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.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell to Chat Live on the Michael Fairman Channel

The former Michael Corinthos of General Hospital, Chad Duell, will participate in a livestream chat to discuss his new foray into music, his time on the ABC soap opera and much more. Circle, Wednesday, August 19 beginning at 7pm ET/4pm PT, when Chad visits You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.
Recently, Duell has launched a new side of himself under the musical name “Duelly” and has released two EDM-style tracks. The most recent, Static in the Quiet Room which dropped in August, and previously If You Need Me which dropped in June. In his new musical venture, Chad is said to primarily be the songwriter, producer and pianist on his tracks.
Previously, Chad stepped away from his Daytime Emmy-winning role as Sonny (Maurice Benard) and Carly’s (Laura Wright) son after a nearly 15-year run. A decision he made towards the end of 2024. Viewers last saw his version of Michael on the January 21, 2025 episode where Michael was recovering from severe burns and injuries suffered in the penthouse explosion at Sonny’s. The character was recast with Rory Gibson, who debuted at the end of May 2025 during the GH Nurses’ Ball.

Photo: JPI
CHAD ON DECISION TO STEP AWAY FROM GENERAL HOSPITAL
Chad has previously sat down for a conversation on The Able Show seven months ago, where he doubled-down on his decision to walk away from General Hospital when he did. Duell explained, “I’m blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have. But what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened.”
Sadly, Duell suffered the devastating loss of his beloved father in 2024, which also was very difficult for him as he detailed, sharing, “On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”

Photo: CDuellIG
BEING A DAD TO SON DAWSON
In addition, after exiting General Hospital, Chad had been busy raising his young son, Dawson who will be 3 on August 30, along with his partner, Luana Lucci, while continue his aspirations of putting out music and continuing his acting.
If you have a question, you would like posed to Chad during the live broadcast, but cannot be with us on Wednesday, drop it in the comment section below and we just might ask in live on the air! For upcoming celebrity features, livestreams and special event coverage make sure to “subscribe” to the Michael Fairman Channel.
So, would you like to see Chad find success with his music, return to the soaps on another show in a new role? If so, where? Let us know via the comment section.
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL: Is ‘Jarly’ the Best Relationship in Soaps? Should Jason Go Work for the Quartermaines?

General Hospital’s Carly (Laura Wright) and Jason’s (Steve Burton) bond will never been broken, and they reaffirmed that on the Friday, August 14 episode of the ABC soap opera.
For the first time since making his decision to leave the mob and work for Sonny (Maurice Benard), Jason sits down with Carly in her kitchen and breaks the news to her. She is shocked.
Jason explains that his time in Jakarta imprisoned by the WSB gave him time to think, and that he came to the realization his priorities are mixed up and he needs to put his son, Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) first. When Carly asked how Sonny took the news, a tearful Jason explains that Sonny understood. Carly defends Jason’s decision as the right one.

Photo: ABC
The two share a heartfelt moment from across the kitchen table when Carly takes Jason’s hand and acknowledged how difficult it must be for him, considering his loyalty to Sonny all these years. That prompted Jason to apologize to Carly for the all times that his loyalty to Sonny had to come first over his loyalty to her. Carly says she married Sonny five different times and had his children. She understands it’s difficult to walk away and about loyalty, through her tears.
LIFE AFTER SONNY
When Carly asks Jason what is he going to do now, Jason tells his bff he hasn’t figured that out yet. Carly can’t believe she’s going to say this, but the Quartermaines could use his help. She believes Jason has a perspective that could help Ned (Wally Kurth) and Michael (Rory Gibson) at ELQ and Tracy (Jane Elliot) would love to have Jason at the company. Jason says he has to think about, and that it can’t interfere in his relationship with his son.
At the end of the discussion, Jason and Carly love lives are brought up. Let’s not forget, they previously married each other in September of 2021. This is when Sonny was presumed dead, only to show up before the final paperwork was signed, which nullified the best friend’s marriage to each other, and they suddenly went back to being friends.
NO QUESTIONS ON THEIR CURRENT LOVE LIVES
Now in 2026, Carly wonders if Jason told Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) he has left the mob, to which he informs her he hasn’t told her yet, while Carly tells Jason she will keep her relationship with Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) out of their friendship.
They both know the other is not too happy with their current romantic partners. But, whether Jason and Britt can actually get back on sound footing, and pick up where they left off before Jason was taken by the WSB, is still left to be seen.
In the end, any scenes that showcase the ongoing bond between Jason and Carly in the hands of Steve Burton and Laura Wright, is always moving and played to perfection by these two long-running staples of the General Hospital brand.
So this all begs a few questions: Should Jason go work for the Quartermaines? Do you think it would be interesting to see him in business, or do you think he would hate it and be bored? Do you think of all the friendships on the current landscape of soap operas still on the air that Carly and Jason’s is one of the best? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.
General Hospital
‘General Hospital’s’ Maurice Benard Talks: New ‘Sonny’ Storyline, His Contract, and Three Characters He Would Want to See Back in Port Charles

