protective

Genie Francis has been absent from our screens far too often as of late on General Hospital. Fortunately, that was rectified this week when the Daytime Emmy winner’s character, Laura Webber Collins, blasted morally-challenged Congressman Drew Cain (Cameron Mathison) for his machinations.

We also saw a fun, softer side to Laura as she bonded with Port Charles’s latest newcomer, Ronnie Bard (Erika Slezak). For her performance that was both passionate and personable, TV Insider bestows Performer of the Week honors on Francis.

Congressman Cain is enjoying throwing his weight around wherever he can these days. Danny (Asher Antonyzyn) and Rocco (Finn Carr) were his latest targets after Drew discovered that Danny had violated the order keeping him from his sister, Scout (Cosette Abinante).

Francis’s Laura arrived just in time to not only put a halt to Drew’s verbal attack on the boys, but also to administer one of her own. “I beg your pardon,” Laura authoritatively informed Drew. “I believe you’re out of your depth, Congressman!”

Mathison has come to embrace his manipulative character and has gotten quite used to ordering people around. Laura, however, has delt with villains in Port Charles for decades, from conniving Bobbie Spencer (the late Jacklyn Zeman), in her conniving nursing school days, to controlling matriarch Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers). The mayor of Port Charles doesn’t let anyone push her around. She’s not about to let anyone intimidate her grandson, Rocco, either.

“When did you become so petty and vindictive?” Laura almost rhetorically asked Drew. She wasn’t interested in hearing anything he had to say in terms of defending his character, or lack thereof.

After politely asking Danny and Rocco to leave, Laura’s strength only seemed to grow. “I would appreciate it if you would stop characterizing Danny as a ‘bad influence,’” Laura scolded Drew.

Soaps are famous for their two-person scenes, but Francis was sharing the screen with daytime legend Slezak in this confrontation with Drew. We couldn’t help but notice Laura’s bemused reactions as Ronnie caught on to Drew’s true nature.

When Drew failed to win Ronnie over to his side, he fell back on gunning for Scout’s brother. “Oh, please!” Laura remarked as she called out the Congressman for not being able to separate his personal feelings from politics.

Francis’s Laura has a beautiful smile, and she lit up like a Christmas tree when she heard Ronnie say she didn’t much like Drew.

After Drew was shown the door to the house that it looks like he won’t be buying, Laura turned to Ronnie and said, “As the mayor of this town, may I be the first to officially welcome you to Port Charles.”

In an effort to bond with Ronnie, Laura recounted a tea party she once helped the late Lila (Anna Lee) throw at the Quartermaine house when she was employed by her husband, Edward (David Lewis). There was a nice shoutout from Laura to her mother (Lesley, Denise Alexander) when she recounted that Alan (Stuart Damon) and Monica got into a fight that day, which climaxed when Monica threw a teacup at her husband.

We can’t say we recall that particular bit from the show’s Golden Age, but all that matters is that Francis sold the incident as if it had actually occurred. That’s how good she is.

In an effort to shed a light on the sister Ronnie never fully knew, Laura explained that the Quartermaines argued for sport (they sure did) and that Monica was Edward’s favorite (also true).

If Ronnie ends up coming clean that she’s a big fraud and not really Monica’s sister, it may be because folks like Laura have welcomed her with such grace. Kudos to Francis for her terrific performance as Laura passionately defended her grandson and also showed she can befriend a total newcomer with genuine warmth.

General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC