It’s Monica’s House…Cause Alan Gave it to Her: General Hospital Two Scoops For the Week of September 15-19

General Hospital took our breath away this week in every way possible. From mothers and daughters and mothers and sons to the meaning of family to the circle of life. GH did what soaps are supposed to do. It took us out of our moments and into the moments of fictional characters who have become our own family through the years.

The show had an unenviable task at hand. It needed to seamlessly work the death of a beloved character into the framework of its storytelling, necessitated by the death of an actress who had graced our screens for nearly half a century. GH managed to do this flawlessly, but we know it wasn't effortless. Something as perfect as what we saw can only come from a lot of effort, indeed.

"I need to report a death"

Those words hit us as much as they hit Jason and Tracy. The wayward hitman son and the sister-in-law turned frenemy turned friend were the only two people home as the rest of the residents in Monica's full house went about their day. Jason found his mother dead in her bedroom after passing peacefully in her sleep, and had to deliver that news to an unsuspecting Tracy.

What followed were some of the most heartbreaking but also uplifting scenes we have ever seen on soaps. Tracy may have been in shock with her heart feeling like it was being ripped out of its chest, but she was still Tracy as she reminded Jason that he was "allergic to law enforcement" and that they were standing in Monica's house. And as lamented once again that her brother was a fool for ever giving his wife the family abode, we were brought right back to every single battle between Alan's formidable sister and his equally formidable wife.

Then came the moments Monica — and this writer — have waited decades for.

Monica's son

In more than 45 years of watching soaps, few stories have affected this writer more than college student Jason Quartermaine waking up after a horrific car accident and completely rejecting his parents because he couldn't remember ever being their son. He didn't even feel like their son and wanted nothing to do with them.

While some fans felt this new Jason's pain, this writer felt the pain of his parents, especially his mother. Perhaps it's due to the talents of the late Leslie Charleson, or maybe it's just one of those stories that gets under your skin for no apparent reason. As soap fans, we all probably have one that we will feel deeply for years, and maybe not even know why.

But Monica Quartermaine felt like she lost her son and never truly got him back, and that mother's pain was something she carried with her through every moment for the next few decades. It always felt wrong that Jason never truly felt connected to his family, but this year, he has. The scenes with Jason and Tracy on the couch as they decompressed from the morning brought Jason Quartermaine home at last.

After all these years, he finally admitted that he wished he could remember Monica being his mother when he was a boy. When Tracy told him about the moment Monica realized Jason was her son despite not being his biological mother, we knew Jason Q was in there somewhere. It's also the moment he was able to see that Monica was also Jason Morgan's mom.

Monica never stopped being Jason's mother, so the choice to have Jason find her was the best choice that GH could have made. The choice to only focus on Jason and Tracy when Monica's death was revealed was also an impeccably brilliant move on the part of the show's writers.

Monica's full house

As the rest of the Quartermaines learned about Monica, it was heartbreak after heartbreak all over again. Tracy gave us as many lumps in our throats on Friday as she did on Thursday, as did Jason. Watching Brook Lynn hold her grandmother mother before Ned joined in was everything. Tracy doesn't know what she is going to do without her reluctant best friend.

Jason's regrets were on full display as he gave himself time in the gatehouse, where he had lived as a baby and where Monica had become his mom. He wept as he told Michael about how he wished he hadn't kept him from Monica when he was younger. Then, Danny silently sat with his father in the dark as Jason nearly sobbed. Those moments are the stuff soaps are made of, and GH just kept delivering.

It's all about family

The scenes in which Jason and Tracy absorbed the enormity of what had just happened were juxtaposed with scenes at Sonny's house. Sonny was having a family cookout and made sure to tell Gio that sometimes families have to spend time together.

Donna's perpetual and infectious happiness was an excellent contrast to the somber mood at the Quartermaine estate. But it illustrated the circle of life and how life must go on.

Mother and daughters

The beginning of the week had another focus — the Obrecht women, although they all have different last names. Liesl Obrecht is NOT happy that Britt Westbourne faked her own death and let her know it in no uncertain terms. How dare Britt let her mourn for two years like that?!?

But Nina Reeves may be even more furious at her daughter than her aunt is at hers. That's right, Nina FINALLY decided she'd had enough of her thoroughly stupid and insipid daughter, who can never take responsibility for her own actions. Watching Nina rip Willow up one side and down the other was a cathartic experience because she said what we have ALL been thinking all year. Bravo, Nina, Bravo!

Odds and ends

Liesl already had one kid return from the dead, and it looks like she is going to see another very familiar face soon. We know we were supposed to recognize the man brought into the ER as Nathan West, but he really could have been anyone, as his face was still pretty covered when it was finally revealed. Hence, that scene did not have the impact it should have.

Kristina and Ava really could be our new comedy team. After a year of them as mortal enemies, GH finally wised up and noticed that Kate Mansi and Maura West have amazing chemistry and made them frenemies. We know BFFs are coming next.

Emma and Gio finally kissed! Squee! It was a long time coming, but it finally happened in the most tender and natural way. A new Quartermaine in the blushes of first love in Monica's stables. The circle of life, indeed.

We aren't sure we are prepared for what's coming next week when all of Port Charles learns that Monica is gone. Two special episodes are planned for Thursday and Friday, so stock up on the Kleenex now, cause we might need multiple boxes.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.