Monthly Archives: September 2021

September 29, 2021 – Carly Confronts Nina, Kathy Arranges a Boat Ride, Rumor Mill, Tom Talks, Attack Of the Jen, VanderZoo & Bidi Bom

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny and Jason walk into the hospital, and Sonny thanks Jason for talking about his bipolar disorder. He knows it’s a difficult subject to start. Jason says, they’ve been through worse, and Sonny says, no kidding. Jason is right. He has to get his bloodwork and the scripts; whatever he has to do. He says, Jason doesn’t have to stay, and Jason says he has to call Diane. They have to figure out what they need to do for Sonny to be declared legally alive. He has the feeling that he, Sonny, and Carly are going to be filling out a lot of paperwork. Sonny says, paperwork can wait. He needs to see Carly and tell her that Nina knew he was alive the whole time.

Carly tells Nina, you stole Sonny’s life, and bitch, you’re gonna pay. Nina says she sees Sonny told Carly. She has every right to be angry… Carly says, don’t tell her what she has a right to feel. Tell her why. Then give her one good reason not to kill her. Ugh. I hate Carly more all the time.

Josslyn leaves Carly a voicemail, saying, she knows Carly is mad at Nina. So is she, but Nina is still Wiley’s grandmother, and the last thing anybody wants is for him to get stuck in the middle. So if she hasn’t found Nina yet, and she gets this message, just count to ten. She joins Cameron and Trina outside Kelly’s, and Cameron asks if they’re really doing this. Josslyn says, hell yeah, and Trina says, okay then, handing Josslyn (I assume) something caffeinated, get amped. Today’s the day Spencer and Esme get what’s coming to them.

Esme says, it’s been hours, and Spencer’s father isn’t back yet. He says, it isn’t unusual or alarming, and she asks if he doesn’t find it alarming that his father went after Ava. He should have tried harder to stop it. He puts his arm around her, and says, it’s moot now. Ava is probably halfway across the Atlantic. Esme says, here’s hoping the plane crashes and she’s the only casualty, and he laughs. He says, in more great news, he can’t believe his Uncle Sonny is alive. She says, yes, Josslyn mentioned it. How wonderful. He asks if Josslyn told her how it all went down, and she says, Josslyn was in a hurry. She wasn’t too informative. Spencer says, Sonny can tell him himself. He can’t wait to see him. She says she’s sure Sonny would appreciate a visit once he’s settled, and he says, his feelings for Ava aside, he is happy for Avery. He knows that little girl and her daddy adore each other. Oh, okay. It’s all right for Avery to have her mother torn from her though.

At Kelly’s, Scotty picks up the envelope with the divorce papers, and tells Ava, they’re going to get her unhitched. She takes the envelope, putting it back on the table, and he says, what’s the big deal? It gets easier every time, divorce. She asks how many times he’s been divorced, and he says, too many. He says he’s getting his fee, but does she want him to file this with the court, or does she want to stay married? It’s her call. Temporary Nikolas walks in.

Carly says she knew she would find Nina there. One last visit with Wiley before Michael and Willow found out? She’s a stellar human being. Says the person who… oh, never mind. Nina says all her lies are blowing up in her face, while Carly got her husband back. Can’t that be enough? Carly says Nina played God with Sonny’s life for the past nine months, and now she’s caught and wants it to be enough? Hell no. She did it, and now she’s going to pay the consequences.

Epiphany comes out, and Sonny smiles at her. She says she heard, but she needed to see it with her own eyes. He says, hello, and she says, this is a miracle, and hugs him. Britt goes to the reception desk, and Sonny says it’s good to see Epiphany. He’s there to see Dr. Sullivan. She says, very sensible, but first, they need to get him into a room. She needs to take his vitals so she can declare him officially back from the dead. They leave, and Britt tells Jason, twice in one day. He asks if it’s a problem, and she says, not for her.

Nikolas says he’s been looking everywhere for Ava, and she asks how he got past Bubba. He says, just hear him out before Bubba comes to, and Ava asks if Nikolas is saying he knocked Bubba out. Scotty says he’s going to give Mr. Bubba his card. When he comes to, he might want to sue Nikolas. Ava says, always a charmer, and Scotty leaves. Nikolas sits down, and says he’s glad he caught Ava. She says he didn’t; he’s too late. Aside from a few practical matters, she’s ready to leave Port Charles. Next stop, London, her new base of operations. He puts his hand on the envelope, and asks if this is one of those practical matters. She says, the most practical of all; the divorce papers, signed, sealed, and all Scotty has to do is deliver them. He says, then he got there just in time, because there’s no need for Scotty, no need for divorce papers, no need for her to head anywhere but home to Windymere with him. She says, they’ve gone over and over and over this… and he says he has news. Something that will change everything. Sonny is alive. She says she knows, and he says, she does? She says, she stopped by his house this morning to say goodbye to Avery, and he says, why did she say goodbye? Doesn’t she see this changes everything? She says, it doesn’t. It changes nothing.

Josslyn says, they need to move fast. It’s go time. Cameron tells them, hold on. Are they really sure about this? Josslyn says, he’s backing out now? and he says, nobody’s backing out of anything. He’s just asking them to hear him out. Yes, Esme and Spencer’s behavior could warrant suspicion in their involvement of the stalking of Ava and Nikolas… Trina says, that’s why they’re doing this, and he says, without any evidence? Josslyn says, why? They’re not a court of law. Trina tells him, like she said, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, but he says, what if it’s just smoke? Trina says, if they’re wrong, great – Josslyn says, we’re not wrong – it will exonerated Spencer and Esme once and for all. Josslyn says, no one is getting exonerated. Trina says she’ll buy Spencer a new designer belt, and she and Esme will braid friendship bracelets together. Josslyn says, that’s not even in the realm of possibility, and Trina says, no, but she gets what Cameron is saying. They need to keep an open mind. Cameron says, okay, but if Spencer and Esme find out what they’re doing, even if it proves them innocent, do Trina and Josslyn think they’re just going let it go; no hard feelings? Spencer can hold a grudge longer than anyone he knows. Josslyn says, which would explain his motive for stalking Ava, which is why she still thinks it’s a risk worth taking. Trina says, it is for her. She barely knows Spencer, and doesn’t like Esme anyway. Josslyn can’t imagine who does, and Trina says, her point is, if they’re right, Ava can stay in Port Charles with her husband and daughter. Josslyn says, and those two will be exposed for the schemers they are. It’s a win-win. Trina says, for the last time, is Cameron in? He says, let’s spring this trap.

Nina says she knows what she’s done, and Carly says, does she? Because she wants to hear it from Nina’s own mouth. Nina says, okay. She kept Sonny from his family for months, and her lies put a lot of people in danger in Nixon Falls and Port Charles. Carly says, it wasn’t enough for Nina to make a scene at Sonny’s funeral, she had to make sure he stayed dead to the rest of them? Nina says, she’ll forever regret the unintended consequences of her actions, and Carly says, unintended consequences? Her husband almost burned to death because of Nina. Nina says, is that what he told Carly? and Carly says, he told her that he was trapped in a fire, so she’s guessing Nina had something to do with it. Nina says she’s so sorry for all the pain she’s caused, but Carly says she doesn’t think so. Nina says maybe she’s not as contrite as Carly wants her to be, because Carly hasn’t owned up to her part in all this. Carly asks how any of this is her fault.

Sonny tells Epiphany, he was trapped. There was fire everywhere, and it came to him. She says, just in time to remind him about everything he had to live for. He says, it’s good to be alive; to be himself, and know who he is. She says she’s sure his family is over the moon, but he says, they’re not as happy as he is. Michael, Dante, Josslyn, and Kristina all came over. She says she’s sure they were happy to see him, and he says, Donna is too little, but Avery held on to him so tight, and wouldn’t let go. Epiphany says, of course (🍷) she did, and he says, even though he was gone so long, it didn’t matter; he was home. She says, believe her, it mattered. Everyone was devastated when he died, especially Carly and Jason. He says, Jason had a lot to deal with. He heard Jason got arrested. Epiphany says, did he now? Even in death, Sonny doesn’t miss a trick. Sonny says he’d love to hear the details, and she says she wasn’t there for all of it, so some is secondhand, but he says he won’t ask her to swear to anything. Epiphany sits down, and says, Jason was framed by Peter for killing Franco. He was sent to Pentenville, where he was conveniently stabbed, and brought there. Someone – she doesn’t know who – arranged for his escape. He says, someone knew it was easier to break him out of the hospital than prison, and she says, rumor has it that he was free and clear, but he ran back to save Britt, when Cyrus’s thugs tried to kill her. At the time, the police thought Britt was a hostage. Sonny says, Jason would never do that, and she says, not everybody knows that. Jason was shot, Britt fixed him up, and they ended up on the run for a while. The rest, as they say, is hospital gossip.

Britt asks Jason why Sonny is there, and Jason says, to check in with his psychiatrist. Any word about her mom? She says, no, not yet. Finding Liesl Obrecht isn’t exactly a high priority for the WSB. Britt knows Obrecht is who she is, but she’s still her mother. She’s all Britt has. He says his offer still stands if she wants him to look into it. She says she meant what she said the first time, Marriage or no marriage, she doesn’t need his help anymore. 

Nikolas says, he knows he and Ava aren’t Sonny’s favorite people, but Sonny has resources they don’t. She asks, what resources don’t they have? He’s a Cassadine. He says, we are Cassadines, but she says, not for long. He asks if she told Sonny why she was leaving. What did he say? She says, he wasn’t happy about Avery having been approached, but he wasn’t too broken up about her leaving. He asks if she’s suggesting Sonny is no longer the type of man who would find the person who threatened his daughter, and make them suffer. Avery is safe. Ava says, she’s not, and she’ll be in danger as long as Ava stays. That psychopath set fire to her car; who knows what else they’ll do? What about that doesn’t he understand? He says she’s right. He’s sorry. He thought Sonny would be the solution they needed. She says, the only solution is the one she’s already arrived at. She has to walk away. Scotty sits down with them, and tells them, he can’t believe he’s going to say this, especially to them, but it would be a shame for them to give up on each other.

Cameron goes to Windymere, and Spencer says, well, if it isn’t the townie. Cameron says, live and in person, and Spencer asks, to what does he owe this unexpected pleasure? Cameron says, the pursuit of higher education. Did Spencer take the Roman Civ notes today? He doesn’t know what’s up with him, but he couldn’t make heads or tails of it. Spencer says, that’s because Cameron is intellectually ungifted, and Esme says, be nice. Not everyone gets to grow up in boarding schools and haunted castles. Spencer says, Windymere isn’t haunted, but Esme says, it is so haunted. Cameron says, he knows. He asks if Esme can back him up. Isn’t it Spencer’s duty as his intellectual superior to help him out? Esme says, it is, but Spencer says he didn’t take notes. Cameron says that’s because he remembers everything he hears, but Spencer says, it’s because he’s not taking the test. He’s just auditing the class to keep his father off his back. Cameron asks how that’s working out, and Spencer says, so far, so good. Cameron asks if that means there’s going be another rager? and Spencer asks why he’d do that. Cameron says, when the cat’s away… His dad is leaving right?

Epiphany says she takes it Carly and Jason brought Sonny up to speed, and he says he wishes he’d gotten out before Jason and Carly got married, and blew so much money on deposits. They laugh, and Sonny says he guesses his timing is off. Epiphany says, for a man just barely made it out of a raging inferno, he has remarkably good vitals. Sonny says he’s going to head upstairs for another appointment, and Epiphany says, it’s good to have him back. She missed him. They hug.

Nina tells Carly, at the heart of it, it’s about her grandson. Carly says, who happens to be her grandson too, and Sonny’s. Nina says she realized that. That’s why she called Carly immediately to tell her. Does she remember that phone call? Before Nina could get a word out, Carly threatened her with court about visitation with Wiley. Carly says, so she deserved months of loss, grief, and pain for one rude phone call? Nina says, if Carly doesn’t believe her, ask Jax. He figured out what was going on, and encouraged her to tell Sonny the truth. Carly says, encouraged? and Nina says, insisted. She agreed, and Jax said he’d trust her to do the right thing. Carly wonders, why the hell would Jax do that?

Spencer asks what Cameron means about his father leaving, and Cameron says, sorry; wrong word choice. Spencer says his father can’t leave; they just moved in. Cameron says, Nikolas is taking a trip to Bora Bora, and Spencer asks, what makes him think that? Cameron says Spencer’s dad talked to Trina about getting two first-class tickets. He and Ava are celebrating calling off their divorce. He asks if he can use the bathroom, and Spencer tells him, help himself. He leaves, and Esme says, when will Spencer learn that she’s always right.

Trina’s phone dings, and she tells Josslyn, it’s done. Thanks to Cameron, phase one is in motion. It’s too late to turn back now.

Ava asks if Scotty is saying she and Nikolas shouldn’t get divorced, and Scotty says, yeah. He’s still charging a fee though. She asks where this is coming from, and Scotty says he’s been doing a lot of thinking lately about love and life, and how sketchy it can be. The uncertainty of a separation is a kind of death in its own way. Getting bounced out of an airplane like a guy who had too many martinis got him thinking. Nikolas asks if there’s any word on Obrecht, but Scotty says, no. He’s going to find her. He’s going to turn over every rock if he has to. He has to say this; true love is worth fighting for. Nikolas says he never pegged Scotty for a romantic, and Scotty says he’s been hopeless at times. He can’t control this whole thing with Obrecht, but what he can control is them. He’s not letting them throw in the towel. There must be something they can do to keep them together. Ava says, they’ve been through all that, but Nikolas says, Scotty is a clever guy. Maybe he can come up with an unconventional solution. Scotty thanks him and says, so they’ve got a little stalker problem… Ava says she doesn’t think it’s so little, and he says, what he’s thinking is, so this weirdo goes crazy when they make eyes at each other. There’s only one solution. Nikolas says, do tell, and Scotty says, date other people.

Jason tells Britt that he’ll always care what happens to her, whether he helps her or not. She says, she doesn’t give a damn about him. She walks away, and sees Sonny. She tells him, welcome back, and he says, it seems they have a lot of catching up to do. She says, he’s been gone a long time. On thing she’s learned about Port Charles; you miss a day, you miss a lot. She leaves, and Sonny says, Renault tried to have her killed, right? Jason says, yeah, and Sonny says, and Jason got shot going to get her. Jason says, that’s right, and Sonny says, Epiphany filled him in. He guesses Jason wasn’t going to. Jason tells him, there’s not much to say. It happened; it’s over. Sonny asks, did Jason leave Britt for Carly?  

Carly says Nina had nine months to do the right thing. While Sonny’s kids grieved, Donna forgot her father, and Jason went to prison, Sonny was tending bar in some dive and Nina did nothing but lie to their faces. Why would Jax expect her to tell the truth? Nina says, and Carly feels qualified to judge since she knows so much about the truth. Carly says, screw you. Nina stole nine months of Sonny’s life because Carly hurt her feelings? Nina says, at least she got Sonny back. She’ll never see her daughter again. Carly says, now the truth comes out. This was payback for Nelle.

Sonny says, he’ll never forget that Jason and Carly made that sacrifice to marry and protect what’s his. Maybe now he can go pick up the pieces with Britt. Jason says he doesn’t think Britt agrees with that, but Sonny says Jason can change her mind. Jason says he’s not sure that’s possible, and Sonny says, do him a favor. Ask himself if Britt makes him happy. Jason’s phone dings, and he says he should handle this. How long is Sonny’s psych evaluation? Sonny tells him, don’t worry; he’ll have Tony pick him up. Sonny gets in the elevator, and Jason calls Josslyn. He asks, what’s up? and she says she’s kind of meddling here, but she feels like if she doesn’t, things could escalate. He asks, what happened? and she says, mom found out something about Nina, and now she’s on the warpath. She’s not responding to any calls or texts. He says, don’t worry; he’ll find her. He calls Spinelli, and says he needs Spinelli to find Carly; put a track on her phone for him.

Nikolas says, Scotty is advising his wife to date another man? and Scotty tells him, don’t be thick, Nik. Nikolas, of all people, should understand subterfuge, and Nikolas says, so she should date another man for show? Scotty says, put on a show for this crackpot, but Ava says she tried it. She flirted with Austin at the bar. Nikolas says, and her car was still set on fire. Scotty says, Austin is a good choice, but did she give it the old college try? What about Nikolas? Has he stepped out with anybody? Nikolas says, of course (🍷) not. He would if he thought it would help. Ava looks at him, and he says, subterfuge. Scotty says, look who’s jealous. She wants Nikolas to be jealous, but not her. Nikolas says, there would be nothing to be jealous of, and she says, woudn’t there? Scotty says, okay, fake dating’s not going to work. How about skipping town? Nikolas says he was all for it, but they can’t leave their children behind. Scotty says, take the little turds with them, but Ava says, any plan that uproots the kids is out of the question. Scotty says he has another idea. Nikolas is very resourceful with resources and everything. Why doesn’t he get Mr. Bubba to take the guy out? Get a real assassin to get the job done. Ava says, they were just talking about the Cassadine resources, and Nikolas says they’ve exhausted those options, and no new intel to show for it. Scotty says he guesses they’ll have to put their thinking caps on. Nikolas says he appreciates Scotty trying to help. It’s helped him finally realize something. Ava’s solution is the right one. Until they figure out who the stalker is, and how to handle them, they have to cut ties with each other.

Esme says, Spencer was so sure they’d scared Ava into leaving, but she told him that Nikolas would win her back. He says he can’t believe his father is choosing Ava over him again. Just when they’ve started rebuilding their relationship. What the hell did he do all this for, if Nikolas can leave him at the drop of a hat? Esme is sure Ava is dropping more than a hat. That’s why Nikolas can’t think straight, but don’t worry; she’s got this. His father just needs to be brought back to reality. He says, they’ve called off the divorce. They’re probably already on the Cassadine jet. It’s too late. She asks if he trusts her. She saved him before, and she’ll do it again. He says, of course (🍷) he trusts her, but he wonders if this has all gone far enough. She says, let her decide how far is too far. She’ll be back, and so will his dad. She goes out the door, seeing Cameron in the entryway. She says, sorry, she’s got to run, but please come again soon. Ciao. Cameron asks Spencer if he’s okay, and Spencer says, never better. Cameron says he thought they were past hiding how they really feel, because they’re worried one will make fun of the other. Spencer says, okay, cards on the table. Total honesty. Cameron says, absolutely, and Spencer asks, what’s the real reason Cameron came over?

Cameron sends Josslyn a devil emoji, and she tells Trina, she-devil is on the move. Trina says, Cam might have needed a little nudge, but he definitely delivered. Josslyn says, the launch will be here any second. Is Trina still tailing Esme like they discussed? Trina says she doesn’t know. Spencer’s the slippery one, right? Anyone who managed to avoid everyone they knew in Port Charles for weeks needs two sets of eyes on them. Josslyn says, she’ll follow Esme and report back, and Trina tells her, be careful. If they’re right, Esme set Ava’s car on fire. Who knows what that chick is capable of? Josslyn says she survived Nelle. She can handle what Esme’s got.

Carly says Nina acts like Nelle was a martyr. She was a murderer, and the world is better off without her, and so is Wiley. Nina says, how dare Carly say that to her? Nelle was her child. Carly says she didn’t know that until after Nelle died, and Nina says, Carly means after she watched Nelle plummet to her death. Carly laughs, and Nina says, how dare she laugh? Carly stayed silent, didn’t tell the police anything, and let Nelle rot, not allowing Nina any closure. Carly says, so Nina decided to balance the scales with nine months of grieving a man who wasn’t dead? If Nina wanted to hate her and make her suffer, fine, but how does she justify making Sonny’s kids suffer, or Sonny? Nina says, she’ll gladly apologize to Sonny, his children, his family, his friends, even his seventh grade math teacher while she’s at it, but she’ll be damned if she ever apologizes to Carly. Ugh. I know Nina did wrong, but I hate Carly. She’s got nothing for anybody who’s not so-called family.

Trina looks at her phone, and says, Cameron, you should be out of there by now.

Esme walks into the hospital, and Josslyn follows at a distance. She says, Esme, what the hell are you doing?   

Spencer says, obviously Cameron isn’t there to get his notes, and Cameron says, of course (🍷) not. Spencer’s auditing the class. Spencer asks, then why? and Cameron says, it’s obvious. He practically told Spencer.  Cameron came to check up on him. The last time they all hung out, he felt tension. Spencer asks if Cameron means when he, Josslyn, and Trina all huddled and gossiped about him and his girlfriend, and Cameron says, sorry. It wasn’t cool. Spencer asks what they talked about. What did they say about him and Esme, or can’t Cameron tell him? Cameron says, they just all think Esme… He doesn’t know how to say this without it sounding weird. Spencer says Cameron always sounds weird; spit it out. Cameron says they think Esme has some kind of hold over him; like an influence. Spencer says, Esme loves him, and Cameron tells him, he didn’t say she didn’t. Spencer says Esme looks out for him more than his own father, and Cameron says Spencer’s father loves him. Spencer says, the way Augustus loved Tiberius; exiled, and choosing him last every time. Cameron says, it looks like Spencer did take notes, and Spencer says, if he’s not enough for his father, why is he still fighting for him? Cameron asks how Spencer is fighting for Nikolas, but Spencer says, it doesn’t matter anymore. Cameron says his relationship with Franco was rough when Franco started seeing his mom, but they worked at it. They developed a relationship, but with time and effort, they became like a real father and on. Things worked out, and it’s not too late for Spencer and Nikolas to put everything behind them, and move forward together. Spencer says, that’s just it. He’s not Cameron, and never will be.

Ava thanks Scotty for trying. She knows he’s going through a difficult time, and appreciates him meeting her. He says he’s still going to bill her, and she says she knows. He says, Nikolas too. He’s got to  meet a client. Should he take the papers with him? Ava doesn’t say anything, and he takes the envelope. Nikolas tells Scotty that his resources are at Scotty’s disposal to find Obrecht, and Scotty says he might take Nikolas up on it. Scotty leaves, and Ava says that was kind of Nikolas. Nikolas says, true love is always a worthy cause.

Epiphany asks Britt if everything is all right, and Britt says, yes. Why is she asking? Epiphany says she gets that Britt has to be the untouchable Chief of Staff. Just so Britt knows, Epiphany sees through her.

Nina says, Carly let her daughter die, lied to her for weeks, and did everything in her power to rob Nina of her grandson. Carly says, and she’d do it over all again. If Nina wants to hate her for it, come and get her, but don’t use someone like she used Sonny. Nina says, look at the bright side. At least Sonny’s back; she should be overjoyed. Carly asks if that’s supposed to make it okay. All’s well that end’s well? Nina says, none of this is okay, it’s just better. Everybody is happy Sonny is back, but really the question is, will Sonny stay happy? Carly asks what the hell that’s supposed to mean.  

Britt says, Epiphany sees through her? and Epiphany says, always have, always will. Britt asks, what is it she sees? By all means, enlighten her. Epiphany says, she bets Britt is going through a lot, and it might even become overwhelming. So if Britt ever needs to talk it through, use her as a safe space… within reason.

Ava says she needs to get going, and Nikolas says, fine. He’ll let her go, but he’s not giving up. He’ll move heaven and earth to find out who’s doing this, and when he does, they’ll be together again. She thanks him for not standing in her way, and he says, anymore? She says, anymore. He just has one request – wait for him. She fixes his lapel, looks at him for a moment, and leaves. Outside, she leans against the door for a moment.

Spencer says, Cameron is like the poster child for upstanding sons, and Cameron laughs, and says, clearly Spencer has been away far too long. How does he figure this? Spencer says, even for a short time, Cameron and Franco were like father and son. They had a bond. Maybe he doesn’t deserve that kind of bond with his own father… Not after everything he’s done. Cameron asks what Spencer means. What has he done?  

Sonny asks Epiphany if he’s good to go, and she says, not bad for a member of the recently deceased. She’ll get his after-visit summary. She leaves, and Esme comes up to Sonny. She asks if he’s Sonny Corinthos, and he says, who’s asking? She says, thank goodness she found him. Josslyn watches.

Nina tells Carly, things were simpler in Nixon Falls. Mike was actually happy. Carly says, stop calling him Mike, but Nina says, that’s who he was there. Jason comes in while Nina is talking, and Nina says, it’s who he wanted to be; not consumed with ambition, and riddled with guilt and regret. He wasn’t mourning the death of a child to violence. Carly launches herself at Nina, saying, don’t use the name of her child (which technically, Nina didn’t), but Jason runs in and intercepts her. Carly struggles with Jason, and tells Nina, get out. Nina says, tell Wiley that she’ll come back, but Carly says, Nina is never seeing Wiley again. Nina says Carly can’t change the fact that she’ll always be Wiley’s grandmother, and Carly says, Nina is nothing to him. Nina leaves, and Carly jerks away from Jason, whining that Nina threw Morgan in her face. He says, that’s because she knows she lost. Carly got Sonny back, and Nina’s got nothing. Let it go. Carly says, she’s going to burn Nina’s life down, and spit on her ashes. For an emotionless dude, Jason looks pretty horrified.

Tomorrow, Jason says someone’s feelings will be the least of their problems, Ava has unfinished business, Alexis asks what Shawn is trying not to tell her, and Sonny says Esme was right in coming to him.  

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Still in San Diego at the Del Mar, the women, minus Erika, took limo busses to Lorimar Vineyard, where they did a wine tasting, driving to various areas of the winery in a Rice-A-Roni cable car with tour guide Jared. I loved the cable car. It was like it had gone rogue off the tracks. Kathy brought her scooter along, and in her interview, told us it was see, sniff, swirl, and sip – then swallow. In Garcelle’s interview, she said, if dating was like wine tasting, she would love it so much more. She could line them up, and decide which one she wanted to take home. While they sat at a long table, swirling, sniffing, and guzzling sipping, Kyle announced that Tom’s brother was wanting to put him in a home, and told everyone about the burglary. LisaR jumped in, confirming everything, and lowering the times Erika’s son’s car rolled, making it four. In Sutton’s interview, she suggested someone put this man somewhere he could be taken care of. In Crystal’s interview, she said, this can’t be real. She’s never seen snow in L.A. In Dorit’s interview, she brought the car roll back to the original five, and said, this was stuff you only saw in movies. In Garcelle’s interview, she said, Erika’s stories were unbelievable, because they were hard to believe. Sutton added that she was not playing Nancy Drew. Let Scooby and his friends figure it out. Crystal said she knew what it was like to love someone with dementia. Husband Rob had stepped up, and was all in, getting her father everything he needed. Not everyone had that. Kathy excused herself to go back for a massage. She had a migraine and a neckache. In her interview, she explained that she’d been hit with a golf ball when she was a kid while doing a Barbie commercial, and had suffered ever since. By the end of the excursion, they’d had a lot of wine, and after enjoying a beautiful sunset, Kyle dared to do an impression of Erika. Even more daring was Sutton following with another one. I’ll have what they’re having.

Kyle, Sutton, and Dorit gathered in Kyle’s room for a kiki before dinner. Dorit felt badly for Erika. She felt Erika had cleared up a lot at the picnic, which Sutton hadn’t gone to. That was the first time Erika used the word alleged in regard to Tom being unconscious for twelve hours. Sutton asked, how can you be allegedly unconscious? and in her interview, she wondered why Erika’s story changing all the time, adding, I think y’all allegedly drank the Kool-Aid. In Dorit’s interview, she said she didn’t want to push it with Erika, but then they were left looking like idiots for asking, The women met in the lobby, and walked to dinner together, Kathy using her scooter. Dorit remarked that Erika was wearing latex, so it must be a good day. In Kyle’s interview, she said, Erika was not going to give Sutton any chances. The ice queen was not cracking on this one. Erika was back to getting a hot toddy, and said she was so overwhelmed; she’d needed a minute. What she was going through sucked, but there were people who could step up for Tom. He’d done a lot for a lot of people. Why was her kid there? We also got the official Erika approval stamp on her son having rolled his car five times. In Sutton’s interview, she said, something was weird. It was like the women wanted to prove they were Erika’s friends, She compared it to Denise last year, and we flashed back to that bitch LisaR, and all the she said that you said that they said garbage. In her interview, Garcelle said they were all kissing Erika’s ass, and it all seemed phony. Suddenly, Kyle asked Sutton if a kitty cat had her tongue. WTF?   

In Sutton’s interview, she said, Kyle watched Erika threaten her. Who’s this helping? In Kyle’s interview, she said, Erika had been so down, she just knew she was going home and crying. It made her happy to see that Erika was in good spirits, and she hoped no one ruined it. If I’d had something in my mouth, I would have done a spit-take, after what she’d just asked Sutton. If anyone was going to ruin it, Kyle made a good start. Surprising everyone, especially Sutton, Erika brought Sutton into the conversation, and in her interview, a producer asked if Erika was trying to smooth things over. She said she wasn’t smoothing anything, but why ruin anyone else’s time? She added that she was the best person in the group, and the most adult, then laughed, but I’m not quite sure she didn’t mean it. The next morning, Garcelle had coffee with Sutton on Sutton’s balcony, and Sutton said she was surprised that Erika spoke to her, and Garcelle said, it was like nothing happened. Did she trust it? Sutton said she’d see what the day brought. LisaR called to video chat, and was so loud, Erika heard her from the room upstairs, and came out on her balcony. Luckily, they weren’t talking smack, and Garcelle said it seemed like Erika had a rebirth. LisaR said it had been a long time since they’re seen the real Erika. It was joyous. Sutton said they’d never seen that side, and Erika finally called down that she could hear everything.

Yoga instructor Kory came to teach a class of yoga on paddleboards in the pool. Crystal and LisaR were the only takers, and oddly enough, I didn’t see Kory’s ass on a paddleboard. In LisaR’s interview, she said, finally, there was somebody adventurous in the group, and not afraid to get her hair wet. In Crystal’s interview, she said she was self-conscious in a bathing suit, especially next to LisaR. But LisaR convinced her to wear one, swearing she was wearing a teeny bikini, and showed up in yoga pants. Garcelle and Sutton joined them, but plopped into chaise lounges. LisaR said she didn’t know they’d have an audience, and Garcelle said it was more like hecklers. Kyle and Erika played (I guess) paddle-ball? It was on a tennis court, and like ping pong, but with a bigger ball and paddles. They didn’t keep score, and just hit the ball around, then had champagne. It reminded me of the semester I had tennis in phys-ed in high school, minus the champagne. My best friend was in my class, and we mostly goofed around. LisaR and Crystal both ended up falling in the water, trying to balance on one leg, Garcelle said if tried that on a paddleboard, she’d be using a scooter like Sutton. LisaR marveled that Erika had talked to Sutton, and Sutton said she was surprised, but didn’t know if the door was still closed, and if not, what the angle was. At least now she thought they could get through it. Erika told Kyle that she was feeling better. She couldn’t wallow because life goes on. She had zero dollars, and told her lawyers that she expected nothing. She said they told her that was the most courageous thing they’d ever heard, but it only makes sense that you can’t squeeze blood from a turnip, and there was a long line for any assets. In Kyle’s interview, she said, no one wanted to see themselves with nothing, but the victims needed to be paid. Erika said, every day was a new disaster, and full of bullsh*t .

In Kathy’s interview, she said that she’d rested up, and was psyched for the boat trip she’d planned. She’d hired celebrity chef Brian full of Malarkey to cook, and I actually remembered him from Top Chef. They went to Shelter Island Marina, where a massive sailboat awaited them. Erika confused us all by talking to Sutton as they walked up the dock, telling her it had been rough. Sutton started to apologize, and Erika said – wait for it – it’s okay. At the boat, LisaR said, oh my God, they’re talking, like no one had eyes. Erika said she had to lash out, and apologized. Sutton said Erika was too pretty to be mad at her, which was funny, although I’m not sure if Sutton meant to be funny. In Sutton’s interview, she said she’d gotten a mild apology. She didn’t trust it. She wanted to, but she didn’t. In Erika’s interview, she said, no, she didn’t want to work it out, but she wasn’t ruining everyone’s trip because she hated Sutton, Alrighty then. They met Captain Troy, not of any Deck. Sutton had a huge struggle getting up the stairs wearing her boot, and I wondered why they couldn’t have gotten a ramp for her. The women took tons of pictures, and had the captain move the boat for better lighting. In LisaR’s interview, she said she’d move a mountain for the right light, She’d find the right light in a coffin, Dorit asked what happened with Sutton and Erika, and Sutton said she’d let Erika tell the story. Erika said her life was in shambles, and she was angry and hurt. It wasn’t kumbaya, but it was an opening. She’s in a good mood, the moment was right, and Sutton was receptive. In Kyle’s interview, she said you just didn’t know what you were going to get with Erika. She could snap, then it would be fine. Erika said they were adults. It wasn’t going to be fixed overnight, but it didn’t have to be. In her interview, Kyle suggested Sutton just not talk, which was pretty much what Sutton had been doing. Erika said as far as the press went, if she looked like she was having too much fun, she wasn’t remorseful. If she hung her head, she was guilty. She was damned if she did, and damned if she didn’t. In her interview, LisaR said she thought Erika’s lawyers told her not to talk about anything. I’ll bet they also told her to play nice with everyone, and that was why she apologized to Sutton. Crystal said, despite their rocky start, she was enjoying the time with Sutton. Everyone agreed they were all having a good time, and Crystal ran across the boat to give Sutton a hug. Garcelle said she wanted to play Never Have I Ever, and Kathy said she’d done a background check on everyone, and there was nothing she didn’t know. I never know when Kathy is being serious, so… Garcelle said, never have I ever stolen anything.

In LisaR’s interview, she just made a horrified face. In Erika’s interview, she told us, say it or don’t say it, but she doesn’t like this sh*t. In Dorit’s interview, she said she may have stolen a few hearts as a teenager. Aww. The rest of the questions were all about sex, the women ignoring the captain was about a foot from them, and hearing everything. I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but no. Just no. In her interview, Sutton said, some of Erika’s comments had an underlying scariness to them (which I’d have to agree with), but she’d have rage too, if she lost all her money. They were wowed by the pink sky, and Sutton talked to Kathy, while the others went to the bow of the boat, playing Titanic. Sutton told Kathy, she wondered how friends could become foes so quickly. In her interview, Sutton said she didn’t want a friendship where she was scared all the time. She told Kathy that she couldn’t not ask questions, but it wasn’t to hurt anybody.   

Next time, Garcelle goes on a tailgate date, Crystal has a party for Chinese New Year, Garcelle wants to see LisaR reach out to Denise, and Sutton says she and Erika need to talk.

🥗 Please Pass the Rumor…

I wouldn’t be surprised.

📉 Rut-Roh…

Not a good look for Erika, but what is he doing wandering around in the first place?

👠 ShahMeanie…

I actually don’t like this kid that much, but one, he’s a kid, and two, this is just not cool

🍸 Lions and Tigers and SUR…

I compare them to twelve year olds, but to each their own.

🛵 On the Road Again…

No doubt houses to cry over, otherwise known as Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, will be on Friday, but join me tomorrow for a little soap and a little tea. Until then, stay safe, stay pursuing your dreams, and stay believing that true love is a cause worth fighting for.

September 28, 2021 – Carly Hunts Down Nina, New VanderBabies In Town, Times Two, Temp Nik, Special Guest, Frid Story, It’s Off, Dead Stuff & Jungle

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Crete, Greece. Anna and Valentin walk into a bar (not the start of a joke), and Anna says, that was totally unsatisfying. He says, just what every man wants to hear, and she laughs, saying, she meant retracing Chloe’s steps. They sit at a table, and Anna says she was hoping to find something more other than the site of the accident. He says they did find something more; they found a road to this quaint little town. He asks if they shouldn’t take a night off from sleuthing. Just one, and have themselves a little drinkie. She says she’s in, and he goes to the bar.

Drew is drowsing in his cell, when Russ comes in, and says he’s got company. Drew says Russ brought him a roommate; how thoughtful. Russ says, enjoy, and tosses Obrecht into the room, slamming the door behind her. She says, my God. Drew Cain? He’s alive? He says, Dr. Obrecht, right? She says he vanished; it’s been years. He says he’s guessing she’s not the reason he’s in there, which begs the question, who managed to capture her?

