The Surprising Meaning of Nikolas’ Inmate Number On General Hospital

As Laura tries to find help for a dying Lulu on General Hospital, she went to her incarcerated son Nikolas to see if he could donate part of his liver to save her. He greeted his mother surprisingly in blue prison garb, not orange as we’ve seen. His prisoner identification number is emblazoned on his lapel, and it’s an obscure nod to a famous play.

An Easter Egg

Hidden references within a film or TV show are called “Easter Eggs,” a term created by former Atari manager Steve Wright, who “loved the idea of hidden surprises in games because they reminded him of ‘waking up on Easter morning and hunting for Easter eggs,’” according to Dictionary. One such Easter Egg was found when Laura (Genie Francis) visited Nikolas (Adam Huss) in jail on the August 27 GH episode. (Find out how Nikolas landed in prison.)

The number on his prison uniform was 246015, and that’s very similar to the prisoner identity number of Jean Valjean, the main character in the 1862 novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo (Not to be confused with powerhouse soap opera creator/producer/writer, Michele Val Jean).

Valjean’s number is 24601, and in the play version of the story, the police inspector named Javert often calls him “Prisoner 24601,” however, he never calls him that in the book, and the number also changes frequently in the novel. It makes sense that they would use that number since both Nik and Valjean are prisoners.

Other References Have Been in GH

Various Easter Eggs have appeared on the show throughout the years, and the most obvious one that still goes on today is the character of nurse Deanna Sirtis, played by Dioni Michelle Collins. This is an in-joke here because Genie Francis (Laura) is married in real life to Jonathan Frakes, who played Will Riker on Star Trek: The Next Generation. His love interest there was a character named Deanna Troy, played by Marina Sirtis, and that’s where the reference comes from.

Now that it’s been determined that Nikolas is not a viable liver donor for his sister, Lulu, Laura’s traipsing around the globe to find her other son, Lucky (Jonathan Jackson), in the hopes that he’ll be a match and can save his sister’s life.

In the meantime, we’ll keep our eyes peeled for more references and Easter Eggs!