Here at Fangirlish, we love our ships. I mean, it’s pretty obvious since we have an entire column dedicated to some of our favorites. As we’ve told you before, we discuss various ships. They come from a lot of different things whether it’s books, movies, or TV. For this installment, we’re discussing the potential pairing of Trina Robinson and Spencer Cassadine on General Hospital.
I’ve watched soap operas for many years now and I can honestly say it has been a long time since I found myself shipping a potential pairing. The last time I shipped one this hard was back in 1999 when I was watching Ethan and Theresa on Passions (yes, I am aware I’m dating myself here). And just like with Ethan and Theresa, I’ve been following Trina and Spencer’s story since the beginning.
Though they aren’t even together yet because the GH writers are reallllllly dragging it out, we’ve found ourselves completely invested in everything about Spencer and Trina AKA Sprina. Theirs is a slow burn of epic proportions. So slow in fact that it feels like the pot has boiled way over. We’re not giving up on it though because these two are worth the investment. And we want to be here when the payoff ultimately comes.
Because we love these two so much, we felt that it was necessary to do a write-up about why we ship Sprina.
The Attraction Was Immediate
Meet cutes are an interesting part of how ships begin. Some happen in the sweetest and cheesiest ways while others are not as conventional. With Trina and Spencer, we can say that theirs was and wasn’t a conventional one. When the two first met Spencer pretended to be a guy named Victor. Granted, one could say that they first met at the Jerome Gallery where Trina works for Ava who is also Spencer’s stepmother. We won’t count that one though seeing as he was disguised as a stalker setting a trap for Ava that unfortunately backfired and left Trina covered in red paint. (more on that later).
When Trina met Victor that same night, she was a little apprehensive, but it was clear from their first interaction that there was a connection. Just looking at Spencer you could see Trina had already stolen his heart. While I was excited to see this, I also have to express my nervousness.
When I first saw the two of them chatting it up at Trina’s graduation party, I was skeptical. I knew and felt that something was brewing between the two of them and I wanted to see more. But, being a black woman, and having an awareness of how interracial pairings are handled particularly in the entertainment world I was worried it would just be a one-off. I was happy to see I was wrong.
As I watched more of GH, I consistently saw Trina and Spencer on my screen. Where she was, he was. It became clear right away that something more was being developed with their storyline. From then on, I was fully invested. Once the truth came out that Victor was Spencer, that time spent didn’t change. Spencer enjoyed every moment he could with Trina, and he didn’t want to give that up. For him, Trina was someone authentic and he loved that she kept it real with him.
The Way They Confide In Each Other
One of the things that we love so much about Spencer and Trina is their friendship and the way they confide in each other. They’ve bonded over their familial issues which are somewhat similar. Both spent a lot of their time believing that their fathers were dead and had to readjust their lives once they found out this wasn’t the case. Though both of their experiences with their fathers are not entirely the same, they each understand what the other was going through.
As Trina and Spencer got to know one another their friendship only grew. Trina is someone that Spencer can trust, and she’s not one to hold back on telling him when he is in the wrong. Because he’s spent his entire life getting what he wants and being surrounded by sycophants, he’s never really had, true friends. Anytime Spencer had something going on in his life, he ran to Trina for advice because he knew she would be the friend he needed. Even when it was revealed that Spencer had a girlfriend, he never stopped going to Trina because he cared deeply about her and her opinions.
Most of all, Trina isn’t obsessed with his status as a Prince or his financial standing. When Spencer denounced his inheritance, Trina gave him her full support whereas his girlfriend Esme made him feel like he had made the biggest mistake of his life. When Spencer is with Trina, their conversations are deep and meaningful. He becomes a completely different person. Everyone around Trina was constantly warning her about the type of guy Spencer is and that he’s the rich bad boy. She didn’t listen to any of that and was able to see beyond all of that to the real Spencer nobody else really tried to get to know.
