Daytime TV Performers of the Week: ‘GH’s Laura Wright & Cynthia Watros Have a Showdown at Bobbie’s

It’s no fun watching a tennis player cream their opponent 6-0, 6-0, 6-0. Two players need to be evenly matched to make an interesting tennis match. That was the case when Nina (Cynthia Watros) and Carly (Laura Wright) went at it at Bobbie’s diner over the ongoing conflict with their kids, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen) and Michael (Rory Gibson), who are currently embroiled in a custody war.

TV Insider is bestowing Performer of the Week honors on Daytime Emmy winners Watros and Wright for their performances as two women who excel at bringing the drama on General Hospital.

The writers armed both women with ammunition to hurl hurtful remarks back at each other. Carly pointed out that a lot of the drama could have been avoided had Nina been honest with Willow about her sleeping with her lover Drew (Cameron Mathison). The congressman’s hold over Willow makes Dawn of Day look like nursey school!

“We’ve all made mistakes, Carly,” Nina patiently pointed out to her rival. Carly fired back that Nina had made quite a few. “Oh, come on, Carly,” Nina responded, trying to bring the tone down. Nina noted that a lot had changed recently. After all, Michael had agreed to let Willow see their kids.

Nina wasn’t above making digs; she suggested to Carly that Michael had paid off the therapist who was monitoring Willow’s visits with Wiley (Viron Weaver) and Amelia (Sequoia and Serenity Mork Macko) so he could win full custody the next time they’re all in court.

“He doesn’t have to because Willow will prove that she’s completely unfit to be a parent,” Carly insisted.

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Watros softened her voice as she pointed out that Michael’s freedom was up for grabs as he’s a suspect in Drew’s shooting. Carly countered that Nina’s name was the one that was actually at the top of the suspect list.

The two women continued to volley as the subject of each of them being Drew’s lover came up. Off Nina mentioning that she and Drew had had their ups and downs, Carly scoffed, “Yeah, on the desk, under the desk, on the floor.”

“You act like you’re a stranger to that particular path,” Nina countered as Carly and Drew had dated for a while. Carly returned the remark by pointing out that she didn’t sleep with Drew behind her daughter’s back as Nina had done.

Watros chose to have Nina accept defeat on that one as evidenced by the hurt look on her face. And that was a great example of an actor trying not to “win” a scene. Sure, there’s a war that someone is going to win, but if the battles along the way aren’t interesting and unpredictable, then no one is going to stay in their seats.

Nina suggested that she was the one who was using Drew, and then, she moved on. Nina added that while she was angry at Drew, she and Willow were taking a walk when Drew was shot, therefore she has an alibi (as does Willow) whereas Michael’s is that he was with an escort, Jacinda (Paige Herschell).

Both actresses brought a rapid-fire intensity to these scenes. Carly quickly pointed out that’s the same escort whom Nina hired to drug Drew! There’s nothing like using someone’s own logic against them as evidenced by Nina’s reply that Jacinda would do anything for money including giving Michael an alibi. That point went to Nina.

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Neither woman ran out of energy and the conflict between them intensified as they recapped Willow taking their kids out of their home while Michael was recovering from burns that he endured in a fire.

Nina switched to her backhand by suggesting to Carly that maybe, in fact, Michael was innocent and that the person who shot Drew was her! Nina quietly pointed out that Carly would be mad at Drew because he stole Willow from her son. She didn’t have to scream that at her adversary or raise her voice (both women were aware that there were patrons at the diner formerly known as Kelly’s). Nina simply let the facts speak for themselves.

Carly countered that Nina was the one who had many reasons to kill Drew. Carly shrugged that she’d never killed anyone. This is when Nina executed the overhead smash by reminding Carly, “I think my daughter Nelle [Chloe Lanier] might have something to say about that.”

Naturally, the two women see this differently. Carly believes there’s a difference between not risking her life to save a sociopath, who’s dangling from a cliff. Nina believes Carly let her daughter fall to her death. Or is that “death”? Chase (Josh Swickard) never did get around to identifying the body, right?

“Nelle was a baby-thieving psycho just like her mother,” Carly shot back. Just as their match appeared to be headed to sudden death, Nathan (Ryan Paevey) appeared and broke things up.

But the drama for Nina wasn’t over. At the end of the episode, Chase came in to arrest Nina (!) for conspiracy to commit murder while Willow was being taken in across town.

This plot twist will likely lead to more battle royales between Watros and Wright, two powerhouse actresses, as the first person (or people, in this case) turns out not to be the guilty party. Brava to Watros and Wright for giving us (figurative) whiplash as we watched two devoted mothers go back and forth with each other as they fought for their kids.

General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC