5 Heartbreaking General Hospital Moments We Will Never Forget

Many soap opera moments will last fans' minds forever. In its 60 years on the air, "General Hospital" has been chock full of these occasions, such as the time when A.J. Quartermaine (Sean Kanan) drove off in his convertible while drunk, and his brother Jason Quartermaine (Steve Burton) jumped in the car to try and stop him. A.J. ultimately crashed, causing Jason permanent amnesia and brain damage. Jason would later recover and become a completely different character, taking on the name Jason Morgan. Other defining moments in the series include the encephalitis outbreak in Port Charles in 2006 and the hostage situation at the Metro Court hotel in 2007.

Memorable moments range from world-spanning adventures, like the time Luke and Laura Spencer (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis) thwarted the Cassadine family's scheme to control the Earth with a weather manipulation machine in 1981, to more character-defining moments, such as when Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) denied her father, Edward Quartermaine (then David Lewis), his medication when he was having a heart attack in 1980. There have also been many weddings, funerals, parties, and other events — many of which have been interrupted by nefarious characters — that are impossible to forget. Some joyous and some that will forever tug on our heartstrings.

When Dr. Britt Westbourne (Kelly Thiebaud) came to Port Charles, she was a schemer intent on having hunky Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson) all to herself. That plan completely backfired when she couldn't get along with his daughter, Emma Drake-Scorpio (Brooklyn Rae Silzer). Over the years, we learned a lot about Britt's history and watched her grow and evolve as a character. Her mother was (the sometimes mad) scientist Dr. Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati), and her father was the maniacal supervillain Cesar Faison (Anders Hove). Britt committed a few crimes in her day, including plotting with young Spencer Cassadine (then Nicholas Bechtel) to fake his kidnapping so she could pretend to rescue him and appear as a hero for his father, Nikolas Cassadine (then Tyler Christopher). Not to mention the time she tried to pass off Lulu and Dante Falconeri's baby as her own.

She eventually copped to the crime and did her time in the slammer. Soon redeeming herself, she became chief of staff at General Hospital. However, upon learning she had Huntington's disease, she decided to leave town to die alone. Having a change of heart, she turned around and stumbled across the Hook serial killer attacking Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy). She fought with the assailant, who was ultimately driven off, but not before getting scratched by the murderer's poisoned hook weapon. Sadly, Britt died in her mother's arms in a heartbreaking moment, and she was hailed as a hero.

In a serious case of mistaken identity, Ava Jerome (Maura West) accidentally unleashed a chain of events that ultimately led to a devastating tragedy on "General Hospital." When she found out that her daughter Kiki Jerome (Hayley Erin) and her boyfriend Griffin Munro (Matt Cohen) were having an affair, Ava went ballistic and tried to break them up. Her schemes didn't work, and distraught, she sought help from psychiatrist Dr. Kevin Collins (Jon Lindstrom). She confessed her innermost thoughts to him, including her wish to see them punished — especially Kiki. What Ava didn't realize was that Kevin's crafty twin, the evil serial killer Ryan Chamberlain, had recently gotten the upper hand on his good brother and took his place, leaving Kevin trapped in a straight jacket at the Ferncliff mental health facility.

As "Kevin" and Ava started to find themselves attracted to each other, she became the object of his psychotic desire. So, doing what any respectable serial killer would do, he thought he would give Ava her heart's desire by killing Kiki and framing Griffin for it. Ava was destroyed upon learning of her daughter's death, and inadvertently, almost married her daughter's killer! Ryan was eventually revealed as Kiki's murderer and caught, but the traumatic events still haunt Ava to this day.

When the wealthy Alan Quartermaine (Stuart Damon) married Monica Quartermaine (Leslie Charleson), he didn't know she still had feelings for her ex-husband, Rick Webber (Chris Robinson). Things eventually got so bad between them that he tried having them both killed. Despite that betrayal, as well as several affairs and paternity mysteries over the years, Alan and Monica were still meant to be together in the end. When Monica battled breast cancer, she and Alan adopted their daughter Emily, and Alan tried hard to be a better father to her than he was to his own sons, A.J. and Jason.

In 2007, international criminal Jerry Jacks (Sebastian Roche) took the Metro Court Hotel in Port Charles hostage, going by the name Mr. Craig. Alan was one of the hostages, and he tried to help Robin Scorpio (Kimberly McCullough) when she was shot, but Craig would have none of it and knocked him unconscious. When Alan awoke, he began to have chest pain while a pregnant Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) started experiencing stomach pains. Craig forced Emily to choose who she wanted to be released — her father or her best friend. Calculating who was at greater risk, she picked Alan. Amidst gunfire, Alan raced to the police blockade but collapsed and later died from a heart attack. This was an exceptionally sad ending for someone who was a beloved member of the Port Charles community for decades.

Every year in Port Charles, General Hospital holds its special Nurses' Ball event which raises money and awareness for HIV/AIDS and is always held in honor of Stone Cates (Michael Sutton). He was a young man who was taken in by benevolent racketeer, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), who looked upon him as a son. Stone and Robin Scorpio soon fell in love, but tragedy would strike when he learned he had become HIV positive from a prior girlfriend who was an IV drug user. As his health rapidly deteriorated, Robin also found that she had contracted the virus, causing Stone overwhelming guilt. His vision also started to fail, getting to the point where he could hardly see anything. However, during his last moments, he asked Robin to stand near a window which helped illuminate her, and he was able to clearly see her one last time before dying.

Robin's portrayer, Kimberly McCullough spoke with Maurice Benard on his YouTube show, "State of Mind," posted on August 29, 2021, and explained just how profound the Robin and Stone storyline was. "This was, like, groundbreaking," she said, adding, "This was the first heterosexual couple in any medium ever to deal with AIDS — and in such a loving way." Robin and Stone's love story is still cherished by long-time fans to this day.

On "General Hospital," nurse Bobbi Spencer (Jacklyn Zeman) married Dr. Tony Jones (Brad Maule) and adopted his daughter from a previous marriage, Barbara Jean "B.J." Jones (Brighton Hertford). In 1994, as a child, Maxie Jones (then Robyn Richards) — the daughter of Frisco and Felicia Jones (Jack and Kristina Wagner) — was in dire need of a heart transplant. Fate would soon step in and play a terrible game with these Port Charles residents, as a school bus B.J. was on was struck by a drunk driver. Miguel Morez (Ricky Martin) happened by and was able to rescue B.J. from the wreck. However, when the little girl got to the hospital, Tony tried resuscitating her, but it was too late — she was braindead.

Realizing the dire situation, Tony decided to donate B.J.'s heart to Maxie, and Bobbi reluctantly agreed. The surgery went off without a hitch, and Maxie was given a new lease on life. After the operation, Tony put his head on his niece's chest to hear B.J.'s heart beating in one of the most tearjerking scenes ever. In 2019, Bobbi's adult daughter Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) had a baby named Donna, born with spina bifida. To console Carly, she gave her B.J.'s music box to hold on to for Donna. Surgery fixed Donna's ailment, and she's happy and healthy today, as is Maxie, and the tragic story of B.J. will continue to live on in the hearts of "GH" fans.