What General Hospital Fans Truly Think About Jeff Webber's Long-Awaited Port Charles Comeback
Although Richard Dean Anderson, who portrayed Dr. Jeff Webber on "General Hospital," left the show in 1981, his character's legacy lived on through Jeff's daughter, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). Liz came to Port Charles in 1997, but her dad remained off-screen working as a doctor abroad with his wife Carolyn Webber — who had never been portrayed on the show until recently. Over the 25 years that Herbst has been on the show, and through all the trials and tribulations that Elizabeth has gone through, Jeff has never once checked in on his daughter, which has irked fans every time Liz dealt with something tragic or heartbreaking (via Soaps in Depth).
Due to Elizabeth discovering fragments of repressed memories that affected her life, she had no choice but to seek out her parents, demanding answers. Since Anderson did not return to the role because he retired from acting, per The Focus, actor William Moses has been cast as Jeff, while "Star Trek: The Next Generation" alum Denise Crosby is playing the heretofore unseen Carolyn. The absentee parents explained the disturbing fact that Jeff had an affair with Reiko Finn (Mele Ihara), the late wife of Liz's current beau, Dr. Hamilton Finn (Michael Easton) and that Liz inadvertently pushed Reiko down a flight of stairs — setting in motion a chain of events that would lead to Reiko's death (via Michael Fairman TV).
The viewers had strong opinions about this turn of events.
Fans are irked by Finn's involvement in Elizabeth's history
According to Soaps She Knows, Dr. Jeff Webber showed up in Port Charles on "General Hospital," and bumped into Dr. Hamilton Finn. Finn was angered after learning that Jeff had an affair with his late wife Reiko Finn (Mele Ihara) years ago and punched Jeff in the face. "GH" posted on Twitter, "Jeff and Finn have a lot between them to unpack. What does Elizabeth's father hope to accomplish with his visit to Port Charles?"
Fans of Elizabeth's story were outraged that the revelation of her backstory was more about Finn than her, with one writing, "Imagine bringing Elizabeth's father onto the show after all these decades, just to have him share scenes with Finn. Embarrassing."
A viewer encouraged the show to re-focus on Elizabeth, writing, "Why is this storyline about Finn? It's Elizabeth's dad. Not really interested in Reiko. A character we've never even known. Engage Elizabeth in this storyline." One fan wasn't completely upset with Finn's entanglement in the story, posting, "It would be sooooo much better if Elizabeth was involved with this 'unpacking'. But I do like angry yelling Finn. DeadbeatJeff needs a beatdown from both Liz&Finn."
A hilarious reply brought up a good point, writing, "Finn acted like a Jerk when he sucker punched an old man (Jeff Webber) who sleept with his dead wife decades ago?"