Monthly Archives: August 2023

Aug17

August 16, 2023 – Selina Makes Curtis an Offer, Wakey-Wakey, Their Message, VanderSurplus, New Villains, Well-Timed, Cos That Play & Life

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Trina sits with Ava at the pool, and Ava asks if they think Curtis’s condition is permanent. Trina tells her, the doctor said the bullet nicked his spine, but he also said all spine injuries aren’t the same, so they’re hoping he regains the use of his legs. Ava says, Trina knows she’d do anything for her, so if she ever needs anything… What are her plans until school starts up again? Trina says she’s not really sure, and Ava asks if The Chuck offered her a part time position after her internship. Trina says, they did, but she turned it down, and Ava asks, why? Trina says she was hoping she could go back to Ava’s gallery, and Ava says her gallery isn’t as prestigious as The Chuck, but she’d be happy to have Trina back. Trina says she just feels more comfortable with Ava, and she can make her own hours, which is important now that so much is going on in her personal life. Spencer calls to Trina from the pool where he has Ace, and asks if she wants to join them.

At her desk, Portia looks at her and Curtis’s wedding photo, and flashes back to seeing him in physical therapy. There’s a knock at the door, and Marshall comes in. He asks how she’s doing, and she says, trying to hang in there. He says, they all are. He hates to bother her with this, but they have a problem. It’s The Savoy.

Curtis tries to lift himself up, but is unsuccessful. Selina lurks around the doorway, and Roy says, he can do this, but Curtis says he can’t. He could do it yesterday. Roy says, Curtis is the type of guy who doesn’t give up. He has a competitive spirit and doesn’t like to lose, so come on. Curtis says, Roy doesn’t know what he’s capable of, but Roy says he’s pretty good at reading people, and he has Curtis’s number. Curtis asks what it says, and Roy says, Curtis isn’t going to let a spinal injury get him down. No way. Let’s go. Just focus and relax. Selina continues to watch without letting her presence be known.

Austin sees Michael and Willow at the hospital, and says, look at Willow, all out and about. She looks well. She thanks him, and says she’s surprised people recognize her standing; she was in that hospital bed for so long. She’s got her color back and she’s feeling better. Michael says, they’re just glad to be here for her check-up and not a treatment, and Austin asks how many weeks it’s been since the transplant. Willow says, twelve weeks, although it feels like a lifetime ago. She’s finally getting her life back. Michael notices Dex hanging around.

Sam meets Cody at the Bistro, and says she got his message; what’s up? He says he needs her help, and she says, no surprise there. What happened this time? Please don’t tell her that he’s in trouble with the PCPD again. He says, no, it’s not him. It’s Sasha. She’s in danger, and it’s time they do something drastic.

Gladys goes into the station and says she has to speak with Detective Falconari. It’s a matter of life and death. Dante comes out, and she says she needs his help. It’s an emergency. He asks why she didn’t just call 9-1-1 and save herself a trip? but she says, 9-1-1 can’t issue a restraining order and she needs one now. He asks who she needs to get a restraining order against, and she says, his pal, Cody Bell. She needs to keep him away from Sasha.

Sasha stares into space, and Mandy says, it’s very important that Sasha tell her what she’s been taking. Sasha says she’s not taking anything, but Mandy says she’s looked at Sasha’s chart, and none of the medications she’s on should cause this. Sasha says she doesn’t know. It’s something they’re giving her. Mandy says, who’s giving it to her? when Dr. Montague comes in and asks if there’s a problem here. Mandy says she’s not sure. Sasha’s completely incoherent and it doesn’t square with her prescribed medications. He motions her into the hallway, and says, patients can often have unexplained reactions to mild sedatives. Mandy says she thinks Sasha is getting unprescribed medications from somewhere, so she’s running a blood test just to be sure.

Ava tells Trina, Spencer is so good with his little brother, isn’t he? That’s so nice to see. Trina says, Spencer is devoted to Ace. Ava should see them at home. Spencer changes him, he feeds him, he even sings him a lullaby. Ace was being so fussy one day when she was there, and Spencer calmed him down with a lullaby. It was the sweetest thing. Ava says, and that’s not a problem for her? and Trina asks, why would it be? Ava says, if Spencer’s spending so much time with Ace, then he’s also spending time with Esme. That must be a little uncomfortable for her. Nina comes over to their table, and says, Curtis told her that they’re moving him to rehab. That’s great news. He’s strong. He’s going to get through this. Trina thanks her, and says, if they’ll excuse her, there’s a cute baby in the water and his equally cute brother. She leaves, and Nina sits down. She says, Ava told her they were meeting to celebrate. What are they celebrating? Ava says, the end of her nightmare.

Willow tells Austin, she’s been given a second chance at life. She’s so grateful to everyone at GH, but especially to her husband. Michael’s support has been incredible. Michael tells her not to give him too much credit. She’s the strong one in this relationship. Willow tells Austin not to listen to him. He’ll never admit how much he’s done for her. Thinking about their children was another inspiration. Austin says, they can agree it was a group effort. He’s not an oncologist, but the transplant seems to have been a success because clearly, she’s on the road to recovery. He won’t keep them. Willow thanks him, and he moves on. Willow tells Michael that she can’t believe how light she feels, like a huge weight’s been lifted off her shoulders. She used to dread stepping into this building. Each week brought more bad news or another setback, but now she’s not nervous going for her check-up. She knows she’s going to hear something positive for a change. He says he loves seeing her this happy. He knows it sounds cliché, but he doesn’t take anything for granted anymore. Every morning he wakes up with her or sees her playing with the kids or hearing her laugh is a gift. He’s the luckiest guy in the world.

Portia asks if something happened at the club, and Marshall says he just got a call from N’neka. She’s trying to cover things, but it’s way too much for one person to do, and she doesn’t have the experience running the day to day business. Portia asks if there’s anyone else who can do it, but he says, no one who knows how to do everything. Liquor needs to be ordered, books balanced, checks cut; N’neka’s completely overwhelmed. And it’s not like they can just hire any manager. Curtis did more than just paperwork. He was the heart and soul of the place; he was a presence. He not only welcomed the customers; some of them came just because he was there. She says, he’s right. Curtis didn’t just run The Savoy; he was The Savoy. Marshall says, exactly. Anyone can run a club, but nobody can replace Curtis. He worked so hard to make his dream a reality. And that’s why the two of them need to keep it alive. Geez, they’re acting like Curtis is dead.

Curtis does bicep curls as Selina watches. Roy comes in, and she ducks back. Roy tells him, that’s enough for now, and to put down the weights, but Curtis says, no. Roy is the one who said he could do this. He’s not stopping. Damn. He lost his count. Roy says, stop. Please. Work himself too hard, he could do some real damage. Curtis insists he’s got ten more in him, and Roy says he doesn’t doubt it, but suggests they take a break. They’ll move on to the resistance bands. Sound good? Curtis says, yeah, and Roy leaves. Selina comes in, and says, Curtis’s situation is most unfortunate. He has her deepest sympathy. She puts her hand on his shoulder.

Montague says he appreciates Mandy being so conscientious, but from now on he needs her to check with him before she orders any tests on this patient. Is he clear? She says, yes, she’s sorry, but he says, no need for apologies. She was just doing her job. Sasha is extremely fragile, so he needs to be consulted on everything about her case, even her medication. The poor thing suffered a psychotic episode the other day. The man she stabbed got into her room. She thought he wanted revenge, and had a complete breakdown. Mandy says, that’s the problem. Her symptoms don’t seem to be linked to psychosis. She seems like she’s stoned on something. He thanks her for bringing it to his attention, and she says she’ll make sure he gets the report on the bloodwork. He says, that’s not necessary. He’ll follow up on the bloodwork himself. She can go now.

Cody says he finally managed to get into Ferncliff to see Sasha, and Sam says, back up. She thought Gladys banned him. He says, technically, yes, and she says, he had other ways of getting in? He says he enlisted Brook’s help. She was able to distract Nurse Ratchet at the front desk long enough for him to sneak by. When he got to Sasha’s room, he was shocked. She was totally out of it. She was curled up on the floor… Her face was covered in tears; she was shaking. She had this blank look on her face. She didn’t seem to recognize him at first, so he kneeled down and tried to take her hand, and she just freaked out. She started screaming at the top of her lungs, and she thought he was there to kill her. That’s when Brook and some orderly came in, and he made them leave. Sam says, that’s awful, but what is happening with Sasha? He says, she’s being drugged, and he needs Sam’s help to prove it.

Dante suggests Gladys tell him what happened before they get going on all the paperwork, and she says she sees how this is going to be. Cody is his friend, so he’s going to try and talk her out of this. He says, actually, it’s standard procedure. The fact that Cody’s his friend has nothing to do with it. Why doesn’t she take a seat? They sit down at Dante’s desk, and he asks her to tell him what happened. She says, Cody took advantage of an extremely vulnerable woman. He snuck into Ferncliff and upset Sasha. She’s been in a severely traumatized state, and his visit made it worse. Mac comes out and asks, what’s going on? Dante says, Gladys would like to file a restraining order against Cody Bell, and Gladys says, he terrorized her daughter-in-law. He didn’t have permission to visit her, but he slipped past the front desk and got into her room. So she thought he was there to pay her back for stabbing him, and entered into another breakdown. As Sasha’s guardian and her mother-in-law, Gladys needs to protect her, and she wants that restraining order. Mac says, Officer Robinson will fill out the paperwork, and Gladys goes to the front desk. Mac asks Dante, what kind of trouble is Cody causing now?

Dante tells Mac, obviously, Cody’s in some kind of trouble, but he wants to hear Cody’s side of the story first. You’ve got to take whatever Gladys says with a grain of salt. Mac says he knows, but if Cody was restricted from seeing Sasha, he’s already in violation, and Dante says, it’s not like he was trying to do harm to Sasha; he cares about her. Mac says, Dante’s right, and he can’t throw stones because he did the same thing. Dante says, Mac will have to tell him that story, and Mac says he doesn’t know if Cody’s aware of this, but decades ago, his mother Dominique was committed. Leopold Taub, Cody’s father, was a, evil son of a bitch who had her committed. Taub didn’t want Mac anywhere near Dominique, so he had to break into the place to see her. So he gets where Cody is coming from. They both share the same impulse to rescue the women they care about. Dante flashes back to finding out Mac is really Cody’s father.

Sam asks if Cody is sure Sasha is being drugged, and Cody asks, what other explanation could there be? Go see for herself. Something is going on. She asks if he thinks Gladys has something to do with it, and he says, yes. Let’s go over the facts again. Gladys is Sasha’s guardian, right? Gladys is also flat broke. Sasha was thinking of ending the guardianship. He thinks that put Gladys into a panic. Sam says, because her meal ticket’s gone, and he says, exactly. And the timing is so suspicious. Sasha was doing and feeling great. That nasty lady at Home & Heart tried to rattle her. Sasha held it together, then all of a sudden, she started to spiral. Sam says, they’re going to need something more than his suspicions to go on, and Cody says, maybe she doesn’t buy his theory. So he’ll just take care of it… She says, no. She believes him and wants to help him, but there’s no proof. He needs proof. He gets up, and she asks where he’s going. He tells her, she said they need proof. He’s going to go find it.

Montague tells Sasha that he’s here to help her, and she says she doesn’t know what’s going on. Why does she feel this way? He says, because she’s still using. She’s still taking illegal drugs. They’re not sure how she’s getting them in, but they’re going to find out. She says, no, that’s not it. They’re giving her something. He says, just admit it. She still has a problem. He’s going to get her some help. There’s a knock at the door, and Janice says, the doctor wanted to see her? He says, yes. They have a problem.

Dex asks what Michael wanted to talk to him about, and Michael says he has a few questions. Dex says, make it quick; he has somewhere he needs to be. Michael says, somewhere or someone? He’s clearly following Austin. (Someone he needs to be? That makes no sense. Although I have to agree with Michael that Dex is less than stealthy.) Dex says, it’s a job for Sonny, and Michael asks why his father has Dex following the doctor.

Curtis asks what the hell Selina is doing here, and she says she heard what happened to him. He says, everybody heard about it. The shooting was all over the news. She says, the news said he was shot, so naturally, she was concerned about him, and he says, since when? She says she cares about his welfare. She tried to visit him at the hospital, but they said he wasn’t accepting visitors, and he says, if he didn’t want his family as visitors, what made her think he wanted to see her? She says she’s sensing some hostility, and he says, she’d be right, so why doesn’t she leave? She says, it’s at times like this we need our friends, and he tells her, who says they’re friends?

Nina says, Ava is going to have to give her some more information. What nightmare is she referring to? Ava says she’s just had a lot of stress lately, and now things have shifted, and it’s a huge weight off her shoulders, that’s all. Nina says, weight. She’s going to have to elaborate. What’s going on? Ava says she doesn’t even want to talk about it. She just wants to put it behind her. Nina says, don’t do this. If she was to guess, she’d guess it was something she walked in on yesterday in Sonny’s office. They seemed very tense, like there was a lot of things unsaid. Ava says, Nina knows Sonny as well as she does. He’s not that big on communication. Nina says, but usually Ava is. Come on. What is the deal? She feels like Ava and Sonny are shutting her out. Ava tells her, let’s just say, it’s nothing for Nina to worry about, and soon, it will be the same for her. She raises her martini glass.

Betty dashes into Austin’s office, and doesn’t see him. I love how they think he never leaves his office, like he doesn’t have a real job. She says, hello? and he comes out of (I assume) the bathroom. He says, if it isn’t Mrs. Baylock, and she says, who? He asks if she hasn’t seen The Omen, and she says she doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about and she doesn’t care. Because she got this. She shows him the flashdrive, and he says, his turn now. He doesn’t know what the hell she’s talking about. She says, this, and he says, what is this? She says, the jackpot.

Selina says, of course (🍷) she and Curtis are friends. She would do anything to help him. He says he already has enough friends, and he doesn’t need anything from her. She says, it’s a shame to hear him say that, and he asks why she just doesn’t cut the crap and tell him why she came here. Because he’s not buying the goodwill tour. She says, he offends her; always so suspicious. If he won’t accept her as a friend, she hopes he continues to deal with her as a business partner, because she has an offer for him. He asks what that would be, and she says, with him being out of commission, he won’t be able to run the club. She’d like to take The Savoy off his hands, and she’s prepared to make him a generous offer. Marshall walks in and says, over my dead body.

Esme sees Spencer and Trina sitting on chaise lounges, playing with Ace. They try to get him to wear a tiny bucket hat, but he’s not having it, and Trina says she used to have one of these as a baby. Her mom even took a picture of her with it on at the beach. Spencer says he bets she was adorable as a baby, and she shrugs. He asks, what’s wrong? and she says, thinking about the photo made her think of her mom and what she’s going through. Things were just getting back on track for her and Curtis when he was shot. And now she has to see him in a wheelchair. She’s just so worried for her. Spencer says, of course (🍷) he wishes he could spend the whole day with her, but he thinks she’d feel better if she checked on her mom. Esme watches.

Cody goes into the station and finds Dante, who asks, what’s going on? Cody says, Dante has to start doing his job. Isn’t he supposed to serve and protect? Well, there’s a woman – a vulnerable, innocent woman – out there… Gladys storms out and says she has something for Cody. Obviously irritated, he says, what is it? She says, here, and slaps the restraining order on his chest.

Willow runs up to Michael, hugging him from behind, and he says, it looks like someone got good news. She says she did. She got the green light to go out in public again. Michael says, that’s huge. Are there any restrictions? She tells him, Dr. Randolph said it could take up to a year for her immune system to fully recover, but it’s already been three months and she’s happy with Willow’s blood cell count. He asks if there are any limitations about what she can do or where she can go, and she says, Dr. Randolph advised against travel for a while, so Paris will have to wait, and she doesn’t think she’ll be going to concerts any time soon, but the doctor encouraged her to go for walks. The doctor said it’s a great way for Willow to build up her strength, and he knows how much Wiley likes to explore down at the boathouse, and she finally has enough energy to push Amelia in her stroller. It’s just a win for the entire family. He says, she’s not planning on going back to work yet, but she tells him, don’t worry; she won’t push it. Even though she got the all clear, she’s not even thinking about going back to work until she’s in 100% remission. But she’s not complaining. Right now she’s just thrilled to be out of house jail, although the warden’s pretty cute. He says, and he can provide special privileges. He’s so happy she got a good report. She says, and she got to see Clara. She was the nurse assigned to Willow during isolation. She was so comforting. Clara has three kids, so she understood how hard it was for Willow to be away from Wiley and Amelia. He says, sounds like she was just what Willow needed, and she says she doesn’t want this great feeling to stop. How about if they go celebrate? He takes her hand, and they leave the hospital.

Portia says, Dex? and he says, hi, Dr. Robinson. She tells him to call her Portia, and asks, what brings him to GH? She hopes everything is okay. He says, all good. He’s just here for his yearly check-up. She says, it’s good he’s taking care of his health. Just let her know if he needs anything. He says, of course (🍷). Will do. Thank you, Dr. Robin… Portia. She continues down the hall.

Trina tells Spencer that she knows her mom is trying to be strong for Curtis, but she sees it’s taking a toll on her, and thinks she’s struggling right now. Esme continues to listen, and she’s been leaning on the doorway so long, I’m surprised they haven’t noticed. Spencer asks if Portia has been able to spend much time with Curtis, and Trina says, she was able to see him at rehab, but she guesses it didn’t go well. This is really tearing her up inside. He says, it can’t be easy on Trina either, and Trina says, no, but she doesn’t want to burden her mom with her feelings. She’s already going through enough. He says he thinks the best thing Trina can do right now is be there for her mom. Even if they’re not talking, just hold her hand, that sort of thing. She says, he gives really good advice for a boy, and he says he does. She says, his girlfriend’s really lucky, and he says he knows. They have a quick kiss over Ace’s head, and Trina leaves.

Selina says, how lovely to see Marshall, but he says he’s not sure he can say the same. Curtis says he can handle this, but Marshall says, Curtis needs to focus on getting better. He’s going to set Miss Wu straight on a few things. Selina says she came here out of kindness. She thought her offer would take the burden off of Curtis. Marshall says, The Savoy’s not for sale, so they respectfully decline her offer, and she says, Curtis has a long road ahead of him. Curtis says, his legs might not work, but his mind is perfectly fine and he’s more than capable of running his club. Marshall says, and until he’s ready to come back, the family’s going to take care of everything. Selina says she thinks they’ll find the day to day operations very challenging. She came here making an offer in good faith, but it’s clear Curtis doesn’t want her help. Running a nightclub isn’t for the faint of heart, so they’d be wise to keep her proposal in mind. She leaves, and Marshall and Curtis look at each other.

Janice asks, what’s the problem? and Montague says, this patient has been taking illegal substances. Someone has been smuggling drugs into this facility, and with Miss Gilmore’s money, he’s sure she found someone on staff who she could bribe to supply her. Can she tell him who’s been assigned to her case? She says, Mandy Green, and he says, they’ll replace Miss Green. She says, Mandy’s one of the best nurse practitioners here. She can’t imagine Mandy doing something like that. He says he’s in no way accusing her, but if she’s taken off the case, it removes her from suspicion. It’s really for Miss Green’s protection. He’s only a visiting psychiatrist, but this is a very prominent patient, so they need a team they can trust. Miss Gilmore’s welfare is very important to him. He takes out his phone and makes a call.

Wow. This guy’s story has more holes than Swiss cheese. Not only does Sasha not have access to her money, Mandy requested the blood tests for outside drugs. This is a tremendous lawsuit waiting to happen.

Cody asks, what the hell is this? and Gladys says, it’s a restraining order, cowboy. Read it. He’s not allowed within 500 feet of Sasha. He asks if she’s out of her mind. She’s the one who belongs in Ferncliff. She says, he won’t be able to terrorize Sasha anymore because he can’t go anywhere near her, and if he tries, there’s a bunk waiting for him… He says, if anyone’s been terrorizing her, it’s Gladys. Gladys got her locked away in the looney bin and threw away the key. And he knows why. As long as Sasha stays committed, she can’t cut Gladys off. Gladys stays her guardian, which is what she’s wanted the whole time, isn’t it? Gladys says, he’s crazy. Don’t listen to him. Cody says, she doesn’t care about Sasha. All she cares about is Sasha’s money. Sasha is trapped and helpless, and she couldn’t care less. Maybe it’s time she felt trapped and helpless. He lunges toward her, but Dante and Robinson hold him back.

Portia looks at her computer and writes down some figures. She calculates how much it will cost to revamp the house for Curtis. Trina comes in and says she thought Portia could use some company, along with some caffeine. Portia takes a coffee from her and thanks her. Trina looks at the screen and says, that’s a lot to take in. She had no idea it was that expensive. Portia says, it will be an adjustment for all of them. She just wants to make sure Curtis is as comfortable as possible. Trina says, she will, and Portia says she’s glad Trina stopped by. It was just what she needed. Trina says she can’t take all the credit. She was at the pool with Spencer and Ace, and Spencer knew she was worried about Portia, so he suggested she come check on her. But the latte was her idea.

Spencer asks if Ace is going to throw the ball far and show all the ladies at the pool his big muscles. Esme joins them and says, there’s her boy. They look like they’re having fun. Spencer says, they’re having lots of fun, and she says she saw his text that they were going to the pool, so she thought she’d take her chances that they’d still be here. She can’t wait for him to be in the water. She asks Ace if he wants to take a swim with mommy, and removes her robe, underneath which she wears a teeny bikini.

Dex pretends to fill out a form, and sees Mason head for Austin’s office. He follows Mason at a distance. Mason walks into the office, and Austin says, no one knocks anymore. Who invited him? Betty says she did, and Austin closes the door. Mason asks what Betty’s got for him, and she says, everything he wanted. She holds up the flashdrive and says, she got the Pikeman goods on Sonny.

Nina says she’s getting the impression that no matter how much she presses, Ava’s not going to come clean. Ava says, it’s not like she’s hiding anything from Nina, but Nina says, yes, she is. Ava says she just doesn’t want to burden Nina with information that will draw her in to something that has nothing to do with her. Nina says, if it involves Sonny, it involves her, because she’s getting married to him, and Ava says, unless the truth about the SEC comes out. Nina says, don’t try to deflect, and that was mean, and Ava says she’s sorry. Nina says, if and when Ava is willing to tell her what’s going on, she’s willing to listen, and leaves.

Cody says, you wretch, throwing down the restraining order. As Robinson drags him away, Cody says he’s going to make Gladys pay for what she did to Sasha. Believe him. She’s going to pay. Robinson pushes Cody into the interrogation room, and Mac asks if Gladys is all right. She says, no, she’s not. He could have killed her. She wants Cody arrested.

Mandy tells Janice that she just heard from Dr. Kirkwood that she’s being pulled from being Sasha Gilmore’s primary caregiver. Janice asks if she said why, but Mandy says, no. The doctor just said she needs to reassign her. She wonders if she did something wrong or if Dr. Montague is unhappy with the way she was taking care of Miss Gilmore. Janice says she wouldn’t worry about it. She knows how those visiting psychiatrists are. They come in here thinking they can run this place better than we do. Don’t take it personally.

Montague injects Sasha with something, and she falls unconscious.

Esme and Spencer play in the pool with Ace, and Spencer says, a regular Michael Phelps in the making.

Michael and Willow walk into the pool area, and Ava says, nice to see Willow. Willow says, it’s nice to be seen out in public, and Ava says, she just missed Nina. Michale says, lucky for them, and Ava says she wishes they’d give Nina another chance. Willow says she’s been making an effort lately, and Ava says, that’s good. Keep in mind that her mother loves her very much, and they’ll all be better off spreading love. Michael says, Ava seems to be in a good mood, and Ava says she is. Life is good, and it’s about to get a whole helluva lot better.

Austin closes the blind on the door, while Dex lurks outside his office. Austin says he’s out. He helped them play their little games. He helped them get Pilar out, so Mary Poppins here could spy on Sonny. He’s done everything they’ve asked him to do. Yay me. Mission accomplished. Mason asks what makes him think he can just walk away, and Austin says he’s done everything Mason has asked him to do. Why can’t Mason just leave him alone? Mason says, cuz you’re not out until the boss says you’re out. You got it?

Portia tells Trina that she thinks she’s ordered everything Curtis should need, and she’s called the company to come out and make the modifications to the house. So she thinks she’s good. Trina says, there’s a lot more to this than just installing ramps. How’s Curtis going to face life in a wheelchair, and how is Portia going to watch him go through it? Portia says, it’s not about her right now. It’s about Curtis and making the house comfortable for him. And this isn’t going to be easy for him at all, but she needs Curtis home.

Curtis thanks Marshall and says he appreciates him, but he doesn’t need Marshall fighting his battles. He’s been dealing with Miss Wu for a long time, and it’s nothing he can’t handle. Marshall says he wasn’t trying to speak for Curtis, but he was afraid Curtis would consider her offer. Curtis says, why? Because he’s in a wheelchair? He doesn’t plan on being here for the rest of his life, but even if he were, he’s more than capable of running his own club. Marhsall pulls up a stool and sits, saying, he knows Curtis is. He’s sorry if he overstepped, but he also knows how much Curtis loves that place. He has every intention of keeping that place going until Curtis is ready to come back. Curtis says, Marshall doesn’t know anything about the business, but Marshall says he plans on learning from the best. That is if Curtis doesn’t mind teaching his old man a few tricks of the trade. Curtis says, it’s complicated, and Marshall says he knows it’s not going to be easy, but this is one small way he can show his gratitude for all Curtis has done for him. Curtis gave him a family. Please, let him do this. Roy comes in with the resistance bands, and asks if Curtis is ready for round two. Marhsall says he’ll get out of their way. He’ll see Curtis soon. He loves him. Curtis says he loves Marshall too, and Marshall leaves.

Gladys says, Mac saw Cody attack her. If he doesn’t arrest Cody, she’ll sue the PCPD. He says, okay, they can arrest Cody. But that means they’ll have to open up an investigation. That means Cody will have to give them a statement, and he’ll write down all his allegations against Gladys. Then it’s their duty to follow up on those claims, and if any of those accusations turn out to be true, that could mean a lot of trouble for her. Is that really what she wants? She says, he wins. She picks up the restraining order and hands it to him, saying, she expects it to be reinforced. She walks out, and Mac goes into the interrogation room. He tells Cody that he’s lucky. He convinced Gladys not to press charges, but Cody is inches away from a jail cell. Dante asks, what the hell is going on with Cody?

Montague comes out of Sasha’s room, and tells Janice that he appreciates her help regarding Miss Gilmore’s care. They don’t want to risk a lawsuit.😐He leaves, and Janice goes into Sasha’s room. Sam peeks out from around the corner, and in the room, Janice takes Sasha’s pulse. Sasha wakes up and scootches away, saying, no, no, no. Stay away from her. Leave her alone. Sam tries to look through the window, and Sasha yells, no, no, no! Stay away from me! She screams, nooo!

Tomorrow, Tracy wants to know, where are the ukuleles; Finn asks Elizabeth, what’s changed this time around; Molly says she has fantastic news; and Sam asks if there isn’t someone missing.

🛌🏼 Survey Says…

The headline is a wee bit misleading.

Emme Rylan Shares an Update on Returning to GH as Lulu

☎️ Reliable Source…

Block, report, and don’t engage. Got it.

Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson Have an Important Message for Fans

🍸 In the Meantime…

Ariana and new boyfriend live their best lives.

Ariana Madix’s Boyfriend Daniel Wai Partying With Summer House Cast While Filming
Ariana Madix Joins Dolly Parton and John Legend in NBC Olympics Ad

Lisa probably wants to keep an eye on those two idiots.

https://people.com/lisa-vanderpump-restaurant-pump-reopen-next-to-tomtom-7644296

💣 Baddest Of the Bad…

The latest in reality desperation.

https://ew.com/tv/house-of-villains-meet-the-cast-reveal/

🤎 It’s Time…

This looks like a great series.

ESSENCE MAGAZINE SERIES “TIME OF ESSENCE” DEBUTS ON OWN

🧙🏽‍♂️ Altering Their Egos…

https://ew.com/tv/see-the-best-cosplayers-from-star-wars-stranger-things-and-more-at-fan-expo-chicago/

🧚🏽‍♂️ Midsummer Night’s Dreaming…

Join me tomorrow for soap and thoughts on the Runway. Until then, stay safe, stay not being pretentious, and stay not demanding someone’s arrest when you have your own dirt to hide. It could mean a lot of trouble for you.

Aug16

August 15, 2023 – Sonny Set His Plan In Motion, New Old Face, Surprise, Best Life, Reunion Shocks, Their Talk, Every Throne, Last Word, InstaPets (!) & Never  

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Gregory sees Alexis at the pool area and says he missed her this morning at the editorial board meeting. She says, sorry about that, but she had a very good reason. She got an on the record quote from Judge Wright for his op-ed piece. He thanks her and asks why she’s at the pool; a little lunchtime swim? She says, God forbid. She has a lunch date. He says, him too.

Molly makes TJ move a vase of flowers around and tells him, make sure there are nice napkins on the table too. He asks, how nice? and she says, come on. This is important. They want to make a good first impression. He wonders if nicer napkins will make a difference, and she says she knows she’s getting carried away. She just wants everything to be perfect, because today could be the day they meet the woman who will be carrying their child.

Portia peeks in on Curtis’s physical therapy. Therapist Roy suggests a break, but Curtis says he doesn’t need one. Roy says he does. He’s not used a client starting at this pace. Most of them start slower. Curtis says he’s not most people, and Roy says he knows; Curtis is wearing him out. Curtis sees Portia in the doorway.

Brook walks into the pool area, and Nina gets up from her table. She says she’s glad she ran into Brook, and Brook asks, what’s up? Nina says she called Ferncliff to check on Sasha and they wouldn’t tell her anything, but they did tell her that Sasha can no longer have visitors. She’s a little concerned. Brook says, Nina has reason to be. When she saw Sasha the other day, Sasha was in bad shape. Brook is actually really worried about her.

Sonny goes into his office, and Ava is there. She says she needs an update about their daughter, who’s currently being cared for by the nanny from hell. Sonny says, good morning, and she says, please. She’s worried. She can’t stand the thought of Avery in the hands of that criminal. He says, she needs to relax. He has it all under control.

Gabe is standing at the door when Betty brings Avery to Sonny’s penthouse. He asks how Avery’s first day of camp was, and Avery says she loved it. He asks what she did, and Betty says she’s sure Avery could tell him all about it for hours, but they know he’s working, so they’ll leave him to his job. He lets them in, and Dex comes out from around the corner. He and Gabe nod to each other.

Dex phones Sonny and says he followed Betty and Avery back to his penthouse from day camp. Sonny says he doesn’t want Dex to let Avery out of his sight for one second. Let Betty go into the penthouse, do what she needs to do, and go about his business. They need to let Betty think she’s working hard and she’s outsmarting them. Dex says, copy that.

Betty tells Avery, that was a big first day at camp. Why doesn’t she go take a nap? Avery says, naps are for babies. She’s going to watch TV. She picks up the remote and puts the TV on.

Portia says, it looks like Curtis is working really hard, and he says he’s doing what he can, focusing on his upper body, the part that still functions. She tells him that Trina said they spoke and had a really good conversation. As a matter of fact, she called it a breakthrough. Curtis says he wouldn’t go that far. Did she say breakthrough? Portia says, she did. She thinks Trina is finally getting used to the fact she has two dads. He asks if she actually said that, and Portia says, no, but that was her interpretation. But Trina was really happy about the conversation they had and it inspired her. She was hoping they could have a similar conversation. He says, he and Trina don’t have the same issues they do, and she says she knows. He says, so how would they do that? and she says, by starting over.

TJ says, she’s coming, and Kristina stands in front of him so he can see what she’s wearing. He says he liked the other shirt better, and she turns around to change, but he says he’s kidding. She looks perfect. She thanks him, and there’s a knock at the door. He asks if she’s ready, and she says, here we go. They’re going to meet candidate number one. He opens the door, and a woman introduces herself as Andrea. Thomas? He says, yeah, but she can call him TJ, and he shakes her hand. She comes in, and Molly introduces herself. Andrea asks, what happened to her foot? and Molly says, just a stupid fall down the stairs in some ridiculous high heels, but the boot will be long gone by the time the baby arrives. TJ asks if she’d like something to drink, but Andrea says she’s fine. They sit down, and Kristina says she’s sorry if they seem nervous. Andrea is the first candidate they’re interviewing. Andrea says she understands it’s an awkward situation. They’re letting complete strangers into their home, and they’re going to ask some very personal questions. TJ says, before they get to the personal questions, let him tell her a little bit about them. He’s a doctor at GH, Molly is an attorney, working in the DA’s office, so their child will be taken care of financially. When it comes to family, they both have lots of loved ones in town who will love and help them raise their baby. Andrea says, that’s terrific. She hands Molly her résumé, and says she’s married to a great guy, Ben, and they have one child, Andy. She recently lost her job due to cutbacks, and they’re trying to supplement their incomes.

Time passes. TJ asks if there are any health issues in Andrea’s family history, and she says, not much. Her maternal grandfather died of lung cancer, but he was a heavy smoker. He died her senior year of high school, and watching him suffer like that, she’s never had a single cigarette in her life.

More time passes. Molly says, if it turns out Andrea is their surrogate, how would she feel about them attending doctor’s appointments to watch the baby’s progress? Andrea says, it never occurred to her that they wouldn’t be at every single doctor’s appointment. TJ and Molly smile at each other.

Alexis tells Gregory that she has no idea why she said it was a lunch date. It’s really not a date; it’s work related. Esme comes in, and Alexis says, there she is now. Esme says it’s great to see Gregory again, and asks if he’s joining them for lunch. He looks over at Brook, and says, no. He’s having lunch with his family. Enjoy their meal. He leaves, and Alexis and Esme go to their table.

