General Hospital‘s Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) may not be saying much now that he’s being held against his will and his mouth has been stuffed with a ball gag. (Really, Ava, you keep one in the glove compartment?) Before being kidnapped, Ric’s portrayer turned in a verbal tour de force that has earned him TV Insider’s Daytime Performer of the Week honor.
Ric doesn’t need to have Kristina (Kate Mansi) be on the witness stand to filet her. After he showed up at her mother Alexis’ (Nancy Lee Grahn) home to iron out some details about the latest extortion deal, Ric encountered an angry Kristina.
Not content to nearly kill Ric (and Elizabeth, played by Rebecca Herbst, for that matter), Kristina greeted Ric with some harsh words. Opting to treat her as a hostile witness, Ric advised her to watch her temper and suggested she talk to her bipolar father, Sonny (Maurice Benard), about getting on some meds. (That’s low, Ric!)
Rick Hearst and Kate Mansi as Ric and Kristina on ‘General Hospital’
ABC
Kristina came clean that she knew about Ric’s scheme to blackmail Alexis over her cutting his brakes. With that out in the open, Ric realized he could be candid with Kristina about her behavior over the past few months. “I’m surprised that Alexis looped you in, what with your volatile and oh-so impulsive nature,” Ric snarked. “She was worried you were gonna fly off the handle.”
Ric didn’t have the benefit of a judge overruling or ordering Kristina to tell the truth, but that didn’t stop him from making his case. He let Kristina hang herself with her own words just as she did in court last year.
“You know the funny thing about the law is, Kristina, is that it doesn’t matter if you have an ‘oopsie’ when you intentionally cut someone’s brake lines and cause a car crash!” Ric shouted. “Prison should be your next stop!”
Kristina attempted to explain away her almost killing Ric and Elizabeth by pointing out that over the last year her daughter and sister, Samantha (Kelly Monaco), had died and her brother, Michael (Rory Gibson), suffered severe burns that caused him to leave town in order to get treatment.
Kristina’s been criticized for making the situation around the baby she was carrying for Molly (Kristen Vaganos) and TJ (Tahj Bellow) all about her, and Ric took the opportunity to let her know in no uncertain terms that that and Kristina’s other tragedies were most certainly not.
Rick Hearst as Ric on ‘General Hospital’
ABC
“You have to remember,” Ric pointed out, “Molly also loves Michael. Molly also lost a sister, and that baby that died was also Molly’s – it’s not that you ever acknowledged it. You acted like the grief was yours and yours alone.”
Oh, sure, Ric may be a bit biased since Molly is his daughter, but he still made a convincing case.
“You’re so selfish and self-centered, you couldn’t even consider what Molly and TJ were going through after you tried to steal their child and take it for your own,” Ric continued. (Ric’s correct about this. Kristina explored taking legal custody of the baby when Molly and TJ were having problems.)
“Molly believed that you, her own sister, would stand by the promise of giving her the greatest gift imaginable, but no,” Ric said, “No, you wanted that child, and you were gonna keep her for your own. You know, Irene dying was devastating and utterly tragic, but you want to know the real tragedy here? Molly would have lost that child either way because of you.”
Kristina had no defense attorney (or, arguably, defense) to stop Ric’s attacks. She might have reconsidered her idea to stab him had Ava (Maura West) not shown up. Ric and Ava’s united front against Kristina quickly dissolved when Ms. Jerome and Ric turned on each other over — what else? — money.
Ava conked Ric over the head, and now he’s being kept prisoner by not only Ava and Kristina, but Alexis (an officer of the court!) is also in on the kidnapping. It’s ironic that Ric is serving what may be a 30-day sentence (that’s how long Alexis says he’ll have to be held while the money issue sorts itself out) because Ric is the one who proved beyond a shadow of a doubt that Kristina’s been getting away with way too many crimes!
The actresses of General Hospital are no strangers to TV Insider’s Daytime Performer of the Week column. However, there are plenty of great actors on GH, too, and Hearst is at the top of that list!
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
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