General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Laura Recalls Formula to Stop Mikkos Cassadine’s Weather Machine In Nod to 80’s ‘Ice Princess’ Storyline
Last time, someone saved Port Charles from a deep freeze, it was Luke Spencer (Tony Geary). This time it was the love of his life, Laura Collins (Genie Francis) who did the trick and saved the day! But that was just one heart-stopping moment among others on Friday’s suspenseful episode of General Hospital.
As had been teased by GH head writers, Chris Van Etten and Dan O’Connor, along with GH EP, Frank Valentini, the 60th anniversary of the show would feature a throwback to the original iconic ‘Ice Princess’ storyline, featuring many beloved vets, while bringing in the next gen.
In Greenland, Curtis (Donnell Turner) and Laura have infiltrated Victor Cassadine’s (Charles Shaughnessy) bunker which was the retreat his father, Mikkos Cassadine would hide in while trying to take over the world. Laura comes upon an old-style computer where she recognizes the weather machine program on it. Shocked, she explains to Curtis how the original weather machine used carbonic snow to create blizzards, but it was destroyed years ago. Laura realizes that this computer is running the same program. When Curtis questions her, it dawns on them that there must be a second weather machine out there that the computer connects to. Laura firmly says Mikkos never did anything without a reason.
Now in 2023, Curtis realizes there are two weapons at play here, the pathogen and the weather machine, when Laura figures out the target of the weather machine is Port Charles. When we cut to Port Charles, Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst), Portia (Brook Kerr) and Jordan (Tanisha Harper) are looking out a window at ‘General Hospital’ and watching snow fall. They are curious as to why there would be snow in May, although they brush it off.
Meanwhile, Laura recalls to Curtis that she is the one who saw the formula for the weather machine. She had buried in her brain when she burned the paper with the code on it. However, she memorized it. In a throwback clip, Laura remembers Robert (Tristan Rogers) telling her he always feared someone would come after her because of it. Asking Curtis if he trusts her, she then enters the formula with the one-shot to terminate the program. Her attempt is successful, one problem solved, but more danger looms.
Courtesy/ABC
Elsewhere, Valentin (James Patrick Stuart), who was given the pathogen, thinks he is hallucinating seeing Anna (Finola Hughes), because previously he saw Helena (Constance Towers) talking to him. Anna, who is talking to Valentin through a window from outside his isolation room, promises it is really her. She wants to get a hazmat suit for him, but Valentin says it’s too late for that. Somehow, Anna gets into the room, and is now exposed to the pathogen. ‘Vanna’ talks about their connection and love for one another knowing their fates may be sealed. But hold on! Holly Sutton (Emma Samms) has arrived after her showdown with Victor and has the antidote! Great performances here from James Patrick Stuart and Finola Hughes.
After Liesl (Kathleen Gati) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) are OK following their confrontation with Victor, they call Carly (Laura Wright) and then tell Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) that Liesl will be back to give her the bone marrow she needs to survive.
Courtesy/ABC
Victor, who has escaped, yet again, winds up back on the Haunted Star along with his pathogen-carrying canister. He is furious at learning from Holly that she rendered him impotent when she slipped something back in his drink a few months back. Victor learns Spencer (Nick Chavez) took off with Ace and Trina (Tabyana Ali). He intends to leave without his family. Victor pours himself a drink and says he need to get the pathogen and antidote someplace safe. When he opens up the canister, he screams “No!” Next, Spencer shows up. He demands his uncle hand over the pathogen. Victor says he’ll have to rip it out of his cold dead fingers. Spencer says “fine” and then proceeds to slam his head into the bar.
Courtesy/ABC
On the island, Trina with baby Ace in tow meets up with Curtis and Laura. She warns them of the airstrike, but they tell her its been called off from its original destination and now the WSB is sending a drone strike directly targeted at the Haunted Star. Trina panics realizing Spencer is on the boat. As bomb sounds go off, Spencer is stunned.
What did you think of the action-adventure, escapades, villainy and heroism and the nod back to the 80’s ‘Ice Princess’ storyline during this episode and this storyline? Share your thoughts in the comment section below.
I remember it well….when Laura found the code and memorized it. I remember Robert showing concern. That part of the original story was always kinda sitting there, unaddressed. I imagine Gloria Monty might have intended to revisit it one day had Genie not left GH. I like that these writers used it for the 60th anniversary.
I’d say the odds are probably against Laura remembering a chemical formula some 40 years later, especially since she was a vegetable for a good chunk of that time, and one would think that might wipe some stored memories.
But she got to save the day at least. Might have been better if she got to throw Victor into the freeze chamber, like Luke did to Mikkos back in the day, rather than him getting blown up by a drone strike.
