Monthly Archives: October 2020

October 7, 2020 – Finn Gets a Surprise, Remembering the OC, the Stud Of the Sea Is On His Way, No Ring For You, Some Friendly Rocking & Thursday

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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 2nd. 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.

October 6, 2020 – Ava Visits Ryan, a New Jackie, Benny Runs Into Derrick & a Farewell

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly apologizes to Michael and Willow for being late, but Michael says it’s understandable with everything she’s had to deal with. Willow says they know she’s there to make sure Wiley is okay, and Carly says, at a time like this, family is all that matters.

Obrecht asks Dr. Kirk (who apparently has no last name, but I did find out he’s in The Madalorian) if the patient is on the way. Kirk says, Dante is on his way to Port Charles, and is ready to do what needs to be done. She says, as the son goes, so goes the mutter.

Anna and Finn sit in the MetroCourt dining room, planning their wedding. Finn says, 230 people? She’s got be kidding. She says she wishes she was. She doesn’t see how their small, simple ceremony blossomed into the royal wedding. He says they’ll have to look for people to cut, but she says she has to expand the list by two more; his father and stepmother.

On the phone, Lulu asks if they can go on record with their concerns. If others speak up, someone can call attention to what Cyrus is doing. She says, hello? and realizes they hung up. She says, it’s like pulling teeth to get any traction for this story. A woman comes in, and says, it sounds like she came to the right place. Lulu thanks her for coming, and says she’s heard so much about her.

Olivia leaves a message for Ned, saying, it’s getting late; call her. Monica comes in, and asks how Dante is. Olivia says, long story. She’s been trying to get Ned for hours, and she’s getting worried.

At Alexis’s place, clothes are everywhere all over the living room. Alexis stands there in a robe, and says, why did she do that? She flashes back to ordering a double vodka, and Ned comes downstairs looking puny. He asks if she has any aspirin for what feels like the worst hangover of his life. She says, he is real. She was hoping it was a bad dream. He says, try nightmare.

Brook sits at Charlie’s, and Julian says, hi, stranger. He hasn’t seen her in a while; how has she been? She says, getting better, no thanks to his wife. He does remember that Nelle slashed her throat. He says he had no idea how desperate and violent Nelle was. He asks if she knows Nelle’s body was found. (In case you didn’t know, it was on the Pennsylvania side of the river. 🍷) That must give her some comfort. Nelle will never hurt her again. She says, or him, and he asks what she’s talking about. She says she knows he didn’t marry Nelle for her money or looks. What did she have on him? Did she know about his involvement with Brad and the baby switch? He tells her not to stick her nose in where it doesn’t belong. Nikolas comes in, and asks if that’s any way to talk to a lady.   

Ryan tells Ava, say something. She knows how he longs to hear her velvety tones in his ear every night. It’s been almost a year. She doesn’t write; she doesn’t call. People will start to think maybe she doesn’t care. She says he made it sound urgent. Here she is. Tell her what he wants. He says, what he always wants. Only what’s best for her.

Ned tells Alexis, he knows he drank too much scotch. Was she…? She says she wasn’t, and he says he never should have taken advantage of her grief over Neil. She thinks he should worry less about her, and more about the wife he cheated on.

Olivia tells Monica, she doesn’t know where Ned is, but he’s made himself scarce. Monica says he hasn’t answered his phone, and Olivia says, no. She’s imagining horrible reasons why, but he’s probably just ignoring her. Monica is puzzled, and Olivia says they live in the same house. Monica must have noticed she and Ned have been scratchy with each other. Running off with Robert didn’t help, when Ned needed her to help with Brook. But when she needed help with Dante, Ned was too busy with the business. They’re not able to take care of themselves and each other at the same time.

Anna says Finn should be building a bridge between him and his father. It’s a great way to start. Finn wonders if that’s the criteria for the guest list. Maybe they should invite everyone they need to build bridges with. They can start with Alex.

Obrecht tells Kirk, she’s going to expose Henrik, and tear down the family root and branches. They’re all responsible for her false imprisonment. He says she never told him the family was to be targeted, and she asks if he would have been less inclined to help. He says, perhaps, and she says, then she told him what he needed to know. He doesn’t think the family should pay, since they’re innocent, and she says, it’s true, Peter alone framed her, but Anna’s support gave his accusations weight. Otherwise, the Bureau wouldn’t have been so quick to believe Peter’s lies. She must bring the mother and son to justice for her freedom. He says, Peter, yes, but he draws the line at anyone else.  

Julian tells Brook, despite what she thinks, he has her back. As her friend, he advises her to be careful about the company she keeps. He leaves, and Brook tells Nikolas, not many people can say this, but sometimes it’s nice when a real life prince shows up. He says if she needs anything to help her recover, let him know. She says, there are some things even a prince can’t fix. He says he knows she doesn’t want to move back home, but does she need a place to stay? She says she’s in agreement with Julian on one point; Windymere creeps her out. She has a place to crash, but she’s looking for a place of her own. Nikolas says a place his own sounds nice, and she says, that’s a funny thing for a newlywed to say.

Ryan says he knows Ava is a busy women. He almost called her on Kiki’s birthday, but he didn’t know if she’d take his call. She slams her hand against the glass, and says, keep her daughter’s name out of his filthy mouth. The guard asks if everything is okay, and Ryan says it is. He tells Ava, take it easy. Even though he’s been behind bars, he still follows her journey. He knows about her wedding at Windymere to a Cassadine. He’s disappointed in her. She says Nikolas is ten times the man Ryan will ever be. He has two hands, and knows how to use them. Ryan laughs, and says, yeah, right. They both know when she’s in Nikolas’s arms and the earth moves, she’s thinking of him. She says if that’s what he needs to keep him warm in his cell, whatever. Cut to the chase. Unlike him, she doesn’t have all night. Ryan says he’s come into some information he finds would be of great interest to her and someone she loves.

Alexis says she’s supposed to be Olivia’s friend, but Ned is the only one who exchanged vows with her. Olivia loves him. He wonders, if that’s true, why she would sneak off with another man when he needed her. Alexis says he is not using that to justify what he did. The truth is, he doesn’t know what Olivia and Robert were doing in Monte Carlo, and owes it to himself to get answers.

Lulu tells the woman, it’s an honor. She’s been a fan of her reporting for a long time. She can’t begin to say how grateful she is. The woman says she made the sale. Lulu’s story pitch caught her attention; a drug trafficker swooping in to take over a local hospital. She commends Peter for turning the newspaper around from gossip to real news. He’s done remarkable things. Lulu says Peter had an editorial emergency, and can’t be there; he’s sorry. The woman says, she’s not. It’s best to leave the actual reporting to the journalists. They’ve got to protect their bylines. Lulu says the woman’s work at The Globe is legendary. When she asked her father… The woman says she’s sure Luke had something to say about her, and Lulu says, nothing on record. She knows they go back a long way. The woman says, longer than she remembers.   

Anna asks if Finn is actually comparing his father to her sister. Alex is guilty of treason, while his father is guilty of an abbreviated mourning period. He says, sorry; it was a cheap shot. Anna has been working hard to keep Alex from blowing up her and Peter’s lives. She says Alex was obviously baiting her with Berlin. It wouldn’t have been right to play into her hands, but working on it. In the meantime, the wedding needs more work. Violet suggested Maxie as an additional bridesmaid, and Finn says he was thinking of asking Peter to be a groomsman, but didn’t want to step on any toes. She says, there’s plenty of time for that on the dance floor. Why would she object? He says he thought she should be in on the decision. The more she lets Peter into her life, the more negative reactions she could get from some of the people around her. She sees Robert headed their way, and says, case in point.

Amy comes into Charlie’s and sits with Brook. She says she was hoping to run in to a friend. Does Brook have a minute? It won’t take long. She was at the bar down the block, and was hit on by a total sleaze. She’s in need of a friend to vent. Nikolas says he’ll let them reminisce. Brook says he doesn’t have to go, but he’s already gone. 

Julian looks at Nelle’s letter again, and Nikolas asks if the Board of Health is shutting him down. Julian says he’s busy. What does Nikolas want? He says he wants his wife. Where is she? 

Ava says Ryan lives in prison. The notion that he has something of value to give her is absurd. She picks up her purse, and he asks if she doesn’t want to know which person he’s referring to. She puts her purse down, and asks, who is it? What does he know? He says, her brother and the baby he knew belonged to Michael.

Michael tells Carly that he asked Willow if she would consider adopting Wiley. Carly asks if she is, and Willow says she’s considering it. Michael says he’d spoken to Diane, and Nelle still had legal rights as a mother, but now that she’s gone, it’s just about Wiley and what’s best for him. Michael’s phone rings, and he says he has to take it. It’s the surgeon doing Wiley’s next heart surgery. Carly says it will give her and Willow a chance to talk. Michael leaves, and Carly asks if Willow is just thinking about adopting Wiley, or has she made up her mind?

Obrecht says Kirk agreed to help secure her release and clear her name, but he says, taking anyone else down is going too far. She says Anna was vindictive, and sabotaged any attempt to exonerate her. Anna has convinced herself that her son is a good man. Obrecht doubts the WSB would have agreed without Anna’s support. She began her career as a double agent. Kirk says, that was a lifetime ago. Anna has a clean slate; she’s changed her ways. Obrecht says, has she? Anna thinks nothing of protecting her murderous son, who framed her, and turned Britt against her. Her own daughter. Peter absconded with her, as he did Franco, Nina, and Maxie. Her sweet grandson James is growing up without his oma. She’s been wrongfully condemned and incarcerated, without her good name, and without an ounce of love. She cries a little, and Kirk says, that’s not true. She does have love – his. She says, then help her. Help her defeat Anna and her son. Then she’ll know how devoted he is.

Robert sits with Anna, and she says she was getting worried. Holly’s memorial was a few days ago. He says, Holly survived the accident. She was being held captive, but he got there too late to do anything, and she’s gone now for real. Anna says she doesn’t understand; that’s awful. Finn says he’s sorry, and Robert says, at least he got closure, and the ones who did it are in custody. He owes it to Anna. She set his head on straight so he could see through the fog. Anna says he would have done the same for her, and he says he would. In fact, he’s returning the favor. She has to see Peter for who he really is.

Amy says she’s sorry Brook didn’t perform at the Nurses Ball, but she got there early, and heard Brook rehearse. She was magnificent. What Nelle did, talk about cutting her act short. Sorry. Brook says, don’t worry about it, and Amy says, so give her the scoop. When are they going to hear Brook’s glorious voice again?

Nikolas tells Julian, he was dealing with his accountant, and by the time he got home, Ava was gone. He was hoping she came to see Julian. Julian says, the last time he saw Ava was at Windymere. Nikolas says, if Ava isn’t with him, she must be at Pentenville.

Ava says Ryan is making stuff up now. Her brother found out about the baby swap when everyone else did; when Brad confessed. Ryan says life in there is tedious, but the only thing he looks forward to more than her visits is mail call. She says he gets mail? He says he does. Not a lot, but in the last batch was a lovely handwritten letter from a friend, Nelle. Or should he refer to her by her married name, Mrs. Julian Jerome? The letter explains that Julian knew Wiley was really her and Michael’s child, and he didn’t tell anyone to save his own hide. Nelle said if anything happened to her, Julian was the likely culprit. Ava says, it’s simply not true. Julian had nothing to do with that roadkill’s death. Ryan says he couldn’t care less either way, but Nelle made it clear the contents of her letter should be relayed to Sonny. It seems she got the final revenge against Ava’s ne’er do well brother. Unless Ava thinks she can make him a better offer.

Ned tells Alexis, until he speaks to Olivia, keep it between them. She says she’s not going to be sharing. What happened tonight is… Ned says, tonight, and she says, yes. He says, excellent, and leaves.   

Willow tells Carly, she married Michael so he’d have a better chance of defeating Nelle. Now that Nelle is gone, she’s no longer a threat. Carly says Michael asked her to make the situation permanent. If she adopts Wiley, and makes it official that Wiley is her son, that means she and Michael will be tied together forever. Carly doesn’t see a problem, but of course (🍷) the problem is Willow and Michael.  

The woman tells Lulu, Port Charles holds a lot of memories for her, but she’s never been one for nostalgia. It’s a filter, an objectivity destroyer, and can make a good reporter quickly disappear. She suggests they get down to business, and Lulu asks if the woman has had a chance to look at what she sent. The woman says she has. Port Charles is up in arms. It’s heavy on theory, but light on everything else. All she found was a philanthropist. Why is she bothered by a man using his money to save a cherished hospital? Lulu says, the philanthropy is a front. Cyrus is a criminal. The woman says, the Police Commissioner publicly exonerated him, and Lulu says, just because he was framed, doesn’t mean he’s innocent. He’s planning something big, and most definitely illegal, and he’s using the hospital to do it. The woman asks if she has evidence, or just a hunch. Lulu says she has her father’s instincts. The woman knew him well. Isn’t that enough?

Anna says she’s sorry for Robert’s loss, but he’s not allowed to use his grief to harass Peter. Robert says, one thing he’s realized is, our time on earth is not guaranteed. We need to look out for the people we care about. He says he’s not mincing words now, and she wonders if he’s subtly been mincing words all this time. He says, Peter/Henrick is a real threat to their lives. Anna says she’s not listening to this argument again. She gets a call from Valentin, and steps away. Robert tells Finn that Anna isn’t listening to him; Finn has to get through. Peter August is as phony as his name. Henrik is a threat. Finn says, enough.

Brook tells Amy, according to her doctors, there’s no timetable. Any says it’s not their job to predict the future, and they all say that. She asks if Brook remembers when they were in chorus. Maybe next year, they can reunite at the Nurses Ball, and harmonize on You’re Not Alone. She starts to sing.

Ava wonders what Ryan is asking her, and he says if she wants his silence and to protect her brother, it comes at a price. What to ask for… What pressure… He’s got it. He thinks a weekly visit will do the trick. She says, no, but he says she’ll leave him no choice but to send the letter to Sonny. She says, all right; she’ll do it. They have a deal. He says she can’t show up and despise him. She has to share her innermost thoughts, hopes, and dreams, like she did when they would lie together in each other’s arms. What does she say? Is she with him? Nikolas walks in, and asks what she’s doing with this lunatic.

Willow tells Carly, when she and Michael agreed to marry, they knew it was just as friends. Carly asks if that’s changed, and Willow says, there have been moments. Maybe there will be more someday. Carly says, because of Wiley, and Willow says, and because of the kind of man Michael is. Carly tells her, relax. Don’t worry about creating the picture perfect family. Let their love for Wiley guide the way, and they’ll know what the right thing to do is. Michael comes in, and says they have an appointment for a consultation on Wiley’s surgery. He asks if everything is okay.

Ned rolls in the door, and Olivia throws her arms around him. She says he smells like a distillery. He asks how long she’s been home, and she asks if he didn’t get her messages. Where has he been?

Finn says, it never gets old. He gives Robert credit. He never misses an opportunity to hammer Anna about Peter.  Robert says, he’s not even Anna’s son, and he’s worked his way into the lives of Robin, Noah, and Emma. And he got Maxie pregnant. Finn says, they couldn’t be happier, and Robert says, what about Violet? After Finn and Anna are married, Peter will be part of the package. Is Finn going to keep looking the other way to keep Anna happy? 

On the phone, Anna says, if she wants to protect Peter and Maxie, she has to get Alex to play the game, not the other way around. Is he in?… Good. She thinks they may be able to breathe easier once her sister is dealt with.   

Kirk says he’s loved Obrecht since he first laid eyes on her in Steinmaur. She says she remembers the cultured masculinity he exuded when he stole into her cell. He was a ray of sunlight in her bleak and grey existence. When he arranged for his personal care and her transfer, how could she not be grateful? He says he returns her feelings, and she says she wishes it could be different, but if they act on their feelings, the scandal alone could destroy him. Violating the doctor/patient relationship will leave him disgraced, if not destroy his career. It’s regrettable they can’t truly be together until she’s free, and Anna and Peter are vanquished. Kirk says he’ll do what must be done.   

Sitting at the bar, Amy hums. Brook says, only she is alone. Julian comes by, and asks if she’s had any luck finding an apartment. She asks if he remembers the night they met. He thought she was a hooker. He says he was working on a business deal, and she told him to think about changing the parameters of the deal. He asks her, what’s up? and she says she thinks she should take her own advice. She looks at Amy. Are they going to go Singing in the Rain with this? Is Amy going to be the voice behind the woman?

Ava doesn’t know why Nikolas barged in, but he interrupted a conversation. He says he doesn’t care; he’s getting her out. She says, that’s not how marriage works. This has nothing to do with him. Nikolas says when his wife is face to face with a sadistic killer, it has everything to do with him. Ryan knocks on the glass with the phone. He talks into the phone, telling Ava, maybe he was wrong. A husband with passion and feeling. Is it possible? Could it be true Ava is in love with Nikolas too?

Brook approaches Amy, who says she got the feeling Brook wanted to be alone. Brook says she couldn’t be more wrong. She’s thinking there is something Amy could do for her.  

Alexis takes a bottle of vodka out of a paper bag. She pours a good three fingers into a glass, and drinks.   

Ned tells Olivia, he wasn’t the one who left the country. She vanished off the radar. She says she left him messages; didn’t he get them? He says all he knows is that she left her phone at a hotel in Monte Carlo. Olivia says, so the hotel reached out? So he knows. He says he knows she and Robert slept together.

Carly tells Michael, it’s getting late, and he and Willow have a lot to discuss. She’ll let Willow fill him in, while she takes a peek at Wiley. She promises not to wake him up. She leaves, and Michael asks if Willow is okay. She says his mom was great. She helped Willow see more clearly. Michael asks, in what way? and she says, Wiley needs both of them. So she’s in. Let’s make this happen. She’s decided to adopt Wiley.

Finn tells Robert, don’t worry about his daughter. He’ll never let anything happen to her. He has to trust Anna to do what’s best for his family. Hasn’t she proven that time and again? Robert says, she has, but he knows better than Finn that she has a blind spot. Finn says they do agree on one thing – life is short. He sees that every day. Robert may want to ask himself, would Holly want him to waste what’s left by dying on this hill?

Kirk says he needs to pack, and Obrecht says, the weather is notoriously unpredictable there this time of year. He says he doesn’t want to leave, but she says, it’s the only way. Dante needs guidance, and his strong hand will stay the task. He says, that’s what the drugs he’s prescribed are for, but she says she knows better than he does, it’s best not to leave the strong-willed to their own devices. He asks what she’ll do while he’s gone, and she says, count the days until she proves her innocence and Peter’s guilt. She says she’ll miss him, and he says, his Liesl. He leaves, and she says, schwein.

The woman says Lulu’s pitch was impressive enough to convince her to stay and help with the story. She has some other things to attend to in Port Charles, and it will give  them time to nose around together, and see if they can turn up some real evidence against Cyrus. Lulu apologizes, saying she has to take off. She has a deadline on another story she has to get to. The woman says, there’s nothing more stressful than a missed deadline. As they walk to the elevator, Lulu says call if she needs a tour guide. You’ll find the city has changed quite a bit, Miss Templeton. The woman says she’ll find her way around, and call her… Robert says, Jackie?  Needless to say, or maybe not, she’s no longer being played by Demi Moore (see below).

Ava tells Ryan, her personal life is off limits, but he disagrees. He says, going forward, nothing is off limits. Nikolas tells her, let’s go, but she says there’s bullet proof glass between them. Just give her another minute. He says, as she wishes, and leaves. Ryan says, true love. That changes things. Ava says she agreed to visit. What more does he want? He says, spending time together is meaningless if she’s legally and emotionally tied to someone else. If she wants the letter, and to spare her brother’s life, she’s going to divorce her husband.

Just a thought, but Ava could easily say she’s trying to trick Nikolas out of his money, and I’m sure Ryan would get that on a sociopathic mercenary level.

Tomorrow, Olivia asks if Ned doesn’t know her any better than that, Amy says it’s going to be so fun, Michael tells Willow there are some issues they need to clarify, and Jason says it shouldn’t be an issue for Britt.

🕶 Jackie, Oh…

Back in the day, she was Jenny on AMC.

The Haves and The Have Nots

Veronica tells Benny, calm down. He asks if she’s telling him the truth, and she asks when he’s known Veronica to lie, talking weirdly about herself in the third person. He asks, who is he? and she tells him, come over. He says he’s not playing games, and she asks when he’s known Veronica to play games. She says, Derrick has a record as long as Benny’s penis. She looked at his records, and it all started to make sense; she put it together. Come to her house. He asks why everything has to be such an effort with her, and she says she’s the queen; she requires maintenance. He tells her give him the address, but she says then she’ll have to get him out of jail. Come over. He says he’s on the way, and she tells him, stay angry. It turns her on so much.

Benny tells the realtor, Rianna (the old Valerie Spencer from General Hospital!) that he has to go. He asks if she’s sure she’s okay, and she asks if he found anything. He says he did, but he has to come back. Good thing, since her phone keeps ringing. She says, it’s all good, and asks if he’s okay. He says, something just came up, and she says she understands. Call her when he’s ready. He says he’ll call tomorrow, and leaves. She tosses her phone on the desk.

Kathryn tells Chief Shepherd that she’s going to go nuts in her cell. He says he hopes not, and she asks why the hell she’s been in there all day, with no phone call to her attorney, and no update on her son? He says, as soon as he gets one, he’ll let her know. She says, if he thinks he’s going to deliver her son to the Malones… and Shepherd says, no way; he escaped. Kathryn asks, how? and he says Wyatt is a clever kid. Kathryn says, not that clever, and Shepherd says, he got away. She says she needs to talk to her husband, and he says he’ll get the call in right now. She thanks him, and then says, he’s toying with her, isn’t he? He says, lady, you’re in jail. She says she may be in jail, but she’s still… He finishes, Kathryn Cryer. He knows. He says, hey everybody, what’s her name? and all the inmates say, Kathryn Cryer, so unenthusiastically, I laugh. Kathryn says this is some kind joke to him, and he says, no. This is serious. As serious as murdering the DA. She says she didn’t do that, and he says, no one in there did. She insists she didn’t, and he says, okay, who did? She tells him, Veronica Harrington, and he asks if she has proof. She says, let her call her lawyer, and she’ll give him all the proof he needs. He says, nice try, and she says, so that’s it? He tells her, George says she’s the only one, but Kathryn says she’s telling the truth. Shepherd says, the process takes a long time. She could tell him something. Or she might be in there a month. The wheel of court justice moves slowly. Brace herself. She says she wants to call her lawyer, and he says she should have given Mama Rose the money. He walks away, and she says, if anything happens to her son…

Veronica’s doorbell  rings, and she calls to Laura. Realizing she sent Laura on an errand, she looks out. She goes onto the second floor deck, and tells Samuel, there’s someone at her door, and asks if he can get it. Her cameras are broken. He tells her that he’ll get it, and she goes to her closet and gets her gun. Samuel opens the door to Celine, who says she’s there to see Veronica. Veronica tells her to come in, and thanks Samuel. He goes back to work, and Veronica says she wasn’t expecting Celine. Celine says she got an eviction notice, and her rent needs to be paid in three days. Veronica asks, how much? and Celine says, $1200. Veronica says, she doesn’t have $1200? and Celine says she wouldn’t be there if she did. Veronica says she’s not paying it for Celine, but Celine says she didn’t come there to ask for money. Veronica says she doesn’t do sexual favors for clients – female clients – either. Celine looks unamused, and Veronica tells her, calm down. She’ll go to the judge and get it. Celine says, she can do that? and she says she’s Veronica Harrington. Celine says another $200 bill is also due, and Veronica says, she’s pathetic. Celine says she doesn’t need to be insulted, and Veronica says, then bye. She’s not wasting her time going before a judge to get $1500. She’s going to get $50K. He left Celine broke and destitute. She can’t pay for her kids. Veronica will get it for her. She tells Celine to go home and wait for her phone call. She’ll have the money within a day. She adds that she was going to tell Celine to try and look bad for the judge, but she has it covered. But don’t look this bad. It looks like they’re trying too hard. Really Celine just looks normal. It’s not like she showed up in rags. Celine leaves, and Veronica goes into the kitchen. She finds Sam getting some water, and she asks how handy he is with electronics. He says, pretty handy, and she says, there’s a camera out front; can he fix it? He says he can, but has a buddy who’s good at it. She tells him to try, and if he can’t, call his buddy. He says he’ll go around outside, since he’s covered in sweat, but she says she loves it. She knows he loves his wife, he doesn’t cheat, and he’s happily married. She’s not flirting, but she loves covered in sweat. She grabs his hand, pulls him toward the living room, and giggles.

At the Cryer house, Hanna goes over the books with a calculator. Her phone rings, and it’s the accountant Al. She says she has questions, maybe too many. She’s been going over the paperwork, and doing online research, but oh my God. He says he gets it, and she asks if it’s possible for them to meet. He says he’s taking a break soon. She can come by his office or he’ll come to her. She asks if he really doesn’t mind coming there. She has all the documents there. He tells her to text him the address, and he’ll text her when he’s on his way. She asks how much he charges, and he tells her, no charge. He’s helping an old pastor. She asks if he goes to her church, and he says he does. She’s sorry they haven’t met, and he says he’s in accounting; he’s more comfortable around spreadsheets. She asks again how much he charges, and he tells her, some coffee. She says, that she can do, and he says he’ll see her soon.

Benny knocks on Veronica’s door. When she answers, he says, where is it? She asks if she gets a hello, and he says, hello; where is it? She says, no kiss? and he says he’s not playing games. She says, Veronica doesn’t play games, talking that weird way again. He tells her to give him what she’s got, and she asks what he’s giving her. This is a negotiation. He says the dude raped his mother, and she says she doesn’t care nothing about his momma. He tells her, go to hell. Just give him the damn information. She says she changed her mind. She doesn’t like way he’s talking to her. Benny heads for the door, but she says he’ll be back. He says, don’t count on it, and she says, what Derrick did to his mother was not good; it was very bad. He says, dammit, and she hands him the folder. He looks through it, and she says she found the police report Hanna filed. His mother was very pretty, but the years haven’t been kind. She’s aged so much, it looks like she’s been using her face for feet. Veronica laughs, and Benny asks if she thinks it’s funny, but she says, no; she doesn’t. I do. This is the second time Veronica has thrown massive shade at a woman who looks just fine. Benny asks where the address is, and Veronica says Derrick was never arrested for the rape. There was an armed robbery two blocks away, and he was charged with that. Why doesn’t Benny ask his mammy? Benny tells her not to call his mother that, and Veronica says Hanna is the one who’s the maid. He asks if he can have the address, and she says he hasn’t done anything for her yet. She knows he misses it. He laughs, and says she’s sick. She says he can’t take a mammy joke? He walks out, and she says, his mama is so stupid, she thought a quarterback was a refund. BA-DUM-CHH! She says, he’ll be back.   

Tanner sits with Justin at Justin’s apartment. He says he’s sorry he hit Justin, but Justin says, it’s okay. Tanner says Justin is pretty banged up, and Justin says, it’s a long story. It’s going to make Tanner mad. Tanner ask if he hit Justin, nodding at the pictures of Jeffrey, but Justin says, no. Tanner says, then who? and Justin says he pissed off the wrong people. Tanner tells Justin to promise he’s not doing this anymore, and Justin does. He says he has to thank Tanner. Tanner always kept him out of trouble. He’s a great big brother. Tanner says, thanks. He’ll check on Justin tomorrow. Justin says he’s going to fix this. Don’t worry. He’s going to fix all of this. Tanner says he knows. He’s got faith in Justin. He leaves, and Justin looks at pictures of Jeffrey on the wall.

David visits Jim at the hospital, and tells Jim that he went by the bar. The car was there, but Wyatt was nowhere to be found. Maybe he dumped the car. Jim says, or maybe he sold it. Was there anybody there to talk to him? David says, that young one, Sandy, and Jim says, he’s like Mitch, but David says, Mitch tends to be one of the cooler Malones. Jim isn’t so sure, and David asks, what’s wrong? Jim says, the car was moved. It’s in a parking lot near the loft. David says, he’ll go see what he can find. If it moves again, let him know. Jim says he hates to ask, but when David is out, could he check on that old battleax of his, and see how Kathryn is doing? David says he’ll see what he can find out, and Jim says he owes David one. David says, more than one. The doctor comes in, and reminds David that he should get a physical. David promises he will, and leaves. The doctor asks how Jim is feeling, and Jim says, like hell. When is he getting out? The doctor says he just said he felt like hell, but Jim says he’d rather feel like hell in his own house, and in his own bed. The doctor understands, and Jim asks when he can leave. The doctor says he wishes he had a magic pill, and Jim says he does; painkillers. Load him up and send him on his way. The doctor tells Jim to be careful, and Jim asks if the doctor is really talking to him about addiction. The doctor says he can get Wyatt help, and Jim says, when he gets his hands on Wyatt, he might take him up on it. They shake hands, and the doctor tells Jim, get some sleep. Jim says that’s all he’s doing. Phone calls and sleep is all he’s got. 

Jeffrey asks if Madison is ready to go, and they head for the elevator. Madison asks why Jeffrey is smiling, and Jeffrey says, no reason. He laughs, and Madison says he thinks he knows why. Because they had a great night. Jeffrey says, yes, and Madison says, and a great morning. Jeffrey says, yes, and because when he got out of the shower, there was a naked man in Madison’s living room. Madison says he wasn’t naked, and Jeffrey says he’s not talking about Madison. Madison asks who he’s talking about, and the elevator doors open. Colby comes out, and Madison says, hi. Was Colby in his apartment? Colby says, yes, and Madison says, was he naked? Colby says, uh-huh, and Madison tells him, they talked about that. Colby says Madison said if he had someone, Colby should stop. Madison says, he has someone, and Colby tells him, Jeffrey said they’re just friends. Madison says then he and Jeffrey have a lot to talk about, over a nice lunch, that Colby’s paying for. Colby says, why him? and Madison says because he’s embarrassed. Colby says, don’t be. Jeffrey is beautiful. He’s even better naked. Jeffrey says he was getting in the shower, and Colby says, he was getting in. Is Madison jealous? Madison tells Jeffrey not to let Colby corrupt him. Colby says, so Jeffrey is new to the scene. That’s why Madison is so protective. He asks how much Jeffrey knows about Madison, and Jeffrey says, not much. Colby says, Madison is on the hot seat, and he knows how much Madison likes it. Madison rapidly hits the elevator button, and Jeffrey says, pressing on it doesn’t make it come any faster, but Colby says, it usually does. BA-DUM-CHH! Everyone thinks they’re funny tonight.

