Helena Cassadine
Helena Cassadine | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
General Hospital character | |||||||||
Portrayed by |
| ||||||||
Duration |
| ||||||||
First appearance | November 16, 1981 | ||||||||
Last appearance | May 4, 2023 | ||||||||
Classification | Former; guest | ||||||||
Created by | |||||||||
Introduced by |
| ||||||||
Book appearances | The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli | ||||||||
|
Helena Cassadine is a fictional character who is the main antagonist of the American soap opera General Hospital, famously originated by film actress Elizabeth Taylor in November 1981.[3][4] After a brief stint by Dimitra Arliss in 1996,[4] Constance Towers took over the role in 1997 and has returned — for periods of varying length — nearly every year since.[5]
Casting
A fan of the series and wildly popular
On March 31, 2023, it was announced Towers would again reprise the role for two episodes in May, according to a post on Towers' Facebook page.[20] She appeared from May 3–4, 2023.[21][22]
Storylines
1980s
In the summer of 1981,
1990s
Having returned to Port Charles in 1993 with son
Helena appears in 1997 in an attempt to reassert control over Cassadine heir Nikolas and his fortune. She loathes Stefan, whom she views as weak, and seeks to thwart his influence over Nikolas by distracting Stefan with Laura. Meanwhile, Alexis had discovered she was actually Mikkos' illegitimate daughter. Helena terrorizes her. Alexis remembers - as a little girl she had watched Helena slit her mother's throat. Luke and Alexis plot to kill Helena in 1998, but Stefan's fiancée
2000s
Lucky is presumed dead in a fire in May 1999; he reappears in February 2000 having been kidnapped on Helena's orders and brainwashed into serving her. In 2001, it is revealed Stavros has been in cryonic suspension in a secret room below General Hospital since his apparent "death" in 1983, waiting for a time when medical science could revive him. Helena manages to do so. Stefan stirs up trouble in town. Though initially compelled to do Helena's bidding and even hurting his loved ones, Lucky finally manages to break Helena's conditioning. Luke kills Stavros again by pushing him into a bottomless pit in 2001.[23]
In 2006 Helena placed a nanny in Nikolas' home,
Helena reappears in Port Charles at the General Hospital grand re-opening on April 13, 2009
On September 30, 2009, Helena returns, but she is sick and confined to her bed. Luke comes in and talks to her. Helena tells him another Cassadine is plotting revenge on the Spencers and Cassadines. Luke thinks Helena is faking her illness but he feels her forehead. It is revealed she is not faking her illness. Her nurse Mischa tells Luke's kids Ethan and Lulu there is another Cassadine, named Valentin, whom even Helena fears. Fearing for her life, Nikolas has Helena flown to General Hospital. After stirring up even more trouble after arriving in Port Charles, Nikolas uses his position in the hospital's board of directors to have Helena sent back to Greece.
2010s
Helena showed up in Port Charles again on February 10, following her learning of Nikolas' affair with
Over time, Elizabeth suspects that Aiden is Lucky's son, not Nikolas', and confirms this with a third DNA test. After delaying this revelation when Elizabeth's middle child Jake is killed in a hit-and run accident, she finally reveals the truth to Lucky and Nikolas. Nikolas does not take the news well, and decides to leave Aiden with Elizabeth and Lucky, then prepares to leave town. Helena is seen in Port Charles secretly watching Nikolas as he boards his jet. Shortly afterward, she confronts Lucky to taunt him, while insisting the whole time that Aiden was really a Cassadine and that Elizabeth's third DNA test was the tampered one. Lucky demands her to leave.
While searching from a recently missing-in-action Luke in Florida, Lulu and her boyfriend Dante learn from a pimp that Luke is somewhere doing business with Helena. The two arrive on Cassadine Island where they confront Helena about Luke's whereabouts. Helena later threatens to cause the Spencer family pain by making them lose Luke. Helena has a plan to get revenge on Spencers for the deaths of both her sons.
On September 28, 2011, Luke's son, Ethan, is wandering in Nik's home. While there, he finds a photo of Laura and is smacked in the head with vase by Helena. Helena sees someone passing by while she and Ethan talk.
On January 11, 2012, Helena is seen lurking the tunnels of Wyndemere holding a dagger and listening in on Ethan and "Cassandra's" conversation. Helena reappears on February 24, 2012 when she shows her face to Ethan and "Cassandra". She insists it's time to end the charade and tell Ethan the truth. Ethan's shocked when he realizes that Helena and "Cassandra" know each other. It hits him even harder, when "Cassandra" announces under the pressure of Helena that she really is Irina Cassadine, Helena's daughter. Irina tells Ethan that she was forced to play the part and take a place in Helena's never ending vendetta against Laura and the Spencer family. Helena seeks her goal when she informs Ethan that she wanted him to fall for Irina in order to break his heart. Irina tries to convince Ethan that she's fallen in love with him and doesn't want to lose him. Helena claims that Irina is still playing him and then she lets two of her men bring in a beaten up Luke. Ethan is shocked to learn that Luke was captured by Helena all this time since he thought his father was on one of his adventurous trips. Helena then announces that one of them is going to die. She ends up shooting her daughter, killing her.
On November 30, 2012, Helena is seen once again as Robert Scorpio pays her a visit. After she is told of Robert's suspicion that Cesar Faison is still alive, Helena calls Faison once Robert leaves to warn him that Robert is on to him.