Michael and Willow sit with Wiley while he colors. Michael says his boy is the next Picasso, and she says, that’s his boy all right. He asks if she’s suggesting he’s not artistic, and she says she’s not saying he’s not not artistic. He says he’s wounded, but she says he’ll get over it. Yuri comes in, and tells them that Brook took Bailey upstairs for naptime, but he has a treat from Charlie’s for Wiley. He holds out a bag, and Willow says, how sweet. She thinks they’ll save it for dessert. Yuri lingers, and Michael asks if there’s something else. Yuri says, Wiley has a visitor, and Nina comes in.

Josslyn leads Maxie into the former home of the moss bowl🎍, and Carly asks, what’s up? Josslyn says, Maxie has something she wants to tell Carly, and Carly says, sounds serious. Josslyn says, it is, and Maxie says, she’s of two minds. A big part of her thinks, it’s not her business, just stay out of it (which gets my vote), but another part of her, also big, says she has information Carly has a right to because she’s Sonny’s wife. And if she were Carly, she’d want to know.

Jason tells Sonny, it was his idea to have the funeral. Carly wasn’t ready, nobody was ready, but he said they should do it. Sonny says he did right. Jason had to send a message that Sonny was gone, and he was in charge of the business. Jason says he hated every minute of it. He felt like he couldn’t actually grieve. Sonny says, the good news is, Jason doesn’t have to grieve anymore.

Valentin says, life is so strange, isn’t it? and Anna says, in what way? He says, it’s cyclical. It teaches us the most interesting lessons in the most unexpected ways. She says he’s in a mood, and he says he’s in an unburdening mood; is that a turn-off? She says, no. She likes it. Keep going. How is life unexpected and interesting? He says, being back in Greece for one. It helped him to see how after, in his mind, she rejected him because of the way he looked. She says, it had nothing to do with the way he looked, and he says, he told her, in his mind. He became obsessed with recreating himself, and getting his hands on the Cassadine inheritance. She says, and taking his place as that Cassadine, and he says, and all the evil crap. It was to pay for his expenses, his final surgeries, and also to fund his quest for the Cassadine fortune. It was also about circling back to her. He wanted to stand tall in front of her, and say, look at me, Anna Devane, I’m strong. And I’m rich. I’m a Cassadine. He doesn’t think he ever appreciated how much of a burden he was to himself.

Obrecht says, of course (🍷) she’s not the reason Drew is there. Does he think if she wanted to hold someone captive, she couldn’t come up with a better facility than this? He says he sees she’s not into the accommodations, but they grow on you. She says, that’s quite the professional beating he received, and digs in her bag, bringing out a syringe. He asks, what’s that? and she says, antibiotics. She’s been told to treat him for possible infection. He says he doesn’t think that’s a good idea, and she says, why not? He says, if memory serves – and he could be wrong about this – she was some kind of evil villainess, wasn’t she? She laughs, and says he has much bigger problems than her. He says, is that so? and she says, he really doesn’t know who’s holding him there, does he? He guesses she’s not about to tell him, but she says, on the contrary. She’d be delighted. She gives him the shot.

Michael tells Yuri, it’s okay; Nina is family. Yuri leaves, and Willow tells Wiley, look who’s here. Nina says she doesn’t know what kind of grow pill Wiley is taking, but it needs to stop right now. He’s grown a foot since she last saw him. She’s missed him so much. Willow says Wiley has missed her too, and Nina asks if she can have a hug. Wiley hugs her, and she says, it’s the best hug ever. She says she got him something, and hands him a box which probably contains toy trucks. He goes to the table with it, and Willow says, he loves it, although how she can tell, I’m not sure, because Wiley is not talking today. Nina says she heard Willow and Michael got back together; she’s so happy for them. Michael says they’re happy for them too, and Willow says, it seems like the whole family has been given a second chance now that Sonny’s home. Michael asks, what about Nina? Is this a quick visit, or is she back for good?

Sonny asks Jason for details of what happened when he was gone, and Jason says, ask him anything. Sonny says he knows Jason wouldn’t have had a funeral first of all, and he definitely woudn’t have gotten married to Carly if the situation didn’t require it. Jason says, they had no choice, and Sonny says, then Dante showed up when he came home. Was that as a policemen? Jason says, there was an explosion in a limo outside their wedding, and Sonny asks, who was in it? Jason says, Novak and Buscema, and Sonny says, what are the odds? He can’t see Jason inviting two guys to a wedding who he was going to blow up, but he could see them coming to a wedding to blow Jason and Carly up. He was one step ahead, right? Jason says, they owe it all to Ms. Woo, and Sonny says he always liked her. Jason says, him too.

Carly asks Maxie what it is they’re talking about. What does she know? Maxie says she’s going to tell Carly, and Carly says, then tell her. Maxie asks if she can do it her way, and in order. And please, try to reserve any judgement, which she knows will be difficult. It would be for her too. They’re kind of alike in that way. Josslyn says she gets that Maxie is trying to help, but the way she’s building this up is making it sound really bad. Maxie says, well, it is, and Carly says, what is it? Maxie says, fine. Nina has known for months Sonny was alive.

Valentin tells Anna, does he hate that Helena Cassadine is his mother? Of course (🍷) he does, but he’s free of it. She says, yes, he is, and he says he has two beautiful daughters that he loves and adores. He has money of his own; he’s his own man. Of course (🍷) they still have a messy history, and Anna says, so messy, but he says he’s not tethered by it. He doesn’t drag it around like a ball and… She says, chain? and he says, he’s free to pursue her because he wants to, because she’s gorgeous, and she captivates him, and he could make her dizzy with a dozen fancy words for why he just likes to be around her. She thinks that’s enough ouzo for him, but he says, maybe it’s not enough ouzo for her. She asks if he’s trying to get her drunk, and he says, hell yes. If she thinks he’s handsome now, wait until she gets a buzz going. She laughs, and he calls for two more. He says, this is the perfect atmosphere for this conversation. If they’d had this conversation back in Port Charles, she’d  be so guarded. She says she’s not guarded. She needs to keep up a professional demeanor. He says she’s guarded. She never lets her defenses down. Here, it’s just the two of them in the field. When the sun comes up, she can pretend this never happened. She can just dismiss his words as those of a drunken fool, but tonight, he’s saying everything.

Obrecht asks what was the last thing Drew did as a free man? and he says, he sent Andre Maddox back to Port Charles. He got on a charter plane to Afghanistan – at least he thought it was headed to Afghanistan. He was going to return the money his good buddy Archer stole, but somewhere along the line, they veered off course, and landed on some island. She says, then what? and he says, two guys with guns boarded the flight. He tried to resist them, then, lights out. For him, not them. He woke up in this place, and he’s been here ever since. She asks what that tells him, and he says she must really like the game Twenty Questions. It tells him that somebody wanted him abducted. He didn’t know who then, and still doesn’t. She says, it was two people, working in tandem, and he says, and those people would be…? She says, the first, the one who originally arranged for his abduction, is none other than Peter August.

Sonny tells Jason, he assumes with Buscema and Novak out of the picture, nothing ties them to their deaths. Jason says he and Diane will have to go down to the station for a while, but there’s nothing to find. Sonny says, good, that means they’re in a decent position, but Jason doesn’t know, because Buscema and Novak wouldn’t have acted on their own. Even from prison, he’s still connected. Cyrus is definitely not gone. Sonny says, they’d better work on a strategy, and Jason says, what? Sonny says he can just picture that bastard sipping coffee, learning about the two guys that died, and he’s alive. He laughs, and says he’s standing in front of his grave, and he’s not in it. He feels like a winner. He cannot be touched. Jason says, then they need to have this conversation.

Nina tells Michael, it’s a little early to say if she’s back for good. TBD, how about that? Willow says, but no more… Nina says, Pennsylvania. She said goodbye to her time there. Michael says, when one chapter closes, another begins, and Nina tells him, that’s what they say. Wiley looks so happy. Willow says, they’re trying, and Nina says, they’re succeeding. She says there’s something she needs to tell them.

Josslyn asks if Maxie just said Nina knew, and Maxie says, yes. Josslyn says, so when she went to pick up her dad in Nixon Falls, Nina knew Sonny was there? Maxie says, yes, and Josslyn says, she was hiding him away, letting all of them grieve, and putting her mother through hell? Carly says she wants to know what Nina knew, and when, and when Maxie found out. Maxie swears she didn’t know when she planned the wedding. She didn’t find out until this morning when Nina came to her. She was really upset and very remorseful. She said she made a terrible mistake. Carly says, mistake? Is that what we’re calling it?  

Valentin says, Anna’s turn, and she says, to drink or talk? He says, both. They don’t have to talk about him all night; they can talk about her. What does she think of him? She says since he’s not even going to remember his name in the morning, she’ll tell him. She missed him. She missed what they were to each other; their friendship. She knows it was her who messed it up, but then when everything happened, and he came back into her life, there was a problem. He asks, what was the problem? and she says she likes him. She doesn’t want to, and it keeps getting worse. She thinks, in a way, he understands her better than anyone else. Robert is the closest obviously, but he’s a good soldier. That’s the difference; he never sold out. Robert never compromised himself like she did. He says, they both did, and she says she’s not saying Robert looks down on her. She’s saying, she looks down on herself when she’s with him. Valentin asks if she’s with him because he’s so much worse, and she says he is, but that’s not what she meant. He says, the first thing that changed his life completely was the birth of his daughter Charlotte. And she knows the second thing. It was her.

Drew says, oh my God. Of course (🍷). Peter was in Afghanistan. Peter paid David Archer to hand him over to Helena. Obrecht says, something he didn’t remember at first, but when it started to come back years later… He says, that son of a bitch didn’t want him to rat him out. She says, Peter was anxious to keep hidden what a demented human being he is. Someone who stole Drew from his life, and scrambled his memory. He says, Peter saw him as a threat, and she says, specifically Drew’s standing with the people Peter holds most dear – Maxie and his unborn child. So Peter went extreme, as they say. Not that she hasn’t been there herself, but there’s a difference between doing nefarious things because you’re blindly in love with the person you’re doing them for, and doing them just because it’s expedient. He asks what Peter did to Maxie.

Jason tells Sonny, Carly wanted to be there to talk about it, but since the moment came up, he will. How’s Sonny doing with his bipolar disorder? Has he been on his meds? How’s he dealing with it, because he seems like he’s doing okay right now. Sonny says he was lucky, because one of the people who took him in, Phyllis, is a nurse. She noticed his erratic behavior from the beginning. Jason asks if it was bad, but Sonny says, it didn’t get really bad. He didn’t sleep a couple nights, and Jason knows how he gets when he’s having a manic episode. Anybody else would have thrown him out or call the cops, but they were fantastic. They just told him to go to the doctor and get treatment. Jason says, it sounds like a real blessing, but that doctor was treating a bartender named Mike, so Sonny should see his psychiatrist.

Nina says she can’t tell Michael and Willow how much it means to her that they gave her a second chance. To be able to be with Wiley is such a gift. Michael says, what it boils down to is, Wiley loves her, and she loves him, and Nina says, so much. Willow asks how they could take that away from him, and Nina says she’s so grateful. Not only for that, but also, that they’re Wiley’s parents. They’re really great parents. They put Wiley first, and you can tell. He’s such a happy, all-around awesome kid. She gives them all the credit. Michael says he doesn’t know about that, but Nina says she does. They’re decent, kind, good people. They didn’t have to let her be part of Wiley’s life, but they did it anyway. She knows there was a little coercion with Jax, but she believes if they thought she was bad for Wiley, there’s no way they would let her in his life. They gave her a chance. Willow says Nina is very kind to say all that, but Nina says she means it; she’s grateful. Michael says, so are they.

Maxie tells Carly, the situation with Wiley had gone bad, as she knows, and Nina wanted to get out of town to clear her head. She stopped by Nixon Falls to say hello to a friend, and she was floored when she saw Sonny. Carly says, so floored, she couldn’t tell them? and Maxie says, Nina told her that she did call to tell Carly that she saw Sonny, but they got in some kind of argument? Josslyn says, so now this is her mom’s fault? and Maxie tells her, she didn’t say that. Josslyn says her mom wasn’t nice to Nina, so that gave her the right to lie, and keep Sonny a secret for months? That is crap. Really? We can’t do better than that line?

Anna says she changed Valentin’s life? This should be good. He says it was miraculous seeing her again. She’d completely changed her life around. She’d gone from a sad, flawed, compromised sellout… She says, don’t hold back, and he says she’s become so much better. He admires her. He could never reach the level she’s reached, but she’s showed him that he can make better choices. She says she can see that; she sees him. He says he knows she does, and she says, she knows he sees her better than anyone does. He shakes his finger at her, and she tells him not to get all juvenile about this. He says, where has he heard this before? Not the juvenile part, but the other part. He knows – from himself. He’s been saying that all along. He gets her, right down to her socks. She says she’s not wearing any socks, and he says, that’s a good start. They kiss, and I’m so in.

Obrecht says, Peter and Maxie conceived a child together, and Drew says he thought Maxie had better instincts then that. She says, he won her over, and he was convincing. He completely sold Maxie on the fact that he was reformed. She fell for it too for a while. Maxie was her daughter-in-law, and Obrecht wanted to be on good terms with her. Drew asks how that worked out for her, and she snorts. She says, when Peter’s past was on the brink of haunting him, he framed her for his own crimes, and had her shipped off to Steinmaur. He says, so she was at Steinmaur, and they sent her here, but she says, there was this whole interstitial with Maxie realizing how despicable Peter was, rejecting him, and him arranging to induce her labor, so he could kidnap her and his child. Drew asks, what happened? and Obrecht says, it backfired. The woman he hired to preside over the birth, ended up stealing the baby, handing her over to someone else, and meeting an untimely end. So now that precious baby is out there, and Maxie doesn’t know where to find her. He says, so she thinks this was a set-up by Peter? and she says she’s positive. The only thing Peter cares about is finding his daughter. Which is clearly why he’s working with Victor. Drew asks, who the hell is Victor?  

Nina sits down, and Michael says, they’d forgotten how much Nina came through in the original custody hearing. She told the truth about Nelle, and he knows it made a huge difference. Nina says, at the time, she didn’t know Wiley was her grandson, and Michael says, he thought about that; if knowing what they know now would have changed what Nina said, but Willow says, it doesn’t matter. Nina came through for Wiley when he needed her, and they’ll always be grateful. Michael says, it was definitely a turning point in the custody fight, and Nina says, what she remembers about that day is, she just generally wanted to do the right thing. Even though in her heart she wishes things could have been different for Nelle, and for her, the fact that things turned out the way they did for Wiley, she’s thankful for. That part, she’ll never question or regret, because Wiley has them.

Josslyn says she’s sorry. She’s not mad at Maxie; it’s Nina she’s mad at. But she’s got to say, it kind of seems like Maxie is defending her. Maxie says she’s not defending Nina. What she did is indefensible, but does she feel empathy for Nina? Yes, because she’s been at a place in her life where she convinced herself – out of fear, anger, or pain – that doing something wrong was okay. She’s been there, and isn’t in a position to judge Nina. Is Carly? Right now I want to knock Josslyn and Carly’s heads together, so I vote no.  

Sonny tells Jason, he really hadn’t thought about it, since he was on his medication. He was doing well. Jason says he’s glad, and Sonny says, but Jason’s right. He’s got to check it out, take care of himself. Did Jason and Carly talk about this, about him? Jason says, of course (🍷). It’s a big deal that he’s back; it’s a lot to figure out. Sonny says, sorry Jason got stuck with this. All the hell Jason has been through, and he wasn’t there. Jason says it’s not Sonny’s fault, and Sonny says, no, it’s not. It’s Nina’s.

Valentin tells Anna that she’s a good kisser, and she says, they need to sober up. He says she told him that she wasn’t drunk, and she says, he needs to sober up. He asks where the fun is in that? and she says she’s going to get them a gallon of water and a gallon of coffee. Then they’re going to sober up, and go back to the hospital. He asks, what about her socks? and she says, oh boy. She goes to the bar and asks for water and coffee, but when she turns around, Valentin is passed out, his head on the table.   

Drew says, Victor Cassadine didn’t die in that explosion at Creighton-Clark? and Obrecht says, no, he survived, and he’s been pulling strings ever since. To what extent she’s not certain. All she knows is, on her way to St. Lucia… He says, St. Lucia? and she says, to take care of Peter, as he so richly deserved. She was abducted and wound up there, with a pit stop at Victor’s lavish compound. He says he bets she’s missing that place right about now, but she says, the company is better here. He says, let him get this straight. Victor and Peter are working together because Peter wants to find his daughter. She says, yes, and he says, but Peter is an incredible lowlife; Victor’s got to know that. She says, please. Anyone who’s met Peter for five minutes knows that, and he asks, what’s in it for Victor? Obviously, he’s not doing this out of the goodness of his heart, so what’s he getting out of this arrangement?   

Michael says Nina probably wants some alone time with Wiley, and suggests he and Willow take a walk. Willow says she’d like nothing more, and they leave. In the foyer, Willow asks if Michael got the feeling something is going on with Nina. She seems upset, or lost, or… Willow doesn’t know. He says, that’s probably part of the reason she’s here; seeing Wiley will be good for her. Willow says, it always does wonders for her. In the living room, Nina asks if she can help Wiley with his coloring and sits on the floor. She says she’s sorry she was gone for so long. They have to make up for lost time, right? Wiley says, yeah, and she says, lost time might be all we have left.

Jason asks what Sonny is talking about. Nina who? Sonny says, Nina Reeves, and Jason says he doesn’t understand. Sonny says, remember the Phyllis he told Jason about? She hired him to work at the bar. She was friends with Nina, and Nina left Port Charles to come and see Phyllis. She saw him, and knew that he was dead, but she saw him alive. Jason asks, for how long? and Sonny says, pretty much most of the time. Jason says, she knew and didn’t say anything to anybody? but Sonny says, it’s complicated. Jason says, it doesn’t sound that complicated to him, and Sonny says, what happened was, Nina was upset with Carly over the whole Nelle thing and Wiley… Jason says, he knows, but they went through hell. Carly and the kids were devastated. Now Sonny is telling him that they didn’t have to be devastated? That Nina held the key to all this pain, and didn’t use it? Sonny says he gets that Jason is angry, and he is also. Jason says Sonny isn’t angry enough.

Carly tells Maxie that she’s done terrible, questionable things, but that doesn’t justify what Nina did. She stole Sonny’s life for months, and for what? Out of spite? She literally took Sonny’s free will, and sat back and watched his family grieve, so no, Nina doesn’t get an excuse. Maxie says she doesn’t disagree with Carly, and Carly says, what Maxie did today was the opposite of what Nina did to Sonny. She kept him a secret because it suited her. Maxie told the truth because she believed Carly deserved to know. Maxie says she’s going to feel bad if she doesn’t say this, but she still loves Nina, even though Nina did something very wrong. Carly says, that’s the painful part of loving someone who messes up, but this was Nina’s choice, and she’s going to have to live with the consequences.

Anna tucks Valentin in. She smooths back his hair, and turns out the light. She leaves, and we see the tattoo of the Cassadine crest on his forearm.

Obrecht says Drew is a very shrewd man; he cuts right to the heart of it. Victor never does anything without an ulterior motive. There’s always a goal he’s working towards. He says, Peter is helping him achieve that goal, and she says, Peter has something Victor wants or needs, or plans to acquire. She hopes he gets it. When Peter is no longer of use to Victor, that will be the end of Peter August. He says, none of which helps them. He doesn’t know about her, but he can’t wait until it plays out between those two psychos. How are they going to get the hell out of here? She says, music to her ears, and they hear the door. Drew gets back on the cot, and Russ comes in, saying, time’s up. Obrecht says, this man is very ill. His kidney may be bruised, and she needs to see him again soon. Russ says he’ll tell the boss. Let’s go. Before she leaves, Obrecht turns and gives Drew a slight nod.

Anna asks the bar musician if he speaks English, and he says, yes. She says she’s headed to the U.S. Consul hospital to check on a patient there. Her friend is asleep upstairs, and she may not be back until morning. He says, not to worry. He’ll make sure her friend gets the message. She thanks him, and says she loved his playing. She leaves, and as he closes his guitar case, we see a tattoo matching Valentin’s on his forearm.

Jason says, Nina took nine months from Sonny. Nine months where he wasn’t living his life with his wife and kids. Why isn’t he furious? Sonny says he was furious, but what’s the point? Nina is a sad woman. Her mother screwed her over, she went through a bad period in her life. Then she finds out she had a child, and it’s Nelle. That would mess anyone up. He’s not making excuses; she absolutely should have told the truth. She made a bad decision. Jason says, it’s more than one bad decision. She took so much from Sonny. Sonny says he’s not happy about that, but he doesn’t see the point in wasting his energy on hating her. Maybe he doesn’t want to let himself get angry. He’ll have to talk to his psychiatrist about that one. Jason says, sounds like a plan, and Sonny says, let’s get out of here. He points at his gravestone, and says, get rid of it. It should have been gone yesterday.

Nina tells Wiley to say cheese as she takes selfies with him. Yuri comes in, and says, Wiley has another visitor. Nina says, of course (🍷) he does, because he’s irresistible. Carly walks in, and Nina suggests Yuri take Wiley. She thinks she and Carly will need time alone. She gives Wiley a fist bump as Yuri takes him. Carly closes the door and says, you stole Sonny’s life, and bitch, you’re going to pay.   

Tomorrow, Trina says, today Esme and Spencer are going to get what’s coming to them; Scotty tells Ava that it’s her call if she wants to stay married; Sonny asks if Jason left Britt for Carly; and Carly says Nina is going to pay (again).

Vanderpump Rules

LVP and Ken discussed reopening after lockdown, and met with Nick Alain. James practiced his DJ skills in the living room, using the applause button on his keyboard for response. We saw Lala’s daughter Ocean, and Lala putting breast milk in her coffee. Scheana was also a new mother to Summer Moon Honey. Wow. Pick a lane. In LVP’s interview, she said they’d been locked up for a year, and everyone wanted to come out and party. We’re back baby. Schwartz and Katie were trying for a baby, but so far, had no luck. Luckier on the business end, Schwartz was opening a new place with Tom. We saw clips of them in the unfinished space, and talking about the features they wanted to install. Since the two of them are d*cks, LVP had to be the one to ask about what she’d heard through the grapevine, and they were too scared to tell her. Puffy! They admitted they were going to open a new bar/restaurant, and Tom said they were thinking of calling it Schwartz & Sandy’s. In Katie’s interview, she said she thought the name didn’t convey the funky and fresh vibe the Toms were going for. She told Ariana that she wanted to get involved with the new bar, and in Ariana’s interview, she said, she and Katie had gotten close, but Katie and Tom had always clashed. She wasn’t too sure how he was going to feel about that. LVP told the Toms that she and Ken were supportive, and it was all good.

At SUR, LVP asked Raquel about James, and in Raquel’s interview, she said James was two years sober, and had made progress. He’d been sober since she’d given him the ultimatum. We flashed back to that, and she said, but he still smoked weed. He was California sober. James met with LVP, and told her that he’d been self-reflecting. In his interview, he said he was actually doing better without the alcohol; his DJ’ing was on another level now. He wanted to get back into SUR, and LVP asked if he understood the boundaries. He said he never saw everything as clear as he did now, but she had some receipts showing the opposite. He’d sent Max a series of rage texts, calling Max a pr*ck, and saying Max was fat and nobody liked him, using the word fat in nearly every text. James has zero body fat, which isn’t necessarily complimentary, but I don’t know if he just knows it’s an extremely hurtful thing to say, or he actually has some huge aversion to essentially a normal body type. Regardless, I guess he’s not seeing things as clearly as he thinks. He told LVP that he and Max had a big blow-out. The sad part was, he’d known Max for a decade, and this had to do with splitting a plate of food in a restaurant. James said it was one of those little bumps in a friendship, and Max had blocked him all over the place. LVP said she’d block him too. He acted like an a-hole.

In Scheana’s interview, she told us that she and Brock were seeing each other, the pandemic hit, they moved in together, and nine months later, they had a baby. She was sure he was the one, and knew she’d said that before, but she’d never felt this secure and in love. He is really cute with the baby, and just plain cute, so I think this is a win for her. In Lala’s interview, she talked about being pregnant, and how her kid just flipped out of the cookie. Yes, we saw pictures. She’d written a book, Give Them Lala, and said she’d been writing it for a year. We saw a headline where she talked about shoving Randall’s toothbrush up her butt when they’d had a fight, and she said Randall’s reaction had been, WTF? but now when she was pissed, he thought twice about brushing his teeth. She told Katie she’d had two babies this week, Ocean and the book. While visiting Lala, Katie got a text invite to Scheana’s hibachi birthday dinner, hosted by Tom and Ariana.

Brock asked Scheana if she was going to invite Lala, and Scheana said that it was upsetting that Lala hadn’t been there for her during her miscarriage. Instead, she’d gone out to dinner with celebrities. We saw a clip of Scheana’s vlog, where she wept while talking about her miscarriage, and she told Brock, it had been devastating. She’d needed Lala, but Lala was having dinner with Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly. At Lala’s place, Lala asked Katie, and where was Brock? Golfing. Scheana had gone on a podcast, and talked about Lala not being there for her, and Lala had gotten some intense messages. In Lala’s interview, she said she got DM’s saying she deserved to miscarry. She was having intense hormonal depression, and it sent her into a full-on spiral. Scheana told Brock, from day one, she had Lala’s back, while Lala told Katie that Scheana was not getting an apology. You could only smack the bee’s nest for so long before getting stung.

In Tom’s interview, he said it was going to be their first get-together in the new house. When they first moved in, people were judgy about them having no furniture, but now they could shut up. You get a chair! You get a chair! Everybody gets a chair! Scheana called Tom and Ariana to thank them, but really to tell Ariana that Lala had been talking smack about her on a podcast. Ready with the evidence, Scheana played a clip for Ariana, where Lala said, with Ariana, it is what it is. Ariana didn’t give a f*** about her, and vice versa. In Ariana’s interview, she said she didn’t give a f*** about 99% of people, but she’d gone out of her way to give a f*** about Lala. She’d opened up about her anxiety and body issues, and had let Lala eat her cookie. Tom wondered if Lala just wanted to be controversial, but Ariana said, if that was the case, don’t use her to get attention. She was over being chill and reasonable. F*** her.

LVP wanted Max to work it out with James, because Max was in the restaurant five days a week. She’d invited James over, and in James’s interview, he said it was like being called to the principal’s office when he was five. If that really happened, he must have been pretty mature at five. Most of us weren’t even in regular school yet. Is he Benjamin Button emotionally? In LVP’s interview, she said out of all the people on the planet, her son was the only person on James’s side. She thought it was a relationship worth saving. Discussing it in the kitchen, Max asked why James had been so aggressive, and James said Max complained about them charging $10 to split a plate. He went off because they’d taken a pre-workout supplement. Um… steroids? I don’t know many supplements that would jazz you that much. James said it brought out the Alpha male in him, and Max said he took the same thing, so why had he been chill? James said, Max hadn’t been chill. Max bummed him out over a ten dollar charge. Max said James was playing the victim. When James used to drink, it was an escapade of belligerence every time they went out, and now this. James said he didn’t mean any of it, but Max said he didn’t want James at SUR. Because James still can’t take any pushback, he told Max that he was just the boring little boy he’d always been – which was really smart to do in front of his mom – and Max walked out. LVP said, that didn’t go well, and James started crying, one of his go-to moves. LVP said he was responsible for the situation, and James wondered why he treated his friend like that. Seriously. It was one of those times where anything other than an apology is a bad idea.

Katie wanted be involved in the new restaurant, and told Schwartz, since they didn’t have a baby, that could be their baby. She wanted to be Hot Bitch in Charge. In Schwartz’s interview, he said, Katie didn’t like people, and the industry revolved around people. The theme for Scheana’s birthday was Mom’s Night Out, and she’d asked everyone to wear pink or black, because the only cute thing that fit her was a pink dress. Ariana was wearing pink, but said her soul was black. Tom made a special cocktail called Summer’s Eve, not knowing that was the name of a douche. Ariana asked if Scheana and Lala were going to duke it out. Magician Ben was introduced, and in Lala’s interview, she said, really? A magician for a grown-ass birthday party? She loved magicians, and thought they were super cool – when Randall got them for his child’s party. Ben’s finale was making Scheana’s ring disappear on a balloon that rose to the sky, then reappear in a wrapped box. In her interview, Lala added, okay. That was pretty dope. The chef and server, both Jonathans, appeared, and dinner was hibachied and served.

Katie told Tom that she wanted to be the maître d of the new place, and Tom said, okay, but it was one of those okays that doesn’t really mean okay. Schwartz said, Schwartz and Sandy sounded like they should be serving matzo ball soup. Agreed. It sounds like a Jewish deli. Katie said it was uninspired, and in Tom’s interview, he said he’d like to see the receipts of what she’s done, and her achievements of amazingness. Then there was this huge deal about the name, and Tom told Schwartz that he was done arguing with Katie; no more. James stood up like he was going to give a toast, and invited everyone to Palm Springs. There wasn’t going to be a Coachella this year, so he thought they could recreate it. Tom said they’d make their own Coachella. Scheana told Brock that she still needed to have a conversation with Lala, and grabbed Lala as she was going inside. She asked if Lala would sit down with her, and Lala was like, now? but Scheana was insistent. She said she’d needed Lala in Palm Springs. Lala didn’t understand how hard it had been for her. Lala said she’d answered every phone call, and offered to come. Scheana said she wanted to be by herself. When Scheana said she was ready to see Lala, she was on her way to dinner. She wasn’t there for Scheana the way Scheana wanted her to be, but she was there. She wasn’t apologizing. Scheana asked if Lala ever considered she wasn’t thinking clearly; she’d just lost a baby. Lala said she got that, but what Scheana had done wasn’t cool. The day she found out she was having a baby girl was the moment Scheana chose to publicly say Lala wasn’t there for her when she miscarried. She was already fighting depression, and got messages saying people hoped she miscarried Ocean. From the stands table, Ariana relayed to the others that Lala was crying. Something is happening. Lala says she gets what Scheana went through, but Scheana should have called and told Lala that she’d hurt her. Scheana said, that’s how she reacted, but she understood; from Lala’s perspective, she felt she was there. She was sorry she’d expected Lala to be a mind reader. Lala said they needed to get on the same page. She hated that they didn’t share their pregnancy experiences. Those were moments they couldn’t get back. She wanted their kids to be friends.

Raquel asked Lala if they were all right, and in Raquel’s interview, she said, time and again, she’d experienced the wrath of Lala. But she’d rather lead with compassion and empathy, than worry if Lala was going to lash out. Lala told Raquel that she hated how she and Scheana couldn’t get their pregnancies back, and weren’t communicating. She thought they’d had a breakthrough with their friendship, and wanted to stop with the pattern. Raquel said she didn’t know what to expect from Lala. She didn’t know where she stood. Lala said she liked Raquel her right now, and Raquel said she no longer felt she needed Lala’s approval, although she did for a long time. She was over it. instead of realizing Raquel was telling Lala that she’d grown as a person, Lala took it as an insult, and asked if Raquel was trying to battle her. Raquel said she wasn’t. She wanted them to be on the same page, but had felt attacked. Lala said she thought they’d moved on from that. Raquel needed to be babied more, so she’d baby her. Raquel said, just a little bit, making a joke out of it, and Lala said she’d baby the f*** out of her. The next time she wanted to rage, she’d redirect it to Charli. She seemed like a bitch who could take it. Ariana said Lala had raged about her out of nowhere on a podcast. Lala said she talked sh*t a lot because she wore her emotions on her sleeve. She and Ariana had been surface for a while, and she didn’t even hear from Ariana ever. Ariana said that wasn’t true, and Lala asked if It wasn’t true that Ariana didn’t give a f*** about her. Ariana said Lala wanted it to be, and it wasn’t true before, but it was now. Lala said she didn’t need this, and left. Ariana said Lala consistently gaslighted her, and never apologized.

Next time, Schwartz tells Katie that he and Tom have to present a united front; Katie could have sworn Schwartz said til death do us part to her, not Tom; the group goes to Palm Springs; Raquel does the bend-and-snap; and Lala and Charli go at it. And not in a good way.

🕺🕺 Here’s my take on the Toms. They were on Watch What Happens Live afterward, and Tom Sandoval is sooo full of himself. He says Tom Schwartz has a voice and can be aggressive, but I don’t believe that for a second. I think Sandoval steamrolls right over him, as evidenced during the name argument. Which, BTW, Sandoval won. The restaurant is going to be called Schwartz and Sandy’s. When there was a vote as to who was top guy now that Jax – still the worst human being in the world – is gone, Sandoval won that too. Schwartz said he was happy being number two, and I believe that.

🤵🏽 Nikolas For Now…

GH is temporarily recasting Nikolas. There’s no explanation, but I’m guessing positive covid test, or family emergency and his scenes were already written.

🦽 Keep On Wheelin’…

It took 58 years, but she finally did it.

🧛🏻 Good Vampires Never Die…

This sounds intriguing, and Ian Buchanan is the perfect choice.

💔 Real Break-Up…

I guess Vicki realized even a wedding wasn’t going to save her.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1304102/real-housewives-vicki-gunvalson-and-steve-lodge-break-up-2-years-after-engagement

⚰️ Playing Dead…

And just for the record, contrary to EW’s belief, the TWD episode using the subway cars was not like Train to Busan.

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-on-the-inside-connie-virgil-daryl-angela-kang-interview/

https://ew.com/tv/walking-dead-commonwealth-out-of-the-ashes-angela-kang/

Starlight, Starbright…

Join me tomorrow for some soap and a look into the life of Erika Jayne Girardi, otherwise known as RHOBH. Until then, stay safe, stay environmentally conscious, and stay knowing that when it’s your choice, you have to live with the consequences.

September 27, 2021 – Maxie Has Something To Tell Carly, New Old Deck, Another House, the Show Went On & Champs

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Yuri brings Brook to Charlie’s, along with Bailey/Louise, and says he’ll be sitting at another table, looking – how you say? – discreet. She says, that’s him; straight with a capital T. Maxie comes in, and Brook tells her, Yuri is here, so no worries. Maxie says there are also two plainclothes cops outside. As far as worrying goes, it seems like that’s all she’s doing lately. First, she was worried that Peter was going to go after the baby; now she’s worried she’s his target.

Valentin sits on Chloe’s bed, where she’s unconscious and hooked up to machines. He wonders, did Peter do this to her? Or was it someone else? Either way, she’s safe now. Anna comes in and asks how Chloe is, and he says, the doctors say she’s still unconscious. Any luck? She says, no. She didn’t find out much beyond Chloe’s name.

Obrecht tells Victor, she can’t lose her Britta; not after losing her Nathan. She has no choice but to trust he’ll keep his word. He stands behind her, puts his hands on her shoulders, and says, don’t worry, darling. The worst is over now. She whips around and puts a knife to his throat, and says, wrong again, darling. She shot him once and left him for dead, and he survived. This time, he won’t be so lucky. He asks if she’s sure this is how she wants to play this.

Elizabeth looks at a flyer that says GH Trivia Night, when Finn comes out of the elevator. They say, hi, and he says he saw one of the flyers for Trivia Night upstairs. Is she interested? She says she hasn’t given it much thought, and he says, him neither. She presses the elevator button, and says she has to get these files upstairs. He says he’ll see her around, and she gets in. Chase comes by and asks Finn, what’s up with him and Elizabeth?

Sonny tells Nina, she needs to stop fooling herself. Mike’s gone. She needs to forget he ever existed. She says she’ll never forget what she and Mike shared together, and he says she had nothing with him. She was in love with some guy she thought he was. Let’s start with that. Tending bar in Nixon Falls, mopping the floors; if he wanted to do that, he would have stayed in Brooklyn. That wasn’t his life plan, and it still isn’t. She says, this is? Is he happy with this life here in Port Charles? He says, yeah, with his wife, his kids, and his business, even though she wishes he wasn’t.

