General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Nikolas Takes Down Valentin And Ava Has A Surprise Announcement
On Monday’s did-not-disappoint episode of General Hospital, long-awaited confrontations, and shockers were the order of the day that gave cast members: Genie Francis (Laura), Cynthia Watros (Nina), James Patrick Stuart (Valentin)and Marcus Coloma (Nikolas)and palette to shine on, and that they did. Add to that, a surprising twist featuring Maura West (Ava)and you had great performances all around.
In story, in the middle of Valentin and Nina’s wedding, bursting through the doors of Wyndemere is a water-soaked Nikolas with Ava in his arms. Next, a stunned Laura runs over to her son. Meanwhile, Ava accuses Valentin of trying to kill her and he throws back to all in attendance that she was drunk. Nikolas triumphantly tells Valentin that he is about to lose everything. Nikolas explains that he has Mikkos’ codicil and it gives the entire Cassadine estate to him. Valentin says he is lying, but Nikolas says that Valentin is Helena’s bio-son and not a Cassadine!
Courtesy/ABC
As the two men throw barbs at each other, Laura and Lulu (Emme Rylan) get Nikolas out of the room, Next, Valentin turns to Nina and he has figured out she knew about Nikolas. It is then he realizes, she planned to hurt him as payback at their wedding. Nina admits to Valentin she knows the truth about Sasha (Sofia Matteson) and his entire part in the cover-up and deception, and Liesl (Kathleen Gati) told her about the DNA tests. Nina reveals that if he’d only told her the truth, he could have put a stop to what has become of the wedding … a sham. Valentin admits to Nina that he just may not have the skill set to love her.
Courtesy/ABC
Now we turn to Nikolas, as he tells his family how he survived Valentin’s gunshot over three years ago. He tells Laura, Lulu ad Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), how in discovering the truth about the will, he had to be very strategic on how he would return and how best to make his move to ensure that he beat Valentin. Just then, Laura slaps her son and reads him the riot act for what he did to his son, Spencer, and how she had to put him in a boarding school in another continent to keep him safe. Laura says she hates Valentin, but what he has done pales in comparison to what Nikolas did to his own son for the price of revenge.
Courtesy/ABC
Then, Ava interrupts the group and announces that she and Nikolas are getting married tonight, and that they have to get ready for the ceremony, to which Laura and Lulu are absolutely stunned. Fade to black.
So, what did you think of the episode and the performances contained within? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
Valentin is da`man!!
It has just begun.
to say Nilkolis has taken down Valentin is ridiculous.
Valentin has game he will survive, easily.
Helena would advise;
never ever discount Valentin, ever.
((of course, it depends on the writers, how they can screw it all up ahaa))
Admittedly one of the best episodes in many moons. Terrific work from Genie and from Cynthia Watros who, for me, has finally assimilated Nina’s character. Typical idiocy from the Port Charles PD believing the man over the woman (Ava just decided to jump off the balcony for a midnight swim?). But I’m leery of all the threats flying; I want to see action. As far as Ava & Nikolas as a couple… I’m not there yet. And the teenage romance quadrangle? I thought summer was over!
i was wondering about the Sasha/Nina story-who was her father…wouldnt it had been Finn??? but he want involved in that story!!!
It would have been Silas Clay, I believe. And he was murdered by Madelaine, if I remember correctly. But both characters have been played by Michael Easton.
Maybe it’s just me, Jim, but I’m totally confused right now regarding who Sasha is or isn’t. I guess that comes from too many of those dime-a-dozen paternity tests floating around.
Hey, Soaphound,
I am in love with Nikolas—not because he’s so handsome, but because it’s ” different strokes for different folks”—his entire demeanor does it for me. I like the way he interacts wth his mother, as well–yes, the hurt is there—-will prabably always be there, but the friction will dissipate eventually. A mother’s love forgives and it’s irreplaceable.
I think he and Ava are perfect for each other—-the tension only magnifies the “buried” attraction. Ava’s vengeance, if one can call it that, is a ploy on the writers’ part—a technique, if you will.
Teen age love!!! Ahhhh!! How long has it been? Young love!! Ages….yet, it is kind of ‘misplaced’, LOL.
Do you think Sasha is Nina’s daughter, after all is said and done?
The shows have greatly improved lately!
genie francis was amazing……….wow!!
Ever since Dan OConnor name started appearing at the end of October it’s been so good. Hes 33 and the youngest head writer in GH history. I am literally on the edge of my seat.
Dan OConnor is the best new head writer in the biz. Hes only 33 years old btw. Since his name came in credits two months ago the show is a thrill ride. Last two episodes of GH were complete total fire. Theres something fresh about his writing. Anyone else notice a difference since Dan came on?
I didn’t think changing co-head writers would make that much of a difference in the show, but it certainly has. I’ve been thoroughly enjoying it the last several months. I had no idea Dan O’Connor was that young. That was a brilliant decision to promote him, get a younger, fresh perspective in the head writer position, someone that has never been a head writer before, rather than recycling the same names from show to show, like we see so often on soaps.
Bravo to Chris and Dan, they’ve gotten GH on fire again. The way it should be. They have the most talented cast in daytime, in my opinion, it’s about time the writing catches up. Can’t wait to see what they have in store next!
For everything that is holy put Genie with Curtis the chemistry is off the charts! CW has finally begun to show you her skills and not imitating MS
Good show but going back to Nina…during the Nina /Sasha story why wasnt Finn involved-wasnt he the father???
So Val the Bastard is still a bastard but he ain’t the bastard we all thought he was??
Helena had a side piece while Mikkos was off trying to freeze the world?
Let me guess…. Faison. Since he & Helena obviously knew each other well, why not in the “biblical” sense?
Which makes Val & Whiny Heiny brothers. And I’d actually buy that before I would buy Val being Alexis’s brother, so why the Hell not?
That doesn’t mean either one of them need to stick around long term though. Especially not Heiny!
I love how both Anna & Nina reacted to Valentin with her emotions. Made you feel sorry for Valentin. Is Anna really in love with Valentin? I am hoping Valentin has a plan.
GH has been very good. the elephant in the room is the new actor that plays Nick. He is too young, has no chemistry with Laura and the actor is only average. What they should have done is have Tyler Christopher crash Nina’s wedding, holding Ava in his arms. THAT would have been a shock to us viewers. Why not hire Tyler back and support someone who has issues and his GH friends would be there for him, as well. BUT, Hollywood doesnt give many second chances. And by the way, Ava falls off the balcony, Nick just happens to be there to save her and not a scratch on her! Hmmm?
Amen, Timm! The new Nick hissing four or five words at a time is driving me crazy. Maybe the slap LUra gave him will get him to spit it out in sentences instead of disjoined phrases. The poor guy even pauses for commas, while acting frienzed and frantic. He has to be exhausted at the end of his scenes. I sure am. He’s a handsome young fellow, but not a good fit for this part. He’s just too young.
Put in the work and sort yourself out and get back to work, Tyler Christopher. Your loyal fans and GH kingdom await some good news from you. No slaps or judgement, Dark Prince. We’re all pulling for you. You’re a fine actor and truly missed.
Nora, I think the powers that be got too caught up in his looks and didnt listen to his delivery close enough. Oh well, what do we do? Nice comment about Tyler. I wish him the best!
Timmm, I totally see where you’re coming from. I’m still giving MC a chance to claim the role. It seems to take some longer than others to “fit in”. But when I compare his scenes to the brilliant work of Mark Grossman on Y&R (also dropped into a tough recast position), I start to worry. In no time, Grossman claimed Adam Newman as his own character and is consistently excellent. But Marcus seems very self-conscious, as extremely good-looking people often are. My advice is to watch himself on tape and try to tone down the tics (the lip pursing is sexy but mostly inappropriate) and the posturing and just be “in the moment”. On the plus side, I like some of his work and he’s so handsome, I hope he begins to connect more with folks. The Ava thing will, hopefully, be a paper marriage only!
I will give him time. It was just such a big return with mainstream characters involved and there just isnt a lot of time to learn the role that EVERYONE is focusing on. Like you said, Mark Grossman nailed the role and has chem with everyone over at Y&R.
not lovin’ new Nic. sorry he looks just a little too young for the role
brian,
I maintain that this new Nic looks too young is because he is! T.C is older and was more appropriately suited to Ava and Laura both .Aren’t these women about the same age?
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.
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
RATINGS: ‘Beyond the Gates’ Inches Closer to ‘General Hospital’ in Total Viewers
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
Y&R’s New Head Writers Share Vision for Genoa City: Contemporary Homage to Bill Bell, Mixing Heightened Escapism and Grounded Reality
THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS Preview: Episodes From New Co-Head Writers, Jamey Giddens and Dan O’Connor, Begin to Air
‘General Hospital’ Casts Ayla Bullington as the New Avery Jerome-Corinthos
‘Days of our Lives’ Celebrates 61st Anniversary: EP Ken Corday Teases New Character’s Arrival in Spring 2027
‘Days of our Lives’ Kyle Pryor Debuts as Dominic Marino and Says of Alleged TV Mom, “Deidre Hall is the Absolute OG, Amazing” (Exclusive)
‘Beyond the Gates’ Emmy Winner Ambyr Michelle Wants to Compete on ‘Dancing with the Stars’: ‘Pick Me’ (Exclusive)
THE BOLD AND THE BEAUTIFUL: Katie Kicks Bill to the Curb … for Now
B&B’s Sydney Bullock Weighs In on Future of Dylan and Will: ‘I Think She Can Hold on to Him for Awhile’ (Exclusive)
‘Days of our Lives’ Veteran James Reynolds Reveals Parkinson’s Diagnosis
Y&R’s Matt Cohen Talks Role as Compassionate Zookeeper in Rom-Com ‘Christmas at the Zoo’
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