Category Archives: Fear the Walking Dead

Feb24

February 23, 2023 – Cyrus’s Mission Is Interrupted, Serenade, Mom’s Here, New Scribes, Now Leaving, Bad Joke, Awful TV, Dead Talk, Fun On 4 Legs, 10 Quotes On the Nose & To Be

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

At the hospital, Sam thanks Elizabeth for allowing Danny to volunteer at GH, and Elizabeth says, they can always use an extra hand. Sam says she thought it would be a good thing for him to do while he’s grounded, and Elizabeth asks how she’s doing with everything. Sam asks if she means her teenage son sneaking out and getting drunk in the park, and Elizabeth says, yeah, that. Sam says she can’t believe this is happening already, and Elizabeth says, if it makes Sam feel any better, we tend to grow out of it. Sam says, we? and Elizabeth says, former wild child at your service. Sam says, Elizabeth is right. She just… Elizabeth asks if she’s worried something deeper is going on, and Sam says, yeah. She just hopes she’s wrong.

Tracy absently stirs her drink at the MetroCourt bar and Gregory says, fancy meeting you here. She asks if he’s getting takeout, but he says he’s having dinner with his sons. She sees Finn and Chase at one of the tables, and says, how nice. He says, and her? and she says she just had a meeting with a Deception shareholder and she’s about to go home. He suggests she join them, but she says she doesn’t want to impose. He says, don’t be silly. They’ll be family soon enough.

Kristina is having a sonogram, and Dr. Navarro says, everything looks good. Molly wonders if she’s just saying that, but TJ tells her, doctors don’t just say that. The doctor says, growth measurements are right on target and all signs point to a healthy baby. Molly says, yay, and she and TJ kiss. Kristina says, they made it through the first trimester, a major milestone, and Dr. Navarro says, most miscarriages happen during the first four weeks of pregnancy, and they’re at week 14. And they know the sex. Do they want to find out? Kristina says, yes, but Molly and TJ look at each other.

Ava watches as Sonny comes into the penthouse. He goes to the bar, picks up a short glass, and slams it against the wall.

John says, Anna is going over his head? and she says she doesn’t want to, but she will. He keeps obstructing her investigation. It’s almost as if he doesn’t want O’Neill to tell them who’s been buying those guns. He says, and now she’s questioning his integrity, and other guy tells Anna that she’ll want to hear this. She tells him, put it on speaker, and they hear O’Neill say, even in protective custody he’s vulnerable. Cyrus asks, why so fearful? and O’Neill says, the Feds don’t know who they’re up against. Cyrus says, God will protect him if he has faith. At least let him share O’Neill’s burden. Who is this man whose threats are worth a lifetime in prison?

Elizabeth asks if Danny has been acting out in other ways, and Sam says, maybe, but she doesn’t know what’s acting out normally or what is normal teenage behavior. Danny joins them and Sam asks how it went. He says, fine, and Elizabeth says, he was great when she asked him to help the other volunteers. Sam says she’s proud of him, and he says he was mostly in the mailroom. Can they go home now? Sam says, sure. Where’s his coat? He says, it’s probably in the fourth-floor lounge. Whatever. He’ll just get it tomorrow. She says, not whatever, and he says, they’re just going to the car. She tells him to get his coat, and he reluctantly goes to the elevator. She says, thank you, and Elizabeth says, totally normal teenage behavior for sure.

Elizabeth sits with Gregory and sons and asks how it’s going living under the same roof. Chase says, it’s great, and Finn tells him, says the guy who doesn’t live there. Gregory says, hey, and Finn says, just kidding. It is great. Violet is over the moon having her grandpa there all the time. Gregory says, and the feeling is mutual. They built a pillow fort the other day. Tracy says, there better be evidence, and Gregory says, but of course (🍷). He shows her his phone, and she says, that is impressive. He says, they thought so, and she asks, how many pillows do they have? Finn says, more than he was aware of apparently, and Chase asks to see it. Finn asks if he has a little fort envy, and Chase says, maybe. When he was Violet’s age, his forts tended to disintegrate into a pile of pillows, but this actually has some structure. Violet could become an architect or an engineer one day – Gregory struggles with his fork and drops it, then Tracy slips him hers – after her singing and dancing, and does she still want to be a circus performer?

Kristina says, is it a girl? It’s a girl, right? Gender can affect the way you carry… Molly says she thinks that’s just an old wives’ tale. She and TJ discussed it, and they decided they don’t want to find out. TJ says, they want the baby’s sex to be a surprise, and Kristina says, of course (🍷). Sorry. She was just caught up in the moment. That should 100% be their choice. TJ says, they might change their minds, and Molly says, yeah. For now. The doctor says, their secret is safe with her, and Molly thanks her and says, they would, however, like to hear the heartbeat. Dr. Navarro says, they’ve got it, and puts the sound on. Kristina says, whoa, and Molly says, it sounds like a horse galloping. The doctor says, nice and strong, the way they like it. TJ tells Molly, that’s their baby, and Kristina takes Molly’s hand.

Sonny picks up the pieces of glass, and Ava asks if he got anything out of Selina’s guy. He asks if she was listening, and she says, he and Selina left to talk to her guard, who she gathers has some kind of loyalty problem. Sonny says, he gave up Selina’s location in exchange for a quick payoff, and Ava says, so she was ambushed like they were. So what did this traitor have to say for himself? Sonny says, he didn’t say anything at first, and she says, let her guess. Sonny found a way to convince him. Sonny says, he claims the guy coming after him calls himself Stone.

Cyrus says, as a man of God, he can help. As a former inmate, and sinner, he can understand. O’Neill says, better than talking to law enforcement. Protective custody is going to be hell. They’ll be the only people he sees. Cyrus says, well, take advantage of this moment while he has it. Tell him his story. Dante says, this is it, and O’Neill says, almost a year ago, he was contacted by a guy… Heather suddenly appears and says, Renault, you charlatan. Who you scamming now? Dante says, dammit, and John asks, who’s that? Heather says, do not let this man fool you. Cyrus is not a man of God. He’s a good for nothing liar.

Finn says, Coney Island? and Chase says, yeah. Finn says, Tracy is flying everyone to Coney Island the night before? and she says, yes, because that’s typically when the rehearsal dinner happens, the night before the wedding. Finn says, Coney Island? and Gregory asks, what’s wrong with it? Finn says, ask him at the reception when Violet is in the throes of a sugar crash. Gregory says he thinks someone is projecting here, and Finn says he thinks that someone’s him. Gregory says, oh really? Because if memory serves, he took Finn to a state fair when he was 8 years old, and he discovered the magic of cotton candy. (I love that stuff!) He had it everywhere; on his fingers, in his hair, on his eyebrows even. Tracy says, that’s adorable, and Finn says, absolutely adorable. Chase tells Finn, that’s what people say about him, and Finn says, that’s enough. Coney Island?

Sam tells Elizabeth that Danny’s never been grounded before. She’s starting to think maybe that’s because he just hasn’t been caught. Elizabeth asks if she thinks he’s sneaking out, and she says she doesn’t know. Maybe it’s because he’s been so quiet lately. She knows that happens with teenagers his age, but she doesn’t know. What if something is actually wrong? Elizabeth says, Jason was a man of few words. Like father, like son? Sam says, Danny reminds her more and more of Jason every day. The way he frowns when he’s concentrating or something, and the way he considers himself Scout’s biggest protector. Elizabeth says, that’s very Jason-like, and Sam says, so yeah, when Danny says less than 10 words to her in a day, she has to remind herself that Jason wasn’t a big talker. But Danny being quiet is just different somehow. Elizabeth says, because he’s a kid, and Sam says she knew if it was important enough, Jason would eventually tell her. She just doesn’t think Danny knows better. And while she wants to hold him accountable for all his screw ups, she doesn’t want him to look at her like she’s the enemy. Elizabeth says, it’s quite the ride, isn’t it? What does Dante say? Sam says. Dante’s been wonderful, amazing, and supportive, but she knows how that goes in the end. Her kids, her life. She just wishes there were a rule book or just someone to tell her what to do. Elizabeth says, you and me both.

Dr. Navarro hands Molly an envelope and says, if they do decide they want to know the sex of the baby. Molly tells TJ that he’d better hang on to it, and gives the envelope to him. He says, she doesn’t trust herself? and she says, not even a little. TJ thanks the doctor for accommodating his schedule and seeing them tonight, and she says, no problem. Everything looks great with the pregnancy. Next appointment in four weeks? Molly says she’ll call Dr. Navarro’s office, and the doctor says, goodnight, and leaves. Kristina joins them, and TJ thanks her for coming to the hospital this late. Molly says, TJ really wanted to be here for the appointment, and Kristina says, of course (🍷). Molly asks if everything is all right, and Kristina says, everything is fantastic. Their baby’s a rock star. Molly says, and so is their surrogate, and TJ says, they were going to dinner if she wants to join them, and Kristina says, no. She has plans, but thanks them. Molly says, plans with Blaze? and Kristina says she’ll call Molly tomorrow and jets to the elevator. TJ says, is it him or was that weird? and Molly says, it’s not him.

Cyrus says, a few cleansing breaths might help, and Heather says, cleanse this. She tells O’Neill that Cyrus says he leads a flock, right? Well, he led her little daughter to her death. Cyrus says, that’s not true, and she says, the hell it isn’t. By the way, what is Cyrus doing here anyway? She thought that his sister – she leans in toward O’Neill – the mayor got him out of here. Cyrus says, Laura had nothing to do with his release, and she says, yeah, right. O’Neill gets up and says, Laura Collins is his sister? (like people wouldn’t know this) and Heather says, he might as well be talking to the mayor herself. She and her big brother keep no secrets. He says, she doesn’t know anything about his relationship with Laura, and Heather says her little girl came to him for help, and he denied her, but he shared her every word with his sister, and now her little girl is dead. Her daughter died because of him. She launches herself at Cyrus and pushes him back. His microphone is muffled in the struggle, and Anna runs out of the room, followed by Dante and John, who tells other guy, find out what happened to that audio.

Elizabeth says, the teenage years are hard on everyone, us, them… Sam says, especially them. She just wishes she knew what to do. Elizabeth has raised boys. How? Elizabeth says she tries to meet each of them where they’re at. The way she parents Cameron is not how she operates with Jake. Hard lesson learned, by the way. It’s like they all have their own language, and she needs to find a way to translate. Sam says, that sounds simple, and Elizabeth says, she knows. Sometimes a shared experience is a good way in. Like doing something Sam loves, or they love, or if Sam can possibly find something they both love doing together, she finds it helps them open up. Sam thanks her and says, that’s really good advice. Elizabeth says, it took years of practice, when Danny comes out. Sam asks if he’s ready to go, and Elizabeth thanks him for his help today. Same time tomorrow? He says, yeah, tomorrow, and walks off with Sam. He says, time to go back to the old lock-up, and she says, it’s their home; it’s not a prison. He says, could have fooled him, and she asks if he wants to go somewhere else. She walks around the corner, comes back, and asks if he’s coming.

Ava says, Stone. As in Stone Cates Memorial AIDS Wing? Sonny says he thinks someone is trying to use Stone’s memory to rattle him, and she says, that is despicable. He says he never knew she cared so much, and she says, it happened to her or doesn’t he remember? Esme used Kiki’s memory to hurt her, to torture her, on Ryan’s orders. Sonny says, for what it’s worth (🍷), he’s glad that son of a bitch is dead, and Ava says, that makes two of us. You’d think it would give her just a little bit of closure, a little peace. He says, nothing can give you that, and she says, no.

Chase thanks Tracy and says, to have her involved in the wedding planning means a lot to Brook, and him. Gregory says, Tracy’s dedication is unparalleled. She’s been collecting RSVPs personally. Chase says, what? and she says she dropped by The Invader to… Lois wants a final headcount ASAP. He says, they just got the invitations back from the printer yesterday, and Tracy says she knows, but he knows Lois. Patience is not one of her virtues. Chase says, right. Don’t leave him in suspense. Is Gregory coming to the wedding? Gregory says, since he’s officiating, he thought it might be prudent to show up. And Alexis has agreed to be his plus one. Chase says, nice, and Finn says, that’s great. Tracy says, yes, it’s great, and Finn says, what about Tracy? Who is she bringing to the wedding?

TJ says, it felt strange, didn’t it, when Dr. Navarro asked them if they wanted to find out the sex, and Kristina answered, when she knows they’re the ones making all of the decisions about the baby. Molly says she thinks Kristina just blurted it out, Kristina being Kristina. She’s all in with everything she does, this pregnancy being no exception. He says he guesses, and she says, Kristina seemed totally cool when they said they didn’t want to find out, but he says, she doesn’t get to be cool. This has nothing to do with her. (Okay, he’s officially annoying me.) Molly says, and she knows, or she’ll get there. And it actually has a lot to do with her. Their baby is dependent on her sister for the next 8 months. Of course (🍷) she’s invested in the life inside her. Isn’t that what they want?

Kristina knocks at Blaze’s hotel room door, and Blaze lets her in. She says, Kristina had an OB appointment tonight, right? Did everything go okay? Kristina says, yeah. The baby is growing appropriately, strong heartbeat. It’s all good. Blaze says, thank God. The look on Kristina’s face made her think something had happened. Kristina says, all good, and Blaze says, then what is it? Obviously, something’s wrong. Kristina tells her that she wouldn’t say wrong, and Blaze asks if she wants to pick another word. Kristina says, more like strange.

John charges toward the room where Cyrus is, but Dante says, wait, and Anna says, if he goes in there, he’s going to blow Cyrus’s cover. We hear Heather yelling, and John says, what cover? This operation’s been cursed from the start. There’s no saving it now. They go in, and Heather tells Anna, that man is a false prophet. Off to the side, Cyrus has his arm around O’Neill’s shoulders and is talking to him. Heather continues to rant, and Anna tells her, calm down. Two guards hold Heather back, and she says her daughter died because he wouldn’t help her. Cyrus says, don’t hurt her. Heather is a lost soul with a troubled mind, and Heather says, he’ll pay for not helping Esme. Her daughter will not have died in vain. John says, enough, and tells a guard to take O’Neill back to his cell. Anna tells the guards, don’t hurt her, please. Just get her out of here. As O’Neill is led away, Cyrus says, go in peace, my friend, and John tells them to get Heather out of here. She wails that they’re hurting her as she’s taken away, and Dante asks Cyrus, what the hell was that?

Kristina says, when that heartbeat filled the room, it was like… Blaze says, magic, and Kristina says, yes, magic. And it was so real. It was more real than anything has felt so far. There’s a baby in there. Blaze says, that’s what happens when you become pregnant, and Kristina says, of course (🍷). Obviously, the pregnancy test is proof and morning sickness is definitely proof, but seeing and hearing that little blob… Blaze says she gets it, and Kristina says she can’t wait to see who this little person becomes. Blaze says, so what’s the issue? and Kristina asks what she means. Blaze says, Kristina is making everything sound so positive, but she said things felt strange. Kristina says, at the appointment, Dr. Navarro asked if they wanted to know the sex and she immediately without hesitation said yes. She wasn’t even thinking about it; it just came out of her mouth. Blaze says, and Molly and TJ told the doctor, no, and Kristina says, being them, they had discussed it ahead of time. Of course (🍷), and as they should. They’re the parents. It’s just… Blaze says, strange, and Kristina tells her that she feels bad saying this, but in that moment, she felt like the baby was hers. And she knows that it’s not. She knows it’s 100% TJ and Molly’s. She gets that. Her voice breaks, and Blaze takes her hands and says, right now, today, that baby is a part of Kristina’s body. Of course (🍷) she would think of it as hers. They hug.

TJ says, of course (🍷) they want Krissy to care about their baby, and Molly says, and remember, that’s her little niece or nephew in there. If it were Molly who was pregnant, Kristina would still be at every appointment and demanding to know the sex. He says, good point, and she says, this is new, for all of them, and like they say, three can be a crowd. He asks if she doesn’t mean four, and Molly says, four. He kisses her and she says, they’ll find a way through this, together. TJ says, any second thoughts? and she says, second? Try third, fourth, fifth… She’s fighting the urge to know and planning everything around the sex, but they’re not really the pink or blue type of people anyway. He says, their son or daughter is going to be whoever they want to be anyway, and she says, the ours part is not negotiable.

Walking onto the footbridge, Danny tells Sam that he used to come here with dad, and she says, it was his favorite place to think. He says, it makes sense. Quiet, no traffic, no people. She says, that’s why he liked it. That’s why she likes it to. He says, it’s cool… Why did she bring him here? She says, because she feels closer to his dad here and she thought maybe he would feel closer to him too. His dad was going to teach him how to ride. 16 isn’t that far away, but it’s not the same as learning from his dad. He says, no, it’s not.

Ava says, you’d think after all these years, she’d have a better handle on her grief. And normally she does she guesses, but losing Spencer brought it all back up to the surface. He asks if she’s been thinking a lot about Kiki and she says, constantly. He says he understands. Spencer’s death blew everything up. For all of them. Now he has this faceless enemy who’s using Stone’s name. She says, Stone was very important to Sonny, wasn’t he? and Sonny says, Stone represents all the people he couldn’t save. She says, he can’t be responsible for everybody. That’s not possible. He says, that’s not how he feels. His mother, Lily, Courtney, Morgan. He couldn’t do anything for any of them. She says, he can’t blame himself, but he says, how could he not?

Cyrus says, what does Dante mean, what was that? Wasn’t he listening? Anna says, his mic went out after Heather showed up, and he pats himself and says, it must have gotten loose during their struggle. Dante says, Heather really doesn’t like him, does she? when John joins them. Cyrus says, he must be Agent Cates, and holds out his hand. John ignores him and tells Anna, this whole thing is a colossal waste of time. Cyrus says, on the contrary, and Anna asks what he means. He says his talk with Mr. O’Neill was very enlightening.

Tracy comes back to find only Gregory at the table and asks if it’s something he said. He says, Finn is checking in with Violet, and Chase is in the restroom. It wasn’t lost on him what she did there. She says, what she did where? and he says, getting up to powder her nose when Finn inquired as to her date for the wedding. She says she had to use the rest room, and he wonders if he can ask her something. She says, as long as it has nothing to do with her plus one, and he says, did she really stop by The Invader to confirm his RSVP? She says, Lois wasn’t really sure if he was bringing somebody to the wedding. He shouldn’t be surprised. He’s experienced her… enthusiasm firsthand. He says he just got the feeling she was there for something else, and she says, if she was, it slipped her mind. He says, okay. He guesses it wasn’t important then. She says she guesses not, and sips her drink.

Sam says, Danny can talk to her about his dad any time. He knows that, right? He says, it feels weird sometimes, and she says, why? Because of Dante? Yes, Dante loves him, but in no way would he ever try to replace Jason. Nor would he want Danny to avoid the subject of his dad. Danny says he’s been missing his dad a lot lately, more than usual, and she asks if he wants to tell her about it. He asks if she remembers Wyatt. His dad came home last month after serving two years overseas. She says, Wyatt must be really happy, and Danny says, he is and he’s happy for him. They used to talk about their dads all the time. She says, and how they missed them, and he says, and now Wyatt’s dad is back. Is it terrible if he kind of wishes he wasn’t? She says, no, not at all. She thinks it’s normal that he would have somebody to relate to, and that’s comforting. Not having that can be sad, but he can talk to her. He steps away from her and says he’s good.

Sonny says he wants to do everything he can to find out who’s threatening his family, and Ava says, and Selina Wu is going to work with him. He says, they’re going to use her guard to lay a trap for whoever’s gunning for him. She says, and Selina, and he says, right. He’s going to tell Stone’s guy that they’re setting up a secret meeting at some isolated location where it’s easy to ambush. She says, really though, it’s a trap for Stone’s gunman, and he says he’s going to find the leak in his organization and he’s going to destroy it. Then he’s going after Stone. She says, he’s suffered some betrayal lately, hasn’t he? and he says he has. Carly, Michael, Nina… She says she thought he and Michael reconciled, and he says he thought so too, but it was all a lie. She says, maybe in their own way, they thought they were helping him, and he says, going behind his back? He can’t trust them. He can’t trust anyone. She says, what he can’t do is go through life alone, so if he really thinks he doesn’t have anybody else, he has her. He says, her? and she says, yeah. Her. He says, who would have guessed? and they laugh.

Kristina thanks Blaze, and Blaze says, for what? Kristina says, for letting her process her feelings without judging her. It’s all really confusing. But one thing she knows with absolute certainty is, this baby is TJ and Molly’s and that’s what matters. Blaze says, she’s amazing, but Kristina says she really isn’t. Blaze says, yes, she is. Being a surrogate is an act of love. Kristina loves that little baby inside her, nurturing him, or her, for her sister and TJ. Kristina says, that is exactly it. That is exactly the thing. She loves this baby for them. Blaze says, no. For all of them. This baby is her family too. Kristina says, yeah. It’s her niece, or nephew… Blaze says, look at her. Everything Kristina is feeling is not only normal, but healthy. Kristina tells Blaze that she always knows what to say, and Blaze says, for some reason, it always comes easy with Kristina. She sees Kristina, and what she sees takes her breath away. They kiss.

John says, Cyrus got useful information from O’Neill. How? The woman busted in, and all hell broke loose. Cyrus says, true, but after the guards pulled her off, Heather kept them conveniently occupied, giving him and O’Neill a chance to continue their conversation. Dante says, why would O’Neill tell him anything, especially after he found out the mayor is Cyrus’s sister? and Cyrus says, that was a setback for sure, but ultimately, the man wants to unburden his soul. Anna says, Cyrus threatened him? and Cyrus says he appealed to O’Neill’s better self. John says, enough with the semantics. Did O’Neill tell him who’s behind the mob hits or not?

Blaze says, stay with me. Don’t go. She and Kristina kiss, and then they get busy. Afterwards, they spoon in bed. (Kudos, GH!)

TJ and Molly come out of the elevator and Molly says, first trimester’s over. Their baby is healthy. Does he know what this means? He says, they don’t have to keep it a secret anymore, and she says, they can tell the whole world they’re going to be parents. He asks if he should announce it over the PA system, and starts walking toward the desk, but she says, don’t you dare, and pulls him back. He says, fine, and she thanks him, hugging him. He says, thank you. She’s given him everything he’d ever want. She says she loves him so much, and he says, not even close to how much he loves her. They kiss.

Tracy thanks Gregory for dinner and says, he didn’t have to do that. He insists he did. He invited her as his guest. Finn asks if Yuri is driving her home, and she says, it’s Yuri’s night off. She’s taking a Ride Share. Chase says he’ll drop her on his way home, and she says she is not on his way home, but she thanks him. She’s capable of taking care of it herself. Gregory says, just because you are doesn’t mean you must, and Chase says, and Brook would kill him if he didn’t get home safe. She says, okay, and thanks him, and Finn says he thought they were going to arm wrestle. Chase says, next time, and Tracy thanks them. She says, this was fun, and Gregory says, yeah, it was.

Cyrus says, O’Neill was much too terrified to give up a name, and Dante says, that’s too bad. John says he told them, and Cyrus tells them, but he did say something quite provocative. O’Neill is terrified of – pardon the pun – the man who is gunning for the mobsters. He’s convinced this person can get to him in here despite the protective custody. John says, that’s typical snitch behavior, and Cyrus tells them, he said this man is untouchable because he’s a ghost. Literally. Anna says, care to explain that? and Cyrus says, according to O’Neill, the person they’re so desperate to find does not exist because he’s dead. Soap looks all around.

Sam says she knows she and Danny haven’t talked about his dad too much, so it might seem a little strange to start now. He says, it’s not that, and she says, then what is it? He says, she and Uncle Drew were close at that time, and he didn’t want to add to that. He wanted to be strong for her. She says, there is no burden too big that she will not help him carry. No matter how tall he gets. And he can talk to her about his father any time. What say they go? They pick up their bags, and Danny asks if she thinks he can get his phone back, but she laughs and says, no chance. She puts her arm through his as they walk, and says she knows. Tough life, kid.

Sonny looks at his wedding ring and makes a fist. Ava says, if you look up brooding in the dictionary, this is the picture you’d see. He says, everything changes, that’s a fact. Just when you think you’re getting close to someone, you’re not. The only person you can really trust is yourself. Ava says, not Avery. She has us. Always. Sonny says, she’s got him there, and she tells him, goodnight. He says, goodnight, and she leaves. He looks at his wedding ring and takes it off. He looks at it for a moment, puts it on the mantel, and walks away.

On Monday, Blaze tells Kristina, maybe it’s time she returns the favor; Carly tells John that he’s wasting his time; and Nina asks if Ava and Sonny have a relationship now.

❤️‍🔥 Melting Maximista’s Heart…

All about Spinelli’s flirtation with karaoke and Maxie.

Inside Spinelli’s Karaoke Serenade to Maxie on GH!

💃🏽 Mamá Comes To Town…

Great choice for this role.

Eva LaRue Previews Her GENERAL HOSPITAL Storyline!

✒️ Be Excited…

Loving some things – like Blaze and Kristina and Jagger John returning – not so much others – Carly unrealistically taking over at Crimson. Although she is getting a load of Drew’s madman persona.

