Daytime Performer of the Week: ‘General Hospital’s Lisa LoCicero’s Olivia Rips Into Lois for Lying About Grandson

Michael Maloney June 1, 2025, 8:00 am

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Lisa LoCicero — 'General Hospital' — Disney

Olivia Falconeri Quartermaine, played by Lisa LoCicero, was loaded for bear last week (along with several other Port Charles citizens) after discovering that her son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna), was the father of Gio Palmieri (Giovanni Mazza) on General Hospital.

For Olivia, the wounds were especially deep as not only did she learn her son was denied knowing he had a child and she was prevented from bonding with her grandson, but the deception was perpetrated on everyone by Lois Cerullo (Rena Sofer), Olivia’s longtime pal.

TV Insider is bestowing Daytime Performer of the Week honors on LoCicero for delivering a tour de force as Olivia grappled with Lois’s betrayal.

“You go on ahead,” Olivia calmly but stoically told her husband Ned (Wally Kurth) after he blasted his ex for her keeping the fact that their daughter, Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton), had had a child. “I’ve gotta have a few words with my good friend Lois.”

LoCicero brought a contained coolness to that line but then, it was game on! “You’re my best friend Lois — since pre-school,” an astonished Olivia stated. “We did everything together our entire lives — at least, I thought we did. How could you?”

Disney

LoCicero played the perfect balance of shock and anger in Olivia’s scenes with Lois. Sure, Lois truly did believe she had done the right thing by both keeping secret the fact that Brook Lynn had had a baby and making sure that the child was raised in an extended family. But, as far as Olivia was concerned, that didn’t give her the right to do it.

An incredulous Olivia shouted at Lois over her deception. “I could never keep something like this from you,” Olivia said. Lois kept hiding behind her belief that she had done the best thing for Brook Lynn, her daughter.

“Another lie! You did what was best for you!” Olivia corrected her. “You set it up so that you could keep your grandson close and not have to share him with anyone. Not even his mother! Shame on you!”

GH is known for connecting historical dots, so it wasn’t surprising to hear Lois fire back that Olivia had done something similar when she kept Dante’s existence from his father Sonny (Maurice Benard).

LoCicero committed 100% to the belief that as far as Olivia was concerned those were two different situations. “I didn’t tell Sonny about Dante because I had to protect our son,” Olivia responded, growing more exasperated that Lois would even attempt to stand by such faulty reasoning.

This is true. “Coffee importer” Sonny is often the target of other mafia families. Conversely, Gio would have been welcomed and cared for by a large extended family had Lois not done what she did. His maternal grandfather’s family, the wealthy Quartermaines, had resources to care for the kid.

“I had to protect Dante from being weaponized by one of his father’s enemies,” Olivia reminded Lois in a tone that read her pal should already know that. Lois’s misguided belief that this was all okay because Gio grew up around and near some blood relatives didn’t hold any water with Olivia.

Lois continued to justify her actions by pointing out that Gio did have a mother, the late Camila Palmieri, who adopted him as an infant. Alas, poor Camila died, which meant, as Olivia rightfully pointed out, that sure, Gio had a mother….“until he didn’t! You let that kid be orphaned, Lois. And his mother and father were right there!”

TV Insider’s Daytime Performer of the Week: Lynn Herring as Lucy Coe

Realizing she wasn’t going to get through to Gio’s maternal grandmother, LoCicero made the choice to have Olivia not even look at Lois. (Haven’t we all been there at some point in our lives with someone? We know we’re not going to get through to whoever we’re trying to reach, but we continue to talk in order to get the issues at hand off our chests.)

While Olivia had found it hard to look at Lois, she couldn’t let her remark that Brook Lynn wasn’t ready to be a mother pass without returning her incredulous gaze. “Nobody is ready to be a mother, Lois! Do you think I was ready to be a mother when I got pregnant with Dante?” Olivia rhetorically asked. “But keeping him was the single best decision I ever made!”

Lois tried in vain to convince Olivia that she had made the best decision, pointing out that Olivia gave up a lot when she became a young, single mother.

“For the record, I sacrificed nothing,” Olivia declared in a blow for single mothers everywhere. Before walking away from her longtime pal, Olivia stated that she didn’t want to know Lois at all if this is who she truly was.

Needless to say, Olivia’s trust in Lois has dimmed considerably. LoCicero, however, shined brightly in her performances as Olivia reacted to the dramatic news of Gio’s paternity not just as a human being but also as a grandmother, a mother, and a friend. Though, it may take a long time before Olivia once again regards Lois as her friend.

General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC