Simple two-person scenes that most soap opera fans long for were the order of the day in a special love letter to longtime viewers tied with a nice bow, as well as saying goodbye to the beloved Susan Brown (Dr. Gail Baldwin).  The actress passed away at the end of August of last year.

Using the history of many iconic characters relationships that are still on the canvas decades later, General Hospital celebrated its 56th anniversary with the airing of this special standalone episode on Tuesday.

In story, Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) has gathered everyone that Gail has requested to be present at the hospital to honor her final wishes. So, Scott (Kin Shriner), Franco (Roger Howarth), Laura (Genie Francis), Lesley (Denise Alexander), Bobbie (Jackie Zeman), Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) Monica (Leslie Charleson), Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), Lucy (Lynn Herring), Maxie (Kirsten Storms), Mac (John J. York), Felicia (Kristina Wagner), Sonny (Maurice Benard), Carly (Laura Wright) and Julian (William deVry) all wind up together at a nurses’ station.

Alexis explains the task at hand at Gail’s request that has each of them receiving a piece of the original blueprint of the hospital.  Next, each person is to go to that location and find an envelope with their name on it and then return to the nurses’ station.  And from there, the story unfolds, putting former enemies, painful memories, and heartfelt enduring relationships to the forefront.

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First, we find Lesley Webber and her longtime nemesis Monica Quartermaine going at in the locker room looking for their envelopes, which featured Lesley calling Monica “a slut” for ole’ time sake!  Next, Bobbie and Felicia find their envelopes by the wall of photos which brings back B.J.’s death and Maxie’s heart transplant that saved her life.

We then find Lucy going through some of her Nurses’ Ball gowns and Monica happens by.  Lucy finds a pocket square of Dr. Alan Quartermaine, and then tells Monica how badly she feels that she treated so bad, and that Alan would want his true love, Monica, to have the pocket square.

This episode though, truly belonged to Kin Shriner, who brought the anguish of a grown-up son now having lost both his parents.   =When Scott sees Laura, she is trying to help him figure out his piece of the blueprint.  He shares that he remembers Gail dragging him back to Port Charles kicking and screaming, but how if it was not for her, Laura would have never been in his life.  When Laura finds the envelope meant for him, he shares that he hopes it contains advice about how to continue on without Lee (the late Peter Hansen) and Gail.

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Then, in a hankie-inducing moment, Franco apologizes to his dad for working undercover with Jordan and not telling him.  Scott understands, as it reminds him of how he treated his parents in much the same way.  An emotional Scott tells Franco he loves him and he will never turn his back on him.  Because of Franco, Scott now understands what his own parents went through and the two men hug, sort of.

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At the hospital chapel, Sonny and Laura talk about how she knew that the mobster was a good guy right from the start, and the two touch upon their mental health issues.  Maxie thanks Mac for being there as her father, while Mac says he never thought he would be a stay-at-home dad, but wouldn’t have traded that experience for anything.

Epiphany and Liz have a nice moment about the nursing profession and being there for each other, Carly tells Bobbie she’s pregnant, Julian and Alexis share a close moment.  And later, Scott and Bobbie discuss their past which ends in a friendly hug.   Also, Sonny comes down the hospital stairs and looks up and see the Stone Cates Memorial plaque in remembrance of the fight against HIV/AIDS and a nod to that landmark storyline on GH.

Kevin and Lucy cross paths, and he clarifies he loves Laura.  Lucy says even still she will stand by him.   When they go to the hospital chapel to find the envelope for Kevin, Laura is there waiting.  Lucy bows out.   Kevin says he will always love Laura.

Once everyone returns to the nurse’s station with their envelopes, it’s time they open it at the same time.  But what was in it?  Confetti!   When Alexis reads more of Gail’s letter, she tell everyone that they all need to carry if forward, and do some amazing things. and Gail thanks them for coming and being her friend.

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Just then, Scott leaves the group and walks to the GH memorial wall and unveils a photo of Gail.   What followed was a montage of many of the moments discussed earlier in the two-person scenes, which was a clever way to let the characters and the dialogue speak for themselves, and go to the clips at the end of the episode.

How nice it was to see moments with Kin Shriner, Genie Francis, Jackie Zeman, Denise Alexander, Leslie Charleson and many more!

What did you think of GH’s 56th anniversary episode? What did you think of the performance of Kin Shriner? Genie Francis. etc? Share your thoughts and review via the comment section below. But first, watch the final emotional moments and montage of the 56th anniversary episode below, as the song “Good Times” an original composition by Becky Shaheen and Gavin Linnahan, written for this standalone episode, accompanies the action.