Why GH Fans Should Be Excited About the New Headwriters

🍑 No More Peach For You…

I’ve liked Marlo ever since the argument she and Shereé had that was totally in gibberish. She didn’t hold the peach for nearly long enough, but I don’t blame her.

https://people.com/real-housewives-of-atlanta-marlo-hampton-departs-ahead-of-season-16-exclusive-8585035

🍿 On the Wrong End…

I know I’ve said Andy is cruising for a lawsuit, but I didn’t think it would be this one.

https://ew.com/brandi-glanville-lawyers-call-for-andy-cohen-firing-8599618

🧽 Take Your Pick Of Messes…

The recap from the trainwreck that is Summer House.

Summer House Season 8 Premiere Recap: Trouble in Paradise

I couldn’t even find a recap for this Reunion. Apparently, no one cares. This was the closest thing.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/southern-hospitality-cast-relationship-updates-after-season-2-finale

⚰️ Walking Again…

Basic info and a really cool picture.

https://undeadwalking.com/posts/rick-and-michonne-return-this-weekend-in-the-walking-dead-spinoff-the-ones-who-live

https://bleedingcool.com/tv/the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-time-takes-a-toll-on-rick-grimes

These people don’t seem to like the franchise too much. I get disenchantment with the original Walking Dead, but City of the Dead and Daryl Dixon were both stellar.

https://www.avclub.com/tv-review-the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-1851274240

A kinder, gentler review.

‘The Walking Dead: The Ones Who Live’ Review – A Story Of Love Or Death

🦔 Not Your Average Pets…

Who wouldn’t want a goat for their anniversary?

https://people.com/kevin-bacon-explains-how-he-surprised-wife-kyra-with-goats-on-anniversary-8599569

This little guy is the cutest.

https://people.com/baby-rhino-gets-a-case-of-the-zoomies-at-toronto-zoo-8598864

🥠 Quotes Of the Week

They have a name for people who quit. They call them quitters. – Rose (Betty White), Golden Girls

What I did or said should never be more important than why I did it or said it. – Andrea Kelly

If exhausted from severe and long-continued thought, he had to touch the earth again to renew his strength. When this weariness set in, he would stop thought, and get down with a little dog or kitten to recover. – William Herndon, Abraham Lincoln‘s business partner

He does it in annoying ways, but he’s not wrong. – Olivia Flowers referring to JT, Southern Charm

Those who do not find time for exercise will have to find time for illness. – Earl of Derby (I don’t have time for illness either.)

Never say never. Because limits, like fears, are often just an illusion. – Michael Jordan

Peace is not an absence of war, it is a virtue, a state of mind, a disposition for benevolence, confidence, justice. – Baruch Spinoza

You will have bad times, but they will always wake you up to the stuff you weren’t paying attention to. – Robin Williams

Genius begins with great works; labor alone finishes them. – Joseph Joubert

Have a drink. Become nice again. – Emile Calvet (Ronald Guttman), Mad Men

🛑 Stopping In the Name Of Love…

Enjoy your time off if you have it, your work if you don’t, and your happy place if neither is happening for you. Come back refreshed on Monday really Tuesday for soap and sketchy people on Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay never giving your power over to anyone, and stay not being the picture in the dictionary if you look up brooding.

Jan27

January 26, 2024 – Sprina’s First Day In Paris, Side Gig, He’s Serious, Random Wives, VanderComeback, Too Soon For Awful, Trailer For Ones, Puppy (!) Party, Practically 10 Quotes & Key

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Paris, France. Trina and Spencer are shown to their hotel room, and Trina says she didn’t think anything could be nicer than their hotel room in New York, but this… They’re literally on the Sienne. It’s incredible. (A slight exaggeration. They dressed up a decent room with champagne bucket and a bunch of peonies.) He says, she’s incredible. He thought they deserved the very best to welcome them to the next chapter of their lives. They kiss.

At the hospital, Chase tells Jordan that they pulled Esme’s credit card records. There was a bus ticket bought yesterday, destination Toronto. She says, any stops along the way? but he says, straight shot. If Esme’s hiding out at her former nanny’s, they have the address of where to find her.

Anna runs over to Laura and says she just heard about Kevin. How’s he doing? Laura says, he’s stable. He’s in and out of consciousness right now, but they’re doing more tests. Anna tells her to hang in there, and she says she is. Anna says, he’s so strong; he’ll pull through this. Laura thanks her, and Anna says she wishes she could do more than give her just words. Laura says she thinks Anna can. She can come back to the PCPD.

Nina sits at Charlie’s looking at The Invader headline: A CHANGING OF THE GUARD AT CRIMSON; NINA REEVES OUT, CARLY SPENCER IN. Ava calls, but she doesn’t answer.

Ava leaves a message asking Nina what she’s seeing in The Invader. Call her. She’s worried about her. Sonny asks who she’s talking to, and Ava says, Nina’s voicemail. Has he seen this? She shows him her tablet, and he says he hasn’t read the article, but he knows there’s a transition. She says, a transition. Otherwise known as an ousting. He asks if that surprises her after what Nina did to Carly and Drew. She says, even so, someone has to check up on her. She’s not picking up. Is that a problem for him? He says, Brick is on his way up here with an update, and she asks if he’s learned anything about the threats against her. He says, the sooner they can stop this, the sooner they can end this living arrangement they have.

At the courthouse, Martin apologizes for his late arrival. Miss McCall was keeping him apprised of her investigation. Finn asks how that’s going, and Elizabeth asks if she found anything that could help the case. Sam says, it’s going, and yes, she did.

Brick knocks on the penthouse door, and Sonny says, it’s good to see him. Brick says, it’s always good to be seen. He asks Ava, how’s everything? and she says, fine. She asks if he’d care for an espresso, but he says, no thank you, and Sonny asks him to have a seat. Brick says, unfortunately, he has to keep this brief. He has a meeting this afternoon. Sonny says, as long as he’s caught up, Brick can make it as brief as he wants. He looks at Ava, and Ava says, if he’s waiting for her to make herself scarce, that’s not going to happen. This concerns her. He says he knows that, but as soon as it becomes business, leave, and she says, okay. They sit, and Sonny says, fill him in. Brick says he couldn’t pull any prints off the photograph or notes sent to Ava, but he was able to trace the weapon. It was part of a set of unmarked weapons from the Bureau… Yeah, he knows. Ava asks, what’s the significance of the gun being stolen from the WSB? and Sonny says, it means it’s connected to the rifle that shot at him a year ago at the MetroCourt pool.

Sam says she was able to access Muldoon’s EZ-Pass records and cross-reference them with the security cameras from the gas station across the street from the oncologist’s office. Elizabth says, tell them there was something on that footage, and Sam says, a big something. Muldoon entering the medical pavilion long before his meeting with Finn. Gregory says, there they have it. Proof that he was being treated for cancer. Martin says, maybe, but unfortunately, it’s circumstantial, and Finn says, it’s a medical pavilion. There must be dozens of specialists working out of that building. Martin says, exactly. A dentist, and ENT and an allergist, just to name a few. Finn says, Muldoon could have been going to see any one of them, but Gregory says, he wasn’t. He was there to see the oncologist. Finn asks how they prove that, and Martin says, that’s the number one question. The second being, if he was being treated by that oncologist, why wouldn’t he tell Finn that? Elizabeth says, it doesn’t make any sense, and Sam says she has one more lead to follow up on. If she gets results, she’ll be in touch ASAP. Finn says he really appreciates it, and Sam tells him, good luck, and leaves. Martin says, shall we? and Finn says, no time like the present. Let’s do this.

Spencer asks the bellhop for a converter because his phone died, and the bellhop leaves. Trina says, that accent is to die for, and Spencer says, mine or his? She says, his. Spencer’s is decent though. Spencer says, moi? Blah-blah-blah Française? (I took two years of French and still know nothing but how Jean Paul and Pierre pack a suitcase and how to curse someone out.) She says, mais oui, and that’s about as much as she knows. Thank God for the translator app though. He says she doesn’t have to rely on a translator app. He’s happy to give her French lessons. She says, he’s going to teach her, huh? and he clicks on the remote, turning on some music. He says, to start, and speaks French like Gomez Addams as he kisses her neck. They work their way over to the bed and get busy.

Jordan asks if the Toronto authorities have been notified, and Chase says, they have, but there’s another way. Dante has met Esme’s former nanny. They can reach out to her. Keep things nice and clean. That is, if the department can spare them. She says, absolutely. She’ll make arrangements with their superior. She does know it’s his brother’s trial today, so if he wants her to send someone else with Dante… He says he’ll go, and she asks if he’s sure. He says, Finn understands that this is important. She says, okay. Good luck and keep her posted. He says, copy that, and leaves.

Laura says, Anna looks shocked, and Anna says, because she is. Laura says, the PCPD has been without an active Commissioner for months now. It’s been chaotic and confusing. It may even be part of the reason Esme was able to slip between the cracks. (Huh?) Anna says she thought Mac was doing an excellent job, and Laura says, he is, but not only has he made it very clear he’s not interested in the position full-time. He’s been out of the country for she doesn’t even know how long now. The department needs stability and Anna could provide that. Anna says, Laura… but Laura says, just hear her out. Next to Jordan, who’s made it very clear to her that she’s happy in her new role as the Deputy Mayor, Anna is the next, most qualified candidate. Anna says, and the most controversial. Forget about her public humiliation. What about what happened with Laura’s granddaughter? Laura says she doesn’t blame Anna for that, and Anna says she shot a child. Laura says, but she was being manipulated by her former director, Brennan. And on top of that, Valentin chose to keep her completely in the dark about what was going on with Charlotte. This was a horrible accident, but it’s one that doesn’t change the fact that she believes Port Charles would be safer under Anna’s leadership. Jordan comes over and says, and for what it’s worth (🍷), she agrees 1000%. Anna says, they have no idea what this means to her, but she’s sorry. She can’t. What happened with Charlotte makes her feel like she’s not ready. She doesn’t deserve the badge. Laura says she understands what Anna is going through, but she’s asking Anna to take some time to consider this offer. Laura sees Portia coming their way, and asks if she’s heard anything about Doc. Is he going to be okay?

The bailiff says, all rise. The honorable Judge Arnold presiding. The judge tells them, be seated, and Elizabeth mouths I love you to Finn, who winks at her.

Portia says she just spoke with Doc’s doctors and they’re still running some tests, but they’re cautiously optimistic that his prognosis will be good. She’ll know more when he wakes up. Laura says, thank God, and Portia says, if Laura hadn’t found him when she did, this could be an entirely different conversation. Laura says she doesn’t want to think about that, and thanks Portia for keeping her in the loop. Portia says, of course (🍷), and Anna says, that’s great news, hugging Laura. She’s sorry. She’s late for a phlebotomy treatment, so she has to go. She’ll catch up with Laura later. She says goodbye to them and leaves. Jordan says she has to go as well, but asks Laura to let her know if she needs anything. They hug and Jordan says she’s really glad Doc is going to be okay. She leaves, and Portia asks if Laura has heard from Spencer at all. Laura says she hasn’t. She’s a little surprised since she thinks she may have sounded a little frantic in her message, but maybe his plane hasn’t landed yet. Portia says she tracked the flight; it landed. Maybe she should call Trina again. Laura says, don’t bother. Esme is in Canada and Doc is out of the woods. Spencer will call her when he calls her. Let them have a good time. Portia says, they’re in Paris. How could they not be?

Basking in the afterglow, Trina kisses Spencer, and he says, champagne toast? He gets out of bed and takes out the bottle of champagne. He says, it’s a good year, and starts to unwrap the foil, when the bellhop walks in. They don’t knock in Paris?

Diane says, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, the name Hamilton Finn – Dr. Hamilton Finn – may be all over the docket in this case, but make no mistake, the story belongs to Dennis Muldoon, deceased husband of the plaintiff. You’re going to hear how Dennis Muldoon sought the help of a trusted doctor in his time of need, and how that doctor, through sheer negligence, failed to order a test which could have caught the cancer in time. This story is by no means uncommon. Medical practitioners make mistakes all the time. Which is why it is of the upmost importance that we hold them accountable. Not just for the error itself, but for the birthdays, weddings, graduations, everything that Dennis Muldoon will now sadly, tragically have to miss. She indicates the grieving widow.

Martin says, I can, and will, prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that Dr. Hamilton Finn did encourage Dennis Muldoon to follow up with further testing, and that far from being in error with medical negligence, this was an error of personal responsibility… as tragic as that may be.

Ava asks if they’re saying the same person that killed Austin shot Curtis, and Brick says, in a botched attempt to assassinate Sonny. Sonny asks if Brick thinks this theory has anything to do with the anonymous bid on Windymere. Can Ava do him a favor? Can she give Brick all the information she has? She says, on the shell corporation. She doesn’t have much, but she’ll get what she has. She leaves, and Sonny says he wants Brick to coordinate with Dex as far as stepping up surveillance. Brick says, all the usual suspects? and Sonny says, Carly, the kids, Olivia, and now Ava because she’s in the middle of all this. Brick says he’s on it, but he doesn’t have a question. Does Nina get added to that list?

Sitting with Nina, Valentin asks if she’s all right, and she says she’s pretty sure she lost her husband and her daughter. And the final kicker is, Drew and Carly want to take everything else from her too. He says, otherwise okay? and she laughs. She says she brought it on herself, right? At least that’s what everyone tells her. He says, she may be down, but at least she’s not down for the count. So what’s the plan? She says, for what? and he says, for taking back what’s yours.

Averting his eyes, the bellhop tells Spencer that he’s very sorry. He knocked on the door and there was no answer. He assumed they’d stepped out. He holds out a bag, and Spencer takes it, thanking him. The bellhop says, his converter, and leaves. Trina says, if he’d shown up a few minutes earlier, he would have gotten quite the show. She asks for his phone to charge it, and tells him to open up the champagne. He asks if she heard the bellhop knock, and she says, in all fairness, they could have put up the Do Not Disturb sign. He says, that would have kind of killed the romantic flow, and she says, option A, take a two-second break from making out, or option B, getting caught by the bellhop in your underwear. He says, fine. Next time, they’ll put up the Do Not Disturb sign. She says, there’s going to be a next time? and he says, oh yeah. And a next time, and a next time, and a next time… He kisses her with each next time. He sees the turtle dove sticking out of her purse, and he says, she brought it with her? She says, there might be weekends where he’s going to be back home, and she’ll be here. It’ll be like they’re still together. That’s what this thing is for, isn’t it? He says, it sure is. That’s pretty cute. He takes the other turtle dove out of his bag, and she says, he has his with him. He says he takes it with him everywhere he goes. Once he gets his apartment here, it will have a permanent place on his bedside table. He kisses her and his phone dings. He looks at it and says, his grandmother left him a voicemail.

Brick says he doesn’t mean to bring up a tough subject, but he doesn’t know where Sonny and Nina stand right now. Sonny says, she’s his wife legally, so she’s going to be a potential target, and Brick says he’ll make sure to keep eyes on her. Ava comes back and says she made copies for Brick. This is it. She gives him a folder, and Brick says he’ll look into it. He tells Sonny to let him know if he needs anything, they shake hands, and Brick leaves. Ava asks how seriously she needs to take this. Stay vigilant or complete lockdown? He says, they’re not there yet, and she says, thank God. Because nothing good can come of them stuck in this penthouse. On that note, what does he say they get out of here?

Nina asks if Valentin thinks she has a leg to stand on, and he says he thinks she has two gorgeous legs to stand on. (BA-DUM-CHH!) She’s Nina Reeves for God’s sake. She built Crimson into the empire it is today. He can’t imagine her advertisers and top designers are thrilled with what Drew has decided. She says, it doesn’t matter, but he says, of course (🍷) it matters. She says she doesn’t have any recourse, and he says, how about if she gives him a number. How much would it cost to create a rival publication and poach every top staffer at Crimson that would give Drew and Carly a fighting chance at success?

Diane asks Mrs. Muldoon if she ever got a sense that there were any health concerns prior to this diagnosis, but Mrs. Muldoon says, no. They were shocked when they learned he had Stage IV cancer. He seemed totally fine. It’s like they blinked, and he was gone. Diane says, the doctors who took care of her husband in hospice, were they able to provide any insight? and she says, they told her any physician who would have run even the most basic tests would have seen the cancer. If only someone had. She looks at Finn and says, a few months would have made the difference. Her children would still have a father. Martin says, objection, your honor. That calls for speculation. Diane says, Mrs. Muldoon’s testimony will be corroborated by Dennis Muldoon’s oncologist, but Judge Arnold says, then they’ll hear it when he or she takes the stand. Sustained. Diane says, no further questions, and the judge says, Martin’s witness. Martin says he’d just like to start by saying how sorry they all are for her loss. She thanks him, and he says he’d just like to know one thing. Was she there when her husband met with Dr. Hamilton Finn, when he was told he needed to go for further testing? She says, no, she was not, and he says, so her opinion on Dr. Finn’s urgency, or lack thereof, is based solely on how her husband described it to her. She says, yes, but… and he says, thank you. That’s all. No further questions. The judge says, she may step down, and Mrs. Muldoon leaves the stand. Gregory whispers, that’s it? to Martin, and Martin says, no one ever won a civil trial by ripping the grieving widow to shreds on the witness stand. The jury is right there. She has her story, we have ours. Diane says she’d like to call Dr. Hamilton Finn to the stand.

Laura puts Spencer on speaker and thanks him for calling her back. He says, of course (🍷). What’s going on? She says she has good news on both fronts. First of all, Doc is going to be okay. He says, thank God, and she says, and they’ve tracked Esme to Canada. The authorities there have the address where she’s staying, and Chase and Dante are on their way there right now. He asks what she needs from him, but she says, nothing. Just stay right where he is. She’s sort of comforted by the knowledge that there’s an entire ocean between him and Esme at the moment. Portia says, Laura is right. They’re far safer there than they would be here in Port Charles. Just let the police handle Esme. Spencer promises to look after Portia’s daughter, and she says she’s going to hold him to that. She asks for Trina, and Trina says, hey. Portia says she wants Trina to be safe. She loves her. Trina says she loves Portia too, and she will. Laura says she’ll keep them posted if she hears anything, and Spencer says, sounds good.

Nina says she didn’t agree to have lunch with Valentin to take his money, but he says she wouldn’t be taking it. He’d be investing it – in her. With her prowess, and the help of her editors and advertisers, he thinks any new publication she launched would bury anything Drew and Carly could cook up at Crimson. They don’t know publishing and she does. Sometimes the best revenge is good business. She says, if she does this… He says, she’s considering it, and she says, maybe. If she does this, this war with Carly will only escalate until one of them surrenders. He lifts his glass and says, to it not being you. They clink glasses, when Sonny walks in with Ava.

Brick says, he’s got to admit, he didn’t think the hospital is where his meeting with Jordan would take place, and she says, if he gives her something she can use, maybe she’ll give him an upgrade. He says he can dream, and she asks if he traced the number that called her. He says he went through some backchannels, which he’s guessing is why she reached out to him in the first place. The call came from a burner phone, one of those prepaid deals you can get it at any gas station. She says, so it wasn’t registered, and he says, hold on. The phone pinged a cell tower a stone’s throw away from Pentenville the night the call came in. No residents or roads nearby. She says, Pentenville, and he says, they know better than anyone how to smuggle phones in. She thanks him, and he says, no sweat. He starts to leave, but comes back and says he hasn’t lost her number. He hopes she’s not going to lose his. She rolls her eyes as he leaves.

Diane asks how long Finn has been a department head at General Hospital, and he says, seven years and eleven months. She says, that’s a long time. And in that time, he found a cure for Blackwood’s disease, which was ravaging certain oceanic regions. Is she correct? Finn says, that is correct, and she says, that’s quite a feat, to use deductive reasoning and applied science to find a cure. Finn says, it’s part of the job, and she says, it is. So what went wrong on the day Dennis Muldoon came to visit him? Martin says, objection, and Diane says she’ll rephrase. How did Finn not catch the Stage IV cancer that other doctors insist would have been blatantly obvious at that time? Finn says he’s an infectious disease specialist. Mr. Muldoon came to see him for treatment for a tapeworm, which he had. However, Finn knew something else was wrong, so he suggested Muldoon have some more tests run. Diane asks if there was any urgency to this suggestion, a bit of a warning that he might be dealing with something more serious, perhaps life threatening. Finn says he recommended Muldoon have further tests run. He doesn’t recall the level to which he stressed urgency. Diane says, so it’s his contention that another infectious disease specialist couldn’t have deduced that cancer was at play, but Finn says he can’t speculate on other doctors, and her statement does not equate to malpractice. Diane says, even if he wasn’t at the top of his game, shall they say? and he says he doesn’t know what that means. She asks if he was suspended from General Hospital six years ago, and Finn says he was. She says, care to tell the court why? and Martin says, objection. Medical privacy. Diane says, withdrawn. Would Finn agree that a doctor at the top of his game could have suspected cancer? Could have ordered the proper tests and could have conveyed to Mr. Muldoon the gravity of his situation? Finn tells her, like he said he can’t speculate… She says, yes or no will suffice, and he says, the expectation that a doctor in another field could immediately catch everything wrong with a patient is not only unreasonable, it’s completely absurd. He did what needed to be done on the day. (Apparently, Finn forgot the number one rule here.) Diane says, just what needed to be done, and Finn tells her, that’s not what he said. She says, no further questions. Martin asks if Finn ever told Dennis Muldoon that a tapeworm wasn’t the only cause of his symptoms, and Finn says, no. Martin says, and did he in fact advise Muldoon that further tests were necessary to achieve an accurate diagnosis, and Finn says, yes. Martin asks if he took that advice, and Finn says, no, he did not. Martin says, so conveyed urgency aside, does he as a physician have the authority to compel a patient to undergo a test they do not wish to have done? and Finn says, no, he doesn’t. Martin says, no further questions, and Judge Arnold says, Finn can step down. Finn goes back to his seat, and Elizabeth says she thought Martin told them that Diane would talk about Finn’s past drug use, but Martin says, she didn’t have to. She did more damage by hanging it in the window. Finn says, and she knows it, and Martin says, up to this point, he’s kept his questioning brief because he honestly believes the facts are on Finn’s side in this case. But he has to be honest. That little tit for tat with Miss Miller just now? He doesn’t think Finn did himself any favors.

Diane thanks a doctor on the stand for his input and expertise, and says, the prosecution rests. The judge calls for a brief recess and says, court will resume at 1:45. The bailiff says, all rise, the judge leaves, and the bailiff says, the jury is excused. Sam comes in and asks how it’s going. Martin says, all is not lost, but he’s not going to lie. He could use some more help. Sam says she did some more digging and found out that several debt collectors have placed liens on the Muldoons. Finn takes an envelope from her and looks at the paperwork. He says, it looks like their house is about to be foreclosed on. Elizabeth says she thought they were wealthy, but Sam says, they’ve been cash poor for a while now. Gregory says he’s sure cancer can get expensive, and Sam says, this has actually been going on for a while. The Muldoons were heavily invested in Aurora. When the stocks went down, they pretty much lost everything. Finn says, that was eighteen months ago. Soap looks all around.

Jordan sees Anna and asks if her phlebotomy went okay, and Anna says, everything’s fine. What’s going on? Jordan says she traced the number for the source who called about the unmarked gun, and Anna asks if she has a lead on who shot Curtis. Jordan says, Sonny may have been the intended target, but she thinks Anna is still connected to this as well.

Nina tells Sonny that she heard about Ace. Is Spencer okay? He says, that’s none of her business (harsh!), and keeps walking. Ava says she got Nina’s voicemail. She’s so sorry to hear about Crimson. Call her when she gets a chance, and they’ll talk. Nina starts to respond, but Ava joins Sonny, and Nina goes back to her table. Valentin asks if she wants to go somewhere else, but she says, Phyllis told her that she’s always welcome here. She won’t be run off with her tail between her legs. He says his offer still stands. What does she say? She tells him that she says the two of them have a bad habit of bringing out the worst in each other.

Portia says she’s got some good news, and Laura says, that’s her favorite kind. Portia says, the doctors think that Doc should be waking up very soon. They’re going to be moving him to his room and Laura should be able to see him shortly after that. Laura cries and thanks her, and Portia says, Doc’s going to be okay. The kids are safe. They’re lucky, all things considered. Laura says she agrees, but if she could only stop blaming herself. Portia says, blaming herself for what? and Laura says, Esme. She knew what Esme was capable of, but Esme is her husband’s niece, she’s the mother of her grandchild. She thinks she just wanted so badly to see the good in Esme, she let it blind her to all the horrible things Esme has done that she never paid for. She did awful things to Portia’s daughter. Portia must be so angry with her.

Spencer tells Trina that he wishes he could say he was wrong, that Esme hadn’t gotten her memory back and that Ace could still be safe with her. But he guesses he did the right thing giving Ace to his father. If anyone has a knack for disappearing, it’s him. There’s no way Esme’s going to… Trina is preoccupied with her phone, and he asks what she’s doing. She says, there’s a flight back to New York in two hours. He can make it before midnight. He says, she’s telling him this because… and she says, Doc just got attacked and his brother is in danger. She appreciates him coming with her, but his family needs him now.

Sam says, looks like Muldoon has been trying to stop the bleeding for months. He even cashed out a life insurance policy to pay his bills. Martin says, before or after he saw an oncologist? and Sam says, before. Martin says, thanks to Sam, they now have one hell of a theory to present to the court, and Elizabeth says, Muldoon came to Finn on purpose. The whole malpractice suit… Finn says, it was part of his plan. Muldoon set him up.