Their Love Of Art
We love when couples share common interests because it gives them so much more to talk about. One of the things that Trina and Spencer have in common is art. With Trina working at Ava’s gallery and majoring in Fine Arts, she’s surrounded by beautiful paintings all the time. Spencer who has always been wise beyond his years was attending boarding school in Europe, so he too had a lot of exposure to art.
After Spencer was criminally charged for stalking Ava, he had to pay restitution for the damage he caused. That led to him working in the gallery. Because we love our Sprina, we were of course thrilled by this because that meant they would be spending a lot more time together. While we didn’t get nearly enough moments of them doing just that, what moments we received were incredibly beautiful and very well written. Some of our favorite Sprina moments have taken place in the gallery.
The Way They Look At Each Other
One thing we cannot talk enough about is the way that Trina and Spencer look at each other. They are the definition of an unspoken bond. They don’t even have to say anything because their eyes say it all. Just looking at them you can tell how deep their feelings go. You can see the love and passion in their eyes.
They may try to deny their feelings for one another when they’re with other people, but the eyes don’t lie with these two. Spencer is intense and he watches Trina’s every move with so much love and admiration. Even when she’s calling him out when he’s being an entitled brat, he can’t help but smile because deep down he loves that she calls him on his BS.
We know that touches don’t fall under this category but guess what, we’re putting it in this section anyway because there’s a moment we can’t get over. This moment we’re referring to happens way down the line after a whole bunch of drama which we cover in the next sections, but it deserves to be covered here.
Right now, there is a serial killer in Port Charles and one of the first victims was Ava. Thankfully she survived but it was a tense moment because as you know she’s Trina’s boss but she’s also a good friend of hers as well. When Trina found out that Ava was attacked, she rushed to the hospital to be at her bedside. Spencer, who doesn’t care for his stepmother was aware that she was in the hospital, but he wasn’t entirely concerned. That is until it hit him that her being hurt was hurting Trina.
When he stopped to think about her and what she was going through, he dropped everything and ran to be by her side at the hospital. I mean, he didn’t hesitate or even stop to tie his shoes for that matter. Once he made it to GH to see Trina, the Sprina fandom lost their minds. This was because we got something we had waited months for and that was for them to touch each other. Before all the drama, Spencer and Trina would touch each other all the time.
They would either hold hands or he would touch her arms. That immediately stopped when Trina was framed by Esme. That’s because their whole dynamic changed, and because Trina was so mad and hurt by Spencer, he knew that he couldn’t be the same with her anymore. I swear when Spencer reached his hand out and touched Trina’s shoulder I died. I’m pretty sure the rest of the Sprina fandom died too.
Then Trina held Spencer’s hand to give him comfort because she could feel that something was going on between him and his father. The whole moment just felt very Bridgerton-esque. Mostly because we were all so excited over a shoulder brush and a handhold. People who don’t understand the Sprina fandom are probably thinking “what’s the big deal, all they did was tap a shoulder and hold a hand.” To us, it was a HUGE deal.
As we said, Spencer and Trina hadn’t touched for months. That’s how starved we were for these two to have some contact. Watching those two moments unfold was incredibly touching because it only further cemented how much they love each other. And don’t even get us started on that Sprina hug at Trina’s party because we’re still not over that. If these moments have affected us that deeply, we can only imagine what it will be like when Sprina has their first kiss. We’ll probably need the day off to recover. That leads us to those almost kisses.
Almost Kisses
When Spencer started to realize he had stronger feelings for Trina than he initially wanted to admit, it was too late. Part of his deal for stalking Ava included him having to serve 30 days at the minimum-security prison Spring Ridge. In the days leading up to his stint there, he was trying to make the most of his freedom by spending time with his friends, and that of course included Trina.
