‘General Hospital’ Fans React To Genie Francis’ Return As Laura After Lengthy, Unwanted Hiatus

Last winter, General Hospital wrote Genie Francis and her character of Laura off of the show, and it came as quite the shock. It quickly emerged that Francis herself hadn’t asked to take a break from the show, and the sudden departure had clearly wreaked havoc on the storyline that had been playing out at the time. After months of being away, Genie finally reappeared on the ABC soap on Monday — and fans took to Twitter to celebrate.

News on Genie Francis’ return to General Hospital emerged a while back, and it was recently revealed that Nicolas Bechtel would soon return as Spencer Cassadine as well, the Inquisitr details. It’s also been rumored that Genie’s reprisal of the character of Laura would be utilized with not one, but two big storylines this fall.

Obviously, Laura will be front-and-center as the Ryan/Kevin storyline proceeds. However, there’s something else big ahead that she’ll be connected to as well, but General Hospital spoilers haven’t flushed this one out yet.

Francis’ return was supposed to be shown at the end of Friday’s show, but that got moved to Monday due to a scheduling shift. Genie’s beloved Laura showed up right at the end of the episode, but it was just enough time to get General Hospital fans buzzing across social media.

The General Hospital veteran teased her return via Twitter, sharing a photo showing her with Jon Lindstrom (Kevin/Ryan) and Bechtel (Spencer). Francis’ followers noted that they were excited about her return, and are confident that Laura will be essential to figuring out that Kevin isn’t really Kevin. Some figured that Spencer might become key to unraveling the mystery as well.

Some General Hospital fans on Twitter said that the best part of Monday’s episode was seeing Genie back — and there were plenty of posts noting that Francis has been dearly missed. Few actor departures have left viewers as angry as Genie’s has this year, and many had been campaigning for the show to bring her back ever since Laura was written out of the drama.

Viewers loved the look of shock on Ryan’s face when he answered the door and Laura was there, and he’ll probably be equally stunned during Tuesday’s show when she reveals that she’s back for good. Ryan is already planning to kill Lucy — and he’s anxious to deal with Felicia — but General Hospital spoilers from SheKnows Soaps tease that Laura’s return will force him to slow things down.

@soapsindepthabc Best part of day on @GeneralHospital seeing the great @GenieFrancis back. #GenieIsGH #GH55( because of Genie) #GH

— dinah anderson (@dinahleigh) October 1, 2018

Hello @GenieFrancis YOU WERE MISSED!! ????? #GH

— Cat ??? (@NurseChapel11) October 1, 2018

Fans feel confident that Laura will quickly pick up on how different “Kevin” seems. However, General Hospital spoilers suggest that she’ll come to the conclusion that things feel off because of her decision to leave her husband, compounded with having stayed away for so long. There’s no reason for her to suspect that Kevin isn’t really Kevin — since Ryan is supposedly dead — but viewers feel sure that Laura will be central to unraveling this mystery.

Have those behind the show learned their lesson about dismissing the value of Genie Francis and the character of Laura? Could the return of Laura and Spencer pave the way to other big returns connected to this family as fans have speculated? Stay tuned for additional General Hospital spoilers regarding where this all heads next — and prepare to enjoy the wild ride ahead.