Category Archives: Bravo

November 5, 2021 – Spencer Dethrones Himself, a Goodbye, Proud Papa, Allegedly, New Focus, Paid For, New Wives, Winter Louse, Lala’s Lot, Yet More Costumes, 3×3 Quotes & Blue

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Cameron switches the sign on Kelly’s door to open, and Josslyn comes in the side. He asks what she’s doing there this early, and she says she’s wishing him a good morning, and kisses him.

At the gallery, Trina says she’s dying to show Portia these new photos. She doesn’t know how the photographer does it. She doesn’t know how he has the time or the energy. Portia says she’s sure he gets some of his energy from a healthy breakfast, and holds up a bag from the MetroCourt. Trina says she forgot they were meeting for breakfast. She’s so, so sorry. Portia says, there’s no need to apologize. It’s totally worth it to see that she’s so invested, and in such a worthy cause. Trina says she means, as opposed to a boy?

Esme and Spencer come into Kelly’s, and Esme says, get a room. Spencer says, they get an A for enthusiasm, and a solid B for technique, and Esme says, they’re so cute together, stealing kisses. She says they’ll leave Cameron and Josslyn to it, and walks to the counter with Spencer. Josslyn says, a solid B. At least they didn’t get sent abroad to learn how to kiss. Cameron wonders where it’s written that every time they’re alone, they get interrupted, and she says she doesn’t know, but they’re both pretty resourceful, so they should do something about that.

Shawn gives Alexis a gift bag, and says, a gift for her; inspected and approved. She jostles the bag, and says, usually nail files to break out of prison are heavier. She asks, what’s the occasion? and he says he couldn’t get her nephew arrested, so he’ll settle for making him pay.

Nikolas and Ava come into the MetroCourt, where Carly is working on something. Sonny asks if she’s busy, and she hugs him, saying, she missed him. He says, he missed her too. The weather was bad, then it wasn’t. He was up in the air, and here he is. How does that work? She says, it works perfect. Tell her, how did things go with Cyrus? He says they’ll get into that later, and asks, what’s going on with Joey Novak? She says, not much to tell. He was a jerk, he was dealt with, so thank you. He says he hasn’t dealt with Joey yet. Ava and Nikolas approach them, and Ava says she heard about the incident with Joey Novak at The Savoy. If he’s that brazen, it can only mean one thing, right? Another mob war is heating up. So does Sonny still think Avery is safer with him?

Shawn says, the last time he saw Alexis, they had that conversation about Nikolas, and she says, regarding his involvement with Hayden’s shooting. He says he went to Spencer, and told him that his father arranged the attempt on Hayden’s life. Spencer took the bait and went straight to his father. Then he had Spinelli record the conversation. She says she finds it hard to believe Nikolas would come clean about what he did to Hayden, and he says, there was so much evasion and damage control, it was clear Spencer knew his father was guilty. She asks how Spencer took it, and he says, it was crushing. She asks, what about Nikolas? and he says, Nikolas covered all his bases; even Hayden knew what he did. He paid her off. So he’s going to use this money, and do the right thing.

Ava says, she and Nikolas feel, at least for the time being, Avery is much safer with them, and Sonny says, Avery is safe where she is at home. Ava says, she has more than one home; he knows that. Sonny suggests instead of trying to spend more time with Avery, they should find a family counselor for Spencer. That way, all three of them can have a little more peace. Sonny tells Carly, let’s get out of here, and they leave. Ava says, my God, the hypocrisy is staggering, and Nikolas says, still, Sonny could be right about Spencer.

Portia says, Trina isn’t kidding about these pictures; they are amazing. She’s so proud her daughter took the initiative to bring a National Geographic photographer of Joel Sartore’s stature to Port Charles. She looks at the tablet, and says, look at that one, and Trina says, that’s a golden snub-nosed monkey, and it’s one of the most endangered species on the planet. Sometimes, the females will deliberately have affairs with the reticent males behind the lead male’s back. Portia says, that takes some strategic skills, and Trina says, it has to for survival. Portia tells her, just be careful, and Trina says, right. You’d think she was going into the wilderness to photograph these animals herself, or is Portia talking about Spencer?

Cameron says, Spencer is there early, and asks if he’s trying to make up for going AWOL the other day. Spencer says, it hasn’t escaped his attention that today is payday, and Cameron says he’s sorry, but there’s no paycheck for Spencer. Spencer says, what? and Cameron takes an envelope out of his pocket, saying, congratulations on Spencer’s first earned money ever. (How is he getting paid when he just started, and ditched half a day? Hell, I’ll work at Kelly’s.) Spencer looks at the check, and says, wow, this is paltry, and Cameron says, he’s only worked there two days. What does he expect? Spencer shows Esme, and asks how he’s supposed to live on this, and she says, he’s not. He’s supposed to make things right with his father, play nice with Ava, and go back to being the prince he was born to be.

Shawn says, as much as he’d like to turn Nikolas in to the cops, there’s not enough evidence, and Alexis says, then he’s better off holding the threat over Nikolas’s head, and charging him a fortune to be quiet. He says he’s glad she agrees, and she says, typically, she’s not a fan of blackmail, but Nikolas deserves that in this case. So what is he going to do with his windfall? Is he going to buy a yacht? He says, no, the money isn’t coming to him personally. He wouldn’t take a dime from that corrupt bastard. Nikolas is setting up a trust for a non-profit. Shawn has some ideas for the greater good. She says, that is genius, and he laughs, thanking her. He asks if she’d care to join him as one of the administrators.

Ava asks if something else happened with Spencer, and Nikolas says, they had another confrontation. Ava says, about us? and Nikolas flashes back to Spencer questioning him about Hayden. She asks, what happened between him and Spencer?

Spencer says he can’t go back to his father, besides, Ava’s the one who controls the trust. She says, then go to Ava, but he says, he can’t give in to her. There has to be another way. He approaches Cameron, and says he needs more money than this. Cameron says he’ll get it, and Spencer says, great. When? Cameron says, a week from today, and Spencer asks if he can have an advance. Cameron says, no. Why does he need an advance? Spencer says, a decent lawyer can mean the difference between freedom and prison, and Cameron says he only passes out the checks; he doesn’t sign them. It’s not in his power to give Spencer an advance. He’s sorry. Esme tells Spencer to do what he needs to do, and after, they’ll get a hotel room and celebrate. Spencer asks if he can borrow Cameron’s car, but Cameron says, no. Borrow one of the delivery bikes. Does he know how to ride one? Spencer says he does, and Cameron tells him, wear a helmet. His mom’s a stickler about traumatic brain injuries.

Trina says she knows Portia is suspicious of Spencer. Good news, she is too. Ever since she found out he’s the one who’s been terrorizing Ava, she’s been keeping him at arm’s length. Portia says she’s glad to hear it. He’s a very troubled young man. Trina says, he’s just spoiled and angry; he’s not a psychopath. Portia tells her, she didn’t say he was a psychopath, but he needs help, and if he comes to Trina for it, she’s unqualified. Trina says, then Portia should know, he came to her the other night, but she told him she’s not a shoulder for him to cry on. Portia doesn’t have to worry about her; she’s got this. Portia says she trusts Trina to make good choices, and she’s proud of Trina, for everything; for the magnificent young woman she’s become. Trina says Portia and Taggert can take some credit for that, and Portia laughs and says, can we now? She has to get to work, and tells Trina not to forget breakfast; it’s the most important meal of the day. Trina says, some things never change, and she and Portia hug.

Carly and Sonny get out of the elevator at the hospital. Carly needs to pick up a prescription, but says she wants to hear more about Sonny’s meeting with Cyrus. He says, the only important thing Cyrus said to him was warning him about Joey Novak. He knew Joey was going to make a move, but he didn’t think it was going to be this stupid, or this quick. She says, it doesn’t make any sense. Joey approached her, and the next thing she knows, he was beaten within an inch of his life. So if Sonny’s not the one who ordered the attack, who was?

Esme sits down with Josslyn, and says, sorry if she overstepped with the get a room thing. Sometimes her mouth works faster than her brain. She thought she was being funny, and it wasn’t. Josslyn says, okay, and Esme says she was hoping they could put the tension between them in the rear view and start over. Josslyn says she’s got a lot of work to do, and Esme says she’ll let Josslyn do that. Esme goes over to Cameron, and tells him that Josslyn’s still upset with her. He says, she’ll get over it, and Esme says, he thinks so? He says, or she won’t; what does Esme care? She says, they’re Spence’s friends, and she wants to be friends with them too. She was going to pitch the cabin idea again, but Josslyn didn’t even give her a chance; she just shut Esme down. If they could all just get away for a day or two… He says, it’s a nice idea, but how are they supposed to do that, when she and Spence are having a hard time making rent? She says, they’ll figure it out, and if he and Josslyn would be more comfortable with separate bedrooms, she’s sure they can be accommodated. He asks why they’d need that, and she says she gets it. He’s a real gentleman that way.

Spencer comes into the gallery with a helmet in his hand, and Trina says, he rode a bike there? Did his chauffeur call in sick? He says he borrowed a delivery bike, and she says, and here he is – again. He says he’s not stalking her, if that’s what he’s implying, and she says, isn’t stalking kind of his thing? He says he deserved that. He’s not actually there to see Trina; he wants to talk to Ava. She asks why he needs to do that, and he says, he needs to tell Ava that he accepts her marriage to his father. She asks who he thinks he’s fooling. He wants his money.

Nikolas says, he and Spencer argued about something that happened years ago, long before Ava was in the picture. He’s afraid he’s lost Spencer for good, but she says, Spencer might think that he hates Nikolas right now, but he will cool down. He has to, right? He needs his father’s financial support. He says he doesn’t want Spencer to just come back for money, but she says, beggars can’t be choosers. She knows it’s not the most desirable or admirable way to rebuild their relationship, but it is a beginning. Spencer will come home to him.

Alexis tells Shawn, congratulations on turning her nephew’s wrongdoing into something really good. The non-profit is going to be amazing, she knows it, but she can’t administer from there. He asks if Nikolas didn’t offer to fix it for her, and she says, with that awesome gubernatorial pardon, if she keeps her mouth shut about Hayden. He says, how about it? but she says she can’t. He asks, why? It seems like she had a pretty good life out there. Doesn’t she want it back?

Portia goes in to see Joey, and introduces herself. She says he had an extremely rough night last night, but he’s going to be okay. Can he communicate to her his level of pain? He grimaces, and she says she can take care of that, and adjusts his intravenous medication. He says, why… what… and she says, someone attacked him last night outside The Savoy nightclub. The police will want to talk to him at some point. His pain meds should kick in soon, and she’ll be back to check on him in a little while. She leaves.

Carly tells Sonny, whoever went after Joey moves fast. She’d barely gotten home from The Savoy, when Dante was knocking on her door, wanting to ask her questions. He’s going to want to talk to Sonny. Sonny says he expected it, but before he does anything else, he needs to see Joey. Portia comes by, and says hi, and Sonny asks how she is. She says, Curtis told her what happened at The Savoy. Is Carly doing all right after the incident? Carly says she’s fine, and Portia asks if Sonny is there about Mr. Novak. Sonny says, first of all, that incident should have never happened, and if she could tell Curtis he apologizes? She says she’s sure Curtis would appreciate it, and would tell Sonny that it’s not necessary. It’s good to see them both. She leaves, and Carly says, what’s next? and he says he’s going to end this. He’s going to see Joey right now.

Joey’s buddy asks if he’s getting any good drugs, and Joey says, not good enough; it hurts all over. It just happened so fast. He was just talking to her at the club, he went to get his car, and then, he doesn’t know. Dude asks if Joey remembers who got him. How many of them were there? Sonny’s guy Frank opens the door, and Sonny is there. Dude says, Mr. Corinthos, how are you this fine morning? Joey just woke up. Please tell him… Sonny says, take a hike, and dude jets. Sonny tells Frank, close the blinds, and grabs the nurse call button so Joey can’t use it. He says, here’s the thing. Joey threatened his wife, and there’s no coming back from that. He tells Frank to wait outside, and Joey says, he told Sonny’s guy last night, from now on he’ll stay away; he gives Sonny his word. Sonny says, from now on doesn’t fix what he did last night. Joey says he’s sorry. It was a mistake. He was angry and grieving. Sonny says, he should be sorry, but that’s more than his uncle; he wasn’t sorry at all. As a matter-of-fact, he tried to take out Carly and Jason, right up until his car blew up. But does Joey see what he’s talking about? He leans closer, and says, if Joey threatens anybody he cares about, he’ll make Joey disappear. Joey says, all right. What does Sonny want to make this go away?

Carly goes the reception desk, and Elizabeth says she heard Nina was arrested. Carly says, arrested, extradited, and released the next day on bail. Elizabeth says, after keeping Sonny away from Carly all those months, now she’s allowed to walk around free? Carly says, it’s unbelievable, and Elizabeth says, she must be furious. Carly says she’s beyond furious, and Elizabeth says, honestly, if it happened to her, nothing would stop her from destroying the person who came between her and her family.

Cameron says, he’s a gentlemen? Thank you? Esme says he knows what she means. It’s really sweet, like a Jane Austen hero. Honestly, she wishes she and Spence would have waited before they got so close. Sex is no way to resolve disagreements. A way to put them aside, but talking them out is so much healthier. So it’s good he and Joss will have that foundation of communication before they take it to the next level. Cameron says he needs to work in the kitchen, and Esme goes back to Josslyn’s table. She asks how studying is going, and Josslyn says she’s learning a lot. Esme says, about what? and Josslyn says, manipulative conniving women who will do or say anything to get what they want no matter who they hurt. Esme says she knows they got off on the wrong foot, but that’s a little… Josslyn holds up her book, and says, Lady Macbeth. Esme says, right. Out, damned spot. Josslyn says, yet Esme thought she was talking about her. Esme might want to think about that. Esme says, even lady M had a conscience, like she does, and Josslyn tells her, saying she’s just like Lady Macbeth is not the best case she could make for herself. Esme asks if they can’t just start over, and Josslyn asks if she has a time machine. Esme says, think about it. The four of them going away together. They can get some girl time away from the boys, and understand each other better. Josslyn says she thinks they understand each other just fine, and Esme says, if she’s worried about approaching Cam… Josslyn asks why she’d be worried, and Esme says, he’s already on board with them renting a cabin for a few days, separate rooms for Joss and Cam, of course (🍷).

Alexis tells Shawn that she misses her family. She sees them all the time, but it’s not the same. She misses being at home with them around the dinner table, her girls fighting, her disapproving of Kristina’s life choices, just so Kristina can throw prison in her face. He says, it is a great house, and she says, Julian bought it for her when his mafia ties blew up her other one. They sit, and he says, she must have some happy memories of the place. She says, most of them are pleasant. She thinks like, fifty-one and a half percent. What does he like about it? He says, the kitchen, and she says, it had a kitchen? She knew it did; she almost burned it down. He says he enjoys it. He turns on the music, and whips up a couple of meals for TJ and Molly, who barely get to eat. She asks what he makes, and he says he could tell her, but it’s probably different from what she’s eating there, and would be a cruel and unusual punishment. Seriously, he loves the place. She gets up, and says she does miss it, and he says he knew it. She says, that is not a positive statement, but he says, it could be. Walk out of this place, and help him make the non-profit a force for the good. She says, it’s different for him. He bested Nikolas, and made him pay for it. He’s her nephew. She tried instill a sense of right and wrong in him, and failed miserably, and she’s not going to let him be the reason she gets out of there.  

Ava says, Nikolas knows she’s right. Soon Spencer will realize he misses the life he was born to. Nikolas says, when Spencer was younger, he had a distain for the locals; he called them the townies. He won’t want to see himself as one of them. She says, they can use his own snobbery against him, and he says, then he should take as a win if Spencer comes back for the money. She says, not if, my love, when, and he says, when he comes back for the money.

Spencer tells Trina, it’s not about the money. He really wants to make peace with Ava. Trina says, no he doesn’t. She thought they’d gotten somewhere when he apologized for using their friendship, hoping she wouldn’t hate him. She has to hand it to him; it sounded like he meant it. He says he did, but she says, it’s clear to her that he has no respect for her or Ava. What is it he really wants? Is the job too hard? Is it beneath him? Because he went from swearing he’d never speak to Ava again, to coming in here, helmet in hand, hoping to snow Ava into believing he accepts her back in his father’s life. He says, okay, yes, he needs money, and she says, good luck with that. He says, for a lawyer, so he can get a place for him and Esme. They have no time alone. They can’t even afford to go out to eat. This is no way to live. She says, oh my God, he is so pathetic. He’s nothing more than a spoiled child of privilege, and worst of all, he’s a liar. He wants to trick Ava into thinking he’s accepted her into their family, so he can get some cash, so he doesn’t have to slum it, working for a living like the rest of them. She’s done with him. Get out.

Sonny tells Joey, his terms are that he wants everything. Everything that’s left of Joey’s uncle’s organization; Novak’s holdings here and offshore. Joey says, but that’s worth… and Sonny says, he knows what it’s worth. That’s what he wants. Joey says, the family… and Sonny says, the family’s not going to take it well, but that’s not his problem. That’s between Joey and them. Joey said he’d heard Sonny changed, since he got back from where he was. Sonny says, he did, and sits on the bed, leaning on Joey’s arm in the process. Joey makes in pain sounds, and Sonny says, sorry. He didn’t mean to do that; out of habit. He did change. The old him would have handled this differently. The new him is handling it this way. He’s letting Joey walk out of here, but if he does anything like this again, if he threatens anyone Sonny loves, Sonny is going to take him out. Joey says, okay, and Sonny says, okay what? Joey says, he’ll give Sonny everything; all of it is his. Sonny says, you know what? He laughs, and tells Joey, he never thought he’d say this, but great doing business with him. He opens the blinds and looks out. He says, Joey never should have tried to fill his uncle’s shoes. Has he ever heard of a word called hubris? A friend of his told him about it while he was away. Hubris. It’s like arrogance on steroids, and you know what? It’s made way better men than Joey go down fast and hard. He leaves.

Carly says, she would have thought Elizabeth would advise her to forgive and forget, and Elizabeth says, then she would be wrong. Carly says she’ll see Elizabeth around, and Elizabeth says she really hopes Carly gets the justice she deserves. Carly leaves, and Portia comes over to Elizabeth. She says she wants to thank Elizabeth again for the sketch she did of the mystery man. Elizabeth says she’s happy to help. Did Curtis recognize him? Portia says, Curtis didn’t, but TJ did. So did the bartender at The Savoy.

Esme says she knows she and Josslyn can find some common ground. All they have to do is spend a bit more time together. With her and Spence being in such close quarters at his grandmother’s, she knows it would be good for Spence to get away too. Josslyn says, it sounds like what Esme needs is some alone time, just her and Spencer. Esme says she understands why Josslyn is nervous, but maybe if she and Cam spend some time alone together, she can get past whatever’s stopping her from being… Josslyn says, from being what? and Esme says, from being as beautiful, and as close as two people can be. She says she has to study too, for her internship. She needs to learn everything there is to know about the criminally insane. Surprisingly, Josslyn doesn’t say something like, there probably isn’t much for her to learn on that front, and Esme leaves. Josslyn goes over to Cameron, and he says he was wondering what she was doing later. She says, funny. She was just going to ask him the same thing.

Nikolas says he has to wait Spencer out, and Ava says, exactly. Let him come crawling back. Trust her; he will. Nikolas thanks her, and says she makes him feel like he might actually get his son back. He sees Shawn come in, and says, if she’ll excuse him… She says, business? and he says, business. He walks over to Shawn, and gives him a manila envelope, saying, it’s all set up the way Shawn wants it. The money’s in a trust, the non-profit has been filed, Shawn is the administrator, and has the ability to appoint other administrators as he sees fit. Shawn says he knows a good lawyer who will look at it, and Nikolas says, it’s perfectly legal. So they’re finished. Shawn says, for now. Nikolas asks what Shawn means, and Shawn says, he means if the non-profit needs additional funding, Nikolas will provide the funds. And if Nikolas ever screws him over again, he promises Nikolas will be very, very sorry. He leaves, and Ava walks over. She says, now Nikolas can tell her what that was all about – the truth. He says, okay, but he’d rather do it someplace quieter. She says, anywhere he likes, and he says, just after he makes a call.

Spencer says, Trina, please, and she asks why he’s still there. She asked him to leave. She’s working on a very important project, and doesn’t have time for him. He says he’s sorry. He doesn’t know what to do, and she says, she told him what to do. She told him, go to work, and be his own man. Not Esme’s boyfriend, and not his father’s son. Not some money grubbing little phony. Be himself. Be the guy who convinced her to go to her graduation party, not the creep who rigged the sprinklers to shower her with fake blood. He says he’s apologized for that a million times, and she says she knows. When she first met him, or rather when she met Victor, sure, he was lie, but he was a much better person than this mess she’s seeing in front of her. If he wants to do right, find him. Find the part of him that rises above the selfish idiot she sees in front of her. Be the person who learns from his mistakes, and be a better person, the bigger one. One she might be able to respect, and maybe someday call her friend. This person he is now is no one she wants to know.

Nikolas and Ava walk into the gallery, and Ava says she takes it he’s there to see Trina. He says, actually he was looking for her, and Ava says, is that so? Nikolas says, don’t tell him that he’s finally going to make peace with Ava. Spencer looks at Trina.

Josslyn says, her dorm room’s out, and Cameron says he thought Trina was busy with the art exhibit. Josslyn says, she is, except when she’s not. Trina’s schedule has become completely unpredictable. What about his house? He says, tonight’s his mom’s birthday, and she says, happy birthday to his mom. A parental birthday party is probably not the best opportunity for alone time. He says they have just a little party and cake planned, but after that, his mom is going out with friends. She says, and his brothers? and he says, they’re at sleepovers. So does she want? She says, yeah, she does. Esme watches.

Spencer says, he just wants to tell them, he’s happy Nikolas is with Ava, and Nikolas says, he’s glad to hear that. Spencer says he also wanted to let them both know that he no longer wishes to be a prince. He doesn’t want one single filthy penny of their family’s money. From now on, he intends to find his own way in the world, and he will. Nikolas says, he’s proud… and Spencer says, as of now, he’s no longer his father’s son. He’s no longer Nikolas’s son. He starts to cry, and says he’s no longer a Cassadine. Goodbye, Nikolas. Goodbye, Ava. He thanks Trina for what she said. She showed him the way, and he’ll be forever grateful. He walks out, and everyone just looks sad.

Shawn comes back to Spring Ridge, and Alexis says, just in time for her to thank him for this beautiful scarf. (It is very pretty.) She puts it on, and he says he hates to say, you’re welcome, at the same time he’s asking a favor. He holds out the envelope, and asks if she’ll have a look. She says, sure, taking the papers out, and sitting down. He says, Nikolas swears it’s legit, but he doesn’t trust Nikolas as far as he could throw him. She says she thinks he could probably throw Nikolas a fair distance, and looks through the papers. She says, it’s a first glance, but it seems to be in order. It looks like Shawn is the administrator of a well-funded nonprofit. He says, he can appoint other administrators. Consider his offer on the table permanently. The warden comes in, and says he has some good news. The governor issued Alexis a pardon. Alexis seems skeptical, and he says he’s just as surprised as she is, but it’s official. She’s going to be released.

Portia tells Elizabeth, she doesn’t know what it is, but there’s something about that man in the sketch. Or maybe she’s overreacting to a coincidence. Elizabeth says, want to know what she thinks? Trust her instincts. The elevator comes, and Portia says, good advice. She thanks Elizabeth, and gets in.

In another elevator, Sonny says he doesn’t think Joey is going to do anything stupid like that again, but Carly asks if he’s met the man; he’s pretty stupid. Sonny says, but he’s alone; he has no back up. Carly asks what Sonny did, and he says he took everything the Novaks had; their holdings, their people, everything. She says, really? and he laughs and says, yeah. She asks what he thinks the Novaks will say about that, and he says, to him, probably nothing. To Joey, probably a lot. She says, so instead of eliminating him, Sonny gave him a fate worse than death, and Sonny says, mercy is a funny thing. She says, just when she thought he couldn’t impress her more. Did Joey give him any idea who attacked him? He says, not at all, and she says, if it wasn’t Sonny, and it wasn’t her, who did it?

On Monday, Esme asks Spencer exactly how close he got to someone, Peter tells Britt there’s only one way off the island for her, Diane says it sounds like Carly misses being the one in charge, and Sonny says there’s something else he can do for someone.

😢 Ciao, Papa…

A sweet tribute from a loving son.

🎶 On a Happier Note…

The circle of life and all that.

👠 Picture Of Privilege…

I hate to say it, but it sounds like something that would come out of Ramona’s mouth.

💎 Phew…

Out of the hotseat and into the courtroom. Maybe.

💸 The Kindness Of Almost Strangers…

They were probably afraid of a lawsuit.

💰 The Wives You Didn’t Know You Needed…

Carolyn Stanbury? Maybe Lindsay Lohan? Excessive spending? Count me in.

https://autos.yahoo.com/autos/bravos-real-housewives-dubai-announcement-143820073.html

🤪 Old Frat Boy House…

These people all need to do something more meaningful with their lives. And probably get therapy.

Ciara From ‘Winter House’ Says Austen Kroll ‘Doesn’t Really Want’ Lindsay Hubbard – but Will They Sleep Together Again?

🍸 First World Problems…

Oh just cry, eat some ice cream, and move on.

🎃 Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop…

More costumes. From the soap world.

Halloween personified.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/entertainment/celebrities/2021/10/29/heidi-klum-halloween-costume-2021-video-exclusive-pics/6175859001/

👩🏽‍💻 Quotes of the Week

Leaders who win the respect of others are the ones who deliver more than they promise, not the ones who promise more than they can deliver. – Mark A. Clement

No man can tell whether he is rich or poor by turning to his ledger. It is the heart that makes a man rich. He is rich according to what he is, not according to what he has. – Henry Ward Beecher

It is mental slavery to cling to things that have stopped serving their purpose in your life. – Chinonye J. Chidolue

Some people believe holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength. However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go and then do it. – Ann Landers

There are worse crimes than burning books. One of them is not reading them. – Ray Bradbury

If you don’t believe me, then google it. – Cesar Faison (Anders Hove), General Hospital

If you put the federal government in charge of the Sahara Desert, in 5 years there’d be a shortage of sand. – Milton Friedman

Not everything that is faced can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. – James Baldwin

We’re at different points in our life, because we’re actually at different points in our life. – Robby Fakhouri, 90 Day Fiancé: The Single Life

🃏 Knowing When To Fold ‘Em…

Halloween is over – hello, left over fun size special dark Hershey bar – and it’s only a breath before we roll into what’s known as the holiday season. Try not to forget that little holiday called Thanksgiving. It always gets lost in the shuffle. See you in the Dead zone, but until then, stay safe, stay uninfluenced by so-called influencers, and stay remembering, just because someone is spoiled and angry, doesn’t mean they’re a psychopath. Most of the time.

November 4, 2021 – Ned Gets a Surprise, Ark Artistry, Flowers On the Runway, Flashes, Too Kind, More Costumes & Papa

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

On the phone, Ava says the artist was very pleased with their offer… If they send the payment, she’ll ship the piece to Paris… Yes. Au revoir. Nikolas walks in, and she asks to what she owes this pleasure. He says, after their separation, does he really need a reason to see his lovely wife? She says, that’s very romantic… and a little suspect. Might he be covering an ulterior motive? Shawn comes in, and Nikolas thanks him for coming, and tells Ava that he and Shawn have some business to discuss. Can they use her back room? She says, it’s all his, and asks if there’s anything she can do to facilitate. He says she already has by lending them the room. They shouldn’t be long. He kisses her, and goes in the back with Shawn, but I don’t think she’s buying what he’s selling.

Harmony asks Alexis if she can help with anything before she goes, and Alexis looks at Ryan, and says, maybe she could take the psychopath back to his room. Harmony says, sorry, but Ryan has another hour. But since Alexis is uncomfortable with him, maybe she should reconsider their earlier conversation. Alexis asks if she means Nikolas’s offer to have the governor pardon her. She thinks she should be done with making deals with the devil. Spencer comes in, along with Esme wearing a work uniform, and asks which devil they’re talking about.

Trina is looking at her tablet when Ned walks in. He says, wow. Those photos are beautiful. Where did they come from? She says, it’s called the Photo Ark Project, and he says he’s heard of it. He asks if National Geographic isn’t responsible for creating it, and she says, Joel Sartore is the photographer and a National Geographic explorer. His mission is to document every species living under human care. Ned says, that’s incredible. How many species has he already documented? She says, he just reached twelve thousand. He’s been doing it for fifteen years. He says, that’s a great idea. He imagines a lot of the species are endangered, and she says she’s afraid so, but she knows he didn’t come there to gush about the Photo Ark. How can she help him? He says he’s looking for a last minute gift for Olivia, and Trina asks if he forgot her birthday. He says, this is more of a gesture of goodwill. He hopes. (See more on The Photo Ark below.)

Olivia stumbles around behind the bar at the MetroCourt, when Robert comes in. She yells, Robert! and he asks if she’s okay. She says she’s great.

Dante walks into the hospital, and tells Epiphany that they got a call about an assault victim. Does she know anything about that? She says, a man was found beaten and brought to the hospital, and he asks if they have an ID. She says, Joseph Novak. He’s in ICU; it was a severe beating. He nearly died.

Curtis tells Portia that he doesn’t like the idea of this man going around Port Charles, and asking her and TJ questions about him, or working Nika at his club. Something’s not right if he won’t talk to Curtis himself. Portia says she was worried about Cyrus, but it could be something more commonplace. Maybe he owns a competing nightclub, and he’s checking out Curtis’s strengths and weaknesses. He says, something about him seems familiar, but definitely not from hanging out here at the club. Sam comes in, and asks if he always keeps his door unlocked when he’s closed, and he tells her, welcome back. She says she wanted to tell him what she found out about Drew.

Valentin is looking at photos of Charlotte on his phone, when Anna brings Victor in. Valentin says, hello, Victor. Or should he call him dad?

Olivia throws her arms around Robert, saying, she’s so happy to see him. He says, tell him she didn’t drive, and she says she took a car from The Savoy. She knows she left her phone back here. She was  going to find it and… who cares about her. He’s here. Did he catch Peter? And did he find Maxie’s baby? He says, found Peter, lost him again, couldn’t find Louise. She says she’s so sorry, and starts to guzzle his drink, but he takes it away. He asks, what about her? Leave nothing out, and remember she doesn’t have to drink herself sideways to feel good. She says, it’s Ned. They’ve tried. They’ve tried everything, but she’s afraid things between them are worse than ever.

Ava tells Ned, what a pleasant surprise. Is he in the market for some artwork? Trina says, he’s looking for a gift for his wife, and he says he knows you can’t buy forgiveness. Ava says, but you can sure as hell try. Has he looked around? Has he seen anything Olivia might like? She suggests Trina show him the pieces they have that aren’t displayed, and she says she was showing Ned the Photo Ark Project. He says, the collaboration with National Geographic. The photographer, Joel Sartore, is documenting every species living in captivity. Look at the photos; they’re incredible. Ava looks at the tablet, and says, they are, and Trina says, he’s been to wildlife sanctuaries and zoos all over the world. Ned says, the photographer is using it to bring awareness to conservation across the globe, and Ava says, it’s wonderful work, but what does it have to do with the gallery? Trina says, Ava has been encouraging her to put together an art exhibit of her own for extra credit in art class. What if she organizes an exhibit at the gallery hosting the Photo Ark Project?

Alexis tells Spencer, she and Harmony were just talking about ethics, and asks if it isn’t a little late for a visit. Esme says she’s volunteering at Spring Ridge; it’s part of her course work at PCU. Spencer says, Esme is thinking of being a psyche major, so she’s going to be working with some of the patients here. Alexis says, great, and Esme says, for her night shift, the best boyfriend in the world offered to drive her to work. Spencer says he did have an ulterior motive. He wanted a few minutes with his Aunt Alexis before visiting hours are over. Esme tells Harmony, the warden said Harmony would show her the ropes, and Harmony says she was just about to clock off… but, sure. She’ll show Esme around. They leave and Alexis asks, what happened to Spencer’s hand? He says, espresso shots can be hazardous, and she says, he’s pulling his own espresso shots? He says, it wasn’t for him. He’s working at Kelly’s. She laughs, and says, he has a job… at Kelly’s? He says, it’s a bit of a long story, and she says, it’s either him or Dostoyevsky. They sit, and she says, lay it on her.

Shawn tells Nikolas, no wires or microphones. Not that they’d work here; this place is like Fort Knox. Nikolas says that’s why he suggested Ava’s gallery. The security measures insure complete privacy. Has Shawn given any more thought to their conversation the other day? Shawn says, the deal for his silence? and Nikolas says, half a million dollars; it’s just an opening bid. Shawn says, Hayden may have made her peace with Nikolas trying to kill her, but she wasn’t the only victim here. He’s not talking about his years in prison for a crime he didn’t commit. Nikolas asks what he’s talking about, and Shawn says, Naomie Dreyfuss. Nikolas killed her to make sure he and Sam never found Hayden.

Anna tells the guard she’s got it covered, and he leaves. Valentin says he doesn’t need Anna to stay, but she says she’s not leaving him alone with a megalomaniac. He says he doesn’t need her to babysit him; he can handle it himself. She says she’s sure she can, but she’s still not leaving him alone. Victor says, my oh my, you can cut the sexual tension with a knife, and Anna tells him to get over himself. The only reason he’s there and not the Hague is that the Bureau wants to keep him close to Anna during her investigation. Victor says, in case he cracks. The Bureau’s wasting its time. Valentin suggests not wasting anyone’s time. If Victor wants to make a deal with the Bureau without his and Anna’s help, he can forget that. He needs to help them find Peter and bring him to justice.

Robert pushes a cup of coffee toward Olivia, and says it will help her feel better, but she pushes it back. She says he has to promise everything she’s told him is in the cone of silence; not even Monica knows this. He says he’s a former Bureau agent. He knows when to keep his trap shut. Sorry to hear about Leo though. She says, there’s nothing to be sorry about. Leo is just fine. He’s got his own interests, his own way of being. It’s Ned who’s convinced Leo is on the spectrum after having one conversation with this stupid doctor who isn’t even an autism specialist. Plus, he’s trying to sue the Quartermaines for stocks of ELQ. Plus, broke doctor/patient confidentiality when he went blabbing his mouth all over to Brook. Robert says, sounds like a real keeper, and she says she knew he would understand. There’s no way her son has autism. He says, she knows how he feels about her husband, but he does love Leo, and looks upon that boy like he’s his own. Is it possible his concerns are worth at least a follow-up? She says, if she thought there was any chance that her son actually had something wrong with him, does Robert not think she’d make an appointment with a specialist? He says she knows her son, and they’re very close. She asks if Robert thinks they’re too close. Is he saying she smothers him? He says, it’s called loving your child. He loves his daughter, but he doesn’t smother her. She says, maybe she’s just seeing what she wants to see, and he asks why she’s telling him this and not Ned?

Trina says, the photographer’s on tour to support his new book, Photo Art Wonders. Mr. Sartore free in two weeks, but for one day only. Then he’s not available for at least a year. Ava says she loves Trina’s enthusiasm, and that she wants to spearhead her own project, but she doesn’t think it’s going to be feasible. Trina says she checked the gallery’s calendar, and they’re not hosting any events in those two weeks, but Ava says, the event would have to be underwritten. She doesn’t think it’s possible to find someone to bankroll that kind of event on such short notice. Ned says, how about him? Geez, how about Nikolas? He has more money than God.

Dante asks if Joey has said anything, but Epiphany says he’s still unconscious. A good Samaritan found him at Van Nyes, and called 9-1-1. Dante wonders what he was doing there, and she says, it’s a shortcut to the Harbor View district. A lot of nightlife has sprung up there recently. He says, like The Savoy.

Curtis says, so there never was a plane crash, and Drew’s been alive this whole time, and Sam says, alive, and being held in a compound on the island of Crete. But by the time they got there, Anna and Robert had seen Peter shoot Drew, and Drew fell into the sea. The WSB and the investigators searched for him, but there was no sign of him. If she’d only gotten there sooner… Portia says she hears what ifs from her patients all the time. Looking back doesn’t change anything. The only thing you can do, is think about what you can do now. Sam says she has to talk to Scout, but Portia says, she doesn’t have to talk to Scout immediately. Nothing is going to change overnight. She doubts Peter is going to come back to Port Charles, knowing she, Dante, and Anna are looking for him. Why doesn’t she take this time to think about this? She’s the parent; she controls the narrative.

Victor agrees Peter needs to be brought to justice, but unfortunately, Peter’s whereabouts are the only leverage he has. Anna says, if Victor is innocent, as he claims, why does he need a deal for immunity? He says he ran the Bureau, remember? Once they have their sights on you, proving your innocence is well-nigh impossible. Valentin says Victor knows what Peter’s capable of, and Victor says he knows Peter needs to be stopped, but he also has to look out for his own interests. Valentin says, his daughters are potential targets. If Victor is telling the truth, they’re his granddaughters. Anna says, and if he’s Valentin’s father, wouldn’t he want to cooperate for the family’s sake? Victor says he didn’t lie about that; he is Valentin’s father. Valentin says, forgive him if he doesn’t jump out of this hospital bed for a celebratory embrace, and Victor says he kind of thought Valentin would. Knowing he’s a Cassadine after all, entitled to all the benefits and curses that come with that bloodline.

Nikolas tells Shawn, he had nothing to do with Naomie Dreyfuss’s death; he thought she killed herself. Shawn says, suicide was ruled out, and it was deemed a homicide, but Nikolas says he’s heard nothing about this. Shawn says, because the case is low priority for the police. It’s bad enough Violet hasn’t seen or heard from her mother in over a year, now she’s lost her grandmother too. Where is the justice in that? Nikolas says he’s not disagreeing with Shawn, but since he had nothing to do with it, he’d rather discuss the matter at hand. Shawn says Nikolas is making a charitable donation for his silence, and Nikolas says his charitable donation to the cause of Shawn’s choice, in exchange for Shawn not ruining his reputation with his baseless accusations. Shawn says he could take Nikolas’s money, but this was never about money for him. Nikolas asks what else he can give Shawn, and Shawn says, Nikolas didn’t want to get his hands dirty doing it himself, so he hired a shooter whose still out there somewhere, free as a bird. Nikolas says, this is all conjecture, and Shawn says, let him conjecture this. Give up who actually fired the gun.

Spencer tells Alexis that Doc paid his bail, but there were conditions, and one of them was that he get a job. She says she’s surprised he didn’t turn right around, and walk back into jail, and Spencer laughs. He says, working at Kelly’s has other benefits too. He needs to get back in his father’s good graces. Did Nikolas tell her that he put Ava in control of his money? She says she heard, and he says he needs to show his father that he’s responsible, and he can never speak ill of Ava again. She says, let her know how that works out, and he says, without access to his trust fund, he can’t hire a decent attorney to defend him. She says, he’s a first time offender. Maybe they can plead him out with a suspended sentence and some public service. He says she could plead him out; his public defender would have to remember his name first. Maybe if he agrees to his father’s terms, his father will pay for an A-list attorney. Alexis flashes back to Nikolas trying to barter for her dropping the investigation in exchange for him getting her a pardon, and she tells Spencer, going to his father is a terrible idea.

Harmony says she should have realized the psyche patients are locked in their cells for the night, and Esme looks at Ryan, and asks if Ryan has special privileges. Harmony says, not really. It’s because he’s immobile no one worries he’ll escape. What exactly drew Esme to working with criminals, mentally ill ones at that? Esme says she believes in the power of redemption; that despite our past sins, we can all do better. Harmony knows that better than anyone, doesn’t she?

Trina hugs Ned, thanking him, and Ava tells him, please don’t feel any pressure to underwrite the exhibition. He says, to be honest, there’s a method to his madness. Olivia is crazy about animals, and if he underwrites the exhibition in her name, it might go a long way to her seeing he’s not such a bad guy. Trina tells Ava that she’s going to reach out to the Photo Ark people right now; maybe they can get a date on the books. She leaves, and Ave says, a generous gift, something unique and timely, will also go a long way in helping his troubled marriage. He takes it she has something in mind, and she says, a small framed piece, something that will look terrific in Olivia’s office at the MetroCourt. The artist is on her way up, and one of these days, her works are going to be worth a fortune. He thanks her, saying, he trusts her judgement. A tip to the bartender, and she should be able to sneak it into Olivia’s office as a surprise

Robert says, Olivia is admitting to him that she thinks there might be some validity to Ned’s concerns, but rather than talk to Ned about it, she continues to push him away. She says, he’s right, and he says, what was that again? She tells him, stop it; he heard exactly what she said. He says, then what’s the problem? and she says, the problem is, she and Ned don’t communicate. They talk, but they don’t talk to each other; they talk at each other. He says, he’s been down that trail, but she says, not with her. She can tell him anything because unlike Ned, he actually listens.  

Valentin says he didn’t invite Victor there to discuss the Cassadine family tree, and Victor says, give him some credit. he managed to protect Valentin from Mikkos. If he’d known for a second that Valentin was Victor’s son with Helena, he would have killed Valentin without hesitation. Valentin says, he would have thought it was Helena’s doing, her sick revenge in getting Mikkos to accept her bastard son as his own. Victor says, Helena saw it as revenge. He saw it as hiding Valentin in plain sight. For what it’s worth (🍷), Valentin was sent away to boarding school in England, got a degree from Oxford, and was accepted into the WSB training program, despite his physical limitations. Valentin says, when he thought he was living his own life, Victor was pulling the strings. Victor says he made sure certain doors were open to Valentin, but if he’d failed, Victor wouldn’t be able to help him. He wasn’t worried. From an early age, Valentin proved himself to be eminently capable. Valentin says Victor is right about that. Peter’s at large. He’s got his father’s contacts and Faison’s money. He’s tried to kill Valentin, and doesn’t like Victor much either. So save himself, and help them find Peter.

Curtis raises his glass, and says, to Drew, a good man. He, Sam, and Portia clink glasses, and Dante walks in. Sam asks what he’s doing there, and Curtis says, they’re closed, but they’re always open for him. They were just raising a glass to Drew. Dante says he’d love to, but unfortunately he’s here on official business. Sam asks, what’s going on? and he says, Joey Novak was found beaten to a pulp about a block away from the club. Witnesses said they saw him here. Sam says, he doesn’t think Curtis… and Dante says, no, he doesn’t, but he has to ask. Where was Curtis tonight after the club closed? Curtis says he was here with Portia; he can show Dante the video footage. Dante says, no, that’s perfect. Did he see Novak there? Curtis says he saw Joey. He had to be escorted out. He was being a nuisance and it’s not the first time. Dante asks what Joey was doing, and Curtis says, the typical routine, being a tough guy. He didn’t have nobody fooled. Dante says, he’s probably just trying to fill his dead uncle’s shoes, and Curtis says, if he is, he’s not bringing any illegal drugs into the club. Dante says, heads up. Novak’s already made one enemy. He doesn’t want it impacting Curtis

Harmony says, Esme’s done her research, and Esme says she always like know more about the people she meets. When she learned she’d be working with Harmony, she did a deep dive. Harmony says she’s not proud of the mistakes she made while she was part of Dawn of Day, and Esme says, she made those mistakes for a cause she believed in, but Harmony says, there was no cause. It was a racket, a shell game. She went looking for answers, someone to connect the dots, someone to show her clarity. Shiloh told her everything she wanted to hear, and when he had her good and hooked, he turned her inside out. He made her his confident, his accomplice. Eventually, she betrayed her ideals and beliefs, and everyone she loved, including her own daughter. If Esme had asked her at that time, she would have said it was for a higher purpose, a greater good, but Dawn of Day was about one thing, feeding David Henry Archer’s ego. Remember that. When someone tells you they have all the answers, that they can fill you up, that they can give you life’s purpose, head for the nearest exit, and don’t look back.

