What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Jason comes into the hospital, and Epiphany asks if she can help him. He says he’s doing some research on the new Chairman, and she tells him, this is a hospital, not a library. He’s not allowed to be roaming the halls unless he’s a patient or visiting one. He lowers his voice, and asks if she’s okay. She says she’s fine. She’s just adjusting to her new administrative role. And their new Chief of Staff. She looks at Britt.

Brook tells Amy, it would be an enormous favor. She needs Amy to sing for her.

Michael says, so it’s official official? and Willow tells him not to sound surprised. Of course (🍷) she’ll adopt Wiley. She loves him. Nothing would make her happier. He says, Wiley is the luckiest kid in the world, and she says she’s the luckiest mom. He says she’s officially going to be Wiley’s mom. They hug and he spins her around. He asks her, what’s wrong? and she says she just realized. They have a few things to clarify before she becomes Wiley’s mom. About them.

On the phone in the MetroCourt elevator, Chase says to leave the results of Nelle’s autopsy on his desk. He looks at his phone, and the screen saver is him and Willow.

Valentin sees Sasha at the hospital, and he says tell him she’s not sick. She says she’s just picking up a prescription, and he says he’s detangling ELQ from this hospital nonsense. Is she sure she’s okay? She looks tired. She says she’s fine, but he says he doesn’t think so.

Olivia asks what Ned is talking about, and he tells her, just say it out loud. She slept with Robert Scorpio on their little jaunt through Europe. She asks if he’s out of his mind. She didn’t sleep with Robert.

Robert says, Jackie Templeton, as he lives and breathes, and Jackie says, Robert Scorpio. It’s been a long time. He says, too long. He’s been following her career. She’s made quite a name for herself. She says she hasn’t heard much about him, but supposes it goes with the territory of being a spy. He says those days are behind him; he’s the DA in Port Charles. She says, things have changed, and he says she hasn’t aged a bit. She says he’s a little greyer, but still the same old Robert. He opens his arms, and says, come here, and she punches him in the stomach. Anna walks in and sees.

Epiphany tells Jason, at least Obrecht’s schtick was efficiency, but Britt is more concerned with objects. Jason says, so Britt is already using her authority, and Epiphany says, Britt is already issuing demerits, and nurses are coming to her in tears. Surgeons are coming to her for support and reassurance. The irony isn’t lost on her. Jason says, no surprise to him, and she says, but still, something needs to be done about the situation with Britt. Britt, who has supersonic hearing, comes by and says she agrees. Something needs to be done about Epiphany.

Michael tells Willow, it’s great they can be honest with each other, but since they’ve been married, things have gotten more… Willow says, complicated. He says, they need to figure out what that means if they’re making it official. Monica says she doesn’t mean to interrupt, and Michael says, he was waiting until it’s official, but now he can officially say… He asked Willow to adopt Wiley before, but Nelle was an impediment. Since Nelle is no longer a consideration, he asked again. Willow tells Monica, she said yes, and Monica says, for moment she thought they were going to make their marriage official. Willow and Michael smile at each other.

Amy says, Brook wants her to sing? She’d love to. It will be like the good old days. She asks if Brook remembers the duet they did in chorus senior year. You’d have thought they were going for a Grammy, they were so serious. It will be so fun. Brook says, it’s not exactly like that. They won’t be singing together. Amy will be singing in her place.

Olivia says, Ned honestly thought she cheated? and he asks what he was supposed to think. She says, not that, and he says she ran off Europe with Robert. She knew he was against it, and she vanished off the face of the earth, Then he got a call from a five-star hotel where his wife left her phone in the honeymoon suite. She says, it’s so sad. Look at the examples he’s had; Alan and Monica, Luke and Tracy. They made careers out of backstabbing and stepping out on each other. Even Edward cheated on Lila. Of course (🍷) that’s where his mind would go. But doesn’t he know her better than that? That’s not who she is. She could never cheat on him, but what she will do is explain.

Anna asks if Robert can breathe, and he says he still takes a punch better than Jackie can throw one. Jackie says she was holding back, and he guesses he had it coming. Anna is sure did, and Anna says, she is…? Jackie introduces herself, and says they knew each other once upon a time, and Robert says, and she’s holding a grudge. Jackie says because he chose Holly over her? There’s no accounting for taste, but she is holding him accountable for how he handled that affair. It took her a long time to rebuild her confidence after he ended things. He says she left him, and Anna introduces herself, saying Jackie’s reputation precedes her. Jackie says, likewise, and Anna says she’s been a fan of Jackie’s for years. Jackie says she just tells the stories; Anna makes them. Anna says this is her fiancé, and Jackie says, Hamilton. Robert says they know each other, and Finn says he could say that. Chase comes out of the elevator, and he and Jackie hug. She says she’s missed him, and he says he missed her too. 

Britt says she has Epiphany on administrative duty. She doesn’t need to be in the first floor receiving. Certainly not taking up space, talking to a non-patient. Epiphany says, with all due respect, she was at the hospital before Britt was in med school. Britt says, yet here she is. She’s the boss, and decides if Epiphany is going to shuffle paperwork or shuffle corpses in the morgue. Epiphany says, don’t act like removing her from the patients was some kind of favor. The patients and her nurses miss her. Britt says, they’re not her nurses anymore. If she’s unhappy, she’s free to pack up her tongue depressors, and head to Mercy. Jason says, that’s exactly what Cyrus would want. He’s the one calling the shots at the hospital, not Britt.

Valentin says Sasha hasn’t been okay since she and Michael ended things. She says her situation with Michael is none of his business, but he says he’s not prying. He’s worried about her. They have a huge meeting with a giant retailer who they want to stock the shelves with Deception’s products. Sasha needs to wow them. She says she’ll be fine, and she will wow them, but she’s doing this for Lucy, Maxie, and herself, not him. He asks if she’s angry with him because of Nina or is she angry at herself for pushing Michael away with two hands?

Monica tells Michael and Willow, up until now, their choices were made based on how to protect Wiley from Nelle. Now Nelle is gone, and they can make choices that are best for the two of them, and their marriage. Her phone rings, and she says, it’s Tracy, and excuses herself. Willow looks at her ring, and Michael says, that couldn’t have been more awkward. Willow says, even his grandmother noticed what’s going on between them. They have to figure this out. Now that Nelle is gone, where does that leave them?

Amy doesn’t understand why she’d be singing in Brook’s place, and Brook says Nelle’s attack damaged her vocal chords. It’s too soon for her to be singing. Amy says she’ll be able to eventually, but Brook says they don’t know. Amy says she’s so sorry, and Brook say she’s hopeful she can have corrective surgery, or her vocal chords heal on their own, but for now, no singing. It’s not the end of the world except… Amy says, Deception. Brook is supposed to be their voice. Brook says, it’s killing her; she’s supposed to be independent. Amy asks how she’ll be independent if someone is singing in her place, but Brook says, she means independent from her family. Since she can’t sing, and Amy has a beautiful voice… It’s just one song for the promotional campaign, and that will be the end of it. Amy says, just this one time? and Brook says, so she’ll do it? Amy says, she’s sorry, but no.    

Ned says Olivia doesn’t need to explain. Clearly he jumped to the wrong conclusion. She says she can see why he’d jump to it. There’s been a lot of friction, and he was super clear about not wanting her to go off to find Dante. She went anyway, and there she was on the other side of the world with superspy Robert Scorpio, who she’s always adored. She sees how it looked all kinds of sketchy to him, but she could have sworn he knew how much she loved him. She could never be unfaithful, any more than he could be unfaithful to her.