Didn’t they already replay the freeze chamber thing with Stavros when they made the switch from JLB to ER as Lulu?
“Especially since she was a vegetable” gave me a good chuckle.
With Faison, Helena and Victor all gone, it’s time to bring back another classic villain. Frank should be on the phone to Brian Patrick Clarke to reprise Grant Putnam (and of course you’d want his dog back, too). Maybe Heather and Grant run into each other at Darkham?
Yes this is Exciting that now Victor will be STOP Once and for All, The Team came Though and Yes they all put up a Fight. I CONGRATULATIONS them All. The Writer’s Did an Great Job on this One. So Now get them all Home Safely to Port Charles with there Family.
Much LoVe GH.
Tina Greene,
I think you are jumping the gun here. There is more coming before they can get back including Valentin’s fate and another beloved character dies I think. Unless they show Victor’s dead body, I’ll never believe he’s dead.
While I appreciated the homage to the original storyline, there’s quite a bit to comment on:
Why was the second weather machine introduced and wrapped up all in the same episode? It would’ve had more meaning if Robert (or Bobbie) saw the snow and said “oh, no this can’t be happening again.” Or even if Elizabeth mentioned her grandmother telling her about the time it froze in August.
All the story about how the antidote was untested and Liesl trusts Holly (who has no medical training) to administer it to Valentin?
Farewell to Charles Shaughnessy. It took a while to accept him as Victor, but he brought his all. Had to shake my head a few weeks back when they asked Alexis what she remembered of Victor growing up. After all, CS is only a year older than NLG (Thaao 11).
Elsewhere in PC…
Looks like they’re writing Nina into a corner. Don’t the writers know the audience doesn’t want to see Carly win all the time?
For a show that takes place in a hospital, Willow looked the best stage 4 cancer patient ever. If her body was in the state that TJ described, it would be too late for the bone marrow transplant. And, where is Terry? Second to Leslie Charleson, Cassandra James absence is very noticeable.
Oh, and Michael, a correction – the love of Luke Spencer’s life was himself.
And incidentally where is Taggart? Has no one informed him about Trina? He raised her yet Curtis is the only “dad” worthy of knowing she’s missing.
The latest ratings are out for the week of October 26-30, 2026 and the big takeaways include: that CBS daytime’s Beyond the Gates was separated by only 23,000 viewers behind third place (of the soaps) General Hospital! For the last several weeks, Beyond the Gates has been closing the gap on this year’s winner for Outstanding Daytime Drama Series, and continuing to best GH in the key demos.
According to the latest Nielsen ratings breakdown from Soap Opera Network, the final week of October brought Beyond the Gates 1.790 million on average tuning-in and the show set a season high in total viewers. Meanwhile, General Hospital hit a new season low! The long-running ABC soap had 1.813 million for the week, and once again the series did not go over the 2 million mark.
Meanwhile, in the key Women 18-49 demo, Beyond the Gates was firmly ahead of GH with a rating share of 0.21, while General Hospital had 0.17 rating share.Then, in the key Women 25-54 demo, Beyond the Gates was once again ahead of the ABC soap with a ratings share for that demo at 0.30 while GH came in with 0.26.
Photo: CBS
MORE BY THE NUMBERS
In addition and comparatively, Beyond the Gates +22,000 viewers week-to-week, and had the largest gains in viewership year-to-year in daytime TV with +267,000 from this in 2025.. However, General Hospital seems to be going in reverse. The show was down -56,000 viewers week-over-week and down -22,000 year-over-year .
BEYOND THE GATES
Let’s take a look at some of the storylines that had people tuning-in to Beyond the Gates during the ratings week:
Hayley (Marquita Goings) attempted a massive shocker regarding her pregnancy and tried to use it to extract money from Bill Hamilton (Timon Kyle Durrett). Although, Bill saw right through her game, he demanded a paternity test, and made it clear he has no intention of raising the child—planning instead to pay her off to take the baby and leave. Meanwhile, Hayley confided her plan to her cousin Randy (Maurice P. Kerry).
Jacob Hawthorne (Jibre Hordges) and Naomi Hamilton (Arielle Prepetit) clashed over Jacob’s ongoing investigation into The Impaler, causing significant strain in their marriage. At the same time, Smitty (Mike Manning) considered taking matters into his own hands—including potentially heading to Mexico for evidence—while Martin Richardson (Brandon Claybon) worried about what comes next.
Photo: ABC
GENERAL HOSPITAL
Over at General Hospital for the ratings period, the story served up included:
Carly (Laura Wright) and Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) teamed up to investigate what really happened to Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna). Later, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) leads them to Jack’s dead body.
