Cynthia Watros played Nina’s joy over being let back into her daughter Willow’s life on GH.
Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros) and Willow Tait didn’t start out with the best relationship on General Hospital but Nina’s desperately wanted a better relationship with her newfound daughter. She finally got her wish, which gave Daytime Emmy-winner Cynthia Watros a chance to shine brightly.
Cynthia Watros – Performer of the Week
Nina has had some bad luck in life and, no, we’re not just talking about her late mother Madeline (Donna Mills) drugging her into a coma and later, stealing her twins Willow (Katelynn MacMullen) and Nelle (Chloe Lanier). Nina has, at times, gotten ahead of herself and has made the right decisions for the wrong reasons and, as a result, hasn’t always been accepted by those around her. [Their loss!]
But what Watros does each and every time that happens is to show us Nina’s humanity. Nina recently shared with Sonny that she’s resigned to not having a greater role in Willow’s life. While she’s secure in her relationship with Sonny, Nina believes that there are some people who see their dynamic as a catastrophe.
Despite these realities, Nina remains upbeat and positive, choosing to focus on the pluses in her life. Sonny (Maurice Benard) points out to Nina that her family — her aunt Leisl (Kathleen Gati), specifically — saved Willow’s life. That prompted Nina to smile.
She soon had more good news when she was told that Willow wanted to see her. However, Watros plays scenes that Nina’s current conundrum — she’s afraid her turning Carly (Laura Wright) and Drew (Cameron Mathison) into the SEC (Securities & Exchange Commission) — will come to light and her life will be blown to figurative smithereens.
Nina almost refrained from going into Willow’s room but a brief encounter with Nurse Clara (the terrific Susan Diol) helped encourage her to proceed. Walking in to see Willow, Nina had every reason to believe it wasn’t going to be a positive encounter, but Watros still brought a sense of delicate hopefulness to the meeting.
Half of Nina’s face may have been covered with a mask but that didn’t stop viewers from seeing the joy in her eyes when Willow said that she’d like Nina to visit her once she’s settled in at home. Willow explained that she would be allowed to have a small bubble of people in her life once she was home. Nina couldn’t believe that she was being included in that bubble. Willow reiterated that it was important for Nina and Carly not to fight anymore and, once again, Watros used her expressive eyes to recall that she is the reason Carly’s in financial distress right now.
“I give you my word. My feud with Carly is officially over,” Nina told Willow. Next, Nina shared her joy with Sonny that she was going to be seeing her daughter. Nina had put on a brave face earlier in the episode but after her conversation with Willow, her joy was sincere and tenfold. Cynthia Watros never fails to bring emotional levels to Nina and her performances always entertain us. Brava!