Maura West Deserves An Emmy For Ava's Icy Austin Takedown On General Hospital

"General Hospital" fans finally got answers about Austin Gatlin-Holt's (Roger Howarth) connection to the villainous Cyrus Renault (Jeff Kober) in the November 16 episode. Ava Jerome (Maura West) was at her art gallery and when Austin showed up, and she demanded that he tell her the truth. Austin explained that many years ago, Cyrus came to his hometown of Pautuck and got embroiled in his family's business, even putting Austin through medical school and giving his cousin Mason Gatlin (Nathanyael Grey) a job as a trucker. Ava believed she'd killed Nikolas Cassadine (Adam Huss) and was livid because Austin knew Nik was alive and had been with his family and Cyrus. He claimed he had feelings for Ava and begged her to believe that everything he did was to protect her by shielding her from Cyrus' evil wrath.

In a scene that should definitely be considered for an Emmy, Ava went ballistic and screamed at Austin, accusing him of lying to her, happily taking Cyrus' orders, and pretending to be her friend. As he insisted that he only wanted to protect her, you could see the anguish on her face as she laid into him. Although we're rooting for them as a couple, it was nice to see Ava finally learn the truth. Much like Austin, we weren't surprised when she told him she hated him and screamed at him to leave. It was very satisfying to see Ava unload all of her rage.

The tears and the unbridled fury on Maura West's face as Ava Jerome called out Austin Gatlin-Holt for all of his lies were absolutely real, and a testament as to why she's a superstar on "General Hospital." Nothing more raw or visceral has been seen on the show for quite some time, and West's performance delivered exactly what we've been waiting for. While yes, Austin was caught under Cyrus Renault's thumb and forced to do his bidding when she was kidnapped, even Ava said he could have handled things differently by going to the police or powerful mafia don Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) for help. But Austin feared fatal retribution if he betrayed Cyrus, and Ava called him out for wanting to save his own skin.

Odds are that audience members everywhere winced as she screamed at the top of her lungs for him to get out of her gallery, fearing her acrimony would somehow leap out of the TV screen and into their homes. Cyrus used Austin's feelings for Ava against him, and when he told Mason to release her because Austin followed his orders, the henchman took it upon himself to try and kill her. Thankfully, she was rescued by a handful of others and unleashed her furor by saying, "If it had been left up to you I would be dead at the bottom of a ravine!" Frankly, we could find no fault in her argument!