Dr. Neil Byrne, M.D. was a fictional character on the ABC Soap opera General Hospital.
He was portrayed by Joe Flanigan from February 8, 2019 to September 1, 2020.
An unknown actor appeared as Neil from March 29 to April 20, 2022.
Casting[]
On February 6, 2019, Soap Opera News confirmed that TV veteran Joe Flanigan has booked a role on GH and would join the cast as Neil Byrne.[2] He made his first appearance on February 8, 2019.
Flanigan exited GH on September 1, 2020 after his character was unexpectedly killed off.[3]
An unknown actor appeared as Neil from March 29 to April 20, 2022.
Background[]
Daughter's funeral announcement
Dr. Neil Byrne was married to Deirdre Byrne and had a daughter, Joanna Marie Byrne, who died on July 31, 2014. Her funeral was held on August 7, 2014 at St. Ignatius Church, Montclair.
Neil was Alexis Davis' therapist in 2019. During that time, Neil and Alexis were also friends as well. In August, the day after Neil opened up about his daughter's death, he told Alexis he couldn't treat her anymore since he crossed personal boundaries that he set. They later began to date, but in 2020, Neil revealed he was losing his medical license. In March, Neil and Alexis slept together in New York City the night before they were supposed to be at his medical hearing. They lied to the board, and Neil got to keep his license. In April, he lost his license after Julian Jerome publicly blurted out the fact that Neil and Alexis slept together.
On June 20, 2019, it was revealed that Neil was friends and colleagues with Dr. Kevin Collins for 7 years.
He is partially responsible for Kristina Corinthos-Davis's escape from the cult along with Willow Tait, who shared the abuse she endured from the "Dawn Of Day" cult.
On August 31, 2020, Neil and Alexis finally got together as a couple, but sadly he was found dead the next morning in her bed. On March 29, 2022, it was revealed that Harmony Miller broke into Alexis' house and killed Neil by injecting him with Cyrus Renault's product of opioids.
Storylines[]
Alexis unknowingly meets Neil
In 2019, Alexis Davis was going to start therapy sessions again but she was referred to a Dr. Neil Byrne by Ryan Chamberlain (who was pretending to be Kevin Collins at the time) since it would be a conflict of interest due to her representing Laura Collins in her "divorce" from "Kevin." She got into an argument with her ex-husband Julian Jerome and when he was out of earshot, she made a derogatory statement about him and a man sitting next to her at the bar thought she directed that statement towards him. She clarified that that statement was towards her ex-husband Julian, not him. She then said that he seemed to be nothing like Julian and that he was a guy sitting at a bar alone reading a book which kind of insulted him. She quickly fixed her mistake and said that his book looked like a real "page-turner." The title was called "Russian Diaspora of the early 20th century" which made Alexis wonder if he was a professor but the man said that he was a doctor and a history enthusiast. Alexis got a ginger to drink and she vented about her troubles in her life. The man listened to her and offered his own experiences and told her that she might just need herself for her next breakthrough and not her ex. The man invited Alexis to continue their conversation over dinner but she told him it was not a good idea so he left her his card in case she changed her mind.
Alexis and Neil officially meet
Alexis later went to see Dr. Neil Byrne for her therapy appointment and was shocked to see that it was the same man she talked to at Charlie's Pub earlier that evening. He was also surprised and he initially gave her a referral to another therapist in case she was uncomfortable. Alexis left his office but came back and decided to do therapy sessions with him. She asked if he knew she was going to be his patient and he said he didn't. Neil also explained that if he had known she was his new patient then he would never have asked her to dinner. They then began therapy sessions and she told him about her choices she's made when it comes to men she has been with. She explained to Neil that she was attracted to men who were dangerous, selfish, and incapable of intimacy and told Neil that her father Mikkos Cassadine set that pattern up for her. She explained that she never earned her father's love and that's why she was attracted to dangerous men like him.
After their first appointment, Alexis began to see Neil as her therapist on a regular basis.
