What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Donna sits in her highchair, and Carly says, it’s a blessing that she’s too young to understand what’s going on. She misses him too. Sonny comes in, and asks if she’s thinking about Jason. She says she is, and he says, she shared nine months with Jason. She says she cherishes every moment with the people she loves, and hugs him. Sonny goes over to Donna, and Carly says, if it weren’t for Avery and Donna, she doesn’t know how she would have gotten out of bed this morning. He asks if she slept, and she says she must have, but she doesn’t remember. She just remembers… He says, waking up every hour. Every time he wakes up, he remembers Jason’s gone and he’s not coming back.

Sam goes to visit Alexis, and Alexis asks how she is. She thought Sam was coming by for dessert, but Sam texted her, devoid of an explanation. What kept her away?

Dante is in the shower, and flashes back to getting busy with Sam. His phone rings, and he gets out to answer it. It says the caller is Ma, but he puts the phone down.

Chase goes to the Quartermaine mansion, and Brook says, please tell her he’s been reinstated. He says, if only, and she says, it’s so wrong. He shouldn’t be punished for standing up for her. Chase says, let’s be honest. Valentin had every reason to be angry, and she says, also her fault. He says, Valentin shouldn’t have said what he did, but he shouldn’t have punched him. He is, after all, an officer of the peace. She says, when everyone finds out the truth, they’ll know he did it for a noble reason, and he says, then it will get a lot worse, because everyone will know he colluded to keep the whereabouts of a missing child from his superiors, and the investigators. She says, with the mother’s permission. He’s doing a hero’s work. She knows it, and so does Maxie. Maxie walks in, and says, actually, the more she thinks about what Chase did, the less she likes it. They need to undo it now.

Anna sees Valentin at the hospital, and he says, it’s so good to see her. She says she was told he checked himself out of the hospital against medical advice, and he says he did. It gave them no small amount of schadenfreude to see him crawling, having burst his stitches. She says, it looks like he took it on the chin, touching his bruise, and he says he thinks it’s safe to say that.

Sasha wakes, thinking she heard a baby cry. She realizes she’s all alone in her room.

Nina says, Brando was at the hospital all night? and hands him a bag, saying, eat. He says he’s starving, but can’t stand the thought of eating right now. She tells him, give it a minute, it will come, and asks, how’s the baby? He says, beautiful. He’s so strong and tiny. They’re still running tests on him, so no official diagnosis yet. The poor little guy is connected to so many tubes. She says, sorry, but he says, it’s good; he’s hanging in there. That’s what’s important, to Sasha too. She says she sees they moved Sasha; that’s a good sign, right? He says, she’s getting better physically, but not being able to see her son breaks her heart. They hear a noise from Sasha’s room, and run. We see Sasha on the floor, apparently having fallen.

Carly tells Sonny, she’s sorry she wasn’t here last night; she went to the footbridge. Jason used to always go there on Thanksgiving. He says it’s probably best she wasn’t there, and she asks, what happened? He says, that son of a – he glances at Donna in his lap – gun Cyrus Renault called to gloat about Jason. She says he has to be kidding her. That guy doesn’t know when to stop. Sonny says he figured Cyrus learned his lesson when he didn’t have him taken out of prison, and she says, he sees it as one more opportunity to come after Sonny. He says, now that Jason’s gone, he’s bolder than ever. He still has influence. She says, he really does. She and Jason were thinking Cyrus is the reason Laura is out of town. Doc is tightlipped about it, and Martin left town at the same time. They were thinking she’s in witness protection. Sonny says, because of Renault? and she says, yeah. What’s he going to do about it? Drew walks in, and says he was told to come up, if that’s okay. Carly runs to him, saying, it’s more than okay. She hugs him, and says, it’s so good to see him. Sonny says, who let him through security? It’s been a while; they were hoping he’d come by. Drew asks, who’s on Sonny’s lap? and Sonny says, this is Donna Corinthos. He introduces Donna to her Uncle Drew, adding, he’s been away for a while. Drew says, it’s such a pleasure to meet her, and tells Sonny and Carly, congratulations. You turn your back on Port Charles for a minute, and everything changes.