The plan was to go up to his uncle Sonny’s cabin for one last hurrah, but it went wrong. That cabin trip still triggers me so I’m not even going to get into it. All you need to know is it was awful, and the GH writers messed up. Anyway, after that horrendous debacle, Spencer was done with his girlfriend and was ready to tell Trina how he felt. When he showed up at the gallery the night he was leaving for Spring Ridge he went there to lay it all out because he wanted Trina to know exactly what she meant to him. It was such an important conversation. Unfortunately, as he was about to kiss her, they were interrupted.
There was a second almost kiss, only this time it turned out to be nothing more than a fantasy. The reason is, while Spencer was away, his nightmare girlfriend was plotting and scheming to frame Trina for a crime she did not commit. Just like the cabin debacle, I am choosing not to go into more detail on this because that too was something we Sprina fans hated.
What I will say is that we saw a lot of Sprina fights. That was because Spencer came up with a plan that we like to say, “didn’t plan.” He knew Trina was innocent from the very beginning, but instead of telling her he believed her so ya know maybe they could have worked together, he decided to act like he didn’t. Because Trina was always helping him, he wanted to be the one to save her for a change.
So, anyhow, let’s get back to that second almost kiss. After Trina’s arraignment, Spencer showed up at Ava’s gallery. He was not expecting to see Trina, so it threw him off. They got into a heated argument, and he blurted out his entire plan to her. When she asked him why he was doing it, he told her it was “because I’m falling in love with you.” As he moved in to kiss her, we all sat on our couches with eyes glued to the screen. We were immediately surprised when we jumped back to the present moment of them still fighting.
So, the second almost kiss happened in Spencer’s head. And if you want to get even more technical like we are, that doesn’t even count as a second almost kiss because it was in his head and not in reality.
An Act Of Love
This brings us to our ultimate ship moment. The GH writers chose to drag out the situation with Trina’s legal troubles for months as we watched her and those closest to her, including Spencer try to figure out how to exonerate her. The case ultimately went to trial and while we wish that it hadn’t, we also realize without that we would not have gotten the amazing and emotional moments in the courtroom that we did.
During Trina’s trial, her and Spencer’s relationship was put on full display as each one took the stand. When Spencer gave his initial testimony, he did his best to try and establish reasonable doubt, but it still seemed as if it would not be enough. After really mulling it over, he made a huge decision to sacrifice himself on Trina’s behalf.
You see, while Spencer was doing his bid at Spring Ridge, he had his uncle Victor arrange for him to get out for a couple of hours to visit his mother’s gravesite. While he was out, he ran into Trina. As all of this was happening, unbeknownst to her, Spencer’s girlfriend was setting her plan to frame Trina in motion. This moment ended up giving Trina her alibi.
Both Spencer and Trina knew that this piece of information could have helped her but they each held onto the secret. Now, we know that Spencer’s reason for not coming forward was self-preservation. He didn’t want to go back to prison, and we get that even if we think it was wrong of him not to come forward from the beginning. As we said, he was relying too heavily on his plan that didn’t plan.
Because Spencer cares so much about Trina he spoke to her lawyer and asked to be called back onto the stand where he confessed everything. It was a very emotional moment because Trina was not expecting it. Spencer had been giving her mixed signals for months, so she never felt he was on her side. Seeing him up there caught her by surprise and it made her see that he did care about her.
When Spencer finished testifying for the second time, as we suspected it didn’t change things completely because the prosecution was able to present another argument during his cross-examination. It was clear Trina still had a battle ahead. That brings us to her testimony.
As Trina took the stand, her attorney questioned her as to why she kept her alibi hidden. Though Trina did have the alibi of being with Spencer, she chose to wait it out in the hopes that enough other evidence would present itself so she wouldn’t have to risk his future. This was something her attorney, friends, and family also couldn’t understand and the only conclusion that could be reached was that it was “an act of love.”
Putting someone else’s future above your own is a huge step. For Trina to protect Spencer that way only proved that she was in love with him. As Trina’s attorney pressed her further, she finally admitted on the stand that she did have feelings for him. We knew the moment was coming at some point during the trial but to see it unfold before our eyes was amazing. The way Spencer’s face lit up when he heard Trina confess her feelings was adorable and probably the happiest, we had seen him in a long time.