Chase calls Jackie mom and asks what she’s doing there. She says she came to see how her baby boy is doing, and he asks if she could really tear herself away from a story to do it. She says she would in a heartbeat, but admits the trip dovetailed with a potential story. Robert says she went out and made herself a family. Chase says she knows Robert? and Robert says they dated. Jackie says, it was long before Chase was born, before she met his father. Anna looks at Finn and says, Jackie is his… Finn says, stepmother. Anna is like, wow.

Britt says she almost didn’t recognize Jason without him interrogating her. Cyrus is Chairman of the Board, but she runs the hospital, not him. Jason says, so it was her decision to fire the best people, and she asks if he minored in management consulting at murder school. Did he pick up the finer points of human resources while burying bodies in the salt marshes? He says, they’re in Jersey. There are no salt marshes in Port Charles. She says, it’s just a figure of speech, and she doesn’t need him to mansplain euphemisms, any more than she needs him to mansplain how she should do her job. What is he doing there anyway? Epiphany says he has to schedule a follow-up with Dr. Robinson; he was in a motorcycle accident. She tells Jason that she’ll get him signed in, but Jason says Britt can do his exam. Epiphany reminds him that Britt is an OB, but he says he doesn’t need a diagnosis, just an all-clear. It shouldn’t be an issue, but he wouldn’t want to question authority

Ned says Olivia could have been killed, but she says she was fine. The important thing is, Robert and Ethan know what happened to Holly. He says he owes Robert an apology for thinking the worst while he was suffering a loss of his own. Olivia says Robert is in pain, and she hopes he found some closure with Holly, like she found with Dante. Ned says he’s sorry Dante wouldn’t see her. She says Ned was right; her son doesn’t want her. She was stupid to run off, thinking she could fix everything. Ned says he should have understood, and if this visit helped her find acceptance, he’s glad she went. He just feels like a jerk, and wouldn’t listen when she told him what she needed. Olivia says, the truth is, they had their share of problems before she skipped town with Robert. She just hopes they can make this work. They can do that, right? He says, that depends, and she says, on what? He says, on if she can ever forgive him.

Amy says it’s not that she doesn’t want to help, and Brook says she knows it’s a lot, but Amy says when Brook said just once, she was transported back to when she said that to a friend of hers. She said those words to Nathan when she got him mixed up in Ask Man Landers. Brook says she heard about that, and Amy say it came out that she was secretly writing the advice column. When the book was about to come out, and it was discovered she’d written it, the literary agent had a fit. They lost orders, and were going to sue for fraud; it was a mess. It only worked because of her brother. Brook says, all’s well that ends well, and Amy says if she could go back, she’d never lie. You think it will solve a problem, but it just makes a bigger problem.

Sasha says Valentin is right. She’s mad at herself for trashing the best thing she ever had. He says he’s in no place to judge after the mess he made of his personal life, and she says she didn’t realize how much her life was folded into Michael’s. The texts, drinks after work, dinner; the things that come when from being a couple. They’re all gone, and she’s left feeling… He says, alone. She says she’s been alone before, but when you’ve had a full life around you, alone is more lonely. Valentin wishes he had some great wisdom to give her. His advice is, get some sleep, and throw herself into work tomorrow, the way he has with ELQ. It’s a small consolation, but it’s all they’ve got.

Finn says, it’s been a long time, and Jackie says, too long. Not for lack of trying on her and his father’s part. She calls him Hamilton, but he says, just Finn. She says he took his mother’s last name, and it broke his father’s heart. Anna tells Robert they should leave and let them catch up. Robert says, it’s just getting interesting, but Anna pulls him away. Chase asks if his dad is there, and Jackie says he thought about joining her, but he’s still managing his Lyme disease. He asks when she got in, and why she didn’t call? and she says, it was late. She figured he was hitting the town with his adorable girlfriend. She tells him to ask Willow to join them. She’d love to meet her in person.  

