Has Ryan's plan been in the works, for years?

[franron]

Spencer has been overseas, in school, evading his dad, and Ava, for years. Alexis, hasn't been in the prison system, sentenced there, for years. Spencer only recently checked in. What? Somehow, Ryan also finagled the internship for a non-enrolled student, Esme, who's been hanging all over Spencer, in France, for years, also?

But, Ryan has been keeping up with his secret, late-night exercise regime, so that he remains mobile...Do they ever weigh him, and wonder why he hasn't lost a lot of weight, being chair-bound, year after year?

[Soapaholic26]

I'm pretty sure Ryan was the one who told Esme to befriend Spencer in the first place. So, yes, going on for years. I wonder how long he has been faking the locked in syndrome? I'm just thinking of the processes of eating and eliminating. Was he fed through a tube? Aided in some way with bathroom necessities. Not flinching when Ava bit him on the arm. That is a huge level of commitment for his obsession with Ava.

[LBD12]

I bet Ryan planted Esme in Spencer's boarding school. I have always said that Esme acted more like she googled "how rich people behave" vs genuinely coming from money.

[parker joe]

Well, Ryan's obsession with Ava started three years ago. And Spencer was at that school for two years before that. He could've planted Esme as soon as he decided to take over Kevin's life. They've been nonspecific about exactly how long Spencer has known her.

[Pamcho]

I think Esme & Spencer have been together between 1-2 years.

[parker joe]

I would agree, but it's been a year since Spencer's stalking of Ava started, and it sounded like they went through years of school together. I would put it at a minimum of three.

[franron]

Thanks for your replies.

I've been thinking about the timeline. Spencer, being Mister Lonely, trapped(?) in French boarding school. Previous Spencer actor actively hating on Ava and Nik, evading and avoiding all contact with them. Did he already have Esme as a girlfriend? Spencer shows up to lurk around PC, right as the other kids are graduating HS, to carry out his terror campaign against Ava.

I can't remember when Ryan got stabbed in Pentonville, and went to GH, for rehab. Time passes, and then, we find out that he's been in Spring Ridge, being rolled around, as guy with medical issues which seems to require skilled nursing care since he can't do anything on his own. There is a big WTF?

Viewers forgot all about him for awhile, but, Alexis has to go to easy prison, for missing the still-alive Franco, and stabbing Dante instead. Oh, look! Harmony, whatever her work skills were when she wasn't busy being cult member, is in there, too, being his caretaker(?)/communication coach. Alexis gets there and says, '...what's he doing here?...'. Franco's death is on it's one year anniversary, these days.

After some kind of Welcome Back Spencer party, college school begins for the other kids. Meanwhile, Esme has already been lurking around the hospital, torching Ava's car. She gets exposed as Spencer's girlfriend. Somehow, she gets a school-provided (?) internship at Spring Ridge, even though she's just a class auditor. Whatever....

Alexis gets out, Spencer goes in, to Camp Prison. A way to keep the action at the prison, so that we can remember all about Ryan, and, to observe Esme being familiar to him.

Anyway, Ryan has been faking Locked-In for who knows how long, with people wiping his butt, getting food into him somehow, keeping him clean....like that prison setting is set up for that kind of care, when other criminals are just there, showing that they can now behave, waiting on getting released.

School is almost over, if they think it's mid March in PC. Franco was still alive when Alexis went in, and, Spencer was already being led around by Esme, when he was over in France.

It seems like it had to be years since the Ryan plan started, first hooking up with Esme, then, with the indignities he had to put up with in prison, in order to carry it out. Others had to go to prison, so that we could find out where Ryan has been, all along.

[CarnyQueen]

It would have to be years since the Ryan plan started. How long has it been since Kiki's murder? How long since Ava stabbed Ryan and kidney-gate? And how long have Nikolas and Ava been married? Ryan would have no reason to target a Cassadine before that marriage.

[parker joe]

Ryan took over Kevin's life in 2018. Kiki was murdered that November. Ava stabbed Ryan May 2019. Nik returned from the dead October 2019. Nik and Ava married January 2020. (Laura returned from nursing Spencer in the fall of 2018, I believe GF was gone for nearly a year, supposedly nursing Spencer when he broke his legs)

I think they could make the jump that Ryan used Esme to keep tabs on Kevin via Spencer. Ryan was some kind of DVX operative. Spies spy.

[LBD12]

It would have to be years since the Ryan plan started. How long has it been since Kiki's murder? How long since Ava stabbed Ryan and kidney-gate? And how long have Nikolas and Ava been married? Ryan would have no reason to target a Cassadine before that marriage.

Remember when Ryan was using Julian's role in the baby switch to blackmail Ava into visiting him? Nikolas and Julian figured out where Ava was and Nikolas busted in and tried to get Ava to leave, and Ryan could tell based on their interactions that they were falling in love. I think that's when Ryan started becoming more interested in Spencer.

[OLTLBoomer]

In a word - Yep!
Poor Spencer - he really was targeted, but not for his money or anything other than being his father's son.

[franron]

I wonder if he was already working his plan, back when he was pre-stabbed, walking around prisoner, in Pentonville? Was that the Julian days, mentioned above? Doing his research, lining up Esme. When was that, how many years ago, other actor still playing Spencer.... Tells the plan to Esme, but then, unexpectedly, has to go into locked-in mode, for years(?) where keeping up communications became more complicated.

This is hard for me because time doesn't move in PC, but, also, time zooms ahead in PC, as needed. I think that the character's still think it's Feb, but we're fast approaching St Patrick's Day, time to throw some decorations around the hospital and the Savoy...

[truffle89]

Yeah it definitely not possible to fake locked in syndrome if we use logic ? I mean for regular bodily functions…Also, Esme as a plant (which I agree) in boarding school. How would Ryan even have the money to get her into the exclusive school that a Cassadine would attend? Never made much sense either that she would be able to even be in Spencer’s orbit without an extensive background check that I imagine all the rich do..

[franron]

I remember that one time, to explain Laura's absence from the show, she went over to take care of previous Spencer, and his broke legs, due to a skiing accident. NuSpencer brought up his broke legs, the other day. Did he already have Esme, as a ski bunny girlfriend, hiding out from Laura, while Laura was in France? How long ago was that?

[xoregonian]

And how old was he then, 16ish? Was Esme already sexing him up at that young age?

[wfreshie2130]

I remember that one time, to explain Laura's absence from the show, she went over to take care of previous Spencer, and his broke legs, due to a skiing accident. NuSpencer brought up his broke legs, the other day. Did he already have Esme, as a ski bunny girlfriend, hiding out from Laura, while Laura was in France? How long ago was that?

it was revealed in jan 2018 that spencer had broken his legs

[jmpenn90]

My question is the timeline also. When did Spencer and Esme meet. If Ryan planted her there it should be after Ava and Nicholas got together. Ryan wouldn’t have had any interest in Spencer until Nicholas returned from the dead and she and Ava showed interest in each other.

[DayRose]

It's looking like Ryan has been planning for years. Ryan for sure planted Esme in Spencer's school and had her go after Spencer. I have my doubts that Esme is Ryan's bio daughter. If she's older she could even be Nina's daughter. We have so much to figure out!

[franron]

If Nik returned from being dead in Oct, 2019, does that mean that Ryan didn't need Esme to hook up with Spencer until then, or, shortly after? But, he was already working his Ava plan?

Nik being alive meant that the problem was that Nik was between Ryan and Ava? Somehow, Spencer and his trust fund was already a thing, used by Ryan to tempt Esme to his team? Was Esme already his ally, pre-locked-in?

But, to keep from being sent back to Pentonville, after getting stabbed in prison (whenever/year that was) he had to adjust his plan, and start in with him faking being 'locked-in' and, he ended up in Spring Ridge, where all the nicer felons go?

The more I think about it, the more mixed up I become....