Thankfully, Trina was exonerated so she was finally able to move on with her life. Spencer was ecstatic and ready to tell Trina the truth about everything. He was determined to tell her once and for all, but this is General Hospital so, we have to keep adding more hurdles for our ship to climb. Those hurdles are yet another legal issue as well as a boyfriend.
When Spencer chose to take the stand and confess that he broke out of Spring Ridge, he knew that there was a chance he would be going back to prison. That’s exactly what happened. He was re-arrested only this time he was sentenced to three months in the maximum-security prison Pentonville.
If anyone tries to tell us that Spencer doesn’t deserve Trina or that he hasn’t worked to regain her trust, we don’t want to hear it. This man is serving time in a maximum-security prison for three months. Three months. That’s a long time and in our opinion, the punishment doesn’t fit the crime. One thing we know for sure is that we would love it if our faves could stop having legal troubles thrown in to keep them apart because it’s getting ridiculous.
Once again before Spencer was to head off to prison, he planned to tell Trina how he felt about her. As we mentioned, one of the other hurdles that were coming between the two other than Spencer having to head back to prison was Trina’s boyfriend Rory. Spencer knew that Trina was getting to know Rory, but he knew if he could just tell her how he felt he could change her mind and she would choose him.
Spencer isn’t a very confident person no matter how much he tries to act like he is. Like anyone else, he has a great fear of rejection. That’s one of the things that was holding him back from telling Trina the way he felt. When he tried to get it all out, he was interrupted by Rory. Trina walking away from him was a gut punch and it was the moment he broke down and told his friends that he was in love with her. Now if only he would have just admitted that to Trina.
Just as he was going to, he overheard Trina and Rory talking about becoming a couple. Because Spencer has put Trina through so much, he could not bring himself to tell her how he felt. He desperately wanted to tell her, but he didn’t want to put pressure on her to have to choose between him and Rory especially knowing that he was heading to prison for three months. He didn’t want to complicate her life any further. While we understood somewhat, it still hurt to see him in so much pain watching the girl he loved with someone else.
The Letter
Before we close this out, we have to talk about Spencer’s letter. Spencer and Trina have gone through a lot in their relationship and with everything that was going on they never had the chance to talk. Trina was dealing with her trial, so she and Spencer were on the outs because she didn’t know he had her back the entire time. Once the trial did finish, they could never get a moment alone.
Whether they were being interrupted by their friends or Rory it seemed like there were just a ton of obstacles standing in the way. After Spencer witnessed Rory and Trina making it official, he gave up on trying to tell her how he felt. He even told Josslyn and Cameron not to tell her the truth. A nightmare is what helped him finally decide to tell Trina everything.
In Spencer’s nightmare, he was confronted by all of his deepest fears. One of those fears was losing Trina. When he woke up, he was resigned to being open with her. Because of all the constant interruptions when he would try to talk to her, he chose the next best thing-a letter.
We can’t think of anything more romantic than writing a love letter. Also, it’s such a Spencer Cassadine thing to do. He was always different than other people so his decision to confess his feelings in a letter was not out of the ordinary. We just wish he had let Trina read it. The problem with Spencer is that he gets in his own way.
Trina had the letter in her hands but instead of letting her open it up and read it so she could learn how he truly felt about her, he chose to take it back. Then he did one of the saddest things which was set the letter on fire. Trina did sort of find out how Spencer felt about her but, it was too late when she did. Right now she still doesn’t know that he’s in love with her. All she knows at this point is that he always believed she was innocent. Now Spencer is in Pentonville and Trina is trying to come to terms with her feelings about him.
Our Sprina has been pushed to the limits time and time again. We hope that they will ultimately find their way out of the darkness and into each other’s arms. We’re not giving up on this ship because they deserve to have their happily ever after and we will be here watching and waiting for it.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