Spencer asks what happened between Alexis and his father? Just a few weeks ago, she was practically begging him to make things right with him. She says, there are aspects of his father’s life he doesn’t want to be accountable for. If he refuses, she thinks Spencer should keep his distance from him. Spencer asks if she cares to be less vague, and she says, what she cares about, is that Spencer avoid becoming just like him.

Nikolas says, there’s a major flaw in Shawn’s theory; where would he even find a hitman? Never mind hiring one. Here’s where, if I was Shawn, I would stare blankly at the camera, since several mob families live in this town. Where wouldn’t you find a hitman? Shawn says Nikolas could try selling that to a jury, but he doesn’t think Nikolas will get far. Nikolas says and Shawn thinks he can sell his fairytale to the police? Shawn says, not him; Dr. Hamilton Finn. He can just go to Finn, and tell him everything he knows. He might be an ex con, but Finn is an esteemed physician, left raising a little girl whose mother suddenly disappeared. He’ll be able to open doors Shawn can’t. He’ll be able to get the authorities to listen. Not even Nikolas’s mother the mayor will be able to get him out of this. All eyes will be on Hayden’s little girl, who cries herself to sleep every night, wondering why mommy left her. Nikolas says he’s sure there are ways he can help clear Shawn’s name, and Shawn says, then they’re agreed. And that charitable donation Nikolas offered? He accepts, but with an extra zero added on the end. Nikolas says that wasn’t their deal, and Shawn says, it was an opening bid. He just raised it. Nikolas says, so it was about the money after all. Shawn says, oh no, but he’ll put it to good use. A pleasure doing business with him. Nikolas tells Shawn, he meant what he said. He had nothing to do with Naomie Dreyfuss’s death. Shawn says, know what? He almost believed Nikolas.

Victor says he’d like to know that Peter is safely locked away, or better yet, that he’s been killed while trying to escape. He’d like to know that he can no longer go after Valentin or his daughters, who are indeed his granddaughters. He’d like to know that miserable excuse for a human being has finally been stopped once and for all. Valentin asks if there’s a catch in there somewhere, and Victor says, there are certain things in this world that are greater than himself or what he wants. He can’t accomplish those things behind bars. Anna asks what the hell that’s supposed to mean.

Robert says, there’s a reason he and Olivia can talk the way they do; they’re friends. Olivia gets up, and says, they’re good friends, and he says she can tell him the depths of her fears. He’s kind of removed from that part of her life. She disagrees. They’ve been friends for a long time. They’ve had a lot of adventures together. Does he remember how Ethan was grilling him about how close they were? Robert says, he saw something that didn’t exist, and she says, what if does? What if everyone else is just seeing something they’re not? She kisses him, and Ned walks in with a painting.

Victor says, despite his personal interest, he can’t help them. He has to think of the bigger picture. Valentin says, spoken like a true Cassadine, self-preserving to the last. Anna tells the guard to get Victor out of there, and Victor says, he’s truly sorry to disappoint Valentin, but Valentin says he didn’t. Victor proved him right, and he likes being right. Victor leaves with the guard, and Valentin tells Anna, sorry to waste your time, darling. She asks if he’s all right.   

Robert tells Olivia that he thinks she’s got the wrong idea. Ned turns Robert around, and punches him in the face.

Spencer promises Alexis, he’ll be nothing like his father, and she tells him not to make promises he can’t keep. She asks him to do her a favor, and get his hand checked out at GH, but he says, it’s really not that serious. She says, unless it gets infected, and he says, if it would make her feel better. She says, it would, and he says, okay, she wins. He gets up, and says, as always, it’s great seeing her. She gets up, and says, she cares about him. Don’t be like the rest of the family. Money isn’t worth compromising over. He says he’ll think about it, but he knows he’ll disappoint Esme. He doesn’t think she signed up to be the girlfriend of a pauper. He leaves, saying goodbye to Esme on the way out.

Trina tells Ava, this is so great. Once she gets a date, she needs to book the caterers, send out invitations, decide on the food, pick out a display… Ava says, first things first. Tell her mother the good news, and do it in person. Trina thanks Ava, saying, she’s the best boss ever. She hugs Ava, and runs off. Nikolas walks back out with Shawn, who keeps walking out the door. Ava asks if Nikolas wants to tell her what that’s all about.

Curtis tells Dante, he showed Joey Novak the door. He escorted Joey out, and his bouncer, escorted his friend right behind him. He told them, do not come back, because you won’t get let in. And that was it. Is there anything else he can help Dante with? Dante says, no. They’re good, but maybe if he could offer some unsolicited advice? Curtis says, only if he doesn’t have to take it, and Dante says, of course (🍷) not. As Curtis knows, he’s running a nightclub, which is mostly a cash business. That element of shadiness is going to try to creep in. It probably won’t be Joey Novak, because he’s not going to be able to walk for a while, but where one showed up, others will follow. Sam looks at Portia, who looks at the sketch.

Olivia launches herself at Ned, and asks what the hell he thinks he’s doing. He says, what about her? and she tells him not to compare an innocent kiss with physical assault. Robert says, he really thinks there’s been… and Ned says, wasn’t it a year ago Robert warned him not to hurt Olivia? He said there was nothing going on between the two of them. Robert says, he can explain, but Olivia says he doesn’t owe Ned any explanations. She and her husband have been separated for almost a year. It doesn’t even feel very right to call him her husband. Ned says he knows he’s the one who screwed up the marriage, but he thought they were both fighting to save it. She says, maybe Ned was just kidding himself, and Ned points to the painting, saying, this is for her. To show how much he loves her. He gets in the elevator, and Olivia removes the wrap to see a painting of a dog. She starts crying, and runs off with the painting.

Anna says, she can’t help but think Victor is playing Valentin. She feels Victor’s claim to be his father is just a way to get him to cooperate. He says, it doesn’t matter what Victor’s motives are; it doesn’t matter if he’s telling the truth. All that matters is that they track down Peter. She says, they’re running out of options. If she doesn’t get another lead on Peter, she’ll have to make a recommendation to the WSB that they give Victor the immunity he wants.

Nikolas says, he told Ava; it was business. She says, he walked in upbeat and confident, and walked out anything but. What sort of business did he have to discuss with Shawn in her back room? He says, he thought Shawn could help him out with a little matter, but it turns out, he couldn’t. She asks if this little matter has anything to do with his Uncle Victor, and that he’s alive and in cahoots with Peter. He says, sometimes business is just that; it’s business. She knows as well as he does, Cassadine Industries has many tentacles that reach into many interests around the world, and sometimes he has to look outside the company for help. He can show her the spreadsheets and the Power Point presentation. She says, no, God no. She’ll take his word for it. She asks if he’s done in the back room, and he says, all done. She says she needs to prepare a painting for a client, and leaves. He takes out his phone, and leaves a message for Victor. He says, he thought Victor would have extracted himself from the WSB by now. Call when he gets this. Nikolas needs to know if he’s responsible for Naomie Dreyfuss’s murder

Trina runs into Spencer as he’s walking into the hospital, and asks if he’s okay. He says he scalded himself pulling an espresso shot, and his aunt insisted he come in to get it checked out. She’s a little bit of a hypochondriac by proxy. What about her? She says she needed to share something with her mom, but she left already. Is he sure he’s okay? He says he’s been thinking about everything that’s happened these last few months, and how it went so horribly wrong. She wishes she could help, and he says, she at least tried. When they first met, she had no idea he was crazy rich, did she? She says, no, but the last time she checked, he’s not rich; his dad is. She’ll see him around. She leaves, and he smiles.

Harmony gives Esme a folder, telling her that she needs to fill some paperwork out before she leaves tonight. It’s just promising she won’t sue Spring Ridge if an inmate attacks her, permission to look at her school files, stuff like that. Esme says, sure thing, and Harmony leaves. Esme looks at the chessboard, and moves a piece. She says, checkmate.

Seeing Alexis reading The Brothers Karamazov, Harmony says, nothing like a little light reading, and Alexis says, it kind of makes Spring Ridge seem cheerful by comparison. Isn’t it about time for Harmony to clock out? Harmony says, it looks like Alexis and her grandnephew were having quite the talk, and Alexis says, she was just trying to encourage him not to compromise his morals for money. Harmony asks if he listened, and Alexis says she doesn’t know. Seems like he has his hands full with his girlfriend.

Esme watches as Harmony leaves. Alexis tosses her book aside, and follows, and Esme goes over to Ryan. She bends down, and says she told him that she’d find a way back in. She hit a bit of a snafu, but she promises him – she takes his hand – she’ll take care of everything. He blinks twice.

Trina asks who Spencer thinks he’s fooling; Ava tells Nikolas, not if, when; and Sonny says, there’s no coming back from that.

🐘 Joel’s Ark…

There really is a Photo Ark, and the photos really are beautiful and incredible. I’ll bet this guy got a million hits today.

https://www.joelsartore.com/gallery/the-photo-ark/

Project Runway

Chastity wanted to keep her momentum going, even though she had immunity, and Bones said, it felt crazy to be on the bottom; it messed with your mind. The designers came into a room filled with flowers, and Aaron thought maybe they were making a dress out of flowers, but that wasn’t it. They were introduced to Lewis Miller aka the Flower Bandit aka the Botanical Banksy, and inventor of the flower flash (see below). Elaine said he’d done the flowers for her stoop wedding. The challenge was to create a high end fashion look that embraced floral prints. They were also to create the fabric prints as well, and each clothing designer was given a graphic designer to work with. Elaine said they were the best group of designers Project Runway had ever had. They were allowed to use supplemental fabric, with the emphasis on supplemental. The designers used the flowers that were all over the place as inspiration for the prints. Shantall was the only one who didn’t use the blooms, choosing instead to create her own drawing from a childhood memory. It was interesting to see the unique things they came up with, everyone with different designs. Darren said he was playing it safe with simple and pretty, since he’d been semi-tanking. In Boots’s interview, he said prints weren’t his forte and you needed to have an eye for them. Sabrina, who was from Afghanistan, and been refugee in Pakistan as a child, came up with the most amazing print that I thought was very Hermes. She was making a jumpsuit, and including a burka, saying, they were looked at as symbols of oppression, but could also be a statement of woman power. Darren’s print inspiration was a background on SpongeBob SquarePants, and in his interview, he said, imagine him doing fashion for SpongeBob? That’s the dream, man. I was pretty impressed overall with the designs. Christian asked if everyone was feeling amazing. I love Christian. He makes me laugh, but I’m not the target of his witticisms. As usual, he told everyone, have fun, which seems to be his catchphrase. When the models were about to come in, he told the designers it was time for a twist, then said he was just kidding. Like I said.

Gigi Hadid was the guest judge, and high and low six were Kristina, Shantall, Darren, Sabrina, Katie and Prajjé. Kristina had done a robe that the judges thought was fresh and modern, and had great fluidity. Nina thought Shantall’s look, a three-piece suit was the perfect look. She’d taken a risk, creating a print from a drawing that wasn’t heavy on the flowers, but it paid off. Shantall said her son was turning two today, and she was missing out, but this was for her family. Darren was on the bottom with a two-piece outfit that had what I’d say was a skater skirt. Nina wasn’t crazy about it. She said they were there to surprise and experiment, and she’d seen it. It was very cute, but she was right. Elaine said that whatever Darren was trying to say wasn’t translating to them. Sabrina was a shocker to me, being on the bottom, since the jumpsuit and burka was fantastic, but she’d made the mistake of sticking on a pink overskirt, and it was just no. Gigi said it was her favorite print, and she could see the burka on the cover of Vogue Arabia, but she should have lost the skirt. Sabrina said she didn’t want to offend anyone, so she’d covered her model up a little. She removed the skirt, and all of the judges were like, yes, there it is. Nina also thought flats would have been a better choice than heels. Nina asked if Prajjé thought he was in the top or bottom. I would figure if they were asking, I was on the bottom, but they fooled me by loving his look, a bodycon dress with a mermaid bottom. It was very Marilyn Monroe. Elaine thought it was a silhouette that was flattering on everyone, and I thought, yeah, if your stomach is flat. Brandon said he’d had a gay child moment – she is so pretty. Katie got one of the lowest scores, which was no surprise, since it looked like a schoolgirl outfit; cute, but not haute couture. Gigi thought the collar looked like it was made out of felt (it was leather), and I had to agree. Elaine asked Katie if this was high end, and Katie said she didn’t know what it was. She tried to blame it on Christian for making her second guess herself, but Brandon said Christian wasn’t on the runway, and she needed to take what was relevant from his suggestions, but you do you. Gigi said she didn’t hate the skirt.

The judges deliberated, and there was a lot of discussion over Shantall’s print. The challenge was floral print, and Elaine put it best, saying her floral note was a whisper. Brandon said, Darren knew how to design, but wasn’t a designer. Gigi said fashion was either editorial or to sell, and neither way worked with his piece. Nina said Katie’s outfit looked like a costume, and Brandon said she’d tried to blame Christian. This was ironic, since one of the things Christian told her to avoid was being too costume.

The six were brought back in, and Elaine said they’d been asked to create a joyful original floral print look, and they were there for it. Shantall was the winner, and Gigi told her that she’d had the most unique and modern print. Elaine said she was making her baby proud, and Shantall said that she was happy to have achieved the win, especially today. They moved on to the losing end, and Brandon said the looks had been confusing, chaotic, and tortured. He said they kept looking for something new from Darren, but it didn’t happen, and he was out. He had to pack his fabric scraps and go. In parting creative criticism, Sabrina was told the skirt took away from the look, and Brandon told Katie to find herself. The cheese Darren was left alone, and he said being in the competition had changed his life forever. He was from the Philippines, and still an out-of-place, misunderstood, weird gay Asian kid, but he wasn’t the same one as the one who’d come there. Nina said he had talent, but needed to find his voice. In his interview, he said it sucked to go early, because he knew he could do cool stuff. He was more aware as a designer and a person now. Christian said he loved getting to know Darren. He needed to figure out who he wanted to be, but they’d be seeing more of him. Darren sort of made a pass at Christian (joking, not joking), and in his interview, he said he was thankful to be part of this whole thing. It lit a fire under his ass, and he felt more smarter. He paused, and said, more smarter? Much smarter. And grateful.

Next time, figure skaters needing a look for the 2022 Olympics, Brandon says the looks reflected that the designers weren’t getting along, and Elaine says she doesn’t want to do this again.

💐 Better Than Hot…

About those flower flashes. I’ve never seen one, but I’ll have to keep an eye out when I’m in the city.

🏯 I had to ditch Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles because, for whatever idiotic reason, Bravo is only showing it at 8 pm, which is a bad time for me. I did catch some of it tonight, as well as the cast on Watch What Happens Live. Tracy had been selling her own house, and looking for another one, using Josh Flagg as a broker. He’d found her dreamhouse for her, and her kids had their hearts set on it, but they couldn’t meet on the price. Tracy said it just wasn’t meant to be, but was obviously disappointed. At the end of the show, Josh handed her the keys, saying he’d given up his commission, and the house was hers. It was $250,000. A. Half. Million. Dollars. What a kind thing to do. I’ve always suspected that they’re all more friendly than they pretend to be on the show; you can tell in co-interviews. On WWHL, they were very supportive of each other, and good sports, being the butt of one another’s jokes. Apparently, the two Joshes are now great friends, and their respective spouses even more so. I don’t usually do heartwarming, but I’ll take it this time.

🎃 Essence Of Halloween…

More costumes.

And couples costumes.

🚢 Abandoning Ship…

Be sure to stop by tomorrow for some soap, probably more costumes, no doubt some gossip, and words to ponder. Until then, stay safe, stay using your free time wisely, and stay not looking back. It doesn’t change anything. The only thing you can do, is think about what you can do now.

November 3, 2021 – Sonny Visits Cyrus In Flatland, Erika’s Story Comes To a Close, Why Can’t I Look Away & Boogie

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna looks in Valentin’s room window, and Porta tells her, Dr. Haddad said the surgery was very successful. She was able to remove all the bullet fragments. Anna says, good. So Valentin’s going to be all right? Portia says they have reason to be optimistic, and Anna says, he’s astonishingly resilient. Can she go in and see him? Portia says, sure. As Anna knows, she and Brook have been given familial privileges. Just encourage him to get some rest. Anna says she’ll try, but she’s not promising he will.

Anna goes in, and sits next to Valentin’s bed. She puts her hand over his, and he opens his eyes, saying, Anna. She asks if he missed her.

Chase walks past the reception desk, and Elizabeth says, looking good. How’s he feeling? He says, great. Too bad the doctors don’t agree.

Carly and Olivia walk into The Savoy, and Carly says, so this is their competition. Olivia says, hardly; they don’t serve food. They sit at a table, and Olivia says she’s so glad Carly agreed to come out tonight. She hears they have a spectacular bartender. Maybe they can make her an offer and steal her for the MetroCourt. Curtis says, not going to happen. He knows how to keep his employees happy. Olivia says he can’t blame a girl for trying, and Carly says, this place is great. She’s only heard good things. He thanks her, and says, stay tuned. He’s just getting started.

Marshall sits in Kelly’s, and looks at something on his phone about November 11. Maxie walks in, and joins Brook at a table. She asks where Yuri is, and Brook says, in the kitchen. The chef is from Belarus; go figure. She looks at her phone, and says, Gladys has been blowing up her phone all day. Please tell her that she’s come up with a plan to stop Gladys blackmailing her, so she doesn’t have to declare bankruptcy.

At the Savoy, Austin sits at the bar, when Gladys approaches, and asks for the house special cocktail. She tells Nika to only use the good stuff and keep her tab open. She puts Brook’s credit card on the bar, and says she doesn’t have to worry about the credit limit on this baby. She sees Austin, and says she knows him from GH. She was visiting a friend in ICU, Valentin Cassadine. He says she was, and she said she was family. She says, yeah, she shouldn’t have done that, but she really needed to talk to him. He laughs and says, of course (🍷) she did. It’s nice to see you again, Gladys Corbin. She says he remembered her name. It’s just Gladys, by the way. He says, any friend of Valentin’s…

Olivia tells Carly, it feels so good to be a customer instead of a host. They don’t have to take care of all the details. Carly asks what’s going on with her, and Oliva asks what she’s talking about. She’s just looking forward to relaxing with a lovely cocktail. Any chance of getting Sonny out for a drink? She’s barely spoken to him since he came back from the dead. Carly says, Sonny’s out of town. He’s catching up with an old acquaintance.

At Flatland Federal Prison, the guard tells Sonny that his phone has to be off for the duration of the visit, and Sonny shows him it’s off, saying, it’s going to be a short visit anyway. Sonny sits across from Cyrus, and they pick up the phones. Cyrus says, Sonny Corinthos. How does it feel to return from the dead? Sonny says, better than being locked up in here for life, and smiles.

Chase tells Elizabeth, he just had another check-up, and the doctor still won’t sign off on him going back to active duty. This extra caution has Finn written all over it. She says, he may be a little overprotective, but he’s just looking out for Chase. Finn wants to make sure Chase can go full-throttle without any relapses. Isn’t that what Chase wants too? Chase says he’ll try to be a more patient patient, and she laughs. He says, just don’t tell Finn he said that, and she says she wouldn’t dream of it. He says Finn is lucky to have her by his side.

On the phone, Brook says, thanks for letting her know. Keep her posted. She tells Maxie, Valentin’s awake, thank God. Anna said the surgery went well, and the doctors are optimistic. Maxie says she’s so relieved, and Brook says she is too. Let’s hope it continues that way. Maxie asks if Anna said anything about the search for Peter, and Brook says, only that the trail is cold. They haven’t seen any signs of Peter since Anna and Valentin saw him in Crete. Maxie says, great. That means Peter could be anywhere, including on his way to Port Charles.

Anna looks at her phone, and Valentin asks if he was sleeping. She says, just a little nap, and he says, it was rude of him; he’s sorry. She says he needs his rest to recover. She’s glad to say the surgery was very successful, and he says, of course (🍷) it was. She didn’t think he’d die on the operating table? That’s not his style. Anna says, she gave Brook an update; she sends her love. She’s going to bring Charlotte over tomorrow. He says, that’s very kind of her. Charlotte’s the only medicine he needs. She says, he does need actual medicine. The doctors are recommending a recovery protocol for him, and he says, no bouncy castle? She says, not yet, and he asks if Peter has resurfaced. Has Victor been of any use at all? She says, Victor wants to make a deal.

Carly and Olivia clink glasses, and Olivia says, Flatland Federal Prison, huh? Sounds like a real five-star destination. Carly says, Sonny thinks he might find out something useful from Cyrus, and Olivia says, she’s okay with Sonny taking a work trip so soon? Carly says, she wasn’t going to tell him that he couldn’t go, and Olivia says, that’s not what she asked. Carly says she gets that Sonny needed to go, and she’s trying to be okay with it. Olivia says, coming back must be a helluva adjustment, and Carly says, it is. They’re taking it one step at a time. Olivia says she really respects the way Carly is maintaining. The staff told her that Nina showed up at the MetroCourt the other day. How in the hell didn’t Carly slap her into next Tuesday? Carly says, because if she started, she wouldn’t stop. Jason had to physically drag her away from Nina when she found her at the Quartermaines. Olivia says, good thing he did too. Carly doesn’t want that woman to have any reason to bring her up on charges of assault. Carly tells her, that’s what Jason said, and she gets it, but it’s inside of her. You know the saying, seeing red? She gets like that every time she sees Nina. Every bone in her body wants to go after Nina. Olivia says she’d be completely justified in doing it. It’s just that there’s better ways. If Carly wants to change her mind, and evict Crimson from the MetroCourt offices, she’ll back Carly 100%. And Carly has a lawyer that’s a ninja. Diane could sue Nina, into bankruptcy, assuming she’s not already in prison. Carly says, Michael’s behind those charges, and Olivia says she had a feeling. Carly says, the night Nina was indicted, Michael looked at her, and asked why she hadn’t already gone after Nina. Olivia says, and why didn’t she? and Carly says, because of Sonny.

Gladys asks Austin how Valentin is doing, and he says there’s no way she could have known this when they met at the hospital, but he’s a physician there, so he can’t discuss patient information. Gladys says, well, he’s no fun. Her drink comes, and she says, but she is, takes it, and walks off. He flashes back to Brook being upset that Gladys is visiting Valentin, and ponders it.

Cyrus says he has more lives than a cat, and Sonny asks, what’s so important that Cyrus wanted to see him in person? Cyrus says, any change is refreshing from the monotony of prison, and Sonny says, get to the point or he’ll just leave. Cyrus says, after coming all this way? He doesn’t think so. Sonny tells him, think again, because he’ll just get in his jet and fly home, and consider it a day well spent, and you know why? Because he got to see Cyrus locked up with no chance of parole. Sonny leans forward, and says, Cyrus threatened his wife, his family, and his town. He got off easy. He’s just sorry nobody killed Cyrus.

Carly says Sonny doesn’t want her going after Nina, and Olivia says she would have thought Sonny would want Nina to pay. Carly says, Sonny thinks if she goes after Nina, it could blow back on them; make a bad situation worse. Right now, he just wants to focus on rebuilding their life together, and loving his children. Olivia asks how Carly feels, and Carly says she feels like they can rebuild their life, love their children, and they can flatten Nina. But Sonny has asked her to let it go, and she’s trying. She’s trying so hard. She loves Sonny so much, but she grieved him for nine months and has to put her energy there. They have to figure out who they are now. Olivia says she just can’t get her head around Sonny wanting to turn the other cheek, and Carly says, I know, right? She used to know Sonny like the back of her hand. Be able to tell you how he was going to react, and be right 99% of the time, but not now. Nixon Falls changed Sonny. Olivia asks if they’re okay, and Carly says they’re working at it. Olivia says, and Carly’s contribution is not annihilating Nina? Carly says, that’s part of her contribution, and Olivia says she respects Carly. She’s doing a helluva job. She had no idea how much this was costing her. Carly thanks her, and says, what about her? Olivia says, what about her what? and Carly says she can tell Olivia’s going through something too.. If Olivia wants to talk to her about what she’s going through, Carly is there to listen. Olivia says, it’s just hard, and Carly asks if it’s Leo. Olivia says, why does everyone think something’s wrong with Leo? Her son is absolutely perfect. Carly says, Olivia told her that Leo was going to the doctor the other day, so she just assumed, and Olivia says, sorry, her bad. She’s all over the place. Carly asks if she can help, but Olivia says, no. She thinks she and Ned are headed for divorce.

Austin tells Curtis, he can’t believe this place is new, and Curtis says, just a couple months old. Austin says, it’s got a really great vibe, and Curtis tells Austin, he just said what every new club owner wants to hear. Why doesn’t he stick around? Austin says he will, and Curtis says, if Austin likes live music, he should come back tomorrow, because he’s booked the hottest group out of Detroit right now. Austin says he might just do that; it sounds like quite the night. Curtis says, it will be, and with the talent he’s bringing in, and fine clientele like Austin, he should have no problem putting The Savoy on the map.

Valentin asks Anna where the WSB is keeping the man now claiming to be his father. In the Hague? She says, right now they’re keeping him in Port Charles. They want him to be close to her so she has access during her investigation. He asks if she’s spoken to Victor, but she says she’s been a bit busy, sitting vigil by a friend’s bedside. He says, her friend is a very lucky man. She wonders if she can ask him a question. How does he feel about Victor’s claim to be his father? He doesn’t know. he wouldn’t put it past Helena. It does sound like something she’d do, have an affair with her husband’s brother, but he’s going to need more than Victor’s word. She says, so he’s not dismissing it out of hand? and he says he doesn’t think it matters one way or the other. It’s just a little unsettling to think, if he’s telling the truth, that makes Charlotte and Bailey his granddaughters.

A waitress serves Marshall his meal, and Brook tells Maxie that Valentin can’t find out Bailey isn’t his daughter until Peter is caught. He’s more likely to understand if Peter is locked up or dead, which wouldn’t exactly be a tragedy. Maxie says, it would obviously be safest for Bailey, but right now, the danger is closer to home. How are they going to neutralize Gladys? Brook says, that woman’s a menace. It’s like Gladys actually enjoys causing trouble. Maxie says, since Gladys’s only priority is herself, they have to convince her that telling Valentin will cost her more than she’d gain. They need leverage. Brook says, the problem is, neither one of them can be the one to set the trap. If she smells either of them, she’ll be on guard. Maxie says, they need a third party, but Brook says, they can’t bring in another person. Maxie says they don’t have to tell him why they’re going after Gladys, and Brook says, him? Who’s him? Maxie says, what was his name? Pip?… Skip?… Trip?… Brook asks if they’re talking about a person or a puppy, and Maxie says she has to call Nina. Chase comes in, and Brook says it’s good to see him up and about. He says, it’s good to see the both of them. He’s glad he ran into Maxie. He’s been studying her daughter’s kidnapping case while he’s been on desk duty.

Cyrus tells Sonny, they’re done here. Don’t let him keep Sonny from his jet plane. Sonny says, be sure of that. This is the one chance Cyrus has of Sonny sitting across from him. If he leaves, he’s not coming back, no matter what Cyrus claims to know. Cyrus says, like he told Sonny; anything to break the monotony. Sonny says, whatever gets him through the night, and Cyrus says he thinks they should discuss terms first. Sonny asks what he wants, and Cyrus says he’s done well for himself here, but his reach has been somewhat limited. If he helps Sonny, perhaps Sonny will do him a favor somewhere down the line. Sonny says, perhaps, and Cyrus says, Sonny’s wife and Jason tried to fill Sonny’s shoes while he was away, but he thinks they overreached when they killed Novak and Buscema, and he’s not alone. Sonny says he doesn’t know what Cyrus is talking about. From what he heard, the cops don’t have a lead on who planted that bomb. Cyrus says, it’s a mystery to be sure, but he returned at a turbulent time with two heads of families gone. Sonny says he’s managing fine, and Cyrus says, for now. He hears someone is headed for Port Charles, determined to fill one of those slots, and get revenge.

At the docks, a man tells Joey, welcome back. How was Warsaw? Joey says, it was well until he got the news, and the man says, condolences on his uncle. Vincent Novak was a great man. Joey says, yes, and looks to the sky. He says, the Corinthos organization was responsible for his death. Now that he’s back, they’re most surely going to pay. Has he been following her like Joey asked? The man says, every step; he knows exactly where she is. Joey says, good. He can’t wait to see Carly Corinthos again.

Elizabeth finds Portia looking out the window in her office, and asks if something is wrong. Is it Valentin Cassadine? Portia says, no, just the opposite. She just told Anna that Valentin’s surgery was successful. Elizabeth says, that’s great. She’s sure Anna is happy to hear that. Is everything okay with Portia? Portia says she thinks she’s fighting off a stress headache, and Elizabeth asks if it has to do with Trina, but Portia says, no, thank God. It’s Curtis. She can’t shake the feeling that he might be in some trouble.

Chase says he has some more questions about the night Maxie’s daughter went missing, and Brook asks if he can be any more insensitive. Blindsiding Maxie, asking her questions about her missing child? He says he didn’t mean to blindside her; he’s just trying to plug up some holes in the investigation. Brook says, by charging in, and interrogating the victim. She tells Maxie that she’s so sorry. Does Maxie want to take a moment, and gather herself? She’ll totally understand. Maxie says, if they’ll excuse her for a minute, and leaves. Chase says he didn’t mean to upset her. Damn, that was all kinds of wrong. Is he really that rusty? She says she knows he’s not trying to hurt Maxie, but she’s struggling more than she lets on. She just finished telling Brook that she’s looking to move forward for Georgie and James’s sake, but she knows it’s all a front. Maxie’s not going to be okay until Peter is caught, locked up, and baby Louise is back in her arms. He says, that’s exactly why he’s reviewing this case. The events of the night Maxie gave birth, they don’t add up.

Anna says Valentin turned into such a wonderful father for Charlotte, and now for Bailey, and he says, parenthood has a way of shifting one’s priorities. He doesn’t have to tell her that. Look how motherhood has softened her. She’s no longer the steely, ambitious WSB agent she was years ago. She says, somehow, she doesn’t picture it softening Victor in any way. He says he doesn’t think so either, and takes it Victor hasn’t given her any more information about Peter. She says, Victor insists a deal before he tells them anything, and he says, maybe Victor will talk to him. She says, no, and he says, yes. Bring him here. He needs to see Victor.

Sonny tells Cyrus that he expected someone step in and try to take over the Novak family; also the Buscema family. Does Cyrus have any names? Cyrus says, Joey Novak’s time in Poland has come to an end, and Sonny says, Joey? He’s a hotheaded braggart. Cyrus says, what’s more dangerous than a braggart with a gun and something to prove?   

Carly says she thought Olivia and Ned were doing better, and Olivia says she can’t count the times she supported Ned in his arguments with the family. The one thing he needs him to see her side on, he can’t, or he won’t. He just keeps pushing and pushing. Carly asks what he’s pushing about. She doesn’t understand. Gladys plops herself down at their table, and Carly says, this is not the time, but Olivia says, it’s all good. She’s going to get another round. She heads for the bar, and Gladys asks how Sonny is. She left him a ton of messages, but he hasn’t gotten back to her. Carly says, then she assumes he doesn’t want to talk to her, and Gladys says, don’t be like that. She just wants to welcome him home, and let him know how much everyone missed him. Joey comes to their table, and says, not everyone. Hiya, Carly. Long time no see.

Brook tells Chase, of course (🍷) things don’t make sense. That night was complete chaos. He says, that’s why he needs to question Maxie again. Witnesses can remember things, and they don’t even realize it. She says, or his question could further traumatize Maxie. It could make Maxie feel even guiltier for not stopping that crazy fake nurse. He promises he’ll be very sensitive, but questions need to be asked to make progress in this investigation. And he’s not going to stop until baby Louise is found.

Portia says, it’s a little too coincidental that TJ’s patient disappeared, and Elizabeth says, he was asking questions about Curtis, right? Portia says he was, and the general description matched the man she spoke to. Then again, that description could match a hundred men. They can’t be sure it’s the same guy. Elizabeth says she has a sketchpad in her locker. If Portia can describe him, she can draw him. Portia says, like a police sketch? and Elizabeth says, unofficially, she’s done it before, and it’s been pretty accurate. Portia can show TJ and see if he recognizes him. Portia thanks her, and says she just needs to know one way or the other. I notice the background music is also used in Planet Terror. It’s not the first time.

Olivia sees Austin at the bar, and says, spectacular. Just what the night needed. He says, enjoying herself? and she says she was until she bumped into him. He says he’ll leave her to it. Have a great night. He leaves, but she follows him, and says, she just has to ask. What exactly did he say to her husband about her son? He says, excuse me? and she says, Ned’s got his head all turned around, looking for problems where they don’t exist, and it all started with him. He says, Ned is listed as next-of-kin, and he has access to Leo’s medical records. It was not a HIPPA violation to talk to him. She tells him, she didn’t say it was against the law, but wouldn’t he say he was sticking his nose where it didn’t belong? He says, Ned came to him. Let him ask her something. What motive could he possibly have to lie about Leo? What could he possibly gain? She says, let her think. A check with a bunch of zeros on it, or a bunch of ELQ stock? He says he’s already signed over his claim, and she says, Ned came to him after he’d already signed those papers?  

Carly says, it’s Mrs. Corinthos, and Joey says, he thought it was Mrs. Morgan. It’s hard to keep track. She says she’s not surprised that he’s stupid enough to come back to Port Charles, but even he should know not to approach her directly. He says he’s giving her a chance to pay her respects to his uncle who was murdered, and she says she’s well aware Vincent Novak is dead. She’s also aware he wanted her and Jason dead. It’s kind of ironic, isn’t it? Gladys says she thought she recognized Joey. She was with his uncle that day as his date. It’s only by the grace of God she wasn’t in the limo with him and that other guy. Carly says, yeah, tragic accident. Joey says, they both know it wasn’t an accident, and it won’t go unanswered. He considers anyone in the Corinthos family fair game. Carly laughs, and says he really wants to come after them? He says, what’s funny about that? and moves toward her. She stands up, and Curtis grabs Joey from behind. Curtis says he had Joey thrown out of there one time, but he’ll be glad to do the honors this time. Joey says Curtis doesn’t know who he’s messing with. He’s head of the Novak family. He won’t be treated like this. Curtis says, tell his story walking. He doesn’t give a damn who Joey’s the head of. Don’t come back. Joey yells that Carly will regret this.

Sonny says, Joey is a punk. He gets no respect. He can’t run the Novak organization; they’ve had one challenge after another. What about Paulie, the oldest nephew? Cyrus says, dead. An untimely car accident; break failure. (I’m laughing because they always sound like they’re from the 1970s Godfather.) Sonny asks if Cyrus is telling him the family is actually backing Joey, and Cyrus says, hasn’t he heard that saying, only a fool would underestimate someone with nothing to lose? Sonny says, message received. He’ll let Cyrus know if he’s right about the Novak family. He hangs up the phone, and starts to leave, but Cyrus bangs on the window, and motions him back. Sonny picks up the phone, and says, what? Cyrus says, just one more thing. Has Sonny seen Laura? How is his sister?

Olivia comes back to the table, and says she heard the commotion. Is everything okay? Gladys says, that guy Joey threatened them, her included. Carly says she thinks Gladys is going to be fine, and Olivia says, what about Carly? Was the threat legit? Carly says, it was just Joey Novak’s pathetic posturing. They’ll be fine. Curtis asks if everything is okay. He’s sorry that guy harassed them. He had Nika set them up with a round of drinks. Gladys says, oh good. She’ll be at the bar. Her nerves are shot. Carly says she’s so sorry. She should have had her guys inside the club; she wanted to be inconspicuous. Curtis says, no worries. It’s his club, his responsibility. If she thinks that guy is going to be a problem later, he can set her up with an escort. Carly says, no. Her guys can handle him, and he’s really not very bright; he’s just a hothead. Curtis says he does know who Joey is, and he knows what Joey is. It’s not his first time dealing with him. Did he hear him say that he was positioning himself as head of an organization? She says, he did, and Curtis says, his advice? Never turn your back on a hothead with something to prove.

Anna says, in what universe does Valentin think she’d bring Victor there to see him? Don’t answer that question. It’s rhetorical; it’s not going to happen. He asks why they have to fight about everything, and she says, because he’s unreasonable. He says, Peter has escaped twice now. They have to stop him before he causes any more damage. If that means using Victor for everything he knows, then so be it.

Carly says, so much for their night on the town, and Olivia says, sorry she’s bad company. Carly says, that’s not what she meant. She’s the one who’s a target for Joey Novak. Olivia says, which was not her fault, and Carly says, the point of going out was to make themselves feel better. That’s not happening. Olivia thinks she’ll feel better when she talks to a divorce lawyer.

Portia comes into the club, and Curtis says she looks beautiful. He wasn’t expecting to see her tonight. She says she couldn’t stay away, and asks if anything unusual happened. He says he had to take the trash out, but it’s all good now. How’d she find out? She says she was referring to the man who was asking questions around town about him. She says they can thank Elizabeth that they have proof. TJ’s mystery patient and the man she ran into outside Kelly’s are the same man. He hasn’t seen him today at all? Curtis says, he doesn’t know what the man looks like; he’s never seen him. Portia takes the sketch out of her bag.

Marshall gets up, and leaves Kelly’s.

Maxie comes back, and Chase says he’s so sorry if he upset her. She says, it’s okay. It hits her hard sometimes. He says he can’t imagine, but he does need to ask her questions at some point. He wants to walk her through the night again. He’s hoping she remembers something she didn’t before. She says she knows the drill. Her stepdad is acting Police Commissioner, remember? She’ll do whatever it takes to get her daughter back safe in her arms.

Cyrus says he’s tried contacting Laura, but got no response. He knows she’s upset with him, but it’s unlike her to make no reply at all. Tell him she’s fine. Sonny says he’s not going to talk about Laura to Cyrus, and Cyrus laughs, saying, here he thought Sonny’s time away might have changed him. Where was he all those months? Did he really not remember his life, or did he just run away for a while? Sonny says he doesn’t run, and Cyrus says, that’s right. It would be difficult to spend your whole life looking over your shoulder.

Chase says, all he wants is to find Maxie’s baby; they’re covering all their bases. He’ll be in touch. He’s sorry if he interrupted their evening. He leaves, and Maxie says, now Chase wants to ask her questions? Brook says, definitely not good, and Maxie says she hopes Anna can find Peter soon, so the lying can stop, and she can have her baby back in her arms. Brook says, one crisis at a time. Did she reach Nina? Maxie says she did; the guy they’re looking for is Kip. Nina had his contact info, so she called him; he’s totally in. Their plan to take down Gladys is a go. Brook puts her hand on the table, and Maxie puts hers on top of it. They both look like they’re trying to laugh

Anna tells Valentin, she wants to let Victor stew by not appearing too eager. Maybe that way he’ll cooperate. He asks how that’s working for her, and she says she doesn’t think Victor realizes that she can only make a suggestion for immunity. The final decision is above her paygrade. He tells her not to sell herself short. She still has a lot of influence, but let him handle this one. Bring him Victor. She says if she brings Victor there, he’ll use his claim as Valentin’s father to manipulate him, and he says he knows that. Doesn’t she think he knows that? Victor will be manipulating him, but he’ll be manipulating Victor right back.

Austin goes back to the bar, where Gladys is ordering two shots of bourbon; the good stuff. He asks if she’s okay. Who was that guy? She says, Joey Novak. His uncle escorted her to Carly and Jason’s wedding. Worst first date ever. She doesn’t want to talk about it. Nika tells Gladys that Curtis comped her previous drink, and Gladys says, that’s real nice of him. She downs the shot, and tells Nika to give herself a good tip. Austin notices Gladys’s credit card says Brook on it, and she says Brook wanted her to have a night out for all her hard work. Austin says, she seems nice. Maybe Gladys wants to sip the next one. Gladys says, if she can handle Brook, she can handle anything. She could tell him some stories. He says, no kidding. Then the next round is on him. She says, no, and holds up Brook’s card.   

Portia says, she described the man, and Elizabeth drew this picture, showing Curtis the sketch. Curtis takes it, and she says, when she showed it to TJ, he confirmed that was his patient. Nika looks over Curtis’s shoulder, and says, that’s the music fan who was in here the other night. The one she thought she’d introduce Curtis too, but then he left. He asks if she’s sure, and she says, that’s him. Portia says, Curtis doesn’t recognize him at all? and Curtis says he’s never seen him before, but there’s something familiar about him.

At the docks, Joey tells his buddy, the Corinthos organization is going down. He yells that he’s going to run this town. The Savoy will make a good cover business, doesn’t dude think? Dude says, Joey wants to take over the place they just got thrown out of? and Joey says, he’ll enjoy giving Curtis an attitude adjustment. He’ll sell that club to him or else. He tells dude to schedule a meeting with the family, and dude says he’s got it. Dude runs off, and Joey turns to leave. He sees Marshall standing in the entrance.

Sonny says he’s had enough of Cyrus, so he’s done. If Cyrus gets bored, Sonny wants Cyrus to think of him; celebrating holidays, taking vacations, going to great restaurants and eating good food, being with his family. Something Cyrus will never do for the rest of his life. Cyrus says he’ll be in touch about that favor, and Sonny says, don’t hold his breath. Sonny leaves, and takes out his phone in the hallway, looking at his messages. He calls Carly, and asks, what’s up? She asks if he’s done with his visit, and he says he is. He’s heading to the plane. She says, guess who’s back? and he says, Joey Novak. She says, yep, and he asks if Joey has given her any problems. She says he tried to hassle her at The Savoy a little while ago and got tossed out. How did he know Joey was back? He says he’ll explain when he gets home. Call Tony to make sure she gets home without any problems. She says, already done. Fly safe. She loves him. He says he loves her too. He’s back, and he’s going to take care of everything.

Tomorrow, Alexis tells Spencer that going to his father is a terrible idea, Valentin wonders what the catch is, Ned asks if Ava has something in mind, and Esme says Harmony knows better than anyone.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – The Reunion – Part Four

Andy asked for a show of hands on who thought Erika had no idea what Tom was up to, and everyone agreed she hadn’t. Crystal wondered where Erika’s anger at Tom was, causing Erika to get angry at Crystal, and ask if she was angry enough now. Andy said when Erika was being asked what were reasonable questions, she was lashing out at everyone. Erika’s answer was, why wouldn’t she? How would he feel if he was accused of the same things she was? He said he’d be furious, but if a friend was asking, he’d try to make them understand without isolating them. Erika said she wasn’t showing the emotion people wanted her to, but Andy said it was about understanding, and that Erika shouldn’t think they were against her. Erika said, she’d been controlled about what she said at Kyle’s dinner, but she’d been hurt by Sutton saying she wasn’t buying what Erika said, and that Erika had made a deal with the devil. We flashed back to all that, and Sutton saying when you make a deal with the devil, the devil always comes knocking. Erika said they could read about it, or talk to her about it instead. Dorit told Erika, if she’d said it like that the first time, she wouldn’t get the same reaction. Erika asked if Dorit would like being called a liar, and being sued every day. People said incredible things about her, but she was bothered when it came from the people closest to her. Several of the women pointed out that Erika’s main issue had been with Sutton, who she wasn’t close to. Erika said she as thinking about the dinner where Dorit, PK, Kyle, and Mauricio laughed at her life. Kyle said she couldn’t control what other people did, although Kyle didn’t say, hey, don’t talk like that, either. Erika said she couldn’t control what Tom did or didn’t do, and Andy asked who believed the article that said Erika’s divorce had been a sham. No one did.