At the Iron Bone, Mitch wonders why it’s so quiet. Only Sandy is there, and Mitch asks, where’s the family? Sandy thinks Mitch should go back where he came from, and Mitch asks what the hell has gotten into him? Sandy says Mitch wouldn’t understand; he wasn’t in the basement. Mitch says he should kick Sandy’s ass for acting like a fool, and Sandy says, go to hell. Mitch asks, what’s the problem? and Sandy says, because of Mitch, he’s in this mess. Mitch asks what he’s talking about, and Sandy says Mitch isn’t in the family. After Vinnie, it’s supposed to be Mitch, but now it’s him. Mitch asks, what’s the problem? Sandy doesn’t like the life? Sandy says he doesn’t like killing, and Mitch says, then get out of the family. Sandy asks, then who comes next? Mitch says Sandy makes him sick, and Sandy says Mitch makes him sick, and that bitch Rianna. She’s trying to hide from him. Mitch says, let the broad go, but Sandy says he’s not letting anything go. Mitch says, he’s setting himself up for more heartbreak if he continues being a pain in the ass. Benny comes in, and Sandy says, you’ve got to be kidding. Benny says he’s got to talk to Mitch. Mitch lied to him. Sandy asks if Benny has a problem, and Mitch tells Sandy, sit down and shut up. Benny asks why Mitch lied, and Mitch asks what he’s talking about. Benny tells him, he said that dude didn’t do it. Derrick. Why did he lie? Mitch says he had to. Benny needs to lay off. Benny asks why Mitch is protecting Derrick, and Mitch says he’s not. He’s trying to keep Benny out of trouble. Benny is going to do something stupid. Benny says give him the address, but Mitch says he doesn’t have it. Benny says he can get it, and Mitch asks what Benny is going to do. Benny says Mitch is still lying; fine. He walks out, and Mitch says, good luck with that. He’s been bailing Benny’s ass out for years. Sandy starts to say something, and Mitch says he told Sandy, shut up. Sandy says Mitch better handle that quick; the Blacks coming in… Mitch says he’s going to bust Sandy’s ass if he doesn’t shut up. Lay off him if he can’t handle the family. Sandy says Mitch does what he wants around there. Why is he there? Mitch says he likes to come in, say hi, and get a drink. Sandy says he’s not part of the family, and Mitch says he does what he wants. Sandy laughs, and Mitch says don’t come crying to him when he can’t handle bloodshed. Sandy can’t believe he’s related to Mitch; he’s much better looking. Mitch says, no one knows who Sandy’s real father is. He’s nothing but a bitch either. Mitch walks out.

Charles talks to his kids about living in the Whitehouse. His little girl says she likes living in their house, but Charles says they’ll love it there. There are wonderful things they can do. Play hide and seek in the Rose Garden, the Easter egg roll… Landon says their father will pardon a turkey. She asks if Landon will be there, and Charles says he will. Landon thanks him, and takes the children to wherever they’re stashed when not on screen. He comes back, and tells Charles, so adorable. Charles says he knows, and thanks Landon for helping him out. He hopes Landon finds the right guy. He knows Landon cares, and he appreciates it. Landon says Charles is worth it. Charles says, in fairness to them both, Landon isn’t still hoping they’ll be together one day? Landon asks if he can speak off the record, and says just because he’s gay doesn’t mean he’s pining for Charles. Charles says he’s asking because he has feelings for Landon, but not those kind of feelings. It’s hard for him to trust, but Landon is gaining it every day. Landon knows it’s hard, and says he’d never betray Charles. Charles says, Judas said the same thing to Jesus. Landon says he’s not Judas, and Charles says, no; he’s not. He appreciates Landon’s help with the kids. They’re like him, and don’t trust easily. They’re so innocent and pure; they know a good person. Landon thanks him, and says he tries to be. Charles says they’ve come a long way. Landon wonders if he can ask one more thing off the record. When Charles says things like this, it makes him feel special. Charles says, he is. As long as he knows it means two different things. Landon says he’s never had a guy friend. He knows his position, but he feels like a friend. Charles says as long as Landon knows his position, he’ll remain a friend.

Landon goes over paperwork, and Oliver pops into his office. Oliver says, Landon is something, and Landon says, he is. Oliver tells Landon, be careful. He’s attracted to Charles, and it can be a problem. Landon says, he’s a professional, unlike Oliver. He says, she loves Charles, and Oliver says, by the way, she was hanging out at a Savannah hotel with a member of a mob family. Landon asks if Oliver has been tracking her, but Oliver says, the press has. He knows a reporter who saw the Malone guy go into her hotel. Landon says Oliver should stay out of it, and Oliver says, it didn’t take her long to get over him, but Landon says, she’s not. Oliver says, whatever, and Landon suggests Oliver find a hole and crawl into it. Oliver says, she also went to the drug store to buy a few things. Landon says he doesn’t care, and Oliver starts to leave. Landon tells him, get his ass back there. He says Oliver’s sources are all fools, and Oliver says, are they? Landon says, yes. They know nothing, and they’re spinning him. Now go home. Get laid. Has that ever happened? He calls Oliver an a-hole, and says, they didn’t do the news story, so pay up. Oliver says they didn’t bet, and Landon says Oliver probably couldn’t afford it anyway. Oliver leaves, and Landon says, so annoying. He hates that little bastard.

Benny bangs on the Cryer’s door, and frantically rings the bell. Hanna answers, and asks what he’s doing there. He says Veronica told him that Derrick raped her. She showed him the police report. Give him Derrick’s address. She says she’s not doing that, and he shouldn’t be there. He says he’s not leaving until he gets the address, and she says if he stays, she’s calling the police. He asks if she’s going to let that dude get away with it, but she says she’s not letting anybody get away with nothing. He tells her, give him the address now, and she says, give that man back his money. Benny says she’s not going to close the door in his face, but she does.

Benny sees a car coming up the driveway. It’s Derrick. Benny walks up to the car, and slams his hand on the hood.  

Next time, Benny asks Derrick if he raped Hanna, Oliver says things are going to blow up in Landon’s face (and it’s not part of a joke), Colby says Veronica is going to meet some of the real gays, Jeffrey tells Colby to get out of his mother’s pool, and Veronica is pushed too far.

😴 Sorry, What…?

At least the dawn comes later now, so I can kid myself that I went to bed earlier. Wait. Technically, it is early, so I did. As it inches toward Halloween, I vow not to give up without a fight, even if I have to eat all the candy myself. Until next we meet, stay safe, stay dynamic, and stay away from imprisoned lunatics. Or any lunatics for that matter.

October 5, 2020 – Jason Presents a Plan To Sonny, a Boatmance Goes Wrong, Check Out Chat & Again Someday

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

On the deck of The Haunted Star, Trina tells Portia, it doesn’t feel right, being there. Portia says she knew tonight would be tough. No one will think less of her if she goes home. Did she talk to her friends? Trina says, sort of. Dev went to find Josslyn and Cameron.  

Josslyn tells Cameron, they should probably go. He kisses her, and Dev sees them. Little hearts pop out of their eyes, and Dev says, sorry. Did he interrupt something?

Stella thanks Curtis and Jordan for taking her out to dinner, and Curtis says, anytime she’s in town, dinner is on them. Jordan asks if Stella can extend her stay, but she says she’s leaving after Mike’s funeral. It doesn’t give much time to plan Molly and TJ’s wedding. Jordan says, commitment ceremony, and Stella says she knows times have changed, but when did the concept of marriage become the enemy? Curtis tells her, consider herself lucky they’re allowing her to have the reins. Stella says, they’re at the bar now, planning an event for next week. They’re organizing a protest against GH’s new Chairman of the Board.

Molly asks TJ how it went, and he says, not great. The student government was hesitant to get involved. She tells him, she can’t say she blames them. They’re probably worried about getting hired after they graduate. He says, some things are more important than gainful employment. Can’t they see Cyrus is a threat to the entire community? Molly gets a reminder about their florist appointment, and wonders if they should reschedule. It seems weird organizing a protest and a commitment ceremony at the same time. He says if it was up to him, everyone would come to both. He sees Brando, and tells him that there’s a tentative date for their protest against Cyrus. Nothing would make him happier than Brando being there and standing between him and Molly. Interesting choice of words.

Sonny finds Jason at the pier. He asks what Jason found, and Jason says Cyrus is getting more aggressive. Sonny says, the bastard needs to be dealt with, and Jason says, if Sonny is ready to go to war, he knows how they can win.

Ava tells Julian, barging in with his hair on fire isn’t very subtle. She assumes this is about Nelle. He says Nelle didn’t leave the letter with Martin. Someone else knows he stole Michael’s kid. She asks, who? and he says, it could be Nelle’s manicurist for all he knows. Nikolas comes in and Ava says, it’s a private conversation. Nikolas says, it’s his living room, but she says it’s their living room. There are fifty other rooms in the house; why does he need to be there? He says, clearly they don’t want him to know what they’re talking about. Ava’s phone rings, and the operator says she has a collect call from Pentenville from Ryan Chamberlain. She says she’ll accept the charges, and Ryan says, Ava? She says she’s there, and he tells her it’s wonderful to hear her voice. He’s missed her.

Brando asks if Molly and TJ have thought of the potential fallout. Cyrus is dangerous when someone gets in his way. TJ says, all the more reason for the community to take action. The more people who get… Molly says, Brando doesn’t work at the hospital; it shouldn’t be his concern. Brando says, it shouldn’t be theirs either. Brando’s phone dings, and he glances at it. He tells them, leave it to the police, and don’t get involved. Focus on their commitment ceremony instead.

Sonny tells Jason, before they move, they need proof that Cyrus is violating the truce. Jason says, Cyrus has always had plausible deniability. He’s being careful, but looking back at his moves, Jason sees Cyrus has a weakness – arrogance. He thinks he can put anybody under his thumb. That’s how they’ll bring him down.

Portia says Trina’s father wouldn’t want his death to interfere with her happiness. Trina says she knows. She was trying. When Oscar died, she’d told Josslyn that she needed to face her grief to get through it. She hadn’t realized how much living through it hurts. Sadness comes in random waves over her. Portia says, grief is sneaky and complicated. Just when you think you can handle it, it hits you like a freight train. Maybe it would be better for Trina to be with her friends. Trina says she thought being in a group would be okay, and it was, until she started feeling guilty because she wasn’t thinking about her dad. Instead, she was stressing about…. Portia says, what? and Trina says, nothing. Portia wonders if it had something to do with Cameron.

Dev says he can come back, but Josslyn says he’s not interrupting anything. He thinks they should talk to Trina; she’s having a tough time. Josslyn says she’ll go now; of course (🍷). She’ll see them in a bit. She leaves and Dev asks if Cameron had found Trina first, would he have kissed her instead?

Ava tells Ryan, spit it out; what does he want? Julian says, dammit, and Nikolas tries to take the phone, but Ava moves away. Ryan asks if that’s any way to greet the love of her life. She says she never loved him, and he asks if that’s what she tells people, or is it the lie she tells herself? Nikolas tells her, hang up the phone, and Ryan says he knows the truth. He saw it in her eyes, in every kiss, and in the heat she felt in his touch. She says, there are people who get paid to listen to this pathetic drivel. Call one of them. He says before she thinks about hanging up, remember how angry he gets when he feels ignored. She says she remembers. What does he want? He says, there’s his curious girl. She’ll have to wait until their visit to get specifics. She says she’s not going to Pentenville, but he says, of course (🍷) she is. It’s been so long since they’ve had a chance to catch up, and there’s something they need to discuss. She says they have nothing to talk about. He says, oh, but they do. Something one could call life changing. She doesn’t believe him, and he says, fine, if she’s willing to risk he consequences. She knows how he hates to wait. He hangs up.

Julian says, Ava isn’t thinking of going to Pentenville, but she says, Ryan knows something. Julian says, let him sit on it. Ryan is playing a game. Julian has had enough going on in his own life, don’t make him have to worry about her too. He has to go, and after he leaves, Nikolas says, Julian is right. She says Ryan stopped calling her months ago. He’s deranged, but he’s not random. He doesn’t do anything without a reason. Nikolas says his reason is that he’s torturing Ava. It’s how he gets high. He can hear the fear in her voice, and if he can hear it, Ryan can too. Don’t give him what he wants. It’s the only way to beat him. The only way she can hold onto her power is to not engage. She says that would make it more comfortable for him.

Trina asks why Portia would think of Cameron, and Portia says because she’s Trina’s mother. She can see it a mile away. Does Trina want to talk about it? Trina says, it’s complicated, and Portia says, things don’t get less complicated by bottling them up inside. Trina says she doesn’t know how Cameron feels about her, and she doesn’t know how she feels about him, and she’s not the only one. Josslyn comes out, and asks if Trina was looking for her. Trina says she’s not feeling well, and Josslyn says if Trina wants to leave, she’ll go with her, if that’s okay. Portia says, whatever they want to do, but Trina says they should stay; it’s their last homecoming. She thanks Portia, and Portia leaves them. Josslyn says she knows a place where she and Trina can talk.

Cameron says, so Dev saw, and Dev says he did. Cameron says he doesn’t know how it happened. He doesn’t even know what it means. Dev wonders what it means to Trina. She’s hurting right now, and not just because of her dad. She thought Cameron would be there for her tonight, and instead, he was kissing Josslyn. Cameron says he knows Josslyn and Trina are best friends; he doesn’t want to do anything to come between that. It’s not that simple; he cares about them both. He doesn’t want to hurt either one of them. Dev says, then don’t. Tell them both that he just wants to be friends, because that’s what he wants, right?

Jordan tells Stella, Curtis told her that TJ wanted to fight back against Cyrus’s role at the hospital. Curtis says, TJ made some noises about organizing, but he didn’t think TJ would move so soon. Jordan says, it’s noble, but she’s worried it paints a target on TJ’s back. Stella says, see it from TJ’s point-of-view. He was minding his own business, when some random criminal jumped him, and held him captive for days. Curtis says, the idea of staying safe and holding your head low, doesn’t hold water for TJ. At least not anymore. Stella says she doesn’t think TJ would be so insistent on righting injustice if the PCPD had a better handle on who abducted him in the first place.

TJ asks Molly if Brando was acting weird, and she says she barely knows him, but he has the right to second thoughts, especially since he was shot when Cyrus shot up Sonny’s warehouse. TJ says, Brando has every right to back out of the protest; it was the way he did it. He acted like TJ was a random organizer with a clipboard on the street. He thought they were becoming friends, and wonders what changed. Molly flashes back to telling Brando to be busy when TJ calls. She says, who knows what Brando has going on?

Jason tells Sonny, Cyrus sidelines anyone he sees as an obstacle. That’s why Monica and Bobbie got fired. He removes the people who might oppose him, and replaces them with people who will say yes, who he has leverage over. Sonny says, like the Commissioner, and Jason says, or people he can give opportunities to. Sonny says, Britt Westbourne? and Jason says, Sam told him that Cyrus tried to buy Julian’s interest in Charlie’s. Sonny says, Julian is playing with fire, and Jason says, Cyrus is gathering allies to prepare for open hostilities. He really believes he can maneuver people he owns into positions of power. He’s pretending to honor the truth, but they know it’s just a matter of time before he uses the hospital for his drug operation. But there’s one person, the one person left he hasn’t acquired. Sonny asks, who’s that? and Brando walks out onto the pier.

