General Hospital Amnesia Stories You May Want To Forget

While soap operas generally don't always portray truly realistic memory loss, they can have fun with amnesia stories. "General Hospital" has gotten it right at least twice: Jason Quartermaine (Steve Burton) lost his memory due to an accident and became the anti-hero hitman, Jason Morgan, forever changing that character. Ned Quartermaine (Wally Kurth) hit his head and woke up thinking he was Eddie Maine, a stage persona he once used when he tried to be a rock star. This particular story is brilliant as "GH" has turned a classic trope into something brand new, making it difficult to anticipate the direction it's going in, keeping viewers guessing.

Another storyline dividing fans is one in which the sinister Esme Prince (Avery Pohl) — who had committed several abhorrent acts — got amnesia and now appears pitiful in the face of those she has wronged. Viewers are split over whether or not she's faking it. Esme went from a scheming manipulator to a shell of a woman trying to find her way in a world where everyone knows her crimes except her. Hopefully, her story will either turn into a redemption arc, or she'll fall back into her old, wicked ways. But if something innovative doesn't happen, Esme's story will end up on this list!

That being said, let's take a look at past "GH" amnesia stories that are — excuse the pun — forgettable.

In 2018, Brad Cooper (Parry Shen) and Dr. Lucas Jones (then Ryan Carnes) adopted a baby they named Wiley. When Lucas was working one night, Brad checked on the baby shortly after bringing him home and realized he had died in his crib. A distraught Brad tried to take him to the hospital but pulled over crying on the side of the road. The evil Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier) had been on the run from the law and had just given birth and the two crossed paths. Always one to make poor choices, Brad swapped babies with her, setting in motion a chain of events with far-reaching repercussions. Brad kept the ruse up for a while but was the nervous type, and his guilt ate away at him. In February 2020, on their way to a dinner, Brad's nerves got the better of him, and he confessed what happened to Wiley, causing an infuriated Lucas to crash into another car.

The two ended up at General Hospital, where Lucas was in a coma. Meanwhile, Lucas' father, Julian Jerome (William deVry), had learned the secret about the babies and conspired with Brad to conceal the truth. Lucas eventually woke up but had no memory of the circumstances surrounding the accident, which made Brad and Julian nervous that he would eventually remember the confession. This amnesia story has got to be the shortest one in soap history because only a couple of weeks later, Lucas recalled what Brad said, and the two were kaput.

Felicia Scorpio (Kristina Wagner) had amnesia not once but twice on "General Hospital" — and both times have been pretty much forgotten. In 1989, Felicia's then-husband, Frisco Jones (Jack Wagner), was believed dead, and she moved on with a man named Colton Shore (Scott Thompson Baker). Of course, Frisco returned alive and saw the two getting married. Colton's brother, Decker Moss (Michael Watson), came to Port Charles as a conman. One day, he went for a motorcycle ride and accidentally hit Felicia, knocking her unconscious. No surprise, she got amnesia. Decker informed her that her name was Phoebe, and she was his girlfriend. Oh, and he told her she was also a carnival worker. We kid you not. Frisco and Colton were at odds and separately searched for Felicia, both ending up in Puerto Rico, stunned to find her there. She had gotten her memory back but kept it hidden from them for some time because she didn't want to pick which man she wanted to be with.

Later, in 1992, Felicia struck up a relationship with kindly pediatrician Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom). She didn't remember that she'd previously met him in Texas because she saw him kill his wife while there, and she had blocked out the traumatic memory. Once Ryan was revealed to be a psychopathic serial killer, Felicia's memories of that horrible time returned, and he terrorized her for years after.

In 2012, mob enforcer Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) was shot, shoved into the river, and presumed dead. Fast forward to 2014, when we learned Jason was being held in cryogenic stasis at a facility called Crichton-Clark. With the help of Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough), he was thawed out and escaped, only to be run over by Ava Jerome (Maura West). The accident caused him to end up with a new face after reconstructive surgery and — drum roll, please — amnesia. Played by Billy Miller at the time, he took on the name Jake Doe and went about his new life in Port Charles. Eventually, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) learned his true identity but wanted to keep him all to herself and didn't say anything.

As expected, the secret ultimately got out that Jake was really Jason, and he later regained his memories. However, those weren't his real memories. It turned out the man was Jason Morgan's long-lost twin brother, Drew Cain. Jason's memories were implanted into his mind, making him only think he was Jason. When his actual memories as Drew turned out to be on a flash drive, he was given the opportunity to restore his mind. But by this time, he'd been in Port Charles so long he feared re-implanting his old memories would overwrite the ones he had made since waking up in the hospital, which included his son's death and his daughter's birth. Drew opted out of the procedure and still has no memories from before he was unfrozen. The convoluted storyline had fans' heads spinning for months.

The tale of Sonny Corinthos' amnesia is one that many fans would like to forget, yet it's had lasting ramifications on "General Hospital." The iconic crime boss lost his memory and fell in love with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) — who lied to him and kept him hidden in a small town called Nixon Falls – until his memories finally returned. Fans were irritated as the story of Sonny, thinking his name was "Mike," went on for nine months, wanting him to return to being the ruthless mafia don he'd been for decades. It seemed as if his personality had softened, but every so often, his violent instincts would kick in — especially when bad guys threatened his new friends there.

Back in Port Charles, Sonny's wife, Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright), and best friend, Jason Morgan, believed he was dead and determined they had to get married as a show of strength to the other mob families. One angry fan wrote on Twitter, "This storyline is a weird jumbled mess, and it ruins the Sonny/Carly/Jason friendship going forward if Jarly [crosses] the line...I'm confused at what the payoff is supposed to be." When Sonny eventually returned to Port Charles, he retained his past memories and those he made in Nixon Falls, and it appeared he was a kinder, gentler mobster. Thankfully, the old Sonny is back, ready to battle the enemies threatening him.

One of the most forgettable amnesia stories on "General Hospital" was when Nikolas Cassadine (then Tyler Christopher) lost his memories after a car accident in 2004. A woman named Mary Bishop (Catherine Wadkins) found him and discovered he was a dead ringer for her late husband, Connor Bishop (also Christopher), so she took him home, patched him up, and made him believe he was Connor! This being a soap, Nikolas accepted her tale despite reservations. Prior to the accident, Nik was in a relationship with Emily Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston), and when he started to wander from Mary's house, she eventually spotted him. But she didn't want him to distance himself from his family, as her brother Jason Morgan had done previously, so she kept it a secret.

Mobster Lorenzo Alcazar (Ted King) was amused to find "Connor" painting a local church, even though he was obviously Nikolas, and hired him to do some dirty work. Eventually, Nikolas sought help to regain his memories and got entangled with Emily! When it became known that "Connor" was actually Nikolas, his grandmother Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) intervened and tried to have him brainwashed so she could gain control of the family's estate. Because the story had been plodding along, it was hastily put to rest as Em and Nik ran from Helena, and his memories returned... only to have the real Connor Bishop later return from the dead and wreak havoc on their lives!