It’s hard to tell the truth from the lies these days. Just when you think you have things figured out, a soapy twist shakes things up. Is Monica’s sister on the up and up or up to no good? Did James reunite with his father – or someone else? Let’s discuss all the possibilities with an illuminating new General Hospital commentary for the week ending October 3, 2025.
We might have only had two episodes of General Hospital this week, but those two episodes were packed with juicy revelations and a few surprises. Let’s kick things off with our newest visitor to Port Charles, Monica’s younger sister, Veronica Bard.
Rockin’ Ronnie visits General Hospital
Erika Slezak officially debuted as Monica’s sister, Veronica “Ronnie” Bard. For now, Ms. Slezak is on recurring status and is only expected to stick around for a short time. As always, that could change depending on how well her character is received. There’s no denying that Erika is a phenomenal actress and soap royalty. She played Victoria “Viki” Lord Buchanan on One Life To Live for 41 years tackling some heavy topics including childhood trauma, cancer, and the loss of a child. We are incredibly lucky to have her, so I hope General Hospital treats her right and gives her a good soapy story to sink her teeth into. Just make her more Viki than Niki, please.
According to Ronnie, she and Monica reconnected in recent years after a lifetime of silence. Ronnie claims that Monica reached out to her, but it remains to be seen how honest Ronnie actually is. From what I gather, the sisters communicated mostly through letter exchanges. One of those letters ended up being the canvas for one of Scout’s drawings, which is how Martin learned about Ronnie’s existence. Tracy, on the other hand, has known about Ronnie for as long as she’s known Monica because Tracy ran a background check on Monica when Monica first started dating Alan.
I appreciate that the writers didn’t blindside Tracy with that revelation. It was a great way to give Ronnie validity right out of the gate.
Red flag warnings
Being a longtime soap viewer, I’m suspicious of all new characters. That goes double for long lost relatives who show up at funerals. I have questions. For starters, if Ronnie and Monica had enjoyed a close relationship in recent years then why didn’t Monica tell anyone? Why didn’t Monica invite Ronnie to visit and meet the family? Until recently, Monica had travelled quite a bit, yet she apparently never popped in for a short visit to reunite with her beloved sister? Seems strange.
I absolutely understand Tracy’s skepticism. I share her concerns about the timing of Ronnie’s visit. Monica was incredibly wealthy, while it appears that Ronnie is not. Also, how does Ronnie not know that, despite everything, Monica and Tracy loved each other dearly? Don’t get me wrong. I can see Monica talking smack about Tracy in letters, but Monica would have tempered her criticism with assurances of love for her sister-in-law. Tracy was the sister that Ronnie never was. Tracy’s love for Monica was definitely not one sided.
Martin’s plan to take Tracy down
It’s clear that Martin seems to think that Ronnie might be a thorn in Tracy’s side and the key to taking Tracy down a few pegs, but I’m not sure how. There is no way that Monica would leave the bulk of her fortune – especially the house – to anyone except Jason or Michael. Nor would Monica hurt Tracy through some petty act in the will. I don’t know what the writers have planned for Monday’s reading of the will, but they better stay true to Monica.
If Monica truly loved Ronnie, she definitely wouldn’t put her in Tracy’s crosshairs.
The two faces of Drew Cain
Now, let’s rip off the Band-Aid and talk about Drew. He’s growing more cartoonish by the week, and these past couple of weeks were the worst. Drew actually had the temerity to lament over not taking Monica’s last call because he was certain she had called him because she still cared about him as a son. What?! No, she was calling because Drew had just slapped a restraining order on everyone – including Monica – prohibiting them from having any contact with Scout.
I know exactly why Monica called Drew without having to see a scene. She hoped to talk sense into Drew by getting him to back down and to think of Scout because his actions were hurting his daughter. That call was about Scout not Drew. I will die on that hill.
Deux Drews
I don’t know about anyone else, but I see Drew as two different characters. The real Drew Cain – the one who will always have a special place in my heart – has Billy Miller’s face. That man was honorable, kind, and protective. A man who loved his family and treated the women in his life with respect. He was a true hero in every sense of the word. I loved that Drew and I miss him every single day.
Then there is this abomination. Cameron Mathison’s Drew is cruel, deceitful, and unhinged. He’s driven by rage, revenge, and a deep rot in his soul.
The new Drew Cain seduced a woman young enough to be his daughter who was blinded by the man he used to be. It didn’t matter that she was married, his nephew’s wife, and the mother of two small children. Just the opposite. Drew relished taking everything from Michael and he took delight in trying to turn Michael’s own children against him with carefully crafted lies.
My Drew, the hero with Billy’s face, would never have done the horrible things. You have no idea how much I wish the shooter would return to finish the job.
The real prime suspect
I firmly believe the shooter was Willow. She’s no victim. She walked into the affair with Drew with her eyes wide open. Yes, Drew seduced her, but she was receptive to it from the moment they locked lips. Like Drew, Willow continues to grow more detestable by the day, so I can easily see her going to Drew’s house, being the coward that she is and pumping two bullets into his back. Learning that Edward Quartermaine’s gun was used in the shooting only solidified my certainly that she pulled the trigger.
Initially, I assumed that Willow had stopped by Monica’s house with Scout the morning that Monica died because Willow had hoped to skirt the court order and sneak a visit with Wiley and Amelia. Now, I’m convinced there was a more nefarious reason for that visit. Willow was there to return something she had taken.
Edward’s gun
We know that Willow can easily slip in and out of the Q mansion without detection. She did so for weeks to mess with Daisy and terrify Sasha and Michael. Did Willow take the opportunity to steal Edward’s gun during one of those nocturnal visits? It wouldn’t surprise me if she’d been planning to kill two cock-a-doodle-dos with one gun by shooting Drew and framing Michael.
Will Chase be Willow’s undoing?
In my last commentary, I mentioned that Willow seemed to be up to no good when she slipped into the Q kitchen on the pretext of fetching something for Scout. Nothing is ever random on soaps. I knew that our General Hospital writers had a reason for Chase catching Willow in the act of skulking, and now I’m certain that reason is because Willow was there to return the gun that she used to shoot Drew. Chase is going to remember that little encounter and quickly put the pieces together, but will he do the right thing?
If you had asked me a few months ago, I would have answered with a resounding yes. No hesitation. However, that was before Chase fell back under Willow’s spell and started to see her as a poor unfortunate soul who has nothing but love and kindness in her black little heart. I’m afraid that these days, I really don’t trust Chase to arrest Willow for attempted murder. He’s more apt to cover up the crime with a promise from her that she won’t do it again. Chase will convince himself that she had suffered a breakdown because Michael had kept the kids away from her.
Bad things in good packages
Nathan is back – or is he? According to the Port Charles Police Department, DNA tests and fingerprints confirmed that the man at General Hospital is everyone’s favorite hero Detective Nathan West, but this is a soap opera. Tests can be altered, techs can be paid off, and computers can be hacked.
Alas, it appears such is the case with Nathan’s miraculous return. On General Hospital, we can’t have nice things.
Something is off
At the end of Friday’s episode, Spinelli confessed to Felicia that something felt off with Nathan. Spinelli conceded that he felt a bit jealous over James’ reaction to meeting his newly resurrected father, but I agree with Spinelli. Something is off and Britt’s reaction to Nathan’s return only raises more alarms. Rather than being overjoyed at seeing her beloved brother, she looked like she’d come face-to-face with Jack the Ripper.
I was surprised that no one raised more questions about Britt’s odd reaction to James seeing Nathan. Liesl – of all people – should have realized that Britt’s behavior has been way off since returning, and now, with the sudden appearance of her other dead child, clearly other forces are at work here. In short, it all reeks of supervillain shenanigans.
Is it latex, plastic, or brain mapping?
The probability of someone wearing a latex mask is low. Medical personnel have closely examined Nathan and tended to the cuts and scrapes on his face. That means it’s more likely that the person in the bed – if he’s not Nathan – is someone who had plastic surgery to look like him. I don’t care how skilled a surgeon is, they can’t transform a 70-something year old body into a 30-something year old man in the prime of his life. It can’t be Cesar.
