hour-by-hour hype. The story isn’t really unraveling at any different pace or timing than normal, but it is gripping, sweeps-worthy material.

Before the hostage crisis could shift into gear, we were treated to the return of Kin Shriner in the roll of Scotty Baldwin. After checking into the hotel, he went to visit Laura, where he was nearly caught by Luke. The two did eventually run into each other outside the Metro Court, where Luke worried about Lulu and Bobbie, and Scotty also expressed concern for Luke’s sister. Hate and venom were exchanged by the two and a mention was made of the Port Charles Hotel fire years earlier and a hint of connection was drawn between the two events and Scotty. There was also a hint that somehow he is wrapped up in the unraveling “who killed Rick Webber” mild mystery…

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