Elizabeth asks Portia how it’s going, and Portia says, chaperoning is easy; parenting, not so much. Elizabeth is sorry Trina is having a rough time. It was nice seeing her so excited for the dance. Elizabeth was hoping it would give the kids a break from the year they’ve had. Portia says, there is a silver lining. Taggert isn’t the only thing keeping Trina bogged down tonight. It seems they have some teenage angst on their hands. She never thought she’d say it, but thank God for that. They clink plastic cups.

Josslyn and Trina go into a stateroom, and Trina asks if Josslyn is sure they should be in there. Josslyn says her cousin owns this place, so if they want to talk in there, it’s totally cool. Trina says Dev and Cameron will probably be looking for them, but Josslyn says they were on the deck, and know Trina isn’t feeling well. She’s sure they’ll understand if Trina wants to leave. Trina doesn’t want to bring everyone down about something so stupid, but Josslyn says thinking about her father isn’t stupid. Trina says she wishes they could go back in time, before everything was so complicated, but she’s not sure going home would help how she’s feeling anyway. Josslyn suggests they sit for a while, and meet up with the guys later.

Jordan says, if Stella is implying that she’s not doing enough to find her son’s kidnapper… Stella says she’s sorry; she didn’t mean it that way. It’s just that she’s seeing in TJ’s eyes that he’s dealing with a lot of trauma. Curtis says they know. They all are, but they’re getting through it as a family. Stella says, people all deal with it differently. She’s afraid TJ is using school, the commitment ceremony, and now this protest to avoid dealing with what he went through. Jordan says she’s thought the same thing, and suggested he talk to Doc, but TJ just wanted to get on with his life. Stella says, that might be what TJ wants, but he has to talk to someone. Jordan says she thinks Stella is right, and excuses herself. Stella says she didn’t mean to cause trouble, and Curtis says, he knows that, but Jordan is troubled too. Stella says, it’s clear as day, Jordan is carrying her own burdens. She looks like she might crumble or crack under the weight. Curtis says he’s there for Jordan as back-up, and Stella says, what about what he needs?

Jordan approaches TJ and Molly at the bar, and asks if they have a moment. Molly says she can give them privacy, but Jordan says it involves Molly as well. TJ says, sounds serious. What’s going on? Jordan says, the protest they’re planning against Cyrus Renault.

Brando asks if Jason ran the plan by Sonny yet, and Sonny says, no; he did not. Jason says, Cyrus reached out to Brando, looking to break him into the organization. Sonny says, the best thing Cyrus has to gain, next to Jason, is Brando because he’s his cousin. Jason says, it’s a public move on Sonny without violating the truce. Sonny asks, what’s the pitch? and Jason says, they let Cyrus think it worked. They send Brando to work for him. Brando says, but he’s really working for Sonny.  

Ava tells Nikolas that she can make her own decisions. She doesn’t need him projecting his issues on her. He asks what she’s talking about, and she says Nikolas only messed with her a little, while Ryan messed with her a lot. Ryan is a psychopath; a manipulative, evil man who murdered her daughter, thinking it would make her happy. That’s what he is; that’s what he did. She bets it makes him sick to his stomach, because he used Kiki to get to her too. Maybe he doesn’t like Ryan reminding her of that time, because it shines a blinding spotlight on him, and how much alike they are. He says she’s right. It makes him sick to his stomach, thinking of how alike he and Ryan are. Using Kiki is one of his greatest regrets. But they both know, there’s a difference between the game they’re playing, and what Ryan did to her. She says, is there?  He says, the blackmail, the sparring, the accusations, the extravagance, the back and forth, the ups and downs. Is it childish and petty? Hell yes. A waste of time that could be better spent. It’s greedy, vain, and shallow, and appeals to the worst of them, but the worst of them doesn’t even begin to touch what Ryan is. He’s sick. Ryan got off on driving her to the brink of madness, and he couldn’t stand to see it happen to her again. She turns to face him.

Brando tells Sonny, they let Cyrus think he’s playing him. He’d told Brando those thugs who did a number on him, did it on their own. He offered a new car lift for the shop to make up for it. Jason says, the next step is the right circumstances to make Cyrus believe Brando is ready to take the job. Sonny says, the plan is solid, but he doesn’t think Brando understands how dangerous this is. Brando says he’s been caught up in this from the moment he set foot in Port Charles. The shootout, the beating. He knows there’s a lot of risk, but he’s a soldier; he knows how to fight. What better cause to fight for than family? Their family.

TJ says, protest is a strong word, and Jordan says, then tell her what they’re planning. Molly says they’re organizing the hospital staff, and getting the law students involved too. TJ says, for putting pressure on the board, to make them get rid of Cyrus. Jordan says he’s the Chairman; he votes on what goes. TJ says he may have to respond to public pressure if they embarrass him enough. She might not have been able to keep him behind bars, but they can neutralize his power. Jordan says he can’t neutralize Cyrus’s power by making himself a target. She didn’t go through all this so that he could put himself in danger again.

Stella says she knows Taggert’s death weighs heavy on Curtis as much as it does Jordan, but he’s not responsible, even though Taggert compromised his badge and ethics. He says, it’s not quite that simple, but Stella says, Jordan announced Cyrus was framed by her former colleagues. He says, two truths can exist at once. Cyrus might have been framed, but he’s not innocent. He’s still a very dangerous man. She asks if he’s thinking Cyrus has something to do with Taggert’s death, and he says, he’s convinced of it. He’ll do whatever it takes to put Cyrus back behind bars where he belongs. Not just for his family, but for the daughter Taggert left behind. Stella says, Trina. How’s she holding up? He says she blames him for her father’s death. Portia thinks it’s because Trina has no one else to be angry at. Stella says, Portia? and Curtis says, Trina’s mom. She asks if they talk often, and he says, they go way… back. She asks, how far?   

Elizabeth wonders if, hypothetically speaking, she’d be breaking mom code if she shared her suspicions with Portia that their kids might be angsting over the same thing; possibly each other. Portia says, if Elizabeth did, she’d say she suspected the same thing. Hypothetically speaking, of course (🍷). Elizabeth says, of course (🍷). Portia says, they’ve been through so much together. They have feelings to work out, and they’ll have to see how they feel at the end.

Cameron tells Dev, he doesn’t want to string anyone along, and Dev says, then make it clear he’s not interested. Cameron says he doesn’t know how he feels about either of them, and Dev says, until he does, tell them that they’re just friends. Cameron says, let’s be friends is the ultimate blow-off. It’s what you tell someone who can’t take a hint. Dev flashes back to Josslyn telling him that she’s glad they’re friends, and says, yeah. He wouldn’t know about that. Cameron says, it wouldn’t work. That weird in-between stage with both of them, where they’re more than friends, but unsure if they’ll ever be anything else. They’ll see right through him. What is he going to do?

Sonny tells Brando, there’s nothing Cyrus wants more than to have his cousin working for him, so he can rub Sonny’s nose in it. Another way to use his power is to have Brando join his operation, then threaten Brando whenever he wants for whatever reason he wants. See how he can screw Sonny over. Instead of using Brando as a spy, Cyrus will use him as a hostage. Brando says it’s a risk he’s willing to take, but Sonny isn’t so sure he is. Brando says he’s part of this, whether he likes it or not. He’d rather go out a soldier than collateral damage. Jason says Brando has made his case. It’s Sonny’s call, and no one else’s.

TJ tells Jordan, the last thing he wants is to add to her worries, but he feels like he needs to do something. Jordan says TJ felt helpless before, and doesn’t want to feel that way again. TJ says she’s right, and she says she commends him for taking a stand, but doesn’t want him throwing himself into this fight. It’s not a way for him to deal with trauma. She knows he said he doesn’t want to talk to someone, but the option is there when he’s ready. If he wants to throw himself into something, do it with happier things; Molly for example. She hears him. She has to get back, but asks him to think about what she said. He says he will, and he loves her. She says she loves him too.

Stella tells Curtis, she’s been around the block enough to know what go way back means. Were he and Portia involved? He says, it’s ancient history, and she says, her favorite subject. Is Jordan aware of it?   

Portia tells Elizabeth, no matter where they end up, Cameron has been a good friend to Trina when she needed it most. Elizabeth says Trina has been there for Cameron as well. It’s nice they have each other to rely on. Portia says, now they have to stand back, and see where their children’s hearts take them.

In one of the staterooms, Josslyn asks Trina if it’s her, or is the playlist lame? Trina says they wouldn’t allow any songs with parental advisories, and Josslyn says, not even the clean versions? What’s left? The polka? Trina says, it’s better than the chicken dance. Josslyn says she’s glad Trina is feeling better, and Trina says she is too. They need to go grab Cameron and Dev, and force them back onto the dance floor. She thanks Josslyn for keeping her company, and Josslyn says, that’s what friends do. They’ve got to be there for each other. Trina hugs her.

Dev says Cameron can’t do nothing, and Cameron says he’s been friends with Josslyn his whole life. Dev tells him to be honest, and Cameron says, it will be a disaster. Maybe he should take a step back and get a handle on what he’s feeling before he talks to them. He thanks Dev for talking to him. He knows they can be at each other’s throats, but Dev can be a good friend. Dev says he’s got Cameron.

Ava tells Nikolas, sorry. As much as she’s hated him, and doesn’t forgive him for how he used Kiki, on his worst day, he’s never been anything like Ryan. Ryan says horrible, evil things, and took her girl from her, but one thing Nikolas is wrong about is, she’s not in his thrall; she never will be. Having been blindsided and tortured once by him, she’ll never play into his games again. She can’t. Once you’re treated like that, it’s a fact you can see it coming. Nikolas says, so he doesn’t have to worry about her? and Ava says, nope. He says, not that he was. His phone dings, and he says his accountant wants to meet, but he doesn’t have to go. She says one thing they agree on is the importance of his family’s fortune. Really, she’s fine. He says he’ll see her later, and she says, yes, he will.

Trina and Josslyn join the guys, and Trina asks what they’re talking about. Cameron says, guy stuff, and Josslyn says, really. Dev asks if guys can’t have conversations, and Trina asks what they were talking about. World peace? Global warming? Their feelings? Cameron says they all know he doesn’t have any feelings. 

Elizabeth says she’s impressed at how casual Portia sounds, considering her little girl might be putting her heart out there. Portia says it’s her practiced bedside manner. She’s freaked. She tells Trina that life is short, and there’s room to love a lot of people. Some go, and some stay, but it doesn’t mean you love any of them any less.

Curtis tells Stella, he doesn’t keep secrets from his wife. She’s glad to hear it, but says, all the same, tread carefully. The past has a way of intruding on the present, and if anyone knows that, it’s Jordan. Jordan comes back, and says her ears were burning. Stella says she was apologizing for bringing TJ’s case up with her, but Jordan says Stella doesn’t need to apologize. Stella says, they’re all on the same side. Things are stressful. Hard times are a way to test everyone, and they’re stronger together. She asks them to promise to take care of each other. Find and take the time to cherish each other; it’s where they find strength. Jordan says, it’s an easy promise to keep, and Curtis says, absolutely. Stella says, so she knows she’s going to find them safe and happy when she comes back for the wedding. Jordan clears her throat, and Stella says, commitment ceremony. They laugh,

TJ tells Molly, he didn’t expect incurring his mother’s wrath about the protest. Molly says, it’s not wrath; it’s concern. It wouldn’t be the worst thing for him to talk to someone. He says he’s not there yet, and doesn’t know if he ever will be. It’s not like talking about it can take back what happened. He’s angry, but that can be a great motivator. It’s helped him get through PT, and get his life back on track, including his studies. He’s not letting that bastard win. He can make himself small and scared in a shrink’s office, and tell them how he feels. but despite what happened, he’s going to live. Molly says she’s got it; no counselling needed. His mom has a point though, about focusing on the good stuff. Uncle Sonny and Jason are watching Cyrus for any false moves. TJ doesn’t have to save the day. There’s nothing wrong with focusing on their own needs this one time. TJ agrees, saying, the last thing they need is someone getting in the way of their big day. She flashes back to kissing Brando.

Sonny wonders if Brando heard what he said, and Jason says he’ll make sure. Sonny tells Jason to keep an eye on Brando. He could cause a lot of problems.  

Ava goes to the prisoner visiting window at Pentenville. She starts to check her makeup, but puts her compact back in her bag. Ryan is led in, and they pick up the phones. He says she’s a sight for sore eyes.

Tomorrow, Ned asks Alexis to keep it between them, Carly asks Willow if Michael wants to make it permanent, and Ryan tells Ava that his silence comes at a price.

Below Deck Mediterranean

This is still on???

The important points from last week. Aesha is homesick, Tom pitched another three or four fits, and the last charter is an all girls trip. Oh, and Aesha dared to put her hand on Rob’s butt during a group photo. Would that make it a grope photo now?

Rob and Aesha go to shore with the guests. Jess says, it wasn’t cool, and goes upstairs. She says she’s not playing this sh*t. In her interview, she says, maybe she’s not crazy. She’d suspected Rob and Aesha were into each other. In the galley, Bugs sits on Alex’s lap. Jess says she’s going beat the sh*t out of Aesha. In his interview, Rob says he had no idea Aesha grabbed his ass, and feels like he would have known. Malia drops them off, and tells the guests, when they’re ready to come back, let Aesha and Rob know.

Malia asks if Tom is going for a swim. Bugs asks if Jess is good, and Jess says she wants to take Aesha TF out. She didn’t like seeing Aesha grab Rob’s ass, and wants to beat the sh*t out of her. Bugs wonders when this happened, and Jess says she’s not playing. She’s trying to remain calm so she won’t f*** Aesha up. She’s not kidding. It’s better for her to remain calm. In her interview, Bugs says she’s speechless. So am I. Why are these people acting like adolescents on a regular basis?  

The guests stroll in and out of the shops. In Aesha’s interview, she says, on the boat, she knows Jess is watching Rob’s every move, and it’s nice to spend time getting on a friend level with him. Malia asks Bugs, what’s going on? and Bugs says, apparently Aesha grabbed Rob’s bum, and Jess saw it. She felt afraid. In Bugs’s interview, she says, without Jess in a happy place, it will affect the rest of the crew. The quicker they resolve this, the better. Malia tells Alex to roll up the slide; it’s the last time. She tells him about Jess seeing Aesha smack Rob’s ass. The game of telephone has begun. Next, she’ll have put her hand down his pants. Bugs radios Alex that he left his coffee cup on the table, and she’s bringing it up. Malia jokes (I think) that Bugs needs to stop distracting the deck crew, and Bugs says Alex needs to stop leaving his coffee cup where it doesn’t belong. Alex says he did it on purpose, which is possibly true. Alex tells Malia, Jess is having a jealous breakdown. In her interview, Malia says, it’s a small boat and news travels fast. Bugs tells Jess that she knows it got heated, and Jess needs to talk about it, maybe even to Aesha, without f***ing anyone up. Jess says, there’s nothing to talk about. She’s going to murder someone. In her interview, Jess says, it’s going to be bad, and Bugs sends her on break. Rob and Aesha lose the guests while getting ice cream.

In Jess’s interview, she says she doesn’t think she has an anger issue, but she’s not sure. I choke on my coffee. She says she got into martial arts to relieve her aggression without jail. Bugs calls for some wireless headphones and transmitter. Rob thinks they should find the guests, but instead, he and Aesha chat while the guests wander around. In Aesha’s interview, she says she thinks Rob has a nice heart, but he’s a tortured soul. He reminds her of Edward Scissorhands. The guests reunite with Rob and Aesha, and decide they want to go back. On deck, Alex says, thank God; the last effing day. Captain Sandy says there’s nothing coming out of Bug’s headphones, and asks if Bugs is dancing to her own tune. We flash back to the cucumber debacle, and in Tom’s interview, he says he’s not proud of the way he acted. We revisit more tantrums, and he says they all have bad days. (Not usually over a cucumber or frozen fish though.) He doesn’t want Malia to see a negative spinoff from him having a bad day.

The guests need snacks stat, and Aesha radios Bugs, telling her, heads up; the guests are hungry. In Bugs’s interview, she says, the last time someone woke Tom up when he was on break, it didn’t go well. She goes to his cabin, and tells him the guests are hungry. He manages not to turn into Chef Jekyll, and says he may as well get up, but in the galley, he curses his life. The guests arrive back at the boat, and Malia tells them, get ready for fun water stuff. I guess that’s a technical yachting term. Bugs tells Tom that one guest wants a chicken Caesar salad, and the others want nachos with salsa and guac. Rob goes on break, and the water toys are put out. Guest Zaida, who wanted the Caesar salad, whines that she doesn’t eat bacon. In her interview, Bugs says, she should have told Tom exactly what the guests can eat. How she deals with his temperament is her little secret. Tom gripes, but not too badly. Afterward, he goes on break, and Bugs tells Jess that she’s not dealing with the drama.  

In the galley, Aesha asks how Jess’s break was, but Jess doesn’t say anything. It’s an awkward few seconds that feels like hours, and Jess finally says she needs to get something off of her chest. Earlier, when Aesha and Rob were getting ready to leave they were taking a group photo. Aesha’s hand was on Rob’s back, and traveled down to grabbing his ass. Aesha says, what? Is she serious? She didn’t touch Rob’s ass. Jess says Aesha went from holding his backpack to touching his butt. Aesha tells Jess, sorry; she was just being stupid. Jess agrees, and says, it’s mad disrespectful. It upset her. Aesha apologizes again, but in her interview, she says his backpack was there, and his ass was the only place her hand could rest. It wasn’t a particularly majestic ass, so she wasn’t getting off on it. Jess says, when people are in a relationship, it’s disrespectful. Aesha says, if it was her boyfriend, she wouldn’t give a sh*t, but obviously for Jess it’s a thing. Jess says she and Rob are in a relationship, and Aesha says, in her group of friends, they wouldn’t think about it. We flash back to Aesha and Jack being crazy, and Aesha tells Jess, now that she knows, she won’t. Jess says, she does, and Aesha says, if it was her, she could literally give two sh*ts. Jess says, it’s not a free-for-all where for everybody to grab everything, and Aesha promises not do it again, but in her interview, she says, ridiculous.

In his interview, Alex says, being lead deckhand gives him more responsibility. It makes him feel like he can grow in his career, and see what he can do. In Malia’s interview, she says, there’s one more dinner to go, and she wants the best for everyone. She’s got her heart on her shoulder, so please, let’s just make it through this last night. Aesha says, they get to wear pajamas, and she’s so excited. Jess takes a drink out of the martini shaker lid. A few of the guests play in the water, while the others drink on deck. Two spicy margaritas and a greyhound are ordered. The drink, not the dog.  Bugs talks to her sister Stephanie on the phone. In Bugs’s interview, she says she started in yachting young, in her early 20s. Her siblings joined her, and she feels like she was the trailblazer for yachting careers in the Drake family. She’s the oldest, and feels that it’s a lot of responsibility. She doesn’t know what more she can do, and wishes she could give Jess advice, but she’s exhausted.

Rob finds Jess sitting on deck. She asks how it was on shore, and he says he was in his head too much. (I stare blankly at the camera.) He tells her, there’s been a shift in energy, and he feels like he’s doing something wrong. Jess says he’s not acknowledging her, and her pain, and doesn’t want to let it go. He says what if they’re out, and someone wants to talk to him? and she asks if he’s implying that she’s jealous and overreacting. In Jess’s interview, she says, the bitch grabbed his ass; is she supposed to let it go? He’s acting like it’s not a big deal. She suggests maybe Rob is good for someone like Aesha, since Aesha said if he was her boyfriend, she wouldn’t care. He asks if he can’t be friendly, and she says he can be friendly all he wants. He has been. That’s why Aesha felt free to grab his ass. He says he feels like he’s had to question sh*t, and he doesn’t want to. It’s too much. In her interview, Bugs says Jess is supposed to be at the table. When she needs Jess to be working, she’s fighting. That’s nothing new, but Bugs just thought there might be a glimmer of hope after the last charter. She keeps trying to get Jess on the radio, but there’s no response.

Rob tells Jess he wants it to be fun and free, and Jess says, then they’re in agreement Rob and Aesha are a great match. Bugs tries the radio again, but Jess goes to her cabin and cries. A guest asks Alex when the crew gets to drink, and he says, they don’t, but can tomorrow. Some of the guests decide to jump off the boat. Bugs asks if she can chat with Jess for two seconds, and Rob asks if he can talk to Captain Sandy. Bugs says, it’s the end of the season, and Jess is kind of checking out. She wants it to be a good final charter. As soon as the guests are out of their rooms, jump straight in the cabins. In Jess’s interview, she says she doesn’t give a flying about focusing on Rob. Bugs suggests they end on a strong note. Rob goes to the captain’s office. He tells Captain Sandy that Jess has a continuous jealous thing. I can’t imagine discussing things like this with my boss. The captain says, they have one more night. Everything is magnified; they’re in an enclosed environment. Rob says it makes him wonder if he’s doing something wrong, and she says, only he can answer that. She asks if he wants to get into yachting, and he says he’d like to get into engineering. She tells him, the only way to get there, is doing time here. She thinks First Mate David would have good advice for him; he’s doing a crossing soon. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says she’s had couples on boats before, and when emotions get in the way, it affects the whole boat. If she can give them advice on how to diffuse it, she’ll support her team.    

A guest goes to the galley to thank Tom, and gives him a drink order while she’s there. He takes it good-naturedly, much to the surprise of the world. Aesha phones a friend, and says Jess is creating drama where isn’t any. Jess said Aesha’s hand was on her boyfriend’s ass. Her friend says, she’s a weirdo, dude. In Aesha’s interview, she says she won’t miss Jess’s drama. This was the moment she was done with yachting. Now she’s one day closer to going home to see her family. Rob tells Malia that he and Jess had an argument, and Malia says she doesn’t understand. How many fights have there been? He says he’ll see how it is in Bali, and she asks if he still wants to go. He tells her that he’s wanted to go for a long time. He asks if Malia and Tom ever fight; they seem solid. Malia says, once or twice, drunken things. To be honest, if Jess is acting like this when people are watching, how’s she going to act when no one is watching? Rob says he knows, but Jess has shown him that she’s a good woman.   

Malia and Alex take the guests on a sunset cruise. Malia tells the women that Alex has been courting Bugs for the last two weeks, and they think it’s sweet. In Alex’s interview, he says, if it doesn’t work out with Bugs, he’ll marry a MILF. Tom is relieved it’s the final dinner. He started badly, and wants to end on a high note. He’s going to come out guns blazing. The sunset is phenomenal, and the guests take photos. Bugs uses the elephant décor again for the table, and I like it. David talks to Rob, who tells him about his plans for Bali. David says Rob will get bridge time and experience on watch, but he’d have to check about the pay. Rob says he’d do it for no pay, but David says there are industry standards that have to be followed. In Rob’s interview, he says he wants to get his sea time in, like Malia did. David says he’ll need to know for certain before he pulls any strings. In Alex’s interview, he says he thinks Rob should take a vacation by himself, and do meditation in Indonesia. A producer tells him, Bali is in Indonesia, and Alex laughs, saying, way to sound like an a-hole, Alex.  

Jess is grabbing a smoke on deck, when Bugs radios for her to do laundry. In the crew mess, Captain Sandy asks what happened to Bugs’s last boyfriend, and Alex says he fixed her broken heart. Bugs says that’s her cue to leave, and the captain says she thinks that’s cute and sweet. Jess is startled by Rob being in the laundry room when she gets there. The guests take their time getting ready for dinner, even though they’re the ones who set the time. Alex helps Bugs with hanging a disco ball. Rob tells Aesha that he’s sorry for what happened. She says she didn’t know it was a thing, but she’s sorry. He says, him too. The disco ball is hung, Rob cracks Alex’s back, and the guests are seated. In Malia’s interview, she says it’s been a strain on her and Tom’s relationship. She wants it to end on a high note; have her team let everything out, and come together. It would be nice. Tom plates, and Rob helps Jessica in the cabins, folding the corners on the last square of the toilet paper rolls, while she makes beds.

One guest says they’re lucky to be there. The women agree it’s awesome, and the lobster starter is amazing. In the galley, Captain Sandy says Malia makes a good little sous chef. Malia says she enjoys it, and the captain says, it’s important to know how all the jobs are done. You get to know how hard people work. Malia says, you know what people need. In the captain’s interview, she says, despite what happened with Tom, Malia is still doing her job on deck, and killing it. We flash back to Malia throughout the season, leaving out what a snake she is. Captain Sandy says, if Malia wants to be a captain, she still has a lot to learn, and she’s going to help her. Malia says she’s going to be head chef next. Guest Zaida doesn’t eat beef, which is the entrée, and in Bugs’s interview, she says, food being sent back is Tom’s worst nightmare. Aesha is the brave one, returning the plate to the galley. Tom says, oh sh*t, but manages not to flip out, and tells Aesha, it will be a minute or two. At the table, another guest asks what Zaida is going to eat. Zaida says she doesn’t know. All she knows is, it won’t be beef. In Tom’s interview, he says he can only strive to do his best. He had no excuse for his behavior, and hopes it’s not held against Malia. Zaida says, it smells amazing, and she almost wishes she ate beef. Tom apologizes, telling Aesha it’s his bad. Aesha brings Zaida a chicken dish, and says, the chef apologizes profusely. Zaida jokes (I think) that he should get his act together. She tastes the chicken, and calls Aesha over. She doesn’t say anything for a moment, so we’re all thinking, the chicken is probably raw, but she says, Tom is doing an amazing job, and to keep it up. Aesha says she was scared. Rob can’t get a cord to retract into some device, and he tells Jess, the story of his life – recoiling hoses. I have no idea what he means by this. Jess says he gets frustrated, but he says he has a lot of patience. She says, when he wants to, and he asks what that means. She says, it means he has patience when he wants to.   

The guests are ready to party in their PJs. The captain says Alex is a trooper, and he says he does what he can for the team. Malia tells Tom, it’s okay, and he says, he thinks he let things get him down. If they’re avoidable, it annoys him. Malia says, it’s not like it took an hour. Jess is done for the night, and goes to bed. The guests go to their pseudo disco room, and Bugs and Aesha get into PJs. Rob gets into his bunk, but eventually, Jess gets in with him.   

Bugs yells, PJ party! and says, everyone looks cute. Bugs tells the guests to make playlists, put their headsets on, and she’ll plug it in. Aesha joins them, and everybody dances. It’s officially silent disco. Malia wants to hear, and gets a set of earphones. Bugs dances in the galley. This is very weird looking. Malia joins the guests for a dance, and says, it’s really cool. In Aesha’s interview, she says, it’s the last charter. She won’t have to clean toilets or make a stupid bed unless it’s her own.    

Jess asks why Rob is getting up. He says he’s tired of being tested every five minutes. She says she’s not doing that, so why is he continuing? He says she keeps asking this or that. He can’t do sh*t. She says he’s not f***ing with her heart; not when she opened up. He’s blowing it out of proportion for something stupid. He agrees it was blown out of proportion, but says they were both at fault. She says, one day, he couldn’t let sh*t go. Rob says, any triggers, he shuts down. He cuts off completely. He told himself that he’d give it a shot, but he’s happier alone. It’s been better that way, but he’s tired of running away. She says she’s scared to love him anymore, and he says, that’s on her. In Rob’s interview, he says he’s guarded. He can open up, but he sets traps until you get to one; then you’re out of his life. He’s used to things being taken away. That’s why he’s been alone. It’s sad, but that’s what it is. I have never heard such senseless drivel in my life. Rob tells David that he’ll go on the crossing.   

Next time – the season finale, finally – food takes a long time to come out, fire eaters, the crew and charter guests end up in the same club, Alex says Jess and Rob are drama after drama, and Jess begs Rob to give them a chance.

💻 Zoom Among Yourselves…

I’m really loving Chat Room.

https://www.bravotv.com/bravos-chat-room

⌛️ Another Day In…

One day this will all be over, and we’re gonna laaaugh. Okay, maybe not, but we’ll be able to lead normal lives again. Until then, stay safe, stay expectant, and stay playing your disco loud.

October 4, 2020 – Beta’s Final Battle, a World Beyond Dead & Burn It

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

When we last left, Beta was leading the zombies to the hospital where everyone was holed up, and they chanted, we are the world, but not like in the Coke commercial. Eugene, Ezekiel, and Yumiko had gone off on a mission to meet Eugene’s radio buddy Stephanie. Along the way, the picked up Princess. We’re told, The Whisperer War: The Final Showdown starts now.

Inside, everyone runs around gathering supplies and weapons. Gabriel slams into Dianne. He peeks outside and sees the zombie hoard gathering. He tells the kids they’re safe, but they’re worried about the zombies having lots more than they have. He waggles his fingers, and says, see his fingers? They’re not much to look at, but together, they make a mighty weapon. That’s who they are. Alexandria, Hilltop, Oceanside, what’s left of the Kingdom… He shows them his thumb, and says, and the others. We see Carol, Daryl, and Kelly run inside a building, killing zombies on the way.  Gabriel says, those who might find help – we see Yumiko, Princess, Eugene, and Ezekiel – or come here and help – we see Virgil (who trapped Michonne on an island a while ago) – together we’ll fight – we see Aaron and Alden in the woods – and that’s how we’ll survive… We see Maggie in the woods. She finds a buried tackle box with a letter inside. The letter tells her to come back. Rick is gone. Jesus, Enid, and Tara are all dead. Gabriel says, together.

The Whisperers chant, we are ready; we are here. Beta rocks his mask, and they chant, we are here; this is the end of the world. Beta says, begin. They turn and head closer to the hospital. A crane shot shows us there are… a lot of them. Like, a whole lot.

Eugene sits on the ground. His bicycle is out of commission, and Ezekiel says he doesn’t know about the chain. Eugene checks himself out in a car window, and says, don’t bother; it’s too late. He’s run the calculations, and the time it will take to get there is too long. Yumiko says they’ll figure something out, but he says, unless they can slow the passage of time, there’s nothing else to figure out. The rendezvous time was set in stone, and they’re not there. She won’t be either. He says he’s sorry. After all they hoped, and went through to hold onto said hope, he believes it’s time to go eye to eye with reality. It’s time to head back home. Ezekiel says they’re not going back. They said they’d do this, and  they’re going to do this. In his moment of doubt, Eugene didn’t let him waver, so he’s not letting Eugene waver now. His journey must be complete for all of them, and the ones left behind. Ezekiel says Eugene has to try. He’s gotten this far in his journey and his life. What do they want to remember? That they did everything they could, even if it means he has to carry Eugene. Eugene sniffles, and Ezekiel holds out his hand. He helps Eugene up, but Eugene says, it won’t change anything. Princess says she didn’t think she’d ever see other people again, and look at her now. Yumiko says, they’ll know when they get there tomorrow. They have tomorrow to deal with tomorrow’s problems.   

