What I Watched Today

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

 

 General Hospital

The time has come for Tracy to step out of her father’s shadow and make a life of her own. She can’t do it in Port Charles, so she’s leaving. Ned asks what that means (someone, get that man a dictionary), and she says she’s called them there to say good-by.

Nathan comes home to an empty place. He picks up the welcome home card he’s made for Maxie, and tears it in half.

Carly takes her ring off, and says let’s get started. When her lawyer shows up, Sonny is surprised to see it’s Martina. He flashes back to five minutes ago. She and Sonny act like they’ve never met. Diane suggests getting down to business. She thinks it’s possible to avoid a lengthy arbitration.

Monica tells Tracy that if she wants dramatic effect, it’s not working. Tracy says she wants to make a worthwhile life for herself. Her father is going to bankroll her, since the proceeds of the sale of the painting will be more than enough. $20 million? Yeah, I’d say so. The doorbell rings. The food has arrived. It’s pizza.

Ned explains the Thanksgiving pizza tradition, and says it sounds like it’s the last time they’ll be a family for a while. He tells Tracy she doesn’t need to travel the world to find meaning. Hayden asks what she’s going to do, and she says she has no definite plans. Ned asks if they can talk her out of it, but she says no. She’s not happy about leaving him and Dillon, but they’ve been living their own lives for years, and it’s time for her to do the same. Dillon says they’ll come to visit her wherever she is. They all say they’ll miss each other, and I’m trying to rise above crying over this.

Amy 2.0 knocks on Nathan’s door. She wonders why Maxie has flaked about the Nurses Ball. Lucy wants her to handle it, but she’s a talent; she doesn’t work behind the scenes. Nathan explains that Maxie is in Portland. Amy says she’s still the same self-centered witch she always was. Nathan is like, excuse me?

Diane talks about Sonny’s various assets that have been transferred to Carly. Martina says they were signed over months ago, and Sonny has no claims on them. Diane says they’re still married, so technically, Sonny has equal rights. Martina says the assets were put into Carly’s name to keep the government from seizing them. She says if he fights it, she’ll have to bring up his overseas businesses. Sonny claims they’re legit, but Martina tells him that she’s surprised at how low the casino proceeds are. She says it’s as if he has secret offshore accounts, and reminds him that would be a felony.

Dillon says he’s used to him being the one leaving for parts unknown. Tracy says he has a big heart, and is more than capable of dealing with life. She tells him that his heart makes him the strongest Quartermaine.

I hate you, George Stephanopoulos. We’ve been interrupted. On Tracy’s last day. Fie on you, Washington DC! Although I have to admit to being interested in the insurance topic, since I got totally screwed over with Obamacare. Looks promising, but we’ll see.

And we’re back. Tracy tells Michael that if the company tanks, they’ll be hell to pay.

Carly doesn’t want to bring the legality of Sonny’s offshore holdings into question. Martina says Sonny should thank her, and to quit fighting about the rest. Carly says he lost his temper and made bad decisions. Now he has to pay the consequences.

Tracy tells Ned sorry to steal his thunder, but he’s always been a Quartermaine whether in name or not. Ned says that the house needs an Edward Quartermaine under its roof. She tells him that he’s her rock, always has been, and always will be. Crap. Ned is starting to cry. I’m sure this was an emotional day for everyone involved.

Monica tells Tracy that the jet is fueled and ready to take off, and her car will be there shortly. Tracy says it’s real now. Monica says she doesn’t know what she’ll do without Tracy. Tracy suggests celebrating, but Monica says somewhere along the line, Tracy she went from being her sister-in-law to her sister. She never hated her. She loves her. Here come the waterworks.

Nathan tells Amy II about being caught off guard with Maxie staying in Portland. The only thing not there for her is him, and he wonders if he still fits in her life.

Diane thinks they’ve painted themselves in a corner. Martina says they need to compromise, and Sonny makes noises about them keeping what they came with, and throwing Carly a few bones. Carly says see you in court; they’re done here. She walks out, and Diane follows, leaving Sonny and Martina alone. Martina says it was unexpected, and Sonny asks what kind of game she’s playing. Actually, if he was up for it, Sonny could make a stink about this being a conflict of interest. If nothing else, Carly would have to get a new lawyer.

Amy² says Nathan is coming up with reasons why his marriage won’t survive, but a case could be made for the opposite. If he really loves Maxie, he’ll find a way to make it work. He tells her she’s good at the advice thing. She says to think of her as his bartender, and that she gave her four brothers advice when they were growing up. Nathan goes to change, and Amy looks at a picture of Nathan and Maxie on the sign he ripped.

Carly tells Diane that until the divorce is final, she should talk to her attorney. Diane says she’s approaching her as a friend. She says they’re not the first to divorce after a child’s death, and she understands that Sonny has provoked her, but what part of any of it surprises her?