Jason tells Carly that he has to go and talk to Diane about this Buscema/Novak thing. He knows the cops are going to call him down. She says there’s something they need to talk about. What are they going to tell Sonny? How are they going to make this okay for him? He asks what she means by okay. Sonny doesn’t know their marriage was almost real, and it doesn’t matter because it’s over. (First World made-up problems.) She says she knows that, but Sonny’s been gone for nine months. Unless he said something to Jason, they have no idea how he’s been dealing with his bi-polar disorder, or if he’s been dealing with it at all.

Terry sees Elizabeth, and thanks her for the assist in keeping Britt’s mind off her mother. Elizabeth says, she totally saw right through it, but it was pretty fun nonetheless. Terry wonders if she dare say Britt’s growing on her, and Elizabeth says, stranger things have happened. Terry says Elizabeth seems distracted. Is everything okay?

Maxie tells Brook, she’s being as safe as she physically can be, so she knows she’s being irrational. Brook says, those are the same instincts that kept her away from Peter. She should listen to them. There’s no harm in a little extra caution. Maxie thanks Brook for arranging this, and Brook says, of course (🍷), but if anyone asks, they’re here on Deception business. Josslyn comes over to their table, and says hello to Maxie and Brook, and remarks that Bailey is getting big. Brook says, champion eater, this one, and Maxie says she’s surprised to see Josslyn there. She thought Josslyn would be home celebrating. Brook says, celebrating what? Carly and Jason’s wedding? Maxie says, Brook hasn’t heard? Brook says, obviously not, and Josslyn says, Sonny’s alive.

Nina asks if Sonny was happy as Mike, but he doesn’t know how to answer that. She asks again, and he says, yeah, he was happy, but he didn’t know what he was missing. She says, doesn’t that tell him something? That there was this happy, non-violent, better guy living inside of him, just waiting to come out. He says, no. You know what that  tells him? The guy had amnesia, but the real him was still in there. Remember when there was trouble, he’d take care of the situation? She says, true. They went to Corinth, and there was that guy. She was terrified that Sonny would come out, but there was Mike. He was kind to the guy. Sonny says, because he made the smart move. He may not always be right, but he doesn’t like to think he’s stupid. Why would he beat the hell out of the guy when he could make the guy his ally? You have to look at the situation and turn it to your advantage. She says she thinks that’s part of it, but she doesn’t believe that’s all of it. He says she has to listen to him, okay? He’s sorry that she fell in love with Mike. She says, and Mike fell in love with her, but he says, that was an illusion, plain and simple.

Carly says, she and Jason don’t know anything that’s been going on with Sonny the whole time he’s been gone. He seems okay, which makes her think he got his hands on some kind of medication, but if he hasn’t, maybe he thinks he doesn’t need it anymore. He says she’s right; Sonny seems pretty level. She says, although there were times before when he wasn’t on medication and seemed level, and then he crashed. Jason says, and if anything is going to make him crash, it’s this. She says, us.

Finn sees Chase at the hospital, and asks how he is. Chase says he got the all-clear from his physical therapist, and Finn says, back to work? Chase says, back to work; back to everything. Finn says, that’s really great, but cautions him to go easy in the gym. Chase says he’s been warned, and Finn says, but will he listen? Chase asks how Finn and Elizabeth are. From what he saw on the camping trip, things seemed to be progressing between them. Finn says he guesses they were, and Chase asks, what happened? Finn says, it’s more like what didn’t happen. They almost kissed.

Anna tells Valentin, Chloe abandoned her car after the accident, and made her way into this little village. She said she was an American, and gave them her name. Then she collapsed, so the local authorities were alerted, and the American consul ran her name and identity. He says, she was listed as a missing person, and Anna says, exactly. He says, and that alerted the WSB because she was already in their register, and Anna says, because the fake Chloe used her ID when she kidnapped Maxie and the baby. But how the real Chloe ended up here is anyone’s guess. He says, it has to be Peter, right? and she says, but she doesn’t remember Faison having a base of operations there in Greece. He says, other than the work he did for Helena? and she says, of course (🍷). Cassadine Island is very close, isn’t it?

Victor says, one of the things he’s always found sexy about Obrecht, was her intelligence. But let’s review the situation. Obviously, she’s on his compound, with a full staff keeping watch, so does she really think pulling a knife on him is her best strategy? She says, it’s the only strategy. She’s not available to be his prisoner. She’s getting out of there, and going home to her daughter. He says she didn’t used to be this sentimental, and she says, losing her son changed her. It made her understand what is important and what is not. What is worth it, and what is not. Clearly a lesson he hasn’t learned. So in case there is any doubt, she will kill him to get back to her only remaining child in a heartbeat.

Chase tells Finn, last he heard, almost kissing was a good thing. Finn says, it was just a moment. He’s not sure Elizabeth wanted it to happen. Chase asks why he’d say that, and Finn says, it’s awkward now between them. Chase saw them just now. Chase says, he did. The vibes were coming from both of them. Did Finn want the kiss to happen? Finn says he got lost looking into her eyes. If Scotty hadn’t fallen from the sky, who knows? Chase says, Finn would still be kissing her right now, but Finn says he doesn’t want to push anything. If she’s not into it, or she’s having second thoughts, he understands that. Chase says, okay, but what if she’s neither of those things?  

Elizabeth tells Terry, things were going really well. The kids were off with Chase, and she and Finn had a moment alone. Terry says, and…? and Elizabeth says, and they were close to kissing, when Scotty showed up. Terry says, so they were interrupted. Big deal. Just pick up where they left off. Elizabeth says, that’s the thing. She’s not sure Finn wants to.

Victor says he’s sorry he and Obrecht rekindling their relationship isn’t in the cards, but he still doesn’t think their time together was a waste. She says, nein, but he says, it’s given him a chance to see her in a whole new light, and appreciate her even more. He sees how much she loved her son, and regrets Nathan wasn’t his. He also regrets that they have to do this the hard way. She tells him, don’t worry. She won’t kill him unless she absolutely has to, but he says he doesn’t think she’ll see it the same way he does. Obrecht feels a gun in her back, and Peter says, hello, Liesl.

Josslyn sits down, and tells Maxie and Brook, it was so surreal to walk into that room and see Sonny. Not only alive, but smiling. She didn’t know what to feel first. It was a roller coaster of emotion; shock, to joy, to confusion, to relief. Maxie says she can’t imagine it. When she heard, she was blown away. Josslyn says, that’s an understatement, and asks how Maxie found out. Maxie says, she hears things from people who know stuff, and Josslyn says, that’s just so weird. Sonny only came home to her mom and Jason… Brook says, on their wedding night. Josslyn says, that’s a whole other story, but then Dante showed up, and she and Michael got the text to come over. She asks if Dante was the one who shared the news with Maxie.

Sonny tells Nina, forget the fact that he’s married. He had an entire life. What did she think she was going to do, go on indefinitely? Even if his memory never came back, that humble bartender is so far from who he is. She says he’s right. She was in denial, 100% complete in denial, but she wants to make something really clear. There wasn’t one morning, not one, she didn’t wake up and say to herself, today is the day she tells him the truth, and makes things right. He says, but she didn’t, and she says, because she’d see him smile, and see how peaceful he was, how happy. Then her willpower would just evaporate. It was like Nixon Falls was a parallel world where only good things happened; there was no pain and he wasn’t in danger. She never meant to hurt him. He says she didn’t think it would hurt him being away from his family, leaving Carly and Jason to pick up the pieces? She was great. They were great together, but it wasn’t real. She nods.

Jason tells Carly, the vows they said, the life they thought they were going to have, that’s not going to happen. The feelings will go away in time, and they’ll get back to normal. She says, what if Sonny finds out they were planning a real marriage? Jason knows how Sonny operates. His paranoia is huge when he has a manic episode. Jason says, and if Sonny is having a manic episode, they don’t know. She says, the worst thing that could happen would be Sonny being paranoid against them. The two people who can help him.

Finn says, it’s complicated, but Chase doesn’t get why. Finn and Elizabeth are both adults, who work in the same field, who for weeks and weeks worked to try and save his life –thanks for that, by the way – it makes sense they would have grown closer together. Finn says, it was a heightened situation, and Chase says, so? Finn says, so Chase is better, thank God. Now things are going back to normal. Chase says, exactly. Finn and Elizabeth have a chance to explore things between them in a regular setting. Finn says, that’s what worries him.

Elizabeth tells Terry, when Chase was sick, it was a distraction. Terry says, she means from losing Franco? and Elizabeth says, yeah. And working with Finn to save his brother was all consuming, and exactly what she needed. Not to mention, they made a pretty good team. Spending all that time together… Terry says, they got closer, and Elizabeth says, it felt that way. Terry says, it looked that way too, but Elizabeth says she doesn’t know. Now that things have calmed down, they’ve taken a step back. Maybe she mistook their teamwork for something else.

Valentin says, Anna is right. Cassadine Island isn’t far; it’s about twenty minutes by boat. She asks if he’s okay with that. How does it feel being so close? He says he has mixed emotions. He left the island when he was six, so he doesn’t have any fond memories there. What really bothers him is Nikolas got the entire inheritance. Anna says, in such a dramatic way. Typical of Helena to set things up that way. He says, absolutely, but the fact of the matter is, the money wasn’t his to inherit; he’s not a Cassadine. He’s not beholden to Mikkos or Helena. He is the man that he made himself to be. She says, he’s his own person, and he says, and you know what? He thinks he’s starting to like him. Anna says she thinks she is too. Yes! I love them together.

Victor moves the knife away from his throat, and says Peter certainly took his time. Peter says he was busy launching himself off a cliff to escape Anna and Valentin. Victor says, and he was busy arranging Peter’s retrieval. And he’s welcome. Obrecht says, they’re working together, and Peter says, that’s not any of her concern. She tried to kill him. She says she tried to kill him because he deserves it. She only regrets it didn’t work. He’s a despicable excuse for a human being. Victor says, perhaps, but he has his uses. He asks if Peter took care of that mess in Pennsylvania, and Peter says he burned that hole-in-the-wall bar to the ground. Oh, and Obrecht’s niece was inside. He doubts anyone survived. Now that he’s taken care of one loose end, time to tie off another. He aims his gun at her.

Brook tells Josslyn, she’s learned to never ask Maxie about her sources. Maxie knows things, and they get to benefit from that. Let’s backtrack. Sonny is alive? This is incredible. What happened? Josslyn says, when Sonny fell in the river, he didn’t drown. He washed ashore in a small town in Pennsylvania, but had no memory of who he was. Some nice people took him in, and he’s been living for the past nine months with no idea he had an entire other life waiting for him. Brook asks if he’s okay, and Josslyn says he is. Brook says she can’t wait to see him, but doesn’t want to push herself on him if he’s overwhelmed. Is he really doing okay?

Nina tells Sonny, he keeps saying it’s not real, and she understands; she really does. But at the same time, it happened. We fell in love. Sonny says, don’t say we, and she says, she and Mike fell in love, but he was Mike. He says, but he wasn’t. She had feelings for someone, but it wasn’t him, and he gets the feeling she doesn’t like Sonny Corinthos very much. She says, she just didn’t know him very well. She believed he had every reason to hate her, and she’s read stories and articles that put him in a negative light. But Mike didn’t happen in a vacuum. Mike’s kindness, that love, patience, and willingness to listen came from him. He has those qualities, but she didn’t know that. So her saying Mike is a better version of him, is her judging him. She didn’t know him really, and obviously, now she never will.

Carly tells Jason, everyone was there, and saw them at their wedding, including Michael. Michael knows it was more than just politics for them, or at least it was going to be. If Sonny gets suspicious and asks questions, what do they tell him? Jason says, if he asks, they tell Sonny the truth. They wanted a real marriage, but it didn’t get that far, because Sonny came back, and everything changed. What he needs her to hold on to is that they didn’t do anything wrong. I’m finding it difficult to see what the big deal is.

Terry says, the first thing she’s going to caution Elizabeth against, is putting herself in Finn’s head. She has no idea what he’s thinking. Elizabeth says, doesn’t she? Last night they were talking about the camping trip, but all Finn brought up was the kids. Nothing about the almost kiss. Terry asks if Elizabeth brought it up, but Elizabeth says, there was a reason she didn’t. Terry says, like what? and Elizabeth says, like maybe it’s just too soon. For Finn and her too. Terry says she doesn’t believe that for one second.  

Finn tells Chase, Elizabeth lost her husband not that long ago, and he’s fresh off a bad breakup. Chase says, fresh might be a little bit of a stretch, and Finn says, the timing’s not right. Chase says, the timing is perfect, and Finn says, not to mention Violet. Chase says, who adores Elizabeth. She thinks Elizabeth walks on water. Finn says Chase saw how hard Violet took it when he and Anna ended things. Say he and Elizabeth get close, and then it doesn’t work out? He’s not putting Violet through that again. Chase says he’s right, and Finn says, he is? Chase says he doesn’t think Finn should get involved with anyone ever again on the off-chance it doesn’t work out. Finn tells Chase, he’s not saying that, but Chase says, yes, he is.

The doctor tells Anna and Valentin, brains do heal. They’re hoping for the best with Miss Jennings. Valentin asks if he has any idea when she’ll come out of it, but he says he’s sorry; there’s no timetable for this. Anna asks what he can tell them about her condition, and he says, she has a concussion, most likely from the car accident. She was also dehydrated, disoriented. She’d clearly come from some stressful situation. Valentin says, she’s probably not a person who ran off the road because she was drunk on vacation, and the doctor says, no. Anna says, it’s sounding more and more like Chloe was being held against her will.    

Victor steps in between Obrecht and Peter, and asks what Peter is doing. Obrecht is his guest. Peter’s not calling the shots; he is. Put the gun down. Obrecht tells Victor to take what he wants, the knife or her life, just let her kill Peter first. Victor says, that’s the trade? and Peter says, stupid woman, but Victor says, hold on. Let him think about this.

Josslyn tells Brook and Maxie that Sonny seems great, but she doesn’t know. She has no scale to judge it on. Last night was amazing and wonderful. Sonny was so happy to see them, and they were just as happy to see him. He seemed to be the Sonny she’s always known. Brook asks if Sonny told them what he’s been up to, but Josslyn tells her, he didn’t say much. She’s sure he will once he settles in. Brook says, that makes sense, and Josslyn tells them, Sonny said he knew where he was and what he was doing, but nine months is a long time. She’s sure there are holes. She doesn’t want to put Maxie on the spot, and gets her not revealing her sources, but if she does know something, it would be great if Maxie would tell her mom. Maxie says, she thinks Josslyn is right. She definitely needs to talk to Carly. Why, Maxie, why? Why aren’t you letting Nina do that?

Jason says he and Carly would have never let themselves go down that road if Sonny hadn’t disappeared. Carly says, of course(🍷) not, but she doesn’t want Sonny to think he’s in their way, or that they’re still together, because they’re not. Jason says, they’re not, but there’s nothing to hide, and Sonny will pick up on that. So let’s just take this step by step. Carly says she’ll talk to Sonny about his bipolar disorder, and they’ll take it one day at a time, and if he asks any questions, they’ll tell him the truth. Jason agrees, and she says she hopes he doesn’t ask.

Nina says her reckoning day has come, hasn’t it? All the lies she told to the people left to grieve for him. They’re going to feel betrayed, and they should. Because that’s what she did; she betrayed so many people. She betrayed their trust, and the trust she and Mike/Sonny had with each other. She betrayed Michael and their grandson. Sonny says she didn’t lose the connection, did she? When she was video chatting with Wiley, that call wasn’t dropped; she ended it because she didn’t want him to see his family. She says, yes. Of all the choices she could have made, she chose the one that alienated everybody. Now she has to live with the anger and resentment; theirs and his.  

Preface: These are two separate conversations going on at the same time. Elizabeth says, then there’s the whole Violet angle, and Terry says she’s shutting it down before it’s begun. Finn says, no, he’s not, but Chase says he’s way overthinking this. Elizabeth says, no, she’s trying to be an adult, and Terry says, and does she want to be a happy adult? Finn tells Chase, of course (🍷) he does, and Chase asks if Elizabeth makes Finn happy. Elizabeth tells Terry, yes. She loves spending time with Finn. Chase tells Finn, then get out of his own way already, and see where he and Elizabeth are with each other. Then he can find out if they’re on the same page. Terry and Elizabeth get in the elevator, and Terry says, if they’re not, no harm, no foul, but Elizabeth will never know if she doesn’t try. Finn tells Chase, okay. When he puts it like that… Chase says Finn didn’t think his little brother was so wise, and Finn says he didn’t, but let’s not go overboard. Chase says, he’s there for advice anytime Finn needs it, and Finn says he’s created a monster. He tells Chase to show himself out, and turns, running into Elizabeth and Terry coming out of the elevator.

Peter says Victor can’t be serious, and Victor says, as tempting as he finds Obrecht’s offer, the truth is, he can’t trust her. Obrecht says, but he trusts Peter? and he says he and Peter have their own arrangement. She says Victor is a bigger imbecile than she thought. Peter will double-cross him as soon as he sees an opening. Victor says, that’s just a chance he’ll have to take.

Carly tells Jason that she loved their wedding and their reception, and she’ll treasure those memories for the rest of her life. But that’s private, for them. She’s not trying to shut Sonny out, but he wasn’t there; he wasn’t a part of it. Trying to explain it to him will only cause tension. Jason says, first of all, It’s Sonny. The three of them have been through way worse than this. It’s a good thing Sonny’s back. She says, it’s a miracle. She prayed for this every moment he was gone, but at the same time, it’s disorienting. He says, there’s always going to be bumps, but they have Sonny and he has them. It’s going to be okay. She laughs, and says she loves that about him. When he says it’s going to be okay, he means it. He laughs, and tells her, now you say it, and she says, it’s gonna be okay. They hug.

Sonny says, let him tell Nina something, and it’s coming from experience. It’s never a good thing to play God with someone’s life, and that’s what she did. Now there’s going to be a fallout. She says she knows, and he says he’s sorry about that. Being honest, aside from her first initial impulse to get back at Carly, he doesn’t think she did anything with malice. He thinks she made a mistake, and just kept going on. She says, that pretty much sums it up, doesn’t it? For what it’s worth (🍷), she truly is really sorry. She hopes he doesn’t suffer from her mistakes. She leaves, and he ponders this.

Yuri tells Brook, he ordered avocado on toast for Monica, and Brook says, that’s so sweet of him. She’s sure Monica will appreciate that, but they have bigger fish to fry. He says, Peter August, and she says, he’s still out there. The guy’s got a screw loose, and for all they know, Peter could be planning a full-blown assault on the house. Yuri says, if he tries, it will be the last thing he ever does. He won’t get near her or that baby.

Anna thinks she and Valentin should head to the village, and conduct some interviews. See if someone saw Chloe, the car, or both. You never know what sort of details you can turn up. He says, let’s go, and Anna tells the doctor to notify him if she wakes up. He says, will do, and they leave. I have a bad feeling about this.

Finn smiles, Elizabeth smiles, Terry smiles, and Chase moves over by Terry. Finn says, hi again, and Elizabeth says, hi. Chase says he thinks they should make themselves scarce, and Terry says that’s their best bet. They walk to the reception desk, and Elizabeth laughs. Finn says, so how is she at trivia? and she says, not great, but it’s more about fun than skill, right? He says, right, and it’s for a really good cause. She says, exactly, and he says, so maybe next Wednesday? She says, sure, okay. She’ll be there. She grabs Terry by her lab coat, and they leave. Chase smiles at Finn, and Finn shakes his head.   

A lackey grabs Obrecht, and she asks where he’s taking her. Victor says he’s saving her soul, and the lackey takes her away. Peter says Victor is making a mistake keeping Obrecht alive; she’s dangerous. Take it from someone who knows. Victor says he’s well aware that she’s dangerous – to Peter. That’s why he locked her up. Peter asks, why take the risk when he can get rid of her? and Victor says, that’s for him to know, and Peter not to. Peter says Victor isn’t nearly as smart as he thinks he is, and Victor says, they’re done here. Peter walks out, and Victor’s phone rings. He asks what they have for him. The doctor with Chloe says, Miss Jennings just had two visitors from the WSB.

Josslyn brings Maxie to the former home of the moss bowl, and Carly asks, what’s going on? Josslyn says Maxie has something she wants to tell her.

Sonny goes to Mike’s grave, and says, hey, dad. He’s home. It took him a while, but he finally made it. It wouldn’t have happened if Mike hadn’t come to him in the woods. Mike saved his life. Sonny threw his watch away… It’s a long story, but… Jason joins him, and Sonny says he’s glad Jason is there, but first things first. Can they get rid of that thing? He points to his own gravestone.  

Tomorrow, Willow thinks something is going on with Nina, Valentin says he’s staying with Anna, Carly wants to know what Nina knew and when she knew it, and Sonny tells Jason that it’s Nina’s fault.

Below Deck Mediterranean

Captain Sandy tells Malia, the reality is, during the first meeting, she’d asked Malia to come to her if there was an injury, so do it from now on. Any injury is a liability, even if it’s a bruise, and David has a massive effing bruise. She says she can’t trust Malia. Malia goes back on deck, and says, f*** that; she’s over this. Courtney and Katie put the finishing touches on the boat, and Malia tells David that he has to make a report to the First Officer. David tells Mzi that he could hear the captain screaming at Malia. Mathew wonders if it’s going to be an early morning/early night crowd. In Katie’s interview, she says she had seven girls under her in the past, and now she has one. If it blows up in her face, that’s on her, and she’ll take responsibility. Malia tells Mzi and Lloyd that she should have reported David’s injury, but it hadn’t been during working hours. She’s obviously upset, and Lloyd and Mzi hug her.

Mathew asks David what the vibe is on deck, and David says, limping tea. Mathew says, since it’s a religious group, they should get with the prayers. In his interview, he says he’s like Matt the Cat, and feels that he’s escaped the fire many times. As usual, Mathew is a nervous wreck, but David says he’s done five charters, and the guests have loved everything he’s done. The captain calls Malia to the bridge, which I always think must be like being called to the principal’s office. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says she didn’t know severity of David’s injury. He might feel fine now, but God forbid it gets worse, and he gets a blood clot or something. If an injury isn’t reported, those liable are the owner of the vessel and her.  

Lloyd and Mzi discuss what superpowers they’d like to have, and Mzi says he’d like to read minds. Lloyd says he’d like to speak to animals, but what if they’re thick, and all they’re saying is what they’re saying. In Lloyd’s interview, he says, it’s worrying leaving there. He’ll have to be concerned about people’s impressions of his lifestyle. The captain tells Malia that she made it clear from day one, if someone is injured, she doesn’t care what it is; she wants to know about it. Malia says, if it had happened when David was working, she would have filled an incident report out, but it happened after hours. Captain Sandy says she sees where Malia is going with this technically, but David is limping. Malia says she sees what the captain is saying; it could become more serious. She’s sorry. In Malia’s interview, she says, the captain has the right to know what’s going on with the crew at all times, especially an injury. She should have reported it, and at the end, it’s her fault. The captain says she trusts Malia 1000%, and it was a blow when she found out. Malia says the captain saying that she didn’t trust her, hurt her to the core. She’ll make sure it happens from now on.

Doctor Tea calls the captain, and says three of the guests were delayed in travel, and now they need to wait for negative covid test results. In Malia’s interview, she says she’s putting David on the night shift, since there’s not as much physical labor. She tells him, as long as he can stand and wash dishes. She says, Lloyd and Mzi are going to need to step up their game during the day. Hopefully, the captain will see that she’s trying to remedy the situation. Captain Sandy radios the crew to get ready, and tells them there will be three latecomers. The crew gets in their whites, and Katie quickly goes over everything with Courtney. The guests come up the dock, and the captain says, Katie will show them around the vessel. They board, and Captain Sandy finds out the other guests’ tests are negative. Katie gives the tour, and Mathew makes charcuterie boards. In Courtney’s interview, she says she can’t believe they’re doing the trip with only two stews. The anxiety is real.

In Mzi’s interview, he says he hasn’t manned the bow before, but it seems straightforward. Malia tells him that he’s got this. Primary Anthony tells Katie that his go-to drink is Sprite, and he laughs about it. In Katie’s interview, she says, he doesn’t drink, and it’s what she and Courtney needed right now. Malia says, all straight lines are on board, and tells Captain Sandy that she’s awfully close to a dolphin. In the captain’s interview, she says, the Lady Michelle is a heavy vessel. 909 gross tons, two different currents, and the wind going with one, makes it difficult to get out of a hole. She’s coming out heavy on the stern, and could hit a dolphin. She makes it, and tells the crew, nice work. Malia tells Mzi, good job, and Katie asks the deck crew to clean the crew mess. Anthony says when they’re in a restaurant, they order like children. Everyone gets a Shirley Temple. Malia tells the captain that she’s put David on nights, and the captain thanks her. She tells Katie that Malia is scouting picnic areas, and Malia says, they’ll set up using two of the deck crew. In Malia’s interview, she says, this is where Delaney would help. Sometimes extra hands are just extra hands. It’s unnecessary stress on the deck crew. Malia says they’re going to a national park, and Katie tells Courtney, they’ll be fine.

They drop anchor in Borovnik, and in Katie’s interview, she says she’s better at her job when she’s running around like a headless chicken. She’ll take physical stress over emotional stress any day. The delayed guests arrive, and Katie pops champagne. Guest Holly says, that is the song of my people, so I guess the late group drinks alcohol. In David’s interview, he says he feels useless, although he’s helping in the laundry. Katie tells Mathew, it’s going to be a bitch to carry everything, and In Mathew’s interview, he says, the vibe is better and more chill without Lexi. His spiral has subsided. In Malia’s interview, she says the picnic site is on top of a mountain over the water, and contains the remnants of an old movie set. The sites in the Med are usually castles or old ruins, as opposed to sandy beaches. Anthony asks if Captain Sandy will join them for dinner, and she accepts. In Malia’s interview, she says she doesn’t want to be a d*ck, but they need an extra person. In Mathew’s interview, he says he’s worked for billionaires and celebrities, but none of them have seen him have a meltdown and kept him employed. He wants to prove himself more to Captain Sandy than the guests. Malia and Mzi set up the picnic, and it’s quite a hike up the mountain. These jobs are a workout unto themselves.

Malia tells Mzi that they need to double-time it. Back on the boat, Katie is impressed with Courtney’s laundry skills. Mzi and Malia set up lunch on the mountain, and the late guests have a shot. Mathew asks Katie, how does it feel to be the world’s best chief stew? and she responds with an unenthusiastic, yeah. Mathew just keeps cooking. I imagine if the guests don’t drink, they’re going to want to eat. The guests arrive for the long trek up the mountain, and Anthony is impressed that the crew hauled everything up there. The food looks so good, I can almost taste it. It’s a build your own poke bowl buffet, with tons of stuff. David almost falls over the railing of the boat, leaning to unhook the tender, and I almost have a heart attack. Wait until Captain Sandy watches this. The guests talk about what they’re doing next, and one says he wants to get on the jet board. I’m assuming the mixed up jet ski with paddleboard, unless there’s some hybrid I don’t know about. In Courtney’s interview, she says, no matter what, Mzi is a friend for life, but she knows she doesn’t want anything more than friendship. Her last boyfriend dumped her during lockdown. To make it worse, they were watching Ozark together, and she never finished. He ruined it for her. I could totally understand this.

The guests return to the boat, and tell Captain Sandy that her team pulled it off. It’s the best charter ever. On shore, Katie and Lloyd take pictures, posing like they got married, It does not look like fun hauling this stuff around. In Courtney’s interview, she says she feels… exhaust? and a producer says, exhausted. Yep, she’s that tired, since she’s been working 9 hours without a break. Katie tells Mathew, the guests loved it, and Anthony says he wants to jet ski for a second. Malia tells him that they have to stay 300 meters off shore, and another guest goes with him. One bounces on the trampoline, and another paddleboards. David tells Malia that he thinks they took the jet skis to town, and Malia says she’ll go to the bridge and get eyes on them. She sees them go under a bridge, and tells the captain that they went into town. Captain Sandy tells her, go get them, and in Malia’s interview, she says they’re going to get a ticket. Lloyd says, they are in big trouble.

Malia takes the tender out, and yells, hey! at the guests, reminding them of being 300 meters from shore. Courtney takes a break, and the captain says, bad boys. Malia shows them the way back, and radios the captain, telling her the capture of the guests was a success. When they get back to the boat, David tells them not to go under the bridge. They use the slide, and a few of them jump off the boat into the water. I would love to go down that slide, but jumping off the boat, not so much. It’s awfully high. Mathew asks Katie about dinner, and in her interview, she says she enjoys working with Mathew. It’s nice that he asks her opinion, but at the same time, she needs him to do his job and make his own decisions. He asks if he should put the parmesan on the table or on the dish. The guests get in the hot tub, and Lloyd brings up the slide. Katie brings out snacks, and the guests chant her name. Courtney yawns, and Katie tells Mathew that dinner is at 8:30. He asks her to say a prayer that the captain likes everything. In his interview, Mathew says, it’s generational. His dad is an actor, and his mom is a chef. He works better off positive reinforcement. I wonder, doesn’t everyone? Guest Ben chats with Katie as she works, telling her about taking a camper van through Europe. In her interview, she says she’ll take whatever she can get right now. She has nothing else going on.

Courtney hangs tiny lights about the dinner table. In Katie’s interview, she says Courtney rocks the laundry and can smash a cabin out, but wasn’t confident in service. She’s definitely improved since she’s had the opportunity. It does look beautiful. Lloyd calls his dad for help with his CV, and in his interview, he says David recommended him for a job. The guests sit for dinner, and in Mathew’s interview, he says he always wants to make the guests happy, but Captain Sandy gave him a third chance, and he wants to impress her. His stress levels are up. He tells no one in particular that he’s freaking out. The captain joins the guests, and says, it’s her first dinner; she’s excited. The captain asks what their favorite part of the cruise has been, and guest Holly tells her, the hike and the picnic site. It was like being in a movie. Captain Sandy says, everywhere they anchor in the Med is pretty spectacular. Katie brings a pasta course, and the captain asks where her Italian accent is. She tells them again, sounding like someone from Saturday Night Fever. Katie tells Mathew, the guests are loving it. Malia goes over the morning responsibilities with Mzi, and Mathew asks Katie, who’s the happiest? Please say Captain Sandy. Katie says the captain is telling a story right now. We see her talking to the guests, and I think it’s the pirate story. The captain excuses herself from the table, and stops by the galley. She tells Mathew, dinner was excellent, but her plate had a lot of dark fish, and she doesn’t like that. He apologizes, and she says, now he knows. In his interview, he says, that sucks. He looks really sheepish and sad, and Captain Sandy tells him, it was still delicious. In Mathew’s interview, he says, she’s 100% right. If he ordered bass in a restaurant, and had more dark than white pieces, he’d be disappointed too. He tells Katie all about it, and in her interview, she says, she’s not his mother.  

Lloyd’s dad tells him that his CV looks good, and the guests go to bed. For Courtney and Katie, it’s been 16 hours with no break. David goes on anchor watch, and the crew starts getting up at 5:30 am. It’s Mzi’s first morning shift. Holly is up at the crack of dawn, wanting to paddleboard, and in his interview, Mzi says, it’s a lot of responsibility in the morning. Captain Sandy tells Malia that no one was there first thing, and Malia says it’s Mzi’s first time on mornings. She’ll tell him for next time. She explains to Mzi that the boards should always be out, and Mathew makes all kinds of baked goods. In Lloyd’s interview, he says he’ll be leaving the supportive bubble he has there, and he’s concerned about what happens going forward and trying to get the same level of acceptance with new people. I’m not sure why he feels this way, since it’s not like he acts in some bizarre way. Mathew asks Katie what the vibe is, and she says, they love him. In his interview, he says he feels insecure when he gets any criticism. All he hears is that he f***ed up, and that’s not healthy.

It’s time to haul anchor. The anchor is home, but as they get to port, Malia says a fender is in the wrong spot. The captain tells them to take the anchor ball down. They don’t look like pros. In Malia’s interview, she says she thinks people are getting tired and not doing a thorough check of their work, but she’s not letting it slide. The crew has six minutes to get in their whites, and the captain tells them to hustle. The lines are thrown, and Malia says there’s a dolphin in front of the boat. Mzi says, they’re about to hit some ground lines and it’s his fault.

Next time, a crew night out without Lexi, Malia says they’re making rookie mistakes, Katie says everyone is anxious, Malia thinks something is off with Lloyd, and Lloyd ends up at the doctor with high blood pressure.  

🛥 Delayed Captain…

The new season of Below Deck, my favorite of the Deck franchise, will return October 25th. Captain Lee will be arriving a little late though.

https://screenrant.com/below-deck-meet-new-season-9-cast-members/

It’s Not Possible…

And I thought Summer House was bad. Winter House, premiering October 20th, looks like a real nightmare. The gents from Southern Charm share a Vermont rental with the Summer House cast. No surprise, there will be some peeing in the snow. And not by a dog.

https://www.bravotv.com/winter-house

🎭 Curtain Up, Light the Lights…

The winners.

https://www.tonyawards.com/winners/

You know.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1303336/74th-annual-tony-awards-red-carpet-fashion-see-every-look-as-the-stars-arrive

🧸 Rockabye and Goodnight…

Tune in tomorrow for soap and a VanderReturn. Until then, stay safe, stay spicy, and stay never playing God with someone’s life. Because there will be a fallout.

September 26, 2021 – The Ferals Lay a Trap, Talk Tidbits, Behind the Dead, Next Week’s World, Teasing Fear & Life

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

Connie and Virgil run through the woods, chased by zombies. He says they have to find somewhere to hide, and they keep running until they see a house. There are a few zombies milling around, and a zombie grabs Virgil as Connie is trying to get the front door open. The door finally opens, and three of them – Connie, Virgil, and the zombie – tumble inside. Connie manages to get the door shut before other zombies follow. The zombie has Virgil down, and Connie smashes it in the head, and puts her back to the door.  

Carol tells Aaron and Rosita that she’s going to ride out. Aaron suggests a larger group, but Carol says Connie doesn’t have time to wait. Magna comes by, and asks if they’ve seen Kelly.   

Connie looks through the slats of the wall at the zombies milling around outside. She sees a moose head on the wall and is creeped out, and the house as a whole is tattered and messy. She looks at a small written map, and Virgil quietly goes upstairs, and looks around. He checks one bedroom, then another. He comes back, and tells her that he checked the whole house. They’re okay. Nobody’s there. She looks at the map, and he grabs a book and writes, you need some rest. He tells her that she hasn’t slept in days. He writes, I can keep watch, but she just looks worried. He writes, we will find your home, and says, you sleep. She shakes her head, and writes, unsafe. He tells her, rest, making a gesture meaning sleep. She shakes her head again, and he sits, while she looks out again, remembering the cave. She rouses Virgil, and writes, going to search the house again.  

Frost is tied to a chair, and not looking too good, since he’s been beaten pretty badly. Carver pulls Frost’s fingernails out, and says, tell him where they are. Daryl watches, and Pope asks if it bothers him. Daryl says he’s done worse, and tells Carver that he’s up. Carver says, like hell he is, but Daryl takes his place. He looks at Frost, who asks if they’re just going to stand there, staring dreamily at each other, or are they going to get to it? Daryl grabs him by the neck, and Carver says, if Daryl kills him, the two of them have a problem. Daryl drops Frost, and says he knows what he’s doing. He tells Frost to give them the location where his friends are hiding. If he does that, this all goes away. Frost says, it’s a good offer, or, hear him out, they can all go eat sh*t instead. Daryl cracks him one across the face, and Carver says he’s already gone through these steps. Maybe they should start taking pieces. Pope tells Carver to give him the knife, and Frost tells Daryl, do what he’s got to do. Pope gives Daryl a big knife, and Daryl takes off his vest and throws it down. I guess that means he’s ready to rumble. He says he doesn’t think Frost understands. He’s the best shot Frost’s got. Frost asks, why? Are they friends now? Daryl says, no, it’s not because they’re friends. He’s the one holding the knife. Frost says, Daryl’s buddy is the one holding the gun, and Daryl smacks him again, saying, shut up. Listen to him. Frost is close enough to know where they’re hiding. Daryl grabs one of Frost’s fingers, and says, no one needs to die. Just say the location, so they can all walk away happy. Frost says, go to hell, a-hole, and gets a finger chopped off for his trouble. Daryl says, the location, or he’ll take another one. At first, Frost refuses, but then tells him, yellow house, and gives an address. Daryl asks Pope if that’s good enough, and Leah says she can scout it out. Pope tells her to take a squad, and he wants her, Carver, and Daryl to go. Carver balks at taking Daryl, and Daryl tries to hand back the knife, but Pope shakes his head.

