What I Watched Today

(rambling, random thoughts & annoyingly detailed recaps from real time TV watching)

 

General Hospital

Anna sees Dante. She tells him about her conversation with Griff, discussing Charlotte’s parentage. She asks how he’s holding up. He says it’s bad enough that Valentin is walking around town, but now he shares a child with Lulu. Anna says that Charlotte is lucky that Lulu’s her mom, and Dante has to agree with that. He says they have to settle some things before confronting Valentin.

Lulu goes to Windemere. She tells Valentin that she doesn’t care what story he tells her, she’s Charlotte’s mother and she’s ready for a fight. He says he has no intention of fighting with her.

Franco sees Elizabeth at the hospital. She says she’s been looking for him. She tells him that his landlord called the hospital about a noise complaint at his apartment because he couldn’t get him on the phone. The music is blasting. Franco says he can’t find his phone. Elizabeth asks what he has going on over there.

Franco’s phone is on the floor not far from the cage Tom is in. Tom tries to reach it, but it’s a little too far.

Tracy reads from the tabloids to a sleeping Hayden. Hayden asks her to stop; she’s trying to will herself to live. Tracy tells her that Finn thinks he’s found a cure.

Finn goes to the lab. (Is he allowed in there?) Brad comes in and asks what he’s doing there, answering my question. Brad says he’s going to call security, but Finn says he needs Brad’s help – it’s a matter of life and death.

Valentin asks Lulu if she’d like tea. She says she has no intention of sipping tea with the man who killed her brother. He says it was a misunderstanding, but she’s not budging. She tells him to give her Charlotte and stay out of their lives forever. He says he’s not relinquishing his parental rights, and she’ll have to learn to co-parent with him. Charlotte comes downstairs with Nina.

Anna and Dante discuss Charlotte. He says he loves Charlotte, but he’s not her dad. And it’s not like an adoption; she already has a father.

Valentin re-introduces Charlotte to Lulu. While Charlotte is occupied, Nina asks what’s happening. Valentin says he and Lulu were discussing Charlotte’s future. Lulu says there’s no future with the two of them. Nina says that Lulu just met Charlotte, and Valentin has been raising Charlotte her whole life. Lulu asks how it concerns her, since she’s nothing to Charlotte. Nasty.

Franco makes up some artistic reason for the music being so loud. Elizabeth leaves to do hospital stuff, and Franco asks himself where his cell phone is.

Tom continues to try and get the phone with a piece of wire he found.

Brad tells Finn that’s something addicts say, and he’s not turning a blind eye to anything. Finn says he’s not an addict, and Brad asks why he looks like one. Finn says he’s trying to save someone’s life, and Brad says he wants the whole truth.

Hayden tries to get up, but Tracy says denial doesn’t look good on her. She’s texted Elizabeth who’s coming to give Hayden something for her fever. Hayden asks why Tracy is taking care of her, since she hasn’t exactly won her over with charm. Tracy says because Hayden reminds her of someone who was arrogant and elitist, and Hayden tells Tracy to stop flattering her. Tracy says they were ruthless in business, and took a long time to care about someone, and let them care about her, and she’s hoping Hayden learns from her mistakes. Hayden thanks her, probably realizing that Tracy is talking about herself.

Finn explains everything to Brad. Brad says he’d only heard of someone in a distant country having the disease, and understands now that’s why Finn has been taking the drug. Finn says his supply is running low because he’s sharing with Hayden. He says it’s an accelerated case, but he might have found a cure.

Valentin says Charlotte adores Nina, and Lulu should accept that Nina has a place in her life. Lulu says she’ll make those decisions. He tells her he wants to go slow because up until now, Charlotte thought Claudette was her mother. Lulu thinks he’s trying to drive a wedge between them, but he says that’s not the case. Valentin suggests a playdate with Lulu to Charlotte.

Dante tells Anna about his concerns. She thinks he’s mourning the idea of not having another child of his own. She says that he loves Lulu and Charlotte is a part of her, so he’ll love Charlotte too. He says he wants to believe that, but it’s not going to be easy. He tells Anna that Valentin is a lunatic, and opening their doors to Charlotte means opening them to him too. Anna thinks he’s not going to be a threat much longer, and that she’s on to something.

Lulu tells Charlotte about the tree lighting ceremony at the MetroCourt. Valentin says Charlotte should go and show off her pretty dress, and that Lulu will take good care of her. Nina goes to get her coat. Lulu thanks Valentin, who tells her to make sure Charlotte is home before it’s too late. Lulu interrupts Nina putting on Charlotte’s gloves, and takes her outside. Nina asks Valentin if he’s out of his mind. On the porch, Lulu puts Charlotte’s gloves on, and says she knows they’ll have a wonderful time together.

