General Hospital Comings & Goings Shocker: Two Villains Return To Torment Laura!
There were multiple blasts from the past on the Friday, December 5 episode of General Hospital, with not one but two surprise returns by a pair of the most notorious villains the show has introduced in recent years. Jeff Kober was back to reprise the role of Cyrus Renault, who was memorably shot dead by Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) earlier this year, while Avery Kristen Pohl came back as Esme Prince, a character that has been presumed dead since 2024 alongside her ex-boyfriend, Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chavez).
Ghost Whisperer
The returns of both actors are short-term, as the two deceased characters appeared not in the flesh, but in a dream by the troubled mayor of Port Charles, Laura Collins (Genie Francis). In the storyline, Laura is reeling from the traumatic experience she had when she opened her car trunk and discovered the dead body of Professor Henry Dalton (Daniel Goddard) inside. Understandably panicked, she phoned a friend — mobster Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). While he enlisted Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) to dispose of the body and wipe her vehicle clean, Laura subsequently learned that his efforts to protect her were likely for naught: Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota) — who, viewers know, was responsible for Dalton’s untimely death — had photo evidence linking both her and Sonny to the scene of the crime. And as if framing Laura for the murder wasn’t bad enough, he laid out a pretty hefty price for her to pay in exchange for his silence, letting her know he expected her to do his bidding from her position as mayor.
Given her troubled state of mind, it’s no surprise that her subconscious whipped up visions of the deceased Cyrus and Esme. Cyrus is Laura’s half brother (they share a father, Gordon Grey), and Esme is the mother of Laura’s youngest grandchild, Ace, whose father is Nikolas Cassadine. Laura has custody of her grandson, since Esme is dead and Nikolas is in jail. Laura is also connected to Esme via her husband, Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), whose late twin brother, Ryan Chamberlain, was Esme’s father via a long-ago fling with Heather Webber (Alley Mills).
In her dream, the criminal Cyrus taunted Laura by claiming that he always knew they were alike, while Esme railed at Laura, accusing her of being unfit to raise Ace because of her misdeeds.
Kober made his GH debut in 2020, and in 2022, he received the Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actor for his work as the menacing Cyrus on his second nomination. His exit in February 2025 took place after it was revealed that Cyrus was behind the deaths of Samantha McCall (Kelly Monaco) and Joss’s beau, Dex Heller (Evan Hofer). Pohl first appeared on the show in 2021 and wrapped her run three years later. This year, she received her first Daytime Emmy nomination, in the Outstanding Guest Performer category.
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