General Hospital’s Disturbing Ava & Ric Scene Crossed The Line

General Hospital recently aired a scene that was so disturbing that it crossed the line and never should’ve been on television. In one of its most controversial storylines, General Hospital has Ava Jerome (Maura West), Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), and Kristina Corinthos (Kate Mansi) taking their revenge on Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) by holding him hostage in Alexis’ basement.

After Kristina argued with Ava and fell out of her hotel room window and lost the baby she was carrying for her sister, Molly Lansing-Davis (Kristen Vaganos), Ric defended Ava, who was charged with murder. Ric mercilessly grilled Kristina on the witness stand, which infuriated her mother, and Ric’s ex-wife, Alexis. Ava was found not guilty, and she and Ric became lovers.

Kristina was so upset with Ava that she cut the brakes in Ric’s car, thinking it was Ava’s. Ric crashed the car while driving with Elizabeth Baldwin (Rebecca Herbst), sending them both to the hospital with injuries. When Ric and Ava figured out what Kristina had done, he wanted to turn her into the police, but she saw it as an opportunity to solve her financial problems by teaming up with Ric to blackmail Alexis into giving her back the Cassadine money that was previously taken from her.

Months later, at Alexis’ house, Kristina confronted Ric about blackmailing her mother. Ava showed up and Ric revealed that he’d closed the account with the money and bought $10 million in bonds that would mature in a month, keeping all of it from himself, and leaving Ava with nothing.

Ava was so angry with Ric that she hit him in the head with a paperweight in front of Kristina, and she wasn’t sure if she’d killed him. When Alexis came home, they realized that he was still alive, but they decided to keep him tied up in Alexis’ basement for the 30 days until the bonds matured.

When Ric woke up, tied up in the basement with Alexis standing over him, he assumed that she was there to rescue him. She then informed him of their plan to keep him there until they could get their hands on the money. Ric yelled for help, but no one could hear him. Even though Ric has been one of the worst General Hospital villains, one of the latest scenes in this storyline was so heinous that it shouldn’t have aired on the show.

There Was Nothing Funny About Ava Holding Ric Hostage & Drugging Him

Ric Did The Same To Carly & Elizabeth But Ava Has No Right To Hurt Him

Credit: ABC via MovieStillsDB

The scenes with Ric were supposed to be an ironic and full-circle moment because, in 2004, he kept Carly Corinthos (then played by Tamara Braun) locked in a panic room in his house while she was pregnant, in order to eventually kidnap her baby to give to his wife, Elizabeth, who he was drugging with birth control pills. Elizabeth even had a stroke when she found Carly.

Ric’s kidnapping was similar to the movie 9 to 5, in which a group of disgruntled women take revenge on their boss. However, what was once a campy storyline has now become disturbing because of the scene in which Ava forcefed Ric a sedative. He begged her not to give it to him, saying that he didn’t want any more pills, implying that the women had been drugging him for the past 20 days because Ava stated that there were about 10 days left until the bonds matured.

The General Hospital scene in which Ava drugged Ric made the reality of his kidnapping hit home. He’d been tied to a gurney for weeks, which made one wonder about how his human needs were being met, including eating, drinking, and using the restroom. While some might’ve argue that Ric deserved every minute of the torture he’s been receiving because he never truly paid for his past crimes, it wasn’t up to Alexis, Kristina, and Ava to be his judge and jury.

There was nothing funny about watching Ava so heartlessly take delight in hurting Ric. The fear and pain on his face was evident during their encounter, and it’s concerning that the writers seem to think that anyone would root for Ava.

Ava Jerome Is An Irredeemable Villain

Ava Can’t Come Back From These Horrific Deeds

Credit: ABC via MovieStillsDB

Ava has been one of the most ruthless villains ever to appear on General Hospital. Her worst crimes were when she killed Connie Falconeri (Kelly Sullivan) in cold blood, as well as when she showed no remorse when she thought that she killed her ex-husband, Nikolas Cassadine (Adam Huss). She also switched Morgan Corinthos’ (Bryan Craig) bipolar medication with placebos, which indirectly caused his death.

Watching Ava drug a helpless Ric was a nauseating scene that went way too far. She took pleasure in watching his pain. Even though Ric is a terrible person as well, Ava had no right to drug him. It was hard to watch Ava torture another human being like that. Suddenly, what was originally left to the imagination became all too real.

The General Hospital writers probably didn’t intend for viewers to root for Ric to get away from his captors after spitting out his latest sedative pill and breaking through his masking tape shackles, but there was a sense of relief when he emerged from the basement.

However, the coming attractions for the next episode showed him holding a knife to Alexis’ throat. This violent and twisted General Hospital storyline should never have happened, but the drugging of Ric was especially disturbing. It’s going to be nearly impossible to redeem the characters, especially Ava, after they did such horrifying things.

Release Date

April 1, 1963

Directors

Larry Carpenter, Phideaux Xavier, Tina Keller, Gary Tomlin, William Ludel

Writers

Chris Van Etten, Shelly Altman, Jean Passanante, Anna Cascio

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  Tyler Christopher

  Nikolas Cassadine

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  Maurice Benard

  Sonny Corinthos