Just as Brad asks Finn about one of the vials in the lab, ABC breaks in with something going on in Berlin, which they think is a deliberate attack. Okay, maybe this is important, but it still could have waited a whole half an hour.

Thank you, God. They’re going back to the show. They even said there’s no confirmation of anything and they know nothing. So why bother me with it???

Elizabeth and a doctor discuss Hayden’s condition. I’m assuming she got sent to the hospital while I was in Berlin. Her sepsis has come back, and they’re going to have to put her into a medically induced coma. She’s worried she won’t wake up, but the doctor says it can’t wait.

Nina asks why Valentin handed Charlotte over to Lulu when she clearly didn’t want to go. He wants to avoid conflict, but Nina says Lulu is like a kid with a new toy who doesn’t want to share. She thinks Lulu has other plans.

Anna tells Dante that she thinks Valentin burned down his old school to burn down his past. She also wants to find out where their paths have crossed. She can’t put him in context. She says he keeps taunting her with reminders of her past, but thinks he’s going to eventually slip up. Lulu and Charlotte join them.

Lulu introduces Dante to Charlotte. Anna tells Charlotte that Emma is downstairs, and takes Charlotte to see her. Lulu tells Dante that Charlotte has Nicholas’s eyes. She babbles a little, and Dante asks how this happened. She says she went to see Valentin, and Dante asks what she was thinking.

Valentin tells Nina that it took every ounce of will power. He says his move was strategic; if he deals with Lulu honestly, he’s hoping she’ll do the same. Nina thanks him for defending her place In Charlotte’s life. He says she has a place in his too. She asks what if she doesn’t want it, and he says he’ll let her go, but he’ll just chase her again, and they can save time by just being together now. They kiss.

Tom tells Franco he’s had his fun. He needs to check in with his parole officer, and it dawns on him that it’s Franco’s plan to get him sent back to prison. Franco tells him that bad dogs get sent back to the pound.

Finn’s phone rings. It’s Elizabeth. She tells him they had to bring Hayden back to the hospital. She says Hayden is scared and so is she.

Hayden thanks Tracy for everything. Tracy tells her she’s going to be okay. She falls asleep, and the doctor says it will take stress off her system. He can’t say whether she’ll live through the night though.

Brad finds Finn gone. Finn runs into Hayden’s room with a syringe in his hand.

Lulu tells Dante that she wasn’t sure where his head was at. These two always talk like they came from the late 60’s. He says she’s Charlotte’s mother and he’s on board. Anna brings the girls I-don’t-know-where. She parks them while she takes a call from Robert, who says it’s another dead end. Anna tells him that she’s not giving up.  When Anna returns, the girls are humming a song. She asks where they heard it, and Emma says Charlotte just taught it to her. She must be a quick learner.

Tom begs Franco not to send him back to prison, and says he’s changed. He says he’ll stay away from Franco and his friends, and give up photography. He threatens to tell the cops, and Franco says he doesn’t think so. He says Tom would be amazed what you can do with Photoshop. If Tom goes to the police, he’ll manipulate a photo of Tom to look like he went to an island somewhere.  Franco leaves.

Finn tells the doctor Hayden is his patient, and he’d like to discuss things with her family. Tracy tells him the doctor doesn’t expect her to make it through the night. He says he thinks he has a cure. He’s going to test it on himself, and it will either cure him or kill him.

Anna asks Charlotte who taught her the song, and she says poppa whistles it to her. Anna suggests they get some hot chocolate before the tree lighting. The girls continue to hum the song, and Anna flashes back to her younger self hearing someone whistle it.

Nina says she knows Valentin wants to spare Charlotte a custody battle, but she doesn’t think Lulu will back off. She tells him that he’s been painted as a villain, and she speaks from personal experience when she says there’s no telling how far someone will go when they’re trying to defend their child.

Lulu says she feels better hearing Dante say they’re together in this. She understands him having mixed feelings. He says they’re going to co-parent with the man who killed her brother. She says she has no intention of giving Charlotte back.

Franco goes back to the hospital. There’s a guy talking to Elizabeth, and she introduces him as Tom’s brother, Seth. She says he hasn’t seen Tom in a few days, and he wouldn’t know anything about that, right?

Tom gets the lock open and gets out of the cage.

Tracy says Finn can’t inject himself with something that hasn’t been tested. He says it’s no time for rational thinking. Hayden gave him back a part of his life that he didn’t think existed anymore. He gives Tracy something to give to Brad if the doctors can’t get to him in time. He asks her to make sure he’s not interrupted. She tells him just don’t die, and goes into the hallway to guard the door. He prepares the injection, but Hayden’s bedside alarms go off.

