The Quartermaines and the Spencers add some spice and drama to the riveting soap opera, General Hospital. However, there are other dynamics and narrative twists and turns which take the drama to even greater heights. Fans have been shocked by the series more than just a few times… and some of the episodes’ twists will forever remain in their memories of TV highlights and low points. Here are 10 of General Hospital’s most shocking moments, ranked from the least to most shocking.
A mother’s betrayal
One of the most horrendous and dastardly deeds done in General Hospital was in 2012, when Helena, in a particularly evil and cold move, ordered her own daughter to be shot dead. The cold and callous order came after a peculiar love affair, involving Ethan and Irina.
It turns out Irina was supposed to be pretending to love Ethan, at her mother’s orders, but ended up really falling in love with him. Helena wasn’t happy about her daughter’s confession of love and displayed the coldness of her heart through her decision to put an end to her own flesh and blood.
Medication debacle
One of the series’ most shocking moments is when Tracey refuses to give Alan Quartermaine Jr. his much-needed medication. Fans are left horrified that a mother would stand in the way of her own flesh and blood’s healing. Her decision to get a little, or rather, a lot nasty was motivated by her desire to gain from the Quartermaine Estate and the will governing the fortune. Turns out the whole medicine debacle was actually a setup, conducted by her father Edward to assess his daughter’s true heart.
Laura wakes up
Not all shocking moments in the show have been bad shocks. Some have come unexpectedly, and as good surprises. One such surprise is when Laura woke up from a catatonic state, which she had been in for a good four years.
She woke up just in time for her 25th anniversary to Luke, and they renewed their marriage vows, celebrating their love with a special ceremony. So beautiful! Still, their ‘happy ending’ wasn’t without an even more shocking twist!
Luke’s second bride
Great celebration colored the awakening of Laura after four years of being in a catatonic state. No-one seemed happier to her than her beau Luke, who agreed to celebrate his marriage to Laura with a special celebration. The ‘lost’ bride had returned home!
Shockingly, Luke had a secret he did not have the guts to reveal to Laura – a new wife. For him, four years had been rather long and he had remarried. His other wife Tracy, and his first wife Laura remained blissfully unaware of each other.
Cousinly love
Ok, so most people love their cousins, but not enough to kiss them – romantically. Yet, this is exactly what happens in General Hospital, when Georgie develops romantic feelings for her cousin, Lucas. It could be argued that Lucas is her cousin via adoption, so it’s not completely gross for her to feel this way. To add to this complex web of love, Lucas then develops feelings for Max, Georgie’s older sister. He eventually kisses each one of them (on separate occasions). Even though there is an adoption involved, it’s all still quite shocking.
Nathan’s big secret
Secrets, lies, and scandal seem to be the ingredients for compelling viewing. This same is true for General Hospital when Nathan whispers to Maxie, ‘I love you too Claudette’, after just a bit too much pain medication. The shock of the moment is priceless and viewers might recall the moment well – wondering who Claudette was and realizing everything about Nathan wasn’t quite as it seemed. It would be a good few months before this compelling question was answered in the show’s narrative.
The exploding limo
Viewers of General Hospital will probably never forget the shock they experienced when Brenda, one of the favorites in the series, stepped into a limo after her wedding, only for it to explode just a few moments later. Brenda was gone! Audiences even believed she was dead for a time, however, it was later revealed that she had been kidnapped by the evil Balkan and was not dead. The exploding car, it seems, was just a decoy to make others believe she was dead.
Hostage crisis
Remember Jerry Jax? He took over a hotel in 2007 and held everyone hostage. The incident was both serious and shocking and was an onscreen crisis for any ardent fan of the series. Nobody knew what the outcome of the situation would be. This same crisis was the one which eventually took Alan Quartermaine’s life, and a major explosion in the hotel’s lobby remains one of the show’s most shocking moments.
Back from the dead
Viewers have to love General Hospital for its many twists and turns. One can never be sure that someone is dead, until a few series later – and even then, sometimes they still manage to return!
This was the case when Robin Scorpio Drake returned to her family in 2013, after dying in 2012. It would seem her timing in returning was spot on, since she managed to come back in time to break up the soon-to-be union of her husband Patrick and his desired new wife, Sabrina.
Blackmail
Fans of the show will agree that blackmailing someone to marry you is not just a low shot, but also makes for some shocking viewing. In 2012, Anthony Zacchara blackmails Tracy Quartermaine into marrying him. The show is filled with some interesting couple dynamics but this one has to take the award for being one of the most twisted, controversial propositions of the series. Fans who thought there was any romantic bone in Anthony were left dumbfounded by his cruel and calculated marriage proposition… Still, viewers were encouraged to keep watching… just to see how things would actually unfold.
