Soap Hub October Powerhouse Performer for GH: Cynthia Watros

Nina Reeves Corinthos didn’t get to take an extended honeymoon but her portrayer, Cynthia Watros, took General Hospital viewers on an emotional ride in October. Her character stood up for herself against Michael’s threats proving that she’s nobody’s victim in the process.

Cynthia Watros: Powerhouse Performance

Watros plays Nina as a woman who’s often too hard on herself. Still, Michael Corinthos (Chad Duell) made up his mind that Nina’s the devil. He marched into her office with something on his mind. Initially, Nina was confused by Michael’s animosity given how well her wedding to Sonny (Maurice Benard) had gone. Then, he dropped the bomb that he had learned from Martin (Michael E. Knight) that it was Nina who turned his mother Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) into the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) for committing insider trading.

First, Watros played her character a bit frozen, perhaps almost relieved that the truth that she so dreaded coming to light was now known — at least to Michael. Rather than acquiesce and apologize, Nina held her ground. Since Michael felt he knew the score, she decided that he needed to have all the information.

“I didn’t do anything illegal unlike your mother and Drew,” said Nina as Watros gave the “I” an extra punch to emphasize her innocence. Watros had Nina remain strong as she demanded to know what Michael wanted. She was stunned to learn that Michael insisted on taking away the one thing Nina wanted more than anything else — a relationship with Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Nina’s grandkids.

Michael scoffed that Nina wasn’t getting off that easy. “ME? I get off that easy? Your mother kept both of my daughters from me…” Nina blasted her stepson/son-in-law. After Michael made a crack about Nelle (Chloe Lanier), Nina pushed back more: “You are talking about Wiley’s mother and my daughter, so watch it!”

Cynthia Watros continued to bring passion to her performance as Nina said, “And after Carly put me through hell, did she change? No. She found out Willow was my daughter, too — did she tell anyone? Did she tell me? Did she tell you? Did she tell Willow or anyone? No. She waited until Willow was literally dying.”

Nina says Carly’s treatment of her is nothing compared to what Carly did to her. She added that the only reason she turned Carly into the SEC was because she wanted her brought to justice, conceding that the decision was impulsive.

Duell brought great conviction to Michael’s stance, playing the “Drew getting beat up in prison” card. A teary Nina couldn’t deny that right or wrong, Drew wouldn’t have been pummeled if not for her choice. She begged Michael not to tell to his father. “I love Sonny,” Nina insisted to Michael’s deaf ears.

Willow’s unplanned arrival put Nina in an awkward position. She had to quickly find a way to give in to Michael’s demands while not making her daughter suspicious. Watros brought a sense of urgency and helplessness to Nina as her character tried to deflect Willow from wanting to spend time together.

Nina scored a victory when Willow told Michael she wanted to stay and chat with her mom during which time Willow assured Nina that she wasn’t going to lose her. Conversely, Cynthia Watros scored a major victory by delivering a series of dynamic scenes in which Nina, once again, shows that she is a woman living on the edge.

Honorable Mention: Genie Francis, much to our joy, returned this month to both GH and our screens as Laura Webber Collins. She quickly dived into dramatic material in which Laura tried to console her clearly troubled granddaughter Charlotte (Scarlett Fernandez).

The dialogue writers didn’t bog Laura’s words down with a lot of details as to what she endured as a teen as Laura tried to relate to Charlotte’s current pain. But the writers didn’t need to include the painful memories for us to feel Laura’s emotions. Francis conveyed all the angst Laura went through in her younger years (e.g. being Bobbie’s target; accidentally killing David Hamilton; the possibility of Judge Stallman sending her to reform school; running off to New York and meeting the unsavory Fish) with her tone and intonation. Scenes like this are gold to longtime GH viewers who have been watching since Francis’s early days on the show.

Laura shared with Charlotte that her teen years were confusing and that she’d made “some mistakes, some really big mistakes.” Laura said that she wanted to be there for Charlotte just as Laura’s mother Lesley (Denise Alexander) was there for her. Charlotte didn’t open up but she was clearly touched by Laura’s emotions. Viewers were, too. Brava!