Sam helps Alexis clean up, and says it looks like she missed one hell of a party. Alexis says, it started off fine, with Shawn, Spencer and his girlfriend, but everyone got along. Then Valentin shows up. Sam says, Alexis and Valentin are like besties these days, and Alexis says she was just fine, but Valentin and Spencer don’t get along at all. Sam says, they hate each other, and Alexis says, then, Ava and Nikolas showed up. Sam says, that must have been awkward, and Alexis says, it gets much better. Have a seat. They sit, and Alexis says, the doorbell rings, she goes to the door, she answers the door, and risen from the ashes is her dead great uncle, Victor Cassadine. Sam says, they released him from custody? and Alexis says, she knew he was alive? Thanks for the heads up. Sam says she thought he was under lock and key, and Alexis says, he’s free. Not only that, Valentin announced Victor claims to be his father, which upset Spencer. Then Valentin wanted to leave, and Nikolas and Ava wanted to leave… Sam says, and Victor? but Alexis says, he called for peace among the family. Her Thanksgiving rivaled any Quartermaine Thanksgiving ever. Sam says she’s almost sorry she missed it, and Alexis asks, why did she miss it? Why was she at the Quartermaines? Was it for the pizza? Sam says she never made it out of her place. She has some news. Actually, she has a lot of news.

Brando runs to Sasha, and helps her up. Nina asks if she hit her head, and Sasha says she needs to see her baby. Brando says he understands, but she just got out of surgery; she’s still recovering. She says she hears him crying, or she dreamed it, and when she woke up, she wanted to check on him. Brando says, he’s fine; he saw him this morning. He’s ready to go all fifteen rounds. She says, championship bout? and Brando says, he’s going to win too, in a knockout. Nina says she’ll go find Dr. Navarro, but Amy comes in, and says she’s afraid that won’t be possible. Dr. Navarro’s in surgery.

Valentin and Anna go into a room, and Valentin says he heard about Jason. Sorry about that. She says, they had a mutual respect for each other. He asks if she’s told Robin, and she says she has. Robin is devastated, but she’s strong. She called Valentin, and he didn’t want to talk, but it seemed like he had something on his mind. He said he popped his stitches, and he has a bruise on his face. What’s going on? He says he doesn’t know where to start, and she says, it’s not Charlotte, is it? Or Bailey? Is something wrong with Bailey? He says, Bailey’s perfect. She’s not his daughter.

Brook says Maxie needs to take it easy. Second thought, third thought, whatever, there’s no way she and Chase can undo what they did. Chase asks, why the change of heart? and Maxie says, two nights of thinking about Peter calling her when he was in custody. Two nights of realizing, if Chase figured out the truth, Peter could. Two nights of remembering that Valentin had the resources to keep her daughter safe, and they don’t have those anymore. Chase says they won’t let Peter anywhere near her, and Maxie asks if he has the stomach for that, to fight as brutally as Valentin would? Because Peter won’t hesitate to kill him, and if he hesitates to kill Peter, he’s a dead man. Chase is a good and virtuous person; he will hesitate. And Brook? Brook asks if Maxie doesn’t think she’d lay down her life for that little girl, and Maxie says she knows Brook has it in her. She just doesn’t think Brook would stand a chance against Peter. Which is why they need Valentin on their side. He will take down Peter like the animal he is.

Alexis says, so Drew is alive after all this time? and Sam says, it was incredible to see him. Alexis asks what Scout did, and Sam says, she didn’t recognize him. It was a lot for her to take in, but she’ll come around. Alexis is sure she will, and Sam says, Jason is the one who saved Drew; Britt Westbourne and her mother as well. Alexis tells her, say what you will about Jason, and she has, he is reliable in a crisis. Sam says, he was able to save Drew, but he wasn’t able to save himself. Jason’s dead.

Olivia asks, what took Dante so long? then says, never mind, and hugs him. She says he’ll never believe who showed up on Thanksgiving, and he says, Drew. She says, if he knows that, he must know… He says, about Jason, and asks how Monica is doing. Olivia says, she’s coping. She has them all there to help her through. She can’t believe Jason is gone, and Dante says, his death touches a lot of lives. Olivia says, for a guy who kept his feelings locked in a vault, a lot of people are crying their eyes out today. How did he hear about this? His text was kind of cryptic. Where did he and Rocco wind up? He says, they spent the day with Sam and her kids.