Connie checks some of the rooms, but they’re locked. She sees old-time portrait photos along the walls with the eyes gouged out. Not real promising. She goes into a bathroom and looks at herself in the mirror, telling herself, don’t you look delightful? She looks inside the medicine cabinet, and checks out what’s there. She realizes the back of it is a slatted wall, and suddenly, there’s an eyeball looking back at her from the other side. She runs downstairs, and wakes Virgil. She signs, we’re not alone, and he asks, what happened? She signs, something else is in here with us. He says he doesn’t understand, and she signs, it was behind the wall staring back at me. She grabs the book, starts to write, but gets frustrated, and throws it down. She grabs Virgil’s knife and cuts at a painting. She steps back, and we see she’s written, NOT ALONE. I actually got a chill there.

Leah, Daryl, Carver, and a couple other men find the yellow house. Carver says, it’s quiet… there are two entrances. Leah tells the men to go by twos, and gives them instructions. Carver says, what about d*ckhead? Is he supposed to believe Daryl has his back? She says, that’s her job, and they move toward the house. Daryl hangs back, and pulls on a car windshield wiper. Inside, Maggie sees a clothesline move. The men go inside, yelling, clear! as they go through the house. Carver says Frost jerked them around, but Daryl suggests they check the house first. Leah tells the men to search outside, and she stays to search the house with Daryl and Carver.  

Kelly rides through the woods, and sees a dead horse near an empty campsite. She looks under the tarp, and starts going through the knapsacks there. The last one she opens has Kelly’s notebook, and she flips through it, seeing things like, trapped with the dead and walked with them for days, and asking where Michonne is. She says, Kelly, where are you? and takes the bag with her.

Virgil looks through cabinet to the other room, and tells Connie that he doesn’t see anything. She signs, something was there, and he says he’s sure she saw something, but she hasn’t slept, so maybe it’s… She shakes her head adamantly, and he says, sorry. They’ll give the house another sweep. She says she’s not staying there, and starts to walk toward the front, but a door slams shut behind her, separating her and Virgil. It’s silent because we’re getting Connie’s POV. She slides slowly down the hallway, with her back against the wall. She feels something behind her, and runs. A very creepy human on all fours, moving really fast, chases her, and she slams the door in its face. She looks down into the basement. This thing was so bizarre and scary, like something out of the old Creepy comic books.

Leah feels the sink, and says, it’s still wet, and Daryl says Frost was telling the truth. Coming downstairs, Daryl notices the corner of a trap door, peeking out from under a rug in the living room, but doesn’t say anything. He suggests, maybe they went out back, and Carver asks if Daryl is in a hurry to leave. Underneath the trap door, Negan, Elijah, Gabriel, and Maggie listen. Daryl says he’s just trying to help, and he and Carver argue. Leah tells them to stop, and says, she’ll check the perimeter, and check for possible runners. Carver says he doesn’t have time for this bullsh*t, and she says she understands, but doesn’t need it. Carver says he’ll check again upstairs, and make sure he didn’t miss anything. Leah tells Daryl, either he’s with them or not, and he asks what she wants him to do. She says, for one thing, stop pissing off Carver.

Kelly’s horse won’t budge, and she pulls on the reins. She slips, falling into a large mud puddle. Carol asks if she needs help, and walks into view with Rosita and Magna. Magna asks what Kelly was thinking. She should have told them she was heading out. They help Connie up, and she says she’s fine. She hands Magna the book, and says, it’s Connie’s. She found Connie’s camp. Connie, and some guy she was with, left in a hurry. Something’s not right. Magna looks through the book, and says, she thought they were being followed. Kelly tears up, and says, she’s out there and scared. Connie needs her. If something happened… Carol says, they’ll find her first, and they keep moving.

Connie holds the door shut, and it gets quiet. She slowly goes down the stairs, and when she gets to the bottom, she sees human bones everywhere, picked clean. The stairs shake, and something falls. The feral creature thing starts coming down the stairs on all fours – which is pretty effing creepy – and Connie pulls herself up, and into a vent leading to another room. Some of the walls are weird and made of slats, and she looks through them, seeing another eyeball, but this time, from the cave. She looks again, and sees nothing. Virgil suddenly runs inside the room, slamming the door shut. Connie sees Virgil, and bangs on the wall. He comes toward her, uncertain. She taps out SOS, and he moves closer, and I yell, no! because one of those things is behind him, being all stealthy. Connie tries to warn him, but…   

She watches in horror as this creature pounds on Virgil. She tries to get one of the slats off, while it strangles him, saying, hungry. He fades, and she manages to distract the creature by banging on the wall again. It gets distracted, and Virgil is able to grab his knife, and he stabs it. It crawls off, trailing blood. He struggles to get up, and stabs the knife into the wall (on his side, it’s wallpapered). The knife comes through an inch from Connie’s nose, covered in blood. She pulls frantically at a slat, and gets it off, quickly putting her hand through so that he sees it’s her. He makes a hole big enough for him to help her come through.    

Daryl tells Leah that they ran, and won’t come back; the Reapers hit them hard. The Reapers have twenty people in town, they’ve got weapons, and the balls. They probably saw the Reapers coming miles away, and ran. Carver asks what Daryl’s point is, and Leah says, there’s nothing here. It’s time to go. Carver thinks they’re missing something, and Daryl asks if he wants to waste another hour. Carver says, this dirtbag wants to play, and Daryl says, come on. Leah says, it’s not the time, and it’s not his call. Carver says they both know who Daryl is deep down. He was there, remember? After that, does she think this is going to end different? Leah says, so this is what? Carver looking out for her, and Carver says, she always got him. She says, when Pope locked her in the cabin and lit it up, he must have known. Was he was looking out for her then? He tells her, wake up. Everything is a test. Does she think this guy gives a sh*t about them? They’re going to fail. Daryl says, Carver is right. He doesn’t give a sh*t about any of them, except for Leah. He’s here for her. It’s no secret he’s made mistakes, but he’s here right now. Maybe he’ll do it better this time, if she lets him. Pope scares the sh*t out of him, and he doesn’t want to end up face first in the fire under Pope’s boot. But if Leah says trust him, he’ll trust him. Leah says, they’ve wasted enough time here; it’s time to move on. Carver says, sure. It’s her call. He sees the trap door corner, and says, hold on. He pushes Daryl out of the way, moves the rug, and opens it triumphantly, drawing his gun, but there’s nothing there. Daryl says, told you.    

Negan, Maggie, Gabriel, and Elijah sneak out the root cellar door.

It starts to storm, and Rosita says, which way? Carol wonders if they should split up, check both trails, and double back, but Magna says, a storm is coming. They should stick together. Rosita says, it’s up to Kelly, and Kelly decides to keep going.

Virgil tells Connie that he’s never seen people this far gone… to herd them like prey, but they’re not. He’s getting her out. They’ll make a run for it. He gives her the knife, and says, no matter what happens, she has to keep going, with or without him. Don’t stop. She says, no, and tries give the knife back, but he says, no, just take it. She puts it down on the floor, and signs, if we’re getting out, we’re going together. She’s not letting him give up now. He says he doesn’t have a choice. He lost himself for a long time, off the map, and made choices he can’t unchoose, but Michonne gave him another chance. She pointed him to a road, and that road led to Connie. He has to pass on that chance, or it all means nothing. If she can find her family… He cries, and she signs, we leave here together. He says he needs her to promise to keep going no matter what happens. She puts her hand in his, and locks their fingers. He says, together, and they hear the creatures coming. He says, time’s up. They open the door and go out; her with the knife, and him wielding a table leg. He tries a door, but it’s locked, and the feral creatures appear. Virgil clubs at them, but they get him down. Connie slashes at them with the knife, and they back off. Virgil tells her to get out, but she drags him out with her. The creepiest creature of all comes crawling down the stairs, and Connie shields Virgil. She grabs the zombie they came in with, disembowels him, and covers herself in the guts. She opens the front door, letting in the dead. Very clever. There’s a free-for-all, and the dead feast on the feral creatures. I think leaving now would be a good idea.

Outside, Virgil stumbles, and tells her go. Some of the creatures have escaped, and make a beeline for Virgil, but get a slingshot rock in the head from Kelly. Kelly sees Connie, and starts to cry. They stand looking at each other for a moment, and Kelly says, I’m sorry. Connie begins to cry, and they hug.     

Leah, Daryl, and Carver come back, and Pope asks, what’s the word? Leah says, there were signs they were there, but they slipped away. She’s sorry. Pope laughs, and she says she thought he’d be disappointed. He says, the night was a success. After they left, he continued the discussion with their guest, and he wasn’t too talkative, but Pope got everything he needed out of him. Pope looks at Daryl, who nods, and we see new zombie Frost tied to a tree. Pope and Carver go inside, Pope putting his arm around Carver. Daryl and Leah watch, and Leah looks at Daryl. Yeah, I don’t think this is good.

Next time, Negan says, the world is different – there are fewer people to fight for, and fewer things to fight over; Lance tells Yumiko that he can help her people; Maggie pretends to be a Whisperer; and Gabriel comes across a stranger talking to his spirit guide in the woods.

🎤 A couple of Talking Dead insights. Lauren Ridloff (Connie) was a guest tonight, and said she and Angel Theory (Kelly) were really like sisters. Before filming, they hadn’t seen each other in person since the beginning of the pandemic, and she’d asked that they be kept separated on set until it was time for them to meet in the scene at the end. She thought it would make it more authentic, and I have to agree it was a good choice. When they started crying, it made me want to cry. IMO, this was one of the best episodes ever. And while a great script, great acting, and great direction by Greg Nicolero played a part, it was largely because of those creepy-ass feral creatures. We also learned that some of the portraits were of them during a more civilized time, and the eyes had been scratched out so they weren’t reminded of how they used to be. I love when they get all detailed about a backstory we normally wouldn’t even know about.  

🗣 About Tonight…

Talking with Kelly and Virgil.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/walking-dead-star-lauren-ridloff-020500507.html

https://tylerpaper.com/lifestyle/arts_and_entertainment/the-walking-dead-lauren-ridloff-kevin-carroll-talk-ferals-rick-connections/article_748c9ae8-cdbc-5f14-ae87-7ce4c225cd86.html

🌎 Coming Next Week…

The beginning of the end of The World Beyond.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-season-2-what-happened-jadis-rick-grimes-helicopter-six-years-crm/

⚰️ Sorry Not Sorry…

I love Victor.

https://www.syfy.com/syfywire/fear-the-walking-dead-season-7-teaser-exclusive

🥿 Shuffling Off Not To Buffalo…

And so another night of zombies concludes another weekend. Join me tomorrow for soap and a Croatian cruise. Until then, stay safe, stay going the extra mile, and stay trusting your gut feeling if you think a place is unsafe. Otherwise, you might end up having to cover yourself in guts.

September 24, 2021 – Nina Encounters Sonny, Throwback For Sale, Seeing Double, Garcelle Talks Reunion, No NYC Reunion, Evasive, After the Party, Going On With the Show, Only Five Quotes & Moon

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Britt asks Maxie to just tell her. Is her mom okay? Did she contact Maxie? Maxie says, sorry. She didn’t mean to mislead Britt. She hasn’t actually heard from Obrecht. Britt tells her, but she just said… when there’s a knock at he door. Maxie lets Scotty in, and he sees Britt. He asks if this is about Obrecht, and Maxie says she spoke with Nina, and has some information on Obrecht’s disappearance.

Josslyn is at the gym when her phone rings. Cameron asks if she’s busy, and she says, kind of. She’s at the gym; volleyball practice got cancelled. He asks when she’s going to be done, and she says, about an hour. Why? He says he’s at Charlie’s with Trina right now, and she wants to run a theory by Josslyn. Josslyn says she wants to finish her workout. Can it wait an hour?

Spencer asks Nikolas if Doc left, and Nikolas says, just now. He asks where Esme is, and Spencer says, Esme left for kickboxing, and mentioned something about going to an interior design boutique afterward. She wants to redecorate her room. Nikolas says, Esme is full of ideas, and Spencer says, Esme is all about creativity, and thinking outside the box. Nikolas says Spencer chose to miss all that to hang out with his father? and Spencer says, the lesser of two evils.

Jason asks if Carly is okay, and she says, Sonny’s back, and she’s beyond grateful he’s alive. Jason says, him too, and she says, but beneath all that joy, she keeps wondering, what happens next?

Sonny visits his own grave, and turns around to find Nina standing behind him, holding a white rose. He asks if she’s stalking him, and she says, no. She was taking this to her brother’s gravesite. She saw someone there, and wasn’t sure if it was him. He says, she didn’t recognize the wardrobe? and she says, partly, but she didn’t know he’d be up and around so soon. He left the clinic against medical advice. How’s he doing? Is he feeling any aftereffects from that smoke? He says she doesn’t get to do that, and she says, do what? He says, act like she gives a damn. This is the gravesite where his family grieved because of her. Don’t think for a second that he’ll ever forget that.

Maxie tells Britt and Scotty, it turns out Peter was tracking her when she went to Texas, and followed her when she went to visit Nina in Nixon Falls. When Maxie left, he pressured Nina to help him find Louise. When she refused, he tried to kill her. Britt asks if Nina’s okay, and Maxie says, no thanks to Peter. He tied up Nina and her friend, and set the building on fire. Scotty says, for cryin’ out loud, what does this have to do with Liesl? and Maxie says, Peter told Nina, Liesl had been handled. He asks what they means; he killed her? Britt says, maybe that’s what he wants everybody to think. Handled could mean anything. Typical Peter doublespeak. Besides, he’s on the run, looking for Louise. Why take the time to get to her mother? Maxie says she was just about to get to that part.

Victor walks into Obrecht’s room, and she says, it’s been days. She’s going stir crazy in this room. His staff barely looks her in the eye, just nodding and smiling. He says he warned them not to fraternize. He can’t have her charming his people into doing her bidding, the way she did that poor fool Kirk in Geneva. She says she didn’t charm Dr. Kirk; she survived him. Where has he been? He says he wanted to give her time to adjust to her new reality, and she says, all he’s done is give Scotty and Britt time to find her. He says, why would they be looking for a dead woman?

Nikolas and Spencer play chess, and Nikolas says he’s glad Esme is making the room her own. He wants her to feel comfortable there. Spencer says, Esme is comfortable wherever she goes, and Nikolas says, that’s an admirable trait. He’s glad to get to know more about the girl who’s captured his son’s heart. Spencer says, Esme is the coolest. She’s beautiful and smart, she tells it like it is. He never connected with anyone the way he’s connected with Esme. Nikolas says, Esme sounds very special. It’s good to have someone like that in your corner. Spencer says, Esme’s the best.

Cameron tells Trina that Josslyn’s at the gym, and asks if she can hang out a while she finishes up. Trina says she can, and he gives her the phone. Trina tells Josslyn, bottom line, Esme’s up to something, and she’s dragging Spencer along with her. Esme walks into the gym and waves to Josslyn, and Josslyn says she’ll be right there. Esme tells Josslyn, hi, and asks if she’s there for kickboxing class. Josslyn says, actually, she was on her way out. Enjoy the class. Esme says, wait. Josslyn can’t leave.

Sonny asks if Nina likes his headstone. His family wanted to leave him a marker even though they didn’t find his body. They wanted a place where they could grieve. Of course (🍷) he’s one state away, thinking, where’s the family who cares so much about him? They’re not looking for him. She says he has every right to be angry with her, and he says, she’s damn right he does. She knew about this, and he was just going on with his life. She could have stopped it months ago, but she didn’t. She says she knows it’s not enough to say it, but she’s so sorry for the pain she’s caused him. He says, him? What about his family? His kids? Avery knew who he was, but Donna didn’t recognize him. He was like a stranger to her. Nina claims she feels bad about what she did to him, but not one word about his wife Carly.

Jason asks Carly how it went after he left, and she says, good. Sonny stayed up practically all night with the kids. She went up to bed to give them some time alone, and Sonny slept in the guest room. She had Sonny’s clothes brought down from the attic, and he put on one of his suits this morning. It was really great to see him looking like himself. Jason says he bets it was, and she says, what about him? Where did he go? He says, home, to his apartment, and she says, he hasn’t lived there in a while. He says, she and the kids needed him there. They don’t anymore.

Trina asks if Cameron didn’t say there were surveillance cameras in the parking garage. Maybe she can get her mom to get security to let her look at the footage, to see if Esme was anywhere near Ava’s car that night. Cameron says he’s going to be honest. He thinks involving her mom is a bad idea. Remember the trouble he nearly got his mom in when he accessed hospital records using her password? She says she gets where he’s coming from. They’re back to trapping Esme and Spencer into confessing they’re the stalkers. He says he doesn’t think that’s the right way either, and she says, he sure is coming up with a lot of obstacles. How about solutions? He says he’s sorry, but he personally thinks the best option is being straightforward. Maybe if the three of them talked to Spencer… She says, she already tried confronting Esme and Spencer, and it was a disaster. Think about it. If they were guilty, why admit to it? Cameron has a history with Spencer. Is he the confessing type? He says, no. Spencer’s fallback is always deny, deny, deny. She says, okay then. They have to be as devious as Esme and Spencer. They have to lay a trap for them.

Josslyn says, she can’t leave? Why not? Esme says she has the feeling Josslyn is avoiding her, but Josslyn says, no. She needs to be somewhere. Esme says she thought this would be a good opportunity for them to spend some time together… hang out. Spence told her what a good friend Josslyn has been to him. Anyone important to him is important to her. Josslyn says, it sounds like things are getting pretty serious, and Esme says, definitely. Did Josslyn know they just moved into Windymere? Josslyn says she thinks Spencer mentioned it, but things have been so crazy since Sonny came back. Esme says, wait, what? Sonny Corinthos, Spencer’s uncle? She thought he was dead. Josslyn says, it turns out he’s not. She’s sorry. She has to change. People are waiting for her. Esme says, no worries. They’ll be plenty of time to get together. She’ll be around.

Nikolas says he was surprised when Spencer introduced him to Esme, and Spencer says, it was a night of surprises. Nikolas says, starting with the party Spencer hadn’t cleared with him, and Spencer says, and ending with Nikolas terrorizing him and his guests. Nikolas says, he hopes Spencer found a way to forgive him for thinking he was Ava’s stalker, and Spencer says, they’ve already hit the reset button on that, haven’t they? Nikolas says he knows how difficult it can be to let go. Forgiveness doesn’t come easy to us Cassadines… Check.   

Sonny says, Nina stole months of his life to get back at Carly, but she says, that’s not what it was about. He says, then why? and she says, because Carly was trying to take Wiley away from her; Carly was trying to erase her from his life. He says, so Nina wanted to erase him from Carly’s life. She wanted to punish Carly, and make her pay. She was talking about her grandson’s other grandmother and how unfair it was… She says, everything she said was true. She just wants to be in Wiley’s life. He even told her to fight for Wiley. He says, he did not say that; that was Mike. Mike doesn’t exist; he’s a phantom. His name on the back of his father’s watch. He clung to that, to Phyllis, to Lenny, and… She says, and to her. She didn’t think she’d find him in Nixon Falls. She didn’t expect to keep him a secret, certainly not for all those months. She admits at first it was about Carly, but the second she knew what happened to him, she picked up the phone to tell her, and Carly threatened her with all kinds of legal action, and she froze. She couldn’t do anything. Yes, she held back. Sonny says, Nina wanted to hurt Carly, and Nina says, she wanted to hurt Carly as much as Carly had hurt her. But that all changed when she got to know him as Mike; sweet Mike. They got closer and closer. She didn’t plan any of this. She didn’t expect things to wind up the way they did. He says, that’s her excuse? but she says, there’s no excuse for any of it. She was just hoping maybe he’d understand. He says, he understands. She stole his life from him.

Carly tells Jason, she keeps thinking about how she thought they would get so much pushback when they told people they were getting married. In the end, all of their family and friends said, of course (🍷) it makes sense. He says, because it did. They got married because they thought Sonny was dead. Otherwise, they never would have done it. She says, right, and now Sonny’s back with his family where he belongs, but she can’t help but think, if things had been different, they would have had a wonderful life together. He says he thinks so too, but that’s not what happened.

Josslyn sits with Trina and Cameron, and asks, what’s going on? Trina says, Ava is leaving Port Charles, walking away from her entire life because of this stalker situation. Josslyn says, okay, but when Trina called, she said this was about Spencer and Esme. She just ran into Esme at the gym, and she’s positive she was right the first time. That girl is not to be trusted. There’s just something about her. Trina says, right? She’s sketchy… beyond. Josslyn asks what Trina thinks Esme has gotten Spencer into, and Trina says she thinks Esme and Spencer are Ava’s stalkers. They’re acting as a team. Sure, Spencer was at Windymere the night Ava’s car got torched, but that was also the night Esme showed up. She had a supposed alibi, but it was lame. Josslyn says she’s not defending Spencer, but she doesn’t see him torching a car. Trina says, because he didn’t. Esme did. Josslyn says, but if they’re in on it together… and Trina says, maybe Esme did it and Spencer didn’t know about it, or maybe he did, and he was okay with it. Either way, they’re working together. Josslyn says, Cameron is being silent. What does he think? Cameron says he knows he’s been pumping the brakes on this, but it is kind of weird, Spencer being in town on the downlow for so long. He was really upset when Ava refused to testify against Valentin. That’s why his grandmother sent Spencer away, for his own good. Spencer holds a grudge. Josslyn says, and Esme’s working him every chance she gets. Spencer likes to think he’s all sophisticated, but she thinks he’s in over his head with Esme. Trina says, Esme’s very persuasive with Spence.

Spencer says Nikolas said he was surprised when Esme showed up as his girlfriend. Why? Doesn’t Nikolas think he’s got game? Nikolas says he knew Spencer had game. He’d just seen Spencer with Trina, and it looked like they were connecting. The couple times Spencer mentioned her, it sounded like she was important to him. Spencer says, it’s not like that. Trina is great, and he likes her a lot, but as a friend. Nikolas says, all he can tell Spencer is, that night on the turret, he didn’t seem like a guy with a girlfriend.

Britt says, Nina had Peter in her sights, and didn’t call the cops, or Anna? Scotty says, so the trip to St. Lucia was a cover-up, so Obrecht could knock off Peter August. Maxie says, that was the general impression she got, and Scotty says, she should have called the cops. Maxie says, she couldn’t because Peter was blackmailing her. Scotty asks what Peter would be blackmailing Nina over, and Maxie says, Sonny. Scotty asks, what the hell does Sonny have to do with this? and Britt tells Maxie that she already knows. Jason told her. Scotty says, you two girls need to tell me what’s going on, and Britt says, Sonny Corinthos is alive. He asks her to say it again. He’s starting to think he’s in the middle of a nightmare, and Britt tells him, Sonny Corinthos is alive and well. He came home last night. Scotty says, of course (🍷) he did, because he’s impossible to kill, because he’s like a palmetto bug. Ha-ha-ha! I love Scotty. Maxie thinks they should refocus. Liesl told Nina to tell Peter that there was a lead on Louise in St. Lucia, and Anna and Valentin were hot on the trail. Nina thought that would convince Peter to go, but somehow, Peter found out what was going on, and turned the tables on them. Scotty says, so he and Obrecht were gassed up, they hijacked the plane… Wait a minute. That’s why Liesl said she couldn’t die; she needs to help Nina. Britt says, plane crashes are Peter’s M.O. He did it to silence Drew Cain. Who’s to say he woudn’t do it again? I think someone needs to tell he that an M.O. happens more than once. Scotty says, but why chuck him out like a sack of potatoes? He was a loose end. And where’s the evidence of a plane crash? Britt says, because there wasn’t one. Her mother’s not dead.

Obrecht suggests she and Victor stop this cat and mouse. He’s proven he can get to her whenever he wants. That being the case, let her go back to Port Charles. She has urgent business there. He says, family business. A grandson, a very troubled niece, and that bumbling idiot she calls a boyfriend. She says she also has a daughter who needs her mutter now more than ever. He says, yes, Britt’s diagnosis is troubling. Huntington’s; dreadful disease. Yet one more reason to hate her father. She says, Cesar is dead. Hating him is a waste of time and energy. She must focus on her daughter. She was supposed to attend a medical conference touching on cutting edge research for Britt’s condition. He says, remarkable how a symposium on inherited diseases just happened to pop up in her inbox at this exact moment in time. She says, there was no medical conference. It was a trap. Has he no shame? He says, why should he be ashamed? Everything’s worked out neatly. He’d always planned to bring her there anyway, and the timing couldn’t be more perfect. She says, and now he detains her when Britta needs her, and he says, Britt needs her alive. He saved her from herself. He says they both know she had bigger plans than attending a medical conference.

Sonny says, Nina took advantage of the situation. She didn’t give a damn about him and his real life. And while he was cleaning beer off a bar, the entire empire he built, everything he cares about, was threatened. Nina says, but he was away from that. He was away from the mob for once. He was in danger. He was safer there in Nixon Falls than he would have been here. He asks if she’s saying she was protecting him for his own good. That’s not her job, and he doesn’t want it. He’s not some drifter living off the kindness of strangers. He could have taken all the worry form Phyllis and Lenny. He could have made a call, and erased all their debt. He would have given them security, and maybe, for just a little bit of time, Lenny could have had peace. Nina says what he gave Lenny and Phyllis was so much more important. He gave them friendship, love, and loyalty. He’s right. She lied to him. She kept him away from his family, friends, and business, but he’s wrong about Mike. He wasn’t just a hapless drifter. He was loyal and hard-working. He was fearless and a devoted friend. He was a good man. Maybe the kind of man Sonny always longed to be. So take it from someone had the privilege of knowing him up close and personal, Mike the bartender was just as real as Sonny Corinthos.  

Carly tells Jason, this morning, she walked in the kitchen, and Sonny was making coffee, like always. He asks if it finally tasted right, and she says, it did. She tells Jason that she missed him, and she’s worried about him, but he says she doesn’t have to; he’s fine. She tells him, he always says that, and he says, because it’s true. He sighs and shrugs, and says, maybe things will just go back to the way they were. It’s what they’ve got to do. She’s got a life and a family with Sonny. She says, and he’s a huge part of that life. Please tell her that’s not going to change.

Trina says, maybe they can record Spencer and Esme without them knowing. What if she accuses them and leaves? They might say something incriminating when they think they’re alone. Cameron says, so she’s talking surveillance equipment, and Josslyn says, don’t hate her, but she’s the one having second thoughts now. Esme is one thing, but do they really want to trap Spencer? Trina says, what if it exonerates him? That’s the outcome she’s hoping for. She thinks Josslyn is right. Spencer’s in over his head with Esme. Before Esme came, Trina was getting to know Spencer. Sure, he’s a lot, but underneath all that posturing and arrogance is some real vulnerability. Maybe even some kindness. Josslyn says she agrees. Spencer can be astonishingly sweet… when not being self-absorbed and oblivious. Trina says, despite everything, that’s why she doesn’t want anything bad to happen to Spencer. Despite herself, she’s kind of gotten to like him.

Spencer tells Nikolas that he and Trina are good friends, and Nikolas asks, is that all? Before he met Esme, he thought Spencer and Trina were headed toward something. Spencer admits, there was an attraction, a spark. Trina’s beautiful, smart, direct, and she’s a good person; one of those people who genuinely wants to do the right thing without being too preachy. Why wouldn’t he like her? But it can’t go anywhere. Esme’s his person. Esme comes in, and says, oh good, they’re together. Spencer asks, what happened to kickboxing and home décor? and she says she had to rush back to tell him. His uncle is alive. Spencer asks what she’s talking about, and she says, his uncle, Sonny Corinthos. He came home last night. Josslyn just told her. He says, Uncle Sonny’s alive? That’s fantastic! Wait until she meets him; he’s the best. Nikolas says, if Sonny’s back, Avery is protected. Ava won’t have to worry about her daughter so much. He thanks Esme, says he has to go, and jets. Esme asks why Spencer is standing there grinning like the Cheshire Cat? He says, because his uncle, who he loves, is alive, and she says, and his father just took off so fast, he left a vapor trail. Can’t he see this is a disaster?

Victor says, when he intercepted Obrecht, he also let Peter know that he almost walked into her trap. He was most appreciative. She says, he’ll regret his dealing with Peter. Everyone does eventually. To be clear, that degenerate has threatened to kidnap her beloved James, and use him as a substitute for his own lost child. If that happens, if Peter gets his hands on James, or harms Nina, or Maxie, or her Britta, she will hold him responsible. He says he’s well aware of the hazards of associating with Peter. Although he still thinks Henrik suits him better. She says if he’s trying to win her over by disparaging Peter, don’t waste his breath. She loathes Peter, but that doesn’t make her feel any warmer towards him. He says, it’s not good strategy to antagonize him, and she says, has she hurt his feelings? He says, she’s acting against her own interests. Britt may not have long before her symptoms manifest. Does Obrecht really want to spend what might be Britt’s last healthy months there, locked up in this room? She asks what he wants, and he tells her, forget her foolish, stubborn pride. Let him back in her heart.

Britt plops into a chair, and says, she’s okay; she’s just really relieved. Maxie says she prays Britt is right, but what makes her think Obrecht is still alive? Britt says, Scotty just said it; he’s a liability. Peter hates loose ends. If he wanted to get rid of her mother, he would have crashed the plane, whether Scotty was on it or not. Maybe he’s holding her mother hostage for leverage. It’s the first time she’s felt confident that they can find her mother, and rescue her. Assuming she doesn’t rescue herself first. Scotty says, he was given the bum’s rush, and thrown out of the plane, but he’s here. He tells Britt, he has a new mission, and that’s to save her mother’s life.

Sonny tells Nina, just because he remembers who he is, doesn’t mean he forgot what happened for the last nine months. He remembers when she came to him; they were talking, they were dancing. He remembers everything. How she led him on, and didn’t say anything is unforgivable. She says she knows, and he says, that’s all she’s got to say. She says she has plenty to say, but none of it will make a difference. All her reasons, all her justifications, her excuses she made to herself; it’s not going to make a difference. Yes, she was angry at Carly, but nothing she did in Nixon Falls was malicious. Just the opposite. She can see him, how he was there; laughing and at peace. She wanted to give that to him. He says he didn’t know what he’d lost. He didn’t know what her lies took from him. She says she hopes she didn’t cause any problems between him and Carly. She knows he’s not going to believe this, but all she wanted was for him to be happy.

Jason says he’s not going anywhere, and Carly says, no matter what it costs? He says, it cost him nothing. You can’t lose what you never had. What she had with Sonny, that’s real. Did Sonny say anything else about where he’s been? She says, just a small town in Pennsylvania, and the locals were good to him. She thinks he’s waiting to talk to Jason about it. Jason says, probably, and she says, Sonny’s never going to understand the big hole he left in their lives when he disappeared, or the void she would have fallen into if it wasn’t for Jason. She puts her hand on his, and he says, they were there for each other. He puts his other hand over hers, and she says, like always.

Spencer tells Esme, lighten up. She’s going to love his Uncle Sonny. He can be a little intense, but when he loves you, he’s got your back 100%. She says, that’s what she’s worried about. Did he hear his father? He said Sonny could protect Avery, which takes away Ava’s incentive to leave. Where does he think his father’s heading right now? Ava. Just when they were this close to breaking them up for good. They have to do something.

Nikolas goes into Charlie’s, and asks Trina if Ava is around. She wasn’t at the gallery. Trina says, that’s because Ava already said her goodbyes. He asks if he can talk to Trina for a second, and she steps away from the table with him. He says he knows how close she and Ava are… and Trina says, she’s sorry, but she has to stop him right there. She can’t tell him anything Ava told her in confidence. He says he gets that, but he needs to know where Ava went. If he can find her, he may be able to stop her from leaving Port Charles. She asks, how? and he says he hasn’t got time to explain. All he can say is, the situation has changed. Will Trina help him?   

Obrecht says, Victor told her that he’d let her see Britt. Why should she trust his word? He says, because as she can plainly see, he still has feelings for her. She says she can plainly see he’s trying to manipulate her; lure her into complacency. He says, just the opposite. She’s a brilliant woman. He wants them to help each other. She laughs, and says he has a strange way of asking for her help. A gilded cage is still a cage. He says, collaborate with him on a certain research project, and he guarantees she’ll have contact with her daughter. She says, and if she refuses? and he says, then she stays there, far away from her last surviving child. All those years she spent devoted to Faison, and how did he repay her? By murdering her beloved son. Britt’s all she has left. She’s a lovely woman. She reminds him a lot of Obrecht. No sign of Huntington’s yet, and he can give her a way to be with Britt. All she has to do is cooperate.

Carly says she’s glad she and Jason requested donations to the Alzheimer’s Association in lieu of presents. Now she doesn’t have to return anything for the shortest marriage in history. How long were they married? Three hours tops? She knows it wasn’t legal, but she meant the vows when she said them. He says, so did he, and she says, they’ll be okay, right? He says, they are okay, because she’s got him, and he’s got her. No matter what. She says, no matter what, and puts her head on his shoulder. He puts his arm around her.

Sonny tells Nina not to worry about him and Carly. He’s at home with his family where he belongs. She says, good. She’ll try to stay out of his way. She’s really sorry about the pain she caused him and his family, and the time she took from all of them. And she’s really sorry about letting him fall in love with her. She should have known better, and she should have known better than to fall in love with him too.

Trina says she wishes she could help Nikolas, but Ava might already be gone. He asks if Trina thinks she left, and Trina tells him, she did say something about making one last stop and unfinished business. Nikolas thanks her, and leaves. Trina sits back down, and Josslyn asks, what was that about? Trina says, inspiration. She knows how they can trap Esme and Spencer.

Spencer tells Esme, don’t overthink this. Ava is leaving today. She might already be gone. Father can try all he likes; he won’t change her mind. Esme asks if they should really take that chance, after all their hard work? He says, their hard work paid off. Ava’s made up her mind. Any last minute appeal made by his father won’t make a difference.

Britt tells Scotty, her mother’s been in tight situations before and survived. The just need a lead; some idea of where she might be. Maxie says, Obrecht has held her own with Peter before. Peter is so arrogant, and over-confident. Scotty says, that will be his downfall. Letting Scotty live, big mistake, because he’s going to find Obrecht, and take Peter August out.

Obrecht tells Victor that she can’t lose Britt, not after losing Nathan. She has no choice but to trust that he’ll keep his word. He puts his hands on her shoulders, and says, don’t worry, darling, the worst is over now. She whips around, and puts a knife to his throat, saying, wrong again, darling.

Sonny tells Nina, whatever happened in Nixon Falls is over. Nina says he’s back in his life; she accepts that. But she can’t pretend the last nine months didn’t happen. Mike will always be in her heart. Sonny remembers kissing Nina, and says she’s got to stop fooling herself. Mike’s gone. She has to forget he ever existed. She says she can’t do that. She can never forget what she and Mike shared.

Carly sits up, and asks if it’s weird for Jason. He says, it’s a little weird, but it will wear off. She says, getting there is going to be… He says, yeah, they’ll get there. He has to go. He needs to talk to Diane about this whole Buscema/Novak thing. He knows the cops are going to call. She says, there’s something they need to talk about. What are they going to tell Sonny? About what? It’s not like they slept together.

On Monday, Chase asks what’s up with Finn and Elizabeth, Obrecht tells Victor that he won’t be so lucky, and Sonny tells Nina they were great together. Although I have the feeling there’s a but coming after that.

Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles

JoshF was dealing with Jeannie, the owner of the Macapa house, a throwback to the Rat Pack days (the house, not Jeannie). She wanted to sell, but wanted a buyer who was not going to tear it down. I can’t imagine why more of these old homes aren’t kept as is, since they clearly have historic value, but, way it goes. She also wanted Josh to sell in two weeks. He called his friend Zach, who did a lot of deals in the area, and dealt with people who appreciated an historic home. Josh told Zach, the house was in Hollywood hills east, had fabulous views, and a lot of land. Zach asked if the house was something salvageable, since he had a writer couple who loved re-doing homes. He asked Josh to send a video, but still wanted to take a look in person. He wanted protocol taken though, since he was a germaphobe who wouldn’t touch elevator buttons before the pandemic.

James and David went to look at house in Windsor Square, Hancock Park. Apparently, it had been the place to be in the 40s and 50s for people with old money, and began appealing to the Hollywood crowd. Both Nat King Cole and Mohammad Ali had once had homes there. The seller’s rep Hilary met them at the house, which was pretty big; 8058 square feet, 5 bedrooms, 7 baths, the primary suite alone being 1500 square feet. It was built in 2016 and had an entertainer’s kitchen. As I’ve said before, they’ve never explained these terms, and I have no clue what they mean, but I have the feeling entertainer’s means bigger. There was a boutique-style closet, which I took to mean as big as a store. Hilary said it was the size of her first apartment, and I thought, I could fit my first apartment in one of the dresser drawers. In his interview, David or James said it was a unique house, which should appeal to every demographic, but the area usually attracted older clientele. It was a beautiful place, but didn’t have the same cache Beverly Hills. The house also had a movie theatre, which prompted (I’m pretty sure) David, to tell us in his interview, that he’d always wanted to be James Bond, because he was so suave, but it was never going to happen. Agreed. Hilary said her client’s bottom line was $10 million, and either David or James said he thought it was a good number, but the other one said he thought it was too much for the area. In their interviews, one said it was unusual for them to disagree about pricing, but the other said they always disagreed. Apparently, even they don’t know what’s going on with them. They did some showings, but didn’t have much luck. Everyone loved the house, but thought it was overpriced, but Hilary wouldn’t budge.

JoshF met Zach at the Macapa house, wearing a full-on orange Hazmat suit. Zach wore a bandana anyway. Although using a bandana instead of a mask when he was so paranoid, didn’t make sense. Zach said the house wasn’t ideal, but the bones were incredible. He took a ton of pictures, including the unobstructed view of the Hollywood sign. He FaceTimed with his client, and in Josh’s interview, he said a lot of people were buying houses without seeing them because of covid. Zach made a great pitch, getting pretty excited about the house, and what features should be kept.

On his way to Dolph Lundgren’s house, Fredrik called his brother to brag. In Fredrik’s interview, he said, growing up in Sweden, he wanted to be Dolph. Dolph explained that he was going to be doing Aquaman 2, would be away a lot, and wanted to sell. He’d acquired the 5230 square foot, 4 en suite bedroom house for $3.9 million. It was nice, and very big, but the word that sprang to my mind was suburban. There was a beautiful lap pool, a full gym, and a movie theater. The most impressive thing was a poster from Rocky IV that Sly Stallone had gifted him. It had been made in Africa, and painted on burlap. The house had panoramic city views, but even I noticed the ginormous telephone pole outside the primary suite, and the abundance of poles and wires outside. Dolph suggested planting palm trees. Fredrik felt it should be priced at $3.995, and while there were crickets for a moment, Dolph agreed. He just wanted to jet. He wanted Fredrik to get it sold in 60 days, but although it was priced well – because of the pole – Fredrik said houses in that area usually took 90 days, and he didn’t want to disappoint his childhood hero. Dolph told Fredrik, if he lies, he dies.

James and David continued to show the Windsor house, which somehow acquired GH’s moss bowl 🎍. It was a really gorgeous house. In (I think) David’s interview, he said, they could get clients in the door, but the house next door was half the price. If they wanted to do it, they had to be more realistic. James insisted they could do it, and in his interview, he said, being positive sometimes worked to his advantage, and sometimes didn’t, but if you went in not believing in the price, the energy would rub off on the client and agent.

JoshF met Zach privately at Dan Tana’s. Privately like they closed the restaurant for him. Zach said he had an offer of $2.8 million, and Josh said Jeannie had rejected $3.2 million. Zach said the main thing was, they wouldn’t tear it down. After some back and forth, Zach got his clients up to $3 million, and Josh tried to convince Jeannie that anyone who would pay top dollar would tear it down. There was value in them keeping it intact. Doing something he wouldn’t normally, Josh put Zach on the phone. In his interview, Josh said, sometimes a client was so emotionally invested, they needed to hear it from someone other than him. Jeannie liked that they weren’t developers, and was good at $3 million. Josh gifted Zach with the Hazmat suit. Meanwhile, David, or maybe it was James, tried to tell Hilary that the Windsor house was overpriced, but she wasn’t hearing it.

Fredrik did some private showings of Dolph’s house, and was pretty nervous because, Dolph. One potential buyer called Dolph’s pool a spool, since it was small, and when they got to the pole, he called the view a spiew. WTFueiw? In his interview, Fredrik said, a good broker had to take a negative and turn it into a positive, so he said the pool’s advantage was that it was private. Because of the pole, the house was priced lower than those with unobstructed views. Still, the spiew was a deal breaker.

David and/or James said they’d done countless showings, got two offers, and all they ended up with was pushback about the price. In maybe David’s interview, he said he trusted his gut, and took matters into his own hands, telling the buyer that the seller was flexible on the price. He said, sometimes you had to help the client by doing the opposite of what they wanted. They got two offers of $8.8 and $8.9 million, and went to visit Hilary and her two cute dogs. James admitted he’d f***ed up, and David admitted he’d gone outside the rules. He said he knew Hilary must know something they didn’t, and Hilary said, of course she did. The seller’s bottom line was $9.5 million, not 10. She told them, the best generals don’t ask for permission, but beg for forgiveness. They ended up having a deal at $9.450.

Next time, JoshF meets with Suzanne Sommers, Dolph pressures Fredrik, and Tracy’s sister puts her house on the market.

🔥 Into the Fire…

The doubles in the Tan-O.

🍵 Spilling the Tea…

Garcelle talks the reunion.

😥 Sniff…

Looks like no RHONY reunion. I’d say I’m so disappointed, but then my First World problems would be showing.

https://ew.com/tv/rhony-reunion-season-13-canceled-bravo/

https://people.com/tv/rhony-will-not-film-a-season-13-reunion-due-to-scheduling-challenges/

💸 Rut-Roh…

Looks like Jax has more than his racism and homophobia to worry about.

👠 Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough…

More Emmy fashion.

https://ew.com/emmys/see-all-the-celebs-at-the-emmys-afterparties/

🎭 Light the Lights…

Tony’s back.

https://www.tonyawards.com/

📡 Quotes of the Week

For it’s not light that is needed, but fire; it’s not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind and the earthquake in our hearts. – Frederick Douglass

Man may have discovered fire, but women discovered how to play with it. – Candace Bushnell

Sometimes you win, sometimes you learn. – John Maxwell

You have your way. I have my way. As for the right way, the correct way, and the only way, it does not exist. – Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

Being crazy isn’t enough. – Dr. Seuss

💃🏽 Doing the Hustle…

This hellacious week finally over, I’ll see you when Dead meets Walking. Until then, stay safe, stay holding on to your principles, and stay remembering a gilded cage is still a cage.

September 23, 2021 – Nina Tells Maxie Everything & Maybe

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Britt goes to the gym, and sees Jason punching the heavy bag. She clears her throat, and he turns. She says, impressive, but not what she would expect from a newlywed.

Ava finds Trina at Charlie’s, and they hug. Trina say she refuses to believe it’s the last time she’s going to see Ava. Ava says, it’s not. She’ll be back, and until then, they’ll stay in touch. Trina says she doesn’t want to stay in touch; she wants Ava to stay in town. Ava says she wants that too, but the stalker is still out there. It’s just not possible. Trina says, somebody needs to catch that creep.

Esme and Spencer arrive at Windymere, and Esme tells Nikolas, happy moving day. She walks in, followed by Spencer with a suitcase, and Doc. Nikolas says he thought there would be more luggage, and Spencer says, the staff is bringing the rest of their things from the launch. Esme wanted this bag with her. Esme says, it’s got all the essentials. Things she can’t trust to bellboys and luggage handlers. They’re so grateful Nikolas invited them to move in. Not that Doc and Laura weren’t wonderful hosts. It’s just that there’s more room at Windymere for them to spread out, but still stay together. Spencer says he’s hoping he and Nikolas can co-exist without getting on each other’s nerves, and Nikolas says, they’ve been apart for too long. Spencer doesn’t know what it means to have him back. Spencer says he’s still not sure this is going to work, but he wants it to. He’s missed Nikolas. They hug, and Esme smiles at Doc. She smiles a lot.

Anna tells Valentin that she tried to get the Bureau to trace Peter’s last call, but it said no service, and he says, so Peter’s accomplice is covering his tracks. She says they’ve got nothing on him since he jumped from the overlook; no sightings, no leads. And the state police want to take down the roadblocks because they believe he drowned. Valentin says, they’re not going to be that lucky. Peter’s got ten hours head start on them. He could be anywhere. He could be holed up somewhere, or he could be out of the country by now. Anna thinks maybe they should talk to Nina again. Maybe she’s remembered something. Jax comes out of the examining room, and tells them, Nina’s not here. She checked herself out against medical advice. Anna asks how long ago she left, and Jax says, long enough to make it back to Port Charles.

Nina goes to Maxie’s place, and Maxie hugs her, saying, Thank God. She’s been so worried about her. Nina says, it’s okay; she’s fine. She could say super fine. Maxie says, no offense, but she doesn’t look super fine. She actually looks kind of shaky. Not that Maxie blames her. Seeing Peter would traumatize anyone. Nina says, Peter’s the least of it.

Sonny has coffee in the kitchen, while I mourn the loss of the moss bowl 🎍. Carly asks if she can have some, and he says, coming right up. He pours her a cup, and she lingers over her first sip. He says, that bad? but she says, it’s perfect.

Britt says, this is the last place she expected to see Jason this morning. Shouldn’t he be with this wife? Never mind. She shouldn’t be bothering him. He says she’s not bothering him, but she thinks Mrs. Morgan would feel different about that. He says, there is no Mrs. Morgan. He and Carly didn’t get married. She asks what he’s talking about, and he says, they went through with the ceremony, but it’s not valid. Sonny’s alive.

Ava tells Trina, Barcelona is a mecca for collecting, and there’s been a lot of interest in the gallery’s paintings. Trina asks if Ava is sure she’s going to be happy networking in Barcelona, and Ava says she’s just trying to make the best out of a bad situation. Trina says, it’s so unfair. Ava having to walk away from everything she loves because someone thinks they’re entitled to play games with her life. Ava says she hates it too. She certainly hopes that lunatic is happy. Trina says she’s sure they’re loving thinking they won.

Nikolas says he heard about Esme’s favorite bakery, and had a selection of their pastries sent over this morning. She thanks him for his thoughtfulness, and says she’d like a latte, croissant, and mixed fruit for breakfast. She’s partial to blackberries. Nikolas says he’ll tell the staff they’re ready to start. He puts his hand on his stomach, and Doc asks if he’s all right. He says he’s just a little sore, and Spencer says, because of what Ava’s thugs did to him? Nikolas suggests Spencer come to the kitchen with him, and he can tell them how Esme likes her latte. They leave, and Esme thanks Doc for being so good to her and Spence. He says, Spencer is his step-grandson; he tends to take it seriously. She says it warms her heart how a busy doctor like himself still finds time for family. She loves that he’s a psychiatrist. It’s a fascinating profession. She’s thinking of taking pre-med classes with an emphasis in psychology. He says he finds people who are interested in the cognitive sciences are usually looking for answers about themselves, and the people who shaped them growing up. She says, that makes sense, given his own upbringing. Has his profession given him the answers he’s looking for? He says, it’s helped him see people and situations more clearly, and she tells him, like she said, fascinating.

Anna says, Sonny has been in Nixon Falls since last December with no idea who he is? and Jax says, not until last night. Valentin says, so the entire time, Nina has been in Nixon Falls, she’s been hiding the truth from Sonny? Jax says, and his family, and Valentin says, she had to have had a reason. Anna says, it must have been a damn good one to keep a man from his own life like that, with his family grieving. Valentin says, she had to have had a reason. A lie like that takes on a life of its own. He’s been there. Anna says she has to call Robin; she was good friends with Sonny. She leaves, and Jax says Valentin is right. Nina wasn’t acting out of malice. She made a bad decision, and it spiraled from there. Valentin says, it’s not the only bad decision she’s made if she’s gone back to Port Charles. She’s not going to get a warm welcome.

Nina says, it’s such a mess, and it’s all of her own making, and Maxie says let her stop Nina right there. Peter is the one who did this. Not Nina, not her, but Peter. Because he’s a lying psychopath, he got away again. Anna caught him, somewhere in Nixon Falls, some overlook. Nina says she knows where it is, and Maxie says, Peter jumped before Anna could take him into custody. They had search teams looking for him all night, but he was gone; he just vanished. If it was anyone else, she’d say they drowned, but Peter’s alive; she can feel it. Her only consolation is knowing Louise is safe, and Peter has no idea where she is. Nina says, none of this should have happened. The police could have had Peter in custody. Maxie says, well, they don’t, and Nina says, it’s all her fault. Peter showed up and confronted her the day Maxie left Nixon Falls.

Carly says Sonny makes the best coffee. He says, it’s just coffee, but she shakes her head, saying, the whole time he was gone, the coffee never tasted like this. It’s the first time in nine months her coffee tasted just right. She asks if he’s okay, and he says he’s glad to be home, even though he slept in the guest room. When he woke up in the morning, he knew where he was, he knew who he was. He feels really good. She says he didn’t have to sleep in the guest room, and he says, truth be told, he walked in the bedroom, and she was sleeping; he didn’t want to wake her. She says she had his stuff brought down from the attic; his suits, his shoes, his accessories. He says he’s surprised she didn’t donate most of them, and she says she couldn’t stand the thought of somebody else with his things. If she ran into somebody on the street wearing one of his suits, she couldn’t take that. He laughs, and says he’s glad she kept them. They’re just clothes, and you can buy more, but it makes him feel good that she hung on to them. She says it was her way of holding on to him.

Britt says, Sonny’s alive, and Jason says, he came home last night. She says, on his wedding night. How inconvenient. He says, it’s the best thing that could have happened, and Britt says, so Carly’s still his wife? He says, yep, and she says, and he is… He says, not married. She asks what Sonny said when he found out they got married, and he says, Sonny told them they made the right decisions under the circumstances. He’s back. Circumstances have changed.

Maxie says, so what did Peter do? Threaten Nina? Blackmail her? It had to be something, otherwise she would have called 9-1-1 the second she saw him. Nina says, he threatened to kidnap James, and Maxie jumps up, saying, oh my God. Nina tells her, Peter said that if he couldn’t find Louise, James would be the next best thing. He really liked the idea of raising Jay’s son. Maxie says, she’d kill him first. With her bare hands. He will not get her son. Nina says she gets Maxie, and feels the exact same way. She played him. She pretended to go along with him. She was scared, but she pretended to agree to do what he wanted her to do; work Valentin to get information on the search for Louise. Maxie says, so he really doesn’t have any idea where Louise is? and Nina says, no, he doesn’t. Maxie says, finally, some good news, and Nina says, first chance she got, guess who she called? Aunt Liesl. And she said she would take care of it, which Nina admits was exactly what she wanted to hear. Maxie asks if Obrecht gave her any specifics on how she’d take care of it, and Nina says, only to tell Peter that the baby was spotted on St. Lucia, that Anna and Valentin were on their way there, and if he wanted to get there before them, he had to leave immediately. He bought the story; he left Nixon Falls. She thought everything was going to be okay. She hoped and prayed, but something went wrong. Maxie says Obrecht was going to St. Lucia with Scotty. He chartered a private plane, but it was a set-up. Scotty was knocked out, and dumped out of the plane in a parachute. Nina asks, what about Aunt Liesl? but Maxie says, there’s no sign of her. She disappeared.

Anna says she can stay and deal with the investigation if Valentin wants to get back to Port Charles, but he says, no. Charlotte and Bailey are fine. He checked in with Yuri this morning. She says, she was thinking, if he wanted to be there for Nina.

Cameron meets Trina at Charlie’s, and she asks, where’s Joss? He says she hasn’t talked to Josslyn yet? and she says, she texted them, and assumed she’d be with him. He sits down, and says, Joss is at home with her family. Her stepfather came back last night. Trina says, what? and he says, remember the text she got last night, that she had to meet Michael and go back to her mom’s? Sonny was there. Trina asks if she said where Sonny’s been since last December, and he says, she said that it was complicated and she’d fill them in when she gets the chance. Trina says, that could take a while, right? They’re talking a major Corinthos family reunion. He says, probably. Is that a problem? She says, no. She’s thrilled for Josslyn, and family comes first, but it’s just that she needed Josslyn’s help. He asks if there’s anything he can do, and she says she’s glad he asked. She knows who’s been stalking Ava. And they need to expose them before Ava leaves Port Charles for good.

Carly looks at her rings in the ex-home of the moss bowl 🎍, when Sonny walks in wearing a suit. She says, that’s more like it, and he says it feels good to be back in his clothes again. She says he wears it well, literally. Most guys wear a suit, and they look stuffy and uncomfortable, but he looks like that suit was made for him. He says, most of them were, and she says he looks strong, and confident, and sexy as hell. He says he could pretend that he’s modest, but he won’t. She says he’s very arrogant, and he says, she loves it. She says she does, and hugs him. Ava walks in, and says, hey, Carly. The guard told her… She stops short, and says, Sonny. He says, hello, Ava.

Britt asks, where’s Sonny been all this time? and Jason says, in Pennsylvania. She asks if that’s mobspeak, and he says, excuse me? She says, is that code for hiding out or something? Or was he physically in Pennsylvania? Jason says, he was physically in Pennsylvania, and she says, why? He says, when the bridge collapsed, the current carried him to some riverbank. A hiker found and helped him. Sonny didn’t know who he was. She says, he lost his memory, and he says, yeah. He spent the last nine months in a small town, working as a bartender. She says, so he just woke up one day, and remembered he was Sonny Corinthos, Godfather of Port Charles? Jason says he thinks it’s more complicated than that, but… She says, the end result is still the same. Sonny is back, and it has to be a major adjustment for Jason and Carly. He says, they’re okay, and she says, really? She thought they were in love. How do you stop those feelings?

Cameron suggests they take a step back. Who is it Trina thinks is the stalker? She says, Esme and Spencer have been working together. They’re Ava’s stalker.

Esme tells Nikolas, that was delicious, and Doc asks if the fruit wasn’t to her liking. She says she was looking forward to blackberries, and Nikolas says he already told the staff, and they’ll be there tomorrow. She thanks him, and says, and maybe a little less foam on the latte. He says he’ll pass along the message. Spencer says he’ll show Esme to her room, and she says she can’t wait to see it. Nikolas says, if it’s not to her liking, she can choose another one, or they can redecorate. She says she may have to take him up on that, and she and Spencer go upstairs. Doc asks if Nikolas is sure he’s ready to play host to Spencer and his new girlfriend, and Nikolas says he’s so thrilled to have Spencer back, he’d put up with anyone. Esme seems nice enough. What does Doc think? Doc says, he thinks she requires a lot of attention and she’s high maintenance, and single-minded about getting her way. That could be a source of conflict, but Spencer doesn’t seem to mind. Nikolas says, Spencer is young, he’s in love, and it’s good to see him with someone who returns his feelings. Doc asks, what about Nikolas’s own situation? and Nikolas says, nothing’s changed. Ava’s leaving, and there’s nothing he can do to stop her.

Maxie says, it makes total sense Nina would go to Obrecht for help. She would have done the same thing. She’s only sorry it didn’t work. Peter must have known what was going on. Does Nina think he tapped her phone? Nina says, no. Peter said something about someone else warning him about the trap. Maxie asks if she thinks it’s the person who kidnapped Obrecht, but Nina doesn’t know. Obrecht has a very checkered past; she has a lot of enemies. She doesn’t even know if Obrecht’s disappearance has anything to do with Peter. Maxie says, he definitely could be working with someone, and that’s why he keeps getting away. Nina says, he keeps getting away because she didn’t stop him when she had the chance. Maxie says, that’s because Nina expected Obrecht to do a better job, and Nina says, that’s one reason – she wanted to stop Peter – but she also wanted to have her cake and eat it too. Maxie says, Nina’s lost her, and Nina says, remember Mike? Maxie says, Nina’s guy from Nixon Falls. She’s dying to meet him. Nina says, she already has. He’s Sonny Corinthos.

Ava says she’s so glad Sonny is back. She’s leaving the country. He asks, for how long? and she says, indefinitely. He says, so things didn’t work out between her and Nikolas, but she says, it’s not that. She’s got herself a stalker, and things have been getting progressively more dangerous. He says, Chamberlain? but she says, Ryan’s doctors say that’s not possible. Carly explains, Ryan has something called locked-in syndrome. He’s been institutionalized; he can’t even move. Ava says, it’s more likely a Ryan copycat. Whoever it is, they got into Windymere. So she, Nikolas, and Avery moved to the MetroCourt. Somehow, the stalker got into Avery’s room there. Sonny says, this freak got to his daughter? and Ava says, they left a teddy bear in her room, and Ryan’s voice came out of it. Sonny slams his hand on the kitchen island, and says, where the hell is the moss bowl 🎍? son of a bitch.

Jason tells Britt that he, Sonny, and Carly have been friends longer than he and Carly were engaged; decades longer. She says, so he just hits a reset button? Ignore the fact that he and Carly were planning a life together? He says, they made those plans because they thought Sonny was dead, and he’s not, so things go back to the way they were before. She says, and he’s okay with that? She knows he’s happy Sonny is alive, and of course (🍷) he woudn’t change how things worked out, but Carly gets her husband back. Meanwhile, he loses everything he was counting on. He says maybe he deserves to, and she says, because of what he did to her? She might possibly feel a teeny tiny bit vindicated because he chose Carly over her, and Carly turned around and chose Sonny over him, but that doesn’t mean she enjoys seeing him hurt. He says he appreciates that, and she says she doesn’t mean to pile on more bad news, but he should know Peter is definitely alive.

Maxie says, Nina found Sonny in Nixon Falls, he had lost his memory, and was working as a bartender, and calling himself Mike. Instead of telling him who he really was, or letting his family know he was alive and well, and where he was, she didn’t say anything. Nina says, she knows. She admits that at first, she did it to get back at Carly. She knows it was selfish and spiteful, but it came back to bite her. Before she knew it, she was falling for Mike. Maxie says, there is no Mike; it’s Sonny. Nina says, there is Mike – to her. And Mike is a wonderful, sweet, loyal man; who, for once, cared about her, and she cared about him. Maxie asks, how much? and Nina says she loves him. Maxie says, yikes, and Nina says, that’s one of the reasons she stupidly didn’t call 9-1-1 when Peter showed up in Nixon Falls. If Peter got arrested, the whole world would know about Mike. It was better for her to call Obrecht and have her get rid of Peter. She just didn’t want anyone to know. Maxie says, no offense, but her plan was never going to work, and Nina says, she can see that now; now that it’s too late. Maxie says, Nina’s made some questionable choices… disastrous choices, but she can see Nina’s hurting, and she’s sorry. Nina says, she loves him. Not Sonny – she barely knows Sonny – but she loves Mike. And she certainly didn’t treat him like someone she loves. She lied to him for months, and kept him from his family. She hurt so many people. She has to figure out a way to make it right. Maxie says, that’s admirable, but also impossible.

Valentin tells Anna that he can’t fix this for Nina, and he’s learned his lesson that she’s the captain of her ship. She has to find out for herself what the truth is. Anna says, what if Nina reaches out? but he says, she’s not going to. The way he’s going to help Nina is the way he’s going to help everybody. He’s going to find Peter, and he’s going to put a bullet in his heart. She says she’s past the point of talking him out of contemplating murder now, and he says, it’s not murder. It’s protecting the lives of the innocent, Maxie and Louise; and the not so innocent, like you and me. Anna says, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Before they decide whether or not they kill Peter, they have to find him.

Cameron asks if it’s possible Trina is being less than objective, but she says, no. Esme and Spencer have been working together to break up Ava and Mr. Cassadine. He says, based on what? and she says, Spencer was in Port Charles at least since the night of her graduation party. He told her that his name was Victor, and when she found out it was a lie, he convinced her to cover for him. Cameron asks if Spencer wasn’t trying to reconcile with his father, and she says, how is lurking around Port Charles in secret reconciling with your father? Cameron says he doesn’t know. Spencer’s relationship with his dad is pretty messed up. Trina says, Spencer is the stalker and Mr. Cassadine found out. That’s why he set Spencer up. He says, he was there for that, but when Ava’s car got torched, Spencer was at Windymere. She says, but Esme wasn’t. Which gave her plenty of time to light Ava’s car on fire and get a boat back to Spoon Island. He says, didn’t Mr. Cassadine cancel all the launches? Maybe she was late because she couldn’t get a lift. She says, can’t he just trust her? She knows she’s right; she just needs to find proof. He says he understands, but if she’s wrong, things could get messy. She says she’ll take that risk. Ava is leaving her daughter, divorcing her husband, and selling this place. Ava is giving up everything she loves, just because Spencer’s a spoiled brat. Cameron says, actually, that does sound a lot like Spencer.

Spencer listens in on Doc and Nikolas talking, and Doc says, he didn’t realize the divorce was finalized. Nikolas says, the six weeks are up. Any day now, Ava will get the paperwork back, she’ll file it, and Ava will leave the country for God know how long. Her parting gift was a restraining order, with two MMA fighters to enforce it. Doc says, it seems Ava doesn’t trust herself to stay away from Nikolas, any more than she trusts Nikolas to stay away from her. Nikolas says he wanted them to fight the stalker together, but Ava refused. Doc says, Ava’s terrified for her child. What if it was Spencer? Would he risk Spencer to stay with Ava? Outside the door, Spencer looks a little guilty.

Carly says, if the stalker got past the security at Windymere, the MetroCourt, and Ava’s gallery, they’re really great at covering their tracks. Ava tells Sonny, she realized the only way to keep Avery safe, was to give the stalker what they want. Sonny says, which is? and she says, she’s divorcing Nikolas. As soon as she drops off the papers at the courthouse, that’s done. He says, that doesn’t explain why she’s leaving the country, and she says, if it was just her, she’d stay, but she can’t have Avery being collateral damage. She has to keep Avery safe, and the only way is to put an ocean between them. Sonny says, whatever their differences, he respects that she’s doing right by his daughter… their daughter. She thanks him, and says she’d like to ask for his and Carly’s help. He says, whatever she needs, and she says she has to go upstairs, and say goodbye to Avery. It would be helpful if they were there. Carly nods, and Sonny says, then that’s where they’ll be.

Jason asks if Peter tried to contact Britt, but she says, no. Maxie found out, and very thoughtfully sent Dr. Gatlin-Holt to the hospital to give her a heads up. She has this idea that Peter was involved in her mother’s disappearance. He says, her mom disappeared? and she says, yeah. She guesses nobody told him. Scotty chartered a private jet to take him and her mother to St. Lucia. They hit turbulence, and they both blacked out. Someone put a parachute on Scotty, and dropped him over a campground, and there’s been no sign of her mother, and no way to track the jet, since it was a fake company. The whole thing was a set-up. He says he’s sorry. Does she want him to have Brick or Spinelli look into it? She says, no. He’s got plenty going on in his new life. Besides, she doesn’t need him to rescue her mother or her. She walks out.

Spencer continues to listen, and Nikolas tells Doc, he just wants to keep his family safe, and keep Ava with him. He keeps asking himself, who hates them so much? Doc isn’t sure hatred is the motivation. The goal seems to be separating him and Ava. That could be for any number of reasons. Nikolas says, all that matters is, he’s losing Ava. The only thing that makes it bearable is having Spencer there, and knowing Spencer’s forgiven him. Esme catches Spencer outside the door, and asks, what’s wrong?

Nina tells Maxie that she needs to find a way to make it up to Sonny. Doesn’t Maxie think she owes him that? Maxie says she thinks Sonny needs time with his wife and family, but Nina says she doesn’t want to run away from what she did. Maxie says, maybe after the dust settles, if Nina wants to go to Sonny and Carly to make it right, proceed at her own risk. Maxie doesn’t think it’s going to turn out the way Nina wants though. What Nina owes Sonny right now is a little distance, so he can reclaim his life. Nina says, Maxie is wise, and Maxie says, if you make a lot of mistakes, you learn a few things. Nina says, thanks for not judging her, and Maxie says, she’s definitely judging Nina, but she loves Nina and is always there for her. They’re family, right? Nina hugs her, and says she loves Maxie. Nina leaves, and Maxie picks up the phone and calls someone. She says she’s at her apartment, and needs them to come right now.

Ava says it was harder than she thought, and Sonny says she did good. Avery is going to miss Ava, but Ava made it okay for her. Ava says she’s grateful Avery has both of them. She asks them to send lots of pictures, not just holiday stuff, but everyday stuff. Carly says she will, and Sonny says, good luck. Ava thanks them and leaves. Sonny asks what’s on Carly’s mind, and Carly says she and Ava will never be best friends, but she understands how Ava feels. She knows what it’s like to turn your back on what you want and love, and do what you feel you have to do. She did it the whole time he was gone. She wanted to curl in a ball and cry all day; scream, yell, throw things. The last thing she wanted to do was think about the business, and the Five Families lasagna Bolognese, and Cyrus Renault, but she did. Sonny says, she handled the meeting with the Five Families pizza Napoletana; she did really good. She says, at the time, she was great, but when they left, she was shaking. He says he’s back, and he promises nothing is going to make him leave his family. Carly says she knows he believes that, and she wants to believe it too, but they both know there’s no guarantee he can keep that promise.

Britt bangs on Maxie’s door, and asks if she’s okay. Did Peter make contact? Maxie lets her in, and says she’s fine. She hasn’t heard from Peter, not directly anyway. Britt asks what that means, and Maxie says she knows what happened to Britt’s mom.

Valentin says, they certainly learned something from Nina’s account, and she says, Obrecht was on her way to ambush Peter when she disappeared. He says, which goes with her theory that Peter had something to do with Obrecht’s abduction. Anna says, there’s something else she didn’t tell him. She asked Peter where he was holding Drew. She accused him of staging the plane crash as a cover-up for Drew’s abduction. Valentin asks what she’s saying, and she says Peter asked her what he would get in exchange for Drew’s whereabouts. Valentin says, so he’s bluffing, and she says, could be. But it was more in the way of how he didn’t react that led her to believe Drew was alive, and that Peter knows where he is. Her phone rings, and she says, it’s the Bureau. She listens for a minute, and says, okay, thanks for the update. Keep me posted. He asks, what happened? and she says, a woman was admitted to the US Consul medical facility in Crete. She’d been in an accident, she was in and out of consciousness. She had no ID, but she was able to give her name. Chloe Jennings. He says, the nurse Peter hired to watch Maxie, and Anna says, the real Chloe Jennings is alive.

Cameron says, Trina is right. Spencer has gotten away with this crap all his life. He’s not getting away with it this time. She says, does that mean he’s in? and he says, he’s in. She thanks him, and he says, but he hopes she has a plan, because he has no idea how they can prove anything. Spencer and Esme will just keep covering for one another. She says, they have to trap one of them.

Doc says, on the subject of Spencer, Nikolas seems to be bending over backwards to make sure Spencer and Esme feel at home. Nikolas says he did a terrible thing to Spencer, and needs to make up for it. Doc says, as long as he remembers he’s not making it up to a friend or a contemporary. He’s making it up to his son. Nikolas says, Doc is his stepfather, not his shrink, and Doc says he’s right. Old habits die hard. Nikolas says, thanks for the advice, but he can figure it out with Spencer. His goal is to be the father Spencer deserves.

Spencer says he was just thinking about how much his father means to him, and she says, that’s why she’s so happy their plan worked. He can have his father, and be free of Ava. How does it feel to get everything he wants?   

Sonny goes to the cemetery, and sees flowers on his own grave. He shakes his head, then turns around to see Nina behind him. He does not look happy.

Jason goes to Sonny’s place, and Carly opens the door. She says, Sonny’s not here, but he says he came to see her.

Tomorrow, Cameron tells Trina that involving her mom is a bad idea, Esme tells Josslyn that she can’t leave, Obrecht says she’ll hold Victor responsible, and Sonny tells Nina not to think he’ll ever forget that.

🎵 Tomorrow, Tomorrow…

I had to miss some of Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles, and it was only on once at a reasonable hour, so I’ll catch it in the morning online. It’s been the week from hell so, see you tomorrow for soap, tea, wise words, and expensive houses. Until then, stay safe, stay inventive, and stay not being a spoiled brat turned stalker.

September 22, 2021 – Sonny Reunites With His Kids, Beverly Hills Goes To Del Mar, It’s Official, Moved In & Last One

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny says, so Jason and Carly got married. Great strategy. It’s all right now, because he’s back. Carly says she can’t believe it, and he says he’s sorry to burden her. She tells him, don’t apologize. He didn’t stay away on purpose. It’s no one’s fault. The doorbell rings, and Jason goes to see who it is. Carly says she can’t believe Sonny is back. She touches his face, and takes his hand, kissing it, and he says he’s here. She says she just has one question. What the hell is he wearing?

At the bottom of the stairs, Jason takes off his wedding ring. He opens the door to Dante, who says he has a few questions for Jason about the guys who were blown up outside his wedding.

Jax goes into the examining room where Nina is, and she asks if he’s had any word from Anna or Valentin. Have they found Peter? Please tell her this nightmare is over. For Maxie and her baby’s sake.

Chase says Brook’s daughter is an angel. She’s out like a light. Brook says she was listening, and Chase is really good with her. He says, she’s easy, but Brook says, not always. She asks how he got to be such a baby whisperer, and he says, it comes natural. She thanks him again, and says she might need him to move back in the house. Michael and Willow come in, all happy, and Brook says, on second thought, that might get a little awkward.

Hanging out with Cameron and Trina at the pool (🍷), Josslyn says, the summer went by so fast. It’s hard to believe the pool (🍷) is already closed for the season. (Nooo!) Trina says she knows, right? Good thing they know the owner’s daughter. They have the pool (🍷) all to themselves. Wasn’t the wedding beautiful? Josslyn says, it was. She’s glad her mom found happiness again. Now they have the rest of the night to just enjoy and relax. Just them. Trina says, that sounds perfect, and Cameron joins them. He says there may have been one small thing he forgot to mention.

At Charlie’s, Ava hands Kristina a set of keys, saying, this place was very important to her brother. She trusts Kristina will take care of it until it sells. Kristina says she will, and appreciates the responsibility, but is Ava sure this is the right thing? Leaving town and leaving Avery? There has to be another option. Ava says she’s explored all the other options. The only thing she can do to make sure Avery is safe, is to go. How about Kristina? How is she holding up? It must be tricky with Carly getting remarried. Kristina says, it’s a little weird. 6She loves Jason, but… Ava asks if she was invited, and Kristina says, yeah, but she decided not to go. Partially out of loyalty to Sam, but also because Carly moving on makes her dad’s death feel all the more real.

Sonny wonders where to start, and Carly says, wherever he wants. He says, nine months of not knowing who he was. If someone had asked him, he would have said that he was happy, but something inside of him felt something was missing. He guesses he got used to it. He didn’t even notice it anymore. She says, and now? and he says, for the first time in a long time, he’s not 100% there, but he’s close. He does know what he was missing was her and the kids. Us.

Ava says, she and Kristina’s father certainly had their issues, but he sure loved their daughter. Carly loves her too, which makes leaving Avery slightly less unbearable. Kristina says she almost forgot – she brings out a manila envelope – these were left there for Ava. Ava says she had her mail forwarded there, since she’s been moving around so much lately. She opens the envelope, and Kristina asks if something is wrong. Ava says, no. She just thought Scotty might be so busy with Obrecht’s disappearance, he wouldn’t get around to these. Kristina says, these being… and Ava says, her finalized divorce papers. All she has to do is look them over and sign them, then bring them to the courthouse, and her marriage will be officially over.

