In what will go down as one of the most harrowing, eventful, and riveting weeks of daytime television, General Hospital brought viewers a sequence of episodes the week of March 23

that will now serve as an umbrella story affecting many citizens and families in Port Charles and out of Port Charles for quite some time to come. Throughout the drama,

it was multiple cast members from the ABC daytime drama series that brought their A-game and stepped up to the plate and hit a home run as the circumstances

in the well-crafted story gave the actors the material to sink their teeth into. In the storyline, Marco (Adrian Anchondo) is stabbed by Cullum (Andrew Hawkes). Later, Cullum is about to attack Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) on the pier and is shot in the back by Rocco Falconeri (Finn Carr). Both Marco and Cullum are rushed to the hospital. In one OR, Lucas, who despises Cullum, is trying to save his life and get the bullet fragment out of his spine.In the other OR, and unbeknown to Lucas (Van Hansis), his boyfriend Marco is struggling to survive surgery to stop the bleeding from his multiple stab wounds by Dr. Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) and Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst). 

ITS TOO LATE FOR GOODBYES

Sadly, in the end, Marco dies and Cullum lives. Meanwhile, Jason (Steve Burton) who is covering for Rocco, made sure his hand got cut and hurt (just like Rocco) and made it look as if he fired the gun that almost killed Cullum, when he took the weapon and fired a shot on the pier and got his finger prints all over it. Jason tells Britt (Kelly Thiebaud), who got knocked out by Cullum, to tell the police that he is the one that shot the nefarious WSB director. Eventually, Jason is taken into custody by the WSB and sent away (most likely to Steinmauer Maximum security prison in Europe or somewhere else) but not before saying a heartbreaking goodbye to his son, Danny (Asher Antonzyzn) and Britt.

Along the way, there were so many deeply affecting performances including from: Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis) finding Marco bleeding out in her law offices, Carlo Rota (Sidwell) as a grieving father at his son Marco’s bedside in anguish, Steve Burton, with all the sadness and sorrow in his eyes as his plans to escape town to help Britt have gone bust, Kelly Thiebaud as Britt watching the love of her life taken away, and Asher Antonyzyn trying to come to grips that his father is leaving him again and more.

ROCCO AND LUCAS FIND THEIR WORLDS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN

However, the two that standout to us among the rest for the week are Finn Carr and Van Hansis. For Carr, the scenes where Rocco is in  shock that he actually shot a man, and how he finally reveals to his mother, Lulu (Alexa Havins), and detailed the events of what led him to shoot Cullum brought a lump to your throat. We have been saying for quite some time now, Finn Carr is the real deal. Rocco’s admission of guilt and anguish were heartbreakingly played throughout the week, especially when he learned what happened to Jason.

As for Van Hansis, this was the type of performance he is known for. No one can bring the absolute heartbreak and devastation when losing the person he loves as Van. He did it as Luke Snyder on As the World Turns when at the end of the series they killed Dr. Reid Oliver (Eric Sheffer Stevens), and now as the more mature Dr. Lucas Jones. While as Lucas he is dealing with a different set of circumstances, it’s the same predicament, being left alone and losing the person you dreamed of building a future with. From the moment he finds out Marco died from Elizabeth, to seeing Marco’s lifeless body, to his scene with Ava (Maura West) outside of the hospital where she wants to hug Lucas, but he’s not ready to grieve for Marco, it was played pitch-perfect by Hansis

So, for all of the reasons stated above Michael Fairman TV names the cast of General Hospital, led by the performances of Finn Carr and Van Hansis, as our pick for the ‘Power Performance of the Week.”