Last week on key episodes of General Hospital, the truth was finally out that Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom) was masquerading as his twin brother, Dr. Kevin Collins, and that Ava Jerome (Maura West) was an unsuspecting victim in all of this.  As the week began, Ryan and Ava had gone over the bridge, but Jason (Steve Burton) was able to save Ava and pull her back to the bridge, and that set the stage for a powerhouse series of performances by West.

On the bridge with Laura (Genie Francis), who is trying to make Ava comprehend the harsh realization that she has been with a serial killer this entire time, and not the real Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), Ava doesn’t believe what Laura is attempting to tell her.  She believes that Kevin had a mental breakdown.  Laura explains to Ava that Kevin is at General Hospital, while Ryan has been posing as him.  In Ava’s version of the situation, she thinks the switcheroo happened in the last 48 hours when Ryan wanted to whisk her away to be married.  Laura then tells Ava that Ryan switched places with Kevin months ago, and she has never been with Kevin.

It is a horrifying reality for Ava to grapple with as she insists that Kevin loves her.  However, moment by moment, Ava can no longer deny that harsh truth that is right in front of her.  She had sex with her daughter Kiki’s murderer the night she was killed, and she has been sleeping with the wrong man this entire time.

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In heartbreaking scenes, Maura, along with another wonderful performance by GH icon, Genie Francis, illustrated the raw pain and devastation of a woman who has been so blindsided by love, violated, and deceived all at the same time.  The scene where Laura holds Ava on the bridge as she collapses with anguish was soap gold.  But, never underestimate Ava Jerome!  You know she will get her payback.

In another episode, a now drunken Ava heads to the GH to see Kevin for herself, but finds Franco (Roger Howarth).  First, she blames Franco, then he makes her understand that it was Ryan who murdered people and deceived everyone.  He was just helping the PCPD snuff out the serial killer.   She tells Franco that Ryan made her feel like a goddess and that he worshipped her and helped her in her time of need following Kiki’s death.  Ava tells Franco that she hopes Ryan’s still alive so she can kill him herself!

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And still in another moment, Ava runs into the real Kevin in the hospital hallway.  Ava loses her grip and slaps him in the face accusing him of killing her daughter.  Scott (Kin Shriner) pulls her off Kevin, and tries to get her to understand that Kevin was in surgery at GH when she was with Ryan in Niagara Falls.

Sitting down with Ava, Kevin apologizes for what Ryan did to her and everyone else.  Kevin thinks she needs to speak with a therapist, but not him and he will recommend someone.  Later, alone in the hospital corridor, Ava sees a poster of Kevin Collins and rips it to shreds as Scott comes by to calm her down. She sinks to the floor in sorrow over Kiki’s death, and how she ended up falling for Ryan.

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Scene after scene, moment after moment, you can’t get better than West.  Ava is a delicious complex character, who has been so unlucky at love, is so flawed, and at times so revenge-filled, and yet in the hands of the oh-so-skilled and talented Maura West, she has humanized Ava, so that we can’t help root for her to get back on her feet after she falls so far down, so we can witness what trouble she will stir up next.   All of this to say: Michael Fairman TV names GH’s Maura West the ‘Power Performance of the Week”.

So, what did you think about of Maura’s performances on  GH? Did Ava finding out the truth about Ryan live up to everything you hoped it would be? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

When Grand Hotel finally makes its highly-anticipated debut this summer (Monday night, June 17th) on ABC, soap opera fans will see some very familiar faces in primo roles as this sudsy drama, based on the Spanish series Gran Hotel, tells the story of a family-owned hotel in Miami, the people who run it, and all of the secrets they keep from one another.

Brought to you by executive producers Eva Longoria and Ben Spector, the show explores the family dynamic of the Mendoza family. Longoria herself will play a mother in four episodes of the show, as well.

General Hospital fans will take note that Daytime Emmy-winner, Bryan Craig (Ex-Morgan Corinthos) is front and center in the cast as Javi Mendoza, the troubled son of the family who has some major obstacles in front of him.

Michael Fairman TV caught up with Craig during the recent ABC TCA’s Press Tour for the network to get some insight into his new role, how he would feel if GH would recast the role of Morgan (he recently propped up former DAYS star Billy Flynn as a potential viable candidate) and what it has been like post-daytime in his burgeoning career in film and TV.  Here’s what he had to say about his TV life past and present.

What has this experience been like for you taping the episodes of Grand Hotel and working with such a stellar cast?

BRYAN:  It’s been incredible   It feels like it went by so fast.  It’s an awesome group of people.  We’ve got a fun show.

How would you say your character of Javi Mendoza stacks up against GH’s Morgan Corinthos?

BRYAN:  I think it’s one of the most layered characters that I’ve ever played.  There’s a lot going on with Javi.  He has a big disability, kind of like Morgan did.  It’s a physical disability, and there are a lot of challenges that come along with that.  He also has a substance problem.  So, some of the same issues and in the same world that Morgan was in.  Javi is a very troubled character, but he is also a lot of fun, and a ladies’ man … and sleeps with a lot of women! (Laughs)

Photo Credit: JPI Studios

Do you think the audience will care for Javi, though?  