If someone is posing as Nathan, the likely culprit is his brother Peter August. Remember, Anna shot Peter, so he would have an old scar from a shooting on his chest too. Peter would also take steps to get Maxie out of the picture before coming to town because Maxie would spot an imposter in a heartbeat. No one knew Nathan — and Peter — better than Maxie did.
Still, Britt did receive some medications from someone with the initial “C” which most of us assume stands for Cesar. Are both Peter and Cesar alive? I hope not. One evil Faison is bad enough.
Brennan just might need Valentin’s help to vanquish them if both are alive. 😉
There is another possibility
If Nathan is back, he could be under the control of his diabolical father and/or brother. Remember, both Faison and Peter had access to Helena’s brain mapping technology, so they could be using Nathan as a pawn to unleash whatever evil plot they are cooking up with Professor Dalton’s cold fusion research. If that’s the case, and Sidwell is answering to one or both Faisons, Sidwell’s days are numbered. Cesar and Peter’s underlings don’t tend to last long once they outlive their usefulness.
Helena’s dagger makes an apperance
There’s always a very slim possibility that “C” stands for Cassadine as in Helena Cassadine. Yes, she too died, but at least her brain never made it to a jar. Okay, I’m jesting. I don’t think Helena is returning. But it is interesting that Sidwell was the one who returned the dagger to Alexis…🤔
Ric’s great bungled escape
Ric escaped his basement prison, but instead of slipping out of the house and heading straight to the police station, he decided to play stupid games with Alexis. Now, he’s locked back up in Alexis’ basement, handcuffed to the smelly cot and sporting a useless strap in his mouth.
The plan is to keep Ric locked up and drugged for another ten days so Alexis can transfer all the embezzled money back into Ace’s trust fund – minus the money Ava negotiated for herself. Alexis insists that Ric will ultimately keep quiet about everything including the kidnapping and imprisonment because he was complicit in the original crimes. True, but I’m sure Ric could work out a deal especially if he’s willing to send Ava, Alexis, and Kristina to jail.
Sonny might not care about Ava or even Alexis, but he will fall on the sword for his daughter before he lets Krissy spend one night in jail. But that’s a discussion for another day.
Liz to the rescue
Too bad for our band of merry kidnappers that the call Alexis made went through. Unbeknownst to anyone, Liz heard Ric cry out just before Alexis was able to disconnect the call. It won’t be long before Liz is snooping around Alexis’ place and finds Ric imprisoned in the basement. Good. This is my least favorite storyline playing out right now. I don’t care about Ric – his current predicament is karma for the panic room as far as I’m concerned – but I’m sick of Kristina getting away with her crimes and everyone enabling her.
The person I feel sorry for is Molly. Alexis always puts Kristina first and it’s time for Alexis stop and face some repercussions for that. Molly deserves better than to play second fiddle to that succubus sister of hers. I would love for our General Hospital writers to send Kristina and Drew away, give Molly custody of Scout, and have Alexis spend the rest of her days making up for being such a rotten mother to Molly.
It won’t happen, but I can dream.
Diagnosis: Warp speed rebound
I’d love to know what the writers are thinking by having Isaiah not only championing Portia but getting intimately involved with her. They nixed his relationship with Jordan for this? Really? No one wanted this. It makes Isaiah look like a complete schmuck.
For starters, Portia is a liar. She lied about Trina’s paternity, she lied about Heather’s test results, she allowed a man to blackmail her into manipulating and lying to her husband, and she conspired with someone to pay a prostitute to drug a congressman with ketamine that Portia obtained illegally. Isaiah knows none of this. He has no idea that Portia once violated medical ethics and a few laws by giving a comatose patient medication that could have killed him all because she needed Oz Haggerty to wake up and testify at Trina’s trial.
