General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: The Ryan and Esme Connection Revealed
Putting the ‘creep’ into some scenes with a big revelation had soap fans chatting on the Twitterverse yesterday and today. On Wednesday’s episode of General Hospital, viewers learned what some had suspected that it appears that evil Esme (Avery Pohl) is actually evil Ryan’s (Jon Lindstrom) daughter.
It call came out when Esme, while at Spring Ridge, sneaks into Ryan’s room and sort of admonishes him for speaking out loud where people could hear him, when for months he has been feigning locked-in syndrome, unable to talk, and blew all their months of plotting,
Then, Ryan says, “Actually, I was thinking about you and how you’ve failed me.” Ryan reveals the plot was about breaking up Nikolas (Marcus Coloma) and Ava (Maura West), and she’s been wasting time on Spencer (Nicholas Alexander Chavez) and the teen scene drama. Esme drops to her knees and begs ‘daddy’ to believe in her and she adds, “that he likes it when she calls him ‘daddy”. Ryan responds, “Be careful what you wish for.”
Esme goes on the offensive and threatens to tell Ryan’s twin, Kevin, that he’s been able to talk for months. Next, Ryan grabs Esme arms and reminds her that he is the one in control here and calling the shots … not her.
Ryan insists it’s time for them to go back to the objective, Ava. He tells Esme she needs to get on the good side of Spencer’s parents, especially Spencer’s dad, Nikolas.
“You know what they say, like father like son,” Ryan gloats. Esme is at first not sure where this is going, but then seems to smirk.
In the end, Ryan tells Esme she will get everything her heart desires. Next, Ryan stands up out of his wheelchair and tells her that what’s his is hers … and then adds, “My beautiful, gifted daughter.” We fade to black.
So, if Esme is Ryan’s bio-daughter who is Esme’s mother … or is Ryan lying to Esme to get her to do more of his dirty work? Share your thoughts on the scenes via the comment section below.
I wasn’t one bit surprised by this “revelation” other than that it seemed to be dropped in order to bring us the play-once-a-week teens going to the cabin and sex tape story that’s taken forever to come to light.
Something about the exposition sounded like the writers changed their minds on some of the details. I’d be interested in finding out.
GH seems to have a history of writing story for 13-week cycles and then dropping them for another 13 weeks, much like “Port Charles” used to do. I hope this doesn’t continue to happen, as I want to invest for the long term.
Now, let’s see where Esme and Ryan’s relationship goes.
Rodd, I felt the same way about the shortening of the sex tape tale and I’m happy for it. Trina is one of the best defined characters; only a complete idiot would believe she’d betray a friend like that.
I predict there will be quite a few complete idiots running around.
I think Esme will turn out to be Kevin and Lucy’s daughter, somehow.
You don’t think Kevin would recognize his own daughter, especially since she’s been living in his house for months now. I’m actually surprised he hasn’t noticed the family resemblance enough to realize she’s his niece. Or that Laura hasn’t figured it out, for that matter… though she seems a little more focused on the Cassadines lately.
I don’t know about what Kevin would recognize, but after yesterday’s show with Lucy on talking to Brando’s mom about not meddling in her son’s life, I realized Esme reminds me of a young Lucy Coe. She looks like her and acts like her.
Esme was never a mousy librarian, but the resemblance is definitely there.
Lucy was a rascal back in the day, but I don’t recall her killing anyone, which I suspect Esme did regarding her adoptive parents.
Don’t recall Lucy killing anyone, but she’s covered up a crime or two. She and Alan did hide Victor Jerome’s body after he choked on the necklace after she rejected him.
I believe Kevin knows more than he admits too. I never trusted Kevin because he covers up for his bro
If what I read on another site is true of who Esme’s mother is, we may have to temper our hate and disgust for this girl with a lot of pity.
I like spoilers but do not like revealing them to others who don’t,and sometimes they aren’t true as I sure hope this one isnt.
The Devil called this one months ago, of course. Now they just have to reveal who her mother is. And I’m still saying it’s Harmony… though I’ll be eternally damned if I can imagine a plausible story to explain how she would have known Ryan some 20 years ago when Esme would have been conceived
I’m wondering if they’ll play with timelines somehow and make Felicia Esme’s bio mom.