I called it at the beginning. And I have receipts! Proof! Timelines! Screenshots! Not really. Just one message to a fellow GH watcher, but I called it pretty early on.

Spencer says, Trina heard his grandmother. Doc is on the mend, and Esme’s in Canada, and the police are on her trail. Trina says, and if any of that changes? and Spencer says, then he’ll get on a plane and go home, but she heard him promise her mother that he’d look after her, and they both know he’s on her hit list. So he thinks it’s best he keeps his word. She asks if he’s sure. Don’t stay for her. He says, of course (🍷) he’s going to stay for her. And for him, for them. Now is she ready for the best weekend of her life? She says, so ready, and he says, very good answer. He kisses her and pops the champagne cork. They kiss some more.

Portia asks why she would be angry with Laura, and Laura says, at the very least, Portia must think she’s naïve. Portia says she thinks Esme is that good of a liar, and Laura says, except Portia never believed it. Portia says she never truly bought into the idea that Esme had changed (more history revision!), but she thinks it’s a little different with her. Laura asks, why is that? and Portia says, because Esme hurt Trina in a very specific, targeted, vindictive way. It’s hard to see your child suffer like that. It leaves a mark. Laura says she’s so sorry, but Portia says, she doesn’t have to be. There’s nothing wrong with hoping someone can change, if and when they take accountability for their actions, but Esme never took accountability for anything. So right now, there’s only one path forward for her. Laura says, absolutely. Agreed. Esme must be found. Esme must be brought to trial for the things she’s done.

Toronto, Canada. Dante and Chase arrive at an apartment, where a Canadian officer stands outside the door. Dante introduces himself and Chase, and the officer says, they were told the detectives were coming. Chase says, any updates? and the officer says, they’ve been monitoring the apartment for 24 hours. No one matching the nanny’s or Prince’s description has exited. Dante says, it’s still occupied? and the officer nods. Dante thanks him for holding off while they waited for him and Chase. There’s going to be trouble. The officer knocks at the door, and Chase and Dante put their hands on their guns.

Nina says she’d be lying if she said she wasn’t tempted by Valentin’s offer, and he says, but? She says, but she has to try and control these impulses she has if she’s going to have any hope of salvaging a relationship with Willow. He says, okay, but if she changes her mind… She says she knows where to find him, and he says, they have a long history of twisting themselves in knots, pretending they’re something they aren’t for other people. She doesn’t have to do that with him. He’s on her side, no matter what. She puts her hand on his and thanks him. Sonny watches.

Sonny tells Ava that he was thinking, and she says, uh-oh. He says, there’s still a threat out there against Ava. Esme’s on the run. Maybe she should spend some time on his island. She says, the gallery is being refreshed this week. She supposes there are worse places to stay vigilant. He says he and Dex will get her settled in and make sure she’s protected. She says, okay. Because going to Puerto Rico is all about her and her safety, right? He asks, what else would it be about? and she says, maybe getting as far away from Nina as possible.

Anna says, so the call that attempted to give Jordan information on the gun came from Pentenville? and Jordan says she’s been looking into this for months and gotten nowhere. Dead end after dead end. So what’s changed in the past few weeks? Who’s new to Pentenville and knew about a shipment of unmarked guns meant to be in the Bureau’s possession? She knew she recognized that voice from somewhere, but she couldn’t put her finger on it until she overheard Anna and Laura talking. Anna says, the person who called Jordan was John Brennan.

On Monday, Portia tells Curtis that she never wants to worry about Esme Prince again; Martin tells Diane that he’d like to add someone to the witness list; and Tracy comes to the courtroom, saying that they should make the fraud public record.

👬🏻 Whole Different Brother…

It’s great how the cast is given wiggle room to do other projects. A happy employee is more likely to stick around.

Nicholas Chavez’s Temporary Exit from GENERAL HOSPITAL Detailed

💻 Not Kidding…

It’s awful how scammers get away with this stuff, but it’s also shocking to see how many people fall for it. One rule of thumb is, if you’re a 2 and they’re a 10, and you don’t know each other personally IRL, it’s not happening.

Scott Clifton Shares a Serious Warning for Soap Fans

💎 Diamonds In the Rough…

Hey, she did finally get that second date.

Sutton Stracke’s Dating Dos and Don’ts

We’ve all been there. The one that just doesn’t go as planned.

Denise Richards Admits RHOBH Comeback Went ‘Sideways’

This one’s diamond should be repossessed.

Why Annemarie Will Probably Regret Becoming a Housewife

🍸 Back To the Rules…

Here’s a thought. If the rest of the cast doesn’t want to film with them, replace them. Or just work with two fewer cast members. People thought Charlie Sheen and Roseanne couldn’t be replaced either.

Season 11 Could Make or Break Vanderpump Rules

🏊‍♀️ Awful Summer People Return…

How is this back already? It might be worth watching for the big break-up though.

Everything We Know About Summer House Season 8

⚰️ Dead Coming Soon…

The final trailer for The Ones Who Live.

https://people.com/the-walking-dead-the-ones-who-live-trailer-rick-and-michonne-search-broken-world-8550132

🐕 Bowling At Home…

You, too, can be host of your own Puppy Bowl.

https://be.chewy.com/how-to-throw-a-puppy-bowl-party/

https://www.dogtv.com/blog/how-to-throw-a-puppy-bowl-party-dogtvs-guide-to-tail-gating

https://wearwagrepeat.com/puppy-bowl-party/

🎋 Quotes of the Week

I’m not Dr. Phil. – Judge Marilyn Milian, People’s Court

When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live your life in such a manner that when you die, the world cries and you rejoice. – Indian Proverb

What I’ve experienced is that I can’t know the future. I can’t know if anything that I do will change what happens tomorrow. I can’t know with certainty, but what I do know is if I do nothing, nothing will change. – James Orbinski (Now if I could just figure out what the something is…)

Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around. – Leo Buscaglia

The healthy being craves an occasional wildness, a jolt from normality, a sharpening of the edge of appetite, his own little festival of Saturnalia, a brief excursion from his way of life. – Robert MacIver

You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough. – Mae West

Peace is not absence of conflict; it is the ability to handle conflict by peaceful means. – Ronald Reagan

If you always put limit on everything you do, physical or anything else. It will spread into your work and into your life. There are no limits. There are only plateaus, and you must not stay there, you must go beyond them. – Bruce Lee

The best way to learn how to enjoy life is from a dog. – Nils Sandmann

🪗 Making My Own Kind Of Music…

Come back on Monday really Tuesday for soap and whatever the future holds. Until then, stay safe, stay parking between the lines, and stay remembering that sometimes the best revenge is good business.

Nov21

November 19, 2023 – Part 2 – The Final Fear & Better

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Part 2 – The Road Ahead

Madison flashes back to Alicia as she looks for Tracy in the woods. She calls to Tracy and says, she doesn’t have to be afraid. Tracy hides in a hollow log, looking at her medal, and crying silently. Zombies start to come into view. Dwight pops out of the woods and kills one, and Tracy scootches further back into the log. June asks if they found Tracy, and Sherry says, not yet, but they found Troy’s righthand guy. He’s hurt bad, but he’ll make it. Daniel asks why they’re helping Russell, and Dwight says, the herd dispersed, and they want to keep him close to find out where they went. Daniel wants to get a car and get as far away as possible, but Luciana says, it’s over. Daniel says, not as long as the girl is out there. Troy still has his followers and they’re fanatics. They hurry Russell into the car, and Daniel asks Luciana how far the refinery is. She says, about a day’s drive, and he tells her get the car and he’ll get some supplies, and they leave. Tracy comes out, but so do a couple of wayward zombies. She knocks one down, but her pokey stick gets stuck in another, and it brings her down. She kicks at it, and Madison kills it. She says, Tracy is going to get herself killed, but Tracy says she doesn’t care. Madison killed her dad. Madison asks if she heard her mom was Madison’s daughter, but Tracy says, that’s not true. Her mom Serena died. Madison asks why Tracy’s father would tell her what he did, but Tracy says she doesn’t know. Madison insists Tracy come with her. It’s not safe; there are dead everywhere. Tracy says she’s not safe with Madison, but Madison says she did what she had to. She sees Tracy’s ankle is hurt. She says, what’s left of the herd is still out there, and she’s all Tracy’s got. She coughs and thinks of Alicia. Tracy asks where Madison is taking her, and Madison says, to find Tracy’s mother and her daughter, so her daughter can be put to rest. Tracy’s father was right about one thing. Pretending the world is different than it is gets people killed. The sooner Tracy figures that out, the better. It’s how she’ll survive. Madison figured it out too late to save her own kids and she’s not making the same mistake with Tracy.

Aww, the opening credits show everyone.

Luciana gases up a car and hotwires it. She radios Daniel to meet her, and Madison appears holding a gun on Luciana. Madison tells her, don’t say anything, and turn off the walkie. She asks if Luciana’s road network doesn’t include Fort Worth. They need Luciana to show them the way. Madison calls to Tracy, and Luciana says, she looks hurt. She asks why Madison is doing it this way, and Madison says she can’t run the risk of being taken back to the island and living the way Victor wants them to, thinking the world is different than it is. That will get them killed. Troy is out of the picture, so fix the car so they can get out. Madison takes some oxygen and remembers Alicia and Nick. Luciana says, maybe if Madison puts Alicia to rest it will help her see beyond her anger and show her there’s something more to fight for. She tells Madison that she needs to get a new fuel pump, and Madison makes her leave the walkie.

Madison tapes Tracy’s ankle, and Tracy says, pretending they’re family won’t change what Madison did. Madison says she knows it seems unforgiveable, but this way, Tracy will live long enough to understand why she did it. Tracy gives Madison the medal and tells Madison that her dad said he got it from her mom. If what he said is true, it belonged to Alicia. Madison asks, why give it to her? and Tracy says, it doesn’t work. It didn’t keep her dad safe. Madison says, apparently, it didn’t keep Alicia safe either, and Tracy grabs Madison’s gun, saying, back away. Madison says she’s not leaving Tracy, and takes the gun from her. She takes out the magazine and says, it’s not loaded. Does Tracy think she’d risk pointing it at her daughter’s kid? She puts the medal in the empty magazine and then into the breast pocket of her jacket, and Tracy asks why she’s keeping it. They both know it doesn’t work. Madison says, it’s all she has left of her daughter, besides Tracy. She can get a new chain for it. Victor shows up, and asks what they’re doing here. Madison says, Luciana told them? but Luciana says she gave Madison her walkie. Victor says he needs to take them back to PADRE, so Tracy can process what happened, and to help Madison process what Troy told her. Madison says, they can’t go back, but Victor says, it’s the safest place. Madison says, building what she and Alicia wanted will just get Tracy killed, but he asks what she’s talking about. She says, Alicia gave Troy a second chance, and he killed her and took her kid for it. Victor says he knows things seem scary, but Tracy can trust him, and holds out his hand. Madison shoots in the air and says, stay away. The shots alert the zombies heading their way, and they fight the zombies off. Daniel says he’s not letting Madison take Luciana away from him, and Madison says, nobody’s going to get hurt if they just let her and Tracy go. They’ll go on foot if they have to. The zombies are getting plentiful, but Daniel says, they don’t have enough bullets, and Victor suggests they get inside. They all go in the auto shop.

Zombies scrabble at the windows, and Madison asks if there’s another way out, but Luciana says, the back wall caved in. Victor says he’s getting help and radios Frank. He tells Frank that they’re pinned in an auto shop and need help, but Frank says, they’ve got their own problems with the dead. On the island, a barge full of zombies is headed for the dock. Dwight says, what the hell is this? and Russell says, they should have done more than disperse the herd. If Troy taught them one thing, it was how to herd the dead. They’re going to overrun this place, and there’s not a damn thing they can do. June says, they had a truce, but Russell says, then they killed Troy. Dwight grabs Russell and says, stop them, and Russell laughs and says, he can’t. Zombies begin to tumble into the water, and Dwight says, get everyone inside and close the gates now! The rain starts to pour, and the zombies start coming through the water and onto the shore. It’s pretty creepy looking.

Daniel says, there’s not enough firepower. They’ll wait them out. They’ll tire eventually. Victor says, it’s time they don’t have, and calls Frank. Frank asks if Victor is okay, and Victor says, they’re safe for now. What about Frank? Klaus tells Frank that they’re surrounded by zombies, but the walls are holding. He asks if Tracy is there, and Victor says, she is, why? Sherry sits Russell by the radio and Frank says, Troy’s man wants to talk to her. He says if they hand over Tracy, his men will draw the zombies away. Victor puts Tracy on, and Tracy asks if it’s really Russell. Russell says, it is. He promised Troy that he’d take care of her. Madison says, Troy asked her, and Russell says, after she gutted him. He wasn’t in his right mind. Madison says, Tracy is all she has left, but Russell says, that’s not necessarily true, and she asks what that means. Troy stabbed Alicia and left her for dead, but he didn’t see her die. Madison says, Troy told her that Alicia turned, but Russell says, that’s because it’s what he told Troy. Troy cut her up pretty good, but Alicia got him too. She nearly drove her arm clean through his stomach. Like mother, like daughter. He limped home with it still in his belly; that’s how he got her arm. He sent his men back to make sure the job was done, and they found a blood-soaked mattress, a bloody knife, and bloody footprints heading out the door. Victor says, that doesn’t mean she’s alive, and Madison says, he could be lying to get what he wants. Why did Russell tell Troy that she was dead? Russell says, Troy wasn’t in a forgiving mood. He told Troy what he wanted to hear. Give them Tracy, and she’ll find her daughter. Luciana tells Madison not to fall for it, but Madison tells Russell that she can’t do that. If Alicia is out there, she deserves to be with her daughter. Alicia wouldn’t want her turning Tracy over. Russell says he thought she might say that, so his men will take the island, but Dwight says, the dead can’t get in here. Russell says, they don’t have to get in. They just have to get the living out. There are some bomb blasts, and Victor says, he needs to get to the island. He’s doing it with or without them. He opens the door to the waiting zombies, and everyone scrambles. There’s slicing and dicing and whacking zombies in the head.  

Dwight asks how Russell blew off the grenades, and Russell says, they had launchers for a while, and waited for the right time to let them rip. Dwight knocks him down, and June says, they can’t stay much longer. Daniel was right; they should have left Russell to die. Dove brings June the set of pistols that belonged to John and asks what they are. June says, a little help from the past, and Dwight says, they have to leave. They’ll go through the woods. He tells Dove to take the prefects and fire as many flares as they can off the far walls. It will thin the herds and they can create their own path. Only kill zombies if they have to, and don’t stop until they get to the dock. They’re bringing Russell with them. Are they ready? Sherry says, for Finch, and Dwight says, open ‘em. Russell asks if they’re insane. They’ll be eaten alive. Dwight says, that’s why Russell is here, and uses him as a buffer in the front. Ha-ha-ha!

At the auto shop, Victor says, that’s the last of them. They have to get to the island now. Daniel says that’s the last time Victor and Madison put his family in danger to save theirs, but Victor says, Daniel would do the same thing if Luciana was on the island. Daniel says, Victor is pursuing this self-serving crusade to make himself feel better about the rotten things he’s done, and Victor says, the parts of him that Daniel hates are the things he doesn’t like about himself. Daniel asks if he’s a psychiatrist now. Every person he ever cared for, he lost because of Madison and Victor. Madison says, they’ve all lost people, and Daniel says he’s sorry he let Madison’s husband in his barbershop back in Los Angeles. He’s had bad luck since. She says she’s sorry she let Daniel into her home, and Victor says he’s sorry he let Daniel on his boat. Luciana says, they can make it to the refinery before sunrise, and Daniel says, wherever Alicia is, she’s better off without Madison. Victor says, that’s enough, and Luciana tells Madison that the car should get her where she wants to go. She hopes Madison can find peace. Daniel suggests Tracy run as far as she can from these people; Madison is losing her mind. And Victor is a selfish, pathological liar, and would have gotten them killed like every person he’s cared for. Victor radios Frank, and Frank says, there are too many. They can’t get to the dock. They’re pushing them back to the center, pushing at the fence. Victor asks why they’re not inside the fort, and Frank says, they’re fighting. They’ve got their hands full and the zombies are going to breach the net. Victor says, they need to move to the docks, but Madison says she’s not going. She has to find Alicia. Victor says, they will, after they save the island. She says, Tracy is in no shape to fight, and if she goes, she might not come back. Victor says he needs his friend to try and save his family, and she says, he is her friend, but she can’t. He doesn’t understand. She’s been seeing Alicia, Nick too. It’s like a dream, just their faces, before things went bad, back in L.A. If she has a chance to find Alicia, she has to try. Start over. Victor asks if she doesn’t think he wants that. He has his family dream; she’ll have hers too. Madison says, then he understands why she has to look for Alicia. She can’t go further with him. He says, so this is it. He came to save Tracy, to save Madison, so he could give her chance to get things right. Now Frank and Klaus might die because of it. He guesses Madison is teaching Tracy what she wants her to learn. This is how you survive. If she finds Alicia, tell her that he tried.

Tracy and Madison are in the car, and Madison looks at a map. Tracy says, if Madison is so sure the world is sh*t, why was it so important for Alicia to believe differently? Madison says she doesn’t know. She thinks parents just try to give their kids the things they didn’t have. Tracy asks if Madison had nothing to believe in when she was a kid, and Madison says, her daddy used to drink. When he drank, he hurt her mama. He hit her. He would apologize and claim he’d stop drinking, but he never did. She watched it happen for a long time, when she was around Tracy’s age. One day it went too far. She saw too much, like all those moments built up. She knew he was going to kill her mama eventually and she wanted it to stop. She wanted it to stop so bad, she shot him. Tracy puts her hand on Madison’s and says, she did it to protect her mom. She didn’t want Alicia to have to do anything like that. Madison says she thought she could build a place where Alicia wouldn’t have to, where she and Madison’s son could feel safe. But all she ever did was put them in danger. Tracy says, so Madison gets it. Why she has to do this. She shoots Madison in the side, and Madison falls out of the car. She laughs, and says, Tracy finally understands this is what happens when you try to build something better. You end up giving people hope and putting them in danger and getting them killed. Find Alicia and make sure she understands too. Tracy says, Alicia’s not her mom. She’s done listening to Madison. She runs away.

Victor and the others run to the island, and Victor radios for help. Luciana and Daniel hear him, but Luciana says, they can’t get there in time. They’ll have to fight on their own. Victor says, it can’t end like this. Nooo!

On the island, the dead are being burned in funeral pyres. Troy is now a zombie and stuck in a tree. Tracy sees him, and says she’s been looking for him all night. She shot Madison; she had to. She thinks everyone died on the island. She loves him. She aims the gun and shoots.

Tracy buries Troy, and says, he was all she had left. She looks at the gun, when Victor comes along. He tells her to put the gun down, but she says, leave her alone. He says, if that’s what she wants, but first he’d like to help clean her up, and there’s something he needs to tell her. Zombies are heading their way, and Victor picks up the gun and holds out his hand. He says he knows a place that’s safe.

Tracy asks what Victor wants. Why is he still here? He says, because she still has something left to fight for. She just doesn’t know it yet. She asks how he can say that. How is he even alive? He says, Madison saved him. She saved all of them. He promised he’d find Tracy and tell her what Madison did. Tracy says, no, no, no. She shot Madison. She killed her. We see Madison after Tracy shot her. She gasps and gets up. Victor says, she thought she was dying too. She thought it was all over. Tracy asks, what happened? Madison takes the magazine out of her pocket, and Victor says, something stopped the bullet, the St. Christopher’s medallion, Alicia’s medallion. Tracy says she doesn’t understand, and Victor says, after Tracy shot her and Madison realized Tracy wanted everything to end, she knew she was wrong. She knew she had to do something big, something monumental, if there was any hope in restoring Tracy’s faith in what’s worth fighting for. We see the fighting on the island and Dwight yelling, move! Victor says, for the people they love, for the people they have, for the things that are bigger than all of them. We see June tending wounds, and Victor says, for the things they’d give their up lives to protect. Tracy says, no way she saved them all with that many dead, but he says she did. The same way she did before. Like a repeat of the stadium. We see Madison drawing the zombies’ attention with a flare, and leading them away, and Victor says, she led the dead into PADRE’s walls so they could escape to the docks and live. Madison breaks open fire extinguishers, and Tracy asks why she did that for them, and he says, it wasn’t just for them. It was for her too, so she would know. She says, know what? and Victor says, that her dad and Madison were right. They knew fighting for something better could get you killed, but it also does something that just fighting to survive can’t. It can let you live forever. Madison sets fire to the horde and blows up everything. Tracy says she’s got no one left, but Victor says, she has him and all the others. Tracy says, Madison died for her and so did her father. She can’t. She pushes Victor and takes the gun. She says she can’t be here, and runs out into the dark woods.

Tracy picks a flower among the rubble and brings it to a sleeping Madison. She takes out the medal and tells Madison that she found a chain in the supplies. She wishes it still worked. She puts it in Madison’s hand, and Madison stirs. Tracy takes out the gun, and Madison wheezes, then coughs. She asks, where is she? and Tracy says, she’s awake. She’s thought Madison was going die and had to drag her up here on a stretcher. She got antibiotics. She thought Madison’s lungs were infected. Her dad trained her in all fields of medicine. Madison says, the fort collapsed, and Tracy says, it took her half a day to dig Madison out. If she hadn’t had this one mask, Madison would have suffocated. Madison sits up, and says, Tracy came back. Tracy says, Madison is the only family she has left. Victor told her what she did. Madison says she’s sorry about Tracy’s dad, and Tracy says she knows. She’s sorry she shot Madison. Madison says she doesn’t think she gave Tracy much choice and sits up. She did good. She did real good. A woman asks if anyone is there, and Tracy grabs the gun, telling her, stop. No closer. The woman says she’s not here to hurt anyone, and Tracy says, put your hands up and move slowly, but the woman says, she can put the gun down. She’s just here to bury her… We see it’s Alicia and she says, mom? They hug and cry.

Madison says she can’t believe it’s real, but Alicia promises it is. She asks if Madison is okay, and Madison says she will be. Meowing comes from Alicia’s duffel bag, and Tracy runs over, opening the bag and petting… Skidmark! I nearly burst into tears. I forgot all about him. Alicia says, it’s a very old friend she came across searching a warehouse for supplies. She’s trying to return him to his rightful owner. Madison asks how she found them, and Alicia says, a story woman about a woman who sacrificed herself here. The person who told her said her name was Madison. It didn’t make sense, and she didn’t know how Madison could possibly be alive, but she had to be sure. She saw the fort over there. How is Madison still here? Madison says, Alicia’s daughter came back and saved her, and Alicia asks what she’s talking about. Madison says, Tracy, the child Troy took, but Alicia says she never had a kid. Tracy says, Alicia’s not her mom? and Alicia says, no, but she knew Tracy’s mom when Tracy was a baby. Her name was Serena. She was a pretty amazing woman. Madison wonders why Troy lied; she doesn’t understand. Tracy says, Troy knew how hard Madison fought for her own kids and gave Madison a reason to for her. Madison asks who Alicia heard the story from.

On a bridge overlooking a highway, Alicia says she’d been picking up outside chatter on the road. She would have looked for Madison if she’d known she was alive. Madison says she would have looked for Alicia too; she would have never stopped looking. Alicia says, after Troy attacked her and she got back on her feet, she went to find the people she’d been saying with, and she saw something on the road; women dressed like her, using the weapons she was using, doing the things she was doing, helping people. Madison says she met some of them, and Alicia says, it was like the story of what she’d done was doing more good than she could do on her own. So she went somewhere else and used a different name so Troy couldn’t find her. If she hadn’t, maybe they’d have found each other. Madison says she made the right choice. She gave people something to believe in. Tracy runs over with binoculars, and they duck down. They see several trucks coming down the road, and Alicia says, the people who told her what Madison did had one of those containers. We see the trucks said PADRE, but now the P is changed to an M, and they say MADRE. Madison wonders if it’s because of her, and Alicia says, they don’t even know she’s alive.

The four trucks meet at a crossroads. Luciana asks if everyone has a mask and knows where to refuel, and June says, yes. Dove asks what direction June is going in, and June says, there’s a cabin in Texas she needs to visit, someone she hasn’t seen in a while. Dove asks if she wants company, and June says, it’s far, but Dove says it will give June time to teach her medicine. What June did for her when she was shot, she wants to learn to do the same for other people. June says, then she’s going to the right place. The cabin belonged to her husband. It’s where she met him. Where he taught her to shoot and survive and to live again. If he can do that for her there, maybe she can do the same for… Odessa. Ada says, the repeater stations will allow them to stay in touch, and Dwight says, they’ll be hearing from him. He’s going to be looking for the parents who are still out there. Sherry says, they found each other against all odds, they’d like to do the same for the kids. Odessa asks, after they find them, what then? and Sherry says, they’ll figure it out. Everyone disperses into their vehicles, and Sherry asks what Dwight is thinking. He says he’s thinking about the Sanctuary. They could take everybody there. She asks, why go back there? and he says, they know it’s defensible, and the streets are still intact. She says she lost him to that place before. She can’t lose him again. He says, she’s not going to. They’re a family. Maybe they can take the place and make it worthy of its name. Make Finch proud. Sherry nods, and says, okay. Let’s try. He says he loves her; she says she loves him too, and they kiss.

Daniel says he was thinking about what he told Victor, and he was wrong… in some parts. Victor did save him and his family when the world fell apart. Thanks for the Abigail. Victor says, don’t thank him for something people should do for one another. Daniel caught him on a good day. Daniel says, maybe Victor does remind him of the worst parts of himself. He doesn’t know if people like them can act differently. Maybe that’s why he has a problem with Victor. But for the sake of the others and their own sakes, he guesses they’ve got to try and change. Victor thinks he has, but whether Daniel has is up to him. In German, Daniel says, I’m tired of war. All the best. He puts his hand on Victor’s shoulder and moves on. Victor hugs Luciana and tells her to take good care of herself. She says, him too. Gracias. He kisses her hands, and goes to the truck. Daniel hears a cat, and Skidmark comes out from under the truck. He asks, where did you come from? and laughs, picking the cat up and hugging him.

Victor sees a freshly picked flower in the truck and asks if Klaus put this in here. Klaus says, no. Why? Victor says, nothing, and they get in. Frank says, he did all he could. If Tracy wants to be found, she will. They’ll comb the area a few more times. He gets in, and Victor looks out the window. He sees Madison, Alicia, and Tracy walking away through a yard, and Frank asks what he’s looking at. Victor says, nothing, and starts the truck. He asks, where to? and Klaus puts his finger randomly on the map. Victor says, onward. I wonder if Victor will tell them one day.

Madison and Alicia lean against the truck, and Tracy asks if Madison is sure she’s okay with this. Madison says, they don’t need her. They’re like the people who step in for Alicia. They’ll do better if they think she’s gone. Before she gives them a reason to stop believing. Alicia asks, where to? and Madison says she’s been having visions of Alicia and Nick, before everything went bad. Alicia asks, where? and Madison says, Los Angeles. Alicia says, they saw it get bombed, but Madison says, that was a long time ago. It’s probably still pretty rough there, and people could use their help. She puts her hand on the cannister holding Nick’s ashes and remembers the old days. She says, it will never be what it was, but that doesn’t mean they can’t start over. Alicia says, let’s go, and Madison asks if Tracy is in. Tracy says, yeah, let’s go, and they get in the truck.  

The song, Mama Tried plays as they drive away.  

There are thank yous for the cast to the fans. Thank You #WalkingDeadFamily.

🌊 See you later for soap and awful people on Deck.

Nov20

November 19, 2023 – First Part of Fear Finale & Dog

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

Disclaimer… or something. To do this amazing but very, very long finale justice in editing, I give you Part 1 right now and will post Part 2 tomorrow. Or later today. Or… I’m tired.

Fear the Walking Dead

Part 1 – Fighting Like You

Mississippi Queen plays, and we see a fire being set and bright lights coming on. The zombie horde is led out of the woods by Troy and company. He radios Russell who says, they’re in formation. He’ll see Troy at the rendezvous. Tracy asks how they’ll get to PADRE, since it’s an island. They can’t walk the zombies in. Troy asks, who said they were walking? Russell came through with the perfect way to get them there. They’ll finally have a home. Tracy says, her mom pulled loose, and zombie Serena scrabbles at the back window of the truck. Troy says, she won’t hurt them. She’s going to be the one to make Madison pay for everything she’s done. He asks Tracy, what’s wrong? and Tracy asks why her mom has to kill Madison. Troy says, Alicia’s mother put the thinking into people’s heads that got them killed, and they can’t let that happen to anyone else. Tracy says, Victor told her the St. Christpher medal belonged to Alicia, but Troy asks if she knows how many St. Christopher medals are out there. He was mistaken. Her mother gave it to him when she died and made him promise to give it to her and keep her safe. That’s what he’s been doing ever since. Tracy yells, look out! and the truck flips over an embankment.  

Tracy tells Troy, wake up, and he opens his eyes. She says, he’s been out for hours, and he asks, what happened? She says, they went over an embankment. She thinks he ran over a trap. Troy has been impaled with a tree branch, which is sticking out of his upper chest, and he says he’s pinned to the seat. He asks, where’s the gun? and she says, he lost it when they crashed. She can’t find it. He says, they have to catch up with Russell, and tries pulling the branch out, but he can’t. He says, Tracy has to go meet Russell. He’ll give her the coordinates. But she says she’s not leaving him. He says she has to. It’s everything they’ve fought for. If she doesn’t make it to PADRE, everything they’ve done won’t mean anything. Tracy says she’s going to find help. She doesn’t want to live there if she’s not with him. She gives him the medal to keep him safe like, and says she’ll come back for him. Then they’ll make PADRE their home together. She runs off, zigzagging through the zombies headed for the truck.  

A zombie is squashed by the MRAP tank, and Madison gets out. Victor radios, as Madison realizes the zombie horde is gone. He asks where she is, and she says she can’t help him. Enough people died because of her and she can’t put the rest at risk. He says, it’s just him and his newly found friends. She says she has the tank, ammo, and guns, and doesn’t need help. Unlike him, she has no one to disappoint. He should build PADRE into what Alicia wanted. Victor says, she thinks it’s one thing, then can’t stop. He learned the hard way at the Tower. There was always one more thing he had to do to keep it safe. Before he knew it, he was the thing people needed protection from. There’s another way. Madison opens the back door to the tank, and sees Tracy. She asks what Tracy is doing here. Where’s Troy? Tracy says, he’s hurt, and Madison says, bullsh*t, but Tracy says, he crashed the truck. Madison asks, why Russell didn’t help, and Tracy says, he couldn’t. He’s leading the rest of the herd. Madison asks, where? but Tracy says she doesn’t know. Madison asks, who does know? and Tracy says, her dad is going to die if she doesn’t help him. Madison asks why she’s here, and Tracy says she thought she could use the radio. Madison asks where the truck is, and Tracy hesitates, but Madison says, Tracy can’t use her radio and she’s running out of options. Tracy says, it’s down an embankment, about a mile east of here. Madison sits her down, and zip ties her wrist to the tank. She radios Victor and says, change of plans. She’s leaving the MRAP. Victor asks, where she’s going, and she says, to kill Troy. Tracy says, no! What happened to, no one’s gone until they’re gone? She told Victor to build what Alicia wanted. If Madison gave Victor a second chance, why not her dad? Madison says, he doesn’t deserve one, and Tracy says, that’s not what Alicia believed. Help her dad the way Alicia helped her. She gestures toward Alicia’s mechanical arm, displayed in the tank, and Madison leaves.  

Russell radios Troy and says he’s picking up stragglers. How is Troy in the same place? Troy says, by the looks of it, he’s not going anywhere. Promise him something. Russell says, anything, and Troy tells him whatever happens, find Tracy and make sure she gets there. Russell promises she’ll finally have a home. The zombies coming closer to Troy are whacked in the head, as Russel says, they’ll take the island. Madison says, no, they won’t, and neither will Troy. He pulls the branch out of the seat, but not his chest, and he launches himself at Madison. They tumble down, and he pushes her toward zombie Serena. Madison twists the stick, pulls it out, and shoves it in zombie Serena’s head. Troy says, she had no right. Madison picks up the hammer, and says she’ll bury him next to her, and he says, she thinks killing him will help build the island. She says, he killed her daughter. She has to do what she has to, to make sure Alicia’s memory didn’t die with her. People like them are no longer in this world, but Troy says, she can’t kill him. She wants to stop the herd, and he’s the only person who knows where they’re going. She says, her people will figure it out, but he says, not in time. She needs to do something for him. He needs to see his daughter. He needs to tell her something. Madison brings out the radio, and says, tell her now, but he says he needs to see her. She says, nice try, a-hole, and he says, let him bury his wife. Bring him to his daughter, and he’ll take her to Russell. She asks what he has to tell Tracy that’s so important, and he says, it just is. She asks how she knows he’ll hold up his end of the deal, and he says, she doesn’t. Just like he doesn’t know she won’t kill him. She says, okay. She takes him to Tracy, who asks, what happened to him? He says he was doing what it takes to protect PADRE and get to see his daughter one more time. Madison radios Victor and says she’s coming back. She’s bringing Troy and he’s going to lead them to the herd. And she’s bringing Tracy. She tells Troy, hold still, and pulls out the stick. He falls over.

Tracy watches one of Alicia’s video tapes, when Victor opens the tank. He asks what she’s doing here, and she says, waiting for her father. He agreed to tell them where the herd is heading. Victor says, whether he’s lying or not remains to be seen. Why would her father help when PADRE is everything to him? Why would he give it up? He supposes they’ll find out. Tracy says, he’s going to kill Madison when he gets what he wants. She thinks he doesn’t deserve a second chance. One of the Alicia clones asks, how many tapes has Tracy seen? If she watches more, she’ll see that Madison gave a lot of people second chances, whether they deserved them or not. Tracy says, like who? and Victor tells her that Madison never gave up on him, but Tracy says, Madison’s not her anymore. Madison radios Victor and says, they’ll be there shortly. Troy buries Serena, and she tells him, it must be nice to bury the person you love. He says, Alicia can rot on her feet forever, and she asks if he wants her to put the branch back in. Keep talking. He says, his wife is dead because of her, and she asks, why? Troy says, it’s not important, and Madison says, it was important enough for him to kill her daughter over it, and he says, Serena was pregnant, and they were still looking for a place live since Mexico. She got bit. Madison says, and that’s Alicia’s fault? but Troy says, nope. Alicia’s the one who saved her. Madison asks, how? and he says he put out an SOS on the radio. Alicia was the last person he thought would respond, but she did. Madison says, she helped him? and he says, that surprises her, especially after how they parted ways in Brokejaw. Serena was bitten on the arm like Alicia, so she knew where to cut and how to do it… Then, when Serena was out of the woods, Alicia got back in the MRAP and left to help more people. Madison says she’s having a hard time seeing how this led to him killing Alicia, and he says, Serena changed after that; Alicia changed her. She wanted to be just like Alicia. Madison asks if she was, and he says, yeah. She tried to help as many as she could. One day, they got a call, and SOS on the radio. A guy said he needed help, and when Serena showed up, he shot her and robbed her. He took everything she owned and left her for dead. When Troy went looking for her, he found her holed up in a strip mall, but it was too late to save her; she’d lost too much blood. He held while she died. He listened to her weep about how she’d never watch their daughter grow up. She allowed herself to get wrapped up in Alicia’s bullsh*t, and she made him promise to never let Tracy hurt the way she did. So he never let his daughter believe the same bullsh*t Alicia put in Serena’s head. Madison says, that’s why he killed Alicia? and he says, yep. He made a promise. An errant zombie tumbles down the hill toward them and Troy shoves Madison, who gets tangled with it. He runs, but trips on a wire and falls into a trap. Madison extracts herself and goes over to the pit. She says, today is not his day, and Crane comes up behind her. He says, it’s not hers either, and hits her in the back of the head.

Madison wakes up on a barge, tied to Troy. Crane says, welcome back. Does she like his new digs? It doesn’t measure up to what they have in PADRE, but it was handy to get supplies to the cargo ship when he ran out of gas. Troy asks, who the hell is he and what does he know about PADRE? Crane says, he is PADRE. Or he was. Him and his sister. Lark got his sister killed. Madison says, she got herself killed, and Crane says, and Blue Jay spared him. Madison asks what he wants, and he says he’s looking for a way to get paid back. Today he found it. He heard them on the radio, and he’s prepared to give Troy what he wants. Troy asks, what’s the catch? and Crane says, he can start by telling his friend to call off the dogs, and Troy laughs. He asks why he’d do that, and Crane says, he’ll let Troy and his daughter live in PADRE. Madison says, he’s lying, but Crane says, Troy has more of a chance with him than Madison. Do they have a deal? He holds out the radio, and Madison yells to Victor that they’re on a barge near the docks, but Crane knocks her in the face. She says she should have killed him when she had the chance, and Crane says, this is what happens when you show mercy. She says she was trying to save his people from him and his sister, and Crane says, change of plans. Troy is going to tell his friends to call off their army in person and take him to the herd. If either one of them tries anything, he’ll kill them both. He tells his men to get the truck ready.

They drive, and Victor comes on the radio, saying, they’re at the barge… Crane turns off the radio and asks, what changed? Madison risked her life to reunite Wren and Nightingale. Now she’s using a father against his daughter. What happened to, family is worth fighting for? She says, it still is. She’s just fighting his way. Zombie blood hits the windshield, and Daniel, Luci, et al come out. Crane tries to overpower them, but zombies start coming. Luci calls to Madison, who shoots at Crane’s guys, and a couple of zombies get Crane down.

Luciana leads them into a nearby building, and Madison tries to radio Victor, but Troy says, he can’t hear. They have to get to higher ground. Daniel says, he’s not going anywhere, and Luciana says, they’re here for a reason. To do to him what he did to them at her truck stop. Daniel says, and Ofelia and Charlie and anyone else he hurt. Madison says, he can’t be the only one who knows where the herd is, and Luciana says, they can find it without Troy. Madison says she needs to find the MRAP and meet Victor on the road. Daniel is about to cut the bond tying Troy to Madison, but Madison stops him. She says, they can’t have him getting away when this is over. She has to make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone else. Daniel says, if she doesn’t, he will, and he and Luciana leave.

Troy and Madison walk, and Troy tells Madison that Crane isn’t going to take the herd. He sent Crane in the wrong direction. Madison asks, why? and he says he’s dealing with her, not them. Madison says, she’d kill him just as quick, but he says he doesn’t think so. He knows her, or maybe he knows what it is to believe in something so hard, you can’t let it go. They get to a footbridge that’s basically rope and boards, hanging over a lagoon where zombies are lurking. Troy wants to cross, but Madison says, something is pulling them down, probably quicksand. If the bridge breaks, they’re both dead. A shot fires, and Crane says he found them. They run to the bridge, which looks pretty shaky, and they start to go across. It breaks, and the zombies look up, ready for an easy lunch. Crane takes the trusty ax he just happens to have, and cuts one of the ropes. Madison and Troy fall in.

Crane tells Madison that he thought she needed to be paid back after what she did to his sister. It’s what she deserves. Troy asks what he’s talking about, and Crane says, she let Shrike get bit over and over. Her and Nightingale let it happen. Troy says he wants to get his daughter, and Crane says, that’s why the right people need to protect them from themselves, and especially from the kids. Why does Madison think they saved her at the stadium? They heard her on the radio; no one is gone til they’re gone. They found her in the water truck, gasping for air, surrounded by zombies. They didn’t hesitate to pull er out. If she was willing to die for them, they knew they could get her to do just about anything. She thought her beliefs would save her kids, but in the end, it’s what got them killed. Madison yells, come on! to the zombies toddling around in the woods, and Crane’s so busy being full of himself, they get him down and he’s out. Troy says he’s sorry, but Madison says, that’s not going to get them out. Troy says, they’re not that different, but she says she’s nothing like him. He says, the northwest corner is where he was leading them, to the swamp. He was hoping the current would sweep them to the island. She asks why he’s telling her this. Maybe she doesn’t deserve a second chance. Troy says, she does, but not if they’re not found in time. He didn’t want it to end like this. Madison says, the truth is, PADRE is better off without people like them, and they duck underwater.

Victor tells Madison, stay with them, and she coughs up water. She says, they found them and saved her, but he says, Daniel and Luciana found them. Luciana says, they’re not the ones who saved her. Tracy did. Troy says she grabbed a root and pulled them out. They used Crane’s ax to snap the cuffs. Troy says he wasn’t telling Madison the truth about what Serena said, that she regretted following Alicia. After Alicia helped Serena, Alicia gave Serena the medal and said it would bring them luck. Tracy says, he told her… He says, he knows: he lied. Serena made him promise to let Alicia believe she was alive, so she’d always know what she was fighting for. He broke that promise. Daniel says, he’s a liar, and Luciana asks why they should believe him. Troy says, he knew what it was to believe hard in something and not want to let it go. He saw it in Serena’s eyes. She never let go. She believed in it even though it got her killed. When she was going under, something in her eyes, the look of someone dying believing in nothing. He couldn’t let that happen, not for Tracy’s sake. He didn’t do what Serena asked and keep it alive. Maybe he could if he was given a second chance. Madison gets up and says, like Troy did for Alicia? He said he’d take them to the herd. It’s time for him to hold up his end of the deal.

The song Hair of the Dog plays, and Russell radios Troy. He says he’s here. He caught up to the herd. Troy should see it. Troy says he does, and Russell might want to get down. The MRAP barrels in, and the machine guns open up on the zombies. Russell says, it’s going to take more than that, and Madison says, they know. A truck caravan pulls by, with Dove in the last truck bed. The caravan leads the herd away, and big baby Russel whines, nooo.  

Madison takes some oxygen, and Victor asks how she is. June says she has fluid in her lungs, and they need to get back to the island. Dwight says, they broke up the herd, and June says, they have to get back to PADRE. Victor thinks they should give Troy the benefit of the doubt, but Luciana asks how they can trust him. Victor asks, what about second chances? He and Daniel are just as guilty for what they’ve done. Daniel asks if willing risk that. Troy tells Tracy that it worked. It kept him safe. He gives her back the medal. He did what he said and found them a home and kept her safe. He’s sorry he lied for so long. Madison says, they have to get ready to head out and help the others and tells Tracy that she wants to talk to her dad. Tracy goes to help, and Madison says she’s been thinking about Alicia and how she gave Troy a second chance despite everything. She shows him Alicia’s mechanical arm and says, it’s all she has left. Troy says, it doesn’t have to be. He’ll do everything in his power to make sure he’s worthy of a second to everyone on the island. Things have changed. She has to believe him. She says, that’s just it. She doesn’t. She stabs him with the arm, and Tracy yells, no! and runs off. Victor wonders about second chances, and Madison says, Troy was right. That’s what got Alicia killed. If she hadn’t done this, she’d be putting them at risk. It’s how they survive. As he’s dying, Troy tells Madison to fight for Tracy. She’s not his daughter. Serena died before the baby was born. Madison asks who her mother is, and he says, Alicia. He took her child to make up for what he lost. Madison yells, no! and Troy dies. She asks where Tracy has gone, and everyone looks confused or lost or both.

🐊 See You Later, Alligator…

Since this thing got away from me, come back again for Part 2. Until then, stay safe, stay remembering family is worth fighting for, and stay believing no one is gone until they’re gone.

Nov13

November 12, 2023 – What Would Alicia Do & Monsters

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

At PADRE kids are doing obstacle courses, food is being served, math lessons are being taught. June marches in with Dwight, Sherry, Dove, et al. A couple stops them, and tells them that no one is coming in. June asks, under whose orders? when Victor walks out and says, his. June asks where Tracy is. They know he has Troy’s daughter. Victor suggests perhaps discussing this in a more civilized manner, but Dwight says, this seems pretty civilized. Victor tells Dwight, long time, and asks Frank to bring Klaus to their room. June asks why Victor brought the girl here, and he says, Troy wouldn’t attack if he knew his daughter was here. Dwight says, or it’s the perfect reason to attack, but Victor says, Troy doesn’t know they’re here. It’s not like she’s tagged for migratory purposes. June says, if Victor was doing more than playing father, he would know the lengths a parent would go for their child, but Victor says, they still don’t know him. June says she does. She watched him make bad decision after bad decision. People lost their lives because of what he did. John’s father lost his life because of what he did. She’s not making the same again. He says, many people lost their lives because of her. They’ve all done things to survive, and no one can throw stones. When Tracy went missing, he saw an opportunity. He had to make a call. June says, no one asked him to, and he says he’s not the man he used to be. She asks how she knows that, and he says, she’s not the woman she used to be. Right, Naomi? Frank says, Victor told him everything, and Dwight asks who he is. Victor says, this is his husband, and June says, show them if he’s changed. Dwight says, help them bring Tracy back to her father, and Victor asks if they think that would satisfy Troy. June says, it might, if they bring him the man who kidnapped her too, and Dwight says, start walking. Victor says, they don’t know Troy like he does. He lost the hotel, and it’s his last chance to do good on what he promised Alicia. Dwight says he wishes he believed Victor, and June says, if he wants to show them that he’s changed, now’s the time. Victor looks at Frank, who shakes his head, but Victor says, let’s walk. Dove goes to get Tracy, and Frank says he won’t let Victor do this. He saw what that man did at the hotel. He’ll kill Victor. Victor says, these people will kill him if he doesn’t go, and he doesn’t want Frank in the crossfire. Wait for him. He’ll come back. Frank says he’ll be waiting. Victor leaves with June and the others, looking back one last time.

On the water in a boat from PADRE, June radios Troy that they have his daughter. She’s safe and they’ll return her if they agree to terms. Tracy asks if the blindfold is necessary, and Victor laughs. He says, it’s not going to work. They’re not going to remove it. The reason the settlement has lasted so long is that no one knows where it is. Tracy tells him to stop trying to be friends with her. He’s the one who brought her in. June radios Troy again, saying, Tracy is safe and will be returned. Victor tells her, no matter what Troy says, Troy is going to kill him and hurt Tracy. Tracy says, her father would do anything to protect her, but Victor says, her father’s not the man she thinks he is. June says, Victor can change, but not Troy? and Victor says, Troy is a sociopath on a revenge tour. He has issues. There’s a difference. Why is he the only person looking after Tracy? Sherry says, the only person he’s looking after is himself, but he says, it’s not about that. It’s about building PADRE the way Alicia wanted him too. Troy radios, and asks, who is this? Who has his daughter? June says he doesn’t know her, but she freed Madison and Victor from the hotel. She asks Tracy to talk to Troy, and Tracy says, it’s okay. They’re bringing her back. June says, they will, provided he gives them assurance he won’t take PADRE. Troy says, they took his daughter, but June says, they didn’t. Victor did, and they’re bringing him back too. Troy says, there’s one problem. They need a place to live. June suggests they stay at the hotel. Madison is no longer at PADRE, and his beef with her isn’t a beef with them. Does he want his daughter or not? He says, they have a deal. Bring her and Victor to the hotel. Victor says, it’s a trick, but June says, they’ll be there. Victor says, don’t do this, but Dwight says, it’s too late. Victor looks scared and grabs the blindfold off of Tracy. He says, now she knows where PADRE is, and Tracy takes a dive over the side of the boat. Victor jumps up and runs to the bow, pulling out wires and plugs as he goes. He too jumps off the boat, and Sherry tells Dwight to turn around, but he says he can’t. There’s no power.  

On land, a zombie grabs Tracy and she falls, but she scuttles away. Four of them surround her, and Victor arrives, whacking them in their undead heads. He tells Tracy that he’s not going to hurt her, and she says she’s not worth anything dead. He holds out his hand and sees a St. Christopher medal around her neck. He asks where she got the necklace, and she asks, what’s it to him? June calls to him, and he says, they’ve got to go. He’s not taking her back. Tracy asks where he is taking her, and he says, to the one person who can help both of them. Dwight begins to call their names, and Victor helps Tracy up.  

Madison plays loud music on a boombox in a forest clearing, and as zombies come out, she sledgehammers them. Apparently, she’s found her calling. When all the zombies are down, Victor calls Madison’s name. He brings Tracy out, and Madison asks what he’s doing here. She told him that she couldn’t help him build PADRE. He says, they’ll have agree to disagree on that, but that’s not why he’s here. She turns the music off, and he says he heard she was looking for Alicia. She says, Alicia deserves to be at rest. She did it for Nick and wants to do it for Alicia. She asks, who’s his friend? but Tracy says she’s not Victor’s friend. Victor says, she’s Troy’s daughter. He found her wandering and saved her life. Tracy says, he kidnapped her, and Victor says, perhaps the truth lies somewhere in the middle (as it almost always does). Madison asks, what’s her name? and she says, Tracy. Madison says, she has her father’s eyes, but don’t worry. She won’t make Tracy pay for his crimes. Tracy asks, what crimes? and Madison says, he killed her daughter on top of other sh*t he probably didn’t tell her about. Tracy says, he told her everything. How Madison killed his father and turned his brother against him. And how she left him for dead at the dam. She also killed Tracy’s mother. Madison says she doesn’t know what Troy told Tracy, but she didn’t know Tracy’s mother. She asks why Victor brought Tracy here, and he says, he took her to PADRE. It was the only play he had, but the peasants revolted, saying it was too risky to keep her there. Madison asks why he brought her here, and he says, it’s Madison’s best shot at finding Alicia. Tracy is wearing a medal that belonged to her. Madison asks how he knows, and he says, because he gave it to her. Madison asks, why? and he says, it doesn’t matter. What does, is that it may lead to Alicia. Madison asks if that’s true, and Tracy says, maybe. Madison says she’s not getting pulled in for a maybe, and Victor says, Tracy might be more forthcoming when she realizes they’re the only ones who can save her. Madison asks, from what? and he says, PADRE. June, Dwight, and Sherry want her because she knows where PADRE is. Madison asks why there was no blindfold, and Tracy says, Victor pulled it off. Victor says, they were going to send Tracy back to her father, and he had to make it impossible for them to turn her over. It’s what Alicia would have done. Tracy says, he did it because they going to hand him over too, and he brings her over to Madison. He says, Madison is the only person who knows the man he used to be. It’s not about saving his own skin; he’s saving Tracy’s too. Madison asks if she knows where to find Alicia, and Tracy says she doesn’t think she has a choice. Madison says, smart girl. All right. First, Tracy takes her to Alicia. Tracy asks, what happens after that? but Madison says she doesn’t know. But Victor’s right about one thing. She can’t go back to her father. They leave, and I envision a buddy series with Victor and Tracy. Kind of like The Last of Us or Arya and the Hound on Game of Thrones.

