General Hospital Spoilers: Who Is Alex Devane? Everything You Need To Know About Anna’s Twin Sister!

As General Hospital viewers, we are certainly no strangers to twin storylines, but this story is unique for spanning four decades, two soaps, and for featuring fan favorite Finola Hughes.

While longtime ABC viewers have been convinced for weeks that the sassy, flirtatious, red skirt-wearing woman listening in on Valentin (James Patrick Stuart) and Nina (Michelle Stafford) was not acting like dignified, super spy Anna Devane, and quite possibly her identical twin, Alex, many other viewers were completely stumped. So, if you are a newer viewer, or just watch GH and never watched AMC, we figured we give you a rundown on the mysterious character in question.

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Back in 1999, eight years after her GH character Anna “died” in an explosion with Scorpio and Faison, Finola Hughes was hired to play “A. Devane” on fellow ABC soap, All My Children. Of course, there was wide speculation across the industry and from fans that she would be playing Anna, but when the character’s name was revealed to be Alex, it only led to more confusion. Viewers wanted to know if Alex was Anna’s long-losr sister or if they were actually the same person. Here is her story:

Related: General Hospital Recap Monday May 15: Valentin Tricks Alex – Julian Turns Down Deal – Anna’s Doctor Continues Drugging Her

Neurosurgeon Alex Devane planned on moving to AMC’s Pine Valley with her brand new husband, returning town fixture, Dimitri Marick (Michael Nader). Unfortunately, those plans were not to be, as Dimitri became gravely ill before the happy newlyweds could break their news to Dimitri’s friends and family. While the grieving loved ones traveled to Seaview Hospital to see if anything more could be done for Dimitri, Alex remained hidden at the local airport. Dimitri died soon after.

Alex emerged when Edmund (John Callahan), Dimitri’s brother, insisted that an autopsy be done to determine the cause of Dimitri’s death. Alex refused to allow an autopsy to be performed. When Edmund argued that he was Dimitri’s next of kin, and it was his decision, Alex let it be known that she was indeed Dimitri’s wife. Of course, this did not sit well with the legendary Erica Kane (Susan Lucci), Dimitri’s former wife.

Like Erica, many of the townspeople doubted that Alex’s feelings for Dimitri were actually sincere. However, Erica’s long time rival, Brooke English (Julia Barr), could see the love in Alex’s eyes when she spoke about him. As a matter of fact, Alex was shown reflecting on happier times with Dimitri through a series of pre-recorded flashbacks.

The couple had detailed plans to re-settle in Pine Valley and start a family. Many of Pine Valley’s denizens grew suspicious of Alex once she insisted on a closed casket funeral in addition to refusing an autopsy. Edmund, in a moment of grief, sprung the casket open anyway and was surprised to find that it was empty. Alex was forced to out Dimitri as alive, but seriously ill. He asked her to fake his death because he didn’t want his family to see him in his deteriorating condition.

Edmund was determined to see his brother and to urge him to fight for his life. Dimitri then embarked on stem cell therapy, as suggested by Edmund, as a last ditch effort to survive, which actually proved effective. However, one day Dimitri wandered too close to the ocean and disappeared. His clothes were found on the shore, but his body was not located. Dimitri’s loved ones had to assume that he was swept out to sea and had drowned. Alex and Edmund, who always had a strained relationship, depended upon each other in their time of grief. Eventually they fell in love and planned to be married.

Around this time, Alex began to have strange flashes of memory. She began to question her sanity while simultaneously wondering if she may actually be Anna Devane, her dead look-alike, with a nasty case of amnesia. Some of her strangest recollections included killing an English dignitary, and hugging a dark-haired child named Robin. She also bought Edmund a new horse and named him Scorpio, simply because it sounded right.

When the situations warranted it, Alex also demonstrated martial arts skills and Russian fluency, two skills that she lacked until under duress. Edmund and Alex were shocked to uncover that Anna was actually Alex’s twin sister, and that the woman that Alex believed to be her mother, Charlotte (Samantha Eggar), had placed her in a brainwashing facility disguised as a mental hospital. She intended on training Alex as a secret agent for a terrorist organization and the end goal was for her to kill Anna.

