General Hospital’s depiction of the battle of Alzheimer’s disease and how it affects the dying, and the loved ones they leave behind, came to its heartbreaking conclusion this past week on the ABC daytime drama series.

Led by storyline standouts: Maurice Benard (Sonny) and Max Gail (Mike), who once again acted their hearts out in their final scenes together, the entire ensemble of actors who were part of this storyline each had their moments and each delivered which made Mike’s passing all the more poignant.

In a first since we started giving out our weekly kudos several years ago, Michael Fairman TV is giving our Power Performance of the Week to the cast of GH who participated in last week’s scenes for their riveting work.

From Laura Wright’s beautiful goodbye scene as Carly with Mike, where she dreams of him telling her she is a ‘daughter to him”, to Steve Burton’s all-knowing Jason, who tells Mike he will take care of Sonny and not to worry, to Michael (Chad Duell) and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) picturing how key moments of their life would look with Mike being witness to it, and the advice he would give his grandchildren, to Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) finding out that Mike is dying while being so far away from his family – each of these beats brought even more heart-tugging moments to the ending of Mike’s journey.

Even the actors who played a part in Mike’s care were touching as Vernee Watson’s Stella prepares Sonny on how to help Mike pass before saying her final goodbye to her friend.  Then there was Felix (Marc Anthony Samuel), who helped Carly and Sonny through Mike’s last moments at Turning Woods, who was also trying to keep it together through his sadness. Brando (Johnny Wactor) showed up at Turning Woods too, trying to make peace with the death he saw in the war in Afghanistan and now losing Mike.

Of course, there was the surprise moment where Mike is met by his late daughter Courtney and escorted to heaven that both Alicia Leigh Willis and Max Gail played so beautifully without saying hardly a word.

But in the end, it was Maurice Benard who showed us the devastation and acceptance of a son having to let his father go, while trying to make peace with their troubled past that was acting at its best, and perhaps some of the finest in his storied daytime career  – and there was Max Gail – the centerpiece of the storyline – who’s emotional heart was seen in all the scenes last week with the actors as the characters visualized moments with Mike.  Throughout the entire story, Gail played the tragedy of a human being trapped within this horrific disease with brilliance.  He will be missed.

So, what do you think of our choice of the cast of General Hospital for this week’s Power Performance of the Week?  Share your comments below.

For anyone who has been watching the emotional Alzheimer’s storyline play out on General Hospital, Wednesday’s episode was a key moment in the storytelling and for the Corinthos family.  To say that the cast delivered in this episode is an understatement; everyone had their moments, and of course, chief among them, Maurice Benard (Sonny).

Mike’s (Max Gail) life is coming to an end as his body is shutting down from the disease.  Stella (Vernee Watson) comes to Mike’s room at Turning Woods and tells Sonny that Mike is waiting for permission to let go.  She explains to Sonny that Mike is torn between this world and the afterlife.   Stella helps Sonny prepare for the final moments of Mike’s life, dimming the lights, giving Sonny ice chips to put on his father’s lips, and for Sonny to put on some of Mike’s favorite music – jazz.   She also gets Mike a blanket because he is getting cold.  Then in a touching moment played to perfection by Vernee Watson, Stella says her own goodbye to Mike and hugs Sonny and tells him how grateful she was to know Mike.

Carly (Laura Wright) had been by Sonny’s side every step of the way in the final days of Mike’s life.  At one point in Mike’s room with Sonny, she has a dream where Mike tells her she is his daughter.  It was another heartbreaking moment – this time played beautifully by Laura Wright.  Earlier, Michael (Chad Duell) said goodbye to his grandfather and Josslyn (Eden McCoy) had also come to Turning Woods, as has Brando (Johnny Wactor) to be there for the end of Mike’s life and to support Sonny

Sonny tells Mike, (who can hear, but cannot truly respond as the disease continues to shut down his body), that he has made peace with what went down between them when he was a child.  He tells Mike, “I just want you to go in peace and go with love.”  Later, Sonny had a recollection seeing his father pray in the back of the church when he was a child, which sparked an idea for him.   Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny know that Mike wants to be forgiven for his sins.

Then in the tearjerker, Father Ramos arrives to bless Mike and cleanse him from all of his sins, as Sonny, Carly, Michael and Josslyn witness it.

Afterwards, Jason realizes that Mike probably does not want to die in front of Sonny and tells Sonny to take a break, but Sonny does not want to – so Jason whispers to Mike that he should not worry that he will take care of Sonny. The two hope Mike will meet up with Morgan in heaven.

At the end of the episode, alone with his father, Sonny tells Mike not to be afraid, or to worry about him, and then remembers the night Mike walked out on him and his mother when he was a kid.  He says he knows his father always loved him … maybe too much.  We fade to black.  Maurice Benard’s work was again outstanding throughout these moments, making Sonny’s life-long pain, and love for this father, palpable.

As someone who went through this horrible disease with his mother, I can say, that GH played the beats of the story to perfection, honoring those afflicted with Alzheimer’s and the family members they leave behind.

So, what did you think of this emotional episode of GH and the performances by the cast? Comment below.

Let’s just make this official as we tweeted about it last week when these scenes aired on Tuesday.  And let’s just say, that Lisa LoCicero (Olivia) could very well receive another Daytime Emmy nomination next year in the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, if these moments are part of her reel.  LoCicero was previously nominated in 2015 in this category.

Now on to that performance that had everyone a-buzz on social media after it aired.  In the scenes, Robert (Tristan Rogers) has worked his WSB contacts to get Olivia to Geneva to secretly see her son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), who is suffering from severe trauma and PTSD and is at this facility for treatment.  After traveling half way around the world to get there, with anticipation and wanting to hold her son and be there for him – when she arrives the doctor (Christopher Cousins) tells Dante his mother is here to see him, but Dante refuses to let that happen.

When the doctor tells Olivia that Dante will not open the door to his room to talk to his mom and come face-to-face with her, she goes into momma bear mode, releasing such heartache and anguish, just wanting to see Dante, but she is met with a steely shut door instead.  But as viewers saw, the scenes were made all the more poignant by the split screen; where Dante is on the other side of the door – heartbroken hearing his mother’s cries.  Dominic Zamprogna, who is always stellar, was also moving in these moments.

However, it was LoCicero’s ability to call up such deep rooted love and pain for her child, that any parent could relate to, which broke our hearts, rang so true, and showcased Lisa.

Later in the week, we also see how Liv was there for Robert in return  – and the two are now off on a mission of their own to find Holly (if she is indeed very much alive) which is sure to put a further wedge in her marriage to Ned (Wally Kurth).  That begs the questions, too.  How would you feel about a Robert and Olivia pairing…or would you be rooting for Olivia and Ned to work through their issues?

Through it all, it was Lisa LoCicero who grabbed our attention, brought out the hankies for all of us, and truly compelled the audience.  For all of these reasons, Michael Fairman TV names Lisa’s work The Power Performance of the Week.

So, what did you think of Lisa in these scenes with Dominic? In case you missed them, you can check them out below, then share your thoughts in the comment section.

WATCH: Dante didn’t give Olivia the warm welcome she was hoping for. @lisalocicerogh @dom_zamprogna #GH pic.twitter.com/VW5MX1oguO

— General Hospital (@GeneralHospital) September 9, 2020