Jude (Wil Traval) dropped a bombshell claim to Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn); that he is Phoebe’s father, while Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard) signed their divorce papers.
Then, Danny caught Rocco (Finn Carr) and Scout (Kayden Brenna Tokarski) sharing a kiss, plus the shocking return of Heather Webber (Alley Mills) capped the week.
Now the questions become; without having much promotional synergy in the ABC day-part to draw more eyeballs it is not helping but hurting General Hospital. It seems Beyond the Gates is also a benefactor of a one-two-three punch of CBS soaps (Y&R, B&B and BTG) and promotion.
However, that still doesn’t take away the fact that Beyond the Gates is close to besting GH in all ratings category as they go head-to-head in some markets across the country.
So, are you excited to see Beyond the Gates climb in the ratings? Are you concerned for General Hospital? Do you think they can stave off Beyond the Gates in total viewers or will the upstart soap overtake them in the next ratings report? Share your thoughts in the comment section.
Antonio Sabáto Jr., the former Jagger Cates of General Hospital and GH: Night Shift, and the former Dante Damiano of The Bold and the Beautiful has issued his first public statement since the incident involving his son, Jack’s arrest in Alaska for a fatal hit-and-run.
Jack is the son of Sabáto Jr. and Oscar-nominated actress Virginia Madsen, and according to court documents obtained by KTUU Jack, was allegedly driving a white Chevy Tahoe when he hit and killed Carl Simmonds, 42, near an intersection in Anchorage around 5:35 a.m. on Monday, November 9.
The reports indicated that Jack fled the scene — but later decided to called the cops to say he hit “something” that “suddenly appeared in the road” while he was “doing late-night DoorDashing.”
Photo: NBC
Now, Antonio has taken to his Instagram breaking his silence on the situation, sharing, “At this time, my family and I are navigating an extremely sensitive and deeply personal matter.”
He added, “As a father, my love for my children remains unconditional, and my priority is the well-being of my family. We ask that the public and members of the media honor our privacy during this difficult time and keep us all in your thoughts and prayers.”
The soap alum concluded, “I also wish to extend my heartfelt condolences to the family and loved ones of the gentleman who tragically lost his life. My thoughts and prayers are with them as well. We sincerely appreciate your compassion, understanding, and respect for the privacy of everyone affected.”
Jack Sabáto was arraigned in court on Tuesday, November 10 with bail set at $5,000, and a no-driving order and the potential of $5,000 penalty fees if he fails to attend future court appearances.
Antonio is the father to Jack, 34, daughter, Mina Sabato, 24 and son, Antonio Sabáto III, 15.
This is a developing story. You can check out Antonio’s official statement below.
So, let us know your thoughts on this tragic hit-and-run, which claimed the life of another man, and Antonio’s statement, via the comment section below.
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Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Ava’s (Maura West) daughter Avery looks quite different, starting on today’s November 9 episode of General Hospital. That’s because GH has made Avery into a full-blown teenager and the role is now being played by actress Alya Bullington.
In her debut, the Tennessee native was thrown into the deep soap waters with Daytime Emmy winners, Maurice Benard and Eden McCoy (Josslyn). Bullington weighed-in to TV Insider about her first scene which featured Avery overhearing a fight between Sonny and Josslyn.
She explained “It was something I have never done before, I did not have a lot of experience with the screaming and the crying stuff, but I got my first script, and I was like, ‘OK, this is a huge opportunity to learn so much about how that stuff works and to become this character that I have never even tried playing before.’”
Photo: ABC
THE TEENAGED VERSION OF AVERY WILL HAVE A LOT TO CONTEND WITH
Speaking of working with McCoy, Bullington shared, “She’s incredible. I remember her just laughing and making jokes on set, and then the minute that they started taping, she just locked in and she cried immediately, and my first thought was, ‘I want to be able to do that.’
The soap opera newcomer added, “I think she just inspired me so much because she is so great and she can just lock into whatever character she wants to in the moment.”
The character of Avery was born back in 2014, but as recently as the October 8 episode of General Hospital, the character was suddenly referred to as a teenager. This is the second young female character in recent months to be aged up following the casting of Kayden Brenna Tokarski as Scout Cain.
As for her take on Avery and what’s ahead, Alya said,“She’s emotional, and she’s curious, and she’s a really fun person to play because so much stuff is happening in her life. I think she’s kind of confused about what’s happening and what to believe.”
So, what do you think about General Hospital making Avery a teenager? Are you excited to see the conflict between Sonny, Ava and Avery now that they have aged up the character? Share your thoughts and welcome Alya to GH via the comment section below.
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B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
Antonio Sabáto Jr. Breaks Silence on His Son’s Arrest for Fatal Hit-and-Run
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