As General Hospital's Sonny stood on the edge of the roof looking down, the spirit of his late son Morgan arrived to talk his father out of jumping. With Bryan Craig back as Morgan for this one special episode, the scenes were reminiscent of when Sonny talked Morgan out of doing the exact same thing eight years ago.
At that point in 2016, Morgan had not yet been diagnosed with bipolar disorder when he contemplated suicide on the same rooftop, but the incident led to the official diagnosis. At the time, his ladylove Kiki had just been shot and Morgan blamed himself. Flashforward to 2024, and Sonny was unknowingly taking placebos rather than his bipolar meds. His guilt over what happened to Kristina and her baby overwhelmed him. Sonny wondered if his children would be better off if he were dead.
Morgan was there to assure his dad that everyone makes mistakes and that his children loved, needed, and forgave him for things that hurt them in the past. As the episode ended, Sonny left the roof and visited psychiatrist Kevin Collins for help.
Maurice Benard's surprising confession
As fans praised the emotional moments on social media, Benard explained that they were the first scenes he taped after taking time off due to his own mental health problems.
"It’s been a great couple of days for everyone," Benard tweeted in response to one fan's words. "I shot what you saw today the first day I came back. It was just raw for me. I really felt that I could fall off that ledge."
In a recent emotional episode of Benard's mental health podcast, State of Mind with Maurice Benard, the actor appeared alone and explained why he had to take two weeks off from GH. His wife, Paula, and son, Joshua, were on vacation in Europe when he started feeling severe anxiety that led to trouble sleeping.
"They're the two people who, when I am going through anything, can talk me out of it," Benard said of his wife and son. "So, they're gone, and I'm doing this basically alone."
While General Hospital Executive Producer Frank Valentini was understanding and supportive, Benard admitted the show would have had to hire a temporary recast if he had to take another week off.
Before the compelling roof scenes aired, Benard took to Instagram to praise his co-stars for their work when characters learned that Kristina had lost the baby.
"There was a lot of discussion about yesterday’s show," Benard wrote. "First, let me say, I watched it and everybody at @generalhospitalabc should be very, very proud. Producing, directing, writing, acting. Sometimes we take things for granted I know everybody works really hard. Yesterday's show reminds me why we work hard. And I can tell you, I know cause I remember it vividly. There’s a lot more to come. P.S. Everything is great. I am doing incredibly well."
Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and Hulu.