On April 8, 2019, Alexis ran into Neil at The Floating Rib and she told him that her daughter Kristina was in a cult called "Dawn Of Day." Neil explained that if she pushes Kristina to realize she was in a cult, then Kristina would just go deeper into Dawn Of Day so the key was to plant seeds of doubt in her head to cause her to see Dawn Of Day in a more critical way. Neil was later summoned by Sonny Corinthos who asked for his help in getting Kristina out of Dawn Of Day. Neil told Sonny about a treatment plan called exit therapy and that the last case he worked on meant that there was no guarantee it would work. Sonny pleaded for his help and eventually shared that he lost his son Morgan. Sonny said he was not going to lose another child. Neil tried to explain that exit therapy was difficult and not necessarily successful, even adding that his last case of exit therapy ended very badly. Sonny was sure that Neil could help and he asked Neil to name his price. After some prodding, Neil eventually agreed to do exit therapy with Kristina.
On April 23, Neil began exit therapy with Kristina and her family, but the session went sideways when she lashed out at everyone as she was defending Dawn Of Day.
On May 6, Neil began another session and her brother Michael brought his friend Willow Tait over to the safehouse where she told Kristina what Shiloh did to her. She told Kristina that her mother had drugged her, tattooed her and then Shiloh came in and had sex with her. Everyone in the room was horrified and Kristina was initially in denial about Shiloh doing that to the people initiated in the trust but then she accepted the fact that he used her. Neil eventually opened the door and told Kristina she has a choice; DOD or her family. Alexis and Sonny were happy that she chose her family.
Although Kristina no longer believed in what Dawn Of Day does, Neil continued to work with her and help her.
On June 3, it was revealed that Neil had a wife and daughter.
On June 11, Alexis had another session with Neil where she brought up his daughter and he ended the session early. Alexis later came back and apologized to Neil for bringing his personal business into their Doctor/Patient relationship. He forgave her, but asked her to respect their boundaries.
On June 20, it was revealed that Neil has been friends with Kevin Collins for 7 years as former colleagues. Neil reveals to Kevin that he lost his daughter, Joanna Byrne, in 2014. Her death left him heartbroken and he remains affected to this day.
On July 3, Alexis went in for a session with Neil after Kristina had her own. As they talked about Kristina and as Alexis was wondering what was in the pledge, she slipped up and mentioned that Neil knew what it was like losing a child which made him mad. He grew even more angry when Alexis revealed she knows he lost his daughter Joanna and he ended the session early. He said he can no longer treat her since she did not respect the boundaries of their professional relationship. He asked her to leave and she tried to apologize to him. He again asked her to leave and she accused him of taking his grief out on her but he said that's not what's happening. He offered to refer her to someone else but she said it wouldn't be necessary and left. As she was leaving, Kristina got back and decided to talk about what was in the pledge. Neil invited them both in and Kristina revealed that she lied in her pledge and said that Alexis deliberately hit her abusive ex-boyfriend, Kiefer Bauer when really it was by accident and she was under emotional duress. Kristina asked for forgiveness and Alexis immediately forgave her. After the session, Alexis came back and asked Neil to hear her out. He invited her in and Alexis apologized again for her actions and said she regrets what happened. Neil regrets what happened as well and he said he didn't trust her anymore. After Alexis mentioned that she is more comfortable talking to him than anyone else, she teared up and said that she saw him as more than a therapist, she saw him as a friend and she said she really needs a good therapist. She went to leave but Neil stopped her and invited her back for another session on Tuesday at 5 PM and she accepted the invitation.
On July 22, during a therapy session, Alexis asked Neil if she passed on her masochistic gene to Kristina. Neil told her it's not always about her. When he brought up her social life, she vented about how sad it was and started to fuss with some objects around the room. Neil started to wonder if she has a real reason for being there. Alexis wondered if Neil was done with her again, but Neil pointed out he didn't say that. However, Neil suggested that maybe she was done with him. He did say that he was happy to continue working with her, but he didn't see the point if she answered her own questions. Alexis asked Neil if he ever had any unhealthy relationships with patients. Neil reminded Alexis that they have an understanding to respect his private life, but Alexis said it was about his professional life. Neil assured her that she had nothing to worry about. Neil suggested to test her progress by going on a date, and Alexis complained about how exhausting that was. Neil eventually said that it sounded like they had more to talk about. When Alexis got a text about Shiloh making bail, she assured Neil that he would definitely see her next week.
Neil opens up to Alexis about his daughter's death
On July 31, Neil got stuck in an elevator with Alexis and was worked up because the day marks five years since his daughter Joanna died. Neil eventually opened up to Alexis about how she died by revealing that Joanna was in a different cult that was about drugs. She took her own life and was pronounced dead at 9:47 PM. He revealed that every year since then on July 31 that he would go down and sing "Hush Little Baby" on the karaoke, explaining that she loved that song until she joined the drug cult. Alexis encouraged Neil to sing in the elevator. Although he initially was not going to, Alexis apologized in advance before she started singing "Hush Little Baby." Neil joined in and sang with her before the power came back on in the elevator.
Neil tells Alexis he can't see her anymore
The next day (shown on August 5), Neil showed up at Alexis' house and said that he couldn't see her as a patient anymore. Alexis was dumbfounded and shocked since she was respecting their boundaries and he acknowledged that she did but he did not. Neil explained that his job was to help his patients and he couldn't take care of Alexis without her figuring out to take care of him and that they wouldn't be able to look at each other the same way again. They admitted that they cared about each other and Alexis eventually accepted that they "crossed the point of no return" and asked if they could get to know each other better. Neil said that they can't before he left Alexis's house.
On August 12, Neil briefly ran into Alexis outside of Kevin's office. Alexis was "dumped" by Kevin since it would be a conflict of interest due to Neil being his patient. Neil went to talk to Kevin about how Alexis was a remarkable woman, clearly showing that he is interested in her.
On August 29, Neil went to Charlie's pub and saw Alexis sitting at a table. He went to get himself and Alexis some drinks but caught her looking at his dating profile. Alexis stated that Neil was not her therapist anymore so it wouldn't be crossing boundaries to look, though she said she only saw his picture. Alexis also said that she had to pay a premium to look at his details and she didn't, but Neil invited Alexis to just ask him whatever she wants to know about him.
On September 6, it was revealed that Neil and Alexis went on a date to play a bingo game, hosted by drag queens. When Alexis won, she was given a stuffed animal as a prize and she kissed Neil, who didn't object.
On October 11, Neil began treating Brad Cooper, who was feeling a lot of anxiety and guilt since he switched his dead son he adopted with his husband, Lucas Jones with Nelle Benson's son with Michael Corinthos, essentially robbing Michael of his kid. Neil gave Brad a prescription to help with his anxiety and suggested that he bring Lucas next time. On October 28, Lucas and Brad went to see Neil and Lucas felt that Brad was keeping something from him and Brad was upset because of Lucas' suspicions even though Lucas was right.
On October 29, Neil brought food over for Alexis and he was going to stay with her but Alexis began feeling sick so she sent Neil home. Eventually, Alexis was taken to the hospital where she suddenly had rashes on her hands and some of her hair began to fall out. Neil and T.J. Ashford went to Alexis's house to box up any cleaning stuff she had so that they could test them in case she was exposed to some kind of poison.
On November 15, T.J. put together that Alexis ingested thallium which is used in rat poisoning. The test was ran which confirmed T.J.'s theory, so Alexis began drinking blue paint to get it out of her system.
On November 25, Neil learned that Julian had spotted Kendra Lennon in the alley behind Charlie's and saw dead rats afterwards. He eventually began to suspect Kendra had poisoned her on purpose before he shared his suspicions with Alexis.
On November 28, Neil saw that Alexis left the hospital and when he tried to call her, she didn't answer, so Neil left her a voicemail to warn her not to approach Kendra. Julian and Neil teamed up to find her and they discovered that Kendra's real name is Kendra Bauer and with help from Kristina, they eventually got her location. Neil and Julian found Alexis on the side of the road where she told them what happened. She also revealed that another car crashed into Kendra's vehicle, saving her life. Neil got Alexis back to the hospital to get checked out.
