When it comes to General Hospital, there’s an unspoken rule that you don’t try to kill Sonny (Maurice Benard) or threaten his family and get away with it. The mobster has a long list of foes who wound up either dead or ironically behind bars in the wake of their failed attempts to eliminate him. Which is why we are a bit nervous for Valentin (James Patrick Stuart).
It was recently revealed that Valentin and Brennan (Charles Mesure) are behind the Pikeman Group, the criminal organization that’s been trying to assassinate Sonny for the last few months. The revelation stunned many viewers as Valentin, although not a good guy necessarily, hadn’t really participated in anything this duplicitous to date. He’s gone full-blown Cassadine, following in the footsteps of his mother Helena (Constance Towers) and father Victor (Charles Shaughnessy).
While the whole truth about why Valentine’s villainous side is being activated and why he's obsessed with Sonny hasn’t been shared yet (although he claims Sonny stands in his way of transporting guns), Sonny may not even care to know when he discovers Valentine is behind all the assassination attempts, or is currently switching his bipolar medication. The Don Juan of Port Charles is likely to just seek vengeance.
If not Sonny, Curtis (Donnell Turner) may seek to put Valentin behind bars as Pikeman is responsible for nearly killing him. Anna may want the same considering Valetin truly duped her and actually almost got her killed as well.
With that being said, we don’t have any confirmation that Stuart is exiting the role of Valentine in the near future. However, in the case that he does, we think his downfall could lead to another character’s surprising return.
Right about now would be a great time to reintroduce Lulu (last played by Emme Rylan) into the Port Charles fold. The last time viewers caught up with her, she was in a deep coma and was sent out of town to a special facility in hopes that the doctors there could bring about her full recovery. That was in 2020. Although Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) escorted Charlotte (Scarlett Fernandez) to see Lulu lying in her hospital bed in July 2023, Lulu didn’t wake up. Is it time she did so now? We certainly think so.
Bringing Lulu back to the forefront now could send shockwaves through the General Hospital canvas and really shake up the lives of quite a few characters. If Valentine is killed or temporarily unavailable, it would be nice for Charlotte to finally be able to reconnect with her mother in the absence of her father. Perhaps Lulu can help Charlotte tap into her Spencer lineage.
Lulu’s return would also be like a monsoon on Dante’s relationship with Sam (Kelly Monaco). The pair is seemingly stronger than ever even after Jason (Steve Burton) blew back into town and Dante was shot. Could Dante and Sam survive if Lulu returned? Considering Lulu was once considered the love of his life, we aren’t so sure.
If Dante does find his head turned by Lulu, would that mean Sam would try finding solace in the arms of Jason? Sam would have a fight on her hands in that department considering Carly (Laura Wright) is in the picture.
Moving on from the possibility that Lulu resurfaces, what if Valentine’s peril brings back his father Victor? Although Valentine and Brennan have been working together as "bosses" of Pikeman, we suspect someone may rank even higher than them, and that the someone could be Victor.
Although he’s presumed dead at the moment, when it comes to a Cassadine, you can never really ensure they are gone. Considering Victor has a big gripe with Sonny and leveled a few threats against him, it stands to reason that Victor is actually behind Pikeman and has been dictating Valentine’s moves as they pertain to the mobster. If his son can no longer do his bidding, we can see Victor taking center stage to do it himself and seek out some retribution in the process.
While this is largely speculation, we think another big return in Port Charles could cause some great soap opera moments.
New episodes of General Hospital air on weekdays on ABC. If you miss an episode, you can catch up on Hulu.