On March 29, 2013, Helena reappears when she is suspected of kidnapping Lulu and shooting her grandson Nikolas. Luke and Laura learn that Helena stole the Haunted Star and they go to the boat with Dante to find Lulu. Helena's men hold Luke and Laura at gun point when Laura accuses Helena of shooting Nikolas. Helena refuses to believe Nikolas has been shot, but confirms it after calling to the hospital, and insists she was not responsible. Dante then shows up to save Luke and Laura and while Dante stays with Helena, the two of them go to a room where they believe Lulu is being held. Instead they find Ethan, who was caught while Helena was looking for Lucky. Helena reappears with her men as Luke, Laura, and Ethan, are out on deck, having apparently gotten free from Dante. Helena gives Laura a gun and offers to give them Lulu if Laura shoots Ethan, but then offers for her to shoot Luke instead. Luke and Laura use their apparent compliance as an opportunity to turn the gun on Helena's men. Luke then shoots Helena and confirms that she is dead. However, later on, it is revealed that Helena's body was frozen.
Helena is revealed to be alive, thanks to Robin's miracle formula. Helena has in her possession the frozen embryo of Stavros and Lulu. She also reveals that she has big plans for both Jason Morgan and Robin, but only that Jason (actually Jason's long-lost twin brother Drew Cain) made his way to the residence of Sonny Corinthos. When Luke begins acting rather strangely, it appears that somebody has taken over his identity and that he is in cahoots with Helena, but eventually, he is revealed to indeed be Luke suffering from D.I.D. Luke and Helena prove to be a dangerous pair and in one of her most nefarious acts, Helena along with Luke plans to blow up the Cassadine yacht with many Port Charles residents aboard. Their plan fails, and Luke is put into a mental hospital while Nikolas bans Helena to banishment in the Cassadine compound once again, this time apparently for good. Several months go by, and after Luke discovers the reasons for his D.I.D. learns that his son, Ethan, has been kidnapped. Luke confronts Helena but she appears to be a shell of herself, admitting defeat for the first time and warning him that Nikolas has all the power now. In a sense, she seems pleased with this, her plans for him finally achieved. Helena's farewell gift to Luke is a shocker: his grandson, Jake, whom Luke had believed he had killed several years before. Luke is stunned when Helena gives Luke a goodbye kiss, certain that they will never cross paths again.
By late November 2015, "Jason" has learned his true identity and clues take him, Samantha and Elizabeth to the Cassadine compound where Helena appears to be dying. Nikolas is present in an apparent last visit with his hated grandmother and is doting on the dying woman. Confronted by threats from Samantha, Helena gives her a taste of the Cassadine curse after Samantha insists that Mikkos loved Alexis's mother, not her. As Helena prepares to tell Jason the truth about his identity, she slips into unconsciousness and her doctor indicates that Helena is dead (once again). Efforts by Elizabeth to revive her to reveal what she knows proves futile and the three leave. Nikolas admits to his dead grandmother that for as much as he hated her, he also admired her for her class and determination to keep the family strong. The following February after a man who was much like her instincts at the All Saints Church who held everybody hostage, various Port Charles residents showed up except Sonny for the filmed reading of Helena's will where she continued her game playing from beyond the grave, sending Laura on a wild goose chase in regards to an empty book and giving Alexis the knife with which she slit her mother's throat. Helena continued to appear to various characters in their nightmares including Sonny's, harassing them in regards to the curse she had put on them at the time of her death because the district attorney was Paul Hornsby.
References
- ^ Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman (Head writers); Scott McKinsey (Director); Andrea Archer Compton (Script writer) (July 11, 2016). General Hospital. Season 53. Episode 13596. ABC.
- ^ Jean Passanante and Shelly Altman (Head writers); William Ludel (Director); Katherine Schock (Script writer) (September 14, 2017). General Hospital. Season 54. Episode 13888. ABC.
- ^ ISBN 0-345-32459-5.
- ^ ISBN 0-06-101157-6.
- ^ Soaps.com. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b Wolf, Buck (November 16, 2006). "Luke and Laura: Still the Ultimate TV Wedding". ABC.com. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ West, Abby. "Luke and Laura: 17 Great Soap Supercouples". Entertainment Weekly. EW.com. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ Soapcentral. Retrieved May 20, 2009.
- ^ a b General Hospital recap (4/13/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ General Hospital recap (4/21/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ a b General Hospital recap (6/4/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ "Helena's Back!". Soaps In Depth. Bauer Media Group. October 31, 2012. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
- ^ Garrett, Tommy (March 2, 2013). "BREAKING NEWS! Constance Towers And Helena Cassadine Are Both Headed Back To 'General Hospital' For The Show's 50th Anniversary, Highlight Hollywood EXCLUSIVE". HIGHLIGHT HOLLYWOOD. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- American Media, Inc.Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- American Media, Inc.Odyssey Magazine Publishing Group Inc. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ Webb Mitovich, Matt (August 13, 2019). "General Hospital First Look: Helena Cassadine Returns to Drop a Bombshell". TVLine. United States: Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved August 13, 2019.
- ^ General Hospital recap (08/21/19) - Soaps.com
- ^ Lightfoot Garrett, Tommy (February 1, 2020). "Constance Towers Returns to ABC's General Hospital as Helena in February". Highlight Hollywood. United States. Retrieved February 3, 2020.
- SheKnows Media. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
- Soaps.com. United States. Retrieved April 7, 2023.
- Soaps.com. United States: SHE Media. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- Soaps.com. United States: SHE Media. Retrieved May 4, 2023.
- ^ General Hospital was beginning to unfold a plot involving bioterrorism, with Stavros and Helena as the primary antagonists. However, following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the producers quickly altered the storyline. Stavros was written out of the series. Sept 11 changed US daytime TV (1/07/2002) - theherald.co.za
- ^ General Hospital recap (6/16/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ General Hospital recap (4/16/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ General Hospital recap (4/20/09) - Soaps.com
- ^ "General Hospital recap (6/5/09) - Soaps.com". Archived from the original on 2009-06-11. Retrieved 2009-06-05.