Season 54 | Episodes 65–68 | Aired Jul 5-8, 2016

There are two mindsets when it comes to General Hospital’s Julian Jerome. There are those who feel that Julian has always been a bad seed, going back to his original run. Those viewers feel that Julian is reflecting history with his current atrocious behavior. Then there is the camp that is furious that their beloved #Julexis is being dismantled and destroyed before their very eyes. The confusion of seeing Julian go from Sonny-level criminal to certifiable madman is befuddling.

But based on what is being portrayed, regardless of the reason, this week pushes Julian into horrific, villainous territory. It all begins with Alexis agreeing to wear a wire, as Jordan, Paul, and Anna listen in. Alexis, with visible nerves, plays her part well, pretending to reconcile with Julian while pushing him to confess. The plan works, and Julian cops to not only Carlos’ murder, but to ordering the hit on Duke and stealing the murder weapon from police. Jordan takes the flash drive of the confession to try to obtain an arrest warrant from a judge. Of course, the close up of the flash drive evokes memories of Ava’s confession to Connie’s murder, which only Ava seems to remember exists, and only when it suits her.

But Julian only falls for Alexis’ act for so long, and when he catches her trying to leave the house, the ruse collapses. Julian discovers the wire. As the signal goes dead, the officers realize they need to get to Alexis, but their van (parked a block away) won’t start (courtesy of a Julian goon). Things escalate quickly between Julian and Alexis, and by the time the police arrive, the couple is gone, along with the dagger.

Julian has Alexis on the docks, holding her up against a wall with the dagger to her throat. Unless Julian has an evil twin, split personality, or brain tumor, it’s hard to imagine a redemption arc. Julian makes it clear that he doesn’t believe there was ever a baby and that Alexis is going to die. Despite the cops’ claims (to Molly and Kristina) that they are searching everywhere for Alexis, they do not arrive at the dock before Sonny does. Sonny comes to Alexis’ rescue, brandishing a gun at Julian. Julian still threatens to slit Alexis’ throat. Julian ends up dropping the dagger, and the two men struggle over the gun. But before bullets can be fired, Julian finds himself with the dagger plunged into his back, courtesy of Alexis. Sonny immediately puts his own prints on the dagger and tells the arriving officers that he stabbed Julian in a struggle. Although Alexis was free of Julian’s grasp when she stabbed him, Sonny apparently thought a self-defense strategy would be questioned. Julian survives the stabbing, and, as he lies in the hospital awaiting surgery, mutters, “Alexis, we’re not done.”

Beyond the destruction of #Julexis, fan favorites Nathan and Maxie (being temporarily played by Molly Burnett) meet the newest wrinkle to their relationship in the form of Claudette. Claudette enters the scene as C.J. , applying for a graphic artist job at Crimson. Maxie takes an instant liking to her and hires C.J. for the position. Claudette lures Nathan to her hotel room, and Nathan is stunned to see his ex-wife. Nathan wants her to leave town, quickly, but Claudette reminds him that she can ruin his life (for shooting her lover). It’s unclear if she knows that Griffin is in Port Charles, but it’s only a matter of time before Nathan learns that his confidant was his ex-wife’s lover. In a refreshing change, as soon as both women are in the same room, Nathan tells Maxie that C.J. is Claudette. Maxie is stunned but actually holds herself together very well, without the shrieking that used to define her character. And while Maxie may have matured, she still recalls the ploys she used to use to get her way. So while Maxie keeps Claudette on the Crimson payroll, it’s clear she’s operating under the “keep your enemies close” adage. And she’s probably not without good reason; once Claudette is alone, she clings to an old wedding photo of her and Nathan with a huge smile on his face.

Jason and Sam make their way to Cassadine Island, wondering if Nikolas would really head to the most obvious place on earth. While Nikolas and Ava are enjoying the snacks Helena left behind, Jason and Sam arrive. They make their presence known, and with Jason’s recent history of kicking Nikolas’ butt, the prince puts up little resistance. Jason takes a photo of Nikolas with a current newspaper but still wants to bring Nikolas back to Port Charles to exonerate himself. A huge storm stops Jason from sending the photo to Jordan (who has totally forgotten that there’s a warrant for Jason’s arrest). During a brief power outage, Nikolas gets his hands on his own phone and makes his way to the wine cellar. Jason finds him there, knocked out with a bloody blow to his head. As Jason wonders if someone else is on the island with them, a shadowy figure is visible outside.

Laura and Kevin continue to worry about Spencer’s lack of reaction to Nikolas’ presumed death. Spencer’s cover—leaving his father voicemails—doesn’t really fly with either party, and his hot dog-eating contest victory doesn’t really gel with the grief they’re expecting. Kevin realizes that Spencer has a second cell phone, and upon examining it, Laura notices that there are just as many incoming as outgoing calls to the same phone number.

After Dr. Mayes’ death (sorry for misidentifying it last week), the hospital turns its investigation from Finn to Obrecht and Franco, both who do seem innocent. Finn, with some help from Tracy, is released from custody, but he learns his supplier will no longer be sending him the contraband medicine he needs.

With Sonny’s help, Carly meets the transplant administrator who disappeared after Josslyn’s kidney transplant. She’s of little help, pinning all of the devious actions on Helena. Carly thinks learning more information is now unlikely, but she’s not privy to the former hospital employee making a cryptic phone call just out of her earshot.

Before being pulled into her mother’s drama, Kristina and Aaron celebrate the 4th of July by taking their relationship to the next level. Afterwards, Aaron wonders why Kristina was saying Parker’s name in her sleep. Kristina cops to having come on to her professor, but she doesn’t have a chance to tell Aaron about Parker’s gender.