NIKOLAS AND EMILY
TYLER | NATALIA

Royal Flush
Soap Opera Digest
August 24, 2004

GH's Prince Nikolas Has Total Recall...But it May Just Be His And Emily's Downfall

Life's a bitch these days for GENERAL HOSPITAL's unwilling institutionalized royal Nikolas... and her name is Grandmother. Still stuck in P.C.'s snake pit Shadybrook, at the mercy of the facility's unofficial top dog, Helena, Nik is currently not only struggling to mainain his sanity, but his very soul. The drugs being pumped into him may be strong, but even more potent is the resolve of his true love, Emily, who is determined to break out her beau, come hell or high water. Will the tide start to turn in the good guys' favor as Nikolas finally remembers his true identify...or could he and Emily wind up completely in over their heads?

We begin the week with a botched rescue attempt: Jason, at the behest of his sister, is trying to spirit the captive prince out of Shadybrook when Emily arrives, unwittingly triggering some bizarre flight-or-fight response in Nikolas. "It's all infuenced by the drugs that he's been given," explains his portrayer, Tyler Christopher. "At that particular moment, he is losing the battle [in Helena's attempts to brainwash him]. He decides not to leave; he sees Jason and Emily as enemies." Elaborates Natalia Livingston (Emily), "Nikolas thought that Jason wouldn't tell anyone about the breakout -- that it was just between the two of them -- but then Emily shows up and Nikolas thinks that they want to kidnap him."

Upon Nikolas attacking Jason, the trio is snagged by Helena and her goons. Bloodied (figuratively) but unbowed, Emily leaves the institution with Jason, but vows to save her beloved. "Emily comes up with an ingenious plan to be near Nikolas," allows Head Writer Charles Pratt, Jr., "despite the fact that Helena is calling the shots at Shadybrook." Nods Head Writer Robert Guza, Jr., "Emily has a three-fold plan, and the first two parts [enlisting Edward's help last week and Jason's rescue attempt] didn't work. In the end, she is reduced to the most drastic measure."

And he ain't kidding' -- she conspires with Lucky to get herself committed. "She gets Lucky to help her get back into Shadybrook to make sure Helena hasn't done anything more to Nikolas," reveals . "She dresses up like a mental patient. She dresses up in Army pants, a huge sweatshirt and this hideous pair of glasses. She has no makeup on and greased hair. She's looking really rough [laughs] She acts like she's crazy and convinces the doctors to admit her."

Meanwhile, we see a more clear-minded Nikolas set about negotiating the terms of the Cassadine estate with Helena. "Has he turned into the real prince or not?" queries Guza. "He's acting exactly that way that Helena wanted him to," Relates Pratt, "We wonder what's gotten into him. Helena thinks all of her dreams are coming true. But in reality, it's her worst nightmare."

Once inside, the crazy-like-a-fox Q -- who has been admitted temporarily for observation -- learns that Nikolas has not been brainwashed after all, despite Helena's believe that her grandson is playing right into her hands. Later, however, Emily temporarily abandons her plans to stay in Shadybrook after a concerned Lucky shows up to take her home. "Since she was brought in for 24 hours for observation, Lucky comes to her and says, "Time's up -- you're outta here,' " shares Guza. But, steadfast as ever, she returns to Shadyrook later that day and seeks out NIkolas. "She walsk up to him and begs him not to throw her out," states Livingston. "She says, 'I want to help you. I'm trying to protect you.' He doesn't ask her to go."

In fact, Nikolas ultimately embraces his valient ex. "He fights through what the drugs have done," proclaims Christopher, "and he eventually realizes that she's there to help. His true emotions of how he feels about Emily always shine through," Alas, Helena is also clued into this news flash upoin spying the reunited twosome together...and realizes that Nik has been pretending to have remembered that he is the prince.

As we well know, Helena hath no fury like a, well, Helena scorned. "The orderlies grab Emily and take her away to her own separate room," reports Livingston, "where they put her in a straitjacket and drug her very heavily." Nikolas, naturally, searches for Emily, only to find her in said dire straits. "At that point, Nikolas goes crazy. He seems Emily being drugged and in a straitjacket all alone in a sterile hospital room," notes the actress. "I think he blames himself in that instance," muses Christopher. "He knows that he could have left with Jason, and if he weren't acting so erratically, he might not be there in the first place."

Once discovered and dragged back to his own room, Nikolas has the epiphany that he -- and the fans -- have been waiting for. He remebers everything about his identity and his past. "This is huge for him," stresses Guza. "Huge, huge, huge. He's had bits and pieces come back to him, but now, he remembers it all. Meanwhile, he and the woman he loves are incarcerated inside an insane asylum."

Never one to let a little thing like that get in his way, Nik manages to escape and find Emily again. "He tells her that he has his memory back," says Christopher. Elaborates Guza, "in that initial scene, she doesn't get it at all, she's too drugged. It's really kind of heartwarming and bittersweet because he's saying, 'I love you. I'm back, Emily, I'm back,' and she does not register."

Knowing they have to get out of Shadybrook as quickly as possible, "[Nikolas] knocks some orderly unconscious, lifts Emily up over his shoulder and takes her away," smiles Livingston. "It's great! He takes her back to the boathouse for safety." And to reveal that he has regained his memory. "She's still a little drugged, so she is in a bit of a haze, but when she hears him telling her that he remembers her, she snaps out of it. It's just pure happiness and joy -- and almost disbelief -- wrapped into one. They're both overjoyed.

Happy days are here again..but not for long if psycho granny has anything to say about it. "Helena finds out that they have escaped and that they're together," previews Guza. "She vows that Emily will not survive the night." Even worse, notes Pratt, "Helena has a secret weapon up her sleeve."

"The priority here is that Nikolas and Emily are both on the run from Helena, and they have to deal wtih that now," points out Christopher. "They need to free themselves of her." Concurs Livingston, "they have to deal with Helena -- and Mary -- before they can really live happily ever after."