General Hospital has a winning formula after over 60 years on air. What was once a show centered heavily on the hospital has become a soap opera more focused on the mob scene, with everything else becoming background noise. That doesn’t negate that several legacy descendants remain onscreen, and new storylines involving them continue to emerge. While many of the legacy characters have less screen time, they are still helping to shape the future of what is happening on the ABC soap.
One of the hottest storylines on General Hospital is the WSB investigating Professor Henry Dalton (Daniel Goddard) and his research. Brennan (Chris L. McKenna) snagged Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) to be a field agent, and her assignment is to figure out what he is researching alongside her handler, Vaughn (Bryce Durfee). While Emma (Braedyn Bruner) would have been the better choice to recruit due to being Anna’s (Finola Hughes) granddaughter, the ABC soap went with Joss instead. They roped in Emma, as she followed Dalton in California before he arrived in Port Charles, but she hasn’t been cemented into the bigger storyline just yet.
Several characters have also arrived in Port Charles, who are not attached to the core families but eventually become linked to them. Cody (Josh Kelly) was a friend of Dante’s during his camp days, but became Mac’s (John J. York) son, effectively making him a Scorpio. That also caused issues with his relationship with Sasha (Sofia Mattsson), who, after coming to town to scam Nina (Cynthia Watros), found out that her father was Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers). She is the love child of supercouple Robert and Holly (Emma Samms) from the ’80s. Robert recently appeared on-screen to help with Sasha’s move to his place to flee Port Charles. For the show to remain interesting, there needs to be some connection back to the show’s early days.
The Quartermaine Legacy Is About To Get More Complicated
When that happens, it will encompass all the Quartermaines banding together to remember her. Having everyone together will be sentimental for long-time viewers and give the actors a place to express and share their grief with viewers. Monica and her late husband, Alan (Stuart Damon), were doctors at General Hospital. Tracy (Jane Elliot) is still around and living at the mansion (remember, it’s Monica’s house) with her son, Ned (Wally Kurth), granddaughter Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton), and various other family members, including Michael (Rory Gibson) and Jason (Steve Burton). A Quartermaine event never ends well, and the tradition of pizza on Thanksgiving is one of the moments that ties deeply into the legacy. Without it, many laughs wouldn’t have been shared over the years.
There have been several random Quartermaine relatives over the years. Gio (Giovanni Mazza) was once linked to the Cerullos through a cousin, but it was recently revealed that he is the son Brook Lynn gave up for adoption as a teen without telling Dante, making him Tracy’s great-grandson. More than one storyline is active for the Quartermaines, especially regarding Gio. Not only did he move out of the mansion, but he also moved in with Emma and Anna. A romance brewing between the two will intertwine the Scorpio family with the Quartermaines once again. This could change things in the young adult area of General Hospital, allowing for broader storylines and ones that highlight the upcoming generation, as they did in the ’00s with their young adult crowd.
Many legacy characters have come and gone in the last several years. Jacklyn Zeman, who played Bobbie Spencer, passed away while her character was still alive. She passed the torch of the Spencer name along to her daughter, Carly (Laura Wright), and her son, Lucas (Van Hansis). Carly and Lucas have been part of many storylines, stemming from Bobbie’s place in Port Charles. Lucas may not have been eager to follow in his parents’ footsteps without her place at the hospital. Now, he is one of the only doctors viewers see on-staff.
While some on-screen storylines aren’t tied to legacy characters, most still are. Laura, Tracy, Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), Anna, Felicia (Kristina Wagner), and Mac are all involved in many Port Charles events, and several still share scenes. It’s been 60 years of storytelling and character building, and while things may have veered away from what was once a hospital soap opera, the heart is still there as the storylines build around the hospital and the mob that has taken over Port Charles. Without the legends of the ’80s, the newer generations wouldn’t be running to the soap and their children behind them. Having roots in the story makes things more personal and offers a better connection to the viewer.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC and can be streamed on Hulu.
