Tensions run high in Port Charles this week as a new figure arrives at PCU, bringing more than just academic credentials. Professor Dalton (portrayed by Daniel Goddard), a charismatic and enigmatic visiting professor, enters the campus to teach a seminar on ethics and moral philosophy. But behind the polished lectures and perfectly pressed suits lies a past so tangled and disturbing that it threatens to destabilize the already fragile lives of those around him—especially Josslyn Jacks.
At first, Dalton charms nearly everyone. The faculty appreciates his credentials, and the students find his lectures captivating. Even Trina, often skeptical of outsiders, admits he’s “not the worst prof they’ve had.” But Joss, who’s dealing with her own personal upheaval following Dex’s departure, has a nagging feeling that something is off.
That suspicion intensifies when she finds Dalton lingering outside the Jerome Gallery late one evening. He brushes it off as a misstep—”I’m fascinated by local art,” he says with a mysterious smile—but Joss catches the unease in his eyes. She begins digging into his past, using her connections with Sonny’s surveillance network and even enlisting Spinelli for help.
The more Joss uncovers, the more alarmed she becomes. Dalton’s real name isn’t even Dalton—it’s Daniel Harper, and he was once implicated in a major university embezzlement scandal overseas, a case that quietly disappeared when witnesses recanted and evidence vanished. But there’s more: emails suggest a covert relationship between Dalton and someone connected to Port Charles—possibly Victor Cassadine before his death.
Joss takes her findings to Carly, who urges caution but can’t help but be concerned herself. As a mother, her instincts are on high alert. But GH insiders know Carly doesn’t like to act without solid proof. Joss, however, is ready to act—and that’s when everything begins to spiral.
Meanwhile, fans across Port Charles are buzzing—not just within the storyline, but behind the scenes. Daniel Goddard’s casting has sparked a firestorm online. Longtime soap fans remember his turn as Cane Ashby on The Young and the Restless, and while some were thrilled to see him return to daytime TV, others were furious. Social media erupted with debates about his previous storylines, especially the controversial pairing of Cane and Tracy Abbott. Rumors swirled that Goddard himself lobbied for more screen time in that role, which backfired and led to his sudden exit. Now, that history trails him like a shadow, even as he tries to establish himself in a new soap setting.
Inside the General Hospital storyline, Professor Dalton’s true purpose starts to unfold. He isn’t just a visiting professor—he’s also investigating a long-buried secret that connects several legacy families in Port Charles. Laura Collins becomes involved when she learns that Dalton may have been in contact with a former associate of her father. Meanwhile, Anna Devane begins her own off-the-books investigation into Dalton’s foreign ties, finding inconsistencies in his travel history and a potential connection to the WSB.
But it’s Joss who gets closest to the truth—and it nearly destroys her. She follows Dalton to a late-night meeting at the docks, where she overhears him speaking cryptically with a shadowy figure. “Everything will be ready by the time the ceremony begins. No one will suspect a thing,” he says. She captures a voice memo and races to warn Jordan, only to be dismissed for lack of context.
Desperate, Joss breaks into Dalton’s office at PCU. What she finds there horrifies her: blueprints of GH, access cards to restricted wings of the hospital, and a list of names—people he refers to as “catalysts.” Elizabeth’s name is there. So is Jordan’s. And in red ink at the top? Carly Spencer.
Joss tries to confront Dalton at a faculty event, but he expertly deflects, gaslighting her in front of the university dean. “Ms. Jacks seems to be under a lot of stress,” he says smoothly, “and I understand the weight of expectations from a family like hers.” The room laughs it off. Joss, humiliated and angry, storms out—but she refuses to let it go.
In the final moments of the week, Joss decides to take matters into her own hands. She confronts Dalton privately, recording their conversation on her phone. She demands answers about Carly, about the list, about what he’s planning at the hospital. But Dalton turns the tables. He reveals that he knows all about her—her family, her romantic entanglements, her connection to Sonny. “You think you’re the only one who can dig up the past?” he whispers. “You don’t know who you’re dealing with.”
Joss attempts to leave with the recording, but he snatches the phone and crushes it underfoot. Before she can scream, he calmly walks away, disappearing into the night.
Meanwhile, back at GH, strange occurrences begin—files missing, security systems glitching, patients being moved without explanation. Elizabeth notices, but no one believes her. Only Joss knows what’s coming—and she’s failed to stop it.
As the week ends, fans are left with a chilling cliffhanger. A bombshell reveal is teased: Dalton may not be acting alone. A new, unseen player could be backing him—one with deep ties to the Quartermaine fortune and an axe to grind.
Behind the scenes, the backlash to Goddard’s casting still rages. Some fans are adamant that bringing him in without a solid arc was a mistake. Others, however, are warming up to the mystery. Some speculate he may be a reimagined Jasper Jax—Sonny’s old rival and Joss’s father. Could GH be laying the groundwork for a massive reveal that would shake the Spencer-Corinthos lineage to the core?
Whether hero, saboteur, or something in between, Professor Dalton is leaving his mark. And Josslyn Jacks may be the only one brave enough to stop him—if it’s not already too late.
