Connect with us

General Hospital

27

GENERAL HOSPITAL: Tracy Learns Gregory Died from Cody; Finn and Chase Share Their Grief

Courtesy/ABC

Friday’s May 24th episode of General Hospital featured some very touching scenes.

First, when Tracy (Jane Elliot) returned to the stables for a ride, she is met by Cody (Josh Kelly). He tells her she is needed in the house. Tracy doesn’t think anyone needs her there.

Tracy relates how Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) are on a plane to Florence. Cody tells her that they couldn’t get on that plane. Cody can only say, “He’s sorry.” It’s at that moment Tracy is hit with the realization that Gregory passed away.

Cody tells her what he knows of Gregory’s passing, but Tracy says that she knew this was eventually going to happen, but this feels so sudden. Cody is sorry she had to hear the news from him.  Tracy says, she’s not. She poignantly thinks Gregory must have been a lot like Cody when he was younger. Tracy goes on to say they both have an open way about them as he doesn’t miss a thing, doesn’t talk much, doesn’t push people around, and that he gives people a lot of grace. Cody is moved. Tracy decides she needs to head out.

Courtesy/ABC

Next, Tracy comes to the hospital and meets with Stella. Knowing Stella (Vernee Watson) is a patient advocate, Tracy tells her if anything comes up for Gregory’s death regarding bills or anything she can handle with her hands or her checkbook, to let her know. Tracy reveals that she doesn’t want Gregory’s family to worry about anything right now. She goes on to say to keep her name out of it.

Stella tells Tracy this is her loss to and its OK for her to grieve. Tracy shared that Gregory changed her, and she doesn’t want to let him down, at least not so soon.

At Finn’s, Chase tries to console his brother. Finn tells Chase he also lost his dad, but Chase can see how hard finding Gregory dead has hit Finn; given he has been drinking. Finn tells Chase that the person he found in that bed didn’t look their dad.  He cries that he didn’t want this to happen and Chase hugs his brother tight and says neither did he.

Sitting down together, the two brothers have a heart-to-heart. Finn realizes he handled the entire situation the wrong way and even pushed Elizabeth away.  Chase says there is no correct way to grieve. Finn feels such guilt over how many times in their lives he hurt their father, and now he threw his sobriety away, which Gregory was proud of him for.

Chase says he rebuilt his relationship with their dad, and he can do the same now with his sobriety. Finn asks Chase to get rid of the liquor bottle and so Chase takes care of it.  When Violet (Jophielle Love) and Brook Lynn return, Finn tells Brook Lynn he is so sorry that she and Chase had to miss their honeymoon. Brook Lynn assures him she is here for him for whatever he needs. Next, Finn says he needs a meeting and Chase says he thinks that is a good idea.

Courtesy/ABC

Meanwhile, in Albany, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) is having all sorts of trouble in her attempt to get her law license reinstated during her her hearing vs. Fergus Byrne (Lane Davies). The judges will render their decision within 30 days and notify the parties. Will she head back to Port Charles, find out about Gregory, and wind up at an AA meeting with Finn?

In this episode, the always fabulous Jane Elliot touched out hearts in her scenes as well as Josh Kelly, Michael Easton and Josh Swickard.

So, what did you think about Tracy’s reaction to Gregory’s death? The scenes between Finn and Chase and what will happen to Alexis next? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

Leave a comment | 27 Comments

27 Comments
oldest
newest
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

I think ME and JS gave incredible performances. I imagine the recent loss of Easton’s co-star and friend played a role in his performance as his grief seemed very real. I was surprised Tracy took the loss so easily.

I don’t feel that Tracy took the news of Gregory’s death easy , but having Cody tell her helped , she and Finn are so close, it would be hard on both of them.

Tracy has always been a favorite of mine but recently she has surpassed all my expectations. She’s becoming more like Lyla and I think it’s because of her friendship with Gregory. Wil it last ? I sure hope it does.

I didn’t love that Cody was the one to tell Tracy about Gregory. Given their history and friendship, I would have thought Finn would have reached out to Tracy, knowing how close his father and she were, or even her new grandson in law Chase. The scenes with Jane Elliot and Josh Kelly were nice, I’m just not personally a big fan of Cody. To me, he’s one of the unnecessary characters on the show.