There was some pretty funky chemistry between Ryan and Esme, so I’m not 100% convinced she’s his daughter.
Regardless, glad to see this storyline moving along and Lindstrom will be getting major screen time again.
Steve
You said “funky chemestry”, well I felt that way about Esme and Nicolas today after he saved her from Carly grabbing her arm. Gosh Esme “acted” like she was getting killed. Do you think that was a self inflicted bruise? Anyway, knowing how devoted Nicolas is to Ava, something was off today as he acted (maybe the right word?) too solicitous of her feelings.
Esme’s bruise likely came from Ryan grabbing her in their cell scene at Spring Ridge the other day.
The implication of attraction between Nikolas and Esme furthers the dumbing down of his character. Call it a flirtation, attraction or whatever, this seems more plot point drivers than true to character.
Under Tyler Christopher, Nik always seemed to be one step ahead of everyone (whether he was doing good or bad things). Marcus Coloma (with the writings taking some responsibility) plays Nik as more reactionary and never appears to really see what’s going on.
Ryan did give her that bruise and she barely flinched while getting it.
It doesn’t matter who plays Nic, the character won’t see it coming. This s/l is purely plot driven.
No, Violet, Miss Esme would never hurt herself. Ryan roughed her up the day before (?) when he was railing at her for disappointing him. Talk about dysfunctional. These two make the Jerome and Cassadine clans seem normal.
The bruise was either self inflicted (we have seen Esme digging her nails into her hands as a “coping mechanism”) or might have been from Daddy Ryan grabbing her, as he suddenly seemed to show a lot of strength for a guy who had been a vegetable for several months. Either way, the bruises were obviously there before Carly grabbed her, and that whole crying performance was obviously staged by Esme to get sympathy from Nikolas.
I have an unholy suspicion here that they’re going to recycle some old Psycho Nelle scripts here and Esme’s going to try to get Nikolas into bed (we already know she likes drugging people) as a way to either blackmail him, or to piss off Ava, or both. And when Spencer finds out about it, she’ll play innocent and claim Nikolas forced her or something. Because (like her daddy) she’s that twisted.
STEVE,SOAPHOUND and SATAN
Thank you all for setting me straight with my very senior moments. I did read elsewhere that Ryan sent Esme to PC with the very purpose of breaking up Nik and Ava, even as far as seducing Nickolas if need be. I just thought dummy Nic was falling for her touchy,feely act but I now think he knew what was really going on. I had totally forgotten about Ryan grabbing her arm the day before. Thanks, guys.
I don’t think she (or Willow) could be Nina’s. Nina’s kid was stolen by her mother more than 20 years ago and Nina’s been on GH for years now. Both girls are just too young.
Nina would have been a complete vegetable at the time Esme was born. I’m a Devil, not a doctor, but I’d be surprised if a woman in that state could even conceive a child… not to mention the borderline necrophilia that would be required to make such a thing possible. That’s a line even Ryan probably wouldn’t cross!
It’s true that Nina gave birth to Psycho Nelle while she was in veggie land, but she was already well into that pregnancy when her mama drugged her, so it was more a matter of things being on “auto pilot” for the last trimester or so.
You’re right, Satan. Though I would also contend that Nina’s current lust for Sonny requalifies her for “vegetable” status. I still think Willow is somehow Nelle’s fraternal twin, like Mariah and Cassie on Y&R.. some kind of delivery room shenanigans.
Fraternal twins really wouldn’t make sense because Phyllis was supposedly present when Nina had her coma baby. And certainly would have known if there were two of them.
I don’t think Willow had anything to do with Nina. The revelation that Harmony isn’t Willow’s real mother probably has less to do with Willow and more to do with who Harmony’s biological child actually is…. and that would be a child born several years later, named Esme.
Willow’s mother can be the anonymous hippie commune member named “Joan”. It’s really not relevant either way. Psycho Nina doesn’t need any more kids. Past or future (Hell help us if the “Sonny Super Sperm” have already got to her)
No, Phyllis was not present when Nina had her baby (or babies). That point has been make specifically on air — likely for the very reason that it opens up the possibility she unknowingly had twins.
Yes, I kinda figured it out with Esme being Ryan‘s supposed daughter. Her mother? Maybe Heather Weber… Or maybe Olivia Jerome, if Ryan and Olivia J. had ever crossed paths.