Daryl puts wires around the banisters to boobytrap them. He and Carol have a conversation that I can barely understand. I can’t believe the two people who rarely talk, and when they do, you have to strain to hear them, are the ones getting a spin-off. It didn’t sound that important, but still.

Gabriel says, the plan is for the horde to be led away, but not to Oceanside as planned. When it’s clear, they’ll meet at rendezvous point B. He asks if Luke is ready, and Luke says, technically. The final pieces need to connect to the wagon in order for them to do the Pied Piper thing and get the zombies over the cliff. But they need to get from point A to point B to plug it in. Someone has to go through the horde. Gabriel says they have four crews, two people each. Jerry says it’s crucial that the equipment makes it to the wagon. Lydia says she’ll help; she can make it. A woman from Oceanside says they’re in, but only if Lydia isn’t going. They understand the people there forgave her, but Oceanside isn’t ready. Gabriel says Lydia’s role is there anyway, and Captain Obvious Daryl says, they’re not all going to make it.

Dianne says Carol keeps thinking she could have helped them, but she couldn’t. Carol says she knows; she’s sorry. She puts knife in her sleeve. Lydia tells Carol that she doesn’t hate her for what she did, and Carol says she should. It didn’t fix anything. Lydia says, it did for her; a little at least. It sounds awful, but it’s the truth. The truth is, she didn’t love her mother, so thanks. She’d like it if she and Carol could still talk about whatever. She starts to leave, but Carol calls her back. Carol says Lydia needs to find her own way, and Lydia says she’s not looking for another mom. That’s not what this is. She could use a friend, and so could Carol.

The group going out covers themselves in guts. Negan tells Daryl, he ain’t going. He’s at the top of every skin’s kill list. The idea is to get through it, and after the sh*tload of attention he’s gotten, he’s the last person anyone wants next to them. Daryl says if he wants to be a part of it, he has to put his ass on the line like everyone else. Gabriel says, it’s time, and opens the vestibule door, as Judith stands next to him. The group files into the vestibule. Judith closes the door, and Daryl puts his hand on the window. She puts her hand against his on the other side. Kelly puts on a skin mask, and Jerry opens the door. Zombies come in, ignoring them. It gets tight quickly, and I almost want to freak out myself. Daryl and the others shuffle out, as the zombies are shuffling in. Soon enough, the zombies begin to shuffle back out when they realize there’s nowhere else to go. The group allow themselves to be pushed along.

Gabriel watches through binoculars. The group blends into the crowd, which has to be in the thousands. Magna looks like she’s going to freak or throw up. Jerry puts a hand on her shoulder. Daryl keeps looking around, and sees a Whisperer with a knife, who immediately gets shot by an arrow. The zombies feed on the downed Whisperer.

Gabriel continues to watch, and Dianne says, there, in the center. She aims her bow and arrow, but someone else shoots the Whisperer who is heading for Magna. The zombies feed again, and Beta is like, hmm… He looks up, but doesn’t see anyone in the windows. Nothing phases this dude, and he tells a passing Whisperer, tight together. They begin to chant, together. Beta looks around. It’s like Woodstock.

Gabriel says he can’t find them in the horde, and Dianne asks what she should do. Another woman with a bow says she got one, and Gabriel tells her to be certain before she shoots. A crash is heard downstairs, and Judith takes a look. She sees a zombie (or a Whisperer) crawling up the stairs, which is creepy enough, but it’s got a knife in its eyeball. She runs back, and says, they’re coming up.

Gabriel says they all know what to do. He tells Dianne to be in the first group, and the children and Rosita are to go to the office. Negan tells Lydia, they know how this ends, but she says, that’s not true. She doesn’t, and neither does he. He says her being there won’t change anything about the sh*tstorm going down. She can slip out, go down, and dance her way through the dead. She says so could he, but he says she told him herself, he ain’t no hero. She says, he could be, and he says, he guesses that’s why he’s doing what he’s doing now. He hands her a mask, and he grabs a rope that’s tied around a pillar, using it to go down the elevator shaft.

The outside group intersperses themselves among the horde. This is a very slow moving crowd. Worse than the line at Trader Joe’s last June. Luke, Magna, and Jerry go through the woods, and come across a small group of zombies. Carol shuffles into the crowd, exchanging glances with one of the women from Oceanside. Oceansider Beatrice has a knife, and a Whisperer sees it, slamming it out of her hand. Carol quickly slices the Whisperer open. The Whisperer falls, but grabs Beatrice by the foot, and slices her across the calf. Ow. Beatrice cries out, and the zombies get a two-for-one meal. Beatrice calls Carol’s name, and Carol stops for a moment, but keeps going. Even I agree, there’s no point. It’s pretty gruesome, with lots of blood gushing out of severed limbs, and the traditional zombies eating intestines. I’m guessing they’re trying to throw a lot in since it was supposed to be the finale. Carol goes off to the side where there’s less traffic, comes eye to eye with Lydia, who’s in a skin mask, but still wearing her backpack. They go past Daryl.

At the hospital, Gabriel radios Daryl, who tells him something about the wires on the stairway. Gabriel says his prayers are with them, but Daryl says, don’t need ‘em. Oh, bleepity-bleep-bleep. Dog starts barking, and I’d forgotten about him. I swear to God, I will never watch this show again if Dog gets it. The doorway is barricaded with furniture, but the Whisperers use an ax to try and get through. Judith aims her bow and arrow.

A Whisperer passes Beta, saying, almost here. Beta is still wondering, WTF? We hear music in the distance, and the horde turns and moves toward it. Luke drives a wagon, carrying loudspeakers that are blasting Burning Down the House. The rest of the group walks alongside and behind the wagon.

Back at the hospital, the Whisperers are almost in, when Daryl’s boobytrap goes off.  

Jerry slowly leads the horde on a dirt road through the woods. Daryl seems amused. Someone yells, they’re coming, and Carol and Lydia shoot their arrows. Daryl gets out his crossbow. Whisperers come out of the woods; some of them are shot, some are nailed by boobytraps. A wheel comes off the wagon, and Daryl tells everyone to go. They take off, along with the horses, and some Whisperers destroy the wagon.

Daryl radios Gabriel, and says they lost the wagon. He tells the others, it’s not a good plan, but it’s all he’s got. They go back, and hunt the skins; take them out one by one. If they don’t, all their people will die. Magna wonders how they’re going to lead the zombies away, Lydia says she knows how; her mother taught her. Luke says they have to be lead off a cliff, but they have no wagon to lead them over the edge. It’s suicide. Daryl says, they’ll deal with that later. They’ve got to go now.

Gabriel backs up, huge gun in his hands. Everyone is gone, except Judith, and he tells her that she should go. She asks if he’s not coming, and he says someone needs to stop them. She asks if Rosita knows, and he says, tell her, Eres mi media naranja… Judith says, you’re my half orange? and he says, she’ll know. Judith leaves, and the Whisperers finally get the door open. Gabriel shoots one, but decides to save bullets, and starts whacking them with both ends of the weapon. He’s no match for two of them, who get him down. A third raises an ax above Gabriel, but someone comes in from behind and goes crazy on the lot of them. Behind the crazy guy is Maggie, who helps Gabriel up. He hugs her, and Aaron looks at the surprise guest killer, who’s wearing some kind of Power Rangers outfit.

In the horde, Daryl and the others are killing off Whisperers, and Beta is sure now that something is going on, looking around more quickly than usual. A Whisperer shuffles past him, saying, go back. He takes out a sword, but a masked Negan says, hey sh*thead, from behind him. Beta flies toward Negan, throwing whoever out of the way. he throws a zombie (or a Whisperer; it’s unclear) at Negan, who falls down. Negan throws the zombie off of him, but Beta is over him with his weapon. Daryl comes up behind Beta, and slams two knives into Beta’s eyeballs. Beta’s life with Alpha flashes before him. He hears, we are nothing; we are free; we embrace death. The zombies move in around him. Daryl helps Negan up. Beta’s mask is removed, and he seems like he’s in ecstasy as he’s pulled to the ground by the zombies. Negan says, sh*t. Does Daryl know who that a-hole was? Daryl says, Nobody. Dammit. Dammit! Are we never to know?   

The horde wanders toward the cliff, and Carol says she’ll do it, bypassing Lydia. I think, but wait. Carol can’t die. She has a spin-off coming. Carol gets close to the edge of the cliff, and stands there. The horde catches up, and a hand grabs Carol, pulling her back, as the zombies keep going, and walk off the cliff. Lydia pulls Carol into a hole, and Carol says she told Lydia to go. Lydia says, Carol told her to find her own way. They cry, and hold one another. Zombies walk past, and tumble down into the ravine. Carol thanks her, and they watch as the lemmings zombies continue to drop over the side. Lydia tosses her mask, and it goes over with the zombies. This is a pretty good throw, since it must have had to zigzag through the crowd.  

It takes less time than you’d think for all those zombies to plummet into the abyss, but the show only has another few minutes. Lydia and Carol look out over the canyon, and the sun breaks through the clouds.

In a clearing, everyone regroups. Gabrielle kisses Rosita, and Maggie says hello to everyone. She sees Judith, and kneels down. Judith hugs her. Magna bandages Kelly. Carol and Lydia come back, and Jerry says, is it…? and Lydia says, it is. Carol says, thanks to her. Jerry says, thanks all around. He can’t believe they pulled it off. Lydia says Negan is still there, and he says, for now. She hugs him, and Carol hugs Jerry. Carol asks Daryl if they’re good, and he says, yeah. It’s over. She says, it is, and he says she got what she wanted. She says, not really, and he asks if she still loves him. She says, yeah, and he nods, and says, yeah. They hug – lots of hugging going on – and Daryl says she could go to New Mexico. She says, maybe someday. They still have things to do there.   

A hand claws at the dry leaves in the woods. A woman stands up, and stumbles forward. It’s Connie, covered head to toe in dirt. She falls. A horse approaches, and the rider looks down. It’s Virgil.

Eugene, Princess, Ezekiel, and Magna –  the ones who should really have the spin-off – get to the meeting spot. Princess asks if they have a secret code or something, and Eugene shouts that it’s Eugene Porter there. Princess noses around, and Eugene goes to the door.

Princess and Eugene sit looking dejected. Ezekiel says they can stay in one of the cars. Maybe in the morning… Eugene says, she’s not there anymore; if she ever was. Yumiko says, no regrets, and Eugene says they’re not turning back. There are people out there – maybe not in this trainyard or in a mile radius – but they’re going to keep on trekking until they find them. The reason they assimilated was to make what built stronger with like-minded folks. Assimilate they can. Princess says Eugene is one horny dude.

They all laugh, and stadium lights come on. We hear, weapons down; hands in the air. Suddenly, they’re surrounded by people in stormtrooper uniforms, with guns pointed at them.

TWD will be back in early 2021. Next week – Fear the Walking Dead – Rick gets some play, and we find out more about Al and those circles.

The Walking Dead: The World Beyond

I enjoyed this show, and definitely want to see more. It’s kind of the YA version of The Walking Dead, but I love YA novels, so I can easily get behind this.

Iris and Hope are sisters, living in one of three existing colonies of survivors. Theirs is called the Omaha or Campus Colony, as it’s housed in Nebraska State University. They refer to an incident ten years ago as the night the sky fell, when their mother was killed. Later, their father Leo went to work for a government organization called the Civic Republic, trying to find a cure for zombieism. FYI, zombies in this part of the franchise are called empties. The organization has something to do with those three circles Al discovered in Fear the Walking Dead, so I’m sure more will be revealed as time goes on.

Iris is the more conservative of the two, participating in Monument Day – a day to celebrate those who survived and found safety, and are monuments to the past – and schmoozing with Elizabeth, a lieutenant colonel who heads the military and works with the Civic Republic. Hope is more rebellious, getting nailed for having a distillery on campus, and pretty much telling Elizabeth to f*** off. Iris is also going to a therapist, since she has nightmares, and when she wakes up, has anxiety about everything she has to do. I can identify with the latter, which sounds like me most mornings. She also has guilt over getting separated from Hope when their mom was killed, since Hope saw everything. The doctor pinpoints that Iris feels guilty over not doing enough when she and Hope got separated, and she now feels she has to do everything for everybody. She suggests Iris talk to her sister, and let go of what she’s been holding on to for her.

Between both Iris and Hope’s flashbacks, the night the sky fell is pieced together, and we see the aftermath of a plane crash, where their parents tried to steer them past falling wreckage and the dead coming back as zombies. When Leo stopped to help a pregnant woman, he and Iris became separated from Hope and their mother. Later, their mother tried to get the same pregnant woman to share a car with her so she could find the rest of her family. The woman shot their mother (it seemed to be more accidental than intentional), and in turn, Hope shot her.

It’s normal life, sort of.  As Iris tells us, they still live behind walls, but the dead still have the world. Leo has made security force officer Felix the sisters’ legal guardian while he’s gone, and has been sending them secret messages. Another officer, Felix’s sidekick Huck, has been teaching Hope how to fight the dead. During the first episode, the girls receive a message from Leo saying his safety is not assured. Overhearing Hope talking to Iris about her distrust for the Civic Republic, Elizabeth assures them that all is well. She gives them a map to the facility where she says their father is teaching other scientists and working toward a cure, telling them she could get in trouble for doing it. But then they receive yet one more message from their father – It’s gone bad. Keeping my head down. I’ll find help. Don’t tell the Council. Don’t tell Felix. Iris then also becomes suspicious of the Civic Republic. It doesn’t help when she discovers her therapist has turned into a zombie, which was kind of sad, but at least the doctor had the good sense to put serious bars on the entrance to her apartment, so she couldn’t have Iris as a snack when Iris showed up for her appointment. The girls decide to go on a mission to help their father, along with the assistance of two classmates, Elton and Silas, both nerdy outsiders. This reminded somewhat of A Wrinkle in Time, one of my all-time favorite YA novels. When Elton shows them a photo of his mother, we see it’s the pregnant woman from long ago. I also see an awkward conversation in the future.

It’s a 1100 mile trip to NY, and why they decide to go on foot, I’m not sure, but they leave Felix a note and head out. When Felix finds the note, he tells Huck, they’ll never make it; they’ll die. He and Huck decide to follow them. On the outside, it’s both beautiful and creepy. Elton, who is like a cheerier Eugene, says, let’s see what discoveries await us, shall we? just before Iris has to kill her first zombie.

Back at the colony, Elizabeth is destroying the whole place and killing everyone. Why? We don’t know yet. One of her soldiers tells Elizabeth that they couldn’t find her, and Elizabeth says, good. Who? We don’t know yet.

While this was basically just the set up, I think TWB shows a lot of promise. It’s certainly more upbeat, which is a refreshing change. Hopefully, Rick doesn’t show up.

👩🏽‍🚀 Over and Out…

While I enjoyed it, it was tough to get back into Sunday night Dead mode. I decided to forego Talking Dead to watch Lovecraft Country, which gets eerier every week. I hope I don’t dream about those strange twins from bizarro Little Rascals world, who kept doing Twyla Tharp choreography. Until we meet on Deck, stay safe, stay informed, and stay not walking off the cliff with the zombies.