Tomorrow, Charlotte wants to go home, Elizabeth asks Franco what he did, and Tom screams his head off.

Vanderpump Rules

The servers gather before the restaurant opens. They discuss Ariana’s birthday. Scheana thinks that she hasn’t been invited because it’s common knowledge that she’s going to the Hamptons with Stassi that same weekend. Shay and Carter also have birthdays coming up, and there’s a combined surprise party where each thinks they’re going to the other one’s celebration.

Stassi says she loves SUR now that she doesn’t work there anymore. Yes, we all know how she feels about goat cheese balls. She’s been doing a podcast called Straight Up with Stassi. She tells Brittany that Jax would be a good fit to discuss reformed cheaters. He claims that Brittany is the woman who changed him, so she wanted to check with her first. Brittany is fine with it, saying the only thing that her Jax and Stassi’s Jax have in common is their name.

Ariana asks Scheana if she can talk with her and Katie in the back. She says it’s nothing bad, but certainly that will be a matter of opinion. Ariana says she knows there’s conflict with them and Lala, and Lisa suggested they meet and discuss. In her interview, Katie wonders what Ariana thinks she’s doing trying to broker a peace treaty, and feels that there are no more chances with Lala. Lala joins them, and Ariana asks how they can make things peaceful. Lala says she tried to apologize to Scheana, and feels like she got shut down. Ariana brings up the married man rumors, and Katie claims a video came out. Lala says they’re out of their minds, and she was actually covering up the guy she was really dating, who she just broke up with. Ariana says there’s been trashing on both sides. Lala tells them that she’s not going to apologize again, and she and Katie start to argue. In her interview, Scheana says she doesn’t know what to do, since she and Lala are friendly now. She apologizes for anything she’s said that hurt anyone’s feelings, and promises that not one word about anyone will pass her lips anymore. The meeting breaks up, and it seem like it was pretty useless.

Brittany tells Lisa about Stassi’s podcast. In her interview, Lisa says no matter what, Brittany is always smiling, and wonders where her pissed off face is. She tells Brittany she wouldn’t do it, but Brittany thinks everything is just dandy.

Stassi joins Katie on her break. Katie tells her about the meeting with Lala. Stassi asks if Katie apologized, and Katie tells her of course not, but Scheana did. Stassi says that Scheana is desperate to be liked. She says it’s like one of the victims apologizing to Charles Manson. She gets on her phone and starts texting Scheana. I feel the earth move under Twitter with 144 words coming from all over about Stassi’s insensitivity toward murder victims. #WhatAnIdiot

Brittany must explain to Jax how to hang a curtain rod. He’d rather hire someone, and needs a drink afterward. They discuss Stassi’s podcast. She says she trusts Jax and Stassi, but it’s going to be weird, since they’ll be discussing personal stuff. In his interview, Jax says when he looks back on his relationship with Stassi, it reminds him of Misery. We flash back to some choice moments. He says he prefers to be cordial with her because it’s safer.

Scheana drops by. She quit drinking when Shay did, but needs one right now. She tells them about the meeting. She says that later on she got endless texts from Stassi, and then a passive-aggressive text from Katie at around midnight. She thinks they were on the tequila.

Katie and Schwartz talk with the wedding planner on the phone. Katie says something about keeping it under 50K, and Schwartz nearly falls out of his chair. He says their budget is like a cartoon snowball that just keeps getting bigger. Stassi sneaks into their apartment in the background. In her interview, Katie suggests that Schwartz investigate other, less expensive options if he doesn’t like what she’s doing. Good point.

Kristen arrives. The girls tell Kristen about the meeting. in her interview, Kristen says Ariana is pulling a Schwartz. Stassi says if someone is willing to sacrifice their best friends to be liked, how can she trust them?

Scheana talks to Jax about the meeting, saying she feels like she’s being ganged up on. In his interview, Jax says he feels like Gandhi, who foretold the future, and then tries to figure out who Gandhi is.

Lisa comes by SUR and asks how it’s going. Ariana tells her about the mediation and how she feels like everyone had their say, but later Scheana got a load of negative texts. Lisa thinks they should just stop the bullsh*t. She was hoping this would stop her from having to hear about it again, but no such luck.

Stassi sets up her podcast in a bar. Jax looks at her equipment and asks if they’re going to search for ghosts. He brings up the meeting, and tells Stassi that Scheana thinks it’s a mean girl thing. Stassi says that’s what she does when she’s caught or wrong, whine that she’s being bullied.

