In the emotional aftermath of Anthony Geary’s final General Hospital episode re-airing today, Robert Palmer Watkins, who portrayed Dillon Quartermaine, opened up in a deeply personal and unexpectedly raw reflection that has left fans shaken and nostalgic all over again, because for him this wasn’t just a rerun of a historic episode, it was a floodgate of memories tied to one of the most formative relationships of his career and a reminder of how profoundly Anthony Geary shaped not only the show, but the people who stood beside him on set; Robert admitted that seeing himself back on screen in that final episode, younger, hopeful, and standing in the orbit of a legend, felt surreal and almost disorienting, as if time folded in on itself and forced him to confront how much of who he became as an actor was forged in those quiet, unscripted moments with Anthony between takes; according to Robert, Anthony was nothing like the intimidating icon many newcomers expected, but instead intensely observant, brutally honest, and deeply invested in the growth of younger actors, often offering advice that cut straight through ego and fear, advice that didn’t always feel comforting in the moment but lingered for years and proved devastatingly accurate; he recalled how Anthony had a way of watching a scene unfold with laser focus, then pulling Robert aside afterward to dissect not just the performance, but the intention behind it, asking questions that forced him to think beyond lines and into the emotional consequences of every choice Dillon made, lessons that Robert now realizes fundamentally altered how he approaches storytelling; what made today’s re-airing especially heartbreaking, Robert confessed, was noticing Anthony’s subtle expressions, the restraint, the weight in his eyes during his final moments as Luke Spencer, details he was too young and too busy surviving his own nerves to fully appreciate at the time, but which now read like a quiet farewell, not just to the character, but to an entire era of television; Robert revealed that during the filming of that episode, there was an unspoken heaviness on set, a sense that something monumental was ending even if no one dared to say it out loud, and that Anthony carried himself differently, calmer, almost gentler, as if he were consciously imprinting final memories on everyone around him; one of the most striking revelations Robert shared was that Anthony had privately warned him about the seductive danger of fame, telling him that applause fades faster than you think, but the work, the integrity, and the relationships you build are what haunt you in the best and worst ways, words that hit with painful clarity as Robert watched the episode again, knowing how many actors have come and gone since while Luke Spencer remains immortal; he admitted that seeing fans react so emotionally to the re-airing stirred a mix of gratitude and grief, gratitude for having been part of something so enduring, and grief for the innocence of that time, when he didn’t yet understand how rare it was to work alongside someone who didn’t just perform scenes, but elevated everyone else simply by being present; Robert also acknowledged that his relationship with Anthony was not built on constant warmth, but on respect earned through challenge, as Anthony never coddled him, never sugarcoated criticism, and never let him hide behind charm or humor when a scene demanded truth, a dynamic that sometimes felt harsh but ultimately became a gift; as the episode played today, Robert said he found himself less focused on his own performance and more on Anthony’s stillness, the confidence of a man who no longer needed to prove anything, and the quiet bravery of stepping away while still at the top of his power, a choice that now feels even more profound in an industry addicted to longevity at any cost; perhaps the most devastating part of Robert’s reflection was his admission that he never properly thanked Anthony at the time, assuming there would always be another moment, another hallway conversation, another shared scene, only to realize later that some chapters close without ceremony, leaving gratitude to echo unanswered; watching the episode re-aired today, he described feeling both honored and exposed, aware that a piece of his early career is now frozen in time alongside Anthony Geary’s farewell, permanently linking his own journey to that historic goodbye; Robert emphasized that Anthony didn’t just teach him how to act, but how to endure, how to listen, and how to respect the audience enough to never lie to them emotionally, lessons that resurfaced with painful clarity as Luke Spencer’s final scenes unfolded once again; in the end, Robert said the re-airing felt less like a celebration and more like a reckoning, a reminder of what General Hospital once was, what it dared to do, and how rare it is to witness a legend exit on his own terms, leaving behind not just memories, but standards that are nearly impossible to live up to; for Robert Palmer Watkins, seeing that episode again wasn’t about reliving the past, but about confronting the truth that working with Anthony Geary changed him forever, and that no matter how much time passes, standing in the shadow of Luke Spencer remains one of the most humbling, heartbreaking, and defining experiences of his life