What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

We revisit Tracy telling the family about her decision to give the painting to Samira. Monica didn’t think she had it in her. Ned tells her not so fast; there’s something she might want to look at first.

Valentin asks Nina when she’ll be done with work, but she doesn’t know. She still hasn’t replaced Maxie yet. She tells him not to wait up. Anna listens in down at the docks. Nathan is out jogging, and startles her.

Elizabeth wonders if something triggered Jake’s subconscious to write his birth date on the timeline, but Franco says maybe they’re just numbers. He doesn’t think they’ve missed any clues.

Sam tells Jason maybe he needs a fresh set of eyes to look at Jake’s book.

Ned thought the conversation with Finn was odd, and Tracy says that it was private. Ned tells them that he picked up the results of the DNA test. Tracy tells Ned thanks for ratting Finn out. Tracy explains how she set up the test because she had reason to believe Samira is Edward’s daughter. Monica tells her it’s an invasion of Samira’s privacy, but Tracy says she won’t mind, especially if the results are what she thinks they are. Tracy opens the envelope.

Valentin kisses Nina. Nelle walks in, and is like, oops! Nina tells Valentin that Nelle is working on a project for her, and she’s indispensable. Valentin leaves, and Nina tells Nelle to follow him, but Nelle says she can’t do that.

Anna says she’s used to seeing Nathan in more clothes, and explains that sometimes her medication makes her loopy: she has good days and bad days. He tells her that the PCPD can breathe easier with Julian off the streets, with Maxie getting fired, it’s not the newlywed bliss he was hoping for. He jogs off, and Anna breaths sigh of relief. Hmm… She actually seems kind of off, so now I’m wondering if, when she went to the WSB to get her memories back, they didn’t do something to her to get at Valentin.

Tracy talks to her father. Dillon explains to Kiki that this is an ongoing occurrence. Monica says when she’s finished communicating with Edward, they’d like to know results. Samira is not Edward’s daughter. Tracy says when Samira gave her Edward’s ring and journal that he gave to her mother, she jumped to conclusions. She apologizes. Samira asks if she’s changed her mind now she knows they’re not related, and Tracy says no. Ned thinks there’s another solution. He’s looked at it from another angle.

Elizabeth wishes there was more time before Jake’s birthday arrives. Franco says that Jake was there for his last birthday, and wonders why Helena would wait that long if she was up to something. I’d like to add that they keep talking like she’s still alive because Helena will never die. Not as long as Constance Towers is alive anyway.

Sam doesn’t see any hidden clues or encrypted messages. She wonders why Helena would give Elizabeth the book, and says maybe Jake just made the whole story up himself.

Ned gets Samira alone. He tells her that she has two options; she can play this out, or take a check for $10K and the visa extension, and figure out her life. She takes the check, and Ned says wise choice. She starts to say something, but he doesn’t want to hear it. He tells her to call an Uber from outside. She asks Ned to tell them she’s sorry, and he says not nearly as sorry as someone else is going to be.

Jason asks Sam why Jake would make all that up. She reminds him of Jake pretending someone broke in the house and was stalking him. Jason says he seems happy that Elizabeth is with Franco, but Sam says maybe he’s looking for attention. She’s not saying he’s a liar or troublemaker, but it’s going to take years to straighten everything out. This is just one hurdle to clear first.

Franco tells Elizabeth that Jake is going through some terrible feelings, and maybe something was done to him. It doesn’t make him a bad kid or wrong; he needs help. Elizabeth asks if they’ll figure it out, and Franco says they will.

Nelle tells Nina that she hopes Valentin isn’t cheating, but if he is, she doesn’t want to be the one to catch him. Besides the fact that she’s trying to be a decent person, it won’t make Nina feel any better to find out. In her case, there was another side of the story, so maybe there is with him. She asks Nina to find out for herself, and ask Valentin to be honest. She might be surprised.

On the docks, Valentin calls for a boat. He sees Anna faking an injury, and asks if she’s all right.

Ned tells everyone that Samira is happy with the arrangements. Kiki says acquisition fever can make a reasonable, rational person need to acquire. Ned says Kiki has a point. Not about him, but someone obsessed and determined to acquire painting at all costs. The doorbell rings, and he says, here they are now. It’s Larry. When he sees everyone, Larry remembers an engagement, but Ned says he’s not going anywhere until this is settled.