Cameron says he’s sorry, and Josslyn says, please tell her that he told Spencer not to bring Esme. Trina says, O-M-G, you didn’t? and he says, no, but Spencer didn’t say anything about Esme, so… Trina says, maybe he won’t bring her. Josslyn asks if she’s delusional. In what universe would Esme let Spencer go anywhere by himself, let alone hang out with them? She’s like a human barnacle. Cameron says, come on. Is she really that bad? and Josslyn and Trina both say, yes. He says he’s sorry. It’s just that the last time he spoke to Spencer, they had a pretty decent talk the night of his party. Josslyn says, they get it; he was trying to be nice. He says he was throwing Spencer a bone. It’s a pretty crappy thing when your dad dresses up like a stalker and stabs you. Trina says, fake stabs, and he says, whatever. Josslyn says, it’s true. Spencer has been through a lot, but it’s like the second you start to feel bad for him, he does something stupid, or selfish, or entitled, or just plain out wrong, and all of that emotion just evaporates. Spencer says, tell him how she really feels.

Willow says, they didn’t realize Chase would be there, and Michael says, they just came from his mom’s wedding. Chase tells them, stop. This is their house. They don’t need to explain themselves. Brook says, Chase just came by to drop off a gift for Monica, and Chase says, to thank her for her hospitality. Willow says that’s nice of him, and Brook says, of course (🍷) she had to put him to work, making him rock Bailey to sleep. He says he wanted to. He missed her. Brook says, Bailey missed him, and Willow says they’ll go down to the gatehouse, and give them some space, but Chase says they don’t have to do that. No more eggshells. They’re good. Willow says, he really means that? and he says she meant too much to him once. They both did.

Jax tells Nina, he hasn’t been able to get ahold of Valentin or Anna, but they did promise they’d let them know if Peter was apprehended. She says, that’s not good news, and he says he’s sorry. He’s just glad she’s still here. She says, as opposed to chasing after Mike… Sonny? She says she’s made such a mess, hasn’t she? She kept Sonny away from his family for so long. Carly and Michael are not going to let her see Wiley. So where is she supposed to go now? She can’t go to Port Charles, and she can’t go to Nixon Falls, because of what she did to these people. They were so kind to her, and now they have to pay for her choices. Phyllis walks in, and says she wants Nina to know, the Tan-O’s gone.

Jason says there’s something Dante needs to know, and Dante says, without Diane here? That’s a first. Jason says, it has nothing to do with Diane, and Dante says, so it has nothing to do with the bomb that went off outside the church? Jason says, it has to do with something else, and Dante says, here they are again. Jason’s on one side; he’s on the other. They’re practically family, but he’s there to investigate a crime. So he’s going to ask Jason questions, and if Diane’s not there to answer them, he’s not going to get the answers he’s looking for. Just hear him out. Two people were ID’d, the heads of the Novak and Buscema families. They were dead in a car that exploded outside of the church where he got married and they attended. Given that they’re both alleged crime family heads, he assumes they had a hit out on Jason and Carly, and Jason found out about it first, and set up his own bomb instead. Jason asks if he’s finished, and Dante says, sure. Jason says, because there is something important he has to tell him.

Sonny says he was going after Julian on the bridge. The bridge collapsed, and he fell into the water. It was so cold and the current was so strong, he had to get to the surface. She says, thank God he did, and he says, so he woke up in the woods. She says, he could have froze to death, and he says, he was in the snow, and he had a dream about his dad. He came to Sonny, and said he had to walk. He saved Sonny’s life. She says she believes that. She believes Mike came to Sonny when he needed Mike the most, and he got Sonny up and got him moving. Sonny says, remember he told her about the hiker that found him? He asked Sonny’s name, but he didn’t know who he was or where he came from, and he wonders why… She says, why what? He says, what got him on his feet, what was so important, what was worth living for. Now he knows why. Her and the kids, this moment. He lived for all of them. She puts her head on his shoulder.

Chase says he only wants the best for Willow and Michael, and Willow thanks him. Michael says, that means a lot, but he couldn’t help noticing Chase used the past tense, that they meant something to him. Chase says, just because he’s ready to move on with his life, doesn’t mean they can go back to the way things were. He doesn’t see how that’s possible. Brook says, who knows? Maybe in a couple of years, they’ll all be laughing about this. It’s all very Three’s Company when you think about it.

Jax says he’s going to see if he can find out any more information about Peter, and leaves. Nina tells Phyllis, she doesn’t know what to say, and Phyllis says, that makes two of them. Nina says she’s so sorry; she didn’t mean to hurt anybody. Phyllis says, really? And what does she think Sonny’s wife would say about that?

Sonny says, he always had this feeling that he wanted to know who he was, but then time would pass, weeks would pass. He got into his new life, and got distracted. Carly says, they don’t need talk about that right now. There’s plenty of time. She just wants to focus on him and being home. She says, her rings, and goes over to her jewelry box, and takes them out. She says, it was torture taking them off. She never dreamed she’d be putting them back on. He asks if he can do it, and she says, yeah. He does, and she says, perfect fit. He says, they always were, and she says, that’s them, imperfectly perfect. She just can’t believe this is real. He says, it’s hard to believe she and Jason got married. They can fix that. He’s got other things he needs to. She says she thinks he needs to have a drink, and he says, yeah, and he needs to see his kids. He heads for the door, and she looks at the rings from Jason. He says, is she coming? and she goes with him. We see the ring set.

Jason tells Dante, he’ll have Diane come there, or she can meet them at the PCPD. They can talk for hours about what did or didn’t happen to Novak and Buscema, but right now, he needs Dante to sit down. Dante asks, what’s going on? and Jason says, his dad’s here. Sonny comes downstairs, and they hug.

Ava tells Kristina, it’s getting late. She’ll have to wait until morning to go to the courthouse. Kristina says she has twenty minutes, but Ava says, that’s hardly enough time. Kristina looks at her, and Ava says, what? Kristina says she was just wondering if Ava is having second thoughts. Ava says, about divorcing Nikolas? and laughs. She says, she’s had second, third, and twenty-seventh thoughts about that. Then she comes back to the first one; terror that her daughter will be hurt if she doesn’t do exactly what the stalker wants.

Spencer asks if this is going to be another lecture on his many faults, and Josslyn says, she doesn’t know. Did it land the first time? He sits next to Trina, and says, he was such an ass. He’s really sorry. He took advantage of her, and it was as Josslyn said, a selfish, and entitled, and just plain wrong thing to do. Trina says, it’s fine; apology accepted. He says he means it. He’s not just saying this because he’s scared Joss will push him in the pool (🍷) or something. He thinks she’s awesome, and he feels horrible for lying to her, and making her lie for him. It was… Josslyn says, just plain wrong? Cameron says, stupid? and Josslyn says, selfish? Spencer says, yeah. Can she forgive him? Trina says, maybe in the next century or so, she might possibly be willing to think about it. He says, so she’s telling him there’s a chance? Esme comes in, saying, the valet took forever to bring back her phone. They must park the cars on Neptune. So, what did she miss?  

Nina tells Phyllis, Carly was really cruel to her, and that was the day she decided not to tell her. Phyllis says, what about all the other days? and Nina says she didn’t know what she was going to do. Not a day went by that she didn’t want to tell him the truth, but then Sonny became Mike for her, and he was so happy there. Nixon Falls was the best and worst thing that ever happened to her. She got to spend precious time with Phyllis and Lenny, but also fell in love with Mike.

Michael looks at his phone, and says he’s got to go. Willow asks if everything is all right, and he says his mom texted. She wants him to find Josslyn and get to the house. Brook asks, what’s going on? and he tells her, his mom says It’s good news, but it’s still strange. He asks Willow to kiss Wiley goodnight for him, and  kisses her goodbye. He leaves, and Brook’s phone rings. She says she has to take this; it’s pain in the neck Gladys. She answers, asking Gladys how she is, as she walks upstairs.

Dante asks how Sonny is standing there right now, and Sonny says, it’s a long, convoluted story. Can he tell Dante about it? Dante says he does want to hear about it, but he wants to tell Sonny something first. He recently had a conversation with Jason about Sonny, and the role Sonny played in his life, and how he didn’t get a chance to tell Sonny, and regretted it. Now it looks like he gets the chance to say something to Sonny, and he’s grateful for that. Carly says, grateful seems to be the word of the night, and Dante says he loves Sonny, and he’s glad Sonny is his father. It’s important to him that Sonny know that. Knowing Sonny has been amazing. They’ve had their ups and downs, but it’s bound to happen when people are playing for different teams. But always, underneath it all, there’s been a lot of love, and a lot of respect. He wants Sonny to know that. He missed Sonny every day, and whatever happens, whatever fight they get into, he’s going to remember this moment. He’s not going to back down for Sonny, but he’s not going to forget how much he loves him. He’s happy Sonny’s back. Sonny says he won’t forget either. He knows it seems… Dante doesn’t know what he’s been through, but they don’t have to get into that right now. It’s a gift. They have to see this as a gift. Does Dante know what that gift is? That he gets to stand there, in front of his son, and tell his son what he means to him. He loves Dante too. They hug, and Carly and Jason exchange a look.

Ava asks, since when does Kristina care if she and Nikolas stay married? Kristina says her family has had issues with Ava and Nikolas over the years, but she’s not blind. Nikolas crawled himself out of a dark place, and it’s pretty obvious it’s because of Ava. The way she sees it, they made each other better. Ava says, they do… They did. Kristina’s phone dings, and she say she has to take off. Ava asks if everything is okay, and Kristina says Carly texted that she needs to get to the house right away. She doesn’t think anything is wrong, but it sounds important. Ava says, go. Good luck. Kristina jets.  

Esme says, so today was the big day. Didn’t Josslyn’s mother marry that enforcer guy? Josslyn says, his name’s Jason, and he’s not an enforcer anymore. Esme says, no, he’s the big gun now. See what she did there? Josslyn says, clever, and Esme asks how she feels about getting a new stepfather. Is it awkward? Josslyn says, no. It’s actually super great, and Esme says she doesn’t know how Josslyn does it. Josslyn says, which part? and Esme says, all those bodyguards, and people staring at her all the time. It must be like she lives in a fishbowl. Josslyn says, sometimes, but the positives far outweigh the negatives. Esme says, how so? and Josslyn says, if someone really pisses her off, they’ll disappear. You know. She gets home, someone asks, how are things? and she says she kind of had a rough day because of fill-in-the-blank, and they’ll just vanish – poof! – into thin air. Cameron says, come on. No one’s actually vanished because she didn’t like them, and Josslyn says, not yet, but there’s a first time for everything. Josslyn’s phone dings, and she says she has to go. Trina says, what? Why? and Josslyn says she’s sorry. Michael is downstairs with a car to take her to her mom’s. It’s kind of urgent. Trina says she hopes Carly is okay, and Josslyn says, her too. Cameron asks if she wants him to come with her, but Josslyn says, no, stay. She’ll let him know if it’s anything serious. She jets, and Spencer gets up, clapping his hands. He says, can we get this party started now or what?

Chase asks Willow, how was the wedding? and she says, really nice. The flowers were gorgeous; Maxie outdid herself. She takes it that his recovery is going well, and he says he managed to go camping. She says, for someone who was recently in a wheel chair, impressive. It’s a big deal. He says, he’ll be back on the force soon, and she says, that’s great. He tells her that he needs to get something off his chest. He feels ashamed of how he took advantage of the Quartermaines’ hospitality by poling around for the document for Austin. That’s not who he is, or who he wants to be, and he feels lousy about it. She tells him, it’s safe to say, it was an extreme situation, and none of their finest hours. The good news is, they got through it, and they’re all coming out the other side. He says he’s trying, but she says he’s doing better than that. Look at him. He’s on his feet, about to go back to work. As sorry as she is about how it ended, she doesn’t regret loving him. She’s happy for him as he goes on with his life. He says he’s happy for her too.

Carly lets Michael and Josslyn in, and Josslyn asks, what’s going on? Carly says, something really good, and Josslyn says, okay, but she hasn’t told them what it is. Carly tells them, come inside. They’re going to get the best surprise. They go into the living room, and Sonny is there. Josslyn says, oh my God, and Michael says, dad? Sonny says it’s good to see him, and they hug.  

Nina tells Phyllis, it’s not an excuse because there are none, but when she looks at her life, it’s such a pattern. Phyllis says, what is? and Nina says she’s deathly afraid of being abandoned by the people she loves and who love her, but either she turns a blind eye or goes to extremes. It’s something she’s going to try and look at, but what she can’t make peace with is how much she took from Phyllis and Lenny. She doesn’t know how to make it right. Phyllis says she can’t.

Esme says, Josslyn is so… How should she put it? Trina says, amazing? and Esme says, forceful. Cameron says, always has been, and always will be. Spencer says, Josslyn knew her mind when they were kids, and she knows her mind now. He always figured she and Cameron would get together. Cameron says, he played hard to get, and Trina says, he’s so full of it. He was a goner for Joss from the start. Spencer asks, do they think they can drop Josslyn’s name in the restaurant and get something to eat? Cameron says he might be able to. Spencer, on the other hand, doesn’t stand a chance. Spencer says he can feel his blood sugar plummeting, and Cameron says, they can’t have that. Any requests? Trina says she likes the caprese, and Esme says, tuna tartare or miso conch. Cameron says, alrighty. He’ll see what he can do. He and Spencer leave, and Esme says, good. It gives her and Trina a chance to chat. I’m guessing Trina would probably rather have a root canal.

Phyllis says, even she can see the person Nina lied to the most was herself. Nina agrees, and says she latched on to this belief that not telling Sonny the truth was in his best interest. That was the only thing she’d let herself believe. It had already been so long – a week would have been too long. How could she explain two, three, eight months? There’s no explanation for that. So here she is, standing there knowing what she did was wrong, and having no idea how to fix it What does she do? Phyllis says, we can’t undo mistakes we’ve made in the past, but we can move forward. Nina asks how she does that, and Phyllis says, by owning up to what she did, and facing the consequences.  

Josslyn asks if this is actually happening, and Michael says, it’s incredible. The doorbell rings, and Jason says he’ll get this one. It’s Kristina, and she tells Jason that she got a random text from Carly. Jason says there’s something she needs to see. She says, that was cryptic, and walks in. She says, dad? and runs to Sonny, hugging him, and saying, oh my God. She starts to cry, and he says he missed her too; it’s okay. She says, typical, her making a fool out of herself. This is amazing. Sonny says, want to know what amazing is? That he’s there with his whole family. That, to him, means everything. Jason smiles because he’s been drinking heavily. Not really, but he has a beer in his hand and probably wants to be.

Willow tells Chase to take care of himself, and he says, only if she does the same. She says, deal, and goes into the living room. Brook says they should both have halos, and he asks what she means. She says, they’re so civil. If something like this happened to someone on her mom’s side, prison and/or murder would be the least of it. He asks if everything is okay with work, and she says, yeah, but Gladys droned on and on and on. She had another brainstorm. She checked on Bailey, and she’s sleeping soundly with Yuri keeping watch. He assured her that the house is secure. Chase’s phone dings, and he says, the PCPD still hasn’t spotted Peter, and she says, maybe he’s still in Pennsylvania, fingers crossed. Chase asks if she’d be comfortable leaving the house for a few hours, and she asks, why? He says, let him take her out for a beer, and she says, ugh. He says, or whichever libation her heart desires, and she says, okay. That’s an offer she can’t refuse.

At Charlie’s, Ava takes out the papers and looks at them. She puts them back, and says, these will keep until morning.

Esme says, she was just wondering, and Trina says, about what? Esme says, what Josslyn said to Spence behind Trina’s back. She’s sure Josslyn was just defending Trina, but she completely misinterpreted what happened. She even implied that Spence led Trina on, which is obviously ridiculous. Trina says, they worked it all out, She and Spencer talked and they’re. Same thing with Joss. Sure she can be over-protective, but that’s what best friends do. They look out for each other. Esme says she could tell. Trina and Joss are a team, just like her and Spence. Esme’s phone dings, and she tells Trina to excuse her; she has to use the ladies room. Trina flashes back to Spencer telling her that he didn’t want Nikolas to know he was back. Then she remembers Esme showing up when she and Spencer were alone at the party. She thinks back to confronting Esme about knowing Kiki’s given name was Loren, and says, hell yes, you and Spence are a team.

Jax comes back, and says, Dr. Green wants to see Phyllis. Nina thanks Phyllis, saying, she knows she doesn’t deserve any of this. Phyllis leaves, and Nina puts her head in her hands. Jax says, no news on Peter, and she says, he’s very sweet. She knows he left so she could have some time with Phyllis. He asks if it helped, but she says she doesn’t think anything is going to help until she confronts this disaster. Phyllis has a way making things clear and she’s right. She can’t undo the past. She just has to face it and move forward. He says, sounds like a plan.

Michael struggles to open a champagne bottle, and Josslyn tells him, hand it over. Carly wonders how Josslyn knows how to open champagne, and says she’ll get Josslyn a bottle of sparkling cider. Jason says he’s going, and Sonny says he’ll walk Jason out, but Jason tells him to be with his family. Sonny thanks him for looking out for them. He doesn’t know how he’ll ever repay Jason. Jason says, Sonny has repaid him a million times, and Carly was really the one who held everything together. Sonny says he doubts that, and Jason says he did the best he could, but he could never be Sonny. Welcome home. They hug, and Sonny goes back to his family. Jason watches for a moment, seeing Carly hug Sonny. She catches his eye, and he leaves. Everyone is happy, clinking glasses and having champagne, and Kristina says she has to ask. What’s up with that shirt? Dante says, flannel? Really? Sonny says they don’t like his look? and they all say, no, in unison. Kristina says, it’s just not him, and Sonny says, they’re a tough crowd

Tomorrow, Spencer says he’s not sure it’s going to work, Trina tells Cameron that she knows who the stalker is, and Carly tells Sonny, there’s no guarantee he can keep that promise.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

Everyone packed to go to Del Mar, and in Kyle’s interview, she said it was the first girls trip Kathy was organizing. They’d gone from not spending the holidays together for a number of years, to going on girls trips together, and it was amazing. Kyle talked to Crystal about Erika and Sutton, since no conversation this season is complete without an Erika mention. Dorit tried to gossip about Garcelle to Kathy, but Kathy was packing at the same time, and couldn’t concentrate on two things at once. Sutton had been suffering from foot pain for years, and had a sprained ankle. She was going to fight to get back in her shoes. Erika brought her pup Tiago, so she was driving on her own, and in Crystal’s interview, she thought it was brilliant how Erika was getting away from people by having a dog. Okay, I admit it. We’ve used the dogs as an excuse to leave someplace early, so I identify. Kathy forgot her phone, and in Kyle’s interview, she explained that their mom had babied Kathy until she passed Kathy to Rick, Kathy’s husband. She was a lot of work. Luckily, she’s rich too, so they had The Lady – as in Kathy telling Kyle to call the lady who works for her, since apparently she doesn’t have an actual name – drive Kathy’s phone to an intersection, where Kathy met her. The Lady is probably used to this, but I’m sure she gets paid well.

In Erika’s interview, she said no one understood what she was going through. Every day, it was another baseball bat to the head. She didn’t want to sit at home, and hoped going out would ease what she was going through. Kyle bunked with Kathy, and got the Presidential Suite. In her interview, Kyle said when she traveled with her sister, it was always the best suites in the best hotels. Kathy arranged for a pop-up picnic at La Jolla Cove, where sea lions cavort. I’m not sure how different a pop-up picnic is from a picnic, except everything was all set up when they got there. The sea lions were extra frisky, two of them getting busy. Kathy averted her eyes, and in her interview, she said they needed to get a room. Sutton had gone to the ER, and found out she was going to be on crutches for a while. Although she was absent from the picnic, someone made sure she was there in spirit by bringing up the kerfuffle with Erika. Erika said being called a liar was major for her, and we flashed back to her scaring the hell out of Teddi. She told the women, it was something she would not tolerate, and Dorit asked if Sutton had actually used the word. Erika said she had, when referring to Tom allegedly being unconscious for twelve hours. Since she’s too much of a coward to say it to Erika, in Kyle’s interview, she was surprised Erika had added allegedly to the story. She said Erika gave them the information that he’d been unconscious. She guessed this was what happened when you were married to a lawyer for that many years. In Dorit’s interview, she said she thought it was the truth, but not all the information, which made it debatable. Erika said she didn’t care what anyone else said, she was there. She’d been living with it for years, and wasn’t apologizing. She didn’t care if Sutton felt threatened, and said Sutton should be threatened. Yikes.  

The hotel was absolutely humongous, and in Garcelle’s interview, she said, wasn’t this how horror movies started? It was a beautiful hotel, but if she saw a pair of twins staring at her, she was out of there. Black people were always the first to get killed. Sutton got back, and said, thank God it wasn’t a break, but she had a terrible sprain, and had to stay off her foot completely for a week. Garcelle asked her if there was any hope for the Erika situation, but Sutton said Crystal told her that Erika said it was closed door. We flashed back to Crystal telling Sutton that there was no moving forward. She didn’t know whether to respect that, or knock on the door, but Garcelle said, girl, you do not want to knock on that door. In Sutton’s interview, she said Erika had threatened her, and now she had her own situation going on. Someone else would have to play detective. She was out. Kathy and Kyle were late for dinner. So late, that LisaR started calling and texting, but there was no response.

After everyone was seated, Kathy said she was anxious, since she felt there were lingering issues going on. Sutton admitted she did call a meeting sans Erika because she was in a nervous place. She wasn’t apologizing though; she’d just been asking questions. Erika did hurt her feelings, and she was scary. Frosty Erika said, don’t call her a liar, and Sutton said she didn’t. Erika said she didn’t care how Sutton felt, and asked why Sutton was speaking to her. They went back and forth with the small-minded/small town thing, until Erika said she wasn’t giving this any more energy. Kathy wondered if she couldn’t be a little forgiving. Maybe Sutton had chosen the wrong word. But Erika wasn’t having it, and said it wasn’t going to be fixed. Sutton asked why she was the bad guy, and Garcelle pointed out how Dorit had been egging Sutton on. Dorit said she was just helping Sutton tell the truth, and in Garcelle’s interview, she failed to see how pushing someone was helping them. She thought it was getting like it had been for Denise last season. And although Garcelle wasn’t there, like LVP the season before. Does anyone sense a pattern? Dorit said Garcelle had done the same thing to her. In Kathy’s interview, she tried to say this must have been the straw that broke the camel’s back, but said it was the toe with the camel, obviously confusing it with camel toe somehow. Kathy needs her own show. Dorit said she preferred her friends to be honest, upfront, and transparent, and LisaR said Garcelle had told them, she didn’t feel comfortable. Garcelle told her, what she’d said was, she didn’t feel accepted. LisaR asked if Garcelle liked the women, and Garcelle said, some more than others. LisaR said if Garcelle wanted to be included, she had to make an effort. In LisaR’s interview, she said that she thought if Garcelle made the effort, it would make her feel comfortable. Friendship was a two-way street. They’d had a party for Garcelle’s birthday, and she didn’t even know Kyle’s birthday. She said Garcelle could be shady, and needed to be straight up. This, coming from LisaR. As for not knowing a birthday, thank God for Facebook.

Dorit wasn’t buying that Garcelle felt like an outsider, but Garcelle said because she felt a certain way, didn’t negate how anyone else felt. She was already the only Black person in the group. It wasn’t about race, but had anyone ever thought it might be odd for her? Kyle said she had, and Garcelle said if Kyle didn’t verbalize it, she didn’t know that. She might be strong, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have feelings, or was fragile, and trying to fit in. Her whole f***ing life she’d been trying to fit in. Erika said she fit into the group, but Garcelle said it didn’t feel like that. She felt like she always had to prove herself. She asked if anyone ever felt like they were the only one who was different, and Kathy said she had, although I’m not sure if being the richest one in the room counts. Kathy said she was glad Garcelle was saying it, and in Kyle’s interview, she said she felt bad for Garcelle, but she liked that Garcelle was being vulnerable. It allowed the relationship to go to the next level. Like a video game. Everyone tells Garcelle how beautiful it was that she opened up, and there were lots of hugs. In her interview, Garcelle said that she thought it was a breakthrough for all of them.    

Kathy arranged for a sound bath, and in her interview, she said they had one at Kim Kardashian’s baby shower. She thought it was relaxing and spiritual. She saw it as being cleansing. The guide explained that it was a meditative concert for relaxation and stress reduction. In LisaR’s interview, she said it was one of those things where you thought something was going to happen, but really nothing was happening. Kathy fell asleep, which is what I think I’d do. Kyle said she’d texted Erika, who hadn’t shown up for the bath. LisaR said, according to Page Six (see below), the court had put Tom’s brother in charge of his conservatorship, and the brother wanted to put Tom in a mental facility that treated disorders such as dementia. It was a big turn of events.

Erika got together with LisaR and Kyle in her room, which was not as big as the Presidential Suite, but still generous.  After reading the article, Erika was ready to have a nervous breakdown. Regardless of what was going on legally, she and Tom had been married 22 years. In typical Erika fashion, she’d known before going to dinner the night before, and sat with it. Kyle asked if she agreed with the brother’s decision, and Erika said her grandmother had been put in a similar home for dementia. In Erika’s interview, she said her grandmother was her most beloved person. She watched her grandmother die, and she didn’t want to see it happen again. She told LisaR and Kyle that Tom had been there for her grandmother. She thought he needed a caretaker, but didn’t think he should be in a home. It’s supposed to be great care, but if they lash out, they get medicated. The only way is down. Kyle wondered who would be visiting, and Erika was concerned he’d be left to rot. She wondered where was his family now that he was of no use to them? LisaR said they didn’t want to deal with what was going on, and Erika said they didn’t want the public scrutiny and the association. It was tragic all around. In LisaR’s interview, she said, whatever Tom had done, Erika felt a motherly connection, and wanted to protect him. Erika told them that she and Tom were getting a divorce, but she hadn’t divorced herself from caring, and clearly, Tom couldn’t care for himself. She didn’t want him in a facility, and not being taken care of. She said, if you want to know who your friends are, get old and go broke.   

Next time, a vineyard and wine tasting, Erika says she has zero dollars, and Garcelle and Sutton discuss Erika, who can hear them.  

📰 What She Said…

The Page Six article LisaR referred to.

🏢 Where Is He Now…?

I guess Erika didn’t get a vote.

⚱️ Walking Like an Egyptian…

Tune in tomorrow for soap and possible real estate. Until then, stay safe, stay thrifty but not cheap, and stay knowing you can’t undo the mistakes of the past, but you can move forward.

September 21, 2021 – Sonny Gets Home Just In Time, Lexi Off Deck & Glass

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny goes home. He looks around, and checks out his new scruffiness in the mirror. Upstairs, Jason puts his and Carly’s champagne glasses on the mantel. Carly says she trusts Jason more than anyone. She can’t believe how nervous she is. He says, there’s no rush. They have the rest of their lives. Sonny looks around the living room, glad to be back. He looks at framed family photos and smiles. Carly says she told Jason this morning, if they got married, she’d fall in love with him. She flashes back to telling Jason that she was in love with him back then, and realized if she married him, she might fall in love with him again. In the present, she says, she was wrong. She was in love with him then, and she’s in love with him now. He says he loves her too, and they kiss. Sonny goes out on the terrace, looks at the stars, and comes back in.

On the phone outside, Peter says he’s at the rendezvous; where’s the ride?… He doesn’t have ten minutes to wait. They said they’d get him out of there. Make it happen. Anna says, scheduling problems? and Peter turns to see her with her gun aimed at him. She says she woudn’t worry. He’s not going anywhere. She tells him to put his hands where she can see them. He asks what brings her to Nixon Falls, and she says, catching a killer and bringing him to justice. She tells him to throw his phone, and lie face down on the ground. We see there’s a gun in the back of his waistband, and he says, let’s talk first.

Maxie tells Austin that she’s sorry, but she has to go. Peter’s been spotted. He says, her ex? and she says, yeah. She needs to get to the Quartermaines. He asks why she has to go there, and she says, because of the baby.

Brook thanks Chase for staying. She could really use his help. He says, with what? and she says she’s been struggling with something, and thinks he might have the answer.

At the hospital, Britt tells Elizabeth that Terry has nearly perfect recall, and Elizabeth says. Always. She was jealous of Terry when they were kids in school. Finn says he thought Elizabeth and Terry were heading out to some dance place, and Elizabeth says they were, but she deleted some shared documents, and they had to stay late to reconstruct them. Britt was nice enough to help them out. Britt says, can they stop please? They both know what tonight was really about.

Jason asks if Carly is still nervous, but she says, no. He looks great in the tux. He guesses it’s all right, and she says, a little formal. She undoes his tie, gazing into his eyes. Sonny walks in, and everyone is all, wtf? She says, Sonny? and Sonny says, it’s him. She faints, and Jason catches her.

Jason puts Carly on the bed, and Sonny asks if she’s all right. Jason says, she’s in shock. He’s in shock. How is Sonny even here? Sonny says, it’s a long story, and sits on the bed. He tells Carly to wake up, and she opens her eyes, startled, and asks if she’s dreaming. He says, no, he’s there, and she sits up. She says, Sonny? He’s real? He says he missed her, and he hugs her. She says, he’s here. Oh my God, Sonny, totally forgetting about Jason, who is now the third wheel in the room.

Peter says he was hoping he’d never have to lay his eyes on Anna again. But since they’re both here, why don’t they make the most of their time together? Clear the air, once and for all. She says, if he reaches for the gun in his waistband, she’ll put a bullet in his gut. It will be horrifically painful, and his chances of survival will be pretty slim. He says, she’d really do it, wouldn’t she? and she says she wants to; he doesn’t need to give her an excuse. He says, suppose he lets her take him into custody? What then? Does she really want him to give his statement to the police? Where he tells them how he fled for his life from the upstanding Dr. Finn, who was trying to kill him?   

Britt asks if she can trouble Elizabeth for a minute in private, and Elizabeth says, sure. They walk down the hall, and Britt says she knows Elizabeth deleted the notes on purpose. Elizabeth asks, what gave her that idea? and Britt says she was headed to her room at the MetroCourt, to stare at the wall and worry about her mother, and Elizabeth and Terry wanted her to focus on something else. It was four hours of pointless busywork, and it worked. Britt thanks her, and Elizabeth asks how she knew. Britt says, Elizabeth doesn’t make mistakes like that. In fact, Elizabeth rarely makes mistakes. It’s one of her more annoying qualities. Elizabeth kind of smiles.

Maxie says she’s sorry to put Austin on the spot, but they came in his car, and she doesn’t have time to wait for a Ride Share. He asks if it had something to do with the phone call she got, and she says, yes. It was from her sister-in-law Nina. Austin met her at Kelly’s. Nina’s been staying in this small town in Pennsylvania, and they spotted Peter there. They think he might be coming to Port Charles. He asks what it has to do with the Quartermaines or Bailey, and she says, it has to do with Bailey’s father, Valentin Cassadine. Peter and Valentin have a history together, most of it bad. Since Peter just lost his own daughter, it would make sense that he’d go after Valentin’s out of spite. He says she thinks Peter would go after a baby? and she says she does, and thinks they need to warn them. Austin says, let’s go.

Chase says, this is a real mess, and Brook says, clearly. He says she should have come to him sooner, and she says her first instinct is to always handle things on her own, but this is beyond her. We see a jigsaw puzzle on the table, and he asks what she’s tried so far. She says she started with sorting by color, and he can see how well that turned out. Maybe sorted by shape? He says, that’s a good call. Why didn’t she mention she was into puzzling? She says, it’s a recent hobby, since Bailey was born. It helps her focus, but this one is stressing her out. He says, that’s because it’s bigger than she’s used to, and she say she likes hundreds of pieces. She finds a piece that fits, and he says she’s getting the hang of it.

Scotty comes into the hospital, and asks Finn if Britt is in. Finn says he just saw her, and Scotty says, any word on her mother?

At the reception, Willow and Michael slow dance, and he says, it looks like they’re the last ones there. Willow wonders if they’ll get kicked out, but he says his mom’s the co-owner. They can stay until sunrise if they want. Maxie put so much work into the decorations, they owe it to her to take full advantage. Willow says, oh, well, if they’re doing it for Maxie’s sake, and he says, besides, it’s their first outing as an official couple. No secrets to keep; just her and him together. She says she likes the sound of that, and they kiss.

Carly asks Sonny, what happened? When the bridge collapsed they searched for him for weeks. Jason says he saw Sonny fall in; he jumped in after him. Carly says they thought he’d drowned, and Sonny says, he almost did. She says, it was months ago. Where was he? He says he’s sorry. He couldn’t find his way home. Carly hugs him again.

Britt tells Elizabeth that she’s going to rearrange her schedule, so she can show up at the staff meeting tomorrow, and Elizabeth laughs. Her phone dings, and she says, Cameron just sent her some pictures of him and Josslyn. She shows Britt, who says, Jason and Carly’s wedding reception. Did everyone have fun? Elizabeth says she doesn’t know, and Britt wonders if anyone found a hair in their soup. Elizabeth says, excuse me? and Britt tells her, it’s something her mother said when Maxie told her that she was planning the wedding. Mutter didn’t think Jason and Carly should have such a perfect day. She wanted Maxie to build in a minor hiccup. Elizabeth says, a hair in the soup kind of seems kind of tame for Obrecht, and Britt says, don’t tell anyone, but she thinks her mother is mellowing… or she was. Scotty and Finn come along, and Scotty says he’ll take it from here. Finn says just make sure he’s recovered from his involuntary skydiving. Scotty says he doesn’t remember anything. He certainly didn’t wake up on a beach; he woke up on the ground. Britt says she wishes he remembered something about her mother. Scotty says, so does he. He’s been climbing the walls. That’s why he came to the hospital. He thought he and Britt could work together.

Michael and Willow sit at a table with champagne, and Michael asks, if they got married again, would she want a reception like this? He knows it’s a silly superstition, but she did catch the bouquet. She says, it’s a nice fantasy. Them, surrounded by flowers, Wiley in a cute little suit, their friends and family wishing them well. But she’s too happy where are right now to think about planning a wedding. He sees her point. They’ve barely had time to be reunited. They should take the time to savor where they are right now, before they start finding new ways to complicate it. She says, as long as he knows that he is who she wants. Him, her, and Wiley, and the life they make together. She’s not worried about the future because she knows he’ll be there. Like she’ll be there for him. He says, that’s all he needs to hear.

Brook has a puzzle section completed, and Chase says, impressive. She says, don’t be so amazed, and he says he meant it as a compliment. She says because he didn’t think she’d be any good, and he says, puzzling is a little quiet for her. She says she’s a huge fan of quiet moments; she thinks they’re very valuable. That proves how little he knows her. He says he can’t argue with her there. He’s already proved he can’t see what’s right in front of him. She tells him not to go all negative on her. He didn’t deserve what Michael and Willow did to him, but the good news is, it’s behind him. It’s over, and he gets to focus on what’s next. He says, whatever that is, and she tells him, uncertainty about your future can be a good thing. Look at her. She never thought she’d be living in this house – Monica’s house – with a brand new baby. Over half the time, she doesn’t even know what she’s doing. He says, Bailey doesn’t seem to mind. Why would she? Brook is a great mom. She says that means a lot coming from him. She just loves this little girl so much. She’s completely changed Brook’s world. The doorbell rings, and Brook says, Yuri will get it. Motherhood is completely different from what she expected. It’s much bigger, scarier, and more amazing than she imagined. Sometimes, Bailey will look at her and smile, or grab something and look at it like, oh my gosh, look what I picked up. It takes her breath away; it’s unbelievable. Maxie bursts in, and says, where is she? and Brook says, Bailey’s right there; what’s wrong? Maxie goes to the bassinette, and touches Bailey, saying, she’s okay. Chase asks if something happened, and Maxie says, Peter’s back

Peter asks how long Anna thinks Finn will last in prison. She’ll have to kill him or let him go, because as soon as he’s in custody, he’s going to explain how Finn pushed him down a flight of stairs, and dumped his unconscious body in a freezer, and left him there to die. Since his story is true, forensics will back him up. She says he dropped some blood in the hospital basement that could easily have been placed there. He’s got nothing. He says, assuming Finn doesn’t feel morally obligated to confess. He does strike Peter as that kind of guy. She asks why Finn would confess to something that never happened. He’s got more important things to do with his life. He says he sees; she’s going to convince Finn to lie. What happened to the pursuit of justice? She says she lost interest in justice right around the time he hired a psychopath to kidnap Maxie. That psycho snapped, took Maxie’s baby, and gave her to God knows who. Maxie’s daughter could be anywhere. He says, his daughter. Louise is his, and he will find her. He pulls the gun from his waistband. While Valentin is grilling the guy Peter was going to meet, he hears a gunshot, and runs toward it.