Nina tells Brook that she can’t believe this is happening to Sasha. If she’s in such bad shape, Nina doesn’t get this no visitor’s policy. Wouldn’t it help Sasha to know people are there to support her? Brook says, you would think, but when she saw Sasha the other day, she was really upset and incoherent. It was really painful to watch. It was like she was having a complete break with reality. Nina says she doesn’t get it. Sasha was doing so great. This doesn’t make any sense. Brook says, let’s just hope she’s getting the help she deserves, and looks over at Gregory checking out his phone. She says, if Nina will excuse her, her lunch companion is here, and goes over to Gregory.

Gregory tells Brook, it’s nice to see her. He thought Chase would be coming with her for their lunch. She says, he just texted her that he’s going to be late, so for now, it looks like it’s just the two of them.

Ava says she doesn’t know how Sonny can be so calm, knowing their daughter is with that dangerous woman, but he says, Avery is never going to be alone with Betty. Dex has been tailing her all day. Gabe is outside the door. They’re going to let her go in the penthouse and look for things. Then Dex is going to make his presence known. Ava says she’ll feel so much better when this is over, and he says he will too. But in the meantime, Gabe and Dex are going to make sure Avery is safe. They’re just going to wait for Betty to find what he planted for her.

Brook tells Gregory that she’s so sorry Chase is going to be late. He knows how super dedicated Chase is. He says, no need to apologize. It’s nice seeing Chase so happy being a detective again. He’s proud of the work Chase does. Brook says, her too, and he says, besides, this gives them a chance to get to know each other better. He knows her passion’s in the music business, but she runs social media for Deception. So tell him, what did she study in college?

Esme asks, what’s the purpose of the lunch? What is Alexis trying to figure out about her this time? Alexis says she understands that because of Esme’s experiences with other Cassadines, Esme finds it hard to trust her. What she can tell Esme is that she’s been very upfront about the reasons she hired her. Other than that, she has no agenda. Esme says, Alexis can understand why she’s a little suspicious, and Alexis says she can, but it’s a beautiful day and she didn’t want to have another salad at her desk. Esme says, so Alexis just invited her here because she wanted to get out of the office? and Alexis says, that, and she believes an employer needs to let an employee know when they’re doing a good job. And Esme, as of late, has been doing a good job. She thanks Esme for digging in and trying harder. Esme asks if she really means that.

Andrea says, if TJ and Molly don’t have any other questions, she just wants to assure them that she’s thought about this a lot, and if she was ever going to be a surrogate, it feels like the perfect time. Her child’s just a baby, so he won’t remember it or thinking he’s having a little brother or sister. TJ says, that’s very sensitive of her, and she thanks him. He says, it was nice to meet her. They’ll be in touch. He’ll walk her out. Which in Port Charles means, he’ll walk her to the door. Molly says, it was nice to meet her, and Andrea says, her too. TJ thanks her again, and she leaves. He tells Molly that he liked her… a lot, and Molly says, her too. He says, ready for number two? and she says, number one is going to be hard to beat.

Curtis tells Portia, it’s too much; he can’t do it. She says, what’s too much? and he says, you and me. He’s trying to adapt to life in a wheelchair. He and Trina are starting to figure things out, and he can’t deal with a relationship on top of all that. She says she understands where he’s coming from, but he doesn’t have to learn to live life in a wheelchair all by himself. He has people to lean on. She’s here. She’s right here for him and so is Trina. Roy comes back, and asks if Curtis is ready for round two. Curtis gets his wheelchair in position.

Alexis tells Esme, in her experience, we’re the sum of our parts, and Esme says, which means what? Alexis says, it means people may forgive you, but they’re not going to forget what you’ve done. Esme has had a very high profile, very negative past. She understands Esme may not remember that version of herself, but others will, and may be slow to trust her. Esme says, thanks for the pep talk, and Alexis says, pep talks have chapters. That chapter was about her past. The next chapter is about an opportunity that awaits her. In business, people have to prove themselves, day after day, and every day is an opportunity for her to change the image of what she was before to somebody that can be trusted. Does Esme see what she’s saying? Esme nods, and Alexis says, she got off to a spectacularly bad beginning, but she now seems to have turned a corner and is able to handle this job. Esme thanks her and says she thinks she can. The inner workings of The Invader really interest her; all the moving parts, and how when a story drops, it can change on a dime. It’s really exciting. Can she ask Alexis a question? Alexis says, that depends on what the question is, and Esme says, it’s about her job as editor. Spencer told her that this is a second career for Alexis; that she used to be a bigshot lawyer. Does she ever miss her old life?

Brook repeats Gregory’s question, and says, what did she study in college? She did go to PCU for a year, but it didn’t really work out. He says, that’s too bad. He’s sure his being a professor all those years has made him bias. Has she ever thought about going back and getting her degree? Brook says, college was never really her thing. Let’s just say she had a pretty unconventional childhood. Her parents split when she was pretty young, and she went back and forth a lot, between Brooklyn and upstate New York. He says he’d imagine living with a single mom versus life in a posh family mansion could be challenging for a little girl, and she says, especially with two extremely different extended families. The Cerullos and the Quartermaines. The Cerullos are loving and loud and artsy, and the Quartermaines are intense and loud and business centric. He says he knows. He met her grandmother. She says, right. Her grandmother really gets under his skin, doesn’t she? She has to say, she’s never seen anyone get under her grandmother’s skin like he has. He really pushes her grandmother’s buttons.

TJ welcomes the next candidate, whose name is Chelsea. She says she’s divorced, and she and her ex do a pretty good job co-parenting their two kids. She hands them her résumé and says, she’s in good health. She’ll be honest. She’s doing this to get ahead financially. Although she loves being pregnant, and her kids bring her so much joy. Molly asks how her second pregnancy was different from her first one, and Chelsea says she was so anxious and nervous during her first pregnancy. Every rumble, every bump, she was afraid it wasn’t normal because she’d never been pregnant before, but with baby number two, it was so easy. She was like, she knows what that feeling means now. TJ asks if she’d be open to reading to their baby while she’s pregnant or listening to certain music, and Chelsea says, that’s a total yes. During both pregnancies she read to the babies and she played music for them, everything from classical to classic rock. She’s a big Aerosmith fan. She loves baseball, and both of her pregnancies were during the summer, so they watched a lot of baseball.

Molly asks if Chelsea follows any kind of special dietary plan when she’s pregnant, and Chelsea says she doesn’t normally eat read meat, fish and chicken mostly, but she went with what the baby was craving. Baby number one was really into chicken, but baby number two wasn’t really into meat. She got most of her protein from tofu. Full disclosure, she doesn’t think she’ll ever eat tofu again. They all laugh.

Portia introduces herself to Roy, and vice versa. She says she was wondering if it was okay if she stayed and watched the rest of the session. She wants to see how she can help Curtis. A woman walks in with towels, and Roy asks her to take Curtis over to the bands and get him started with his stretching exercises. She wheels Curtis away, and Portia says, it looks like he’s doing really well. What can she do to help? Roy says he’s been working with people with spine injuries for a lot of years. It’s an emotional experience as well as a physical one, so he has to ask. What exactly does she think she can do for Curtis?

Gregory says, Brook’s grandmother definitely pushes his buttons, and Brook says, her grandmother has never shied away from conflict. If anything, she runs toward it. She knows it can be a lot, but Tracy can be very loving, just not in your typical grandmother way. She’s not the type of grandmother who would knit or bake you cookies. But if she could say one thing about Tracy Quartermaine, it would be that when she loves you, she will always have your back. He says, okay, but what does that mean in actuality? Why does Brook need Tracy to have her back? Chase arrives and apologizes for being late; work held him up. Brook says, it’s all good. They know how important his job is to him, especially with all those months away from it. Gregory says, anything he can talk about? and Chase sits down, saying, he can’t go into details, but he is actually working on several different cases. Did they find something to talk about? Gregory says, they did. They were discussing the importance of an education. Brook says she 100% agrees with that.

Sonny tells Ava, whoever Betty is working for is very determined to find out about his deal with Pikeman. So he put out some false information that Betty is going to find and take that false information right back to her boss. And then they’re going to figure out who she’s working for. It’s what you call cutting the snake off at the head. Ava says, that sounds great, but what she really needs is Nikolas’s body back.

Betty says she thinks if Avery wasn’t so tired, she wouldn’t be fighting her on this. She really needs to rest and take a nap. Avery says, no. She wants to watch cartoons. Betty says, all right then. If she won’t nap, will she watch them on her tablet using headphones? Betty holds the tablet and headphones out, and Avery takes them.

Gabe asks when Dex is going inside, and Dex says he’ll give it a few more minutes. Give Betty time to start looking around. Nina walks up and asks if everything is okay. Dex says, everything’s fine, and Nina says she left a few things… Dex blocks the door and says he’s sorry. He can’t let her inside.

Alexis tells Esme, yes, she misses being a lawyer very much. She misses standing up in front of a judge and jury, and advocating for her client’s rights. Having said that, she thinks she’s done a reasonably good job turning The Invader into something more positive. Esme asks if there are any similarities, and Alexis says, that’s a very good question. Actually, yes. In all legal cases, facts are important; so is the presentation equally important. She needs to make sure the judge and the jury think the facts she’s presenting are interesting and important. So it’s the same when writing stories for a newspaper. Headlines have to be authentic, but they also have to grab the attention of the reader. Esme asks if that’s how she turned the paper around. Spencer told her the paper used to be trash, but now it’s a well-regarded news source. Alexis says, that’s very nice to hear. And speaking of her favorite nephew, how is it cohabitating with him now that Laura and Doc aren’t there to referee?

Chase thanks Brook for ordering for him, and says, she always knows what he wants. She says, he seems to like everything, so it’s easy, and Gregory says he has a question. Chase says, go for it, and Gregory asks if they’ve discussed their future together. Chase says, dad! and Gregory says he didn’t pester Brook while they were waiting for him. He waited until they were both here. Brook excuses herself to go to the ladies room, and Chase tells Gregory, thank you for that. Gregory asks what he said that was so wrong. Life is short. You need to have a plan. Chase says, they haven’t been a couple for very long, and Gregory asks if they’ve talked about the future. How do they know they want the same things? Have they discussed having kids? Where they want to live? Whether they want to get married? Chase says, no, no, and definitely no, and Gregory says, no, they don’t want to get married, or no they haven’t talked about it? Chase says, they haven’t talked about it because they’re not there yet. He doesn’t understand. Why is Gregory in such a rush?

TJ says, candidate number three, Pamela Reed. She’s a single mom. There’s a knock at the door, he lets Pamela in, and they all introduce themselves. As Pamela loads a plate with snacks, Molly says, they read her file, but they’d like to hear in her own words why she wants to be a surrogate. Pamela says she’s a single mom. Her son is school age, so the pregnancy will be manageable. She works from home as a translator, so it’s not physically demanding, but to be perfectly honest, her son’s father’s not in the picture, so the extra money will be a big help for them. Molly asks what her diet is like, and Pamela says, honestly, it’s based on what she can afford, but if they want her to eat healthier foods, she’d totally be down for that, as long as they picked up the tab. She shovels some crackers into her mouth.

TJ says he’s a doctor, so it’s important they know her medical history. Are there any serious medical conditions that run in Pamela’s family? She says, her grandpa died of prostate cancer, but his doctor told them, if they live long enough, every man will eventually get it. He would be 87. She continues to eat, and Molly asks, who is her current OB/GYN, and does she know which hospital they’re affiliated with? Pamela says she just goes to the free clinic to save money, but they’re picking up her hospital bills, so she’ll have any fancy General Hospital doctor they want. Also, for how many months after she delivers will they continue picking up her doctor’s bills? Until her body goes back to normal?

Sonny tells Ava, like he said before, Avery is never going to be alone with Betty. He knows she’s nervous and he gets that, but she has to trust that he’s handling it. She says, nothing can happen to her, and he says, nothing’s going to happen. He said that already. She says, okay. What about Nikolas’s body? His body’s still out there. Who knows? Maybe their plan ends with her in prison. He says, focus. Austin and Mason are working for some mysterious boss. They’re probably the ones who have the body. So she wants to get the body back? They have to figure out who they’re dealing with.

Nina says, what does Dex mean, he can’t let her in? She practically lives here. Dex says he totally understands that, and under normal circumstances, he’d let her right in, but he can’t do that. Gabe says, boss’s orders, and she asks if he’s saying Sonny instructed them not to let her in. Dex says, not her specifically; they can’t let anyone in. She says she’s not just anyone; she’s his fiancé. Dex says he’s sorry, and Nina says, this is unbelievable. She stomps off, and Gabe tells Dex, it’s showtime.

Betty looks at the pile of mail on the mantel, when Dex walks in. He asks what she thinks she’s doing. Avery says hi to Dex, and Betty says she was just looking for some art supplies for Avery. (Wow. Looking for art supplies in a pile of mail? I thought she was good at her job.) But on second thought, maybe she’d be better off with a nap. Avery says, Betty told her that she didn’t have to take a nap, and Betty says, as Dex can see, she has her hands full. Maybe it would be better if they didn’t have any more interruptions. Dex says he’s so sorry. He didn’t mean to bother anyone. He tells Avery bye, and Avery puts her headphones back on. In the hallway, Dex tells Gabe, Betty doesn’t want to be disturbed.

Gregory says, Chase is right. No rush. As long as he’s happy. Chase says he’s happier than he’s been his entire life, and Gregory says he can’t tell Chase how pleased he is to hear that. Brook returns to the table and says, hear what? Gregory says, Chase was just telling him how happy he is, and Brook says, Chase is always happy. Has he always been that way? Nothing ever seems to get him down.

Esme tells Alexis that she’s right. She was worried when Laura said she and Doc were going to look for Nikolas. They’ve been such a good buffer between her and Spencer, but things are actually turning out better than she expected with him. Alexis says, that’s good, and Esme says, they’re really finding their rhythm together. He loves Ace. He sings to him and never complains about changing a diaper. And he always finds a way to make Ace laugh. He makes her laugh… but of course (🍷) she can’t wait for Laura and Doc to get back. But it is kind of funny how things work out. Alexis only offered her the job as a favor to Laura so she would stay in town with Ace, but it turns out, she’s really enjoying this job. Alexis says, all right then. Just keep doing a good job and it will be a win for everyone. She looks over and sees Gregory having difficulty signing for the check.

TJ says, they’ll let Pamela know as soon as they decide, and she says, nice meeting them. She leaves, taking a water with her, and TJ asks Molly what she thinks.

Portia says she guesses Curtis didn’t tell Roy, she’s not just his wife; she’s also a doctor. She just wants to help her husband as much as she can. He says, of course (🍷) she does, but she has to remember, Curtis’s life has taken a very unexpected turn, one he didn’t see coming. He has to figure this out for himself. She says she knows that. She just wants to be there for her husband every step of the way. She knows it’s going to take some time. He says, Curtis is at the point in his recovery where accepting any help, including from his doctor, is going to be difficult for him, a real struggle. Inserting herself into his recovery could do more harm than good. She’s going to have to be very patient with Curtis while he figures this out. She has to work on Curtis’s timetable, not hers.

Betty snoops around Sonny’s home office and gets on his laptop. She puts Pikeman in the search and a bunch of files come up.

Nina walks into Sonny’s office at Pozzulo’s, and he asks how she’s doing. She says, the better question is, why wasn’t she allowed into their home? What is going on at the penthouse?

Chase and Brook leave, and Alexis asks if she can join Gregory. He says, please, have a seat, and she thanks him. She asks, how was lunch? and he says, fantastic. Brook is very special. She makes his son very happy, and he thinks they’re starting to get serious. She says, that’s nice to hear. What else is going on? He says, oh. She saw him struggling with the check. She says she did, and he says, fortunately for him, they were so wrapped up in each other, they didn’t seem to notice. She says she’s sorry, and he says, it’s getting worse. He thinks he’s running out of time.

TJ tells Molly that he thinks it’s safe to say they both like Pamela, and Molly sarcastically says, yeah, tossing the folder on the table. She says, Pamela seemed so focused on the money, she has the feeling that no matter what contract they offered her, she’d manage to ask for more. TJ says, agreed. They both like Andrea and Chelsea. Molly says, let’s go with Andrea. She has a really good feeling about her, and they’ll know they have a back-up in Chelsea. This is really happening. He says, it’s an important first step, and they hug.

Roy tells Curtis, so much of his strength is going to come from his arms. So do a few reps using his arms to move his body straight up. Curtis says he can do that, and Roy says, he’s got this. That’s it. Push. Curtis lifts himself up, and Roy says, that’s good. Do another one. Portia lingers in the doorway like mold, and Curtis does another rep.

Sonny tells Nina, everything’s fine. There’s nothing to worry about. He promises. Nina asks what Ava is doing here, and Ava says she’s here to talk to Sonny about Avery, that’s all. But she’ll go. She’ll let them talk. Ava jets, and Nina asks why Sonny’s guards wouldn’t let her into the penthouse. And why is Ava acting so squirrely? (I love that word!) He says, it’s best she doesn’t know, and she says, they had a talk about this. He says, yes, he’s an open book, but there are some things she should not know for her own safety. He’s protecting his family. That’s all he can tell her, and he hopes that’s enough. She says she guesses she doesn’t have a choice, does she? But she’s going to tell him this before she goes. This just makes her feel like another one of his employees. She leaves, glancing back at him before going out the door.

Dex slips into the penthouse, and Avery takes her headphones off. He gestures for her to keep quiet, and she puts them back on.

In the office, Betty chooses a file, and takes a flashdrive out of her pocket. She copies the file onto it, takes the flashdrive out, closes the laptop, and looks all proud of herself.

Tomorrow, Nina asks Ava what they’re celebrating; Selina says she’d like to take The Savoy off Curtis’s hands; Michael asks Dex why his father has Dex following the doctor; and Cody tells Brook, it’s time for them to do something drastic.

🏥 Return Trip…

How cool that he won a contest to get on the show.

Who Is Roy on GENERAL HOSPITAL?

🕶 Extended Run…

Another amazing start. Seems like he’s been around forever.

Maurice Benard Reveals How Six Months Turned Into 30 Years at GH

⛲️ No Greek Tragedy Here…

I would love to swim in that blue, blue water.

Kelly Thiebaud Shares Her Amazing Pics From Greece!

👠 Seismic Wives…

Another matter of opinion. What about Teresa bouncing Andy back into his chair? Or when the bird got in and scared the crap out of Andy?

The Most Shocking Real Housewives Reunions

📺 Seduced By Reality…

My favorite part was Kate explaining some of the shows to Captain Lee. There were times when it was reminiscent of Jake explaining SpongeBob SquarePants to Evelyn on Two and a Half Men.

Captain Lee Surprised by ‘Seductive’ Reality TV Shows He Watched for Couch Talk With Kate Chastain

🐉 Spinning the Game…

While we all wait for George R. R. Martin to finish the damn book.

https://ew.com/tv/game-of-thrones-every-spinoff-in-development/

🌁 Getting There…

I don’t imagine the writers’ strike did them any favors.

https://bamsmackpow.com/2023/08/15/the-last-of-us-season-2-everything-we-know-so-far/

🐩 It’s Okay To Like Them Better…

I’ll bet their posts are better too.

https://people.com/celebrity-pets-with-their-own-instagram-accounts-7567698

🥣 Rounding Out the Meal…

For whatever reason, it looks like no making fun of the OC tomorrow, but stop by for soap and whatever else makes its way here. Until then, stay safe, stay not jumping the line, and stay being aware of when inserting yourself will do more harm than good.

Aug15

August 14, 2023 – Olivia Accepts Ned As Eddie, Off Screen Time, Big Apple Wives, Parting Is No Sorrow, VanderFlip, Talking Off Deck, Bubble Bear & Too Cool

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Olivia sets out towels on the chaise lounges, when Dante comes in and asks if she doesn’t have people to do that for her. She says she does, but doing it herself keeps her busy and keeps her from constantly worrying. He says, about Ned? and she says she misses him. Even when they were at the PCPD last night, it felt all kinds of wrong. Dante says, Ned didn’t want to come with them. Sonny’s got him; he’ll be fine. She says she knows and knows she can trust Sonny. She’s just got to come to terms with the fact that she lost her husband. He asks if she’s going to give up on Ned.

Ned walks in while Sonny is on the phone with Selina. Sonny says, she can’t go over there conducting business without letting him know first. Does she understand what he’s saying? Are they clear? After holding his head a moment, Ned walks to the door, and Sonny asks where he’s going. Ned says he needs some coffee, but Sonny says, they have coffee here. He’ll have Garciella make him a fresh… Ned says he needs some space, and leaves.

Carly walks into Sonny’s old kitchen with Josslyn and says she can’t believe Josslyn had her phone off. The moss bowl🎍disapproves, and Josslyn says she’s sorry. Carly says, what if there had been an emergency? What if Michael and Willow needed her? What if Donna needed her? What if the moss bowl🎍needed her? Josslyn says she knows. She woke up this morning to all of Carly’s texts and voicemails and freaked out. She can’t stop thinking about how she left Carly at the PCPD overnight. Carly says she’s the one who got in a bar fight, and Josslyn asks if Carly wants to tell her about that. What was she doing at the Highsider?

Dex tells Sonny that Betty’s on her way up, and Sonny says he wants Dex to listen and stay out of sight. Outside, Betty tells the guard that she’s here to see Sonny, and he knocks on the door. Sonny opens it, and tells Betty to come in. He says he appreciates her coming by before she went to Windymere to pick up Avery. She says, it’s her pleasure, as Dex listens in. Whatever she can do to make Sonny and Ava’s life easier. Sonny says he appreciates that, and she says she hopes everything is all right with Avery and her. Sonny says, Avery is great. So far, so good. She seems to be getting along with Betty. Betty says she’s so happy to hear that. Avery’s adorable and they’ve been having fun. Sonny says, good, because there’s been a change in plans.

The firemen are combing Anna’s house, when Valentin walks in. He tells her that the fire department and the police are wrapping things up. He passed along her appreciation for doing what they could to save her townhouse. She sits on the stairs looking at a framed photo, and he says he thinks they should go. She says she knows; there’s nothing left here. She runs her hands over the photo, and we see it’s Robin and Emma. She says, there’s nothing left of her life.

Betty asks, what’s changed? and Sonny says, she’s taking Avery to camp today, right? She says, that was her plan. She’s picking up Avery from Windymere this morning, then take her to day camp. He asks when camp is finished, and she says, three. Then she’ll bring Avery back here, if that’s okay with him. He asks if she’s going to stay with Avery until it’s finished, and she says she was planning to, unless he or Ava need her to do something for them. He tells her to stay with Avery. He has a business meeting he can’t miss and won’t be back until after five. So stay with Avery until he gets back. Can she do that for him? She says, of course (🍷). She looks forward to the time she gets to spend with Avery. She’s such a sweetheart. Dex continues to listen, and Sonny says, she’s clear on what Ava needs her to do, right? It was funny. He was worried to change nannies because Avery’s so attached to Pilar, but Betty seems so sweet, and Avery seems to be taken with her. She says she knows how hard change can be for a child, so she’s glad to hear Avery is adjusting so well. Sonny says he’ll see her around five, and she leaves. Dex comes back out.

Austin goes into his office, and Mason is behind the door. He says, hey, cuz, and Austin says, why is he always here? Mason says, good morning to him too, closing the door, and Austin says he doesn’t want Mason here. What does he want this time? Mason says, one of the reasons the boss paid for Austin to go to medical school was so he’d be available to them, and right now, he’s in need. Austin says, no, he’s not. He patched Mason up last night. It wasn’t a serious injury. There was no need for him to come back. Mason says, tell that to his headache. He just needs something for the pain, and he’s still seeing double from when that blonde conked him last night.

Carly says, it all started when she went to the MetroCourt last night to see Olivia, and Josslyn says, how was that? She knows they’ve been having a hard time. Carly says, it was weird. Olivia is in her old office. Josslyn says, that’s tough. She’s sorry. At least Nina didn’t take advantage of that opportunity to steal that again. Carly tells her that Olivia said she’d never let that happen… She misses the MetroCourt. She misses her staff. She misses the day to day problems and all the excitement that comes with it. She misses the guests. It made her more determined than ever to get her hotel back, and she will. Josslyn says she has no doubt, and Carly says, she and Olivia were hanging out and reminiscing about the day they met. Olivia is going through so much with Ned, and she’s worried about Drew. They needed a distraction, so they went to the Highsider. Josslyn asks if she found her distraction before the cops showed up, and Carly says, things got really crazy really quickly, but it wasn’t their fault.

Olivia tells Dante, of course (🍷) she hasn’t given up on Ned. How could she? He’s Leo’s father. He says, she can’t just do this for Leo, and she says she’s doing it for their family. For Leo’s sake as much as hers, she has to figure out who Eddie is. She doesn’t know what’s going on in that head of his. He may never go back to being Ned. Dante says, wow. Does she think she can accept that? She says she doesn’t know. It kind of freaks her out. She looks at him and expects to see Ned, and all she sees is Eddie. He’s all Eddie now. Ned has completely disappeared and she has to figure out a way of living with that, so that he’s not fighting against her and she’s not trying to completely control him. Dante’s phone rings, and he tells her, it’s the station, sorry, but she tells him not to apologize. Take it. He steps away and asks, what’s up?… What happened?… He’s on his way. He tells Olivia, there was a fire in Anna’s townhome last night, and she asks if everyone is okay. He says he doesn’t know. He’ll let her know. He hugs her, and she thanks him for rescuing her last night. He tells her, good luck with Eddie, and leaves.

Valentin says he shouldn’t have gone to ELQ last night, and sits next to Anna. She says, he can’t blame himself for this, but he says he should have been here with her. She says, he didn’t know this was going to happen. He has a business to run. He can’t babysit her all the time. He says, this could have ended very badly. She could have been upstairs sleeping in bed. She says she wasn’t. She went for a run, thank God. He says, they got lucky, but she says she doesn’t know. He asks what that means, and she says she doesn’t know if the arsonist was outside, waiting for her to leave or they assumed she was asleep upstairs. He says, let’s hope for the former. He doesn’t much like the sound of the second one. This whole thing started when his father outed her past as a double agent, and he got what he wanted. Someone has made her a target of their revenge.

Sonny says that he wants all eyes on Betty, especially when she’s with Avery, and Dex says, absolutely. He hands Sonny a small envelope, and Sonny asks if it’s from Brick. Dex says, yes. It arrived this morning. Sonny takes out a flashdrive, and Dex asks what it is. Sonny says, a special present, for Betty. There’s a lot of information on this flashdrive, fabricated by Brick, none of it accurate, and Betty is going to find it. Dex asks how they make sure she gets her hands on it, and Sonny says, Betty is going to be here with Avery for a few hours, and she’s not going to resist searching the place. And she’s going to be pleasantly surprised at what she finds on Sonny’s computer – false Pikeman data. Dex says, then what? and Sonny says, she’s going to bring it to Mason and Austin, and they’re going to bring it to whoever they work for.

Carly tells Josslyn, when they got the Highsider, Ned was there, and she wanted to find out for herself if he’d lost his memory and really thought he was Eddie. Josslyn asks if he remembered turning her into the SEC, and Carly says, no, but Olivia gave her some alone time with him. That’s when some guy came up to Olivia and wouldn’t take no for an answer and kept grabbing her. Josslyn says, ew! And that’s when Carly stepped in? Carly says, no. Ned jumped in before she could, and that’s when the fight started. Josslyn says she doesn’t understand. Why were Carly, Ned, and Olivia arrested, when someone else started it? Carly says she doesn’t know. When the cops showed up, the guy must have snuck out the back. Olivia was really upset about that, and got a little aggressive with one of the cops, and that’s when they got arrested. Josslyn says, never a dull moment. She’s so sorry for leaving Carly there all night. She feels so bad. Carly tells her not to worry about it. Honestly, she could have left earlier if she’d let Sonny sign her out. Josslyn asks why she didn’t. She thought Carly was all let’s forgive and forget when it comes to Sonny. So much so, she has Dex watching him and reporting back to Michael. She doesn’t understand. If Carly cares about him, why wouldn’t she let him help her?

Anna tells Valentin that Victor put a target on her back. He’s probably smiling up at all the hell he sent her. Valentin says, even from beyond the grave, he won’t stop inflicting pain, and Anna says, in the beginning, she thought his motive was to get her kicked out of the WSB, but she thinks it was a lot bigger than that. She hurt a lot of people. He says, she paid for that, but she says she doesn’t know. People suffered because of what she did. He can’t deny that. People died, and who did they leave behind? Children, lovers… How did it affect them? One life touches a lot of people, and someone out there wants her to pay for what she did. Obviously, she doesn’t blame them for wanting that. He tells her, stop. Don’t say that. She doesn’t deserve any of this. Whoever is after her, whatever they think they’ve lost, it does not justify revenge. She says, since when?

While distributing menu cards, Olivia finds Ned in the pool area, and says she’s surprised to see him here this morning. Same outfit he had on at the bar last night, huh? He says he doesn’t have too many changes of clothes over at Sonny’s, but he’s glad she’s here. She asks, why? What’s going on? He says he wanted to see her, but didn’t want to run the risk of going to the house and bumping into Tracy. She says, Tracy can be a lot to take first thing in the morning, and he says he can only imagine. So how is she doing after last night? She says she’s doing okay, but she wouldn’t have been if he hadn’t stepped in and defended her from that creep, so she thanks him for that. He says, don’t mention it, and she asks how he is. He says he’s okay, and she says, the guy landed a few good punches on Ned; he hit Ned pretty hard. Ned says he’s definitely feeling it this morning, and she suggests getting him some ice, but he says he’s fine. He’s just glad she’s okay. She says she’s glad he’s okay too, and he says he should get going. She says, Eddie… wait.

Carly tells Josslyn, watching out for Sonny, and making sure his businesses are stable, is very different from accepting help from him. Josslyn asks, why is it different? She doesn’t understand. Carly says, they’ve talked about this. Sonny has got to stay strong. If he loses power, they’re no longer safe. Josslyn says, they’re not married anymore, so why would that affect her? and Carly says she agrees. In a normal situation, it shouldn’t affect her, but she already told Josslyn, because of who Sonny is, they’re all affected. If Sonny is weak, then his kids and everyone around him are targets. That includes Donna, Avery, Michael, Josslyn, Dante, her… especially her. (Um… and Kristina?) Josslyn says she just doesn’t like that Carly has to protect him, and Carly says she gets that, but Josslyn needs to understand, this is the way things are, and she and Sonny will always be connected. Josslyn says, so that’s why she wants Dex and Michael working together to protect him, and Carly says, yes, exactly. Josslyn asks if that’s the only reason.

Sonny tells Dex, Ava got herself in a complicated situation. She’s being blackmailed by Austin’s cousin Mason. He doesn’t want to bore Dex with the details. Dex says he understands, but does Sonny think Austin is in on the blackmailing? Sonny says, Ava doesn’t think so, but he’s not 100% sure Austin is innocent in all this. So he had Brick run intel on Austin, Mason, and Betty. They’re from Pautuck. Mason and Austin are cousins; Betty used to work for Mason’s family’s trucking company. They sold out a few years ago. It’s unknown who bought it out, but it was purchased through a shell company; no criminal record. Dex says, so Mason blackmailed Ava into hiring Betty as Avery’s new nanny, giving her access to Sonny and the penthouse, and Sonny says, yeah. Here’s the thing. Betty doesn’t know Ava came clean with him, and Ava thinks Mason and Austin are working for somebody else. Dex says, any idea who? and Sonny says, somebody who wants information on his Pikeman deal.

Mason asks if Austin is going to give him something for this headache, when Betty slips into the office. Austin says, this is not a clubhouse. He’s actually a doctor and actually has patients to see. So they’re going to have to have their little treehouse meeting some other place. Betty says she has business to discuss with both of them, and Mason says, Austin might be the fancy doctor with a medical degree and all, but he’s just an employee like the rest of them and does as the boss tells him. Speaking of which, does Betty have good news for them? She says, better than good. She’s taking Sonny’s daughter to day camp this morning, then back to his penthouse. Sonny will be away at a business meeting. That should give her two hours to get some information on Pikeman. Mason says, didn’t he tell Austin that it was worth it to get Betty in there?

Anna says, Valentin understands this though. He wanted revenge on her for years. He says, but then he realized it was her sister Alex all along, and she says, but revenge feels like the answer – that’s her point – but it’s not. It feels like it’s going to take away the pain, but sometimes it really just magnifies the whole thing. He says, it certainly did with him, and she says, someone out there is hurting, maybe because of the decisions she made. And putting a target on her back, burning her house down, makes it feel righteous because of the things she did in her past. Dante arrives and tells Anna that he’s so sorry. She thanks him, and he says he’s glad she’s not hurt. He says hello to Valentin, and tells Anna that he knows his timing can’t be worse, but if she’s feeling up to it, he could use a statement. She says, protocol, she gets it, and he says he’ll give her a lift to the station. She says, that’d be great, and Valentin says he’ll go with her, but she says she can handle this on her own. He asks, why? and she says she’ll see him later, leaving with Dante.

Sonny says, Brick filled the flashdrive with all kinds of false information, and Dex asks if it will be convincing enough. Sonny says, Brick is the best at what he does. Mason and Betty are going to think it’s the real deal and deliver it to their boss. Dex asks how feeding them false information helps Sonny, and Sonny says, Brick installed sophisticated tracking software. So whoever has access to this flashdrive is going to allow Brick entry into their records and their network. Once he finds out who these Pautuck yahoos are reporting to, he’s going to take care of them and their boss. Dex says, so they have to make sure Betty finds that flashdrive, and Sonny says he has to make sure she doesn’t know he’s leading her to it. Dex asks, what’s the plan? and Sonny says he’s going to take Donna over to Carly’s, and since there’s not going to be anybody here when Betty brings Avery from camp, Dex is going to handle what happens next.

Austin says, this is so great. Betty having access to Sonny’s penthouse, she’ll have hours there by herself, and can gather up all the information she can find and pass it on to the boss. Then his favorite part, the two of them gone and out of his and Ava’s life for good. He walks to the door, and Mason says, for a person who went to medical school and became a doctor, Austin is pretty dumb. Why on earth would he ever let Austin go when he still has use for him? Austin wonders how he knew Mason was going to say that, and Mason says, because Austin delivered the grand prize – Ava and her little kid. That gave the boss major leverage on Sonny. Austin says, the last thing he wanted was Ava involved in this, and definitely didn’t want her child involved, but Betty says, too late for that. Mason says he knows Austin. Play the hero for Ava all he wants, but in the end, he’s still about himself.