Dorit said the LA Times article was the first time they’d heard about any of it, and Erika hadn’t been there. Emotions were high because they didn’t have answers. Erika said they should have had her there, and Andy said that was a good point, but she’d just left. Garcelle said, Erika had left because of something she’d asked. Should they have brought her back to ask more questions? A viewer asked when Erika realized there was money trouble, and she said when she was on Broadway. Andy said he’d heard that Tom was having financial trouble years ago, and we saw a headline about Bethenny revealing this. Andy said Twitter had gone nuts about her not using waterproof mascara, and Camille had weighed in. Jamie from Albany said she wasn’t buying the pity party; it was acting. Erika said she had allergies with mascara, and she didn’t need sympathy, pity, or someone who wasn’t on the show anymore giving their two cents. Andy asked if she’d spoken to Tom since he’d gone to assisted living, and she said, it was sad. She got teary, and told Andy, after the pictures came out where Tom had a black eye, she wanted to make sure he was in the right place. We flashed back to Garcelle bringing up Tom calling Erika to the rest of the group, and Andy asked why she’d been upset when she’d said something that was on camera? Erika said she hadn’t been wearing a mic, didn’t answer those calls, and didn’t want to give the impression she was talking to him. People would say they were in cahoots. Andy asked if he was still calling, and she said he’d called five times today. Andy asked if she’d expressed her anger to Tom, and she said she asked how he could put her in this position. Andy wondered if she’d asked if he did it, and she stopped and started like a broken robot on Westworld for a moment. She finally said, she asked why he would leave her with millions of dollars of lawsuits pointed at her. She did that crying like when the tears just fall out of your eyes individually.

Andy asked again about Tom stealing, and she said he didn’t acknowledge anything. It didn’t matter what he said anyway, since he was declared incompetent. Dorinda said, so he wasn’t capable of understanding, and Erika said, not when she presses. She probably shouldn’t even be telling them this. Andy said the big bombshell was the $20 million that was transferred to her LLC. Erika insisted that never happened, and said her lawyer wrote to Page Six and everyone else, but there was no response. She’d spent $14 million over twelve years, which came out to two million a year; about the same as everyone else in the group spent. At this point, Kathy refreshed her lipstick, and I’ll bet she’d been eating off a TV tray in her head this whole time. Erika said she was being sued by everyone who thought she had a magical pot of gold. She asked if everyone at the firm should take a hit. There was more discussion about the timeline of Tom’s cognizance and him ripping people off, and she said, by all accounts, he’d been an upstanding man in the community. If she’d known anything, she woudn’t have gone on a reality show. There wasn’t a master plan, just a tragic sequence of events. Andy brought up Sutton saying one of the partners had left because their wife thought something was off. Erika wanted to know where that came from, and Sutton said she didn’t know. Erika said she’d like a name, that it would help her, and Sutton said she’d find out. Andy asked, aside from the meeting, what had surprised Erika most, and she said why they believed what they heard when the source was right there. She’d worked hard to be open and honest, and felt like she got sh*t on. Clearly, she was not angry or sad enough. She couldn’t win. I actually don’t think that she knew anything illegal was going on. Did she not want to know is another question, but it’s irrelevant. The problem I have, and I think a lot of viewers have, is Erika’s visceral reaction to being questioned at all.

Crystal thought her question had been reasonable, and LisaR said she knew better than anyone that talking behind someone’s back never worked. Andy brought up LisaR’s accusation that Yolanda had Munchausen’s (something we will never, ever be allowed to forget), and questioned that Kim was sober, saying she was near death. Garcelle wondered why LisaR pushed Sutton to question Erika, and Kyle said that was on Sutton. Andy said Erika was pretty scary, saying she was coming after Sutton. Erika said – get this one – that when she meant is that everyone had their own personal stuff they could be dealing with, and when it was Sutton’s turn, she wouldn’t give Sutton the grace she’d asked for. Sutton said she’d been through it this year too. Andy said that wasn’t how it came off, and we flashed back to Erika saying she’d be coming for Sutton. Erika said, it was just slang, and said if this exchange had happened on one of the other shows, it would be called a conversation. It was only in Beverly Hills where they were so precious. Andy showed a tweet with a screenshot of Erika’s angry face, and the poster saying Erika wasn’t once called a bully. Underneath, Garcelle had replied, thank you. Garcelle said she regretted not intervening and deescalate the situation. Sutton said she’d hired security for a while, which Erika found funny, but Sutton said Erika had told her that she was coming after her and her family. Erika said Sutton had come after her and her family. It wasn’t okay to say she was a liar, and had made a deal with the devil. Sutton said she had her opinion, and Erika said she had hers. Sutton was like, cool, but bring it to the table like an adult. Erika said she was an adult, and Sutton said it didn’t seem like it. In response, adult Erika said it seemed like Sutton was being a bitchy effing c-word. Alrighty then.

Sutton said she didn’t know Erika well, and Erika said Sutton didn’t know her well enough to call her a liar. She shouldn’t read an article and jump to conclusions. Sutton said Erika pretended to be her friend in Del Mar, and we flashed back to Erika being all apologetic. Sutton said she’d thought Erika was sincere, but she was lying. Erika said she wasn’t lying, she was just playing Sutton’s ass. Which is lying, but okay. Everybody thought liar was a strong word, which made me think maybe Erika was right about the precious thing. Erika said it was a vulnerable moment where the consequences were big. They talked about Tom’s car accident, and Erika said she’d left things out to protect Tom. When he was declared incompetent, everyone got the full story. Andy said viewers questioned that LisaR had questioned Yolanda, Kim, and Denise, yet it was crickets when it came to Erika. We flashed back to all those things, and LisaR said she regretted everything, and wished she could take it back. It haunted her and she had to live with herself and the consequences of her actions. Andy said the group had a lot of conversations about LVP, and Erika said, LVP ran, she didn’t. That’s because LVP can do whatever she damn well pleases. She is the Queen.

Andy reminded Erika that Sutton had flown everyone out by private jet to see Chicago when Erika was in it. He didn’t understand why she’d flipped on Sutton. Erika started off by saying Sutton was so worried about her reputation, then they got to the part I hate the most – everyone talking at once. I have no idea what any of them said, but it ended with Erika yelling if anyone was going to back her TF up, and everyone agreeing with her because they were terrified. She asked why Andy was smiling at her, and he said because she was a piece of work, and he’d never met anyone like her. They talked about the car accident again, and Erika told this long, drawn out story, and got pissed when Dorit interrupted to ask a question. It was weird though, when Andy asked how it was snowing where her son had been when Tom had the second accident, and she said she wasn’t getting into it. Now I’m curious. We found out Tom’s children don’t speak to her, and this had driven a massive wedge between them. I don’t imagine they’ve ever been in love with the age difference. She told Andy that she could serve the  victims best by cooperating with the investigation, and Dorit told her that she should have said that in the first place. Erika claimed her lawyer already had. Andy said she’d answered every question, and thanked her. Erika thanked everyone for hearing her, and said it was a situation that wasn’t going to be resolved easily. Then Kathy suddenly apologized to Garcelle for missing a dinner, saying she was still in covid quarantine. Because she was off visiting in the man in the moon while Erika talked.

Andy had some final thoughts, and asked if Sutton could redo anything, what would it be? Sutton said her conversation with Crystal; she would have just listened. He asked what Dorit wanted to be known for, and she said, being a good mom. He asked what surprised Kathy the most, it being her first season. She said, how real it all was, and the sisterhood. She adored all the girls, and she’d had fun. Andy said Crystal had a rough entry, but loosened up, and shared herself. He asked what it meant to have a new group of friends, and Crystal said, it was a new transition, but she kept an open mind and heart, and it was nice that it ended the way it did. We saw a clip of her toasting at the Chinese New Year party, saying, it had been the most remarkable year of her life, and they were all part of it. Andy asked if Garcelle felt more like an insider now, and she said she did. He asked if she got the resolution she was looking for at the Reunion, but she says she didn’t come in with anything particular in mind. She’d decided to just see where things were going to go. He asked what LisaR’s biggest takeaway was, and she said she didn’t know how it would go. The year before, she’d gotten no resolution, so she felt good about what happened, and insisted she was a good friend. They all agreed, and I told her, if you say so. Andy said Erika’s life had been under a microscope, and asked what she hoped to take away. She said nothing other than honoring her commitment. She came with an open heart, and appreciated telling her story. Andy asked if Kyle felt responsible for bringing everyone together, as far as both her family and the group went, and she said she did. She’d had a great time with her sister, and she was happy about that.

Andy said it had been a great season all the way around, which I translated to mean, thank God Erika had serious legal problems this season and kept a storyline going. Kathy’s butlers Patrick and Carlos passed out martinis, and Andy said he was glad Patrick hadn’t been traumatized by the group. Next to Michael on Southern Charm, Patrick is my favorite butler. Kathy said, bottoms up, and Sutton and Crystal actually drained their glasses. Crystal told Sutton that they were alike. Aww! I guess.

🏚 On the horrifying car accident I can’t look away from – aka Winter House – last week, Austen had said he loved Lindsay… like a sister, shattering her whole fantasy life. Jason announced that he was having a keg delivered, and they were having a beer bash in which they also had to choose a drinking partner. Ciara told Austen that if he and Lindsay needed to figure things out, she’d step aside, but instead, they made out. Andrea said his dream was to marry an American girl, and move back to Italy. I couldn’t figure this out, since, why not just stay in Italy? Lindsay told Luke that she and Austen could communicate through their eyeballs, and a huge, messy frat party commenced. A frat party with almost 40 year olds. Julia said just because she had a boyfriend, didn’t mean she couldn’t have fun. I kept looking for the fun, but didn’t find any. Amada whined that Kyle worked all day, then just wanted to be part of the boys group. Paige danced on a table with Andrea. After telling Julia that she liked Luke, Gabby found Julia grinding on him, and in her interview, she said, Julia didn’t want Luke; she just wanted the attention. A producer asked if Julia had ruined past relationships for Gabby, and she said, yeah. You’d think the follow-up questions would be, why are you friends, and why are you feeding her information? But no.

Amanda called her mom to vent, going into the bathroom to talk. Kyle got sh*tfaced, and hunted for Amanda to the point where he was literally crying. This prompted Lindsay to hunt Amanda down and legit carry her back to Kyle. He cried that she only used that bathroom when she pooped, so no one was going to look for her there. Yes, this is the highbrow show I’m watching. Gabby told Paige that she and her ex broke up because of Julia, and told her about seeing Julia hitting on him when Julia knew she liked him. Unlike the fantasy relationship in Paige’s head, Andrea said they were taking it easy, since he’d just come from a relationship that hadn’t ended well. Gabby confronted Julia, who said she just didn’t see it Gabby’s way. In Gabby’s interview, she said Julia’s ego didn’t allow her to be wrong. Lindsay complained that she thought it was going to be a fun, flirty vacation with her best friend, but she ended up alone, which is a good example of why you should set those expectations up ahead of time with the other person. Ciara corralled Paige to help her get dressed for a date with Austen, and in Amanda’s interview, she said she remembered those days of dressing up. Now she just rolled out of bed. Austen and Ciara doubled with Amanda and Kyle. Austen didn’t know if he was ready to move on, but decided to get involved anyway. Back at the Bad Choices House, Andrea did squats with  Paige sitting on his shoulders. In her interview, she said while her friends were on a date, she got asked to be bench pressed.

Next time, Paige gets her date, and a carriage ride.

🥤 Hands down, the best thing about this show are the tiny Solo cups. I’m obsessed.

👼🏽 I’ll Sleep In the Next Life…

Tomorrow, join me for soap, some fashion, and more costume fun. Until then, stay safe, stay reaching for the stars, and stay remembering to never turn your back on a hothead with something to prove, or underestimate someone with nothing to lose.

November 2, 2021 – Nikolas Makes Shawn an Offer, Lala Plays the Victim, New Location, Costumes Of the Stars & Another One

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Alexis is reading The Brothers Karamazov, when Harmony startles her. Harmony asks if she’s okay, and Alexis says she’s just catching up on the classics. Russian. It’s really heavy on the misery. She puts it down, and says she doesn’t need to read this. She can just look to her family for their dysfunctional DNA.

Nikolas asks if Shawn is satisfied. Nikolas’s own son turned his back on him, his father, his only living parent, who would gladly die for him. Hell, he did that, or at least he let the world believe he was dead to regain control of the Cassadine legacy. And Shawn wants the satisfaction of taking all that away. Shawn can’t believe Nikolas is positioning himself as a victim here. His son opened his eyes, and saw Nikolas for who he really is, the bastard who let Shawn go to prison for six years for a crime he didn’t commit. Nikolas is the one who wanted to kill Hayden, but he let Shawn take the fall. Nikolas doesn’t want to see the truth, but his son has. For all of Spencer’s faults, he’s ten times the man Nikolas pretends to be.

Trina sings to herself as she works at the gallery. She hears someone come in, and puts her hand on her pepper spray. She turns to see Spencer.

Josslyn goes to Kelly’s where Cameron is working, and asks, where is everybody? She doesn’t see anyone else working. Can she help out? He says he’s good, thanks, and she asks if someone called in sick, but Cameron says, Spencer walked out in the middle of his shift. He couldn’t even survive one day. Cameron sticks his neck out for Spencer and hires him, because he has no experience and a lousy attitude, and Spencer bails on him on day one. What’s wrong with the guy? Esme breezes in, and says, good; they’re here. No sign of Ava or Spence’s dad. She can’t tell them what a relief it is to be among friends. Josslyn says, where? What friends?

Britt shines the light on Obrecht, who’s not just handcuffed, but has a fishing spear sticking out of her. I don’t know how I missed that yesterday, but apparently, Britt shot her by accident. Britt says, mother, and Obrecht says Britt came to get her. Britt says, my God, what did she do?

Peter bandages his hand, while talking into the radio, asking if they have a location on that woman. Hello? Do they hear him? He wants answers. He turns to see Jason, pointing a gun at him. Peter says, Jason shouldn’t have come there, and Jason tells him, shut up. Move. Peter tries to run, and Jason grabs him from behind.

Alexis tells Harmony that she thought her nephew Nikolas might be a good Cassadine, because he had a nice mother. He was good for a while, but then after ten years or so, he went bad. He went to the dark side and became a real Cassadine. Then there’s his son Spencer, who went to France, boarding school; graduated, then came home back to Port Charles. He decided he couldn’t stand his father’s wife Ava, and he set out to break them up. Harmony asks, how bad did it get? and Alexis says, he stalked her. At first, he started out with just sending her creepy gifts, and then it accelerated into full-blown stalking, until finally, he torched her car. Harmony says, the Cassadines don’t sound so strange to her. Not compared to Shiloh and Dawn of Day. She spent years under the spell of a man who demanded unwavering loyalty from his family, in exchange for betrayal and abuse. So at least, no matter how misguided Spencer’s actions were, they were motivated by love. Alexis supposes that’s one way to look at it. The poor kid idolized his father. If he’d just seen his flaws and recognized them, instead of becoming like him. Harmony says she’s not really speaking about Spencer, is she? Alexis says Harmony might have made a good therapist. No, she’s not, because the same holds true for Nikolas. She just had so much hope that he’d become that young man that she knew and loved so much. Alas, he didn’t.

Nikolas tells Shawn to spare him the holier-than-thou attitude. Shawn doesn’t give a damn about Spencer. Shawn was just trying to use Spencer to wring a confession out of him. Shawn says he did Spencer a favor, and opened his eyes. So now maybe Nikolas’s son doesn’t have to turn himself inside out, making everyone miserable to earn Nikolas’s respect. Nikolas doesn’t suppose Shawn explained to Spencer why he pled guilty to shooting Hayden, did he? Shawn doesn’t say anything, and Nikolas says, yeah, I didn’t think so. Shawn thought he actually shot Hayden, because he was at that garage under Sonny’s orders to kill someone. Or is Shawn going to stand there, and claim that his hands are clean? Shawn says he paid for his mistakes, just like he paid for Nikolas’s. He still wonders about the outstanding debt Nikolas has owed Hayden ever since he tried to have her killed. She’s entitled to justice, and Nikolas is going to give it to her.

Trina asks what Spencer is doing at the gallery, and he says he took a chance she’d be there. Is Ava around? She says, no, but she can get Ava there in minutes. She picks up the phone, and says, or the police. He says, please don’t do that; either call. She says she hasn’t seen him since he was arrested, and he says, a lot’s happened since then. She says, Joss told her that Dr. Collins paid for his bail. She also said Cam got him a job at Kelly’s. Isn’t it his first day? He says, it was, and she asks, what happened? looking at his hand. He says he burned himself trying to make an espresso shot. At least that will heal. She says, if he has troubles, he has a girlfriend. Talk to Esme. He says, she’s busy. She started her internship at Spring Ridge. Besides, Trina is the person he really wanted to talk to. She asks, why? and he says, because he needed a friend, a real friend.

Josslyn says she thinks she and Esme use the word friend very differently, and Esme says she knows they’re more Spence’s friends than hers. She realizes they have some differences, but at the end of the day, like at Spence’s arraignment, they’re on the same page. Now he’s out on bail, and thanks to his good friend Cam, he has his first real job. Cameron stomps away, and Esme asks what she missed. Where’s Spence? Josslyn says her guess is as good as theirs. Esme says, he’s not here? and Cameron says, he actually walked out without saying goodbye. He had to cover for Spencer. Esme says, Spence quit, and didn’t even tell Cameron? She’s so sorry. Chalk it up to that dysfunctional family of his. Spence’s dad and Ava showed up, and expected Spence to wait on them. He hadn’t even figured out the ropes of how to do his job well yet, and he was embarrassed. He didn’t say anything, but she knows it really upset him. Josslyn says, no matter how hard Spencer tries, he just can’t escape the influence of the Cassadines.

Britt says she swears she didn’t mean to hit Obrecht, and Obrecht says, didn’t she? If Britt wanted her dead, she made her point. She laughs, and Britt says, stop. It’s not a time for mom jokes. Just lie still. Britt examines her, and says, thankfully, the arrow just pierced her side, and missed all her vital organs. Obrecht says, some people would say she has no heart to hit, but they’re wrong, because if she dies, she wants it to be in Britt’s arms. Britt says she’s not going to die. She didn’t come all this way to lose Obrecht. She turns Obrecht, so she can look at her back, and Obrecht asks how Britt found her. Did she come by herself? Britt says, first things first. The barbed tip came out the other side. Obrecht says Britt has to push it all the way through, and Britt says she knows that, but she doesn’t have anything to numb the pain. Obrecht says, after two weeks of being captive, seeing Britt’s beautiful face is all she needs to sustain her. Britt says she thinks Obrecht is delirious, and puts something in Obrecht’s mouth for her to bite down on. She says, ready? and pushes the arrow out. I can barely watch, and Obrecht passes out from the pain.

Peter says, Jason isn’t getting off this island alive; he knows that. Jason says, first sign of a guard, Peter is dead, and Peter says he must have something Jason wants, or he’d be dead already. Jason says, maybe he should reconsider, and Peter says, if Jason shoots him, every guard on this island will be there. Jason says, yeah? But Peter would be dead, and that will make a whole lot of people happy. Peter says he has something Jason wants. Kill him, and he’s not going to get it. Jason says he wants Obrecht, and she’d better be alive. Peter says, what the hell does Jason care whether Obrecht lives or… Britt sent him, didn’t she? Or did she come with him? Jason says he’ll find Obrecht himself, and Peter says, not if the guards find Jason first. Liesl could be anywhere. She threw acid on his hand and left just before Jason got there. A guard comes over the radio, saying, there’s no sign of her, and Jason picks up the radio. He tells Peter, order the guards to converge at the lighthouse on the north end of the island to await further instruction. Peter says, converge at the lighthouse on the north side of the island, and wait there for further instructions. The guard copies, and Jason says, get up; let’s go. Peter asks where Jason is taking him, and Jason says, not the lighthouse.

Britt bandages Obrecht, and Obrecht praises Britt for her professionalism, saying, Britt does her proud. Britt says, it’s temporary. She still needs to get Obrecht to a hospital. Obrecht says, perhaps she spoke too soon. The dressing is too tight. Didn’t they teach Britt that in medical school? Britt says, sorry. She must have missed how to treat a spear wound in an abandoned fishing shack class. This’ll have to do for now. Where is he? Obrecht says, he who? and Britt says, Obrecht doesn’t think she infiltrated Cassadine Island alone, does she? Jason Morgan came with her. He’s gone searching for her. Obrecht laughs, and says she knew it. Jason came to his senses, jilted Carly, and came running to Britt’s side. Congratulations on her victory.

Nikolas asks if Shawn remembers why Hayden first came to Port Charles. When Drew Cain was struggling with memory issues, Ric Lansing hired her to come to town and claim to be his wife. Shawn asks if that entitles Nikolas to have her killed, and Nikolas says, obviously, Shawn recorded his conversation with his son tonight. So what? There was no confession. There’s no proverbial smoking gun. The police haven’t been interested in this case for years. All his lawyers have to do, is remind the court that these claims are being brought by a former hitman for the mob. Shawn will be laughed out of court. He’s got nothing. Shawn says Nikolas is no innocent. Everyone knows he’s shady and can’t be trusted. Nikolas says, and somehow, Hayden is more trustworthy? Why does Shawn keep talking about her like she’s Mother Teresa? Hayden Barnes is a grifter. Shawn says, she may or may not be a saint, but she’s a human being who was shot, and she still deserves justice. Nikolas asks if Shawn thinks he’s on some noble mission. The truth is, Hayden already knows. Hayden has always known.

Trina says she hears the tone of Spencer’s voice, and he sounds sincere, but there are a lot of bells going off in her head, telling her to run, not walk, to the nearest exit. Spencer says he never meant to hurt Trina, and he’s really sorry for what he did to Ava, but he did it for his father because he truly believed Ava was bad for him, and wanted to free him from her influence. He knew the stalking was wrong, that it was a risk if he got caught, but he thought it was worth it. Now he realizes that his father’s not the man he thought he was. It’s almost like he never knew his father at all. Trina’s phone rings, and she says, it’s Joss, and ignores the call. He asks why she didn’t answer, and she says she sees how badly he’s hurting, and she wants to believe him, but part of her can’t help asking, is this another one of his lies?

Josslyn leaves a message for Trina, asking if she’s seen Spencer tonight. Just text her back. Esme says, if Trina had convinced Ava to drop the charges, they wouldn’t be in this mess. Cameron says, no. Her boyfriend got himself into this mess the day he decided to stalk his stepmother. Now he’s left shorthanded, and has to cover Spencer’s shift, when he has plenty of homework that needs doing. Spencer thinks of no one but himself. Esme says, wait. She understands that Spence let him down, but they have to understand that this is all new to him. He’s never had a job before, much less one waiting tables. He’s not used to those kinds of responsibilities. Spence is spoiled. He’s an only child, he’s never had a mother, and he’s facing criminal charges. Josslyn says, Spencer’s been charged with something he actually did, and Doc bailed him out. He’s not even on house arrest, so please. Esme says she knows, but he feels isolated and all alone. He needs to be around people who he cares about, who also care for him. So she was thinking, they could get him out of Port Charles, just for a day or so. Cameron says, like a road trip? and Esme says, what a great idea. The four of them on their own. What better way for them to bond.

Britt asks Obrecht if they can wait until they’re off this godforsaken island before they discuss her love life, which, for the record, is non-existent. Obrecht says, so she’s not back together with Jason? and Britt says they came there to rescue her; isn’t that enough? Obrecht says, no. Jason is willing to risk life and limb to help Britt rescue her, who he despises for past transgressions. That should indicate some interest on his part. Britt says, he didn’t jilt Carly; he married her. They would still be on their honeymoon if Sonny hadn’t come back. The marriage was invalid, so Jason was free to help her rescue Obrecht, which is nice, but he’s a nice guy. Obrecht says, he’s a lethal killer, and Britt says, who really wants Peter dead, so they’re collaborating; there’s nothing romantic. Obrecht asks if Britt is certain, and Britt asks if she missed the part where Jason was fully prepared to marry someone else. He chose Carly. He will always choose Carly. Obrecht says, but her husband is back, and Britt says, it doesn’t matter. She will always come first in Jason’s life, and Britt refuses to come second. Obrecht says, good for you, doctor. Demand the respect you are due, and stick to your guns no matter how tempted you may be to relent. Britt says, she’s not tempted, and Obrecht says, yet. But danger and gratitude are powerful aphrodisiacs, and if Jason succeeds in getting them off this wretched island, she may find herself wavering. The door starts to open.

Harmony says, she understands Alexis’s disappointment in her nephew, but in all fairness, Nikolas is the same person who defied Cyrus to make sure Alexis was safe in Pentenville. She knows firsthand what it’s like to go up against Cyrus Renault, and her nephew had to be very brave to do that. Alexis says, he’s a very complicated guy. With one hand, he takes what he wants, for himself, and with the other hand, he offers her something no one else can. Harmony asks, how so? and Alexis says, he’s friends with the governor, and can arrange to give her a full pardon. Harmony says, Alexis can go free? and Alexis tells her, all she has to do is say yes. Harmony says, Alexis makes it sound like it’s a problem. What’s stopping her?

Shawn says, Hayden told him she had her suspicions, but she didn’t say who, and Nikolas says, that was five years ago. Shawn is a little behind the times, so listen to him. Hayden knew, and Hayden being Hayden, used it to her advantage. He and Hayden came back to Port Charles together to claim the Cassadine estate from Valentin and return it to him. Shawn says, Hayden told him that she was working with Nikolas. He’d assumed it was because she didn’t know Nikolas had tried to kill her once. Nikolas says, Hayden stood to profit from his return. She was willing to let bygones be bygones in order to line her own pocket. So if Shawn thought he was doing right by Hayden, he’s sorry. She’s over it. Nikolas can’t help him, but if this is about Shawn moving forward and putting the past behind, he’s come to the right man.

Spencer guesses he deserves Trina’s suspicion, but he swears he’s not lying. She says, and she knows this is true because his nose isn’t growing? Spencer says she knows him, but she says, she thought she knew Victor, but he turned out to be a fake and a fraud. He used her. He used their friendship to do something cruel to someone who’s been nothing but kind to her. He says, Ava is not what she thinks. Someday Trina will learn the truth about her. She says, just like she learned the truth about him? She’s sorry, but if he thought he was going to find a shoulder to cry on, he came to the wrong place. She just doesn’t trust him… any more than she trust her feelings about him.

Esme tells Josslyn and Cameron, there are all kinds of cool cabins to rent on this website. They’re a little rustic, but have all the major conveniences. She shows Josslyn her phone, and says, here’s one that has a fireplace in every room, with a California king size bed. Perfect. She and Spence can stay in one cabin, and Josslyn and Cameron can stay in another. Cameron says, it sounds really nice, but he can’t really afford to take the time off of work. He goes in the back, and Esme asks if it’s something she said. Josslyn says, no. He has work obligations, and she’s going to the library. Esme says she’s not trying to be nosy, but how long have they been dating? They still haven’t had sex yet? Don’t worry. Things didn’t happen overnight for her and Spence either. For all his sophistication, Spence is really shy and inexperienced, but they figured it out. Josslyn and Cam will too. Josslyn says she doesn’t care what Esme and Spencer do or don’t do when they’re alone. Esme doesn’t know anything about her and Cam. Esme says Josslyn doesn’t have to be uptight around her. She would never judge her friends. Josslyn says, except they’re not friends, and Esme knows that.

Jason shoves Peter in ahead of him, saying, get inside, and Peter says, he’s the boss. Peter says, nice of you to join us, and we see Drew is there with a gun drawn, holding on to Britt’s arm. Peter tells Jason, say hello to your brother.

Alexis says, Harmony doesn’t know the details of what Nikolas wants in exchange for her release. It’s complicated. Harmony says, because he wants something in exchange? Isn’t that the way the world works? Alexis says she thought she was cynical, and Harmony says, no, not cynical, just realistic. Dealing with the likes of Shiloh and Cyrus, you just have to put aside the rose-colored glasses. She stopped holding out hope for goodness and virtue to triumph, because in her experience, they rarely do. She asks what Alexis is waiting for. She’s sober; she’s making it up to the people she hurt. There’s no reason not to take her nephew’s offer. Unless… Alexis says, unless what? and Harmony says, unless she’d rather stay here.

Nikolas says, Shawn didn’t go right to the cops with his theory, which tells Nikolas that his claim is weak. There’s no shame in that. Shawn took his best shot. Now it’s time to bargain. Put his cards on the table. There must be something he wants. Shawn says, all the time Nikolas stole from him; no amount of money can buy that. Nikolas understands how Shawn feels that way, and hopes he feels better now that he got that off his chest. Let’s get real. Nikolas can’t give him the time back, and Hayden’s over the situation. So instead of focusing on the time Shawn lost with TJ, focus on enjoying the time with him now. He’s open to negotiations. Name a figure that would enable him to leave the past in the past, and allow them to both move on.

Spencer says, then Trina hasn’t given up on him. He hasn’t made her hate him? She says she doesn’t hate him. She just can’t let herself believe in him, or anything he says. He says he knows he has to win back her trust. He didn’t come there tonight for her to hold his hand, and say, there, there. She puts her stuff in her bag, and says, really? Because it seemed like that’s what he wanted. He says he wanted someone to be honest with him. To talk to him the way nobody had talked to him until he met her. She may not trust him, but he trusts her. He came there tonight because he wanted to let her know that he’s over this sad, pathetic game with his father. To hell with him. Spencer will find his own way, he promises… She says, no. No more promises. Spencer is good with his words, but his words don’t match his actions. So she needs something else from him. She needs him to prove himself. Not by what he says, but by what he does.

Josslyn asks if Esme remembers what she said at the hospital, that Josslyn minding her business is free, but minding Esme’s will cost her? Right back at her. Don’t mind her business. Don’t comment on it. And don’t waste her time pretending to be Josslyn’s friend when they both know she isn’t. She just hopes Spencer wakes up in time to see the real Esme before it’s too late.

Peter says, will you look at this. Brothers reunited, but on opposite sides. He smells a miniseries. (Ha-ha-ha! If I didn’t hate Peter, I’d love him.) Jason says, let her go, and Peter tells Drew, if Jason kills him, kill Britt. Obrecht tells Drew, don’t listen to him. Think of his daughter; think of Scout. Britt tells Jason, kill Peter. Kill that son of a bitch, and they’ll figure the rest out later.

Alexis says, this place is a helluva lot better than Pentenville. She and Harmony both know that, but why the hell would anyone want to stay here if they didn’t have to? Harmony says, lots of reasons. Because Alexis is safe here. Because almost every decision is made for her. You know who you are in here. Alexis smiles, and says, she’s pretty good. Yeah. Alexis knows what to expect here. Every day when she wakes up, she knows what chores she’ll do, she knows drinking won’t be an option,. When she leaves here, it will be totally unknown, because she won’t have a job to go to, or a special someone to go home to. Plus, she’ll have a lot of free time on her hands. There will be a lot of alcohol everywhere; in every bar and every restaurant. Or she can just order it, and have it delivered at home, like she used to. Harmony says, it’s okay to be scared of life on the outside; it’s a whole lot of unknowns. It’s okay to worry she hasn’t actually hit her rock bottom. Alexis laughs and says, she used to pride herself on having her own mind, and making her own decisions, but now she’s terrified of her decisions. There are temptations she doesn’t have access to here, that she will when she’s out there. It’s easy to be strong when you don’t have the option to be weak. Harmony agrees, and asks what Alexis is going to do. Is she just going to stay here hiding? Life is full of prisons, and she’s not talking about this one, with locks on the door and a fence around the perimeter. She’s talking about the prisons we create for ourselves in our own minds. Trust her; she’s been there. So before Alexis turns down an offer to go free, ask herself something. Can I do more good in here, or out in the world?

Nikolas says, there’s no price tag on the years Shawn spent in prison. Like he said, it’s not about Shawn’s past; it’s about his future. His opening offer is $500,000. Shawn says, nah. He’s not like Nikolas. People aren’t a commodity to him. Nikolas says, without a confession, Shawn has nothing. Without Hayden, he has less than nothing. Shawn says, Nikolas will make sure of that, he knows. Nikolas says, Hayden’s gone. She chose to leave her old life behind. Now it’s Shawn’s turn. He needs a new life. That costs money, and Nikolas can make that happen.

Spencer asks Trina to help him out. Tell him what he can do to repair things. She says she can’t tell him what to do, but what she does know is, he has to stop looking at other people to define him. Isn’t that what he was doing with his dad? Isn’t it what he’s doing with… his girlfriend? He says he just wants Trina to respect him. He wants her to be proud to be his friend. He really values her opinion. She says, he wants to earn her respect? It’s not going to happen overnight. It starts by honoring his commitments. Go back to that job he hates. Stick with it, and start to do it well. Then maybe he can be someone his friends can count on. Maybe that starts by choosing better people to associate with. He says, what if he can’t escape it? What if no matter how hard he tries, he turns into his father? She says, that’s BS and he knows it. She doesn’t believe in fate or destiny. Those are just excuses for laziness or selfishness. If he doesn’t want to turn out like his father, then don’t. This is on him; just him. She gestures toward the door, and he leaves.

Esme says she wishes things didn’t have to be like this with her and Josslyn, but it is what it is. Sorry she tried to have an adult conversation with her. She won’t make that mistake again. She leaves, and Cameron comes back out. He says, kitchen crisis handled. He realizes something is up, and asks what he missed. Josslyn says, no one important.

Britt says, kill him, Jason. Kill him. Peter says, he has that Navy SEAL training; take no prisoners. Britt says, don’t worry about her, but her mother needs medical attention. Do what he has to do. Obrecht says she’s not going anywhere without her Britta. Shoot that schwein and be done with it. Peter says, there’s only two ways to save Britt. Lower your gun, or kill your brother.

Cameron asks where Esme went, and Josslyn says, she left, and she took her friendship with her. Cameron says Esme really gets on her nerves, huh? All that talk about spending the weekend together. She asks if they can talk about anything else, and kisses him. Spencer runs in, and says he’s really sorry about taking off before; something came up. It was a family emergency. He’s so sorry. Cameron says, so that justifies Spencer walking off the job? Josslyn says, she’ll leave them to it, but Cameron tells her, stick around. This won’t take long. She says she has things to do, and jets. Spencer says he really is sorry, but Cameron says he doesn’t care about Spencer’s apology. He went out on a limb for Spencer, by hiring him, by giving him a chance, and how does Spencer repay him? He walks out without even saying a word. That’s it. He blew it. He’s fired.

Trina’s phone rings, and Trina asks Josslyn, what’s up? Josslyn asks what Trina is doing tonight, and Trina says she’s supposed to be working on a project, but she had an unexpected visitor. Josslyn says, let her guess. It was Spencer. Trina says, yep, and Josslyn asks if she’s okay. Trina says, she’ll live. Josslyn? Josslyn says she just had a run-in with Esme. She’s a piece of work. Trina says, sounds like they both need to talk. Meet her at Kelly’s? Josslyn says, no. Cam’s not done working. She’ll come to Trina. Josslyn leaves, and Esme comes back through the gate, and looks in Kelly’s window.

Spencer says, Cameron wants to fire him? Let him make it clear, he didn’t quit. He had a family emergency, with his father. Cameron asks if his father was hurt, and Spencer says, no; it wasn’t that kind of emergency. Spencer had something really important to ask him. His answer told Spencer everything, and he’s done with him. He came back here because he really needs this stupid job. He’s not saying he likes it; he needs it. And he thinks he could have been really good at this job, but he guesses now they’ll never know. He starts to leave, but Cameron says, wait. He takes off his apron, and shoves it at Spencer, saying, take it. Now get back to work.

Nikolas tells Shawn, this offer is good for a limited time. He’ll never get a better one. Not from the PCPD, or the DA’s office, and definitely not from Hayden. So what does he say? Can he leave the past behind to invest in his future?

Harmony gets why this is difficult for Alexis. Once you leave these locked doors, there are a whole bunch of unknowns out there, as well as all the people who have disappointed you. Alexis says, not to mention all the times and ways she’s disappointed herself. Harmony asks if Alexis has any idea what she’s going to do, and Alexis says she knows what she’s not going to do. She’s not going against her conscience to gain her freedom. She doesn’t want any part of her nephew and his dirty offer.

Peter says, come on, Jason. You’re an excellent shot. You could take out Drew right now, and leave Britt unharmed. Just like Jason shot his father when he took Carly hostage. Jason’s only other alternative is to kill him, and hope Drew doesn’t hurt Britt. Britt says, she’s okay with that. She’ll take her chances. Just kill this bastard. Obrecht tries to sit up, and says, no, Britta. Peter says, Drew will kill her. It’s his mission. If Jason doesn’t believe him, ask Obrecht. Obrecht says, Peter’s right. Drew’s conditioning is active. Nothing will stop Drew from completing whatever mission he’s given. Peter says, it boils down to one simple question. Does Jason want his brother’s blood on his hands? Jason and Drew briefly lock eyes, and Jason lowers his gun, putting it on the floor. Peter laughs, because soap villains have to, and tells Drew, take him. Drew tosses Britt toward Peter, and pushes Jason to a kneeling position. Britt makes a move for the gun, but Peter is faster. Peter says he just saved Britt’s life. If she’d tried to shoot him, Drew would have killed her and Jason for trying to save her. Look at it this way. They all get to live a little longer. For now. Britt looks at Jason, who looks worried.

Tomorrow, Curtis is just getting started, Portia thinks someone is in trouble, Maxie tells Brook that the danger is closer to home, and Sonny says Cyrus got off easy.

Vanderpump Rules

Randall planned a poker night for the guys, and Lala told him about her conversation with Brock at the Belmont. She said Brock’s baby mama had slapped him with a restraining order. Katie told Schwartz all about it, and he futilely suggested it was Scheana and Brock’s business, and they stay out of it. James told Raquel that Brock had literally flipped, and mimicked him. We flashed back to Brock getting teary about his family. That’s rich coming from James, considering he’s a HUGE crybaby. In Raquel’s interview, she said, clearly life isn’t what Scheana portrays it to be in her vlog.

Scheana and Brock filmed Brock making both a standard apple pie, as well as one with crumble on top, which is the only kind of pie I like. And chocolate pie with a graham cracker crust. But I digress. In Scheana’s interview, she said her track record didn’t help, but the comments about Brock were frustrating because she knew he was the real deal. She was using YouTube and Blog as vehicles to show a deeper insight into their relationship. The true authentic version of herself, unedited… except by her. Brock made baking a pie look simple, which I have my doubts about. Lala told LVP that she was concerned about the domestic violence charge. She said she would hope were she in the same position, someone would ask her if she was being smart. Scheana was concerned about Lisa thinking less of their relationship, and said Brock had some explaining to do because Lisa was concerned now. Brock said he’d gladly talk to Lisa because he had nothing to hide.

Schwartz and Sandoval met with their new business partner Greg, and in Sandoval’s interview, he said they’d known Greg back when he owned the Belmont. They would get a level of creative control they weren’t going to get with Lisa. Colors, light, drama, seclusion, but also … a community interactive event. Schwartz told Greg that they’d settled on a name, but I thought it was more like Schwartz settled for something he hadn’t wanted. Greg pointed out that Schwartz couldn’t even say it, and wondered if it would say, a different kind of deli. People were going to show up thinking they could get a pastrami on rye. In Schwartz’s interview, he said that he wasn’t falling in love with the name, but he was falling out of hate. Greg said they had to convince him that they knew what they wanted, and suggested their mission statement be their number one priority. They needed to convince him that he should want to partner with them.

Raquel wasn’t happy with a nose job she’d gotten, pointing out a slight crookedness that you wouldn’t notice if she hadn’t said something. Her doctor had given her exercises to do 14 times a day. That’s insane. I had to do physical therapy with one of my dogs three times a day once, and I thought it was a lot. James told her that he’d spoken to Max, and it was all good. We saw a clip of Max telling Lisa that he felt James’s apology was sincere, and Max wanted to move on with him. Raquel said James’s anger issue still wasn’t resolved, and James admitted that his temper was out of control sometimes. It ruined his own mood and day, and that of those around him. She asked if he was open to AA, but he said he wasn’t 100% sober because he smoked weed. He was a creative person with a job in nightlife. In James’s interview, he said weed was legal in California, and he was a very high energy guy. It put him back down to neutral. He was stoned right now. Raquel suggested mediation or boxing to channel his energy, and James said he had been working out more.

In Sandoval’s interview, he said he and Schwartz had been through a lot. They’d spent money together and saved money together. We flashed back to some of that, and he said it was a match made in heaven. They met with Lisa and Ken, and Lisa said since they had a new partner, she felt protective, and thought Ken should weigh in, in case they had questions. Ken said he was worried about them mortgaging their houses. In Lisa’s interview, she said Ken had a lot of experience with leases, and complicated scenarios regarding a new business. She felt the Toms could benefit from his expertise. Ken asked how long their lease was, and Sandoval wasn’t sure. Lisa asked what happened with their homes if the business went into liquidation, and in Tom’s interview, he said he knew she was concerned about them getting in over their heads, but getting in over your head pushed you to the next level. Lisa said they only wanted to help, but could never get a straight answer about anything. We found out that Schwartz has Horton’s toe, where the second toe is longer than the big toe. The more you know…

Server Jesse cut Tom’s hair, and in Ariana’s interview, she said Tom got his hair cut more often than she washes her hair. He said he felt fresh. Ariana said it should be an interesting night; she hadn’t hung out with Lala since Palm Springs. In her interview, Ariana said, their last conversation hadn’t been the most productive. We flashed back to that, and Tom said Lala had been secretive about her relationship with Randall in the beginning, and Ariana said they’d lied for her, but that was back then. The situation was different now. James and Raquel met with boxing trainer Robbie in the park, and in James’s interview, he said he was willing to do anything it took to channel his angry energy into something else. He was surprised at what a good boxer Raquel was, saying she had little baby wrists. He didn’t know how she was hitting so hard. He said, boxing hadn’t really excited him. If anything it made him more angry. They sat down on a blanket afterward, and Raquel said it felt good to punch something. James said he’d do anything to help him respond to situations differently, and Raquel was concerned about his habit of saying things that hurt people. She was afraid that when they had kids, James would say something to hurt their self-confidence. Raquel said Lisa was taking her to her own doctor for her nose, and she was going to have to tell him that James bumped her. In Raquel’s interview, she said, after her nose job, James had gone in for a kiss so hard, he hit her nose. We saw a clip from two months earlier, with James being concerned that people would assume something. He told Raquel not to mess up her nose. He was afraid of hating the way she looked. Not too superficial, although we are talking about a nose job.  