Chase tells Maxie, Valentin was worried Peter would use Bailey to hurt him; that’s what Yuri was for. Brook says, now that Valentin is out of the picture, Bailey is safer. She’s off Peter’s radar, and much safer with Chase as her father. Maxie says, really? As she recalls, Peter poisoned Chase and tried to kill him. Brook says, that was an accident. Peter was targeting Chase’s brother to get back at Anna. Maxie says, Peter doesn’t care who he hurts, or who he kills. Brook says Maxie is making emotional arguments out of fear, and Maxie says she’s damn right. She made the mistake of thinking Peter was a rational human being. Now she knows better. She won’t underestimate him, and neither should Brook.

Anna asks how it’s possible Bailey isn’t his, and Valentin says, the usual way. Brook lied to him and used him, so she could take back the shares of ELQ she’d stolen from him. Anna says she sees. Do they know who the real father is? He says, Harrison Chase apparently, and she says, Brook was living with him when… So she guesses they… Valentin says, apparently. On the plus side, he’s already reacquired the shares Brook stole from him, and Chase may have offered him an opportunity to exact revenge. She says she’ll bite; how? He tells her that he may have said some cruel and cutting things to Brook, and Chase may have hit him. He’s been suspended from the force. She asks if that’s the end of the warpath for him, but he says he’s just getting started. She asks when he’s planning on dealing with what’s really at the heart of this, and he says, what’s that? Being lied to? Deceived? Humiliated? She says, the emotional trauma of losing a child.

Amy says, if it were up to her, she’d say, let’s get Sasha into a wheelchair and over to the NICU, and Nina says, let’s do it, but Amy says, unfortunately, it’s not up to her. Dr. Navarro has to sign off on it, and until she’s out of surgery… Sasha asks if she can’t go anyway, and Amy says she’s afraid Sasha has to stay put. Amy leaves, and Sasha says, Dr. Navarro could be in surgery for hours. Brando says, don’t worry. He’s going to take her to see their son. He asks if Nina wants to help.

Carly comes back from putting Donna down for her nap, and Drew says, such a blessing that one; so beautiful. Sonny says, they think so, and Drew says he can’t imagine how hard it is for them. Jason was so important to so many people, especially them. He knows he’s just a reminder of that profound loss, but Carly tells him, please don’t say that. He’s alive, and that’s a great comfort. Sonny says, don’t think they forgot everything he did for them. He survived. Drew says, the only reason he’s alive is because of Jason.

Alexis says she’s so sorry, and Sam says, she knows they were apart for almost a year, but… Alexis says, she knows how much Sam loved him, and Sam says she loved him a lot, and he was Danny’s father, so… Alexis says, poor Danny. Last night must have been hell for her. She hates that Sam had to get the news when she was all alone. Sam says she wasn’t alone. Dante was with her.

Valentin tells Anna, he’ll handle losing Bailey as best he can, but in the meantime, Brook and Chase will get what’s coming to them. Anna says, stop it. For God’s sake, that’s the man he used to be. He says, that’s the man he is, and no amount of wishing from his better angels is going to change that. She says, no. Not a chance. She knows the bookends of who he is; the man he was, and the father he’s become to Charlotte and Bailey. He says he’s not Bailey’s father, and she says he was, until he wasn’t. She saw him with that little baby, and his heart was so full. His love, or his right to love her, was taken away, and she’s very sorry for that. He says, Brook fooled him for the sake of the company, to get her hands on some shares. He moved into the Quartermaine house to be a proper father; so he could be there for the day to day, but she was not his. And if he has to hurt over and over again about everything he’s going to miss about that little girl, then Brook is going to hurt too. That’s fair, isn’t it? Anna hugs him, and he cries. I want to cry too. I’ve never seen someone look that sad.

Maxie says, once Peter hears Valentin isn’t Bailey’s father, all it’s going to take is a few little steps for him to figure out Bailey is his. Everything that led Chase to the truth, is going to lead Peter right here. Chase says, he’s a trained detective, and Maxie says, and Peter is a psychopath who is obsessed with finding this one little girl. Do they think he’s not going to figure this out? Bailey isn’t safe with Chase acting as her father. Brook asks if Maxie has a better idea.

