Carly’s been walking a razor’s edge lately on General Hospital, smiling through conversations she’d rather smash her way out of. Jack thinks he’s got her wrapped in warm sheets and half-truths, but she’s been playing a different game entirely — aligning with Valentin behind closed doors, storing up every ounce of betrayal for the moment she strikes back. He recruited her daughter; that alone would have sent earlier versions of Carly straight through a wall. Now she’s keeping her face soft, waiting for Jack to blink. And according to Chris McKenna, that quiet tension is exactly where things get interesting.

Key Takeaways

• Carly is secretly teaming up with Valentin while pretending to stay close to Jack.
• McKenna expected a big explosion when Carly learned the truth about Joss, but the story shifted in a quieter, more surprising direction.
• Carly’s own choices complicate her anger, blurring the line between Jack’s betrayal and her own.
• Jack senses something is off, even if he’s pretending not to show it.
• Brennan’s punishment for Vaughn stems from ignored warnings, not sudden rage.
• Joss may face a hard lesson, as Brennan reinforces that his rules aren’t flexible.
• McKenna says Brennan isn’t unraveling — he’s tightening control.

A Secret Exposed, and the Story Takes a Left Turn

McKenna told Soap Opera Digest he expected the reveal to set off one of those big GH detonations — the kind where tempers flare, everyone talks over each other, and the whole story tilts on its axis — once Carly (Laura Wright) learned what Jack had done with Josslyn (Eden McCoy). Instead, the writers zagged. He admitted, “I think we were all expecting a big blow-up,” and the way he tells it, the left turn surprised even the people playing it.

What really caught him off guard was how much murkier the moral math became. He acknowledged that Carly had every right to be furious with Jack — she was blindsided, and her daughter was at the center of it — but he also noted that she crossed her own line by teaming up with Valentin. As he put it, “Carly was completely in the right,” until she wasn’t. Once the dust settled, it wasn’t just Jack carrying the weight of a bad choice — Carly suddenly had her hands in something just as explosive, and the dynamic between them shifted in a way neither could fully ignore.

And underneath all of that, Jack’s radar never really powered down; the guy’s been reading the temperature in the room even when he pretends he’s missing the signs. McKenna teased that the audience will see him watching Carly more closely than she realizes. “He plays things close to the vest,” he said, and the quiet moments tell the real story — a man clocking the shift, even if he’s pretending not to.

Pressure Builds From Both Sides Of The Family

McKenna also touched on how volatile things are becoming around Jack, especially with Josslyn. He made it clear that Brennan didn’t drag Vaughn (Bryce Durfee) away out of nowhere; to him, it was the consequence of warnings ignored. Brennan warned Vaughn and Joss not to pursue a relationship, but they continued to do so on the down low. He gave them time, space, grace — and then followed through when the line was crossed.

And if Joss pushes back? McKenna framed it as the wake-up call Joss has been dodging — the kind of moment where she finally sees the version of Brennan who doesn’t bluff, doesn’t hesitate, and doesn’t rewrite his own rules just because someone he cares about wants him to soften.

To hear him tell it, Brennan isn’t losing his grip — he’s showing everyone exactly how tight it is. (Find out which GH character Durfee almost played.)