Last week on key episodes of General Hospital, the truth was finally out that Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom) was masquerading as his twin brother, Dr. Kevin Collins, and that Ava Jerome (Maura West) was an unsuspecting victim in all of this.  As the week began, Ryan and Ava had gone over the bridge, but Jason (Steve Burton) was able to save Ava and pull her back to the bridge, and that set the stage for a powerhouse series of performances by West.

On the bridge with Laura (Genie Francis), who is trying to make Ava comprehend the harsh realization that she has been with a serial killer this entire time, and not the real Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), Ava doesn’t believe what Laura is attempting to tell her.  She believes that Kevin had a mental breakdown.  Laura explains to Ava that Kevin is at General Hospital, while Ryan has been posing as him.  In Ava’s version of the situation, she thinks the switcheroo happened in the last 48 hours when Ryan wanted to whisk her away to be married.  Laura then tells Ava that Ryan switched places with Kevin months ago, and she has never been with Kevin.

It is a horrifying reality for Ava to grapple with as she insists that Kevin loves her.  However, moment by moment, Ava can no longer deny that harsh truth that is right in front of her.  She had sex with her daughter Kiki’s murderer the night she was killed, and she has been sleeping with the wrong man this entire time.

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In heartbreaking scenes, Maura, along with another wonderful performance by GH icon, Genie Francis, illustrated the raw pain and devastation of a woman who has been so blindsided by love, violated, and deceived all at the same time.  The scene where Laura holds Ava on the bridge as she collapses with anguish was soap gold.  But, never underestimate Ava Jerome!  You know she will get her payback.

In another episode, a now drunken Ava heads to the GH to see Kevin for herself, but finds Franco (Roger Howarth).  First, she blames Franco, then he makes her understand that it was Ryan who murdered people and deceived everyone.  He was just helping the PCPD snuff out the serial killer.   She tells Franco that Ryan made her feel like a goddess and that he worshipped her and helped her in her time of need following Kiki’s death.  Ava tells Franco that she hopes Ryan’s still alive so she can kill him herself!

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And still in another moment, Ava runs into the real Kevin in the hospital hallway.  Ava loses her grip and slaps him in the face accusing him of killing her daughter.  Scott (Kin Shriner) pulls her off Kevin, and tries to get her to understand that Kevin was in surgery at GH when she was with Ryan in Niagara Falls.

Sitting down with Ava, Kevin apologizes for what Ryan did to her and everyone else.  Kevin thinks she needs to speak with a therapist, but not him and he will recommend someone.  Later, alone in the hospital corridor, Ava sees a poster of Kevin Collins and rips it to shreds as Scott comes by to calm her down. She sinks to the floor in sorrow over Kiki’s death, and how she ended up falling for Ryan.

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Scene after scene, moment after moment, you can’t get better than West.  Ava is a delicious complex character, who has been so unlucky at love, is so flawed, and at times so revenge-filled, and yet in the hands of the oh-so-skilled and talented Maura West, she has humanized Ava, so that we can’t help root for her to get back on her feet after she falls so far down, so we can witness what trouble she will stir up next.   All of this to say: Michael Fairman TV names GH’s Maura West the ‘Power Performance of the Week”.

So, what did you think about of Maura’s performances on  GH? Did Ava finding out the truth about Ryan live up to everything you hoped it would be? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

Ava Jerome (Maura West) got an eyeful on Thursday’s episode of General Hospital when she finds Carly (Laura Wright) gagged and knocked out in the trunk of “Kevin’s” (Jon Lindstrom) car.  Just then, Carly begins to open her eyes, but Ava is stunned when she finds “Kevin” standing behind her.   When Ava is trying to process what she just saw and her groom’s reaction to the sight of Carly in the truck of his car, he tosses it off, and lets her know he has a handle on everything and to go back to their motel room and wait for him.

Later, in their motel room in Niagara falls, Ava considers calling 911, but in that moment decides against, and begins to think that “Kevin” has had a mental breakdown as he has in the past.  When he shows up, “Kevin”asks Ava to trust him,  But when Ava asks why Carly was in the trunk of his car, he responds that it’s a wedding gift for his bride-to-be.

Meanwhile, the manhunt is on for Ryan Chamberlain as the real Kevin Collins has now been admitted to General Hospital.  Chase (Josh Swickard) fills Lulu (Emme Rylan) in on what is going down and she finally remembers it was Ryan, not Franco (Roger Howarth), who stabbed her, and she was his victim when Ryan hypnotized her to believe Franco was the serial killer.

