I know I give Ron Carlivati a lot of flack for some of his storylines on General Hospital – but this past week was an example of what he does right.

Kind of.

Okay, it wasn’t perfect, but it was better than the bad storylines we had lined up before it (like Robin’s ridiculous departure and Ava talking to a comatose AJ for ten minutes before trying to off him). So, yes, I’ll take it.

RC doesn’t take criticism well (just follow him on Twitter to see that), so I thought I would do something a little different this week. Let’s talk about the things that RC is getting right.

And, yes, I know that people don’t always see things eye-to-eye – but I did see a lot I liked this week.

10. Sonny and Spencer: We usually see Sonny tossing barware at a wall, falling in love with a woman in

five minutes flat or swearing up and down that someone is dead to him. So, it was a nice change when we got to see Sonny comforting a morose Spencer. We hardly see Sonny and Spencer interact, but Sonny was the one thing Spencer needs right now: The voice of reason. Spencer’s father is too caught up in his own life to actually pay attention to what he’s doing. Sonny told Spencer a sage bit of truth: That it sounded like he was in the wrong here. That’s something Spencer needs to hear a little more often, if you ask me.

9. Fluke: It’s become obvious that Luke isn’t really Luke. I’m sure the real Luke is being held captive somewhere and Fake Luke – or Fluke – has taken over his identity. There are tons of options out there for who Luke really is, including Faison, Trevor Lansing, Lily’s father Hernando Rivera (which might explain – and anchor – Carlos’ character), Harry (Sonny’s former henchman that loved Lily and hated Brenda), etc. There are a lot of options. It’s just nice to see Anthony Geary having fun playing a bad guy – so I’m willing to suspend disbelief to watch Geary chew some scenery.

8. Alexis the spy: Any time Nancy Lee Grahn gets to do some physical comedy, I have to laugh. She’s just

so emotive. Her antics as she chased both Ric and Julian around the engagement party was a joy to watch – especially when she thinks she’s discovered Ric up to something nefarious and he’s only helping Cameron. Rick Hearst and Grahn have great chemistry. I wish the writers would acknowledge how in love Ric and Alexis were – and that he became an actual adult when he was paired with her.

7. Lucas shows that he’s a Spencer: Lucas has been something of an enigma since his return. The actor is definitely charismatic, but his obsession with Brad right off the bat was off putting. Lucas’ reaction after he found out what Brad was hiding was outstanding. He pointed out that he has ties to just about everyone on the canvas – and it was nice that he pointed out that he was sick of Brad trying to blame everything on Ellie – and that Brad purposely hurt both of his cousins. Welcome home Lucas!

6. We finally got some back story on Nathan: Listen, I’m not pretending the actor playing Nathan isn’t

wooden. He’s incredibly wooden. He’s so wooden he makes Pinocchio look malleable. Still, he is good looking and I’m interested enough (mostly about the possibility of him romancing Maxie) that I’m willing to continue giving him the benefit of the doubt. I’m really over the stunt casting that RC seems obsessed with – but Donna Mills (as long as she doesn’t hang around too long) is offering up some camp.

5. Silas and Sam have a little fun: The one thing that Kelly Monaco’s Sam never did when she was paired with Jason was smile. She was essentially a walking doormat 50 percent of the time and an extra appendage for Jason to bag on the other 50 percent of the time. Even through all the doom and gloom that a soap throws at you, Silas and Sam are having some flirty fun and it’s nice to see Sam get to enjoy life a little bit. Even her explanation of her past with Ric was nice because Silas didn’t judge her for it. And, let’s face it, Monaco and Michael Easton have smoking chemistry.

4. The performances:  Every single actor stepped up and delivered some meaty and heart-

rendering performances this week. As much as I was rooting for the truth about Ben’s parentage to come out, I felt bad for Britt when it did. I laughed at Alexis’ antics, I smiled as Sonny consoled Spencer, I was intrigued whenever Ric was on the screen and I was mesmerized when Nikolas finally learned the truth and lost it. Bravo everyone. There was no weak link in the chain.

3. Nikolas called it like it was with Liz: Listen, Liz found out the truth and she had no choice but to tell Lulu the truth. Period. I don’t believe she should have kept it quiet until after the party. People seem to forget, Liz has known Lulu since she was a baby – and they were really close for a long time. Liz should have told Lulu – the woman was suffering. However, Liz WAS reveling in Britt’s downfall, which was a little hypocritical considering her past with two of the kids she’s birthed. There are times that Liz has a hoity-toity quality about her – and Nikolas saw exactly what she was doing and called her on it. That doesn’t mean Liz was wrong, it just means that Nikolas was right on more than one front.

2. Lulu and Dante (finally!) know the truth: Baby stealing storylines drag on so long they’re often painful

by the time you get to the end. This one was no different. Watching Lulu obsess about baby Ben was starting to get painful. I still think they miscast Emme Rylan when they were looking for a new Lulu – but she was much more likable this week than she has been for her entire run on the show.  The fact that we’re now dealing with a contrived baby napping on top of everything else would actually go on the “Why RC Sucks” list – but I really shouldn’t complain. I’m just finally relieved the truth came out and Lulu can stop screeching like a banshee.

1. Nikolas finally found his backbone: Longtime fans know that Nikolas is not someone that usually falls for a woman that is obviously lying to him. The truth is, Nikolas is a prince and he romances like a Disney stud on steroids. As much as I dislike Natalia Livingston’s Emily, she will always be Nikolas’ soul mate. While I like the chemistry between Britt and Nik – she so often made him look like a moron that I dreaded their time together on screen. Now that Britt has hit rock bottom (and I’m sure she’ll save Ben and hand him over to Lulu and Dante as the first step of her redemption) I think she’s got some hard truths in her future before she reunites with Nikolas. Maybe, next time, we can get a relationship that’s not rushed to the altar. Again.

What do you think? What is Ron Carlivati doing right?