I firmly believe Ryan Paevey’s return on General Hospital—could give Maxie and Britt the closure they deserve

Ryan Paevey has hinted at a return to the small screen, leaving General Hospital fans hoping for the reappearance of his character, Nathan West, on the daily soap. Since Kelly Thiebaud has already announced her return to GH, Ryan's appearance—even as a memory or a spirit—may make sense.

As a longtime viewer of General Hospital, I always wanted the crisis between Maxie and Britt to be resolved. With Britt dying in 2023 while fighting The Hook, she and Maxie never reconciled their frictions. Britt's brother Nathan might have mediated and helped solve their differences.

However, Nathan was shot dead by his own father five years before Britt died. As such, Maxie never got closure with either Britt or Nathan. Although she is now happily married to Spinelli, Maxie's romance with Detective Nathan was charming, and James is a reminder of that.

While either character's return from the dead would need a plausible explanation, both Britt and Nathan would make a great addition to the current General Hospital storyline. Meanwhile, Port Charles residents are gearing up for a showdown between the town's mobster and his prime enemy on ABC's long-running daily soap.

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A revisit to Ryan Paevey's character on General Hospital

Paevey played Detective Nathan West from December 2013 to February 2018. He was the biological son of Dr. Leisl Obrecht and the villain Cesar Faison, but was raised by Leisl's sister, Madeline Reeves. He joined the police department after his sister-cousin Nina fell into a long coma. He initially arrived in Port Charles to confront Nina's husband, Dr. Silas Clay, and Ava Jerome.

During his investigation, he met Sam McCall and befriended his colleague, Dante Falconeri. However, his work took a turn when Carly was kidnapped. While working on Carly's case, he met other residents of the town, such as Lulu.

After arresting his adoptive mother for causing Nina's coma while trying to kill her baby, Nathan met Britt Westbourne at a bar. Maxie stopped their relationship from taking an incestuous turn. Soon after, Madeline informed him about his birth mother and Britt being his sister.

Later, Nathan got involved in various activities in town, from the Nurses Ball to Nina's wake-up. Discovering that Levi was a con, he asked Dante to stop Maxie from marrying him. While being in love with Maxie Jones from the start, he revealed his feelings after rescuing her from a hostage situation. He married Maxie in January 2017 and learned she was pregnant during Thanksgiving of the same year.

He also reunited with his sister when she returned to town to surrender to the police. In January 2018, he allowed Lulu and Peter August to use him as bait to catch his father, the criminal Faison. However, Faison took Maxie at gunpoint at the Metro Court. As Nathan rushed to save Maxie, the criminal shot his own son.

While Jason later killed Faison, Nathan died from his gunshot injuries. At his funeral, Maxie saw Nathan's apparition leaving for heaven with Georgie.

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General Hospital: How will Paevey's return affect the storyline?

Currently, Maxie is in a stable relationship with Damian Spinelli. James also has a loving stepfather in the latter. However, with Thiebaud slated to return to the General Hospital plot soon, Maxie's relationship with Dr. Britt may come back into focus.

As such, Nathan's references may make it into the story arc. Maxie might see him in dreams or as an apparition. Alternatively, there may be flashbacks. Either way, I believe revisiting her past could give Maxie the closure she deserves.

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Continue watching General Hospital to know whether Nathan returns to the daily soap's plot.