Olivia says, so Dante spent the day with Sam and her kids? How was that? He says, it was great. The kids get along awesome. She says, they certainly ought to; they spend enough time together here. He says, they were going to come after the parade… and she says, then Drew showed up. He says, yeah, and he told them about Jason. He thought Sam needed someone there, and he wanted to be there for her. Olivia says, of course (🍷) she did, and of course (🍷) he stayed. He comforted her and helped her sort through her feelings, right? He says, something like that, and Olivia says, that is the man she raised. Hmm. He says, what? and she says, it sounds like things are getting pretty serious between him and Sam.

Alexis says she knows Sam and Drew hadn’t been together for a while before his disappearance, but she knows Sam loved him, and she loved Jason. She can’t imagine how confusing it is. Sam says, that’s the strangest part; it’s not confusing at all. If anything, clarifies things. She’s thrilled Drew is alive, and devastated that Jason is dead, but she also realizes she’s ready to move on. Alexis says, if Sam is okay, she’s okay. She just wants Sam to be happy. Sam says, she is happy. What about Alexis?

Drew tells Sonny and Carly that Peter knew how to activate his conditioning. He wanted to put on a demonstration for Jason and Britt. He had Drew hold a knife to Jason’s throat, and had him cut open his own arm. Carly says, God, and Sonny says, sick bastard. Drew says he doesn’t remember any of it, but Jason was paying attention and took full advantage. He saw how Peter put him under, and saw how Peter brought him back out. Jason was convinced they could take Peter down, but Drew wasn’t so sure, and told him, if things went sideways, he wanted Jason to stop him, no matter what. Carly says, you mean… Drew says, to kill him, if it came to that. Instead, Jason was the one who lost his life.

Amy gets an alert that the call button has been pressed in room 403, and says, what the…? She runs off, and Brando tells Sasha, the coast is clear. Let’s move. He wheels Sasha out.

Amy goes to the room, and sees Nina lying on the bed. She asks, why did Nina push the call button when she’s not a patient, and the room isn’t being used? Nina says, great question. She had an idea she wanted to talk to Amy about, but first, she had to conduct a little experiment. She wanted to see how quick the response time was. Amy says, her response time, personally? and Nina says, yes. She wants to do an article on the responsiveness of nurses. How long it takes for them to respond when the call button is used, and she’s being completely serious – Amy was amazing. Amy thanks her, and says she has to get back to her station, but Nina says, wait, and blocks the door, saying, Amy can’t go yet.

Brando says, no sign of anyone. He thinks they’re going to make it. He wheels Sasha toward the NICU, and a woman says, wait just a minute, and stands in front of them. She says, Sasha is the face of Deception who became the face of Conception. Can she get a selfie? Sasha says, just one, real quick, and the woman takes the picture. The woman says, how about an autograph? but Brando says, Miss Gilmore needs to see her baby right now. The woman says, oh, Baby Deception. Can she come? Brando says, absolutely not, and wheels Sasha away. The woman sends the photo to her social media.

Nina says she wants to do a feature on Amy in Crimson. She’s such a great nurse. They want to do a photo shoot with Amy. Amy asks if she means it, and Nina says, absolutely. Amy says, so she’d be like a model? and Nina says, a model nurse. They laugh, and Nina suggests they sit and talk about what the spread will look like.

Sasha sanitizes and puts on a gown. She says, okay, let’s do this. Let’s see our baby. Brando says he has to prepare her first, and she says, for what? He says, their baby is hooked up to a lot of equipment. He’s wrapped in a cooling blanket to give his brain a chance to heal from the lack of oxygen, but he’s peaceful, and so sweet. She thanks him, and says she’s ready.

Sonny tells Drew, Jason knew the risk, and chose to save Drew. For a man with his reputation, a reputation he earned, he valued the lives of other people he cared about more than his own. Drew says, if it wasn’t for Jason, he’d still be Peter’s puppet, and Sonny says, but he’s not, right? Not anymore? Drew says, he doesn’t know. Peter wanted him to kidnap Maxie for him. Maybe he can still flip a switch. What if Maxie is in danger because of him?

