What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Sam asks Jason how he thinks Danny is. She doesn’t think he completely understands Oscar is gone. Jason says he read an article (Jason reads?!) on talking to kids about death. They can’t really process it; only in small bits. He thinks Danny got as much as he can handle, and he’ll circle back when he wants more information. Sam feels like Danny. She can only absorb it in pieces. Jason hugs her.

At the Quartermaine mansion, Kim comes down with her suitcase. Drew doesn’t suppose she’s hungry, but does she want coffee? Kim says, not today. She thinks she’ll just head home. Drew asks why she’s leaving; stay with them.

Willow sees Julian at the school. She asks if he was looking for her, and if everything is okay. He says he’s actually there to enroll his son in pre-K. She didn’t know he had a child that young, and he says his son’s mom is busy, so he told her that he’d do the paperwork. She’s glad she ran into him, and asks if he has a minute. It’s about Brad. She thinks he’s making a terrible mistake.

Michael finds Shiloh in the café. Shiloh just heard about Oscar’s passing. He says he wasn’t aware of it when he ran into Michael earlier. They’re planning a memorial for Oscar’s entrance to the next plain. He thinks Kristina would want be there, and tells Michael, if he hears from her, let her know she always has a home at DOD. He hasn’t forgotten how much of her life she shared with him.

Alexis tells Sonny that they don’t have time for this. Neil said it’s important for them to be there today. Sonny asks if she saw a non-descript car parked at the end of her driveway. She says she can’t see the end of her driveway from there. He says that’s why she can’t see the car there. It’s Detective Spencer.

On the phone, Valerie tells Chase that she hopes Alexis leaves to see Kristina soon. She’s running out of coffee. She tells him just keep doing what he’s doing. She hangs up, and watches Alexis’s house through binoculars.

Kristina and Milo finish a game. She tells him, that, my friend, is how it’s done. He says she’s won three in a row, and she tells him, give up the black jellybeans. More evidence that she’s in a cult. Who likes those? He says, the next time, they’re playing rummy or pinochle. Some things never change. Neil comes in, and says he notices a difference in Kristina since she came. She was combative, and now she seems more relaxed. She says she’s known Max and Milo her whole life, and she’s getting used to him. He says it’s time to evaluate. How does she feel about seeing her parents?

Drew asks Kim to stay few days. He could use the company. The Quartermaines look at her as family. Kim says she’s very grateful for that, and appreciates everything they’ve done for her and Oscar. Oscar had such a connection to the Quartermaines. She remembers how he poured over that tell-all book Josslyn gave him. He talked all the time about it, and the various parks and buildings the Quartermaines donated, and what the family has given to Port Charles. Drew said Oscar told him he was very proud to be part of the family. Kim says, as wonderful and supportive as they’ve been, she’s not a Quartermaine. She needs to go back and face an empty apartment. Putting it off won’t make it easier. Drew gets it, and respects it, but thinks she shouldn’t be alone.

Willow tells Julian, Brad is taking DOD parenting classes. Julian says, Brad is a nervous father, and seems to be benefiting from the classes. Willow says, the classes are a lie; like everything else at DOD, especially their leader.

Michael sits with Shiloh. He says he thinks if Kristina felt at home there, she’d still be at DOD. Shiloh says they all came with baggage. Kristina had the weight of her history with her family wearing on her heavily. Michael must have known. Michael can’t say that he did. Shiloh says Kristina was thriving at DOD. He can’t believe she’d just up and leave. Shiloh tells Michael, when he sees her, say he wants the best for her. Michael says, clearly she felt the need to distance herself. Maybe she realized it didn’t work for her. Would Shiloh be okay with that, since he wants what’s best for her? The way Michael says this is actually a little menacing.

Alexis tells Sonny that Neil said it was essential they both be there. Sonny says, it’s essential she be there. Kristina needs to see Shiloh for who he really is. He tells her not to let the cops follow her, and she says that’s why she’s initiated plan B. Diane knocks at the door, and Valerie watches as she goes inside. Wait a minute. How can Valerie see the front door so well, if Alexis can’t see the end of the driveway? It’s not like she has a periscope. Okay. Suspending disbelief. Valerie tells Chase, this just got interesting. Diane is there. She wonders if Alexis needs legal aid because of possible kidnapping charges.

Sam tells Jason that Shiloh came over after he left. Jason asks if Shiloh was checking on her. She thinks so. She told him she was too upset about Oscar when he called, which wasn’t a lie. She shows him the recorder, and says he gave this to her to use for her Pledge. Jason asks if Shiloh told her what he expects. She says he wants her to say something damaging that would have consequences to herself or someone loves. It’s to show her trust and devotion to DOD. The final step before she’s initiated into the Trust. Jason asks what she’s going to do, and she says, give him what he wants.

