General Hospital Star Avery Pohl Gives New Depth To Esme's Perspective
Esme Prince (Avery Pohl) thought she had everything figured out when she followed her boyfriend, Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chavez), to Port Charles on "General Hospital." Per Soap Central, the two met at a European boarding school, and when he found out that his father, Nikolas Cassadine, had faked his own death for years, Spencer sought revenge. Esme was more than happy to join him and participate in his scheme. Esme did many evil things in her time in Port Charles, but nothing was as despicable as videotaping college students Cameron Webber (William Lipton) and Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) having sex for the first time. To make matters worse, she sent the video to everyone at their school and framed Josslyn's best friend, Trina Robinson (then Sydney Mikayla), for the crime (via Soaps in Depth).
A chain of events unfolded when Esme seduced Nikolas into having sex with her and then accidentally fell off his castle's parapet while fighting with his wife, Ava Jerome (Maura West). Although Nikolas and Ava covered up the accident, believing Esme was dead, she eventually returned to Nikolas pregnant with his child. Meanwhile, a killer was terrorizing Port Charles using a poison-laced hook, and Esme was the prime suspect. Thinking quickly, Nikolas locked her in one of the building's towers, according to Soap Hub.
Actress Avery Pohl candidly talked about the imprisoned Esme's point of view.
Avery Pohl loves working with Rebecca Herbst
Soap Opera Digest recently spoke with Avery Pohl regarding Esme's predicament. Considering the pregnant woman has been locked in a tower for a while, SOD mentioned that Esme was antsy. Pohl agreed, stating that she was also getting impatient. She said, "I love the tower set; I think it's so fun, but I'm ready for a change of scenery — and I'm pretty sure Esme was ready for a change of scenery about 20 episodes ago." Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) eventually figured out what Nikolas was up to. Because her son Cameron was a victim of Esme's revenge-porn crime, Elizabeth kept Nikolas' secret, agreeing only to tend to the woman's prenatal needs, per Soap Hub.
Pohl stated that she'd never worked with Herbst before and had never even seen her in the studio hallway. She had nothing but good things to say about her co-star. "[Herbst is] fantastic. Such a pro, such a sweetheart, she's always got her stuff down, and she's ready to go," Pohl said, adding, "I think when someone is super-easy to work with, it makes it that much more fun, and on top of that, she's an amazing performer."
Pohl felt that Elizabeth's insertion into the story would be beneficial to Esme because Liz is the mother of three children and would understand what Esme's going through.
Esme's scenes are fun for Pohl
Avery Pohl told Soap Opera Digest that she felt her character, Esme Prince, does actually care for her unborn child and doesn't just regard it as a pawn. "Yes, this baby can help her, but also, this baby is someone that she can love unconditionally and that will unconditionally love her," she stated, adding, "which she has not experienced in her life. So I think that's a really big thing for her." Pohl mentioned that while Esme's been locked up, she's only had the baby to talk to and an imaginary vision of her father, Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom).
SOD also asked about the scene where Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Nikolas Cassadine (Marcus Coloma) brought her breakfast. Esme had been on a hunger strike, and Pohl stated she enjoyed those scenes. "They gave me that plate of food, and I had so much fun with it because Esme hadn't eaten in a while; she'd been trying the starvation tactic [to get Nikolas to release her] because desperate times call for desperate measures." She continued saying that while Esme has had a lot of scenes where she felt trapped, "In those scenes, I felt a lot of freedom and it created some really fun moments."
The revelation that Ryan and Heather Webber (Alley Mills) are Esme's parents have fans cheering. Daytime Confidential reported that Esme has recently escaped from Nikolas' prison, and viewers are excited for what comes next!