Carly tells Josslyn that she knows her stance on Sonny is confusing and hypocritical, but their lives are intertwined, and that’s a fact. Josslyn says she understands, and Carly says, and they share a child, one they love and adore. And all their other kids. There’s Josslyn and Michael and Dante and Kristina (oh, she remembered). And Morgan. The loss of a child, they’ll be bonded over that forever. There’s so much that she and Sonny share. Josslyn says she knows that. That still doesn’t mean it’s not impossible for Carly. Carly laughs, and says, yeah, it’s hard. It’s hard, but they’re moving forward in their relationship. Sonny’s going to marry Nina; she’s with Drew. She’s just focusing on the future. It’s all she can do. Josslyn says she just doesn’t know how Carly is doing that with him, and Carly says, because she has to. She doesn’t have a choice. This is where they are. And being in a never-ending war with Sonny is not productive and it’s not healthy. Josslyn says she doesn’t think this is healthy for Carly. She doesn’t think Sonny is healthy for any of them. Carly says she knows everything that has happened and everything they’ve been through, but at the end of the day, Sonny is still family and they can’t forget that.

Ned asks Olivia if this is another pitch to get him into therapy or to bond with the Quartermaines. Because if it is, she can save her breath. She says, on the contrary; it’s the opposite of that. She knows it took her a little while to get her head around this, but she realizes it now. He’s not Ned anymore; he’s Eddie. He says he’s surprised to hear her say that, and she tells him, as much as she’d like to wrestle him to the ground and force him back to being Ned, she can’t do that. He’s not Ned anymore. He says, no, he’s not, and she says, he’s changed, and he’s got to be true to how he feels and who he is now. And he’s not hurting anybody by living as Eddie, so… He says he’s hurting her and he’s sorry. And he’s sorry for hurting Leo, and Brook, and even Tracy. But if he’s being honest with himself, he has to live as him, Eddie, because that’s all he knows how to be. She says, and she’s got to respect that.

At the station, Dante tells Anna, according to the fire chief’s report, the physical evidence found at her house indicates it was arson. Some kind of flammable liquid was ignited. She was at the house when it happened? She shakes her head and says, she’d gone for this short run; she needed to clear her head. He says she didn’t see anything or anyone suspicious, right? and she says, no. He says he was at her house around 10:30 last night, and she told him that Valentin went to ELQ. She says, there was a water main break, and it was threatening the mainframe computer, and he asks what time Valentin came back. She says, Valentin didn’t come back to her house last night, and he asks if Valentin spent the night at ELQ, but she says she doesn’t know. She didn’t see him until this morning. Dante asks what time he went over to ELQ, but she says she’s not sure. Obviously, it was before Dante turned up. What is he getting at? He says he’s just covering all the bases. She knows how this works. She says she does, and he says he’s just got to make a quick call. He’ll be right back. In the hallway, he makes a call and asks if they can pull the security footage from the ELQ parking garage for last night. He’s trying to find out when Valentin Cassadine’s car entered the parking lot, and if it ever left… And report this back to him only please. He goes back in and tells Anna, let’s find out who had motive for that fire.

Carly thanks Sonny for bringing Donna to the house, so she didn’t have to go all the way to his place. He says he’ll take any time he can with Donna and the moss bowl🎍. Carly has raised a smart and independent young lady. She says, they both have, and Donna couldn’t stop telling her about how much fun Sonny’s sleepover was last night. He says, they had a great time. What about her? The moss bowl🎍 laughs, and he asks if she enjoyed her time in jail. She says, no, she didn’t. He says, then why didn’t she let him sign her out? Was it her pride?

Eddie/Ned thanks Olivia for respecting him. He gets that this is really hard on her. She says, it hasn’t been easy, that’s for sure, and he says he wants to apologize for disappearing on her yesterday. She was being really nice and supportive, and listening to him play his music. And when she went to get him something to drink, he snuck off. He’s sorry for not letting her know he was leaving. She thanks him for saying that, and says she knows it hasn’t been easy on him either. She was afraid she was smothering him or hovering… He says, no. It had nothing to do with her. He was actually freaking out, thinking about what Tracy had said about having him committed. She asks if he didn’t believe her when she said she’d never let that happen, and he says he was just afraid Tracy might have changed her mind. She’s a force of nature.

Dante says, when he was at Anna’s house, they were talking about who would want her dead, and if there’s any connection between Pikeman and the sudden power shift at the WSB. She says, something about this fire feels different to her. She doesn’t think the WSB or Pikeman had anything to do with it. Starting a fire is too sloppy for the Bureau. Like, if an agent wanted to kill her, they had ample opportunity to do it. When she went for her run, a sniper could have easily taken her out. He says, like they tried to at the MetroCourt pool, and she says, or she could have been hit by a car. He knows as well as she does that there are people at the Bureau who would take the fall for that; make it look like an accident. Those are their tactics. They both know that’s how they would have got it done. If she was a priority, she’d be dead by now. They’re not going to start a fire in an empty house. He asks if she’s ready to take the WSB off the table as a suspect, but she says she doesn’t know. But to her, in her gut, this feels like revenge, plain and simple.

Anna tells Dante, once The Sun got ahold of the story that she was a traitor at one point, they made it public knowledge. And it’s true. Some people suffered for decisions she made. She thinks there’s someone out there who she hurt, and they want payback. Dante says he thinks she’s been carrying this guilt around for a long time, and maybe it’s messing with her head a little bit, clouding her thoughts. She says, there’s a lot of processing going on, but her thoughts are clear, and he says, okay. Maybe she has to see someone within the WSB trying to get rid of her. She says she told him, starting a fire is too sloppy for the Bureau, but he says, it’s deliberately sloppy, right? If someone in the WSB wanted to make it look like they wanted to get rid of her, they wouldn’t follow procedure. They would cover their tracks. And what better way than setting her house on fire to get revenge, to send a message? She says, it could be anyone within that community, and he says, that’s what makes this so dangerous. But she knows better than anyone about intelligence and espionage. You build something up, make it look like something else. She says she used that strategy in a few black ops missions, and he says, him too. Create an illusion. Make something look spontaneous when it’s really taken tons of planning and logistics to pull it off. She looks far away, and he says, what? She says, logistics, and he says, it goes hand-in-hand with trying to keep your enemy off your trail, right? She gets up and says she’s told him everything about the fire. She’s kind of tired and right now she’s homeless. She’s got to get over to the MetroCourt and book a room. He says, let him call his mom; she can get Anna a room. She says, that’s okay. She appreciates it, but she’s got some things to take care of first. He thanks her for coming in, and says he’s really sorry for the things that have been happening to her. She says she knows, and thanks him. She leaves, and his phone rings. He asks what they’ve got… Valentin’s car never made to the ELQ parking garage? Are they sure about that?

Ned tells Olivia, admit it. She thinks Tracy’s right. He’s crazy and belongs in a looney bin. She says she never thinks Tracy’s right, so let’s get that straight, but he did clonk his head pretty hard when he fell at the pool. So maybe her kneejerk reaction was to think maybe he knocked something loose, but that’s not what she thinks anymore. He thanks her for the reassurance, because he’s not that CEO business guy she says he was, and he’s never going to be. She says she sees that now. She knows it’s taken her some time to get her head around that, but she accepts he’s someone else now. He says he’s Eddie Maine, and she says she knows. And even if she thought that one good jolt of electroshock therapy would bring her husband back to her, she could never do that to him. He thanks her, and she says, and another thing. She would never have him committed for being someone new. She gave him her word on that and her word is gold. He says, is that so? and she says, yeah. She’s a Bensonhurst girl. She always keeps her word. She walks off with the tray of menu cards, and he looks bemused.

Carly says, this isn’t about pride, and Sonny tells her, all he’s saying is that she didn’t have to stay at the PCPD. He was willing to sign her out. She says she can’t let him be her safety net anymore, but he says, they’re always going to be there for each other. She says she gets that. And throughout the years, no matter where they were with each other, he was always there to bail her out. That means more to her than he’ll ever know, but she can’t let him do it anymore. He says he didn’t go there to get her; he was there to sign Ned out. She says she got herself in the situation, and he says, because she was protecting Olivia. She says, it doesn’t matter. She’s the one who has to get herself out. He says, if she needs him, he’s there… He gets it. She’s independent. She says she’s always been independent. She just got to the point where she was depending on him for everything, and she has to take care of herself now. He says, all right. She doesn’t need his help. She says she’s glad they cleared that up, and he says, because at the moment, he’s got a lot going on. He leaves, and she sighs.

Austin says, Mason caught him. He’s all about himself. Who isn’t? He really wants a life for himself. He wants a life where he’s not constantly looking over his shoulder. He wants a life where Mason is never in his office, ever again. Mason says, sadly, it doesn’t work like that, and Betty says, as entertaining as this is, she’d better head to Windymere. She’s got to pick up little Avery and not be late. Ava can be fire when she wants to. Mason tells her, go. Please bring them something on Pikeman from Sonny for the boss. She says she doesn’t plan on leaving there empty handed, and Mason says, that’s his girl. She leaves, and Austin says, one down and one to go. Mason says, they’re not finished, and Austin asks why the boss wants info on Sonny and Pikeman anyway. Mason says, honestly, he has no idea. But Austin knows him; he’s not one to explain himself to anyone. But he wants it, and he’s going to get it. Well, we know the boss is a dude now. I could have sworn they alluded to it being a woman early on.

Dex follows Betty out of the hospital at a discreet distance.

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Portia, it’s too much, he can’t do it; Brook tells Nina that she has a right to be concerned; and Sonny tells Ava, it’s what you call cutting the snake off at the head.

⏰ Off the Soap Clock…

I love this. My dad raised me, and this sounds like something he would have done.

Dominic Zamprogna Goes ‘Taylor-Gating’ With His Daughters!

They seem like they’d be fun to hang out with.

Kirsten Storms Opens up About Her GH Gal Pals

🗽 A New York Minute…

What the new RHONY were up to this week. I’d be glad to take any castoffs from Jenna’s closet.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/obsessed/rhony-recap-erin-and-jessels-tribeca-fight-is-an-instant-classic

💎 Buh-Bye Already…

I’ll bet it will be more than fine.

Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Is Just Fine Without Lisa Rinna, Here’s Why

She should be dead to Bravo for whatever she’s wearing there.

Lisa Rinna ‘Dead to Bravo’ After Encouraging BravoCon Boycott, Claims Insider

🍸 Bizarro Rules…

Things are sometimes not what they seem to be, but on the surface, it’s Topsy Turvy World.

Ariana Madix and Tom Sandoval Pose Together While Filming Pump Rules
Lala Kent Hugs Tom Sandoval on Beach in Shocking Pump Rules U-Turn

🛟 Life After Deck

Captain Lee! Kate! Kate’s baby! Kate’s attention starved dog! Guest cameos! Talking smack about reality shows! The only thing better than watching TV is watching other people watch TV, and it’s all here with my two favorite Deckies. I’m already hooked.

https://people.com/kate-chastain-captain-lee-rosbach-tease-bravo-couch-talk-exclusive-7642653

https://decider.com/2023/08/14/couch-talk-with-captain-lee-and-kate-interview-kate-chastain-traitors/

🐻 Calgon, Take Him Away…

True story. One time when we were at the Westchester County Fair, there was a bear act. They had a baby bear with them, and apparently, no one was keeping an eye on him. I looked over, and baby bear was making a break for the fence, beyond which was oncoming highway traffic. I jumped out of my seat and got to the fence before baby bear was too high for me to stop. He wouldn’t let go, but I was able to hold him there until the professionals got him. They let me pet him. He was bristly, but very cute.

https://people.com/bear-takes-bubble-bath-zoo-knoxville-video-7574570

💻 Blog Post Energy…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and nighttime tea. Until then, stay safe, stay not dressing to draw attention away from the wedding party if you’re a wedding guest, and stay not seeking the answer in revenge. It might feel like it’s going to take away the pain, but sometimes it really just magnifies the whole thing.

Aug12

August 11, 2023 – Bar Fight Repercussions, Newcomer, New Strike, Billie the Ally, Forget You, Pass the Salt, Costly Deck, Wishlist, New Dragons, Dead Talk, Next Year, Film Pups, Quotes Totaling Nine & Club

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Elizabeth goes out on the roof and tells Finn that he’s in her spot. He asks if she really comes up here often enough to claim a spot, and she says, it’s a perk of being head nurse. He says, she’s here late. Who’s looking after the boys? She says, it’s summer. They’re away at camp, and since night shift pays time and a half, she figured… He asks if it’s really her spot, and she says, yeah. It’s usually very clearly marked with a ginormous E. He asks what makes this spot so special, other than being exclusively hers? and she says she comes up here to make sense of everything that happens in this hospital. He says, that’s exactly why he’s here.

On the phone in bed, Sonny tells Ava, don’t worry. He’s taking care of this Betty situation; he’s handling it. She asks just how he’s handling it. This woman is going to be around Avery every day, and they know she can’t be trusted. He says he has eyes on Betty. If she does anything wrong, one of his guys will get back to him. She asks how long they’re going to have to play this sick game before they get Betty away from their daughter, and he says, it’s going to be over soon. Avery comes into Ava’s bedroom, and Ava asks what she’s doing out of bed. Avery asks who she’s talking to, and Sonny tells Ava to put her on the phone. Ava tells Avery that her dad wants to say hi, and hands her the phone. Sonny asks what she’s doing up, and she says she couldn’t sleep. He tells her that she needs some rest; it’s a big day tomorrow. She says she knows. She’s so excited. Betty’s taking her to day camp. He says, she’s not going to have fun if she’s falling asleep in camp, when Nina comes in. Avery says she’ll try to sleep, and he tells her, goodnight. Ava says she’ll talk to him tomorrow, and Nina gets into bed. She says, Avery is up awfully late, and he says, she’s a lot like her dad; she doesn’t sleep very well. Nina says she knows she’ll sleep great as long as he’s next to her.

Dante checks out Pikeman on his laptop, when Sam gets into bed. She takes the laptop and puts it on the nightstand. He asks what she’s doing, and she says, work is over for the day. He wonders what they’re going to do for the rest of the evening. He has a lot of energy. They start to get busy.

Along with a couple of officers, Chase leads a handcuffed Ned, Carly, and Olivia into the station. Ned says he didn’t do anything wrong, and Carly says, it’s crazy. Olivia says she was accosted, and tells the officer to get his meat hooks off of her. Carly says, Ned and Olivia were assaulted, and Ned says, he was just having a beer. And by the way, they arrested the wrong guy. Chase tells them, enough. Shut up or you’re all going to the holding cell.

Anna leaves the house in the dark as someone watches her.

Olivia tells Chase, so she and Carly wind up at the Highsider because they were talking about old times and wanted to blow off some steam. Carly chose the Highsider because it reminded her of this old bar called Jake’s that she used to really like to go to. So they run into Ned – Ned says, Eddie – Eddie, and Eddie starts trying to pick up on Carly. Ned says, trying? He was doing a pretty good job. Carly says, no he wasn’t. She took advantage of the situation because she was trying to figure out what was going on with Ned. Ned says, Eddie… Wait. She was working him? Carly says, that’s so not the point. She was telling Eddie that she knew someone who went through the exact same thing. She was trying to spark some kind of memory in Ned, or get Eddie to go back to the Quartermaines and let them get to know him somehow. Chase says he doesn’t see where this is going. Where does the guy come in who wouldn’t leave Olivia alone, and how did this fight start that ended with all of them in his custody? Olivia says she had to go to the ladies room because she put her hand in a big blob of nacho cheese. She comes back from the ladies room and sees Ned… Eddie at the bar trying to pick up Carly. Meanwhile, this low life comes over to her, a really totally unpleasant guy, and was trying to pick her up, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer. Chase’s phone rings, and he steps away to take the call. He says, this is Detective Chase… He understands. He goes back to the group, and says, that was the manager at the Highsider. He’s not going to press charges. They all breathe a sigh of relief, and Olivia says, so they can go home? Chase says he can release all of them as soon as someone comes to sign them out. Would anyone care to make a call?

Sam and Dante continue to get busy, when she says, wait. She has to ask him something. He says, right now? and she says she promised she’d ask and doesn’t want to forget. Maxie wants to rent the house. He asks, whose idea was that? and she says, mine?

Sonny’s phone rings, and he looks to see who it is.

Looking up at the sky, Elizabeth says, it’s beautiful, and Finn agrees. She asks, what’s got him up on this roof so late? He doesn’t say anything, and she asks if he’s okay. He says he is, and she asks, what is it? He says he lost a patient tonight, and she says she’s sorry. What happened? He says, it was a parasite, and he was able to identify it, and started treating it, but something just wasn’t right. He didn’t seem to be getting better. She asks if he didn’t get treatment in time, and Finn says, time was the one thing he didn’t have. When he started treatment, Finn noticed anomalies in his blood, so he took further tests, and it turns out he also had Stage IV cancer. She says, he didn’t know? and he says, no one did. His cancer had metastasized. He still chose to fight; he wanted every moment he could spend with his daughter and wife. She says, that’s the worst part about their job. It never gets easier. He says he hates it so much. It’s like a little part of him dies every time this happens. This one hit him hard. It’s like it was personal. She says, personal how? and he says, his daughter was a classmate of Violet’s. It just made him think, what if that was him?

Anna goes for a run in the dark, which seems like a weird thing to do, considering the circumstances. Someone slips into her house, and we see men’s shoes, so I assume it’s a man, but you never know.

Elizabeth says, it’s a natural reaction to think of your own life when someone dies, and he says, this is different. He’s Violet’s only parent. What happens to her if he was gone? She says, God forbid if something were to take him away from her, she’d still have her Uncle Chase and her grandfather and her. But he’s not going anywhere. He’s just rattled. She’s sure he has provisions in place with his dad and his brother. He says, Chase is a cop. He puts his life on the line every day when he goes to work. She says, but he really loves her, and Finn says he knows, but maybe that’s not enough. He’s thinking maybe there’s someone better for Violet. She says, like who? and he says, her. Will she be Violet’s guardian?

Nina wakes up to find Sonny gone. She calls his name a few times, and lies back down, but then she gets up.

Sam asks if Dante is sure he’s not upset with her for suggesting Maxie rent his house, and he says he’s sure, but he hasn’t thought about that house in a long time. (Wait. Wasn’t he just talking about it a few days ago? Assumption of audience short-term memory loss.) She says, they don’t have to talk about it if he doesn’t want to, but he says, they can talk about it. She says, he should have seen what she saw when she went to Maxie’s earlier. It was a complete disaster. Georgie and James were fighting, and Maxie had to put Georgie in her room because Georgie and James share a room. Obviously, it’s too close for comfort, and they just fight all the time. Then you add Bailey Lou to the mix, and you have three kids and Maxie in that apartment, and it’s so small. She thought about his house and thought, what a great idea. Maxie would be a great renter and his house is open, and Maxie’s practically family, right? She asks him to say something, and he says he thinks it’s a great idea. And he thinks Lulu would be really happy Maxie is living there. He thinks Maxie would take care of the place and her kids would have a yard to play in. She says, that’s exactly what she was thinking. James would actually be able to use the yard to play soccer, and Maxie could get Bailey Lou some type of swing set, and Georgie would be able to have her friends over. They could get tents and camp out in the backyard, and do what kids do. She thinks it would be really great for them. He says, yeah. And if Lulu were to wake up one day, she’d be the one to decide what to do with that house. Sam asks if he’s sure he’s okay with this, and he says he is. Why should that house sit empty and hollow, when Maxie could be filling it with her family and memories? She asks again if he’s sure, and he says, yes; it’s perfect. She says, that’s her thought, and he says, everything is perfect, kissing her. His phone rings, and she tells him, take it. He answers, and Chase says, they have a little situation down at the station with his mother. Dante says, his mother? Is she all right? Chase says, Olivia’s fine, and Dante tells Sam that his mother’s at the police station. She asks if Olivia is all right, and he says, yeah, then asks Chase, what happened? Chase says, there was a run-in at the Highsider and when the cops got there, let’s just say his mom had a lot to say with a lot of attitude. She left him no choice but to bring her in.

Austin runs into his office, sees Mason at this desk, and asks what he’s doing here. What does he want now? Mason shows Austin the cut on the back of his head and says he needs a doctor.

The man pours gasoline all over the inside of Anna’s first floor.

Ava’s phone rings, and she tells Nina, it’s late. What’s up? Nina says, Sonny is gone, and Ava asks what she means. Nian says she woke up and he wasn’t next to her, and Ava asks if she checked the rest of the apartment. Nina says she did. She even asked the guard, and he just told her that Sonny had to step out. He didn’t tell her where Sonny went or why he had to leave. Ava says, honestly, what did Nina expect?

Austin says, Mason can’t just waltz in here and make himself comfortable whenever he feels like it, and Mason says he’s hardly comfortable. He needs medical attention and who better to come to than his cousin who happens to be a doctor? Austin says, the ER, urgent care, whatever normal people do. He has real patients he has to attend to. Mason says he doesn’t think Austin wants him going to the ER, bleeding all over the place, just to ask for his cousin. Austin says, what he wants is for Mason to not be here at all, and Mason says he was doing Austin a favor. Austin says, if Mason wants to do him a favor, get out of here, and Mason says he didn’t want to draw attention to either one of them. He was trying to be discreet for Austin’s sake. Austin says, thanks. Here’s what he thinks. He thinks Mason is hiding in here from whoever hit him on the back of the head. So before he treats Mason – if he treats him at all – does Mason want to tell him what happened? Mason says, not really, and Austin says, okay. Then he doesn’t want to bandage Mason up. He heads for the door, and Mason says, okay. He had an encounter with a lady in a bar, and maybe things got a little out of hand.

Carly says she doesn’t understand why they need somebody to sign them out, when Dante comes into the station. Olivia says she’s a grown woman, and she doesn’t understand… Chase says, oh boy. Is he glad to see Dante, and Olivia says, not as glad as she is. You know what? Things need to change at the PCPD. She gets hauled into the station for defending herself against some lowlife, while there should be a manhunt out there for the jerk who was trying to accost her. Dante asks, what the hell happened here? and Chase says, his mom, Carly, and Ned started a fight at the Highsider. Olivia says, he’s damn right they started a fight. The guy wouldn’t take his hands off her; he wouldn’t take no for an answer. If this was Bensonhurst, her cousins would have had that guy… Dante says, stop. Please. Let him handle it. What are the charges? Chase says, the manager at the Highsider said they weren’t going to press any charges. Chase thinks he was glad just to get the three of them out of the bar. Dante knows how this works. If he signs for them, Chase can release them. Dante says, let’s do that. He’ll sign for all three of them. Carly says, no, and Olivia says, Dante Angelo Falconari. She did not do anything wrong and she refuses to be released into her son’s custody. Dante says, let’s not do this here, but Olivia tells him, just turn right around and go back the way he came. Dante says, oh yeah? and Ned says, thanks for the offer, but his ride is here. They all turn to see Sonny.

Anna stops for a moment, checks her watch, and runs back the way she came.

A gas can is dropped on the floor, and gas pours out. A match is lit and dropped into the puddle. It bursts into flame, and the man leaves the room.

Olivia says she did nothing wrong, and she refuses to be released into her son’s custody for defending herself against some handy jerk at a dive bar, and she’ll stay the night here before she gets Dante involved any further. Dante says he admires her principles, and she says, he should. Because they’re the same principles she instilled in him, and that’s why he turned out so good. She doesn’t care. She’ll stay here all night. She’s standing her ground. She folds her arms, and Dante asks her to come with him, just for a second, and tells the others that they’ll be right back. He takes Olivia into the interrogation room, and says, she’s so hellbent on spending the night here. That means he’s got to spend the night here with her. She understands that, right? She tells him, go home and be with Sam and the kids, but he says he can’t do that. How can he leave her here in this place and act like nothing’s wrong knowing she’s here? She says, okay. She guesses she understands. He says, please. Do him the favor. Let him take her home. She says, if she lets him take her home, if she lets him sign her out of here, it means she did something wrong. She did nothing wrong. She’s not guilty. He asks if she’ll think about Leo for a second. He’s going to wake up in the morning, and she’s not going to be there. He’s already dealing with Eddie in there, and he’ll have to leave Leo in Tracy’s care. She says, all right. She’ll do it for Leo, but she’s not admitting she did anything wrong. They go back in, and Dante says he’ll sign out for Carly too, but Sonny tells Dante to take his mother home. He’ll handle it. Olivia asks if Carly wants her and Dante to stay here until she leaves, but Carly tells her to go. It’s okay. Olivia says, text her when she gets out, and Carly says she will. They hug, and Olivia leaves with Dante, Ned watching her. Sonny says, as soon as Chase finishes the paperwork, Carly can go with him. She says, he can take Ned. She’s not going with him.

Nina tells Ava that she woke up and Sonny wasn’t next to her. Is it too much to ask to go to bed beside the man that she loves, the man she’s engaged to, then wake up with him still beside her? Now she’s here all alone. He could have texted her. He could have left her a note. Anything is better than an empty bed and a blank stare from one of the guards. Ava says, the man Nina is engaged to a mobster, and Nina says she knows that. Ava says, then she knows he doesn’t work 9 to 5. He’s going to disappear in the middle of the night with no note or text. Then he’s going to return with no explanation of where he was or why. She thought Nina understood all that. Nina says, knowing it in theory is a lot different than waking up alone.

Austin stitches Mason up, and Mason says, ow! Take it easy. Is he doing that on purpose? Austin says, if he was doing it on purpose, Mason would know, and Mason says, he must have a dozen malpractice suits, but Austin says, not so much. Does Mason want to tell him what happened with this woman? Is she going to be pressing charges? Mason says he doubts they’re going to be looking for him. He was just hitting on a hot brunette with a feisty temper. Austin says, from the look of those stitches, she was more than just feisty, but Mason says, she’s not the one that hit him. Someone… he thinks it was her blonde friend, hit him with the bottle. The next thing he knows, cop sirens were blaring. Austin says, and he just stumbled out of there, blood everywhere? Anybody see his ugly mug? (Sounds like something Scotty would say.) Mason says, no. He managed to sneak out the back during all the confusion. He thought to himself, hey, what better time to visit his cousin than when he actually needs a doctor? Austin says, lucky me, and Mason says he figured he could check up on their girl Betty. How’s she doing taking care of Sonny’s daughter?

Finn says he knows it’s a lot to ask, but Violet loves Elizabeth, and he can’t think of a better person to raise her if anything happened to him. He knows she’d be safe and loved with her and the boys. Elizabeth says, nothing’s going to happen to him, but he says, that’s just the thing. No one knows that for certain. She says, he’s right. No one knows what the future holds, but she also thinks he’s just unnerved over losing his patient tonight. He says, maybe, but if something was to happen to him, can he count on her? She says, of course (🍷). Always.

The man lights another match and Anna’s foyer goes up in flames. He lights one more and sets an easy chair on fire. He walks out, closing the door. Anna’s whole first floor becomes an inferno.

Finn tells Elizabeth that he’ll sleep easier knowing there’s a place for Violet; that she’ll grow up in a loving home. He can’t thank her enough. She says, he doesn’t have to thank her. She wants to do it. He doesn’t have anything to worry about. Everything’s going to be okay. He tells her, when she says it, he actually believes it, and she says, good. Because he’s going to get to watch Violet grow up, graduate from high school, graduate from college; maybe become a brilliant doctor just like her dad. He says, or maybe a brilliant nurse like her aunt, and Elizabeth says she likes the sound of that. He says he wants to make sure she knows what she might be getting into. Violet is unique. She says she knows, and he asks if she knows Violet is very particular about how she likes everything organized. It’s borderline OCD, and Elizabeth’s not the most organized person. She says, what? and he tells her that he’s just saying, there’s all that clutter in her house and she never throws anything away, and there’s still Cam’s soccer balls lying there from when… He just wants to make sure she’s up for it. She says, how hard can it be? He’s doing it. He laughs, and I say, touché.

Dante comes home to find Sam asleep. He touches her hair.

Avery comes into Ava’s room, and says, mommy? waking her. Ava says, what is it? and Avery says she can’t sleep. Ava says, well, she had a glass of water, she talked to her dad, Ava’s tucked her in twice. How can she help Avery? Avery says she wants to sleep with Ava, and Ava says, what about her little stuffed bunny? Won’t he miss her? Avery says, he’s tucked in already. She told him she was sleeping with her mommy. Ava laughs, and says, all right, hop in. Avery gets in the bed, and Ava puts the covers around her. Ava tells her, just think about all the fun she’s going to have at camp tomorrow. They’ll be lots of games and snacks, and she’s going to make lots of new friends. Avery says she already has a friend – Betty. And she’s going to see her tomorrow. She’s so nice. Ava doesn’t look happy, as none of us would.

Austin finishes stitching up Mason, and Mason asks about Betty. Is she still in with Sonny’s little girl? Austin says, who’s Betty? and Mason says, don’t play dumb. Austin says, he’s not playing dumb. Betty is Mason’s mole, not his. She’s his to keep tabs on. Mason says, she’s theirs to keep tabs on; Austin’s, his, and Ava’s. They’ve got to take ownership in this. They have as much riding on it as he does. And his friend Ava? He hopes she realizes what happens if this doesn’t work out. Austin says, Ava does not need to be reminded of what’s at risk here, and Mason asks if he’s sure. She seems to be like a loose cannon. He only knows what Betty tells him, but from what he hears, Ava is not happy. Austin says, he put Ava precisely between a rock and a hard place. He’s thinking she’s not happy. Mason says he’s thinking Austin needs to rein her in, and Austin says, thankfully, Ava is a woman who will never be reined in. Mason says, if she slips up and tells Sonny something… Austin says, she’s not going to slip up. Mason has Ava’s daughter, her life, right in the palm of his hand. Mason says, okay. The last thing they need is for Ava to expose Betty, or worse, expose them. Austin says, from what he knows, Avery is thrilled with Betty, and lucky for them, Sonny is happy with her services too. Mason says, that’s good to hear. Betty is cooperative. The more Sonny trusts her, the greater their odds they get something about his deal with Pikeman.

Ned says he doesn’t know what the deal is with Carly and Sonny, but he’s ready to go back to the bars. If Sonny would please sign him out… Carly tells Sonny, just take Ned and go, and Ned says, Eddie. Carly says, take Eddie and go, and Sonny tells Carly, let’s go. Chase comes out and promises Carly, it’s just a formality. All Sonny has to do is sign her paperwork and walk her out, and off the record, she can just call a Ride Share. Carly says she’s fine. She called her daughter. Josslyn’s coming down here, and Josslyn can sign her out. Sonny says, let’s talk, but she says, he’s not going to change her mind. Ned asks if he can leave, but Chase says, not without Sonny. Ned says, this just gets better and better, and Sonny tells Carly, let’s talk this out, and they step aside.

Sonny asks why she’s doing this. Why doesn’t she just text Josslyn and tell her that she doesn’t have to come down here; it’s late. Carly says she doesn’t need him. She doesn’t need his help. He asks why she has to be so stubborn. He’ll sign the papers, and they’ll walk out of here. Why does she have a problem with him doing this? She says she doesn’t have to tell him her reasons. Those days are gone. He says, but this is now. Forget those days. She says, why doesn’t he just take Ned and go? and he asks why she always puts her pride in front of everything else. She says, because her pride is the only thing she’s got. It’s the only thing she can rely on. He says, she can rely on him, and she says, come on. He says, he’s here, isn’t he? and she says, he’s here for Ned. Just take him and go, since she knows Nina doesn’t want him here. He says, it’s not about Nina right now. It’s about them having a conversation. She says, just take Ned and go, and he says he sees he’s not getting through to her, and nothing’s going to change her mind. She doesn’t want his help. She says, no, she doesn’t want his help.

Anna comes back to the house, and reaches for the doorknob, but pulls back from the heat. She uses her shirt to open the door, and finds everything blazing. A beam falls, but instead of calling, oh maybe the fire department, she surveys everything burning.

Elizabeth points out the first star in Orion’s belt, and Finn says, it’s his favorite. She says, her too, and he says, when he was a kid, he’d make wishes on it. She says, let’s make a wish, and closes her eyes. After a moment, he asks if she made a wish, and she says, yeah. Did he? He says, yes, and she puts her head on his shoulder as they gaze at the stars.

Dante gets into bed and spoons Sam. She asks if his mom is okay, and he says, mm-hmm. Her and Ned and Carly got into some hot water at the Highsider. Sam asks if they’re okay, and he says, yeah. He took his mother home, and Sonny was dealing with Carly and Ned. He’s just happy to be back here. She says, her too, and they get back to getting busy. There’s a song part.

We see Nina tossing and turning, and looking at her engagement ring.

Carly says, as hard as it is for Sonny to believe, she’s perfectly capable of taking care of herself. He says, look around. She’s still being detained. Unless she walks out that door with him, she’s going to be detained. She says, it’s her life. Whether she’s wrongfully detained or rightfully arrested, she can handle herself, and she can deal with the consequences. He says, it’s an easy fix. As long as she doesn’t make it so damn… She says she doesn’t care that it’s an easy fix. Ned called him; she didn’t. Sign him out and go. Sonny says, suit yourself, and signs the paperwork for Ned. Ned thanks him, and they leave. Chase asks if Carly has heard from Josslyn, but she says, no. She’s texting Josslyn, but thinks her phone is on silent. He asks if there’s anyone else she wants t to try calling, and she says her mom’s out of town and she doesn’t want to wake up Willow and Michael. He can just stick her in a holding cell if he has to. She gets it. He tells her to just sit by his desk and wait until her daughter calls, and she says, he doesn’t have to give her special treatment. He says he’ll get her a coffee, she sighs and sits down.

Finally outside on the phone, Anna says, her house is on fire. 232 Harborview Road… No. She’s standing out front. They need to hurry. It’s spreading rapidly.

Tomorrow, Dex asks, what’s the plan; Anna tells Valentin that someone out there wants her to pay for what she did; Mason asks why on earth he’d ever let Austin go; and Sonny says, there’s been a change of plan.

👶🏽 She’s Having Their Baby…

An addition to a storyline that already has us confused with revolving Davis girls. Cool that she gets to go to work with dad though.

Lily Anne Harrison Cast on GENERAL HOSPITAL as Andrea

🎳 Not The Strike You Think…

This sounds like a lot of fun. I’m actually tempted.

Don’t Miss the Daytime Stars and Strikes Event!

If you want to get tickets. The prices aren’t bad.

https://www.daytimestarsandstrikes.com/events.html

🍸 Still Drinking the Kool-Aid…

I have the feeling Billie Lee tends to go wherever the controversy spotlight is.

REPORT: Billie Lee Returns to Vanderpump Rules as Her Role is Revealed, Plus Rachel Leviss Goes Makeup-Free in New Pic Amid Her Exit Rumors

💎 LisaR Who…?

It’s not surprising. The relief has caused amnesia.

Sutton Stracke Says RHOBH Cast ‘Kinda Forgot’ About Lisa Rinna

Like she cares. Sour grapes anyone?

RHOBH Alum Lisa Rinna Demands Reality TV Stars Boycott BravoCon Amid Bethenny Frankel’s Union Calls and Shares Post Calling Out Fans Who Defended Garcelle

🧂 Trailing Salt Lake…

It’s hard to take anyone seriously when they’re dressed like Captain Jack Sparrow or a drag queen. Love the blue cast photo though!

https://ew.com/tv/real-housewives-of-salt-lake-city-season-4-premiere-date-trailer/

⛴ More Than You Can Afford…

Wow. Just wow.

How Much Does a Below Deck Charter Cost?

📺 Bravo Baby Come Back…

I loved the Shahs. I believe Bravo definitely wanted to distance themselves from Mike, but that shouldn’t have caused a cancelation. And I don’t believe for a second they couldn’t have figured out a budget.

Cancelled Bravo Shows That Should Get Another Chance

🐉 The Dragons Are Coming…

What’s happening with Season Two of House of the Dragon. I missed the first couple episodes of Season One, and for some reason, couldn’t get into it, but maybe I’ll give it another whirl.

https://hiddenremote.com/2023/07/18/house-of-the-dragon-season-2-release-updates/

⚰️ Dead Happenings…

Those two crazy kids.

https://movieweb.com/the-walking-dead-rick-and-michonne-spinoff-unveils-behind-the-scenes-images/

Yep. We’ve all made bad decisions. Although most of them don’t result in us finding ourselves in France.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/08/11/walking-dead-daryl-dixon-bad-decisions-france-video/

🏆 Pinning Down Emmy…

2024 is the new 2023. Unfortunately, it looks like the Daytime Emmy Awards have been postponed indefinitely. Susan Lucci can never catch a break.

https://ew.com/awards/emmys/2023-emmys-new-date-announced/

🐕 Lassie Come Home…

Dogs you might know.

https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/pets/g20687419/famous-dogs-from-movies/

🫧 Quotes of the Week

From the errors of others, a wise person corrects their own. – Pubilius Syrus

Continuous improvement is better than delayed perfection. – Mark Twain

You can start changing our world for the better daily, no matter how small the action. – Nelson Mandela

Don’t sit down and wait for the opportunities to come. Get up and make them. – Madam C.J. Walker

People tend to be generous when sharing their nonsense, fear, and ignorance. And while they seem quite eager to feed you their negativity, please remember that sometimes the diet we need to be on is a spiritual and emotional one. Be cautious with what you feed your mind and soul. Fuel yourself with positivity and let that fuel propel you into positive action. – Steve Maraboli

I’d bet on rabbits if you could get them organized. – Charlie Harper (Charlie Sheen), Two and a Half Men

A crust eaten in peace is better than a banquet partaken in anxiety. – Aesop

Once you start name calling, cordial’s out the window. – John McManus, Pillow Talk: 90 Day Fiancé: Before the 90 Days

The noisiest thing in the world is someone trying to be quiet. – me

🎤 Whoomp, There It Was…

Make a return trip on Monday really Tuesday for soap and a look at Kate and the Captain’s Couch. Until then, stay safe, stay continually learning new things, and stay understanding that if you’re engaged to a mobster, he’s going to disappear in the middle of the night with no note or text. Then return with no explanation of where he was or why.

⚠️ Caution: Lyrics may not be for sensitive ears.

Aug11

August 10, 2023 – Ned Hits On Carly At the Highsider, Back When, Tribute, Changes, Runway Freedom, Deck Detestables, VanderPics, Historical Pets (!) & Hooray

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Maxie opens the door to Sam holding up a large carton of ice cream and a bottle of wine. Maxie asks if Sam is her fairy godmother, and Sam says, Maxie’s call came just in time. She just got the wine and ice cream out for herself because Dante’s still at work, Scout’s at the Q’s, and the boys – Maxie snatches the wine – are at a sleepover. So she’s in luck. Maxie says she’s excited to catch up with Sam. It’s been a long week. Sam asks where the kids are, and Maxie says, Bailey’s with grandma and grandpa, and… Georgie screams at James in the other room, and Maxie holds up the bottle. I dunno about you, but wine with ice cream? What happened to cheese? Unless it’s champagne ice cream, I don’t see it.

Portia sets out a platter of cheese (she knows what I’m talking about) when Marshall comes in. She says, you’re just in time to join us, and he says, us? She says, Trina decided to move back in, and he says, that’s great news. Portia says, she’s unpacking right now. She’ll go get her. She calls Trina to come say hi to her grandfather, and tells Marshall, it’s probably the loud music. She’ll go get her. She goes upstairs, as Marshall enjoys some cheese.

Finn asks Deanna to check for any changes with his patient in 941. If there are any, he wants to be informed immediately. Trina comes out of the elevator and runs over to Finn. She says she’s so glad he’s here. She needs his help.

As Curtis drowses, he recalls the shooting. He jerks awake, and checks his legs, but there’s no change. Elizabeth comes in and asks if he’s okay.

At Alexis’s place, Kristina watches TV, while wearing a beauty mask and eating popcorn. Alexis comes in, and Kristina jumps. She says, Alexis scared her to death, and Alexis says, Kristina scared her. What did she do to her face? Kristina shushes her, and she asks what Kristina is watching. Kristina says, To Catch a Killer.

Dante goes to see Anna, and she thanks him for coming. Someone outside watches.

Carly brings Olivia to the Highsider, and Olivia tells her, when Carly said she knew a place they could go, she really didn’t think Carly meant this. Carly says, they were talking about Bensonhurst and the good old days, and she thought of this place. It reminds her of Jake’s. Olivia says, this is the place where Joss was with Trina, and Carly read them the riot act… Carly says, yes, and she never wants Josslyn to know they were here. Capiche? Olivia says, capiche, and touches the table. She says, oh! and looks at her hand, telling Carly that she has to go wash it. Carly asks if she’s going to brave the ladies room, and Olivia says, it can’t be worse than this. She tells Carly to get them a couple of beers, and goes to the ladies room. Carly goes to the bar and asks for a couple of bottles of El Ray Sol, and the bartender says, nice. He figured she’d want a glass, but Carly says, he figured wrong. Ned comes along and says, and he figured her for some fun.

Anna thanks Dante for coming out so late, and asks if she can get him something, but he says he’s good. She asks if there’s been any progress with the shooting at the MetroCourt pool, and he says, they have more questions than answers, so if she calls that progress, they’ve made a lot of it. She says, so he can’t definitively rule anything out, and he says, that’s kind of the gist of it. That gun came from the WSB, so it looks like she’s the winner. They also can’t rule Sonny out as a target either, but that’s not why she called him. She says, no. She said she’d call him if she got any new information. It’s not anything solid, but it could be another avenue that may or may not be related. Has he heard of a company named Pikeman?

Alexis says she was under the impression that Kristina didn’t watch TV anymore, and Kristina says she doesn’t, but – she takes off the mask – she’s been streaming this docuseries; it’s so good. Her internet went out, so she decided to come here and see if Alexis’s worked. Alexis asks, what’s so great about this show that Kristina couldn’t wait for her internet to be turned back on? and Kristina says she was in the middle of the finale. She couldn’t be left hanging. Besides, it’s so much better to watch it on Alexis’s TV than on her phone or her computer. Alexis says she loves Kristina so much, and Kristina says she loves Alexis too. Alexis says, and she always wants Kristina to be welcome here anytime, but if Kristina really loves her, she’ll let Alexis know next time, so she doesn’t walk in and have a heart attack and die. Kristina says, that sounds very dramatic, but she’s only been here a half hour and she didn’t think Alexis would be out this late running around. Alexis asks if Kristina thought she’d be sitting in a rocking chair knitting an afghan, and Kristina says, it feels on brand. She hopes Alexis had fun, and Alexis says she had a lot of fun. Alexis heads upstairs, and Kristina asks what she was doing. Alexis says she was checking something off somebody else’s bucket list.

Maxie tells Sam that she’s sorry about this next part, and asks Georgie and James, come out here please. They stomp out, and Maxie tells them to say hi to Sam. Sam says, it’s good to see them both, and Maxie asks, what happened? James says, she started it, and Georgie says, he won’t stop touching her stuff. Maxie says she thought Grandpa Mac got both of them to agree to a truce, and James says, she broke it. Georgie says, he doesn’t even know what a truce is, but he says he does too. She says, he doesn’t, and Maxie tells Georgie, my room now. Georgie runs out, and Maxie says, hopefully, this doesn’t take too long. She follows Georgie, and James asks Sam, what’s a truce? She says, it’s when you agree to end a disagreement or an argument, and he says, wait. Is that ice cream?

Portia tells Marshall, it looks like Trina left a little note: Gotta go out for a little while. Be back soon. She got out of here pretty quietly. She hopes Trina didn’t run to see Spencer. He tells her not to do that to herself, and she says she knows. She’s grateful Trina’s back. and when Curtis gets out of rehab, they’ll all be under the same roof. He says he doesn’t think that’s such a great idea, and she asks if he doesn’t think Curtis should move back here. He says he absolutely does, but he also thinks he should move out. He was planning on doing that before Curtis was shot. She says, he was, but she was against it then, and she’s against it now. Curtis is going to need him now more than ever, and so will she and Trina. He says, all right, and she says she knows he’ll do anything to support his family, and Curtis and Trina deserve support from him. She guesses she’s not sure if she does.

Finn asks if this is about Trina’s dad, and she says, yes. He’s going to rehab tomorrow, and she needs to see him tonight to let him know she’ll always be there for him, and she loves him. He says he’d like to help her, but… She says she knows Curtis refused to let her see him since he found out he was paralyzed, and her mom tried to explain it to her. She thinks she understands. He’s a proud man. He’s a hero, and he doesn’t want her to see him like this, but he’s her father. Finn says he knows. He just doesn’t want to get her hopes up… She says, please. If Violet asked someone to get her in to see him, wouldn’t he want someone to help her?

Elizabeth says she sees Curtis is scheduled to go to rehab tomorrow. His occupational therapist says he’s in great shape. He says, never better, and she says, it’s not going to be easy, but he’s strong and he’s going to work hard, and he will adjust to his new situation. He tells her that she can just say it. He’s going to have to adjust to spending the rest of his life in a chair.

Maxie comes back in, sees James, and says, James got Sam to give him ice cream. He says, just a little, and she says, Georgie’s sleeping in her room tonight. He thanks her and runs off, and she says, don’t eat all of that. She tells Sam, they’ve got to move out, like really soon. They’re driving each other crazy, and by that, she means they’re driving her crazy. Sam says she thought Lucy was helping Maxie find a bigger place, and Maxie says, she is, but every place she likes, she gets outbid. It’s a tough market right now. Tomorrow she’s seeing two places she would never have considered a month ago, but when James and Georgie are going after each other all day and all night, it affects Bailey and she starts crying. And by the end of the day, Maxie is the one who’s crying. Sam says she thinks she actually has a solution for Maxie.

The bartender gives Carly the beers, and Ned asks if one of those is for him. She says, it’s for a friend, and he says he can be a friend; a very good friend. She says she bets; a friend who would betray her. He asks why anyone in their right mind would betray a beautiful woman like her, and she says, someone did. He says, let me at him. He’ll defend her dignity to the death. Maybe they should go somewhere a little less noisy and further discuss this dilemma of hers. Olivia comes back and says she sees Carly has met Eddie. Carly says she did, and Ned asks what Olivia is doing here. She says, this used to be her kind of place. She figured she’d come in and check it out. Ned says, great. He’s sure one of these guys would love to show her a good time. Meanwhile, he and her friend Cary… They both say, Carly, and he says, Carly, beautiful name. Meanwhile, he and Carly are discussing the downside of betrayal (like there’s an upside) and getting to know each other. He and Olivia have already met. Olivia says, right. If he could just give her one second. She motions Carly over, and says she might be stating the obvious here, but is it possible her husband is trying to pick up her best friend? Carly says she doesn’t think so, and Ned says, hey Carly, it’s getting lonely over here.

Kristina says, Alexis isn’t going to believe… Alexis says, don’t tell her, and Kristina asks if she’s watching it. Alexis says her TV accidentally turned on and she’s on episode three. Kristina says, she’s not going to believe what happens…  but Alexis says, Kristina’s not going to ruin this for her. Kristina says she’s amazed Alexis actually watched some guilty television, and Alexis says, if Kristina is amazed at that, she’s going to be amazed at what she did tonight. Kristina says, tell her, and Alexis asks if Kristina is going to make fun of her. Kristina says, probably, and Alexis says, okay. She threw hatchets at a bullseye, a target. Kristina says, that’s the place Sam went with Dante. She said she loved that. Alexis says, it was really exhilarating. She thinks it’s just human nature that something so basic is so satisfying. Kristina asks who she went with, and Alexis says, a friend. She gets up to get something to drink, and asks if Kristina wants anything. She moves Kristina’s bag, and sees some books on top of it. Kristina says, it’s from Sam, and Alexis reads, Business and Finance Management. Is this her light beach reading? Kristina says she thinks Sam was honestly shocked that she didn’t throw them at her.

Dante asks if Pikeman is a company in Port Charles, but Anna says, no. They’re security defense contractors, and according to Robert, they have ties to the WSB. He asks if Pikeman is selling them weapons, and she says, perhaps. The most interesting thing is, there’s like this kind of revolving door situation, where Pikeman recruits former WSB agents as operatives. He says, that’s kind of par for the course with those guys. Is she sure about this? She says, at first, she was skeptical, until she spoke with someone who was with the WSB who was recruited by Pikeman and worked for them. He asks, who was that? and she says, Valentin.

Dante asks if Valentin is still working for Pikeman, but Anna says, no. This was years ago when he first left the WSB. He asks what Valentin was doing for them, and she says, logistics. He laughs and says, that sounds like a euphemism for something. She says, he was a contractor, and he worked for them on a project-by-project basis. He said they didn’t allow him to get near the inner workings of the company. Dante asks why they recruited Valentin, and she says, they told him it was because he had prior WSB experience. Dante asks, where is Valentin tonight?

Carly tells Olivia that she’s sorry, and Ned sings into a beer bottle; Carly, the night is young and… What rhymes with Carly? He sings, gnarly, and Olivia says, he’s definitely hitting on Carly. Carly says, he’s definitely Eddie Maine, and Olivia asks if Carly doubted her. Carly says, no, but now she’s certain. Ned Quartermaine would never do that. They see Ned talking to another blonde, and Olivia says she guesses she should feel lucky Ned’s hitting on Carly instead of some floozy. She tells Carly to go, and Carly says she’s going to try and find out what he wants, and pull him back in Olivia’s direction. Olivia says, hurry up before he decides what he wants is that, and Carly tells the blonde, that’s her spot. Ned says he likes her style. Didn’t want to give up Eddie, did she? Carly says, nope. Just trying to figure him out. Mason goes up to Olivia and says she looks lonely… and hot. She rolls her eyes.

Alexis says she’s surprised Kristina didn’t throw the books at Sam. Sam gave her that nice pretty blouse and Kristina threw it at her. Kristina says, it was pink. They all know how she feels about pink. She’s not throwing books at her sister. Alexis says, but she came over to watch this show, so she’s wondering why Kristina brought the books. Kristina says she thought… Alexis says, she was going to burn the books in the fireplace, wasn’t she?

Maxie says, Dante and Lulu’s house? and Sam says, it’s empty. And it’s been empty since he and Rocco moved in with them. Dante doesn’t want to sell it, so she was just thinking… Maxie says, Lulu’s house? and Sam says, maybe she didn’t actually think this through, but Maxie said she needed a bigger space, and Maxie says, it makes sense. Sam says she knows Maxie misses Lulu, and Maxie says she does. She doesn’t get to see her enough, but when she does visit Lulu, she talks to her. She tells Lulu about her kids, everything that’s been going on. It’s been almost three years… She’s sorry. She knows Sam doesn’t want to talk about this. Sam says, it’s okay. Maxie can talk to her about Lulu. Rocco talks to her about Lulu all the time, and Dante just took Charlotte to visit her. She is a part of their lives. Maxie says she knows Dante and Rocco had to move on with their lives. She’s really happy it was with Sam, and knows Lulu would be happy too. Sam thanks her, and says, that means a lot, especially coming from Maxie, but maybe it’s just a bad idea. Maxie says, maybe… She doesn’t know. It’s not good for a house to be empty for too long. Sam says, it’s true, and Maxie asks if she thinks Dante would be okay with her living there. Sam says she thinks if Dante decided to rent the house, there’s no one else in the world he’d rather rent it to than Maxie.

Marshall says he doesn’t care whether Portia thinks she deserves his support or not; she’s got it. Portia says she knows she’s made mistakes… and he says, let him finish. Portia is his daughter-in-law and the mother of his grandchild. That alone is enough, but does she know who else she is? She’s the one who made him realize he doesn’t have the genes for schizophrenia, and that changed his life. She says she did that for him as a doctor, and she’s glad she could, but as his daughter-in-law and Trina’s mother, she just can’t help feeling it’s her fault that Curtis could end up in a wheelchair for the rest of his life.

Elizabeth says, Trina is here late, and Trina says, it was important for her to come. Elizabeth says she understands. She knows Cameron’s been in touch with Trina. Trina says, he has. He’s been so supportive. All of her friends have. Elizabeth must be really proud of him, already playing on the varsity soccer team. Elizabeth says she is, and asks if there’s anything she can do to help Trina. Trina says, no, not yet. Dr. Finn is working on something for her. Her phone dings, she looks at it, and smiles.

Finn goes to Curtis’s room, and says he heard Curtis is heading to rehab tomorrow. Curtis says, that’s what he’s told. Finn is visiting kind of late. He hasn’t gotten any infectious diseases since he’s been here, so he’s guessing Finn isn’t here for any medical reason. Finn says, when you’re a doctor, it’s kind of hard to avoid that God complex. You want to be able to cure everyone. Curtis says, but you can’t, and Finn says, no, but it’s the humbling part. He can’t cure Curtis, but he can do something he thinks will help. He opens the door, and Trina walks in.

Carly says, Olivia told her that Eddie/Ned is staying with the Quartermaines, and he says, for a few days. Before that, he was staying at his friend’s, Sonny Corinthos. Does she know him? She says, everyone who lives around here knows him, and Ned says, he’s a good guy. He just felt like he was crowding Sonny. He’s got this gorgeous fiancé, Nina. She says, now he’s with the Quartermaines, right? They’re nice people. He says, they mean well. Leo is a sweet kid. He really likes Leo, and actually thinks Leo likes him too. She says, he probably does, and he says, Olivia’s got it in her head that he’s her husband. Can she imagine him living with that overbearing, wound up… She steps on his foot, and he says, ow! She says, sorry. She thought she saw a roach. So, since the Quartermaines are good people, why isn’t he trying to get to know them? He says, because they all want him to be someone he’s not, and she says, so why doesn’t he help them understand who he is, and maybe they’ll learn to accept him? He tells her that she says that like she thinks they would, and she says she actually knows someone who went through something similar, and they learned to love him.

Olivia tells Mason to get his hands off of her, and he says, come on. She knows she wants the attention. He touches her again, and she says, what she wants is for him to keep his hands off of her, or she promises she will make him sorry. He says he’d like to be sorry with her, and moves closer, but she shoves him back, saying, get away from me.

Kristina asks why she’d want to burn the books her sister gave her, and Alexis says, sorry. The books were here and the fireplace is there… Kristina says, and my spiteful daughter is going to burn the books my other daughter gave her, and Alexis says she knows the two of them haven’t been getting along well since Kristina showed Sam her plans, and Sam got kind of… Kristina says, obnoxious and skeptical? and Alexis says, to be fair, Kristina never enjoyed any of the gifts Sam gave her. Except for the motorcycle jacket, but that’s not really a gift. Kristina says she has every intention of returning that to Sam someday when the timing is right. Sam’s never given her anything like this before. Alexis says, that’s because she’s trying to apologize to Kristina. Sam knows she hurt Kristina’s feelings when she got down on her for not having a permit or a business plan. Kristina says, Sam did hurt her feelings. She was also right.

Maxie says, Sam threatened to throw Gladys in the pool? and Sam says she’d throw anyone in the pool if they talked to Scout that way. She doesn’t trust that woman. Maxie says she ran into Gladys when she went to visit Sasha. Gladys told her the doctor was with Sasha and she couldn’t see her. She ended up being relieved. Sam asks, why? and Maxie says, Brook did see her, and she said Sasha was really out of it. She said Sasha was yelling and screaming, and Maxie doesn’t want to see her like that. Sam says, when she saw Sasha, and what everyone else said, she was pretty in control. Maxie says, the last time Sasha was on Home & Heart, someone put the sound of a baby crying in her earpiece and she didn’t break. Sam says, then what happened? Maxie worked with her. If she’s using on a regular basis, Maxie would know, right? Maxie says, definitely, and Sam says, then she stabs Cody out of nowhere. Maxie says, drop it, and looks behind her to see James sneaking the carton of ice cream off the end table.

Curtis says he really doesn’t appreciate the ambush, and Finn says, God complex, remember? If medicine doesn’t work, go with what does. He tells Trina, hang in there, kid, and leaves, closing the door. Curtis says, it’s late and she should just… She says she knows he doesn’t want her here, but she had to see him before he goes to rehab tomorrow to let him know how sorry she is.

Anna tells Dante, there was a watermain break over at ELQ and it was quite close to the mainframe computer, so Valentin went over to check on everything and make sure no critical information was lost. He asks if Valentin knows she’s talking to him, and she says, no. He says, Pikeman is a shady sounding company. He’s surprised Valentin would even admit to her that he worked for them. She says, he didn’t at first. He doesn’t like to talk about his past. She thinks he told her because he’s concerned about her safety. Dante asks if she thinks Pikeman had something to do with the attempt on her life.

Mason has Olivia’s arm, and she says, she told him to get his hands off of her. Ned spins Mason around and says, he heard the lady. Mason says, get lost, old man (which is amusing since they look around the same age). This is what she wants. Ned asks if this is what Olivia wants, and Olivia tells Mason, no, you idiot. Ned tells him, back off now, and Mason says, or what? Ned punches him in the face and knocks him down, but Mason pops back up and shoves Ned’s face onto the bar. The bar fight begins with the patrons cheering them on. Honestly, I’ve been in some seedy places – certainly seedier than this – and I have never once seen a bar fight.

Anna asks if Dante has heard about the power shake up over at the WSB, and he says he heard some rumblings. She says, when Frisco refused to authorize the drone strike in Greenland out of concern for their safety, he was relieved of duty. Dante says he did hear Frisco had been replaced, and she says, it’s just been a domino effect since then. The new director got rid of anyone who was ever associated with her or Robert. He asks if she met the new director when she was in London being debriefed, but she says, no. I have this brainwave that maybe the new director is also Mason’s boss, and she says, at first she didn’t think anything of it. Then as it turns out, the agent who was debriefing her was droning on and on about procedure, and something caught her eye. Right behind him was his briefcase, and sticking out of the top of the briefcase was a portfolio. On the corner of the portfolio was the Pikeman logo.

Marshall says, there is no way Portia is responsible for a stray bullet, but she says, he doesn’t understand. All the years of lying, everything she did, how she handled everything, led to that moment. If she’d just been honest – she starts to cry – she, Curtis, and Trina could have been together. They could have been a family. If she’d just told the truth when she came to Port Charles… Marshall gets up and says, no, but she says, he doesn’t understand. Curtis came there to see her. He came to make things right with her; things she made wrong. It’s because of her. He says, it’s good to take responsibility for your mistakes, but she’s got to move on. Focusing on the what ifs and the what might have been is no way to live your life. They’ve got to move forward. She says she just doesn’t know if it’s too late for them, and he takes her hands, saying, Curtis is going to need her. He’ll need her to move forward. He’s going to need his daughter. He’s going to need his wife. But whenever that puts too much of a strain on her, he’s going to be right here. He’s going to be right here to help her with whatever she needs. It’s going to be all right. He holds her as she cries.

Curtis asks what in the world Trina has to be sorry for, and she says, when she found out he kissed Jordan, she got all high and mighty about it. He says, she was just being protective, but she says she didn’t have to pull away from him. She loves her mom and wants her to be happy, and she knows how much her mom loves Curtis. She just prays they’ll be able to work things out, but if they do or if they don’t, he’ll still be her father. He says, yes, he will, and she says, they were just beginning to figure this out, when she pulled away from him. She was just being so stupid and selfish, and she doesn’t want to be that person for him or herself anymore.

James sleeps with his head in Maxie’s lap, and she tells Sam, isn’t it so nice? Hopefully, it lasts past 5 am. Sam says, he’s awake that early? and Maxie says, sometimes it lasts until 5:30. Sam says she’ll be out of Maxie’s hair soon. She just called Dante, and he’ll be here in like, twenty minutes. Maxie says, it’s too soon. It was so good to see Sam and spend time with her, an actual adult. Sam says, the jury’s still out on that one, and they laugh. Maxie asks, how’s Molly doing? and Sam says, she’s actually back to normal. Maxie says, and Kristina? and Sam says, not so much back to normal. Maxie says, Sam sounds like that’s a good thing, and Sam says, because it is. She loves both of her sisters so much, but Kristina has been a handful sometimes. Maxie says, and now? and Sam says, now she’s actually pulling her life together. Maxie says, Sam actually sounds proud of her, and Sam says, because she is. They clink glasses.

Alexis tells Kristina that she just said Sam was right. She heard it. Kristina can’t take it back. Kristina says she can admit when she’s wrong, but Alexis says, not usually when it comes to one of her sisters. Kristina says, Sam was right. She had some strong points in the beginning, and Kristina didn’t want to hear them because they were coming out of Sam’s mouth. But Sam told her that she really could have benefitted from logistics (call Valentin!) and planning, and not just focusing on the end result. Alexis says, and the books? and Kristina says, the books have been very helpful. But more than that, she appreciates it. It makes her feel like Sam cares about her. Alexis says, she does. Sam loves her. Kristina says, and she loves Sam… and Molly, and Alexis says, and she loves Kirstina, Sam, and Molly. Although they do argue a lot, which she thinks is healthy. So now what? Kristina says she’s gathered a lot of valuable information on logistics and set-up. It feels good. This project feels really important and she’s going to finish it. She cuddles with Alexis, who says, that’s her good little baby girl.

Curtis says, Trina has never been selfish and she’s far from stupid, but Trina says she pulled away from him. He says he pushed her away, and he realizes he shouldn’t have done that. She says she understands, and he says, then she’s far ahead of him. He still hasn’t figured out how he’s going to handle being… What’s it going to mean? He keeps thinking about how it was in Greenland. She says, scary, and he says, yeah, but he was able to protect his daughter, to rescue her, and to be the father she needs. She says, he’s still the father she needs and always will be. She has no doubt about that. Does he remember the first words he said when he woke up after surgery? He says, I need my daughter, and she says she’s here and she’s not going anywhere. They hug.

Deanna gives Finn the phone, and says, it’s about his patient. he says, yes?… See what nurse is available and Page Dr. Everett. He’ll be right there. He jets, and Elizabeth watches him going down the hall.

Dante tells Anna, so what they’re saying here is that Pikeman is in bed with the WSB on one of their investigations, and she says, they know what they’re capable of. At least what they were capable of. And now with these new people in charge, all bets are off. Dante says, or that logo thing she noticed was just a coincidence, and she says, think about it. If the Bureau has access to a private entity like Pikeman, what’s to stop them from using it to further their own political agenda? He asks if the WSB doesn’t want deniability. Why would they give Pikeman a gun they knew could be traced? It gets risky – she says, of course (🍷) – getting involved with a private security contracting company like Pikeman, even for someone as cold as the WSB. She says, the WSB has always worked with risk, since the beginning of their existence… because it pays off. He says he sees this theory is gaining a lot of traction with her, but she says, there’s a lot of holes. He says, that’s why she called him. He’ll go to the PCPD and check in with some contacts, and see if he can get any more information on Pikeman, and try to connect them to her and Sonny. He’ll let her know what he comes up with. He’ll keep it on the downlow. She thanks him, and he thanks her for keeping him in the loop. It feels good. She should keep doing it. She says she promises, and walks him to the door. He leaves, and someone is still watching.

Mason slugs Ned, who falls to the floor, and he tells Olivia, to the victor. You and me, honey. He grabs her, and she tries to throw him off, telling him to get his hands off her. The bartender slides a big bottle over to Carly, who takes it and cracks Mason over the head. He drops to the floor. Very gracefully, I might add. Olivia runs over to Ned, and Ned sits up. He sees Mason, and asks if he got him.

Tomorrow, Chase asks if Ned would like to make a call; Olivia’s not admitting she did anything wrong; Nina says, Sonny is gone; and Sonny asks Carly why she has a problem.

🧼 Because Todd…

He was only supposed to be on for a few episodes, and now look.

Five Things That Happened On August 6 In Soap History

💫 To a Fallen Star…

I’m still in shock over her death. Hell, I’m not over Sonja Eddy and Jacklyn Zeman.

Stars Pay Tribute To Andrea Evans

🗽 Not Loving It…

I have no problem with Housewives change, although I can agree with the rest of their reasons. What they’re leaving out though, is the heavy cloud of social media floating over the show. If I want that, I’ll get it online.

Everything That Fans Don’t Like About Real Housewives of New York Season 14

👗 Letting Their Fashion Flags Fly…

This week, the designers were given the freedom to do whatever they wanted. Obviously, the fewer the contestants, the harder it is for the judges, and all of the creations were breathtaking. Of the two lowest scores, one surprised the hell out of me, and the other I had to agree took my breath away for the wrong reasons. It was busy AF, with a feathered jacket. Oddly enough, when the jacket was removed, it looked beautiful.

‘Project Runway’ 20 episode 10 recap: In ‘Freedom,’ the designers were blessed (or cursed?) with unlimited options [LIVE BLOG]

⚓️ Most Hated On Deck…

I didn’t see Down Under, and I’m sure they were worse, but I couldn’t stand Chef Leon. Come to think of it, Ashley was no prize either.

Former Below Deck Crew Members We Never Want to See Again

And while we’re on the subject.

https://ew.com/tv/below-deck-down-under-luke-laura-fired-inappropriate-behavior/

🍸 Throwing Back the Rules…

It’s funny how people don’t change much. Unless with the help of a plastic surgeon.

Unrecognizable Throwback Photos of the Vanderpump Rules Cast

🐻 Furry Companions In History…

Very cool!

https://www.ancient-origins.net/history-famous-people/famous-pets-0017655

🛶 Floating My Boat…

Join me tomorrow for soap and a wealth of tea, talking points, and music befitting the day. Until then, stay safe, stay willing to step in when you see injustice, and stay not focusing on the what ifs and the what might have been. It’s no way to live your life.

Aug10

August 9, 2023 – Gregory Takes Alexis Hatchet Throwing, Lots Of Concern About Shannon In the OC & All

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Alexis looks at a headline on her computer: Senator Wilkins Acquitted On All Counts. She says she can’t believe it. That son of a… He got away with it. Gregory asks what she’s talking about, and she says, look at this, and reads him the headline. He asks how that’s even possible. He was caught red-handed. She says, that’s because he has good lawyers. No. He’s got clever lawyers. He’s got expensive lawyers because he can afford to pay for them. This makes her so freakin’ mad. It’s the height of injustice. He says, not to mention inept prosecutors, and she says, right. They were so sure they were going to win. He says, they underestimated the opposition, and she says, this makes her so mad. She just wants to break something. He says, why doesn’t she?

There’s a knock at Olivia’s office door, and she says, come in. Carly says she hopes it’s okay she dropped by. Trish said Olivia was working late. Olivia asks what she can do for Carly, and Carly says, it’s so weird, being in her old office. She’s surprised Nina hasn’t taken it over. Olivia says she’d never let that happen, and Carly thanks her. She heard about everything going on since Ned left the hospital, and she wants to say she’s so sorry. Nina comes to the door, and Carly says she wouldn’t wish that on her worst enemy. Nina clears her throat, getting their attention.

Curtis is glued to his phone, when Marshall comes in. Marshall asks how it’s going, and Curtis says, whatever Marshall does, don’t ask how he’s doing. Marshall says, of course (🍷), but if Curtis changes his mind and decides he wants to tell him, he wants to know. One thing he knows without Curtis telling him is, time drags in the hospital. Curtis says, yes it does. He couldn’t even watch the big fight tonight because he couldn’t stand to watch those athletes in peak physical condition, or even the audience, all active and energetic, while he sits here doing nothing. Marshall says, maybe he should stop thinking about what he can’t do and start focusing on what he can do. Curtis says, like what? and Marshall takes out a deck of cards, tosses it on the tray, and taps the box.

Portia flashes back to telling Curtis that they’re in this together, no matter what the odds are and no matter what life throws their way. Trina comes in, and Portia says, she’s home. Trina asks if it’s okay, and Portia says, of course (🍷). It’s more than okay. It’s the best news she’s had in a long time. She hugs Trina, and Spencer walks in with a load of bags.

Jordan finds Dante in the interrogation room, working on his laptop, and asks what he’s doing in there. He says, it gets a little noisy in the squad room, so he thought he’d come in here and try to focus. Jordan asks what he’s working on, and he says he thought she hung up her Commissioner badge for the Deputy Mayor spot. She says she did, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be curious about something.

Sonny tells Donna that he liked the movie, and she says, her too. He says, now she has to brush her teeth and go to bed. She asks if she can’t stay up with him, and he says, all right. Five more minutes. She says, yay! and he puts the TV back on.

Olivia asks what she can help Nina with, and Nina says she just wanted to thank Olivia for this morning… But they can talk about it another time. Goodnight. Olivia says, goodnight, and Nina leaves. Carly asks what that was about, and Olivia says, she met with Nina to plan the wedding.

Alexis tells Gregory, it’s not that breaking this or that, or sweeping her arm across the whole desk (I’ve always wanted to do that) wouldn’t feel cathartic, and she wants to. But then her office would be all messy, and she’d be the one who has to clean it up (that’s what stops me too). So she’s not going to break anything. So she’s just going to walk away and not read another word about that miserable senator that’s making her crazy. Gregory says, she took his suggestion way too literally. He wasn’t suggesting she destroy her office. He has a much better idea.

Gregory and Alexis walk into the hatchet throwing range, and Alexis says, ax throwing? Doesn’t he think it’s a bit violent? He says, it’s not violent; it’s a sport. He’s guessing it’s going to be cathartic in getting out her frustration. She asks if he’s done this before, and he says, no, but his sons have. Anytime Finn and Chase agree on something, he has to give it a try. They say it’s very satisfying. Besides, it’s something on his bucket list. She says, he has a bucket list? and he says, actually, he has two.

Sonny watches the fight, and says, great hit. He looks over at Donna sleeping on the couch, and calls Dante. He asks if Dante is watching the fight, but Dante says, no. He’s still at work. Sonny says, he’s missing out. Ferrari is killing him. Dante says, don’t tell him anything; he’s recording it. Sonny says he won’t spoil it for Dante. Why is he still at work? Dante says he’s just going through some cases, and Sonny says he’ll talk to Dante soon.

Dante tells Jordan, it was his dad, giving him an update on the fight, and she asks if he has any updates on the pool shooting, the one that paralyzed Curtis. (Like there’s more than one.) He says, nothing much. So far, they just have more questions than answers.

Curtis says, Marshall brought a deck of cards. No doubt to play Go Fish. He knows that’s a kids’ game. Marshall says, the way he remembers it, it was Curtis’s favorite game to play as a boy. That and checkers, although he wasn’t very clear on the rules. He had this tendency to always declare himself a winner, even when he wasn’t. Curtis says he doesn’t know about declaring himself the winner, but he sure loved jumping those pieces across the board. Marshall says, he sure did. According to Trina, there’s an app on his phone where he can play checkers. Of course (🍷) if you can’t pick up the pieces, what’s the point? Curtis says, exactly, and Marshall laughs. Curtis says he remembers when he was a kid, sitting across from Marshall and looking up at him, and Marshall laughing exactly like that. He loved hearing Marshall laugh, but what he loved more was spending time with him. Marshall says he’s sorry. He deprived them both of so many years. Curtis says, none of that matters now. What matters is, Marshall was there when he was a kid and he’s here now, and he couldn’t be any more grateful.

Spencer tells Portia, when Trina asked for his help moving back home, of course (🍷) he said yes, because he knew how much it would mean to Portia to have Trina living with her again. Portia tells Trina that she’s so sorry. She’s been using Trina’s room as extra storage while she was gone. So she’ll be sure to remove all those books and extra towels later. Trina says, it’s no big deal. She’ll move them right now. She’ll be right back. She goes upstairs, and Spencer says he’ll take this stuff up to Trina’s room, but Portia says, that won’t be necessary. She’ll take it from here.

Carly says, Olivia is planning Sonny and Nina’s wedding. Wow. She can’t believe they had the audacity to ask her to do that. Olivia says, they didn’t ask; she offered. And it’s not what Carly is thinking. She’s not doing it for Nina and Sonny. She’s doing it for herself. She needed a distraction. She has to get her head out of all things Quartermaine. She can’t stop obsessing over Ned. She looks at him and sees her husband. Then he opens his mouth… Carly says, and he’s Eddie Maine, and Olivia says, being in that house, her home, it’s unbearable. Carly says she’s so sorry, and Olivia says, luckily, Michael is taking care of all things Quartermaine and all things Aurora. And Leo. Somehow that kid is able to comprehend that Eddie isn’t his dad better than she can, but he still misses his dad. How can he not? And Tracy is trying to get Ned committed. Carly says, that’s so extreme, and Olivia says, ya think? And just when she thinks she’s getting somewhere, she turns her back and he completely disappears. Carly asks how she can help, and Olivia wonders how Carly can even offer that after the way she treated Carly.

Nina asks what Sonny is reading, and he says, the commentary on the fight he just watched. She says, he has a little smile on his face. She’s guessing his guy must have won. He says, it makes him kind of happy. It went down to the wire; it was a great fight. He hates when a fight is uneven, and the one guy just pounds on the other guy. He wants it to be more competitive, like a dance… She’s not interested in boxing, is she? She laughs and says, as a sport, no, not really, but anything that makes him so excited and makes him smile means a lot to her.

Dante says, the working theory on the pool shooting is that the target was either Anna or Sonny, and Jordan says, two different ends of the spectrum. One spent most of her life fighting crime, while the other spent most of his life a criminal. Dante says, here’s the thing. The gun that was used was traced back to a storage locker at a WSB facility in Berlin, but there’s no prints. They can’t trace the bullets or the shooter. She asks what the WSB is saying about the gun, and he tells her, they said it was a break in, a security breach, and they didn’t know how it happened. But there’s no leads, no suspects. She asks if he doesn’t find it odd they’re not showing more interest, especially given that Anna was a former agent for them. He says, yeah, but it sounds like the WSB is washing their hands of Anna Devane.

Curtis asks if Marshall has a two, but Marshall says, no. Go fish. Curtis takes a card from the pile, and asks, what’s up with Marshall’s band? Marshall asks if he’s got any eights, and Curtis hands him one. Marshall thanks him, and says, they played a couple of gigs around town, plus there’s a club in Brooklyn that’s showing some interest. Curtis says, sounds exciting, and Marshall says, it does, but he doesn’t think it’s a good time to leave town. Plus the owner of the club is lowballing them of course (🍷). Curtis says, if they’re lowballing him, why is he still considering it? and Marshall says, they can expose the band to a brand new audience. Curtis knows he can talk about the music business for hours, but why don’t they talk about what they’re both thinking. He’s wondering what’s going to happen to Curtis, and Curtis says, to be honest with Marshall, he’s wondering the same thing.

Alexis’s ax bounces off the target, and she takes off her jacket. Gregory is a natural, but she keeps trying, and there’s a song part. She finally hits the target, and dances around.

Sonny and Nina cuddle, and he asks, who gave her that ring? She says, this little thing? Just some guy who says he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He says, seems like a smart guy. He’s showing her how committed he is by putting a ring on it. Why was she late? Where was she? She says she wanted to stop by Olivia’s office and talk about wedding plans, but when she went there, Olivia was in her office with Carly.

Carly says, Olivia was in the middle of a crisis and snapped at her. She gets it. During some of the worst times of her life, Olivia’s been there for her, and she’s come to depend on Olivia’s friendship, so they’re good. Olivia says, that just makes her feel worse. She was so overwhelmed with worry that Ned wasn’t going to wake up; that she was going to be stuck forever with some middle-aged rocker, but that’s no excuse. Carly says she appreciates Olivia’s apology, but who else is she going to dump on? Tracy? She was terrified, and Carly’s tough. She can take it. Olivia says, but she shouldn’t have to, and Carly says, Olivia is her best friend and they’re always going to have each other’s back. She so appreciates that and she needs that. Besides, she comes with limitations. Olivia can make a lasagna and she can only make a simple casserole, but what she can do is promise Olivia that she’ll always be there for her no matter what. Olivia cries and hugs her.

Portia tells Spencer, this is always going to be Trina’s home, no matter what. No matter how old she gets. When Trina’s done with college, she’s always going to be here for Trina. So she’s more than capable of helping her move back in her room. He says, of course (🍷). He completely understands that. It’s just that Trina asked for his help moving back in, so he thinks she’s expecting him to stick around. She says she understands that, but since her husband is in the hospital, and he’s currently paralyzed, she’d kind of like some one-on-one time with her daughter. She doesn’t think he understands how much she worried about Trina, about her safety and security. He says his Uncle Victor is dead, so that threat is gone. She says she wishes the Cassadines were the only thing she needed to worry about though. Curtis was shot by a ricochet bullet at the MetroCourt pool of all places; a place they should all feel safe, right? And the police say, there’s a possibility the bullet that wounded her husband was meant for his other uncle, Sonny Corinthos.

Jordan says, right before the shot rang out, she remembers seeing Anna having a conversation with Dante’s dad. Does he have any idea what they were talking about? He says, they’ve known each other forever. They could have been talking about anything. Maybe she was filling Sonny in on what Robin’s up to or maybe she was telling Sonny what she’s going through with the WSB. Jordan asks how Anna’s handling that, and he says, honestly, he doesn’t think she’s doing very well. Who would be in that situation, going through what the WSB’s put her through? She’s been in law enforcement her entire life, and now she’s on the outside looking in. On top of that, she was the potential target in a shooting, and she can’t investigate it. She doesn’t have WSB resources anymore. He thinks she’s having a tough time, even though she says she’s handling it well. She says, Anna always insists she can handle anything, and he says, they’ve got to find that shooter. She says, if they need her, officially or unofficially, she wants to help.

Alexis says she’s feeling a lot less stress, and Gregory says he told her so. He’s about to throw an ax, but drops it, and says he needs to take a little break. She tells him, have a seat. She could use some water too. She tosses one more ax before heading for the table, and Gregory points at the target. She sees she’s gotten a bullseye, and says, look at that.

On the phone, Dante says he loves Sam too. He’ll see her soon. He picks up the file on the pool shooting and opens it.

Olivia asks if Carly remembers the day they met, and Carly says she does. It was here in the MetroCourt. Olivia was in town for Sonny and Kate’s wedding. She grew up with Sonny in Bensonhurst, and he ran into her and asked her to be the maid of honor for his fiancé Kate Howard. Olivia says, Kate Howard was not her real name, and she spilled all of Kate’s secrets that her real name was Connie Falconari and she was from Bensonhurst, not some snotty blueblood from Connecticut. She was from Bensonhurst, just like Olivia, and she used to talk just like Olivia. Carly laughs and says, that was fifteen years ago. Can she believe it? We flash back to Olivia and Carly’s friendship over the years. Olivia says she guesses they’ll always be connected through Sonny, but Carly says, she doesn’t give them enough credit. Sure, they’ll always have a connection through Sonny, but becoming Olivia’s friend is one of the best decisions she ever made. She really does value Olivia’s friendship. Olivia says, then be honest. Does it really not bother her that she’s helping Nina and Sonny plan the wedding?

Curtis tells Marshall, when he checks out of the hospital, he’s supposed to go to a rehab facility. He’s got to say, he’s dreading that. Marhsall asks, why? Aren’t they supposed to teach him how to get around and get on with his life? Curtis says, that’s just it. He feels like going to that rehab facility is like him announcing to the world that he’s given up hope of ever walking again, and that he’s accepted this is what his life is about; life in a wheelchair. Marshall says, just because Curtis learns to get around in a wheelchair doesn’t mean he has to stop hoping he can walk someday again. He knows Curtis and knows he’s a proud man, and he’s had a very active life. He feels Curtis’s frustration, but he’s here to remind him that he doesn’t have to go through this struggle alone. Curtis says he knows Portia is so determined to be with him to support him. Just seeing her reminds him of the life they’ll never have together. It just makes it worse. Geez, Curtis might as well go to rehab, since he sounds like he’s given up. There’s a knock at the door, and Jordan asks if she’s interrupting, or is this a good time for a visit?

Spencer tells Portia that he’s so incredibly sorry for what happened to Mr. Ashford, but as he understands it, the police aren’t sure who the intended target was. The last thing he wants to do is make Portia’s life more difficult. One thing he can promise her is that he’s nothing like his late Uncle Victor or his Uncle Sonny. She says, he’s not exactly a saint though, is he? and he says, that’s true. His track record is far from spotless, and he hopes he’s earned some redemption for what happened in Greenland. But beyond that, he wants her to know that he wants Trina to be safe and to be happy. So to make her night easier, he’s going to say goodbye to Trina and take off. She says, there’s no need for him to say goodbye in person. She can let Trina know he had t to take off. He says, okay then. Goodnight. He leaves, and Portia heads for the stairs with a suitcase. Trina is on her way downstairs, and asks, where’s Spencer? Portia says, he took off.

Alexis asks if Gregory is okay, and he says, mostly just embarrassed. She says, embarrassed? He’s an ax athlete. Tell her about his bucket list. He can only have one. He tells her, says who? and she tells him, says logic. Says common sense. You get one bucket list, which means you can keep adding on as much as you want, so you don’t need a second. She sees his hand shake, and asks if it’s getting worse. He says, every single day.

Marshall tells Curtis, don’t worry, as he gathers up the cards. He’ll be back tomorrow and Curtis can redeem himself. Curtis thanks him, and Marshall leaves. Jordan says, Go Fish? Really? She always thought he played higher stakes games. He says, Go Fish reminds his dad of when they played cards when he was a kid before he took off. So if it makes him smile, it makes Curtis smile. Jordan says she’s got it, and he says he knows people are on edge when they come to see him, because no one knows what to say. So if playing a kids’ card game puts his dad at ease… She says, that’s what he’s going to do. She sees that. He wants his dad to feel better. He says, except there’s not much he can do these days, so it’s nice to do the one thing he can, and she says, which is exactly why she’s here. She needs something from him.

Trina tells Portia that she wishes Spencer had stayed. They could have gotten everything to her room a lot faster. Portia says, Spencer is probably thinking about his baby brother, and Trina says, right. She knows how important Ace is to him. Portia says, besides that, it’s her and Trina. They manage pretty well, don’t they? It’s like old times, right? Trina says, that is the reason she decided to come home, and Portia asks what she means. Trina says she didn’t want Portia tackling the biggest job by herself. This house isn’t handicap accessible. So what’s the plan? Is she going to install ramps for a wheelchair? Hand grips in the bathroom? Maybe they should move to someplace that’s all one-level. She knows how much Portia loves the beach house, but is it really the best place for Curtis?

Sonny tells Nina, Port Charles is a big city in some ways, but in other ways, it’s a community. He and Carly share kids, and Nina is going to be running into her a lot, and he doesn’t want her to feel like she’s got to avoid Carly, especially in her own hotel. She says she doesn’t. She knows Olivia and Carly are really good friends, and she didn’t mean to interfere. She doesn’t want to make things more tense than they already are. Things are going really great between her and Olivia, and she doesn’t want to ruin it. Especially now, and specifically considering what she went to Olivia’s office to talk to her about. He asks what she went to Olivia’s office to talk to her about, and she says, their future. Specifically, setting their wedding date.

Gregory tells Alexis that he has a disease that’s making his world smaller and smaller, and day by day taking away his abilities, and making him more dependent on other people. Alexis says, he must be scared, but he says, no. Angry… No. Royally pissed off. But what good is being angry going to do him?It’s just using up more of what he doesn’t have – time. Time with his sons and his granddaughter, who brings him endless joy. Alexis says, how could she not? and he says his family life is still pretty good. He has great friends, like her. He started a second chapter career. But lately, he can’t stop thinking… no, obsessing about the inevitable. When he first started getting symptoms, he was able to ignore them for a while, until he couldn’t. Then he was diagnosed. At  one doctor’s appointment, in one moment, everything changed. Everything was taken away from him, and he doesn’t want to give it up. She goes around behind him and hugs him, and he cries. Me too.

Portia tells Trina that Curtis will be in a rehab facility for a month or so, so she has some time to make this place handicap accessible. And just to be perfectly transparent, he hasn’t even agreed to come back here after. Trina says she’s so sorry. It must be killing Portia. Portia says, intellectually, she knows what’s going on. She knows how patients deal with facing paralysis, but she believes this is the time you show up for the people you love. So she’s going to wait for him to get through this and let her in. She hopes he’s going to let Trina in too. Trina says she hopes she’s ready if he does, because she’s been feeling so sad and disconnected. Portia says she’s sure Curtis is feeling the exact same way. Trina knows ordinarily Curtis would love to spend time with her. Portia thinks he’s just facing the feelings of being paralyzed. Trina says she wanted to see him and she wanted to see Portia too. That’s the reason she came home, because she missed her mom. Portia says she missed Trina so much, and hugs her.

Curtis says, as Jordan can see, he’s not really in a position to be doing any favors, but she says, he might be able to help more than he thinks. She sits down and says she doesn’t know if he remembers, but she was at the MetroCourt pool with Zeke and Portia the night he got shot. He says he remembers, and she says, the police believe either Sonny Corinthos or Anna Devane was the intended target of the shooter. Has anything come back to him about the shooting? Any details or observations that could help them track down the shooter? He asks how she’s investigating the shooting. Isn’t she the new Deputy Mayor? She says she is, and she’s doing her best, but what can she say? Once a cop, always a cop. Besides, she has a personal stake in his case. Obviously, he does too, so if anything comes back to him… Any memory, any sound, anything at all, please let her know. He says he can do that.

Gregory tells Alexis that he knows he keeps saying he doesn’t want to tell his sons about his ALS. It’s because they’d look at him differently, and he wants their time together to be special. But lately, these symptoms are getting worse. He finds himself canceling, avoiding them. While his bucket list is getting longer, he’s opting out of it. Not just the bucket list, but day to day stuff, like hiking with Chase, breakfast with Finn and Violet, because he’s so scared that he’s going to have some symptom he can’t hide or explain away. She says, how about if he just starts with Finn? He’s a doctor. Finn can help him. Gregory says, he’s been through so much already. He doesn’t want to be a burden to Finn. She says, he just told her that he wants to enjoy his life for as long as he can. So do it.

Nina says, when Sonny was talking to Brick, she was talking to Olivia about wedding plans, and she quickly realized they can’t make wedding plans without setting a wedding date. He says he already told her that he loves her, and he wants her to have the perfect wedding of her dreams. But he wants to be perfectly clear. He’ll go to a courthouse to marry her. He’ll go to Vegas and marry her. He just wants her to know he’s committed and serious about marrying her. They kiss, and he says, but they’ve got to pick a date tomorrow. They kiss some more.

Carly says she knows Olivia loves Sonny and wants him to be happy, so of course (🍷) she’s going to support him. Like she said, it’s more about distracting her from the Eddie Maine situation, so yeah, she understands that. Olivia says she really appreciates that, and Carly says, that doesn’t mean she has to like it, but she can learn to live with it. Besides, she has so much going on right now. Olivia asks, how is Drew? and Carly says, he’s okay given the situation. She’s just so worried about him, and she feels so frustrated because there’s nothing she can do except visit him… Does Olivia want to get out of here? Olivia says, sure. Where does Carly want to go? Carly says, you’ll see, and gets up. Olivia follows her out.

Tomorrow, Portia asks if Marshall doesn’t think Curtis should move back home; Curtis says he’s guessing someone isn’t visiting him for medical reasons; Sam thinks she has a solution for Maxie; and Trina needs someone’s help.

The Real Not-So-Hot Messes Housewives of Orange County

We see a lot of clips with the women with their pets. I love Fancy Pants’ dogs, and take comfort in the fact that I’m sure they poop on her floor. Emily bathes a chihuahua like mine, and I love him too.

Tamra says, closing the gym was exhausting. She wants Eddie to enjoy life, but him not having a place to go every day is getting on her nerves. He eats all day, and his chewing drives her nuts. They’ve opened an office closer to their house, and she doesn’t care what he does in it, as long as he goes there. She tells him about co-hosing the theme party with Jenn where each of the women comes as another.

Gina and Fancy Pants meet to pick out pumpkins, and Gina says she misses New York in the fall, which I totally get. Fancy Pants tells Gina that Jenn said Shannon is poking around in Gina’s relationship. Gina says, Shannon has no problem poking in other people’s relationships, but never wants them to talk about John. She tells Gina about her problems, then gets pissed when Gina voices concern. She asks if Fancy Pants doesn’t have concerns, but Fancy Pants says she doesn’t want to get involved. In Gina’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants got nervous and is pumping the breaks. Gina says, it feels like Shannon needs to talk about someone because she doesn’t want to talk about herself, and she doesn’t like it.

Jenn meets a friend named Taylor, but not that one. Taylor grilled Ryan on getting married, and he said it revolved around the timing of Jenn’s divorce. In Jenn’s interview, she says she needs someone who loves and knows her to give their opinion. She’s starting to question what she wants. Taylor asks what she’s looking for and if she’s worried something is going to come out after she’s got the ring. In her interview, Jenn says her divorce is complicated, since her ex works for the family business, the family wants to divorce him from his job too. Jenn tells Taylor that she doesn’t have to be married, but Ryan thinks it might be self-sabotage. She doesn’t want to be part of a second failed marriage, and tells Taylor that she’s happy the way things are.

Everyone gets their makeup done for the party, and while Tamra, gets done up as Fancy Pants, she blabs to the makeup guy about Fancy Pants and Shannon. Shannon’s daughter doesn’t know what pantyhose are, and I wonder if they still make them. Vicki meets Shannon beforehand and insists on dressing like herself. In Shannon’s interview, she says she knows she’s in for some crazy fun. Vicki is dating someone, but says she’s skittish. She had 18 things on her future man list, and he hit all 18. Gina hopes whoever does her, does current Gina, but she has the feeling they won’t. Shannon is doing Gina, and she’s right. Vicki asks who Shannon is budsy-wudsy with, and Shannon says, Emily is fun. But everyone is chipping in on her relationship. Ha-ha! That sounds like they’re taking bets. In her interview, Shannon says she’s had conversations with Heather about normal relationship issues, and Heather is blowing it out of proportion. I have the feeling Shannon gets drunk after a fight with John and makes emotional drunk phone calls. When she sobers up and cools off, she’s like, it was no big deal, even though she made it a big deal to her friends, and gets mad when they’re concerned about that. Maybe I’m mean, but this is the kind of so-called friend I’d distance myself from, and have.

Tamra toddles to Jenn’s door in her Fancy Pants outfit, and shoots off a money gun as Jenn gets her makeup done as Taylor, yes that one. In Jenn’s interview, she says she and Tamra are rebuilding their friendship, but she’s keeping an eye on Tamra’s tequila intake. Gina arrives as Emily, and in Emily’s interview, she says she’s impressed. Gina nailed it, except for the boobs. Heather joins the group as Jenn, and in her interview, she says she would never buy a money gun; it’s déclassé. Taylor arrives as Tamra, but in Tamra’s interview, she says, Taylor could have just worn a sign that said a-hole and it would have looked more like her. She’s disappointed. Taylor thinks Jenn did a great job, even carrying Smudge the Cat from the meme of Taylor. In Gina’s interview, she says she’s not surprised Shannon chose a version of her at her worst, but she doesn’t think Shannon could pull off current version anyway. Vicki comes as herself, lugging a keg, and immediately does a keg stand, but she can’t drink upside down and it comes right back. Shannon is next and it just looks rude. Tamra says she’s slutty Heather, and in her interview, Fancy says, apparently dressing up like Heather doesn’t mean you act like Heather. The buffet looks like a farmers market charcuterie board; definite food porn. Emily tells Gina that she opened up to Shannon, but Shannon won’t open up, and they agree Shannon keeps asking for help, but then won’t take it. Hint: What Shannon is looking for is attention and them to agree with her. And if you give her A, she’ll want B, and vice versa.

Shannon announces that she’s having an outdoor super casual event, which is what you do when you’re at someone else’s event. It’s also game night, and they play Do or Drink, and as usual it’s all sexual stuff I don’t want to know about. I’m not a prude by any stretch of the imagination, but that doesn’t mean I want to hear about their proclivities or see them. In her interview, Shannon is offended by Emily’s interpretation of her hand gesturing, but it’s actually pretty accurate and funny. In Emily’s interview, she says, when she heard game night, she thought Monopoly and Twister, not getting her nipple licked, but she’s not mad about it. Shannon wants to talk to Fancy Pants on the side, and tells her that she’s been hearing from Emily, Gina, and Tamra that Fancy Pants is saying her relationship is bad. At the table, Emily says, Shannon likes to tell them about John, and she gets that Shannon wants to protect him, but it gets to the point where it’s unfair. Fancy Pants insists she’s neutral about Shannon and John, and in her interview, she says, Tamra is trying to drum up allegations that she can’t keep a secret. And Shannon is more concerned about who’s talking about her relationship than her actual relationship. In her interview, Shannon says she never cared about someone so much and she doesn’t want to lose that. Fancy Pants says, some of the girls are concerned about Shannon not having a good relationship and hiding it. Shannon says she thought she could share private information with Fancy Pants, now the girls are talking, but Fancy Pants refuses to be held to the fire for something she didn’t do. Tamra polls the table about who Fancy Pants talked to, and bat-eared Fancy Pants asks why she’s whispering.

Tamra asks if Fancy Pants talked with Emily and Gina about Shannon’s relationship, and Fancy Pants asks if they all talked about it. Shannon says she’s not doing this in the group, and Emily says, Fancy Pants can’t blame it on them. In Emily’s interview, she says, Fancy Pants is trying to deflect, but this whole thing began with her talking about what Shannon shared with her. Gina says, Shannon expressed concern about her and Travis, so why is she upset about Fancy Pants’ concern? Shannon yells that they owe her boyfriend an apology, and Gina says, they’re just concerned. WOTD. Shannon says, nobody knows anything about her relationship, and screeches that she’s never been more in love and has never hurt more when they’re not in a good spot. Emily says, they’re all concerned, and in Shannon’s interview, she wonders if she’s  being ambushed. She says, they’re exaggerating, and tells them to enjoy talking about her and walks out. In Jenn’s interview, she says she’s seen Shannon and John together and they seem happy. Bless them for trying to avoid the group. Fancy Pants says, apparently she’s a Machiavellian terrible person who manipulates everyone. After quickly looking up Machiavellian, Tamra wonders why she’s being brought into this when she hasn’t said anything, and Fancy Pants says, they’ve all talked. Shannon says she’s never told Emily anything bad about her relationship, but Emily says, Shannon’s told her a lot of things, like when they were at Javier’s. Shannon puts her thinking cap on, but says she doesn’t remember. In Emily’s interview, she says, from what Shannon has told her, she doesn’t feel like John is invested in the relationship and she thinks Shannon is wasting her time when she can do better. In Fancy Pants’ interview, she gives a long list of what’s wrong with John, like Shannon pays for everything, and they always stay at her house. But she doesn’t want to talk about it. Shannon says, they’re influencing where her relationship goes. He’s done. She doesn’t know how she’s going to talk to him. Vicki comes out, but Shannon wants to leave. She tells them to give themselves a pat on the back. Her relationship is over. Good Lord. Can we have more drama? In her interview, Emily says, Shannon is trying to maintain a relationship in public that’s solid, perfect, and amazing. Shannon has said John called her names, and said she was fat and unattractive. It makes Emily’s heart hurt just to say it. At the table, Emily cries and says she’s worked hard to be friends with Shannon. In her interview, she says she’s sure Shannon’s pissed and thinks she was betrayed. But at the end of the day, who be there? John or them? She puts her money on them. She tells Fancy Pants that all she is, is concerned. I dunno. If you have to work to be friends with someone, that’s a job, not a friendship.

Shannon goes on and on about how few times she’s talked to anyone about John, and Tamra asks if Fancy Pants is lying. Shannon says, things are going around online about Fancy Pants and her husband, and in her interview, Fancy Pants says, just because Shannon’s relationship is no beuno, don’t come for hers with ridiculous sources online. Shannon yells that she doesn’t have affairs and bad sh*t. They have arguments that paralyze her. By this time, she’s outside, and tells production to stop the cameras. She’s not a crazy person. Even though no one suggested she was.🤔Vicki and Tamra follow her, and in Vicki’s interview, she says she doesn’t know John, but she knows Shannon wants her relationship to work. When people talk, it causes Shannon to have doubts. Let her figure it out. Wow. Vicki, the voice of reason. This is one way reality TV never ceases to surprise me. Sometimes wisdom is in the last place you look. Shannon is still ranting, screeching that she called them one time in 2020. Her hands go all over the place, and she says, they have normal fights, but they paralyze her. Everyone’s outside by now, and Jenn’s smoke alarm goes off, but no one seems too concerned, which is funny considering how many times that word has been used. Gina wonders if Shannon burned the house down. In Shannon’s interview, she says, they don’t know John, but they all have opinions and comments. Inside again, Fancy Pants tells Emily that she threw her under bus. If she wanted to spread sh*t, she’d spread sh*t. But she doesn’t do that. Emily is just looking for reasons to be pissed with her, and she doesn’t like it. We flash back to Emily reading Fancy Pants a few times, but she’s not wrong. Gina says, everyone violated the vault, but Shannon needs to take responsibility for her own sh*t. Outside, Vicki wants to know, who wants to whoop it up? and Shannon says, it’s a f***ing spectacle.  

My read. Oh yeah. Shannon likes to blast John when she’s had one too many and Heather is nothing but a big gossip. Gina, Jenn, Taylor, and oddly enough, Tamra, are blameless, and Emily is genuinely concerned. Again, in a total surprise twist, Vicki is the sage one.

Next time, too much tequila; Fancy Pants and Terry close on the penthouse; Gina says, Shannon was mean; Fancy Pants says, Shannon doesn’t remember that she tells lots of people lots of things; John tells Shannon, people need to STFU; Emily says, Shannon is two different people; and Shannon says she’s out. This is not what she signed up for. I’ll bet it is. She just doesn’t remember.

🍃 Blowing Through the Jasmine In My Mind…

Breeze on in tomorrow for soap and a spot or two of tea. Until then, stay safe, stay using your turn signal (didn’t they teach that in driver’s ed?), and stay not being angry. It only uses up more of your time.

Aug9

August 8, 2023 – Valentin Tells Anna About Pikeman, Coming Back, NYC Morsels, Amusing Pets (!) & Rainbow

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Valentin says, that’s not the usual greeting he gets when he walks in the door. How would he know who shot at Anna? Anna says, they’ll get to that. Can he tell her first of all what that message meant? He says, maybe he’s still a little jet-lagged, but what message are they talking about? She says, the one he had her deliver to Sonny.

Martin goes into Cyrus’s room and asks how big brother is feeling today. He knows they’re shipping Cyrus back to Pentenville, and can’t imagine he’s very happy about that. Cyrus says, just tell him that Martin did as he asked, and Martin says he did exactly as Cyrus asked; transfer all of his accounts to the rehabilitation institute. Cyrus says, excellent. With the help of God and that money, many lives will be saved. Martin says, what about Cyrus’s life? Far be it for him to second-guess Cyrus’s generosity, but it appears he’s penniless. Is he sure he made the right decision? Cyrus says, for the love of money is the root of all evil (I appreciate him quoting that correctly), and Martin says, play it his way. He doesn’t have to understand Cyrus’s benevolence, but he can’t shake the feeling that somehow, some way, there’s something in it for him. Cyrus says he did his part. Let’s leave it at that; the rest is in God’s hands. Austin looks in through the window.

Sasha wakes up and sees the door to her room open. Cody walks in, and she says his name.

Finn asks if Elizabeth knows where he may find the head nurse, and she wonders if she can ask what this is about. He says, it’s a bit personal… embarrassing really, but she has a kind face. He supposes he can tell her. She says, go on, and he says he wanted to thank her. He was having this crisis of confusion. He has feelings for a co-worker and thought she didn’t feel the same way about him, which is understandable, so he was thinking of leaving GH to avoid running into her every day… literally. He’s quite clumsy. She says she’s guessing he had second thoughts about this, and he says he has. He won’t be seeking a position at another hospital. Gregory comes out of the elevator, and Elizabeth says she thinks she can speak for the head nurse. She’s quite happy he’s going to stay. He says, really? He realized that GH has something he won’t find anywhere else in the world. He notices Gregory and says, hey. What brings him by?

Tracy finds Olivia in the nook, and asks, where is he? Olivia asks, who? and Tracy says her son, the wandering warbler, of course (🍷). Olivia says, since she no longer shares a bed with him, she really wouldn’t know, but she assumes Eddie is still asleep since he was out all night club hopping again. Tracy says, enough is enough. They have to do something now. Olivia asks what she means, and Tracy says, it’s time to have Ned committed.

Gregory says he didn’t mean to interrupt, and tells Elizabeth and Finn to carry on with their conversation. Just pretend he was never here. Finn says, it’s okay. He was just telling Elizabeth how he decided to stay at GH. Gregory says he had no idea Finn was planning to leave. He hopes everything is okay. Finn says, more than okay. He thought he might be better off at another hospital, but then he realized what he’d be giving up. Elizabeth says, GH’s most brilliant doctor, and what would they all do without his scintillating bedside manner? Finn says, this from a woman who once referred to him as a curmudgeon, and Elizabeth tells him that she didn’t say that. Everybody else calls him that, but not her. She finds him very charming. She leaves, and Gregory says, Finn is smiling. Finn says, he can’t help it. She said he was charming.

Olivia says, when Tracy uses the word committed… Tracy says, to a mental ward. Ned needs help; analysis under a doctor’s supervision. Olivia asks if she really thinks that’s the way to go, and Ned almost walks in, but hangs back, listening. Olivia says, what is she going to do, throw him in a padded cell with a straitjacket? but Tracy says, this is not One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She’s trying to save her son, and a psychiatrist can tell if he’s faking or if he really believes he’s Eddie Maine. Olivia asks if she really thinks this is the way to go, and Tracy says, yes, she does. He can’t keep staying out all night and partying. He’s going to crash and burn, and she’s trying to stop it before it happens. The best thing Olivia can do for him is put him in a psychiatric facility. Ned continues to listen, and Olivia says, whatever Ned is calling himself these days, she’s still his wife. So legally, she’s the only one who could have him committed. Tracy says, fine. Have at it. Do the honors. Just do it soon, because this has gone on way too long, and they have to put an end to it. Ned looks concerned, as we all would be.