Alexis and Diane have switched clothes and put on wigs to look like each other. Sonny asks if Diane is sure she can pull this off. Diane says she learned so much from Max about shaking tail. It was imperative that Valerie know she’s there, but he can’t be on the premises. She tells him, leave be the back door. He says he has that covered. He suggests they don’t mention Oscar to Kristina; they don’t want to upset her. Alexis says she can’t process it yet. Diane is glad Oscar reconciled with his parents before he passed away. Sonny says that’s what they’re trying to do with Kristina. Diane says she always wanted to be a brunette. Alexis as Diane leaves. Valerie watches, and a moment later, she sees Diane leave as Alexis.

Shiloh says Michael assumes Kristina’s absence means she’s not coming back. It’s to her advantage to come back. Michael sees how it’s to Shiloh’s advantage. She’s already given him a substantial amount of money, and there’s more where that came from. She has several rich relatives, and a trust fund that kicks in when she’s thirty. That’s a few years off, but maybe she’s already lost interest. Shiloh thinks Kristina’s commitment to DOD goes deeper than Michael thinks. Shiloh leaves.

Julian asks what Shiloh did to Willow. DOD has done good work; he’s seen it. His ex’s daughter, Kristina, was a big part of it, until she skipped town. Their objectives and values are well-founded, so this is based on what? What harm is there? Willow says the harm is Shiloh. Once he gets his claws in someone, he doesn’t let go. Julian must have known men like that, and it’s not like they twirl their mustache or look sinful. They’re smooth, and seem benign, like Shiloh. He won’t just influence Brad; he’ll influence Julian’s grandson. Is that what he wants to happen? Julian says he has little or no contact with his family. She says she takes it back. She’d rather have Julian in her son’s life than Shiloh. Julian says it’s obviously important to her. He’ll see what he can do to look into it, but Wiley is safe and thriving. He tells her, try to relax, and take comfort in that, and leaves.

Kim thinks she has to give herself a moment, but it will take more than a moment to adjust to life without Oscar. Drew doesn’t think it’s possible, but Kim says they’ll figure out a way through it at. At the end of the day, she has to live in an apartment alone without him. Drew thanks her for coming to Port Charles, and sharing the remarkable boy she raised. She wishes she’d found Drew sooner, and he says, him too. She says, Oscar loved him so much. He was so proud to be Drew’s son. Drew says he was proud to be Oscar’s father. She says he made the last year of Oscar’s life a dream come true. He helped Oscar die happy. They hug, and he gets the door for her. She goes out, and he looks at the empty entryway.

Sam tells Jason that she has Shiloh where she wants him. He trusts her to be in his inner circle. Jason says where he’ll drug her, rape her, and tattoo her. She says she’ll be gone long before that. When Shiloh is listening to her Pledge, she’ll steal Kristina’s Pledge, and be out of there. Jason asks how she’s getting away, and she says he’ll be there to help her. He says, always. He asks what her Pledge is going to be, but she doesn’t know. She’ll invent something. He says if she really wants to help, don’t invent something about herself. Make it about him.

Drew opens the door to Shiloh. Shiloh says he’s so sorry. Drew thanks him, and asks if he wants some coffee. Shiloh says, sure, and comes in. He tells Drew, things like this can humble you. When they were in Afghanistan, they shared a lot of grief; a lot of mutual friends didn’t make it back. It wasn’t until Shiloh almost died that he realized he had no idea what the afterlife meant. Death is not really death. He knows that’s no consolation, but tells Drew to know just because his boy isn’t there, he’s not gone.

At the safe house, Sonny asks Milo how Kristina is. Milo says still beating him at games. Neil says, Milo has a good effect on Kristina, and Sonny says, maybe this session will be a tipping point. Neil asks if Alexis is going to be there, and Sonny says she has a plan, but he doesn’t thinks it will work. Alexis comes in, and Sonny says he stands corrected. Alexis tells them that Valerie is following Diane, and asks where Kristina is. Milo says he’ll check outside to make sure she wasn’t followed, and tells them, good luck. Alexis asks if Kristina is okay, and Neil says, she’s better, but don’t push her. Let her set the pace. He tells them, be careful, don’t engage in inflammatory behavior. Kristina comes downstairs, and Sonny says she looks good. Alexis says she owes Kristina an apology, but Kristina says, first, she needs them to hear her out.

