“General Hospital”’s Ryan Paevey has wrapped his 10-month run as Nathan West/Cassius Faison. “General Hospital”’s Executive Produce Frank Valentini told TV Insider that Ryan’s time on the show always had an expiration date.
Paevey made a shocking return as Nathan West, who had been killed in the line of duty, in September of 2025. In a previous interview Paevey said that he didn’t want to come back as Nathan and undo Nathan’s storyline.
In April of 2026 after his true identity was revealed on the show, he told Soap Opera Digest that:
“Cassius is basically Nathan turned on his heels. He has to be similar enough to Nathan that it’s feasible, that it’s believable that people were fooled. He looks like Nathan, he kind of sounds like Nathan — the camouflage is viable, so to speak. I mean, we are twins. But there are some differences.”
There was some ambiguity about whether or not Cassius had survived the shootout on the dock on Spoon Island. But the show has confirmed that Cassius was killed and Ryan Paevey has exited the show.
Cassius Did Care About His Family And Friends
Sidwell broke the news that Cassius Faison and not Nathan West to Office Fitzpatrick and Ezra Boyle while holding them all at gunpoint. And after that the secret began leaking out from various sources, including Anna figuring it out all the way in France.
Cassius knew he couldn’t maintain the lie that he was actually his brother Nathan anymore. He was going to kidnap his brother’s son, James on his way out of town. But Cody stopped him, after getting a desperate call from Felicia in France asking him to protect James.
Instead of going on the run, Cassius decided to try and help Joss and his mother get free, and to help Joss stop Cullum from taking the device off Spoon Island. Cassius did a lot of bad things, but in the end, he died heroically and may have saved Joss’s life.
He also took a big chance stealing what he thought was Britt’s medicine that she needed to keep her Huntington’s disease symptoms in check. Britt knew that Cassius wasn’t Nathan, but she still embraced him as her brother.
Maxie And Lulu
Maxie has been out of town for an extended trip as Kirsten Storms deals with some personal troubles. But Lulu knows that Nathan was really Cassius, and she feels sick about their romance.
It does explain why Maxie didn’t choose Nathan though, and why Nathan was ok with that. Cassius knew he could never fool Maxie, who was the love of Nathan’s life. Maxie will have a tough time explaining all of this to her and Nathan’s son James though. Now James will have to mourn the man he thought was his father after losing his real father.
Goodbyes Aren’t Forever In Soap World
It’s a little sad to say goodbye to Ryan Paevey a second time. But in soap world, goodbyes are never forever and resurrections are always possible. So maybe at some point in the future Ryan Paevey will return to “General Hospital”.