Nina tells Nelle that it’s not the first time she’s been cheated on, and even if he’s only thinking about it, she’s scared he’ll throw away what they’ve built for something that never existed. Nelle tells her again to talk to Valentin. Nina says she did, and got nowhere. She tells Nelle that it will just be between the two of them. She begs Nelle not to make her threaten to fire her. Nathan comes in, and Nina tells Nelle that it’s better for the family and Charlotte if they can be on the same page. Nelle says she’ll give it some serious thought.

Nina tells Nathan that she’s busy, but he can always visit her at Windemere. She asks if he still gets seasick, and he says it’s not the boat; it’s her husband.

Anna tells Valentin that she fell and hurt her ankle. He says it’s not broken, and probably just sprain. He thinks she should get checked out, but she says she’s had enough of doctors. He helps her up. He wonders what had her so deep in thought that she face-planted. She says it was him.

Jason tells Sam that given the alternative, he wishes Jake was seeking attention, but he was obviously terrified when he saw the picture; something he did terrified his son. He has two years not accounted for, and wishes he could prove something. Sam says maybe he can.

Elizabeth tells Jake that since he’s feeling better, maybe he can do some homework, but relents when Jake isn’t very enthusiastic. Franco suggests planning his birthday, and says maybe they can go camping. Jake isn’t receptive to that idea, which puzzles Elizabeth, since he’s always wanted to go. Jake says he doesn’t want to anymore. Franco says they can go anywhere, but Jake says he can’t.

Ned grabs Larry by the arm and tosses him into a chair. Larry says he wants to apologize. Ned says he knew Larry was up to something, but didn’t realize how far he’d go. Tracy is surprised that Samira was a con, and Ned says there was never a kidnapped daughter. She was working for Larry.

Tracy tells Larry not to deny it, and Ned says he has him dead to rights. Larry says it’s not as nefarious as it sounds. He was going to donate some of the profit to charity. Ned explains that Larry gave the monks a large donation, so in return, they gave him Edward’s journal and ring. Then he hired Samira, thinking her blue eyes would make Tracy think they might be related, and left Tracy a trail of breadcrumbs to the monastery. Larry’s face makes me go, HAHAHAHAHA! Best moment with this Larry so far.

Jake wants to include Jason, Sam and the other kids. Franco says they can have a big party, and Elizabeth says there will be two celebrations. Jake says he’ll do his homework now, since his mom won’t let him have a party if he doesn’t do well in school. He takes his homework to his room to concentrate better.

Sam hacks into a database to see when Jason was admitted to hospital. She says if she can’t find it, Spinelli is only a phone call away. Jason says he’s glad she’s on his team.

Nathan tells Nina that he doesn’t feel comfortable dropping by. She asks what’s going on with him, and he says it’s good; he’s staying busy with his job and working out. Nina says he’s missing his wife, and he says she’s killing it in Portland. She wishes were in the same city, but everything else is awesome. He adds that they’ll figure it out. He asks about Charlotte, and Nina says she’s incredible. When he asks about Valentin, Nina tells him that she thinks she’s losing him to Anna.

Valentin puts together a makeshift icepack for Anna. She says he doesn’t have to stay, but he tells her that wouldn’t be very gentlemanly. She says when she thinks of their experience at the WSB, she’s filled with regret. She wishes she could have a do-over, and he asks what would she change? She tells him, everything, then touching his hand, says not everything. UGH! Nelle watches.

Dillon wonders if the monastery knew about Samira, and were part of plan. Ned thinks she was conning them too. Tracy says she had no idea he could be so thorough. Ned says that Larry did a good job, but took it one step too far.

Ned talks about the hymn. We Gather Together was the perfect song to convince them, but Edward once told him that Lila started the tradition. Tracy says Edward would never have taught it to Samira’s mother. Ned tells them that it was Larry who called ICE. Kiki says on top of everything else, they put their butts on line for someone running a con. Tracy says it was all Larry.