Madison hotwires a car with a full tank of gas at Luciana’s truck stop. Victor finds a gun in the glovebox, and says, thanks, Luci. Madison asks if he thinks Luciana will mind, and he tells her, the sign says, take what you need. They look at a map with Tracy, and hear Troy on the radio, but Victor says, he’s nowhere near them. He’s looking for June. They hear some people looking for Madison, and Madison wonders who they are. Victor asks if they’re Tracy’s father’s people, but Tracy says she doesn’t know who are. She says, they need a bigger map. Her dad’s fight with Alicia happened further than this. Victor looks in the car, and Tracy grabs the radio, trying to get Troy and shouting where she is. Madison snatches it back, and tells her, don’t do it again. Victor says, it’s okay. Troy’s people are by the hotel. They still have time. Tracy points at a spot on the map, and Victor asks if she’s sure.

A gas truck pulls in, followed by some other vehicles, and Daniel and Luciana get out. Luciana asks what they think they’re doing. She’s been monitoring radio chatter. Why did they bring Tracy here? Madison says, they’re just stopping by, and Luciana says she thought she made it clear she doesn’t want to get dragged into their fight. Daniel asks if Tracy is in their car, and Victor says, they’ll make sure Troy knows they had nothing to do with it. Luciana says, Troy won’t believe them, and Madison says, they need to pass through. Luci says, they’ve been put in danger already. She can’t let them travel this road. She has people who are still breathing that she needs to protect. They need to give Tracy back to Troy. Madison says, she knows where PADRE is, but Luciana says, that’s not her problem. Victor says, she knows what Troy is like, and she says, that’s why she’s giving Tracy back. Step away. Everyone draws their guns, but Daniel says, let them go. Even if they return Tracy, Troy will attack them; that’s his nature. They need to set a defensive perimeter. It’s easier to do now. On the side, Luciana says, what if they made a deal with Troy? but Daniel says, he needs to find out what’s going on. Luciana tells her men to lower their weapons, and Victor asks why they want to help. Daniel says he knows what it’s like losing a daughter. He wants to help Madison find Alicia and bury her. Daniel leaves with Madison, Victor, and Tracy.  

In the car, Tracy looks at the map and tells Victor to slow down. Daniel says, she’s been looking at the map for 15 minutes, and Victor says, she’s a child, not an atlas. Tracy says, he’s Daniel Salazar. Her dad told her about him. Daniel asks if her dad told her why he wants to kill him, and Victor asks him not to scare her. Daniel says, even children need to learn what we do and don’t do has consequences. They need to learn that no one gets a free pass. Tracy says, her dad said Daniel’s daughter died because she tried to poison a lot of people, but Daniel says, his daughter died because Tracy’s lunatic father led a herd of the dead to destroy his own settlement. She died defending that settlement. She died because of Tracy’s father. Victor asks why Daniel is here. He doesn’t give a sh*t about the girl. He wants Troy to feel what he feels. Madison says, there’s something fundamentally wrong with Daniel (touché!), and Victor stops the car, getting out his gun. He says, they’re leaving, and starts to get out. He asks why he’s the only one doing the right thing. They know how far he’ll go for what he believes is right. Daniel pushes the gun aside, and it goes off. The bullet hits the headrest, and Daniel tells Madison to go. She guns the engine, and Victor flies out into the road. Daniel asks if Madison wants to find Alicia or not, and Victor curses as zombies come toddling out. He says he’s really not in the mood today, and goes between tight trees. He gets to the road, but more come and he’s surrounded. One grabs him and then another, but he pushes them away. Yet another comes from behind, and we see it’s like a tent city for zombies along the road. I say, he can’t end this way, as he struggles with one, and a truck rattles down the road. Automatic weapons shoot from the top of the truck, and I wonder if it’s Al. Remember her? Victor is down, but the zombie on top of him is knifed in the head. A hand reaches down, and it looks like a mechanical arm, but it’s a metal sleeve on a normal arm. He asks who she is, and a young woman wonders if he thought she was Alicia Clark. She gets that a lot. She asks if he’s coming or not, and helps him up. He asks how many are with her, but she suggests they save the introductions for inside, and he gets in what’s essentially a tank.

Madison, Daniel, and Tracy get out of the car, and Madison asks if this is where they find Alicia. Tracy says, it’s what she said she wanted, but Daniel doesn’t think it’s a good idea. Madison says, it’s the only one she’s got, and they look down onto a bridge across a ravine where tons of zombies are standing around. Madison says, the herd is stuck. She’s seen that before. Daniel says, the ground is frozen, and Tracy says, Alicia is in the herd. Her father led it here before it got cold. The herd was following them, and he didn’t want it near the hotel. When the temperature dropped, he knew the mud froze. Madison says, Troy told her that he didn’t know where Alicia was, but Tracy says, he lied. He didn’t want her to find Alicia and bury her. Madison asks how she knows, and Tracy fingers the medal. She says, it doesn’t matter, and Madison says, let’s go.

The tank barrels along, and driver Della says, they’re a sitting duck until the guns are reloaded, but Troy doesn’t know they’re here. For now. Sitting in the back, Victor looks at his savior’s arm, and he says, the last time he was in here, he was with someone he never thought he’d see again. She says, Alicia told them before Troy killed her, and he asks if they knew her. She says, briefly. She passed through all their lives. He asks why they’re dressed like Alicia, and she says, it’s more than dressing like her. They’re keeping Alicia alive. They’re doing for others what Alicia did for them. The driver says, when they’re settlement was under siege, Alicia made their attackers regretted shaking them down. Passenger Sara says she had pneumonia, and Alicia found antibiotics for her. Victor says, what about the girl who saved him? and she says, he doesn’t remember her. They spoke when she was a kid. They were on a roof. Victor says, they were interviewed at the Tower, and she says she was with her dad. Victor turned them away. She thought they were going to die. They had no source for food and water that wasn’t contaminated. They had no shelter, and the air was bad. They heard a voice transmit a message. Alicia said, come to the Tower and we’ll build something better. When they got there, the fire was burning, and the Tower was destroyed. Not being able to help himself, Victor jokes that he should have left it in a better state than he found it, and she says, they weren’t the only ones who showed up. There were dozens of survivors, and they watched the Tower burn. She was thinking, this is where they’re going to die. Then a figure emerged on the horizon. Victor says, Alicia went back in the Tower after she put them on rafts, but she says, Alicia did more than that. She went in to get the fuel generator and drove them out of the wasteland and radiation. Her father died from exposure a few months after. Victor gets teary and says he’s so sorry. Her father died because of him. Why did she save him? She says, it’s what Alicia would have done, and he asks, how was she? Was she still sick from the bite? She says, the fever stopped, but Alicia didn’t spend much time with them after they were settled. Della says, Alicia never stayed in one place very long. She gave people hope, so they’re trying to do the same. Victor asks, what the girls name is, but she says, Alicia’s legacy will better continue if people believe she’s alive. Victor asks why they came here, and she says, they heard Madison’s message, and knew Troy wasn’t far behind. Victor asks why Troy killed Alicia, but she says, they don’t know. She wasn’t the only person Troy killed. Word spread. There used to be more of them. Victor tears up, and tries the radio. He says, it’s Victor, and asks Madison to please respond. They need to talk about Tracy. He says, they could be anywhere, and Alicia 2.0 says, they’re not going to find them driving blind. Troy comes on the radio and says, where is she? Madison better not have lost her. Victor says, he knows exactly where they’re going.  Where Troy hid Alicia. He can help, but Troy has to tell him where to go. Troy asks why he’d do that, and Victor says he could be Troy’s last chance. Troy says, Victor is the one who took her, and Victor says, and he’s the only one saving her. Troy will never catch up on foot. Troy says he won’t be on foot much longer.

At Luciana’s truck stop, she asks where Troy thinks he’s going. He says he remembers her, and in Spanish, he says, it’s a shame about Nick. She says she doesn’t want trouble. They can use the roads as long as none of her people get hurt. Troy asks if she’s going to help him, even though Nick chose the ranch over her? She says, her people are more important than her pride, and Troy says, then stand down. They’re outnumbered and outgunned. He tells his men, fan out and take what’s worth taking. Luciana says, don’t, and he says, it doesn’t end well. She says, for you, not us, and Dwight and the others come out. I’m thinking, now Troy is outnumbered, and Troy says, so this was all bullsh*t. Luciana says she needed to get close to him. Stand down. Troy says he’s trained all his men, and they’ll take out more of Luciana’s people than vice versa. Dwight suggests they test that theory, and Frank says, he’s looking to make room in the hotel again, Troy says he has no time for this. His daughter’s in danger. Luciana says, stand down, and June says, his daughter’s as good a reason as any to lower his weapons. Troy says, no, and reaches for something. Everyone gets tense (or more tense than they are already), but Troy says, it’s just a walkie. He radios for Victor, and says, fortunately for Victor, he’s the only person who can help him make sure his daughter is okay. Victor says, tell him where they are.

A cowboy walker gets kneecapped by Madison, and literally breaks off at the knees. She says, he’s a long way from home, and Daniel says, he’s not the only one. He asks Tracy how long the herd had been following them, but she says she doesn’t know. She didn’t know about it until they got here. Daniel says, something’s not right. It doesn’t make sense. Madison says, the zombies can’t hurt them, and asks where Alicia is. Tracy says, somewhere in here, and points. Daniel says, the man led a herd of dead against his own people, and Madison tells him, go back then. She’s got Tracy. Daniel says he’s not letting Tracy out of his sight, and they walk through the stuck zombies. Tracy says, there, and they walk through into the forest where the zombies were headed. Daniel asks if Madison wants help, and Madison says, give her a minute. She walks up to a zombie who looks like she could be Alicia from behind and says she’s so sorry. She would come if she’d known. Daniel draws his gun, and Madison says she would have stopped Troy from doing this. She pushes the zombie’s hair away from its face and thinks of Alicia. She gets a good look and says, it’s not her. Tracy pushes her into the zombie, who breaks off at the feet. They both fall, and Madison says she can’t believe she listened to Tracy. Where’s her daughter? Why lie? Tracy says, that’s her mother, and she wanted her to make Madison pay. Extracting herself, Madison says she’s never seen her before, and Tracy says, her mother saw Madison and Alicia, and believed what they believed. That’s why she’s dead. Madison asks what that means, and Tracy says, no one’s gone until they’re gone. It killed her, like it killed Madison’s kids. Madison takes in some oxygen, and Daniel says, they should leave, but Madison says she needs to figure out what to do. Daniel wonders if she’s going to use Tracy to make Troy pay for what he did to her daughter, and Madison says, she knows where PADRE is. There’s only one way to protect the island. Looking at her sledgehammer, Daniel asks if she’s got the stomach for that, and Madison says, Tracy just tried to use her own mother to kill her. Daniel ties Tracy’s wrists together, and Tracy says, no. They can’t do this. Madison says, she should have thought about that before she brought them out here, and God forgive me, I laugh. Tracy begs as Daniel ties her to a tree. She says she knows where her dad killed Alicia. The old mansion off Route 26 near Fort Worth. Madison says, she’s lying, but Tracy says, it’s the truth. Madison says, that doesn’t change the fact that she knows where the island is. Victor yells, stop! and Madison tells him, it’s a lie. Alicia’s not here. Coming out with the three girls, Victor says, Alicia’s body may not be here, but Alicia still is in the women carrying on her legacy. A zombie grabs Madison and they kill it, Tracy frees herself from the tree, and starts to sprint off. Victor says, wait, but she tells him, it’s just like her dad said. They’re going to kill her. She takes off, and Madison says, they have to go after her. The zombies are starting to pry themselves loose from the frigid ground, some of them breaking and falling, but some getting free. Alicia 2.0 says, they knew Madison’s daughter wouldn’t want her to die like this. Alicia would her to help and protect Madison. Madison says, let’s go, and they run.

At Luciana’s truck stop, there are small fires burning, and trucks pulling up. Luciana radios Daniel, who says he’s glad she’s alive. How bad was it? She says, Troy’s men had them surrounded. He and his men didn’t care if they lived or died. Victor looks at Frank, who’s tending to a gravely wounded older man, but Victor says, it’s too late. Frank says he can save him, and calls for more dressing, but the man has already turned zombie. Victor takes care of it and says he’s sorry. Frank says, we need to stop this man who did this to all our friends, and Victor says, we will. Madison asks, where’s Troy? and Luciana says, he’s not here. He stole a truck, but he’s lost most of his men. What matters is if he knows where PADRE is. Madison says, he’s going to do what he did to the ranch, and Daniel says, that’s what the dead were for, his army. Dwight says he’s taking a headcount, and Madison tells Luciana where Tracy said Alicia was. Luciana says she’ll take Madison there after this is over. Alicia 2.0 stares at Madison and says, Madison has no idea what this means. Until she heard the message, she thought Madison was dead. Madison asks how they know her, and Sara says, the interview tape. They listened to it so many times, they wore it out. Madison asks if Victor put them up to this, but he shakes his head. She tells the girls, none of it means anything, but Victor says, when he came to her in the library, he thought he needed her to face what was coming, but he didn’t. She needs him. She almost killed a little girl. Madison says, to protect everyone else. She doesn’t have anyone left to disappoint, so she can get her hands dirty. Victor says he pushed Alicia away, so she didn’t have to get her hands dirty. He gave her the medal, so she’d remember who she was, because he didn’t know if he’d be able to. He was wrong. He wasn’t protecting her. He was using it as an excuse not to be a better man, and he won’t let that happen to Madison. Madison gets in the back of the truck, and Victor says, let him come with her. Luciana says, she needs help, and Victor says, she’s got it. Daniel says, it doesn’t look like it. He hates Troy as much as she does. Use him. Madison says, he may end up dead. There’s only one way. She’s going to finish what she started ten years ago at the dam. She pulls away, as Victor yells her name. Daniel says, that’s not the way to end this.  

Next time, Madison says, killing Troy is how PADRE survives; Victor says, Madison never gave up on him; and Madison faces Troy with her sledgehammer.

☮️ Peace In Rest…

Boomerang back on Monday really Tuesday for soap and that mess on the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay considering volunteering at your local soup kitchen on Thanksgiving, and stay remembering that what you do and don’t do has consequences, and no one gets a free pass.

Nov6

November 5, 2023 – Dwight Tries To Make Something Good From Something Bad & Climbing

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

A man goes inside an abandoned house, kicking garbage out of his way. He lights a lantern. We see it’s Dwight. He looks at a framed photo of Sherry and himself in better days, and flashes back to Daryl telling him, make it right. He tries to rest, but is unsuccessful, so he whittles. He hears something and checks the house. He hears a man coughing in one of rooms, slips into the room, and grabs the man in the dark. The man says he thought the place was empty, but Dwight says, it’s not. The man asks if Dwight lives here, but Dwight says, it doesn’t matter. The man tells Dwight that his name is Jay, and Dwight asks if he’s going to walk out, or does he want Dwight to drag him out? Jay says he got robbed, and he’ll die if he doesn’t get what they stole back. Dwight says, there’s nothing valuable anymore, but Jay says, there is if you’re a diabetic; he had insulin in his bag. Dwight says, he’s full of sh*t. There’s no insulin left. Jay says, there was in his group. They had a guy who could make it, and he believed in miracles until the thieves killed him. They took everything, and with what he had he would have made it through the week. Dwight asks if Jay is messing with him. Does Jay expect him to believe this is a coincidence? Who told him? Jay asks, who told him what? and Dwight gets him down on the floor. He asks, who told Jay about him? Jay said he had a week’s supply. What happens after? Jay says he doesn’t know, but a week in hell is better than being dead. Please. He lost everyone. He owes it to them to make things right, however much time he has left. Dwight asks if Jay knows where the thieves are at, and Jay says he does.

Outside the old Sanctuary, zombies growl, and Dwight asks Jay if the guys who took his medicine are in there. Jay says, yeah, and Dwight says, good luck. He’s going to ask one more time, who told Jay about him? Jay asks why Dwight thinks someone else is involved, and Dwight says, the last time he helped someone get insulin, he ended up here. Jay says, at the factory? and Dwight says, they didn’t call it that then. Jay asks what it was called, and Dwight flashes back to when he lived there under Negan’s oppression. Dwight says, the Sanctuary. His life has been sh*t since he set foot in there. He doesn’t know if it’s Jay or the universe playing a sick joke on him, but he’s not going in there for anyone. Jay says, they’re not that different. His wife was everything to him. They killed her and their son too. Dwight came back alone, and Jay thinks Dwight lost someone too. If they don’t help each other, what are they even doing here? Dwight thinks a moment, and says, all right. He’ll meet Jay back at the house. Dwight looks at the zombie chained to the perimeter fence, and walks around, checking out the lay of the land.

Dwight sneaks inside, and creeps around. He sees windowed double-doors, a light shining behind them, and flashes back to Sanctuary life again. He goes into the room and rifles through the bags. He finds the insulin and finds a picture of Jay with his wife and son. He runs to the exit and sees the symbol for infinity etched on the wall. He looks through the furnace door window at the flames inside and sees the iron hanging next to the furnace and remembers Negan burning his face with the iron. A gun cocks and a voice says, turn around, a-hole. Dwight turns and guard Phil asks what he has there. Dwight says, they took someone’s medicine, and he’s here to get it back. Phil says, somebody did a number on Dwight’s face, and Dwight says, he’ll walk out, and Phil will never have to see his face again. Phil says, Dwight stole from them, and needs to be made an example. They’ll start on the other side of his face. In a lightening swift move, Dwight grabs Phil and shoves – no, shoots – him into the blazing furnace. I’m in awe. A bullet grazes Dwight, and a man asks what the hell he thinks he’s doing. A bunch of men run in and their leader Marty says, they’ll find out. Dwight jets out of the building, and wonders where Jay is. He calls to Jay and zombie Jay comes out from behind the bushes. Dwight knifes him in the head, and says, Daryl should have killed him when he had the chance. He tried make it right. He guesses he couldn’t. Daryl should have killed him. Please come and do it now. He cries – aww – and yells, please! A car approaches and pulls up. Sherry gets out, and asks what Dwight is doing here. She came to find him. June gets out and says she needs him. He passes out.

Inside somewhere, Sherry stitches Dwight up, and he says, they need to get out. Sherry asks, what happened? Who did this? The guy outside? He says, no, and she says, then who? but he says, it doesn’t matter. If they’re seen, those guys will kill them. June says, they’re almost done, and tells Sherry, pinch, pierce, then pull. Dwight asks if June shouldn’t be doing this, but June says, it’s better this way. Dwight says, they need to go, but June says, they’re not leaving without him. Sherry says, a fight is coming, and Dwight asks, what kind of fight? June says, one they can’t win without him, and Sherry says, Troy has a score to settle. He wants to take PADRE from Madison. Dwight says, sounds like her fight, but Sherry says, Madison is MIA, and Victor is in charge. Dwight says, he’s still alive? and she says, a lot has happened since he’s been gone. He asks what it has to do with him, and Sherry says, he’s trained a lot of kids. June says, they trust him and will listen to him, but he says, nothing he does or says to them will help them do any better. He asks why Dove is here, and Dove says, PADRE is the only home she’s known. Without it, she’s got nothing. Dwight gets up, and says he can’t help save those kids. He couldn’t save his own son. June says, that’s not his fault, but he says, it doesn’t matter. Every time he tries to make something right, someone gets hurt. Sherry says, that’s not true, and Dwight says, the guy outside needed insulin, just like her sister. He asked Dwight for help, and he died. The best thing he can do for PADRE and the kids is leave here alone. Sherry asks if he thinks she wanted to come. She came for their son. He says, Finch is gone, but she says, PADRE isn’t. He says, that place is the reason Finch is dead. Why fight for it? She says, maybe something good can come from something bad, and he says, it won’t. She says, they have to try, and he asks, why? She says, Finch’s life needs to mean something. Making PADRE is how they can honor him. Dwight says he can’t go back. He’ll honor Finch in his own way. He gets up, and Sherry asks what he thinks Finch would say if his father walked away from kids who needed protection, and he says, it’s not because he doesn’t care. It’s because he does. He leaves, and June says, it’s fine, but Sherry follows him out.

The three of them go outside, and June radios Dove. Dwight asks, what’s wrong? and Sherry says, Dove has been missing since they woke up. June asks Dove to tell her where she is, when a truck pulls up with Dove driving. June says, she looks hurt, and Sherry runs to the cab. Dove is slumped against the steering wheel. Dove sits back, insisting she doesn’t need help, but June says, she looks wounded. Dove lifts her shirt and shows June a bullet wound, and June checks her out. June says, there’s no exit wound. They need to get the bullet out right away. Sherry asks, who did this? and Dove says, someone tried to steal the truck. They were looking for someone that burned their friend. Dwight says, they have to get her inside, and June says she needs anesthetics. They have to get the bullet out and the wound cleaned before Dove goes into septic shock. Dwight points out that she said we, and June says, they need medical supplies. Marty says he should have known Dove would be with them, and he and his guys come out of the woods. Marty says, sorry about the girl, but what after Dwight did to Phil, it feels like a beautiful karma. Sherry asks what he’s talking about, and Dove says, Dwight’s the one who burned their friend. Marty says, Dove doesn’t look so hot. Maybe they can help. They have top notch medical supplies, but of course Dwight already knows that, since he was inside. Sherry asks Dwight, where? and Dwight says, the Sanctuary. Marty says, tick-tock. What’s it going to be? June asks what he wants in exchange, and Marty says he wants the satisfaction Phil deserves in finishing what he started, and he intends to give it to him. If Dwight hands himself over, he’ll get the girl patched up. Dwight lowers his gun, and Sherry says, nice try, a-hole. There’s a shootout, and Sherry says, they’re going to the Sanctuary now. Dwight says, that psycho will follow them, but Sherry says, they’re on foot. The Sanctuary is 20 miles. They’ll be in and out before Marty knows it. Dwight says, another kid needs surgery. When does it end? June says, they have to help Dove, and Sherry says, they have to go now. Zombies begin toddling out of the woods, and Marty shoots at them. Dwight drives the truck out.

They bring Dove into the Sanctuary, and Dwight tells them, be careful; there could still be people here. Sherry flashes back to Negan, and Dove coughs. Shots ring out, and Dwight shoots back, but runs out of bullets. Zombie Phil scrabbles at the furnace window from inside the furnace, and June says, they need to move. She grabs supplies, and she and Sherry shove stuff in their bags, while Dwight checks the place out. He tells them, the place is clear, but they have to hurry. June says she needs lidocaine. The best they can do is inject anesthesia around the wound. Dwight and Sherry keep flashing back to their time at the Sanctuary, and June tells Sherry to clean the wound. She gives Sherry a syringe and tells her how to do the injection. Dwight says, June should do it, but June says she told him that she can’t. He wonders if it’s about what happened in the train car, but she says, it’s more than that. She tells him, as soon as it’s numb, start the extraction. Dove says she doesn’t want Dwight removing the bullet. He couldn’t save his own son, and he’s not doing the same with her. They feel a rumbling, and the building shakes. Dwight looks out at the tons of zombies who have gotten through the fence and are now pounding at the building. He says, the gunfire must have drawn them. The fence is broken, and they’re piling in. June says, it’s not going to work. The bullet is too close to one of Dove’s arteries. They might do more damage taking it out. Sherry says, the place is hanging on by a thread, and Dwight says, he’ll stay and hold them off for as long as he can. He runs out.

Sherry follows Dwight to the ammo room, and says she knows why he wants to stay and fight the zombies. He doesn’t plan on surviving. He says, maybe Dove is right, and they’re here because of him, but Sherry says, that’s defeatist bullsh*t, and Dwight says, it is what it is, honey. Dwight loads his gun, and she tells him that it doesn’t have to be this way. He says, the guy he tried to help lost more than insulin. He had a wife and kid. He shows her the photo of Jay with his family, and says, he’s about Finch’s age. He tried to help and landed them back in this hellhole. This is not a coincidence and it’s not defeatist mentality. She asks him to tell her what it is, and he points to an infinity symbol on the wall. He says he drew that when they were living here. He put them all over the place, where Negan couldn’t find them. It was them forever. It kept him going and made him feel like they could turn something bad into something good. Maybe they can, but not if he’s with them. He’s so tired of making people suffer for it. Sherry says, so he’s going to kill himself? and he says he’s going to clear the walkers. Maybe they can save Dove and honor Finch. She calls him a selfish a-hole and locks him in the room. She says, he doesn’t get to give up like this, and she leaves as he pounds on the door.

