Soap operas tend to give actors and the characters they play, a meaty story right before they write them off, leaving the audience wondering, why didn’t they do something sooner? In the case of Michael Easton, his run as Hamilton Finn came to its conclusion when General Hospital decided to have Finn enter rehab after his old addiction reared its head and he couldn’t stop himself from drinking.

Last week in his final scenes, Michael along with Jophielle Love (Violet) delivered Michael Fairman TV’s Power Performances of the Week, but as Easton told Soap Opera Digest, getting to the place of where he had to go in Finn’s psyche was a challenge and to try to wrap it up in a neat package before his exit.

Finn’s exit story, at first, featured him taking a sip of booze seemingly out of nowhere at Brook Lynn and Chase’s wedding reception. That was followed by the death of his father, Gregory, which then escalated to Finn drinking heavily. From there, he gets in a fight with Elizabeth and for all intent and purposes breaks up with her, gets upset that the hospital is coming down on him, when he saved GH from going under and then has his Tracy take photos of him, after he cuts himself by accident and passes out drunk, so that she along with Brook Lynn and Chase, can get a restraining order against Finn from seeing his daughter, Violet and more.

Photo: ABC

In his final episode, Finn must say goodbye to his daughter which was a massive tearjerker, before his brother, Chase drives him to rehab. Now, Easton is sharing his reactions, and sentiments on leaving GH and how he had to portray, and the choices he made, to tell his exit storyline.

Michael expressed, “You get hurt a little bit and you get wounded a little bit, and part of your head’s going, ‘Well, just do it (i.e., do the work without putting much effort into it)’ — and then I ended up investing more ) in my performance), to make it even better for them. I really wanted to make it work, so my thinking was, (Finn’s descent) had to go beyond alcoholism. Addiction and things like that, I kind of know a lot about that, but to get where I needed to go (with the character), it had to be almost a complete emotional break.”

Courtesy/ABC

He added,  “You just get down to the raw forms of your emotions, you know? Everything has to be the truth, all the words had to be truthful. It just became about committing to it; you had to cleanse yourself of any feelings you had and just invest and commit yourself. So it was raw for me, and it was humbling, but it also felt good. I felt like I left everything out there.”

Easton also revealed that it took a few days for him to shake-off the emotional toll it took for him after he was finished taping, but when he went home, he received hugs from his children, Lilah Bell and Jack, and that the hugs were something he needed.

So, what did you think about Finn’s exit storyline?  Share your thoughts in the comment section below.

This week on General Hospital, look for Ava Jerome (Maura West) to fight back and down and dirty, after Sonny (Maurice Benard) kicked her out of the penthouse and threatened to take full custody of their daughter, Avery.  In story, Ava already knows Sonny is not taking the full dosage of his meds. Will she tamper with the pills to make Sonny go off the rails and look completely incompetent to raise a chills.

In the latest official teasers for the show, by week’s end, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) is trying to talk Sonny down. Meanwhile, Trina (Tabyana Ali) has voiced to Josslyn (Eden McCoy) that after her last interaction with Ava, the gallery owner seemed very intense. Trina was fearful that Ava might try to do something to Sonny in retribution for being shown the front door.

Also, Kristina (Kate Mansi) is wanting to build in protections from the court, from any split in TJ (Tajh Bellow) and Molly’s (Kristen Vaganos) relationship, so that she might be able to keep the child, which is causing alarm from Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) and Blaze (Jacqueline Grace Lopez).  Meanwhile, Blaze is left reeling by recent developments.

Photo: ABC

Take a look at what’s about to go down in Port Charles below.

MONDAY, JULY 1, 2024

Ava plays dirty. Josslyn comforts Trina. Nina does some eavesdropping. Alexis makes a big move. Jordan shares intel with Drew.

TUESDAY, JULY 2, 2024

Ava tries to cover her tracks.  Blaze is crushed. Sonny meets with Diane. Kristina and Alexis have a heart to heart. Natalia is in the hot seat.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 3, 2024

Alexis is confrontational. Josslyn gets upsetting news. Natalia confides in Sonny. Sasha provides perspective. Maxie steps up for a friend.

THURSDAY, JULY 4, 2024: #15254 / (ORIGINAL AIR DATE: 7/7/23)

Tracy won’t take no for an answer. Liz and Portia catch up. TJ and Molly cleae the air. Kristina makes a bold suggestion. A shot rings out at the Metro Court pool!

FRIDAY, JULY 5, 2024

Dante tries to talk Sonny down. Kristina unleashes her anger. Maxie and Brook Lynn strategize. Trina and Josslyn move into their new home. Nina updates Drew.

So, what do you think Ava will do to Sonny and how will she cover her tracks? Share your theories via the comment section below, and what do you think about Kristina’s growing attachment to the baby she is carrying for TJ and her sister Molly? Weigh-in, but first check out this week’s ABC promo for GH, where Port Charles is “rocked by scandal”.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the house after General Hospital viewers watched the Thursday June 27th episode. In it, Finn (Michael Easton) comes to say goodbye to his daughter Violet (Jophielle Love), who is now in the temporary custody of his brother Chase (Josh Swickard), before he heads out to rehab.

The episode also would be Michael Easton’s last with the ABC soap opera as Finn was written-off the canvas. Fans of the soap, watched the heartbreaking Finn and Violet scenes, and following its airing, both Love and Easton shared touching posts on their Instagram accounts accompanied by photos.

Easton shared, “This is the hardest goodbye of all for me. The first picture was taken right after Violet and Finn’s last goodbye. After they said cut, Jophielle Love and I immediately found each other and we hung on like we didn’t want it to end. The last video was taken between scenes on the very first day we met and I remember it like yesterday. Jophielle you are pure magic and you are going to do amazing things in this life. Go forward with rainbows in your heart and know that I will never forget you.”

Photo: MEastonIG

Love (through the writing by her mom) shared: “How do I say good bye ? Michael and Jophielle have been working together on General Hospital for 5 years now ! Over 100 episodes… Today’s scenes were an absolute heartbreak . Jophielle doesn’t lose sight of the possibility of her parents coming back into her GH life … This scene was way too familiar from one she experienced on her first few months on set as her tv mother went through what felt like the same door … saying good bye … and never returning to this day! Poor Violet lost everyone… Jophielle was genuinely very sad … Her chemistry with Michael on set was amazing from day one , as she always insisted to fix his hair before each take as a five years old. Now she is 10 … and … tears were pouring down. It was a very very hard day on set and everyone was tearing up … She managed to get through it all like a pro , …. It was … very emotional and also amazing. Like a grown up scene.”

Photo JLoveIG

In a personal note from Love’s mother it read, “Michael … I speak as a mom today who has been there on set every step of the way , being so thankful for you and for Rebecca Budig’s incredible love and instant connection with Jophielle. There is something to be said about tv families… and even more on a show like General Hospital, where these families have such a real bound as they are part of a long lasting legacy … Like Jophielle does … I really hope you get to come back …. Never say never … we love you Michael and we thank you for everything. See you soon 😘”

Photo: ABC

What did you think of the touching posts and sentiments from Michael and Jophielle and her mom? Share your thoughts in the comment section, but in case you missed it, grab the hankies and watch the emotional goodbye between Finn and Violet below.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Michael Easton (@iammichaeleaston)