Nathan asks Nina why not just bust Valentin, but Nina wants him to be honest with her. Nathan says that he’s bad news, but Nina says he’s just confused about Anna. She doesn’t blame him; it’s weird and strange. When he first came to town, Anna was hell bent on getting something on him and trashing his name, and now it’s like someone flipped a switch. Nathan says that his first advice is to tell her to leave, but she’s not going to take it, so be careful for both her and Charlotte. Charlotte will need a strong role model, and Nina is it. She’s the best thing happen to Valentin, and if he doesn’t know that, he’s not as brilliant as he pretends to be. They hug. Nathan tells Nina to call if she needs him.

Nelle continues to watch Anna and Valentin. Valentin tells Anna there’s no reason to bring up the past. She says it’s their past. He says when she forced herself to sleep with hunchback, and she says it wasn’t like that. He wants to get back home, but she starts playing with her necklace, and he notices it.

Sam thinks she has something. She tells Jason that the records have been amended a few times, but he was admitted in August of 2014. He says for two years he could have been doing things that scared Jake or hurt him, but he has no memory of anything, except for Helena. He tells Sam about the hallucination he had, where Helena said that he’ll never remember what happened to Jake on the island. He wonders how he can recall that. Sam breaks out the liquor, and says maybe it will help. I’m in.

Elizabeth asks if Franco believes Jake. He said, “I can’t,” to the vacation like he wasn’t allowed to. Franco says he shouldn’t have said anything. Elizabeth tells him that she’d feel better if she knew Helena’s plan. Franco says, if she had one. He wonders if they should ask about the numbers, but Elizabeth says he’s too fragile. Franco suddenly says he’s inspired by the light, and they should go to her bedroom. She asks if he’s trying to distract her, but thinks catching the light is a good idea. I’m hoping her bedroom isn’t upstairs where Jake is doing his homework.

Tracy grabs a fireplace poker to whack Larry, but the family stops her. She says that her only reason letting him live is because of their son. If he ever darkens their doorstep again, the Quartermaines are fully capable of covering up a murder. Larry jets, and Ned says, well done; he thinks Larry is finally gone from their lives.

Jake unrolls the timeline.

Dillon says they were suckers, and Ned corrects that to kind, generous people. Larry took advantage of a tragedy, but Tracy still gets to keep painting. Dillon is sorry he called it stupid, and Monica says she can hang it in the den. Tracy says that her father wrote that she’d know best where it should go, and he was right.

Nelle goes to Nina’s office. She tells Nina about finding Valentin on the pier. Nina asks if he was with Anna, but Nelle says he was alone, and he went to Windemere on the launch. She tells Nina that she was overreacting. He loves her, and she has nothing to worry about.

Anna unclasps the necklace, and asks Valentin if it looks familiar. He takes it from her and looks at it. She says it’s a lion with a serpent’s tail, and calls it the Chimera.

Jake starts to draw

Sam pours some tequila, saying maybe Jason will relax enough to have an open mind. And if not, it should still be a lot of fun. I added that last part. Jason spills some of it on the book. He tries to dry it, and calls Sam over. Two pages had been stuck together. He shows her the hidden page, and she says she told him the tequila would loosen something up. It’s a drawing of the Chimera.

Just like the necklace, and just like what Jake is now drawing on the timeline.

Tomorrow, Scotty asks Ava what hole she’s dug for herself, Jason has to deal with something now, and Carly wants it all.

Southern Charm

Patricia struggles to pick up Pug Chauncey. Michael tells her that he’s about four pounds overweight. She thinks he’s underestimating.

Cameran tells us that she went through a white witch phase in high school, died her hair purple, had spell books, and did weird stuff in the woods, but she was still homecoming queen. She and her mom go to her friend Larry’s house, where he makes hoodoo dolls that are supposed to bring good into people’s lives. He asks which one speaks to Cameran, and she picks out Mama Estelle, who’s pretty freaking creepy-looking. She asks about love dolls (no, not that kind), and Larry says he’s been considering making them, but he’s willing to custom make something. She wants it for Shep.

