MICHAEL CORINTHOS SEEMS TO BE TURNING INTO HIS MOTHER…AND IT’S NOT GOOD.
TL;DR: In scenes that left General Hospital fans absolutely reeling, Michael Corinthos (Rory Gibson) admitted out loud—to multiple people—that he WISHES he had framed Willow Tait (Katelyn MacMullen) for attempted murder. Not “I’m glad I didn’t,” not “thank goodness my better angels prevailed,” but “I WISH I had done it.”
The man who once stood by Willow through cancer, who vowed to love her forever, has officially crossed over to the dark side. And honestly? There’s no coming back from this. He’s become a MONSTER!
The Admission That Changed Everything
Let’s set the scene. Michael is being confronted by his brother Dante Falconeri (Dominic Zamprogna) about whether he planted the gun to frame Willow for Drew Cain’s (Cameron Mathison) shooting. The timeline is suspicious as hell. Michael showed up at Elizabeth Webber’s (Rebecca Herbst) house right after Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) fumbled the search warrant at the Quartermaine mansion (wrong address—convenient, right?), giving someone plenty of time to move the murder weapon.
Dante laid it all out: motive, opportunity, suspicious behavior. Michael had every reason to want Willow to suffer after she cheated on him with his uncle Drew, tried to take his kids, and then psychologically tormented his newborn daughter Daisy in a twisted revenge scheme that sent Sasha Gilmore (Sofia Mattsson) fleeing to Paris.
So what did Michael say when confronted by his detective brother? Did he express horror at being accused of such a heinous act? Did he defend his character and insist he would never stoop so low?
Nope.
“Dante, if I had shot Drew, he’d be dead,” Michael declared as Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) and Lulu Spencer (Alexa Havins) eavesdropped from the doorway. “And you know what? I wish I had framed Willow. I really do. Because I would make damn sure that she was found guilty, that way my children would never have to see her again.”
Let. That. Sink. In. Dot Com.
This Isn’t Him Protecting His Kids—This Is PSYCHOPATHIC
Look, we get it. Willow did Michael dirty. She cheated on him while he was recovering in a BURN UNIT. She hooked up with his uncle. She tried to take custody of their children. She played sick mind games with baby Daisy that were genuinely disturbing. Willow has absolutely earned Michael’s anger and his desire to keep her away from the kids.
But wishing you had framed someone for attempted MURDER? That’s not protective parenting. That’s not righteous anger. That’s not even justifiable revenge.
That’s crossing a line into genuinely evil territory.
Michael didn’t say “I’m glad the truth will come out.” He said he WISHES he had committed a serious felony to ensure the mother of his children went to prison for a crime she didn’t commit. He wishes he had looked his children in the eyes knowing he deliberately destroyed their mother’s life with a lie. He wishes he had watched Willow get hauled away in handcuffs. Which the kids DID witness, by the way, and were traumatized by—and felt… what? Satisfaction? Pride?
That’s not the behavior of a good guy having a rough time. That’s villain origin story material.
What makes Michael’s admission even more chilling is HOW he went about this whole situation. According to spoilers and fan speculation (which Michael basically confirmed), here’s the timeline:
The Calculated Cruelty of It All
1. Anna tries to execute a search warrant at the Quartermaine mansion to find the gun used to shoot Drew
2. Veronica “Ronnie” Bard (Erika Slezak) catches a “typo” in the warrant (wrong address), forcing Anna to leave
3. Michael mysteriously disappears during this window
4. Michael shows up at Elizabeth’s house where Willow is staying
5. Michael suddenly—after months of refusing—offers Willow supervised visitation with the kids
6. The gun is found in Willow’s room at Elizabeth’s house
7. Willow gets arrested in front of her traumatized children
8. Michael gets exactly what he wanted
Whether or not Michael actually planted the gun (and the show is being coy about it), his admission that he WISHES he had done it reveals his mindset. This wasn’t a heat-of-the-moment decision. This was calculated. Methodical. He used his own children’s emotional wellbeing as collateral damage in his war against their mother.
Those kids had to watch their mother get arrested for attempted murder. They had to see her in handcuffs. They had to process the trauma of believing their mom tried to kill someone. And Michael’s response is “I wish I’d made sure she was found guilty”?
MONSTER. Full stop.
But He’s Been Ruthless Before!
Michael’s defenders will point out—correctly—that this isn’t the first time he’s gone to dark places. When he was furious with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), he hired Dex Heller (Evan Hofer) specifically to gather evidence to send his father to prison. Years before that, he fought for and won custody of his sister Avery (Ava and Grace Scarola) as punishment for Sonny killing A.J. Quartermaine (Sean Kanan).
Michael has always had a vindictive streak. He’s his father’s son, after all, and when someone crosses him, he doesn’t forgive. He retaliates.
But here’s the difference: those previous acts of vengeance, while harsh, were grounded in some version of justice or protection. A.J. was murdered—that’s a legitimate grievance. Sonny’s mob lifestyle genuinely puts people in danger—wanting him to be in prison isn’t unreasonable.
This? Wishing he’d framed the mother of his children for a violent felony she didn’t commit? There’s no “justice” angle here. There’s no “protecting my family” rationalization that holds up. This is pure spite. This is wanting to destroy someone just because he can.
The Irony of Michael’s Moral High Ground
Let’s not forget that Michael has spent YEARS positioning himself as the moral, upstanding Corinthos. He’s the one who went to business school. He’s the one who tried to distance himself from Sonny’s criminal empire. He’s the one who judged his family members for their questionable choices while maintaining his own pristine reputation.
And now? He’s casually admitting he wishes he’d committed felony evidence tampering and perjury to frame someone for attempted murder. He’s expressing regret that he DIDN’T ruin an innocent person’s life.
The cognitive dissonance is staggering. Michael has always held everyone else to impossible standards while refusing to acknowledge his own capacity for cruelty. But this? This shatters any remaining illusion that Michael Corinthos is one of the “good guys.”
He’s a bad guy. As in VERY.
What Willow Did Doesn’t Justify This
Yes, Willow cheated. Yes, she targeted baby Daisy in a disturbing psychological campaign. Yes, she tried to take Michael’s children away. All of that is true, and all of that is terrible.
But you know what Willow didn’t do? She didn’t frame Michael for a violent crime he didn’t commit. She didn’t try to send him to prison for decades. She didn’t wish for his complete and utter destruction while looking their children in the face and pretending to be the good parent.
Willow’s actions were born of desperation and mental instability after losing custody of her kids. She was spiraling, making terrible choices, and engaging in genuinely concerning behavior. But her goal was always to be WITH her children—not to destroy their father for the sake of revenge.
Michael’s goal, by his own admission, is to ensure Willow “never gets near the children again” by ANY means necessary, including felonies that could destroy her life. That’s not equivalent. That’s not “they’re both as bad as each other.” That’s Michael being objectively worse.
The Witnesses to Michael’s Confession
Here’s where things get REALLY interesting. Michael made his “I wish I’d framed Willow” admission in front of multiple people:
1. Dante—his brother and a POLICE DETECTIVE
2. Lucy Coe—who was eavesdropping
3. Lulu Spencer—also eavesdropping
4. Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton)—who he also confessed to
That’s a lot of witnesses to what amounts to an admission of intent to commit a serious crime. Sure, he prefaced it with “I didn’t do it, but I wish I had,” which gives him some plausible deniability. But Dante, as a detective, now has to weigh his brother’s words against the suspicious circumstances and timeline.
And Lucy? Lulu? They’re not exactly known for keeping their mouths shut. This information is going to spread through Port Charles like wildfire, and Michael’s reputation is about to take a nosedive.
Rory Gibson’s Michael vs. Chad Duell’s Michael
It’s worth noting that we’re seeing this dark Michael with a new actor in the role. Chad Duell exited the role in January 2025, and Rory Gibson took over in May 2025. Some fans have wondered if this villainous turn feels out of character for Michael.
But here’s the thing: it doesn’t matter which actor is playing him. Michael’s capacity for ruthlessness has always been there, lurking under the surface. Duell showed us glimpses of it during the Sonny feud and the custody battle for Avery. Gibson is simply taking that darkness to its logical extreme.
A new actor doesn’t change a character’s fundamental traits—it just highlights different aspects of them. And what Gibson is highlighting is that Michael, when truly hurt and enraged, is capable of monstrous behavior. He’s showing us that the “good Corinthos son” was always a facade, and underneath it all, Michael is exactly like his father: willing to destroy anyone who betrays him, regardless of the collateral damage.
The Point of No Return
Here’s the harsh reality: there’s no redemption arc that makes this okay. Michael can’t walk this back. He can’t claim he was just angry and didn’t mean it. He can’t explain it away as protecting his children when he explicitly said he wished he’d framed their mother for attempted murder.
He said it to a police detective. He said it within earshot of multiple people. He said it calmly, with conviction, with the full weight of his rage and vindictiveness behind every word.
This isn’t a momentary lapse in judgment. This is who Michael Corinthos is now: a man who regrets NOT destroying the mother of his children with a felony frame-up. A man who would rather his kids grow up believing their mother is a violent criminal than deal with the messy reality of co-parenting with someone he hates.
That’s not anti-hero territory. That’s not morally grey. That’s straight-up villain behavior.
What Happens Next?
According to spoilers, Michael is going to make some “risky moves” in the coming weeks, and Willow is focusing on her court strategy. Drew has apparently promised to help Willow by trying to frame Michael for the shooting (oh, the irony), and Jens Sidwell (Carlo Rota) may get involved to help Drew pin it on Michael.
So we’re potentially looking at a situation where:
1. Michael framed Willow (or wishes he had)
2. Drew and Sidwell are trying to frame Michael
3. Someone actually shot Drew and it might be neither of them
4. The kids are caught in the middle of a war between their parents
What a mess. And at the center of it all is Michael, who has officially lost any claim to the moral high ground. He’s not the wronged husband anymore. He’s not the protective father. He’s the man who admitted—out loud, to witnesses—that he wishes he’d framed his ex-wife for attempted murder.
That’s not complex. That’s not layered. That’s just evil.
The Larger Question: Can Michael Come Back From This?
The real question for General Hospital moving forward is whether Michael can ever be redeemed after this admission. Can viewers root for a character who explicitly wishes he’d destroyed an innocent person’s life? Can we sympathize with his struggles when he’s shown such callous disregard for basic decency?
The show seems to be leaning into Michael’s dark side, exploring what happens when a “good guy” is pushed past his breaking point. But there’s a difference between a character making questionable choices in the heat of emotion and a character calmly stating he regrets not committing multiple felonies to destroy his enemy.
Sonny has committed countless crimes, but he’s framed as an anti-hero because he has a code and genuinely loves his family. Ava Jerome (Maura West) has done terrible things, but she’s compelling because she owns her darkness and doesn’t pretend to be something she’s not.
Michael, on the other hand, has positioned himself as morally superior to everyone while harboring the same capacity for cruelty as the people he judges. That’s not anti-hero behavior—that’s hypocrisy combined with genuine malevolence.
The Bottom Line
Michael Corinthos admitted he wishes he had framed Willow for attempted murder. He said it with his whole chest. He said it to a cop. He said it knowing his children would grow up believing their mother was a violent criminal if his wish had come true.
That’s not a man protecting his family. That’s not a father doing what’s necessary. That’s a monster wearing the mask of a concerned parent, using his children as justification for his own vindictive, cruel impulses.
Willow may have done terrible things, but at least she never wished she’d successfully destroyed Michael’s entire life with a lie.
Michael did. And he can’t take it back.
Welcome to the dark side, Michael Corinthos. You’ve officially become the thing you always claimed to hate. Your father would be so proud.
Predict the Drama: Place your bets! Who do YOU think is the father? What’s Luna’s next move? Email your predictions to [email protected] and let’s see if you called it before it happened!