In his interview, Jax says that Stassi isn’t wrong when she says he used to be a d-bag, but if he hadn’t been, he wouldn’t be who he is today. Words fail me. Stassi starts the podcast, saying that 48% of men cheat because of emotional dissatisfaction. Jax talks about how most men cheat down, but he had gorgeous women when he cheated because he wanted to know he still “had it.” Stassi suggests he sounds like someone who doesn’t care about anyone else’s feelings. She asks if he’ll take a sociopath test, and although he feels like he’s being backed into a corner, he agrees. In her interview, Stassi says Jax shouldn’t worry about being a sociopath, and lists the psychiatric profile of everyone on the show, including herself.

Lisa asks if Scheana is okay to work. Scheana says she’s okay as long as she doesn’t talk about it. She tells Lisa about Katie’s text. Katie comes by, and Lisa asks why Scheana is in tears. Katie says she doesn’t want to have a conversation about it tonight, and Scheana says she doesn’t want to talk about it at Shay’s party. Harrison! In her interview, Lisa wonders why she’s paying them, when they should be paying her for therapy.

Brittany helps Scheana set up for Shay’s party. She’s never been to a surprise party before, and Scheana says she’s never planned one before. Some of the other girls arrive. Tom is volunteered as bartender, even though he’s not there yet. Kristen creates a margarita baby pool and frets that people might not want to drink from it. Stassi says those aren’t their kind of friends then. Stassi talks to Kristen and Katie about Scheana, who she believes is getting worse.

The rest of the crew shows up. Schwartz has fetched the guests of honor, saying he was chosen for the role since he keeps his mouth shut. In his interview, Tom explains that both guys knew they were going to a surprise party, so technically it wasn’t one.

The party is in full swing, with guests drinking, playing in the pool, drinking, gossiping, drinking, and comparing abs, and drinking. Jax tells Tom and Schwartz that Scheana feels like it’s three against one again, and Schwartz says it’s like The Godfather where Scheana has to be concerned about her standing in the family. Kristen confronts Scheana, who is worried about her status as a bridesmaid, and about the coflicting trip to Montauk to maintain her friendship with Stassi.

Ariana asks Scheana if she thinks they’re going to work things out. Tom tells her that they can’t change the tickets for Ariana’s NASCAR post-birthday trip, so if things don’t work out for her, she doesn’t have the option of coming with them. Scheana is going to have a heart attack by the end of this episode. She seems like a nice girl, but she’s worse than James Wilson in 1776, seconding his own motion in his zeal to be liked. Not everyone is going to like you, and you can’t always have it both ways.

Schwartz talks to Shay on the side, asking him how it is being married. He tells Shay about the wedding budget issue and how he wanted to keep it under 15K. Shay just laughs. We flash back to the expense. Shay says he felt the same way, and they both think elopement equals a down payment on a house. Like this bunch doesn’t make more money in one year than I’ll make in a lifetime.

Brittany talks to Stassi, saying she doesn’t know what a sociopath is, but Jax failed the test miserably. They talk about forgiveness. Stassi says she wishes she could rise above things like Brittany does, but she needs to know if she can trust someone.

Stassi talks to Scheana, telling her that she should stand up for something. Scheana says she is – herself. Stassi says she’s not getting it because she hasn’t been hurt by Lala. Scheana calls Ariana over because she can’t fend for herself in a conflict. Ariana says she’s friends with both Lala and the other girls. Stassi says Ariana doesn’t grasp that Lala has done evil things to people. Stassi doesn’t understand how she can be friends with someone like that. Ariana says Stassi is so emotional, it’s difficult to talk to her, and asks why she’s so heated. Stassi goes into the house crying. She tells Katie that Ariana and Scheana suck. She explains what happened with Scheana dragging Ariana into their discussion.

Scheana joins them and wants to talk about it. Stassi says she pulled someone else into their conversation. Scheana says they all have the same opinion. Stassi tells her to stop being an a-hole. She says that it’s not about Lala, it’s about her, and her not caring that Lala has done terrible things to her friends. Schaena tells Katie that she seems like Tequila Katie again. In her interview, Scheana says that Schwartz has been saying the same thing. and she’s being accused of something that didn’t happen because they’re drunk and emotional. We flash back to some tense moments between Katie and Schwartz.

Katie says she can read Scheana like a book and she’s totally fake. Scheana goes back outside and tells Ariana what happened. In her interview, Scheana says that she never thought she was better than her friends, but she does now. Katie says she’s over it.

Next time, Scheana wonders if she’s going to be disinvited, Stassi says Scheana is exhibiting the opposite of bridesmaid behavior, and James approaches Lisa about coming back. As if.

⛷ Just a note about Timber Creek Lodge. When Jamie told someone “thanks for sharing” at a staff meeting, had I been an employee, I might have had to quit right then and there.