Peter August, AKA the late Faison’s son, Henrik, has been running amok since his General Hospital arrival in 2017; doing evil deeds and getting away with them in between falling in love with Maxie.
General Hospital Quandary
The GH writers seem torn about redeeming the character, taking him to the brink time and time again, only to eventually back off. Here’s the case for why Peter’s (Wes Ramsey) redemption should and shouldn’t happen.
Sins of the Past
Peter’s rap sheet of crimes — some proven, some not – is a mile long. He’s responsible for holding Jason (Steve Burton) captive in a Russian clinic for five years. He helped Helena kidnap Drew (Billy Miller) and, years later, orchestrated the plane crash that killed him.
Then there’s the time he held Anna (Finola Hughes) at gunpoint, had Andre (Anthony Montgomery) stabbed, tampered with Franco’s (Roger Howarth) memory reversal, and conspired to send Sam (Kelly Monaco) to prison.
There’s no coming back from one or two of these felonies, let alone all of them, and bad guys really do need to get their comeuppance at some point. Plus, every time it looks like Peter has learned his lesson and might be headed on the straight and narrow, he pulls another stunt.
You could argue that his last act of evil, framing Maxie’s mother-in-law, Liesl (Kathleen Gati), for his crimes, was one of his coldest, most calculated acts. He barely flinched, when Maxie (Kirsten Storms) bemoaned having to break the news to her son, James, that he’d no longer be seeing his beloved grandmother. And he plays his mother (aunt?) Anna like a fiddle, knowing she’ll protect him at any cost. The guy has no conscience.
Peter: Hope for the Future
There’s nothing like love to change a guy, right? And Peter occasionally seems to be headed in that direction. Anna’s strong belief in him has prompted Peter to deviate from a deplorable act on a couple of occasions, like the time he took out the thug he hired to stop Franco’s memory reversal by shooting the guy dead. And, at times, he appears genuinely contrite and to really care about what his mother thinks about him and desperate to be worthy of her love and faith in him.
Peter also seems ready to make a permanent change to be the man Maxie and young James deserve. The mother and son present a chance at a life he never dreamed he’d have. And with Maxie thinking she might be pregnant with Peter’s child, the stakes are even higher.
Pending fatherhood could be the impetus Peter needs to finally hang up his black hat and transform into a white knight, permanently. But, of course, he’s got a lot of wrongs to right, first. General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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