Carly asks why Sonny smells like smoke; was he in a fire? He says he was physically under a beam, and there was a fire, and he thought he was going to die. That’s when it all came to him. Her, the kids, his whole life. She says he couldn’t remember them? and he says, he called himself Mike because it was on his watch. Actually, he threw his dad’s watch away. Jason says Sonny has to tell him what happened in order, because last December, they were in Secaucus. Sonny chased Julian out on the footbridge and it collapsed. He jumped in after them, and they searched for weeks, and there was no sign of him. Sonny says, all he remembers is, he wound up on the river bank. A hiker found him and took him to a clinic. People helped him out. He didn’t know who he was. What about them? What happened while he was gone? Jason says, there’s so much to explain and figure out, but the most important thing is that Sonny is right here. He can’t believe Sonny is alive. He thought he’d never see Sonny again. They hug.   

Chase says he’ll need Maxie to take a deep breath, and tell him everything that happened, step by step. Maxie says, Nina called her while she was at the wedding reception. She said Peter was in Nixon Falls, Pennsylvania, but he left. She thinks he’s on his way to Port Charles, which of course (🍷) he is. Chase asks if Nina called the police in Nixon Falls, but Maxie doesn’t know. He says he’s going to make a few calls, and make sure the authorities in Nixon Falls know to be on the lookout for Peter. He asks if she’s talked to Mac, and she says, not yet. He says he’ll call Mac too, and get the PCPD on high alert. Brook asks if he’ll let Yuri know that Peter’s been sighted. He says he will, and jets. Brook looks on her phone for updates in Nixon Falls, and says, it looks like there was a fire in a bar. Three people were injured and they think it’s arson. Maxie says, it has to be Peter.

Scotty asks Britt to walk with him to Kelly’s, and she says she could use the fresh air. Scotty asks if anyone wants donuts, but has no takers. He leaves with Britt, and Elizabeth says she’s worried about him. It’s not like Scotty to show up and offer to get people coffee. She knows he’s a nice guy and all, but he’s generally a little more… Finn says, disheveled? No, self-absorbed. Elizabeth thinks he’s lonely. It was hard on him losing Franco; he was blindsided. Then he hooked up with Obrecht. Not that Obrecht is her first choice… Finn says, would she be anyone’s? Austin comes in, and says he’s looking for Britt. Elizabeth says she’s on a coffee run, but she thinks Britt is coming back. Finn tells him to try Kelly’s, and Austin says if they see her before he does, Maxie is trying to give her a message. Peter August is in Pennsylvania.

Anna kicks Peter’s gun away, and he says she actually shot him. He has a wound in his shoulder, and she says, it went clean through. She doubts he’ll need more than a few stitches. He asks if she shot to kill, and missed, but she says she didn’t miss. Where’s Drew Cain? He says, what? and she says, that plane crash over the Gulf of Adan was just a cover for his abduction. Where did Peter put him? He says, make him an offer, and maybe he’ll decide to tell her. She says he’s such a son of a bitch, and he asks if that’s any way to talk about her sister. She says, Alex is to blame for a lot of things, but this is all him, every step of the way. Valentin runs up, gun drawn, and asks if everything is under control. He says, hello, Peter. His guide can’t make the rendezvous; he’s handcuffed to a telephone pole, waiting for the authorities. Peter laughs, and says, look at him, suddenly a man of law and order. Anna picks up Peter’s phone, and Valentin tells her to call and tell the authorities they have Peter in custody; he’s going to tell them everything. Peter says, think again, and jumps into the river. Anna says, no!   

Carly says, the local people who helped Sonny, who were they? Where has he been? He says, a little place in Pennsylvania, but he doesn’t want to get into it now. How are the kids? She says, the kids are fine. Avery and Donna are asleep. They’re going to be so excited to see him; Donna missed him so much. He says, nine months is a long time for a little kid. How’s Michael, Dante, Josslyn, and Kristina? Carly says, Josslyn’s at PCU. She can’t believe this. She can’t believe she’s talking to him about the kids. They missed him so much. They grieved for him every single day. She gave up praying and hoping for a miracle. Sonny says, she had to; both of them. They thought he was dead, and he’s so happy they had each other to lean on. Jason says, they did more than lean on each other. They got married.

Elizabeth tells Finn, they were in a hurry. They were traumatized. They must have made a mistake. Finn says, how? and she says, Peter must have regained consciousness in the freezer, opened it up, and climbed out. He says, how? and she says, what about Maxie?  

Scotty sees Austin, and says, if it’s about the Quartermaine lawsuit, they’ll strategize another time; office hours. Austin says, thank you, but he’s there to talk to Britt. Maxie’s asked that he warn her. Peter August has resurfaced, and she’s fearful that he’s on his way back to Port Charles. Britt says, that’s sweet of Maxie to warn her, but Maxie is the one at risk. Peter’s obsessed with her.

Maxie tells Brook, thank God they did this. Thank God Peter has no idea Louise is here. Brook says she doesn’t blame Maxie for seeing for herself that Louise is okay. Maxie knows she took a risk in coming there, but she told Austin that Peter might lash out at Valentin by going after his baby. So if anyone asks… Brook says she’ll tell them the same thing. She’s sure Yuri gave Valentin a call to update him on Peter, but she should call Valentin herself. Maxie says Brook promised Valentin could handle Peter, and Brook says, Valentin understands how Peter thinks. He’s the best person to protect Bailey. Valentin lives there; maybe Maxie should too.

Willow says, it’s a beautiful night, and Michael agrees, but when she’s across from him, he can’t look anywhere else. She says, as long as she has his undivided attention, there’s something important they have to discuss. At one point, they talked about living together in the gatehouse, but he’s still in the main house, and she was wondering if he feels like it’s a better arrangement. He says, absolutely not, but he didn’t want to crowd her. The situation with Chase was tough on her… She says, it was tough on all of them, including Chase. He says, which is why he didn’t want to just move in the next day, like ready or not, the Chase part of her life is over, and a new one is about to begin. She says he’d never do that, and he says, exactly. That’s why he stayed in the main house. Willow says, the thing is, she’ll always be sorry Chase got hurt, but she’ll never regret falling in love with Michael. They hug.  

On the phone, Anna says, it’s not search and rescue; it’s hunt for a fugitive. She wants roadblocks, and teams on both sides of the river. Yes?… Keep her posted. She says, anything? but Valentin says he doesn’t see any sign of Peter. It took guts to make a jump like that. She says, the fall will probably kill him, and Valentin says, given his father’s knack for survival, they’d be fools to assume he’s dead. She says he doesn’t strike her as a fool, and he says he’s not. Neither is she.

Sonny says, married, when? and Carly says, today, a couple hours ago. He asks if those are her wedding clothes, and she says, yeah. He says she looks beautiful, and she says, thanks. It was complicated. It was really crazy. Sonny says, just tell him, and Jason says, as soon as Sonny disappeared, there was pressure from the Five Families bruschetta,  and from Cyrus. They had to secure their position, so they declared Sonny legally dead and held a funeral. Sonny says, that makes sense. They had to let people think the business was stable. Was he running things? Jason says he was, until Peter framed him for Franco’s murder. Sonny says, Franco’s dead? No big loss. Jason was being blamed? Carly says, thanks to Gladys. Jason tells Sonny, Gladys said she saw him ditch the murder weapon. He was remanded for trial, and held at Pentenville. Sonny asks, so who was running the business? and Carly says, her. 

Maxie says, Brook wants her to live with the Quartermaines? and Brook says, absolutely. She could bring Georgie and James with her. They have so much room, two housekeepers, a cook, a live-in nanny, and they have Yuri. Maxie says, this is Monica’s house, and Brook says, she’s already letting Valentin and Charlotte stay here. She’s sure it would be no problem with Maxie. Maxie says, except Monica thinks she has an unnatural attachment to Bailey, and needs therapy. Brook says, that was before. The situation is radically different now. Peter is alive. He’s an active threat, and this house has fantastic security. She’s sure Monica would have no problem with Maxie moving in. Maxie says, she would, but she can’t live in a house with her daughter, and not take care of her like she’s her own. She doesn’t care how big this house is. Brook asks, then how do they make sure Maxie is protected from Peter?

Willow appreciates Michael wanting to give her time, but she doesn’t need it. Just the opposite. She can’t wait to start their life together. He asks if she’s sure. As much as he loves her, she has the habit of doing what she thinks other people would want. She says, person in a glass house, please don’t throw stones, and he says he does do that a lot, doesn’t he? She tells him, this time, she’s saying what she wants; everything they talked about. She wants to wake up every morning in bed with him, eat breakfast in the kitchen, hang out on couch and read stories to Wiley, or watch The Emperor’s New Groove for the hundred-thousandth time. He says he loves how much she laughs at it, and she says she loves how he laughs at it with her. She actually thinks they enjoy it more than Wiley. She knows their life won’t always be easy and perfect. He has a stressful job, and an even more stressful family. She’s navigating nursing school, and if they wait for the perfect time, it will never come. He completely disagrees. The perfect time is now. They kiss, and he says, let’s get home. She picks up the bouquet on their way out.

Sonny says, Carly was running the business? and she says, Jason couldn’t do it. He was in Pentenville, and Cyrus was being relentless. He was trying to have Jason killed. Sonny says, clearly, he failed, and Jason says, Diane was sure she could get him exonerated at trial, but it would have taken months, and they didn’t have that kind of time, so he escaped. Sonny says, with everyone depending on Jason, he made himself a fugitive. That’s not something Jason would do. Carly says, it was her. She forced Jason to escape.

Chase tells Maxie, here’s the deal. He and Yuri went through whole house. They checked all the entry points, and it’s clear. There’s a patrol car sitting at the front gate, and there’s one in front of Maxie’s apartment. Mac is sending a car there to take Maxie home, and Mac and her mom will meet her there with Georgie and James. Maxie says, there are some advantages to having a stepdad who’s acting Police Commissioner. Brook asks if he has any news from Nixon Falls, and he says, the PCPD is coordinating with the Pennsylvania state police. He doesn’t have any specifics, but they’re searching for Peter, and roadblocks are going up. Brook says, hopefully, they find him before he gets anywhere near Port Charles. She thinks this tension isn’t good for Bailey. There’s a ton of literature on how babies pick up on energy. Chase asks if she wants him to take Bailey to the nursery, and she asks if he’s volunteering. He says he and Bailey are like old friends, and Brook takes Bailey from the bassinette. She asks if Bailey wants Uncle Chase to take her to the nursery, and says she thinks Bailey does. She hands the baby to Chase, and he says he’s not going to tell Maxie not to worry, but the PCPD is on this. They’re going to do everything in their power to make sure Peter doesn’t get near her. He takes Bailey upstairs.

Britt asks where Maxie is now, and Austin says, he dropped her at the Quartermaines. Scotty wonders why she’d go there, and Austin says, apparently Peter August is obsessed with Valentin, and Maxie was worried Peter would go after his daughter. Scotty says, that’s a bit of a stretch, but Britt says, not for Peter. He has no idea how vindictive Peter can be.

Elizabeth tells Finn, let’s talk about something else for a moment. How’s Violet? He says, Violet is wonderful and amazing, and she wants a do-over of the camping trip. She’s disappointed she didn’t get to sleep in the tent. Apparently, setting one up in the living room isn’t the same. She says, let’s do it; let’s plan another trip. Before Scotty’s unexpected arrival, she thought things were going well. Doesn’t he think?

Carly tells Sonny that she had Jason stabbed in Pentenville. Just bad enough that he’d be taken to the hospital, where Britt could break him out. The plan would have worked, except Cyrus tried to kill Britt, and Jason went back in to save her, and got shot. Sonny says, so basically, everything went completely sideways, but Jason says, not completely. He got away and Britt patched him up. Sonny asks, what turned, so they got married? and Jason says, Carly broke him out that night because there was a meeting with the Five Families grissini. Cyrus was pushing to take Sonny’s place at the table, and open the territory to anybody who wanted to move product through the harbor. He was hurt too bad to go, so Carly went. Sonny says, she met with the Five Families crostini? and she says she didn’t have a choice.

Anna tells someone on the phone that she wants them to continue the search on the first mile downstream of the overlook… Where are they with the guide?… Okay, let her know. She tells Valentin, the guide’s local, retired military. He was contacted on the dark web, so they can pull a warrant and search his phone, but she doubts they’ll find anything. Valentin says, they can search Peter’s phone, and she says, but it’s blocked. Even if the techs crack it, she imagines his accomplice covered his tracks. He says, if the accomplice is able to evade a trace by the WSB, they have a remarkable level of expertise. She says, it’s just speculation on her part, but from what she overheard in the tone of Peter’s voice, he was urgent and impatient,  but he wasn’t giving orders. Really? Make it happen isn’t an order? Valentin says, so she doesn’t think the accomplice was working for Peter? She says, no. Whoever Peter’s ally may be, she got the sense that they, not Peter, were the one with the power.

Finn tells Elizabeth, he thought the camping was going very well. The kids were having fun. She says, but not him? and he says he’d sit in front of a campfire with her anytime. Scotty comes by, and says, sorry to interrupt; they look a little intense. Elizabeth says, they were just talking about going camping, as a family.

On the phone, Maxie tells Britt, she’s fine; she promises. Britt says she can come stay with Maxie, but Maxie says, it’s okay. Mac and her mom have that covered. They’re meeting her at her place, and they’re going to stay there. Mac is sending a car for her. Britt tells Maxie to text her a selfie when she gets home, so she can be sure. Maxie says, deal, and tells Britt to be careful too. She’s not Peter’s favorite person. Britt says she’s not afraid of Peter. It’s actually kind of a relief to know he’s out there. She doesn’t have to wonder anymore. She just has to be ready to defend herself. Maxie tells her again to be careful, and Britt says, Maxie too. Brook tells Maxie that her car is here. It’s definitely the PCPD; Chase knows them. Maxie hands Brook the binky she stole, and says, take care of her, okay? Brook says she will, and Maxie thanks her, adding, she means that, and leaves.

Jason says, Sonny can ask Brando; he was there as Cyrus’s bodyguard. Carly rallied the rest of the families against Cyrus, and shut him down. She had Brick blow up one of his shipments, and it was the right message, perfectly timed. Sonny says, nice work, and Carly says, thanks, but it may have worked too well. She had to reassure the families that she was in charge. Her, by herself, sitting in his chair, making all the decisions, and they accepted her. Until Jason came back. Sonny says, the Five Families polpette don’t believe in shared power. They expected one of them to eliminate the other. Jason says, exactly right. So they had to send a message that he was in charge, and Carly backed him, so Carly wasn’t a liability. Sonny shrugs and says, so they got married. Great strategy.

Tomorrow, Brook says it’s an offer she can’t refuse, Spencer wonders if there’s a chance, Ava has to sign the divorce papers, and Jason needs to tell Dante something.

Below Deck Mediterranean

We backtrack a little on the crew dinner out, where Lexi told Mathew that his parents should have aborted him, and if there weren’t any cameras, she’d smack his ass. She says, the real bitch is out now, and stomps off. Courtney tells Mathew, they love him, and not to let it ruin the night. Lloyd says, it was a disgusting thing to say, and Delaney tries to blend into the woodwork. Lexi comes back, and Mathew says, welcome back, worst person in the world. Courtney tells Lexi that no one cares about how much money anyone has. It’s disgusting the way Lexi talks, and everybody has been gobsmacked be the things that come out of her mouth. Lexi tells her, everybody has said rude things, and Courtney reminds her that she just said Mathew should have been aborted. Lexi says, Mathew is rude AF, yet they give him a pass and let it slide. Courtney says they both should have been fired, and Mzi says Lexi is rude to all of them. Lexi calls someone that r-word, but it’s unclear if she means Mathew again, Mzi, or both. Katie asks what’s wrong with her, and Lloyd tells her, sit back down and shut up. Courtney asks if Lexi wants to be there, and Lexi says it’s not Courtney’s question to ask. She’s not Lexi’s superior, and she’s shady AF. Lloyd leaves the table, and the waiters watch from the doorway as Lexi and Courtney have it out, and Courtney calls Lexi the c-word. Katie tells them to stop it, and joins Lloyd, telling him that stress makes her want to vomit. They head for the taxis, and Malia thanks the waitstaff for a beautiful evening.

In the taxi, Courtney says she doesn’t like using the c-word, but if it applies to anyone, it’s Lexi. There’s a lot of bleeped stuff, and Courtney says, it was Mathew’s fault as well. Mathew says he knows. In the other taxi, Malia says she doesn’t disagree that when Mathew is drunk he says offensive things, but then Lexi stoops low. She doesn’t remember the night in the hot tub. But we do, and we flash back to that. Malia says, if that night hadn’t happened, some of the crew might have backed her. In Lexi’s interview, she says, Malia didn’t have to explain. She knew that. She didn’t come into yachting to hold hands and be friends. In the first taxi, Mzi and the others make fun of Lexi calling everyone poor. Mzi says, your poorness makes me angry. Malia tells Lexi that she should drop the money thing. Some people aren’t as fortunate as she is. The taxis arrive back at the boat.

In her cabin, Lexi says she’s so confused, and calls her mom. In the crew mess, Delaney is like, get me out of here, and David says he couldn’t be part of that conversation. Delaney says, it wasn’t Mathew’s fault, but he didn’t help, and Katie says, Lexi just isolated herself. Malia says, both Lexi and Mathew were throwing insults, but Katie says Lexi’s were more repulsive. She doesn’t think Lexi gets it. Katie says she’s going to talk to Captain Sandy, and make a decision. Malia says, as captain, she’d know a chef isn’t easily replaceable, and Mathew and Lexi aren’t going to work well together. Lexi tells her mother that every time she has a friend who’s not rich, they try to ruin her. Okay…  Not sure where that’s coming from, since she has no friends on this boat.

Delaney takes a shower, and comes back to the crew mess, saying she’s feeling fresh. Malia thanks her for her help, and Katie says she was amazing. Delaney says she learned some new things about laundry. Everyone toddles off to bed, and Lexi tells her mom, how she’s feeling is none of their business. Katie asks if Lexi is good, and she says she is. She has nothing to say, and suggests they don’t talk about everything. In Katie’s interview, she says, there’s no point; the damage has been done. Lexi talks smack about Mathew, and her mother says she’s a preacher’s kid; she’s better than this. They want her fired, but everyone should be fired at this point for insubordination. In her interview, Lexi says, there’s going to be no apology. She’s had it with Mathew, and isn’t apologizing in any way, shape, or form.  

In the morning, Delaney packs. In his interview, David says between a cramp in his calf and the bruise on his thigh, it’s the worst combination. When he’s been injured before, he’s told himself he’s fine, and tried to push through it, and it is usually fine. Delaney tells Lexi that she’s leaving, and Lexi deigns to give her a hug. In Delaney’s interview, she says she doesn’t think Lexi is a bad person, but they don’t agree on some things. She doesn’t think they can be friends, since they don’t have the same values. Katie hugs Delaney, who says, it was fun, and she definitely has a new appreciation for interior. In Delaney’s interview, she says, working in yachting, you’ve just got to keep going no matter what happens. You find your next boat and your next captain, and improve yourself.

Katie asks if she can talk to Captain Sandy, and Mathew tells Malia, it was awkward last night. Malia says, it started with something little and grew from there, and in Mathew’s interview, he says, he feels bad that his behavior ruined everyone’s time, but he’s not apologizing. He meant what he said. Lexi comes in, and Malia asks how she is. Lexi says, much better, but just grabs something to eat without looking at anyone, and jets. Malia asks the deckhands if everyone is okay. If anyone has any concerns, they should bring them to her, since she’s the head of their department. She doesn’t want anyone to feel like their voice or complaint isn’t being heard. Lloyd says, this time Lexi can’t say she doesn’t remember, and in his interview, he says he doesn’t like aggressive situations. Everyone shouting at each other is his worst nightmare. Malia says they should never be okay with an insult, and tells them, let’s get the boat washed.

Captain Sandy calls Katie and Malia to meet her, and Malia tells Katie that the captain picks up on sh*t even if she’s not around. They join the captain, and Malia says, it was a sh*t show last night. Mathew and Lexi don’t like each other, and it started at lunch. Captain Sandy asks, who started it? but Malia doesn’t actually know. In the galley, Mathew sings True Colors. Katie tells the captain that one of them gets mad, and the other feeds the fire, and Malia says, but Lexi takes her comments to a whole new level. Katie says Lexi told Mathew that he should been aborted, and called him the r-word. The captain says, this is ridiculous. Do they know who started it? Katie says, Mathew told Lexi that no one likes her (truth!), and Courtney stood up, and said they were both wrong both and should have both been fired. Then Lexi called Courtney lazy, when that’s not the case. It’s become a problem. The captain tells Katie to get Lexi in the main salon to talk, and in the captain’s interview, she says, even when the crew is out, they represent the vessel. They should emulate the behavior of what it should be on board. They must maintain that behavior within the crew, but sometimes that doesn’t happen, and that’s when she has to fire people.

Lexi and Mathew are called to the bridge salon, and Captain Sandy says, they had an incredible day planned yesterday; water sports, Krka Falls, and a beautiful dinner. How did it turn into fighting? Lexi says, Matt’s been attacking her from the second charter, and she was trying to avoid him like the plague, but he started drinking in the morning. The captain asks if that’s true, and Mathew says, everyone did. She asks who started it, and no surprise, Lexi points the finger at Mathew. She tells the captain that he’d been saying things to her all day, and Mathew says, during the first charter, he and Lexi had issues in the galley. Mathew says, Lexi said his mother should have aborted him, and that he was a r****d. Lexi admits she shouldn’t have said that, but Mathew says wild stuff and gets a pass. Katie says, none of them are innocent, but when Mathew gets aggressive, Lexi takes her reaction to another level. Lexi whines that Mathew is harboring old feelings, and Captain Sandy says, if she feels attacked, go to her chief officer, and if it’s not addressed, come to her. They’re there for guests, and what she’s hearing is that Lexi is difficult to work with. Lexi says, Mathew said that he was going to give the captain an ultimatum; him or her? The captain asks if he said that, and he says, it was in the heat of the moment. She says, she doesn’t ever want to be given an ultimatum – ever. Whoever gives her one can pack their f***ing sh*t and walk off the boat. She never wants to be given an ultimatum. She says, Mathew can go, and calls in Courtney.

The captain speaks with Malia and Courtney, and asks if Courtney called Lexi a see you next Tuesday. Courtney says, it just came out, but as soon as it did, she said she was sorry. Captain Sandy wonders how such a beautiful day could turn into a disaster, and Courtney says, Lexi told Mathew that he should have been aborted, and she said things back. Captain Sandy says, everyone started stuff, but Lexi is the one they’ve got the problem with. No one person is starting it all the time. Malia says that Lexi stooped low, and literally picked a fight the first night out with everyone. We flash back to that, and Malia says, Lexi pushed her, and threatened to slap Mathew. She gets super nasty, and when people step in, she gets mad. Lexi is called to the bridge, which sounds so Star Trek.   

Lexi sits down, and the captain says, from what she sees, Lexi is a terrific human being , but she doesn’t go out drinking with them, and have their experiences, and Lexi’s been threatening people. Lexi says she didn’t mean it, but Captain Sandy says, it’s permeated the entire boat, and some of the crew can’t get around it. The many outweigh the one. She has to make a hard decision, and it’s not easy for her. She’s going to have to let Lexi go. When Lexi gets in the crew members’ faces, and threatens them physically, especially in the workplace, it will never work. She needs to look hard at that. Lexi says she’s sorry, and the captain says, when she came into this season, she wanted to finish with the crew she started with, but that’s not happening. They hug, and Captain Sandy says Lexi just has things to learn. Lexi says, she knows, but Mathew… In her interview, Captain Sandy says, Lexi crossing the line made her come to her decision. If you’re poking the bear when you’re off the boat, you have to figure it out; she’s not getting involved. But if one person is disturbing the whole crew, she has to deal with that person. She tells Katie to help get Lexi’s luggage, and be graceful about it. She says, Delaney is still there. She’s not a stew, but she is another person. Think about it. Katie goes the cabin she shares shared with Lexi, who refuses to say goodbye, and goes in the bathroom, shutting the door. Katie tells Malia that Lexi doesn’t want to talk, and Malia says, then we were two.

In Mzi’s interview, he says he’s not embarrassed about getting Courtney the flowers, but he wishes he hadn’t gotten so trashed. He’s going to respect the other person’s space. Malia tells Lexi that she knows it seems unfair that she and Mathew both said things, but only one of them is leaving. Captain Sandy calls Mathew to the galley, and tells him that she let Lexi go, but his behavior wasn’t the best either. Obviously he and Lexi had an issue that he couldn’t reset from, and he needs to own that. He is replaceable, and she has someone in quarantine to take his job, so don’t ever do an ultimatum. She was especially disturbed by their rocky start. He’s a head chef, and has to rise above it. She needs him to act that part. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, the chef in quarantine doesn’t have the same record as Mathew. There have been no complaints, and she doesn’t want to screw that up. Sometimes the devil you know is better than the one you don’t.   

Lexi leaves, bringing her suitcase through the galley, with her back to everyone. In her interview, she says, why say goodbye to a crew that were evil? They weren’t being nice to her, so they don’t exist. She’s not acknowledging them. She allows Malia to help her to bring her luggage to the dock, and in Lexi’s interview, she says, she hates that she got on Mathew’s level. She feels like in a way he won. She was wallowing in the mud with him, so he won. She leaves, and I think, good riddance. Mathew says, bye forever.

The captain has a crew meeting, and says, obviously, she let Lexi go. They have two more charters, and she was hoping to have a third stew and finish with the same crew she started with. That didn’t happen, but there will be no name calling from now on. They’re all adults. And no threatening. The ultimate goal is to provide for the clients. It’s going to be a challenge, but when it’s done, they’ll never have to do it again. She thinks they’re amazing. Let’s get ready to do our best. At least she didn’t say, team work makes the dream work. Delaney sends a message to David, saying, meeting him was epic and she wishes him an amazing end to the season. He’s all happy about it, until he finds out Mzi and Lloyd got the exact same message. Malia says, Delaney copied and pasted them. They clean the boat, and Malia tells them to enjoy their evening. In Lloyd’s interview, he says, nothing personal, but he’s glad David is moving back to his old cabin. Three guys in one room is not ideal.  

The captain has a preference sheet meeting with Mathew, Katie, and Malia. She says, they’re three-quarters of the way through the season. The new primary is gospel artist Anthony, and his wife Chris, who he met in church. Captain Sandy loves that he’s a gospel singer, and Katie says she’s always wanted to go to a church like that. The captain reads that the guests want a mixture of adventure, and time to stop and smell the roses, and the primary doesn’t drink. Malia says, they’re an active group, and want to use all the water toys, and Katie adds that they want a beach picnic. She has the feeling these guests will be heavy on the deck crew. Mathew notes one allergy and guest who’s lactose intolerant. They want an Italian feast decorated with roses. Katie says she’s getting a nice vibe.

Lloyd tells David that he’d forgotten about Lexi’s commenting when David gave his speech, and we flash back to that. He says he told her to shut up. They’ll see what happens tomorrow; it should be interesting. Malia asks if Katie is getting someone, and Katie says, either way, they’re f***ed. Mzi calls his brother, and Malia tries to convince Katie to keep Delaney on. She thinks having only two people is crazy. In her interview, she says, she’s happy to help out, but only after the deck is taken care of. She’s not going to be the one who looks like sh*t if the guests come out, and the water toys aren’t there. In Katie’s interview, she says she’d rather work harder for longer than have the emotional stress of bringing in someone new or bringing Delaney back.  

Sibenik, Croatia. Katie tells Courtney that she’s made up her mind. What does she think of it being just them? In Courtney’s interview, she wonders if this makes her second stew, since there’s only two of them. She says, we’ve got this, sister. Malia can’t believe there are only two charters left, and tells the deckhands that the second to the last is always hardest. Captain Sandy says she doesn’t want to pressure Katie in to taking on another stew, but she doesn’t want the clients to feel any lack of service.  Katie says, the last trip was actually more work. She’s going to trust her gut since she didn’t last time. The captain says Katie made a decision, and she trusts her. In Captain Sandy’s interview, she says, it’s going to be harder on Katie, but she trusts her. She’s going to allow Katie to have this journey and support her.

Provisions come in, and Malia says they haven’t gotten flowers yet. Courtney says she gets them all the time, and we flash back to Mzi’s flower delivery at dinner. Captain Sandy sees David limping, and says, not cool. Malia tells David that she knows he’s injured, and doesn’t want him in the harness, but David insists he’s good to go. She says she’s trusting him. Katie tells Courtney, we’ve got this, and David gets into the harness. The captain goes to where David is on deck, and radios Malia to meet them. She asks why David is limping, and David says he fell. She wants to see it, and he lifts his pant leg to show her a massive bruise. She says, that’s a major injury, and asks how he did it. He tells her he fell coming out of the hot tub, and she asks why it wasn’t reported. She’s disappointed in Malia 1000%. It’s a f***ing incident. She tells David, do not get in the harness, and tells Malia to make a report. It’s something you don’t keep from the captain – at all. Malia says, understood. It was… Captain Sandy says, was what? David fell and injured himself, and she has no idea why Malia didn’t report it. Malia says, it’s a bruise, and the captain says she can minimize it if she wants. Malia says she asked if he wanted to see a doctor, and he said, no. Captain Sandy says she doesn’t want him in a harness, and in her interview, she says, learning David was injured pisses her off. To not report a safety issue causes a liability to the crew and the owner. The fact that Malia knew is not okay. Malia broke her trust. The provisions are put away.

Captain Sandy says Malia should come to her when someone is injured, but Malia says she did her part. She asked if he wanted to see a doctor, and if it was serious. She’s not a chief officer. The captain says she doesn’t give a f***. Malia should have told her. David was hurt pretty bad. Why take the risk? She made it clear to call her when someone is hurt. We flash back, and yep, she did. She tells Malia to stop trying to make excuses and get back to her job.

Next time, Captain Sandy promises the guests pure perfection, guests on jet skis go rogue, Katie flirts with a guest, and Malia is pissed off at the deck crew.

🍸 Is That All There Is…?

Tune in tomorrow for soap and the next chapter in the Erika saga. Will her son have rolled the car 7 times? Will Tom have had another accident? Or maybe one less accident? Until then, stay safe, stay driven to succeed, and stay not throwing stones if you’re a person in a glass house.

September 20, 2021 – Sonny Comes Home & Tears

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

We see something blinking under one of the limos.

Carly tells the driver, step on it. They can’t wait to celebrate with their family and friends.

A button is pressed and an explosion happens. The chapel doors are blown open.

Chase goes to the Quartermaine mansion, and Brook lets him in while holding the baby. He says he figured she would have been at the wedding, but she says, no. She was invited, but she was closer with Sonny, and decided not to go at the last second. He says a quiet night at home with her daughter doesn’t sound so bad, and she says he must be a detective. She and Bailey hardly get any time together because of all the craziness that goes on in this house. He says he knows what she means. He’s missed Bailey since he moved out. He’s missed… a lot.

At the reception, Bobbie tells Maxie, this is magical, and Monica says she did an amazing job. Maxie thanks them, and Olivia says she’s never seen the garden look more beautiful. Carly is going to love this. Bobbie says, even Jason might, and they laugh. Ned says they might be joking, but Jason was practically gregarious today. Well, gregarious for Jason. Monica says she thinks he’s genuinely happy with Carly, and that’s all she wants for him.

Carly says, Buscema and Novak? and Jason says, it was intended for them. Spinelli and Brick had it redirected. She says, he knew about this? and he says he got a heads up… from a friend.

Spinelli is putting his phone in his pocket, and Diane asks if it was Carly and Jason. What is keeping them? Are they already in jail? He says, no, but recent developments might cause the groom to avail himself of her services. She throws up her hands, and asks if this consultation will take place at the PCPD, and he says, quite possibly. Brando comes by and asks if everything is okay. Spinelli says, there was just an explosion outside of All Saints. A car bomb. Brando asks if it was Carly and Jason’s car, and Diane looks aghast.

Sonny tells Nina, he can’t do this right now. He’s got to go home to his wife and kids. He gets off the examining table, and she says she can’t stop him, but if he leaves there, leave knowing nothing else but she honestly loves him. He says, don’t say that, but she says, it’s true; she loves him. He puts his finger in her face, and says, don’t say that, backing her up against the door. He says she doesn’t love him; she loves Mike. She says he was happy in Nixon Falls, and he says he’s going home to his wife. Does she understand him? He’s not doing this right now. She tells him, the doctors said he can’t leave, but he says, try and stop him. She moves away from the door, crying, and he walks out.

Sonny rips his wristband off and throws it away. Jax says, Sonny? and Sonny says, yeah. Jax tells him, welcome back, but Sonny says Jax doesn’t look happy to see him. Jax says, actually, he is. Can he give Sonny a ride home? Sonny says he’ll actually take one from Jax. Jax says there’s a car waiting outside that can take Sonny to the tarmac, where he can fly home. Sonny thanks him, and Jax says, for what it’s worth (🍷) he’s sorry about what happened to Sonny. Sonny says, he’s not the only one, and walks out.

Jax goes in to find Nina lying on the examining table. He says, Sonny’s on his way home, and she sits up and says, what have I done?

In the limo, Mrs. Woo tells Jason and Carly that she has to make this quick; the fire department’s on its way. Carly says the cops too, she’s sure, and Jason thanks Woo for letting them know what Buscema and Novak were planning. She says, Cyrus Renault was pulling the strings. They tried to rope her in, and she pretended to go along, but she wants no part of Renault’s machinations. Carly says she supported the Corinthos organization after Sonny died. They appreciate her loyalty. Jason says, it won’t go unrewarded, and Woo says, she prefers working with people who aren’t sloppy or reckless. Congratulations on their marriage. Now go dance at their reception. Celebrate the love they have for one another. She hops out of the limo, and walks off. Carly says Jason could have told her, and he says, he wanted her to enjoy the wedding. Besides he knew Brick and Spinelli had it handled. She asks what they do now, and he says, go to the reception. She asks if she heard right, that he wants to go to their wedding reception. What if the cops show up and bring him in for questioning? He says, then he should be where he’s supposed to be, and she says, so it’s an alibi? He says, no. It’s a party for their friends and family to celebrate their wedding. Besides, Maxie said there would be music, and one of them likes to dance.

Spinelli says, Jason and Carly are fine, and Brando asks, whose car blew up? Spinelli says, perhaps the limo of Mr. Novak and Mr. Buscemi, and Diane says, what a coincidence that they meet their demise just after the wedding of their chief rival. Brando asks how it happened? and Spinelli thinks it might have something to do with Cyrus Renault. Diane says, thank goodness Brando’s mother wasn’t in the same car as her date.

Olivia tells Austin, now that they’re outside the house of the Lord, she can tell him exactly what she thinks about his nasty little insinuation about her son. He says, there’s no need. She’s already communicated her opinions perfectly. She says, communicate. That’s the word he throws around so much. Her husband told her that he doesn’t like the way her son communicates. He says, there’s nothing wrong with Leo. He just picked up on something when Leo sought him out at the hospital. She says, that never should have happened in the first place, when Ned joins them. Austin says he thinks this needs to be worked out between the two of them, and leaves.