Flashback - Harmony kills Neil (2020)
On January 13, 2020, Neil returned to Port Charles after having spent Christmas and New Year's with family out of town and he visited Alexis at her house. Neil was distant and upset when he revealed he was about to lose his medical license since he did not wait two years before beginning to date Alexis. After telling her the bad news, Neil said he wants to make the same mistake over and over because he has feelings for Alexis, who didn't want him to regret losing his license if he chooses to be with her. Eventually, Neil decided it would be best if they didn't see each other until after the medical hearing.
On February 14, Neil found Alexis on the terrace in the Metro Court so he gave her his jacket to stay warm. After having a nice (but awkward) chat, they eventually went inside and she gave him back his jacket.
On March 6, Neil went to New York City for his medical hearing. Alexis went up there as well since the board wanted her to testify whether their relationship was personal or professional. She coincidentally ran into him at an opera concert and they shared a booth together. Later on, they had dinner at a fancy restaurant where they reminisced about the first day they met. The two of them wondered what it would be like if Alexis chose to be referred to another therapist that day instead of letting Neil be her therapist. After they left the restaurant, Neil took Alexis back to her hotel room and they initially said goodnight, but Neil came back to Alexis' room and they eventually slept together while unbeknownst to them, someone else was watching them.
The next morning, Neil and Alexis got dressed for the hearing and discussed what they just did. Neither one of them regretted sleeping together, but Alexis was trying to rationalize what their relationship was for when they would talk to the board. Later on, they went to the hearing and Neil answered every question they had. Alexis testified that their relationship was cordial after that one kiss at drag bingo back in September of 2019, but nothing else has happened. Since Alexis lied to the board, Neil felt forced to lie as well and back up her testimony. Eventually, the board decided to reinstate Neil and that he would not lose his license, much to his and Alexis' disappointment since now they cannot be together for two years.
On March 17, it was revealed that Neil was officially hired at G.H. and put on staff as another therapist. Elizabeth Webber talked to him about possibly seeing her son Cameron Webber to try to work through some of his personal stuff. Neil was open to the idea but he wanted her to talk to Cameron about it first since she cannot force him into therapy. He eventually ran into Alexis who congratulated him and they awkwardly talked about what happened in New York.
On March 26, Neil and Alexis had yet another run-in and things were still awkward between them. Later on, as Alexis was called away to help Sam and her friend Damian Spinelli, Kevin and Neil began to talk about what happened between Neil and Alexis and Kevin suspected the situation was not over. Kevin offered to officially become Neil's therapist and said that whatever he tells him will be extremely confidential.
On March 31, Neil was at GH and he found Alexis in a room with Dr. Hamilton Finn. Neil learned that he had the wrong room and went to leave, but Finn went to hypothetically ask them a couple of questions about a patient who was taking experimental drugs and confessed to bizarre crimes. Alexis and Neil remembered the night they slept together as Finn was asking them the questions before eventually snapping out of it. Alexis then advised that it's best to get the police involved if the patient confessed to crimes while Neil promised to help Finn find out anything about the side effects of the medication.
Neil went to check on Alexis after Finn left the room and asked if she was okay. Alexis showed him her new sobriety chip and when Neil said he was proud of her, Julian came in and assaulted Neil with Alexis and Britt Westbourne as witnesses, but Neil managed to assault Julian to get him off of him. Julian was angry because he believed that Neil took advantage of Alexis, but she said Julian was way off base. Julian revealed that he knows that Neil and Alexis slept together in front of everyone in the hospital. Britt advised them to take their feud somewhere else and Felix Dubois agreed with her. Julian, Neil, and Alexis went into another room and he revealed that Britt told him that she saw Neil and Alexis sleep together and accused Neil of driving her to drink.