On a separate note, has anybody done the math about Courtney Matthews death? She passed away in 2006, so wouldn’t that make Nicolas too young to be around the college age?
Interesting thoughts on Heather and Olivia.
Timeline wise, Ryan and Heather could’ve crossed paths. Kevin had Ryan locked away (presumed dead to everyone else) by the late 90s. Heather was institutionalized until shortly before returning to PC with her sudden Luke obsession and “romancing” of Jed Allan’s Edward. Robin Mattson does not appear to be acting anymore so we are unlikely to get any Heather spottings.
Olivia Jerome was presumed dead after Julian shot her around 1990. Not sure where she was in hiding, but connecting her to Ryan might be tough. Esme’s animosity towards Ava could be further explained with an Olivia connection, but it might be a stretch.
Lastly, the pure mention of Courtney this past week was painful enough. Prior to Peter, her pointless character was the last one to long overstay her purpose on the canvas (other examples being anyone Eckerdt and Dawn Winthrop). The props department failed by not updating the grave marker to March 2003 (19 years ago). Courtney died shortly after giving birth to Spencer. This revisionist history of her and Nikolas being meant for each other doesn’t fly as his true love was always Emily (and now Ava). Courtney moved from AJ to Jason to Jax to Nikolas until she bored each of them.
Courtney was always a bore, imo. As far as Esme and Ava, I think Esme’s mad because Daddy One Hand doesn’t want her.
I thought the same thing. Spencer would be 16. And what happened to the month of February? All these dates of birthdays and death dates and Valentine’s day–happening in March??? The show hasn’t been pre-empted that much.
I think that GH shut down production for a few weeks during the Omicron spike.
They delayed the start of taping at the beginning of the year by a week. That doesn’t impact air dates. They should be up-to-date with calendar timing.
Courtney’s gravestone apparently hasn’t been updated since the last SORASing of Spencer.
On the other horn, Joss is now pushing 20 (she was old enough to vote in the 2020 election) even though Jake is 14…. but when Jake allegedly died he was 4 years old, and his kidney was given to Joss who was still in diapers at the time. The fact that they rewrote all of that later so they could make an excuse for Psycho Nelle’s existence doesn’t change the fact that the ages of the kids are way off the track.
We’ve been thinking for months ever since Ryan and Esme’s first encounter that they were possibly related, especially with both being Sociopaths. When she calls him “daddy” it’s almost dirty and their whole conversation gave me the creeps. I need to see more before I can believe Ryan is her “bio daddy”.It’s too sick for me to believe yet.
I’m not at all entertained by this storyline. Especially now. There is already enough bad things happening in the real world beside covid because of another creepy man. Fast forward time for me.
rose
Another creepy man? You are too nice.
Violet…Ohhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!…I have other words for him/it. But I would rather try to rise above him/it with the language I put into the universe.
I really would like Esmae off the show. Period I hate what she is doing to Trista. She does not belong in jail. Esmae is a real creepy person
Not surprised, but Im thinking it’s not his daughter, but his grand niece, being that she’s Kevin granddaughter. Mother being Kevin’s daughter Livvie Locke-Clay, and father being crazy Stephen (Caleb) Clay. Many people say Esme is like a Nelle 2.0, so in my version of her family tree, she is indeed related to Nelle! Stephen Clay’s brother was Silas Clay who was Kiki Jerome’s father (with Ava), and father of Nina’s twins, Willow and Nelle.
In a surprise casting move, General Hospital has recast the role of Serena Baldwin, the biological daughter of Scott Baldwin and the late Dominque Stanton with former The Young and the Restless, and The Bold and the Beautiful actress, Kelly Kruger.
As longtime GH viewers know, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) was actually the surrogate for Scott (Kin Shriner) and Dominique (Shell Danielson), since the latte was dying from an inoperable brain tumor. Sadly, she passed away before Serena was born. If you recall, Scott and Lucy named Serena after Dominique’s family estate, Serenity. TV Insider shared the casting news of Kruger taking over the role previously played by Carly Schroeder.
Kruger expressed on joining GH, “I am so excited to be joining the show “It’s a literal dream come true to finally get to work with Frank Valentini (EP, GH) and Mark Teschner (casting director, GH) after all these years! Daytime has a very special place in my heart, and I have always wanted to work with the actors and writers on this show. I truly believe the level of talent and work they put out is the absolute best.”