Schwartz and Katie went to Villa Rosa to have pedicures. Puffy! Lisa said her life was coming back, and Schwartz said he wanted to feed her grapes. In Lisa’s interview, she said, TomTom had been closed forever. They were finally reopening, and changing the cocktail menu. They’d lost some staff, and it was about paring down, and making it simpler. In Schwartz’s interview, he said he’d been turned down for the home equity loan. He got confused when it came to profession. He didn’t think mactor – model + actor – was what they were looking for. Why he wouldn’t have put restaurant owner, I have no clue. Lisa told him that if he needed to be bought out of TomTom, she would do it, and in her interview, she said she was nervous for them. They were putting their house up for security, and wanted to have a baby. Schwartz politely declined Lisa’s offer, and said there was no chance of him giving up his stake in TomTom. Lisa said the offer was there if he needed it.    

In Lala’s interview, she said she hated hosting because she wasn’t good at it. She couldn’t tell the guests to bring their own White Claw and they’ll pop open a bag of Doritos. She told Ariana that she’d gone shopping, and Isabel laid it out for her. On her kitchen island, bowls were lined up with Post-It notes in them. Lala asked if she and Ariana were moving on, and in Ariana’s interview, she said the seed of their friendship had been planted. It was TBD if it grew into a flower or died. Randall had his poker night, and Jesse Metcalfe joined them. In Sandoval’s interview, he said Jesse probably didn’t remember, but they met over ten years ago. He and Kristen gave him a ride home from a Coachella after-party. Randall said he’d lost $17K the last time he played poker with the Toms. All the girls arrived at Lala’s place, and in Charli’s interview, she said she brought her own food, since Lala wasn’t empathetic to her issues. Better safe than starving. The poker game was No Limit Hold ‘Em, and in his interview, Sandoval said, the rules are pretty simple… Um… Maybe he was stoned too. Randall ended up on the losing end again, although only to the tune of $5000 this time. He said he wasn’t going to have another boys night for a long time.

Lala talked to Katie and Raquel about Brock, and in Raquel’s interview, she said Brock had already been put on trial. Why were they putting him on trial again? Katie said she didn’t believe in painting red flags with glitter. Omg, you’d think this guy was a  serial killer when they only have a couple of facts really. Raquel told Scheana about the conversation, and Scheana said it wasn’t fair to question her judgment, and thought Lala’s concern was bullsh*t. In Scheana’s interview, she said she didn’t know what this obsession with Brock was all about. Lala had said she would stop, and it was really annoying her now. Lala, Ariana, Katie, and Raquel got in the hot tub, while Charli and Scheana sat on the side. Scheana said Brook only gave Lala a highlight from what happened, and she took it as he was beating his wife. She wished Lala would trust her judgement. She wouldn’t have a baby with someone she thought was a terrible person. What was even more frustrating was, why wasn’t Lala concerned the first year Scheana and Brock were together? Lala said she didn’t know he hadn’t seen his kids in four years. How is he not a bad guy when he got slammed with a domestic violence order? These were Brock’s issues, and Scheana, her baby, and his other children were victims. I have to say, I think Lala’s concern is genuine, but she’s blowing this way out of proportion.

Everyone went to Lisa’s house for a cocktail tasting presented by the Toms. Lisa came into the kitchen, and saw a mess of bottles and garnishes and glasses and bowls on her kitchen island. She said she could make a four-course meal with less mess than the Toms were making, creating two cocktails. It was Brock’s first time at Villa Rosa, and he told Scheana that it was pretty impressive. This lady has swans. Lisa toasted to the opening of TomTom. Brock asked if he could talk privately with Lisa, and wanted everyone to know he was an open book. He had a history, but had learned from his mistakes. In Lala’s interview, she said, that’s what grossed her out the most. He displays something horrific, and puts a bow on it. Some people only see the bow, but she doesn’t see it. It just seems like she’s being unfair, not giving this guy any credit whatsoever, when we haven’t seen him act crazy or anything. Schwartz brings out watermelon margaritas, with a full-size slice of watermelon as a garnish, and a branch from a maple tree large sprig of mint or basil or something. Brock told Lisa that he’d done some things he wasn’t proud of, but the person he was today isn’t the person he was ten years ago. He’d tried to have a conversation with Lala, and tried to explain that it was more complicated than him kicking in the front door to see his kids. It was a toxic situation with his partner, and he’d slapped her, which he wasn’t proud of. In his interview, he said he was 19, and they’d were having an argument, and he slapped her. It wasn’t what prompted the restraining order though. They moved to France, and their boy was born. They separated, and his ex found out she was pregnant. She had a girl, and there was an argument with her dad, which is when the domestic order happened. He’d needed to appeal it to get it lifted. Lisa asked why he hadn’t made an effort to see his children since then, and he said in the time he’d been in America, his ex had married, and they had a daughter together. She and his children had a new life. In Lisa’s interview, she said she wanted it to be okay because Scheana wanted it to be okay, but it was terribly worrying. He told Lisa that Scheana made him a better person brings, and brought the best out of him, and he got weepy. When Lisa came back, she asked Sandoval for the strongest drink he had. Seeing the mess even messier, she said God forbid he ever had a dinner party. Sandoval introduced a whiskey cocktail he claimed smoke rose from, but Katie didn’t see it, and neither did I.

Lisa announced that the margaritas were definitely on the menu, and Tom asked if they’re doing the whiskey… Before he could finish, she said, no, which was pretty funny. She wondered why Lala was so quiet, and Lala said she felt awkward. Lisa said that wasn’t like her, and Lala said she’d had a girls night, and went to Scheana as a friend with concerns. Scheana twisted it again, when she’d thought they were friends. She thought she knew Scheana well enough to ask if she was being smart. In Scheana’s interview, she said she didn’t know why Lala wouldn’t let her live her life in peace. Forgive her for questioning Lala’s motives, but they hadn’t had a solid friendship. Sandoval interrupted Lala, and Lisa asked him to let her talk. Sandoval had the nerve to tell Lisa, give me an effing second, and she told him not to talk to her like that, and apologize. Which he did. In his interview, Sandoval said Lala was always the aggressor, but then played the victim. She had no business talking about Brock. Scheana said she wanted to hear what Sandoval had to say, and Tom said, what if he brought up sh*t Randall had done ten years ago when he and Lala started dating? Lala said this was not going to happen, because God forbid her own life should be examined. Lala said she wished Scheana the best, but they didn’t mesh well as friends and she was exhausted by it.  

Lala headed for the door, and got all emotional with Lisa. She said she was worried for Scheana because she had the baby. She’d voiced her concern, and it backfired, making her the villain. How was this happening? My guess was because she wouldn’t STFU about Brock for five minutes. She left, and Scheana said, well, that was fun.

Next time, Lala talks to Ariana about Tom’s pattern of attacking women verbally, and Tom tells Lala that she has a double-standard.

🛥 Where No Deck Has Gone Before…

Showing Kate in the picture is just cruel.

https://www.distractify.com/p/below-deck-season-9-location

🎃 Halloween Eye Candy…

What the celebs wore. I’m sure I’ll be posting more. It’s the best part of Halloween

https://extratv.com/photos/image_jpg_20211101_c5d604e889704cacb51faa7d9638afbf/

Some oddball choices.

https://www.gq.com/story/celebrity-halloween-2021

Quick change artist.

https://ew.com/tv/mindy-kaling-dresses-as-legally-blonde-veep-insecure-characters-for-halloween/

Día de los Muertos

🍂 Making Like a Tree…

See you tomorrow for some soap, and what I hope think is the final chapter of the RHOBH Reunion. See Erika get mad. See Erika shed tears. See Erika make vague threats. Until then, stay safe, stay setting your personal bar higher, and stay proving yourself not by what you say, but by what you do.

November 1, 2021 – Obrecht Makes an Escape, Boat Daddy On Deck, Crazy Guests, Being His Own Meme & Ghosts

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny sits at the MetroCourt bar, and Carly tells him, she still can’t believe Nina was arrested yesterday, and was in her restaurant today. Then she had what seemed like a million hotel distractions to deal with, but now he gets her undivided attention. He says, there’s a call he thinks she should know about, and she asks, from who? He says, Cyrus Renault. He wants Sonny to visit him in prison. Sam and Dante walk in, and Sam hugs Sonny, saying, she can’t believe he’s alive. He says it’s good to see her, and she says it’s great to see him. Sonny asks if they just got back, and Dante says, they got back last night. Carly asks if they were traveling together, and Sam says, yep. Everyone smiles.

Spinelli is sitting in a surveillance van, and Shawn joins him, thanking Spinelli for doing this. Spinelli says, Shawn’s assistance with Jason’s escape was greatly appreciated, so he’s happy to return the favor. Any success in sowing seeds of doubt in young Spencer’s mind? Shawn says he’s not sure. Spencer was non-committal, and if anything, he was defensive about his father. Spinelli says he tracked Nikolas to the pier, and he’s usual a directional mic that should pick up any conversation there. Shawn just hopes Spencer talks to his dad, and asks the right questions, and Spinelli says, eureka. Spencer’s with his father now. Shawn puts on a headset.

Nikolas asks why Spencer wants to talk about Hayden; she left Port Charles almost two years ago. Spencer says, and years before that, she was his stepmother. She was clueless about how to handle children, and that endeared her to him a great deal. There was a food fight, and Hayden got caught in the crossfire. Nikolas wonders why Spencer is bringing that up; it’s ancient history. Spencer says, the point is, he liked Hayden a helluva lot more than he likes Ava, and to this day, after all these years, he has no idea why anyone would want Hayden dead.

Valentin says, if Gladys wanted his attention, she’s certainly gotten it. Would she mind getting this bear out of his face? Gladys says she thought it would make him smile, but have it his way, and tosses the bear aside. He says she told him that she had knowledge of something, and she says she certainly does. He asks if this knowledge concerns him, and she says, only in the most important way.

Brook asks if Austin just said Gladys was going to visit Valentin, and he says he did. Is it a problem for her? Maxie asks if Brook is okay, and Brook says, no, and runs off. Austin wonders what that was all about.

Obrecht lies on a floor, and someone pushes her with their foot. She says, no, no, and Peter bends down, asking if she’s feeling better. She says she’ll feel better when he’s dead.

Jason and Britt come out of the water, wearing scuba gear. Britt says, he told her it was a short swim; that was anything but short. He says, it had to be done, and she says, so this is it? He says, it’s Cassadine Island.

Spinelli says, Shawn can hear both Nikolas and Spencer, right? and Shawn says, loud and clear. Spinelli says he’s also recording everything, and Shawn says, good. Let’s hope Nikolas admits to the crime. Come on, Spencer. Question Nikolas like Shawn told him.

Nikolas tells Spencer, as a reminder, Hayden made her fair share of enemies. Shooting her was terrible, but fortunately, she made a full recovery. Spencer says, so Nikolas is telling him, he’s glad Hayden didn’t die, and Nikolas says, of course (🍷). Even though their marriage fell apart, he’s still relieved Hayden wasn’t killed. Spencer asks if that’s all he has to say, and Nikolas says, that’s the story. Spencer says, that’s the story, but it isn’t the truth, is it, father?

Maxie tells Austin that she has no idea what’s upsetting Brook. She does know Gladys has been problematic at work lately, and he says he heard them talking about that. She says she’s never met anyone more entitled and less deserving than Gladys, and he says, right. What’s her connection to Valentin? Maxie says she doesn’t know. She didn’t even know Gladys knew Valentin.

Valentin says it’s more than kind of Gladys to stop by, but he’s due in surgery shortly. If she has something to say to him, then clarity is a virtue. She laughs, and says, virtue. What a perfect choice of words. He really hit the nail on the head. He says he’s sorry, but he’s not following her, and she says she’s talking about his girlfriend, and her lack of virtue. He says, his girlfriend? and Brook runs in. She says, Valentin is scheduled for surgery, and Gladys says he told her, and she’s not about to leave when she’s just getting to the good stuff. Brook tells Valentin that he’ll have to excuse Gladys. She was just at the MetroCourt, knocking back Manhattans like they were water. She’s obviously drunk, and clearly has a crush on him. Gladys says, she’s not drunk, and Brook says, that’s exactly what a drunk person would say. She grabs Gladys’s arm, and pulls her up, steering her out the door, Gladys asking, what gives Brook the right…? Valentin shakes his head and rolls his eyes.

Jason tells Britt to remember it’s a private island and there are guards all over. Britt sheds her gear, and says it has to be the most uncomfortable thing she’s ever worn. Who invented these things? She’s sure it had to be a man. He hands her a bag, saying, her dry clothes are in here. Get changed. She asks if he’s not going to turn around, but he says, it’s pretty dark. She gives him a look, which he can obviously see, and he turns around while she changes.

Peter asks what’s the last thing Obrecht remembers, and she says, being dragged from Drew’s prison cell and thrown into her own. Someone came in with a syringe. He says he was told she fought like a cornered bobcat, and she says she’s glad he finds this all so entertaining. After she was injected with whatever was in the syringe, the world went blank, but she remembers quite clearly that Peter activated Drew’s conditioning. How like him to exploit his father’s genius. He says he thought she despised his father, and she says she’s confident Cesar is burning in hell where he belongs, but she can’t deny his brilliance. Peter took advantage of his work. Where is Drew Cain? What has Peter done with him?

Sam tells Sonny, unfortunately, they never caught up to Peter, and Dante says, but the WSB is on it. Anna told them that Drew was in fact alive, and being held in a compound… Sonny says, Drew’s alive? and Carly says Sam must be thrilled. Sam says, there’s more to the story, and Dante says, Peter arranged for Drew to be abducted. That whole plane crash over the Gulf of Adan never happened; the whole thing was staged. Sonny asks, where’s Drew now? and Sam says, that’s the hard part. They have no idea. Dante says, Peter shot Drew, and Drew fell into the ocean and has not resurfaced. They’re looking for him, but haven’t found him yet. Sam says, but Drew has SEAL training, and he’s survived a lot, although there’s no proof he’s alive. Dante says, there’s no proof he’s not dead either, and Sonny says, Jason and Britt are in Greece look for Britt’s mother. Sam says they know that, and caught up to them, and filled them in. Dante says, they’re looking for Obrecht, but when Drew turns up, they can help him too.

Britt says, next time Jason says a swim is very doable, she’ll know what he means. What’s doable for him, is not doable to the average person. He says, it was the only way they could get there undetected. They had no choice but to leave their speedboat as far away as possible. She asks how they’re getting back to the boat, and he says he has it covered. She says, don’t get her wrong. She would swim the English Channel if it meant getting to her mother… He holds up his hand, and she says, what? He pulls her into the bushes, and someone comes by with a flashlight, and a man says, this way, in Greek. Two sets of feet go by, presumably guards, and the second man asks the first one if he’s sure he heard something. Jason and Britt stay hidden.

Sonny says Sam and Dante took longer than he expected, and Dante says, one thing kind of led to another. They started in Monte Carlo, and ended up in Crete. Sam says, they hated giving up the search after having come so far and getting so close, but she had to get back to Scout and Danny, especially since the WSB are looking for Drew. If they come up with any information, especially if Drew is alive, she needs to be there to tell Scout her father’s coming home. Dante says he had to come back for Rocco too, and Sonny says he took the liberty of visiting his grandson, and he misses his dad very much. Dante says, that’s good. They spent the whole day together. Sam says she did the same with her kids. She’s glad they made the decision to come back to Port Charles. Dante says they can debrief over dinner, and she says, if that’s what he wants to call it. Sonny asks if he can have a minute with his son, and Sam says, of course (🍷). Carly says she’ll show Sam to their table, and Sam leaves with her. Dante says he feels terrible. He hasn’t seen Sonny much since he came back from Nixon Falls. Sonny says, now that Cyrus is in prison, Dante is free to focus on other investigations, and Dante says, it’s definitely a lot quieter here. Port Charles is about a thousand times better without Renault in it.

On Cassadine Island, the man says, he’s good; let’s go back. The two guards leave, and Jason tells Britt, they need to find a better hiding place. She says, where? It’s not like they can check into a hotel. He tells her, follow him, and they come out.

Peter says there’s no need for Obrecht to trouble herself, worrying about where Drew is. She has plenty of problems of her own to worry about. She asks where they are, and he says, Cassadine Island. She says, but he’s not a Cassadine. Where’s Victor? He says he and Victor had a parting of the ways. He has no idea where Victor is, or what happened to him. The only thing Obrecht needs to know, is that Victor is no longer available to protect her. If it’s any consolation, he’s sure wherever Victor ended up, he’s still pining for his dear Liesl. She says she doesn’t understand. Why did he take the trouble to have her drugged and transported there, when he could have just killed her and been done with it? He says, because of Maxie.

Maxie says, when Austin told her that his fight with Brook wasn’t over, what did that mean? He says he thinks it’s pretty self-explanatory. Can he ask her a question? She made a point of telling him that chasing the shares of ELQ at the cost of his medical career, would be a real shame. She says, more than a shame; it would have been a tragedy. He asks if it’s genuine concern, or is she just helping Brook with her manipulation to get him to give up his claim?

Brook pulls Gladys away from Valentin’s room, and asks what she was doing in there. Gladys says she was there to tell that poor man that Brook is a lying schemer, who’s passing off some other man’s baby as his. Brook asks why the hell she would do that? and Gladys says, Valentin is having surgery. He should know the truth before he dies. Brook says, no one is dying; dial back the drama. Gladys says she’s not the one trying to pass someone else’s kid off as Valentin’s. That trollop would be her. Brook says, yes, but has Gladys really thought this plan of hers through? If she tells Valentin the truth, then her blackmail is over. Her meal ticket goes away, and frankly, so does her job. If Gladys doesn’t keep her secret, Gladys has no leverage on her. Gladys asks what that matters if Maxie and Sasha are going to question every move she makes? They made her go back to work after she told Brook that she was taking a mental health day today, so this is really on Brook. Get her friends on board, or Gladys is telling Valentin everything.

Nikolas asks where all these questions are coming from, and Spencer says, Shawn Butler was wrongly convicted for the attempted murder of his stepmother. Mr. Butler did six years hard time in prison. Now that Spencer’s been in jail a night, he knows how awful it is. So if Nikolas knew Shawn was innocent this entire time, and didn’t tell anyone, just tell him. Nikolas comes up to Spencer, feeling his shirt, and Spencer backs up, asking what he’s doing. Nikolas tries feeling Spencer’s pants, but Spencer dodges him, and Nikolas asks if he’s wearing a wire. Spencer says, no, and Nikolas asks if that isn’t why Spencer is questioning him. So he can record Nikolas saying something incriminating about Hayden’s shooting. Spencer shouts that Nikolas has it all wrong. He’s there confronting Nikolas, so Nikolas can tell him that he didn’t try to have Hayden killed.

Dante says, the good thing about Sonny not being there is, he completely missed out on Renault’s final reign of terror. He’s sure Sonny heard about it, but there was a shootout at General Hospital, a stand-off. He took hostages, the whole bit. Sonny says, Jason told him all about it. Has Dante heard any rumblings about Renault’s people trying to regroup? Dante says, no. In fact, he checked in with PCPD this morning, and Chase said everything was pretty quiet. It could be the quiet before the storm, but he hopes not. Sonny says, him too, and Dante says, what’s up? Does Sonny know something about Renault?

Carly says she can’t imagine Sam’s disappointment and frustration. Coming so close to finding Drew, only to have him disappear again. Sam says she keeps reminding herself that Drew has survived a lot, and maybe he can survive this too. Carly says, Drew is like Jason. He’s incredibly resilient. You can’t count them out.

Jason and Britt enter a building, and Britt asks how he found this place, and he says, Spinelli used satellite images to scout the island. He said there was no traffic in and out of this building. She says, it’s not exactly a hub of high-tech activity, and that motorboat has to be twenty years old. He says, it could help them get back to their boat, and she says, he means if her mother is drugged or injured, or she can’t make the swim? He says, they’re not going to have a lot of time to get her off the island; they have to move fast. She asks how they know the boat works, and he says he’ll check on it. There’s a gas can and some tools… She says, they’re so close. They have to find her. With Nathan gone, she can’t live in a world where, besides her nephew James, Peter is her only living relative. He says, Peter drugged her mom, and took her with him, when it would have been far easier just to get rid of her. He thinks Peter still needs her.

Obrecht says, Peter is keeping her alive because of Maxie? and he says, trust him. He would love to kill her, preferably a long, slow death. Something similar perhaps to what she tried to do to him in that cabin, when she kept him in that bed, torturing him for months. Remember? And when she dragged him to that stable and nearly burned him alive. He remembers that. Tell him, what did she plan to do to him in St. Lucia? Perhaps some more torture; maybe waterboarding this time? She says, as much as she would have enjoyed that, her plan was to make it short and sweet. He says he’s offended. No pretense even of remorse now? She says she loathes him. When she made a mistake trusting him, he turned around and framed her for his own crimes. Now he wants her to help him with Maxie? He says he has a plan to win Maxie back, but can’t do it alone. That’s where she comes into play. She picked up a lot of expertise in her years with his father. In fact, she, almost more than anyone, knows as much about mental conditioning as he ever did. She says he wants her to condition Maxie to forgive him and take him back? Impossible. He says, come on. This is an opportunity to spare her life, perhaps save it altogether. It will require compliance on her part. Her back to him, she looks at what’s on the table.

Jason says, that should do it, and Britt asks if they should test it. He says, that’d be noisy, and she says, valid point. They hear someone talking, and she says, the guards are back. He listens at the door, and says, they’re not headed this way. Spinelli tracked their patrols. They go from east to west, then north to south. If they’re passing by, that means they’re not going to be back for a while, so that means it’s safe for him to go right now. She says, what about her? and he says she has to wait there, and picks up the boat motor.

Maxie says she’s not trying to influence Austin into backing off ELQ, and he says, okay. She says she’s seen him around the hospital several times, and he thinks it’s where he’s at his best. Not like when he’s with the Quartermaines; he’s not at his best there. If his lawsuit had been successful, he would have been stuck with this squabbling family business, and not there helping people. So she was happy when he chose his medical career over ELQ. That’s not because she wanted a win for the Quartermaines; it’s because she thinks he’s a good and caring doctor. Plus, he was with her when her baby was born. He says, he was. Lucky him; she was so impressive. They sit, and he says he means that. There she was in the woods, giving birth to her baby, and she’s not panicking. She doesn’t seem frightened at all. She’s just concerned for the well-being of a child. All she cared about was her baby. He admires her. She tells him not to admire her too much. One of the reasons she was happy he dropped his lawsuit was, she couldn’t stand to listen to Brook complain about him every time she saw her. She hated being stuck in the middle, and likes him too much to hear Brook badmouth him.

Brook tells Gladys that Maxie and Sasha aren’t just her friends; they’re her bosses. They happen to be very smart and savvy businesswomen. There’s no way they’re going to believe she gave Gladys a corporate card for personal shopping and massages. Gladys says, then Brook should have done the right thing last night, when she played Brook the recording on her phone. Brook says she should have grabbed Gladys’s phone and destroyed it, and Gladys asks if Brook thinks she was born yesterday. She made copies of the recording and stashed them in multiple locations. Brook says, Gladys is an experienced blackmailer; what a shock. Gladys says, the right thing to do, since Brook is a Quartermaine heiress, would be to pay Gladys with her own money, and Sasha and Maxie won’t be any wiser. Then she wouldn’t have to break the heart of that elegant, injured man in that room. Valentin is so sophisticated, he even looks good in that hospital gown. Brook tells Gladys to take her credit card. She’ll call account management and let them know Gladys is authorized to use it. Will that buy her silence? Gladys says, for now, and flounces away with the card.

Nikolas tells Spencer, Hayden was shot years ago. She’s alive and well. None of this is relevant anymore. Spencer says, and Nikolas gets to decide that? We see Shawn and Spinelli listening, and Spencer continues. He says he knew stalking Ava was wrong, but Nikolas and Ava have committed their own share of crimes against their own share of people, and neither of them can admit to their wrongdoings. Even now. Nikolas is doing everything possible to avoid telling him the truth about Hayden. The hypocrisy is breathtaking. His crime versus Nikolas trying to have Hayden killed; which is worse? So be honest with him. Did he do it? Did he arrange to murder Spencer’s stepmother? Nikolas tells Spencer, like he said, Hayden isn’t dead. It doesn’t matter. Let. It. Go. Spencer says, oh my God. It’s true. He asks if Nikolas knows what this means. It destroys everything he ever believed about Nikolas. He’ll admit, at first he was furious when Nikolas left him. He tried to find justice for Nikolas’s so-called death when he was alive and well. He could blame all that on Valentin. He could say he was reacting to what Valentin did to Nikolas, but all of this happened way before Nikolas had even seen Valentin. It’s attempted murder, and even worse, Nikolas let Shawn take the fall for his crime. Nikolas says, there’s no proof that he had any part… and Spencer says he doesn’t need proof. He can see it in Nikolas’s eyes. What he does need is a reason. Why? Why did he do it? Spencer really liked Hayden. Why did Nikolas want Hayden dead? Please help him understand.

Shawn says, Cassadine isn’t admitting anything, and Spinelli says, he’s certainly not denying it. Shawn says, it’s not enough. He needs Nikolas to say it, not talk around it. Spinelli tells him, Nikolas said enough important words. He could put together a confession if that’s what Shawn wants. Shawn asks if he can guarantee the cops won’t detect it if he edited it together, but Spinelli says, there are no guarantees. Shawn says, it’s not going to work then. There’s got to be another way to find justice for Hayden. Spinelli says, and for Shawn, he might add.

Brook tells Valentin, she’s so sorry about Gladys, and he says, she was definitely hinting that she had information about something. Brook asks what Gladys said exactly, and he says, something about virtue and his girlfriend. She tells him, like she said, Gladys was definitely drunk, and she was trying to win points with Valentin because he has a vested interest in Deception. He asks how it’s going, working with Gladys as her assistant, and Brook says, honestly? She’s a total nightmare. He says, get rid of her, and she says she can’t. She’s working with Gladys as a favor to Sasha. She’s driving Sasha and Brando crazy. Actually, she feels a little sorry for Gladys. He says, being a mother has changed her. She’s more patient and generous. She’s going to be a wonderful role model for their daughter.

Austin tells Maxie, it was a kind thing she said. He appreciates it. She says, he’s a good guy, and he says, thanks. She gets up, and says she’s going to see what got Brook so worked up. He says he’s glad it’s not him, and she says, not this time.

Jason tells Britt that he has to go; the boat’s ready. She says, that’s super nifty, but she’s more interested in why he’s taking off and she’s staying there. Why can’t they both go? He says, because two of them approaching the house, doubles their chance of getting spotted.

Obrecht asks what Peter wants her to do to her former daughter-in-law? He knows she would never hurt Maxie. She wouldn’t do that to Nathan’s memory. He says, the last thing he wants is to hurt Maxie. She doesn’t trust him anymore. In fact, she doesn’t want to be anywhere near him, but she would welcome Obrecht. What he wants Obrecht to do is convince Maxie to take him back. Because deep down, he knows they still love each other. They need each other. They need to be together to search for their little Louise. She turns away, and walks toward the table, saying, even if she were to help him, Maxie knows how she feels about him. If she suddenly sings his praises, Maxie is bound be suspicious. She grabs a measuring cup, that has clear liquid in it, throws it at him, and runs. He writhes in pain, grabbing his arm. I assume the liquid was acid.  

Jason says, walkie-talkie, and hands it to Britt, saying, he’ll radio when he can. Just keep the lights out, okay. He hands her a gun, but she doesn’t take it. He says, in case she needs it. She still doesn’t take it, so he puts it on the table. She says, thanks, I guess, and he says, it’ll be okay. She says, he’d better be right about that, and he starts to leave. She tells him, be careful, and he says, her too. He leaves, and she shines the flashlight on the gun.

Spencer says, if Nikolas would just explain why he targeted Hayden, maybe he could forgive him. Was she having an affair? Nikolas asks, who told Spencer about this? They’re using Spencer to hurt him. He realizes that, doesn’t he? They’re trying to drive an even bigger wedge between them, getting back at him. Was it Alexis? He knows Spencer trusts her. Did she leverage that trust? Spencer says, it wasn’t Aunt Alexis, and Nikolas says, was it Sam? Molly? Who in the family turned Spencer against him? Spencer says, it wasn’t Sam or Molly, and Nikolas says, then who? Shawn walks in, and says, it was him. 

Sonny tells Dante, he’s always on guard with enemies like Cyrus, and Dante says, okay. Sonny says, so Dante and Sam, are they dating? and Dante laughs. He says, that was a good change of subject. They’re just decompressing after the search for Drew. Sonny says, whatever Dante wants to call it. As long as she puts a smile on Dante’s face, that’s all he needs to know.

Carly sits at the table with Sam, and says, she and Dante have had their differences, but he’s a really great guy, and a talented investigator. She’s glad he had Sam’s back when she was looking for Drew. Sam says she likes Dante, and Carly is right. He is a very talented investigator. She’s glad he was there to help her. Dante approaches the table, and Carly gets up, giving him her seat. She says she’s going to have the waitress bring over their best bottle of champagne, and Dante says, they don’t need champagne, but Sam says, it sounds good. Carly says, she’s just really glad they made it home safely, and she really does wish them the best. Because she has them married already in her head. She leaves, and Sam says, she thinks Carly just gave them her approval. He says, he thinks his father just did the same, and she says, not that they needed it. He says, they don’t, but it makes life easier.

Carly joins Sonny at the bar, all excited. She says, the detective and the former con artist, and he says, stranger things have happened. She says, she knows. Like him coming back to her.

Gladys breezes through the hospital, carrying several shopping bags, and Austin says, retail therapy at the gift shop? She says, they do have beautiful things. They are pricey, but she just got a bonus at work. He says, that’s awesome. So did Valentin appreciate his oversized stuffed bear? She says, she’s not sure. She might have misjudged his taste. He says, even though they’re family? and she says, right. He asks how well she knows Valentin.

Maxie finds Brook near Valentin’s room, and says she’s been looking for her. Why was she so freaked out about Gladys? Brook drags her away from the room, and says she’s been trying to tell Maxie about this all day. She was trying to tell Maxie when Austin interrupted them with the wonderful news that Gladys was visiting Valentin. Thank God she got there in time. Maxie says, why? and Brook asks if she remembers when they were at the PC Grill, talking about Valentin. Gladys was recording the entire conversation so she could take notes on the meeting. Maxie says, oh my God. She knows about Bailey. She knows Peter is Bailey’s father. Brook says, no. All Gladys heard was that Brook dreads the day Valentin finds out Bailey’s not his daughter, but Maxie says, that’s enough to blow this whole thing wide open. If Glady’s opens her big mouth to the wrong person, that’s just a hop, skip, and a jump to the truth about Bailey, and she won’t be safe from Peter anymore. What are they going to do?

Peter drags himself up, and gets on the radio. He says, Obrecht’s escaped. She can’t have gone far. Find her. Find her now. He grips his arm in pain, and makes sounds.  

Britt hears someone say, Peter’s furious, in Greek. She hears noise outside the door, and aims the gun at it.

Brook says she hasn’t decided what to do about Gladys, but she can count on Maxie, right? Maxie says, of course (🍷). She can’t have Gladys blowing this up until she knows Louise is safe from Peter. Brook says, they have no choice. They have to do this, and soon. Maxie says, whatever Brook is thinking, she’s in. They have to stop her. Brook says, stop her dead in her tracks.

Gladys says, honestly, she doesn’t know Valentin all that well, and Austin says, even though they’re family. She says, distant family, but she always felt a special bond; a connection. He asks, why is that? and she tells him, let’s just say she likes the guy, and doesn’t want to see him get hurt. She walks away, and Austin puzzles over this.

Nikolas says, Spencer barely knows this man, and allowed himself to be manipulated by him. Why? Is Spencer really so angry at him that he wanted Nikolas to incriminate himself? Spencer says he didn’t confront Nikolas to get a confession. He came there to prove Shawn wrong; to hear his father say he didn’t try to have Hayden murdered. But he never did. He walks past Nikolas, and tells Shawn, he’s all yours. He leaves, and Shawn and Nikolas face each other.

Carly says, they sure are cute together, and Sonny says, they are. She asks if he’s still thinking about Renault, and he says, something Dante said helped him make up his mind, and he’s got to do this before it’s too late. He’s going to visit Cyrus in prison.

It’s quiet, and Britt lowers the gun. She picks up a flashlight, and goes toward the door. She pushes it open, and shines the light up a woman’s body, who’s lying on the floor. She sees it’s Obrecht, tied up. Obrecht smiles, and says, daughter.  

Peter bandages his arm, and says they’d better have a location on that woman. Hello? Did they hear him? He turns to see Jason, who’s aiming a gun at his head.

Tomorrow, Esme tells Cameron that it’s a great idea, Trina asks if Spencer is telling her another lie, Shawn says he still has an outstanding debt, and Peter tells Jason, kill him, and Jason’s not going to get it.

Below Deck

Whitehouse Bay, St. Kitts. The guests wonder if they shouldn’t be on the beach already. Captain Sean has Eddie toting and fetching, and Eddie says, this is such a sh*t show. The captain tells Eddie to grab a bag of seashells, and take the price tags off of them. In Eddie’s interview, he says, the captain is kicking his ass. This day isn’t a sprint; it’s a marathon. F*** his life. Heather radios Fraser to meet her in the sky lounge, and one of the guests thinks that something must be going wrong, since they’re not on the beach. In Fraser’s interview, he grumbles that he has to make sure the cabins are perfect, but also make cocktails and keep the guests entertained. Get your sh*t together. A guest wonders, where is the fun? and on the beach, Captain Sean gives Eddie non-stop orders, but works just as hard himself. In the captain’s interview, she says he’s not a micromanager; he’s hands-on. There’s been nothing on board a boat that he’s not willing to do himself. Heather tells the guests that the tender is ready, and when they get to the beach, they proclaim it beautiful and say the captain and Eddie did great. It’s less a picnic scenario than something you’d see in a rich person’s pool cabana. In his interview, Eddie admits Captain Sean sets up a helluva beach picnic. The captain is great in a sense, but is going to kill them. Eddie goes back with the captain to the boat for the food, leaving Fraser to tend to the guests. Back on the boat, Jake, Wes, and Rayna clean the deck, and Wes and Rayna kind of flirt. In Rayna’s interview, she’s skeptical about crew romances. She got involved with a chef once, and when they broke up, people felt like they had to pick sides. She says she’ll flirt with Jake, but that’s all.  

Sean gives a guest one of the shells, saying he found it. Well, now she knows it’s store bought. In Rachel’s interview, she says, when she watched the show last season, she was shocked at Eddie’s behavior behind her back. We flashed back to Eddie trash talking Rachel to Captain Lee, and Rachel says, she was hurt. Where she comes from, they call that spineless. Rayna asks if Wes thinks he’s met his wife already, and in Wes’s interview, he says his last relationship lasted eight months. She moved to Australia, and is still living there. He heard it has a great surf, so he understands. Rachel tells Jessica that she’s from Florida, and Jessica says she drove an Uber in Florida until the cops showed up at her door. She’d picked up a guy who’d committed a hit and run, and her grandparents said, what did you do? She tells Rachel that she’s originally from Long Island, and Rachel does a spot on impression of a Long Islander. Eddie asks what the guests want to do, but they’re tired, so they go back to the boat. Captain Lee calls Captain Sean, who asks how he’s doing. Captain Lee says, better now, and asks about the crew. Captain Sean says he has no complaints, and Captain Lee asks how Eddie is doing. Captain Sean says Eddie is very helpful and has a great attitude. In Captain Sean’s interview, he says he’s never had to leave a boat halfway through a charter. He set the bar high, and hopes the crew continues to raise it higher.

Captain Sean radios for all crew to come to the pilot house. He thanks them for coming, even though he knows they have to come when he calls. He says he’ll cut to the chase, and tells them that Captain Lee will be joining them this evening, and he’s going to be leaving. In Rachel’s interview, she says, it’s a bummer to see someone leaving, but don’t let the door hit him on the way out. Her Captain Lee is coming back. Captain Sean shakes hands with everyone, and the guests head for the hot tub. In Captain Lee’s interview, he says he’d rather sandpaper a tiger’s ass in  phone booth, than miss a charter. He might be late, but he’d back. In Eddie’s interview, he says his boat daddy is back. Captain Lee arrives, and hopes the crew hasn’t abused Captain Sean too much. Captain Sean says, overall, the crew was good. Captain Lee asks, how willing are they to learn? and Captain Sean says, extremely. Captain Lee tells Captain Sean, there’s a boat waiting, if he’d like to say his goodbyes. In Captain Lee’s interview, he says he’s glad Captain Sean helped out, but now get off his boat. Captain Sean tells the guests that he won’t be able to have dinner with them, but Captain Lee is back; he just got on board. One of the guests says Captain Sean is fun, and he says he knows he’s fun, but he’d leaving them in good hands. Captain Lee tells everyone that Captain Sean is departing the vessel, and thanks him. In Eddie’s interview, he says, maybe he and Captain Sean will do the Northwest Passage together sometime, but probably not.  

In Rachel’s interview, she says, she went overboard, no pun intended. She’s making a tasting menu, Japanese style. She likes to push herself as far as she can go, shatter, then put herself back together with Gorilla Glue, but not in her hair, and push herself more to make her stronger. In Heather’s interview, she says it’s important she been seen as a successful head of a department. She wants to impress the captain. She needs to calm down, take a deep breath, and remember that she’s got this. Rachel brings Captain Lee something to eat, and gives him a hug. Heather joins them, and says it’s a pleasure to meet him. In the captain’s interview, he says, it’s extremely hard to find a good chief stew. He has high hopes for Heather, but time will tell. I’ll bet he misses Kate. I know I do.

In Jake’s interview, he says on the first date, he kisses. On the second date, he leaves before anything happens, and on the third it’s whatever he wants. Ugh. He seems cool, and I realize he’s young, but he also seems like a user. Rachel asks Captain Lee if he wants to join the guests for dinner; it’s black tie. He’s wearing a different style of uniform, and says, he decided change things up. In Rachel’s interview, she says she loves Captain Lee’s new look. It’s so Captain Red October. They show pictures side-by-side of Captain Lee and Sean Connery from The Hunt for Red October, and Rachel is so right, even the producer laughs. The guests get ready for dinner, and Eddie tells Captain Lee, it’s like they never left. The captain says, Eddie is now working as a first officer, so Eddie is directly under him. Eddie says, with great power comes great responsibility. In Eddie’s interview, he says, Captain Lee has expectations for him that he’s worried he’ll never reach. Eddie tells the captain that he thinks Jake is good deckhand, and the captain says he and Eddie need to have one of those serious conversations. He brings out some papers, and tells Eddie it’s his fiduciary responsibility to show him this. He points out a list of issues he had; he wrote everything out while he was in the hospital. Eddie asks if it was a heart attack, but the captain says, it was AFib. He tells Eddie, they fixed it; it’s amazing what they can do now. In Captain Lee’s interview, he says it’s a condition he was born with, and explains that AFib is when your heart randomly goes in a different rhythm. At the hospital, they burned off the trouble spots, but it took a lot out of him. He tells Eddie that he doesn’t want to be treated any differently, and Eddie says he’s going to run the captain harder. Captain Lee says he’ll run Eddie’s ass ragged if he doesn’t.  

The guests get ready for dinner, and Captain Lee puts on his tux. He says, it must be like putting on a bra, and joins the guests for dinner. He introduces himself and says it’s an honor. In Rachel’s interview, she says the stakes are higher when you’re cooking for the captain. She doesn’t want to disappoint him, especially after her previous actions. We flash back to the eat my cooter episode, and Rachel says she should have just taken a valium and STFU. Dinner is going to be her take on street food in Japan. Jessica says she’s never met people who use more towels then these guests. Mmm… The second course is goyza. The captain tells the guests that he was thrilled to get back, and his wife was damn glad to get rid of him. In his interview, the captain says, knowing the yacht was leaving and he wasn’t on it, didn’t make him happy. A boat without a captain is like a boat without a rudder. It’s where he thrives. Jessica tells Wes that she’s 35, and still in a third stew position. In Jessica’s interview, she says her ex-boyfriend lived on a houseboat, and there was a yacht in the marina looking for a stew. It’s so easy to romanticize the industry, but it’s like any other job, and has positives and negatives. The guests wonder how Rachel was capable of doing the whole menu by herself. In Captain Lee’s interview, he says, Rachel f***ed up last season, but everyone deserves a second shot. Rachel is the best chef he’s worked with. It’s been a long time since someone told him to have intercourse with himself, and didn’t regret it. I have the feeling the last time was never. He tells Rachel how great everything was.

Final day. Primary Nikki tells Heather that she didn’t get towels. In Heather’s interview, she says she feels like she just got the wind knocked out of her. She put Fraser in charge. Why is a guest coming to her, saying the housekeeping is not up to par? She asks Jessica where the towels are, and Jessica says they were put away in the guest cabinet. Heather gives Nikki towels, saying, it’s unacceptable; her apologies.   

Rayna is looking around for a dustpan, but Heather says she doesn’t have time to help look. Rayna calls her an effing idiot under her breath, and in Rayna’s interview, she says, when she was young, she was quick witted and always popping off. With age, she realized you can’t do that. Fraser serves morning coffee to the guests, who tell them they had a blast. Captain Lee discusses the docking with Eddie, and in Eddie’s interview, he says, it’s the first time docking the boat this season, and he’s sure Captain Lee is nervous too. It’s a new dock, with a new crew handing the lines, and the weather is not ideal. It’s nerve wracking. In Rachel’s interview, she says, working with Heather is great. She’s had hardly any problems with communication compared to last season. We flash back to the mahi mahi debacle, and Rachel says, f*** Francesca. I tend to agree. I didn’t like Francesca. Anchor is home, and they set off for the dock. In Jake’s interview, he says he works hard because it’s in his blood. His dad began working at 14, and Jake looked up to him. They get to Christophe Harbor in St. Kitts, and the guests pack, Nikki wondering why it fit when she packed it the first time. I know the feeling; the struggle is real. Captain Lee says he wants radio silence for docking, and in his interview, says he’s as nervous as a cat with a long tail in a room full of rocking chairs.

Captain Lee radios the crew to get in their whites. The guests don’t want to leave, and Heather jokes that they’ve canceled all the other charters. Everyone says goodbye, and in Rayna’s interview, she says, the industry is predominantly white, which most people don’t realize. When she becomes a beautiful Black captain, she can open the door for other minorities. Got it good. Nikki says they had an amazing time. She’d talked to Heather about some interior issues, like the trash and towels, but she definitely tips her hat to Heather. She gives Heather her fancy captain’s hat, and gives Captain Lee the tip envelope. The guests leave, and the captain tells everyone, get to work. Heather calls her boyfriend, and in her interview, she says he was a charter guest. It’s kind of taboo, but it’s one of hottest relationships she’s ever had. It’s hard to go for long stretches without seeing someone, but for the time being, he’s supportive. The captain radios Heather, and asks to see her on the bridge. Yeah, she knows what’s coming. He tells her that he has a question. It was mentioned there were hiccups on the charter. Can he inquire as to what they were? She says, a trash bag was left from the primary’s bathroom, and this morning, she had no towels. He says, it’s not good. It’s minor, but can have a major effect. It’s not a great start. They’ll have to work smarter and harder. Heather says it’s not how she runs a boat.  

Eddie tells the deckhands that they’re killing it, and Jake is a born leader. Captain Lee radios the crew to meet in the crew mess asap. He tells them that he knows they ran their asses off, but one f*** up cancels out 14 attaboys. The tip is $18K, or $1500 a piece, which I still consider good, but the captain says, when they’re counting out the money, all they remember is one f*** up. He tells them to enjoy themselves, but in the morning, their ass belongs to him. What? No two rules??? Faithful viewers will remember: don’t embarrass yourself and don’t embarrass the boat. The turn over the boat, and Rayna talks to her mom on the phone. In her interview, she says her mom is her best friend. They, grew up together, since her mom was 19 when she’d had Rayna. They talk multiple times a day. She tells her mom that the crew is going out. She doesn’t think she’ll mess with anyone, but sometimes when she gets tipsy, the way she thinks is not the best. In Jessica’s interview, she says she missed a lot of details. That’s why she likes hiding in the laundry; there’s no pressure. It’s like solitary confinement, but she’s good at being an only child. The crew gets ready to go out.

At the restaurant, they toast to happy seas ahead. Eddie says he has an apartment, and his girlfriend is taking care of it while he’s away. In his interview, he says, he’s in a relationship now. He’s at a point in his life where he’s ready to settle down. He’s 36; better late than never. Wes tries to figure out who will get drunk, and Jessica says she had no idea. Fraser and Heather talk on the side, and he said he took the housekeeping issue personally, but the majority of his time was spent on serving. Heather says, moving forward, there’s no room for a f***-up, now that they know the boat. They could pull off the greatest party, but at the end of the day, a trash bag and towel can take that away. In Fraser’s interview, he says, there’s no kindness, warmth, or vulnerability. He can’t warm up to an ice cube. Heather says, there’s a great learning curve, and she’s sorry housekeeping fell on him. He says he doesn’t want to disappoint her, and she says, they’re reflections of each other. Let’s see what charter two brings. The crew drinks at the bar for a while, and Rayna says, they’re officially the guests they all hated. They go back to their table, and take selfies. Jake kisses Rayna’s neck, and Heather says he’s their Johnny Depp. Rayna tells Jake that he’s crazy, and they all go back to the boat. Rachel wisely goes to bed, and Fraser and Jake get in the hot tub. Rayna sits on the side with her feet in it, and says, it’s too cold to go in. Jake tells Fraser that he’s sure Rayne wants to <insert your imagination here>, and in Fraser’s interview, he says, eight billion people in the world, and Jake thinks he’s found the one person for him on the boat. He’s never seen a crew romance work out. Jake and Rayna make out, and she says, it feels weird because they’re on the same team as Wes. Jake suggests they put Wes in the middle. Rayna jumped into Jake’s bunk, and in her interview, wondered why she got involved, since she doesn’t need that.  

Next time, Rachel confronts Eddie, Heather thinks the interior needs to pick up the pace, Captain Lee thinks he has morons on his hands, and Heather and Eddie try to diffuse a situation between guests.

🛥 Old News But Fun News…

I remember all of these guests, and also remember thinking, in no job should you have to tolerate this kind of abuse. They also left out the shame cocoon.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1116662/all-of-the-craziest-guests-who-have-been-on-below-deck

🎃 Hallo This Ween…

There will be much more on costumes later in the week, but for now, the man who won Halloween.

https://www.gamespot.com/articles/steve-buscemi-dresses-up-as-his-own-meme-for-halloween/1100-6497581/

🚤 Cruisin’…

Every year, on the day after Halloween, I wonder why I make such a big production for one day. And why did I eat those Taco Bell Nachos Belle Grande and the Three Musketeers bar? While those questions remain unanswered, it remains sure that I’ll be here for some soap and some Rules. Until then, stay safe, stay gleaning wisdom from unlikely sources, and stay out of the crossfire in a food fight.

October 29, 2021 – Gladys Comes Bearing Intel, New Gig, Reboot, Invaded, Not True, More Erika, Denial, Nobody, Ultimate News, Deck Farewell, Sequel, Haunting Quotes & Thrill This

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna sees Finn at the hospital and tells her, welcome back. She thanks him, and he says, still no sign of Peter? She says, no. She was just talking to the agents on the ground in Crete, and nothing. Not yet anyway. He says, as much as he wishes she had Peter in custody, or another freezer, he’s glad she’s okay. She says she wishes they all were.

Elizabeth tells Valentin, he’s doing remarkably well for a man with a gunshot wound who’s been shipped halfway around the world. How is he feeling? He says, like he could wrestle a bear, and Austin comes in, saying, he thinks Valentin would need a note from a doctor. Elizabeth asks if there’s something she can do for Austin, and he says, sure, but right now her tact and discretion are gift enough. She doesn’t need to worry. He’s not there in a medical capacity. He has business with the patient.

Brook tells Charlotte to eat her cereal so they can get going, but Charlotte says she can’t. Papa doesn’t let her eat sugary cereals. Brook says, just this once won’t kill her. Now, hurry up, so they can go to the hospital and see her dad. Brook’s phone rings, and she tells Lucy, this isn’t such a great time… She had Gladys working on that. She told Gladys she’d finish it, but she forgot… No, Brook has no idea where she keeps that calendar… Has Lucy tried calling her phone?… Oh, of course (🍷) she’s not answering. Fortunately, Brook knows exactly where to find her.

At the MetroCourt, Sasha tells Brando that his coffee smells good. It has real caffeine in it, doesn’t it? He says, mm-hm. She misses it, doesn’t she? She says, so much. She doesn’t dream of fitting back in her clothes or riding a roller coaster. She dreams of morning coffee, a double-shot latte with extra foam. Maxie comes in, saying, she’s sorry she’s late. Sasha says, no worries, and Brando says he enjoyed the extra time with Sasha. Maxie says, enjoy it while he can. He won’t have a free minute once the baby is born.

Gladys goes to the bar, wearing a bathrobe and slippers, and asks the bartender, what kind of a spa doesn’t have alcohol? She needs a bottle of Dom, and are strawberries in season? Never mind. If they’re covered in chocolate, it doesn’t matter. (Yes, it does.) She’ll take half a dozen. Brando asks what she’s doing there, and she says, the works. Eyebrow threading, mani-pedi, and some kind of treatment with gold leaf that’s going to take ten years off of her. He asks if she isn’t supposed to be at work, and Maxie says, that’s what she’d like to know.

Ava asks if Spencer would top off her coffee one more time, and Spencer says she’s already had four cups; the fifth one might kill her. Coming right up. Ava asks if that’s any way to talk to a customer, and Spencer says, perhaps Nikolas can spare his wife by taking her somewhere more suitable. Ava says, such as? and Spencer says, somewhere else. Nikolas says Spencer seems to have forgotten, he has no moral high ground here. He stalked Ava for months. He terrorized Ava, him, and Avery. He won’t allow Spencer to be rude to Ava on top of it. Spencer says, that’s rich. The man who let him think he was dead for three years is lecturing him on his tone. Nikolas says he’s Spencer’s father, and Spencer says, that can’t be helped. Next time Nikolas climbs on his high horse, just remember he’s no innocent himself. Shawn comes in, and looks at Nikolas.

Brook sends a text to Maxie that says, 911! AGAIN! Charlotte comes in, and says she gave Bailey a kiss goodbye from both of them, and said she’d tell daddy that Bailey loves him, and she gave the nanny Bailey’s top three favorite toys in case she won’t stop fussing. So they can go now? Brook thanks her, and says she’s so good to Bailey. Charlotte says, of course () she is; Bailey’s her sister. Brook says, off they go, and Charlotte asks if she’s sure they shouldn’t bring Bailey to see Papa. The nanny can get her ready in ten minutes; five if she helps. Brook says she wishes they could, but she thinks it would be too much commotion for Valentin. Charlotte supposes Brook is right. Besides, she might be scared by all the machines. Brook asks if Charlotte is nervous, and says, her Papa is going to be fine. He’s looking forward to seeing her. She’s very brave, and Brook wants her to know that she doesn’t just have Valentin; she has Brook too. Charlotte says she knows, and hugs Brook. Brook says, so Bailey is with the nanny, check; spoonful of sugar, check. Are they forgetting anything? Charlotte says, Yuri, and Brook says, that is one giant oversight. Let’s get Yuri, and let’s go see your dad.

Gladys says she has the day off, and Maxie asks if Brook is aware she’s not at her desk. Gladys puts a credit card in the folder to pay her bar tab, and says, it was Brook who gave her the day off. Maxie snatches the card, and says she supposes Brook also told Gladys that she could use her corporate card? Gladys holds out her hand, and says, it’s hers to use, but Maxie says, this is a corporate credit card. She’s part owner of the corporation, and it’s not for frivolous spa treatments or strawberries and champagne. Gladys says, Brook told her it was okay, and Sasha says she’s sure this is a misunderstanding. What did Brook say exactly? Gladys says, Brook was clear. Brook told her to enjoy her well-deserved reward day for all the hard work she’s done. Maxie laughs, and asks if she’s talking about the bare minimum they practically have to beg her to. Brando says he thinks it’s best if they postpone Gladys’s spa day, and she can reward herself this weekend. Gladys says she’s going to do what she was promised, she’s going to do it today, and she’s going to pay for it with that card, like she was promised.   

Ava says Nikolas has been preoccupied all morning. Is there anything he wants to discuss? He says, what’s to discuss? Despite his job, his kid is nowhere close to doing what’s right. She says, and Alexis? and he says, what about Alexis? She says he told her before that Alexis’s pardon might not work out. That’s got to be weighing on him. He says he does have a lot of family business on his mind, and she if he wants to elaborate. He says, there’s been some trouble with some real estate the Cassadines used to own in Greece. He needs to make some inquiries. She asks how it affects him, if the Cassadines no longer own the property, and he says, maybe it doesn’t, but he’d like to head to GH to make sure.  Valentin was shot on the property.

Finn says he heard Peter shot Valentin, and Anna says, he did. He says when he heard, all he could think about were those two little girls, Valentin’s kids. Because of Peter, they could have lost their father. It never should have come to this. He wishes he’d killed Peter. Anna says, no he doesn’t, and pulls him aside. He says, he does. If Peter would have died, none of them would have to worry about him going on this rampage. She says, at what cost to him though? and he asks if she’s talking about his conscience. He thinks he would have slept just fine knowing Peter was in the ground. She says he would have spent the rest of his life looking over his shoulder, wondering when it was going to catch up with him. And if it had, what would have happened to Violet? He says, at least he would have known that Violet and everyone else was safe from Peter. She says, that day will come because Peter’s starting to get desperate, and along with desperation comes mistakes, so he will get caught. Finn says, if he does, he’s interested to see if Peter will tell the authorities about the whole stairwell/freezer incident. She says, if he does, they’ll probably throw Finn a parade. She knows how much he love crowds and attention. He says he does love a good parade, but seriously, when she’s out there looking out for the world, who’s looking out for her?

Valentin says he hasn’t forgotten his agreement with Austin. If Austin wins his suit against the Quartermaines, he’ll support Valentin’s bid to stay CEO of ELQ, and Valentin will pay him off in any way Austin sees fit. Austin says he’s only there to tell Valentin that he’s going to have to hold on to his job on his own. He’s agreed to stop pursuing his claim against ELQ. Valentin asks, why he would do that? and Austin says, the mother of Valentin’s daughter. Valentin asks what Brook’s done now, and Austin says she manipulated him into making a HIPPA violation. Then she made him an offer. He gives up his rights as Jimmy Lee’s son, or he could give up his medical license. Valentin says he’s sorry to hear that. Brook can be a tenacious little minx when it comes to her family. Austin says, she sure is. He recognizes, as Bailey’s father, Valentin doesn’t have a choice, but he does. He doesn’t want anything to do with the Quartermaines. He’s out. Brook says, works for her, and stands in the doorway with Charlotte and Yuri.

Valentin says, mon petite, and Charlotte runs to him, saying, mon papa. Austin says, it’s suddenly really crowded in here. He thinks he’ll split. Brook tells him not to let the door hit him when he’s leaving. Charlotte asks if Valentin is okay, and he says he’s tougher than he looks. She says, he looks terrible, and Brook says, she should see the other guy. What is this, life number six or seven? He says, at least eight, and Brook says she has some Deception business to tend to, and they have some father/daughter time to make up for, so get on that. Outside the door, she tells Yuri that she has some calls to make, and to stay there with Charlotte. She’s his number one job. As she walks down the hall, Austin says he still hasn’t gotten the official word from the Board about going back to work. Could she prod that along? She says, not now, and he tells her to take her time. It’s just his future, his career, the lives of his patients. No worries.

Maxie says Gladys is an assistant. Nobody owes her a spa day or anything else aside from her weekly salary, provided she actually earns it. And she’s confiscating the card until further notice. Gladys says she doesn’t think Maxie wants to do that, and Brando tells her, stop. She can’t talk to her boss that way. Maxie’s phone dings, and she says, that’s Brook. Gladys says Maxie can ask her herself, but Maxie says she has to meet Brook at GH; Valentin is in the ICU. Gladys says, that poor wonderful man, and Sasha tells Maxie to go; they’ll reschedule. Maxie says, as for Gladys, she expected her back at her desk ten minutes ago. She leaves, and Gladys tells Sasha, before she says anything, she was telling the truth. Sasha says they’ll get to the bottom of this. In the meantime, Gladys has to remember that she reports to Brook. Gladys says, how can she forget? and Sasha says, and Brook reports to Maxie. Gladys says, Maxie was just lording that over her; Sasha doesn’t need to repeat it. Brando says, if they’re constantly reminding her of who her boss is, maybe she needs to hear it. Gladys says she’s sick of it. Nobody talks down to her, least of all some fraud who’s barking out orders at her when she should be getting a paternity test. Brando says, hey! Apologize to Sasha right now, and Sasha says, Brando is this baby’s father, without question, and she doesn’t need a test to prove it. Gladys says, of course (🍷). She didn’t mean that. She’s sorry; she’s overwhelmed. Which is why she needs a spa day. She runs out.

Anna tells Finn, this manhunt for Peter has been exhausting; mentally and physically. And the sheer carnage he’s left in his wake. Now there’s two little girls whose father is in ICU. He says, he took the liberty of looking at Valentin’s chart. Exploratory surgery isn’t without risk, but given Valentin’s age and condition, he hates to say it, but he thinks Valentin is going to make it. She laughs, and thanks him for that. She’s happy they still want what’s best for each other. As far as Peter is concerned, Finn’s peace of mind is more important than having him in custody. His death on Finn’s conscience, she would never want that for him, ever. Or Elizabeth. Finn looks at Elizabeth, standing at the reception desk.

Ava says, Valentin was shot? and tells Nikolas, great. She hopes he was sent out a window and belly-flopped into the Aegean. He says, but she’s not one to hold a grudge, and she tells him to let her enjoy it. She asks, who shot him, and why the hell would Nikolas care? and Nikolas says he’ll explain on the way to the launch, but she says he’ll explain on the way to GH. She’s going with him.    

Shawn walks into Kelly’s, and Spencer wonders why they call it serving when you spend most of the time cleaning up. Shawn says he’ll get the hang of it, and maybe even come to enjoy the work. Spencer says he’ll take Shawn’s word for that, and asks what brings him back so soon? Did he forget something? Shawn says he came back to see Spencer.   

Elizabeth asks if Finn is sure Anna isn’t going to say anything about what they did to Peter, and he says he thinks Anna has their back. She says, okay. She should thank Anna. She guesses she should cut Anna a little slack. She’s doing everything she can to catch Peter, but Elizabeth can’t help thinking how many lives Peter will destroy before he gets stopped. He says, Peter will never harm Elizabeth or her family again; he’ll make sure of it. She asks, how? and he says he just will. She says, sounds like a plan, and thanks him. He says, speaking of families, he feels kind of terrible for prying into hers.

Valentin asks Charlotte how things are at the Quartermaines without him. Is she helping Brook with her baby sister? She says she changed Bailey’s diaper, twice, and he says, he’s proud of her. He knows it’s been an adjustment, and wants her to know how much he appreciates her effort. She says she enjoys taking care of her sister. It happens a lot when Brook’s friend comes to visit. He says, Maxie? but she says, Detective Chase. They’re constantly playing games and watching movies. Valentin says, they’re friends, and she tells him, if he says so. He says he cares very much about Brook because she’s Bailey’s mother, but he’s glad she has friends. She asks if he has friends, and he flashes back to kissing Anna in the tavern. He says he has her and Bailey, and that makes him the luckiest man in the world.

Gladys is carrying a humongous teddy bear, and tells Austin that she’s looking for a room. Valentin Cassadine. He says he’s terribly sorry, but only family is allowed to visit, but she says she is family. Gladys Corbin, and she comes bearing gifts… She whispers, and intel. He says, oh, intel. Intel wouldn’t have anything to do with the Quartermaines, would it? She says, would it ever, and he says, you don’t say. It’s a crying shame hospital policy prevents him from telling her that Valentin is in ICU-1. She says, thanks for nothin’, winking at him. He says, pawsitively my pleasure, slapping the bear’s paw. She leaves, and he says, damn, that was gold. Maxie asks, what’s gold?

Shawn says, when he was there earlier, Spencer made a crack about how he used to be able to get his father to do anything for him. Spencer says, first of all, Nikolas is his father, not his dad. Second of all, those days are long gone; his father has washed his hands of him. Shawn says, Spencer might feel that way, but he’s sure that’s not true. Spencer says, care to put money on that? He could use it. Shawn says he would, and he’d win. Spencer says Shawn thinks this is one of those tough love kind of things, but it’s not. Shawn says he thinks the connection between Spencer and his father runs deeper than both of them realize. He also thinks they’re both incredibly stubborn. Spencer says he can’t disagree on the second part, and Shawn says, behind the stubbornness, they’re both longing to reconnect. He thinks if there’s anyone in the world Nikolas would come clean to, it’s his son, and Spencer says, come clean about what?

Anna sees Nikolas and Ava, and says she wanted to talk to Nikolas. He asks what he can do for her, and she says he saved her a trip to Spoon Island. She wanted to ask him about a Cassadine property in Crete. He says, any properties there were sold off years ago. He might be able to provide her with some more information later, but right now he’s here to see Valentin. Anna says, that’s odd. It wasn’t that long ago that they nearly came to blows at the MetroCourt. Not to mention Valentin shot Nikolas out a window and into the sea, and Nikolas was in hiding for three years. He says, recent events have taught him to  rely on his better angels. Can she tell him where he can find Valentin? She says, ICU, but visitation is limited. Ava suggests they come back another time, and Nikolas asks Anna to let Valentin know they were there. She says she’ll be happy to, but while she’s playing messenger, is there anything he’d like to say to his Uncle Victor? Nikolas says, what about him? and Anna says she thought Nikolas would have heard. Victor’s alive.

Valentin asks if Charlotte has seen Scout, and Charlotte says, Scout and Danny were over. He asks if Scout is still interested in ballet, and Charlotte says she is. He says he’s glad. Yuri stops Gladys from coming in, but she says she’s a friend. Valentin says, Miss Corbin? and she says, Gladys. She told Yuri she was a friend; now let her inside. Yuri says, Charlotte is visiting with her father, and Charlotte asks Valentin, who is this person? Gladys says, isn’t she a delight? And pretty. She bets Charlotte knows it. Valentin introduces them, and Gladys says, now will Yuri let her in? Valentin suggests Charlotte take Yuri to the cafeteria for cocoa or something, and they leave. Gladys comes in, and says, my God, it’s worse than she thought. Don’t worry. His Gladys is here now.  

Brando tells Sasha, he can’t believe his mother. He thought she dropped the whole paternity thing months ago. He’s so sorry. She says, first of all, it’s not his fault. She’s not excusing Gladys, but she’s dealing with a lot. In the past few months, her living situation and employment status changed. He says, both for the better, and Sasha says, and she got shot. He says, which is bad, but she’s wearing it like a badge of honor, and she says, on top of everything, the first man she showed interest in, who showed interest in her, literally got blown up on their first date. He says he gets it, and she says, his mother may be… all of the things she is, but she has been through it. He says, even so, she still has to respect Sasha, not only as the mother of her grandchild, but as her boss. He wouldn’t blame her if she fired Gladys.

Austin tells Maxie, you had to be there. He cracked an unappreciated pun. She says she’s glad sense of humor’s back. Does that mean he’s okay with everything? He says he’ll never be okay with giving up his birthright, but in a weird way, he’s kind of grateful that Brook tried to ruin his career. It reminded him how much he enjoys being a doctor. She says she knows what Brook did was wrong, but she doubts Brook would have gone through with it. He says he’s pretty sure she would have. There’s this thing he’s trying to figure out that he doesn’t understand. Maxie was engaged to an extremely bad dude, and she’s besties with a morally bankrupt woman. Is he the only one who thinks she deserves better?

Brook sees Charlotte with Yuri, and says she thought Charlotte would still be visiting with her father, but Charlotte says he sent her to get hot cocoa. Brook says she’d love to join them, but she has to find Maxie. They move on, and Brook gets in the elevator, and says, and ruin her day.

Finn says, Violet found the picture of Elizabeth and her father… and Elizabeth says, she’s bound to have questions. He says, Violet is a very curious little girl, especially where her family is concerned, and she says, that’s understandable, given all things concerned, and he says, even so, he shouldn’t have pushed her, comparing her relationship with her father to his with Gregory. He shouldn’t have done that. Every family is different. She says, she simply doesn’t have a close relationship with her dad, and Hayden never knew him. She’s sorry he’s not an active grandparent to her boys or Violet, but that’s just who he is.

Nikolas says, his uncle is alive? and Anna says, alive, well, and in custody. He was colluding with Peter. They were holed up in a compound in Crete that Nikolas claims is no longer part of his family’s ownership. Nikolas says, to the best of his knowledge, it isn’t, but he can contact his lawyers. She says she would appreciate that, and he asks if Victor has said anything he should know about, and she says, he hasn’t told them much so far. He’s intimated there are secrets to be shared, but he’s angling for a deal obviously. He says, sounds like his unscrupulous uncle. So what’s going to happen to him? She tells him, it’s difficult to say. Victor didn’t survive, and lay low for six years without someone’s help. Maybe it was Peter; maybe it was someone else. Anyway, she’ll be in touch. She leaves, and Ava asks Nikolas, tell her, what is it he’s hiding?

Shawn says Spencer must know he went to prison for shooting Spencer’s former stepmother Hayden Barnes, but he was falsely accused. Spencer says, he’s out now, so they must have found who shot Hayden. Shawn says, the authorities didn’t, but he did. He needs Spencer’s help to bring them to justice. Spencer asks, what can he…? He puts down the tub of dishes he’s holding, and asks what any of this has to do with his father. Shawn says, everything. Nikolas is responsible for Hayden’s shooting.  

Nikolas asks what Ava means, and she says, it’s clear he knows more about Victor than he’s letting on. If she could see that, so could Anna. So she must ask, is whatever it is going to come back to bite them? He says, if Victor had given him up, he’d be in custody and being formally questioned right now, and she says, given him up for what? He says, Valentin shot him and almost killed him, and she says she remembers very well; she was there. He says Victor found him and nursed him back to health, and she asks what Victor wanted in return. He says, they struck a deal. He kept Victor’s anonymity, and Victor kept his. He promised when he reclaimed the Cassadine estate, he would give Victor a home base, and keep his secret. She asks what this has to do with Peter. How deep is Nikolas in with him? He says he had no clue Victor was up to anything with Peter, and she asks if he can trust his uncle to keep him out of it. He says he thinks so. His uncle is an opportunist, and needs Nikolas where he is. She says, unless he’s found a way to leverage Nikolas for his own freedom. He knows as well as she does, betrayal comes most often from those closest to us.

Spencer asks what Shawn means when he says, Nikolas was involved with Hayden’s shooting? Is Shawn saying he shot her? Shawn says, no. We believe Nikolas hired someone to do the job for him. Spencer goes outside, and Shawn follows. Spencer says, who’s we? and Shawn says, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that Nikolas is the one who hurt Hayden, not him. Spencer says, if what Shawn is saying is true, then his father let Shawn serve six years for something he… What proof does Shawn have? Shawn says, none right now. That’s where Spencer comes in. Spencer says he wants no part of this, and Shawn says, just ask Nikolas about Hayden. That’s all. Spencer asks why he should, and Shawn says, for Violet, Hayden’s daughter. That little girl is without her mother just like Spencer. Doesn’t he want to know if Hayden is staying away because of something his father did to her? Spencer seriously doubts his father is going to confess to him, and Shawn says, then he doesn’t. Spencer says, what if he does? What does he do then, turn Nikolas over to the police? Shawn says, Spencer tells him, and he’ll tell the police. Spencer says he doesn’t want his father to go to prison, and Shawn asks if Spencer isn’t facing prison right now. Nikolas is holding Spencer’s feet to the fire for stalking Ava, while Nikolas arranged for someone to kill Hayden. Who committed the greater crime? Spencer says he’s sorry, but he needs to get back to work, and Shawn says, follow his instincts. Do the right thing. Shawn leaves, and Spencer takes his apron off and jets. Shawn watches from around the corner.

Sasha tells Brando, Gladys is never going to be a perfect fit for Deception, and he says, he appreciates her hiring Gladys. It gave her a sense of purpose. She says, she also wanted Gladys to earn an income so she could move out. He says, that too, and look how Glady’s repaid her; insulting everybody, and helping herself to the corporate card. She says, Gladys honestly thought she had Brook’s blessing somehow, and he says, how? He doesn’t know Brook that well, but she doesn’t seem like the type who would treat his mother to a spa day. Sasha says, she isn’t, which is why she needs to get to the bottom of this. He says, or she could just fire Gladys. It’s obviously not working out. She says, let her talk to Maxie and Brook, and figure out what’s going on. As for Gladys, she still has a job… for now.

Gladys says, that Charmain of his is a real beauty, and Valentin says, Charlotte. She says, like the web? and he says, like the web. Both of his daughters are rare beauties. She asks, where is that precious bundle of Brook’s? and he says, at home. Why is Gladys here? She says he was so good to her and she wants to return the favor. She took a bullet recently too. He says he heard. She seems to have made a remarkable recovery. She says, it’s not all bad; she’s a weathervane now, meaning, she can tell when a storm is coming. He says, that must be useful, and she says, it is. He thanks her for the visit and the gift, and she tells him to remember the bear is for him, not the rug rats, no matter how beautiful they are. He says he will. He doesn’t want to be rude, but he really should rest now. She says, of course (🍷). You poor, poor thing. He must be exhausted. She sits next to the bed, and asks if he knows she works for Brook.

Maxie says she knows Brook isn’t Austin’s favorite person right now, and she can sympathize. There was a time she and Brook hated each other. He asks, what changed? Brook is still superficial, caustic, entitled, and opportunistic. She says, they’ve been though a lot, and she can’t forget the good things, and he says he can’t forget the promise he made to his father. She asks if he’s at least been reinstated, and he says, he got an informal notice that Brook retracted her statement, but he’s still waiting for them to make it official so he can see his patients. She says, that’s good. It means this whole thing is effectively over. He says, it’s not over, when Brook walks up, and he adds, not by a long shot.

Finn says he knows it’s a difficult subject, but he’s only asking for Violet, and Elizabeth says, she wants to see the picture again. He says, she’s asked a couple of times where the picture of her grandpa Jeff is. He looked, but he couldn’t find it. Does she know what happened to it? She flashes back to tearing it up, but says she has no idea.

Sasha tells Brando, she has an idea or two about how to reach Gladys, and he asks if she’s sure. She knows how his mother is. The more someone tries to manage her, the more she doubles down to cause trouble. Sasha says she’s got this. He can leave Gladys to her.

Brook says she’s been calling and texting Maxie since last night. Why hasn’t Maxie gotten back to her? Maxie says, something was wrong with her phone. She wasn’t receiving any texts or calls, and they suddenly came in a few minutes ago. What is going on? Brook grabs her, and says, they need to talk, pulling Maxie away from Austin. Austin says, before they have this little tete-a-tete, he’s done everything Brook asked him to do, yet somehow, miraculously, he hasn’t been officially cleared to see his patients. Brook says, that sounds like a you problem, and he says, the problem is for his patients because he doesn’t get to see them. She says she did her part. She’s sorry if the administrative wheels of this hospital grind slowly. She’s sorry, but she has bigger fish to fry, and Maxie says, like Valentin? Brook says, like her assistant. Something has to be done about Gladys. Maxie says she caught Gladys using Brook’s corporate card, and had to order her to go back to work. Austin asks if they’re talking about Gladys Corbin, and Brook asks how he knows Gladys. He says he doesn’t know her well, they just met, but she was looking for Valentin.

Gladys tells Valentin, she’s Brook’s assistant, but she’s treated more like an indentured servant. She doesn’t understand how a classy guy like Valentin got mixed up with a bossy bridge and tunnel princess like that. He closes his eyes, and asks why Gladys is there, and she says, he was so understanding the few times they kept each other company. He listened, and accepted her for who she is. Does he know what that is? He says, a force of nature? and she tells him, that’s not what she was going to say, but she likes that better. She asks if she can call him Val, and says, if knowledge is power, than anyone who crosses her had better take cover.

Ava calls to Anna, who says she thought Ava left. Ava says she’s on her way out, but she just wanted to reiterate that if Anna needs anything from her or Nikolas, just let them know. Peter’s reign of terror has to end. Anna says she couldn’t agree more. It was nice to see Ava together with Nikolas. She’s so glad that whole stalker nightmare is over. Ava says, Spencer is facing the music, and she and Nikolas are ready for their happily ever after. Anna says she certainly hopes that’s the case, and Ava says it sounds like Anna has doubts. Anna says she’s not sure that’s even possible, happily ever after with a Cassadine.   

On the phone outside Kelly’s, Shawn says, they picked up his tail?… Great. He’s on his way.

Nikolas is at the docks when Spencer joins him. He asks if Spencer isn’t supposed to be finishing his shift at Kelly’s, and Spencer says, something more important came up. It couldn’t wait. Nikolas asks what Spencer’s done now, and Spencer says, it’s not about him. It’s about Nikolas. Tell him about Hayden.

On Monday, Sonny says there’s something Carly should know, Valentin asks if Gladys’s knowledge concerns him, Spencer asks if Nikolas arranged for his stepmother’s murder, and Britt tells Jason, they’re so close, they have to find her.

🕳 What Comes Next…

Glad to see she’s recovered from that fall.

🌲 Pine Valley Legend…

And just think. She can start a new streak of not winning awards.

😧 Yikes…

Not that it’s in any way her fault – she’s totally the victim here – she just got done talking about how pricey her wardrobe was on the RHOBH Reunion.

🚬 Smoke ‘Em If You Got ‘Em…

Josh Flagg? Really?

💎 If You Didn’t Get Enough…

More on the ongoing saga.

📸 Not Me…

She was framed framing Tom.

🥗 Everybody Is Somebody…

I dunno about this. Didn’t she write for fitness and nutrition magazines?

👠 To Be Expected…

What did they think was going to happen?

https://www.eonline.com/news/1307070/why-cynthia-baileys-friendship-with-kenya-moore-changed-after-housewives-girls-trip-fight

https://screenrant.com/real-housewives-ultimate-girls-trip-ramona-room-selection/

You, too, can get in on the fun.

https://www.etonline.com/how-to-watch-the-real-housewives-ultimate-girls-trip-174336

🛥 Final Salute…

He wasn’t on for long, but he seemed like a stand-up guy.

https://people.com/tv/below-deck-mediterranean-captain-mark-howard-dead-at-65/

🐯 Tiger, Tiger…

Because we just can’t stop watching.

https://www.insider.com/tiger-king-2-first-trailer-released-netflix-2021-10

🎃 Quotes of the Week

Darkness falls across the land, The Midnight Hour is close at hand. – Rodney Lynn Temperton

Believe nothing you hear, and only one half that you see.Edgar Allan Poe

The universe is full of magical things patiently waiting for out wits to grow sharper. – Eden Phillpots

Villainy wears many masks, none so dangerous as the mask of virtue. – Ichabod Crane, Sleepy Hollow

I’ve seen enough horror movies to know that any weirdo wearing a mask is never friendly. – Elizabeth, Friday the 13th Part VI: Jason Lives

We make up horrors to help us cope with the real ones. – Stephen King

A person should always choose a costume which is in direct contrast to her own personality. – Lucy Van Pelt, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Halloween is not only about putting on a costume, but it’s about finding the imagination and costume within ourselves. – Elvis Duran

If human beings had genuine courage, they’d wear their costumes every day of the year, not just on Halloween. – Douglas Coupland

Nothing on Earth so beautiful as the final haul on Halloween night. – Steve Almond

I’ll stop wearing black when they make a darker color. – Wednesday Addams, The Addams Family

Where there is no imagination there is no horror.Arthur Conan Doyle

The moon has awoken with the sleep of the sun, the light has been broken; the spell has begun. – Midgard Morningstar

When black cats prowl and pumpkins gleam, may luck be yours on Halloween. – Unknown

When the witches go riding, and black cats are seen, the moon laughs and whispers ’tis near Halloween. – Unknown

Werewolves howl. Phantoms prowl. Halloween’s upon us now. – Richelle E. Goodrich

Every day is Halloween, isn’t it? For some of us. – Tim Burton

I’m so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.L. M. Montgomery

Clothes make a statement. Costumes tell a story. – Mason Cooley

There is a child in every one of us who is still a trick-or-treater looking for a brightly-lit front porch. – Robert Brault

On Halloween you get to become anything that you want to be. – Ava Dellaria

🧹 Flying Off On My Broom…

See you post Halloween when the Dead are Feared. No matter what you do, have fun, but trust your instincts. And until the wolf howls, stay extra safe, stay doing what makes you feel comfortable, and stay not doing things that make you desperate. You’ll inevitably make mistakes and get caught.

October 28, 2021 – Nina and Carly Face Off, Hauntingly Chic On the Runway & Light

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Michael says, the first time he and Willow got married, it was a strategy, and it didn’t last. This time, he wants it to be real, and he wants it to last forever. She says she wants it to be forever too, and he asks if that’s a yes. She asks him to please stand up; she can’t think while he’s kneeling. He gets up, and says, if she has to think, that probably means she’s thinking of the words to say no. She says, she’s trying to find the words to say, not yet.

Shawn says, something is upsetting Alexis. He’s guessing it was her visit with Nikolas. She says, it was a real revelation, and he asks what Nikolas said to her. She tells him, Nikolas said she could go free.

Curtis asks what the guy said to Portia, and she says, he claimed he was touring Port Charles, visiting places of interest, and he asked about The Savoy. Of course (🍷) she gave it a glowing review, but as the conversation went on, it became less and less about the club, and more about Curtis. So it struck her that this man fits the general description of TJ’s patient that disappeared. He says, so the same guy approached her and TJ, asking questions about him.

Spencer serves Esme a cup of coffee, and says, sorry. He knows she ordered espresso, but he’s telling people the machine is broken. He already scalded himself once; he’s not going to risk further injury. The pick-up bell rings, and he says he had no idea how hard it is to pull espresso levers. He picks up some breakfasts, and sees Ava come in with Nikolas. He asks if they want a table, or are they just there to gloat.

Carly says, extradited last night, back in Port Charles this morning? and Nina says, no doubt, she’s disappointed. She walks past Carly, and Carly says she’s outraged. She’s outraged Nina could steal nine months of Sonny’s life, nine months from his children and family, and post bail, then show up her like nothing happened. Nina says, kind of like Carly, acting like nothing happened after watching Nina’s daughter die.

While mourning the loss of the moss bowl 🎍 in his absence, and wondering if the lily pond was Jason’s idea, Sonny’s phone rings. The recording says he has a collect call from Flatland Federal Prison inmate Cyrus Renault. Will he accept the charges? Sonny says he accepts, and Cyrus says, it’s so good to hear Sonny’s voice. He hopes he’s not too late to welcome Sonny back from the dead. Sonny says, it was a bonus to find Cyrus gone. Now Cyrus calls him collect. What does he want?

Spencer serves some customers, and tells Nikolas and Ava, either find a table or leave; he has work to do. Nikolas says, Spencer’s working there? and Spencer tells him not to act like it’s a surprise. Nikolas says he had no idea, and Spencer says, now he knows. Doc is only going to let him and Esme stay if he has a paying job, and this is it until he finds something better. Ava tells Nikolas, let’s sit down, and tells Spencer, they’ll start with some coffee, please. Spencer clears a table, and tells Esme, his father and Ava are there, acting like they just wandered in. She says, maybe they just got off the launch and decided to have breakfast, and he says, when they can afford the caviar omelet at the MetroCourt? He doesn’t think so. They planned this. At least his father is pretending like he cares a little bit. Ava is just enjoying his humiliation. She says, forget Ava and focus on his father. This is the perfect opportunity to start mending fences. His father is obviously regretting what happened. Just give Nikolas a chance to take him back.

Ava wonders how Spencer will take to the food service industry after being waited on his whole life. She tells Nikolas not to worry so much; it’s a good job. Carrying a couple of plates isn’t going to hurt Spencer. Nikolas says he’s sure Spencer will survive, and she says, if he’s not worried about Spencer, then this brooding silence must be about Alexis. What happened at Spring Ridge?

Shawn says, Nikolas told Alexis she could go free? and she says, Nikolas said a lot of astonishing things. Shawn says, first things first. How could Nikolas get her out of there? She says, apparently, Nikolas and the governor are friends, and are in the process of arranging a full pardon. He says, why is this not the best news she’s heard all year? and she says, because the price of her freedom is just too high.

Carly says, it’s always about Nelle with Nina, isn’t it? and Nina asks if that surprises her. Carly, who’s always so proud to be a mother, and uses it to justify everything she does. Guess what? Nina’s also a mother. Nelle was her child. Carly says, there’s no doubt about that. There’s not much of a physical resemblance, but it’s scary how much the two of them are alike. In Nelle’s mind, Nelle was always the victim. Murder, extortion, switching her baby; none of that was ever her fault. Somebody else, usually Carly, was always to blame. Nina says, Carly is to blame for letting Nelle die, and she will always be to blame for that, so live with it. Carly says, so to pay her back, Nina basically kidnapped Sonny? Because in Nina’s mind, she’s always the victim. Poor, poor Nina. She shouldn’t have gotten arrested; that’s a vindictive attack. She says Nina is delusional, but you know what? That could work in her favor. Just plead insanity and be done with it.

Willow says she loves Michael; she’s in love with him. Please tell her that he knows that. He says he does, and she says she intends to spend the rest of her life with him, for better or worse, in sickness and in health, all of it. He says, okay then. Why not make it official? Say their vows, sign the document, and make a commitment to being husband and wife. She says, when they marry, she wants it to be about them, and Wiley. She wants it to be about joining their lives, and celebrating their love, not smoothing over a disagreement.

Sonny tells Cyrus, say something worth hearing, or he’s hanging up the phone. Cyrus says, Sonny’s rebirth doesn’t seem to have affected his charming personality, and Sonny says, he regrets he didn’t see Cyrus’s last stand. Too bad the Commissioner didn’t shoot to kill. Cyrus says, it must be difficult, coming back after such a long time away. Did he hear that Sonny’s wife and best friend got married? Sonny says, there was a tragedy at the wedding. Vincent Novak and Charlie Buscema got blown to bits. Cyrus says, that’s very unfortunate. They can talk about it in greater detail when Sonny comes to visit him.

Shawn says, when Alexis says the price of freedom is too high, is she talking about Hayden? She says she sees he’s way ahead of her, but he says, why don’t they go over it anyway, before he makes assumptions or jumps to wrong conclusions? Shawn sits, and Alexis says, she straight up asked Nikolas if he had Hayden shot. He evaded, which was all the answer she needed.

Nikolas tells Ava, it’s difficult to see his aunt in prison. Alexis always had a neurotic streak, but she was smart, and so articulate. A talented lawyer, but also a warm and caring aunt; the voice of sanity in his insane family. She says, that’s why he’s going to talk to the governor about a pardon, right? but he says, unfortunately, it may not work out.

Spencer says, Esme knows the conditions for his father to take him back. He has to accept his father’s marriage to Ava. He has to accept that woman as his stepmother. Nikolas has already put her in control of his trust fund. He’ll have to grovel to her for every dime he wants to spend, and he’s not going to do that. Esme says, and he’s letting her win. Brick by brick, Ava is building a wall between him and his father, and it’s what she wants. She doesn’t want him talking to his father, making him see reason. God forbid his father realizes she’s just a gold-digger after all; more in love with his money and his last name than she’ll ever be with him. Spencer says, he used to know that. Nikolas called him and came to see him at school, suggesting they work together to make him free of Ava. Now she’s turned Nikolas against him. She’s latched on to him, and she’s never going to let him go. Esme says, it’s obvious his father doesn’t want this separation. He just has to give Nikolas room to change his mind. He says, how? Ava never leaves his side. She says she may be able to help with that, and goes over to their table. She says she’s sorry to interrupt, but can she speak to Ava outside?

Portia tells Curtis, she never saw TJ’s patient. She can’t be sure it’s the same man. He asks if she got a bad vibe from him, but she says, he was perfectly pleasant, but there was something about him that seemed… off. Maybe she’s making too big a deal out of this. He tells her, trust her instincts. People often get a bad feeling from someone presenting as ordinary, who ultimately harms them. It would be a mistake to ignore that feeling. She says, in that case, she was walking outside Kelly’s, and she thought she heard footsteps behind her, but no one was there. She turned around to keep walking, and bumped right into this man. She was startled, and he apologized. He had a map of Port Charles, and asked her for directions to the Chuck. She told him the Chuck was closed today, and that’s when he brought up The Savoy. She mentioned she knew the owner, and he was all over it. He claimed he read somewhere that Curtis had never owned a club before. Curtis asks, where would he get that? and she says, exactly. She doesn’t remember reading that in any promotional materials, and she asked him about his interest in Curtis, but he just brushed it off, and claimed he was a people person and liked to talk to anybody. It seemed reasonable enough, so she excused herself and left, but in retrospect, maybe it wasn’t so innocent. Curtis agrees, and says, what are the odds two men, matching the same age and same description, would approach two very important people in his life, asking questions about him?

Sonny asks, why the hell he would visit Cyrus? and Cyrus says, a lot has happened since Sonny was away. He can fill in the blanks; details that his wife and Mr. Morgan either weren’t privy to, or told not to tell him. Don’t be too hasty. Buscema and Novak are gone, their territories are up for grabs, he might have information about who wants to take their place. Sonny tells him, enjoy Flatland. Make himself comfortable, because from what Sonny hears, Cyrus is going to spend the rest of his life there. Sonny laughs, and hangs up, but faces despondency seeing the lily pond.

Alexis says, Nikolas is the one who had Hayden shot, but Shawn says, that’s her belief. He didn’t exactly say the words. She says she’s known Nikolas his whole life. It was very clear to her by what he didn’t say, that he was the one who tried to have Hayden killed. He says, sorry, and she asks what he’s sorry for? He’s the one who spent six years locked in a cage for something Nikolas did and he didn’t. Shawn says he’s sorry for what this is costing her; the pain he sees in her eyes. She says, up until a few years ago, Nikolas was good. He was thoughtful, noble, and empathetic, and that is all gone now. He’s self-serving. He doesn’t even care about his own son. He uses people. He used Shawn. He can show remorse, if you confront him, but it’s just a show; he doesn’t mean it. He’s gone bad, and he will take no responsibility for what he’s done. None.