Alexis was furious with Julian for his outburst and said that her life was none of his business. Eventually, Alexis ranted that he had broadcasted her entire business in front of everyone but he claimed he had to so that Neil would be exposed. Alexis then said that he had no clue on who she was before she ordered him to get out. After Julian left, Neil asked if she really drank because of him. She revealed that she drank because she and her daughter, Sam McCall had a fight and that they said horrible things to each other before the bartender poured her a drink. Neil asked why she called Julian and she said that he was the only one who answered but Neil said that she could have called him. Eventually, Neil said he was so sorry but she said she wasn't. Neil revealed that Julian's outburst and Britt seeing them in New York would spell trouble for them.
On April 23, it was revealed that Neil lost his license and was no longer working at G.H. due to them lying under oath at the medical board's office in New York City. Neil eventually admitted he was angry at both Alexis and himself, and he admitted that it was his fault too for lying to the board as well. Neil learned from Alexis that she was going to face the New York Bar Association because she may lose her law license due to her act of perjury, but they did understand that now there was nothing stopping them from being together.
On May 4, Neil went to Charlie's Pub and pinned Julian against the bar since he not only cost Neil his career but he also jeopardized Alexis's as well. Julian was not sorry since he believed Neil deserved what he got but he was sorry that Alexis was about to lose her law license. Eventually, Neil thought about walking away from Alexis since he unintentionally caused her harm but Julian told him not to give up on her since she is crazy about him.
On August 31, Neil died after having sex with Alexis at her house. On September 4, it was revealed that Neil actually died from respiratory failure after a drug overdose.
On September 21, Cyrus Renault made a call to find out if Neil overdosed on his product. A henchman later told Cyrus that Neil did use Cyrus' product.
On March 29, 2022, it was revealed that Harmony Miller broke into Alexis Davis' house and drugged Neil with a syringe full of Cyrus Renault's product which was what killed him in 2020. It was revealed that Harmony was one of Neil's patients and Brendon Byrne, Neil's brother, was blackmailing her with her patient file.
On April 15 while meeting at Rana Point, Harmony tried to inject Brendon with heroin. She dropped the syringe and he suspected it had heroin like his brother's overdose. He realizes Harmony killed his brother and she fights with Brendon until he accidentally falls off a cliff to his death.
On April 18, it was revealed in a file that Harmony was Neil's patient on June 1, 2016.
On March 1, 2024, Neil is mentioned by Diane, who is working on getting Alexis' law license returned. She tells Alexis that the original attorneys on the legal board of her dismissal, Fergus Byrne, had to recuse himself...as he was Neil's older brother. When he recused himself, he was replaced with his law partner, which is sketchy. She feels this charge of bias is another reason to get this overturned.Crimes Committed[]
- Perjured himself; falsely declared in a board advisory meeting that his relationship with Alexis Davis to be casual and non-personal when in fact it was personal [Mar 11, 2020; revealed he lost his job at G.H. on Apr 23, 2020]
- Assaulted Julian Jerome in self-defense [Apr 1, 2020]
- Assaulted Julian again [May 4, 2020]
Health and Vitals[]
- Stuck in an elevator with Alexis Davis [Jul 31, 2019]
- Stalked by Britt Westbourne [Mar 9, 2020; revealed on Mar 31, 2020]
- Assaulted and pinned to a wall by Julian Jerome [Mar 31-Apr 1, 2020]
- Died from respiratory failure after a heroin injection overdose administered by Harmony Miller; the opioid came from Cyrus Renault [Aug 31, 2020; revealed on Sep 4, 2020; opioid injection revealed on Sep 8, 2020; Cyrus' involvement revealed on Sep 21, 2020; Harmony's involvement revealed on Mar 29, 2022; revealed to be heroin on Apr 15, 2022]
Trivia[]
- Neilโs astrological sign is Pisces
See also[]
References[]
- โ On 3/15/21 Alexis says it is Neil's birthday
- โ https://www.soapoperanews.net/2019/02/joe-flannigan-books-role-on-general.html?
- โ "Joe Flanigan Exits General Hospital as Dr. Neil Byrne", Soaps.com, Sheknows Media, LLC, September 11, 2020. Retrieved on September 13, 2020.
