GENERAL HOSPITAL: Best and worst of 2013

The end of the year is about looking back at the past and looking forward to the future.

What better way to do that than with a list?

I think most fans can agree that General Hospital has been on fire in recent months, but not everything was perfect.

Here’s my best and worst list for 2013:

Best Actress: Finola Hughes While there are a lot of fine actresses on GH, Hughes stood head and

shoulders above the rest this year. She was riveting as a mother fighting hope as she looked for the daughter she thought she had lost. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house for that reunion.

Best Supporting Actress: Maura West West has a thankless role as Ava Jerome. Odds are, she’s a cold-blooded murderer that seduced a barely-legal boy that used to be married to her daughter. There’s not a lot to like there. Still, West manages to charm as a woman that has absolutely no rooting value – and that’s a tall order.

Best Actor: Jason Thompson I’m giving Jason Thompson this honor in spite of the last month. I can’t blame him for the terrible writing following Robin’s return. He didn’t write it. He just has to act it. That being said, Patrick’s desperation to move on after the love of his life was killed was palpable. Now, if only the writers hadn’t totally screwed up the aftermath of Robin’s return.

Best Supporting Actor: Bradford Anderson I’m not sad to see Bradford Anderson go. I would be lying if I said Spinelli didn’t get on my last nerve. That being said, Bradford knocked it out of the park as Spinelli found out that Maxie had been lying and that he was really the father of baby Connie/Georgie. He turned in some good work – and I’m still glad the character is gone. I will miss the actor, though.

Best Younger Actress: Brooklyn Rae Silzer Silzer brought the house down as Emma this year.

Between snarky fights with Britt and hilarious “learning” lessons with Felix, Emma was literally the belle of this year’s Nurse’s Ball. It was Silzer’s magical performance at finding out that her mother was alive, though, that really sealed the win.

Best Young Actor: Bryan Craig Craig reminds me of one of the lost Ford brothers from One Life to Live – except he can act. Sure, every time he says Mikey I want to cut his tongue out, but Craig has stood toe-to-toe with some of GH’s most powerful performers this year – and he actually stole the scenes.

Best Return: Robert and Robin Scorpio Ah, this category could be full of people. Ultimately, the most important returns were Robert and Robin. Robin is the heart of GH’s history, and her return to her mother, father and daughter was overwhelming -- and full of rich emotion. That her father, Robert, was revived to save his daughter was a testament to the Scorpio legacy -- and their reunion was the moment when the tears really got flowing for me.

Worst Return: Jerry Jacks Jerry is usually entertaining and charming. Unfortunately for him, his appearances were sporadic and forced this go around -- and he was overshadowed by bigger villains. Never fear, though, I have no doubt he’ll be back to terrorize the denizens of Port Charles again.

Best Villain: Faison Faison is Faison. You don’t look at the character with any sort of critical eye

because if you do, then logic suddenly fails. Faison is funny and terrifying, all in the same breath. This time, Faison’s cohort Dr. Obrecht was just as funny (and entertaining). The duo was magical enough to overshadow Jerry Jacks – and that’s saying something.

Best Couple: Silas and Sam GH has done a good job on the slow burn of Silas and Sam – so much so that I’m actually looking forward to their scenes. GH has had trouble launching successful couples in recent years, but Silas and Sam are aided by the palpable chemistry of Michael Easton and Kelly Monaco. Sam spent years being mopey with Jason. Here's hoping she finds a little fun with Silas.

Best Couple (runner-up): Britt and Nikolas  Who could have foreseen Britt and Nikolas becoming as popular as they are? I certainly didn't. I figured Britt wasn’t long for Port Charles because she was being written as the evil black to Sabrina's angelic white light. Somehow, though, the prince managed to bring out the princess in Britt. They’re going to have issues, I know, what with her kidnapping his nephew and all – but I’m looking forward to their road back to each other -- which, I'm sure, is going to be ridiculously long and winding.

Worst Couple: Sabrina and Patrick If ever there was a couple that had less chemistry than Patrick

and Sabrina, I can’t think of them off the top of my head. They’re bland. They’re boring. Patrick looks like creepy uncle with the Disney princess, as well. Even if viewers hadn’t known that Robin was alive, Patrick and Sabrina were never going to be a couple that fans loved. The fact that fans knew that Patrick's true love was still alive, though, was enough to sink Purina from the start -- no matter what the writers want to believe.

Worst Couple (runner-up): Sonny and Connie The Bensonhurt lovers were just . . . blech. Maurice Benard must have been mortified when he had to act with the different personalities of his lady love. He looked it, quite frankly. I was embarrassed for him. The best thing that ever happened to that couple was Connie’s murder.

Best Story: Robin's Return Robin’s return was an umbrella story that roped in more than half the cast (Anna, Duke, Robert, Maxie, Mac, Felicia, Nikolas, Britt, Patrick, Emma, Sabrina, Felix, Carlos, etc.) It was so important because Robin is important to GH’s history and legacy. We’re still feeling the reverberations of Robin’s return – and that’s the definition of a great story (even if some of the facets of the reunion between Robin and Patrick were totally flubbed).

Best Story (runner-up): Julian Returns Bringing Julian Jerome back was a masterful stroke of genius. He ties together Anna, Duke and Sonny right off the bat. Then, by making him Sam’s father, you also link him to Alexis and Sam. Then there’s that whole Lucas thing to deal with – and that’s before you look at the family he brought back to town with him.

Worst Story:  Sabrina's "growth" Sabrina turns from ugly duckling to Disney princess to instant

migraine inducer. Here’s a tip when creating a character: When you tell fans how to feel about someone – sometimes beating them over the head with it – most of the time, they’re going to turn on said character. That’s what happened with angel Sabrina as every character on the canvas propped her in just about every conceivable manner. At a certain point, fans just don’t care.

Worst Story (runner-up): It's a Tumor  I love Roger Howarth beyond all words, but I'm never going to accept Franco. I'm never going to root for him. I don't care how you retconn his past. The guy is still a murderer and (possible) rapist. Trying to make fans forgive him because of a brain tumor failed on All My Children -- and it's failing here.

Best Plot Twist: Brenda didn’t sleep with Michael I know some people didn’t like that storyline, but I thought it was soapy goodness. After all the years of Carly getting one over on Brenda, just the idea of Carly’s head imploding because of something she thought Brenda did was hilarious. That being said, Carly was a lot more upset about the possibility of Michael sleeping with Brenda than she was about Morgan actually sleeping with Ava. That doesn't seem very balanced in my book.

Worst Plot Twist: Ben being Dante and Lulu’s baby. The minute Britt showed up pregnant at the Nurse’s Ball, who didn’t see the outcome of that pregnancy? Personally, I don’t think anyone should have a baby on soaps (especially Britt, because she’s a fun heroine) but you would think that RC would come up with some sort of deviation. He's not known for thinking outside of the box, though, so it is what it is.

What do you think? What were your best and worst moments of the year?