Maxie says, what if they tell Valentin that Bailey is really Louise, and they were only doing this to keep her safe from Peter? No matter how mad he is, he might just keep Yuri and the rest of his security team here. Brook says, if it’s security Maxie is worried about, they’ll hire guards, and Maxie asks how they’ll explain that. At least Valentin has the excuse that he’s on Peter’s bad side. If they bring guards here, they might as well send Peter and engraved invitation. Brook says she’s sorry, but there’s not way to change this. Valentin has already gotten his ELQ shares back, and got Chase suspended from the PCPD. Maxie says, what? How? and Chase says, last night Valentin wasn’t very nice to Brook, so he punched Valentin in the face. Maxie says, that’s great. So now he doesn’t have a service revolver, or a shield, or anything useful to keep her daughter safe?

Anna asks if Valentin has told Charlotte, but he says he hasn’t had to. She’s staying out of town with friends for Thanksgiving break. Anna says, when she comes back, and sees he’s at the MetroCourt with no Bailey, she’ll figure it out. She’s a smart kid. He’s going to have to tell her. He says he doesn’t know how he’s going to do that. He doesn’t know how he’s going to say goodbye to Bailey. Once he says those words, it’s going to become irrevocably, undeniably, and unbearably real.

Sasha looks at the baby, and says, he’s so beautiful, and Brando says, of course (🍷) he is; he looks like her. She says, no, he has that little crinkle thing with his forehead; that’s Brando. She opens the hatch, and touches the baby. She says, hi, baby boy. Did daddy tell him how much she loves him? Brando says, he did, all the time. She says she loved him the moment she knew he was on the way. Now he’s here, he’s real, he’s him. She loves him so much. They need to give him a name; a name that says exactly who he is. He’s a fighter, like Brando. Brando says, he’s a soldier; she’s a fighter. Their baby is strong, that’s for sure. She says, they need to give him a name that tells the world who he is. Brando asks if they still want Mike as a middle name, and she says, absolutely. It’s important they honor Brando’s cousin, especially since he was so good to Brando when he was a boy. He asks, what goes with Mike? and she says she was throwing around silly names when she was in labor, but since then, she’s been unfocused. What about him? He says, he may have looked up a few between here and her bedside last night. He did find one he really liked. It means strong willed warrior.

Alexis tells Sam, she’s out of prison, happy; freedom, happy. Sam asks, what’s better than freedom? The world is her oyster. Alexis can do anything. What’s her passion? Alexis says, other than the law? and Sam says, legal system adjacent then. Alexis says, she’s been a lawyer and a convict; what’s the happy medium? Sam says, she’s looking at it, and Alexis says she doesn’t follow. Sam wonders how to say it. Alexis is a meddler, she likes to stick her nose in other people’s business, get to the truth and do something about it, which is what Sam does, and she gets hired for criminal cases all the time. Alexis says, Sam wants her to be a private investigator? and Sam says, Curtis opened a nightclub, so she’s down a partner, and it would be a huge help to have someone who knows the ins and outs of the legal system. And who knows that better than Alexis? Alexis says Sam is just trying to cheer her up. Sam wants to work with her mother? Sam says she does. Work together for truth and justice. What does she say?

Maxie says she knows Peter. Now that he’s back in Port Charles, he will find Louise or die trying. Chase says he’ll give up his life before he lets Peter anywhere near that little girl, and Brook says, he’s no match for them. Maxie said it herself; she’s not afraid of him anymore. So don’t be afraid. Be the fierce person Brook knows she is. Maxie says, maybe what she needs is to confront Peter in person, and Brook says, he’ll be locked up and helpless. He’ll see he has no power over Maxie and her daughter anymore. Maxie says she just needs a minute, and leaves. Brook says, Chase really is a good guy, and he says, thanks, but he thinks a lot of what Maxie said was true.

Drew says he’s sorry; he didn’t mean to go there. Carly asked, who else can he go to but his friends? That hasn’t changed just because he’s been gone. Sonny tells him, if he needs anything, just say the word, and Drew thanks him, and says, right now, he just wants to get to know his daughter again. Carly asks how Scout reacted when she saw him, and Drew says, she was a little shy. She only knows him from pictures. Sonny says, she’s a kid; they adapt fast. Drew says, speaking of kids, congratulations again; Donna’s so beautiful. How are their other girls? How’s Josslyn? Carly says, in college, and Drew says, that’s not possible. She says, it is possible, as much as she hates to believe it. Drew asks how Avery is, and Sonny says, smart, sweet, and just beautiful. Drew says, they’re so lucky to have their daughters, and Sonny says, absolutely. Drew says he has to get going. He just wanted to say thank you for everything. Carly hugs him, and tells him, don’t be a stranger. Drew leaves, and Carly says, poor Drew. What a burden, surviving when Jason didn’t. Sonny says, at least he has his family and his daughter, and she says, they have their kids too. Even though they’re grieving, they need to count their blessings. Sonny says, and take care of the people who love them, and Carly says, that’s why they need to get to the hospital. They need to support Brando and Sasha.  

Amy asks if she’ll have to wear scrubs for the photo shoot, and Nina says, she can wear scrubs to show what she’s like at work. Then she can then wear street clothes to show what she’s like when she’s not at work, but what’s important is showing Amy at the hospital, because Nina truly believes nurses are the heart to any hospital. She wants to show the world how truly noble the profession is.

Sasha says, welcome to the world, Liam, and Brando says, Liam Mike. With a big strong name like that, he’ll be out of here in no time. She says, then they’ll take him home, and give him the best life any baby ever had in whole wide world.

Olivia tells Dante that it means a lot to her for him to be happy, and he says he is. He’s got to get to work, and she says, her too, especially since Carly isn’t coming in. She tells him to check on his dad, and he says he will. She says, that’s her boy, and they hug. He says he loves her, and she says she loves him too, and he leaves.

Sam says Alexis doesn’t have to decide now; she can think about it. Alexis says she’ll do that, and Sam says, good. She thinks they’d make a great team. Alexis says, the Davis-McCall Agency, and Sam says, McCall-Davis, but Alexis says, nah. Davis comes before McCall alphabetically. Sam says she’s already established in the field, but if it’s a deal breaker, she’ll think about it. This could be a great second act for Alexis. Alexis says, if they partner up, she’s worried Sam will get sick of her, and Sam says, they definitely will get sick of each other and butt heads, but it’s going to be great. Alexis says, can they not do that? and Sam says, they can try. Just think, somebody could discover them, and they could have their own reality show; Mother Daughter P.I. Agency. Alexis says, good luck with that.

Back at the Quartermaine’s, Drew gets some coffee, and Maxie comes in for some water. She stops when she sees him.

Brook says, they’re in this thing now; they have to see it through. Chase says he doesn’t know. Maxie made some strong points. Brook says, she did, but they’re committed, which means they have to deal with it, especially now that Valentin is furious with her. There’s no telling what else he might do. The doorbell rings, and Brook opens the door to see Valentin.

Back in Sasha’s room, Brando thanks Nina for the assist, and asks how she did it. Nina says, just some old school flattery, which turned into a great idea for a feature. How’s the baby? Sasha says, amazing. They named him. Liam. It means strong willed warrior. Brando says, with a name like that, he has to pull through. Nina says, now that they’re back, she’s going to check in with her office. She leaves, and Brando tells Sasha, just when he thought she couldn’t be more beautiful, he saw her with Liam. What can he say? He was wrong. They kiss.  

Nina goes to the desk, as Sonny and Carly come out of the elevator. She and Carly look at one another.

Amy comes back while Brando and Sasha are still kissing, and says she’s sorry to interrupt. Dr. Fleming’s on her way here now. There’s news about their baby.

Tomorrow, Valentin says Brook won’t let him see Bailey, Peter says sometimes fate needs a helping hand, Austin asks if that’s a threat, and Carly says Nina knows nothing about her and Jason.

Project Runway

Christian introduced the designers bolts of fabulous faux fur that was plant based, and could be recycled. Only Aaron had worked with faux fur before. He’d just made 16 monkey costumes for The Wizard of Oz. In Prajje’s interview, he said he hated fur. It was annoying because it got everywhere. Christian said, faux fur could be elegant, campy, or sophisticated, and it was going to be the basis for their avant-garde challenge. They had two days to create and avant-garde piece, and in Bones’s interview, he said he took this to mean exaggerated, weird, and/or quirky, but still high fashion. They were to create innovative designs that highlighted the faux fur, and were put in teams of two. They would create one outfit, but be critiqued on their individual contributions. Since Kristina had won last week’s challenge, she got to pick her teammate – Shantall – and they also got first pick of the fur. The rest of the designers got random matches by choosing buttons from a box, and that shook out as follows: Bones and Aaron, Anna and Octavio, Zayden and Coral, and Prajje and Chasity. In Shantall’s interview, she said, since Kristina had immunity, if they ended up on the bottom, she was screwed. Yep.

