Hey all, this is Leigh, coming at you with yet another column to rant and rave about the latest and greatest in the world of soaps. This is going to be a long diatribe, so put the kids to bed, go get some popcorn or hot cocoa, or make sure the boss isn't looking, and settle in for the read. I wanted to send out this column because some scoops came across my desk and I was so shocked that I knew I had to share it with you all. So below I have detailed some scoops that are true, and some that are false, and some that are completely made up out of thin air. Have fun going through and when you are done, I'll detail which are true and which are false. Come on back, now! 

1.) Alcazar's connection to Ric will soon be explained. Ric was Alcazar's attorney, as well as Brenda's very good friend and lover. (Think Laura, Stavros, and Stefan.)  

2.) Mike killed Alcazar in order to finally do something for Sonny. (You heard that one here first!) 

3.) Carly will become pregnant with twins! 

4.) Courtney learns she's pregnant--but it's AJ's baby. 

5.) Though she's innocent, Brenda knows who killed Alcazar. 

6.) Skye killed Alcazar. 

7.) Ned takes custody of Kristina when Alexis loses it in a public forum. 

8.) Sonny hits Jason when he learns of Jason's involvement with Courtney. 

9.) Jason regains his memories of the Quartermaines, but not his old personality. 

10.) Jax returns to Skye in hopes that she will recant her testimony against Brenda, Skye falls for it and after the trial Jax and Brenda are reunited. 

11.) Vanessa plans to stay with GH on a recurring basis, long enough for Jax and Brenda to get married and begin a family, then both Ingo and Vanessa plan to leave--they are just staying for the fans. 

12.) Vanessa will return to GH full time after her son's first birthday in late March. 

13.) Jax sees Skye's bracelet on Ida's wrist and makes the connection. 

14.) Sonny will be with Brenda when Carly is injured in a mob related shooting. This will make Sonny rethink his future with Carly. 

15.) After Brenda and Jax's wedding, they decide to start a family, but learn that Brenda can't conceive because of Alcazar's drugs.  They decide to adopt an abandoned infant that they find around Easter. 

            Okay now, WHEW! If you're still here, then I congratulate you for not already running off to tell Tom, Dick, and Jane about these spoilers because get ready... NONE OF THEM ARE TRUE!!! Now before you turn off your computer and swear off reading my columns forever, hear me out--there's a reason why I either gave you a coronary or put you on cloud nine thousand with those fabricated spoilers. If you didn't believe any of them, good for you. If you did, then you're the reason I wrote this column. The best place to start is at the beginning, right?

            During the holidays, I was away from my computer for most of the time. When I returned to the net, I was overwhelmed by all the scoops, spoilers, and rumors that were available to me to wade through and process. I was angered by many different message boards that I went on, where people were tearing their hair out at the prospect of storylines and scenes that they were being told were either going to happen or MIGHT happen, in the next few weeks.  So many things ran through my mind, I had to sit down and share them with you, to see if there was anyone out there who thought the same way that I did.

            First of all, if there is one message that I want to send out--and this is a message that I too had to receive--it is that "magazines and websites do not know EVERYTHING!" The most reliable scoops you'll find on the net are from sites that are created and moderated by the fans. Witness abc.com, an un-navigable travesty with outdated information and spoilers from two weeks ago if you're lucky. What I want everyone to understand is that even the most 'in the know' of sites can be wrong sometimes.  They do not preach the gospel, and it would be beneficial to us all if people would not go running off at the mouth, heralding their scoops as God's truth to anyone who would listen.

            There are some rumors out there that just won't die. On certain message boards, sometimes from the same people, DAILY they ask the same things. Will Jason and Liz, aka "Liason" ever get together?  When will Brenda ruin Sonny and Carly's relationship? Will Skye get Jax back when Vanessa leaves? Will there be a triangle between Courtney, Jason, and Liz?

            People, people, people, if you hear nothing from this column, hear this--there is no need to get on the bandwagon of a nameless, faceless internet entity and place all your faith in them. I can't tell you how many times I've seen and received messages that say "I'll only believe you!" Even if 10 other sources tell you something different. Soaps are not rocket science--with a little logic, anyone can figure out what will happen.

