Sofia Mattsson gave an emotional tour de force as Sasha on GH.
There appears to be no end to the pain and torture Sasha Gilmore Corbin is being put through on General Hospital as the widowed heroine is being kept prisoner in a sanitarium courtesy of Gladys Corbin and Dr. Montague. Likewise, there’s no end to the talent of Sofia Mattsson, who has once again earned Soap Hub Performer of the Week for GH honors.
Sofia Mattsson – Performer of the Week
Even though Sasha’s been drugged up at times, she knew she no longer belonged at Ferncliff. She’d gotten wind that Dr. Montague (Darin Toonder) didn’t have her best interests at heart. Ever resourceful, Sasha tried to bribe her way out of the sanitarium. “I have a lot of money. I can pay you anything you want. Just please let me go,” Sasha said to her doctor. Mattsson brought both a sense of panic and a knowing tone to those lines as if her character suspected that her bad doctor wasn’t going to bite.
She painfully cried out so much in frustration and helplessness when Dr. Montague injected her with a drug. Yeah, of course, we know that this is all fictional, but Mattsson brings such vulnerability and likeability to her role it’s actually painful to watch Sasha being abused this way. We almost want to reach through the screen and knock that syringe right out of Dr. Montague’s hand the next time he acts unethically. (Kudos to Toonder for playing such a despicable doctor.)
Sasha was startled when she realized Cody (Josh Kelly) was in the room with her (can you blame her?) She recoiled in fear. How could Cody have gotten in to see her she must have been thinking. And how would he respond to her attacking him when she wasn’t in her right mind?
Once she partially composed herself, Sasha allowed Cody’s presence to try to get up to speed. She recalled thinking Cyrus (Jeff Kober) was coming after her so she defended herself. Cody told her she didn’t have to worry about that right now. Then, Mattsson made the choice to have Sasha believe that maybe Cody was truly there, willing to help her. “Are you real? Are you really here?” Sasha said, her voice trembling. Sasha’s been traveling a tough road and it was calming to hear her express hope that Cody was there to rescue her.
Cody continued to draw Sasha back to reality, extending his hand to her. She took it. Alas, on cue, Dr. Montague caught them trying to make their way out of the room. While Cody quickly put the pieces together – Gladys (Bonnie Burroughs) and Dr. Montague are in cahoots — a confused Sasha wasn’t quite sure what to think. The two men came to blows but Dr. Montague was no match for Cody. He overpowered the unethical M.D. and left him bound and gagged while Cody and Sasha made their escape.
Thanks to Cody (with an assist from Sam), Sasha has hopefully left Ferncliff in the dust. What will not be forgotten anytime soon, however, are the wonderful performances given to us by Sofia Mattsson.