October 2, 2020 – Strike GH, Mess Ups, Roles Forgotten, Another Life To Live, She Can’t Stop, the Dead Are Coming, After the Walk, Choices, October Offerings, If It Does Happen, 7 Pairs of Quotes & Funk It

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What I Watched Today

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

⚾️ In the spirit of the week, MLB came back today, and there was no General Hospital. I’m guessing we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming on Monday, but as 2020 taught us, anything can happen. In the meantime, a little tea, a little Dead, and lists for you to plan ahead.

🤭 Bloop This…

Oopsies from GH.

🏥 Outside the GH Box…

Proof there’s more to life than the hospital. And let’s not forget Demi Moore in 1982’s Parasite.  

🎭 Angelica Who…?

I can’t believe they mentioned Renee Elyse Goldsberry without mentioning Hamilton. It was just a Tony Award.

👀 I Can’t Stop Looking…

NeNe continues on her no-apology tour.

https://pagesix.com/2020/10/01/nene-leakes-addresses-rhoa-exit-in-tamron-hall-interview/

⚰️ Sunday Dead-day…

Take your pick of sneak peeks of The Walking Dead season 10 finale.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/daryl-rallies-the-troops-in-this-the-walking-dead-season-10-finale-sneak-peek/

‘The Walking Dead’ season 10 teasers revealed, finale features jaw-dropping scenes

🌱 Following the Finale…

Sneak peeks at The World Beyond.

https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead-world-beyond/talk/2020/01/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-premiere-date-revealed

https://www.amc.com/shows/the-walking-dead-world-beyond/videos/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-sneak-peek-season-1-episode-1–47853

🏆 Picks From the People…

Frankly, I think Margot Robbie’s jacket in Birds of Prey should receive a nomination.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/2020-peoples-choice-awards-nominations-include-birds-of-prey-bloodshot-list/

🎃 For Your Halloween Entertainment Pleasure…

The Sy(we can’t spell)Fy network’s line-up.

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/syfy-halloween-spooktacular-programming-lineup-2020

A concise list of their 31 Days of Halloween schedule.

For the streamers.

https://the-line-up.com/horror-movies-on-netflix-hulu-amazon-october-2020

AMC brings more than just new Dead to the table.

https://www.amc.com/talk/2019/09/amcs-fearfest-see-the-full-lineup-of-horror-classics-streaming-in-october

⛏ And Just In Case…

If a zombie apocalypse does happen, be prepared.

📞 Quotes of the Week

The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them. – Ida B. Wells

The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any. – Alice Walker

Don’t lose your sense of humor. – my father – it was the only advice he gave me when I left home. I’ve come close.

Above all else, go with a sense of humor. It is needed armor. Joy in one’s heart and some laughter on one’s lip is a sign that the person down deep has a pretty good grasp of life. – Hugh Sidey

I’m currently standing on a pair of pants, a broken vacuum cleaner, and horse feed. – a hoarder’s son on Hoarding: Buried Alive

Life’s not a competition – it’s a collaboration. – Mike Guest

Every time I fail, I assume I will be a stronger person for it.Joan Benoit Samuelson, Olympic marathon runner

When we show our respect for other living things, they respond with respect for us. – wisdom from the Arapaho tribe

Take responsibility of your own happiness, never put it in other people’s hands. – Roy T. Bennett

It is one of the blessings of old friends that you can afford to be stupid with them. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

You can never be overdressed or overeducated. – Oscar Wilde

Perhaps one did not want to be loved so much as to be understood. – George Orwell

Life is not easy for any of us. But what of that? We must have perseverance and, above all, confidence in ourselves. We must believe that we are gifted for something, and that this thing, at whatever cost, must be attained. – Marie Curie

The GPS says, idiot, go home. – Annie Suwan, Pillow Talk: 90 Day Fiancé

🏋️‍♀️ Preparing For War…

I have to rest up for Sunday night’s onslaught of new walking, talking, and beyond Dead shows. And somehow squeeze in 90 Day Fiancé. Sunday night vacation officially over. Whether your vacation is over, just starting, or you’re on a perpetual vacation for now, stay safe, stay occupied, and stay bringing in ‘da noise, and bringing in ‘da funk.

October 1, 2020 – Surprise! The Friends Head To Homecoming, Harika, RHONY Memory Lane, New Icon, a Promo, a Promise, an Accusation, She Was Pushed, a Sequel, Halloween Viewing, So It Starts & Amy Sings

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Well, this was a surprise. Both the soap sites and the digital guide claimed MLB would be on today. The iffy day was Friday. Ten minutes after 3, I said to myself, I should check, and GH was on. So I missed that ten minutes, but here are the takeaway points. Brando brought Dev to Jax’s for the pre-homecoming thing. Before Brando went inside, Cyrus called him, and said some of his men went rogue, and were the ones who beat Brando up. Nice try. Cyrus wanted to make it up to Brando, by getting him some new shop equipment, but Brando said no. Cyrus wanted Brando on his team (even mobsters use Zoomspeak now), and when Brando asked, which one? Cyrus said they’d talk, and went into Charlie’s. Sam was following Jason, who was following Cyrus. In the bar, Cyrus told Julian that if he needed help, just ask for it. Nina called Ava, who was at Windymere, wondering what was going on with the blackmailer thing. Ava acted like it was all good, but said she didn’t want to talk about it right then, and didn’t want to give Nikolas any ammunition. That’s about all you need to know. Here’s where I came in…

Nikolas goes through the mail, and pulls something out. Ava asks if something is wrong, and he asks how she could do this behind his back.

Jason and Sam look peek in the window at Charlie’s, and see Julian with Cyrus. Sam wonders why Cyrus is there, and Jason tells her that Julian had dabbled in drug trafficking long ago. Maybe Cyrus is trying to recruit him. Sam says, there’s one way to find out.  

At Jax’s place, Carly takes a ton of pictures of the kids, who are ready for homecoming. She says Sonny is going to love them. Jax asks how Carly is feeling, now that she knows Nelle was found. She says she’s relieved. She hated keeping it from Sonny, but she did it because of Mike. She’s not sure now was the time to tell Sonny, because Mike’s passing is so recent, but Jason made her realize she was robbing Sonny of the chance to be able to support her. They’ve had too many secrets between them. Jax says he hates keeping a secret from Nina; the last thing she needs is another Valentin. But if it comes out that he helped cover it up, he doesn’t want Nina being pulled in as an accessory. Carly says, that won’t happen; there’s no evidence to be found. He says Nina couldn’t help being sympathetic to Nelle, at least on the level of being a mom who wanted to be with her child. Nelle’s death hit her hard. Portia overhears, and asks how Nelle died. Carly says, her body was found on the Pennsylvania side of the river (🍷), but no cause death has been determined yet. Elizabeth says she’s glad they found Nelle. Everyone will have closure, including Wiley. Now Carly doesn’t have to look over her shoulder. Josslyn asks what they’re talking about, and Carly says, how beautiful she looks. Jax says homecoming is going to start soon, but Josslyn says he knows they can’t be the first ones there.  

Cameron asks how Trina is feeling. She asks if he means about going to the dance, since the last time, they were kidnapped and her dad was killed. He says, sorry. Sometimes he should just shut up. She says, sometimes he should, but not this time. It’s hard, but the only thing she needs to feel safe is him. Dev hears them, and tells Josslyn that she looks… some word that sounds like eureka. He says, too bad Mike isn’t there to see her. She says she’s hoping he can. She hopes Mike is looking down, and telling her to have fun. He says he didn’t mean to bring it up, but she says she’s glad to hear about Mike. She goes to join the others, and he looks after her longingly.

Ava tells Nikolas that she can explain, and he says, $10,000 for sheets and bedding? She says she has sensitive skin. Besides, they can afford it. He says not if she keeps throwing his money away on pointless extravagances. She says she expected a certain lifestyle when she moved there. He says cotton sheets were fine in Sonny’s cabin. She could have been sleeping on straw. She asks what that’s supposed to mean, and he says when they were having sex, the thread count was the last thing on her mind. She tells him, says you, and he says sex wasn’t part of the contract. She says she hasn’t forgotten that; she just hasn’t given it much thought. He asks if she regrets sleeping with him.

Sam and Jason go into Charlie’s, and Cyrus says, a pleasure, as always. Sam asks to talk to Julian privately, and Cyrus says, of course (🍷). He says he was sorry to hear about Mike. Family is precious. It’s terrible to lose someone you love.

Julian asks Sam to what he owes the pleasure, and she says she’ll cut to the chase. What’s the deal with Cyrus? He knows Cyrus is a drug trafficker and murderer. She doesn’t believe he just came in for a beer. He says, even kingpins get thirsty. He tells her, Cyrus expressed interest in buying Charlie’s, but he turned Cyrus down. Sam asks why Cyrus is still there, and he says hell if he knows. He’s in no position to turn away business, and doesn’t appreciate the sudden interest. He has to wonder why she’s wasting her time interrogating him, when she should be focusing on her mother. Cyrus tells Jason, his deepest sympathies about the ordeal everyone has gone through, especially Sonny. He must have been torn between his professional demands and his father’s last days. Did his business suffer? Cyrus answers his own question, saying, of course (🍷) not. Jason has Sonny’s back, but there has been trouble, hasn’t there? Jason says he doesn’t know what Cyrus is talking about, and Cyrus says he’s referring to the vicious attack on Brando. It was lucky Jason arrived before Brando was seriously hurt. Jason says Brando insists he can take care of himself, which is fine by him. Cyrus asks if Brando hasn’t been taken under the Corinthos wing.

Brando says he saw Dev talking to Josslyn. He’s no expert, but it looked like there was a connection. Dev asks if Brando really thinks so, and Brando tells him, relax and be himself. He’s got a big night ahead.   

Portia wonders if she’s doing the right thing, letting Trina go, and Elizabeth says she’s not going to lie. She’s spent some sleepless nights over it, but she thinks they’re ready. Portia says they are ready, but at least she and Elizabeth are chaperones; chaperones with benefits. Carly tells the kids that Tony is ready with the car, and Jax says, no drinking. Josslyn says she learned her lesson last time, and Cameron says he did too. Carly says, no leaving the dance without Tony, and Jax says, the same rule applies after the dance. Wherever they go to eat, Tony will be watching from a discreet distance. Josslyn suggests they include Tony in the photos, since he’s part of the night. Carly says she told Sonny that she’s going to capture every moment, but Josslyn says he hardly needs more photos. Carly says she doesn’t think so. She tells them to smile, and show how happy they are. The kids pose as she takes more pictures.

Ava asks if Nikolas regrets sleeping together, but he says he asked her first.  She says Nina thinks she’s crazy, and he says, she told Nina? Ava says, they’re friends now, and he says, if what they did was so unimportant, why confide in Nina? She says, unlike him, she happens to have friends who care about her life. He says he’s not surprised Nina thought she was crazy, bringing sex into an arranged marriage from hell. She says as she recalls, there were two of them, and he didn’t object. He says, point taken, and she asks what they do now. He says, go back to the way things were, and she says, just forget they ever had sex? Nikolas smiles.

Julian says he heard Alexis was with Neil when he died from an OD, yet Sam is focusing on him being at the pub with Cyrus. Sam says she thinks he’s up to no good. If he had anything to do with Nelle’s death, it will mean war with Sonny. He says she’s worried Jason would get caught in the crossfire. It’s a valid concern. The best way to take Sonny out would be to take Jason out first. She asks if he’s speaking about Cyrus, or his own experience. He says it’s not his battle. He’s washing his hands of any blood Sonny wants. He’s got his own problems. He excuses himself, and walks away.

Cyrus tells Jason, it sounds like Sonny and his cousin aren’t getting along, and Jason says he can think what he wants. Cyrus says he heard about Dr. Bern… Mr. Bern. He lost his license, then he died from a drug overdose. It’s a terrible shame. Sam says they were all shocked that Neil was using hard drugs. Cyrus wouldn’t happen to know where Neil would have gotten those, would he?

At The Haunted Star, Trina says Portia and Elizabeth aren’t walking in with them, are they? Portia tells her to go in; she and Elizabeth have some catching up to do. They won’t be long. On the way in, Cameron asks how Trina is holding up? She says she’s smiling, right? and he follows her in. Portia tells Elizabeth, it’s taking every ounce of restraint in her being to let Trina out of her sight. Elizabeth is glad she’s not the only one, and Portia suggests they talk about something other than the kids. Elizabeth says she did want talk someone; Britt. Portia says she’s so sorry Elizabeth’s hours were cut, but Elizabeth says she doesn’t have to apologize. Portia says she went to bat for Elizabeth and Epiphany, but she was overruled. Elizabeth says she and Britt have a history. She’s sure that’s one reason. Portia says she’s an excellent nurse. Britt must have an outside vendetta. What reason would she have to sideline them? Elizabeth flashes back to telling Jason what happened, and saying she thinks Britt is trying to get rid of the old guard; the people who know how the hospital is run. Jason says, that makes sense, and it’s no secret the both of them are close with him and Sonny. Cyrus wants them away from whatever he’s planning. Elizabeth tells Portia it’s got nothing to do with her. She’s glad Portia remained in her position at the hospital. They need doctors like her. Portia wonders if Britt knows what she’s getting into. Being Cyrus’s puppet sounds like a dangerous job to her.

Carly told Brando that Dev looked adorable, and Brando suggested Carly not say that to Dev’s face. Carly says it’s great that Brando is looking out for Dev, and he says, Dev is a likeable kid. Although he wears his heart on his sleeve. He thanks Carly for inviting him to the festivities. He had a better time than he thought he would. She says he’s family now. He’s going to get invited to come to events like this whether he wants to or not.  

Jax asks if Nina is okay, and she says she’s just being silly. He says, tell him, and she says she was wondering if her son or daughter had a night like this. He says he hopes so, and she says she does too. She hopes they’ve had a happy, normal life. She just wishes she could be a part of it.   

Josslyn and Dev walk out on deck, and Josslyn says she’s glad to have a social life after being stuck under house arrest for so long. Dev says, Sonny’s house and grounds are huge, but he still felt confined. She says she’s glad he was there with her, and he says she was glad for someone else to talk to other than her family and the guards. She says he made her laugh, and he tells her that he’s glad he was good for something. She says they’ve been through a lot together, and he tells her again that she looks eureka. She hopes that’s good, and he says, it means gorgeous, which she is even when she’s not dressed up. An aside here. I looked this up, and the word for gorgeous in Turkish is muhteşem, which doesn’t sound like eureka to me. (See more on this below.) Josslyn tells him, that’s what it means to be part of a family; you ignore the messy hair and bunny slippers. He says he knows they’re pretending to be cousins, but he doesn’t see her that way. Not anymore.

Dev says he wants to tell Josslyn… something. She says he might not be her cousin, but she’s happy being his friend. It’s a good thing they get along. She tells him that she said she’d catch up with Dena and Kelsey from volleyball, so she’s going over to say hi.  

Cyrus says he’s not sure why Sam would think he knows the drug habits of her mother’s late beau. Sam says maybe he should think harder, and he asks, what’s her point? He reminds her that the charges were dropped that the late DEA agent Taggert and his associates trumped up. He says, this is his cue to leave, but do give her mother his condolences. Sam laughs, and tells him, mention her mother again, and they’ll have a problem. He says he sees, and leaves. Sam tells Jason that she doesn’t like what’s happening here. Apparently, Cyrus tried to buy the bar. His mentioning her mother made her feel like he was taunting her. Jason says, he was definitely pushing the boundaries of the agreement. She asks if Sonny knows, and Jason says, he will.