Outside, there’s a multitude of zombies, and June hears metal creaking. She says, they have to wait until the building is more stable and they need extra hands. Dove says, it’s not about June’s finger (the one Shrike removed) or what happened on the train. What’s the real reason? June says, it’s not important, but Dove says, June is a nurse. She’s got a bullet in her, and every minute they wait is a minute she’s closer to dying. June says, Dove isn’t dying. What happened to them isn’t going to happen to her. Dove asks, who’s them? and June says, Finch, Hannah, and her daughter Rose. Dove says, June has a kid? and June says, yeah. She would have been Dove’s age. Dove asks, what happened? and June says, she had pneumonia. June went out to look for medicine, came back and… it just was too late. She cries and says she couldn’t save her daughter, just like she couldn’t save Finch. Dove says, now she knows PADRE was right. June can’t protect her; none of them can. She can’t exactly say why she wanted to get away, but she didn’t come here for Red Kite. She wanted to get as far away from PADRE as she could. She was running away. June says, she told them it was the only home she’d ever known, and Dove says, was. It’s gone now, and people like June are in charge. They just let the kids down. That’s what people do who can’t get over their own sh*t. Metal bangs, and June radios Dwight and Sherry, asking, what’s happening? Do they copy? Outside battling zombies, Sherry says she’s working on it. She just locked Dwight in their old room. June asks, why? and Sherry says, PADRE needs him. The kids will follow him. They know he’s right. June says, what about her? and Sherry says she’ll keep the zombies at a distance, but June says, she can’t on her own. Sherry says, just do what she came to do; help Dove and get Dwight back to PADRE. The zombies have been pushing at the fence between them and Sherry, and it suddenly comes down, right on top of Sherry. Sherry’s gun and radio are just out of reach, and June keeps trying to get her.

Inside, Dwight tries to get out of their old room. He breaks a chair. The zombies are right on top of Sherry, along with the fence, their snapping faces just inches from hers. Dwight looks at the infinity symbol, while June keeps trying to radio Sherry. This is all very intense. Dwight hammers at the door, and the zombies keep piling on the fence. Sherry flashes back to memories of Finch. June gets into Dwight’s room and tells him that Sherry needs him. He runs out, and Sherry flashes back to burying Finch. Dwight is there, pulling the zombies off the fence, and slicing and dicing them.

Dove stands in the bathroom and groans. She’s broken a mirror and is about to take the bullet out herself with a shard. June – who’s having quite a busy episode – says, Dove will die. She needs help. Dove says she’s not getting it from them or June, and starts to cry. She’s about to cut herself, and June says, no! Stop! Dove drops the glass and falls to the floor.

Sherry asks how Dwight got out, and he says, June let him out. Sherry says she had it covered, but he tells her that she was lying to herself about honoring Finch and keeping him alive to fight for PADRE. It’s bullsh*t. She says, he’s wrong, and he says, is he? Or did she lock him up because she was planning on doing the same thing? Sherry asks if he thinks she wants to die, and he says he knows she did. She doesn’t really believe good can come from bad. She wants to, he does too, but she can’t. She says, if that’s true, she doesn’t know how she can go on living. Marty comes back and says he had the feeling he’d find them here. Sherry and Dwight run back in, and Marty goes in shooting.

The building is still shaking like crazy, and June checks Dove’s pulse. Dwight says, their friends are here. The door is locked, but it won’t hold. Sherry says, they have to go somewhere safer, and June grabs supplies. She gets on one side, Sherry on the other, and they help Dove up and out of the room. Everything starts to crumble, and zombies are coming in. June says, they’re surrounded, and Sherry shoots as many as she can. They see Marty coming, and June says, they’ve got to get out, but Dwight says, there’s nowhere to go. The zombies are getting the better of Marty and his friends, and I laugh. Light fixtures and beams start falling, and Sherry and Dwight nearly get creamed, but they jump aside at the last second. June stabs a zombie coming for her and Dove. Zombies continue to stream in, and Marty gets Dwight up against the furnace, Phil still scratching at the window. Marty says, remember how he told Dwight about giving his friend the satisfaction? He thinks he’s going to enjoy this more than Phil. He starts to open the furnace door, but Dwight grabs the iron and whacks him away with it, into a waiting zombie’s open arms. June says, they have nowhere to go, but Dwight says, the fire’s out. Let’s go inside. The building begins to collapse.

Inside the furnace, Dove asks, what happened? June says, the building is collapsing, and Dove says, it still hurts. This is never going to work. Sherry isn’t so sure this will help, but Dwight, keeping his lighter going so they can see, says, maybe it can. They hear metal clanging, and he says, the furnace is stable and will protect them from whatever is happening out there. June can do the surgery in here. June says she can’t, but he says, yes, she can. She asks how he knows, and he says, Sherry was right. Maybe something good can come from something bad. Maybe that’s the reason they wound up here. They needed each other to see it. Prepping Dove, June says she doesn’t want to hurt her, and Dove says, then don’t. Sherry says, June can do this. What happened to her, and them, doesn’t have to happen again. Maybe they just needed to work through the bad to get to the good. She half-smiles at Dwight, and June asks if Dove trusts her. Dove says, ask her again after the bullet is out, and June says, fair enough. She takes out her supplies, and Dwight keeps the lighter going.  

The oven opens and they come out. It’s practically the only thing left standing. There are a few errant zombies wandering around, and zombie Marty lies on the floor pinned there by another zombie. Dwight says, holy sh*t. It’s over. He asks how Dove is doing, and June says, she’s still resting. She’s going to be okay. Sherry looks up, and there’s a finch perched on what’s left of a wall. Are they trying to make me cry? June says, they should probably hit the road, and Dwight asks how she’s doing. June says, better, and he says he never should have left. Maybe they can turn the place into what it’s supposed to be, the way Finch wanted it to be. Sherry says she thinks they can.

Dwight says he made something for June, and gives her a finger he’s carved. He says, back in the train car, before it went the way it did, he asked her to be part of their family. He ran away, but he’s here now, so the offer still extends to her, and Dove as well. Sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck, Dove says, thank you, Red Kite, but Dwight says, she’s family. It’s Dwight. She says she’s Odessa, and he says he likes it. They should go. They have a lot of work to do. June and Sherry get into the truck, and Dwight looks around for a moment, then gets in. They pull away.

A song plays from a 45 on a turntable, something about sailing to Spain. Over the radio, we hear Russel say, nothing yet. Sorry. Troy says, his daughter is alive and well, and they will find her. We see it’s Victor’s turntable, and a little girl screams as she’s let down the hall by a man and a woman. She’s also blindfolded, and she says she hates this place. Where is she? Where’s her dad? They bring her to Victor, and in German, the man says, they found her for him. The woman asks, what does he want them to do? and Victor says, he’ll handle it. He tells the girl that he’s going to remove the blindfold. He does, and she asks, who is he? What does he want with her? He says, his name is Victor, and her eyes get huge. He says, it’s a good thing found her. She asks, why? and he says he’s going to help her. And she’s going to help him. She says, do what? and he says, save PADRE. He tries to touch her face, but she jerks away, and he smiles.

Next time, a stuck herd of zombies; Madison thinks she sees Alicia; Victor says, it’s not about him or her, but about PADRE; Troy wonders what makes them think he’ll make a deal; Victor gets attacked by zombies; Troy says, it doesn’t end well, and Luciana says, for you.

🕰 I’ve Fallen Back and I Can’t Get Up…        

Join me tomorrow for soap and yachting in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay working through the bad to get to the good, and stay not letting anyone down because you can’t get over your own sh*t.

Nov1

October 31, 2023 – Halloween Begins In Port Charles, Celebrities In Costume, Vintage Creepy, The Best, Fear Explained, Dead Coming Up, The Cost Of Scary, Halloween Pets (!) & Double Feature

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Trina is in the gallery, when Cyrus walks in. She tells him stay away from her, but she turns and he’s there. He grabs her, and she tells him to let her go. Spencer walks in, and she asks him to help, but Cyrus says, no need to intervene. He needs a hostage. Spencer says, Trina’s his girlfriend, and Cyrus asks if he doesn’t love Esme. He drags Trina across the room, and Spencer says he’s sorry, but his uncle is right. Trina wakes up screaming. (Told you so.)

Esme cuddles Ace and tells him that he’s the cutest card in the deck. She says she has to take him to daycare and needs to find her purse, but there’s a knock at the door. She opens it to Cyrus and asks if she can help him. He says, nice to see her again. They met at Pentenville. He’s Laura’s brother, Cyrus. This must be little Ace. He moves forward, but she backs up.

At Pozzulo’s, Sonny says, Laura is always a good start to his morning, and she thanks him. She says, this way, she gets to congratulate him in person on his wedding, and he says, she already congratulated him on the phone. She says, this way, she gets the free coffee, and he says, she can have coffee anytime she wants. She says, to tell him the truth, there’s something she wanted to talk to him about, and he says he knows what it’s about, and wants her to know he’s sticking to the deal they made on the phone. He’s been keeping an eye on Cyrus, from a distance. He promised he wouldn’t take any action, and he’s not, but if Cyrus makes a move, he’s going to be all over him. She says she appreciates he has respect for her wishes, but it’s not what she wanted to talk about actually. It’s another family member. It’s Spencer.

Maxie runs into Kelly’s and says, to say she’s thrilled about Carly having a Halloween party is an understatement. Carly asks if she’s that excited about carving pumpkins, but Maxie says, not at all. It means she doesn’t have to go trick-or-treating. James is thrilled to come here, which means she doesn’t have to walk miles with him, since that kid insists on stopping at every single door. She’s not kidding. The kid spends ten minutes at every single house. She thinks he has a future as a traveling salesman.

Anna meets Felicia at Kelly’s, and says, caffeine now. Felicia says, good morning to her too, and Anna says she’s sorry. She’s very tired and not able to function right now. Felicia asks if she slept badly, but Anna says, that would imply she slept, which she didn’t. Not a wink. She’s still at the MetroCourt and has Sonny’s bodyguard, which should give her peace of mind, but it doesn’t. Felicia says, that break-in would rattle anyone. Maybe she would feel better someplace else. Anna says she’s been thinking about that, but the timing isn’t right for her to move in with Valentin. She thinks he and Charlotte need some space. She’s wondering if she should find a place of her own, and Felicia says she has a brilliant idea.

At the bistro, Charlotte tells Valentin that she’s old enough to go trick-or-treating on her own. She’s 15 (which is when most of us stop), and he’s still watching her. He says he knows she’s disappointed, and she says she’s not disappointed; she’s embarrassed. The next thing he’s going to tell her is that she has to wear a coat over her costume, so she doesn’t get cold. She’s not a baby. He says, she’s been through a lot lately and he’s not okay with her going out alone. End of story. She says she’s not going to be alone; she’ll be with her friends. He says, and with him. He’s joining the group. The more, the merrier, right?

Finn wakes up and sees Elizabeth painting at an easel. He says, there’s a sight worth waking up to, and she says, look at his cute little bedhead. He says he thought the haircut might fix that, but he guesses he was wrong. She asks how he slept, and he says, never better. Her? She says, so well, thank you, and he says, it must have been the maple syrup. (Seriously, what did they do with that?)

Esme asks what Cyrus wants, and he says he’s here to see his sister of course (🍷). He closes the door, but then Spencer comes in. Cyrus says, great to see him. He was just about to get acquainted with his other great-nephew. Spencer asks what he’s doing here, and Esme tells him, he says he’s here to see Spencer’s grandmother, but she was just about to tell him that Laura’s not here. Spencer says he’ll tell Laura that Cyrus dropped by, but Cyrus says, he came all this way. He might as well take the opportunity to get to know this little guy, and he and Spencer barely talked the other day. They should maybe catch up? Okay?

Josslyn asks if Trina is okay, and Trina says, sorry if she woke Josslyn. Josslyn tells her, don’t apologize, but what happened? and Trina says she just had the worst nightmare. Adam knocks at the door and asks if everything is all right, and Josslyn opens the door. He asks, what’s going on? and she says, nothing. Everything’s fine. Trina had a nightmare. He says he’s had his share of them, and Trina says, sorry if she woke him, but he says, that’s okay. He’s been up for hours studying for midterms. He was about to head out on a coffee run. Does Josslyn want anything from Perks? She says, no, she’s okay, and he says, maybe he’ll see her later? She says, yeah, bye, and closes the door. She asks Trina to tell her about this dream.

Sonny asks if Laura has proof Nikolas is alive, and she says, irrefutable. Not only has Nikolas been in Geneva, his banker said his employees saw Nikolas there and he showed her withdrawals for a significant amount of money that Nikolas has taken from his accounts. Sonny asks if she gave this information to Spencer, and she says, yeah. He didn’t react the way she thought he would. She thought it was just going to be more anger, but he was so sad and so disappointed. She thinks it was like a final confirmation that his father has abandoned his life here, and his two sons. She knows Spencer would probably never admit it, but she thinks he was holding out hope that his father wasn’t missing by his own choice. He says, just when you think Nikolas couldn’t sink any lower. He’s sorry. He knows Nikolas is Laura’s son. It’s just that he feels for Spencer. She says she does too, but as a mother, she feels there’s more to this story. There’s probably some extenuating circumstances they don’t know about, some real reason he had to leave. But she knows, at this point, he’s really forfeited his right to be a father to Ace, and she doesn’t think Spencer would even want him back. Sonny says, Nikolas doesn’t realize the damage he’s doing to Spencer. Sonny was abandoned as a kid, and he was bitter and resented his father for a long time. He knows what Spencer is going through. She says, that’s exactly why she’s here. Can he please help Spencer?

Elizabeth thanks Finn, and he says, for what? She says, for this trip. She feels so relaxed, like she’s a million miles away from Port Charles. He says, that was kind of the idea, right? Just getting away and leaving everything behind for a few days. She says, he needed this more than he realized. He’s been so consumed with his dad and his illness, he really needed to take a break and get out of his mind, even if it was just for a day or two. He says, she’s the one who told him to enjoy every moment in life. That’s what he’s doing. He looks at her painting and says, this is really good, and she says she hopes it’s okay she used paint she found in the closet. She couldn’t resist. He says, of course (🍷) it is. Maybe she should get back into painting when she gets home. She says she’d like that. It used to be such a passion of hers. Then kids and life took over… He says, she’s really talented – we see it’s a painting of a tree-lined path – and she says, waking up to the beauty that surrounds them inspired her. She wanted to capture it. It’ll remind her of what a special weekend this is. He says he loves it… He loves her. He has for the longest time.

Maxie says, Georgie is at the age where she wants to go trick-or-treating unsupervised, and Carly says, that’s a tough one. She remembers when she and Josslyn went through that. It was quite the battle. She’s just happy Donna has a few more years before she reaches that stage. (What’s up with these parents? We were going out by ourselves by 6th grade. Although no mob bosses lived in my neighborhood… I don’t think.) Maxie says she doesn’t want to smother Georgie. She remembers what it was like at that age, but she did get into a lot of trouble. You know what they say about the apple and the tree. Carly says she does, but listen to her gut. How many kids does she want to go with? Maxie says, three, and two of them are boys, so that’s a plus, and Carly says, or a minus, depending on how you look at it.

Felicia asks what Anna thinks of a sublet. It might be better until she figures out her long-term plans. Anna says, ideally, she would move in with Valentin and Charlotte, but the truth is, this person, whoever’s after her, she doesn’t know when they’re going to make their next move. She doesn’t want Charlotte anywhere near that. So she has to keep her distance. Felicia says, makes sense, but a furnished place would be convenient, right? and Anna says, of course (🍷). Felicia says, a furnished place in a nice neighborhood, a secure building with lots of families, but Anna says she doesn’t think a place like that exists. Felicia says, that’s where she’s wrong, and calls Maxie over.

Charlotte tells Valentin that she’ll be the only one with a chaperone. Jake, Danny, and Georgie are all going in a safe neighborhood. They’re going to Harbor Vista. He says he’s a highly trained agent. She won’t even know he’s there. She says, this isn’t funny. The whole point of the night is to be on their own. She doesn’t need him holding her hand like a little kid with a pumpkin flashlight. He says he’s not changing his mind and she asks if he doesn’t trust her.

Maxie says, so Anna wants to sublet her old place, and Anna says, it wasn’t her idea; it was Maxie’s mother’s brilliant idea. What does she think? Maxie says she thinks it’s a great idea. She tried to sublet it already, but the woman go transferred out of town at the last minute, so it’s just been sitting there empty. Not empty exactly; her old furniture’s still in there. She bought all new stuff for her house. Anna says she needs furniture; she doesn’t have any. Maxie says, okay. Then Felicia’s a genius. Felicia agrees that she is.

They go to Maxie’s old apartment, and Felicia tells Anna, welcome to her new home.

Trina says, the dream was definitely triggered by Cyrus showing up at the gallery yesterday, and Josslyn says, she must have been so shocked to see him there. Trina says, her mom warned her that Cyrus was released, but she didn’t expect him to track her down. Josslyn asks if Cyrus threatened her. She can talk to Sonny; he can handle it. Trina asks, what happened to her grudge against Sonny? A few weeks ago, Josslyn wanted nothing to do with him, and now she’s willing to reach out to him? Josslyn says she thinks Trina’s safety is more important than any issues she has with Sonny, and he’s well-equipped to handle Cyrus and he will. She just doesn’t want Trina to worry. Trina says she’d appreciates that, but Cyrus didn’t threaten her. It was the opposite. He apologized.

Esme thanks Spencer for getting diapers, and he says, not a problem. He thinks she should get to work. She knows how Alexis is when she’s late. Cyrus says, so she works for Miss Davis? and Esme says, Miss Davis was nice enough to offer her a job even though she has no experience. Cyrus says he doesn’t know her well, but she seems like a formidable woman. She runs that paper… Spencer says, The Invader, and if Esme doesn’t get going now, she’s not going to have that job very much longer. He walks Esme to the door and gives Ace to her. He closes the door and asks if Cyrus wants to tell him what he’s really doing here. What does he want?

Sonny says, Laura knows he’d do anything for her. It’s just that he’s had so many difficulties with Nikolas in the past, he can’t be neutral on this subject. Even if he talks to Spencer, he doesn’t really want to trash his father. That wouldn’t be healthy for them, and it wouldn’t be fair to her. She says, he doesn’t have to justify his feelings about Spencer’s dad. She just wants Sonny to be there for him in case he comes to her for advice. It would ease her mind. He says he’ll always be here for Spencer, and she thanks him. Spencer really admires and respects him, and he can get through to Spencer in a way she and Doc can’t. She has to be honest, she’s kind of worried about him right now. She’s afraid he might do something rash, something he might regret in the future. He says he’ll do whatever he can to make sure that doesn’t happen. She takes his hand and says, thank you.

Walking through the woods with Elizabeth, Finn says, this is the best apple he’s ever had. She says, it’s his second one. If he has any more, Aiden won’t have enough for his pies. (Highly unlikely, since they’re both carrying full baskets.) He says, Aiden’s got enough for ten pies, and she says she has to account for multiple attempts. He says, Aiden’s a wiz in the kitchen, and she says, he is, but baking is very precise. It’s a science. Finn says, it is, although he doesn’t remember seeing a single pie in organic chemistry class (what about a pie chart?), and she says, following the recipe is key. It’s not like any barbecue. He says, excuse me? and she says she’s not knocking his culinary skills. It’s just seeing him at the grill, there were spices and sauces flying everywhere. He says he guesses that’s a fair assessment. It still tastes pretty good, right? She says, it does. She guesses they should get back. She didn’t know how far this orchard was. He says, if they’re tired when they get back to the cabin, they can just take a nap.

Sonny asks how Spencer is doing with Ace, and she says she’s so proud of the way he’s stepped up. He’s really trying to be a surrogate father to that little boy. He even took parenting classes with Esme. Sonny says, that’s impressive, and she says, the only thing is, it causes a little bit of friction between him and Trina, and he’s very much in love with Trina. She’s worried his devotion to Ace and the time he spends with Esme could hurt his relationship. Sonny says, he’s in a tough spot, because if he backs away from Ace, he’s going to feel miserable, and if he doesn’t put Trina first, he could end up losing her. She says, exactly. It’s a lot for someone his age. He didn’t ask to be a father, but he’s doing his very best to fill the role. Anyway, she just wanted Sonny to know what’s going on in Spencer’s life in case Spencer does come to him for guidance. His phone chimes, and Sonny says he thinks she’d better get home. She has a visitor.

Cyrus asks if Spencer is implying that he has an ulterior motive, but Spencer says he’s not implying anything; he’s stating it outright. Cyrus must want something. Cyrus assures Spencer that his motives are purely altruistic. He wanted to see his dear sister and thought he’d save her the embarrassment of a newly released convict showing up at the mayor’s office. Spencer says, she’d be far more concerned knowing he came here where Esme and Ace were vulnerable, but Cyrus says he had no intention of intimidating Esme or Spencer’s brother. Quite the contrary. He was pleasantly surprised to find them home, and he enjoyed the little time he had with them. He meant them no harm. Spencer says, Esme may have met him before, but she has no idea how dangerous Cyrus truly is, and Cyrus says, like the Lord Himself, he comes in peace, and he’s very disheartened to find Spencer so unwelcoming. He thought they’d come to an understanding in Pentenville.

Josslyn says, she did not, but Trina says she sure did. Josslyn says, she screamed at Cyrus, told him to take his apology and shove it? and Trina says, yeah. Josslyn says, good for her, and Trina says she surprised herself. She wasn’t sure she had it in her. It was such a release to unload on him. She was terrified the night he held her and her mom hostage, and she’s not going to be a victim again. Josslyn says, clearly, she’s stronger than she thinks. Trina says, maybe, but Cyrus is free. If he sees her again, he might not apologize. Josslyn says, it’s no wonder she’s having nightmares, and Trina says she thinks the scariest part of the dream wasn’t Cyrus. It was Spencer. Renault was holding her, and she was screaming for Spencer to help her, but he just stood there. Josslyn says, let’s hope that never becomes a reality, but Trina says, it won’t because Spencer was so protective of her when Cyrus came to the gallery. He stood up to Cyrus and told him to leave, so it’s not a thing. Josslyn says, good. That makes her feel better. Trina says, just one thing though. Spencer told her that Cyrus protected him at Pentenville, and it’s unnerving to think he must be grateful to Cyrus.

Elizabeth rinses the apples, and telsl Finn that she didn’t know how much work went into all this. It was a long walk. The baskets were heavy, and they have to wash them all. Finn wonders if he can help, and stands behind her, washing the apples like they washed their hands together. I guess this is supposed to be reminiscent of Ghost? She says she doesn’t know about him, but all this washing has worn her out. He thinks they should take a nap, and she says, totally, and they kiss.

Valentin says he trusts Charlotte, but she says, it doesn’t seem like he does. He says, she’s been through a lot these past few years, her mother’s condition, boarding school. She says, but boarding school taught her to be independent. He’s the one who always says, independence is a good thing. He says, stability’s a good thing. She was on her own for a while. She came back and was bounced back and forth for a while between her grandma’s and Sam and Dante. She needs a stable home life. She says, but that’s not a problem anymore. They finally have a house of their own, just the two of them, the way it should be. He says he knows she loves the house, but it doesn’t change anything she’s been through. And he’s worried for her. He thinks she’s putting on a brave face because she thinks he’ll be disappointed if she’s unhappy. He wants her to tell him the truth, not what she thinks he wants to hear.

Maxie says, Anna doesn’t even need to buy a bed. Everything she needs is already here. All right. Full disclosure, there are a few quirks. The bedroom floor is a bit uneven, the doors in the kitchen kind of stick, and the oven… uh… the oven is broken. Anna says she barely cooks. The microwave works though, right? Maxie says, yes, and Felicia says, they should be pointing out the positive features. Maxie says, the microwave works, and Felicia says, the clawfoot tub is amazing, the hot water never runs out. The walls are fully insolated, so you can barely hear your neighbors… Anna says she’ll take it, and Maxie says, what? Anna says, this is really perfect, and Maxie says, Anna’s not just saying that so she can help Maxie out, but Anna says, Maxie is helping her out. This is exactly what she needs.

Trina walks into Kelly’s and Carly asks if Joss sent her over. Trina says, no, why? and Carly says, because she needed Josslyn to come help her decorate for the kids’ Halloween party, so she assumed she enlisted Trina for back-up. Trina says, no. Josslyn didn’t mention anything to her, but please put her to work. She needs the distraction. Carly asks, what’s going on? and Trina says she’s sure Carly heard Cyrus Renault was released. Carly says she was visiting Drew in the hospital, and he walked right into Drew’s room. She couldn’t believe it. Trina says she’s pretty freaked out that he’s back on the streets, and Carly says she doesn’t blame Trina, but she does know they’re watching him carefully, so hopefully, he doesn’t try anything.

Maxie hands Anna the keys and says, the place is all hers. Anna asks if she shouldn’t fill out some paperwork or something or give her a security deposit? but Maxie says, minor details. They’ll get to that at some point. Anna should just enjoy the apartment. Anna hugs her and thanks them both. She asks if she can move in right away, and Maxie says, whatever she wants. Felicia says she can help Anna pack up her things at the MetroCourt, but Anna says she doesn’t have anything really. It will just take her a second to move. Felicia says she’s really glad this worked out, and Anna says, this feels like the first positive thing that’s happened since her house burned down. It feels like a new beginning. Only good things from now on.

