Is someone big returning to General Hospital?

Supposedly ‘General Hospital’ has a big surprise coming Monday.

Executive Producer Frank Valentini took to Twitter Friday to tell fans that the show has managed to keep a “big surprise” under wraps.

I’m sure that all the self-purported “spoiler mavens” on all of the message boards that haven’t spoiled the surprise will say that they knew all along but didn’t want to ruin it for anyone else on Monday. The truth is, though, if it is a big return, GH has managed to keep it very well hidden.

So, what do we know?

We know that at the end of Friday’s episode, Anna managed to get into a locked room where she believes her daughter is being held against her will.

As viewers, all we saw was the curve of a hip and a shock of long (kind of reddish) hair before the soap faded to black.

So who is the mystery person?

There’s a lot of conjecture on the message boards – and that’s what makes soaps fun to me. For two whole days fans will get to play a magical game where they can hope their favorite character is returning to the fold. It will probably end in disappointment – but those two days are still magical.

Before Friday’s cliffhanger, a lot of spoiler mavens and general message board visitors were saying they knew who it was.

“It’s Duke Lavery. That’s why Anna is finding him.” Even though Duke returning to the fold doesn’t exactly make sense at this time.

“It’s Victor Lord Jr.” Even though Anna finding Victor would be one of those “who cares” moments everyone talks about. And, lest we forget, Trevor St. John has repeatedly stated he wants to be done with soaps.

“It’s Allison Perkins.” Why would GH bring Allison Perkins in to be a nutjob when they have plenty of their own to choose from?

“It’s Alan Quartermaine.” This one I was actually hoping for – and Anna would be able to recognize him.

Now that we know it’s a woman – we can at least narrow our guessing scope. We also know it’s not Robin (even though I would love Kimberly McCullough to return to the fold full-time).

So, let’s look at the suspects:

Brenda Barrett: Vanessa Marcil sent gossipers into a tizzy when she posted “Got Brenda” on Twitter the other day. As my all time favorite soap character, my vote will always be for a Brenda return (especially if she can end this Kate and Sonny debacle). Here’s why I don’t think it’s her, though: Marcil has been battling health problems, had a late term miscarriage and recently announced a split with her husband. I’m not sure she’s up to returning to GH right now. Plus, GH would promote the heck out of a Brenda return.

Lucy Coe: Everyone has paused, zoomed, stretched and stared at the promos from next week to see if they can guess who the mystery woman is. Some swear it looks like Lucy – and Lucy Coe was brought up this week. Soaps tend to bring up long forgotten characters right before they bring them back again. However, Lynn Herring has been out of the soap world for a long time and Lucy Coe really doesn’t have any ties left in Port Charles. Still, Anna would recognize Lucy – where I’m not sure she’d recognize Brenda and it doesn’t make a lot of sense to me for Anna to discover someone she wouldn’t recognize.

Claudia Zacchara: Sarah Brown is a tremendous actress. She always has been. What I find funny is that people want Claudia back after they spent a year complaining about her, though. Claudia was a  compelling character – but I don’t see where she fits on the canvas. Plus, Anna would have no ties to her or any reason to care about discovering her. She wouldn't even have the fun of mistaking her for Carly -- since Carly came to the canvas after Anna "died."

Emily Quartermaine: The Quartermaines desperately need some bolstering and Jerry Jax does have a specific past with Emily. Also, Jerry and Helena both have ties to Emily – and since Jerry is using Windemere you have to figure the Cassidines have something to do with his plot. Jason did mention his sister while talking to McBain the other day as well. However, I honestly don’t want Emily back without Nikolas. That being said, if they could cajole Amber Tamblyn back as Emily I would be over the moon.

Georgie Jones: Lindze Letherman was a beloved actress and Georgie was a beloved character – but I don’t think Georgie qualifies as a “big surprise.” While I was sad to see Georgie go, where exactly does she fit in on the canvas? And why would Jerry care about her? As far as I can tell she wouldn’t have a lot to do and that kind of signifies a waste of a return to me.

Laura Spencer: This is the return that everybody wants – and Port Charles desperately needs. Lulu needs a mother. She could usher Nikolas and Lucky back to town. She could put a boot in Luke’s . . . well,  you know. Still, if Genie Francis had agreed to return they’d be promoting this thing all over the place. They wouldn’t let it be low-key. Still, what could be more powerful than Anna and Luke discovering Laura?

Bobbie Spencer: This one is mostly a joke because Bobbie just disappeared off the canvas a couple years ago. She didn’t even show up when her granddaughter almost died the other day. Bobbie and Jerry do have a history, though. Still, it would be weird for Carly not to realize her mother was missing.

Some random woman: I wouldn’t rule this one out. We have no idea who is in that bed and Valentini could be messing with us. This could just be some random woman that looks like Robin from behind.

What do you think? Who is the mystery woman? Who do you want it to be?