Ironically, when Kathleen Gati joined the cast of General Hospital in 2012, it was supposed to be for a limited run. The show needed an evil doctor to help Cesar Faison (Anders Hove) keep Robin Scorpio-Drake (Kimberly McCullough) hostage.
GH quickly realized that it had more than merely an evil doctor day player on its hands as Gati’s talent runs the gamut of drama, humor, and everything that soaps fan love in a multi-faceted character.
The actress has mostly stuck around Port Charles ever since, delivering performances both powerful and poignant. Dr. O’s digs and quips cut sharper than any scalpel found in the operating rooms at General Hospital.
Last week, it was Liesl’s turn to play captive as she’d been kidnapped by evil WSB director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) to take over the research that her daughter, Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud), was working on for him.
Still half-drugged, Liesl posed questions about her captivity that someone with his or her full faculties might not think to ask. She quickly grilled Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), her fellow captive, about their situation, taking in every bit of info in order to plan her escape.
Liesl pieced together that it was Britt who’d been trying to bring Faison’s Cold Fusion dreams to life, but even she couldn’t figure out that Britt was being forced to do so.
Liesl lamented being mad at her “Britta,” now knowing that she was working with the bad guys in order to survive. Viewers know that Gati plays her, at times, antagonistic doctor, as a loving mother, first and foremost.
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Gati’s biggest acting challenge last week came when she learned from “Nathan” that he was, in reality, Nathan’s twin, Cassius, and that the real Nathan truly did die several years ago. At first, she was thrilled to see “Nathan,” not knowing that he was part of the team that was keeping her hostage. “That’s absurd, he would never do such a thing,” Liesl wondered.
Josslyn suggested that she address her son by his real name. “I am. He is my Nathan,” Liesl said, lovingly.
Gait played Liesl as being in denial after Cassius revealed his true identity. Soaps have played this beat (the back-from-the-dead character is really his/her twin) many times over the years. GH, however, gave Gati the challenge of knowing fully well that she’d had given birth to two sons, but for the first time, the full pieces of the traumatic puzzle came together.
“That’s not something a mother forgets,” Liesl shared once asked if she knew she’d had twins. “My dear Nathan survived, but his twin was stillborn. Another beautiful baby boy, but one whose heart never beated, never took a breath.”
Liesl recalled being told that there were complications and that an emergency C-section was required. She added that she’d been sedated and her sister was there. “Madeline [Donna Mills] told me the baby, my baby, had died,” Liesl added.
Gati made the choice to look away at this moment, but she then had Dr. O quickly turn to Cassius upon learning that he’d been given to Cesar by her late sister, letting Liesl believe that he’d died. (So, while Abby Ewing only had an inadvertent role in the kidnapping of Val’s twins on Knots Landing, Mills’ Madeline was far more devious!)
“If you are Cassius, then where’s Nathan?” Liesl asked, her voice cracking as if she already knew the answer.
Cassius informed his mother that Nathan died when he did, after Faison shot him all those years ago, and that the “Nathan” she’s known these last several months, has been him.
“And Nathan’s body?” Liesl softly asked, hoping against hope that he might still be alive.
Cassius gently informed his mother that he had Nathan’s body cremated and his ashes were spread out at sea, adding, “if it’s any consolation.”
“It isn’t,” Liesl responded, tears filling up in her eyes.
“I didn’t think I’d survive Nathan’s death,” Liesl said. “But then miracle happened. My Nathan came back to me. I had never felt a joy or a peace like it.”
Gati made the choice to turn to her TV son and point out with anger, “But you weren’t Nathan. You were a lie. You were someone I never knew.”
“What Josslyn is asking for is impossible, is it not?” Liesl stated, perhaps in an attempt to use reverse psychology, after Joss urged Cassius to help save their lives. (Hey, a guilt trip! She is his mother!)
Dr. O needed to get all the details from her son. She wanted to know if Britt knew who Cassius was this whole time. Gait had Liesl brace herself as Cassius confessed that she did.
Next, Liesl slapped Cassius across the face, despite him telling her that he’d been doing his best to keep Britt safe. His lies have been too costly — and not just the ones he fed her.
“What kind of person discovers he has a sister and then coerces her to join monsters such as these?” Liesl demanded to know. “What kind of man makes an innocent little boy [James, played by Gary James Fuller] believe that the father he never got to meet is back in his life? Everything you’ve done is a lie!”
Told by Josslyn that saved Britt’s life allowed Liesl to have an epiphany, especially after Cassius said that he’d die before he’d let Cullum kill his mother.
“Then, I’ll do what needs to be done,” Liesl said, agreeing to complete her Britta’s work. “Because I have no intention of letting you die, my son!”
Kudos must also go out to Paevey and McCoy, who brought compassion and support to Gati in these dramatic scenes. Gati was asked to deliver a great deal in these episodes — dealing with being kidnapped, learning one son who died was alive, and another, who’d come back from the dead, hadn’t done that at all, playing a fierce and loyal grandmother, and finding out that her daughter had kept secrets from her.
Gati turned in a tour de force that was Daytime Emmy-caliber and should be remembered by voters next year. Brava!
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC