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General Hospital’s James Patrick Stuart Delivers the ‘Power Performance of the Week’

By Michael Fairman

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Last week, was not a good one for GH’s Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart).  His father, Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) made him a guinea pig for his insane science project by having Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) inject him with the pathogen, while blackmailing his son for answers (to if he came alone to Greenland, or not) if he wants the antidote to save his life.

Strapped to a chair, Victor and Liesl watch the virus take a hold of Valentin as blood drips from his nose. Victor yells at Valentin that he can end his torture at any moment by talking and admitting who his companions are.

Courtesy/ABC

Cue James Patrick Stuart to delivering the gut-wrenching drama in the next series of scenes which has earned him Michael Fairman TV’s pick for the Power Performance of the Week.

As the pathogen is rendering Valentin delirious and messing with his vision, he believes he is seeing his mother, Helena Cassadine (in a return from Constance Towers).  Valentin begs his mother to help him.  However, Helena laughs and reveals she is not there to save him but to drag him down to hell with her.  Fighting her, Valentin spouts he is not going anywhere, let alone with her.

Helena continues her torment telling her son that everyone he loves will be better out without him, which crushes Valentin. Next, Helena tells him not to fight the pathogen as soon it will be all over.  Suddenly when he looks up, Valentin sees Anna (Finola Hughes) through the observation room window.

Courtesy/ABC

Delusional and thinking he is not really seeing her, Valentin cries out that it’s not Anna, as she fights to make him believe it is.  When Anna finally makes her way into the observation room to be by his side, Valentin is worried that she will become infected with the virus. Next, the scenes between Finola Hughes and Stuart were just so heart-tugging, honest and raw. The two discuss their flaws, their bad sides, their history and why they are drawn to one another, and more.

Throughout all the scenes and in these harrowing moments in the life of Valentin Cassadine, his portrayer, James Patrick Stuart, brought the intensity, the suffering, and the confusion while exposing the emotional root of his character flawlessly.

So, what do you think of our pick for James Patrick Stuart as this week’s ‘Power Performance’? Share your thoughts on the scenes via the comment section below.

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I’m afraid I didn’t buy or feel much with this performance but I don’t find any sparks with Anna & Valentin in the first place. I applaud the attempt at opening up sets and adding some action but it’s too violent for daytime. The nanny from hell? Seeing Spencer get beaten up?…whose cradle does that rock? These ice diamond stories don’t appeal to me as a rule and this one had more false starts than an amateur production of CATS. I kept losing track of where people were except Trina, who seemed to be EVERYWHERE.

I am not a fan of Valentin. He comes off as too smug and I hate him and Anna together. He was supposed to be an evil Cassadine, the worst of the bunch. Huh? Starvos and Victor are ten times more freighting than this guy! As far as the Ice Princess story, it was good to have revisited the story BUT, having Luke make a surprise appearance to wrap up the story and save Port Charles would have been so good! Mr. Geary is retired. Right. So be it. My “Performer of this Storyline” goes to Charles Shaughnessy. What a great job!

I love these 3 actors and any scenes that they are in!! They were amazing!!

Great acting on everyone’s part, but a horrible story I can do without. And am so tired of the Willow, Michael, Carly, Nina saga.

I’m so tired of that story line too
At this point I don’t even care if Willow dies

Yes, just exhausting

Me also can’t stand it. If you also notice they are constantly saying Drew is bring back Liesel, i thought it was all a joint mission they all went to bring them back not just him

Constance Towers was Fabulous! I liked that she was an “illusion” rather than back from the dead. Well done

Yeah, we had to deal with some of the “security” issues down here in Hell, with all of the escapes by the Cassadines & the DiMeras over the years. But Helena’s here to stay now.

We don’t have any control over what somebody hallucinates when a designer pathogen is circulating through their body, of course!

Very well deserved, I thought James was tremendous. He can use these scenes for his Emmy reel next year, and hopefully finally win one. Finola Hughes was very good also, as she usually is. Charles Shaughnessy was like an old school villain, he’s been a hoot as Victor. I’m sorry to see him go, if this is the end of his run. Although, as we all know, villains are never really dead in Port Charles, lol.

I’ve really enjoyed the throwback story. They’ve done a great job mixing in odes to the past, and some of our beloved all-time GH characters with current characters and current elements, and it’s made for some good drama and adventure, two hallmarks of what classic GH has always been known for.

Bravo / Brava to the entire cast on this one and especially JPS for his pathogen injection performance. He endured over his Mother Helena (best villain, Constance Towers) . Great job, everyone!

I agree he was amazing! One of my favorite daytime male actors.. Well done!

I think JPS is the best actor on the show. I love him with FH. I enjoyed the entire story line. CS will be missed. I, too, am tired of the Michael, Willow, Carly and Nina story line. I liked Nina with Sonny,and was looking forward to Nina and Willow eventually having a true mother/daughter relationship. I also hated on today’s show when Michael wanted to hurt Sonny, but do everything in his power to help his mom. Am I the only one who remembers Carly excitedly telling quite a few people how much money she was going to make off of this.

I like Sonny and Nina together, too. I hate that on GH, apparently Carly actually doing a crime isn’t the bad thing…LAWFULLY REPORTING it is.

I enjoy Valentin and Anna together. What I’m sick of is the whole Willow story. I have have to fast forward scenes with Michael and her….ugh!

Stephanie,
You are right about the Willow SL. So sick of it, who cares anymore? Michael is a pain in the butt, when he’s not moaning over Willow, he’s plotting on putting his father in prison. He’s turned into a real creep!

I have always liked James Patrick Stuart. Great performance!

I love James Patrick Stuart! Valentin & Anna! Kill Willow off already. Sick of her, Micheal, Carly & Joss holier than thou attitudes!!

Sorry,most of this stuff was too farfetched and unbelievable to me, like GH went Sci-fi on us. I sure didn’t enjoy Helena before or after. Poor Valentin, what a family, and people put him down, with a family like that, I’m surprised he can put one foot in front of the other. At least Anna sees the good in him, note to Soaphound, I don’t see any sparks or chemestry either. I’m sorry to say that Anna is not the Femme Fatale she used to be, I can’t see her competing with Holly or Diane.

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GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

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This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!

In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?

Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!

Courtesy/ABC

FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS

The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!

Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?

Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.

MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.

TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.

FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.

Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.

Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

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With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).

On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..

In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”

GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW

So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!

FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD

As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and  and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”

Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.

So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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A post shared by Maurice Benard (@mauricebenard)

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‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

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In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.

The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.

Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”

Photo: CDuellIG

SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL

Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.

The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.

In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was 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. 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.”

So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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Finn Carr & Dominic Zamprogna as Rocco & Dante

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