            Trust in yourself and workout the storylines for yourself. Here's how: First of all, don't confuse the difference between a scene and a storyline. The triangle between Sonny, Brenda and Jax was a storyline. Brenda and Sonny in the rain with Carly watching was a SCENE. Unfortunately, soap operas, like everything else, are a business. What do those little scenes mean? Sonny and Brenda in the rain, Brenda dreaming of Sonny while on vacation with Jax? Does that mean the writers are gearing up to put Sonny and Brenda back together--say it with me now, "NO." It means the writers are leaving that door open because they are aware that roughly HALF of their audience loves Brenda with Sonny, and the other with Jax. When something is as successful as that triangle, the writers would be foolish to ever take one side 100% because to do that is to turn your back on half of your ratings. If this bothers you, you better get over it and used to it real fast if you want to watch GH without having a heart attack every time these two have a scene together. Neither couple was ever as dynamic without the presence of a third party, that's why triangles are THE staple of soap story telling.  As long as Ingo, Vanessa, and Maurice are on GH, that dynamic will be present between all their characters. Please don't let every scene turn your stomach into knots.

            Another way to avoid the vise grip that scoops and rumors can put on you is to remember that there is not one single solitary voice on the internet, including my own, that is completely unbiased. If they tell you that, don't believe them. When you are emotionally invested in a soap, you either care or you don't, about some characters or all. That being said, whenever you go to a website and read spoilers or rumors, be it from a webmaster, columnist, or free poster, each person has their OWN PERSONAL BIAS and agenda, and it will come out in how they report the scoop or rumor.  Take the much anticipated and much hyped upcoming SCENES that are coming up for Jax and Brenda. (I choose to reference this because it was what sent me over that proverbial edge) 

The scenes: Jax will enlist the help of Cameron and Alexis to prove that Brenda killed Alcazar under temporary insanity, in order to get her a lessened sentence, when it looks like she will be convicted.  

            That's the scene, but most sites word it a little bit differently, and don't tell you what will happen AFTER this. First of all, these scenes aren't likely to last more than two episodes, certainly not an act that will forever change the face of Jax and Brenda's relationship. Yet two very reputable sites who shall remain nameless report the exact same scoop with startling differences that reflect the bias of the writers. One site with a negative opinion of Jax has vilified Jax's desperate actions, labeling him as insensitive, jealous and selfish, with a hero complex. Another site has Brenda as the seemingly ungrateful one, who does not want to go along with Jax's plan because she wants "Sonny to rescue her."  Parts of these scenes that are integral to understanding how they will play out are left out in both instances. Neither site tells you that right after Jax proposes this defense, he will apologize to Brenda and she will accept, and neither make it clear that Jax is not doing this out of spite and that his main focus is Brenda, not Sonny and Jason. In reality, his actions are very in character.

            Digress with me briefly here for a side note: Still other sites use the 'selective memory' excuse when it comes to characters they like, in order to justify their behavior. Skye, for example. Some of her fans would have others believe that everyone makes mistakes and should be given a second chance. In her case this would be her  50th chance, yet those same individuals seem to forget, like the writers and RC--that Skye was held prisoner and drugged by her husband, Dr. Jonathan Kinder because he didn't want her to reveal what she knew about him. No one should understand more than Skye what it's like to be manipulated by drugs and have some one obsessed enough with you to kill you and everyone around you that you love. That she would allow anyone else to go through the hell she went through just to keep a man is unthinkable. 

            Now back to the issue at hand: I can tell what you're thinking--"There goes Leigh, being biased when she's writing a column about being UNbiased." Damn right I am, I make no bones about having particular disdain about Skye and Sonny respectively. So what am I proposing in this column? That each and every one of you think for yourselves and not let someone at a computer in Toronto, Los Angeles, or Timbuktu, dictate how you feel about upcoming storylines and scenes. More often than not, these people don't really have more information than you, they just process it and report it better.

