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Ethan’s finally back in Port Charles today, and we’ve got a ton of questions for the General Hospital vet! Where has he been? Why is he back? And most importantly: How many times has he been kidnapped since we last saw him?
And no, we’re not joking about that last part. For those unfamiliar with him, Ethan Lovett first showed up in 2009, robbing the Haunted Star, only to be caught by Luke. The two had a lot in common — con artists, grifters, drifters and all around good-hearted rapscallions! It didn’t take long for everyone to learn the reason for that: Ethan was the child of Holly and Luke! He’d been conceived during an affair and given up for adoption to be raised by parents who died when he was just 15.
He flirted with Kristina (neither Sonny nor Alexis liked that) and married into the Quartermaine family after a drunken night in Las Vegas with Edward’s great-granddaughter, Maya Ward. That, though, wasn’t meant to be and despite Edward’s offer to give them a million dollars if they lasted a full year… they didn’t.
After their divorce, Ethan, as often happened with his family, got mixed up with Helena and the Cassadines, even falling in love with the villainess’ secret daughter “Cassandra” — AKA Irina Cassadine.
And the whole time, the Aussie just couldn’t stay out of trouble. He was kidnapped by Helena, just before one of her many deaths, then kidnapped again by a very much alive Frank Smith. After that, we can’t blame Ethan for high tailing it out of Port Charles — but that didn’t stop his penchant for being kidnapped!
After popping up briefly in 2020 in Monte Carlo then popped up again in 2023 — this time a captive of Victor Cassadine! He’d been held to force his mom to do Victor’s bidding, but eventually, Holly and Felicia freed Ethan (played oh so briefly by a very blond James Ryan!) just as he was being auctioned off to be killed.
And that was it — until now! As to what brings him back, we have a few guesses! The first is that he’s the father of baby Phoebe! He could come looking for his new daughter and clash once again with the Quartermaines.
Or, after all his time tangling with baddies like the Cassadines and Frank Smith, not to mention his con artist days, Ethan could come back with news about Cassius. It sounds like Nathan’s twin has been on the wrong side of the law for some time. And since Ryan Paevey insists Cassius isn’t as bad as his bosses, there’s a good chance he and Ethan could have pulled a job together sometime in the past.
Dean teased a bit of Ethan’s return to TV Insider saying, “He’s definitely changed a little bit. We know that some other mysterious people have been popping up in town. As we start to learn a little bit more about them, maybe we’ll reveal the real reason why he is back, as opposed to just, ‘Oh, I miss my friends and family.’”
And it would make sense thematically. Sidwell first came to town after clashing with Ethan’s half-brother, Lucky. And Cassius is involved with his half-sister, Lulu! If Ethan knows anything bad about the man she thinks she’s fallen for, then he’s going to want to warn her!
What are your thoughts? What brings Ethan back to Port Charles?