Photo: ABC
The actress starts filming today on June 8 at the set of the ABC soap opera. In a statement, Frank Valentini shared, “I am excited to have Kelly Kruger join the cast of General Hospital. She’s a terrific actor and we look forward to working with her.”
Daytime fans remember Kelly from The Young and the Restless where she played the role of Katherine Chancellor’s (the late Jeanne Cooper) granddaughter, Mackenzie Browning from 2002 to 2003 and reprised the role in 2018 and 2019. Later, she appeared in the recurring role of the publicist named Eva on The Bold and the Beautiful (named after longtime VP communications vet, Eva Basler who was recently let go by the show in their behind the scenes layoffs).
SERENA HEADS BACK TO PORT CHARLES
The character of Serena was last seen on-screen in 2017, when she returned to town to mourn her grandfather, Lee Baldwin (the late Peter Hansen). The last time we heard of an update on Serena’s life was back in 2022, when Scott shared he made a trip to the Faroe Islands to see his daughter because she has been arrested for getting in trouble with dolphin hunters.
When Serena returns to Port Charles, she will also have a half-brother on the canvas in Cody Bell (Josh Kelly) as well as Lucy. Will we have more of Scott on the screen too? We shall see.
Since being away from the soaps, Kruger has become a major TikTok influencer and content creator in the beauty world. In fact, Kelly was named TikTok Shop’s Beauty Creator of the Year in 2025.
Previously, Kruger was married to Darin Brooks (Wyatt Spencer, The Bold and the Beautiful) who also just recently returned to daytime. She opened up about their split back in March. The two share daughters Everleigh Jolie, 6, and Gemma Wynter, 4.
As a preview of what’s to come, Kruger commented on Threads, “This is the absolute perfect fit and I can’t wait for you all to meet Serena!!!!! There is truly no world like the soap world. The fans, the community and the family. I’m so so grateful.” Since GH generally tapes six weeks in advance of air, fans can expect to see Kelly as Serena later in July, although no official first airdate is available at this time.
What do you think of General Hospital bringing back the character of Serena Baldwin and casting Kelly Kruger in the part? Who do you think Serena will be a new love interest for on the canvas? Could it be Ethan Lovett or someone else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Weekly Promo: Lucas Puts His Life on the Line, Cassius is Enraged at Cullum Over His Mutter
It’s a pressure cooker week on all-new episodes of General Hospital beginning today on Monday, June 8. In the newly released video teaser promo for the ABC daytime drama series, it appears anger management may be needed, before its too late!
First, Portia’s (Brook Kerr) baby shower will be a tension-filled affair with Isaiah (Sawandi Wilson), and Curtis (Donnell Turner) and Jordan (Tanisha Harper) arm and arm. Isaiah informs Portia, “I’ve decided to take Curtis to court myself.” Then, we see asking none other than Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) Davis if she would defend him in the case, where he is being accused of assaulting Dr. Gannon and thus ending his surgical career because of the injuries sustained in his hand. Can this baby shower even be a happy moment for Portia?
Meanwhile, Cassius (Ryan Paevey) is enraged to learn that Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) has kidnapped his mother, Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) to finish Faison’s final project in the absence of his sister, Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) who is MIA along with Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr). Then, Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is seen with an unconscious Obrecht next to her, realizing she has a kidnap mate! Will Cassius continue to lock-up his own mutter?
Courtesy/ABC
CORNERED FOR A CRIME HE DID NOT COMMIT
Then, it looks like Dr. Lucas Jones’ (Van Hansis) plans to get Sidwell (Carlo Rota) caught in the process of an attempted murder (his own!) has gone awry. Lucas has been making his presence known to Sidwell. As Sidwell is still unsure who actually killed his son, Marco Rios (Adrian Anchondo), having no knowledge that its his partner in crime Cullum who stabbed the man to death, he now believes Lucas did the deed.
While outside of the construction site for the Marco Rios Tennis Center, Sidwell armed with a gun corner Lucas and shouts, “You got Marco killed!” Will Sonny (Maurice Benard) be able to save Lucas, before it’s too late? If so, will this be the high-profile arrest previously teased in our GH spoilers for the week of June 8-12, where by the end of the week, Chase (Josh Swickard) handcuffs someone and takes them to the PCPD. Could it be Lucas instead? Stay tuned.