The designers were given 30 minutes, and a $500 budget at Mood. Christian warned them that making a bunch of faux fur coats wasn’t the challenge. Octavio thought it was his and Anna’s moment, since they both leaned that way anyway. Chasity worried about Prajje buying so much paint, and not getting any supplemental fabric.

On way back, the van they were in took a corner, and scaffolding busted through the window. Anna ended up bleeding, and went to the hospital in an ambulance to be checked out. I envisioned several lawsuits. Christian told the designers that he thought they needed a moment, and told them to take the rest of the day off. You’d think they would have still been given two days, but they were now doing the entire challenge in one day. Nothing like adding stress to your downtime. In Anna’s interview, she said she was lucky; she’d only had some tiny cuts, but she was still processing everything. Aaron said the tricky thing about fur was that some was pliable, but some didn’t move at all. He’d wanted the faux coyote, since it held shape better. Bones felt like Aaron wanted him to do the busy work. Chasity said there was so much fur everywhere, she was inhaling it, and likely to cough up a furball.

Prajje said art had been his escape growing up, and it was the celebration of art that keeps us alive. Chasity said she loved his artwork, but that wasn’t the challenge. In Shantall’s interview, she said, growing up, she’d gone to bed to the sound of the sewing machine, and woke up to one. Her mom didn’t want her to go into fashion, but Shantall wanted to show her that it could be a celebration. Bones and Aaron, mostly Aaron, were making a piece that had a stand up collar, like the Wicked Queen in Snow White, but bigger. There were ongoing problems with getting it to stand up, and Bones said if the collar was flapping, it wouldn’t be avant-garde, but avant-garbage. Bones was frustrated at not being listened to, and thought Aaron was stuck in his ways. He kept suggesting they use paint stirrers to prop up the collar, but Aaron wasn’t having it, for no reason other than he’d never done it that way. Bones said he’d been a physics major, and knew what he was talking about. Aaron thought Bones was trying to reinvent the wheel. He got pissed off, and left 15 minutes early, which doesn’t sound like much, but it is if you’ve only got a day and a few hours.

The group unwound with drinks at a rooftop bar, and Bones and Aaron argued. Aaron said Bones had no clue, and Bones said he wasn’t even giving Aaron time for that. In Anna’s interview, she said things couldn’t be solved in a battle way. They just needed to have conversation and communication. Bones finally told Aaron, get it out now, and tomorrow, let it be good. Aaron walked out, because apparently that’s his go-to.

Zayden called his mom, and said it felt like his talent wasn’t being seen. In his interview, he said people didn’t understand him because it took time for him to open up and trust them. His mom said she was so proud of him, as she should be.  

The next morning, they had 3 hours to finish, and Christian told them, it’s runway day fur real, and made a bunch of other fur jokes or puns or whatever. Aaron apologized to Bones, they squashed their beef, and Aaron finally consented to the paint stirrers in the collar. In Bones’s interview, he said, the whole thing could have been avoided if Aaron had listened, but at the end of the day, he was glad the collar was standing up. He didn’t want to say, I told you so, but…

