GH Exclusive: Finola Hughes On The ‘Perfect Storm’ That Led Anna To Arrest Valentin

General Hospital‘s Anna Devane was forced to arrest her former lover, Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart), who was then hauled off to a maximum security prison in Switzerland. “I feel like Anna knew that day was gonna come,” sighs Finola Hughes, Anna’s portrayer, who spoke to Soap Opera Digest about the story arc, whether Anna and Valentin have unfinished romantic business and more.

 

Soap Opera Digest: What is your take on what it was like for Anna to put those handcuffs on Valentin?

Finola Hughes: There was a moment, right before it was going to happen, where I was thinking to myself that Anna would probably prefer to arrest him now, before he does something. And then the other portion of it is, if she doesn’t arrest him this time, her integrity is just going to be shot completely — and not just to herself, but to the DA, Robert, and to the people in the town, and to the mayor and to the WSB. There are just so many people that she needs to make good on her word to. I feel that this was the kind of moment, the perfect storm, when she had to act. But I did feel that maybe Anna was concerned that he was going to do something worse.

Digest: So she’s thinking, “He’s safer in Steinmauer.”

Hughes: Yeah, in a way. At least I know where the hell he is! But people do escape from this maximum security prison all the time. I can only sort of think that it’s similar to being put in prison at The Hague, where you are definitely never getting out. But apparently, people do!

Digest: Anna and Valentin broke up last year and shortly thereafter, he went on the run. It felt like a lot of things happened abruptly to upend their relationship. How do you imagine Anna has processed it thus far?

Hughes: It did happen rather abruptly, and I think it might have been more fun to have some more scenes leading up to it, you know? That would have been good. I’m all for more scenes with James Patrick [Stuart, Valentin], frankly! I think Anna has been processing this for a while. I think from the first time that she helped Valentin and Charlotte escape that she’s almost been regretting that move, regretting that decision of hers, because it puts her in bad stead with Jason, because he knows how it went down. Robert would never want to know that she had allowed Valentin to escape, even if she explained it was so that he could be with his daughter. And then also, it was really difficult to speak to the mayor, Laura, about the fact that she helped her granddaughter escape and now she’s missing. And then when Lulu wakes up [from her coma], there’s somebody else that she’s kind of in debt to, in a way. So I would say, unfortunately, this was Anna’s way of cleaning up her mess. And really, I can’t imagine how else it would end other than her having to do something like this: make good on her word, bring the girl back.

Digest: Even though Valentin is in prison, he’s alive, so the door is certainly open for his return. Do you feel like there is any unfinished romantic business between these two characters?

Hughes: Oh, yeah. Always. I do feel that this is one of those relationships where it’s like the person you’re not supposed to have an affair with that you constantly keep going back to. I do feel that he is somebody like that — one of those bad boys that you just can’t help liking a lot. I do wonder if he’s useful to Brennan, even though they have a fairly combative relationship. They have been useful to each other in the past, and I’m wondering if Brennan would find him useful in the future. That’s one way that I [could see Valentin returning], to deal with unfinished business with Brennan, and Anna might find herself on the tail end of that. I do feel like there’s always that sort of romantic attraction between the two of them and it doesn’t seem to dissipate. It’s been decades! I think they liked each other then, back in the day, and then it came to fruition, so I don’t know [that it’s over for good].

Digest: What were you playing in Valentin’s last scenes as she watched him say good-bye to Charlotte? Was that excruciating for Anna?

Hughes: For her to watch him say good-bye to Charlotte was hard, because she can’t really visit him at Steinmauer. I mean, she could, but I wouldn’t take a teenager there! I don’t think that Anna was feeling that this was the end. I think that Anna wanted to make her point that he had her, that it was working, and he just pushed it too far, and he just couldn’t leave it alone — whether it was greed, whether it was just the mere fact that he can do certain things, whatever it was that made him continue to exploit and outwit other people, he just overplayed his hand. And I think that really rankled Anna because if he had just been able to be content with where things were, then they could have had everything. But he wasn’t.

Digest: As James put it to me, ultimately the great tragedy of Valentin is that as much as he longs for a lasting romantic connection, he’s ultimately just a little too dysfunctional and keeps falling back on old patterns.

Hughes: Right, and if you consider his father [Victor Cassadine] and that he’s a Cassadine and what he’s come from… He did try to join the ranks of the WSB but yet he couldn’t help himself and he started up Pikeman and he continued to dabble [in nefarious things] because he’s so smart that he feels he can continue to dabble and not toe the line, and I think that’s the same in a relationship. I feel like Anna is able to have relationships. She has fairly stable attachments, I think they call it. She doesn’t have messy attachment issues. Maybe [laughs]. I think James is right that Valentin just can’t help himself, and I think Anna said it right there in that scene — “You had me. You did have me.” I thought that was a good line.

Digest: Well, as I said to James earlier this week, I think there are a lot of sad “Vanna” fans out there. I think a lot of viewers saw this as a pairing that could go the distance.

Hughes: I don’t know why they nipped it in the bud. It really could have worked quite well. I don’t know — some people remain in relationships for a long time on soaps, and then others, they just keep chopping up. I’m not sure. It’s gonna be a long and windy day before Anna finds somebody else that ticks all those boxes! Plus, James and I just worked so easily together. He’s an incredibly easy scene partner for me. He’s so prepared, he comes with ideas, he’s so prepared, he’s very thoughtful, very emotional, surprising — all the things that I love. And he has a really great point of view. He is a really great person to work with. I enjoy working with him a lot, obviously!