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‘General Hospital’ Spoilers: Is Sam Tumor Plot Jean Passanante’s Going Away ‘Gift’ To ‘GH’ Fans?

By Belynda Gates Turner
Published on: 05:08 PST, Jun 16, 2017

General Hospital spoilers tease that GH co-head writer Jean Passanante might have lobbed a bomb into the ABC soap on her way out the door with this strange Sam plot. GH fans know there are two distinct camps among viewers. There is Team JaSam and Team Friz. Those who root for Sam and Jason typically do not like Elizabeth and Franco, and vice versa. If the rumors about Sam’s medical crisis are true, it will fuel the fire and could put General Hospital’s future at risk by turning off fans.

Franco’s Redemption Story Forced?

General Hospital spoilers hint that Sam’s emerging medical crisis might be a brain tumor, according to ABC Soaps in Depth. However, this has not confirmed by GH or ABC sources yet.

A tweet from the official General Hospital account on Thursday, June 15 asked, “How much of what’s happening to Sam is in her head?” that accompanied a pic of Sam with Dr. Father Sexy Griffin in a GH exam room. One interpretation is that GH was telling fans the problem is literally in her head and could be hinting at a tumor.

If General Hospital has given Sam a tumor, Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman could have written a story for Sam that parallels that of Franco’s past with his tumor. If the Jelly writing team has done this, JaSam fans will be outraged, but Friz fans would be thrilled. Jean and Shelly have met with near constant criticism by JaSam fans that they are “propping” Friz and trying to redeem Franco by forcing Sam to interact against her will with her “rapist.”

The Non-Rape Doesn’t Matter, Does It?

Way back on GH, Franco led Sam to believe he raped her and tied Jason up to let him watch via video camera while he did it. Franco carried naked Sam to a bed and then covered the camera lens so Jason could imagine the worst. The “rape” went down on Jason and Sam’s honeymoon after their wedding, and for a long time, Sam worried that little Danny might be Franco’s son. It was years later that Franco revealed he tricked them both and never raped Sam.

General Hospital writers may have thought that makes things okay. For years, GH fans were led to believe that Franco orchestrated Michael’s Pentonville rape. It turns out he didn’t do that either. However, some GH fans don’t care about this, as they still see him as a rapist, and in one way, they’re right. Because Sam and Jason believed for years that Franco raped her, the trauma is very much real in both their minds. Isn’t that important?

Jean Passanante Redeems Franco as She Exits

It’s a fair assumption that General Hospital writers and showrunners love Roger Howarth. GH fans see this every day. The only time RoHo isn’t present will be the month gap where he was in contract negotiations. While other contract talks have gone belly up and left Tyler Christopher (GH, Nikolas) jobless, Roger came through with flying colors. That’s a big deal in this era of tightened soap budgets. GH has made it clear they’re committed to Franco – and Howarth.

With Roger’s contract renewed and Jean knowing she was retiring, there are General Hospital rumors that her final GH plot will be a strategic effort to fully and finally redeem Franco by dragging Sam down to his level. Whether you’re a fan of JaSam or Friz (or that rare bird that likes both), you should see this plot coming from a mile away. This week, Sam started down a road of mental instability. She’s seeing and hearing things and is tip-toeing towards aggression. Inevitably, violence will come next.

Sam Dragged for Franco Deliverance?

General Hospital spoilers promise Franco and Liz are locked in as a “super couple,” and that’s a problem for GH and fans for several reasons. First is that Franco is a presumed rapist, while Liz is a rape victim. Second is that Sam is a stepmom to one of Liz’s children, so their proximity is mandated. Third, Liz’s baby daddy Jason was collateral damage in the Sam rape plot. Finally, GH was slammed for being rape apologizers and promoting rape culture.

Short of having Sam turn around and rape Franco, it seems impossible to redeem him, but General Hospital’s writers will try hard to clean him up by dirtying Sam to try and establish equivalency. We’ll soon see Sam with a medical problem that compromises her self-control. That’s the Franco redemption mechanism. Sam won’t rape anyone, but she will shoot Sonny soon when her hallucinations trick her. GH spoilers from SheKnows Soaps predict Jason worries about Sam then things get worse.

Tumors for Everyone!

In a way, General Hospital spoilers that reveal Sam with a brain tumor are genius because they put her in Franco’s shoes to show Sam and Jason that Franco couldn’t help himself. Yet GH’s tumor plot for Franco was a massive character rewrite when they introduced Roger Howarth in the plot. James Franco’s version of the character was a sadistic madman who took joy in harming people. He was a remorseless sociopathic killer. Giving him a brain tumor was a sloppy clean-up device from the start.

Now, with Sam rumored to have a tumor, it will be truly shocking to a legion of GH fans if Jean Passanante is forcing a 100 percent Franco redemption by wrecking Sam. Jean has been in many recent Twitter wars with GH fans, so perhaps she’s using her last months at the ABC soap to force her agenda through – or maybe she’s writing this plot as a final insult to GH viewers who hate being forced to see Franco with his victims socializing awkwardly.

Either way, this plot could hurt the soap if it turns off viewers and drops ratings. General Hospital ratings are down significantly from this time last year and every week (save for a small uptick during the last week of May sweeps) is dropping further. Then again, with Jean Passanante exiting soon, why should she care if GH is canceled?

What do you think? Are you in support of this final piece of the Franco redemption puzzle, or will you tune out? Come back for more on this Sam story in upcoming General Hospital spoilers.

[Featured Image by Rick Rowell/ABC Press]

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