On the Friday, January 16 episode of General Hospital, Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) and viewers alike were in for a shock when she heard a voice from her past — that of Cesar Faison! One of the show’s most legendary villains, the Anna-obsessed Faison was introduced in 1990 in the form of Danish actor Anders Hove.
Hove played the role on and off through 2018, when the evildoer was killed off on-screen after shooting his own son, Nathan West (Ryan Paevey), and Soap Opera Digest can confirm that the voice heard on today’s episode did indeed belong to Hove. Here’s the inside scoop on Faison’s return.
Hear Me Now
Last year, two of Faison’s seemingly dead offspring, Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) and Nathan, returned from the dead in rapid succession.
This naturally sparked suspicion on the part of Anna, who admitted to Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) that she couldn’t shake the gut feeling that the man who had menaced her for decades might possibly still be alive … even though she spent some quality time in the morgue with his corpse when he died, and Faison’s brain was subsequently preserved in a jar.
Jason theorized that Sidwell (Carlo Rota) “and whoever he’s doing business with” might “using the threat of Faison just to mess with your head.” Jason noted that making Anna think Faison was still alive worked to their advantage.
As Anna investigated Faison’s possible connection to the twin returns of his children and to the mysterious research tied to his final project that the WSB believed was being conducted both at the Five Poppies resort in Croatia and back in Port Charles, she was suddenly taken hostage in November 2025.
She woke up in a dingy room (which viewers later learned was inside Wyndemere) and a man’s voice played over a loudspeaker, taunting her. “Be at peace, Anna,” said the man. “You’re on your way to a new life.” The voice sounded like it could belong to Faison, but it was distorted.
Her fear continued to mount when a package showed up in December containing a novel Faison had written, The Crystalline Conspiracy, which was published under his pen name, P.K. Sinclair. The book was accompanied by a note that read, creepily, “For my muse — C.”
On the latest episode of GH, Anna’s captors continued to mess with her mind, administering some sort of treatment that made her think that a female medical professional on Sidwell’s payroll was Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati), Faison’s longtime co-conspirator and the mother of Britt and Nathan.
Faux Liesl administered a phlebotomy to Anna and implied that she was there on Faison’s orders. Horrified, Anna countered, “No! Cesar Faison is dead.” The woman snickered and scoffed, “You know better than that.” Anna was rattled, to say the least, as “Obrecht” noted that Faison “could survive anything — and he has,” and warned her that Faison would never let her go!
Once Anna drifted off to sleep, the woman reported to Sidwell’s henchman Pascal (Marc Forget) that things had gone just as he had hoped, and Anna fully believed that she was Obrecht. “Good,” said Pascal. “That means she’s ready for the next phase.”
When Anna woke up, she was alone in her room. Spying an ashtray with one of Faison’s signature cigarillos stamped out in it, she recoiled in fear. A voice that was unmistakably Faison’s then permeated the room over the Intercom. “Anna,” purred the voice. “Don’t be afraid. I’ve been watching over you.”
These events seemed to make it quite clear to the audience that Faison’s “return” is not properly in the flesh, but rather is part of the scheme to gaslight Anna — a plan presumably whipped up by Sidwell and his partner, Cullum, to convince Anna that Faison is the person responsible not only for her kidnapping, but for the various and sundry illegal activities taking place in Port Charles in the name of completing Faison’s final project. But given that the villains seem to have the upper hand, what will it all mean for Anna? That’s the question GH will be answering in the next arc of the storyline.
What did you think of the Faison twist, and do you think the show should bring the character back from the dead for real? Let us know in the comments below!
