Kristina’s Fall & 4 More Unforgettable General Hospital Tragedies

Kristina’s fall on the August 2, 2024 episode is just the latest in unforgettable General Hospital tragedies. While the Davis family mourns and Kristina’s life hangs in the balance, let’s take a look back at other memorable tragedies that were anything but general.

Lucky’s Death (1999)

While Jonathan Jackson is about to return for his third run as Lucky, when it was time to wrap up his first run from 1993-1999, the character was killed off in a fire. As Port Charles mourned the devastating loss – including his then-girlfriend Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) – viewers were let in on a little secret: Lucky was alive and being held captive, all at the hands of Helena (ex-Constance Towers). After some brainwashing and poisonings, this tragedy had a happy ending when Lucky (then-Jacob Young) was rescued alive and well, but the presumed death of this legacy character shocked viewers for just a moment.

Carnival Crisis (2009)

Port Charles hasn’t held a carnival since 2009, and that’s probably because the first time they did, it went from fun to frightening in an instant. After Johnny (ex-Brandon Barash) got drenched in the dunk tank, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) charmed Lulu (then-Julie Berman) by winning her prizes, and Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) dressed up like a clown to face his fear, the carnival ended in devastation when Edward (ex-John Ingle) suffered a heart attack behind the wheel and drove his car through the festivities. Dante suffered life-threatening injuries after saving Morgan (then-Aaron Refvem), while Kristina (then-Lexi Ainsworth) was trapped beneath a damaged ride and left to die by Claudia (ex-Sarah Joy Brown).

Floating Rib Explosion (2020)

As if 2020 couldn’t get any worse, it was also the year we said a heartbreaking goodbye to Mac’s (John J. York) bar, The Floating Rib – and some beloved characters along with it. After Julian (ex-William deVry) planted a bomb for Cyrus (Jeff Kober), the explosion destroyed the bar and killed Dev (ex-Ashton Arbab) and Dustin (ex-Mark Lawson), while injuries from the event landed Lulu (then-Emme Rylan) in a coma. While the character remains in a coma to this day, many hope for her return after Laura (Genie Francis) and Dante recently visited her.

BJ’s Death (1994)

A moment GH viewers will never forget was that day in 1994 when BJ’s (Brighton Hertford, who recently returned to Port Charles to honor the late Jackie Zeman) school bus crashed. With a young Maxie in the hospital in need of a heart transplant, when BJ was brought to GH and pronounced braindead, Tony (ex-Brad Maule) said a heartbreaking goodbye to his daughter before offering to give Maxie her heart. GH later repeated this storyline in 2011 when baby Josslyn needed a kidney transplant and a 4-year-old Jake was (presumably) hit by a car and killed, giving Joss his kidney.

Which Port Charles tragedy will you never forget? Let us know in the comments.