Maurice Benard showed Sonny’s romantic side when he popped the big question on GH to Nina.
Maurice Benard brings many colors to his role as Sonny Corinthos — compassionate family man, dangerous mobster, loyal friend — but recently, he reminded us that Sonny’s a romantic guy, too. For his performance as a man deeply in love with Nina Reeves, the woman to whom he’s proposed marriage, Soap Hub is giving Benard Performer of the Week for GH honors.
Maurice Benard – Performer of the Week
Sonny proposed to Nina (Cynthia Watros) in her office at Crimson, maybe not the most romantic setting but his commitment to Nina was no less sincere. He admitted that he didn’t pick the right setting but he didn’t think Nina would need a candlelit dinner for him to ask for a commitment. Nina argued that Sonny never thought of proposing to her until tonight. That prompted him to reach into his pocket and present a beautiful engagement ring. “Now, do you believe me?” Sonny asked Nina.
Nina was moved by Sonny’s gesture. “You really want to marry me?” she asked. “You want to re-think your answer,” he said to her with quiet confidence. Nina, who’d been worried about Sonny’s family breaking them up just a few moments earlier, broke out into a smile. Still, she closed the box and reaffirmed her desire not to bring any disharmony to his life. Nina said that she couldn’t marry him.
Sonny said that Nina had brought more to his life than she’s taken away and that he loves her. “You let me be just who I am. You don’t try to change me,” he said. Nina replied that that’s because Sonny’s perfect. “Yeah, because you’ve helped me get there,” Sonny said. He recounted how when he and Nina met up in Nixon Falls, he may not have known who he was but it didn’t matter because he knew what he felt. “I still do,” he said. “You see things in me that over people don’t see. I can be Sonny but I don’t have to be the boss, a person who has to have his guard up.”
Sonny pointed out that he and Nina are similar and that he admires her for asking for forgiveness. (Alas, he doesn’t know just how much he may need to forgive Nina if Carly goes to jail for insider trading!) Sonny got down on his knee, opened the ring box, and asked Nina again to marry him.
Nina said she wanted to believe him but she couldn’t help but believe he’d realize someday that she’s more trouble than she’s worth. Sonny kept gently pushing. Nina verbalized how much Sonny has been there for her these past few months especially and then, gave an enthusiastic yes to his proposal. Sonny doesn’t smile as much as we’d like to see but Benard had his character break out into a grin, knowing he won Nina’s heart.
Honorable mentions: Maurice Benard (Sonny) wasn’t the only one bringing romance to Port Charles this past week. Chase (Josh Swickard) and Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) finally got on the same page and declared their feelings for one another. Like Nina did with Sonny, Brook Lynn shared with Chase how much she loved him. How could she not after he serenaded her with help from big brother Finn (Michael Easton)?