Laura (Genie Francis)is on her way to Niagara Falls with Jason (Steve Burton), who is going to find Carly and bring her home as he is worried sick about his best friend.  Cameron (William Lipton) who is in the Falls with Joss (Eden McCoy)and Oscar (Garren Stitt), who has had a major seizure, runs into Ryan, but doesn’t know it, until he has a phone call with Liz  (Rebecca Herbst) who fills him in that Franco is not the murderer, but Ryan is.  Cameron has the tip to help all, with the name of the motel where Ryan is at.  Liz phones Laura and she and Jason head off to find the motel..

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When Jason and Laura arrive at the cabin, Laura stays in the car as Jason grabs his gun and heads to Ryan’s room.   When an unnerved Ava tries to  tell “Kevin” that he must let Carly go and bring her back to Port Charles safely before they get married, he informs  Ava there is nothing for her to worry about.  He has already taken Carly five miles east of the motel.  Next thing you know, the scene transitions to a shot of Carly lifeless on the ground.  We go back to Jason, who kicks down the  door to Ryan’s room with his gun drawn.

So, what did you think of Ava’s reaction to a kidnapped Carly in the trunk of Ryan’s car? What will happen when Ava realizes she is with Ryan Chamberlain? Share your thoughts as this story heads to its major conclusion, or is it?

All of Ryan Chamberlain’s (Jon Lindstrom) recent machinations may come back to bite him this week on General Hospital. as all roads will lead to dramatic episodes of the ABC daytime drama series.  As GH Co-Head Writer, Shelly Altman tells Soap Opera Digest in their latest issue on newsstands now: “This is a can’t-miss week. So many trains are running down tracks that are certain (to collide) with a big bang.”

Viewers were left with an exciting cliffhanger on Friday’s episode which saw Carly (Laura Wright) standing behind Ryan in the parking lot now knowing that “Kevin” is Ryan.  How did we get here?  Earlier, after Carly finds Jason released from the hospital, she tells him about Franco’s (Roger Howarth) interview with Lulu (Emme Rylan) and that Franco called Ryan Chamberlain by the name of Tom Wilson.  She recalls the man in the room next to her when she was locked away at Ferncliff was named Wilson.  Jason (Steve Burton) begs her to stay away from the mental facility and to not put her unborn baby at risk.

Ava (Maura West) comes upon “Kevin” being bandaged at GH up after he claims Franco injured him when he went to confront him following Franco’s confessional interview of the serial murders, which was a set-up by Jordan (Briana Nicole Henry) to lure the real killer out   After dancing around why he went to see Franco and “risking” his life, he asks Ava to run away with him tonight to Canada to get married.

Mac (John J. York) and Felicia (Kristina Wagner) try to help jog Lulu’s foggy memory about the night she was stabbed and attacked, and remember discovering there were two more potential victims in Ryan’s killing spree making it 9, when there used to be only 7.   Felicia asks Lulu how she learned about these new victims, and she explains Laura (Genie Francis) saw a list of Ryan’s victims in Kevin’s office.  Everyone wonders how Kevin got the names.  C’mon Lulu, get it together and remember what happened to you, the answer is right in front of you!

Liz (Rebecca Herbst) is stunned when Franco appears at her door, stabbed and bleeding out.  After tending to his wounds, she calls the paramedics, but before he passes out he tells her he did not do commit the murders, but Ryan Chamberlain did.   When Chase (Josh Swickard) arrives on the scene she relates what Franco said to him, but passes it off as Franco being delirious from his stabbing.

After Ava agrees to marry “Kevin”, she heads home to pack, but tells him she’ll meet him back at GH.  On her way to the elevator, Ava runs into Carly and announces to her enemy that she and “Kevin” are getting married, and exits.  Then, Mac and Felicia arrive as Carly thinks this is too insane to be true, and Felicia thinks Ava must be lying.

In Jordan’s hospital room, Nina (Michelle Stafford) goes through Jordan’s purse in order to get her keys so she can get Curtis (Donnell Turner) some new clothes while he is waiting for his wife to come out of surgery. However, she sees Jordan’s phone has a voice mail marked “urgent” and hands it to Curtis who looks very distressed.

In the hospital garage, Ryan stores his lock box containing all of his victim’s licenses in the trunk of his car.  When he closes the trunk, Carly is standing behind him.   Showdown time!

So, will Ava and Carly have to team up to bring down Ryan?  How do you think Ryan’s reign of terror will comes to a conclusion? Share your thoughts via the comment section below?