Trina sits alone, and Cameron brings her some punch. He says, talk to him; what’s up? She says, it turns out homecoming was a big mistake, and he says he gets it. Her dad passed away, and she feels guilty. She suggests he set up a booth in the corner, and he says her dad would want her to live her life and be happy. It’s okay to miss him when she’s hanging out with friends. She says she wishes that night… She’s got to go. He asks her not to leave, but she says she needs a minute, and says, promise she’ll be back. She does, and hands him her drink before she runs out.

Elizabeth says, having Cyrus as Chairman of the Board is bad, right? and Portia says, it’s worse than she can possibly imagine. Elizabeth says she knows Cyrus killed Portia’s ex, and kidnapped her daughter… Portia says, and Elizabeth’s son. Elizabeth says they’re supposed to say allegedly. She can’t imagine what it’s like dealing with him. Portia says Elizabeth has no idea, and thanks her for checking in and caring. Elizabeth says, the good guys have to stick together, and watch each other’s backs. Is she in? Portia says, does Elizabeth have to ask? They go onto the boat.

Cameron asks if Dev has seen Josslyn, and Dev says, she was talking to her friends from volleyball. Cameron says he was talking to Trina, but she ran off. He needs to find her.  

Ava tells Nikolas, their marriage is a business arrangement, so sex ought to be off the table. He asks if that’s what she wants, and she asks what he wants. They’re about to kiss, when there’s a knock at the door. Nikolas answers, and it’s Julian. Julian asks if his sister is there, and Ava asks, what’s wrong? He says he needs to talk in private, and slams the living room door in Nikolas’s face. He tells Ava that he’s in trouble, and needs her help.

Brando asks Carly if Jason is with Sonny, but she says she doesn’t think so; why? He says there’s something he wants to talk to Jason about, but it’s not important. Jax asks if anyone wants something else to drink, and Brando says he should be heading out. He thanks Jax for hosting, and Jax thanks him for coming, and says he’ll walk Brando to his car. Nina says she’ll understand if Carly cried, and Carly says if she had, Josslyn would have ignored her for a month. Nina says, the kids probably won’t realize what this night means for years; it’s a watershed moment, even though they think it’s a night out with friends having a good time. She can picture her own child with them, although she knows they’re not the same age. Carly says she missed that moment, but Charlotte will be in high school soon and have her own homecoming. Nina says, that’s unacceptable. Charlotte has to remain a little girl forever. Carly says, damn kids. They grow up anyway. Nina says she’ll be happy to see her child grown up. Thanks to Jax, she’s a little closer. Carly says, tell her about it, and Nina says, there was a nurse named Phyllis Caulfield. She was kind and caring, and seemed like she cared about Nina as a person. She and Jax went to New York and found the jeweler who divided her pendant, and he had an order from 1991 under the name of Phyllis Caulfield. Carly says, the woman who took care of Nina when she was in a coma? and Nina says, her theory and hope is that Phyllis had the pendant divided, one for her and one for her child. If that’s the case, Phyllis may know where her child is now.

Cameron finds Josslyn, and asks if she’s seen Trina. Josslyn says, no; why? and he says, she kind of ran off. They were talking, and she said she’d be back, but she seemed upset. He feels like she shouldn’t be alone. Does Josslyn think he’s overreacting? Josslyn says, no. He’s being a great friend. He thanks her, and says, it’s tough figuring out the right thing to do. She says, tell her about it. At the end of the day, you’ve got to be honest with yourself and the people around you, and follow your heart. He asks if that’s another way of saying, don’t second-guess yourself, and she supposes it is. He asks what she’s doing out there. Dev said she was talking to friends. She says she was, but she needed some fresh air. He asks, what’s up? and she says she’s just tired of letting people down. He asks, when has that ever happened? and she says she can’t always be what people expect. He asks why she’d want to; she’s amazing the way she is. He asks if she remembers when they were counselor’s for Lila’s Kids. There was a kid who was getting bullied. She says, Bijou, and he says Josslyn took Bijou under her wing, and made her feel like she was Josslyn’s best friend. Josslyn says, she was a sweet kid, and he says, Josslyn was the coolest counselor. By the end of the summer, everyone wanted to be friends with Bijou because of her. Has anyone else done the same? He says, at the risk of sounding incredibly dorky, he’s glad she’s always been in his life. She says, it’s not dorky. She’s glad he’s in her life too. He says, just so she knows, she could never let him down. She asks if he means that, and he says, absolutely.

On the phone with Sonny, Jason says there’s been an update in regard to Cyrus. Can Sonny meet with him?  

Jax asks what he missed, and Nina says she was bringing Carly up to speed on her search for her daughter, and how he’s helping. She knows it’s a long shot. What are the odds Phyllis would know her child’s whereabouts after all these years? Carly says she and Bobbie found each other years after she’d given up. Nina says they had a rough start, and Carly says look at them now. She can’t imagine life without her mom. Nina says, what if she chases her dream, and instead of a pot of gold, she finds nothing? Jax says, if she stops looking, she’ll never know. Carly says she doesn’t know if Nina’s child had a good or bad life, but she knows Nina has to find them – for their sake. They need to know who their mother is, and how they want be in her life, whatever way works for them. They need to know where they came from. Where they got their eyes; where they got their nose; where they got their crazy hair. Why they’re a terrific dancer. Carly takes Nina’s hand, and says Nina deserves to be a mother.

Dev finds Trina and asks where she went; Cameron was looking for her. She says she tried to rally, but she’s not going to make it. It’s too hard. Her stomach hurts, and she’s going home. He says she should tell Josslyn and Cameron she’s leaving. I’m adding, and her mother. She asks if he has any idea where they are.

Josslyn says they should head back, and Cameron says they should. He moves in for a kiss, confusing the hell out of me.

Ava says Julian came barging in like his hair was on fire; he’s not very subtle. He says it’s about Nelle. She never gave Martin the letter. Someone else has the proof that he was in on the plot to keep Sonny’s grandson from him. She asks, who? and he says, it could be Nelle’s manicurist for all he knows. Nikolas walks in, and Ava says, it’s a private conversation. He says, too bad. This is his living room. Ava says it’s her living room too. There are fifty other rooms in the house, and he has to be there now? Nikolas says, clearly they don’t want him knowing what’s going on. Well, yeah. FYI, Nikolas, that’s why it’s called a private conversation.

Ava gets a call from an unknown number. She answers, and an operator says she has a collect call from Pentenville from Ryan Chamberlain. Will she accept the charges?

Just for the record, it would have said Pentenville, not Unknown. I know. I once got a call from someone in the slammer. Not for anything huge.   

There was no preview. Your guess is as good as mine whether it’s on tomorrow, but I’ll be prepared. It wasn’t supposed to be on today, so they are playing with us. Stay strong.

📑 About that word. It wasn’t eureka; it was harika. While I was rooting around, trying to find out what happened in the first ten minutes without actually having to watch it, some diligent recapper surprised me by including it. However, it still doesn’t mean gorgeous, as Dev said. According to Google’s Turkish to English translator, It means great. I know. I’m hopeless, and such a nerd.

🗽 Tonight’s Bravo offering was The Real Housewives of New York City: Secrets Revealed. They’ve started to get a little better with these shows, experimenting with format, although there’s never anything particularly shocking or revealing. Leah talked about her rookie season being a roller coaster ride of emotions. We saw Ramona melting down over men, Dorinda being angry, and a lot of eating. Personally, now that the seasons of RHONY and RHOBH are over, I’m trying to stay away from the vanilla wafers. Dorinda and LuAnn had an egg-off, where LuAnn’s eggsà la Française competed against Dorinda’s scrambled then poached eggs. She explained how she makes this fluffiest-of-all egg concoctions, but she lost me halfway through. It was declared a tie, and Sonja informed us, nobody loses because everyone gets eggs. I could agree with that, although in her interview, Leah said she didn’t like either one, and preferred her own. She gave no recipe though. They did a segment with never before seen footage, and a multiple choice Guess What Happens Next? Nothing very telling or exciting, although it was interesting to see Sonja and Ramona – two grown women – hide under a restaurant table in Newport when they wanted to extract themselves from a conversation. We watched how the women keep in shape, and Leah and Sonja went to a workout that uses electroshock. I’ve seen this technique before, and I’m not so sure I’d do it. Sonja tried to sneak out, and it reminded me of the time I took a dance class with a friend who suddenly hurt their ankle – <making an I don’t think so face> – and left me to fumble along fend for myself. There were outtakes from interviews; interruptions, words mispronounced, and made up words. The women talked about their interview outfits throughout the seasons, and how their styles had changed. There were dating tips, but no advice you’d actually want to take.

Andy and Ramona walked through the set from the last reunion, and Andy pointed out artifacts from reunions past. We also saw clips from the moments he mentioned, like when Ramona walked off after Alex’s nude photos were brought up during the first reunion. Tinsley said the only redeeming factor of the reunion was getting to wear a big glamorous dress. She claimed she wouldn’t want to have an argument in jeans and a T-shirt, but she could do it in a ballgown. I laughed at the waiter at one of their lunches desperately trying to find out if they wanted still or sparkling water, while Dorinda prattled on about Ramona eating too many oysters, and saying Ramona was going to turn into a huge vagina. We saw other innocent bystanders as well, including Martini Mike, who apparently became an instant icon (see below). Dorinda told us, when they were in the groove, it didn’t matter what was going on around them.

All in all, the show wasn’t a bad thing to watch, but nothing new to see here. Except Martini Mike.

🏥 And Away We Go…

A new promo from your favorite hospital.

🏍 The Man In Black Stays…

Jason never breaks a promise.

👠 Not Having It…

The ball is now back in NeNe’s court.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/30/madina-milana-accuses-nene-leakes-of-cheating-on-husband-with-french-montana/

🛣 Pick a Lane…

Now she says she was pushed out. Please pick a reason you left, and stick with it.

https://extratv.com/2020/10/01/nene-leakes-opens-up-about-rhoa-exit-says-she-was-pushed-out/

🧹 Double the Fun…

Bette’s excited to fly again.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/hocus-pocus-sequel-bette-midler-return-confirmed-talks-excitement/

🎃 Halloween Hijinks…

Seasonal fare for free from Peacock.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/peacock-halloween-movies-streaming-best-highlights-october/

And not so free from Disney Plus.

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/disney-plus-halloween-streaming-movies-tv-shows/

👺 It’s Never Too Early…

October is here, so as far as I’m concerned, Halloween is too. I love these weird vintage Halloween costumes. If I saw anything like this coming down the street, I’d pee myself and run for my life. Yet I can’t look away.

🌆 Calling It a Day…

We still call them days, right? Until the new normal becomes an old memory, stay safe, stay making new plans, and stay double-checking the TV guide.

October is the fallen leaf, but it is also a wider horizon more clearly seen. It is the distant hills once more in sight, and the enduring constellations about them once again. – Hal Borland

September 30, 2020 – The OC Watches BH, Kathy Says No, Yes To Paris, Kris Won’t Do It, NeNe Wishes, NewTopia, , Tweet This, Barb Hearts NY, More Once, Ones To Watch, Zen Out & New Season

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

 

🏥 As you already know, due to an MLB takeover, General Hospital wasn’t on today, and will return either Friday or Monday.

👁 Tonight Bravo give us Watch with Kelly and Shannon, where the women from RHOC watched the women on RHOBH. It was the episode where Brandi showed up at Dorit’s party, and the group went to see Erika in Chicago, minus Denise and Garcelle. Kelly and Shannon were surprisingly articulate and funny, and seemed to get along pretty well. One of my favorite moments was when Brandi showed up at the party wearing a furry pink jacket, and Kelly just kept repeating, What is Brandi wearing??? She also described Sutton’s dress as looking like she put her grandma’s doilies on it, which was pretty accurate. I still could see me dressing like Sutton in the 80s if I could have afforded it. How many of you are thinking, I watch TV with friends and make funny comments, and I don’t get a paycheck for it? Yeah, me too. Who knew it would end up being a thing.

🏖 She Needs Time Off…

After her daughter’s documentary This Is Paris came out, the only thing Kathy should be interested in is therapy. I think that lady has been stuffing a few emotions for some time. If you haven’t seen it, you can watch it for free on YouTube. It’s well worth watching. If you thought you knew Paris Hilton, you don’t.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/28/kathy-hilton-not-interested-in-joining-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-full-time/

👠 Reviewing the Reveal…

My article on Paris Hilton’s documentary. Seriously, forget what you thought you knew.

https://mupoentertainment.com/2020/09/30/paris-hilton/

💎 Keeping the Diamond Warm…

Andy and Kris explain and confirm.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/10/andy-cohen-explains-why-kris-jenner-wouldnt-join-rhobh/

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/26/kris-jenner-confirms-she-will-not-be-joining-rhobh/

😮 Oh No She Didn’t…

NeNe is just a tad bitter.

https://people.com/tv/nene-leakes-slams-wendy-williams-calls-andy-cohen-racist-after-they-discuss-her-rhoa-exit/

☀️ Time To Use That Prime…

I haven’t even gotten around to watching Mrs. Maisel yet, but this looks good.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/utopia-review-amazon-prime-john-cusack-rainn-wilson/?ftag=NLS-04-10aaa1a

🔮 It Was In the Cards…

Oh, just give the ring back already.

https://people.com/tv/kyle-richards-alleges-her-stolen-ring-is-in-a-pic-shared-by-diane-keaton/

👨‍💻 Score: Everyone: 0…

My favorite from omeedmalek: Just confirmed, debate #2 is just a fist fight in a Chili’s parking lot.

https://nypost.com/2020/09/29/the-best-twitter-reactions-to-the-first-presidential-debate/

🦞 She’ll Bring the Lobster…

Anything is better than what NYC has now. With every mayor, I think, they can’t do worse. Yet they manage.

https://pagesix.com/2020/09/25/former-rhony-cast-member-barbara-kavovit-wants-to-run-for-mayor-of-nyc/

🧙🏽‍♀️ Fairytales Can Come True…

Or at least make a comeback. Disney Plus will be streaming Once Upon a Time, but if you can’t access it, TV Guide has some other recommendations for you.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/7-shows-like-once-upon-a-time/

📺 Free For You…

All kinds of ways to watch Schitt’s Creek, which will also marathon from the beginning on Comedy Central, starting Friday, October 2nd, at 8 pm.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/when-will-schitts-creek-season-6-be-on-netflix/

Mad Men! My So-Called Life! The Middle! And I highly recommend the U.K. (original) version of Being Human. It aired on BBC America years ago, and the U.S. version paled in comparison. No surprise.

https://www.tvguide.com/news/how-to-watch-schitts-creek-for-free-best-free-shows/

🐻 Give Yourself a Break

This site never fails to calm me down and/or make me smile. There are livecams for days, and don’t forget to cast your vote for the fattest bear on the Fat Bear Week page.

https://explore.org/livecams

Voting is from 12 to 10 pm EST.

https://explore.org/fat-bear-week

⛅️ Tho We Gotta Say Goodbye To the Summer…

Unless you’re one of the glitterati who got to spend it between your house in the Hamptons and your yacht docked at the Hamptons, I don’t imagine it’s been your favorite summer. Goodbye 4th of July Oceanfest. Goodbye flea market season. Goodbye street festivals. Goodbye county fair. We barely knew ye. Goodbye crowded beaches. Oh, wait. We did have those. Brought to you by the idiots who think only about themselves. Don’t be them. Stay safe, stay kindhearted, and stay not being an idiot. And while you’re at it, don’t take fashion tips from Brandi. Or any other kind of tips.