HOLLYWOOD—It’s been awhile so it’s time to discuss the happenings in Port Charles on the ABC soap “General Hospital.” By now, many of you are aware of the biggest news of the hour: actress Rebecca Budig is out as Hayden Barnes! Yup, the actress who originally joined the soap in a minor story arc, was expected gone for good after ending up in that coma, but with such ferocity from the character, she was brought back where she kicked off an epic romance with Nikolas Cassadine before hooking up with Dr. Hamilton Finn.

Finn and Hayden are now expecting their first child, but little do both know, Dr. Liesl Obrecht is out for vengeance after finally getting busted for tampering with Finn’s drug test in her mission to bring him down. We all know Obrecht is crazy, I mean look what she did to Robin, and how far she went to protect her daughter Britt. So imagine the madness this woman is seething that she will no longer be able to practice medicine. She has a revenge plot in place, but it looks like Hayden and Obrecht (herself) will be unexpected recipients of that plan.

Rumor has it both ladies could see their demise in bloody fashion. I know this sounds bad, but it could be the story the soap needs to draw back viewers after a slow June. I mean this soap seems ambivalent to killing off characters, well at least those who are major players. Another notable player who might be on the outs is Julian Jerome (William DeVry), whose contract negotiations has stalled. That is never a good sign people in the soap world, and I must admit “GH” has some very big names on its rooster, so it might be time to start chipping away at some characters to develop more pulse-pounding storylines for viewers.

I wonder how Mr. Jerome will make his exit, if the rumors are indeed true. He was indeed at the forefront of the madness in previous months with the arrival of his back from the dead sister Olivia, who as we all know is expected to return to the “GH” canvas. Hmm, could Olivia be the person who takes down her brother, and what will be the result.

There is a bit of happy news people, with the marriage of Ned Ashton and Olivia Falconeri. Yes, these two characters do indeed belong together, and to be honest, they haven’t had much going on story-wise for quite some time. Carly and Sonny are reunited, but if Josslyn has anything to say about it, things will not last long. The teen is becoming something of a wild child in recent weeks, and her admiration for Oscar looks like the teen will continue to get into trouble more and more as the weeks progress.

Sonny should be concerned as it appears Sam and her hallucinations are getting more dangerous by the minute. Precisely what is going on with Sam is yet to be known, but it’s apparent the writers have a big storyline in place, perhaps it has plenty to deal with the return of Steve Burton. Yes, the man who portrayed Jason Morgan for more than 20 years, is set to return to “GH” in the coming weeks, but who he will be playing is still a major mystery people, which raises what will transpire with Billy Miller. Miller assumed the role of Jason a few years ago and has indeed made the character his own. It looks like Sam might be ready to target Sonny to ensure Jason never goes back into the mob business, but the ramifications of those actions are likely to lead to more chaos.

Other surprising news is the return of Valentin Cassadine, who found a way to slither away from the authorities once again. I mean the guy kills Nikolas (so we think), he was responsible for the Chimera project being released and just causing utter chaos upon his arrival in Port Charles. Nina has been missing her husband more and more each day, but his sudden release from the WSB has her questioning rather it is wise to rekindle her relationship with the man that has caused her so much stress. That same sentiment can be echoed by Lulu and Dante who were just beginning to bond with Charlotte, as well as Anna who is never able to stay one step ahead of her enemy.

“General Hospital” Needs to Spice things up to ensure it continues to be that guilty pleasure that fans can’t stop watching. The soap might want to take a few tips from “The Bold and the Beautiful” and bring some fan favorites back to the mix to shake things up a bit.