Brandon was at his brother’s wedding, so designer Esteban Cortazar subbed for him. Billy Porter, King of Avant-Garde, was the guest judge. I stink at describing the clothes, but I’ll do my best. Chasity and Prajje had a gown where the top was fur, and the skirt was painted fabric. They married the two mediums by having points of fur go into the mermaid skirt. In her interview, Chasity said both their backgrounds had come together in the beauty of partnership. At one point, the model stopped, and almost did a backbend, which was quite impressive. Coral and Zayden, made a corset dress with a head cage accessory. It was actually pretty cool. It looked like something Lady Gaga would like. Kristina and Shantall made some sort of weird thing where a fur coat with patchwork on the back, opened up to an attached quilted pink dress that looked like it was made out of a duvet cover. I might add, Coral and Zayden listened to Christian; Kristina and Shantall only partly listened. Anna and Octavio… I don’t know what the hell it was, a dress made out of cheetah fur and a black garbage bag, with huge sleeves that were put on like arm warmers. No, just no. Aaron and Bones’s creation was worth the argument; it was very Game of Thrones, like something a queen would wear to a spectacular event. Aaron was at peace with whatever happened, and Bones said he actually thought they had a chance to be at the top, but you never knew what the judges were thinking. Elaine said they definitely took go big or go home to heart, and Billy said it was exciting beautiful stuff.

Next was the deliberation, and giving the good/bad news. Elaine said Shantall and Kristina had one of the lowest scores. It wasn’t boring, but less would have been more in this case. Nina said it seemed clunky. Esteban thought the dress part should be lighter to balance out the coat, and I was like, yes – that’s it! Billy said where it went awry for him was the quilting, which got another yes. On the high scoring end were Zayden and Coral. Billy said there was freedom in the  piece, but still structure. Elaine said, it was functional, wearable art. Bones and Aaron had also been a favorite, and got one of Billy’s highest scores. It was like an arctic bride, walking the tundra. Elaine said she did think there were one too many things going on, and asked them to remove the model’s necklace. Esteban noted that seeing the neckline changed everything, and I agreed it looked better exposed. Octavio and Anna got a low score, and Elaine said she was surprised that dress was their love child. It looked sloppy. Billy said he liked some of it, but was confused; there were a lot of ideas going on. Esteban said it gave him the vibe of a glamorous Flintstones villain. I could see that. Also in the high score group were Prajje and Chasity, no surprise. Chasity said it had been a complete marriage of their mediums, and Esteban said it was full-on couture. Billy said he loved it, but wondered if the model could walk normally in it. She demonstrated, and yes, she could. He told them to have it in his dressing room, and  I could definitely envision him wearing it.

The big winner/loser was discussed, and Elaine said picking the winner was challenging. She thought Zayden and Coral’s piece was more commercial; Chasity and Prajje’s piece was art in motion. In talking about who was out, Billy said Octavio and Anna’s dress had playful elements he liked, and Elaine said, it felt like they had a bad day. Well, yeah, they’d been in a car accident, and Anna ended up in the hospital. Elaine said a catsuit would have been better under Kristina and Shantall’s cocoon coat. Agreed. Kristina having immunity didn’t make things any easier.

The winning team was Chasity and Prajje with their brilliant, over-the-top structure, which was difficult to execute. The judges thought the dress was wonderful. The overall winner was Chasity, who said her knees were buckling. Esteban said the incredible structure was out of faux fur, and that had been the challenge, which was why she was chosen, but they were both winners. Chasity said her partner was an amazing designer and artist, and in her interview, she said she was the first two-time winner. She felt like it was difficult to be taken seriously as a designer, and for them both to be Black and win, there was no better feeling.

Nina told Kristina, it was lucky she had immunity. Nina knew they were both good designers, so it was painful having them up there. Sadly, Shantall’s fears came true, and she was out. Shantall was gracious, and said she’d learned God brings the best decision for you, and she was glad she’d had the chance to inspire Latina designers. Esteban said she’d do great, and I wondered, where was the Siriano Save…  

In Shantall’s interview, she said it was a dream to have the opportunity, although it wasn’t fair that she couldn’t show the judges the things she wanted to. She told the group it had been a pleasure to meet everyone, and said she knew Kristina did her best. She wasn’t angry; it was just the way things went. The moment didn’t define her as a designer or a human being. And then it came. The reward for her good attitude. The Siriano Save. I almost cried. Christian said Shantall had a business she was trying to save, and they would save it, but she needed to work hard and not let him down. In her non-exit interview, she said she was touched that Christian gave her a second chance. She came to stay, and she was still there.

Next time, taking a comfy look out on the town, Season 18 winner Jeffrey Mac, and Cyndi Lauper.

🌪 Twistin’ the Night Away…

Join me tomorrow for soap, tea, and Quotes of the Week. Until then, stay safe, stay going the extra mile, and stay taking care of the people who love you.