Spencer asks if he can take Nikolas’s order, and Nikolas asks what the specials are. Spencer says he doesn’t remember, and Nikolas doesn’t care, so just order eggs Florentine like always. Nikolas says Spencer’s not getting any tips with that attitude, and Spencer says he wasn’t expecting one from Nikolas anyway. Nikolas says they still haven’t gotten their coffee, and Spencer says he’ll get on it. Nikolas gets up and follows Spencer, and asks what Spencer is doing. Spencer says, didn’t Nikolas just ask him for coffee? and Nikolas says that’s not what he means. Spencer says he has no idea what Nikolas means. He’s lost any ability he’s ever had to review or understand Nikolas’s motives. Nikolas says, Spencer is working at a diner, awaiting trial for criminal charges. This is not the life he was meant to have. Spencer says, thanks to Nikolas and his wife, that is the life that he has now.

Esme says, when she and Ava saw each other at the courthouse, she was so focused on helping Spence, so worried how the hearing would go, she didn’t get a chance to properly express how truly sorry she is for her part in what happened to Ava. Ava says, what happened is that she was stalked and terrorized into filing for divorce, and distancing herself from her only surviving child. Esme says, what Spence did was horribly wrong, and instead of helping him, she should have tried to talk him out of it. Ava asks, why didn’t she?

Willow says she can’t imagine her life without Michael. When she tried, even on a temporary basis, it was a disaster. She doesn’t just love him, she needs and depends on him, as her best friend, someone she can confide in and trust. He says she can always trust him, and she says she knows, but she’s realized he doesn’t always do things for one reason. Remember when Shiloh took her to court to try and get her to disclose what she did with her baby? He was so smart about all of that. He blew her away with all the tactics and potential strategies. It was the same way when they were fighting for custody of Wiley. It’s crazy how his mind works; how he can set up the dominoes to fall the way he wants. He says, which is a nice way of saying he’s calculating, but she says, it’s not a bad thing. It’s amazing, but it shouldn’t be the reason he proposes. He says he hates that they argued, and he does want to make it better, but that’s not the reason he asked her to marry him.

Portia says, could this mystery man, if it is the same man, be someone Curtis investigated when he was a cop? Someone he put away? Curtis says, if so, why come looking for him now? Sonny comes in, and Curtis tells him, welcome back. They shake hands, and Portia says, Trina told her that he was home. Sonny says, it’s been a real adjustment, and she says she’s sure. He says, Josslyn told him that she’s doing great at PCU, and she says, both Josslyn and Trina are embracing the college experience. He says he’s happy for them; it’s a great time in their lives. He asks if Curtis has a minute to talk about Cyrus Renault.

Nina says she doesn’t have to use the insanity defense, and Carly says she’s going to need something, because the charges aren’t going away. Nina says, this is laughable coming from Carly. Carly is happy to skate when the handcuffs are on her. She’ll hide behind her high-powered attorney, letting her pretzel the law, but when Nina makes legitimate bail, Carly is outraged and screaming for justice. Carly says she doesn’t have to scream; justice is coming for Nina. She’s going to be tried and convicted because there’s no excuse for what she did. Nina says she thinks her attorney can make a damn good argument that she was just protecting Sonny, that his life in Port Charles was dangerous and destructive. Sonny was actually better off living in Nixon Falls.

Willow says, Michael has to admit, the timing is a little suspect, and he says, maybe a little. She says, maybe their argument didn’t cause him to propose, but it might have contributed to it. He says, maybe, and she says, he’s a fixer. His first instinct will always be to make things better, and she loves that about him. He came into her life, and gave her support. He shared his son with her, and he didn’t try to fix her, but made it possible for her to fix herself. Now that they’ve disagreed, he wants to fix that too, and make it go away, but he doesn’t have to. They can disagree and still love each other. He says, if anyone knows that, it’s him.

Esme tells Ava, when she and Spence met at school, they just clicked. At first, it was surface level. They liked a lot of the same things; skiing, riding, theater. From the beginning it was like they could both sense something deeper, this bond they shared. She’s not close with her family. So when Spence told her the situation with his father, thinking that his father died, and how when Nikolas came back, he got involved with Ava, she totally empathized with how badly it hurt Spence. She was so completely focused on Spence, she never stopped to realize she was only hearing his version. Ava asks if Esme feels it justifies her actions, and Esme says, of course (🍷) not. She realizes now that Spence was angry and lashing out. She was so focused on helping him, she didn’t stop to see Ava as a person, to think about what Ava was going through, and what she was helping to put Ava through. All those times she was following Spence’s instructions, all those things she did, she would give anything to take them back.

Nikolas tells Spencer that he knows what it means to go too far, and for actions to have unpredicted consequences. Talk to him, father and son, like they used to, and tell him how things got so out of control. Spencer says, things got a little tough when Nikolas died, and didn’t get a whole lot better when he turned up alive. In fact, it got worse. Nikolas says he can’t change what he did, but he can fix what’s happening now. He can help Spencer get his life back on track. Spencer says, Nikolas is going to provide guidance to his poor, troubled son? and Nikolas says he wants Spencer to stop punishing him before he wrecks his own life.

Alexis says she should have known Nikolas wasn’t going to tell her the truth; she was absolutely naïve. All she did was give him a heads up that they’re on to him. Shawn says, it could work to their advantage. Nikolas has spent the last few years thinking he’s in the clear. Maybe he got confident and let things slide. If he starts scrambling, and trying to cover his tracks, he could give something away. She says, Nikolas isn’t scrambling; he’s already got a bribe lined up. He says, her pardon, and she says, Nikolas said if she dropped the subject of Hayden, that he and his friend the governor would consider a pardon. When she didn’t jump at that opportunity, then it became a warning – back off or the pardon disappears. He says, there’s only one thing to do. Take the deal. She says, what?

Curtis says, as far as he knows, Cyrus’s ass is rotting away in a federal prison somewhere in the Midwest, and Sonny says, Flatland. The operator mentioned it when Cyrus called him collect. Curtis asks what Cyrus wanted, and Sonny says, he wanted to dangle some information he may or may not have. Curtis says, that’s how Cyrus operates; it’s all mind games with him. Sonny says, they were there when Cyrus went down. Is there anything they can give him about what happened that night? Portia says, she can tell Sonny that Cyrus is a brutal, dangerous man. He was waiting for her when she got home, and forced her to patch him up at gunpoint. When Trina got home, he made it perfectly clear he didn’t need two hostages, and that one of them was expendable. Sonny says he’s sorry if he brought up any bad memories. He asks if he and Curtis can have a discussion alone, but Portia says, there’s not need to shield her. They all survived Renault and he can’t hurt them now.

Carly tells Nina, good luck with that defense. She can’t wait to see Nina tell the judge she committed identity fraud against Sonny for his own good. Nina says, who knows if that kind of identity fraud even exists? The Lantano DA is trying to invent a new law to give Michael what he wants. Carly says, Michael doesn’t control the DA, but Nina says, sure he does. And Carly controls Michael. Carly can’t stand it that Sonny lived nine months of his life she knows nothing about, and he was perfectly happy without her. Maybe even a little happier. Now Carly wants revenge, and she’s using her own son to get it for her. 💡Another thought. Nina could point out the connection between the contribution and the case. If nothing else, the case would be considered compromised. I just invented a new job; Port Charles armchair lawyer.

Curtis tells Sonny, he didn’t know what Cyrus was going to do next. He was unraveling. He was screaming at Laura, and waving his gun around. That guy was about two seconds from shooting Laura, so Curtis dropped his gun, and Cyrus shot him instead. Portia says, which gave Jordan the opening she needed to enter the house and shoot Renault. Sonny says, Laura’s a friend, very special to him, and he wants to thank Curtis for saving her life. Curtis says he was glad he could be there, and Sonny says, so is he. He appreciates them talking to him; it means a lot. He heads for the door, and Portia asks if he’s not staying for a workout. He says he hasn’t boxed in so long, but he has to check on someone. He leaves, and Portia says she thought they’d heard the last of Cyrus Renault, but Curtis says, he guesses they’re not that lucky.

Nikolas asks Spencer to think about where he was supposed to be, taking a gap year, touring the world. He threw all of that away to get back at Nikolas. He’s curious. Is Spencer happy with the results? Spencer tells him, what can he say? The Amalfi coast is overrated. Nikolas says he wants Spencer to stop sabotaging himself. Why won’t Spencer listen to him? Spencer says, he will, as soon as Nikolas cuts Ava out of his life.

Esme says she doesn’t expect Ava to forgive her, but if there’s ever anything she can do to make amends, she’d appreciate the chance. Ava says, Esme’s not the first young woman who got wrapped up in a man and do things she regrets. Ava is willing to put the past behind them and start fresh. Esme says, oh my God, thank you so, so much, and Ava says, she’s welcome. She hopes Esme will be a good influence on Spencer, and hopefully, someday get him to accept his new reality. Esme says she thinks he will. Deep down, Spence loves his father. He just has to let go of his pride little. Ava says, that’s not so easy. She’s going to go have breakfast with her husband. Esme says, of course (🍷), and thanks her again. Ava says she’s welcome, and make good use of the fresh start. One is all she’s going to get. Cross her again, and Esme will regret it. Ava goes inside.

Alexis asks if she heard Shawn right. Does he really want her to take her nephew’s bribe? He says he knows what it means to be locked in a cell, to live without agency, and live by other people’s rules. Alexis has a chance to get out of there; take it. Alexis says, no, and not even because of her nephew’s agenda, but because she doesn’t deserve a pardon. He says she’s harder on herself than a prosecutor would be, but she says, unlike him, she committed the crime she’s in there for. She’s serving her sentence. It’s her responsibility; it’s her debt to society. He says she can do that on the outside, volunteer at a legal clinic, and she asks if he wants her to just ignore that Nikolas is an attempted murderer. How can she look at herself in the mirror, let alone maintain her sobriety? If he wants to do what’s best for her, help her bring her nephew to justice.   

Michael says, Willow may have noticed, the Quartermaines are argumentative, and she says she picked up that. He says, but they’re nothing compared to his mom and dad. They’ve been married five times; that means there were four breakups. Realistically, eight or ten. He’s not talking about a disagreement when somebody leaves. There was yelling and screaming, throwing glass, court battles, he and his brother Morgan taken to Puerto Rico in the middle of the night so they woudn’t have to see it. There were times his parents couldn’t stand being in the same room, but he always knew they were still in love with each other, no matter what. Because even at their worst, if one was in trouble, the other had their back. That’s how he feels about her. He can’t imagine them doing that kind of fighting, but even if they did, and she told him to leave, that she hated him and never wanted to see him again, he’d have to leave. But if the next day, she calls and says she needs him, he’d be there, no questions asked. She says she knows.  

Nina says, Michael is just Carly’s puppet, and Carly says, which shows Nina knows nothing about her son. or how deep of a hole Nina dug to steal time with Wiley. Nina says she knows Michael well enough to know he wouldn’t do this on his own. Carly is the one pulling them through the ugliness of a trial. And why? It’s not going to change anything. She’s not going to get those nine months back. And by targeting Nina, and potentially hurting others, she may find she’ll also hurt herself. Carly wonders how she would do that, when Sonny walks in, and asks, what’s going on?

Ava sits down, looks at her empty cup, and says, no coffee yet. (My father would have gone ballistic by now, waiting this long for coffee.) Spencer says, coming right up, but she says, as long as he’s there, she’s ready to order. Egg white omelet, tomato and chive, please. And Nikolas? Nikolas says, eggs Florentine, and Spencer says, got it. Ava says, and Spencer, and he says, the coffee, he knows. He goes to the counter, and tells Esme that he can’t stand it. Ava has his father completely under her spell. He needs a wake-up call.

Shawn asks if Alexis has considered taking the deal, and she says, of course (🍷) she has. She hates it there. It’s a helluva lot better than Pentenville, but she’s still locked in it. She’ll be glad to get out, but she’s not getting out until her sentence is served. He says he admires her commitment and will power, and she says, maybe it’s just loyalty and stubbornness. She’s not going to let her nephew use his money and influence in order to escape a consequence that he needs to face. She just doesn’t know how she’s going to get him to tell the truth. Shawn flashes back to meeting Spencer in Kelly’s, and Spencer saying he’s come a long way from the son who could get his father to do anything for him. Shawn says, he thinks he knows a way.

Willow tells Michael, even before her mom found Shiloh, they were always moving around. She didn’t have friends she could count on growing up, people she could call in the middle of the night. Her dad loved her, but he wasn’t strong enough to stand up to her mom. Meeting Michael and falling in love with him was like finding a safe place. Knowing he won’t back down, knowing he won’t bail. He’s wonderful and kind and generous, and underneath all that, he’s pure steel. He won’t let anyone hurt her or Wiley. He says he won’t, and she says he’s given her security. He made her feel safe enough to disagree with him. Safe enough to tell him she loves him, and she wants to marry someday, just not right now. He puts his hand on hers, and says he can wait for someday. He’ll wait forever if he has to. She promises it won’t be that long, and they kiss.

Portia says, Sonny seems to be getting right back into the swing of his business, and Curtis asks if that worries her, given Trina is so close to Josslyn. She says she had a few anxious moments when Trina first started going over to Sonny’s house, but she’s seen how careful he is to protect his family, and keep them away from anything questionable. For the most part, she just tries not to dwell on it. Curtis says, it makes sense, but she says, it is unsettling to hear Renault reached out to Sonny. He says he was thinking about that. Renault reaches out to Sonny out of the blue, at the same time mystery man shows up in town asking questions about him. She asks if he thinks the man could be working for Cyrus.  

Carly tells Sonny, Nina was just explaining to her, that if she goes to trial, it’s all Carly’s fault. Nina says she’s late for work, and leaves. Sonny says he knew she’d get out on bail, but didn’t know it would be this soon, and Carly says she didn’t either. She walked in, and there Nina was. He says he thought she wanted to avoid Nina, but she says, this is her restaurant. He says, Nina shouldn’t be here, and she says, no, she shouldn’t be here. She tried it his way, but Nina is in her face, and there’s no way in hell she’s backing down. From now on, it’s between her and Nina.

Tomorrow, Brook thinks she knows exactly where to find her, Valentin tells Charlotte that he’s the luckiest man on earth, Anna promises Finn that day will come, Gladys says she came back to see someone, and Ava asks what Nikolas is hiding.

Project Runway

This Runway was right up my alley with the theme of Hauntingly Chic. Christian met the designers wearing a vampire cape, and telling them, Happy Halloween. He sent them to a limo, which took them to the Bartow-Pell mansion, a 175 year old haunted house. Darren claimed he sees dead people (I see stupid people), and Bones took the rear going in, saying in his interview, the Black man always dies first. Although I don’t think that’s so true anymore. Inside the mansion, Christian communicated through a portrait, telling them that he Bartow family lived and died there in the 1800s, and they were spending the night. Christian told them to get in the spirit and gain inspiration to design a chic gown for a masquerade ball, and the mask to go with it. No costumes; real fashion. They chose their models, and did their sketching, but like those ghost hunter shows with celebrities, they only scared  themselves.   

Everyone was still alive in the morning, and they went to Mood, where Christian met them, this time popping up from behind a counter. He told them that they had 30 minutes and $500 (nice budget!) Christian commented on how he was only seeing black and red. Kenneth chose an olive drab green, and in his interview, he said, growing up in the Philippines, fashion wasn’t a career choice. You were expected to be a nurse or a doctor, or something else in the service industry. Christian warned Zayden that the fabric he chose showed everything, and had zero stretch, but Zayden was adamant about his choice. The designers had also been allowed to bring their own fabric this season, so some were planning on using that too. They went back to the workroom for eight hours, some of them insisting ghost George from the mansion had followed them back to mess with them. Darren questioned whether he belonged there, being so young, but Christian said he was there for a reason, and gave a different perspective. He reminded Darren that he’d been the youngest contestant ever, and he now had a multi-million dollar business. He thought Darren freaked himself out in the time between his idea and his execution. Katie said she didn’t do dark, and was working with white. Christian warned her about being hooked on stripes, and her outfit looking too sailor. He thought dead doll was more appropriate.

When time was up, a lot looked unfinished to me. Katie was trying to be positive, but still packed her stuff, assuming she’d be the one going home. Bones used a silver/gold combo for his gown, and made an incredible feathered mask that reminded me of Mardi Gras. However, Aaron thought it looked like a condor smashed into the model’s head. Ouch, in more ways than one.  In her interview, Chastity told us about how her father had died suddenly, and she felt she kept him alive through her work. Zayden’s idea was patterned after voodoo priestess Marie Laveau, but I’m betting her outfits were a little more relaxed, since his dress was too tight for the model to walk. He made a bunch of alterations, and in his interview, he said, making the model comfortable was his main focus. Um… I’d say making sure she could move down the runway was probably his main focus. The best comment of the night was by Christian when he said, if it works, it will be awesome. That can be said about so many things, not just fashion.

Taraji P. Henson was the guest judge, and Elaine called for them to bring on the hauntingly chic. Bones got an, ooh, but I’m not sure if that was good, bad, or just for the mask. Zayden’s model made it down the runway, and in his interview, he said, haunting didn’t need to be spooky. Although he did include a cute bag shaped like a voodoo dol bag, which prompted Brandon to wonder if it was one of them. Most of the designs were better than I expected them to be from what I saw beforehand. I guess it’s like when a play stinks during dress rehearsal, but somehow magically comes together when it’s time for the actual performance. Katie’s went from cute to creative, having moved the stripes around to look more like giant stitches. The models were fun to watch, since they all did very theatrical poses.

Katie was in the safe-but-not-a-winner group, but Brandon said he’d loved her look, and Taraji said fashion was about taking risks. So much for packing her stuff. Those asked to stay on the runway were Chastity, Anna, Octavio, Zayden, Kenneth, and Bones, who all sweated it out until they were told whether they were in the top or bottom. Brandon wanted them all to know that making a gown in two days was impressive, win or lose. One of their favorites was Anna’s sheer black gown with a humongous veil, made out of her own fabric. Elaine said it was avant-garde in all the right ways, and Nina said, it delivered on the sense of drama. Octavio was about to have a heart attack when he was finally told he was also in the top. He’d taken a chance on making a gown patterned after the bubble dress, which was tough to execute in a gown, but Elaine said the proportions were perfect, and it had an architectural look. Taraji noticed a pocket in the gown, and said she loved a pocket. Me too! I think there should be a law that all garments must have at least one pocket. To mix it up, next was Zayden, who was on the bottom. For the exact reasons that Christian warned him about with the fabric, and tried to discourage him using it. Brandon said it was hard for the model to walk, which made him zero in on the parts that weren’t well constructed. Nina echoed Christian’s sentiments about the fabric having no stretch. Also on the bottom was Kenneth, whose piece had looked better when the model was moving. Nina hit the nail on the head by saying it looked unfinished. One of the lowest scores was Bones, and both the designers and I went, what? He said he’d been going for host of the party, but Nina said it had been disappointing, more showgirl than chic. Taraji thought there was a lot going on, and he just missed it. Brandon agreed, saying Bones had too many ideas going on. The last high scorer was Chastity, who’d also designed a sheer dress, using her own fabric to make fanlike adornments. It was black and white, and quite beautiful.

The judges deliberated, and Taraji raved about Chastity’s dress. Nina said Chastity had been thisclose to elimination, and she thought Chastity had found her voice. Brandon said it was one of those pieces that was the best, but on the border of being bad. When something like that went well, it took you to a magical place. Nina reminded Elaine and Brandon of the mess that was Kenneth’s patchwork vest last week, and said she thought he needed more time before being in a competition like this. The six designers were called back in, and Nina said the high scoring designs had shown creativity, sophistication, and above all, drama. Chastity was the winner, and Taraji gave her the judge’s card where she had only written, OMG. Wow. Is that something for her scrapbook or what? Taraji said there was talented and gifted, and Chastity had a gift from God. In Chastity’s interview, she said her father had been speaking through Taraji. Immunity comes along with the win, and I wondered if anyone who’d ever had it just blew off the next challenge, and hung out at a bar until the eleventh hour. On the losing end, Zayden was told he was safe, and Brandon said he had a good future, but needed to think about execution and comfort. He left the runway, and Kenneth and Bones held hands, awaiting their fates. Elaine said Kenneth’s dress was confusing, and Nina said it looked unfinished. Brandon said Bones’s dress was more like a costume than a chic gown, but it was Kenneth who packed his pincushion and went. The judges said he’d been a blessing with his sunny attitude, and he said it was an amazing experience for which he was grateful. In his exit interview, he said he knew he could do more, and the experience had made him stronger. Christian told him that he’d been a joy in the workroom, and I wondered if he was the first contestant who’d gone home as well as being the cause of someone else going home. It was absolutely Meg’s fault, but come on, how can I resist?

Next time, the challenge is to create a high-end fashion look by embracing floral prints, and Gigi Hadid is the guest judge.

👻 Ghosting Away…

♫ Only two days to Halloween, Halloween, Halloween… ♫ I hear the two most popular costumes in Port Charles are Squid Games and Cyrus Renault. The latter comes with a suit, a ponytail, and a plastic bag of an unknown substance. Join me tomorrow for soap, tea, and words from the wise. Until then, stay safe, stay unflappable, and stay trusting your instincts. Don’t ignore the feeling if something seems off.

October 27, 2021 – Nikolas Asks Alexis What Her Price Is, Andy Puts Erika On a Skewer, Why Am I Watching This Trash & Shock

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

TJ and Curtis spar at the gym, and Curtis asks TJ what he’s got. Usually he has to work twice as hard to get a hit in. They stop, and TJ says, sorry. His head isn’t in it. He’s been thinking a lot about that patient he lost.

Portia is walking past Kelly’s, and literally runs into Marshall.

Michael says good morning to Willow, and tells her, it’s renegotiation time for the broadcast station; it always goes down to the wire. What’s her day looking like? She says, same old, same old. Nothing as important or powerful as his. He says she was pretty quiet last night. She didn’t say a word before they went to bed. She says she has a lot on her mind, and he asks if it has anything to do with what happened to Nina.

At the MetroCourt, Ava hugs Nina, saying, that was fast. An overnight extradition to Pennsylvania, and Nina is back, looking no worse for the wear. Nina says, looks can be deceiving; she’s exhausted. Ava says, gutsy move, showing her face there, and Nina says, she can’t very well stay away from her own business. She thought she’d just get a quick caffeine fix, and go to her office to see how many fires her arrest caused. Ava says she’s surprised Scotty’s strategy worked, and they let her leave the state. Although she did tell Nina that he can be fiendishly clever. Nina says she’s impressed too. All she had to do was give them her passport. Ava says, sounds like she got off pretty easy, but Nina says, far from it.

Sonny gives Avery a stack of cinnamon pancakes, and tells her not to put too much syrup on them. Kristina is taking her trick or treating tonight; she’s going to get a sugar rush. Know what he means? Can he get a little sugar rush? She hugs him, and he laughs. Carly says, this is just perfect. She’ll never take moments like this for granted again.

Spencer is reading For Whom the Bell Tolls at Kelly’s, when someone clears their throat, and he says, be right with you, not looking up. Molly says, is that any way to talk to a customer? Can they get some service, or is she going to have to speak to a manager? He runs around the counter and hugs her, saying, it’s good to see her. Shawn stands there looking… I dunno… Like he’s studying this.

Nikolas visits Alexis at Spring Ridge, but when he moves to hug her, she steps back. He asks if everything is all right, and she says she needs to talk to him. They sit down, and he says he has some news for her too, but she can go first. What’s this about? She says, Hayden Barnes.

At the MetroCourt, Josslyn thanks Jax for breakfast. She hates to eat and run, but she’s meeting Trina at Kelly’s for a study session. He asks if they don’t live together, and since when did Kelly’s become a study hall? Oh, that’s right. Cameron works there. She says, please. A ton of people study at Kelly’s, and change is good. They both have a very big exam next week. He says, getting an early start, huh? And he does mean early. She asks if he’s forgotten what Halloween is like in college. They need their evenings free. He says, has she forgotten he went to college in Australia, and Halloween was considered an American influence their country was trying to battle? She says, yet here he is, a venture capitalist, having drip coffee with his American daughter. So she wonders who won that battle. He says, touché. He’s glad that she’s not letting this thing with her mom and Sonny get to her, especially after everything that went down last night. She says she learned to compartmentalize early. She wasn’t going to bring it up, but since he did, how is he doing with everything? She thinks Nina got what she deserved, but still, watching her be arrested last night must be hard on him.

Ava asks if Nina has heard anything more from the Corinthos clan. She can’t believe Sonny stood by, and let Michael do that to her. She’s tempted to go and tell him what he can do with his offer for Charlie’s. Nina says, that’s not necessary, but she appreciates the support. Let Sonny buy Charlie’s. She has no choice but to let things play out. Ava says, so much for their hope that Nina and Sonny could co-exist in peace.

Willow tells Michael, having Nina extradited to Pennsylvania is part of it, but mostly it’s about their breakdown in communication. He says, that’s a pretty big statement, and she says she thought they had a good talk the other night about Nina. She went away thinking they were on the same page, but clearly, they’re not. He says they agreed not to do anything about Nina and Wiley while tensions were high, but he didn’t. She says he convinced the DA of Lantano County to have Nina arrested, and he says he’s confused. Didn’t she agree that what Nina did was wrong? She says she did, 100%, especially after he told her about the confusion it caused for Avery and Donna. She’s not opposed to pursuing legal action against Nina. If that’s what the family decides, she supports it. He says, so what’s the problem? and she says, the problem is, he wasn’t honest with her.

Marshall says he’s sorry if he startled Portia. He’s just as bad as those kids who walk and text, or tweet; he’s sorry. She says, that’s quite all right. She supposes she’s a little jumpy; the spirit of the holiday. She asks if that’s a map he has, and he says, it is. He probably looks like one of those throwback tourists. Maybe he could pretend this is his costume, like she said, in the spirit of the holiday. She laughs, and asks if he’s from out of town, and he says, just checking up on family. He was looking for the Chuck. Is it nearby? She says, it is, but she happens to know it’s closed today; she’s a member. Is he an art lover? He says he is. In fact, he appreciates all forms of art. He just read about a relatively new music venue, it’s called… The Savoy. Does she know it?

Curtis says, he’s sorry TJ lost a patient. That’s got to be hard. TJ says he’s talking about that guy who vanished from the exam room the other night. He asked around the hospital, and the volunteer meeting the guy said he was there for wasn’t real. He thinks he freaked the guy out when he asked for identification. Curtis says, there could be a number of reasons why he took off. Hell, he could have been undocumented. Or maybe he was just trying to get a prescription for some drugs. TJ says he thought about that, but it wasn’t the vibe he got. Something about that encounter felt almost personal. Curtis says that’s because TJ is an empathetic doctor; it’s his superpower. On the positive side, TJ gets two days off. Just let it go. Correct him if he’s wrong, but two days in a row is like luxury for a first year intern, right? TJ says, it definitely is. He plans to live his best life. As a matter-of-fact, what is Curtis doing tonight… and tomorrow? Curtis says, TJ is off, he’s not, but forget about him. What about Molly? He’s sure Molly would appreciate seeing more of TJ now that he has time off. TJ says, Molly’s fine. She’s catching up with Shawn right now. Curtis says, is that what all this was about?

Spencer says, it’s been too long, and Molly says, he’s the one who’s been in town for months, and didn’t bother reaching out to his cousin. Spencer says, they have this new thing called texting, and it works both ways. She says, true. She’s been super busy. From what she’s heard, he has too, and they’ll leave it at that. She asks if he remembers Shawn, and Spencer says, of course (🍷), of course (🍷), and shakes Shawn’s hand. Shawn says, look at Spencer, all grown up. A working man, he sees. Spencer says he’s come a long way from the son who could get his father to do anything for him. It’s been years since he’s seen Shawn. He’s been away; Shawn’s been away… They’re both back now, so that’s good. Molly says, from what she’s heard, he should be focused on his own legal issues, and Spencer says, right. She’s at the DA’s office. She says she’s had to recuse herself from his case. He says, no hard feelings. Duty calls. Grab a seat, and he’ll be right over.

Nikolas says he knows Alexis and Shawn were looking into what happened to Hayden, but he doesn’t know how Alexis thinks he can help. She says, they’re close, right? And despite the last few years, she’s hopeful that the Nikolas that she loves and that she trusts, and that she knows, is operating in there somewhere. So she needs Nikolas to tell her the truth. No lying. No dodging. Just be honest with her. He says, think long and hard before she goes any further with this, and she says, true or false? He hired the hitman who shot Hayden Barnes. He says he knew this is where she was going, especially after that tense moment with Shawn the other day. He hoped her was wrong, that it was all in his head, but here they are. He gets up, and she follows him. She says, that’s not a denial, and he says, it’s not an admission either. He’s insulted that she would think so little of him. She says, that’s even less of a denial. She’s known him since he was born. She knows him better than almost anybody. She said to herself, if she can look him in the eye, she’ll know if he’s telling her the truth. Please tell her that he did not allow a man to be locked up for six years of his life for a crime that he committed.

Molly says she hopes Shawn doesn’t mind that she roped him into breakfast. He says, not a bit. He barely sees her and TJ at home. He enjoys spending time with his daughter-in-law of sorts. Is that an okay term to use for domestic partners? She says, especially the in-law part, and he says, say it with pride, Assistant District Attorney. She says, it’s a far cry from writing romance novels, and he says, don’t knock it. Her lover man had chops. He guesses he can admit it now, but the notes she asked TJ for were actually suggestions from him. She says she didn’t know he read her manuscript early, and he says he volunteered to write articles for the armed forces newsletter. He was trying to help, but she didn’t need it. He thought they had a prodigy on their hands; a future bestselling author. She says, as much as she loved writing, she ended up finding a new way to express herself, trying to improve the justice system from the inside. But she’s not the only one with an appreciation for righteousness, is she? Is he looking to make a difference too?

Michael asks how he was dishonest, and Willow says, he agreed not to challenge Nina about visiting Wiley, because the whole time he knew he was going to get the Lantano DA to file criminal charges against her. He says, one thing has nothing to do with the other, and she rolls her eyes and starts to walk away. He says, the whole point of charging Nina with identity fraud was so it wouldn’t involve Wiley. It solely has to do with what she did to his father. She says, this is what she means by dishonesty. She’s sure he’s right about the legal tactic, but she’s also sure he didn’t let her in because he thought she wouldn’t approve. He didn’t ask her, or the rest of the family. He took it on himself to deal with Nina, and he handled it. He says, she’s right. He did.  

Sonny watches Avery pour syrup on her pancakes, and tells her, what did he say? She’s got a lot of candy ahead of her. She says, Mama Carly said she can’t have it until tomorrow. Carly says, that’s not true. She said Avery could have a piece for how old she is, so she gets six pieces. Avery says, but the Kit Kats always disappear. I feel her pain. Sonny says he knows where the Kit Kats go, and Carly says, Halloween is a magical night. Who knows where the Kit Kats go? It’s kind of like the socks in the laundry. Sonny and Carly go over to the sink, and Sonny says, Carly is in a good mood. She says, thanks to Michael, she doesn’t have to run into Nina at every turn.

Ava tells Nina that she accepted Sonny’s offer before his family had her arrested. She’ll be happy to take Nina’s counter-offer. Nina says, what’s done is done. Besides, she doesn’t want Ava turning the sale of Charlie’s into a battleground. If she wants to make amends to Phyllis, she can’t buy Phyllis’s forgiveness, can she? You cannot pay for absolution. Ava tells her to take it easy on herself, and remember there are plenty of people in this world who will give Nina hell for her mistakes, but she’s not one of them. She leaves, and Nina hears Jax call her name. She turns to see Jax with Josslyn.

Nina says she just came in for a quick cup of coffee, and Josslyn asks why she’s there. She was arrested last night, and extradited to Pennsylvania. Nina says, she was. She made bail, and was allowed to come home until the trial. Josslyn says, that’s it? Nina stole Sonny’s life for nine months, and took him away from his family. She’s finally arrested and didn’t even have to spend the night in jail. Jax asks if Josslyn doesn’t have some studying to do with Trina, and Josslyn says, and Nina shows up at her mother’s hotel, acting like nothing happened? Jax says, Josslyn, and she says, fine. She gets in the elevator, and Nina tells Jax that he doesn’t have to feel like he has to protect her from his daughter. Josslyn’s made it crystal clear how she feels about her. He says, she’s her mother’s daughter; what can he say? She says she can take it from Carly, but Josslyn broke her heart. He says he’s sorry, and she says they haven’t talked since the night of the fire, and they couldn’t really talk in the hearing room. He says he’s been keeping his distance, especially since he figured out she’s been keeping her true relationships with Mike – or Sonny – a secret. She says, Sonny is not the man she fell in love with. And he’s not the man who fell in love with her.

Willow says, it’s like Michael was honoring the letter of their conversation, but not the spirit. He says he realized he was doing that while she was saying it, and it wasn’t right. She says she’s not thrilled by his strategy, but she’ll admit it’s affective. The DA thinks he can win the case, and the fact is, Nina did commit the crime. If he’d told her from the start, she would have had his back, but he didn’t give her the chance. He made a preemptive decision and went around her. He tells her, everything she’s saying is valid, and he’s sorry. He thinks because of the last few relationships he’s been in, he’s more guarded than he realized. He should have told her, but at the same time, he stands by his actions. Nina needs to be held accountable. Not for anything to do with Wiley, but because of what she did to his family. Willow says she thought she was his family too.   

Portia tells Marshall, The Savoy is great. She feels a little responsible for it coming into being. The owner is a good friend. He says, really? He read that the owner never ran a club before; is that true? She says she doesn’t remember there being any profiles on Curtis when the club opened. Where did he read that? He says, somewhere online. Anyway, he’s just curious, what made him jump into the nightclub business? She says, he seems more interested in the owner than the venue, and he says he’s just a people person. She says, okay. It’s been nice speaking with him, but she has to get going. Enjoy his visit to Port Charles. He thanks her, and she moves on.

TJ says, it’s okay if Curtis can’t hang, and Curtis says, it’s not that. He’s noticed all the extra time they’ve been spending together, as much as he loves it, all started when Shawn was released, and came back to town. TJ doesn’t see what one has to do with the other, and Curtis says, for six years it’s been him, TJ, and TJ’s mother; they were a family. Now TJ’s biological father is in the picture, and he’s okay with that, but TJ doesn’t have to demonstrate that their relationship isn’t different. He’s not insecure in any way about TJ’s relationship with his father. He thinks it’s important, so he encourages that, and he knows he and TJ are rock solid. TJ says, always have been and always will be, and Curtis says, they’re family. Nothing is ever going to change that.  

Molly says Shawn has been staying with her and TJ at her mom’s for few months now. She always hears him talking to TJ about finding out what his next step in life should be, but when they talk, it’s non-stop news and current events and social justice issues. It’s clear he’s passionate about these things. Maybe there’s a path in the social sphere that he can explore. Somewhere he can bring awareness to the issues he cares about. He says, like what, a podcast? He has no idea how to pod or cast. He doubts his criminal record will support any bid for being a public official. At least not until he clears his name. She asks how that’s going, and he says he does have a new lead to follow, but it could send him down a bath that could cause a lot of trouble. She says, whatever he decides, she’s behind him. She trusts him.   

Nikolas tells Alexis, Shawn Butler is far from an innocent man. He showed up to kill Drew, the father of her granddaughter Scout. It’s only due to bad luck and bad aim that Drew wasn’t hit by Shawn. She says, the salient point is, Shawn didn’t shoot Hayden. A hitman or hitwoman did, but only Nikolas would know that, since he hired them? He had Hayden shot, didn’t he? He tells her, don’t. If she keeps pulling this thread, he’s going to make helping her impossible, especially since he’s secured her release.

Nikolas says he and the governor got quite close, ever since he dated the governor’s daughter. He thought he’d play his card at the right time, and the right time presented itself last night at a fundraiser they both attended. He spent most of the evening championing Alexis’s cause with him. She says, what a fortuitous coincidence. She doesn’t suppose it had anything to do with their conversation the other night. He says he reminded the governor of her role in exposing the corrupt Judge Carson, and he suggested the state show its appreciation by offering her a pardon. They sit again, and he says, it’s incredible, right? The governor plans to issue her a complete pardon for her attack on Detective Falconari, which is a little dicey for him, her stabbing a cop and all. But the governor is prepared to take the hit as a personal favor to him. Of course (🍷) if he has to fend off groundless charges and allegations, it can tarnish his reputation, and his political sway could disappear, along with her pardon.

Josslyn walks into Kelly’s, saying, she had to see for herself, and Spencer says, and smirk? She says, yes. Watching him work at Kelly’s is like watching the Lock Ness Monster play the tuba. He should wear it as his Halloween costume. Grandma Bobbie loves her employees to dress up for Halloween. He says she’s loving this, and she admits she is. He tells her, please enjoy his utter humiliation, but do it from across the room; he’s not in the mood. She says, there’s nothing to be humiliated about. As a matter-of-fact, she’s impressed. He’s not relying on his inheritance. He’s making money on his own, and that’s admirable. He says she realizes that all three of her parents are probably as rich as his, right? She says, which makes her incredibly fortunate, and she tries not to take that for granted. By the way, she never betrayed her parents trust, or used a good friend and lied to her. Or committed several crimes and wound up awaiting trial. Shawn, who’s been listening in, asks Molly to tell him more about Spencer’s legal difficulties.

Michael says, that came out wrong. He didn’t mean she wasn’t part of his family, because she is. The two of them, and Wiley are a family together. She says she gets it, but she doesn’t look at him, and he says, after their conversation about taking things slowly and that she’d be more comfortable with boundaries… They’re already living together, they’re sleeping together, they’re raising Wiley together, it’s hard to figure out where those boundaries are. She says he doesn’t have to explain, and he says, it’s hard to find the line between moving too slowly and moving too quickly when they’ve been in love for so long, and they finally get to be together. She takes his hand, and says she loves him too. He says, he’s glad to hear it because he’s clearly blowing it. He’s sorry for keeping her out of the decision making process. He guesses maybe on some level, he was trying to keep her in the clear. She says, what about him? and he says, he did what had to be done. And he always will to keep his loved ones safe. He hopes she understands.

Jax and Nina go to the bar, and order coffee. He says they have a chance to talk, but she says, they don’t really have much to say, do they? She’s in a no-win situation, and in order to respect Sonny’s wishes, she has to continue to lie about the nature of their relationship, even though she’s facing criminal charges. So if she can’t fix her legal problems, she’s just going to focus in on Crimson. That is, if she still has a job there. He says he’s not going to force her out, and she asks if he wants to rethink that. It’s bad optics having a convicted criminal at the helm. He says she can’t run Crimson from behind bars, that’s for sure, and it was a mistake to come back to Port Charles without consulting a lawyer first. They could have protected her, and maybe stopped things from escalating further. She says, there he goes again, trying to be her white knight. If this ordeal taught her anything, it taught her that Jax has to stop trying to save her. She’s a lost cause.

Ava comes into the former home of the beloved moss bowl 🎍, and Avery hugs her. Ava calls her Miss Sticky, and asks if she’s been eating her father’s pancakes. Avery says she was, but she thought she wasn’t staying with Ava until tomorrow. Ava says she thought right; she came by to talk to Avery’s daddy. Carly suggests Avery go upstairs and see what Donna is doing, and Avery runs out. Carly says, if this is about custody… but Ava says, no, and walks over to Sonny, giving him a manila envelope. She says it’s the closing papers. She had her lawyer look them over already, so just have his lawyer do the same, sign them, and Charlie’s is his. Carly says, that was fast, and Ava says, especially since there was a bidding war. Carly says she wasn’t aware of it, and Sonny says, things were kind of crazy last night. Ava says, right, with Nina. It must have slipped his mind. She thought he shared everything with Carly.

Portia arrives at the gym, and sees Curtis with TJ. She asks if someone forgot to invite her to the party. TJ’s not working? He says, he’s not playing hooky; he has two days off. She says, he scored. She’s on her way to a kickboxing class. Enjoy his days off while he has them. TJ says, while he has her, has she heard anything around the hospital about a patient of his who skipped out before he could grab their ID? She says, oh, one of those. She hasn’t heard anything, but she’ll let him know if she does.  Did he say or do anything fishy? Curtis says, TJ is taking it a little personally, and TJ says, maybe he is. The gentleman was so amiable, he can’t figure out why he would lie to him, and then ghost. They hit it off, and were talking about life, family. Curtis says, he’s going to find, working in a hospital, he’ll meet all kinds of people. TJ says he even asked questions about Curtis, and Portia says, wait. What did this patient of his look like?

Shawn asks Molly, Nikolas wouldn’t even post bail? He thought Nikolas adored Spencer, and vice versa. She says, a lot has happened since Shawn was around. Starting with Nikolas pretending to be dead for three years, and ending with him marrying Ava. Spencer feels Ava double-crossed him when he was trying to get justice for Nikolas, who, as it turned out, wasn’t actually dead. He says, that’s a damn shame, and she says, it’ll all work itself out. The funny thing is, all Spencer needs to do to make things right is apologize; like a real, sincere apology, where he holds himself accountable. Nikolas feels so guilty for staying away, he would be putty in Spencer’s hands. He says, that easy? and she says, that may be a slight exaggeration, but it would be a good start. Nikolas has that Cassadine ruthlessness, and a seemingly cold heart, but that heart melts when it comes to his son. Spencer has always been his Achilles heel.

Alexis tells Nikolas, so they have quid pro quo, huh? She and Shawn drop the investigation, and forget Nikolas initiated the a hit on Hayden, and he facilitates her pardon. Her silence buys her freedom. He says, he never said that, and she asks if he thinks she’d be tempted by this blanket attempt at extortion? He says he has no idea what she’s talking about, but for argument’s sake, he contends that everyone has a price. The question is, what’s hers?

Willow says, just because she and Michael aren’t on the same page right now, doesn’t change how she feels about him. She missed snuggling with him last night. He says, so did he, and she says, knowing how hard they fought to be together, and they already know they want to spend their lives together raising Wiley, maybe taking it slow made it messy. He says, he’ll go with confusing, but she says she’s not confused. One thing she knows for sure, she doesn’t want that division between the part of her life where he lets her in, and the part of his life he shields her from. That might work for some relationships, but she doesn’t want that for them. He says he doesn’t either. Other than their son, there’s nothing more important, and he’s going to spend every day proving it to her. Starting now.

Sonny says he’ll have Diane look it over, and Ava says, when the papers are signed and the money is wired, she’ll leave the keys with Kristina, and they’ll be done. She’d like to say goodbye to Avery before she leaves, and he says she knows the way. She goes upstairs, and Carly says, that was quick. She loves the way he does business. She hopes Phyllis takes him up on his offer, and stays there. She has to go to work, and says she loves him. He says he loves her too.

Jax tells Nina that he’s hanging up his armor. He didn’t do so well, trying to shield Nina from the truth about Nelle. But he can’t help but wonder if that didn’t set this whole thing in motion. She says he’s got to stop. Part of her making things right is is taking full ownership for her actions. He had nothing to do with her choices. They’re her responsibility, and she’s going to face the consequences. It’s the only way that she can move forward. He says, for that, he appreciates her, and she says, enough to respect her wishes? She’s talking about Carly. Is he planning on telling Carly the truth about her and Sonny?