Willow tells Michael, don’t get her wrong. She likes the way things are right now; her, Wiley, and him. He says, so does he, and she says, but if she’s going to be Wiley’s mother, there can’t be ambiguity about what they are. In the beginning they were too heartbroken to imagine themselves being anything except Wiley’s parents. But so much has happened, it’s impossible to define if it’s a marriage of convenience or something more meaningful. They can’t stay in this in-between. He asks if she’s saying she wants a divorce.

At the bar, Robert says, Jackie is Finn’s stepmother? and Anna says she knew he had a stepmother and her name was Jackie, but she didn’t know she was Robert’s Jackie. Finn was short on details, and she didn’t press him about anything. He says, sounds healthy, and she says respecting the boundaries of your significant other is healthy; not that he would know. He laughs, and says she knows as much about Finn’s background as Finn probably knows about hers. She says if he wants to turn it into a conflict this late in the game, go for it, but leave her and Finn out of it. Finn’s situation is difficult enough as it is. He asks if she doesn’t want to know why, and she says, no. Why doesn’t he find out for her? She has other things to take care of.

Anna goes over to Valentin, who says he came as quickly as he could. It sounds like she has a plan to deal with her sister, but this isn’t the best venue to discuss it. She tells him, don’t worry about Robert. It’s the first time he isn’t fixated on Peter or Alex. He says she needs an update. She was wise to skip the meeting. He followed up, and sent a trusted associate to Berlin. She asks if he found out anything, and he says her sister wants her dead.

Amy says, sorry, and Brook says, don’t be. It’s probably a terrible idea. She’s sorry she never looked Amy up when she got back to town. She completely forgot about the duet; it was an awesome performance. Amy says she’ll see Brook around. Monica comes in, and says, it looks like someone is having a rough time. Brook asks if Monica is meeting someone, and Monica says she was looking for Brook. Brook asks, what for? How did Monica find her? Who died? Monica says, nobody died. She heard from Brook’s grandmother, and she’s worried about Brook. Brook says Grandma Gloria called her? and Monica says, no; her other grandmother. Brook says, Tracy is worried about her? and Monica says, yes. Brook says, so she sicced Monica on her. Why? Monica says Tracy thinks it’s time Brook forgave her father, and moved back to the house where she belongs.

Ned asks Olivia to forgive him for doubting her. He should have known she’d be faithful. He’s so sorry. She should be furious with him. Olivia says, it hurts a little, but it’s not like it happened in a vacuum. Her running off to see Dante is one thing; adding another leg to the trip, and not telling him where or why, is another. She’s so sorry. He says, stop; just stop.

Willow tells Michael that she doesn’t know. A divorce is one way to simplify the situation, for Wiley, and for them. It would give them time to get clarity about what they are to each other. He asks if she wants to go back to the way things were before, but she says, that’s not possible. She can’t pretend Chase didn’t betray her, any more than he can pretend Sasha didn’t betray him. But one day, they might want to open their hearts again – she flashes back to Michael kissing her – to someone else, but how can that work if they’re still married? How is any of it fair to Wiley? He says, so she’s saying adopting Wiley is contingent on getting a divorce?

Chase tells Jackie, he and Willow… Finn says, they’re going to connect later. Tonight is a brother thing. Jackie says with his fiancé? and Finn says, they’re parting ways. Chase says, plans change. Join them. Jackie says they clearly have other ideas for tonight. She’ll touch base with Chase tomorrow. She’s not leaving any time soon. Finn asks if she’s there indefinitely, and she says she’s on assignment. She’s not leaving until she has her story. Indefinitely sounds about right.

Outside the examining room, Epiphany asks if Jason minds telling her what this is all about. He says Cyrus hired Britt because he thinks she can do his bidding, and Epiphany says, or at least look the other way while he uses the hospital for his own purposes. He says he needs to find out if Britt is who Cyrus thinks she is. Britt calls to Jason that she’s ready for him. Epiphany says she hopes he knows what he’s doing, and he goes in. He asks where Britt wants him, and she says he’s fine where he is. She turns around with a huge needle in her hand, and says, drop trou. It shouldn’t hurt one bit.