BRYAN:  Oh yeah, one hundred percent.  He was written in a very kind-hearted manner.  He’s a great guy, who has had a tough life.

Did they put you through a audition process to nab the role in Grand Hotel?

BRYAN:  They had read hundreds and hundreds of people for this role.  I came in at the tail end of it, and then the process went pretty quickly.  I read once, and the next think I knew, I was in a room with Eva Longoria and director, Ken Olin.  Then two days later, I was testing with Eva, and then I got the call that I had the part.

You’re a part of the core family, the Mendozas, on Grand Hotel, and on GH, you were part of the Corinthos clan.  How do the family dynamics stack-up?

BRYAN:  It’s pretty special.  There are a lot of similarities.  It feels like we have kind of shifted GH into prime-time.  In Grand Hotel, we have Demián Bichir, who plays Santiago Mendoza, and he is my Sonny Corinthos now.   They gave us a very heavy, heavy storyline … just like they gave Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) and me.   So, I think the fans are really going to buy into it.   ABC, (I think) wanted to marry that bond a little bit, and I feel it was very apparent in the writing.  This network has been very good to me.

Courresy/ABC

Did you know that your co-star Denyse Tontz was in Prospect Park’s All My Children reboot as Miranda Montgomery and had a soap past, as well?

BRYAN:  Yes! I did know that.  Denyse plays my sister on Grand Hotel and we work together a lot on the show.  There were quite a few people on the show who came from soaps.  Even some guest stars who came in were big in soap at points.

So, this kind of all  worked out for you!  You left General Hospital, and landed a major primetime series, plus your other movie roles!

BRYAN:  It was a scary move, but it worked out.  I did a few things; a couple of movies, and I did a show for CW for a while, and then this.  So, it’s been back-to-back.  I’ve been fortunate.

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How would you feel if General Hospital, ultimately, recast the role of Morgan?

BRYAN:  You know, if it was to behoove the show, then so be it.   I feel like it was a pretty nice end for me there, but I can’t sit here and be selfish and be like, “I’m the last person who could play that role!”  Would that be awesome?  I mean, yeah!  But, who knows?  They’ve got to do what’s best for the show.

GH’s Maurice Benard had great story in 2018 with the Alzheimer’s storyline involving Sonny’s dad, Mike Corbin (Max Gail).  Had you been checking it out at all?

BRYAN:  I know!   I do keep up with Maurice a lot.   We are good friends.

To remind those who have not seen the trailer to Grand Hotel check it out below.  Will you be watching Bryan in his exciting new role on Grand Hotel? Will you be OK with a Morgan recast on GH, or hope the show will wait for Bryan to return one day? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

Ava Jerome (Maura West) got an eyeful on Thursday’s episode of General Hospital when she finds Carly (Laura Wright) gagged and knocked out in the trunk of “Kevin’s” (Jon Lindstrom) car.  Just then, Carly begins to open her eyes, but Ava is stunned when she finds “Kevin” standing behind her.   When Ava is trying to process what she just saw and her groom’s reaction to the sight of Carly in the truck of his car, he tosses it off, and lets her know he has a handle on everything and to go back to their motel room and wait for him.

Later, in their motel room in Niagara falls, Ava considers calling 911, but in that moment decides against, and begins to think that “Kevin” has had a mental breakdown as he has in the past.  When he shows up, “Kevin”asks Ava to trust him,  But when Ava asks why Carly was in the trunk of his car, he responds that it’s a wedding gift for his bride-to-be.

Meanwhile, the manhunt is on for Ryan Chamberlain as the real Kevin Collins has now been admitted to General Hospital.  Chase (Josh Swickard) fills Lulu (Emme Rylan) in on what is going down and she finally remembers it was Ryan, not Franco (Roger Howarth), who stabbed her, and she was his victim when Ryan hypnotized her to believe Franco was the serial killer.

Laura (Genie Francis)is on her way to Niagara Falls with Jason (Steve Burton), who is going to find Carly and bring her home as he is worried sick about his best friend.  Cameron (William Lipton) who is in the Falls with Joss (Eden McCoy)and Oscar (Garren Stitt), who has had a major seizure, runs into Ryan, but doesn’t know it, until he has a phone call with Liz  (Rebecca Herbst) who fills him in that Franco is not the murderer, but Ryan is.  Cameron has the tip to help all, with the name of the motel where Ryan is at.  Liz phones Laura and she and Jason head off to find the motel..

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When Jason and Laura arrive at the cabin, Laura stays in the car as Jason grabs his gun and heads to Ryan’s room.   When an unnerved Ava tries to  tell “Kevin” that he must let Carly go and bring her back to Port Charles safely before they get married, he informs  Ava there is nothing for her to worry about.  He has already taken Carly five miles east of the motel.  Next thing you know, the scene transitions to a shot of Carly lifeless on the ground.  We go back to Jason, who kicks down the  door to Ryan’s room with his gun drawn.

So, what did you think of Ava’s reaction to a kidnapped Carly in the trunk of Ryan’s car? What will happen when Ava realizes she is with Ryan Chamberlain? Share your thoughts as this story heads to its major conclusion, or is it?