Charlotte says, Valentin wants to know how she really feels? She feels like she needs to go out with her friends tonight – no supervision. He says, okay. She wants to go out with her friends alone, then she has to do something for him. She says, anything, and he says he wants her to see Kevin Collins (who Lucy and I call Doc). He wants her to tell Doc everything she’s going through. She asks why she has to talk to Doc. She’s perfectly happy. He says he feels like there’s something going on; something she doesn’t want to tell him. She says she tells him everything… If he really wants her to do this, she will. He thanks her and says he’ll drive her and her friends, and he’ll drop them off and let them trick-or-treat alone. She says, thank you, and hugs him.

Spencer says, Cyrus looked out for him while he was in Pentenville and it would have been a lot tougher without his protection. Cyrus says, so Spencer sees his motives are only for the good of their family. And as he warned Spencer, the only person he needed protection from was Victor Cassadine and not him. No need to be so suspicious of his visit today. Spencer says, Cyrus turned out to be right about Victor, and he did turn out to be who Cyrus said he’d be; ruthless, sadistic… Cyrus says he’ll take that as a thank you, and Spencer says he knows he owes Cyrus for the way he was looked out for in Pentenville, but he still knows Cyrus is a very, very dangerous person. He held Trina Robinson and her mother at gunpoint. He shot Curtis Ashford, and he wants to know why Spencer is leery when he comes around? It’s because he’s a threat, and he doesn’t want Cyrus anywhere near his little brother. Cyrus says he’s not going to deny his past deeds were heinous, but those were acts of a desperate man, a caged animal, and that man no longer exists. He has seen the Light, and that Light is their Lord and Savior, and He has forgiven Cyrus’s sins, and his life is now devoted to helping others. Spencer asks if Cyrus expects him to believe he’s repentant because he can spout some rhetoric about finding God, and getting louder, Cyrus says, Spencer can believe whatever he wants – Spencer says, calm down – but don’t forget, people gave Spencer a second chance after he got out of prison. He’s only asking for the same courtesy. Laura comes in and asks if Spencer will give her a moment alone with her brother.

In bed, Elizabeth and Finn kiss, and she says she thought the purpose of a nap is to actually sleep. He says, she’s right. No more napping. She tells him that she was only making an observation that they’re not very good at it, and he says, they’ll just have to continue practicing until they get it right. They get busy.

Cyrus says he’s sorry, and Laura says, coming over here unannounced and uninvited, but he says, it wasn’t a calculated move. He was released a few days ago. He thought it would be nice to pay her a visit. She says she doesn’t appreciate it, and he says, then she’s certainly not going to appreciate that not only did he spend time with Spencer, he had the pleasure of meeting his great-nephew Ace. He and Esme crossed paths at Pentenville, but this is the first time he saw Ace. What a delightful baby. She says, he has no business being around children, and he says, but he does when they’re related to him. Like it or not, dear sister, they’re my family too.

Spencer goes to Kelly’s and asks Trina if everything is okay. She says, it will be once they start decorating, and he says, that’s what this is about? This is a decorating emergency? She says, yes. They have to decorate for the kids’ Halloween party. He says he thinks Ace still might be a little too young for it. He cried when he saw a jack-o-lantern. She says, the concept of Halloween doesn’t sink in until they understand they get free candy, and Carly says, that’s right. And Trina volunteered his help because they need someone tall. He says he’s happy to help. Where would she like him to start? She hands him a box and tells him to spread these in all the corners. Trina laughs.

Josslyn opens the door to Adam, and he asks if she wants to head over to the library or stay here. She says, stay here. She’s got to cut today short. She has to head over to Kelly’s and help her mom decorate for a Halloween party. He says he’ll just head over to the library, and she asks what he’s talking about. It’s Halloween. Isn’t he doing anything? There must be lots of parties on campus. He says, it’s the perfect time; the library will be empty. She says, he could study tomorrow, but he says he’s taking four extra credits this semester and it’s a lot. And he’s not really big on dressing up. She says he doesn’t have to dress up to decorate. Why doesn’t he come to Kelly’s with her?

Sonny’s phone rings, and he asks how Anna is holding up. She says, pretty good. First of all, she wants to say, congratulations on his wedding. Is he a happy groom? He says he is, and she says she can almost hear him smiling over the phone. She wants to wish him and Nina all the best. They really deserve it. He thanks her and says, it means a lot to him. So what can he do for her? She closes the door so the bodyguard can’t hear and says she’d like to return her gift. He asks if she bought him something for the wedding, but she says, he was kind enough to give her a bodyguard, and now she’s sending him back. He says he’s not sure that’s a good thing, but she says, her circumstances have changed. She says she feels like she has the key – she picks up the keys Maxie gave her – to a new beginning. She’s taken an apartment. Before he says anything, it’s very safe. It’s small, a doorman building, 24-hour security. It’s mostly families, and she doesn’t need a bodyguard. The biggest threat she’s facing is maybe being caught in the elevator door while trying to dodge all the strollers. He says, it sounds great, but she shouldn’t let her guard down. She should maybe keep Trey until everything is settled. She says she really appreciates his concern, but she doesn’t want a bodyguard. She needs her privacy. She feels like she just really wants to get her life back, and this is the first step.

Finn puts the book he’s reading down and watches Elizabeth paint. She asks if he isn’t supposed to be reading, but he says, she’s much more interesting. She says, this, coming from the man who wanted to listen to a dengue fever podcast on the way here. He says, to be fair, the doctor on the podcast has a very soothing voice – he goes over to her – but still, he’d rather watch her paint. She asks him to thank Dan for her, not just for the cabin, but for all of this. They have to send him something. He says, let’s do that, and she says, it’s so beautiful here. The view is amazing. He says, yes, it is, looking at her, and she says, he’s not even looking out the window. He says he knows.

On the phone, Carly asks if Willow is still bringing the kids to Kelly’s Halloween party… Okay. They’re starting early so the little ones don’t crash… Okay. She can’t wait to see Wiley and Amelia’s costumes… No. Don’t tell her what it is. She wants to be surprised. See her soon.

Trina says, Spencer still has a lot of webs, calling him Spiderman, and he says, he’s sorry, what? She asks if he’s all right, and he says, yeah. He was just thinking about Pentenville. She says, that’s a dark thought, but he says, not really. He was just thinking about the day he was released. They were so far apart then. Now they’re a lot closer and she loves him, and he feels like the luckiest guy in the world. She says, he is the luckiest guy in the world, and he kisses her.

Charlotte asks if she can get a scone, and Valentin says he loves her so much. She’s the most important person in the world to him. She knows that, right? She says she feels the same way about him. It was hard at boarding school. She missed him so much, he has no idea, but none of that matters now. She’s back where she belongs, with him, and nothing’s going to change that. he says he has so many regrets. He would change so much, but he’s going to fix everything. She just has to keep her end of the deal and meet with Doc, okay? She says she will, she promises. She leaves to get her scone, and he looks worried.

Cyrus says, like it or not, and it’s quite clear she doesn’t, he and Laura are siblings. She laughs and says, what’s that saying? You can’t choose your family. He says he prefers the words of the great Bishop Desmond Tutu. He said, you don’t choose your family; they’re God’s gift to you, as you are to them. She says, spare her the sermon, and he says, they are connected by blood, and he cares about her. just as he cares about Spencer and Ace. He treasures all of them. He used to be obsessed with money and power, but they pale in comparison. She says she’s just not buying that, and he asks how he can prove it to her. He protected Spencer when he was in Pentenville. he will continue to keep all of them out of harm’s way. She needs to give him a chance. Is she willing to do that? She says, if they’re going to do this, they’re going to do it with ground rules, and that means he’s going to respect her boundaries when he wants to see her and those boys. That means he doesn’t come here unless she calls him and invites him. Is that clear? He holds up his hands, and she says, this visit is over. She opens the door, and he says he’ll wait for her call, handing her his number, but he hopes it’s soon. She closes the door, and the phone rings. She asks Valentin if everything is okay, and he says he hopes so. Charlotte’s finally agreed to talk to Doc. He’d like to set something up for this afternoon. Could she talk to him? He thinks it’s probably better if it comes from her. She says, of course (🍷). She would do anything for her granddaughter. He says he’s very worried about Charlotte. He thinks she really needs help. Charlotte is on her way back and hears him.

Tomorrow, Lois tells Eddie/Ned, the same fire that got him there will also see him through; Tracy tells Brook, it would be foolish to think otherwise; Charlotte sees Anna; and Carly tells Cyrus that he’s not welcome at Kelly’s.

🦚 Celebrity Treats…

The celebrities turn it out.

https://ew.com/celebrity/best-celebrity-halloween-costumes-2023-photos/

The Queen of Halloween. The worm is actually 2022. Shame on them for getting that wrong.

https://ew.com/celebrity/heidi-klum-halloween-costume-2023/

https://people.com/heidi-klum-looks-back-at-her-iconic-halloween-costumes-exclusive-8348154

👽 It’s Not Halloween Without…

Seriously, what the blip?

https://www.boredpanda.com/scary-vintage-halloween-creepy-costumes/

🪦 Best Of All Hallows TV…

A matter of opinion, but still, a good list.

https://ew.com/gallery/best-halloween-episodes/

⚰️ About That Fear…

Spoilers if you haven’t seen it.

https://ew.com/tv/fear-the-walking-dead-showrunners-explain-shocking-death/

🎊 Next Up…

All about the Day of the Dead.

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/latino/dia-de-los-muertos-what-it-means-honors-dead-mexico-tradition-rcna122749

https://theconversation.com/day-of-the-dead-is-taking-on-halloween-traditions-but-the-sacred-holiday-is-far-more-than-a-mexican-halloween-212686

https://artsandculture.google.com/project/dia-de-muertos

💸 Halloween Ain’t Free…

What we spent this year.

https://www.npr.org/2023/10/31/1209521178/halloween-spending-candy-pet-costumes

🦄 Last But Never Least…

All the pets.

https://big1059.iheart.com/featured/doc-reno/content/2023-10-31-best-pet-halloween-costumes/

https://www.buzzfeed.com/celinadejesus/21-dogs-who-already-won-best-costume-for-halloween

https://www.msn.com/en-us/lifestyle/lifestyle-buzz/celebrity-pets-best-halloween-costumes-over-the-years/ss-AA1jb9C6

Get ahead for next year.

https://www.foxnews.com/lifestyle/pet-halloween-costumes-ideas

Hannah Barbie sez: Happy Halloween!

👻 Tricking and Treating…

Hang up your costume and join me tomorrow for soap and Beverly Hills talk. Until then, stay safe, stay being anything you want to be every day, not just on Halloween, and stay believing, only good things from now on.

Oct30

October 29, 2023 – Two Finds Plus a Loss & The Night Wind

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

As Daniel’s boat comes in, a zombie is on the beach, caught in a fishing net with a starfish attached to its head. Daniel asks if Hawk has ever seen where the tankers came from, but Hawk says, no. Madison thinks this is a waste of time, but Daniel says, their fuel is low and they need to find out where PADRE gets their supply. She tells him that they’re giving Troy time to regroup, but Daniel says he lost a daughter too, and they’ll make Troy wish he’d died at the dam. The tanks are empty and zombies start coming out of the woods. Victor suggests they go inside the gas station. When they go in, they hear music playing, and Daniel says, whoever is in here, show yourself. He tells Hawk to shoot anything that moves, and goes to look around. It’s like a gas station/mini mart, and there’s a sign that says, take what you need. Madison asks what this place is, and Victor says, relics of a bygone era. Daniel comes back and says, they’re clear. Victor asks if Hawk is sure this is where the gas comes in, and he says he is. Madison sees a one-armed zombie and starts banging on the window, drawing the zombies to it. She tells Victor that there’s one missing a left arm, and takes Alicia’s mechanical arm out of her bag. Victor tells her that this isn’t healthy, and the agitated zombies scrabble at the window. It breaks and Madison falls back onto the floor, a zombie on top of her. Victor kills the zombie and helps her up, and the group takes off for the back of the building. They hear shooting outside, and the zombies fall. Daniel says, it’s not them, so who was it? Luciana walks in, and is shocked to see Madison. She says, Madison died a long time ago, and Madison says, she’s been getting that a lot. Luciana wonders why Victor is there, and Daniel asks if it’s really her. He’s been looking for her for a year. Luciana says, he found her.

Along with some men of Luciana’s, they clean up the zombie mess, and Victor asks if Madison is okay. She says, her baby was alive and she didn’t even try to look for her. She’s Alicia’s mother and should have never given up. Victor says, the last thing Alicia would want is for her to die in the process, but Madison says, if Troy was telling the truth and Alicia’s still out there, she needs to put her to rest. Victor says she will. If Alicia’s out there, they’ll find her. Madison tells Luciana that she’s sorry. She didn’t mean to trash her gas station. Luciana says, Daniel told her what Troy did to Alicia. Madison has nothing to apologize for. Madison hugs her, and Luciana says, so much has happened. There are fresh supplies in the back if they need them. Victor thanks her, and Daniel asks if Luciana’s been making gas. She says, PADRE brought her in years ago, and she didn’t have a choice. He asks who they used against her, and she says, him. She asked for his freedom in exchange. If she hadn’t, they would have killed him, since they considered him too old to be useful. He thanks her, and says he thought she was on the island, but she says they needed someone to refine fuel and she had to work in the shadows. Victor asks why she set up the gas station, since there are bad memories from the last time they holed up in one. Luciana says, if she was helping PADRE, she wanted to make sure she was helping others, and Madison asks what the place is. Luciana says, it’s a way station for travelers. There are 23 locations in the network throughout Arizona. As long as she delivers the fuel, they don’t ask questions. She can let them have gas as long as Troy doesn’t figure it out. She’ll send a tanker to the main road, and they can wait there for it. She needs to keep her operation safe. Daniel says, they haven’t talked in seven years, but she says she needs to protect the place. Daniel says, Troy didn’t follow them, when a truck pulls up. Luciana radios her people outside to tell Iron Tiger to wait. Madison asks who Iron Tiger is, and Lucina says, they should leave now. It’s safer for them to wait in the back. She goes outside, and Madison wonders if she’s telling the truth, but Daniel says, she wouldn’t lie to him. Victor says, she knew he was alive and didn’t look for him. She’s moved on. If it was a choice between them and her place, which does he think she’d choose? Daniel says he’s going to show them how mistaken they are, and he marches outside. He tells Luciana that the others think she’s up to something, and she says, he’s making this harder than it needs to be. The others have now followed him out, and Madison says, Luciana is making it harder. Who’s in the truck? Luciana says, it’s not him, and Victor asks what she’s worried about then. Madison walks closer to the truck, and Luciana’s people draw  their guns. Victor draws his gun, and the truck door opens. The driver steps down, facing away from them, and Madison says, turn around slowly. It’s Charlie, who’s surprised to see that Madison is still alive, and Daniel is surprised Charlie is still here. Daniel hugs her, and she says, June didn’t have what she needed at the Tower to treat the radiation poisoning, but PADRE did and Luciana gave it to her. Madison wonders why Charlie wouldn’t let them see her, and asks, what the hell is going on? Victor says, it’s complicated, but Charlie says, it’s not. She… shot Nick. She was scared and Ennis was dead. She pulled the trigger and she’s so sorry. Madison lunges for Charlie, but Victor holds her back and says, don’t do something she’ll regret. Luciana says, let her explain, but Madison says, there’s nothing to explain. Get the hell away from her, both of them. She flashes back to various times with Nick, and takes a sledgehammer to an old truck. She kills some zombies with it, and Victor brings her oxygen. She breathes some in, and she says, he knew? He says he thought Charlie was dead, so he didn’t think it mattered. She says, he didn’t? The girl she brought into the stadium killed her son. Victor says, she had no idea how it would play out. He should have told her. She hammers at an already downed zombie, and says, it’s not okay. If she hadn’t brought Charlie in, Nick might still be here. If she’d hit Troy harder, Alicia might still be here. If she’d done things differently, they might both be here. Victor holds her, and says, maybe he should take her back to the island. Daniel can handle getting the fuel. Madison asks how and why Charlie is still here. How was she let back in? Victor says, they gave her the same thing everyone else wants – a second chance. Madison asks if Alicia would want that, and he says, she’d be the first one to forgive Charlie. Madison doesn’t think she can forgive Charlie, but Victor says, no one is asking her to. Charlie wants talk to Madison, but Victor says, it’s not a good time. Madison says she wants to hear what Charlie has to say, and Charlie says she doesn’t blame Madison. She hated herself for a long time. She doesn’t expect Madison to forgive her, but she needed to say that since she doesn’t know when she’ll see Madison again. Madison says, Charlie just wants to feel better about herself, and Charlie says, she was 11, scared, and being used by  people older than she was. She’s so sorry she took Nick from the world, so she tried to turn her pain into something more. That’s why she’s doing what she’s doing, making things like this possible. As bad as Nick’s death was, something good came out of it. Just tell her if she can make Madison see the good. Victor says again, it’s not a good time, and Madison says, Charlie snuck into the stadium and fooled her, her son, and everyone. She wants Charlie to do the same with Troy. Charlie asks if Madison wants her to find out what he’s planning, and Madison says she wants something else. She wants Charlie to kill him. Victor says, don’t do this, but Madison says, Charlie took the stadium and her son. It’s the least she can do. Charlie says, Madison is right. She’ll do it.

Daniel says he thinks it’s too dangerous. They know what Troy is capable of. Let him do it. Madison says, Daniel won’t even get close to Troy. He doesn’t know Charlie and won’t see her coming. Daniel says, for years he thought Madison and Luciana were dead. He doesn’t want to risk Charlie. Madison says she knows what she’s doing; don’t make it harder than it needs to be. Charlie says, she’ll bring the fuel to Troy. He’ll be less suspicious if he gets something out of the deal. Luciana says, then what? and Charlie says, she’ll fix it for them. When she comes back, no one will have to worry about Troy anymore. She’ll also find out what happened to Alicia. Madison tells her not to pretend to care, but Charlie says, Alicia was her friend. She knows Madison doesn’t believe her, but she wishes she could take back shooting Nick. He was like a brother to her. Madison says, if he was, she wouldn’t have shot him, and Luciana gives Madison the keys to the tanker. There’s enough gas to last for months. Daniel asks if he can stay until Charlie returns, but Luciana thinks it’s best if he goes back to PADRE. She stays hidden to keep things like this from happening. Daniel says, maybe he shouldn’t have come, and she says she wanted to find him, but needed to protect everyone. He says he’s proud of her for that and her whole operation. Inside, Madison tells Victor not to look at her like that. She’s not letting that a-hole take the island. Victor asks, why, if it’s not what Alicia wanted? and she says, if Charlie is telling the truth, she’ll show them by killing Troy. Victor gets on the radio, and Madison finds a coffee can with a note on top of it that has her name. She says, this is her son, and Luciana says, they were clearing roads, and Charlie wanted to see where Nick was buried to tell him that she was sorry. Luciana didn’t realize how much she missed him until she saw his grave. Charlie said he deserved something better, so they cremated what was left of him and brought him here. He’d been buried in Field Hill country, so they could get to the weapon cache. Victor says, they were in a dark place, and Madison says, Charlie was right; Nick deserves better. Luciana says, they didn’t know where that might be, and Victor says, but Charlie thought Madison would. Madison asks if they can reach her, and Luciana radios for Iron Tiger. Charlie answers and Madison tells her to come back. She was right about Nick. He deserves better and Charlie should be there to say goodbye. Charlie says she can’t come back, but Madison says, Charlie doesn’t have to do what she asked. She was just a kid and doesn’t have to make up for Nick. Charlie says she means she literally can’t come back, and we see Troy’s men aiming their guns at the truck. Troy tells her, get out of the truck, and Madison ask, where is she? How did they find her? Charlie says, they were patrolling the road, when Troy opens the door, and hears Madison asking where she is. Charlie tries to make deal for the gas, but Troy asks why he should trust anyone talking to Madison. He tells her, get out of the truck. They have a lot to talk about. Luciana unplugs the radio and tells Madison that she can’t reveal where they are. Madison says she’s trying to do the right thing, and Daniel says, she wants to do the right thing now? They have to help rescue Charlie. Luciana says, they have to go, and Victor says, they’ve all suffered losses, but Daniel says, they have to try. Madison says, it looks like they’re going back to Troy.

Charlie’s wrists are tied to a chair in a room with shards of glass covering the floor. Troy is whacking the left arms off of zombies that are brought to him, and tells his men to bring in another when he’s finished. Charlie says, he doesn’t scare her, and he slices of her bonds with his sword. He says he finds it easier to talk when things are equitable. Don’t try to run. The last person messed up their feet so bad, they only got a half mile before the dead found them. She asks why he’s cutting their arms off, and he says he’s got to pass the time somehow. She says, he wants Madison to think they’re Alicia. Why did he kill her? He says, he’s the one asking questions. He’s not the only person who’s killed a Clark. Is what Madison said true? Did she kill Nick? Nick was a friend of his; he was like a brother. They were both better suited to this world than the last one. That’s what they thought anyway. Why was Madison trying to protect her? Charlie says, Madison was giving her a second chance, and he laughs. He says, if she believes Madison’s kumbaya bullsh*t, it’s going to get her killed. No one gave them a second chance. Charlie asks what he wants, and he says he wants to know where PADRE is. She asks why he cares, and he says he needs somewhere to set up shop, a place people like Madison can’t take from him. She asks, why not this place? and he says, they took it in one afternoon. They need someplace more secure that no one can take from them. Charlie says, someplace he can take from Madison, but he says, that’s just the icing on the cake. Charlie says she doesn’t know where PADRE is, and he puts his sword to her throat, saying, he doesn’t believe her. She says, she left the gas tankers for them to pick up, and tells him, drop the sword. He says he doesn’t believe her, so he guesses they’ll see how fast she can run with glass under her feet. He starts to unlock the gate keeping the zombies out, and she says, wait. There’s a map in the truck with a list of the drops. Maybe he can use it to figure out where PADRE is. He hears Russell on the radio asking for someone to check an explosion outside. The tanker just blew sky high. Troy says he wants a headcount now, and asks Charlie if it was on a timer. Is that why she wanted them to bring the tanker in? A man on the radio says, they need to get the fire out before it draws more dead, and Troy tells Charlie that she’s going to help him find PADRE whether she knows where it is or not.

Walking down the road, Madison and the others hear the explosion. They hear Russell on the radio asking how big the fire is. A man says, the whole thing went up and it’s spreading fast. Daniel says, it must have been the tanker, and Troy asks if Madison is there. She takes the radio, and asks, what the hell happened? He says, her tanker exploded, and she says she doesn’t know what he’s talking about. Daniel tells Madison that it must have been part of Charlie’s plan to be captured, and Troy says he has Charlie; she wasn’t in the truck when it blew. They must trust Charlie if they sent her in to kill him. He guesses they thought he’d be killed in the blast. Madison tells him not to hurt Charlie, and he wonders what Nick would think. She says, he’d get it. People do sh*tty things and come back from them. Troy says he’s glad she thinks so. She’s going to have to do something that will upset a lot of people. She says she wants Charlie back alive, and he says he wants to know where PADRE is. Victor says, they’ll hit him with everything they’ve got, and Daniel says, Troy doesn’t deserve PADRE. Troy says, the girl or PADRE? and Charlie says, don’t tell him. He kicks the chair over, and she lies in the glass. He puts the radio near her, and Daniel says he’s going to strangle Troy with his bare hands. They head back to their truck, and Troy asks if they hear that as Charlie gasps. He says he’ll kill her if they don’t tell him what it is he wants to know. Madison says, meet her in front of hotel, and she’ll tell him where PADRE is.

They drive close to the hotel, then walk. They see a burning zombie, and Madison says, it’s missing an arm. Where are they coming from?  Troy and his men meet them, and Troy tells them, hold it. There are a lot more of them inside. This better not be a trick. Madison says, no tricks; he has her word. He says he’s not sure that’s worth anything. He’ll hand Charlie over when she gives him PADRE’s location. Daniel says, if he hurts Charlie… and Troy says, let him guess. Daniel will take out his other eye. Daniel says, Troy will wish he did, and on the radio, Charlie says, don’t make a trade for her, but Madison says, Charlie is there because she asked her to be. She asks Troy how she knows he’ll hold up his end of the deal, and he says he’ll send his right-hand man to the location to find out if she’s bullsh*tting. He doesn’t care about Charlie. He just wants a safe place. Madison took everything from him, so he’s going to take everything from her. Madison asks if this is about Jeremiah, but Troy asks if she thinks he gives a sh*t about his old man. She says, then what did she take from him? but he says, it doesn’t matter. All that matters is PADRE. Victor says, there must be another way. They have people to consider like Frank and Klaus. They need assurance Troy won’t hurt the people there. Troy says, they’ll have ample time to leave. He doesn’t care about the people, just the settlement. Victor says he’ll drive, and Troy says, no weapons. Madison tells Charlie that they’re getting her out, and Charlie stabs one of the guards watching her. She says she just took out one guy, and she can take out another. Madison tells her, don’t do this, but Charlie says she’s not going to watch another place Madison built be taken away because of her. Madison says, it’s not her fault, and Troy asks why she’s doing this for Madison. Charlie says she’s not. It’s not what Alicia wanted, and Nick’s death has to mean something. Victor said Alicia’s last words to him when she thought she was dying was, make it mean something. Madison says, they’ll build something else, but Charlie says, he’ll just go after another place. They won’t kill her because it’s the only way for him to get what he wants. Daniel tells Troy, she’s right. If he kills Charlie, he’ll have no leverage and won’t know where PADRE is. Troy says, no one is shooting anyone. Put the gun down and they’ll work it out. Madison says, let Charlie go, and he can have PADRE, but Charlie says, don’t give him the location. Madison says, it’s not Charlie’s choice, but Charlie says, yes, it is. Madison won’t have to give him PADRE if he has nothing to trade. She flashes back to all the people she’s met and being with them, and Daniel says, no! Charlie calls up more memories, then shoots herself. Troy asks if the other guard can’t stop her, but he says, she’s dead. Daniel lunges for Troy, but Victor holds him back. He says, Troy is lying, but Troy says, Daniel heard the guard. Madison says she’s so sorry, and Daniel says he’s going to kill Troy for this. Troy says, this is not how he wanted this to go, but they can’t leave. He needs the map. A man radios that Tracy is missing, and Madison says, they have kids in there? Troy says, why did she think he wanted PADRE? The man says, Tracy said she’d never seen a truck running, and went to the tanker. Troy takes off running and calling for Tracy.