Kim sees a shrine in front of the apartment door; pictures, teddy bears, flowers, signs that say, we love you, Oscar. She looks at everything, and cries. She smiles a little, and reads a note attached to a T-shirt. You caught me when I fell out of a tree. You’re the best! Love, Gigi. She reads another; thank you for throwing a party for us when the school wouldn’t. We already miss you. And another; sorry I never paid you back. Good times. I can’t believe you’re gone. A hand touches her shoulder. It’s Julian.

She hugs Julian, and says she thought she told him that she had to do this alone. He says she did. Is she ready to go inside? She says, no. She wants to read some more. There were so many lives he touched. Julian asks if she knows all of them, and she says, some. He reads a thank you from the super for holding a flashlight when the electricity had a glitch. There’s on from Trina, thanking him for helping with her term paper. She would have never passed the class without his help. Yet another thanks Oscar for helping carry the laundry downstairs. They’ll miss his smile every day. Kim says he didn’t tell her about a lot of this. Julian says, he was well loved and respected. Kim says, people will miss his kindness and spirit. Julian says, he’ll stay alive in the memories.

Drew tells Shiloh that he wishes he known Oscar longer; that they’d had more years. Most of all, he wishes they’d had more years to make more memories. Shiloh says he’s spoken to parents at DOD who have lost a child. They say the pain is unimaginable. He wants Drew to know, Oscar had so much grace. Everybody loved him. He always encouraged Oscar to keep up communication with Drew and his mother. Drew appreciates that, but I’m guessing it’s not lost on him – or me – that Shiloh just made it about himself. Shiloh says, even when they were estranged, Oscar wanted to know stories about Drew’s past. Drew says Oscar understood what happened to him, and he’s made peace with not knowing his past. Shiloh says, has he?

Jason tells Sam, Shiloh wants a secret he can weaponize. What better secret than something that can hurt him? Sam says Shiloh is threatened by Jason, and Jason says, give Shiloh something that can send him to prison.

Kristina says she’s had a lot of time to think. Max and Milo reminded her of the good times, and Neil said Alexis and Sonny both take responsibility for what happened during the last meeting. Alexis and Sonny agree that they do. She says, but it wasn’t just them. She gave Alexis a hard time about her phone. Alexis says she should have shut it off. Kristina says she just did it to get her hands on the phone. What they did was wrong, but she’s seeing why they did it.

Michael goes back to Willow’s classroom – which has been filled with everyone, except all those parents she said were coming. He tells her the therapist thinks Kristina is in a place where she’s willing to listen, so it’s on. He’s ready when she is. She tells him that she had to be honest with Chase; she couldn’t lie. He asks if she’s sure she wants do this. It could possibly be considered illegal, and could cost Willow her relationship.

Sonny knows Kristina is angry because of the way they… he handled things. He didn’t give her mother a choice. Alexis says he didn’t consult her, but she chose to participate. Kristina says the only one reason they’re there is because they love her. She gets that. The other night, her mother didn’t know she was watching, but she heard Alexis say she couldn’t see Kristina when she looked in her eyes. She wanted her little girl back. Up until then, all she could think about was how they hurt her. She felt rejected when they questioned DOD, and justified in her anger. Now she realizes they thought she was choosing DOD over her family, and she never wanted to do that. They don’t know what happened between her and DOD, but if her mom can’t recognize her, she doesn’t blame her for feeling scared, or what she did because of it. It’s not her mom’s fault that she doesn’t recognize Kristina. Neil says, it’s not hers either. She says, maybe not, but it’s not Shiloh’s. Sonny grits his teeth.

Diane goes to Kelly’s. Valerie says, she’s been everywhere, and lists several places. Now she’s at Kelly’s. She hopes Alexis is meeting someone. She needs coffee.

Shiloh tells Drew, if there’s some way for him to remember his old life… Drew says he can’t risk retrieving his old memories at the risk of forgetting the past five years, especially the memories of his children. He just lost one, and he’s already told Shiloh this. Why is he telling him again? Shiloh says, sorry. People make irrational decisions when grieving. Drew says, that’s not happening here. Shiloh, who doesn’t know when to shut up, says Oscar’s not really gone, and we grasp that when it’s our time. Drew says he’s not in a place to hear all this, and Shiloh says, sorry. He knows it’s too soon. Drew needs to process his own grief. His door is always open, like it was open to Oscar. Drew says he has phone calls to make. Shiloh can see himself out. Shiloh says, one more thing. He was cleaning out Oscar’s room, and came across this. He holds out a copy of his book. He thought Drew might want to have it.