Monica says she and Tracy are both concerned about Brook, and so is her father. Brook tells her, so he says, but she has her doubts. Monica asks if she’s comfortable letting things stay the way they are, but Brook says she can’t pretend the blow-up didn’t happen. She hurt her family because she made a mistake, and her father hurt her because he meant to. How is she supposed to move past that? Monica says, proximity. The more they have to be face to face in the house the more likely they are to forgive. Brook says, or they’ll dig in their heels, and it will be a cage match with the whole family watching. Monica says, there she is, performing again already. And the audience is growing. Willow agreed to adopt Wiley. She and Michael are going to be living together for quite a while.

Willow tells Michael, the only reason they’re having this conversation is, they haven’t thought it out that far. Nothing is conditional on anything. She wants to be Wiley’s mother, no matter what happens with them. He says he wants that too. He supposes there’s no rush. Wiley isn’t old enough to wonder about the nature of their marriage. She says, they can take their time, talk it through, and figure out what they mean to each other. Michael says he’s not ready to decide about divorce, and she says neither is she.

Chase asks about Jackie’s wrist, which has a brace on it, and she says, it’s nothing; she was working on a story. She’ll call him tomorrow. She says she loves him, and he says he loves her too. She and Finn nod at each other. When she’s gone, Chase asks if Finn really had to blow her off like that. Finn says, the way Chase blew off her questions about Willow? He’s welcome for the save. Chase realizes he’ll have to tell her the truth, and Finn says tell her it didn’t work out. Chase says, it’s not precise, and when has Finn known his mother not to chase down a lead? Finn says if Chase needs someone to run interference when he tells her, he’s there for him. Chase says Finn can hardly be in the same room as Jackie, but Finn says, it’s he least he can do as best man.   

Jackie finds Robert at the bar, and he says she hasn’t lost her edge, but she used to be a better liar. He doesn’t buy for one second that she didn’t come back for decades, and didn’t look into what happened to him. She says he’s got her; a man like him leaves an impression… like tire tracks. He says he’s sorry for what happened years ago. He’s sorry for hurting her. She says, water under the bridge, but it means a lot to hear him say that. She read about Holly’s passing, and for what it’s worth, she’s sorry. He says he believes her.  

Valentin tells Anna, it was an ambush. As they suspected, it was a set-up; a deadly one. She asks about his associate, and he says, he survived, barely. She wouldn’t have been so lucky. Anna says they knew it was set up, but she didn’t think her sister is so desperate that she’d try to kill her. He says, they’ve established her life is in danger, now fill him in. Alex has been giving her grief for years. Why now does she suddenly want Anna dead?

Britt says when Jason saw the needle, she had him going for a minute. He says he’s seen worse, and she says they don’t call him Stone Cold for nothing. He says, only Spinelli calls him that, and not so much anymore. She says, lucky him. She has a plethora of nicknames. The Britch – that’s her favorite – The Wicked Witch of the Westbourne. That reminds her. Epiphany is due for bedpan duty. He asks if she’s really this vindictive, and she says, tell her. She’s sure anyone in this town will give him a run-down on her. He tells her, he likes to form his own opinion. She asks how that’s working out, and he says, too soon to say.

Britt says, that’s refreshing. A jury is usually quick to come back with a verdict on her. He says she’s not an easy read; she’s full of contradictions. She asks if that’s a compliment, and he says, it’s a fact. She did some horrible things to Lulu and Patrick, but when she was tracked down, she did ask about Rocco. Spencer likes her, which carries weight with Sonny. She says, but not with him. He tells her, she said she wanted to get out from under her father Faison’s crimes, so why is she working for Cyrus? She says she doesn’t know, and wonders how a guy who’s able to get away with so many crimes hops on a motorcycle without wearing a helmet. She’s not the only one full of contradictions. He’s free to go, but if he wants to keep riding his deathmobile, he should sign up to be an organ donor. She sees Epiphany in the hallway, and says, back to work. Jason comes out, and Epiphany says Britt left him alive, so there’s that. He says he needs a favor, and she says she’s always doing him a favor. He tells her, step lightly around Britt for now. She might be the key in taking Cyrus down.