Cameron finds Josslyn, Trina, and Bobbie laughing, and asks, what’s so funny? Bobbie says, Olivia hired a stripper for Carly’s bachelorette party… Josslyn says, and it ended up being Brando Corbin. Her mom was covering her eyes. Like she’s never seen something like that before. Cameron asks where she’s seen something like that before.

Maxie asks if Spinelli is ready for his MC role, unless Diane wants to do it. Diane says Maxie is cute, but she confines her public speaking these days to the corporate. Besides, she’s sure Spinelli will find the right words. Maxie says, just not too many words, and Spinelli says he shall endeavor for brevity worthy of the groom himself. Maxie says, speaking of the groom, if he talked Carly into ditching this, she’ll never forgive him. Spinelli says she seems so much like her old self before… She says, before Peter’s betrayal? He says, planning the wedding was probably a welcome distraction, and she says she enjoyed it, but she’ll enjoy it even more if the bride and groom show up.

Brook asks if Chase is there for his Bailey fix, and he says, that, and to give Monica this – he puts a gift bag on the table – to thank her for her hospitality. She says he wasn’t exactly a difficult houseguest. Is he feeling any better? He says, almost 100%, but he thinks holding Bailey will help. She hands him Bailey, and he asks if Bailey remembers him. Bailey starts crying, but is obviously not, since she has a binky in her mouth and looks pretty content. (Sloppy, GH!) He says he remembers her. She used to look more like her mama, but not so much anymore. As a matter-of-fact, she doesn’t look like her dad either.

Jax asks how Nina is doing, and she says she’s all right. How’s Phyllis? He says, she’s with the doctor; she’ll be okay. Nina says, thank God, when Anna and Valentin come in. Anna says they went to the Tan-O to find her, but it was destroyed. Valentin says, the fire chief said he could find her there. Is she all right? Is she hurt? She says she’s fine. What’s he doing here? He says, she called him, and said he lived at the MetroCourt, when she knows full well he lives at the Quartermaines. He took it as a sign. She was trying to give him a signal; was he right? He asks if the fire had anything to do with her call, and she says he was always too smart. Peter was with her, forcing her to call him.

Nina tells Valentin, Peter set fire to the Tan-O when she woudn’t help him find Louise. He tried to kill her and her friend Phyllis. Anna asks how Peter found her, and Nina says, he was keeping tabs on Maxie, and she came to visit in Nixon Falls on her way back from Texas. Anna asks if Nina didn’t try to contact the police. She knew they were looking for him, right? Nina says, he had a gun and threatened her, and Valentin asks if he was with her the entire time. She says, no, but he warned her if she tried anything, he’d kidnap James. They both know he’s evil enough to do that, so she called Obrecht, who was going to handle it, but something happened. Something went wrong. Has he heard from Obrecht? Anna says they’re not sure what happened either. Did Nina have another opportunity when she could have alerted them or the police? Nina says she was in a tight spot. He was blackmailing her. Valentin says, blackmailing her with what?

Chase says when Bailey smiles, he can see Brook. Or is it Valentin? What does she think? She says she thinks Bailey is her own little person. He says, she has a mind of her own, like her mama. She says she heard he went camping, and he says, it was actually kind of fun. She says she’ll take his word on that; she’s not into the nature thing. He says, she’s not? and she says she’s a fan of Central Park, her great-grandmother’s rose garden, and anywhere with chaises, cabanas, and cocktails. He says she doesn’t know what she’s missing. Roughing it is one of life’s great joys. She says she’ll take his word on that. She asks if he’s back at the PCPD, and he says, soon. After he gets some personal things in order. She asks if he’s moving forward with the divorce from Willow, but he says he’s seeking an annulment, since they never had a marriage in the first place. She says she’s sorry, but he says, don’t be. He wouldn’t trade that time for anything.

Willow says Michael doesn’t have his speech memorized yet? He’s been practicing it for days. He says he wants to make sure it’s right, and she says, he’ll be great. He truly is the best best man. They kiss.

 Brando says he thinks Vincent Novak stood Gladys up, and she says, why? Could his business really be taking him that long? Is it her? She’s sure she couldn’t have been misreading the signals. He says maybe she should make up her mind that Mr. Novak isn’t coming. That his business was all consuming.

Austin says he thought Maxie could use a drink, and hands her one. She says, what she could use is a bride and groom. He says, don’t look at him; he didn’t kidnap them. She asks if he thinks this is funny, and he says, not anymore. She says, because this is definitely not funny. Jason isn’t known for his social flair. She wouldn’t be surprised if he convinced Carly that they didn’t need a wedding reception; a reception she planned down to the very last meticulous detail.

Spinelli asks for everyone’s attention, and asks them to raise their glasses as he presents Carly and Jason Morgan. They all applaud, and Carly and Jason walk in. Music plays, and they dance. She says, it’s no Jake’s, but it’ll do. They look at each other with little hearts popping out of their eyes.

Valentin asks what Peter was blackmailing Nina with. What does he have on her? Jax says, that’s not important right now. What matters is that Peter’s on the loose. Anna asks if Nina can tell her everything she remembers about the last time she saw Peter, and Nina says, he tied her and her friend Phyllis up, and poured kerosene all over the Tan-O. he dropped a lit match, and he left. Valentin asks if he told her where he was going, and Nina says, he didn’t, but she told him that they were probably on their way. She thinks he’s probably headed back to Port Charles… and Maxie. They’ve got to stop him before he gets to Maxie.

Brook asks if Chase just said he was glad he married Willow, and he says, he was dying, fading fast, letting go, when he heard her voice telling him to hang on. He heard the love in her voice, and it gave him the strength to survive. She says, wow, and he says Willow loves him. Not in the way he wants to be loved by her, but the concern in her voice is real. That’s what brought him back, and he can never regret being with someone who brought him so much joy. Brook says he’s a much better person than she can ever hope to be, but he says he doesn’t know about that. He remembers what he was like when he found out Michael and Willow were sleeping together, and she says, bitter and angry? Almost gave Austin the keys to the Quartermaine kingdom? She’s over it. He says he’s not. Giving Monica that gift was just an excuse to stop by. The real reason he’s there is to say he’s sorry. To her and her family.

Michael gets everyone’s attention, and thanks them all for coming. Today has been a day of firsts. It’s the first time he’s seen his mom this happy in a long time, and the first time he realized two people he’s known and loved his whole life, love each other. He thanks Jason for being his mom’s best friend, and loving her the way she needs to be loved. He tells Carly that she’s the most amazing mom in the world, and he’s glad she’s found happiness. After everything they’ve been through, they’re finally being rewarded. He doesn’t know anybody who’s as strong and determined as Carly is, and who has as much love in their heart. He’s lucky to have Carly as a mother, and Jason is lucky to have her as his wife. They wouldn’t be here without them, and without each other. To family. Everybody toasts.

Anna tells Valentin, 9-1-1 got an anonymous tip about a fire across town from the Tan-O, and Valentin says, sending firefighters on a wild goose chase, delaying the response. She says, exactly. So now the police are looking for Peter based on Nina’s accusation. He doesn’t suppose they’re having any luck, and she says, no, but her contact at the WSB managed to get a fast trace on Peter’s 9-1-1 call, and it was pinged off a tower at the intersection of Highway 21 and Route 7. He says, okay. He’ll drive.

Brook picks up a glass, and says she would have gladly thrown this at Chase’s head when he picked up that document with the changes to her great-grandfather’s will. He asks why she didn’t, and she says as mad as she was that he betrayed her family, there was a part of her that understood how angry he was at being betrayed by Michael and Willow. He says, the first thing you learn in school is, two wrongs don’t make a right, and the second Austin asked him to look for papers, he should have shut Austin down. She wishes he had because Michael gave the document to Austin. He says she doesn’t agree, and she says, Michael insists transparency will be their friend; that the document is non-binding, and is just a list of things great-grandfather was just thinking about doing, and the judge will rule in their favor. He says, but she doesn’t buy that, and she’s not the type of person to sit back and hope for the best. She says she has a couple tricks up her sleeve, and he says, such as? She tells him, don’t get your knickers in a twist, detective. Nothing he can arrest her for.

Carly hugs Maxie and thanks her. She says, this place is so beautiful. She couldn’t ask for a better wedding reception. Maxie asks if she really loved it, and if the flowers were okay. Did she like the cake and love the music? Carly says, everything is perfect. Now she wants Maxie to have fun. Maxie is their guest, and Carly wants her to relax and enjoy herself. Carly leaves, and Austin tells Maxie that her worry was for nothing; everything turned out great. He hands her a drink, and says, cheers. Now go rest on her laurels. She says she’s not sure she knows how to do that.

Jason says Michael did good, and Willow says, Michael was incredibly nervous, but she told him that he’d be wonderful. Jason says, listen to Willow; she knows what she’s talking about. And don’t let her go.

Diane congratulates Jason, and says when Carly told her they were thinking about getting married, she knew it would work. They’re life partners in every best sense of the word. She wishes them every happiness. He thanks her, and she says, now, he and Mr. Spinelli have matters to discuss that she doesn’t want to hear, so she’s going to see if Cousin Brando wants to dance. She leaves, and Spinelli asks if Jason’s heard any news on the untimely demise of Mr. Novak and Mr. Buscema. Jason says, Brick called on their way over, and the police are on the scene. Spinelli has every confidence that they won’t find what was planted or who was responsible, but he figures they’ll want to question Jason anyway. Jason says, probably, and Spinelli hopes they don’t crash the reception, as it were. It would break Maxie’s heart.

Carly hugs Josslyn and Bobbie, who says she’s never seen a more beautiful bride. Or maid of honor. Josslyn says it’s great to see her this happy, and Carly says, it’s great to be this happy. Bobbie says, after all the years Carly and Jason have known each other, now they’re finally together. Ironic, isn’t it? Josslyn thinks it makes perfect sense. They’ve always been so close, like they could read each other’s minds. Carly says, you know what Jason’s thinking right now? Bobbie says, that he’ll be glad when it’s over? and Josslyn tells Carly to go rescue him.

Ned says, Michael gave a great speech, and Olivia tells him not to change the subject. He shouldn’t be talking about her son to that Quartermaine wannabe. He tells her, all Austin said is that it would be of benefit to Leo, and she says, they’re talking about a specialist. Obviously, the good doctor thinks there’s something very wrong with her son. He says, it wouldn’t hurt to have Leo checked out, when Spinelli asks for everyone’s attention again. Mrs. Morgan would like all the ladies to gather for the traditional throwing of the bouquet. Olivia starts to get up, and Ned says, no. She’s not going to try and catch the bouquet? Last time he checked, they were still married. She says sometimes she wonders why, and sits back down.

Austin asks if Maxie wants in on this bouquet thing, and she says, no way. She’s lucky she didn’t end up marrying Louise’s father. He says, Peter, and she says, yeah. Getting married isn’t on her agenda. Finding her daughter, and seeing Peter brought to justice are her top priorities. He says he supports her on that.

Brando encourages Gladys to catch the bouquet. Maybe the next guy she meets will be Mr. Right. She says, wrong. She’s done with men. If they’re not standing her up, they’re trying to kill her. Too bad Sasha is on bedrest. They could put her to the test, and see if she’s serious about him. Think she’d try for the bouquet? Spinelli asks if the women are ready, and counts to three. Carly throws it, and Willow catches it as Michael walks in. He says, nice catch, and she says, it practically landed in her hands. He says he thinks that means they have his mother’s approval of them deciding to make it official.

Monica tells Jason and Carly, no one is looking. Now’s the time for them to make their escape. Jason asks if she’s sure, and she asks if Jason is happy with Carly. He says he is, and she says, then that’s all that matters. All she wants is for him to be happy, so go. Go now, and start their life. They both hug Monica, and she tells them to get out of there.

Jax tells Nina that the doctor wants to keep her for observation, but she says, no. She has to warn Maxie about Peter. He says he already tried calling, but she didn’t pick up. Nina says, what if Peter has already gotten to her? They have to warn her.

Spinelli asks Maxie to dance, and she says, he remembered. They go onto the dance floor. Olivia asks if she can catch a ride home with Monica, and Monica says, she’s not going with Ned? She thought they were getting along pretty well. She thought… Olivia says, that they were getting back together? Not anymore. Cameron asks Josslyn to dance, and she says she thought he’d never ask. While they’re dancing, Willow tells Michael that she doesn’t believe catching the bouquet is symbolic of anything, and he says, but it proves his mom has really good aim. She wants him to know she’s not saying this because of any silly superstition. The first time they got married, it was to keep Wiley away from Nelle, but the next time she marries him – if they decide to get married again – she wants it to be real. Like this wedding.

Brook tells Chase, confession time, and they sit on the couch. He asks if he wants to know, and she says he does. She was actually glad when he went in with Austin, when he was mad at Michael and Willow. He asks who she is and what she’s done with BLQ, and she says, he was all out for revenge, and it showed he was human. He asks if she thought he was the god of tolerance and compassion, and she laughs, and says, he wishes. He showed he could get down in the mud with the rest of them. He says, thanks, he thinks, and she says, not that he’s any good at being a bad guy. That sneaking around business isn’t in his DNA. He says maybe she could give him some lessons, but she says, no way. She wants him to stay exactly the way he is.

Anna tells Valentin that a car abandoned on the side of the road was rented by Peter Sinclair, and Valentin says, it’s interesting he’s using his father’s pen name. She says, kind of sloppy though, leaving your car behind, and he asks, why it’s sloppy. He knew they were tailing him, and changed to another vehicle. She says, or he was being picked up. Maybe it was a rendezvous. Valentin wonders if they’re nearby, and they decide to go in opposite directions. He tells her to leave her phone on, and be careful. She tells him to be careful too, and he says, don’t worry about him. If he sees Peter, he’ll shoot him on sight.

Carly and Jason go back to her place and up to the bedroom, and she asks what he thought of the reception. He says he had fun, and she says she could tell. He says he really liked Michael’s speech, and she says, it was nice, but he went overboard with how amazing she is. He says that’s why he liked it, and she says, they did it. They’re married. They clink champagne glasses, and he asks how she feels. She says, like this is right, and he says, him too.

Sonny gets back home, and looks at himself in the mirror, admiring his scruffiness.

Austin cuts in on Spinelli’s dance, and Maxie says, it’s okay. She invited him; she should dance with him.

Brando brings Gladys some champagne, and suggest they toast to the new her. The one who doesn’t need a man to prove she’s worthy. They clink glasses, and she says he’s right. She’s better than Vincent Novak, and all those losers out there who think they can toy with her emotions.

Olivia sits with Ned, and says he’s been boring holes in her back all night. Go ahead. He says he knows it’s not his place to tell her how to raise her son, and she says, don’t let that stop him. He says he loves Leo as if Leo were his own son, so at the risk of driving them further apart, won’t she at least consider Austin’s advice, and have that beautiful boy that they both love, checked out?

Austin thanks Maxie for the dance, and for inviting her. This was fun. Her phone rings, and she tells Austin to grab them some cake. It’s from Eckerd’s, the best bakery in Port Charles. Nina says, thank God she picked up, and Maxie asks, what’s wrong? Nina says, it’s Peter. He was in Nixon Falls, and she thinks he’s headed back to Port Charles. He’s headed back to Maxie.

On the phone outside somewhere, Peter says he’s at the rendezvous. Where are they?… He doesn’t have ten minutes to wait. They said they’d get him out of there, now make it happen. Anna says, scheduling problem? and Peter turns around to see her with a gun aimed at him. She says she woudn’t worry. He’s not going anywhere.

Brook says she’ll make sure Monica gets her gift, and Chase thanks her for listening. She says, any conversation they have where it doesn’t end in him arresting her, she considers a win. He tells Bailey that he’ll see her around. She’s going to be a heartbreaker someday. Chase starts to leave, but Brook says, why doesn’t he stay?

Jason puts their glasses on the mantel, and Carly says she knows and trusts him more than anyone. He says, there’s no rush, and takes her hands. He tells her, they have the rest of their lives.

Sonny looks at photographs, and focuses on one of him and Carly.

Carly says, this morning she told him that she was afraid if they got married, she’d fall in love with him. She was wrong. She was in love with him then, and she’s in love with him now. He says he loves her too, and they kiss.

Sonny goes out on the terrace, looks up at the stars, and smiles.

Carly and Jason start to get busy, as Sonny walks up the stairs.

We see the picture of Carly and Sonny.

Tomorrow, Brook thinks Chase might have the answer, Anna tells Peter to give her an excuse, and Sonny walks in on Jason and Carly.

💦 Longest Day…

Sadly, one of my dogs suddenly got very sick. I was able to get her in to see her vet, but long sad story short, she passed away. So we’ll do some Deck tomorrow, and for now, stay safe, stay loving your pets in the time you have with them, and stay knowing that you don’t need a man (or woman) to prove you’re worthy.

September 19, 2021 – Aaron Questions a Whisperer, Dead In the Family, Baby Daddy, Unused Ending, Fear Preview, a Look At Beyond, Two Kinds Of Winners & Dance

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What I Watched Today

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

The Walking Dead

Aaron walks through the woods with Grace. An unmasked Whisperer with a W carved on his forehead asks if they’re lost. Grace says she’s scared, but Aaron says it will be okay, and to stay close. They hear whistling, and another Whisperer comes out with a gun, one more with a knife. A real zombie joins them, and Aaron kills it. He calls for Grace, but she’s gone. He’s surrounded by Whisperers and zombies, and they close in, hacking at him. He wakes, and sees Grace sleeping peacefully.

Jerry quietly steps over some sleeping kids to go to the bathroom. He looks out sees a zombie, and yells, breach inside the wall! Everyone scrambles around, and Aaron tells Grace to head downstairs to the basement and stay there, like they practiced. Does she have her whistle? He leaves.

A zombie is eating a random guy in the street, and everyone is running toward a section of the wall that’s been pushed down. Carol, Aaron, and some others try to put the panel back in place, but the zombies aren’t making it easy. One grabs at Aaron, who’s trying to block what’s left of the opening. Jerry finally whacks it in the head with a hammer. They get the wall back in place and fortified.

At the Commonwealth, Eugene and company watch a welcome video. Director of Ops, Lance Hornsby, says if they’re watching this, they’ve made it through the rigorous screening process, and are on their way to becoming part of the community. He explains they’re under the leadership of Pamela Milton, and they’re 50,000 strong. Each person is assigned a job best suited to their skillset in order to keep the community thriving. This orientation will give them a taste of what’s in store. The future starts here. We see an ice cream truck and a sack race, and Lance says, community. We see some happy old people, and he says, care giving. We see the stormtroopers under a banner that says, Fight the Dead, Save the Living, and he says, security. That’s the Commonwealth way.

Yumiko says, Pamela Milton. Wow. Princess smiles and nods. Am I supposed to know who she is? A man gives each of them an envelope, and Eugene says he’s in the high school teacher pool. Princess takes out her $2 bill, and says it’s a good sign. Eugene asks what this is, and the man says, their job and housing assignments. Eugene says taking up permanent residence wasn’t their intention, but the man says, if there’s a problem, take it up with their case supervisor. Eugene says, they’re not there to work; they came to get help. Princess wonders if they can’t stick around. She got a retail position, and maybe there’s a mall. Ezekiel says, he got animal control, and thinks the positions were based on what they’d done before. Yumiko says, hers isn’t an assignment; more like an invitation. It’s from an Edmund Widgeway, to meet and talk about opportunities in the community. Princess says, sounds fancy; it must be the accent. Eugene they have to leave asap, before these entanglements usurp their Plan A. He’s supposed to meet Stephanie, and Princess says she’ll go with him, since she wants to see more of the city. Ezekiel tells Yumiko, maybe whoever gave her the invite can help. Yumiko goes over the man’s desk, and he tells her to see her case supervisor, but she says she doesn’t have one. She only has this letter. He looks at the letter, and seems impressed. He asks how he can help, and she says she was inquiring about a family member she thinks lives there, but hasn’t heard anything. He says he’d be happy to help with that.

Zombies gather outside Alexandria. Rosita says, the wall is fragile since it broke, and Aaron says, they need a long term fix using updated tools. Rosita says, they’re back to square one soon with the food, and Aaron says, it’s nasty (if you remember, it’s horse), but it’s going fast. Maybe they should check Hilltop. Carol says they could make a run, and see if there’s any game along the way. I find it difficult to believe there isn’t even a bird or squirrel around. And again, nuts? Berries? Roots? Rosita says, what if there’s nothing left? What if they can’t make it safe? They need to look into other options. Aaron says, this is their home, and he’s not ready to abandon ship. They’re going to try and make it safe first.

Maggie and Negan fight a zombie together in the woods, and bring it down. Negan tells her, the only way this works is if they trust each other. She asks why she’d ever trust him, and he says, he doesn’t know. Maybe she wants to stay alive, the same as him. Maggie says she’ll stay alive in spite of him, not because of him. He says, if that’s how she feels, he doesn’t understand why she hasn’t put him down yet. She flings a knife toward his head, and he ducks. It lodges in the head of a zombie behind him. He says, sh*t, and she says, she asks herself that question nearly every day. She walks past him, and he says, no sh*t. He follows her.   

Aaron, Carly, and Jerry ride to Hilltop, which is a burnt out mess. Aaron says, it’s been picked clean. There are some zombies toddling around, and Jerry says, heads up. Those are our people. A zombie writhes on the ground close by, and Lydia says, that’s Troy. Carol says, let’s just get it done, and Jerry looks sad. They walk around, dispatching the roaming zombies, and Aaron stabs Troy in the head without looking at him.   

Back in Alexandria, Judith teaches the children the art of fighting zombies, using wooden swords. They see some teenage kids teasing a young zombie who’s poking his head through an opening; putting their hands close to his mouth to make him snap, and banging on the wall. Judith strides over, and says they shouldn’t be doing that; it’s dangerous. The tallest kid tells her, calm down. They’re just having fun. Judith says, if they don’t stop it, she’s going to tell Rosita. The boy says, she talks too much. No wonder her mother abandoned her. Judith tells him, what did you say? and he says she’s such a baby. Her mother must have gotten tired of her whining. Judith puts a knife to his throat, and tells him, say it again. I dare you. Grace comes over, and asks her to come away from them. The boy says, stay away, psycho, and Judith walks off with Grace.

On the road, Maggie and Negan walk into a suburban area. They go inside a house, and Negan says, it doesn’t look like anybody’s been here. She says, so they wait, and he asks, how long? She ask how long he’d want someone to wait for him, but he says, the longer they stay, the more likely those lunatics will catch up to them. They should just take the food from there back. It’s not a lot, but it’s something. She says, it’s nothing. They need to feed a whole community. He says, she needs to know when to cut her losses, and she says, those losses are her people. He says, she still has people; she still has Herschel. She asks if he doesn’t know that’s the reason she’s doing this. He says, she can’t. That’s his point. He knows he doesn’t get a vote, but here it is anyway. They should give it until sundown. If they others don’t show by then, they should go.

Yumiko looks in a bakery window. She goes inside, and smiles. A baker comes out and asks how she’s doing. They have a fresh batch of donuts. She says she’s looking for someone, and another baker comes out, carrying a cake. He says, ready, boss, and sees Yumiko. She says, hi, Tomi, and he drops the cake.

Aaron and the others go through Hilltop, and Aaron says, it’s all gone. Jerry says, a lot of them are still standing; remember that. Carol says, it’s war. They need to take care of the stray zombies before they keep searching. They see a group of zombies walking like they’re pushing the wheel in Midnight Express, and Lydia tells them, look at the way they’re moving. They’re being herded. Aaron says, Whisperers, and they run toward the zombies, Aaron using his metal mace arm to smash heads. One falls to the ground, and it’s a Whisperer. Jerry rips its mask off, and Lydia says she knows him.  

And ice cream truck plays music from The Sting, which is better than that crappy music they usually play. Eugene waits by the sidewalk, and Stephanie brings him a cone. He takes a lick and approves. They walk, and he tells her, if she doesn’t mind him saying it, this place has creature comforts he didn’t know he missed. It’s a fine day for him. She says, it’s a fine day for her too. She’s glad he’s here. He sees a woman pushing a stroller, and Stephanie asks where he is. He says, his people. Back where he’s from, there used to be a place like this. He could be content indefinitely, but he wouldn’t be the man he is if he didn’t do what he came there for. He can’t stay. He has to help his friends. Since there’s significant red tape to become a citizen, does she have any advice on how to cut through it? She wishes she did have some, and they sit on a bench. She looks up at the radio tower, and he looks at her. She says she bets he’d feel better if he could talk to his people. It’s not in her realm of responsibility, but she wants to help. Ezekiel and Princess join them, and Ezekiel says, the deputy superintendent said it would take five weeks to see the boss. It might as well be five years. Princess asks if there isn’t an unofficial version, and Eugene hands Princess his ice cream cone. They all walk toward the train station where the tower is, as Mercer watches.

The kids are all running around the house, when Judith comes in. She finds a handprint thing that Carl made for her, and she asks who broke it. She goes up to the bully kid, and asks if it was him, but he says, no. She says, don’t lie, and he tells her not to pull another knife on him. He said he didn’t do it. Grace says she can help fix it. RJ says, he can too, and Herschel says they all will.

Judith sits outside with the broken piece, when Rosita comes by. She says she remembers when they made those. She was so small, and Carl wanted them to have a memory together. Judith says, now it’s broken, and Carl is gone. Everybody is. Rosita says she misses them all too, and Judith asks if it gets easier. Rosita says she’d be lying if she said it did, and Judith says she’s worried she’s going to start forgetting about them. Rosita sits next to her, and says she never really knew her dad, and her mom died when she was a little older than Judith is now. For a long time, it was just the two of them. They moved a lot, from job to job, but her mom always managed to keep them going.  She didn’t know it then, but her mother was teaching her to survive on her own, so Rosita would be okay if she wasn’t there. Carl and Judith’s dad did the same for her. She’ll always be able to get through tough times. Pieces wood are nice, but she doesn’t need that to remember how much they love her. Rosita adds that she’s really good at fixing things.

Aaron asks the Whisperer his name; and no Alpha/Beta garbage. The guy says his name is Keith, and Aaron asks what he’s doing there. He says he’s not hurting anyone. The herd scattered, and those who weren’t killed or burned, they all left. Aaron asks why he’s keeping the walkers, and he says, protection… comfort… old habit. Jerry asks what Aaron thinks, and Aaron says, he’s never met a Whisperer who wasn’t a liar. Lydia says he believed Mary, and Aaron asks how she knows Keith isn’t lying. Why is she so certain? She says he wasn’t part of her mother’s inner circle; he was afraid of her. Aaron says, all that proves is, he’s got eyes, and Keith says, during the long winter, he took care of Lydia. Does she remember? She says she’s not sure, but it doesn’t matter. Aaron says, he’s hiding something, and Carol says, Aaron is right. They need make sure he’s not a threat. Aaron says they’ll put him in the cellar until they decide.

They go down to the old jail cell, and Jerry says, dude… Aaron asks, what is it? and Jerry says, nothing good. Four people are crouched along the wall, and Aaron says, he’s not alone. Let’s see what else he lied about. Aaron digs around the cell, and finds a mask. He asks, how many more? and Keith swears that’s it. Aaron says, Keith just led to him, and Lydia tells Aaron, look at them. They’re scared. They’re just trying to be people again. Aaron asks how they know they’re not a threat; hiding in plain sight before they get ambushed. She says, they weren’t all monsters, and Jerry sees a scarf. He said it belonged to Nabila. They were in Alexandria. They burned down their home. Carol asks Aaron what they’re going to do, when Keith grabs a knife. Lydia yells, look out, and Keith lunges at Aaron, slicing him. The others run out during the distraction, and Aaron says, his turn, and knocks Keith out.

At the Commonwealth, Stephanie leads Eugene into the train station. Remind me not to let these two spy for me. They’re so nervous, it looks obvious they’re up to something. Ezekiel sits in the waiting area, and Eugene and Stephanie go upstairs. Princess watches everything.  

At a sidewalk café, Yumiko tells Tomi that she’s good with a slingshot too. He says, not bad for a barrister. He tells her that she’s changed, and she says so has he. How did he find this place? He says he fled Chicago after it first started going bad. He ran out of gas about 20 miles from there. He was lucky enough to find good people, and they walked there. It was early on, and they had just a few secure blocks when they first started, but they expanded. He almost forgets what’s going on outside the walls. She says, he’s been there the whole time making cakes? and he says he likes baking; it makes him happy. She says, he could save people, and he says she’s still trying to run people’s lives. She says she just wants what’s best for him, and he asks, when was the last time she saw him happy, truly content? She says she can’t remember. Maybe now. He says he likes his life the way it is. It’s the one gift he got out of the world falling apart. Don’t ruin it for him. She says, of course she wouldn’t ruin it, but tell her one thing. Is it as good as it seems? He says, better. She says, if she wanted to get help for her people, could she do that there? He says, anything is possible, as long as she follows the rules. Does she want some cake? She says, hell yeah.   

Princes sees Mercer coming up the steps to the train station, and runs out. She says, fancy meeting him there. She admires his muscles, and says, clearly, they’ve got a gym. He asks her to excuse him; he has business inside. She says she wanted to thank him, and he says, for what? She holds up the $2 bill, and says, for making sure she got this back. He says, no need to thank him. He was returning her property. Is there something else? She says, yeah… He has really beautiful eyelashes.

Keith hangs by his arms, and Aaron says tell him where the others went. He holds a zombie on the end of a stick, close to Keith, and says, how many more? Answer him. He brings the zombie closer, and it bites at Keith’s jacket. Keith yells for Lydia to help him, and Aaron asks, where are they? Keith says, the Alexandrians pretended they were better than the dead, but dead is honest. His friends are better off dead. Aaron lets the zombie bite Keith, and Lydia is clearly disturbed. Aaron says, the clock is ticking. Does he feel better off? He can help Keith by cutting off his hand before the infection spreads, but they don’t have much time. Where are they? Keith says he doesn’t know; he swears. Aaron asks if the Whisperers are still a threat, and Keith says, no, but Aaron says, stop lying. Lydia says, enough, but Aaron says he needs answers. Lydia says Aaron wants something else, and she won’t be there to watch. Jerry, who’s holding Keith’s arms up via a pulley, drops Keith closer to the zombie, and Aaron says, tell the truth. Keith asks what Aaron wants him to say. There were more, but they’re gone. He doesn’t know where. Carol shoots the zombie in the head with an arrow, and Aaron asks, what the hell is she doing? She says, she’s stopping him from doing something, but he says he’s doing what he has to, to keep safe. She, of all people, should understand. She says, not like this, but he says, look around. They’re standing in the ashes of what the Whisperers destroyed. Grace is hungry because of them. There’s a world full of people beyond saving, and he’s not waiting for them to show up on their doorstep. Carol says she knows how it felt after Henry was murdered, when she let it take control of her, and take her down a dark path. Now with everything she does, she carries it with her. It’s a path he doesn’t want to go down. Let him go. Jerry drops Keith, and Aaron says, he can cut Keith’s hand off, or he can do it himself. The choice is his. He drops a knife in front of Keith. Geez, not even an ax.

Rosita fixes the handprint thing, and hears Eugene on the radio. She asks if he’s okay, and says it’s good to hear his voice. He says, they’re all safe, and yes, he’s doing okay. How are things there? Rosita says, the war is over. Alpha and Beta are dead, but Alexandria is trashed. They’re running out of food. He starts to break up, and she asks if he’s still there. Where is he? Judith says, he’s gone.  

Eugene says he lost the feed. Something is haywire. Mercer marches in, and tells him, hands up. He tells some guys to search Eugene, and says Eugene is under arrest for unauthorized use of company property. Eugene is taken away.  

Negan puts stuff in his bag, and Maggie asks what he’s doing. He says he’s leaving, and she says, not with the supplies. Their mission isn’t finished. He says, it is for him, and they struggle over the bag. He tells her, get over it, and she pushes him. They look at each other for a hot minute, and she pushes him again. They hear someone about to come in, and get in position, grabbing weapons. Elijah brings Gabriel in, and Maggie says, he made it. Elijah says the found each other in the woods, and Gabriel says he didn’t know if he’d survive. He knew they would be there, but what about the others? She tells him that Duncan, Cole, and Agatha are dead, and Alden is holed up in a church; she doesn’t know about the rest. Gabriel says, so we wait. Maggie nods, and says, we wait. She looks at Negan, and he sits.

Eugene paces in the office, where Ezekiel and Princess wait with him. He asks, where’s the young woman who was with him at the train station? and a man says they’re being charged with unlawful trespass, reckless endangerment, and illegal communication with a foreign entity, according to article whatever, and section whatsis of the Commonwealth criminal code. They’ll have a hearing before a judge, and if found guilty, they’ll be dropped in a zone far outside the Commonwealth walls, and banished from the community forever. Princess asks if they can’t talk to a lawyer, and the man says, they have an attorney? Ezekiel says, a fancy one. If they like rules so much, they need to have one. The man says, they’re asylum seekers, not citizens, and Eugene asks again about Stephanie. He says, she’ll be charged separately as a citizen, and Eugene says, they weren’t doing anything wrong. He says, tell it to the judge, when Lance walks in with Stephanie. He tells the man, let them go, but tells the group, don’t move. He’s going to find Mercer. He leaves, and Ezekiel says, was that…? Princess says, the video guy. Eugene thanks Stephanie, but she says, she might have stopped them from being banished, but they’ll have to pay in one way or another for what they’ve done.

Keith tells Lydia that he understands. Alpha would have done worse. Carol gives him some mushrooms as sustenance for him and the others, and he thanks her. He tells her that they’re not all like Alpha; some of them just want to survive. Lydia tells him, don’t ever look back. The group loads up their wagon, and Keith says, they don’t think he’s changed. Jerry tells him, that’s not for him to say, and Keith says he can prove it. Jerry asks, how? and Keith says he saw one of their people. She came out of the cave where Alpha kept the horde. The cave collapsed, and she was all alone. She looked hurt, but alive. Carol asks when he last saw her, and he says, in the woods by the screaming cave. Carol asks if Lydia knows where that is, and Lydia says she does. Carol says, they’ve got to go. Connie is alive. Aaron says, it will be dark before they get back. They’ll go at first light. The group heads out, and Aaron looks back. The other four Whisperers come out, and go to Keith.

Next time, Kelly says, something’s not right; and Connie is trapped by someone.   

😱 How Much Is That Zombie In the Window…?

Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Hilarie Burton’s son Gus did a zombie cameo in tonight’s episode. Giving us proof that you can’t escape bullying even when you’re dead.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/the-walking-dead-gus-morgan-cameo-season-11-episode-5-jeffrey-dean-morgan-hilarie-burton/

👶 Old News…

Does anybody even care about Shane anymore?

https://www.insider.com/is-judith-ricks-kid-cailey-fleming-response-2021-9

🗯 Everybody Has an Opinion…

Why shouldn’t Rick have his own ending?

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-show-andrew-lincoln-unused-ending-perfect/

⚰️ Save the Date…

The new season of Fear the Walking Dead begins October 17th.

https://www.tvinsider.com/1008292/fear-the-walking-dead-season-7-apocalypse-survivors-preview/

🌄 And While We’re On the Subject…

Walking Dead: The World Beyond starts it’s second and final season October 3rd.

https://www.tvinsider.com/1008293/the-walking-dead-world-beyond-season-2-preview-rick/

🏆 For the Win…

Tonight’s Emmy winners.

https://ew.com/awards/emmys/emmy-awards-2021-winners-list/

And the most important part – the fashion.

https://www.eonline.com/photos/33272/emmys-2021-red-carpet-fashion

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/lifestyle/style/emmys-red-carpet-fashion-2021-best-worst-looks-1235016236/

Some of the worst. Although I actually like the thing with the charms hanging from it, and the humongous belt buckle.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-10001837/The-worst-dressed-stars-2021-Emmys.html

🍃 Making Like a Tree…

Funny how another Monday happens every week. Or how meaningless the word Monday is to those who have abandoned calendar living altogether. See you for soap and on shenanigans on Deck tomorrow. Until then, stay safe, stay being your bad self in a good way, and stay not letting anything take you down a dark path. Not even a zombie.