Prince Nikolas Cassadine and Nurse Elizabeth Webber are fictional characters and a popular former couple from the original ABC Daytime soap opera, General Hospital.
Casting[]
Actor Tyler Christopher originated the role in 1996 and portrayed him, on and off, until 2016. Christopher brought home his first Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in 2016.
At the end of the episode on October 31, 2019, Marcus Coloma joined the cast of GH as the new Nikolas Cassadine when Nikolas was revealed to be alive.[1][2]
Actress Rebecca Herbst originally auditioned for the role of Sarah Webber. Although she did not get the part, General Hospital created the role of Sarah's sister, Elizabeth for Herbst to play, and she debuted on August 1, 1997.[3]
In 1999, the role earned Herbst the Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Younger Lead Actress, as well as an Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Younger Actress in 1999 and a nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in 2007.
Background[]
Nikolas was the son of the late, Prince Stavros Cassadine and Laura Webber. He was also conceived via rape.
Elizabeth is the daughter of Dr. Jeff Webber and his wife, Carolyn[4] Webber. She is also the granddaughter of one of the shows original characters, the late, Dr. Steve Hardy.
Nikolas and Elizabeth met through Lucky Spencer. Lucky was Elizabeth's best friend and Nikolas' half brother. Throughout the years, Nikolas and Elizabeth formed a strong connection and maintained their friendship. To this day, they consider each other best friends. As teenagers, Nikolas, Elizabeth, Lucky and Emily Quartermaine were all best friends, known as the "Four Musketeers."
Nikolas and Elizabeth's friendship spans almost 20 years and their connection knows no bounds. Even after their ill-fated affair in 2009, they reaffirmed that they would always love each other.
Nikolas is one of the only people who calls Elizabeth by the nickname "Liz."
Nikolas was shot and killed by Valentin Cassadine on July 19, 2016.
At the end of the episode on October 31, 2019, Nikolas was revealed to be alive.
Storylines[]
Nikolas and Elizabeth's romantic relationship began when the two friends decided to team up to make Lucky and Rebecca Shaw jealous. At the time, Lucky and Rebecca were dating, much to the dismay of Elizabeth and Nikolas. Both Elizabeth and Nikolas had a hard time seeing Rebecca and Lucky together. One night at Jake's, Elizabeth and Nikolas had endured enough of seeing the two flirting so they shared a kiss to make the others jealous. They were both surprised by the kiss, as they had been friends for years and had never thought of one another romantically.
Weeks after the kiss it was still on their minds and they found themselves thinking of Lucky and Rebecca less and thinking of each other more. At first they tried to resist their attraction, sharing stolen kisses here and there, but they eventually give into their passion and begin having an affair. Nikolas no longer wanted Rebecca, but Elizabeth was engaged to Lucky at the time, so they saw each other secretly. They were wracked with guilt over what they were doing to Lucky, but they couldn't resist each other or the pull they felt to one another. Rebecca found out about the affair and threatened to tell Lucky, but ended up leaving town instead.
Elizabeth and Nikolas plan to spend one last night together and then end their relationship for Lucky's sake. It was on this last night that Lucky discovered their affair. Enraged, Lucky ended his engagement to Elizabeth and cut them both out of his life. A short time later, Elizabeth learned that she was pregnant and was unsure if Lucky or Nikolas was the father, so she ran a paternity test.
Helena Cassadine found out Nikolas could be the father and got her hands on the paternity results. Although Lucky was listed as the father, Helena arranged for Nikolas to be listed instead. To Helena, it was a form of revenge to have a Spencer raised by a Cassadine. Although things were strained after the hurt Nikolas and Elizabeth had caused Lucky, they learned to get along for "their" son Aiden.
On the night that Elizabeth's son, Jake was hit by a car, she received confirmation that Lucky was indeed Aiden's father. Initially, Nikolas refused to believe that Aiden was not his, but he came to accept the truth and handed Aiden over to Lucky. Soon after he left town with his son, Spencer. Despite the circumstances of the affair, Nikolas and Elizabeth's friendship remained in tact and eventually they were able to repair their relationship with Lucky as well.
In 2013, Nikolas returned to town and confessed to Elizabeth that he still loved her and wished to resume their relationship. They shared a kiss but afterward Elizabeth declared that she did not want to cause Lucky any more pain and she wanted to explore her new relationship with A.J. Quartermaine. Nikolas believed that Elizabeth should be with him and he planned to win her back. Nikolas tried to woo back Elizabeth, but she turned down his advances in favor of exploring something new with A.J. When he realized that Elizabeth was committed to A.J., Nikolas moved on with Britt Westbourne.
Elizabeth and A.J.'s relationship began to fall apart after she realized that she still had strong feelings for Nikolas and A.J. lost control of ELQ, which started a downward spiral in his personal life. Elizabeth regretted not following her heart to Nikolas. A.J. and Elizabeth ended their relationship and she confessed her love to Nikolas, despite his relationship with Britt. By this time, Nikolas and Britt were already engaged and he chose to stay with Britt. Even after Nikolas and Britt's relationship imploded due to Britt's lies, Elizabeth realized that a part of Nikolas' heart was still with Britt, which kept her from pursuing a relationship with him further.
Nikolas and Elizabeth passed each other like "ships in the night," never quite ready for a relationship at the same time. Their feelings for each other remained constant, but they couldn't get the timing right. However, their friendship never waived, despite their inability to get on the same page romantically. The two moved on to new relationships but continue to have each others backs and look out for one another.
Photo gallery[]
References[]
- โ https://daytimeconfidential.com/2019/11/01/say-hi-to-marcus-coloma-general-hospitals-new-nikolas-cassadine
- โ General Hospital Nikolas Cassadine Recast: Marcus Coloma Debuts in Role. SheKnows Media, LLC. Retrieved on October 31, 2019.
- โ Reichardt, Nancy. "Tune In Tomorrow", July 27, 1997. Retrieved on March 10, 2013.
- โ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uyxtqXtIP9Y ... Mentioned at minute 5:06.