Peter August’s reign of terror has always been a bit harder on Maxie Jones, the object of Peter’s affections, more than it has been on the rest of the General Hospital characters. Therefore, Soap Hub is bestowing Performer of the Week for GH honors on Maxie’s portrayer, Kirsten Storms, for her portrayal of a woman who successfully negotiated with a sociopath.
Kirsten Storms – Performer of the Week
Somehow, Peter (Wes Ramsey) miraculously managed to escape from a police vehicle transporting him to Pentonville, make his way into Laura and Kevin Collins’s building, subdue a pizza delivery guy, kidnap Charlotte Cassadine (Amelie McLain), and get Maxie on the phone, ordering her to meet him if she ever wanted to see baby Louise AKA Bailey again.
After Bailey was kidnapped, Maxie Jones realized she had to come clean with the important people in life — her mother Felicia Jones (Kristina Wagner), Anna Devane (Finola Hughes), and numerous others so that they could all work together to bring down Peter. Kirsten Storms’ performance ran the gamut of emotions as Maxie felt fear, anger, and regret over lying to those closest to her. She was also partially relieved that all the deceit was over. (Well, not all the lying — more on that later.) Mostly, she was just sad that despite all her and Brook Lynn Quartermaine’s (the fantastic Amanda Setton) scheming, their plan ultimately failed.
Maxie had little to be joyful about during all the drama but she and Felicia got to experience joy and relief as Mac Scorpio (John J. York) came out of his coma after he sustained injuries courtesy of Peter. Maxie quickly had to shift into protective mama mode by leaving the hospital so she could meet Peter.
Once Maxie arrived on (where else?) the docks, she couldn’t allow herself to express joy over being reunited with her daughter; she had a pressing problem at hand — dealing with Louise’s sociopathic father. This is the part of the story in which Kirsten Storms truly shined. She plays Maxie as someone who has to think two steps ahead of a madman. We know she has to lie to Peter in order to get her daughter to safety but Maxie has to do it in a way that makes Peter believe her on some level.
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“I can’t just jump into your arms and say that all is forgiven and I want to spend the rest of my life with you…[Note: and here’s where Maxie started to lie again] but I think if we get out of Port Charles away from the place that brought out the worst in you, you will start to become the man that I fell in love with again — the one who was kind and considerate, talked me off the ledge when I was spinning or made me laugh when I wanted to pull my hair out, the one I trusted and believed in…”
Maxie made that impassioned speech and sold convincing lies to Peter. She dug into the part of it that he could possibly believe as true on some level, hoping he’d buy what she was saying and not realize that he’s the last person on earth she’d want to spend another minute with. Maxie’s ruse worked. Peter not only agreed to let Maxie come with him but also concurred with her that they should leave baby Louise behind and that someday they might have another child.
Maxie has always been a strong and resourceful woman. Given everything that her character has gone through, Kristen Storms tapped into those qualities to play out this story beat as Maxie traded her own safety and future for her daughter’s life. Kudos to the actress and her dynamic character for getting Peter to alter his master plan.
Honorable mention: Genie Francis is celebrating 45 years on GH and her character is just as strong as ever. We love Laura for gently and deftly protecting her granddaughter Charlotte from her grandfather Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) in one moment and then, leaning into the Cassadine villain and threatening to hold him lawfully accountable the next. Brava to both Kristen Storms and Genie Francis!
General Hospital (GH) airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes. For more about what’s coming up in Port Charles, check out all the latest that’s been posted on GH spoilers, and for an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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