Ashford vs Ashford
Isaiah believes Portia’s marriage fell apart because Curtis had lingering feelings for Jordan. Does Curtis have romantic feelings for Jordan? Yes, but they aren’t lingering. Those feelings rekindled as he began to see Portia more clearly. Portia only trusted Curtis with the good secrets, never the bad ones. There’s no denying that Curtis trots around on a high horse and holds people to high standards, while not always meeting them himself. However, Portia married him knowing that, and she promised to honor their vows and always give him the truth — good and bad.
Portia didn’t do that because she was afraid of being judged and lectured by Curtis. Instead, she opted to commit felonies and betray her marriage. Oh, and take a new lover.
Port Charles Potpourri
How did Ronnie know to go to General Hospital’s memorial wall to see the honor bestowed on Monica, but she had no idea who raised Monica’s beloved grandson? How close could Monica and Ronnie have been if Ronnie had no idea who Sonny was?
What’s the deal with Outback? Why are the writers bouncing that poor pooch all over town? If they don’t know what to do with the dog, why even write her in? The same thing happened when they introduced Annabelle I and Annabelle II. Both ended up living at the Q estate, which seems to be the town’s dumping ground for unwanted pets.
I don’t get Martin. He agreed to help Drew in exchange for Drew dropping the charges against Stella. Yet, he’s trying to take down Tracy, one of Stella’s dearest friends. How does he see that playing out? Stella is not going to side with Martin on this issue especially if it benefits Drew.
What General Hospital Viewers Are Saying
We love reading what other fans have to say about the show, so please scroll down to the Comments section and share your thoughts. It’s at the bottom of this (and every) column.
Praise for Steve Burton
“Steve Burton has a solid Emmy reel from Friday’s [September 19, 2025] episode. The regret was palpable. And Danny is an excellent support system too.” — Humor Me
“One of the things that I’ve always liked about Steve Burton was his ability to convey emotion without saying a word. That made him the perfect choice to be the one to find Monica.” — JDF
Jason leans on Liz during his grief
Tracy gives Drew the boot from Monica’s funeral
(9+) Yes Tracy!!! Get rid of that jackass. Wonderful tribute to Monica/ Leslie
General Hospital’s tribute to Leslie Charleson/Monica Quartermaine
One more thing before next week
Be sure to check out Dan J Kroll’s latest Beyond The Gates commentary, Save it for your memoir. This week he delves into the fallout of Doug’s untimely demise, Dani and Andre’s real-but-fake marriage, a controversial storyline that might make everyone mad, and a whole lot more.
Happy viewing,
Liz Masters
Loved your column as usual. I’m curious though what you thought of Anna on Friday’s episode. I think it’s annoying that she seems so single minded when it comes to thinking that Michael shot Drew. Plus, I was annoyed that she used Claudia to justify her position.
I agree about the Claudia thing, super weird to treat that like it proves Michael is a stone killer
It really bugs me that they bring that up all the time. Michael was never convicted of manslaughter. He was convicted of covering up the crime. That’s why he was sentenced to prison. The judge wanted to teach Michael and all those who participated in the coverup a lesson.
Shame on Anna. Also, I’m disappointed by her shortsightedness. Michael would never use Edward’s gun. He’d have Sonny send one of his men to do the job.
Thank you. I’ve really lost a lot of respect for Anna over the last two years. And at this point, Michael should make it clear to everyone that he doesn’t want Claudia used against him anymore.
I was not impressed with “Ronnies” introduction. It’s hard not to think of ES as Vickie Lord and I preferred ES when she was in “Niki Smith” mode on OLTL. I was also surprised that her and Monica exchanged letters. Does anyone write letters anymore? They never spoke, or texted? Seems odd to me and I agree Liz, Ronnie
doesn’t seem to know very much about Monica’s life, but she knew where the family crypt was and the
memorial wall at GH. It’s just strange.
I read an interesting post elsewhere on Nathan that surmised that Sidwell poisoned Maxie because she was the only one that could not be fooled by a fake Nathan and whoever Sidwell is working for needed Maxie out of the way. Of course Britt is suspicious as well, but Sidwell’s boss didn’t anticipate Britt escaping Croatia.
Of course, they still haven’t explained how Nathan got out of the grave we saw him buried in. One would think that Anna might have thought of exhuming that grave that is supposed to be Nathans’.
