Young and the Restless fans, we are in for a bittersweet surprise this week as Tristan Rogers makes his last ever soap opera appearance in a few scenes as Colin Atkinson (Tristan Rogers), father of Cane Ashby (Billy Flynn) on the CBS soap.
We’re going to talk about Tristan Rogers’ recent death and how stunned soap fans are to see the beloved actor one last time when they thought they had already seen his last time on a soap opera.
Tristan Rogers’ Iconic Role as Colin Atkinson on Young and the Restless
If you only watch Young and the Restless and not General Hospital over on ABC, you may only know Tristan Rogers as Australian con man Colin Atkinson, one of the many loves of Jill Abbott‘s (Jess Walton) life. Colin was a criminal, but also quite a charming con artist who stole $2 billion from Devon Hamilton (Bryton James), but he also stole Jill’s heart.
Robert Scorpio: Tristan Rogers’ Enduring Legacy on GH
If you also watch General Hospital, especially back in the big heyday, the Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Laura Spencer (Genie Francis) era, then you would know that Tristan Rogers played legendary WSB spy Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers).
He’s been a major player since the 80s over on the ABC soap. Tristan Rogers was definitely a GH icon, to be sure. He was my very first soap crush. I was just a kid when my big sister was watching in the Luke and Laura days, and I heard that accent and I saw Robert Scorpio and I fell in love.
A Bittersweet Farewell: Tristan Rogers’ Last GH Scenes and Cancer Fight
Back in July, a few weeks before Tristan passed away, ABC soap fans saw what they thought were his final soap opera scenes ever. But now, we’ve got this welcome surprise on Y&R this week. Back on July 18th, Tristan Rogers wrapped his run on General Hospital forever. Although fans didn’t know it at the time, they had no idea that he was sick.
He didn’t look well. Over the past year, when we’d seen him a few times, he looked increasingly thinner, frailer, and all of a sudden looked older, and it was super sad. We didn’t know at the time that he was terminally ill. He returned as Robert for just two episodes to facilitate actress Sofia Mattsson‘s exit as Robert’s daughter, Sasha Gilmore.
General Hospital’s Big Rewrite for Robert
She had only been revealed as Robert’s daughter just a few months prior, which was actually a big rewrite of his character’s history. He left town with his love, Holly Sutton (Emma Samms), after the reveal. That seems to have been for actor Tristan Rogers to pursue treatment for his lung cancer.
When we saw Tristan back in mid-July, we had been pre-warned by a leak that he was only back for two episodes and then would be gone again indefinitely. It was a happy ending for his General Hospital character because Robert was reunited with his daughter, Sasha and he got to meet his granddaughter, Daisy? and they moved in with him. That was very sweet.
Remembering Tristan Rogers: A Legacy Across General Hospital and Y&R
Unfortunately, there is not a happy ending for Tristan Rogers’ character, Colin Atkinson. Three weeks after we saw Tristan looking very frail on General Hospital, he lost his battle with cancer and passed away on August 15th. Tristan’s legacy as Robert on General Hospital spanned 45 years.
It was amazing, unforgettable, and iconic—all the good things you can say about it. His role on Young and the Restless as Colin Atkinson was much newer, and even though it didn’t last nearly as long, it was spectacular.
Colin Atkinson’s Return: Tristan Rogers’ Last Y&R Scenes
When it came out this week that Tristan was going to reprise his role of Colin one last time for a final flashback scene, it was amazing. This week, we see Colin with his son, Cane, who just returned after six years away. This is the first, last, and only time to see Tristan Rogers working with Cane’s recast actor, Billy Flynn. Tristan Rogers originated the role of Colin Atkinson back in 2010.
Colin was fresh out of prison for his deeds to do with organized crime in Australia. He then came to Genoa City looking for his son, Cane who was played back then by Daniel Goddard, who interestingly is now over on General Hospital. Colin wanted Cane to come back to Australia to accept his role as the heir to Colin’s criminal enterprise, but Cane refused. Colin stuck around and won Jill’s heart, but he also broke it.
Tristan Rogers’ Poignant Deathbed Scenes as Colin Atkinson
It was, I think, 2019, maybe 2020, perhaps the plot overran, but I know it began in 2019 when Colin ran a con with Amanda Sinclair (Mishael Morgan) to steal Devon’s inheritance. We were told in recent reveals that Colin died in 2024. This week, what we’re getting is one last episode of Tristan Rogers as Colin in flashback scenes to the 2024 death of his character, Colin. These are deathbed scenes.
That must have been such a challenge for Tristan since he was in his own final days when he filmed Colin’s death scenes. That is remarkable professionalism. It was much different seeing Tristan on Young and the Restless when he was doing Colin’s deathbed scenes than his final scenes on General Hospital, which were happy by comparison. Both were the end of an era, a final goodbye to the legendary Tristan Rogers.
Emotional Farewell: Colin’s Last Wishes for Cane on Y&R
Our last scenes of Colin Atkinson, his last scenes ever, are Cane flashing back and recalling his father Colin’s final days. Cane was at Colin’s bedside where his dad was frail and fragile, and Cane was caretaking him. He was reading the news to Colin talking about how his dad needed to stick around to see more zeros in their bank accounts.
Colin told Cane he didn’t want to hear about business because they were out of time. He talked to Cane about leaning on his family and telling him not to leave it for too long, not to stay away for too long. He talked to him about the Aristotle Dumas persona and said, “It’s only a name. It’s not a person.” Colin was telling Cane not to lose who he is, which is Cane Ashby.
Colin was smiling as Cane said he wouldn’t let it get that far. He said, “Famous last words,” which again, is very bittersweet because we are dealing with famous last words from the last time he was on the soap. Colin told Cane “Don’t tell Jill how much I love her because it’ll make it harder when I’m gone.”
Colin was asking how long Cane was going to wait to talk to Lily Winters (Christel Khalil) and tell her everything that happened. Cane promised his dad he’d do it when the time was right. Then Colin was asking him to promise to get rid of the Dumas thing after that. That’s going to have a big impact on Cane this week on Young and the Restless.
A Lasting Legacy: Tristan Rogers’ Farewell Gift to Fans
It’s shocking that Tristan’s very last on-screen appearance was as Colin Atkinson, a role he hadn’t played in several years, rather than as the legendary Robert Scorpio who Tristan had played recently and regularly on and off over the years. But it was a very welcome surprise, a treat to fans of both General Hospital and Young and the Restless, and fans of Tristan Rogers, to get this surprising last scene.
It was great for Billy Flynn, who is still getting into the character of Cane Ashby, to have that little slice of history. It’s great that Billy got to work with Tristan, and it’s great for Cane’s storyline. Tristan Rogers is beloved and missed, and the fans are so grateful for this final gift he gave us.