Sasha says, it’s good to see Cody, and he slams the door shut. She asks if he’s okay, and he says, how can he be okay when she tried to murder him? She plunged a knife in his side, or doesn’t she remember that? She says she never meant to… He yells that she knew exactly what she was doing. And all he’s ever done is try to help her. What the hell was he thinking? He goes to the door, and she says, wait. He turns around, and he’s Cyrus, who says, she’s nothing but a strung-out junkie. No one can help her now. She’s going to die in a back alley with a needle in her arm. She says, he’s not real. He’s not here. Leave her alone. He holds out a bag of white powder and says, come on. You know you want it. Here it is. Go on. Take it. She tells him to leave her alone, and he says, she needs him. he backs her up against the wall and says, no one else wants her. Come back to him. She starts to cry and slides down the wall.

Brook messes around on the keyboard, and Cody asks what she’s doing. She says, knitting, and he says, very funny. He’s been looking for her all day. She’s been ignoring his calls and texts. She says she’s sorry. She left her phone upstairs. What’s up? He says he needs her help with Sasha. He’s really worried about her and has to help her, but the only way to do that is get into Ferncliff. She says, good luck with that, and he says, that’s where she comes in.

Martin says, Cyrus is going to leave everything in God’s hands, and Cyrus says, I trust in our Benevolent Creator. Martin says, obviously. Enough to pad that foundation’s bank account, that’s for sure. Cyrus says, in discovering the truth about life, you discover how meaningless money really is, and Martin asks if Cyrus is sure the heart attack didn’t damage his… memory for one thing. Although he did manage to put together those forms and give Martin access to his money, so… Cyrus says he remembers the kind of man he was, and he knows the road to forgiveness is long and treacherous. Martin hopes Cyrus remembers the kind of man his brother is. He’s always been a bit of a cynic. Cyrus says, yes, and he prays one day they can remedy that frailty together, and Martin says, until they do, does Cyrus mind if he proffers an opinion? As his attorney, it appears Cyrus is penniless. As his brother, Martin strongly has his doubts. Cyrus says, Martin saw all his accounts. He devested and gave everything away. Martin says, that’s right. In his experience, men like Cyrus… excuse him. Men like Cyrus used to be seldom stash everything in a place where it can so easily be found. Cyrus asks if Martin is accusing him of holding back, and Martin says he’s strongly suggesting it’s a possibility. Cyrus says, oh ye of little faith, and Martin says, come on. Please. Just back away from the Good Book long enough to look his baby brother in the face and give him an honest answer. Cyrus says, Martin gave away every dime he had, and Martin says he guesses he’ll just have to take Cyrus’s word for it then. Cyrus says, as God is his witness he’ll never go hungry again.

Anna says, Valentin called him from Chechnya and asked him to deliver a message to Sonny. He asked her to take it to Sonny in person, which she did, but their connection was so bad. She wanted to get some more information from him because she has a lot of questions. He says, such as? and she says, here’s the thing. Sonny is being very kind to her recently, which is nice, but it doesn’t change the fact he’s running a criminal enterprise. So it makes her wonder why Valentin is sending cryptic messages to him, but more important, what did that message mean? Because Sonny seemed to understand what he was referring to; she’d like to also. He says he’s sorry. He had no intention of involving her in any of this, but he was helping Laura in Russia and didn’t have choice. She says, she understands that. His priority was helping Laura find Nikolas, and she thinks that’s probably why she just went ahead and did what he asked without questioning it. He says he appreciates that and thanks her, and she says, but the timing is really interesting, right? Because she was delivering that message to Sonny at the MetroCourt pool, and two minutes later, she was shot at. There’s got to be some kind of connection. Is he keeping something from her?

Martin tells Cyrus, good luck. Is there anything else Cyrus needs him to do? Cyrus says, he’s done enough, and thanks him. Martin says he worries about Cyrus going back to that place. He’d hate to have to tell mother that something happened to him there. Cyrus says, somehow, he doesn’t think she would care, but he made peace with that a long time ago. Martin says, she always asks about him. He’s got to go see a client. Cyrus says, about a horse? and Martin laughs. He tells Cyrus to take care of himself and leaves.

In the hallway, Martin sees Austin and wonders if he can ask him a quick question. His brother is being transferred back to Pentenville today, and he’s concerned about it being so soon after the heart attack. Is Austin sure it’s not risky? Austin says, all of his test results are back and things look good. He doesn’t know Mr. Renault very well, but he seems like a pretty tough cookie. His phone dings, and he tells Martin that he wouldn’t worry. He’s sure everything is fine. Martin thanks him and continues on. Austin sees a text from Mason: Your office. Now.

Delusion Cyrus says, Sasha is just a violent psychopath. She cries, and Cyrus turns into Cody, who says, she’s going to be locked away for the rest of her miserable, pathetic life. Then you’re going to rot in hell for what you did to me, you crazy bitch. She says, no! She never meant to hurt him. He has to believe her. She thought he was someone else. She thought he was Cyrus; she stabbed Cyrus. He says, look at him. Look at what she did to him. She sees the knife sticking out of his bloody side, and scream/cries.

Real Cody says, Sasha does not belong in Ferncliff, and Brook tells him that he keeps saying that, but… He says, something isn’t right here. He can feel it. He just has to figure out what it is. She says, and he thinks getting into Ferncliff will give him the answer? and he says he does, but he can’t get in. He already tried once and almost got caught. She tells him, when he says it like that, it sounds like something shady is going on, and he says he may have told them that he was Dante Falconari. She says, he impersonated a cop? Is he crazy? He already doesn’t have a great relationship with the PCPD. He says, but he does have a great relationship with Dante, and she says, then why doesn’t Cody just ask Dante to get him into Ferncliff? He says, because that shyster Gladys has to give permission for any visitors. She doesn’t want him anywhere near that place. The last thing she wants is for him talking to Sasha, but she does like Brook. She’s his only hope. Will Brook call her please?

Olivia tells Tracy, absolutely not. She will not have her husband committed. Tracy says, he won’t be her husband again unless she has him committed. The best thing she can do for him is get him help. Ned continues to listen, and Olivia says, but how does Tracy know that committing him is going to help? They could load him full of drugs. They could give him electroshock therapy. It’s still legal to give someone a lobotomy. Tracy says, Olivia’s seen too many movies. It’s only a matter of time before he puts himself in a dangerous situation, or worse than that, he runs off with a groupie and we can’t find him. Olivia says, Ned would never do that, and Tracy says, right. Ned would never do that, but Eddie Maine would. They have to get him treatment. Olivia needs her husband, she needs her son, Leo needs his father. Please… Olivia says, no. She’s not going to do it. Not now, not ever. She doesn’t care if he calls himself Eddie Maine for the rest of his life. Tracy storms off.

Valentin tells Anna, okay. Initially, he was supposed to be an intermediary between a third party and Sonny Corinthos. They asked him to reach out to Sonny on their behalf, and he did. As soon as they came to a preliminary agreement, he assumed that was the end of his involvement. She says, until he asked her to give Sonny a message concerning who he should and shouldn’t trust while doing business with this third party. He says, that was information he was compelled Sonny should have, and she asks how he obtained this information he was compelled to share. He says he’s not sure he’s comfortable with this line of questioning, and she says, he sounds like a lawyer. Come on. He’s not talking to a client; he’s talking to her, the person he claims to love. Can he just tell her what’s going on? Like, why is he involved with Sonny, and who is the third party? He says, a defense contractor, and she asks, what’s the name of the company? He says, Pikeman.

Austin goes to his office, but doesn’t see Mason. He goes out into the hall, then goes back in, and Mason is in his office. He asks, what’s with the hiding? and Mason asks if he’s heard from Betty or Corinthos’s Pikeman connection? Austin says, this is Mason’s game, not his. Mason put all these pieces into play. You handle Betty. Although he hopes Mason handles Betty better than he handled Gordon. Mason says, Austin thinks he shot Gordon? He wouldn’t waste his time. Austin says, Mason didn’t like that guy and owed him money. Wait until the PCPD puts those pieces together. It’s motivation for wanting somebody gone, doesn’t he think? Mason says, if it was him, he wouldn’t be the one worried about the cops sniffing around. How long is it going to be before they find out Austin had a fight with Gordon outside the restaurant? It seemed pretty fancy and there were cameras everywhere.

Anna asks if Valentin has any idea how dangerous Pikeman is, and he says, years ago before Charlotte was born, he had dealings with them. He handled logistics, but he wasn’t working for Pikeman. He was working for an independent contractor, and they consulted on a few projects. She asks why he’s never told her about this before, and he says he’s done business with a lot of companies he’s never told her about before. She asks if that’s supposed to make her feel better, and he says he hates her thinking that he’s intentionally keeping secrets from her. Pikeman came to him because they know him and like his work. They know he has an acquaintance with Sonny, and it didn’t seem like an unreasonable request, so he did it. He thought that was going to be the end of it. She says, he’s not the only person who could make an introduction to Sonny. There has to be a reason they chose him. He says, it’s not easy to get a meeting with Sonny Corinthos. They asked him to be an intermediary, and he agreed. She asks why he would do that. What was he thinking?

Ned tells Olivia that he heard everything she and Tracy said, and thanks her for standing up for him. That woman is a bully. Olivia says, that woman usually gets her way, but not this time. He has nothing to worry about. She’s the only one who can have him legally committed and she has no intention of doing that, but she does want him to get help. Just not on Tracy’s terms. He says he appreciates her help, but the bottom line is, he’s not Ned. So no matter what they try to do – therapy, hypnosis, analysis – nothing is going to change him into someone he’s not. There is no Ned. He doesn’t exist. She says, yes, he does, and there’s a ton of evidence to prove it. There’s birth certificates and passports and driver’s licenses… He says, those are pieces of paper. He knows who he is. She says, he can’t argue with fingerprints. Whatever he may believe, he is Ned Quartermaine. He is her husband. He’s Brook’s father; he’s Leo’s father. And they love him, and they need him back. He says he’s sorry. Ned’s not coming back. He’s gone. She just has to accept that and move on. He won’t pretend to be someone he’s not. He needs to sing. He needs his music. That’s who he is, and without it, he’s nothing. She says, what if there was a way that he could have his music and be part of this family too? He says he doesn’t follow, and she says, his daughter Brook is a spectacular songwriter; use her. Why don’t the two of them make music together?

Gregory says, it looks like things are going well between Finn and Elizabeth, and Finn says, the signs point to yes. Gregory looks puzzled, and Finn says, the kid’s thing… The Magic Eight Ball. You shook it up and asked a question… Never mind. The outlook’s good; at least it’s a maybe. Gregory says he’s happy for Finn, and Finn thanks him, but says, Gregory never told him why he came over here. Gregory says he’s doing some research. He’s doing an op-ed in The Invader on memory care facilities. Finn says he’s sorry, but he has a patient he’s got to see. They’ll talk about that trip to Disneyworld. He leaves, and Tracy comes out of the elevator. She asks what Gregory is doing here. Actually, she was worried about him at the MetroCourt. He says he doesn’t know what she’s talking about, and she says, when they had dinner. He couldn’t pick up his credit card. Was something wrong?

Cody waits just inside a door at Ferncliff, while Brook goes to the desk. She asks what the nurse’s name is, and Janice shows Brook her ID. Brook says, Janice. That’s a nice name. She always liked the name Jan. The Brady Bunch was her favorite show. Does she remember Jan? She was always so jealous of her sister, Marcia, Marcia, Marcia. Did anyone ever call her Jan? Janice asks how she can help Brook, and Brook says she’s actually here to visit her friend Sasha Gilmore. They work together at Deception, the cosmetics company. She’s sure Janice has heard of it. She should try their Perfectly Peach lipstick; it would look great with her coloring. Janice says she doesn’t wear lipstick and she hates peach, the color and the fruit. Just hand her a driver’s license and she’ll check to see if Brook is on the list of approved visitors. Brook gives her the license, and Jancie says, her name looks familiar. Does she know Brook from somewhere? Brook says she doesn’t think so, and Janice asks if she’s the BLQ who works with Blaze and Chase.

Anna says, Valentin had to know any dealings with Pikeman weren’t going to be above board. This is a defense contractor wanting to do business with the Corinthos organization, which screams illegal activities. He says, of course (🍷) he knew it would be questionable, but he didn’t care. She asks, why? Please help her understand. He doesn’t need the money. He says, it wasn’t about the money. He was hoping they could provide him with something more valuable than that. She says, what? and he says, when Pikeman first reached out to him, Victor had just framed Anna for Lucy’s so-called murder. He was blackmailing Holly Sutton; he was holding her son hostage. He seemed unstoppable, and Valentin was trying to find a way to stop him. She says, so he thought Pikeman could help him bring down Victor, and he says, yes. He thought there was a chance. She asks, why? and he says, because they’re connected to the WSB.

Gregory says, just because they had one dinner together doesn’t give Tracy the right to be calling around, prying into his private life. She says she wasn’t prying. She was asking a friend out of concern for him. He says, concern? She made a call asking if he had a medical problem. And since when are she and Alexis friends? His impression was that Alexis doesn’t include her in that category.

Finn comes out of the elevator as Elizabeth is walking by, and he says he has mold for her, handing her a box. She says she didn’t really like flowers anyway, and he says, it’s not really for her; it’s for Jake. He’s doing that science project for summer school and called Finn to ask for help. It’s about how mold grows into penicillin, so he grew some samples in his lab. There are some really good spores in here. She says she’s never seen someone so excited about fungus, and thanks him, taking the box. They hear Tracy say, this has absolutely nothing to do with Alexis, and Gregory saying, the more he gets to know her, the more he understands why Alexis… Elizabeth wonders why he did to deserve the wrath of Tracy.

Brook tells Janice that she was Chase’s manager, so he knows her, and Janice says she’s his biggest fan. The second a new song is released, she downloads it. She recorded his performance at the Nurses Ball and must have watched it a dozen times. Brook says, it’s her lucky day, because Chase and Blaze recorded a new duet. It doesn’t come out for months, but she can give Janice a sneak peek. Does she want to hear it? Janice says, that would be great, and Brook hands her earbuds, then scrolls on her phone. Janice listens and looks like she’s in heaven, while Brook motions to Cody and he slips down the hall.

Austin tells Mason, it wasn’t a fight. It was a heated discussion. Mason says, still. It doesn’t look good for Austin. Austin says, it had nothing to do with him. Gordon said Mason owed him money, and he told Gordon that he should talk to Mason. Something about another job he did for Mason. Does Mason want to explain what that’s all about? Mason says, Austin doesn’t need to know, and Austin says, he’s right. Get the hell out of his office. Mason says, where are Austin’s manners? He should be careful when he disrespects family. You never know when they’re going to turn on you. He walks out, leaving the door open.

Tracy asks Gregory what Alexis said that makes him think she’s not her biggest fan, and Elizabeth tells Finn that she’s sorry. He says, for what? and she says she knows Tracy is his friend, but sometimes she can come on a bit strong, doesn’t he think? He says, sometimes? Tracy is definitely an acquired taste, but she’s a good person. And he knows it’s hard to believe, but she has a soft side. She says, he’s right. It is hard to believe. He says, she’s also a ferocious backgammon player, and loves the competition just like his dad loves a good argument. It looks like he’s holding his own… kind of.

Tracy says she’s not going to stand here and defend her relationship with Alexis. It’s none of Gregory’s business. He says, just like his health is none of her business, and she says she can’t keep arguing with him about this. She has to speak to a doctor. He says, so she’s the one who needs medical help, but she says, it’s not for her. It’s for… It’s for her son. He needs to be committed.

Olivia brings Ned into another room, and says, that’s Brook’s keyboard. It’s where she writes most of her music. She’s sure Brook would love to have a writing partner. They could be Lennon and McCartney. He says he doesn’t know. He’s always done his own thing and doesn’t see himself as a duo. Olivia says, she wouldn’t be singing. She’d be helping him write songs and producing. He says, so she doesn’t sing? and Olivia says, she used to. It’s a long story. But it beats busking on a streetcorner, right? He says he needs more than this. He needs to be on a stage. He needs an audience. She says, he’s got one, and sits down.

Anna asks when this connection between Pikeman and the WSB started, and Valentin says he doesn’t know how far back it goes. He was with the WSB when Pikeman recruited him, as were a lot of current and former WSB agents who now find themselves working for Pikeman. It seemed to be some kind of revolving door. Any agent who left the Bureau could find a position at Pikeman. She says, so he worked for them years ago. She’s presuming at the time, Victor was head of the Bureau, and he says, yeah. Why?

Janice tells Brook that she’s all set. She’ll have an orderly take Brook to Sasha’s room.

Cody slips into Sasha’s room and sees her sitting against the wall. He says her name, but she doesn’t look at him. He closes the door and goes over to her. He says, it’s me, Cody, and she looks at him blankly.

Ned plays the keyboard as Olivia listens, and he flashes back to hearing Tracy say that he can’t keep staying out all night and partying. He’s going to crash and burn. She’s trying to stop that before it happens, and the best thing Olivia can do for him is put him in a psychiatric facility. He sings, and Olivia applauds at the end of the song. He says his throat’s really dry. Does she think she can get him something to drink? She suggests iced tea and leaves to get it.

Gregory says, committed? Why on earth would Tracy do that to her son? She says, Gregory saw him at Rice Plaza. He was delusional. He’s abandoned his wife, his children, and his business. What kind of mother would she be if she didn’t get him help? Gregory says, he’s not her responsibility; he’s an adult. She says, he’s an adult who believes he’s someone else. He says, she can’t lock him up because he doesn’t conform to who she wants him to be, and she says, this is not about her wanting him to be the perfect son. It’s about her trying to get him to see that he is her son, Ned Quartermaine. He says, she has no business giving away his agency. He has every right to live his life as he chooses. She can’t make decisions for him and deprive him of his liberty and independence. Doesn’t his freedom mean anything to her, because it should. Who cares what name he calls himself? The important thing is, he’s living his truth without anyone else interfering. If he hasn’t asked for help, he doesn’t need it. She says she didn’t ask for a lecture, but he says he’s just trying to help her see it from Ned’s point of view. She asks if he doesn’t mean Eddie. She’s sure he’s really trying to help her, but she knows what she has to do. She walks off, and Gregory goes over to Finn and Elizabeth. He says he doesn’t know how Finn puts up with that woman. If they’ll excuse him, he has some research to do. He leaves, and Elizabeth says, that was uncomfortable. He says, yeah, it was.

BTW, just call me Lady Gaga from now on. I’m living my truth.

Janice says, before Brook sees Miss Gilmore, she might want to prepare herself. Brook asks what she means, and Janice says, her friend is in a fragile state. She’s emotional and volatile. So Brook will need a medical professional with her during the visit. Ronald will stay in the room with her. Brook asks if that’s really necessary, and Janice says, yes. Dr. Montague left a note in her chart saying, all visits must be supervised. It’s for her own safety, as well as the patient’s. Ronald tells Brook, right this way please, and she follows him.

Cyrus is cuffed to a wheelchair and brought out of his room. Austin comes by, and looks at Cyrus, who smiles as he’s wheeled into the elevator. He continues to smile as the doors close.

Olivia brings in the iced tea, but the room is empty. She calls for Ned, then Eddie, but nothing.

Anna says, Valentin used to work for the WSB. He put together a deal with Pikeman and Sonny. Then he asked her, also a former agent, to deliver a message to Sonny. Then a couple of minutes later, shots are fired, either for Sonny or her, and the rifle used happened to be at one point in the custody of the Bureau. He asks if she thinks Pikeman and the WSB are behind the shooting, and she says she thinks the connection is stunningly obvious. She was the target, and she refuses to be a sitting duck, so if he’s got anything else he’s forgotten to tell her, now would be a really good time to do so, before they take another shot. Because honestly, the next time they might not miss. He says he’s told her everything he knows about Pikeman and their connection to the WSB. It kills him to think he put her in danger, because he never would have sent her to Sonny with that message if he’d known. She starts to walk out, and he asks where she’s going. She says, there’s a missing piece and she’s going to find out what that is.

Cody tells Sasha, it’s him; it’s Cody. Everything is going to be okay now. He’s going to try and get her out of here, okay? He touches her shoulder, and she says, no. Don’t touch her. She starts to scream at him to get away from her and leave her alone. She screams, get out! and Ronald runs in, followed by Brook. Ronald pulls Cody away from Sasha and tells him to get out right now. He’s calling security. Sasha continues to scream and cry, and Cody leaves, closing the door. Outside the room, Brook looks at Cody, terrified.

Tomorrow, Portia tells Trina, that’s the best news she’s had in a long time; Sonny asks if Nina is going to talk to someone; Marshall tells Curtis that he thinks it’s a good time to leave town; and Alexis tells Gregory, she’s so mad.

⚖️ Willing Walt’s Weturn…

They need to just give him a contract already.

Walt Willey Returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL!

🗽 Tidbits Of the City…

They probably deserve each other.

Unfortunately, Page Six links won’t get any bigger.

https://pagesix.com/2023/08/07/rhony-newbie-brynn-whitfield-confirms-shes-dming-shep-rose/

If it’s one of Oprah’s favorite things, it must be good, right?

‘RHONY’ Star Ubah Hassan Is a Model and Owns a Spicy Hot Sauce Company: See Her Career Highlights

https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a44751955/real-housewives-of-new-york-ubah-hassan/

Old New York.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/carole-radziwills-ex-adam-kenworthy-is-a-dad-see-her-reaction

🐡 Always Leave ‘Em Laughing…

No matter how bad the day is, a pet can always make you smile.

https://bestlifeonline.com/funniest-celebrity-pet-moments/

☔️ Not So Hot Fun In the Summertime…

Return tomorrow for soap and making fun of the OC. Until then, stay safe, stay swimming at a beach with a lifeguard on it, and stay living your truth. Hopefully without abandoning your family.

Aug8

August 7, 2023 – Anna Knows Who Shot Her, A Real Ace, Wish List, Goodbye Hello, New York Minute, Beverly Hills Leaks, Tips On Deck, Walking Again, Odd Pets (!) & Beach

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Scout comes out of the pool and thanks Sam for bringing her to her swim lesson. She says she misses daddy, and Sam says she does too. Scout says, they can miss him together, when Gladys comes in and says, that breaks her heart. Sam says she bets it does.

Cody walks into the nail salon, where Diane is relaxing, and says, her assistant told him where to find her. Diane says, that’s the last personal information her assistant is giving out, and Cody asks if she isn’t Sasha’s lawyer. She says, this isn’t the time or the place… and he says he’s here to let her know that he won’t be pressing charges and he won’t be cooperating with the PCPD if they decide to go after Sasha.

A woman tells Sasha good morning and says she hopes Sasha slept better last night. Sasha says she can’t remember the woman’s name, and the woman says she’s Mandy. How is Sasha feeling this morning? Sasha says, confused, a little scared to be here, and Mandy says, that’s not unusual. Sasha says she feels like she’s missing something important, like she’s lost a chunk of time, and Mandy suggests she get Sasha some water and maybe some breakfast. I wonder once again why Sasha has a room that has what looks like a refrigerated case from a deli in it, and Sasha says she thinks what would help is if she could talk to her guardian, her mother-in-law. Mandy says she’ll see what she can do, Sasha thanks her, and she leaves.

On the phone at the MetroCourt, Nina says she’s calling about their venue for her wedding. Sonny hands her a pen, and Brick gets Sonny’s attention. Nina says, no. They haven’t actually picked out a date, but they were thinking Valentine’s Day. Sonny meets Brick in a private area and thanks Brick for meeting him. Brick says, always. It’s good to see him. Sonny asks if Brick has anything good for him, and Brick says he always has something. They’ll see how good it is.

Nina thanks them and says she’ll be in touch, when Olivia goes behind the bar. Nina says, planning this wedding is going to drive her crazy, and Olivia says, really? Nina says she’s so sorry. She knows Olivia is dealing with so much more with Ned. She’s sure he’s going to come out of this. Olivia says, he’s not out of it now. Her husband is running around all over town, out all night, and she has no idea where he is or what he’s doing. Nina says, but when things like this happen… Olivia says, things like this? Like when her husband thinks he’s Eddie Maine? Nina says, Ned loves her, and Olivia says, Sonny loved Carly, and now he’s marrying Nina.

Gladys says she remembers Scout. She was shopping for dresses at Logan’s. Scout says, Gladys is the lady in the coat she didn’t want her to touch it, and Gladys says, kid, it was couture. Sam suggests she take a picture of Scout by the pool to show her daddy, and Gladys says, it must be hard. How’s she doing with her daddy in the slammer? Sam suggests Scout grab a chair and snack, and she’ll meet her at the chair in a minute. Gladys gets a call from Ferncliff State Facility, but she ignores in, putting her phone back in her bag.

There’s a knock at Laura’s apartment, and after hesitating a moment, Spencer opens the door to Valentin. Valentin asks if he can come in, and Spencer asks why he’s alone. Where’s his grandmother and Doc? Valentin says, they’re still looking for Spencer’s father. Esme stands in the doorway with Ace.

Anna goes into Robert’s office, and asks where he stands with WSB. He says, top o’ the mornin’ to her too, and she says, good morning. Where does he stand with the WSB? He says, since he became DA, he’s had very little contact with them. Anyone who was there during his years has either been fired, put out to pasture, or transferred. She asks if he doesn’t think it’s suspicious, and he says he thinks anything to do with Bureau is suspicious, particularly arresting her for treason. She says, that’s over now, and he says, is it?

Olivia says she didn’t mean for it to come out like that, but it must have occurred to Nina that her situation with Sonny thinking he was Mike might cross Olivia’s mind, given her current situation with Ned. Nina says, and Olivia still resents the fact she didn’t tell anyone, but Olivia says, that’s in the past, but the whole situation with Ned is shoving it back into her face. Nina says, it’s a little different with Ned. He’s here in Port Charles with his family. Olivia says, but he doesn’t realize they’re his family. She honestly thought that this was going to be over quickly; that she’d stick around and talk to him and be with him. But the look in Ned’s eyes… It’s like he’s not even there. Nina tells her, just keep trying. She’ll get through to him. Olivia says she thought she’d gotten through to him. He asked her to make him breakfast, and he actually asked her to tell him a little bit about her past, so she did. Nina says, sounds like progress, but Olivia says, it wasn’t Ned; it was Eddie. Ned already knows all of the things she told him. Eddie… Nina says, just take one step at a time, and Olivia says, he was out again all night last night. She didn’t even bother to check to see if he came home in the morning. For all she knows, he’s out there falling in love with some other woman, just like Sonny fell in love with Nina.

Brick says, they’ll start with the little fish, and puts a photo on the table. He says he’s sure Sonny recognizes them, and Sonny says, Ava’s favorite nanny, Betty Rutherford. Brick says, 26, no criminal record. She actually worked as a nanny briefly. Sonny says he’s not surprised about briefly, and Brick says, she also worked as a receptionist for a trucking company. Would Sonny like to venture a guess as to where it was? Sonny says, Pautuck, and Brick says, bingo.

Sam grabs Glady’s arm, and hustles her over to the side, asking, what is wrong with her? Gladys says, her dad is in prison. She’s got to learn the world is not always a safe place. Sam says she’ll decide what her daughter needs to learn and when, and if Gladys says one more word to Scout, she’ll throw Gladys’s ass in that pool so fast, she won’t even know what happened. Gladys says, okay. Maybe she got carried away. Maybe being here is bringing back the horrible memory of Sasha stabbing Cody. The look in her eyes… She wanted to kill him. Sam says she doesn’t believe it for a minute. What really happened that day? Gladys says, after she stabbed him? but Sam says, no, before. Who drove her to do something like that?

Sasha asks if Mandy got in touch with Gladys, and Mandy says she called the number Sasha’s mother-in-law left on her admission form, but unfortunately, she got voicemail. Sasha asks if she left a message, and Mandy says she did. She told Gladys that Sasha is asking for her. Sasha thanks her, when Dr. Montague comes to the door. Mandy asks if there’s anyone else Sasha would like her to call, and Sasha says, yes. Cody Bell.

Cody asks if Diane heard anything he just said, and she says, loud and clear. He says, Sasha shouldn’t be in Ferncliff, and he won’t do or say anything to keep her there, and Diane says, at the risk of sacrificing the one hour she has to herself today, she’ll engage, but he’d better settle. He says he’s sorry for barging in. Please don’t fire her assistant. Sasha needs help as soon as possible. Diane asks if he doesn’t think she’s going to get that help in Ferncliff, and he says, something is wrong with everything that’s going on with her. The look in her eyes when she… Diane says, allegedly stabbed him, and he says, yes. That wasn’t Sasha; at least not the Sasha he knows. Something else is going on, and he’s really worried about her safety. She asks what he means. He has to give her something specific. He says, and he will, as soon as she gets him into Ferncliff to see Sasha.

Spencer ask how things went in Chechnya, and as Esme listens, Valentin says, they found the Cassadine house. There was a new owner, and no sign of Nikolas anywhere. Spencer says, and Valentin just left them there? but Valentin says, no. They left Chechnya for Prague, and that’s when Doc and Laura decided they wanted to continue the search on their own. Spencer asks, where? and Valentin says, Cassadine Island, but there was no trace of Nikolas there either. Esme comes out and says, maybe they can’t find him because he’s dead.

Anna says, they can’t talk to Frisco because he left the Bureau, and Robert says, and the person who’s replaced him thinks the way to clean up the Bureau image is to fire everyone. She says, by disgracing, then distancing themselves from so many former agents, and he says, tis the way of bureaucracy, my dear. She says, by erasing the past. Just convince everyone it was all bad, and it makes the new regime seem so  much better. At least that was the impression she got when she was in London after the whole Greenland fiasco. He says, the late, not lamented Victor, and she says, it was just so weird. Like the entire process was orchestrated in a manner she just didn’t recognize. It all felt so alien to her, and she’s been debriefed more times than she can count. He says, this is the only reason she came charging in here? but she says, no, it’s not. There’s another reason. What does he know about Pikeman?

Valentin says, good morning to Esme and Ace, and remarks that Ace is getting bigger. She asks if he thinks Ace’s father could be dead, but he says he’s seen no evidence Nikolas is dead. Spencer says, there’s no indication he’s alive either, and Valentin says, that is true also. Spencer says, he’s just hiding the way he did when he had them convinced Valentin had killed him. He spent three years grieving that man. Esme says, they don’t know… and Spencer asks if she didn’t just say this is what he does. He makes a mess of his life, then he runs away from it. He certainly made a mess this time, getting his son’s girlfriend pregnant. Valentin asks if Spencer thinks he’d abandon Ace, and Spencer says, Nikolas abandoned him. That’s who their father is; he’s a coward. His grandmother’s off searching for him. She’d be better off coming home, not wasting time. Nikolas is better off gone from him and his brother.

Montague says, in the future, would Mandy please consult him before making calls for Miss Gilmore? and Mandy says, of course (🍷). He says, hello to Sasha, and Mandy says she thought she could help Sasha get more comfortable by removing her restraints. To my surprise, he says he thinks that’s a good idea, and they remove the straps from her wrists. Sasha thanks them, and he asks if that’s better. She says it is, and thanks Mandy, who says she’ll be back later. Sasha says she hopes Mandy’s not in trouble for calling her mother-in-law, and Montague says, of course (🍷) not, but he’s curious. Why did she ask to speak to Cody Bell? She says, Cody is her friend. He’s helped her before. He says, under the circumstances, she didn’t think that would be awkward? and she says, because she’s in this place? He says, because she tried to kill him.

Diane says she appreciates Cody’s desire to help Sasha, but even if she thought this was a good idea, she has no power to authorize a visit to Ferncliff; only her guardian can do that. He says he’ll find another way, because Gladys wouldn’t lift a finger for him, and he wouldn’t trust her if she did.

Gladys says, how dare Sam accuse her of doing something to hurt her daughter-in-law, but Sam says, whoa. She didn’t accuse Gladys of anything. Unless of course (🍷) Gladys thinks there’s a reason she should. Glady’s says, of course (🍷) not, but after Sam grilled her about her relationship with Selina Wu, it was crystal clear Sam is out to get her. Sam says, what’s clear to her, and Sasha’s friends, is she was perfectly fine, and handled a very difficult situation at Home & Heart without a problem. What doesn’t make sense is what happened after. Gladys says, maybe it would make more sense if Sam paid attention to her friend Sasha and less to snooping around about her.

Brick lays down another photo, and tells Sonny, Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt, 48, no criminal record; graduate of New York State University, Buffalo, and Great northern Medical School. He came to Port Charles soon after delivering Maxie Jones’s baby. Out in the woods no less. They had a brief relationship. He’s currently dating who? Sonny says, Ava, and Brick says, the latest of the Quartermaines on his father’s side. Sonny says, Edward’s bastard son Jimmy Lee Holt was his father, and Brick says, they can move on to this guy. He puts another photo in front of Sonny, and Sonny says he met him, then he got whacked.

Nina and Olivia sit down with coffee, and Nina says, from what she knows of Eddie, he doesn’t seem like the type who would go out and fall in love with someone. Olivia says, maybe he’ll cut a swathe of one-night stands through Port Charles. Don’t think that hasn’t crossed her mind. Nina says, if she and Sonny are causing Olivia to overthink things, they can keep a low profile, but Olivia says, this is her problem, not Nina’s problem. She has to deal with it, and she will. Leo actually likes Eddie. Then he asks her where his father is, and she doesn’t know what to tell him… and it breaks her heart. Nina says, maybe Olivia should go home. She can take care of things here. Olivia says, Brook is taking Leo to class and taking him to the stables. Tracy can drive someone else crazy today. She came here so she can get her mind off all things Quartermaine and Eddie Maine, and she thinks she’s found the perfect thing to focus on to get her mind off of it. Nina says, the books? but Olivia says she’s going to plan Nina’s wedding.