Sonny asks if Carly put Martina up to this. Martina says that Carly has no idea. He was just a stranger she met in a bar, and she was as shocked as he was. He says there has to be a violation here somewhere, and she stops him from continuing.

The car has arrived. Tracy tells Lulu and Laura to take care of each other. She tells Hayden and Finn that they taught her something important – we don’t have unlimited time. She says to stop wasting it. She warns Michael to remember that she expects ELQ to keep turning a profit. From Dillon, she expects to be invited to a premiere sooner than later. She says that if he needs a patron, to go to Michael. It’s time for ELQ to branch out. She tells Olivia-F that Ned has a bad habit of trying to take care of everyone, and she’s grateful that Olivia is the one who’s going to take care of him.

And Monica. Tracy is worried about her decorating ideas. Monica says she’ll leave their house the way Tracy wants it. Tracy points out that she said our house instead of my house, and Monica says that she knows what she said. Tracy takes Monica and Ned’s hands, and says she cherishes them all. She turns and flies out the door, and we’re all left with tears in our eyes. She runs back in for a four-way hug, with Ned, Dillon, and Monica.

Nathan tells Amy₂ that he’s sorry Maxie flaked. Amy says the show must go on, and they’ll make it bigger and better than last year. Nathan offers to help. Amy thanks him and leaves. In the hallway, she takes the picture that she was looking at out of her purse. She tears it, detaching Maxie. I’m guessing that Amy is interested in Nathan now, but wasn’t she interested in Dillon literally a few weeks ago? What happened with that? She doesn’t strike me as the type who would give up easily.

Diane tells Carly that she understands Sonny better than anybody. His first reaction to being hurt is to lash out, and she can choose to compromise. If not for him, for everybody else, including herself, who doesn’t want to watch them tear each other apart. Carly asks if Diane has said this to Sonny, and Diane says that he’s less than reasonable on the best of days. Carly has to be the bigger person here. Carly says that’s not going to happen; she can’t do that. Diane says she’s legally obligated to carry out her client’s wishes, and regrets what’s about to happen. She thinks Carly and Sonny will regret it too.

Martina tells Sonny that she could be disbarred. Sonny says she just got done telling him he was a stranger, so what’s the big deal? He says she’ll just get a warning from the bar. She wants him to do nothing; anything before today was a chance encounter between strangers that he’ll never speak of again. Carly comes in, and asks what’s going on. Martina makes something up. I just thought of something. Why is it that Sonny keeps getting new babes, but Carly just gets recycled Jax?

Monica says the house won’t be the same. Dillon offers to insult her every morning at breakfast. Olivia asks Ned how he’s doing. He says better than expected, even though it seems like his family is getting smaller by the day. Olivia says she was going to keep her last name, but Olivia Quartermaine has a nice ring to it. The Quartermaine family is the heart of Port Charles, and Port Charles is her home. Someone has to look after it, so why not them?

They look at the family photograph.

Tracy arranges a sale for the painting. The dealer tells her that there’s been an offer of $60 million from a private collector. Tracy wants to close asap. He says they can close as soon as she fills out the paperwork. She signs the contract, and the dealer says he thought she’d be reluctant to sell it. Tracy tells him that she gained more parting with it than keeping it. He gives her a moment alone with the painting, which is kind of funny. Tracy tells the painting that she doesn’t know who she is or what kind of life she lived, but she knows she’s going to live her life on her terms. The dealer comes back, saying the money has been wired to her account. She says she could use a good cup of coffee, and he says he’ll show her a place across the street.

We see clips of Tracy and how she’s grown. Excuse me while I bawl.

Good-by, Tracy. Hopefully, you’ll stop by now and then.

The dealer takes Tracy to the coffee shop. Where Luke is waiting.

I don’t even know what’s happening tomorrow – I was too busy crying. Kudos to GH for giving Jane Elliot a beautiful send-off. It was also everything a fan could have wanted. And thank you, God, for not making the news break too long. It had to be God. It certainly wasn’t out of the goodness of any politician or newscaster’s heart.

🍟 There are six chefs still cooking on MasterChef Junior. Tonight, they made a lamb dish for first responders and construction workers. I don’t even like lamb, and I would have eaten this, it looked so heavenly. A female police officer said if she wasn’t in uniform, she would be chowing down on the chops. I hear you, sister! This evening’s mystery box contained a couple of Muppets. Miss Piggy and the Swedish Chef paid a visit, causing the kids to go out of their collective minds, especially when Miss Piggy called Gordon every name except Gordon, and he kept correcting her. Kids love an ongoing joke. She also took up the challenge of preparing steak frites along with the young chefs, and was voted out, so really, no one went home. Next week, the kids cook for critics, chefs and journalists in pop-up restaurant on the beach.

An Applicable Quote

🍨 A person holding a grapefruit in one hand and a blowtorch in the other has let the world know they won’t be putting up with any of their malarkey today. – Allison Robicelli, Why You Should Set Your Breakfast on Fire