Brook tells Monica, she needs to prove she’s her own person, and stand on her own two feet. Monica says, by being the voice of Deception. She hates seeing Brook and Ned at odds, but understands Brook’s need to prove herself. Just know if there’s anything she needs, Monica is there for her. Brook says, that means a lot. Monica says she has to run, and leaves. Amy comes back, and tells Brook that she’s changed her mind. She wants to help Brook be the voice of Deception.

Ned says he messed up as much as Olivia, and handled it worse. Can this just be a rough patch; a fork in the road? Olivia says, people want to believe marriage is perfect, that life is perfect, everyone is in sync and in love, but that’s bull. It’s not the way life is. Life is messy; people are messy and complicated. They don’t always handle things the best way. She didn’t, but that doesn’t mean she loves him any less. She wants this to work. He says, it’s done. No one needs to forgive anything. All that matters is the future, and that they have and love each other. Olivia says, it’s everything. They hug, and he repeats, it’s everything

Willow says, nothing needs to change just yet, and Michael says, good. Honestly, all he can think about is his grandfather’s funeral tomorrow. He’s grateful that she’ll be next to him. She takes his hands, and says she wouldn’t be anywhere else.

Sasha comes out of Charlie’s, and looks at a her coke score.  

Chase gets a text from Sasha. It’s official. Willow is adopting Wiley. No going back now. Chase tells Finn that Willow is adopting Wiley. He’ll never be able to tell her the truth. Finn says he doesn’t know that. He can still try. Doesn’t she at least deserve to know the truth? Chase says, it will only cause more pain. It’s time to talk about the bachelor party.   

Jackie tells Robert, here’s to burying the hatchet while they’re still alive to do the digging. They clink glasses.

Anna tells Valentin, she can’t say why her sister does anything, and Valentin says, she can’t or won’t? She doesn’t trust him and the truth won’t work without full disclosure. She tells him, feel free to walk away, but he says he couldn’t if he wanted to. He doesn’t know what the hold is she has on him, but he couldn’t stand it if something happened to her, especially at the hands of her sister. How does she want to handle it? Anna says, if Alex is prepared to kill her, she’s probably capable of doing anything. They have to bring her to justice on their terms, and on their turf. They need to lure Alex to Port Charles.

Tomorrow, Mike’s funeral.

🍊 Tonight, Bravo gave us the first Housewives episode ever – The Real Housewives of Orange County. Also from the first season, Lauri Peterson, along with daughter Ashley, and Jo De La Rosa, watched with us remotely. Jeana! Slade! Kimberly! (Who I remember not at all.) Vicki and Don! Sky tops! It was the rebirth of television unfolding before our eyes. The highlight was Jo seeing herself dancing around, trying on clothes, then meeting Slade, wearing a pink boa and a zebra hat. She wondered what in the actual hell was she thinking. This was followed by RHOC: How They Got Here 2020, so all-in-all, it was a nice trip down Memory Lane.

🛥 Below Deck (the original) will begin a new season on November 2^nd. Eddie is back as bosun, and hopefully Captain Lee can wash he bad taste of the Med out of my mouth.

🎱 Magic Eightball Says No…

The latest in the saga of Kyle’s ring. These women never learn that they’re on TV and we’re all hearing what they say.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/28/diana-french-woman-accused-of-stealing-kyle-richards-ring-speaks-out/

🎸 Remembering Eddie…

Rocking it out with Paul.

https://news.avclub.com/watch-paul-shaffer-have-the-time-of-his-life-rocking-ou-1845299904

🐪 Over the Hump…

I made it halfway through the week. And so did you. Congratulations! More tea to come, but until the kettle whistles, stay safe, stay peaceful, and stay always forming your own opinion.