Soap Hub Performer of the Week for GH: Nicholas Alexander Chavez

General Hospital tapped into a memorable relationship this week when Spencer Cassadine visited Dr. Britt Westbourne, the woman his father Nikolas dated when he was a young boy. For his performance as a man doing whatever he had to in order to fulfill his mission, Soap Hub bestows Performer of the Week honors for GH on Nicholas Alexander Chavez, who plays Spencer.

Nicholas Alexander Chavez – Performer of the Week

Nicholas Alexander Chavez wasn’t playing Spencer when he and Britt formed their special friendship during her romance with Nikolas Cassadine (Marcus Coloma) but you’d never know it the way both Chavez and Kelly Thiebaud’s Britt relived the days when Spencer was a wee one. She playfully informed him that the only way she’d help him (identify the origin of the pill he brought her) would be if he asked her nicely, recreating an endearing speech pattern that Spencer used as a child. The two characters were playfully giggling before Spencer officially acquiesced.

“Pretty please, Britt,” Chavez said, recalling the way his character used to speak. (Chavez’s pitch was all the more impressive given, as we mentioned, Chavez wasn’t playing the role back then.) Spencer let his guard down around Britt but he put it back up in record time, refusing, initially, to give away the identity of the person to whom the pill belonged.

Britt informed Spencer about the pill’s potency. Nicholas Alexander Chavez’s character met the good doctor halfway by telling her the drug belonged to Esme Prince  (Avery Kristen Pohl). When Britt explained that someone under the influence of this particular pill would behave a certain way, the look on Spencer’s face read quite possibly the realization that Trina (Tabyana Ali) had been drugged the night she was accused of recording Cameron Webber (William Lipton) and Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) having sex. And if Esme was in possession of this prescription, then, she likely is behind the attack on Trina.

After Britt put pressure on Spencer to hand over more information, the calculating Cassadine heir tapped into his more devious nature. He put Britt on the spot, hoping to simultaneously knock her off balance. To safeguard his relationship with Esme, he pointed out to Britt that she didn’t have any successful long-term relationships by noting that her unions with Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) and Nikolas (Marcus Coloma) never went anywhere. “Honestly, Britt, have you ever been in love?” Spencer grimly questioned the woman who was nearly his stepmother. “Has it ever been returned?”

If Spencer’s goal was to keep Britt from pursuing her line of questioning so that he could stay in control, well, mission accomplished — but did he have to be so cruel to her? We have to think there’s a reason that Spencer is being hurtful to someone whom he’s professed to care. Kudos to Nicholas Alexander Chavez for another great performance. In his capable hands, we can see that Spencer’s wheels are always spinning.

Honorable Mention: Jen Ray reprised her role as medium Chelsea Lam, who tried to shine a light on Liz Webber Baldwin’s (Rebecca Herbst) ongoing mystery that potentially has a supernatural element to it. Chelsea brought her knowledge of the spirit world to the tale — but Ray truly shined when Chelsea went head to head against Michael Easton’s Hamilton Finn, a man who appears greatly frustrated by what’s happening to the woman he professes to love.

General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.