General Hospital Performer of the Week: Genie Francis as Laura Collins

There aren't many soap stars as legendary as General Hospital's Genie Francis. After all, she brought soaps into the mainstream and created a pop culture phenomenon when she was only a teenager as part of the soaps' most famous supercouple, Luke and Laura.

Francis has been on and off GH since 1977, so she has spent nearly half a century bringing all iterations of Laura to life. Our current iteration is as the Port Charles mayor, who can still tangle with the bad guys, especially when they mess with her precious grandchildren. From troubled teenage heroine to fierce grandma, Francis always delivers, just as she has this past week.

Joy turns to fear for Mayor Laura

Laura was happy to have Kevin home | Image: ABC

After a frightening election night, Laura put on a strong smile and faced her fears on Thanksgiving by putting her angst behind her and serving turkey to those in need with little Ace. It was a good day, but then it became a great night, at least for a little while. Francis made us feel Laura's sheer joy at seeing her beloved husband, Kevin (Jon Lindstrom), at the door.

But Kevin almost immediately knew that something was wrong with his wife. Once Lulu (Alexa Havins) was gone, Francis' facial expressions reminded us of a much younger Laura whenever she would find herself in a dangerous pickle. She sheepishly admitted to Kevin that she knew Dalton (Daniel Goddard) wouldn't be returning to hurt Rocco (Finn Carr) because she had found his dead body in the trunk of her car.

As Laura told the whole sordid tale, you could see the relief on her face that she finally could talk about this. However, after Kevin left to tend to a patient, Laura had to face the moment she knew as coming — Sidwell's (Carlo Rota) arrival.

General Hospital's Laura still has fight

General Hospital's Laura had to deal with Esme and Cyrus — in her mind | Image: ABC

Francis has made it clear that Laura is absolutely terrified of Sidwell and what he can do to her and her family. Laura held it together while Sidwell taunted her and showed her outrage when Ezra Boyle (Daniel Cosgrove) showed up and she realized that she might become a puppet mayor. She gave as good as she got — until Sidwell picked up the baby monitor and made a pretty overt threat against Ace.

Then came the dream, which offered some of the most surprising moments of the General Hospital week. Laura's fears manifested the ghosts of Cyrus (Jeff Kober) and Esme (Avery Pohl), telling her that she wasn't the good person she purports to be. The look on Francis' face made our hearts break for Laura, but we still could smile because Genie Francis is in a front-burner story right where she should be.

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