Fortunately, the untimely death of her son Brando hasn’t meant that we’ve stopped seeing his exasperating mom, Gladys Corbin, played by scene-stealer Bonnie Burroughs, on General Hospital. There have been times we’ve wanted to scream at her and others, just give her a big hug. Recently, we wanted to do both.
Bonnie Burroughs – Performer of the Week
It’s entertaining watching Gladys try — and alas, fail — to change her ways in the same scene. Just as she was attempting to win at some online gambling, she explained to Selina Wu (Lydia Look) that it was best that they not meet at the gambling station known as The Savoy because she doesn’t make smart choices when she’s there. Of course, it was those bad choices that indebted Gladys to Selina so she sold her late son’s garage to the lady mob boss.
After completing their transaction, Selina tried to tempt Gladys to continue playing but she wisely refused; Burroughs then made the choice to have Gladys fold her arms as if she were forcing herself to stop herself from making a costly choice. Due in no small part to Burroughs, we feel like we know Gladys — so we’re not expecting her to make good on her deal to not gamble for long.
Gladys has been calling Sonny (Maurice Benard ) ‘cuz’ (cousin) for a while. She finds it endearing unaware that Sonny found it grating — he finally put a stop to it. We saw Gladys about to take Sonny up on his offer for aid but…the garage sale was completed. Burroughs displayed her character’s sadness by having Gladys’s eyes start to water up as if she’d realized she’d put her trust in the wrong mobster.
Across town, Sasha (Sofia Mattsson) learned from Cody (Josh Kelly) that Gladys had sold Brando’s garage, prompting a confrontation between daughter-in-law and mother-in-law. On paper, Gladys and Sasha maybe aren’t supposed to get along but their mutual love for Brando is something that ultimately binds them instead of pitting them against each other.
Gladys wasn’t ready to come forward and share that part of her decision to sell Brando’s garage was to pay off a gambling debut. However, that doesn’t mean the reasons she did give were any less truthful.
Gladys blew up, telling Sasha that she sold that garage for her! She’s mourning her son, too. Gladys told Sasha that it’s difficult for her to deal with bills every single month — each one of them being addressed to Brando. (Well, except for the bill she owed Selina!)
Gladys shared that she sold the garage so she could get on with her life. And while we know that that’s not the only reason, Burroughs made us believe that Gladys believes this to be part of her truth. “I’m sorry if that makes you hate me,” Gladys told Sasha. “It’s just a chance I had to take.”
They say it’s best to incorporate as much of the truth when lying as possible — that way your story will be believed. It’s hard to tell just how much of the truth Gladys was telling when she unloaded on her daughter-in-law. We don’t doubt for a second the sincerity she showed Sasha when the two women cried and hugged it out.
However, we strongly suspect that Sasha won’t take kindly to the fact that Gladys also sold Brando’s garage to pay off some debts (if indeed she ever does learn this — no pun intended — deception). However, that doesn’t take away from Gladys saying that selling Brando’s garage will help her move on with life. Brava to Bonnie Burroughs for her portrayal of a character who is exasperating, loving, unpredictable, and all-too-human.
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