5 ruthless ways General Hospital's Ric could finally destroy Sonny (and 5 signs he may shockingly stay loyal instead)

Ric Lansing of General Hospital, played by Rick Hearst, recently reunited with his half-brother, Sonny Corinthos, portrayed by Maurice Benard. They seemed to bury their decades-long rivalry to join hands to bring their family together. While Sonny employed Ric’s legal expertise to help secure his family, he also asked newly returned Ethan Lovett (Nathan Dean) to spy on Ric. Ethan witnessed Ric meeting Ava Jerome (Maura West) and reported it back to Sonny. The soap’s fans may wonder about Ric’s shifting loyalties and the side he might pick. They worry whether Ric might want to take down Sonny in the near future.

5 steps Ric may take to ruin Sonny on General Hospital

1) Going for a legal sabotage

General Hospital's Ric may cause problems for Sonny's organization | Image: ABC

Ric Lansing is an expert lawyer and handles many high-profile cases in Port Charles. Sonny recently employed him to look into Michael’s legal needs, reuniting the brothers in the process. As such, Ric has access to much of Sonny’s legal intel.

If Ric wants to take down Sonny, he can do so easily with his position as a high-powered attorney. He may build a case against Sonny for the DA’s office or even deliberately mishandle Sonny’s cases, forcing the latter to lose.

2) Forming secret alliances

General Hospital's Ric and Ava have a new alliance | Image: ABC

As Ethan reported to Sonny, Ric recently met Ava and had a secret conversation with her. There are two arguments that suggest a questionable motive. Firstly, Ric and Ava had a fallout over their attempt to extort the Cassadine funds, following which Ava helped Alexis (Nancy Lee Grahn) hold Ric hostage. That made them enemies.

The other argument is that Ric knows Ava is Sonny’s enemy and the two are fighting a custody battle over their child, Avery. Ric’s teaming up with Ava looks suspicious since he has already made up with Sonny.

3) Manipulating Sonny’s trust to side with enemies

Carlo Rota as Jenz Sidwell on General Hospital | Image: ABC

As the episode of May 5, 2026, showed, Ric lied to Sonny about his whereabouts. When asked, Ric proffered the excuse that he met a client at the DA’s office. However, as mentioned before, Ethan had spotted Ric with Ava. Moreover, when Sonny called Justine Turner (Nazneen Contractor), she denied Ric’s presence at the DA’s office.

Meanwhile, Ric called Ava to ask whether she had spoken to “him”. Assuming that Ava is in contact with mobster Sidwell, this may be an indirect method of communication between Ric and Sonny’s enemy, Jenz Sidwell (Carlo Rota).

4) Using family parameters

Sonny and Ric may have a fallout on General Hospital | Image: ABC

In the past, Ric has often used their mother, Adela Corinthos’s (Iris Almario) stand when it came to her attention towards her two sons. Ric claimed to be jealous of Sonny because Adela chose to raise the latter while leaving Ric behind to be raised by his father. Ric can continue to use these sentiments to target Sonny.

Ric may also use the rifts in Sonny’s family against him. From Michael’s rebellious attitude to Kristina’s quick temper, Ric may leverage these familial differences to isolate the mob boss from his family. Since family is Sonny’s weakness, this might break him.

5) Exploiting medical vulnerabilities

General Hospital's Sonny has many medical problems | Image: ABC

As in the past, Ric may exploit Sonny’s medical crisis for his cue to attack his brother. Previously, he manipulated the periods of Sonny’s bipolar attacks and his heart issues to work for his own advantage.

If he plans to undermine Sonny’s power, Ric may transfer funds, redirect legal assets, or shift loyalties when health issues leave Sonny vulnerable. Moreover, Ric knows all about Sonny’s medical problems and may wait for the right time to attack.

General Hospital: 5 cues that Ric may stick together with Sonny

1) The Adela connection

Ric and Sonny in a scene from General Hospital | Image: ABC

As mentioned before, Ric and Sonny had their enmity over Adela’s choice. Ric expressed his jealousy over his mother’s abandonment. However, in their recent reunion, he accepted that Adela would have wanted her two sons to enjoy the truce, and they wanted to honor her wishes.

Despite it being a bone of contention between the brothers in the past, Ric has an emotional connection with Adela, and Sonny is the only link he has left to her. As such, Ric may feel that if he betrays Sonny, he would be betraying Adela’s memory.

2) Seeking family integration

General Hospital's Ric with his onscreen daughter, Molly | Image: ABC

Over the years, Ric had retained his role as the family’s “black sheep” and remained isolated from all valuable relationships. On the contrary, despite being the town’s mob boss, Sonny enjoyed meaningful relationships with his children, grandchildren, former partners, and friends around town.

After his recent hostage experience, Ric realized how valuable his close relationships were, including his brother, Sonny, and his daughter, Molly Lansing (Kristen Vaganos). For Molly’s sake, he sought a family structure that could provide her security. As such, he may stay loyal to Sonny, hoping that the latter and his daughter, Kristina (Kate Mansi), will provide Molly with the needed safety.

3) Desire for Elizabeth’s approval

General Hospital's Ric with Elizabeth | Image: ABC

As General Hospital fans know, Ric is interested in getting back with Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and is wooing her romantically. While initially skeptical, Elizabeth responded positively to the dates Ric took her to. Moreover, he recently set her up on another date to which she agreed. This has pleased Ric immensely, knowing that Molly also approves of his relationship with Liz.

Since Elizabeth is known to appreciate morally correct people, Ric will likely want to stay as straight as possible. He may want to undo some of his past mistakes to earn Liz’s approval. As such, he will remain loyal to Sonny, as Liz will find his loyalty more stable.

4) Fighting common enemies

Sonny and Ric may stick together as brothers on General Hospital | Image: ABC Steve Burton as Jason Morgan on General Hospital | Image: ABC

As General Hospital viewers witnessed over the past few months, Ric took a neutral stance toward Jenz Sidwell as the latter worked on his sinister plans with Congressman Drew (Cameron Mathison). While Drew fell victim to his wife’s sabotage scheme, Ric joined hands with Sonny. This made Ric an enemy of Sidwell, by extension.

Since Sidwell stands as the common rival of both Sonny and Ric, staying united would be a good plan to fight the mobster. Moreover, as Sidwell has WSB Director Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes) on his side. With such a powerful enemy, Ric and Sonny need the strength of cooperation.

5) Stepping in at the “right-hand” vacuum

Steve Burton as Jason Morgan on General Hospital | Image: ABC

As longtime fans know, Ric was always envious of Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), since Sonny relied on his righthand-man more than anyone. Even when Ric was working for Sonny, the latter trusted Jason over his own brother. For years, Ric vied for that level of trust and closeness with Sonny.

Currently, with Jason out of town, after his arrest by the WSB, Ric hopes to fill that void. This may be Ric’s opportunity to gain Sonny’s trust and acquire that important position in the organization. Ric may not let go of this opportunity.