Sam asks why Gladys is so paranoid. She thinks if she did some real snooping, she’d find some big trouble. Gladys says, all she’s doing is trying to take care of Sasha. Sasha is family to her. Sam says, right, and Gladys says she saw the look on Sam’s face at the hospital when Sasha wanted her guardianship rescinded. She thought it was a good idea. Sam says she certainly did, and Gladys asks if Sam can’t see that her loving concern is exactly what Sasha needed. She saw what ended up happening. Sam says, according to witness testimony, Sasha had no idea what happened, and Gladys says, that’s exactly her point. Sam and all the rest of Sasha’s so-called friends thought she was fine. She was the only one who saw the truth. She’s the one who wanted to take care of Sasha. Her friends couldn’t see it because some people manage to hide their feelings and hide what’s going on. Sam says she thinks Gladys is right about one thing. Some people are really good at hiding things. Sasha isn’t one of them. Gladys says, that’s because Sam doesn’t know Sasha the way she does. And she never will. Gladys leaves, and Sam looks over at Scout, who waves.

Sasha says she told Montague, she doesn’t remember stabbing Cody, but he says she did stab him. In front of a lot of people. She very nearly killed him. She says she guesses she needed help, and he agrees. He brings a chair over and suggests they start with what she does remember. She says, everything was going well. Some days were more difficult than others, like when someone tried to upset her on Home & Heart. But she handled it, and she was proud of herself for being able to handle it. He says, it’s clear now that she wasn’t dealing with it, and she says, but she was. She thinks it started happening after she took those pills he prescribed her. She took them for a few days and started to feel groggy and paranoid, and she started hallucinating and hearing voices. He says, the pills he gave her aren’t what caused her hallucinations or violent behaviors, but she says she was fine before she started taking them. He takes a plastic bag with a bottle in it out of his pocket, and says, they found these in her purse. It’s what caused her to try and kill Cody Bell.

Nina asks if Olivia is sure she’s thinking clearly. Isn’t this going to be too painful for her? Olivia says she loves Sonny. They have an amazing son, a spectacular grandson. She wants him to be happy, and Nina makes him happy. Nina says, what about Carly? and Olivia says, Carly’s her best friend; that ain’t gonna change. And deep down, she thinks Carly wants Sonny to be happy too… even if they aren’t on the best terms right now. Carly still believes Ned turned her and Drew in, and got Drew sent to prison.

Brick says, Gordon Stevens, 52. Sonny met him? Sonny says, briefly. Took him for an ex-con. Brick says, good eye. Five years in Pentenville for grand larceny. No wife, no kids, no family. Worked for a trucking company in… Sonny says, Pautuck, and Brick says, and finally, we have this guy. He sets down a photo and says, Mason Gatlin.

Valentin says he’s sorry he couldn’t bring better news for all three of them. He asks if Ace remembers him, then asks if he can hold him. Spencer nods, and Esme gives Ace to Valentin, who says, they spent a lot of time in Greenland, didn’t they? Good for Spencer. Not every brother would step up the way he has. Spencer says, it’s not Ace’s fault their father’s a coward, and Valentin says, he’s doing a good job. Look at Ace. After Greenland, he’s still a happy and well young man. Spencer says, Esme’s taken a lot of the responsibility. She’s determined to make sure Ace has everything he wants. She’s a good mother. Esme thanks him, and says, although she can’t quite figure out how to give him a bath without drenching herself. Valentin says she’ll figure it out, and tells Ace that he’s credit to his brother and mother. Spencer and Esme smile.

Robert says, Pikeman’s an independent defense contractor; been around forever. But then again, she should know that. So what is she really asking him? She remembers a Bureau agent saying he wants to ask her about the Greenland incident. Before she arrived in London, he went over several reports about Greenland, and he has a few questions. She says, of course (🍷). Whatever he needs. He asks, what possessed her to go rogue, run interference, and ignore the very specific mandate Agent Hursley gave her? and she says, with all due respect to Agent Hursley… He says, she provided him with no respect whatsoever, and she says she has to be honest with him. He didn’t seem to grasp the fact people’s lives were at stake and that there were extenuating circumstances. He says, there always is, particularly with her. It says here that after her arrival, she sought out Valentin Cassadine. She notices he has a file on Pikeman, and he says, as she’s well aware, the Bureau has been keeping track of him for several years, and there appears to be a discrepancy in her reporting on pages 6 and 12. Robert says, earth to Anna. Why is she talking about Pikeman? She says she’s sure it’s nothing. He’s been very helpful. She leaves, and he says he didn’t do anything.

Nina says, Carly blames Ned for what happened to Drew? and Olivia says, Carly came to the hospital when Ned was in ICU. They didn’t know if he was going to make it. She was a complete wreck and bit Carly’s head off, but it seemed like she still believed Ned did it. Olivia knows he didn’t. Before this thing went down, Ned swore to her that it wasn’t him and she believes him. Somebody else turned in Carly and Drew. Nina says, Olivia hasn’t spoken to Carly since? and Olivia says, no, but you know what? They’re going to get through it. She and Carly have been through a lot worse. Nina says, if Olivia is sure about this, she and Sonny would be honored to have her help plan their wedding. She’s called a couple of venues… Olivia says, whoa, whoa, whoa (WOTD). She’s going to stop Nina right there.

Brick tells Sonny, again, no criminal record. Austin’s cousin on his mother’s side. A trucker; works for the family business. Sonny says, the same business Betty and Gordon worked for? and Brick says, Sonny is doing his job for him now. Sonny asks if Brick thinks he’s the bigger fish, and Brick says, so far. The company was bought two years ago through a very well hidden LLC. No record of his occupation since. Sonny says, what about now?

Valentin promises Ace that he and Ace’s cousin Charlotte are not going to be strangers, and Esme takes Ace to the bedroom. Spencer says he hasn’t had a chance to thank Valentin for Greenland, but Valentin says, Spencer doesn’t have to thank him. Spencer says, if Valentin hadn’t shown up, Uncle Victor was going to use that pathogen on him and Trina. He wouldn’t have been able to face losing her. Valentin says, they all did what they had to do, but Spencer says he’s trying to thank Valentin and tell Valentin that he was wrong about him. Valentin says, no, he wasn’t. Valentin’s father is dead. Nikolas is gone. They have a rare opportunity to reinvent their family. Spencer says, Valentin thinks so? and Valentin says, Spencer, Ace, Alexis, her daughters, they’re good people. Spencer says he’s not sure he deserves to be included in that, but he’ll keep his nose clean if Valentin will. They shake hands.

Robert asks if Mr. Bell sorted Diane out, and she says, he did indeed, but she did not engage. Okay. She engaged a little bit, but only after he made his intentions perfectly clear. He is not going to press charges against her client Sasha Gilmore, and he steadfastly refuses to cooperate with any police investigation into the matter. He says, she stabbed him, and Diane says, allegedly. He says, it was in front of witnesses, but she says, he’s not going to press charges; he’s not going to cooperate. Robert has no case, so she requests all charges against Sasha Gilmore be dropped immediately. He says he’ll talk to the ADA, but she didn’t come all this way to tell him that. She says she didn’t, and holds up a ticket. She came to invite him to the Port Charles auto show – she hands it to him – this weekend. He says he loves car shows. It’s a date. She says, no, it’s not a date. It is simply two colleagues going to look at cars. He needs a new one desperately. He says he loves his car; he’s had it forever. She says, that’s precisely her point. It’s not good to hold on to things forever. He could get stranded by the side of the road. That’s what happens when you try to hold on to things forever; you get stranded by the side of the road again and again and again. Whereas a new model is very dependable and can also be exciting. Of course (🍷) you never know until you try.

Anna makes a chart with names, and remembers the debriefing agent saying, shortly after arrival, she sought out Valentin Cassadine. She thinks about seeing the Pikeman file, and draws a line between the WSB and Pikeman. She flashes back to telling Robert that they can’t talk to Frisco because he left the Bureau, and Robert saying, and the person who replaced him thinks the way to clean up the Bureau’s imagine is to fire everyone. She draws a line between Sonny and Pikeman, and flashes back to Sonny saying he’s working with a high-profile security firm lately. Has she heard of Pikeman? She remembers the agent saying that she sought out Valentin Cassadine, and draws lines from each pair of names – WSB-Robert, WSB-Pikeman, Sonny-Pikeman, and Valentin-WSB – to the middle, where she writes, VALENTIN. She flashes back to telling Sonny that he’s not to speak to anyone new. If his contact person is to change, do not proceed until he’s spoken to his original contact person. Does that make sense? He says it does. She draws a circle around Valentin’s name.

On the phone, Sam tells someone her name and says she was hoping to visit her friend Sasha today. The Ferncliff desk nurse says, only approved visitors are allowed to see Miss Gilmore, and Sam says, approved? The nurse says, she’d need to have the approval of Miss Gilmore’s guardian Gladys Corbin. Sam hangs up.

Nina says, if Olivia’s changed her mind about the wedding, she completely understands, but Olivia says she hasn’t changed her mind about the wedding. What is this crazy talk about other venues? There’s only one venue and she and Nina own it. Nina says, doesn’t she think people are going to… Olivia says, going to what? They’re going to read about the preparations on every website known to man? They’re going to be dying to have their wedding here? They’re going to bring in all kinds of business? Come on. Nina can’t possibly be selfish enough to deny the MetroCourt all that free publicity. Not to mention the fact that she’ll have a beautiful, spectacular wedding. Nina says, as co-owner of the MetroCourt, she guesses that makes sense, and Olivia says, if she has the wedding someplace else, people are going to wonder why. There will be cancelations all over the place. It can’t happen. Nina says, okay, and Olivia asks, so when’s the date? Nina says, they haven’t picked an exact date, but they were thinking Valentine’s Day, and Olivia says, ooh la la, romantic. It’s a great idea. Several months away… She could plan Harry and Meghan’s wedding in less time. Nina puts her hand on Olivia’s and says, thank you.

Brick says, this bastard is blackmailing him? and Sonny says, Ava. Brick says, because of the connection to his cousin? Why don’t they just take all three of them out and be done with it? Sonny says, they can’t. He has Nikolas Cassadine’s body. Brick says, so he didn’t run. He’s dead. Sonny lowers his voice, and says, Ava killed him, but she says it was an accident, and Brick says, wait a minute. Sonny’s saying they have her ex-husband’s body? Sonny says he’s got to protect her because she’s the mother of his child, so they can’t do anything until they get the body back. Looking like he has a headache, Brick says, hands off, and Sonny says, he lives until they get that body back.

Esme comes back out with Ace, and says, Valentin’s gone? and Spencer says, yep. She says she wanted him to see Ace’s new outfit. Oh well, next time. She tells Ace that Valentin liked him. He didn’t seem so bad. Spencer says, he’s not, and she thanks him for saying she’s a good mother. He says, she is, and she says, it’s just nice to hear. Although it’s not hard to be a good mother to this guy. Sometimes she thinks she couldn’t love him more, and every day she does. Maybe it’s because he gets cuter every day. Spencer says, that’s true. Ace is a very good-looking kid brother. She says, why don’t they take some pictures? and Spencer says, sure. They take pictures of Esme and Ace, Spencer and Ace, Ace alone, and the three of them. They look at the photos afterward, and Spencer says he thinks he’ll send this one to grandmother. Actually, he should probably send all these to grandma. She’d love to see Ace. Esme laughs and pushes Spencer’s hair out of his eyes.

Sasha looks at the bottle and says, these aren’t hers. She hasn’t been using. Someone must have planted them in her purse. He says, but she knows exactly what these are, doesn’t she? and she says she stopped taking them. He says, her bloodwork says otherwise. She’s been taking these for months. She says, no. She went to rehab. She beat her addiction. He says, she must know how common relapses are. There’s nothing to be ashamed about. She says she didn’t take them, and he says, if he’s going to help her, he needs to deal with the facts he has, and she needs to accept them too. They need to get those drugs out of her system, and this will do just that. He takes out a syringe, and puts it in her IV tube.

Cody goes to the desk at Ferncliff, and tells the Nurse Janice that he’s here to see Sasha Gilmore. She asks what his name is. She has to make sure he’s on the list of approved visitors. He says he’s sure he’s on the list. Sasha was married to his late cousin Brando Corbin. He’s Dante Falconari. Mandy joins them, and says, Sasha talked about her husband Brando, and Cody says, his death was a blow to all of them, but particularly for Sasha, obviously. That’s why his family is worried about her. Can he please see her?

As they walk into the restaurant, Brick says, Sonny takes good care of his exes, that’s for sure. He made sure to protect Carly’s new beau in prison. Now Ava. What’s next? Nina says, hey, Brick, and he says, what’s up, gorgeous? Olivia joins them, and he says, and another gorgeous. Olivia laughs, and Nina asks if everything is all right. Brick says, it will be, and Sonny asks why it looks like they’ve been up to something. Nina says, Olivia graciously agreed to help them plan their wedding, here at the MetroCourt, and Sonny says, really? That means a lot to him. Brick says, Sonny leads a charmed life, and Sonny smiles.

Janice asks to see Cody’s driver’s license, calling him Mr. Falconari, and he checks his pockets. He says he must have left it in the car, but she says she’s sorry. No one gets in to see Miss Gilmore without the consent of her guardian. If he wants to run to his car and get it, visiting hours are until 7 pm. He says he parked pretty far away, and Mandy says, he’s family, a cousin-in-law. Janice says, it wouldn’t matter if he was her brother. Miss Gilmore’s guardian was very specific. Cody says he bets she was, and Mandy asks if it isn’t time for Janice’s break. She can cover the front desk. Janice says she didn’t ask Mandy to do that. She’s sure Mandy has patients to check on. Mandy says, always do, and leaves. Cody says he’s sure Janice can understand how concerned they are about Sasha. He just needs a few minutes. She says she thinks she made it pretty clear what he needs. She’s sorry, but she has to follow the rules. The only way he’s getting in here is if he has an ID or he’s a patient. He tells her, have a nice day, and she says she intends to. He leaves, and I think I see an idea lightbulb over his head. Will he be checking in soon?

Scout asks, what’s wrong? but Sam says, there’s nothing wrong. Scout says, she has that look on her face. The look she gives when Scout is in  trouble. Did she do something bad? Sam hugs her and says, she didn’t do anything wrong. Someone else did.

At the salon, Gladys tells the nail technician that the color’s not too young for her (like a nail tech would suggest that), when her phone rings. She asks if everything is okay, and Montague says he has everything under control. She says, how’s her daughter-in-law? and he says he can assure her, she’s doing just fine.

Sasha lies on her bed and says, please. She doesn’t want to be here. She wants to go home.

Diane says, Robert suddenly doesn’t seem too enthused at the prospect. That’s okay. She’ll take Alexis. He says, Alexis doesn’t appreciate cars, and Diane says, but Alexis appreciates spending time with her, snatching the ticket out of his hand. She says, adios, and leaves.

Anna says, Valentin linked to Sonny – she draws another line – Sonny connected to Pikeman. What’s Valentin’s link… Valentin walks in, and asks, what’s going on? She says she thinks she knows who shot her. And she thinks he knows who too.

Tomorrow, Brook tells Cody, it looks like something shady is going on; Anna asks if Valentin is keeping something from her; and Tracy says, it’s time to have Ned committed.

👶 Pair Of Aces…

It seems like it would be a lot of fun. And she doesn’t have to change their diapers.

Avery Kristen Pohl Reveals What It’s Like Working With Baby Ace on GH

🥀 Possibilities For a Funeral…

I was actually hoping for some kind of date as to when Bobbie’s death might be announced, but nope. It’s just speculation as to who might show up when it happens. It would be amazing to see them all.

General Hospital Says Goodbye to Bobbie: The Former Faves Who Have to Be on Hand

🧼 In Other Soap News…

And he’s out.

https://www.avclub.com/days-of-our-lives-fires-a-very-angry-albert-alarr-after-1850710795

An Aussie import is in.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc/australian-soap-neighbours-premieres-in-america

🗽 Wazzup New York…

The latest on the ladies (and I use the term loosely) in Manhattan.

RHONY Recap: Brynn Cries as She Opens Up About Her Childhood Trauma, Plus Jessel Calls the Ladies “Cackling Hags,” and Addresses Intimacy Issues With Her Husband

💎 Polishing Up the Diamond…

My only question is, what the blip is that doodad in Camille’s Instagram post?

Everything That’s Leaked About Real Housewives of Beverly Hills Season 13

💵 Hey Big Spender…

You’ve come a long way, yachties.

Biggest Tips From Below Deck Charter Guests

⚰️ Extension Of the Dead…

George, too, will never die. But in the best way.

https://ew.com/movies/george-romero-zombies-walk-again-twilight-of-the-dead/

🦘 Odd But Cute…

More animals to adore and want, but did they have to put Hugh Hefner’s picture up instead of, oh, I don’t know, one of his pets? Also, note to self: Do not let Charlie Sheen pet sit.

https://list25.com/25-oddest-celebrity-pets/

🏸 Summer’s Last Stand…

If you liked today, come back tomorrow for more soap and tea. Until then, stay safe, stay being resilient, but not a pushover, and stay not trying to hold on to things forever, or you might get stranded by the side of the road.

Aug5

August 4, 2023 – Nina Visits Willow, Debut, Coupling, Happy 46th, Get Out, Shannon Spills, VanderCrumbs, New Charm, Daryl Talk, Cheese Tax, Pet (!) Safety, One Past Six Quotes & Ain’t Leavin’

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Deanna says she has a very important message for Elizabeth, and hands her an envelope. She takes out a card that says: Dinner Tonight? Check one box. Yes (If Yes 7 PM), No (If No Burn This Note).

At Charlie’s, Michael asks Kristina what a guy has to do to get a drink around here, and she tells him to keep his shirt on. Is he sure he’s okay here in enemy camp? According to Josslyn, Charlie’s is a Sonny and Nina hangout.

Willow looks from a mess of yarn to her laptop, when there’s a knock at the door. Nina peeks through the window, and Willow opens the door. Nina apologizes for not calling. She was driving home, and there was Harbor View Road, so she thought Willow might need something, and she knows Michael is off… Willow tells her not to worry about it. Would she like to come in? Nina says, yes, very much, and goes inside.

Elizabeth checks the Yes box, puts the card back in the envelope, and tells Deanna to make sure Dr. Finn gets this. Elizabeth goes in the elevator as Finn comes out of the other one, and Deanna calls him over. She hands him the envelope.

Austin tells Ava that he knew Sonny didn’t trust him that night, and now his patient is dead in an alleyway. Sonny’s never going to let him near Avery again. What Sonny is going to do… She says, Sonny’s not going to do anything because she told him that Austin helped her, and he says, that he helped her do what? Did she tell Sonny that she killed Nikolas? Elizabeth comes in, and says she’s sorry. She didn’t realize he was with… a patient? He says, Ava is visiting, and she says she doesn’t want to interrupt. She almost leaves, but then says, actually, she’s been meaning to ask Ava. Has she heard anything from Nikolas?

Greece. Doc asks Laura how she’s doing, and she says, going through the house is like the first circle of hell. It was her prison camp where Stavros held her captive for those two years. She hated it then; she hates it now. He says him too, but whatever they find in there, he’s right beside her. She takes his hand and says she knows he is. That helps more than he knows. She never wanted to set foot inside this house again, but it’s their best shot at finding Nikolas, so let’s do it.

Anna walks into her house, and Valentin is sitting on the staircase. He says he thought she’d never get here. She throws her arms around him, and they kiss.

Finn slowly slides the card out, and Deanna says, good news? He says, the best.

Ava says she hasn’t heard from Nikolas, and honestly doesn’t expect to, and Elizabeth says she hopes Doc and Laura find him. She’s known him a long time, and he’s gone AWOL before, but this is weird with his baby just being born. What could be more important? Austin asks if there’s something he can help Elizabeth with, and she says she wanted to know if Detective Chase found him earlier. He was questioning people about the man who was murdered in the alley. She’s wondering if they have any leads. Austin says, Chase did find him. Was that her idea? She says, only because she saw someone lurking outside his office, and that man found the body; Dex Heller. Austin says, Chase mentioned that a member of the staff had seen him lurking around, and she says, maybe she’s reading too much into it, but Dex said he got lost and he was definitely snooping. Austin thanks her for stopping by, and opens the door. He tells her that he appreciates it, and she says, sorry to interrupt. She leaves, and Ava says, Dex Heller. That’s one of Sonny’s goons.

Michael orders food for Willow and Wiley, and Kristina says she gets it. Of course (🍷) he’s going to side with Carly; that’s his mom. But they’re divorced. Get over it. He asks how over it she would be if the situation was reversed, and Alexis thought Sonny was dead for months. Then she discovered it was a vendetta of Nina’s that kept Sonny from his family. And all the while, she watches her mother fall into chaos. She’d be a little shocked that Sonny chose Nina over his family. She says she was there too. They all mourned dad. It was a miracle to discover he was still alive. And yes, Nina was wrong, but dad loves her. So who is she to judge? The heart wants what the heart wants, right? Isn’t that what happened with him and Willow?

Willow tells Nina that Wiley is out with Leo bug hunting, and Amelia is down for her afternoon nap. So she’s been trying to amuse herself. Nina picks up the knitting and asks if this is what she’s been doing. Uh… Willow takes it and says, it’s horrible. She took a wrong turn with the pattern. She figured she’d try to learn something new as a way to keep busy, but to be honest, all she can think about it getting back to the real world. She was starting to think she’d never leave that plastic bubble room. Nina says, it must be hard, all the time she lost waiting, and Willow says, it’s hardest on the kids. She wants to be there for Michael too. She wants her life back. Nina says, she deserves it. She knows they’ve had a lot of false starts and miscommunication, but she’s hoping they can truly start over. There’s so much about Willow that she doesn’t know. She’d like to learn about Willow’s life; what she loves, who she is. Will Willow tell her?

The caretaker, Mr. Costas, tells Laura, both Interpol and the WSB made a thorough search in May. Mr. Cassadine certainly wasn’t here then. She says, he couldn’t have come since? and Costas says, naturally, he can’t be everywhere at once, but he doubts it. They can make their own search. He can see she’s very concerned for her son. She thanks him, and he says, of course (🍷), since even in Greece, they overuse that phrase. Doc asks Laura, where to first?

Anna says, Valentin didn’t tell her when he was getting back. How did it go over there? Did he find Nikolas? He says, first, who tried to kill her?

Willow tells Nina that what she wishes for more than anything else is a normal life. All those million little mundane things like going shopping or taking Wiley to school. That’s what she wants. Even taking a mommy and me class with Amelia. Nina says, that sounds like so much fun. She thinks Willow should definitely sign up for a class like that. She wishes she would have taken… What else? Willow says, really she just wants her independence back. The Quartermaines have been such a support. Brook, Olivia, even Tracy, and thank God, because she still has a long way to go, but she looks forward to her and Michael not needing so much help. Speaking of Michael, she’s surprised he’s not here right now. He must be stuck in a work thing. Nina says, if he’s not going to be back by dinner, she could order them something. She has some pull at the MetroCourt. It can be here in twenty minutes. Michael comes in, and Nina says she was just driving by and stopped in for an impromptu visit… She sees the bag in his hand and says, dinner, right? She doesn’t want it to get cold, so she’ll leave now. She says she hopes Willow signs up for that class, and walks to the door. Willow tells her, goodbye, and Nina leaves.

Valentin asks Anna to tell him about the shooting, but she says, there’s nothing to tell really. He read all about it. He says, sure, everything that was fit to print. Tell him the parts that weren’t. She says, the worst part is, Curtis was hit by a ricochet, and he asks if she’s sure he wasn’t the target. She says, no. She was talking to Sonny. Dante caught a glimpse of a rifle in an upper story window, and then two shots were aimed directly at them. He says, so the shots were aimed at them; which one? She says, here’s something that wasn’t released to the press. The rifle was traced back to the WSB.

Laura says, there’s nothing in this house she wants to see again, especially that room where Doc was shot. Here’s the bad news. The most likely place for them to look where Nikolas wouldn’t want to be found is the subbasement. The labs where Mikkos used to do all his horrible experiments; where Stavros kept Lulu. He says, maybe it would be better if he went down and searched the lower levels on his own, and for her to stay up here. She says, absolutely not. They’re in this together. She’s not going to stay up here and risk him not coming back. So whatever they find, they face together. He says, all right. Let’s go.

Finn waits at the Grill, when Elizabeth walks in, wearing yet another slinky black dress. Apparently, she has a closet full of them. He gets up and says, wow. She looks… wow. She thanks him and says he looks really nice himself. He says he’s glad she came, and they sit. She says she really didn’t feel like burning the note.

Austin asks if Ava thinks Sonny had Gordon whacked, and she laughs, saying, no one has said whacked in like, forty years. He says, rubbed out? Iced? It doesn’t matter. Does she think Sonny did it? She says, no, she doesn’t. It would be a stupid move, and Sonny’s not stupid. Gordon was supposedly his patient. He says, that’s the thing. Gordon and Mason, known associates, and Sonny knew something was up. She asks, what exactly happened outside the restaurant when Sonny found him with Gordon? and he says, not much. Gordon was there, Sonny comes in, Gordon knows who Sonny is, Sonny does this whole routine – he imitates a prize fighter – then Gordon backed off. For some reason, Sonny made Gordon apologize to him, which he thought was really weird, but in the end he thought Sonny just wanted Gordon to be scared. Ava says she’s sure that’s what it was. Did anything else happen? He says, not that he knows, but that must have been when Sonny decided Dex should follow him. Because the next day is when Nurse Webber saw Dex lurking outside his office. She asks if there was anything for Dex to see, and he says, maybe. He doesn’t know. Gordon and Mason were in here waiting for him. She says, really? This just keeps getting worse.

Doc tells Laura, just as Mr. Costas said, no sign of anyone and the WSB turned the place inside out. She says, it seems like it, doesn’t it, but this house has secrets it will never give up. He says, let’s check the main rooms. Nikolas knows this place like the back of his hand. He could be coming and going in a way the caretaker doesn’t realize. She says, that is possible, isn’t it? Let’s start on the third floor. That was his nursery when he was a baby. I laugh because, as opposed to his nursery as an adult?

Anna tells Valentin, so the weapon was a ghost gun. It had been confiscated and tagged and logged by the WSB facility in Berlin. He says, then liberated and smuggled into Port Charles. That doesn’t necessarily mean the WSB is currently involved though. It could have been sold on the dark web. She says that’s what she thinks too, but somebody had to have clearance in order to access that weapon at the WSB facility in the first place. He says, plenty of agents go rogue… Sorry. She says, Sonny doesn’t think it’s the entire Bureau that’s after her. It’s one solitary person on the inside that deliberately leaked her history as a double agent in order to eliminate her.

Michael says he hopes Nina didn’t do anything to upset Willow, but Willow says, no, not at all. Even though it was an ambush. (I’m going to start calling people who just show up ambushes now.) She just dropped by, and Willow was glad for the company. And Nina saved her from her project. Michael picks up the knitting and says, it’s great. What is that? She takes it and says, it’s the makings of a sock. Something soft for Amelia to wear. Unfortunately, she’s not the best crafts student. She’d much rather read her nursing books. He says, it’s not bad, but she says, it’s awful. She was actually glad Nina rescued her from it.

Kristina pours Nina a glass of wine (screw top, really?), and says she wanted to talk to Nina. She ran into Trish from the MetroCourt the other day, and she said Nina was talking about her center. Nina says she’s so sorry. She hopes she didn’t speak out of turn. She knows Kristina’s privacy means so much to her, and she’d never interfere in Kristina’s life. Kristina says, she misunderstood. Trish said Nina was talking up her plans to help the LGBTQIA+ youth, and she was very touched by that. It means a lot that Nina believes in her. Nina says, of course (🍷) she believes in Kristina, and she believes in this project. Did Kristina talk to Trish about her brother? Kristina says, yes, It was so sad. It made her so angry. Too many kids are discarded and on the fringe of society. Port Charles desperately needs a resource like the Corinthos-Davis House for marginalized and homeless youth. She thanks Nina for the PR and says, the drink is on her, but Nina says, Kristina doesn’t have to thank her. She believes 1000% in what Kristina is doing. When Sonny told her, she was so impressed. Please. She wants to help any way she can.

Finn says, they made it through the salads without a single distraction and disruption, and Elizabeth says, and no personal crisis to come crashing down? He looks up and says, the sky looks pretty clear. She says, that’s good, because she’s had her fill of meteors. Her mother emailed her yesterday. He says, the old digital dodge, and she says she’s glad her mother didn’t call. She didn’t want to talk to her anyway. He says, not a surprise after what she and Elizabeth’s father did to her, and she asks if he can ever imagine doing that to Violet. Using his medical skills to manipulate her to cover something up? She knows she has to get over it; it’s in the past. He says, is it? and she says she guesses it hits a raw nerve, but at least it’s all out in the open. The worst is all behind her. He says, it is. The worst part of that whole mess is, the person who suffered the most, deserved it the least.

Valentin pours some wine (hopefully, not screw top), and Anna says, whatever arrangements Victor made to expose her past, he had to have somebody on the inside at the WSB in order to facilitate that. He says, once she was compromised, someone with their own agenda could take advantage of the situation to get rid of her. Someone could be planning a power grab. She’s a potent adversary at the WSB. How many warring factions are there at the Bureau? She says, suppose she knows something that could pose a threat. Regardless, the person may have thought, making her indiscretions public would result in an arrest. When it didn’t and they failed, they moved to Plan B, which is to eliminate her permanently. He says, don’t forget Occam’s Razor; the right answer is usually the simplest one. His father Victor despised her, and his parting gift was to attack her where it hurt her the most.

Laura says, nothing, and Doc says, better to rule out a possibility. She says, but if Nikolas wanted to hide, this would be the perfect place to do it. the fact that he’s not here makes her think he hasn’t gone into hiding at all. He asks if she thinks something’s happened to him, and she says, something or someone. He says, Victor’s dead; it can’t be him. She says, who else would want to harm Nikolas?

Austin tells Ava that he doesn’t know what Sonny’s guy Dex the Lurker saw or didn’t see. Gordon and Mason weren’t here that long. Gordon was here just long enough to ask Mason for a bunch of money. Ava asks if Mason gave it to him, and Austin tells her, Mason said, you’re going to get exactly what you’re owed… oh. She says, yeah. That’s not threatening at all, is it? Does he think Mason is capable of killing someone? (Is it me or is that a really stupid question?) He says, Mason wouldn’t be the only one. She certainly is. She says, it was an accident. It was to stop him, and Austin knows it. Forget it. What did he tell Detective Chase? Did Chase ask him if Gordon was his patient? He says, yes, and she asks what he said. He tells her that he said yes, and she says, why? He doesn’t even have a file on the guy. Now he’s going to have to fake it. What else did he tell the cops? He says, not much. Just that Gordon found him and confronted him at the restaurant, and she says, at the restaurant where he was with her and Nina and Sonny Corinthos. He says, that restaurant, and she says, good grief (sounds like something Scotty would say). He’s really, really bad at this.

Willow says, Michael is later than usual, and he says he got caught up in the weeds at ELQ. They’re in the middle of a big negotiation Ned started before he turned into Eddie Maine, and guess who’s still nowhere to be found? Valentin. She asks if he ever gets tired, having to save the day for everyone, and he says he kind of likes showing off. And if Ned ever regains his personality and Valentin decides to show his face, it’ll choke them both knowing he got it done. And it sets the groundwork if he wants to step back in and return. She says she never knew he had such a devious side (really?). it’s both impressive and slightly terrifying. He says he has to apply the Art of War when it comes to those two. It’s good to keep them on their toes. She says, and he does it so well. It’s inspiring seeing him thrive at work. It makes her realize how much she misses it. She’s a little envious. She wants to go back to her career.

Kristina says she was thinking about what Nina said, and wants to tell her something. She’ll accept any and all help she can get for the Corinthos-Davis House, but Nina doesn’t have to win her over by talking up her charity or contributing to it. Her dad’s happiness is her priority and he loves Nina. So she’s on Nina’s side. Nina thanks her and says, it means more to her than Kristina will ever know. Kristina says she thinks she has an idea, and Nina says she wants to be perfectly clear. Her support for Kristina’s charity has everything to do with the work Kristina’s doing. She’s not trying to score any points or favors. She’s just so happy that Kristina is willing to give her a chance. Kristina says she’s the queen of screw-ups. You know who was always willing to give her a second chance and always believed in her? Her dad. So if he does that for Nina, who is she to say he was wrong?

Elizabeth asks Finn, what is this? Friends having dinner? He says, no, and she asks, what does that mean? He asks if she really wants to get into this right now; it might complicate things between them. She wonders if he thinks she knows how to deal with complications, and he says, she’s had some practice. Let’s do this. Let’s get into it. She says, first, name a complication.

Austin tells Ava, all he wants to do is be a good doctor. He took an oath to heal, not to deal. Get it? She says, he didn’t have to volunteer extra information, but he says, the cops would have figured it out eventually. Gordon confronted him in a very public place; that restaurant is very popular. And he did great. He told Detective Chase that Gordon was at the restaurant to confront him about his medical bill. Ava says, and he wanted to negotiate his deductible with a known crime boss sitting right there. Austin says, this has got nothing to do with her. She doesn’t need to worry. She says she does worry. Because if she’s linked to Mason, people could start poking around. And who knows what they might uncover? He says, they’re not going to uncover anything. Because he’s not going to say anything, she’s definitely not going to say anything, and they’re being very careful. The only other person who knows anything about this is Mason, and he’s not… uh… well, Mason… So, question from before. Sonny. Did she tell him that she killed Nikolas? She nods.

Valentin says his father hated Anna, and everything she stood for. It was everything he wasn’t. He’d lost all humanity, because she’d ruined his greatest weapon – him. Anna says, he would have never been Victor’s weapon, but he says he could have been if it weren’t for her. Victor shot her the night of the Nurses Ball to hurt him and destroy her. She says, he was deluded; Valentin never would have joined him. He says he thinks she gives him too much credit. He could have very easily gone the other way if it weren’t for her.

Nina tells Kristina that she actually spent some time with Willow today, and it was great. It even got a little personal and philosophical, and she almost felt like she wasn’t totally on the outside. Kristina says, that’s great. Good for her. Nina says she even suggested they have dinner, but then Michael came home, and while he was perfectly polite, he was a little frosty. Kristina says, while Michael isn’t her dad’s biological son, when it comes to holding a grudge, they’re exactly the same, so watch out. Doesn’t Nina hate when people say, give it time? Nina says, yes, and Kristina says, the worst.

Michael says he just doesn’t want Willow to do too much too soon, and she says, of course (🍷). She knows she’s still healing. He says, it’s going to take some time, and she says she is feeling a lot stronger. He asks if her immune system is up to everything she’d be facing at the hospital, and she says, definitely not now, and believe her, she’s going to wait until she gets the all-clear from the doctors. But she needs to be useful. One thing this experience has shown her is, she wants to help people in crisis. She never really got the chance to immerse herself in nursing. He says he doesn’t know, and she asks, what’s really going on? There’s more to his concerns about her going back to work than just her health and that he’s a control freak. He says, she’s right. He has mixed feelings about it. He wants her to pursue her passions and go back to work, but doesn’t she think they could spend a little time focusing on their family first?

Elizabeth says, transfer to another hospital? Really? Finn says, it’s hard seeing her every day at work, and she says, why? He says he can’t take his eyes off her. Did he really say that out loud? When he invited her to dinner, he didn’t have an agenda, but here they are. It gives them a chance to be completely honest with each other. She says, if they’re being completely honest, she uses work to distract her from the same feelings. They’re both really busy people. He says he knows. Sometimes when he sees her, she’s just a blur; a beautiful blur rushing down the hospital halls. She says, maybe she should slow down, and he says he really likes getting to know her. It only makes him want to spend more time with her. She asks if there’s anything else on his list, and he says his list is long. Despite all of it, he’s still here. She says, so is she.

Austin tells Ava that Sonny is going to do stuff. He’s going to do stuff to protect her, the mother of his daughter, from potential exposure. What if Sonny already sent someone to silence him? She says, Sonny has no interest in silencing him, and he says, what if it wasn’t Gordon? What if it was a case of mistaken identity? Maybe it was him they were after in the alley. She says, don’t be ridiculous, and he says, still, it doesn’t make him feel any better. She says, they are where they are. All they can do is keep moving forward. Now they know who all the players are and how best to arm themselves. He says he’s not very good at this, is he? He’s terrible at subterfuge. She kisses him, tells him, don’t screw up, and leaves. He says, got it. Don’t screw up. Yes, ma’am.

Doc says, if Victor is responsible for Nikolas’s disappearance, then one of his associates still has him, and Laura says, the more she thinks about it, the less sense it makes. If Victor had gotten Nikolas, he would have been gloating about it when they were in Greenland, and there was nothing. Who else would want to abduct him? Does Doc think she just doesn’t want to admit Nikolas has done it again? That he’s turned his back on his family and abandoned his two sons? Doc says, if he can’t face the mess he’s made with Spencer and Esme, he may think running away is his only option. Shame is a powerful motivator. She says, then why just not let them know he’s okay? and he says, Nikolas may not be able to face disappointing her. She says, but she’s the one who’s always there to help him pick up the pieces. She tried to do that as a way to make up for his childhood. He knows she loves him. Doc says, of course (🍷) he does, and she says, then he’s got to know she’s going out of her mind with worry. She just can’t believe he did this – again. Doc says he just wishes there was some way to let Nikolas know it’s okay to show his face. Laura goes outside, and he follows her. She looks out to the property, and he says, Laura? She says she knows just where they’re headed next, and begins to walk.

Valentin says he loves Anna. He knows this isn’t exactly breaking news, but he’s loved her always. Never doubt she’s the reason he’s alive at all. She says she thinks he has the necessary survival skills. Lord knows, with their training. It didn’t leave much of an option for love though, did it? She thinks this is taking her a long time to admit, even to herself, let alone say it out loud to him. She loves him. She’s really glad he’s home. Did he have a good trip? Did he find Nikolas or anything? He says, no. He guesses that makes him the head of the family. She says, God help us, and he kisses her.

Kristina tells Nina, don’t focus on Michael. Just focus on her relationship with Willow. They had a huge breakthrough today and that’s amazing, so build on that. If Michael sees that Willow is happy and comfortable around Nina, he’s going to soften. Trust her. Nina says she’s going to prove to Michael that she can be a positive part of Willow’s life, and Kristina says, then she hopes he’ll join her in supporting Nina’s marriage to her dad. Then maybe she won’t be the only one at their wedding. Nina laughs, but that was kind of mean. Like they have no friends.

Michael says he’s not limiting Willow’s choices or doubting her capabilities. Maybe he’s being selfish and greedy for wanting to spend more time together as a family, but he almost lost her. He wants to savor every moment with her, Amelia, and Wiley. She says, so does she. Every moment is one more they might not have had, but she can’t turn her back on nursing. She realized there was a deep, profound difference she could make in patients’ lives, and he says, she has too much love to give. She says, but their family will always come first. Him, and Amelia, and Wiley. They’ve fought too hard for her to let that go. She hugs him.

Elizabeth thanks Finn for dinner, and he thanks her for coming. They get up, and she says she really looks forward to all of their complications. He says, let’s do it again soon, and she takes his hand, saying, okay. See him tomorrow? He says he can’t wait, and takes her by the hand to the elevator. She gets in, and we see their faces side by side, giving good soap look.

Tomorrow, Cody asks someone to get him into Ferncliff to see Sasha; Sasha says she feels like she’s missing something important; Spencer says he’ll keep his nose clean if Valentin will; and Sonny tells Brick that they have to get that body back.

✒️ Maybe He’s Triplets…

This actually sounds like a pretty good story.

Jon Lindstrom Reveals the Cover of His Debut Novel!

👩‍❤️‍👨 All In the Family…

It’s not their first time at the rodeo together either.

Lauren Swickard Cast on GENERAL HOSPITAL as Nurse Janice!

🎉 Give That Man a Cigar…

Scotty celebrates another anniversary.

GH’s Kin Shriner Celebrates His 46th Anniversary

👈🏽 Don’t Let the Door Hit You…

Hard to believe some jerk is still doing this in 2023.

https://ew.com/tv/days-of-our-lives-lisa-rinna-calls-for-removal-producer-albert-alarr/

🍊 She Has Regrets…

Shannon addresses your questions.

RHOC’s Shannon Beador Addresses Fight With Ex John’s Daughter, Her Regrets, and Status With David, Plus Slams “Fake” Heather, and Talks Drama With Gina and Tamra’s “Alcoholic” Diss

🍸 And They’re Off…

Why we need this show, I’m not sure. Riding on coattails anyone?

PHOTOS: Meet the Cast of the Vanderpump Rules Spinoff as Filming Begins With Jax, Brittany, and Kristen, Plus Who Has Filmed From Main Show

To remind us he was once King Awful.

Jax Taylor Admits He Was ‘Just Awful’ to Laura-Leigh Moser 

And to remind us who is now. Once again, the saddest thing about it was the perfect timing.

Vanderpump Rules WAS Almost Canceled Before Scandoval

🍹 One Charm Coming Up…

I don’t know who that new guy is who told Shep to grow up, but I’m on his team.

Southern Charm Season 9 Trailer Includes Headbutts and Headaches

⚰️ Daryl Of the Dead…

The latest tease.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/08/04/walking-dead-daryl-dixon-codron/

If you missed the basics.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/07/21/walking-dead-daryl-dixon-trailer-mission-revive-humanity/

🧀 The Great Leveler’s Great Leveler…

Cheese, the universal love language of pets.

https://www.dailypaws.com/pet-news-entertainment/feel-good-stories/cheese-tax-dog-song-on-tiktok

🌞 This Summer…

Ending with some practical pet advice.

https://people.com/how-to-keep-pets-safe-in-summer-vet-safety-tips-7569088

🥠 Quotes of the Week

We suffer more often in imagination than in reality. – Seneca

Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean. – Ryunosuke Satoro

Progress is impossible without change, and those who cannot change their minds cannot change anything. – George Bernard Shaw

Curiosity is the most powerful thing you own. Imagination is a force that can actually manifest a reality. – James Cameron

We are all ordinary. We are all boring. We are all spectacular. We are all shy. We are all bold. We are all heroes. We are all helpless. It just depends on the day. – Brad Meltzer

You can’t go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending. – C.S. Lewis

I burned my curtains off for a bee. – Tim Malcolm, Pillow Talk: 90 Day Fiancé Before the 90 Days, in reference to sharing space with a spider

🍻 Rolling Out the Barrel…

Come see me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and teatime. Until then, stay safe, stay leading by example, and stay remembering every moment is one more you might not have bad.

Aug4

August 3, 2023 – Ava Questions Austin About Gordon, They Got Skills, New Chapter, Where They Are, Deck On the Runway, Pilaf (!) & Song

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the hospital, Ava asks to speak to Austin, but the nurse at the desk says he’s with a patient. Would she like to leave a message? Ava says, no. This message needs to be delivered in person.

Cody starts to lift a bale of hay, and stops, saying, oh yeah, that wound. Maybe no lifting today. He goes into the stables, and asks Brook what she’s doing there. She says, Leo’s not the only Q who likes horses, and he says, liking them is one thing, but her feeding stance… Is she bucking for his job? She says she’s taking a break from work; hiding out from her Granny Tracy and her dad, who’s now known as the hard-partying rocker Eddie Maine.

Olivia finds Ned/Eddie in the nook, and says, good afternoon. He says, it’s afternoon already? and she says, if he didn’t stay out all night, he wouldn’t miss half the morning. He says he doesn’t see that changing any time soon… but he does appreciate her making him… What is that egg thing Leo said she made? Anyway, it was great; it really hit the spot. She says, frittata. It was his favorite… Ned’s favorite.

Molly instructs TJ on the placement of a plate of cookies, and he says he can’t believe they agreed to come to their home, instead of them going to the office. She says she’s grateful they did. She can’t believe this is happening so quickly. He says, as long as they don’t believe they’re entitled because they’re coming here, and she points to her foot, saying, it’s called extenuating circumstances. She really wants this first meeting to go well. He says, so does he, especially since it’s the first step to having a family.

Spencer goes into Kelly’s, followed by Esme with Ace, and sees Josslyn. He says, in all the years Cam worked here, and even when he did, he never pictured her wearing a Kelly’s apron. She says, why not? It’s a good gig. Her mom owns the place now. She’s just helping her out. He asks if she’s giving up on pre-med, and she asks if she said that. No. Her career path doesn’t have to change. She’s just helping her mom out. He says, fair enough, and she asks what they’re doing here. She wonders if Esme quit her job at The Invader, but Esme says, of course (🍷) not. She’s on her lunch break and thought she’d spend a little time with Ace away from daycare. Kristina walks in and squeals, asking if that’s little baby Ace. He’s so adorable. Spencer was right; he’s so cute. (He is. I’m not even a baby person, and he is.) She can’t believe it took her so long to meet him. She tells Ace that she’s his cousin and it’s nice to meet him.

At the hospital, Dex sees Trina in a waiting area, and says he doesn’t mean to bother her, but Sonny sent him to see how Curtis was doing. The nurses won’t tell him anything because he’s not family, but maybe she could. She says she can’t tell him much, and he asks if Curtis is with the doctors now. She says, no, but Curtis, her dad, is refusing to see her.

Austin introduces himself to Curtis and says, according to his chart, Curtis has turned away his physical therapist. Curtis says he didn’t feel like physical therapy today, and Austin says he sees. He checks Curtis’s vitals and says, maybe he wants to go tomorrow. It’s a very important component of his recovery. Curtis doesn’t respond, and Austin says he doesn’t know if anyone has explained this to Curtis, but when he leaves here, he’s going to go to the rehabilitation facility. Does Curtis have any questions while he’s here? Curtis says, no, and Austin says, if that changes, just let the nurse know, and he’ll be more than happy to circle back. He leaves, and Curtis remembers reading, this condition can’t be cured. He flashes back to telling Portia, if he’s not going to walk again, she’s not remodeling their home; she has to let him go. If she really wants to help, she’ll walk out the door and not walk back. Curtis throws his phone against the door, and Stella walks in.

Cody says, maybe he overdid it coming back to work so soon, but somebody’s got to feed the horses, and Brook says, it’s already been taken care of. What does he need? Can she get him some water? He says he’d prefer beer. Grab herself one too. He hates to drink alone. She says, water it is, and he sits down. He says, yep, that hurts, and she asks how bad Sasha hurt him, handing him a water. She says she’s not the shy, retiring type, and he asks if anyone is shy in the Quartermaine family. She says, of course (🍷) not, but he didn’t answer her question. How badly did Sasha hurt him? He says, it’s nothing he can’t handle, and definitely not bad enough she should be sent to Ferncliff.

Ned says, the night Olivia brought the ravioli over to Sonny’s place, he did try some of that. It was delicious. Has she ever thought of becoming a chef? She says she does co-own a restaurant and gives the chef notes on his menu sometimes, but that’s enough for her. She gets enough satisfaction out of cooking for her family and loved ones. He asks if she’s always been a good cook, but she says, no. She remembers when she was a teenager in Bensonhurst, her Nona was always dying for her to learn her recipes. She was always too busy to let Nona teach her. He says, busy with school? He bets she was a cheerleader. She says, ha! Her? No. She was more of a wild child. After school, the only thing she wanted to do was cause trouble.

TJ sets some bottles of water down, and Molly says, flat and sparkling. It’s good to give her a choice. He wonders if they’re overthinking this, and she says, of course (🍷) they are. That’s always best. There’s a knock at the door, and he says, that must be her. Molly says, let’s knock this out of the park, since she’s been watching Below Deck, and he opens the door. A woman says she’s Clair Brown, and he says, the surrogacy matching professional? She says, that’s her, and he says he’s TJ. They’ve been expecting her. Please come in. He thanks her for coming to their home, and introduces his partner Molly. Clair says she was happy to accommodate, and asks how Molly is feeling. Molly says, better, and TJ asks Clair to have a seat. Clair sits and asks if it’s their first meeting with a surrogacy specialist. Molly says, yes. They just recently found out she’s unable to have a baby on her own. Clair says, there’s no reason for them to be nervous. She’s done this process with hundreds of couples. And don’t be afraid to ask her anything. In her line of work, she’s found the only bad question is the unasked one. TJ says, understood, and Molly asks where they start. Clair says she’ll start with the basics of what hiring a surrogate will be like and find out what their preferences are. The first thing is, are they interested in a gestational surrogate or a traditional surrogate?

Stella picks up Curtis’s phone and asks how he’s doing. He says, how does she think? and she says she spoke to Portia… He tells her that he knows what she’s going to say. Stop feeling sorry for yourself, Curtis. Get on with your life. God never gives us more than we can handle. She says, that’s not what she was going to say at all. She honestly doesn’t know what to say, except she’s sorry. She’s so, so sorry. She hugs him.

Trina tells Dex that she shouldn’t have said anything, and he asks, why? She says she barely knows him, and she just shared way too much information. He says, she’s Joss’s best friend, and he knows Joss is busy today helping her mom at Kelly’s, so maybe Trina could consider him her proxy. If she wants him to leave, he will, but if she needs someone to talk to, he hopes she feels comfortable sharing whatever she would have with Joss with him. Trina guesses she’ll take a shot at it, because she really needs to talk about this. She needs to talk about it with someone who isn’t family. He says he definitely qualifies, and she says, the doctors think it’s a possibility that Curtis may never walk again. He says he knew that was a possibility, but he hoped that wouldn’t be the case. He’s really sorry. She says, that’s not even the worst part. Ever since Curtis found out he may never walk again, he’s refusing to see her.

Kristina says, Ace is the absolute cutest, and tells Esme to have a good day with her son. She goes over to Josslyn, and says, welcome to life behind the counter. She should think about putting in an application at Charlie’s. Josslyn says she’d rather stick pins in her eyes, and Kristina says, Charlie’s is not that bad. It’s the same thing as Kelly’s, but with alcohol. Josslyn says, right, but  that’s where Sonny tends to go with Nina, so hard pass. Kristina says, okay, and walks out. Esme tells Spencer, Josslyn and Kristina don’t seem to like each other very much. What’s their deal?

Austin finds Ava in his office, and she says, finally. He closes the door, and she says, take it easy. She knows he’s been ignoring her. he’s been ignoring her calls. He’s been ignoring her texts. She had to track him down in person because she needs to know, what the hell is going on?  He says he hasn’t been avoiding her calls or her texts; he’s a doctor. He’s been very busy. He has a lot of patients to care for. She says he has one less patient to worry about, now that Gordon Stevens was found dead in an alley, right here outside the hospital.

Austin says he heard what happened to Gordon. It’s very unfortunate. Ava says, unfortunate? A heart attack is unfortunate. Two bullets to the chest is murder. He says he went over this with Detective Chase, just so she knows. Austin told him that he didn’t know anything about Gordon’s death. Which isn’t a lie, because he didn’t know who Gordon was. He really doesn’t know anything about his death. She says, oh my God. Austin killed him, didn’t he?

Curtis says he’s sorry, and Stella asks what he has to be sorry about. He says, clearly he upset her with his outburst, but she says, he hasn’t done anything wrong. That bullet wasn’t meant for him. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. None of this is his fault. But unfortunately, it is his reality now, and that’s why she’s here. She’s here to help him in any way she can. He says, there’s nothing she can do. There’s nothing anyone can do. She sits on the bed and says she’s going to have to disagree with him. He has a family that loves him; a family whose love is as strong as any army. An army that will support him and care for him, and guide him through this unfortunate circumstance. He says, unfortunate circumstance? He can’t walk. He can’t run. He can’t dance. He’s not the person he was a week ago. He’s not the man he was. He never will be again. That’s his future. Curtis is literally whining, and I want him to stop that.

Trina tells Dex that when she found out Curtis may be her biological father, she had no interest in getting a DNA test. Marcus Taggert will always be her dad, the man who raised her, no matter what a DNA test said. He asks, what changed her mind? and she says, Curtis was so brave in Greenland. He literally risked his life to save hers. She thought the least she could do was take a DNA test. It turned out Curtis was her biological father, and it changed things. He says, how so? and she says, things got weird between her and her dad, but also between her and Curtis. He wasn’t just the man married to her mom. He wasn’t just her stepdad. She had to look at him differently. She had to look at them like father and daughter. Then it slowly got less weird, and they started bonding. Until she pushed him away.

Josslyn says, if Esme has something to ask her, just as her, not Spencer, and Esme says, okay then. What’s the deal with her and Kristina? Why don’t they like each other? Josslyn says, the answer is simple and it’s none of her business, and Spencer tells her, don’t be like that. It’s not like it’s a state secret. Kristina is Team Sonny and Josslyn’s Team Carly. Josslyn says, sure. In her opinion, she just thinks is you’re Team Sonny, you’re a bit misguided. She walks off, and Esme says she wasn’t trying to provoke Josslyn. She hopes Spencer knows that. Ace fusses, and Esme says she just thought, Kristina treats her like a human being, which is a refreshing change. Ace continues to fuss, and Esme says she’s going to take him back to daycare.

Brook says, correct her if she’s wrong, but Sasha grabbed a knife off of the bar and stabbed Cody with it. He says, that’s all true, but Sasha was terrified. She says, of him? and he says, she didn’t even know it was him. She kept calling him Cyrus. Brook says she knows he’s friends with Sasha. Sasha is her friend too, but if Sasha was hallucinating he was someone else, that’s an argument for Ferncliff. She lost touch with reality and became violent, and this isn’t the first time she’s been violent. She smashed the windshield of that reporter’s car. He says, that reporter who was aggressively provoking her, and Brook says, maybe Ferncliff is the best place for her, but he says, no. And he refuses to believe that.

Molly says, if she has it right, a gestational surrogate is a person not related to the fetus because they didn’t provide the egg, and Clair says, that’s correct. In their case, it would be a donor egg fertilized with TJ’s sperm and impregnated through IVF. Molly says, whereas a traditional surrogate provides the egg and is genetically related to the fetus, and Clair says, right again. She has several traditional surrogates who are willing to supply the egg and be fertilized through IUI. So that’s the first question. Do they have plans to secure a donor egg? Kristina blows in, and says, my God, that Josslyn is such a bitch.

Austin tells Ava that he didn’t kill Gordon. He couldn’t do something like that. She knows him better than that. She says she doesn’t. As a matter of fact, now that she thinks about it, she knows next to nothing about him. He wonders how she can say that; they had sex. She says, they scratched an itch, that’s all. And just because they know each other doesn’t mean they know each other. He says, after everything they’ve been through, he’d say they do. She knows him better than anyone’s known him in a long time. She says, everything they’ve been through? Like him helping her cover up her husband’s death? He says, it was bad luck that he arrived just after she killed her husband, and she begged him to help her hide the body. She says, it’s too bad his help came with a side of Mason. Austin’s phone beeps, and she says, he was just a nuisance at first, but now he’s got that psycho Betty looking after her child. He looks at his phone, and says he hates that Mason was there that night and brought her into his world, but that’s the way it is. But understand something. Mason and the people who Mason works for, those are the people who hurt people like Gordon. He could never do anything like that. He has to go. She tells him, hurry back. She still has questions, and she’d like some answers. He says, okay, and leaves. She starts snooping around his office.

Cody tells Brook, none of this tracks. Sasha kept it together when the producers at Home & Heart were trying to sabotage her by playing crying baby noises in her earpiece. She says, he’s right. Sasha did show a lot of courage that day, but of course (🍷) she did get a little assist from him when he threatened to run in front of the camera naked if they didn’t stop the sabotage. By the way, she has to ask him. Would he really have done that? Gotten naked on live TV? He asks what she thinks, and she says, it’s admirable he would have done that to help Sasha. He says, that’s his point. How is the same woman who kept it together under incredible pressure suddenly become a delusional trainwreck in just over a month?

Ned says, Olivia was a wild child? Which means what exactly? She skipped school and went to the mall? She says, the mall, and laughs. That’s for babies; that’s middle school. By the time she was in high school, she and her best friend Lois – who he also might remember – they gave their Nonos every grey hair they had on their head. They were smoking, they were running around with older boys, they were sneaking into nightclubs with their ginormous bangs and little skirts about the size of a belt. He says, sounds like she was a good time. He never would have guessed. She says she got pregnant. She had to give up her partying days to raise her son.

Molly introduces Kristina, and says, Clair is a matching professional, who will hopefully be matching her and TJ with a surrogate so they can have a baby. Kristina says, wow. That’s amazing. Molly and TJ are going to be incredible parents. Does Clair know they’re a doctor and a lawyer? The ultimate power couple. Clair says, yes. She read their application before the meeting, and Kristina says, duh. Of course (🍷) she did. Clair doesn’t need her to tell her anything else about them. She’ll text Molly later, and it was lovely to meet Clair. They’re just so great. She leaves, and in the hallway, she says, what? TJ says he’s sorry for the interruption. Where were they? Clair says, some couples choose to use a donor egg from a family member so they’ll share the same family DNA. Is that a possibility for them? Molly says, no. They’re interested in a traditional surrogacy using the surrogate’s egg.

Spencer goes into the kitchen and asks Josslyn if he can get a chocolate milkshake on the house. She says, of course (🍷). She’ll get him the shake, for double the price. He says, that was awkward with Esme before, right? and she says, yeah. Isn’t everything awkward with Esme? He says he’s sorry he blabbed about her issues with Kristina to Esme. He didn’t mean to. She says, that’s okay. Don’t worry about it. He says, before Esme left, she said Kristina was the only person who made her feel like a real human being. He hates to say it, but he kind of felt sorry for her.

Dex says, Trina doesn’t need to tell him anything she doesn’t want to, but if she and Curtis were starting to bond, why did she suddenly push him away? She says, because he did something she disapproved of, and she pushed him away. So the fragile bond they were building, she broke it. And now when he needs her, he won’t let her help him. He says he thinks she might be wrong about this one.

Ava flips through a file box, and says, okay, Gordon Stevens. Let’s see what your problem with Austin was.

Austin tells Curtis that he’ll be leaving tomorrow and spending a few weeks in the rehabilitation facility. After that, it’s very important that he continue his rehab at home. He’s sure Dr. Robinson has already explained all this to him. Stella says she’ll take it from here, and Austin leaves. Curtis says he doesn’t think he can do this, but Stella says, Curtis Byron Ashford. You have had a lifetime of hardships and struggles, more than any one man should have to bear, and I have watched you triumph over each and every one of them. He says, this is different, and she says, he’s right; it is.

Josslyn gives Spencer his shake, and says she knows the reason he moved in with Esme was to protect Ace, and she respects that. But even though Esme has lost her memory, Josslyn hasn’t. She hasn’t forgotten what Esme did to Trina, her, and Cameron. It’s just really weird for her to be around Esme like that. It isn’t for him? He says, it’s not as hard as it used to be, but that’s because of Ace. His first priority was, and still is, Trina. She says, so why isn’t he with her right now? and walks out of the kitchen.

Ned says, it sounds like a tragedy to him, and Olivia says, how so? He says, she was forced to give up her party girl days to be a mom. It’s tragic. She says, absolutely not. Her son Dante is an absolutely amazing man. He saw Dante last night; Dante is the one who brought him here. if he remembers it. He says, she doesn’t really expect him to believe she doesn’t miss her wild party days, and she says, sure, once in a while. Does she regret giving up partying to raise her son? Absolutely not. She wouldn’t trade her son for anything in the entire world.

Cody says, Brook told him that Sasha was violent before when she attacked that sleazy reporter’s windshield and smashed it, but Sasha was on drugs back then, right? Brook says, she was, but then she got clean, and he asks if it’s possible she relapsed and was on drugs again at the pool. The way she was acting, thinking he was Cyrus Renault. If he didn’t know anything about Sasha, and was a total stranger, he would have completely assumed she was high as a kite. She asks if he thinks Sasha fell off the wagon, and he says, maybe she didn’t know she was drugged. What if someone spiked her drink? Brook says she knows he’s trying to find any possible way to justify Sasha’s behavior, but Sasha has a history of mental illness. If they deny that, they’re not helping her. He says, maybe she wasn’t drugged, but something happened to derail her. He’d bet anything it started with Gladys.

Clair says, Molly and TJ have answered all the questions she needed answering. Now it’s time for her to put together a list of potential surrogate candidates for them for them to interview. Molly says, that’s it? It seems way easier than she thought. Clair says, so going forward, the issue will be finding a surrogate that they feel comfortable with. TJ thanks her, and says, they’re excited to take the next step. Clair says, it was nice meeting both of them. They seem to have a very good grasp on what they want, which will make the process go smoothly. TJ says he’ll walk her out, and walks with her maybe 10 feet to the door. He thanks her again, and Clair leaves. He asks what Molly thinks, and she says she thinks it’s lucky she’s in this boot, or she might have jumped off the couch and tackled Kristina for being inappropriate. Which would have disqualified them from Clair’s service. He says, her sister has a real gift for showing up at the exact wrong moment, and Molly says she doesn’t know. Maybe Kristina showed up at just the right time.

Sitting at the counter, Spencer tells Josslyn, with everything going on with Curtis, he’s trying to be respectful. He’s keeping his distance away from Trina and her family. Josslyn says, but why? Trina just found out Curtis isn’t her stepdad; that he’s her biological father. He’s just been shot. He could be paralyzed for the rest of his life. If she was in Trina’s position, she wouldn’t want her boyfriend to keep his distance from her. He says, Portia has recently graduated in her feelings for him. She’s gone from being vocally disapproving of him to outright telling Trina that she doesn’t want him anywhere near her. Josslyn says, it’s a big world out there. Maybe just spend time with Trina far away from Portia. Kristina walks in, and says, that’s certainly one idea. She’s also got others. Maybe instead of dumping his beautiful baby brother off at daycare, Spencer could grab Ace and his mom and take them to the park.

Dex tells Trina, when he was overseas in the military and one of his buddies was seriously injured, the hardest part was watching them isolate themselves from the rest of them. But after a while, you start to get it. Their job in the military is literally to protect people. So if you get injured and lose your ability to be a protector, it’s got to mess with your head. For Curtis, he’s not just this guy married to Trina’s mom; he’s her actual biological father. It’s got to kill him that he can’t be Trina’s protector. Trina says, yeah, but she’s not a little girl. Curtis doesn’t have to protect her; that doesn’t matter to her. He says, maybe not, but he kind of guesses that matters to Curtis.

Brook tells Cody that Gladys used to work as her assistant, and she agrees Gladys isn’t the best worker, but she still thinks Gladys has Sasha’s back. Why is he so suspicious of Gladys? He says, she sold Brando’s garage without telling Sasha, and she says, Sasha was initially upset, but then Gladys explained that there were just too many daily reminders… He says, no. That was just a cover story. Gladys cannot be trusted. She framed him for stealing that bracelet at the Nurses Ball. She says she can believe Gladys tried to frame him, but she’s been around long enough to know Gladys truly loves Sasha, and that’s good enough for her. She looks at her phone and says she’s been away from work long enough, and hiding from granny, so she’s got to go. She’ll see him later.

Austin come back and asks what Ava is doing. Those are patient files. They’re very private. She can’t do this. This he would have her arrested for. She says she doesn’t think so. Besides the dead guy doesn’t need privacy. But that’s the funny thing. Gordon Stevens is nowhere to be found in his files, which means he was never Austin’s patient at all. So start talking. Who was Gordon Stevens to him?

Ned says, so in Olivia’s wild days, before she got knocked up, what clubs did she used to hang out in? She says, that was a long time ago, and he says, she doesn’t remember the names of any of the clubs? She says, if it was happening, she and Lois were there. The Peppermint Lounge… Private Eyes, Hurrah, Area, of course (🍷) Studio 54, Xenon… She sighs, and Brook stands at the door. He asks how she got in. Did they have fake IDs? Olivia says, fake IDs. Those are for amateurs. She winks and says, they made friends with all the bouncers. He says, nice, and Brook smiles.

On the phone, Cody says he has a friend staying in their facility. He was hoping to get the visiting hours… Yes. Her name is Sasha Gilmore… His name? Cody Bell… What do they mean, he’s not on the list?… Did Sasha get to create her visitor’s list?… Of course (🍷) Gladys Corbin made the list. He thanks them.

Molly tells TJ that she was really torn about asking Kristina to donate an egg. Because at least the baby would be biologically related to her. He says, that makes sense, and she says, but after Kristina’s barging in earlier, she realized it would just make everything so much more fraught. Kristina would feel entitled to give her opinion on every parenting decision they made. He nods, and she says, because of that and a million other reasons, she thinks it would be better if they use the surrogate’s egg. He takes her hand and says, no matter what, she’s going to be the mom of their baby. She says she agrees. She’s feeling so much more confident after meeting with Clair. She’s going to find them the perfect woman to carry their baby. He nods, and she says, and to think a year from now their baby will be on this couch with them. He says, with them, and they kiss.

Josslyn says, Spencer actually has plans with Trina this afternoon, and Kristina says she does know her mom is out of town. She doesn’t think it would be a big deal for Esme to take the afternoon off. She’s sure Baby Ace would rather be outside in a park than cooped up in daycare. Spencer says, it is a beautiful day. So he thinks he’s going to catch up with Esme and his brother. He leaves, and Kristina tells Josslyn, sorry.

Trina says, if Dex were her, what would he do? and he says he would let Curtis know that he’s here for him, then he’d give him space. She says, so sitting here for hours isn’t the way to go? and he says he’ll walk her out.

Stella kisses Curtis on the top of the head and leaves. Curtis uncovers his legs and pokes at them and smacks them. He pounds on his thighs and cries.

Austin says, the next time Ava has a question for him, please just ask. Don’t go through his patients files. She says, fine, but did Mason force him to treat Gordon Stevens? He says, yes, and she asks if Mason had anything to do with Gordon confronting him in front of Nina and Sonny and everybody else at the Port Charles Grill. He says, hold on a second. Did she say something to Sonny? Did she talk to Sonny? She says she didn’t, and he says, Sonny already didn’t trust him and now that he’s got a dead patient in the alleyway, Sonny’s never going to let him around Avery again. Sonny’s going to… She says, Sonny’s not going to do anything. Because she told him that Austin helped her. He says, helped her what? Did she tell Sonny that she killed Nikolas?

Tomorrow, Willow says she’s glad Michael rescued her from it; Nina tells Kristina that she’ll help any way she can; Laura says, whatever she and Doc find, they face together; and Valentin asks Anna if she’s sure he wasn’t the target.

💡 Other Projects…

GH cast members away from the hospital.

GH’s Tabyana Ali Releases Her New Children’s Book!
GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Brad and Lucas Reunite!

🛥 Life After Deck…

This sounds great. I’ve called Sandoval the poor man’s Johnny Depp too! Kindred spirits!

Captain Lee and Kate Chastain Get New Bravo Show

🐎 If Ya’ll Still Care…

I kind of liked this one. Admittedly, LeeAnne was a bit much, but every village needs their idiot. And Kameron’s stick figure depiction of adult entertainment in Thailand remains of the funniest things I’ve ever seen.

Former ‘Real Housewives of Dallas’ Stars: Where Are They Now?

🩱 Project Mashup…

This might have been my favorite episode this season, a client challenge for Below Deck cast members. Countess LuAnn and former chief stew Kate were the guest judges, and Gary did a hair flip on the runway. There was even a crew night out.

‘Project Runway’ 20 episode 9 recap: Who was thrown overboard at the end of ‘Below Decked Out’ real client challenge? [LIVE BLOG]

🐕 There Are No Words…

I would travel everywhere with this little nugget too. She’s only around 1.5 pounds. You could sneak her in anywhere. How could you not adore this dog???

https://people.com/every-time-demi-moore-has-matched-her-chihuahua-pilaf-7564954

🌝 Midsummer Night’s Dreaming…

Meet me here tomorrow for soap, a font of tea and quotes, and something musical to round it out. Until then, stay safe, stay not being that person with too many items in the express lane, and stay being aware of when to let someone know you’re here for them, then give them space.