When General Hospital killed off Nelle, the show hadn’t yet lit the fuse on one of its biggest reveal bombs: she and Willow never knew they were twin sisters. Nina didn’t know she was their mother. All of that came too late to matter, at least on screen. But time has a way of changing perspective in Port Charles. And according to Katelyn MacMullen, if Nelle were standing in front of Willow today, the reaction might not be pure hatred. It might be something messier and closer to recognition.
Key Takeaways
- Willow’s view of Nelle could be far more complicated today.
- Shared trauma and family damage have reshaped Willow’s perspective.
- Empathy, not forgiveness, is the shift MacMullen points to.
Would Willow and Nelle Actually Get Along?
MacMullen spoke with Soaps about how Willow’s life has reshaped the way she might view her long-lost sister now. The same family has bruised Willow. The same power structures that chew people up and then act surprised when they bleed.
MacMullen suggested that Willow would no longer look at Nelle (Chloe Lanier) as a cartoon villain, but as someone forged in the same fire. She explained that Willow has lived through betrayal, being manipulated, and being cast out from those who claimed to love her. If she met Nelle today, “she’d be like, ‘Oh, yeah. You had to deal with these crazy people, too.’
“Willow could be kind of understanding of some of what she went through,” she said, noting that shared damage matters. Willow wouldn’t be excusing Nelle’s choices, but she’s no longer insulated from them either. MacMullen was careful to draw the line, explaining, “I don’t think that Willow is like Nelle,” but experience has softened the edge. Willow has lost the luxury of thinking pain always arrives cleanly or fairly.
Are Willow and Nelle Cut From the Same Cloth?
The connection runs deeper than temperament. They share blood. A mother they grew up without—a childhood shaped by absence rather than stability. MacMullen pointed out that Willow is finally starting to interrogate how much of her present behavior is rooted in what she never processed back then.
That reckoning hasn’t been gentle. Willow’s coping mechanisms are cracking. The control slips as her anger leaks out sideways. MacMullen framed it plainly when she said Willow was beginning to see how that unresolved past is “manifesting” now, and not in healthy ways.
What emerges isn’t forgiveness, exactly. It’s empathy with teeth. Willow can hold Nelle accountable and still understand how someone gets there. If Nelle ever walked back into Port Charles, Willow might not reach for a hug. But she might pause before reaching for a weapon. And on this show, that pause can change everything.