Shep meets Austen for a basketball game. He asks if Austen had any luck at the party. In his interview, Shep says he knows what happened with Chelsea, and knowledge is power. Shep wins 3-0. Geez, for non-smokers, and not that old, these guys are both breathing pretty hard, and it wasn’t that long of a game. Shep says he’s about to hyperventilate, and it’s either it’s a wake-up call or a senior moment. They sit on a bench. He asks Austen if he’s seeing Chelsea. Austen says they’re hanging out, the definition being that they’re planning on doing things together. Shep thinks he should have gotten a heads up. In his interview, Austen thinks it’s absurd to check in with Shep first. Austen says he likes Chelsea’s company. Shep says he does too, but she’s probably not his type. He tells Austen that Chelsea is robbing the cradle like Demi Moore, but I don’t think the age gap is that wide. Austen suggests that if he’s Ashton Kutcher, Shep is Bruce Willis.

Whitney waits for Thomas at a restaurant. He tells the waitress that the friend he’s waiting for is a complete alcoholic, and orders a double-bourbon for him. Thomas arrives, and says he was busy playing Mister Mom. Thomas thinks he’s lost his touch, and he’s just an old man now. He says he used to walk into a bar and own the place, but he’s lost confidence. He tells Whitney that the women who approach him say he has too much baggage, and he scares them off. Whitney tells him to check his baggage, and that he thinks Landon likes him. He asks what’s holding Thomas back, but Thomas gives no definite answer. Whitney thinks he should give Landon a chance.

Kathryn calls Jennifer, who hasn’t heard from her in ages. Kathryn says she’s been busy, but in her interview, says that some interactions between Jennifer and Thomas unsettled her, and they haven’t talked in months. She says that Jennifer knew everything about how she felt regarding Thomas. She asks Jennifer if she wants to meet for lunch. Jennifer asks if she wants to meet now, since she’s in town and has a babysitter. In her interview, Kathryn says she wants some understanding about what happened between Jennifer and Thomas.

The UPS man has visited Craig’s house with several boxes. Craig tells us that he loves sewing, and takes a machine out of one of the boxes. He calls Naomie and tells her about his new toy. She asks what’s wrong with him. He tells her it has an embroidery attachment too.

Jennifer meets Kathryn, and says she was excited to hear from her. She asks what she did to upset or hurt her. Kathryn says the last time she saw Jennifer, Jennifer and Thomas had made up, but she wasn’t aware of it. Jennifer says he apologized, but Kathryn wonders how she can think it’s sincere. She tells Kathryn that she’s tried to prove she’s a good friend, and it was a particular time of need for her; she needed all the love and support she could get. In her interview, Kathryn wonders if it’s more about social climbing, saying that she needs genuine, honest people in her life, and doesn’t think Jennifer is owning up to anything.

Jennifer tells Kathryn about Ascher’s emergency brain surgery and starts to cry. Kathryn is glad he’s okay. In her interview, Kathryn says she’s sympathetic, but thinks everything is fishy right now. Jennifer tries to bring up the friend thing again, but Kathryn tells her to focus on what’s important, her son. Kathryn says she holds no ill feelings, but doesn’t think they’re on the same page. She wishes it had gone differently.

Shep calls his parents in the Hamptons. He tells them about how winded he was playing basketball, and that he made a doctor’s appointment. He thinks his liver might be begging for mercy. In his interview, he says his father had a heart attack at forty, and he just turned thirty-seven. He tells them he’s going to make some changes.

Landon and Austen go to a bar that she’s investigating for her website, Roam. Austen is confused as to what the site is supposed to be about, besides an excuse for going out to eat and drink. Austen tells her about Chelsea, and how Shep told him he broke bro code. Landon says it’s typical Shep; he wasn’t interested until he found out that Austen was. Austen talks about going skiing with Chelsea, and Landon says she knows it’s getting serious when she goes traveling with someone, and you learn a lot about them. In her interview, she tells us that her last three relationships ended when she they went away for the weekend. She talks about Drew, and how he’s nine years older than she is. Austen tells her that he’s working too – he’s researching other beers.

Cameran calls someone about a real estate listing, but she’s too late. It’s under contract. She says she has an interested client, so if anything changes, let her know. She’s trying to find Craig a place, but it’s not going well.

Craig creates an embroidered piece. Cameran calls him to tell him the bad news. He says that he had to take time to crunch the numbers. She says that if he likes something, they have to jump on it, although he shouldn’t be impulsive. He says he’s made the decision to buy a property to turn into a rental, but Cameran doesn’t think he understands the work involved.