Curtis tells Portia to enjoy her class. He’s going to check on his new sound system upgrade. She tells him to wait. She ran into someone on the way over here, and he was asking questions about Curtis too.

TJ goes to Kelly’s, and asks Molly where Shawn is. She says, he had someplace to be. She thought TJ was busy all day, and he says he was planning to be, but came to his senses. Instead of spending his precious time boxing with Curtis, he could spend it with his beautiful partner. They kiss, and Marshall looks through the window. Spencer tells Josslyn, on the bright side, he’s learned how to make Kelly’s famous hot cocoa, and she says, yum, giving him an A+ for it. He gives her a check, and she asks if he can leave her tab open. She’s meeting Trina there for a study session. He asks if she wouldn’t mind studying at the Bistro. He doesn’t want Trina to see him like this. She says, she’ll take Trina someplace else for today, and today only, because he has nothing to be embarrassed about. To work is a good thing; it’s an admirable thing. When she sees Cameron doing his shifts there, it not only makes him hotter, it makes her feel prouder of him. He says, that’s a horrible pep talk, and she says, there’s always the easiest solution. He says, pray tell, enlighten him, and she says, he can get over himself, and make things right with his father. Keep the change.    

Nikolas tells Alexis that she doesn’t have to give him an answer now. Just think it over; the benefits, the consequences. Shawn comes in, and Nikolas says he’ll let them get caught up. He leaves, and Shawn asks, what happened? Did Nikolas say anything they can use against him?

Michael says he’s finished talking himself out of this, and Willow says, out of what? He gets down on one knee, and she asks what he’s doing. He says, what does it look like he’s doing? He’s asking her to marry him.

Nina walks Jax to the elevator, and says she’s not the only one who’s been rethinking her life. He needs to focus on something other than her and Carly, which means staying out of the war zone. Carly won’t hear the truth Nina has been keeping from her. Not from him. He gets in the elevator, and Nina turns around, coming face-to-face with Carly.

Sonny’s phone rings, and the operator says Sonny has a collect call from Flatlands Federal Prison inmate Cyrus Renault. Will he accept the charges?

Tomorrow, Curtis tells Portia that it would be a mistake to ignore that feeling, Spencer asks if Nikolas is at Kelly’s to gloat, Nina tells Carly that Sonny was better off in Nixon Falls, and Sonny asks Cyrus what he wants. I guess he accepts the charges.

The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills – The Reunion – Part Three

Kathy over doing the show, and Andy wondered if they would have felt differently had they seen it. Kathy burst into tears over her mother not being there anymore, and Kyle told her it was okay to cry and hugged her. Andy asked if Kyle regretted doing the show, but she said she didn’t do anything wrong; it was a love letter to her mom. She felt bad that her sisters thought it was something it wasn’t, and if they’d just watched it they would have seen that. She’d never do anything to shame her mother. Andy asked who called who first, and Kyle said it was the kids. They’d been bummed that holidays weren’t the same, and eventually, she and Kathy realized they had to do something. Andy asked if they’d hashed out their issues; he got the sense they still hadn’t worked it out. Kathy said he was their psychiatrist. I wondered if they were desperate. Kyle said it had been poorly handled on both their parts, but it was all good now. Andy asked if the show had brought them together, and Kyle said they’d been speaking already, but Kathy had never done things like a girls trip, and it was fun seeing her do them for the first time. He asked who The Lady was, referring to someone who works for Kathy, and we found out her name is Paula. We also saw a clip of Paula serving Kyle and Kathy on TV trays. In another bombshell, Kathy said she, Rick, and the kids ate off of TV trays every night. We flashed back to when Garcelle had forgotten her sister Carol’s name (Garcelle is one of seven kids), and she said, something had happened, and they had let it fester. Andy wondered if it was Freudian, which I guess was the psychiatrist in him coming out. Kathy had been voted favorite Richards sister on Watch What Happens Live, and Andy asked if Kyle was jealous, but even Kyle isn’t that stupid. Andy asked if Kathy had gotten any advice before coming on the show, and Kathy said Kim told her, just don’t lose your temper. He asked how Kyle’s relationship with Kim was now, and Kyle said she now had Kim’s current phone number, and they were good. Andy said he was hoping to see all three of them this season, and Kyle was cagey, but it sounded like Kim will make an appearance.

We saw clips of newbie, and descendant of Confucius, Crystal. Her stint at an escort agency in college was touched on, and a vote was taken on who would wear her ugly leather pants. I think it was everyone except for Sutton, and Kathy, who said they wouldn’t look good on her. Sutton said she wore a lot of things people hated, and to each his own. Andy moved on to the coat that launched a thousand tweets, and asked if when Crystal finally saw the show, did it look like less like a violation than an awkward mistake? There is no way Crystal is every going to back down from using the word violation, so she didn’t even answer that, saying, how she was feeling was something that had compounded over two days; it wasn’t an isolated thing. We flashed back to the  color conversation, and Crystal said, it was cumulative. She wished they’d started off on the right foot. Sutton said she thought violate was a strong word – as does every other person on the face of the earth – and it inferred Sutton had done something purposely to hurt Crystal. During the season, Crystal had admitted to having an eating disorder, and Andy wondered if her body image issue was a factor in feeling violated. She agreed it was, and I began to think, maybe he should hang a shingle out. He father’s experience with racism was discussed, and she said he handled it in the classic Asian way – don’t speak about it. She started crying at the thought of her dad, and how fearful he’d been. Andy said he’d been upset to hear Crystal had getting threats and hate speech about being on the  show because she was Asian. She said she still got hundreds of messages a day like that. I’m not a huge Crystal fan, but that made me sad to think that people are still behaving like that in 2021. She said she came on the show because she thought Asians needed representation. It was an incredible opportunity to speak out for people who were too afraid, like her dad. Sutton said she was sorry for any part she played in that, but I’m sure people like that will find any reason to spread their hate. Andy said Crystal should feel great about sharing her culture, and not let a percentage of a-holes on social media define her experience, or what she put out there for others to experience. She said she was grateful to the group for being open and accepting, and she’d been excited to show her culture. Andy asked what everyone enjoyed about getting know Crystal, and Kyle said making the dumplings was the best, which was no surprise. She also loved the Chinese New Year celebration, as did I. LisaR said Crystal was like a little sister to her.

Andy said the women had been eager to dress up again. Let glam squads rejoice. Beverly Hills is back. We flashed back to Dorit saying, it had been a hundred years since they dressed up, and then we saw a billion fashion moment clips. The vintage designer collection LisaR kept in her garage was discussed, and Andy said he’d been concerned that she basically inviting thieves to help themselves. She said she’d realized that, and it was now in special storage. Since Garcelle had been a legit runway model, Andy asked who had the most fashion sense, and she said, Dorit. We found out Dorit pays full retail, because she wants to wear what she wants, and not what someone else fronted her. Andy asked Kyle what the most over-the-top gift was Mauricio had ever given her, and she said a pair of diamond earrings that he’d sent to WWHL. We saw a clip of Andy giving them to her, and they were stunning. Unfortunately, they’d been stolen, along with Kyles whole jewelry and bag stash, when they’d been burglarized.  

Kathy said she was surprised to have been voted fan favorite, since the group was dynamic, intelligent, and fierce. Which is debatable. She said it was nice to be received well. Apparently, daughters Paris and Nicky were disgusted when she’d signed on, but were okay with it now. We saw a Kathy retrospective, and Andy said, we’re all hunky dory for Kathy. He asked if it was a surprise to Kyle, but Kyle said Kathy had always been hysterical, and a practical joker, and has a laugh like their mom’s. Andy said Kathy reminded him of Kim, who was eccentric. That’s one word for it. Kathy said no one knew the real Kyle, but I’m not sure what she meant by that. She talked about living at the Waldorf Astoria for nine years. Andy asked about her connection to Hilton hotels, and she said Rick’s grandfather had founded it, but it had been sold ten years ago.

Erika said she’d love it if Andy wasn’t hard on her, but he said he was putting her on a skewer and firing up the barbecue. She said she was so ready, and we flashed back to all that. Erika said she was keeping score of who was for or against her, and Kyle said she hoped Erika knew the difficult position they were in. Erika said the thing that had hurt her the most was when Dorit and PK got together with Kyle and Mauricio, and mocked her life and family; it was hurtful. Kyle claimed Mauricio had said all along that he believed Erika, even though we just saw him say just the opposite. Erika said whatever anyone needed to ask, she was there, and Garcelle asked why Erika didn’t understand their concern over being possibly pulled in. Erika said there was nothing that legally tied anyone there to her. The tabloids were going to project, but they couldn’t be fearful. They knew the truth. Sutton said it felt like Erika had run from questions in Palm Springs, but Erika said she left because of the altercation with Garcelle. We flashed back to Garcelle letting the cat out of the bag about Tom calling Erika. Andy said the difference with Erika’s legal issue was that there had been actual victims. It wasn’t like RHONJ where Teresa and Joe had defrauded the IRS. Erika said she understood, however, they were a long way from finding out what happened. She’d loved her husband, and he was now accused of defrauding widows, orphans, and burn victims; she felt horrible. There were also boundaries as to where she could and couldn’t go, but if anyone was proven wronged, she wanted them to be remedied. Andy said the way people perceived it, it looked like Erika saw herself as a victim. Sutton agreed that’s how it was coming across, and Erika (no surprise) got pissed, saying, her life was broken. What should she have done? Andy said her sympathy didn’t seem to be landing with the group or the viewers, and Erika said she had a limited way she could express herself; everything she said was picked apart. The best thing to do in the situation was to sit and be quiet. She wasn’t surprised at viewer reaction, but she was at the women. Kyle said Erika was doing herself no favors with Instagram, and Andy said she had the attitude of consumption and indifference. Erika said she was paid to post, and had to pay the bills, but Andy said it landed differently when there were victims. LisaR said she could understand why Erika was doing it, but she was feeding the fire, and she didn’t think it was helpful. Andy asked what she’d known, and if she had any sense that an alleged theft was happening, and she snapped that she didn’t work for the Girardi law firm. There’s his answer. He asked who didn’t believe Erika, and that was no one, and LisaR added that nobody knew anything. Garcelle suggested there may have been signs that Erika didn’t want to see, and Crystal wondered where Erika’s anger was at Tom, which really riled her. She asked what Crystal wanted her to do. Before the show, she’d said she wondered who she was married to for twenty years. She was very angry. Besides, they didn’t know what she had done or what she was going to do. Andy asked what she was going to do, and she said he’d have to wait and see. We flashed back to a lawsuit against Tom that Erika had been named in some time ago, and Erika said she’d gone to him, and said, what is this? He told her it was bullsh*t, and don’t worry. Everything was resolved like that. She asked Crystal if she seemed angry enough, as she steam came out of her ears.  

Next time, the conclusion of the Erika Show Reunion, Erika says Tom called five times that day, Erika says they can’t find the police report for Tom’s accident, Erika insults Sutton again with the c-word, Erika wants to know if someone will back her TF up, and Erika wants to know why everyone in Beverly Hills is so precious.

🏚 On the godawful Winter House, Gabby (an actual model) thought she was in love with Luke because of his rugged ways. He did build a legit igloo – ice bricks and all – which was pretty impressive, but IMO, he’s bad news. Like any of these guys are good news, but that’s beside the point. He said in his interview that he was oblivious to women coming on to him, but I’m not sure if he actually is, or just pretends to be to make himself more desirable. Paige made out with Andrea in the hot tub, and was already married and living in Italy in her head, and friend Julia was already living vicariously through Paige in her head. After their hot tub make-out session, Andrea fist bumped with Craig, which was juvenile creepy. Ciara was in love with Austen and they made out, but then Lindsay showed up. Apparently, Austen and Lindsay had hooked up back in 2018, and Craig told Austen that he thought Lindsay would have left any boyfriend for him.

Amanda said Kyle was ruining the mood by working. When he wasn’t doing that, he was ruining the mood by drinking too much, and complaining about things like no winterizing in the house. In Lindsay’s interview, she said she and Austen were both single at the same time in a long time. She passed out small bottles of Fireball upon her arrival, and didn’t seem happy when Austen told her that he’d made out with Ciara, pulling her hood up, and pulling the drawstring to hide her face. Because she’s five. In her interview, she said, when Austen came to NYC, they hung out for four days straight. They were having an emotional relationship, and had FaceTimed on New Year’s Eve. Austen told Craig that he loved Lindsay, but had feelings for Ciara, and he was over the love triangle. Ciara, who was keeping her eye on all this, said Austen and Lindsay had the longest hug she’d ever seen. In her interview, she said, since Lindsay walked in, she’d literally been trying to take all of Austen’s attention.

Lindsay ended up getting so drunk, she fell on the floor, and Austen had to carry her to her bed. She told him that she was in love with him, and it wasn’t just because she was drunk. He hated that Craig was right, and in Ciara’s interview, she said Lindsay was f***ing up her sh*t. She thought she was going to have a cute vacation romance. Perfect timing… They did some winter sports, which was cool, no pun intended. I love the snow. They made snow angels, which is the thing I love doing most during the first snow of the season. Gabby thought she totally go to the Arctic with Luke. She’d never go hungry, but she’d need to learn to sew. I’m guessing the Arctic might not be quite as primitive as she thinks. Austen told Lindsay that he loved her like a sister, totally friendzoning her.

I finally noticed Carl was missing, but if I remember correctly, he had a lightbulb moment where he realized he was too old for this sh*t. Which is exactly what bothers me about this whole show, along with its summer counterpart.

Next time, Ciara and Austen go on a double-date with Kyle and Amanda, and Andrea bench presses Paige.   

💬 Dashing Off…

See you tomorrow for soap and fashion, possibly made out of soap. Until then, stay safe, stay appreciating other cultures, and stay honoring both the letter and spirit of the agreements you make.

October 26, 2021 – Sonny Has a Problem With Michael, Lala Spills Brock’s Tea, Salt Lake Latest, Not a Good Look & Riders

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Violet has her eyes covered, and asks if she can look now. Aiden tells her, go for it, and she opens her mouth in surprise. Aiden asks what she thinks, when Finn walks in with a grocery bag, baguettes sticking out of it. Violet says, look what Aunt Elizabeth brought them. Hot house presents. Elizabeth says, otherwise known as housewarming gifts, and Violet goes to the couch, saying, aren’t they pretty? Finn says, they are. He didn’t even know they needed decorative pillows. Elizabeth says, they’re not decorative pillows; they’re floor pillows. They can toss them on the floor when they’re watching movies. Violet says, and eat popcorn, and she thanks Elizabeth. Finn thanks her too, and says, what would he do without her?

Spencer and Esme walk into Kelly’s, and Esme tells him to cheer up. At least his step-grandfather paid his bail. He says, why does everything have to come with a condition? and she says, is what Doc is asking really that bad? He’s no longer in jail. He’s free to have a cup of coffee and the pastry of his choice. He asks how he’s free when Doc is making him get a job? Oh horrors.

Austin opens his office door to Ned, and says he thought he’d seen the last of the Quartermaines when he signed away his father’s claim to ELQ. Ned says, for what it’s worth (🍷), he thinks Austin made the right choice. He’s much better off practicing medicine than getting embroiled in corporate infighting. Austin says he’s not practicing medicine, because the ethics committee has yet to review Brook’s retraction. He doesn’t know what Ned is doing there, but he’s not going back to Pawtuck once the suspension is lifted. Ned says, actually, he came there for a more important reason.

Brook runs into the MetroCourt, and tells Chase, sorry she’s late. She had a meeting at Deception. He says, no biggie. He’s surprised she wanted to get a drink. She says, they’re celebrating Austin dropping his claim on ELQ, and he asks, what made Austin change his mind?

Gladys puts on the recording from her phone to type the Deception meeting notes. She hears Brook say she dreads the day Valentin finds out Bailey isn’t his daughter, and laughs. She picks up the phone, and kisses it.

On the phone with Brando, walking into the Port Charles Grill, Sasha says, the meeting was not without drama. She had to have a chat with Gladys about Brook. Gladys doesn’t think Brook is as maternal as she should be. She can only imagine what’s in store for them when their baby is born. Since the meeting is over, does he feel like meeting for dinner?… All right. She’ll see him later. She goes inside the restaurant, and Willow comes in behind her. Sasha asks if she’s meeting Michael, but Willow says, no. She’s taking a break. Sasha says, from the Quartermaines, the Corinthoses, or both? and Willow says, actually, from Michael.

On the phone with Sheridan, Michael says, Miss Reeves waived extradition, and she’s on her way to Pennsylvania. She’ll be all his soon. He’s arranged for the money to be transferred to Sheridan’s campaign fund. Good luck on his run for State Attorney General. Carly and Sonny walk in, and Michael says, he thinks prosecuting Nina Reeves is the high profile case Sheridan needs to bump him up in the polls. I’m going to say it again, how wise is this whole thing, when Sonny is head of a mob family? Is no one going to notice? Sonny asks if everything is okay, and Michael says, it couldn’t be better. Carly says, it’s big news, Nina being arrested, and Michael says, someone had to.

Sonny asks if that was about Wiley, and Michael says, if Nina’s contact with Wiley is limited because of her legal status, that’s a collateral benefit. But he brought the case to DA Sheridan’s attention because Nina’s actions were criminal, and she deserves to face legal consequences. Carly says she couldn’t agree more, and Michael says, he just hopes DA Sheridan can get justice for Avery and Donna. Two little girls who thought their father was dead are so confused, they think their Grandpa Mike is going to come back to them the same way Sonny did. Justice for Dante, Kristina and Josslyn, and for Carly, for Jason and anybody who mourned Sonny. For everyone’s lives who were upended because Nina took Sonny from them. Sonny says, Nina is obviously a very troubled woman, and she’s sorry for her actions, but Michael says, it’s an act, trust him. Right after Sonny returned, she pulled a stunt that reminded him so much of Nelle, his blood ran cold. (Exaggerate much, Michael?) He says he gave Nina chance after chance, and she betrayed his trust, so yes. He brought Nina’s actions in Nixon Falls to the attention of somebody who’s in a position to do something about it.

Willow and Sasha sit down, and Sasha asks, what’s going on with Willow and Michael? She thought they were solid. Willow says, so did she, but Sasha doesn’t need to be burdened with her problems. She has a job and a baby to deal with, besides, she shouldn’t talk about Michael behind his back. Sasha says she completely understands. She’ll just ask one more question, then Willow can tell her to shut up. Does this thing between her and Michael have anything to do with Nina’s arrest? Willow says, she heard? and Sasha says, the Port Charles Press sent out a notification. She can’t say it comes as a surprise, considering how much grief Nina caused Sonny’s family. Willow says, it’s less the arrest that troubles her, than the fact Michael was behind it, and Sasha says, that does not sound like Michael. Willow says she knows, and Sasha asks if Willow agrees with Michael’s decision. Willow says she doesn’t know. She gets why Michael did it, but he completely blindsided her.

Brook tells Chase, Austin’s circumstances changed. He realized he was better off dropping the lawsuit against her family. He asks, how exactly did his circumstances change? and she says, remember how he told her to engage Austin in conversation? Hear him out about the Leo thing? He says, of course (🍷). Was she actually listening to him? She says, shocking, she knows, but Austin ended up blabbing his diagnosis about Leo. He says, being on the autism spectrum, and she says, yep, which is none of her business, right? Austin violated HIPPA laws, and now his medical license is suspended. Chase says, and that somehow led him dropping his claim to ELQ how exactly?

Ned asks if they can sit, and Austin asks if it’s going to take that long. Ned says, that depends. He’s there to talk to Austin about Leo. Austin says, right. Leo. That sweet boy that everybody pretends to care about, but he’s really just a pawn in Ned’s family’s game. Ned says, Leo is not a pawn to him, and Austin says, he is to Ned’s daughter. Ned says, he knows Brook coerced Austin into admitting Leo might be on the autism spectrum, and Austin says, he almost lost his medical license because of her. Ned says he knows and he’s sorry. Brook can be single-minded when it comes to fighting for something she wants. Austin says he learned that the hard way, and Ned says, and his wife can be single-minded when it comes to her son, as Austin noticed. So he wants to ask Austin, as a doctor, can he give any suggestions to get her to see how they see Leo? How he can get her to move beyond her denial, so they can help Leo?

Esme asks Spencer, what’s the matter? and he says, things don’t taste as good when you have to worry about how to pay for them. She says, getting a job can’t really be that bad. He can do anything he puts his mind to. Remember when they sneaked out of school to attend Fashion Week in Paris? He says, it was her idea not his, and she says, he met all those designers, chatted them up, and the designers gave them a backstage tour. He says, the Cassadine name impresses, and she says, with that name and his contacts, he could pitch Crimson on covering menswear. He says, it’s a women’s magazine, and she says, idea number two. He speaks fluid French, and a couple of other languages; he could be a maître d’ at the MetroCourt. The international clientele would be very impressed. He says, Carly won’t. She wouldn’t even let Britt put them up in her hotel room, remember? She says, okay, idea number three. Give riding lessons to the offspring of the rich and famous, like Charlotte Cassadine. He says, Valentin loathes him already. He’ll be thrilled to entrust his daughter to someone awaiting trial for stalking. She says, okay, fine. She gives up. What sort of job does he think he can get?

Violet runs in, and asks Elizabeth, what’s in the box in the kitchen? Elizabeth suggests they unpack it and find out, and Violet runs back to the kitchen with Aiden. Finn asks if he dares ask, and she says, it’s just kitchen utensils. You know, for cooking at home. He says, people cook in their homes? and she says he’d be surprised. Aiden is upgrading his cooking stuff all the time, so she just brought him the duplicates. Finn thanks her, and Violet comes back in, saying, look what she found in the box. Finn asks what it is, and Aiden says, it’s a cherry pitter, for taking the pits out of cherries. Elizabeth says, if they want to make a fresh cherry pie, and Violet says she does. Aiden says, trust him. Fresh cherries are way better than canned, and Violet asks when they can make one. Finn says, as soon as Aiden gives them his recipe… and helps them make it. Violet says, let’s go see what’s in the rest of the box, and Aiden says, before they do that, he has a surprise for her. She says, another surprise?

Aiden says he and his brothers went through a bunch of photos of their family. He thought Violet would like them to remind her how crazy her cousins are about her. They look through the photos, and Finn thanks Elizabeth for the cherry picker. She says, it’s a pitter, and she brought him some pots and pans. He says they’re going to need those. He went to this place called… the supermarket, and bought actual groceries. Why don’t she and Aiden stay for dinner? Chase is coming over, and she can invite Jake and Cameron. She says, Jake has a class and Cameron is working tonight, and he suggests just the four of them then. It can be a camping trip reunion without the plunge into the icy stream. She says, or Scotty, falling from the sky, and he says he thinks they’re safe there. She says she accepts, and Violet asks if it’s Aiden in a picture. He says that’s his mom when she was little. Violet asks who the man is next to her, and Aiden says he’s not sure. Elizabeth looks over their shoulders at the picture, and looks worried.

Gladys says, online shopping is so convenient. Should she get the brown boots, or the black… or the red? Those are gorgeous. She’ll get the black and the red, and bill the charges to Brook at Deception.

Brook says, if Chase must know, she gave Austin a choice. He could either drop the lawsuit against her family, or kiss his medical career goodbye. He says, so her righteous indignation about Austin revealing confidential medical information wasn’t so righteous at all. He lifts his glass and says, nice one. She says, of course (🍷) it was. Two things can be true at once. She can care about Leo, and use Austin’s arrogant violation of HIPPA rules to her advantage. He says, he just remembers her bringing up medical privacy law, and he told her to go and talk to Austin anyway. Is that where she got the idea to maneuver Austin into betraying medical confidentiality?

Austin says, Ned wants his help with Leo, and Ned says he’s sorry for laying this on Austin, especially after Brook boxed him into a corner. Austin says, she certainly did; he had to choose between his medical career and his father’s birthright. Ned says he wouldn’t be there if he didn’t feel boxed in himself. He can’t turn to Monica, because she’ll go directly to Olivia, and he has to do whatever needs to be done to get Leo the help he needs. Austin says he can’t confirm to Ned whether Leo has autism or not; that’s for the specialist to decide. Ned says, Olivia refuses to take him to see one, and Austin says, she’s not the first mother to react that way. Ned asks how he gets through to her, and Austin says he doesn’t know what Ned is doing there. He doesn’t need the opinion of another medical expert. He needs a marriage counselor.

Willow tells Sasha, she walked in on Michael meeting with the DA of Lantano County, Pennsylvania. He wants to run for State Attorney General, and Michael donated money to his campaign. Sasha says, and in return, the DA agreed to prosecute Nina, and Willow says, but Michael promised her that he wouldn’t make any decisions about Nina in regard to Wiley until they’d talked it over first. When she pointed that out, he claimed that having Nina arrested was a legal matter, and didn’t involve Wiley. Sasha says, it seems like Michael is splitting hairs, and Willow says, doesn’t it? If Nina is convicted for lying about Sonny, she goes to prison, which is a perfect way to keep her from Wiley.

Michael says he’s aware Sonny already knows this, but Nina was able to get in one last visit with Wiley by just showing up at the house, and acting like nothing had happened. Sonny says, there’s no question that Nina took advantage of Michael, and the family, and Michael says, unfortunately, Nina has legal rights as Wiley’s biological grandparent, and Carly says, keeping Wiley protected is the most important thing here. Michael says, and keeping Wiley protected doesn’t have to mean letting Nina off the hook. Nina’s lies kept Sonny away from his family and his life for months; that has to be illegal. DA Sheridan thinks he can make a case for identity fraud. Carly agrees, saying, she had it out with Nina big time, and Michael says she had one angry confrontation, when she had every right to take it a step further. She should have gone to the authorities and had Nina prosecuted. Honestly, he’s surprised he got there before they did.

Esme tells Spencer, forget the last eight ideas. The truth is, getting a job is really about who you know. He says, and who still likes you. She says there has to someone in Port Charles willing to cut him a break, and he says, Britt Westbourne. She’s Co-Chief of Staff at General Hospital. Maybe she can hire him as her assistant. Esme says, there you go. Give her a call. He says, no offense, but that’s probably something best done in private, and she says, go for it. He steps outside, and Cameron comes out. Esme says, hey, and thanks him for not turning his back on Spence, when he offered to speak to his grandfather about defending him. Cameron says he’s sorry Scotty laughed at her, and she says, Spence has quite the reputation in Port Charles. He says, kind of deserved, doesn’t she think?

Ned tells Austin, all he’s asking for is some doctor’s advice on how to talk to Olivia. He thought Austin cared about Leo. Austin says he does care about Leo, but Olivia wasn’t listening to him, and Brook was threatening his medical license. Ned doesn’t get to come there with his hat in his hand, when Ned didn’t lift a finger to help him. Austin opens the door, and Ned says he didn’t encourage Brook, or conspire with her to get Austin to sign away his claim, but he won’t deny that businesswise, it works out in his favor. Austin asks if he’s supposed to applaud Ned for just being honest, and Ned says he doesn’t blame Austin for being angry, but the truth is they’re both on the same side. They both want what’s best for Leo. Can’t they make peace for Leo’s sake?

Brook tells Chase, Austin is a doctor. He knows perfectly well he’s not supposed to share patient information, unless he gets permission from said patient. If he’s too arrogant to keep his theory to himself, then he assumes the risk, and has to face the consequences. Chase says, the point is, she manipulated Austin into saying something he shouldn’t, right after she brought up HIPPA restrictions to him. She asks why he even cares. It’s not like he’s a fan of Austin’s. He says, because Austin is a doctor, and he was worried about a patient, and she took advantage. She says, that was harsh. Will it make him feel any better if she said she did it for her dad? He says, Ned can take care of himself; he doesn’t need her help. He knows she’s feeling guilty about Valentin getting her shares of ELQ, but he thinks her dad’s forgiven her. When is she going to forgive herself? She says, it’s not like she hasn’t heard that one before, but it’s all good now. She’s retracting her claim that Austin violated HIPPA, and he can go back to practicing medicine again. He says, she gave Austin a choice; his medical license or his claim to ELQ. He chose his medical license. Doesn’t that tell her that his heart’s in the right place where Leo is concerned? She says she thinks it shows he was backed into a corner, and he chose the sure thing. He picked his medical career instead of waiting around to see if the court sided with him on his claim. Chase says, she’s not going to give this guy any credit, and she says, oh please. Austin Gatlin-Holt is far from a poor powerless country doctor. He basically declared war on her.

Violet asks if it’s Elizabeth’s daddy in the picture, and Elizabeth says, it is. Aiden says he’s sorry. The picture must have gotten mixed up with the other ones. Violet asks if he isn’t her mommy’s daddy too. She told him that his name is Grandpa Jeff. Elizabeth says, her mommy was right, and Violet says she knows Grandpa Gregory; how come she doesn’t know Grandpa Jeff? Aiden says he and his brothers don’t spend any time with Grandpa Jeff either. He lives really far away. Violet asks Finn if they can go see him, but Elizabeth says, he’s a really busy man. Violet says, too busy to meet her? Why can’t she meet her grandpa?

Carly says Michael is right; she should have done something. She’s stayed up nights, thinking of ways to get back at Nina. He says, she didn’t come up with anything? and she says, she came up with a million things, and then she reconsidered. Michael asks, why? and Sonny says, because he asked her to.

Sasha says, sure sounds like Michael went full-on Quartermaine, and Willow says, and Corinthos. Sasha says, obviously, what Nina did to his family hit him hard, and Willow says she understands that. What she doesn’t understand is why Michael shut her out. They had what she thought was a good talk about the situation. They agreed Nina was in the wrong, but for Wiley’s sake, the best thing they could do is not trouble trouble. Nina hasn’t tried to see Wiley since the truth came out, so why provoke her? Michael agreed, and even thanked her for her insight. Then he turned around and got DA Sheridan to have Nina arrested, without even asking to hear her thoughts on the matter.  

Michael asks, why? and Sonny says he thought it was enough that Nina understood to stay away from him and his family. Michael says, and Wiley? and Sonny tells him, Nina knows it’s Michael’s decision, and he’s with Michael whatever decision he makes. Michael asks if Sonny has a problem with him reaching out to DA Sheridan, and Sonny says, actually, he does.

Sasha says, Michael loves Willow. She knows how much he was hurting when Willow married Chase. Willow says she doesn’t doubt Michael’s love, but for the first time, she feels like he hid something from her. He went behind her back. He led her to believe one thing, while he was doing something else. Sasha says, maybe he can’t fight his upbringing. He is, after all, a Quartermaine and a Corinthos. Willow says, and they’ve seen how his two families deal with people who get in the way. Sasha says, in Michael’s mind, he was only doing what he was taught to do; deal with the problems by any means necessary. Willow says, it’s not what Michael did; it’s that he left her out. He never shared what was on his mind with her. He treated Nina like a problem he could handle. Sasha says she doesn’t blame Willow for feeling hurt, but she guesses Michael didn’t intend to exclude her. In fact, he probably thought going after Nina legally, rather than in family court, was honoring Willow’s wishes. Willow says, that’s what he said, but that’s not how she sees it. Sasha tells her, then say that to him. Tell him how she feels. It’s the best way to work this out.

Carly tells Michael, she agrees with him about Nina, but his dad convinced her that his homecoming shouldn’t be about anger and resentment. Sonny’s back, and they missed him, but they all get to be together, and that’s what’s important. Sonny says, he was downplaying any payback with Nina, because he didn’t want to make this a bigger deal than it is. He wants to forget about it (fuhgeddaboudit pops into my head). Michael says, he can do that right now. DA Sheridan is moving forward with the case against Nina. If she’s convicted, none of them have to worry about bumping into her in Port Charles, especially Wiley. Am I wrong? Wouldn’t Sonny have to be a part of this trial?

Ned says, isn’t Leo’s welfare the most important consideration? but Austin says, Brook didn’t think so. Brook has no soul. She’s like the rest of you Quartermaines, with the possible exception of Monica. Although Monica married into the family, so, thank goodness for Monica, she doesn’t have to share their DNA. Ned says, Brook has a soul, and she also cares deeply for her family. Last year, she made a huge error in judgement, and she’s determined to do everything she can to make up for it. To make it up to him and the rest of the family. Austin says, that doesn’t make what she did to him any less ugly. He loves being a doctor. It’s probably the best thing about him. He wants to help people, and Brook took that and twisted it, using it against him. She weaponized it, and he will not forgive her for that, and he will not forget.

Chase asks if Austin really declared war, or is Brook exaggerating just a little bit. She says, you tell me. After Austin signed the document, giving up his rights to ELQ, he told her this was far from over. It was just the beginning. The guy wants payback. He says, if Austin does try anything, let him know. He’s still a detective, even though he’s chained to a desk for the foreseeable future. She says, he’ll still help her? Even though she may have crossed the line? He says he understands going to extremes, and he’s always willing to help out a friend. She thanks him, and he says, his pleasure. He kisses her cheek, and leaves. Brook looks at her phone, and says, Wyndham’s? She didn’t buy anything. She scrolls, and says, whoa…

Violet says, maybe Grandpa Jeff can talk to her about her mommy, and Elizabeth says, Grandpa Jeff is a doctor like her daddy. He travels all over the world, helping people. She supposes those people need him more than they do. Aiden guesses that’s why they don’t get to see him, and suggests he and Violet unpack the rest of the box. Violet asks if there will be stuff to make brownies, and he says he’ll show her. They go to the kitchen, and Elizabeth looks at the picture. Finn says, sorry Violet couldn’t let it go, but she says, it’s okay. She just wishes she had better answers for Violet. He asks why she doesn’t.

Sonny asks exactly how Michael reached out to the DA, and Michael says, he’s ambitious. He’s running for State Attorney General. Nina is editor-in-chief of a major publication; she’s a real estate heiress. Prosecuting her for any type of crime like identity fraud will generate headlines, and boost his profile. Sonny says so Michael just pointed him at some free publicity? and Michael says, the Quartermaines also made a substantial contribution to his campaign.

Spencer comes back, and Esme says, no luck with Britt? He says, she’s not answering her phone, and the hospital said she’s out of the country. Cameron is bussing a table, and Esme asks if Cameron knows where Spence can get a job. Cameron says, funny she should ask. He just got promoted to assistant manager, so they need a server to take his place. Spencer says, too bad he was arrested, and awaiting trial, but Spencer says, Kelly’s believes in giving second chances to offenders, even ones with no hospitality experience. Spencer thanks Cameron, but gives it a hard pass. Cameron says, that’s fine. Someone way better just applied anyway. He leaves, and Esme asks if Spencer thinks he has a choice.

Elizabeth says she and her dad haven’t been close for a long time, and Finn says, same with his dad and him. They got through it; maybe Elizabeth and her dad will as well. There’s a knock at the door, and Finn answers along with Violet. It’s Chase, bearing flowers, and Violet asks if they’re for her. He says, violets for his favorite violet. She thanks him, and Chase asks if Aiden is still making that seven-layer bar. Aiden tells him there’s some in the kitchen, and Chase says, score. He asks how Elizabeth is doing, and hopes they’re joining him and Finn for dinner. Elizabeth asks if they mind, and Chase says, not if she cooks it. Finn says, that’s hilarious. It’s mac and cheese; how hard can it be? Elizabeth says they’ll let Aiden take care of it, and Chase says he brought Finn a good luck charm, handing Finn a bag. Finn takes out an apron that says, Kiss the Cook, and Violet asks him to pick her up. She kisses him, and says she kissed the cook. He thanks her, and asks, who’s ready to eat? Violet says she is, and Aiden says he’s starving. Chase seconds that, and Finn asks everyone to come to the kitchen, saying, it’s all downhill from here. They leave, but Elizabeth stays behind, looking at the photo.  

Willow asks if Michael ever did anything like that to Sasha, and Sasha says, no, but they don’t share a child. They never went through what Willow and Michael did to protect Wiley from Nelle. Willow says, Sasha gave up her relationship with Michael so she and Michael could be together, and Sasha says, she and Chase did it for Wiley, and have no regrets. Everything worked out for the best. Willow asks how the baby is, and Sasha says, perfect, of course (🍷). She and Brando found their footing once he agreed not work for Carly and Jason. Willow says, so it’s smooth sailing, but Sasha says she wouldn’t go that far. They still have to deal with Brando’s mother.

Gladys approaches Brook, and says, you wanted to see me, boss? Brook says Gladys’s job description doesn’t include buying two pairs of Cartullo boots from Wyndham’s and charging them to the company. Gladys says, she has to look good, and Brook tells her to look good on her own dime. She’s paying back every single dollar, and she’s going to start by finishing the notes from the business meeting. Gladys says she doesn’t think so, and Brook says, excuse me? Gladys sits, at the bar, and says, It’s too late for that today, and tomorrow, she’s taking a mental health day. Brook asks if she’s trying to get fired, and Gladys says, go ahead and fire her, but then she’ll have to reveal Brook’s little secret. Brook says, what little secret? and Gladys says, actually, it’s not that little; it’s kind of major. She recorded it on her phone. Does Brook want to hear it?

Sonny asks, what if a connection is seen between Michael’s donation and Nina’s arrest? Carly says his donation could be seen as a bribe, but Michael says, campaign contributions are completely legal; he has his attorneys filing the appropriate paperwork. The fact is, Nina broke the law. She did it in Lantano County, and it’s up to DA Sheridan if he wants to prosecute. Did he set it in motion? Yes, but Sheridan is an experienced prosecutor, and he wouldn’t move forward with this case unless there was merit. Nina is the one who’s wrong here, not him. He walks off, and Sonny looks at Carly.

Sasha tells Willow, if she wasn’t pregnant, Gladys would have her diving headfirst into a bottle. Willow says, if Sasha wasn’t pregnant, Gladys wouldn’t even be in her life. Sasha says, true, but she wouldn’t trade this pregnancy for anything, despite Gladys being a class-A troublemaker. Willow says she and Carly have had their disagreements, especially about Nina, but fortunately for her, Carly is no Gladys. Sasha says, not even close. She’s not trying to rationalize what Michael, but she doesn’t think he meant to shut Willow out. Every couple argues. Willow says, even if they’re good together? and Sasha says, that’s what makes them so good. They both feel safe enough to disagree. Michael loves her with all his heart. What he did doesn’t change that, and Sasha hopes it doesn’t change Willow’s love for him. Willow says, of course (🍷) not, and Sasha says they’ll work this out, and be stronger for having overcome it. She leaves, and I think, they both went in a restaurant, and neither one had lunch.

Elizabeth sits on the couch looking at the photo, and Finn asks if she’s coming. Chase says, Finn doesn’t know how to turn the stove on, and Finn says, Chase can’t turn it on either. Chase says, it’s one of those European models that only made sense if you’re a Swede, and Aiden says, he’s right; it’s weird. Finn says they need her, before Chase blows them all up; he’s got a match. Elizabeth says she’ll be right there. She tears up the picture, and puts the pieces in her pocket.

Spencer tells Cameron, he’s done some thinking, and he’d really like to take the job, but Cameron says, he already told Spencer, they’re giving someone the job who has actual qualifications. Spencer says Cameron wants him to grovel, doesn’t he? and Cameron says, big time. Spencer says he’s been a jerk, a snob, someone who thought he was better than the townies. The reality is, he’s a disinherited nobody, who’s desperate for a job, and will be eternally grateful if Cameron offers him one. Good enough? Cameron says, it’ll do. Spencer will have to sign some forms, but he doesn’t see why Spencer can’t start as soon as possible. Spencer thanks him, and says, he’ll need someone to train him. Cameron says, that would be him. The thing Spencer needs to know about this job is, Kelly’s is a friendly place. The job starts with a smile, and then you say, welcome to Kelly’s. My name is Spencer, and I’ll be your server today. Give it a shot. Spencer takes a deep breath, and repeats it, and Cameron says, excellent.    

Austin says Ned is trying to convince him that everything Brook did, she did because Ned is her father, and yet he refuses to accept, he can’t understand, everything Austin is doing – everything he was doing – he was doing for his father. Ned’s hypocrisy is mind-blowing. Ned tells Austin, what can he say, except Austin is right? The Quartermaines fight ferociously to protect our own, and there’s no room for integrity when it comes to keeping the family safe. Austin says, that’s where he and Ned are just not on the same page. His father left this world with his integrity intact. He writes something on a pad, and says, he plans on doing the same. He hands the paper to Ned, who asks, what’s this? Austin says, it’s the number of a specialist that can help him with Leo. Share it with Olivia, don’t share it with Olivia; he doesn’t care, just leave him out of it. Ned says he appreciates the name, but he can’t make an appointment without Olivia’s consent; Austin knows that. Austin says, then Ned has a beautiful challenge ahead of him, but it’s no big thing. It’s only Leo’s entire future that’s at stake. He really does hope Ned understands how utterly important it is that he convince Olivia to do the right thing for her son.

Brook asks what Gladys wants her to hear on her phone, and Gladys takes her phone out, saying, something about Brook telling Maxie that Valentin isn’t really her baby’s daddy. Brook says, liar. She never said such a thing. Gladys plays the recording, and Brook hears herself saying, she dreads the day Valentin finds out Bailey’s not his daughter.

Tomorrow, Willow says she thought she was Michael’s family too, Portia asks Marshall where he read that, Nikolas tells Alexis to think long and hard before going any further, Nina tells Jax to stop trying to save her, and Ava says she doesn’t have to share anything with Carly.

Vanderpump Rules

Bringing you up to speed, last week, Sandoval pitched a baby fit about Katie wanting to be involved with the new bar, because she yelled at him at Stassi’s book signing, nearly ten years ago.

James asked how Raquel felt about hanging out with Lala one-on-one, and she said she was always concerned, since Lala was unpredictable. In James’s interview, he said, Lala had picked on Raquel because she was an easy target. She was beautiful, sweet, and his girlfriend.

Katie said Sandoval had lost his mind, and Schwartz said he was like a broken record. Meanwhile, Tom whined to Ariana that no one knew what Katie had done to him. He needed confidence, and didn’t feel Ariana was supportive at dinner last night. Ariana said, it wasn’t about the book signing, and Tom said, everyone else was over it, but he wasn’t. Katie told Schwartz that if Sandoval didn’t want her involved, he should say it, not go back to something that happened a million years ago. He was screaming at her, talking about how she’d been screaming at him. In Katie’s interview, she said, it was really about her making him admit he was wrong, and that was like death. Ariana told Sandoval that she’d had a night planned with Katie and Schwartz, and he’d messed it up. They were coming over to test cocktails, and now that wasn’t important to him. Katie and Schwartz talked about going to the fertility doctor, and in her interview, Katie told us about how she had been pregnant about ten years ago. It was early in their relationship, and she wanted to have kids, but the timing was bad. In Schwartz’s interview, he said he had less than $300 in his bank account. If Katie had wanted it, he would have manned up, and done his best to work it out. He wasn’t 100% about a lot of things in life, but he was 100% sure he’d be a good dad.    

In Lala’s interview, she said she never thought James and Raquel would last. James was a hot mess. We flashed back over James and Raquel’s relationship, and Lala said she had been placing the blame on Raquel for her and James’s relationship going south. She needed someone to blame, but if it hadn’t been for Raquel, she believed James would be in a dark place now. In Raquel’s interview, she said she was always antsy around Lala, and Lala smelled fear like a shark. She wasn’t giving Lala the satisfaction. In Ariana’s interview, she said she’d wanted to do a cocktail subscription box, and after their book, Fancy AF, came out, everyone was in lockdown making cocktails. She wanted to test the cocktails to see if her instructions sucked. Scheana, Brock, and Schwartz came over to do the testing, and Schwartz told Scheana and Brock about Sandoval’s freak out. Sandoval said the experience had been traumatic, and he had major PTSD because of the public humiliation. I have no words. Schwarz told him that he wasn’t the victim in that moment, and suggested he see a therapist. Score one for Schwartz. It’s about time he said something to that ninny. Sandoval said he didn’t like Schwartz’s energy when he was around Katie. Schwartz told him to go burn some sage. Not really, but he said Sandoval was condescending, and if he wanted Katie to train the staff, he was going to do it. Sandoval moaned, then he’d just have to live with it? In Sandoval’s interview, he said he’d fought against it, but realized it wasn’t going away. Everyone had supplies in front of them, and made the cocktails per Ariana’s instructions. Scheana couldn’t figure out the jigger, but Brock was the only one who didn’t get it quite right. In his interview, he said he was good at cracking a can. Sandoval got sushi, and Brock told them about Lala questioning Scheana about his kids. In his interview, he said, don’t judge him if you don’t understand the situation.   

LVP spoke to Scheana, saying, she was thinking about inviting Scheana and Lala over for tea, along with their babies. Scheana suggested she invite all the girls, and in her interview, she said there was no way she wanted to be there with just Lala. She needed back-up, and couldn’t turn to Summer, since she didn’t speak yet. The Toms joined Lisa at the flower shop, where they chose blooms for TomTom. She asked if they’d worked out their finances yet, and Schwartz said his home equity loan had been denied. In his interview, he said that they had a lot of equity, but their mortgage was at a high rate. They needed to refinance, and do it over. He wanted to cry. Welcome to being a responsible grown-up. It makes me want to cry too. Sandoval said he had enough to cover Schwartz, who said he’d be on a power trip. In Sandoval’s interview, he said, technically, he would have controlling interest. Schwartz talked about his sperm getting tested, and in his interview, he said, he was pretty sure everything was fine, but what if he was destined to only be a fur father?

In James’s interview, he said, every bartender in town knew how to make a Pumptini for him, and now they knew how to make a Shirley Temple. All the couples gathered at The Belmont restaurant for dinner, and Brock apologized to Lala for his words at the baby playdate. He told her that he had one goal, and that was to take care of his family, including his kids. Lala said if someone tried to keep her from Ocean, as a mom, she’d come in guns blazing. He said she was in a different situation. His past had led to this. Scheana said she and Brock had discussed it, and it wasn’t Lala’s business. Brock said the children’s mom was keeping him from the family, and Lala said she wasn’t attacking him; she just wanted to understand the situation better. In her interview, she said she wasn’t worried about Scheana. If anything happened, Scheana would bounce back, but Brock had a tendency to leave the kids, as well as the woman. I don’t know if you can call something a tendency based on once. Raquel made a toast that included a bunch of dirty jokes, and it was a big hit. In her interview, she said, not to brag, but she was pretty sure she’d won the entire night.

While Schwartz and Katie were waiting at the fertility doctor, Schwartz imagined a baby Sandoval; late for everything and smelling like cigarettes. Katie was told she had a normal uterus, but Schwartz’s semen analysis showed morphology. The doctor explained that the sperm were like tadpoles, and the head was where the DNA was. You want normal shaped heads, and Schwartz was at 4%. She asked if he smoked, drank, did drugs, pot, or vape, and he said he smoked weed once a week, did mushrooms once in a while, and had 10 to 20 drinks a week. 😮 By no means am I judging, and I’m all for getting my drink on, but holy! She asked if he used hot tubs or saunas, and he said he took a lot of baths. She told him to cut his drinking down to four drinks a week, and no weed. As far as baths went, she explained, the testes were on the outside because they needed to be cooler.

In Lisa’s interview, she said, when someone you saw grow up had a baby, it was like, how did this happen? The girls arrived at Villa Rosa, and Lisa couldn’t believe Scheana was already putting hair extensions on the baby. I can’t say I’m all that surprised. Lisa had a gorgeous table outside set for tea, and said it was the first time she’d had them over where she wasn’t serving them alcohol. Meanwhile, at Katie and Schwartz’s, there was tons of fast food – wings, burgers, and such – and the guys gathered. In Brock’s interview, he said he didn’t want to destroy the American people, but their food isn’t the greatest. Schwartz gave him a taste of Cheez-Wiz and he pronounced it a six. Katie told the girls that it was all good news at the fertility doctor; she had a pristine uterus. I’m pretty sure that wasn’t how the doctor described it, but they clinked tea cups over it. Tom, on the other hand, told the guys that the majority of his sperm had misshaped heads, and he was told only four drinks a week. We saw that he’d already consumed four drinks in the last hour. Scheana talked about Brock, and Lala said she and Scheana were in a good place now. She wasn’t trying to attack Scheana or put her on the spot, but when they were at dinner, Brock pulled her aside, and talked about some pretty intense things. She asked if Scheana knew why Brock couldn’t see his kids; he had a domestic violence charge. In Lala’s interview, she said, Brock had pulled aside at Belmont, and said he’d been in a relationship, and they’d had a child. Things had gotten physical. Scheana insisted that Brock hadn’t done anything, but Lala said it took a lot for a court to forbid someone from seeing their kids, and there was a restraining order. Again, I have no clue what happened, but it might be different in another country. She keeps leaving out that factor. Lala said things were good now, but anything could happen. She wanted Scheana to be smart. It wasn’t about just her anymore. She had a child.

In Scheana’s interview, she said she knew it sounded terrible, but Lala was acting like it was new information. And it had nothing to do with why Brock wasn’t seeing his kids. Lala told Scheana not to be stupid, but Scheana said, something had happened a long time ago, and it wasn’t as extreme as Lala was making it out to be. Lala said Brock was also behind in child support, and Scheana said as soon as that was taken care of, Brock would have access to his kids. In Lisa’s interview, she said, Scheana always acted like everything was perfect. It was an interesting perception. Scheana said she knew Brock, and asked if they could get off the topic. Everyone seemed bummed, and Scheana texted Brock, asking why he told Lala; she’d been blindsided. Brock said he’d had enough of Lala, and Sandoval wondered why Lala was coming after him. Brock said he’d spoken to Lala about his past. She was a POS, and it was a low blow. In James’s interview, he said, Lala always keeps it real, and Brock shouldn’t have confided in her. He needed to put his thinking cap on. Outside, Brock told Schwartz that he hadn’t met Lisa yet, and now it was going to affect the way she saw him. He got weepy, and said he missed his kids. At the tea, Ariana stepped on the crickets by saying, she was glad they got everything out while they were there. Lisa asked if anyone wanted more tea. In the middle of a crisis, she’d make tea. 

Next time, poker night, the Toms look for another partner, and Lala gets into it with Sandoval about Brock.

❄️ A Little Salty…

What’s happening with the Salt Lake crowd.

🔒 Better Start Giving Some F***s…

She must be taking PR lessons from Erika Jayne.

⚾️ Sliding Into Home…

Tomorrow, join me for some soap and another chapter in the endless RHOBH Reunion. Until then, stay safe, stay undeterred, and stay not troubling trouble.

October 25, 2021 – Nina’s Extradition Hearing Happens, Delivery Captain On Deck, a Wedding, a Puppy, a Game & the Season

Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the Tavern in Crete, Britt asks for a bottle of Lafite and two glasses, but the bartender says their friends cleaned him out. Britt says, they’re not friends, just people they know. Jason gives the bartender some cash, and asks if he’ll go buy some more, and the bartender leaves. Britt can’t believe they came all this way. The compound is empty, and the guards are gone, along with Peter and her mother. And the bridge where Drew was shot, does Jason really think Drew could have survived that fall? Jason says he doesn’t know; that’s hard to say. Drew was a Navy SEAL, so he has a better chance than most. Britt says, all this mess because her brother is a psycho. He leaves a trail of destruction everywhere he goes. It has to stop before someone else dies.

Valentin is agitated his sleep, and says, no, I won’t let you. He calls out, and Anna wakes him, saying, he’s just dreaming. He says he’s at the hospital, and she confirms he is. He says he’s at the US Consulate in Greece, and she says, yes. What was he dreaming about? He says, Peter August. He was trying to get Valentin’s girls, Charlotte and Bailey.

At the MetroCourt, Brook shows Sasha a picture of Bailey, and Sasha asks if she could be any cuter. Brook says, that’s her BLQ2, and Sasha asks if Brook is really calling her that. Brook says, it’s her nickname for Bailey, and Sasha says she can’t wait until her little angel arrives, and Bailey can have a playmate. Brook says she’ll have to give Sasha all of their hand-me-downs. She knows it sounds kind of snobby, but it would be a shame for all that baby couture to go to waste. Sasha asks if Brook was this anxious when her due date was getting close, but Brook says, nah, piece of cake. Maxie comes in and says, that’s their Brook, grace under pressure, and Brook says, nice of her to join them. Maxie says she’s on time, and Brook tells her, she didn’t say she wasn’t. She thought this was supposed to be a sit-down to discuss Deception’s spring marketing campaign. Maxie says, it is, and Brook asks why Maxie chose this place instead of the office, but Maxie says, she didn’t pick this place; Sasha did. Sasha says, it wasn’t her idea. She was told Maxie chose it. Maxie asks, who gave her that idea? when Gladys comes in and says, surprise! Tuna tartare and shoptalk; is there anything better?

Walking into the MetroCourt on the phone, Michael thanks DA Sheridan for expediting Nina Reeves’s arrest. The Quartermaines are happy to donate to his campaign for state Attorney General. Carly comes out, and asks if Michael is there to check up on his mom, and he says, among other things, hugging her. Jax walks in, and says he came to talk to Michael, but he’ll wait at the bar. Carly says she’s sure they have business to discuss; what else would they have to talk about? She’ll wait at the bar. She leaves, and Jax says, Michael’s mom still hasn’t forgiven him for defending Nina. Michael says he’s sure, and Jax says he’s sure Michael feels the same way, especially since he advocated for Nina being in Wiley’s life. Michael says, Jax blackmailed him, and Jax says he prefers to call it something else, but Michael says he wouldn’t. Jax says, fine, let’s go with blackmail, and Michael says he’s glad Jax is finally admitting it. Now that he has, if Jax wants to make things right with them, Michael has a couple of ideas.

Nina is led into an interrogation room, and she tells the officer, if he could just arrange for her to see acting Commissioner Scorpio, she’s sure she can explain everything. Scotty walks in, and says, do not say nothin’.

Sonny goes to the MetroCourt bar, and Carly says she loves that she gets to see his face every day. How was his visit to Spencer? He tells her, he said everything he needed to say, but doesn’t think Spencer enjoyed it. She asks if Sonny is worried about Spencer, and Sonny says, he’s going to have a bumpy ride, but he’ll make it. She says, okay.. what’s wrong? and he says, Nina got arrested. Was that her?

Scotty tells the officer that he’s Scott Baldwin. He represents Miss Reeves, and he’d like to confer with his client. Could the officer get a cup of coffee or something? The officer says he’ll be right outside, and Nina asks what Scotty is doing; she didn’t hire him. Ava comes in, and says she did. Nina used her one phone call to reach out to Ava, so Ava reached out to Scotty. Nina says she appreciates that, since she doesn’t know how experienced the Crimson attorneys are in criminal law. Scotty says, not good. They’re snobs, and kind of concerned about their manicures. Nina says, while he’s there, they have to fight this extradition thing before she ends up in a jail cell in Pennsylvania, and Ava says that Scotty better tell Nina. Scotty says, the quicker they cart her off to the keystone state, the better.

Britt says she guesses Jason is right. Drew was a SEAL, and he did survive two years in that compound. After that, what’s a couple of gunshots and falling off a bridge? One thing he and Jason have in common is, they’re very hard to kill. Jason says, they came to Greece to find her mother, and hopefully get Peter in the process, so they just need to be focused… His phone dings, and she says, anyone we know? Or is it someone offering him an extended warranty on his car. Ha-ha! I get those calls all the time, and I don’t even have a car. He says, it’s Dante. He wants Jason to call him, but he doesn’t have any bars. She tells him, feel free to step outside; she’s not moving. He says, no? and she holds up her foot and says, hello? Hiking that compound was at least an equivalent to a 10K, maybe a marathon with stairs. He says, she kept up okay, and she says, now she’s exhausted. Besides, someone has to wait for the bartender. He says he’ll be outside, and she rubs her foot, saying, mutter, you know I love you, but my feet are killing me.

Anna tells Valentin, no one is coming for his daughters, certainly not Peter. He says he’ll kill Peter first; where is he? She says, running for his life somewhere, and Valentin says, he’s a spiteful son of a bitch. What if Peter does come after his girls? She says, he won’t. Valentin needs to stop worrying about the what ifs. He says they both know what Peter is capable of, and she asks him to do something for her to humor her. Close his eyes. He does, and she says, instead of picturing Peter coming for his daughters, why doesn’t Valentin picture what he would do to him if he tried? The hell Valentin would rain down on him; the torment, the punishment, his cries for mercy, Valentin’s refusal. She sees Valentin’s blood pressure going down, and tells him to think about that for a minute. How does he feel now? He says, wonderful, fresh as a daisy, and she says, a little revenge fantasy never hurt anyone. He says, she’s twisted, isn’t she? and she says she has her moments. They have to get him ready to go home, so he can get the surgery he needs, and he asks if she’s sure about that. This might be her big chance to get rid of him, and she’s blowing it. She says, the thought crossed her mind, but she realized, even at her angriest when his worst brings out the worst in her, she sees that life would be pretty boring without him.

Brook says, it’s bad enough to schedule a business meeting in a restaurant. Why would Gladys make them think it was someone else’s idea? Gladys says, they know all about the beauty biz. She, on the other hand, knows how to shake things up and keep it interesting. She puts her phone on record, and says, that’s why they hired her. Sasha says, Gladys was hired to assist Brook, and Gladys says she’s assisting all of them by upgrading their work environment from stale and boring office to posh and swanky, since it’s a posh and swanky business. Maxie says she likes what Gladys has to say on paper, but hates the execution, and Gladys says, enjoy a little variety in their workday. Do they really want the same old same old, when they can have the croque monsieur? They have to try it; it’s so French. Brook says, when she joined Deception, it was to influence lovers of glam and beauty, not to help Gladys experience things she can’t afford on her salary, and charge them to the company expense account. Gladys says, if that’s how she feels. If they don’t want a stimulating office culture… Brook says, they’re not even in the office, and Gladys says, if Brook didn’t want to get out in the world, maybe she should have stayed home with her baby. Brook does have a daughter, remember? When they first met, it seemed like Brook wasn’t even sure she had a kid.

Jax says he’s keen to make amends, so what does Michael have in mind? Michael says, it helps that Jax got his father out of Nixon Falls as soon as possible. The Corinthos family is grateful, and we won’t forget it. Jax says he’s not going to pretend Sonny’s his favorite person. He just hopes everyone can move forward without revenge. Michael says, what some people call revenge, other people might call justice. Unless it’s Jax’s position that Nina shouldn’t have to pay for what she did.

Nina asks if Scotty is seriously suggesting she not even fight this extradition. Is Ava on board with this? Ava says, the way Scotty explained it to her, is that Nina would be playing a sort of long game. Nina asks, how long? Fifteen to life? Scotty says, the DA of Lantano County is looking for a high profile case, so he can position himself to run for state Attorney General, and Nina asks, how is woman keeps man’s identity from him high profile? Is it because it’s Sonny? I just had a thought. She should say she wanted to keep the godfather out of Port Charles. Scotty says, rich fashion editor holds mystery man hostage away from his past, to break up his family. Comeuppance. Ava says, and that’s going to get the guy elected? Is there no other crime in Pennsylvania? Scotty says, that’s his point. That’s why he’s trying to get Nina away from Sonny’s influence. Nina says, money can cross state lines. Why isn’t it better for her to just stay there? She can’t give up. Ava says, nobody is saying that, and Scotty says, he’s just filing motions and endless depositions, just stalling for time until they mount the proper defense. Nina says, while he’s stalling, she’s sitting in a six by nine cell with a stainless steel toilet, and he says, that’s why he’s telling her to waive this extradition. Go to the keystone state, they’ll charge her, and he’ll get her out on bail until the trial. She says, and if she fights extradition? He says, she’ll end up there at the PCPD, and because she’s high risk, she won’t get bail, and the lawyers and judges will take however long they want. Ava says, this way, Nina just gets it over with and she’s free, and Nina says, until the trial. Scotty says, there’s no guarantees. She wants to fight it there, they fight it there. It’s Nina’s call.

Carly says, Nina got arrested? and Sonny says, she didn’t know? She says, no. She’s certainly not upset about it… He says, if she didn’t call the cops, who did? and Carly says she doesn’t know. She doesn’t know what kind of laws Nina broke when she kept Sonny’s identity from him and didn’t tell his entire family he was alive, but someone in law enforcement must have thought they had a case. He says, why bother? He knows Nina caused a lot of pain, but it’s not like she’s going to be a repeat offender. Question. Do they even have a case without Sonny’s cooperation? Carly says, you never know when it comes to Nina, and he says, we helped a lot of people when we were in Nixon Falls. He doesn’t think the cops are going to… She says, wait a second. We? and he says, there were a bunch of lowlifes putting the squeeze on Lenny and Phyllis. She says, he told her about that, but not that Nina was involved, and he says, Nina was in Nixon Falls most of the time he was. Carly says, it’s crazy. He had this whole other life there, not just tending bar, and he says he wasn’t the only one leading another life. She and Jason took over his business and dealt with Renault. She didn’t know what was going on with him; he didn’t know what was going on with her… She says, because of Nina. Nina helped his friends in Nixon Falls; great, whatever, but she’s still responsible for what she did to Sonny, and to her and their family. And if that’s not a crime, she doesn’t know what is.

Scotty says he doesn’t want rush Nina, but they have less than an hour. She says she knows, but it’s a lot to process. He says he’s going to make some phone calls, and asks Ava to talk Nina into the sense God gave a goose, to do the right thing. He leaves, and Nina says she appreciates Ava coming back after Spencer’s hearing to help her. Ava says, believe her; this is a lot more pleasant than that was. Plus, she wanted to clarify something. She knows Nina thought she had an agenda when she encouraged her not to give up on Sonny. Nina says, didn’t she? and Ava says, yeah, but she does really care about Nina, and wants what’s best for her. Please listen to Scotty. She knows he comes across as a clown sometimes, but that’s on purpose, so people don’t see what a shark he is, and he is a shark. And a shark is what Nina needs right now. Nina says she can’t argue with that, and Ava says she knew Sonny would be angry with Nina, but she never thought he’d stoop to this. Nina says she can’t believe it, and Ava says, she was counting on him to be more like Mike in Nixon Falls, huh? Nina says she was. If she and Sonny would just talk. They put their heads together to figure out how to help Phyllis, and it was a good talk. It was great or mind-blowing, but still, she thought she and Sonny could find a way to co-exist. Ava says, so why did he turn on Nina?

Jax asks, what makes Michael think Nina’s not paying for her misdeeds now? and Michael says, because she feels bad about it? Jax says, everyone knows what she did, keeping Sonny’s existence a secret. People are asking for her blood, and he’s sure more will pile on. And now of course (🍷) there’s Wiley. Michael says, what about him? and Jax says, he’s just a kid now, but eventually he’s going to know what his grandmother did to his grandfather. Michael says, Wiley has a right to know, and Jax says, no one understands that more than Nina. Michael says, if Nina is so committed to Wiley, why didn’t she bring his grandfather home to him? Why didn’t she come to them when she had the chance? Or any time in between the day when she found out his father was alive, and the day he came home to them?

Brook asks who Gladys is to criticize her or anyone as a parent? and Maxie tells Brook not to make a scene. Gladys says she stands by what she said, and Sasha says Gladys needs to back off, but Brook says she wants to hear this. Gladys says, then get ready for an earful, because Brook, just like the rest of her generation, wants it all. Brook asks what that has to do with her baby, and Gladys says, exactly. What Brook wants is all for her. Little Bailey can fend for herself. Now take Gladys and her son Brando… Sasha says, a word? Now? and gets up. They step over to the bar, and Gladys says, the truth hurts. Sasha says she needs to remember that Brook is her boss, and Gladys says, how can she forget? Okay, she didn’t go to secretarial school, and doesn’t know shorthand… Sasha says, who takes shorthand? Does it even exist anymore? Gladys says, she’s text savvy, so her phone makes up for that. She records everything, and later, writes it down on the computer, so she doesn’t lose anything. Sasha says, that’s actually not a bad idea, and Gladys says, of course (🍷) she adds emojis like rainbows and stars, so she remembers who said what to who. Maxie’s a unicorn, Brook is a bat, and Sasha… Well, Sasha gets the idea. Sasha tells her, try a little harder not to get on Brook’s bad side, and Gladys says, she has a good side? Sasha says she means it, and Gladys can start by not questioning Brook’s love for her baby. Gladys tells Sasha, if she says so, but if you ask her, little Bailey is going to need to see a therapist.

Anna says she owes Valentin an apology, and he says, what for? She says, she just left him at that tavern to sleep off the ouzo. He says, it wasn’t just ouzo, and she says she realizes that now. It was her first mistake, and he ended up in a prison with Drew and Obrecht. He says, on the bright side, he got to spend some quality time with his uncle, who, as it turns out, might be his father. She says she’d like to have seen Peter turn on Victor, and Valentin says, he’s in custody, but he’s unscathed. What’s the word on Drew? She says, nothing yet, and he says, if Drew hadn’t turned back on that bridge to cover him, he’d be dead now. He hates this. He hates this bed, and he hates this hospital. He hates not being able to protect his daughters, and hates not being able to go after Peter. She tells him, stop all this complaining about not being able to do stuff, and just be thankful he’s alive. When they were waiting for the medivac, she was checking his pulse, his breathing, and holding pressure on his wound, and to be honest, she thought he wasn’t going to make it. And when she thought he wasn’t going to make it, she realized she wouldn’t have the chance to say… He says, say what?

Britt looks behind the bar, and says, they really are out of everything. Is this a WSB operation or a frat party? Russell walks in, and tells her, don’t scream. She’s coming with him, She says, before either of them go anywhere, he’s going to want her to have a look at his wound. We see he’s bleeding profusely from his leg, and he says, he’s fine. Let’s go. She says, he doesn’t understand. She’s a doctor, and he’s bleeding out, so he can aim his gun someplace else… He tells her, shut up. There’s a ferry leaving soon, and they have to get out of here. She says, just curious. Did he take that bullet working for Peter August, and if so, was it worth it? and he asks why she cares. She says, because she’s doctor, he’s wounded. She gets a little louder, and says he can hold her hostage later. Right now, let her help him. He says she’s wasting her breath. They’re waiting for the ferry now. Move. Jason comes out, and grabs Russell from behind, taking the gun and knocking Russell down. Russell writhes in pain, and Britt tells Jason to get the first aid kit from behind the bar. Jason brings it to her, and she tears Russell’s pants so she can get at his wound. Jason asks where Obrecht and Peter are, and Britt says, he may have nicked an artery. If he bleeds out, they may never find her mother or Peter. The interrogation can wait. Right now, she needs Jason to help her keep him alive.  

Anna tells Valentin that she wouldn’t have the chance… She wouldn’t know what to say to Charlotte, or Bailey, one day when she’s old enough. He thanks her for thinking of his girls, and she sits on the bed.  She says, he has to rest now, and get ready for the plane to take him home. He asks her to give him the phone, so he can call Charlotte and Bailey, but she says, a phone call like that will be emotionally taxing, and his vitals aren’t all that strong. The doctor will have her head. He needs to keep his strength up. He says he loves his girls, and Anna is all the strength he’ll ever need. She takes his hand.

Maxie says, Gladys is such a pain, and Brook says Gladys drives her crazy. Maxie asks what Gladys was talking about, and Brook says, when she first met Gladys, she asked if Brook had kids, and it was when Bailey was first born. Her brain just sort of froze for a second, and now here they are all these months later. Maxie asks if Brook is worried about Gladys bringing it up again, and Brook says, what are the odds? Does that woman let anything go? Maxie says, when the subject of Bailey comes up, there’s one thing Brook needs to do; just be a mom. Brook says, it’s not like she doesn’t have practice, when Sasha and Gladys come back. Sasha asks if Gladys wants to say anything to Brook, and Gladys says, like what? Brook says, it’s fine, and thanks Gladys for her take. She’s given Brook a lot to think about. Gladys says, to be honest, Brook really shouldn’t have to think… Sasha suggests they get on with the meeting, when Brook’s phone rings. It’s Anna, and Brook asks where she is. Anna says she’s in Greece; she’s with Valentin. Brook says, Maxie is there, so she’ll put it on speaker. Valentin gets on the phone, and tells her to put Bailey on; tell her it’s daddy.

Ava tells Nina that she has years of experience with Sonny. If he’s decided to forego their detente and declare war – Nina says, it looks like he has – she needs to remember her secret weapon. She knows the truth about what happened between them in Nixon Falls. Nina says, nothing happened with her and Sonny in Nixon Falls, and Ava asks how she can say that. Nina says, she and Mike had feelings for each other, and that’s all that happened. Just a few dances and a few kisses. Ava says, Nina and Mike fell in love, and Sonny remembers that. Have it ready in case she needs it. Nina says she hears Ava, but what if they’re wrong? What if Sonny isn’t the one who called the cops? What if Carly already knows the truth, and had her arrested? Ava says, then she’s playing right into Nina’s hands. Because then Nina will turn on the waterworks, and appeal to that part of Sonny that’s connected to Mike, and fell in love with Nina, and she’s home free.

Jax says he’s not denying what Nina did, but it’s over. Sonny is home. Michael asks if he’s supposed to let it go. She stole nine months of his father’s life, and let his mother, his siblings, all of them, grieve for a man who wasn’t dead. How is he supposed to forgive that, and how can Jax ask him to? Jax says, he’s not asking, and Michael says, let’s keep it that way. Carly and Sonny come in. Carly asks Jax if he’s heard from Nina, and he asks, no: why? She says Nina has been arrested, and Jax phone rings. Carly says, it’s probably her now, but Jax says, it’s not Nina. He answers saying he’s kind of busy; what’s this about? Scotty says, Nina has been arrested and her extradition hearing is about to begin. Jax asks, where? and Scotty says, Pennsylvania. Where does he think? He knows Jax has a working and a personal relationship with Nina, and Jax confirms he does. Scotty suggests he come there as soon as he can. Nina needs all the friends she can get. Jax tells the others, it was Scotty. Apparently, Nina’s been arrested. She’s facing extradition charges in Pennsylvania. Carly says she wants to see that, and Michael says he does too. Sonny asks, why? and Michael says, because Nina has it coming. They all leave, but Sonny lingers a moment, then follows. 

Jason tells Britt, the ambulance is on the way, but once Russell is gone, they have no leads on her mother. She asks what Jason suggests, and Jason says, maybe she can get him to talk. She says, how? By appealing to his better angels? Jason says Britt is the one who patched him up, and Britt leans closer to Russell, saying, she’s looking for her mother, Liesl Obrecht. Britt thinks her mother was in the compound; she might be Peter’s prisoner. Does he know where she was taken? Russell says, keep him alive, and he’ll take her there. Britt says, take her where? and he says, Cassadine… Cassadine… Island.

Brook tells Valentin, Bailey’s not there; she’s in daycare. He says, she’s only one floor down from the office. Walk him down there. Brook says, she would, but they’re not in the office. She looks at Gladys, who says, how was she supposed to know? Brook says, she’ll definitely tell Bailey that daddy is thinking about her. He sounds strange; is he okay? He says he’ll be home soon. Tell Charlotte, je’teme. Anna takes the phone, and says, Sam and Dante are coming back to Port Charles, and they’ll explain everything then. Brook says, explain what? What’s wrong? Anna says, Valentin was injured, and he’s going to be airlifted back to GH. Brook says, what? and Anna asks if Brook could talk to Charlotte, and get her prepared. Brook says, of course (🍷). Just tell him, the girls love him and they’ll be waiting for him at home. Anna says, she’ll tell him, and Sasha says, about this meeting… Maxie suggests they pick it up tomorrow. She doesn’t think any of them can concentrate, knowing Valentin’s in the hospital. What does Brook say? Brook looks stunned, and Maxie asks if Sasha and Gladys can give them a minute. Sasha says, of course (🍷), but Gladys doesn’t budge, and Sasha says, Gladys? Gladys says she’s Brooks assistant; she should stay. Sasha just looks at her, and she says, fine, and follows Sasha out. Maxie asks if Brook is okay, but Brook says she doesn’t know. It’s not like she and Valentin are… She can’t help thinking how much Valentin loves his children. She dreads the day he finds out Bailey isn’t his daughter. We see Gladys’s phone on the table, and it’s still recording.

Ava says, whatever Nina decides, she’s in Nina’s corner, Nina says, she knows, and hugs Ava. She sees Jax come in, and Scotty asks if she’s made a decision. Michael, Sonny, and Carly walk in, apparently using the same Star Trek transporter as Jax. Carly smiles, and Sonny looks confused.

An officer asks if Jason and Britt knew the man, but Jason says, they just came in for a drink when the guy showed up. His friend is a doctor. Britt says, the man was bleeding heavily. Like she told the paramedics, he might have nicked an artery, but they have him stabilized, so he should be okay. The officer thanks them, and says, one more thing. They haven’t done anything wrong, but something tells him that they’re trouble. He suggests they take the next flight back to the US, and stay there. He leaves, and Britt says, so they call Anna, right?

Anna says, the phone call exhausted Valentin, and he says, if the worst should happen… She says, it won’t, and he says, if it does, he needs her to make sure Brook tells Bailey that daddy was thinking of her until the end. Anna says, he can tell her himself, when he’s home and holding Bailey in his arms. He says, so that’s it then? She’s going to let him live after all? She says, it seems rude not to. He’s survived far worse than to die from something as prosaic as an infection from a bullet wound. He asks if she isn’t too clever to appeal to something as prosaic as his vanity, and she says she does what she can. He’s going to be all right. He has to be, for Charlotte and Bailey. He says he thinks she left someone off the list.

Brook tells Maxie, the fact is, Valentin’s a wonderful father. He was all in the  moment he saw… their baby. Sasha and Gladys come back, and Sasha says, Gladys understands the meeting is tomorrow. Gladys says she found a bowling alley with the cutest little snack bar… She’s kidding. They’ll do it in the office, and she’ll prove to them just how invaluable she is. She picks up her stuff, puts her phone in her bag, and leaves.

Scotty tells Nina, just like that bloodthirsty bunch to show up for the kill. Ava says, how could Sonny do this to Nina? Did she do something wrong? Yeah, obviously she did, but to go this far? Carly says, Sonny didn’t have Nina arrested, although he had every right. Ava says, so Carly just wants the credit. Really? Michael says, it’s not Carly’s doing, or his father’s. If Nina needs someone to blame, she should blame herself. Nina says, it was him? and Michael says, facts are facts. The law was broken and justice needs to be served. Jax says, this isn’t justice; this is revenge. Michael says, that’s for the court to decide, and Scotty tells Nina, pay no attention to those hyenas. Let’s get you settled. Ava says, remember, Nina still has that ace up her sleeve. It’s there when Nina needs it, and so is she. The bailiff says, all rise. The honorable Judge Lowe is presiding, and he tells everyone, be seated. A motion has been filed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for the extradition of Nina Reeves. Scotty gets up, and says his client waives her right at this hearing, and welcomes extradition to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Outside the restaurant, Sasha thanks Brook and Maxie for being so patient with Gladys. Brook says she wants hazard pay, and Sasha says she deserves it. She’s really hoping Gladys takes advantage of all the chances they’re giving her, learns from her mistakes, and ends up being a real asset to Deception. Brook rolls her eyes, and she and Maxie keep walking.

Gladys types from the recording on her phone. Brook says, she can’t help thinking about how much Valentin loves his children. She dreads the day Valentin finds out Bailey isn’t his daughter. Gladys stops what she’s doing, and looks at the phone.

Anna tells Valentin, the ambulance is going to take him to the airport. From there, he’ll get a plane that will take him to Port Charles, and a helicopter will take him to GH. It’s easy as 1-2-3. He says, let’s hope the surgery goes as simply, and she says, yeah. The orderly asks if he’s ready, and he says he is. He tells Anna, good luck looking for Peter. He’ll see her on the other side. She says, nice try. He’s not going anywhere without her. She takes his hand.

Jason tells Britt, he trusts Anna, but not looking for Peter. He doesn’t trust the WSB; they don’t care what happens to her mother. She says he’s right. To them, people like her mother are either assets or liabilities. She guesses the same could be said about Drew, and he says, the WSB’s priority is terminating Peter. Their priority is finding her mom. She says, then let’s go. Next stop, Cassadine Island.

They leave the tavern, and the bartender makes a call. He says, he thought Nikolas would want to know…   

Judge Lowe says that Nina is remanded to the custody of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, effective immediately. Court is adjourned. Scotty tells Nina, he’ll have her out on bail like that, and snaps his fingers. An officer asks Nina to stand, and puts handcuffs on her. She looks at everyone as she’s led out, and Ava looks at Sonny. 

Tomorrow, Esme asks if Spencer thinks he has a choice, Ned tells Austin that he came for an important reason, Elizabeth wishes she had better answers, and Michael asks if Sonny has a problem.    

Below Deck

Eddie tells us, Saint Kitts is wild, exotic, volcanic, and explosive. Being able to see the world and experience different cultures, that’s effing yachting.

Christophe Harbor Marina. In Eddie’s interview, he says, Eddie 3.0 is back. He’s still short and out of shape, but now he’s a first officer. God help him. He boards My Seanna, and he’s met by Captain Sean, who tells him that Captain Lee is going to be late, and he’ll be starting the charter. We see a clip of Eddie video chatting with Captain Lee, who says he had a medical issue, and he’s waiting for the doctors to release him. Captain Sean tells Eddie that there have been a lot of changes on the boat; they have new jet skis and a new rescue tender. Eddie says, the jet skis are sweet. We see a clip of Captain Sean on a jet ski, and in his interview, he says, he got his first license when he was 18, and was always a captain. He wasn’t always a good captain, but he’s had a lot of experience. He shows Eddie around the boat to see what’s new, and in his interview, Eddie says, he’s not sure what being a first officer entails, and it makes him a little nervous. Being with a captain he’s never worked for, adds extra anxiety and stress to an already stressful job.

Chief stew Heather is super stoked, and in her interview, she likens her personality to popping a bottle of champagne. She’s a beacon of light, but she doesn’t screw around. No job is too big or too small. She’s only 25, and climbed the ladder fast, but earned her position. She meets Eddie, who explains that Captain Lee will be coming later. Deckhand Rayna is new to the business, but was deckhand for a fishing charter in Alaska. When deckhand Jake arrives, in Rayna’s interview, she says she likes what she sees. Deckhand Wes rounds out the group, and in his interview, he says he was a sailboat captain, but needs more experience with charters. There are more options in yachting, as well as more money. Eddie introduces himself to the deckhands, and Heather and stew Jessica start doing laundry, which I thought was weird, since they just got there. How much dirty stuff could they have? Captain Sean tells the crew to come for a meeting in the sky lounge.

The captain tells them that he knows they expected Captain Lee. Captain Sean was the delivery captain, and had expected him too. In the meantime, they’re stuck with him. He’s not good at cracking the whip, but he’s excellent at swinging the ax. Don’t do stupid. He won’t yell, he’ll just fire you. In Eddie’s interview, he says, this is not a good sign. The captain says, don’t piss him off, because if he has to run shorthanded, he will. Don’t put him in that position where he has to do something they may regret. He’s not a sit around kind of guy. He looks for how to make things more efficient. Chef Rachel will be there soon, the first charter is at 3 tomorrow, and provisions are coming in shortly. Heather meets with stews Jessica and Fraser, who genuinely likes to make things perfect. Jessica says she loves doing laundry, and in her interview, she says, she’d been helping to care for her elderly grandparents, decided on going to cosmetology school, and came back to yachting because it was easy money. She put herself through school, and needs some. Heather names Fraser second stew because he’s had more experience on bigger yachts. She assigns Jessica to the laundry, and in Heather’s interview, she says, the stars have aligned. They check out the rooms see what they’re working with. Eddie shows the deckhands around, and they get to work. Provisions come in.

Rachel arrives, and Eddie tells the deckhands, she’s damn talented, but batsh*t crazy. We flash back to Rachel saying, eat my cooter, and in Eddie’s interview, he says, it makes him nervous. In Rachel’s interview, she says, once again, she’s late. Captain Sean says she looks too glamorous to be a chef, since apparently he’s never seen Padma Lakshmi. In her interview, she says, having a new captain has blown her mind. She tells Heather, last year, the pantry was a nightmare, and asks her to set it up asap. The captain calls Eddie, Heather, and Rachel for a preference sheet meeting. The primary is Nikki Foster, who’s in broadcasting, and bringing along a crew of her girlfriends from college. They want high end batik outfits and local delicacies the first night, and a high end Pajama party, with a Jenga game that has questions and dares on the blocks. The second day, they’d like a beach day, and for the captain to join them for a dinner. In Heather’s interview, she says she’s nervous. A group of girls can get crazy. She remembers frantically looking for her dignity after a night in San Francisco. She says she’s looking to Fraser to handle housekeeping, and for Jessica to be queen of the laundry.

The crew gets ready for the guests, doing last minute touches. In Eddie’s interview, he says, Captain Sean has good intentions, and he respects that, but at the same time, the captain is crazy. Alarms are ringing. The captain gets all Martha Stewart about the pillows. The guests arrive, and are met with champagne and warm towels, and they talk excitedly about the trip. In Rayna’s interview, she says, sounds lit; lit like Bic. Captain Sean tells them, if they need anything, let any of them know, and they’ll do their best to take care of it. He asks if they’re ready to have fun, and gets an enthusiastic response. Heather shows them around, and says they’ll get hors d’oeuvres set up. Drinks are poured, and in Eddie’s interview, he says, come back to me, Captain Lee. The guests take photos. In Captain Sean’s interview, he says, the marina is unforgiving. On either side are volcanic rocks, the water is shallow, and the wind whips through at 25 knots. He’s done it before, so he knows he can do it again; he’s confident. He tells Eddie, nice job on deck, and they all still have their limbs. Guest Kelle asks for a chocolate martini, and in Fraser’s interview, he says he has no idea how to make a chocolate martini. The last boat he was on, he was head of housekeeping. After tasting the drink, Kelle says, Fraser is her guy. Eddie instructs deckhands, and they go into Whitehouse Bay. In Heather’s interview, she says she’s not a fan of telling someone something more than once. You have to be willing to do what you’re asked. That’s how she climbed the ladder as fast as she did.

In Rachel’s interview, she says she never knew how Eddie actually felt about her last season until she saw the show. We flash back to Eddie saying Rachel is a monster when she drinks, which isn’t entirely untrue, and she says, does she trust him not to do it again behind her back? No, she doesn’t. Fraser pops some champagne, further endearing himself to the guests. Heather talks with Rachel about the seafood extravaganza that’s happening for dinner. Heather says she gets the vibe the guests want it served as opposed to buffet style, and they settle on putting the food on platters, and the platters on the table. In Heather’s interview, she says, there’s so much going on, she doesn’t feel fully prepared. She’s dealing with a Caribbean themed dinner, a pajama party, and a new crew. She’s waiting for the nail to drop.  Heather says, they’ll have to do service, while still managing turndowns. The stews put on Caribbean garb, and the seafood extravaganza is served. Nikki says she’s in seafood heaven. Heather tells Rachel that the guests are thrilled. Jessica feels like she’s ironing the same thing over and over, and Fraser says he’s running on nothing. In his interview, he says he was told the first rule of yachting is, there needs to be a plan, but there’s no plan. Right now they look like headless chickens. Heather needs rules or it’s going to end in tears.

The deckhands blow up balloons. Fraser asks Rachel if it’s still day one, and she laughs. Eddie and Heather make up the Jenga game, and Heather invites the guests to the sky lounge for the pajama party. Rayna helps Fraser with the dishes, and Heather asks Jessica to be on the floor at  6:30. The Jenga finally falls, and the guests go to bed at 11:30, which is great for the crew. Luxuriously early, as a matter-of-fact. Fraser cleans up the mess.

Second Day of Charter. Captain Sean asks how Rachel looks so glamorous so early in the morning. Rachel is making crab and regular eggs benedict, which we all know is my favorite breakfast food in the world. One guest wants the crab, but no eggs or benedict. Eddie talks to Jake about the beach stuff, and Nikki requests Heather come to her cabin. Heather asks how it’s going, and Nikki says, not so well. There’s still a trash bag on the chaise from yesterday. We flash back to Fraser leaving it there. In Heather’s interview, she says, it’s such a rookie mistake. It’s completely unacceptable. There’s no room for it in yachting. She asks him to tidy the master (a term I thought we weren’t using anymore) to his best standard. For the rest of the trip she’d like excess attention paid to it. He’ll have to pull head of housekeeping out of his butt. As he walks away, he mumbles that he’s confused, being told housekeeping, and then being put on service. Captain Sean finds something out of place, and says he’s going to kill someone. Fraser asks Heather to meet him in the master, and asks if there was anything in particular the guest pointed out, but she says, just that the trash thing was still there. He says he doesn’t want to let her down, but needs time to focus. Doing both is hard, because he can’t pick up the slack if there is any. In her interview, Heather says, he doesn’t realize there’s a bigger picture. He needs to trust her leadership. There’s no room in yachting for mistakes.

The captain says he wants to ferry the beach stuff back and forth. He’s taking Jake, and Wes can stay on board. He gets fussy over the outdoor furniture arrangement at the beach, and in Eddie’s interview, he says, Captain Sean’s methods are irregular. He’s trying to do his job, but he’s not getting chance. The captain keeps radioing Eddie for different stuff. Rachel tells Heather that working with her is like night and day from the last season. She’s excited. Captain Sean wants another canopy tent, and a guest asks if they shouldn’t be on the beach already. The captain calls Eddie, who says, the guests are getting restless. Another guest wonders, where is the fun? Eddie tells the captain they’re kind of behind, and Captain Sean says it will just be a half hour. Eddie hauls cushions to the tender, and in his interview, he says, Captain Lee better be here soon. He can’t do an entire season where he’s doing everything. It’s a sh*t show. We hear Captain Sean on the radio, saying, Eddie, Eddie…

This season, Captain Lee says he might be late, but he’s definitely back; a tropical jungle paradise, Hamilton, 80s neon, a fender gets loose, Jake says Rayna is the hottest bird on the boat, Eddie says crew romances can burn a boat to the waterline, Heather wants the high school drama to stop, Fraser says it feels like a volcano is about to erupt, and Captain Lee tells someone to pack their bags.

👰🏻 They Do…

Very cool wedding clothes. It sounds like a fun party.

🐶 The Best Surprise…

It’s a Pug!

🍂 Let’s play a drinking game. Have a shot whenever you hear, see or smell pumpkin spice. Oh, you’re drunk already?

💤 Time To Crash…

Same bat time, same bat channel tomorrow for soap and some Rules. Until then, stay safe, stay venturing outside your comfort zone, and stay not confusing revenge with justice. Don’t be a hyena.