General Hospital Daily YAPP Recap, January 1: The man who put GH on the map

General Hospital
General Hospital's Anthony Geary as Luke | Image: ABC

Welcome to the General Hospital Daily Y.A.P.P. (Your After-Program Ponderings) for a quick — and by that, I mean you’re already halfway done — recap of the most amazing or what-the-heck-did-we-just-watch moments on today’s episode. Let’s get to it:

What Happened on General Hospital

Luke Spencer left Port Charles for good | Image: ABC
Luke Spencer left Port Charles for good | Image: ABC

General Hospital presented us with a very special episode on New Year's Day, when we got to reminisce with some old favorites and remember the man who saved GH from almost certain cancellation nearly five decades ago. While it was fun to see Maxie, Lulu, Dante, Morgan, and even Dillon, the episode aired for Luke and Anthony Geary, who passed away at the age of 78 on December 14, 2025. We got to see some fantastic final scenes between Geary and Maurice Benard's Sonny, as Luke and Sonny reminisced about their friendship, Frank Smith, and all the adventures they had lived together. We also got to see the last scenes that would ever air between Luke and his beloved daughter, Lulu. While there are other episodes that highlight Geary's work and who Luke was more in depth, re-airing Luke's exit episode, as he walked off into the fog and onto a boat to nowhere, was the perfect choice. It was a farewell to Luke, as well as a farewell to the Emmy-winning, legendary actor who played him. Together with Genie Francis, Luke and Laura became a pop culture phenomenon that was synonymous with GH in the 1980s. Even all these years later, when you mention the soap to anyone in passing, they always remember Luke and Laura, if they don't remember anything else. Farewell, Luke, and farewell, Anthony Geary.

Want more details? We got you! Soap Central has the best full GH recaps on the internet! You can even go back over 30 years and read each and every one of ‘em. If you can’t wait until the next episode, we have daily spoilers, too! And whatever you do this weekend, do not…seriously, do NOT…forget to read the Two Scoops for some laughs (hey, admit it, we’re funny) in the as-close-as-we-can-come to being a watching party without actually being a show — and the best part is if you agree or disagree, we want to know! As always, share your comments below.

You can watch General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.

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Edited by Hope Campbell