            Scoop sites and rumor sites are fun to visit and fun to discuss with others, I am only suggesting that you appreciate them for what they're worth, and not give them more validity than they deserve. I love my readers and enjoy it when they ask for my opinion when new scoops and rumors roll in. But I'd rather you all draw your own conclusions, use what you know of character history, the show's history, and soap writing in general, to help yourself from developing an aneurysm every Thursday. 

            Now here's a few things I know that are coming up and some that could be coming up--if you want a timeline on your favorite couple or storyline--read on and see if keeping this in mind next Thursday will keep you from spending hours on a message board waiting for someone to answer your question and make you feel stupid. 

Jax and Brenda: A wedding is planned. Whether or not it will happen, I do not know. Take my advice--don't believe it until it airs, and then if it happens, you can be pleasantly surprised--if it doesn't, you won't be too disappointed because you'll have known all along. Wedding interruptions have been done before, we know that they WILL be interrupted--we just don't know if it'll happen before or after JB say "I do." My advice: wait until we know if Vanessa is leaving or not. 

Sonny and Carly: A baby is in the works for Sonny and Carly, but it still MIGHT NOT HAPPEN. No scenes have been shot or scripts written, so my advice: until you hear of the circumstances surrounding when Carly will conceive, and when Sonny will find out, don't count on it as being 100% true. In fact, you might want to hold out nine months until the baby or babies as is also being discussed, are born. 

Liz and Jason: Most likely, these two will be interacting in a triangle or quadrangle with Ric, Zander, Courtney and Emily long before they're free and clear to be together. But I didn't have to tell you that, right? Courtney and Jason are together for the next month or so at least. (Did you catch that extremely HOT promo on VH-1 last night?!) So if you're waiting for the day when Liz and Jason will be together with no threat of Ric or Courtney looming over their heads--I'd say you will not get your wish before March at the complete EARLIEST. 

Sonny and Brenda: I'll be straight with you--if the writers decided tomorrow to put these two together, you would not see it on your screen until we've had several weeks of Brenda falling out of love with Jax, breaking his heart and leaving him, Sonny and Brenda falling back in love with each other, and Sonny making it back from Hell when Carly kills him.  Next Fall at the earliest IF it ever happens at ALL. 

Jason and Carly: Sadly, this will not happen until Jason gets over Courtney, AND Elizabeth and whatever emotions, real or imagined, the writers choose to give him for Brenda if THAT ever happens, as well as his loyalty to Sonny. Also, Carly would have to fall out of love with Sonny (fat chance) and Sonny would have to let her go (fatter chance). Earliest you can hope for this union is next YEAR. 

Ric and Carly: With as much time as they're spending together, I wouldn't be surprised to see things happening for this duo sooner rather than later. There have been a lot of sparks flying and he's yet to have a scene close to that with Liz. All it takes is the revelation that Sonny fathered baby Kristina to send Carly into a tailspin and into the arms of the waiting Ric, who is feeling dejected after seeing Liz and Jason's developing feelings for each other. I can smell a 'who's the daddy' storyline brewing a mile away--everyone knows Carly is more fertile when she's vulnerable. ;-) This summer for a tryst with these two, next Christmas for a legitimate union. 

Jax and Skye: If these two get together for any real amount of time, don't look for it to happen until this FALL and here's why--eve if Brenda left Port Charles tomorrow, Jax would have to get over all the things Skye has done to sabotage his relationship with Brenda, and there is that tiny little matter of him signing those divorce papers like he was signing for a FedEx package. If you're looking for ANY Jax and Skye action, I'd say you might get your wish in the next few weeks. That spoiler about Jax pretending to go back to Skye might very well be false, but it could happen when Jax gets more and more desperate to see Brenda free. Jax will burn Skye (quite unfairly if I do say so myself) all over again. 

            So you see? Anything could happen with anyone. All these are storylines, however, and not scenes, and they could take MONTHS to play out, even if they were all put into motion TOMORROW. So the next time you read a scoop or "rumor", remember that it's about a SCENE and not a storyline, and that things aren't going to change over night. If you read it on Friday, doesn't mean it's going to happen on Monday, and like any spoiler forum worth its salt, I must close with the disclaimer that "all of this is subject to change."   ;-)

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