Julian and Kim sit in the hallway. He says he’s sorry for barging in on her like this, but he couldn’t stand the thought of her going through it alone. He wanted to be there for her, but if she wants him to go, he will. Let him know what she needs. He starts to get up, but she stops him, and says, please stay. She puts her head on his shoulder.

Valerie goes into Kelly’s, but there’s no sign of Alexis/Diane. She goes to the counter, and asks if a woman in a green plaid shirt came in to use the ladies room. Diane walks up, sans wig, and says she did. She needed to freshen her hair. She has a message from her client. They know this so-called investigation isn’t sanctioned by the PCPD. So her watching and following Alexis constitutes harassment. Cease and desist, or she’ll go to Valerie’s superior, and sue the detective badge out of her eager hands. She also suggests the caramel salted donut.

Sam tells Jason that she can’t do that. She doesn’t know anything incriminating about him. She was never involved in anything illegal. She’s not handing anything over to Shiloh. Jason says he’ll have Spinelli set it up. A fake hit on a guy who never existed. She can tell Shiloh that she was an eyewitness, and he’ll find back-up online. Sam asks what if he runs to Margaux? She’s a big believer now. Jason says She’ll be embarrassed when she finds out it never happened. Sam says what if Shiloh thinks she’s a liar? and Jason says, he will. Eventually. If Shiloh tries to turn him in right away, he won’t have leverage over Sam. Sam likes it. She tells Jason, call Spinelli, and set it up.

Shiloh tells Drew, Oscar marked the passages that spoke to him. He thought Drew might like to read it, and get to know his son more. Shiloh says, he and Drew were close once. He knows not close now, but hopes Drew can lean on him like he leaned on Drew. He tells Drew, take care, and leaves. Drew opens the book, and sees a photo of himself, Kim, and Oscar, when Oscar got the Ashbury award.

Julian asks if Kim is ready. She says she’ll never be ready to walk into an empty apartment, knowing she’ll never see her son sitting on the couch, reading a book, or listening to music. How is she going to be ready to live in the stillness and quiet of a home once filled with the beautiful sounds of Oscar? How will she be ready to go into Oscar’s room, and go through his stuff? She’s not ready, and doesn’t know if she ever will be, but she has to start somewhere. She’ll take it one step at a time. Julian unlocks the door, and says they’ll do it together. He opens the door, and takes her hand. She says, okay.

Sam calls Shiloh, and says she just wants to let him know she recorded her Pledge. Just tell her where to meet him, and she’s there.

Kristina says she knows they’re coming from a place of love. She can’t promise to leave DOD. It has to be a choice she makes – if she makes it – for herself; not because she feels guilty for causing them pain. If she chooses to stay, she hopes they accept it. She hopes they’ll be the understanding parents they are now, and can respect her decision.

Michael walks in. Kristina says she thought he was so mad at her, he was refusing to speak to her. He says, what Shiloh did made him mad. That’s why he brought someone to talk to her. Willow steps forward, and Kristina asks why she’s there. Willow says she knows things Kristina might not be aware of. She knows how DOD preaches honesty above all else, but she’s going to tell Kristina the truth about Shiloh, and what he does to young women like them.

On Monday, Finn has Jordan’s test results, Robert suggests Laura go to the Nurses’ Ball with him, and Willow tells Kristina that she escaped and hopes Kristina can too.

🎹 The GH Goodbye Song…

There are a couple of sad photos from the episode too. Twilight Zone moment. I knew a Chris Arena back in my theater days. I looked up this guy’s bio, but it’s not him, or his dad. I wouldn’t have thought it was that common of a name.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital-get-back-home-song-170647

📣 Hooray For Lala! I Think…

I don’t know if relieved is the word, but I’m… something.

https://people.com/tv/lala-kent-sets-wedding-date-randall-emmett/

🔔 Quotes of the Week

I watched, but I didn’t learn anything. – minor character in Dam Sharks, after being told watch and learn

The beauty of a woman must be seen from in her eyes, because that is the doorway to her heart, the place where love resides. – Audrey Hepburn

I’ve not got much money but I’ve got heaps of ideas. – E. Nesbit

The real painters do not paint things as they are… They paint them as they themselves feel them to be. – Vincent Van Gogh

Originality is the art of concealing your source. – Franklin P. Jones

No one wanted to give me any advice in case I blew up and they were involved. – Long Island teenager Justin Schiavo, whose homemade rockets could propel small satellites into space.

Miracles are not contrary to nature, but only contrary to what we know about nature. – Saint Augustine

It takes 20 years to build a reputation and five minutes to ruin it. If you think about that, you’ll do things differently. – Warren Buffett

A man is known by the company he keeps – Aesop

🌌 Four On the Fourth…