Peter's Reign Of Terror On General Hospital Explained

Among the rogue's gallery of villains who've plagued Port Charles on "General Hospital" was the devious and calculating Peter August (Wes Ramsey). Per Soap Central, Peter was the son of supervillain Cesar Faison (Anders Hove) and Anna Devane (Finola Hughes), whom he believed to be his mother. While Faison had been obsessed with Anna for decades, when Peter came to Port Charles he developed his own obsession with Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms). He'd also been involved in numerous criminal schemes that affected citizens before he came to town, including orchestrating the capture of Drew Cain (then Billy Miller) and Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) as part of a memory-swapping scheme. 

For a time, Drew believed he was Jason because Jason's memories had been implanted in his brain. He and Sam McCall (Kelly Monaco) launched a company called Aurora Media and hired Peter as its COO. When a man known only as Patient 6 escaped a clinic in Russia and went to Port Charles, his true identity as the real Jason was revealed and the memory-mapping plot was uncovered. During his time at Aurora, Peter tried to form a relationship with Anna. But Faison came to town and, while holding a pregnant Maxie hostage, Detective Nathan West (Ryan Paevey) entered the scene and Faison shot him, not realizing he'd killed his other son (via YouTube). 

Maxie was pregnant with Nathan's baby, and eventually she and Peter became lovers. But that's only the beginning.

On "General Hospital," in the aftermath of Nathan West's murder by Cesar Faison, his mother Liesel Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) sought revenge, capturing Peter August and torturing him in a cabin, believing he was responsible for Faison's actions, per Soap Hub. When it was revealed that nefarious cult leader James Henry Archer (Coby Ryan McLaughlin) — aka Shiloh — helped Peter capture Drew Cain years prior, Shiloh took the opportunity to blackmail Peter. Peter helped Shiloh escape prison, and framed Sam McCall for the crime. Sam later shot Shiloh with a flare gun, killing him, and ended up doing jail time (via Soaps She Knows).

Although he sought redemption for his past actions through forging a relationship with Anna, as well as becoming romantically involved with Maxie, Peter was devastated to learn that Anna's twin, Alex Marick, was actually his birth mother, per Celeb Dirty Laundry. Alex was dark and twisted, and Peter felt there was no escaping that heritage. Over time, as the truth about his part in Drew and Jason's kidnapping and memory-mapping came to light (which also included mind control) Peter became unhinged. He even tried having Dr. Andre Maddox (Anthony Montgomery), the developer of the memory-mapping technique, killed. At one point, Shiloh implanted Drew's memories in Franco Baldwin (Roger Howarth), and Peter tried to have him killed, too, for fear that Drew's memories would expose him.

Peter's crimes only got worse from there.

According to Soaps She Knows, as things spiraled out of control for Peter August on "General Hospital," he continued to rack up crimes, hiding his involvement in past misdeeds. Peter made it look like the plane Drew Cain was on had crashed in the ocean and framed Liesel Obrecht for it. He murdered Franco Baldwin and framed Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) for that as well. Peter even tried to poison Dr. Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton), but Finn's brother Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) accidentally drank it and almost died. A furious Finn tossed Peter down a flight of stairs and thought he'd killed the villain. However, Peter survived and went on a rampage.

He hired a bogus nurse to take care of Maxie Jones, who was now pregnant with his child. The nurse was to induce labor and steal the baby for Peter. When that failed and Maxie put the baby in hiding, Peter stalked her. He found his way to Nixon Falls where he discovered an amnesiac Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) — who had been presumed dead — alive and well with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros), who kept Sonny's status a secret. Peter tried to blackmail Nina into locating Maxie's baby and when that failed, he tied Nina and her friend Phyllis Caulfield (Joyce Guy) to chairs and lit the building on fire. Sonny saved the women and Peter escaped (via Soaps She Knows).

On "General Hospital," it was revealed that Drew Cain (now Cameron Mathison) was alive and being held captive in Greece. The nefarious Victor Cassadine (Charles Shaughnessy) was working with Peter August to facilitate this. As the authorities closed in, Peter escaped again, taking Maxie Jones hostage and made his way to Switzerland (via Soap Spoiler). Maxie's mother Felicia Scorpio (Kristina Wagner) and Anna Devane were hot on their trail. Eventually, they cornered Peter, and Felicia clubbed him with a tire iron, putting him near death. Instead of getting Peter medical attention, Anna stood by and watched as the man she once thought was her son — and believed was capable of redemption — died, per Soap Hub. 

"GH" head writers, Chris Van Etten and Dan O'Connor, spoke with Soap Opera Digest about how they plotted out Peter's final demise. "It needed to be bigger. It needed to be spectacular," said O'Connor. Regarding Felicia's involvement, he continued stating, "Felicia was so connected to the story, even when she was not on screen, and it was important to us that she have a big role in the final chapter." Having Anna be there for Peter's death was important to the story, too, Van Etten added (via Soap Opera Network). "We always knew the final moment had to be between Anna and Peter. There was no other consideration. The story started with Anna and it had to end with Anna."