Overall, this was a great week of GH. So many good performances, Michael Easton at the top of the list for me. He definitely has plenty of material for a potential Emmy reel next year, if he chooses to submit himself. They don’t give him ‘A’ level material often, but when they do, he’s right up there with anyone in terms of acting, in my view. I honestly hope the rumors of him leaving the show are not true. Josh Swickard was also good, Becky Herbst, Jophielle Love, among others.

It was sad to lose Gregory, both the character and the actor, but his death brought GH back to what its always been about when its at its best. Drama, emotion, families coming together in times of need. If this is Patrick Mucahey’s influence, I’m even more sorry that they let him go, he left, whatever the case might be.

With the wedding last week and Gregory’s death and fallout, the show has had two strong weeks in a row.

Just wait till Mac finally gets back – then he will be much more “necessary”. I love that he told Tracy and she is more than likely going to play a pivotal role with him confessing to Mac. Tracy knew Dominique who was good friends with Lila. There is a lot of great history in there if GH chooses to utilize it.

I love Cody; and I love the actor, Josh Kelly. He was on OLTL so I was happy that they brought him over to GH. And I LOVE that Mac FINALLY has a “child” of his own. I don’t know how far back you go but Mac’s always raised Felicia’s daughters and his brother Scorpio’s and Anna’s daughter, Robin. But he never had his own, so Im really happy that they finally gave him a son. John York and Josh Kelly have a nice onscreen presence together, and I think they’d be a great father/son pair.

I liked that Cody told Tracy instead of her trying to not show her emotions at the main house with others there. Finn isn’t able to tell her; he’s too emotionally distraught and Chase has his hands full helping his brother get though this, and Brook Lynn was distracting Violet. I’m sure there will be time for Tracy to grieve with Finn and Chase; maybe he help Finn get through his probable struggle with addiction. I, agree. I REALLY hope this isn’t Michael Easton’s exit story. I also agree about Patrick Mulcahey being let go. I truly hated the show with Chris Van Etton and Dan O’Conner at the helm. The on and on Carly/Nina war, the Nina bashing, the endless fatal diseases; the show in my opinion was crap. I had high hopes when they were fired and was appalled at the first few weeks and sudden changes. Way too fast and all at once. It didn’t even feel like GH anymore; the characters weren’t “themselves.” And then…perfection. The last few weeks have been so great, the writing so much deeper, the characters more interesting, the poignancy more gut-wrenching, the banter between Alexis and Diane which was sorely missing for years was back, and way more characters had stories while Carly was pushed to the back which was great. So I’m incredibly disappointed Mulcahey was let go. Unless it was his choice, Valentini didn’t give the viewers enough time to judge the episodes coming up and have us hooked on the new writing. Unfortunately Mulcahey (if he was responsible for all the character changes, attitude changes, job changes) didn’t pace himself and unrealistically thought people who have watched the show for decades and know these characters would just go with the flow. Absurd. He needed to give us reasons for the changes and they needed to happen gradually, so he may have shot himself in the foot and in so doing we may be dragged back to crap writing, more doom and gloom, fatal diseases and the Carly show. It’s beyond aggravating that just as the show has been on fire Frank extinguished it.

I go way back with GH – back to the mid-70s. Here’s the thing, Patrick Mulcahey’s work is going to be on air through July. So that wonderful death week – could have actually been his. Time will tell. This was a great week. There was very little Carly – what there was I did like. No Nina – and not too much Sonny. Although half of everything is about Sonny.
So we had a glorious week without the Mobster stuff – with the other parts of GH that flowed together so gracefully. I think Sasha’s job change was to make it easier for her and Cody to bump into one another (and for Anna to move into Sasha’s apartment) – a bit lazy but I am sure that all her off moments are going to be spent in that barn. I do want Alexis to go back to being a lawyer. If for no other reason than we get more of Dianne. I am not a fan of the Sonny story – hoping they conclude that one fast.

So looking forward to Mac’s return – and I hope they make it good and not just Mac walking off a plane and saying “hey I’m back”. I want a rescue – he’s in South America for goodness sake that is the king of kidnapping places.

I doubt Mac will have any kind of story that links to his absence. I think he’ll just be warmly welcome back and it’ll be glossed over, and that’s okay with me as long as they FINALLY get to Mac and Cody’s father/son, reveal to Mac. I assume it might be rocky a bit; Mac may be annoyed and hurt that Cody kept the truth from him but they’re both suck loving characters I just hope whomever writes for them won’t screw it up.

I wouldn’t call Gregory’s passing a “wonderful death week,” lol. I hated the story, I hated seeing Gregory sick and I hated his passing. But, yes, it was beautifully done and each actor involved in the story has been superlative in their roles. The wedding to me was “wonderful.” From the visual aspect of it to Violet’s song, to Gregory’s perseverance to marry his son (broke my heart) even to Lois’s father…I thought he was hilarious. I’d like to see more of him.

All in all I think if Mulcahey was responsible for all of this, it’s a huge mistake to let him go. Though it was also a huge mistake for him to make instant changes (if those were his changes) in the blink-of-an-eye which were too jolting, too abrupt…he more than made up for it with the writing that followed. I’m curious to see if it remains as good, and if it does then I think “we” the viewers have to petition Frank to undo his decision. Not that I have real belief it would help, but it would be worth a shot.

I think it’s a huge missed opportunity if GH doesn’t do something at least more interesting than just having Mac come back, step off a plane and say: – “Hi I’m back” Where are all the cool rescues and disasters GH used to have? Used to be a couple would get into a car and we would all expect it to crash – not anymore.

Everyone is complaining about the show being boring – Well the writers have a perfect opportunity to do some kind of South American rescue. I would hope a good mystery kidnapping might lead them to those stupid Pikeman weapons (shutting that story down thankfully).

Also the “wonderful death week” was supposed to be a nod to the acting that happens after a death. SHEESH!

We agree that the story was handled well; I just don’t like the phrasing ” wonderful death week.” I prefer what I said, that it was beautifully written. To each their own…As for Mac, I dont’ think him finding out he has a son, a young man he’s already very attached to, “boring.” There’s action, and there’s emotional drama. I’m okay with Mac’s story for now being about emotional drama. John York is just coming back from a very serious health issue in his real life, so I’d be surprised (but happy) if he was given a huge story right now.

They already excused Mac’s long absence with a story. Supposedly he’s been working some sort of criminal case in South America. Now of course that would have all made perfect sense in the original direction of the Pikeman storyline, since it all was pointing to Lorenzo Alcazar at the time, and South America was his last known location.

Since they screwed all that up with the bait & switch with the newbie Brennan and Val the Bastard running Pikeman, they’re going to have to come up with another reason for Mac to have been in South America for several months. Or maybe just forget that they ever said that. With these writers… Hell only knows!

Yes: I remember Felicia mentioning something for 1.5 seconds, lol, to explain Mac’s absence. And then he was never brought up again. Dunno; maybe these new writers (while we have both of them and if the story is already written) will have Mac continue on with whatever case he was working on when he was sent out of the country. I tend to think they’re going to brush over it, maybe his GH work load will be a bit light considering all he’s been through health-wise, and maybe they’ll just get to his and Cody’s story…

I agree! No Nina was a nice break. Sometimes it seems like they are forced to write plots to perpetuate this character. She’s had an affair with every rich, powerful man in Port Charles, in addition to being an heiress herself. She has run multiple businesses (Crimson, Deception, Metro Court, Invader), which magically fall into her lap. She is always scheming, yet always plays the victim. Nina has no redeeming qualities.

I’ve been watching since 1993, so 31 years this year. I started watching around the time Luke and Laura returned to the show, when Frank Smith blew up the Triple L Diner.

I definitely know Mac’s history very well. I’m glad they gave him a son of his own, and I’m so looking forward to John York coming back, after everything he’s been through with his health, to hell and back

I’m just personally not a fan of Cody as a character, the way they’ve written him to this point, anyway. I thought the best thing they did with him so far was when he broke Sasha out of Ferncliff and went up against Dr. Montague. Josh Kelly got to show some acting skills in that storyline. Other than that, he hasn’t done much for me. Just my opinion. Maybe my opinion of him will change when they finally get the story with him being Mac’s son underway. I’m definitely open to changing my views on characters as time goes by, it’s definitely been known to happen before.

Strangely, the day before we were led to believe Tracy had been told. Kinda shocked when she did not know when she came into the stables with Cody. I am glad he was the one to tell her. Tracy seems to get close to people who have nothing to do with her crazy family. Take Finn for example. I am hoping that GH uses this relationship with Cody to clear up some of the mystery surrounding his birth. Tracy and Cody’s mother knew each other – Dominique used to visit Lila on a regular basis. The writers really need to hurry it up and go down that road before Mac returns.

This was a great May sweeps week – one out of four – let’s hope we get some excitement for the Mac return. If not TPTB will be missing a golden opportunity to promote the show with John J York’s return. Everyone loves a good news miracle story – he beat cancer you cannot get better than that – If they are smart GH should be promoting his return.

Why would they “hurry it up before Mac returns?” The important part is that Mac FINALLY finds out Cody is his son. Tracy doesn’t have a “crazy family” anymore. Just the memories for those of us who watched back in the day know who that family was. Olivia, Leo, Michael, Willow, Drew, for me aren’t the Quartermaines and that “crazy” dynamic left when Alan, Monica, Lila, Edward, AJ, Dillon, etc were no longer a part of the show. Now everyone even in-story refers to the “crazy” Quartermaines…Michael refers to it…even though he STILL goes by the name Corinthos. The only crazy is him taking the name of the man who killed his father and passing that name on to his kids.

Can’t edit but I’d like to change “crazy” to “wonderful” because I loved the true Quartermaines. The characters who live in that house now with the exception of Ned, Brook Lynn, and Tracy, (and Lois) aren’t Quartermaines to me. They should bring back AJ and Dillon, have Jason go over there more often and have more of Ned. That scene between Ned and Lois had more chemistry and that ol’ Quartermaine feel than anything between Ned and Olivia.

Bravo the everyone involved in the aftermath of Gregory Chase’s death. This is the GH I watched and loved from 1963 to 2005. Jane Elliot is wonderful as always. I’m so glad to see the growth in Tracy. Michael Easton broke my heart. His scenes as Finn tries to cope with the death of his father are so deeply moving. (I’ve loved Easton since his vampire days and adored him as Det. John McBain on OLTL.) The scenes between the brothers as they try to comfort each other were so beautiful.

I was also very happy to see Vernee Watson. I have enjoyed her in so many shows over the years. Whatever she plays, Vernee always delivers. Her scenes with Jane Elliot were no exception.

Thank you everyone for a job excellent done.

I’m glad we’ll still get to see Vernee Watson, since her nighttime show Bob ♡s Abishola has been cancelled.

It would be great if they put her character, Stella, together with Robert Gossett’s Marshall. Those two had some chemistry, then both vanished.

Gossett went to recurring status in March. Watson still appears regularly. I would disagree on the chemistry there. I’m interested to see if they pair Marshall and Tracy. Could be an interesting pairing.

Tracy reaction was the one reaction I wanted to see the most, and she deliver, it was so sad yet the scene with tracy and Cody was so beautiful.

I have always loved Tracy no matter what mood she’s in. She makes me laugh when she’s being a grouch. As did her father, Edward. And she makes me

The writers have always given Tracy the best lines. Meant to say when she’s being kind it touches my heart. I’m so glad Jane has been back a GH this year. I hope she stays a while.

Supposedly Jane’s return was only supposed to be a short visit, but I suspect the absence of Monica, which sadly appears to be permanent, has caused them to rethink that and do whatever it takes to keep Tracy around as the de-facto “matriarch” of the Quartermaine family.

And a Devil is 666% OK with that.

A while back I couldn’t stand Jane Elliot but recently they have changed and softened her character considerably. I think getting away from Deception and those people have helped a lot. Now , she seems happier and more content just being with family and getting closer to Gregory. That was a big loss for her too as well as his own family. That creep that Alexis has had to contend with in court would be a good one for Tracy to straighten out, the old curmudgeon that he is. I’d rather see her with him than Alexis.

Hey Violet – glad to see you’re looking at Tracy in a different light. If I may, I’m fairly certain your issue was with the character of Tracy (and not Jane as an actress as your first sentence reads).

General Hospital

Bryan Craig Wishes General Hospital’s Maurice Benard ‘Happy Father’s Day’; Is He Trolling Us … or is This the Ultimate Return Tease?

Sunday is Father’s Day, and it’s the time when many soap stars and celebrities take to social media to give love and shout outs to their dads.

In an another post that got General Hospital fans to take notice, two-time Daytime Emmy-winner Bryan Craig (ex-Morgan Corinthos) dropped a blast from the past photo of himself alongside Maurice Benard (Sonny). Accompanying the photo, Bryan wrote: ‘Happy Father’s Day” Maurice Benard.

The post on X comes on the heels of a previous response by Craig to a post on Frank Valentini’s (executive producer, General Hospital) comment to On the Red Carpet, where he revealed that this summer, “A former cast member is coming back. And I think that the audience will go crazy for HIM.” In response, Craig teased, “Who could it be…”

Photo: ABC

Now on Sunday responses to Craig’s post were met with varied responses from GH fans from “Stop playing with us” to “Now you’re just trolling us, lol. We really need you back right now.”  Still others took it as a potential confirmation that Craig is the mystery man on his way back to General Hospital stating, “I hope you’re going to back to GH!” to “Can’t wait!”

Craig last appeared on GH from 2013-2016 and made a brief return in 2018. Since departing GH, Bryan has appeared in numerous TV and film projects including: Freeform’s Good Trouble and ABC’s Grand Hotel.

So, is Bryan Craig yanking GH viewers chain, or is he slyly teasing us, because he knows he is the one returning to the ABC soap opera? Weigh-in on your theories below.

Continue Reading

Days Of Our Lives

(WATCH) 51st Annual Daytime Emmys Red Carpet Interviews

A week ago, at the 51st annual Daytime Emmy Awards, many of your favorite soap opera stars took to the red carpet prior to the telecast on CBS and streaming on Paramount + and posed for pictures for the paparazzi and several spoke to the media before going inside and taking in the ceremonies and rooting on their castmates and shows.

While on the red carpet, Michael Fairman TV interviewed those who stopped performers who stopped by and those we could catch on the action-packed bustling arrivals. All of the video interviews are now posted and complete on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Look for conversations with Days of our Lives, Tamara Braun (Ava), Suzanne Rogers (Maggie) with Rob Scott Wilson (Alex) and Paul Telfer (Xander), Dan Feuerriegel (EJ), Greg Rikaart (Leo), and Eric Martsolf (Brady) with wife Lisa and their twin sons, Chase and Mason.

Photo: JPI

Stopping by to chat from General Hospital were Maura West (Ava) and Finola Hughes (Anna), and from The Bold and the Beautiful, Thorsten Kaye (Ridge) and his daughter, McKenna, Annika Noelle (Hope), Kimberlin Brown (Sheila) and John McCook (Eric) and his wife, Laurette.

Photo: JPI

From The Young and the Restless, Peter Bergman (Jack), Courtney Hope (Sally), Christian LeBlanc and Tracey Bregman (Michael and Lauren), Melissa Claire Egan (Chelsea), Michael Mealor (Kyle), Melissa Ordway (Abby), Kate Linder (Esther) and Bryton James (Devon), and making their first appearance on a Daytime Emmy red carpet were Neighbours stars: Stefan Dennis, Annie Jones and Georgie Stone.

Photo: JPI

Below is the complete playlist of 2024 Daytime Emmy Red Carpet interviews. Make sure to check them out. Then let us know who you loved seeing and hearing from the most via the comment section below.

 

Continue Reading

General Hospital

GH’s Evan Hofer Talks Life for Dex After Sonny’s Beatdown, Giovanni Mazza, and If Josslyn is Love Endgame

General Hospital’s Dex Heller (Evan Hofer) has been at the epicenter of Sonny Corinthos’ (Maurice Benard) paranoia, which led to the beatdown of Sonny’s former right hand man.

Now, Dex is licking his wounds, and trying to move on with his life after joining the PCPD; following attempting to move away from working for the mob and under Sonny’s thumb. Problem is, Dex has a soft spot for Sonny. Meanwhile, looks like there still may be a future for Dex and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) as the two are trying to mend their once-fractured relationship.

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Evan Hofer at the 51st annual Daytime Creative Arts and Lifestyle Emmys (in which Hofer was a presenter during the ceremonies), to discuss the current life and times of his Port Charles alter-ego.

Photo: DHoferIG

Evan has now gotten to see and feel first-hand what is like working in soaps and television, when you have to wear prosthetics on your face after Sonny accosted Dex at Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding reception.

Hofer recalled the experience. “Our makeup team is incredible. Priscilla, my makeup artist is just so talented. She layered silicone every day so she could control the swelling, so that way, she would have control over how it looked as it progressed and, you know, decreased, increased,” Hofer revealed. “She was incredible and very, very detailed.”

Paying a nod to actors who have to take on TV or movie roles where they have to wear complete facial prosthetics, Evan shared, “I do not envy people who wear full face prosthetics. I think my longest tape day was probably seven hours in it. I got a little claustrophobic. It does cause you to have a lack of of depth perception, which is a rough one.”

Photo: ABC

Hofer weighed-in on if he thinks Dex will ever turn in Sonny and press charges against him for his character’s recent beatdown. “I hope he doesn’t. It’s hard though, because he loves him (Sonny) and that’s the problem,” stated Evan. “That’s what we do with people we love. It’s almost an abusive parent relationship, isn’t it? I have this theory that Dex almost feels like he deserves these things.”

Now might be the time for the GH writers to explore more of Dex’s backstory which could include a backstory of abuse. “I really would love them to. I think it’d be incredible,” hoped Evan. However, he added, “I’m just grateful for whatever I get to do every day and excited for whatever story we get to tell.  Something like The Departed – undercover with the mob- would be cool (for a storyline), and then everybody’s wondering which side I’m on the whole time.”

Photo: ABC

Is there hope for Dex and Josslyn fans that they will still may be each other’s love endgame? Hofer teased, “I think they start spending a little more time together, but who knows what’ll happen. You never know on a soap opera. Maybe Dex’s evil twin will show up and steal Josslyn away.”

Photo: ABC

A few months back, Evan shared some major scenes with the one and only Finola Hughes (Anna). In story, Dex admits he was going to kill Cyrus on Sonny’s orders. Hofer shared it was a big moment for him since his time being on GH. “What an honor to get to do those scenes with Finola. I had only worked with her once before and that was when Dex broke her out of prison and he got shot the first time,” recalls Hofer. “She’s all about working the scenes ahead of time, which I am, too. We got to get a lot of reps in and when we get up there on stage, she’s incredibly affecting. I’ll kind of have an idea of maybe of how the scene will go, and then I’ll just look in her eyes and suddenly I am just so in a different space that she’s pulled me into. In those scenes, having Dex feel like someone cares about him was really beautiful.”

Photo: ABC

Recently, Giovanni Mazza premiered as Gio. In Hofer’s first on-screen scenes with Mazza, the two talk about Gio’s dad having been in the military and Dex’s experience in the Army and serving in Afghanistan.

This raised some GH viewers eyebrows to what if the two characters could somehow be related? Perhaps, brothers? Evan responded to those inquiring minds, “Oh, I don’t know. We look pretty alike. There is the military connection. I think it’ll be interesting. Those first scenes we had together were incredible. I was so excited to work with Geo. He couldn’t be any nicer really. He’s an incredible person. He’s so easy to be around. We hang out outside of work all the time, already.”

Photo: JPI

Does Evan think there will come a day where Jason (Steve Burton), Dex and Sonny will all be working together on the same side, and thus, Sonny will have both his former henchman at his disposal?  While Hofer doesn’t know what’s coming down the pike, he expressed, “It’s been incredible to have Steve around. He’s a really wonderful man. I’d only met him on Zoom previously to him coming back.  I hope we get to work together more. We got one batch of scenes together and I hope we get to do more soon.”

Photo: ABC

As to what GH viewers should be on the lookout for in the weeks ahead, Evan teased, “We’ll see what Joss and Dex get into, and we’ll see what happens within the police department.”

So, are you rooting for Dex and Joss? Do you want Dex back working for Sonny, or hope he stays with the PCPD? Would you want to see more of Dex’s backstory explored? Comment below.

Continue Reading

Video Du Jour

Peter Reckell returns for a second visit with Michael Fairman following the wrap-up of his recent run as Bo Brady on Days of our Lives.Leave A Comment

Recent Comments

Power Performance

Michael Easton as Finn

General Hospital

Airdates: 5-20/24-2024

Popular