Don’t you mean Portia in this sentence, “Jordan didn’t do that because she was afraid of being judged and lectured by Curtis. Instead, she opted to commit felonies and betray her marriage. Oh, and take a new lover”.
I agree about Ronnie. If they had really reconnected and were close, how could she NOT know about Sonny forcing AJ to give up his parental rights to Michael by hanging him from a meat hook AND that he murdered AJ?
If somehow GH gives Ronnie the house, I REFUSE to watch. TRACY should get the house so the ‘joke’ can continue. Tracy tells everybody, “This is MY house. Monica gave it to me.”
Anything but the house!! I’m hoping Monica left it to Jason.
Yes! Thank you. Fixed. It’s amazing how the mind sees what you intended not necessarily what you typed. Also, it didn’t help that I was doing a final edit before getting ready for work. LOL
Omg Preemptions!
Not Happy.
Have I ever mentioned how much I HATE Sports and Politics?
And just what does our GH get preempted by constantly?
Sports and Politics!!
We Can’t Have Nice Things.
So, in our Whole Two Episodes we were treated to this week, what happened?
Not Much.
Next, on “Family Affair”!
Tracy and Viki, er “Ronnie” sniping at the Crypt was Rather Boring. and Predictable.
No offense to Erika S, she can’t help it if The Writers Hate Us and We Can’t Have Nice Things.
I suppose we should give the Story Line a chance.
Wake me when it’s over.
~~~
And Poor James.
First he was Depressed (cuz he misses Maxi), and now he’s Confused and Depressed.
~~~~
I see Anna’s still playing with her “Dragnet” Cork Board and Cutouts.
So High Tech.
So Anna invites Turner to look at her Cork Board Pictures, and they DON’T rule out Curtis because he’s an Ex-Cop?
I would think that the Poor Marksmanship demonstrated by Drew’s Shooter would rule him out.
Don’tcha think Curtis would have shot Drew Point Blank in the Temple?
Twice?
Only an Idiot would have shot Drew in the Back, twice, and NOT Fatally.
Plus, Anna said Ballistics pointed to a Q Owned Firearm.
Don’t ask me how that makes sense, but no matter.
Which makes me think maybe it WAS Willow, since she seems to be able to slip in and out of the Q Mansion without being noticed.
~~~
I love the way Ava gave Ric the pill and rubbed his throat like you do when giving meds to your Dog.
And told him he’s a “Good Boy”.
I cracked up.
Of course, we know he didn’t swallow it.
I like Ric all scruffy. Except he has got to be Pretty Ripe by now.
::Whew::
~~~
Britt looks more Bothered than Surprised that Nathan is Alive.
What does Britta know?
Is Nathan the “Him”that she referred to?
I know the initial “C” was on her Box O Meds that was left for her, and that was obviously supposed to make us think of “Cesar”.
I think it was to throw us off.
~~~~
Um, how did Alexis not SMELL Slic (Stinky) Ric sneaking up behind her?
Yikes.
Good thing Ava reappeared.
I thought she’d left?
I love the way Ava just pulls Handcuffs out of her pocket like they were her Car Keys or something.
~~~
How is Tracy so sure Mikey will get the Estate?
I think Jason should get it.
Or, divide Everything Equally between ALL the Real Quartermaines.
You know THAT ain’t gonna happen.
I’m not a baseball fan, so I was super annoyed that they preempted GH for baseball. LOL
I only like the METs, and they Always Lose.
So GH is pretty much never interrupted for them.
I’m really not enjoying the Ric storyline, it is beyond off the rails, and a waste of Rick Hearst’s talents. Says a lot of how they have written Kristina, Ava, and Alexis over the past year or so that I’m actively rooting for Ric! Could we please have Elizabeth and Molly catch them all in the act?
I was so happy to see Spinelli this week and hope he plays a major part in sussing out whatever is going on with Nathan(ish). And Britt too. Wouldn’t it be great to see the Jackal in action again? Working with Jason to figure all this out?
The scenes between Ronnie and Sonny…two great actors, but pointless and boring.