What is driving the mayor of Port Charles to protect GH?
General Hospital viewers watched Laura Collins grow up from a pre-teen who ended up with the wrong mother, to a teen whose wedding ended up the most-watched episode of daytime drama ever. We watched her become a mom, we waited out a couple of her mental breakdowns, and now we’re proud to have her as our mayor. But what drives Laura to ignore her civic responsibilities for a jaunt to Greenland to…you know…save the world? What’s with the Hero Compulsion? We put Her Honor on the couch for a peek inside that noodle.
On the Couch: Laura Collins Has A Checkered Past
We thought we knew all of Laura’s (Genie Francis) youthful sins because we watched her murder David Hamilton, her dad’s old college buddy who hated Rick (Chris Robinson) so much that he tried to seduce his wife and, when that didn’t work, went after his young daughter. Lesley (Denise Alexander) ended up taking the blame for Laura’s crime. Almost 30 years later, we learned that a few months after that, Laura also killed Rick’s mistress. It’s amazing she had time to graduate high school.
GH: Blaming the Victim
Laura also spent decades telling herself she hadn’t been raped by the man she eventually married. It wasn’t until Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) was dealing with Elizabeth’s (Rebecca Herbst) sexual assault that Laura had to admit the truth, not just to her son, but to herself.
We are not saying that Laura is to blame for what happened. But we can’t believe those thoughts didn’t cross her mind. If not responsible for the rape, at least responsible for white-washing it for so long.
General Hospital: Laura Collins Doing Penance
Is it any wonder that, with a past so filled with missteps, Laura would be determined to only do good and be good moving forward? She saved Port Charles from the mob. She saved Port Charles from the Cassadines. She saved Port Charles from the mob…again. And now, it’s time for a second go-around with the family that made her life miserable for so long. It’s the least Laura can do. Or so she thinks.