This week on General Hospital the truth came out on all fronts; as Olivia (Lisa LoCicero) put two and two together and realized Ned (Wally Kurth) cheated on her with Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn).  Meanwhile, Alexis figured out Tracy (Jane Elliot) framed her to make it look like she passed out drunk behind the wheel.

Throughout, there were great performances from Wally Kurth, Jane Elliot and Nancy Lee Grahn, but it was soap vet, Lisa LoCicero, who for us was given the material and stole the show with her heartbreaking performances as a woman scorned.

LoCicero plays Olivia Falconeri from Bensonhurst, so believably, that viewers understand her every woman, who married into the well-to-do Quatermaines, and who has a much higher moral and ethical standard then the Q’s.

In key scenes at the Quartermaine mansion, Olivia confronts Ned about the night he never came home, and she wants the truth.  She also rightly accuses Tracy on being part of the cover-up.  A caught Ned confesses.  He tells Olivia he was in a terrible place, and jumped to the wrong conclusion about her and Robert (Tristan Rogers), and began drinking, which Sam (Kelly Monaco) overhears and can’t believe he was drinking with an alcoholic. Olivia says that Ned is incapable of being trustworthy after spending his entire life amongst a house full of liars and cheats.  Meanwhile, Alexis shows up in the middle of all this to confront Tracy on her machinations setting the stage for a showdown between Olivia and Alexis.

When Alexis and Olivia talk in private, the former legal eagle apologizes to her friend for sleeping with her husband; saying they both knew it was wrong right after it happened, but Olivia quickly points out that they didn’t seem to stop themselves or think it was wrong, while he was unbuttoning his pants or she was taking off her blouse!

Olivia stands her ground through her devastation and is appalled that Alexis calls her a “friend” and how she is only showing remorse because she has been caught!

Courtesy/ABC

When Ned tries to talk to Olivia and professes how much he loves her and how sorry he is for having sex in a drunken stupor with Alexis, Olivia is gut-punched.  Ned continually says he thought Olivia and Robert hooked-up thanks to Brook Lynn deleting messages meant for Ned.  The fact that he would assume the worst of her, only made things worse for Ned, and then to go as far as having revenge sex with Alexis, made Olivia feel her husband had sunk to new lows.

It is then Olivia has a moment of reckoning; wondering what is her role in the Quartermaine family anyway, and how she doesn’t really fit in.  Ned promises to wait for her and begs her not to give up on them.  When he leaves, Liv breaks down … her marriage in pieces and betrayed by all those she thought she could trust.

Each of the aforementioned moments were played to perfection by LoCicero, leaving the audience wondering just what will Olivia do next and how will she bounce back from this betrayal.  That is why Michael Fairman TV names Lisa our pick for The Power Performance of the Week.  And, if it’s one thing we know about Olivia, she is a scrappy fighter, a survivor, and in the capable hands of this actress, we will be rooting for her all along the way.

So, what did you think of the performance of Lisa LoCicero?  Do you hope Olivia and Ned work things out and they stay together, or do you want to see if she and Robert Scorpio might have a new romance? Comment below.

On Monday’s premiere episode of the highly-anticipated seasons of The Bachelor, viewers finally saw groundbreaking lead ‘Bachelor’ Matt James in action.

James, became the first black ‘Bachelor’ in the reality-dating competition 25-year history.

It kicks-off for viewers getting an introduction into Matt’s upbringing: He’s biracial and was raised by a single mother in North Carolina. He played college football at Wake Forest University, lives in New York City and works in real estate, and volunteers a lot of his time with under-privileged children.

As pressure began to mount (right before the ladies drove up in their limos to meet Matt), he asked to talk to host, Chris Harrison, because some things were weighing heavily on him including: not wanting to let people down, knowing this was a moment in TV history.  Matt expressed to Chris: “I don’t want to piss off black people, I don’t want to piss off white people,” trying to figure how to navigate the season.

Throughout the episode, Matt’s nerves, honesty, and a request of himself and to the women, to be open through this journey, seem to serve him well, which left viewers with a solid first impression of him during the premiere.  He also led the women in a prayer before the first cocktail party kicked-off!

Speaking of the women, there are 32 this season that are vying for the final rose – the largest contingent ever.  Everyone was said to have quarantined for weeks and took four COVID-19 tests with hopes of getting to get up close and personal with Matt.  The entire season moved to a an expansive mansion and set-up in Pennsylvania, not Hollywood.

While there were so many cringe-worthy moments of the women trying to impress Matt when they first meet him … let’s not forget Katie with the vibrator dubbed “MJ”, or  Victoria who walks around calling herself “The Queen” and being the most annoying… we could already sense some possible connections with the others.

Photo: ABC

Making ‘Bachelor’ history also was contestant, Abigail Heringer.  She is the first deaf contestant to ever appear on the franchise.   Matt was very taken with Abigail in the season premiere with her beauty and her honesty.  Right off the bat, she admitted to him that she was deaf.  Later, during the cocktail party and some one-on-one time, she also revealed that her older sister is deaf as well. Both were born with congenital hearing loss, and both underwent cochlear implantation surgery

Matt then shares his first real on-screen kiss with Abigail, and next went searching for the first impression rose, while all the other gals got jealous.  He gave the rose to Abigail.   Next, it was time for the first rose ceremony and we can’t understand (well, we can .. they need someone to stir the pot) why “The Queen” Victoria received a rose and is still in the running, but that’s another story.  Some potential picks such as Bri, Mari, Chelsea and Kristin could be in it for the long-haul, but we shall see.

The episode concluded with another promo of all the tears and drama from the gals and Matt as this season continues next Monday night.

So, what was your first impression of Matt as The Bachelor? Abigail as the women who received the first impression rose? Who do you think will win Matt’s heart in the end? Any early predictions? Comment below.

The pandemic version of the hit reality-dating series franchise, The Bachelorette, had a few major twists.  First, that in the middle of the season the lead ‘Bachelorette’ had to be switched out, when Clare Crawley found love early with Dale Moss and exited the show.

Enter Tayshia Adams, who then started her own journey with the men who were still part of Clare’s season and a few others brought in to add to the mix.

The entire production had to be quarantined and shot in one location in Palm Springs, California.  Even the hometown dates were in Palm Springs as family members from the men still in the competition were brought there.  So with limited locales, the season was not always big and splashy, but in the end, and on the second night of the two-night season finale, you could not have asked for a sweeter ending and proposal between Zac Clark and Tayshia.

So how did Tayshia and Zac end up together?  Here’s a brief rundown from last night’s two-hour season finale:

With Ben back in the mix and asking for a second chance, (after he could not tell Tayshia the last time that he loved her, he did so now), she invites him to the rose ceremony, where Ivan and Zac, who were the two last men standing, were in for a shock.

At the ceremony, Tayshia asks to talk to Ivan privately. She takes him aside and tells him she has concerns over religion from their overnight date, so much so that she does not think they can go any further and she sends him home.  That means, Tayshia gives her two roses to her finalists: Zac and Ben,

On her last date with Zac prior to the final rose ceremony, Tayshia is not herself when the couple go to a dance class together.  Her anxiety is getting the best of her and it was hard to tell if she was just not feeling Zac anymore, as she is now for Ben, or if she is just getting jitters over the whole process. Later, away from the dancing, Zac and Tayshia have a heart-to-heart, where she is worried what happens if something changes between them, (since she was previously divorced, as was he) and that he does not want her anymore?  Zac said calmly, “No matter what, I’m not going anywhere.”  That helped put Tayshia’s mind at ease, somewhat!

Next, she has made a decision to tell Ben, it’s over between them.  She sits him down and tells him she has stronger feelings for Zac.  Ben shares, “I was excited to be back, I was really hopeful that we would be together.  When you love somebody, you want them to be happy.”  So with that, he realizes it’s time to pack it up, sharing with the cameras that he believed their lives would have been so good together.

Zac is choosing an emerald diamond to give Tayshia from Neil Lane (of course, at this juncture, he has no idea that Ben has been sent home).  Then, we see both Zac and Tayshia getting ready for the big proposal day.  Will she accept Zac’s proposal … doubts swirling through her head and all?

As the final rose ceremony began, Zac delivered a heart-tugging speech which included: “The first conversation we ever had by our fountain, we talked about how everything happens for a reason. I came here because I was supposed to meet you, I came here because I was supposed to fall in love with you. Nothing has ever felt so right in my entire life. I love you, Tayshia. We spoke of the importance of loyalty, and I will always be loyal to you.”

Tayshia finally and fully let her guard down and shared to Zac; “I know that I told you that I love you, but it’s more than that. It’s this wild, wild love that I’ve tried to come up with so many reasons to not believe, and you have truly made me believe that there doesn’t have to be flaws, and that I deserve love with a man who won’t run away. I love you, Zac Clark.”

Photo:ABC

As Tayshia is sobbing as Zac gets down on one knee, she says “Yes” to his proposal, and to make it official she gives Zac the final rose which he accepts. Next, they ride off into the sunset in a symbolic cardboard taxi to New York City where Zac lives.

On Wednesday, Tayshia and Zac made their first TV appearance together since their engagement four months ago.  They told Good Morning America that they were looking forward to dating and taking it one step at a time, and that Tayshia will be bi-coastal for now, but spending time on the east coast with Zac over the holidays.

So, happy that Tayshia chose Zac? Share you thoughts on this unpredictable season and last night’s episode via the comment section below.