Thomas sips bourbon and calls Landon. She tells him she’s going to Phish concert tomorrow. She explains who Phish is (are?), and he’s offended that she thinks he doesn’t know. He says he wanted to make plans for dinner, and she says she’ll be around during the day. He fears the friend zone, but says he’ll call her tomorrow.

Shep goes to the doctor’s office. Since he met the doctor through Thomas, he figures the judgement level will be lower. We flash back to some of his drunker moments. The nurse asks him questions. His average is seven, eight, maybe nine drinks a night. When he finds out a shot counts, it’s twelve. He says it’s similar to how many sexual partners you’ve had: divide by two and add ten. The doctor comes in, and Shep tells him that it’s a precautionary visit. He tells the doctor how he got winded playing basketball, and about his father’s heart attack. The doctor checks him out. He’s also going to run some blood tests, and suggests Shep not drink for a week. He’ll feel better, and it will create momentum for him to stay on track. Um…probably not.

Thomas and Landon go to dinner. Landon asks fifty questions about the liquor. Although I actually understand that, after having had the worst Blood Mary in the world (at Friday’s) and cheap house wine. She asks about last night, and Thomas complains. She tells him to stop trying to score on the weekend; he needs more than that. He asks what she’s looking for, and she says a companion and friend. She’s been seeing someone, but horrors! he’s never been to NYC, and she thinks he must not care what’s going on in the rest of the world. Honestly, I’m can’t even fathom how this woman looks at things. She says she needs a lot from somebody, and wants to get married again and have kids. In his interview, Thomas thinks they’re kindred spirits, but he has to break down Landon’s boundaries.

Craig makes dinner to surprise Naomie. I dunno. Unless he’s leeching off of her, I don’t see why she wants to change anything. Her parents live down the street, and he sets up a beautiful dinner on their patio, which has a great view. In his interview, Craig thinks he’s a good catch, and hopes Naomie feels as lucky as he does. Naomie gets home, and he tells her that he has a surprise, bringing her to the patio. In her interview, she says he can drive her nuts sometimes, but it’s little things like this that remind her why she puts up with him. They sit down to eat.

Craig tells her that he has a lot of projects going on. Naomie says that Cameran was talking to her about him looking at properties. She tells him he can’t do a hundred things at once and do them all well. He says there’s one more thing; he’s starting a clothing line. She tells him he can’t be doing everything that he is, plus a clothing line; the bar has taken him years longer than it should have already. In his interview, he thinks she should be supportive. She says he’s going to screw up his life if he waits until the last minute for everything. He asks if he’s lost anything, and she says not yet. Craig is probably the late-bloomer type of person, who you think is going nowhere, then suddenly, they end up going further in life and making more money than you and all of your friends put together.

Naomie says it isn’t about what he says, but what he does. She asks if he wants to be a lawyer. He says he’ll know when he passes the bar. He doesn’t know if she has a grasp of how he thinks. He keeps trying to talk, but she talks over him. She says whether he wants to be a lawyer or not, just be straight up. He tells her that she’s acting dumb. She says he’s the one talking in circles and not making sense. She says she’s getting up from the table if he doesn’t apologize. He says he didn’t say she’s dumb, but she was acting dumb, which she thinks is the same thing. He says they’re not getting anywhere and he’s done talking about it.

Next time, Shep takes a yoga class (which he compares to a sobriety test), Patricia has a dinner party, Cameran puts a love spell on Shep, and Naomie is done with Craig.

🦁 Wikipedia tells us that the Chimera, also Chimaera (Chimæra); was, according to Greek mythology, a monstrous fire-breathing hybrid creature of Lycia in Asia Minor, composed of the parts of more than one animal. It is usually depicted as a lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail that might end with a snake’s head, and was one of the offspring of Typhon and Echidna,and a sibling of such monsters as Cerberus and the Lernaean Hydra.

The term chimera has come to describe any mythical or fictional animal with parts taken from various animals, or to describe anything composed of very disparate parts, or perceived as wildly imaginative, implausible, or dazzling.

The seeing of a Chimera was an omen for disaster.

Maybe not this baby one though…