Three-time Daytime Emmy-winner Maurice Benard teased what’s on deck for General Hospital’s Sonny Corinthos, his future with the soap opera, and just who he would love to see make a return, during an in-depth conversation with ESPN Radio New York host, Ty Butler.
Benard appeared this week on Butler’s You Tube channel, and it’s clear that Butler and his real-life family are deep fans of General Hospital, so he had some pointed questions for Maurice from what’s happening currently in Port Charles to look backs at Sonny’s past.
Now that Sonny has decided to get out of the mob, Benard teased what’s coming up for the apparent “former” mobster, “When (the writers) told me I was out of the mob it didn’t throw me. I was like, ‘let’s see what I can do here.’ There were a lot of people during the hey day of the gangster period (on GH), who did not like it. (They would say) ‘It’s too much Sonny, it’s too much violence.'”

Photo: ABC
WITH SONNY OUT OF THE MOB, WHAT’S NEXT?
However, the long-running GH mainstay added, “I don’t care what I’m doing as long as Sonny maintains power, and that power doesn’t mean killing people, or being a gangster. You can be powerful in business. You can be powerful over here, and I think they’re doing that. I do know the story (coming up) and I can’t say (much more), but it’s really amazing. When I heard about it, I said, “Oh, wow!”‘
This week, Maurice marks his 33rd anniversary in the role of Sonny. It’s a role he began back on-screen on August 13, 1993. But how many years might the popular star have left in the tank to remain in Port Charles? Maurice explained his position on that, “My contract is up February or March (2027). So up until then, I’ll just tell you guys that the upcoming story, I’m very happy with it.”
He added, “I’m not going to retire soon, but I’m at a certain point where I can retire if I wanted. But, I don’t want to as long as I’m happy at GH, and I’ve been happy at GH for a while now. So, they’re going have to kick me out. They’re going to have to say, “Nah, we’ve had enough. Get the hell out.”‘

Photo: JPI
HOW WOULD THE END COME FOR SONNY CORINTHOS IF MAURICE BENARD EVER EXITED GENERAL HOSPITAL?
During their conversation, Butler asked, if the time would come that Maurice were to make an exit from General Hospital, how would he like it to go down. The longtime GH star had an answer that if he were to leave, he should go out on a big cliffhanger. “Something happens to one of his children and it’s his fault. Sonny can’t take it,” explains Maurice on his Port Charles alter-ego. “He goes home, he takes a shot of whiskey. (Then), Sonny goes upstairs and all you hear is BOOM. And it goes to black. Now, if it were a movie, it would work. But let me tell you something … it’s a soap opera. You don’t know if Sonny did it! You don’t know if somebody else did it, set it all up to make him look like he did. You don’t know. So there’s a big story there, right?”
BLASTS FROM THE PAST
When asked by the ESPN radio host, what cast member would he like to see return to the show? Benard named three characters, and they are: Brenda (Vanessa Marcil), Luke (the late Anthony Geary, obviously that was stated as Benard misses him dearly) and Morgan (last played by Bryan Craig).
You can check out the full conversation with Maurice below on the The Ty Butler Show.
Now, let us know, what do you think is the new storyline that is about to kick-off, other than we know Sonny is getting out of the mob, and wants to get Sidwell’s assets and keep them away from Drew? Glad to hear Maurice does not plan on leaving General Hospital anytime soon? And, do you agree with Maurice … would you like to see the characters of Brenda and Morgan come back to the Port Charles canvas? Let us know via the comment section.
-

General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’ Alum, Chad Duell Releases New Music Track, ‘Static in the Quiet Room’
-

General Hospital2 days ago‘General Hospital’s’ Maurice Benard Talks: New ‘Sonny’ Storyline, His Contract, and Three Characters He Would Want to See Back in Port Charles
-

News1 week agoB&B’s Crew Morrow Featured in Courtroom Thriller ‘Wildcards’ Set for Theatrical Release and Tour
-

General Hospital1 week agoLaura Wright Signs New Contract with ‘General Hospital’
-

News3 days agoLucas Adams Lands First Roles Post-Y&R on ABC Crime Drama ‘R.J. Decker’ and a Top Secret Project
-

General Hospital1 week ago‘General Hospital’s’ Finn Carr Weighs-In on Potential Rocco and Scout Teen Romance
-

Days Of Our Lives5 days ago‘Days of Our Lives’ Exec Explains How They Fit John Oliver’s Guest Stint into Production When They Tape Almost a Year in Advance
-

News1 week agoMichael Damian Set to Perform New Music from Album ‘Mixed Emotions’ on ‘The Young and the Restless’ as Danny Lays Down Roots in Genoa City