Take a look at the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “All Roads,” below.
Now weigh-in: Do you think, Cassius will work with Liesl and Josslyn with a plan to double-cross Sidwell and Cullum? Will Sidwell be arrested for trying to kill Lucas or someone else? Do you care about the Isaiah and Curtis drama over the punch that injured D. Gann, and if so, do you hope this goes to court? Let us know via the comment section.
General Hospital
Kirsten Storms Addresses ‘General Hospital’ Status, Restraining Order Filed by Brandon Barash, and Clarification on Alleged Break-In
Late Sunday night on June 7, longtime General Hospital, Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones), shared a personal and professional update addressing elements of her ex-husband Brandon Barash’s (ex-Johnny, GH and Stefan/Jake, DAYS) restraining order against her, the continued issues she has faced with her alleged apartment break-in when she was away from her home in Tennessee, and what her GH fans want to know, if she might be coming back anytime soon to the ABC daytime drama series.
“I’m sure some of you guys have read the stories online regarding a situation involving something my ex-husband is currently trying to claim,” began Kirsten in her new Instagram post. “Because I did see one story online stating I reported the apartment break-in AFTER he filed something against me in court, I really need to address this entire issue.”
Back in April, a report from TMZ surfaced that Barash filed a restraining order last year citing concerns of Storms ‘behavior” and “great concern of (Kirsten’s) ability to adequately care for their minor child,” citing from September 2024 until June of 2025, Kirsten never maintained a permanent residence, and either stayed with friends or at hotels.” Brandon and Kirsten share a daughter, Harper Rose, who is now 12.
Photo: JPI
COMMUNICATION TIMELINE
In her Instagram post, Kirsten continued, “Not only because the records/evidence will show those stories are completely false (the break-in happened and was reported to the building and Franklin PD before he filed anything in court), but also because ‘it puts my safety in a dangerous position for anyone to try and shift focus away from the fact that there was a person regularly entering my residence while I was out of town for medical appts in St Louis.'”
“You can see from my previous posts that the damage to the lock on my apartment door was extensive and obvious. I took that photo in August of last year – months before Brandon filed anything in court, I was also speaking with the people who worked in the leasing office of the building (in person and via email), attempting to get answers on the damage to my door and wanting to know about locating building camera footage,” explained Storms.
“This communication also started the first week of August. I waited to post about the break-in on my Instagram for a few months. I had already moved out of the building and honestly, it’s been something that is difficult to accept happened pretty much as soon as I moved out here. Choosing to take time off from work (for my own personal reasons) was a ‘leap of faith’ kind of moment for myself. Seeking a ‘quality a life” kinda thing?’,”concluded the actress.
THE DIFFICULT TRANSITION IN MOVING TO TENNESSEE
“Moving to Tennessee, as a single mom who lives alone 50% of the time, with a newly discovered brain aneurysm….well, I don’t think I need to explain how upsetting this entire situation has been for me. Realizing that not only was my apartment/space/privacy being violated, but this person also gained access to my WiFi and cellphone *while in my apartment* (the Franklin PD has received evidence on all of this – resulting in an investigation). I haven’t been online much because of how the circumstances have been twisted into something that it shouldn’t be. This has been a very serious thing for me to go through.”
As per usual, Storms has had to weather the good, the bad and the naysayers in her social media posts. She took a moment to also acknowledge those who are sending her good thoughts along the way during her struggles, “Thank you for the encouraging DM’s and good vibes being sent my way. I have no doubt this will be handled in the correct way and I will feel comfortable remaining in Tennessee.”
A FUTURE IN PORT CHARLES?
As to the potential of her returning to General Hospital, it doesn’t sound like Kirsten will be back anytime soon. “Given what’s been going on, I can’t say I will feel comfortable heading back to Los Angeles and returning to work, explained Storms. “This has been an eye opening experience about the downside of my profession. My daughter is my entire life, she is (and always will be) my first priority.”
You can check out Kirsten’s full post below.
Given what Kirsten has shared, do you think GH should continue to do as they have been, resting the character of Maxie off-screen? Do you think they should address her absence in the story somehow? What do you think about the continued battle the actress is having with the alleged break-in? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
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