Alex could not go through with the plan, so Charlotte’s thugs instead killed Anna and implanted false memories in Alex’s mind so she would believe herself to be Anna. Charlotte was about to kill her as well, but Edmund stopped her just in time. While Charlotte was being dragged off in handcuffs, she revealed one more secret to Alex. She stated that she was not her biological mother. Rather, Alex and Anna were the children of the cousin of the man that Alex believed to be her father. Charlotte convinced Alex’s mother that one of her twins (Alex) was stillborn, and then she stole the baby and raised her as her own child.

While dealing with the fact that her whole life had been a lie, Alex also learned that Dimitri was actually alive and that he had been kidnapped by Charlotte. Alex and Dimitri were thrilled to be reunited and immediately made love. While Alex still had strong feelings for Edmund, she felt a stronger bond with Dimitri and decided to give their marriage another try. After Alex subsequently left Edmund, he grew to act irrational and he frightened the reunited Maricks with his behavior. In late 2000, Alex disappeared aboard the Fidelity yacht, and Dimitri was immediately convinced that Edmund was behind the “kidnapping.”

In reality, Alex was not kidnapped at all. She was staying in the secluded woods of Canada. She told Dimitri not to track her down, but he, along with Edmund, did not listen. They located a cabin were she had been staying and burst in to find an old man tending to her. The man was actually taking care of her sister, Anna, and he enlisted Alex’s help. Because Anna had to stay hidden, Alex had to sacrifice her narriage to Dimitri by disappearing, assuring that she would not be followed.

With Charlotte’s goons still watching, Alex had to secretly transport Anna to Pine Valley, where she hid out at Edmund and Dimnitri’s homestead, Wildwind, while receiving treatment. Not too long after, a hitman broke into the mansion and attempted to murder Anna. The perpetrator could not complete the job, and he was soon revealed to be Gabriel Devane (Eric Dearborn), the twins’ bi-racial half-brother who was also brainwashed by Charlotte. While Dimitri (then the late Anthony Addabbo) did not believe Gabriel’s account, Alex accepted him wholeheartedly.

It was around this time that Dimitri’s niece, Gillian Andrassy (Esta TerBlanche), decided to produce a documentary of her life. The person in charge, Ilene, met with her and was eager to see plans of Wildwind. This is because she wasn’t a documentarian at all, she was Charlotte’s hitwoman, out to get Anna, and the household unfortunately found out a few minutes too late. Ilene saw Gillian from the back, and siting her long brown hair, mistakened her for Anna and shot her point blank in the head. Gillian died in the hospital days later, and even though Ilene was arrested and she gave up Charlotte, Alex was overcome with guilt and remorse. She and Gillian were close, and she didn’t want to stay in Pine Valley any longer, so Alex followed Dimitri to Hungary in 2001, tracking down a family mystery.

In 2013, it was revealed on the Prospect Park version of AMC that Dimitri and Alex were divorced. That is the last that we have heard about her until May 15, 2017, when it was implied that she switched places with her twin Anna on GH.

Speaking of Prospect Park, as it has been reported here, the infamous lawsuit between the entity and ABC was settled, and that is why Alex is now able to appear, though she has not even been mentioned on GH in decades. This is also why Hillary B. Smith was able to portray OLTL’s Nora Buchanan on the lone ABC sudster.

Related: General Hospital Spoilers: Michael Rescues Nelle, Mugging Sets Stage For Romance?

Does this also mean that other Anna-related AMC characters could soon appear on GH? How about evil Charlotte, or her handsome cousin Aiden (Aiden Turner)? And, now that Tequan Richmond (T.J.) is on recurring status, how about bringing Gabriel Devane on-board as a new African-American leading man? Or, let’s bring in dashing David Hayward (Vincent Irrizary, who recently left Days) to give Sonny a run for his money. Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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