Soap Hub Performer Of The Week For GH: Jeff Kober

Jeff Kober had us thinking that Cyrus Renault had truly found religion and was a changed man on General Hospital. It’s clear he’s found a way to have religion play a role in his life but Cyrus is still a villain at heart. Kober turned in a tour de force, showing us that Cyrus, even behind bars, is still in charge and, therefore, is our clear choice for GH Performer of the Week.

Jeff Kober – Performer of the Week

One might think a near-death experience like the one Cyrus recently had might cause a person to change. Anyone who thought the Pentonville resident had evolved, however, was in for a shock when Cyrus went on a tirade in front of his fellow prisoners.

Earlier in the week, Cyrus offered to share some books on soul-cleansing with fellow inmate (and rescuer) Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison). Cyrus claimed to Drew that he was trying to be more like him but Drew wasn’t interested in hearing anything the evil-doer had to say. “I owe you my life. I will not forget it,” Cyrus told Drew, calling him an honorable man. Cyrus had undergone a physical transformation as he now appears clean-shaven and with much shorter hair. Why not have faith that he’s turned his life around internally as well? Because he’s Cyrus, that’s why!

Holding up a Bible, Cyrus proclaimed to his fellow inmates that something good was coming. “Rejoice, my brothers, rejoice!” Cyrus shouted. “Today is a day for miracles, a time of righteousness and yes, vengeance but without vengeance, there can be no righteousness.”

We became suspicious that Cyrus was talking about something both specific and nefarious as some of his words were played over video of Sonny (Maurice Benard) back in Port Charles. Some purposeful editing was going on; was somehow Cyrus threatening the coffee importer from behind bars? The answer was yes.

After his sermon, Cyrus engaged in a mysterious conversation with the warden at Pentonville, who told Cyrus that while she may not share his faith, she’s relying on him for a common cause. “I believe everything is unfolding exactly as is meant to be,” Cyrus said with a knowing and cryptic tone to his voice. It’s fascinating to watch Cyrus, who’s both in prison and recovering from a health scare, be in total command of what’s going on around him. Cyrus orchestrated a lot of mayhem when he was on the outside. That doesn’t appear to have changed much now that he’s behind bars.

“Today, the Almighty will focus his cleansing vengeance on those who collaborate with our great enemy,” Cyrus shouted. “Proverbs 2:22 — But the wicked shall be cut off from the Earth and the transgressors shall be rooted out of it.”

Then, the action shifted to Sonny being arrested at the Metro Court restaurant for violations of the National Security Act. As he was being taken into custody, we heard more of Cyrus’s righteous preaching about the bad guys getting theirs. Clearly, playing the clean-shaven convict’s powerful words so close to Sonny’s scenes was no coincidence. Cyrus, somehow, is bringing Sonny down from Pentonville. Kudos to Daytime Emmy-winner Jeff Kober who continues to make Cyrus Renault one of television’s most intriguing and powerful characters.

Honorable mention: Kudos to Wally Kurth (Eddie/Ned) and Lisa LoCicero (Olivia). The two actors turned in a series of poignant scenes in which their characters, who have been at odds over Ned’s personality change, agreed to try to recreate the whole mess that they’re facing in an effort to jog Ned’s memory. Olivia and Eddie did something characters on soaps don’t always do — they met in the middle. While the recreation failed, he did agree to let her buy him an expensive drink. Eddie didn’t balk at Olivia’s theory that there’s still some Quartermaine in him given his taste in pricey spirits. The two finding new ground begs the question — will it be considered cheating if Olivia falls in love with “Eddie”?

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