General Hospital Character Recap: Dr. Kevin Collins

Dr. Kevin Collins – the word hubris seems tailor-made to describe this dedicated though sometimes pompous (and hypocritical) General Hospital favorite.

Who Is Dr. Kevin Collins?

Kevin is the son of famous mathematician Victor Collins and his wife, Melanie Chamberlain. Kevin is also serial killer Ryan Chamberlain’s identical twin and the possible brother of Greg Cooper, whose true paternity was never uncovered despite claims that he was the product of an affair between Victor and Marsha Cooper.

Kevin spent the first eight years of his life on Jasmine Island alongside his parents and Ryan. Upon suffering the same sexual abuse that his brother had been subjected to by Melanie, Kevin was removed from the home and taken to Europe where he spent the next few decades with his father.

In the intervening years, Kevin earned a doctorate in psychiatry and won the heart of  Grace Reese, who perished when the car she was driving (with Kevin as a passenger) skidded off the road and into a lake.

Off that traumatizing experience, Kevin learned that his brother had committed a series of grisly crimes in Port Charles so he relocated to the New York hamlet in order to study Ryan and ascertain whether or not it would be feasible to attempt rehabilitation.

Kevin’s presence in the town alternately annoyed and unsettled the residents who had suffered the brunt of Ryan’s wrath. Mac Scorpio, in particular, objected to Kevin’s insistence on staying put.

Kevin accepted the hostility and did his best to get Ryan to open up to him – even offering insight into his own life in order to establish a bond of trust. But unbeknownst to Kevin, Ryan was simply gathering information and biding his time.

Double Trouble 
In short order, Ryan had gleamed enough to enact his expertly hatched plan. During Kevin’s next visit, Ryan rendered him unconscious, traded clothes, and walked out of the prison’s front gate!

Though it took a great deal of time and effort, Kevin eventually convinced the guards of his true identity and he was freed just in time to assist in stopping Ryan from detonating a bomb inside the church hosting Mac and Felicia’s wedding!

Despite his reimprisonment, Ryan was able to escape yet again and this time he targeted Felicia’s young daughter, Georgie Jones. Kevin was on hand to aid in the search and when it appeared that Ryan had suicidally entered his flame-engulfed hideout, he managed to rescue and sanction him in nearby Ferncliff.

His actions imbued Kevin with a special kind of guilt that exacerbated his already troubled psyche. Alongside Lucy Coe, his patient-turned-friend, Kevin confronted his long-submerged feelings about Grace’s death and though he was able to lay those demons to rest, he wasn’t able to so easily dismiss his remembrance of his childhood abuse.

Twinning In A New Way

Instead, he reacted by taking on aspects of Ryan’s personality – including his obsession with Felicia, whom Kevin stalked and eventually kidnapped. In the aftermath of his psychotic break, Kevin was spared a jail sentence but his medical license was suspended.

Grateful to Lucy for her continued faith in him, Kevin proposed marriage – but more trouble lay on the horizon. First, Lucy uncovered the fact that Victor, whom Kevin had long claimed was dead, was alive and living in a European convent.

Then, Kevin penned a successful thriller entitled General Homicide, which the psychotic Greg Cooper used as a blueprint in his successful copycat murder spree. Kevin attempted to apprehend Greg, only to be wounded in the process.

When it finally seemed that the path had been cleared for Kevin and Lucy to marry – in a double ceremony with Mac and Felicia no less – the would-be groom dumped his intended when he discovered that her machinations had led to the blinding of her surrogate daughter Serena.

Dark Shadows Lite
Following the split, Lucy suffered a nervous breakdown which led her to imagine a fantasy world in which Kevin gained and lost a daughter (Livvie Lock), joined her on a crusade to rid the world of bloodthirsty vampires and found himself trapped in an alternative dimension.

Try as he might, Kevin just couldn’t dissuade Lucy of her delusions and the strain eventually resulted in him leaving her, seemingly for good. However, when her actions resulted in the near-murder of Llanview transfer John McBain, Kevin returned to Port Charles and worked with Lucy to help get herself under control.

Kevin Collins – Moving Forward

Though the exes tried to reunite, Lucy’s lingering feelings for former beau Scott Baldwin hampered their progress. Kevin eventually moved on with and married Laura Spencer.

Another switcheroo performed by Ryan nearly resulted in Kevin’s death and the revelation that he had kept quiet about Ryan’s “alive” status resulted in Kevin becoming estranged from many of his closest friends.

Luckily, they were able to forgive him and he was also able to reverse the damage wrought on his relationship with Laura. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.