Watching GH today, I was struck by how beautiful and together and amazing Maxie is. The luminous Kirsten Storms really embodies this character now; she’s taken Maxie from impulsive teenager to sardonic young woman. I think it’s high time she played more of a role on the show, and not just as a talk-to or as Spinelli’s “Maxinista.”

In fact, I think being Spinelli’s love interest — while obviously fun for Storms and co-star Bradford Anderson — is detrimental to Maxie, because it makes her a lesser character; she’s only  there to make Spinelli shine. Maxie shouldn’t be in that position; she should be the higher tier character or on equal footing. She’s a legacy character; she was part of one of the show’s most memorable storylines. Shouldn’t the recipient of BJ’s heart be GH’s heart?

Sure, she had more airtime when she was with Spinelli but, developmentally, was any of it beneficial to Maxie? No. She was painted as this bubble-headed twit who couldn’t be faithful to her stalwart Jackal. That was the sum total of her character: telling the viewers that Spinelli made her a better person and then failing to live up to that standard. And I’m not sure he did make her a better person.

Witness Maxie’s high-pitched, high-speed prattle; the way she’s clearly the “airhead” of this otherwise serious scene. In this second clip, Spinelli tells Maxie he wants to be the “master of my own future.” And what’s interesting to me is that, when she’s with him, Maxie‘s future has no importance. She’s there to worry about him, to support him, to be the Jackal’s Girl Friday as he embarks on one folly filled adventure after another. If I wanted to watch the wish-fulfillment fantasy of the average nerd and his smokin’ hot love interest, I’d watch a Judd Apatow movie. On my soap opera, it’s Maxie‘s journey I care about: Frisco and Felicia’s baby girl, born on Halloween but more treat than trick.

Pre-Spinelli, Maxie had agency. She didn’t always make the right choices, but it was her we saw losing Jesse, scoring Lucky pills, and falling for Coop. I loved her scenes with Coop in the vault during the Metro Court hostage situation in 2007. She had her sharp edges and bitterness but also wit and strength. In today’s scenes, she started out as Lulu’s talk-to, but she was allowed to bring her own history into it. She had a perspective! Then, with Matt, he was the supportive significant other, laughing with her and reassuring her… but without a single hint that either of them was more important in the scene. And Storms played both sets of scenes beautifully. Maxie, while her typical self-deprecating self, came off as self-possessed rather than someone seeking a smarter person’s approval.

And she doesn’t need anyone’s approval! She’s Mariah Maxmilliana Jones, descended from Aztec princesses. Let her rule Port Charles!