GH: NIKOLAS FACES THE MUSIC WITH SPENCER Ñ AND AVA
■ With new wife Ava by his side, Nikolas travels abroad to reveal to his son that he’s alive. But his reunion with Spencer doesn’t quite live up to Nik’s expectations.
After a three-year separation, Nikolas is “so excited” to see his son, according to his portrayer, Marcus Coloma. “Nikolas has been so focused, and has had such a strong conviction that the whole purpose of this [quest to reclaim the Cassadine estate from Valentin] was to help Spencer and get Spencer back. In his mind, Nikolas taking it back is getting his relationship back with his son.”
But Spencer makes it clear to his father that he won’t just forgive and forget that Nik allowed him to believe that he was dead. Coloma reports, “In the scene, Spencer brings up such great points, and it’s hard [on Nik]. I think Nikolas had an understanding that there would be some reconciliation that needed to happen, but I do think there was a very sincere hope and belief that his son would understand him. But you know when you do something that’s just embarrassingly wrong and then you’ve got to face up to it, and it’s just so unbelievably uncomfortable? He’s got to take his lumps — and these are such big lumps to take. Nikolas is realizing, ‘Just because I did what I wanted to do, that wasn’t the right thing to do, necessarily.’ ” For Nikolas to get back into Spencer’s good graces, Coloma acknowledges, “The climb is going to be uphill.”
Nik is down in the dumps as he heads back to Port Charles — and Ava twists the knife by pressing the issue of the post-nup she wants him to sign. Offers Coloma, “I personally believe Nik and Ava are two people with really big hearts, but they’ve been through hell; they’ve been through a lot of suffering. They’ve gotten tough, and there’s this kind of thick-skin armor that covers a lot of desire to love and be loved. I think if Nik and Ava could just bring the walls down, there could be this really romantic, true love, soul mate thing going on. All of that said, when she brings up the post-nup, it’s immediately like, ‘Now you’re just another person after my money. Okay, so that’s the game we’re playing.’ I’m very curious to see where it ultimately goes, but it’s a very interesting relationship. Either they’ll fall in love or they’ll kill each other!”
Nik does sign the document — after adding a key condition of his own — then turns his attention to smoothing things over with his other ticked-off loved ones back at home. “He knows it’s not going to be easy,” Coloma notes. “It’s such a big hole that the character has dug for himself.”