Troy goes to the burning tanker, continuing to yell, Tracy! He shoots zombies until he’s out of bullets, and pulls out his sword. A zombie gets him down, and Madison kills it. She asks what the hell he’s doing, and he says he’s not going to let another kid die after what happened. He opens the cab of the truck, and Madison says, whose kid? He says, she’s not in the cab, and a man tells him that there are dead everywhere, but Troy tells them to keep looking. Madison asks why he didn’t just tell her the truth, and he says, so she could take his daughter? Madison says she didn’t take anyone from him, but he says, that’s not true. His daughter’s mother is dead because of her, and he doesn’t have time for this. Madison follows him as he kills any zombie in his way. She says, he’s been cutting off their arms, making her think Alicia is everywhere she looks. They fight, and Madison gets him down. She asks who he thinks she took, and he says, the woman who rescued him at the dam. She gave him a second chance. He’s got to find his girl. Madison says, now he knows what it’s like wondering where your kid is, and Victor runs up. He says, they’ve got to get out of here, and drags her away.

On the road, Madison sits in the truck and watches Daniel on the truck bed looking despondent. Madison gets out, and we see he’s looking at Charlie’s hand sticking out from the tarp that’s been put over her body. Luciana tells Madison to use the fuel wisely; she won’t get more. They lost Charlie, and now Troy knows about her people. They’re at risk. She let herself get dragged into a fight that wasn’t hers. Daniel wants to go with Luciana, and tells Madison that they sent Charlie into a viper’s nest. There’s something fundamentally wrong with Madison. This is the second time someone dear to him died because of her. Madison says, they need him, but he says, they don’t. They need the army he’s assembled, if she can convince the parents of the children she stole that she’s changed. He tells Luciana that he wants to come and help take care of her like he’s wanted to for years, and she says, okay. He gets in the truck with her, and they drive away.

Victor tells Madison that what Daniel said isn’t true, but Madison says, it is. She sent Charlie to Troy to pay for what she did top Nick. It doesn’t matter that she changed her mind. Charlie is dead. Victor wonders why Troy thinks she killed the mother of his child, and she says she doesn’t know, but she can’t go back to PADRE with Victor. Daniel was right. She can’t ask anyone to follow her. He says, they’re not building it for her, but for Alicia, Nick, Frank, and Klaus. Madison says, if she stays it won’t happen. He has to keep the promise. He says he needs her; he can’t do it alone. She gives him the keys and says, he’s going to have to, and walks off alone.

Next time, Dwight confronts Troy, and Sherry is in big trouble.

🍭 Everyone Gets a Goodie Bag…

Stop in tomorrow for soap and what’s on Deck in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay keeping your black cat indoors on Halloween, and stay not making it harder than it already is.

Oct23

October 22, 2023 – Madison Reunites With Victor & Ballad

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Near a beautiful hotel on the beach, kids are playing soccer, farming is being done, and everything’s idyllic. It’s also in German. Victor comes from the balcony into a hotel apartment, but a man (Frank) and his son (Klaus) call him Anton. Frank kisses him, so I assume they’re a couple. A man knocks at the door and says, they have a new arrival. We see zombies clamoring outside, surrounding a tour bus at the entrance of the hotel. Frank, Klaus, and Victor find a man inside the bus, and Klaus asks if he needs help, Victor translating it to English. The man thinks his arm is infected, and Victor says he’s come to the right place. They take him inside, and the man asks where he is. Victor says, an oasis for the dispossessed, the desperate, the weary. They help people. The man asks why everyone is speaking German, and Frank says, they were tourists visiting this place; the bus was their tour bus. They didn’t make it home, so they made one here. This place is about second chances, and making sure everyone gets one. Victor says, everyone deserves a second chance.

The man gets antibiotics, and Victor takes him to get something to eat. It looks better than my dinner. As a matter of fact, it looks better than the last restaurant meal I had. Victor tells the man that schnitzel will do wonders for his strength, and the man says his infection is already starting to clear. Klaus tells Victor that a new guest was found half-conscious, and he put her in his room. Victor goes to see her, and it’s Madison, who says, Victor? It can’t be. Klaus wonders why she’s calling him Victor; his name is Anton. Victor tells Klaus to help his father and hustles him out. Madison, whose breathing is labored, asks what Victor is doing here, why was Klaus calling him Anton, and why is he speaking German? Victor flashes back to the tower and hugs her. She cries, and says she thought she lost him. He tears up, and she asks, what’s going on? Frank and Klaus come in with the oxygen, and Frank asks if everything is okay. Madison says, his name’s not Anton; it’s Victor Strand. Tell them his name. Victor says, Anton. He’s never heard of Victor Strand. She must be mistaken. Madison says, he’s not telling the truth, and Frank says, Anton/Victor doesn’t know her? Victor says he’s never seen her before, and Madison keels over. Frank hurries to set up the oxygen.

Victor sits at a table with Frank, Klaus, and several others. They discuss Madison, and Victor says he has no idea why she’s calling him Victor. Klaus says, she’s confused and scared, and a man asks if anyone asked her why. Klaus says, she had this in her bag, and shows them a walkie-talkie. He turns it on, and Daniel begins to speak. He’s trying to find Madison, and Victor tells Frank, turn it off, but Frank gives Daniel Madison’s description, and says, they want to help her. Daniel says, if they want to help her, give him her location. Victor grabs the radio, turning it off, and says he’s trying to protect them. She can’t stay. Frank says, she is staying, and asks if anyone disagrees. No one does, and Frank tells Klaus to take Madison some soup. Victor says he doesn’t want Klaus alone with Madison, and Frank asks, what is he so afraid of? Victor doesn’t answer, and Frank tells Klaus to make her feel at home.

Madison wears an oxygen mask, and her wrists are tied. She asks if Klaus would mind cutting her loose, but he tells her that his dad said it’s not safe. She asks what he thinks, and he asks why she thinks he’s this Victor Strand guy. She says, because he is, but he says he knows his dad wouldn’t lie. She says, he doesn’t know Victor, and Klaus asks why he would pretend to be somebody he’s not. Madison says she doesn’t know, but it’s pissing her off. Klaus feeds her some soup and sees her Nick and Alicia tattoos. He asks who they are, and she says, they were her kids. He says, were? He’s sorry. She sees a bird he’s rescued, and she says, her kids rescued a bird when they were around his age. He says, the birds get confused, and fly into the hotel windows. She asks if he always helps, and he says, everyone deserves a second chance. She asks, who taught him that? and he says, his dad, Anton. She asks where his mother is, and he says, his parents split up when he was little. His father brought him here on holiday before the world changed. They got stuck and they’ve been here ever since. He never saw his mother again. Madison says she’s sure his mother would be proud of him, and Klaus says, Madison seems cool too. She says she doesn’t think everyone would agree, and he says, they listened to her walkie. Why are they after her? She says she’s not sure. They were hit out of nowhere and their boats were stolen. He says, she must have done something, when Victor comes in, and she says she’s got to hand it to him. He made something here, even if it’s a lie. Klaus says, he’s not lying, and Madsion asks why Victor is hiding. Frank radios and says, they have new guests, but they’re not welcome ones.

On the bus, a man named Russell says, they’re looking for a woman that they heard is hiding out here. Victor says, that doesn’t narrow it down, and Russell says, her name’s Madison. Frank asks what they want with her, and Russell says, that’s their business. Frank says, sorry, they can’t help, and Russell asks if they have children here. Frank says, some, and Russell says, this woman was one of PADRE’s top collectors. She’s been broadcasting that she’s trying to rebuild PADRE. Frank says, that seems like a good thing, but Russell says, seems ain’t is. This particular leopard doesn’t change her spots. The head of their outfit knows her for who she really is. Daniel’s voice comes on the radio, and he says he knows they’re monitoring the channel. Russell cuts the radio off, and Frank says, she’s not here, but Russell thinks she is. He says, there’s two ways this can go. Hand her over, and they walk away. The voice they heard on the radio isn’t alone and he seems determined. If they have to fight to get her, they will. Do they want that fight on their doorstep? Victor flashes back to tossing people off the roof, and says, she’s here. Frank says, what the hell?

They find both Klaus and Madison are gone, and Russell says, she took him. Victor says he told them she seemed dangerous, and Russell says, if she gets him back to PADRE, they’ll never see their son again. Victor looks at a bulletin board and says, that’s not where they’re going. This is. He shows them a tour brochure, and says, Madison tore the map off before they left. Frank wonders why she’d take Klaus there, and Victor says, there’s only one way to find out.

They go to the shoreline, and Russell says, they came in two boats; she must have taken the other one. He asks Victor and Frank to hand over their weapons; they’ll get them back when they get where they’re going. Daniel comes on the walkie, asking if Madison is there, and Russell says, listen old man, you’re better off without her, but Daniel says, hurting her would be a grave mistake. Russell says, it’s not his call, but it will go better for her if they back off. Daniel says, too late for that, and Russell looks through binoculars to see Daniel and some others coming toward them in a boat. Russell says, he found them. If they leave now, they can still lose him. Victor looks conflicted, and flashes back to Daniel. He runs back up the beach stairs, and Frank follows him. Russell says, screw this, and the boat takes off. Frank and Victor run through the woods.

Frank asks, what the hell is wrong with him? and Victor says, it’s not their fight, but Frank says, Klaus needs them. Victor says, they’ll find another way, but Frank says, they took the only boat. Victor says he knows where there’s a raft. Zombies are toddling around in the woods, and Frank asks why Victor is so upset. Victor says, Madison has their son, but Frank says, before that. She called him someone else; is he? Victor wonders how he could ask, and Frank says he knows Victor hasn’t been fully honest with him; he’s always known Victor wasn’t truthful. Frank lived a lie, hiding who he was with Mia and Klaus. Whatever’s going on, Victor can tell him. Victor sees the raft, and says he used it years ago, before they found each other. Frank says, the years were not kind to it, and Victor says, let him do this alone. He goes through the stuff in the raft, while Frank kills a zombie coming toward them. He asks if Victor is the man Madison talked about, but a zombie blindsides him, getting him down. Victor stabs it through the back of the head with a sword, and Frank asks where that came from. Victor says, it’s what he was looking for. More zombies come, and Victor suggests they move now.

They walk in the dark, and Frank tells Victor, there was nothing they could have said to make Klaus stay. He thinks Madison reminds Klaus of his mother. He wasn’t there for her when the world changed. Maybe Madison made him feel like it was a second chance at helping her. Victor takes his Frank’s hand, and says, Frank never told him what happened after he told Mia his truth. Frank says, she was angry and confused. In the end, the truth set them free. He should have come clean sooner. Victor asks if she forgave him, and Frank says, of course, as he would Victor, if he’s Victor… Victor says, he’s not Victor, and Franks says, if he is Victor, whatever he did, he’s sure it’s forgivable. Victor says he’s not that man.

Victor sees the library from the tour map, and Frank says, they’re here. Inside, Klaus tells Madison to wake up. It’s going to be okay. Stay with him. Frank and Victor come in, and Klaus hugs Frank. Franks asks, what happened? and Klaus says, they ran out of oxygen on the boat, and he was trying to find more. They have to help her; she’ll die if they don’t. Frank says, finding oxygen here is going to be difficult, but Victor says he has an idea. He looks outside in a cooler and finds a tank, and Frank asks how Victor knew it would be here, but Victor says he didn’t. With this many rafts, he figured they carried supplies. Frank says, like he happened to find the sword, and Klaus says, there’s no time to argue. They see a boat out on the water, and Frank says, it’s them. Victor says, they need to go, but Klaus says, not without Madison. Victor says, there’s no time, and Klaus says, then he’s staying with her. He defended Victor to her, saying, his dad would never hand her over to people like that. Maybe Victor isn’t who he thought he was. Victor says he is and he’s going prove it. He tells Frank to take Klaus home. He’ll be behind them after he helps Madison. He takes the oxygen, but Frank says, he can’t do it alone. Victor says, Frank took a chance on him when they met. Frank saw the man he could be. Let him prove he can still be that man. Frank kisses Victor, and says, be careful. He and Klaus head out in the boat.

Victor gives Madison the oxygen and says, they need to go. She asks what he’s doing here, and where Frank and Klaus are. He says he sent them away, and she says, so he could throw her to the wolves again? Victor says, the wolves are circling and he came to help her. He promised his son that he would. She can either come with him and live, or stay here and die. They grab some supplies, and Victor says, they’ll take the zodiac. Madison asks, then what? and he says, they’ll talk about it when they get there. Madison says, she couldn’t protect her own settlement, calling him Victor, and he says, his name is Anton. She asks if he’s scared sh*tless that his family is going to find out who he really is, but he says, they already know. She says, he was ready to let her die to protect his secret, and he says he’s here, isn’t he? She asks if he’s cutting her throat with that sword, then going back and telling his kid those people did it, but he says, he’s not who she thinks he is, and she says she doesn’t know who the hell he is, taking a swing at him. They hear a gun cock, and Russell says he found them.

Madison says, don’t do this, and Victor says, whatever she did, they can work it out. Russell says, Victor has no idea how far back this goes. Madison says she doesn’t even know who he is, but Russell says he knows her. Victor says, whoever he thinks she is, that’s not her anymore, and Russell wonders why he should believe Victor after what he pulled on them; they’re the same, pretending to be something they’re not. He’s not fooled. Madison asks what he wants, and Russell says, PADRE. They’ve been looking for a place like it for a long time. She’s going to show him where it is. Zombies intrude on the conversation, and while Russell and his men are distracted, Madison grabs a gun and she and Victor take off. Russell and his men follow, shooting.

Victor says, the boat, but Madison says, they’re not going to make it. They have to go back. They kill some zombies and run back inside the library. Madison tries to shut the door, but some of the zombies are partway inside. She says, the door isn’t going to hold, and Victor says, the bookshelves. They tip the bookshelves over, blocking the zombies, but they’re still reaching over. Victor kills some of them, nearly gets pulled over when one grabs him, and loses his sword. They’re backed against a wall, and Madison runs out of bullets. Victor tries to radio Klaus and Frank, and says, they need help. He tells Madison that he’s sorry, and she asks if it’s him talking or Anton. He says, it’s him, and she asks why he’s pretending to be someone else. He says he had to. Whatever he was called, he had to leave that person behind. She asks what he did, and he says, what he had to. He created a thriving tower, a place where people could be safe. He was ruthless, even to Alicia; he betrayed her. When the tower fell, they washed up on these shores. Some of them were taken to PADRE. Others were struggling to survive. He tried to help them, but they wouldn’t let him; they couldn’t forgive him. He tried to help find food to make almonds amends, but when he came back, they were dead, just like the ones here. He hated being Victor, so he killed him. He died with everyone else. She asks what he became; who is he? He says, the last time he saw Alicia, she told him that she loved him. He didn’t think anyone could. When he met Frank and Klaus, he could be the person Alicia thought he was, but he could only do it as someone else, as Anton. Madison says she understands. Klaus is a good kid. He did all right. He takes her hand and thanks her. The zombies are agitated and reach for them, and he says, Alicia had the chance to watch him die and after everything he did, he deserved it; Alicia didn’t. Madison asks, why didn’t she? and he says, because her mother taught her that no one is gone until they’re gone. Everyone deserves a second chance, no matter what. She says, they’re not so different. They got rid of the people running PADRE. She got rid of them and promised the kids she took that she’d help find their parents. She sent out messages from the repeater station, hoping their parents would hear her. He asks if they did, and she says, some, but they weren’t the only ones listening. Those people heard and she drew them to her. Now she’s put everyone else in danger. He says she was just trying to help, and she says, that place and what she promised those kids is all she has left. Klaus comes on the radio and says, the soldiers are here. They got inside. Suddenly, the zombies are shot from behind with a machine gun by Russell and his men. Russell grabs Victor’s sword and starts shoving everything aside. On the radio, Klaus says, Victor has to get back, and Russell says, they’ll take him to them. He whacks Victor in the head with the sword and everything goes black.

When Victor and Madison wake up, and find they’re tied to chairs. Russell says, welcome back, and we see Klaus and Frank are also tied up. Russell says, he told them to hand Madison over. This could have been avoided. Victor says, if he hurts them… and Russell says, it’s not up to him. Madison asks who it’s up to, and he says he’ll let him tell her…  A man walks in, drops his duffel bag, and tells Madison, it’s been a while. She says, Troy, and he says he’s just as surprised as she is. He knew he’d find her when he heard her radio broadcast, but he didn’t think she’d be keeping the same company as she did in Mexico. Frank says, he’s making a mistake. This man isn’t who he thinks. Troy says, that isn’t Victor Strand? and Frank says, his name’s Anton. Troy is confused. Troy says he thinks Frank is the one that’s confused. About Victor, and certainly about Madison. He’ll tell Frank the truth about who she is. Even better, he’ll show him. He takes off his shades, and one of his eyes is messed up. He says, it’s not pretty to look at, but that can happen with a bad hit to the head from a hammer. We flash back to Madison whacking Troy, and he says, this is what she did to him before she left him for dead in Mexico. After she destroyed his family’s ranch and killed his brother and father. He lost them all because of her, and Victor helped. Madison asks what he wants, and Troy says, the same thing he’s wanted since she took it from him. The same thing he’s been helping these people find since he was pulled out of the rubble in Mexico – a home. She took his, and now he’s going take hers. She says, he’ll never find it, but he says she’s going to tell him – he takes out a hammer – or he’s going to do to Victor what she did to him. He grabs Victor and raises the hammer. Victor tells Madison, don’t do it. Hold onto that place. It’s what Alicia would want. Frank says, tell them what they want to know, and Troy asks, how many people is she prepared to hurt? Frank asks Victor to look at him, and Victor says his name is Victor Strand. He lied to Frank about so much, but what he felt for Frank was real. He says he loves them both in German, and as Troy is about to hammer Victor, Klaus says, no.

Daniel comes in, holding a knife to guard guy’s throat, and says, drop the hammer. The entire crew marches in, and June says, do it. Daniel says, drop the weapon, and Troy suggests Daniel follow his own advice, but Daniel knocks guard guy out, and someone knocks the hammer out of Troy’s hand. Madison gets free, and Daniel suggests, the next time, make sure they’re dead. June and the others keep their guns on Troy, and Troy asks what Daniel thinks he’s doing. Does he think he’s going to stop them? They know where this place is now, and they’ll keep coming back. Madison says, do that, and there won’t be anyone here for him to hurt. Her plan of building is about to expand. They took her in when she needed help, and she’s going to do the same. Troy says, she just told them what she did to him. What makes them think she won’t do the same to them? She says she did things she regrets, but the place she’s building isn’t about her. It’s about keeping something bigger alive. Daniel says, they have to get out of here, and Madison says, she’s building it for her kids, for Alicia. Troy says, she’s making a mistake. It’s the same thinking that got Alicia killed in the first place. She asks, how the hell would he know? and he says, because he killed her. She calls him a liar, and he says, she doesn’t believe him? He pushes his duffel bag toward her with his foot, and says, open it. Daniel tells her not to listen to him. Let’s get out of here. She takes out Alicia’s mechanical arm and asks, what is this? Troy says, she doesn’t recognize it? It belonged to Alicia. He took it off her corpse after he killed her. I yell, don’t believe him! at the TV, and Madison grabs the hammer, but Victor holds her back. He tells her not to let Troy get in her head. Troy says he would have put her down, but after all the wandering around he did in Mexico, he thought it was only right that he let Alicia wander too. Maybe Madison will find Alicia, or Alicia will find her and she can finish the job. She wants a fight? They’ll give her one, but the question is; what is it she’s even fighting for?  

This season, Madison says, someone’s got to stop him; Victor wants to go with Madsion; Madison says she has to put Alicia to rest and build PADRE into what she wanted; Daniel is going to strangle someone with his bare hands; and zombies, zombies, and more zombies.

👮🏽‍♀️ Busting Some Ghosts…

Join me tomorrow for soap and shenanigans in the Med. Until then, stay safe, stay dressing appropriately for that office Halloween party, and stay knowing, no one is gone until they’re gone.

Oct21

October 20, 2023 – Alexis Blindsides Judge Kim, Mr. Christmas, Salt Shaking, Villainous, VanderSecrets, About Fear, Mary Deleted, Reasons Why, All Dressed Up, Seven Quotes Plus a Tagline & Everybody

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Anna tells her bodyguard that she’s not used to having one, and she really appreciates everything he’s doing. He says, not a problem, Miss Devane, and she asks him to call her Anna. She asks if he saw anything suspicious when she was with her friends, but he says, there was nothing out of the ordinary. She says, nobody paid special attention to her or… He says he watched the surrounding area the whole time and saw nothing that was a threat to her.

As they approach the house, Charlotte asks why Valentin insisted on picking her up early from school. He says, because he has a surprise for her, and opens the door. Laura is there and Charlotte runs to her, hugging her, and saying she missed Laura so much.

Esme brings Ace into the hospital and Spencer runs up to him, saying, Ace has a doctor’s appointment today. That’s so cool. He asks why Esme didn’t tell him that Ace had a doctor’s appointment today.

Robert sees Diane at the fitness studio and says, it’s Killer Miller. What’s she doing here at this time of day? Hold on. Does her infamous client Mr. Corinthos know she’s here doing yoga, and not sitting around clutching her cellphone, waiting for his beck and call?

Elizabeth goes into Drew’s room, and he says, she’s not his regular nurse. She says, he’s not her regular patient. She asks how he’s feeling, and he says, good. Maybe a little too good.

Gregory says he’s read Judge Kim’s opinions, and he considers himself an originalist. Correct? The judge says, yes. He believes the meaning of our Constitution doesn’t change over time. Alexis says she was just reading an article about Ascher Alexander, and he shares that view. Gregory asks if that isn’t the millionaire investment banker? and Alexis says, mm-hmm. Kim says he’s certainly heard of him, but he wouldn’t know if Alexander would agree with any of his judicial opinions. He’s never met the man. Alexis says, really. Interesting. So he flew to St. Thomas on this man’s private jet to go deep sea fishing, and yet he’s never met him? Visibly uncomfortable, Kim says, with all due respect to her sources, he believes she’s been misinformed, but Alexis says, on the contrary. She can provide dates, records, flight manifests, or anything else she needs to prove he did fly to the Caribbean with Ascher Alexander. It seems to be a major conflict of interest. Would he care to comment?

Meeting Dante at the Bistro, Cody asks what he’s got there, and Dante says, just some paperwork he has to file for administrative leave. Cody says, Sam told him about that. Does this mean he gets to just hang around the house in his PJs and still get paid? Dante says, no, not quite. The PCPD is going to do an investigation to see if his reasons for shooting the perp were justified. Cody says, he’s a great cop. Just doing his job, right? Nothing’s simple. Everything’s so damn complicated. It’s pretty frustrating. Dante asks what he’s talking about, and Cody says, it seems like you do the right thing and get the wrong outcome.

Elizabeth says, once Drew’s made a full recovery and is cleared by the doctors, he’ll be sent back to Pentenville. It’s got to be tough. Drew says, in the meantime, he gets the pleasure of her company, and she says, nice deflection. He says, she’s got to fill him in on the boys; how’s Cameron doing? She takes his blood pressure and says, the boys are actually really well. Cameron is loving being at Stanford. Academically, he’s doing well, and as for soccer, he’s not a starter yet – he hasn’t played enough games – but he’s proven himself to be a very valuable player. Drew says, that’s fantastic. What about Aiden? She says, he’s still baking. He made a pie the other day; it was so delicious. Drew says, when she talks about Aiden’s baking, his mouth starts watering, and she says, he’s very talented, and he’s determined. He plans on going to the most prestigious pastry academy in Paris. And he wants to pay for it himself. Drew says, wow. How’s he going to manage that? She says, he started his own little business. He has a website and everything. He’s selling fancy cupcakes. He ships them out or delivers them if they’re local. She keeps telling him to talk to Carly and see if she can sell them at Kelly’s. Drew says, that’s a good idea. He’ll put in a good word for him with Carly. She says, he would love that, and he asks, how’s Jake? She says, Jake has a girlfriend.

Alexis says, since Judge Kim is claiming not to know Ascher Alexander, she’s assuming he neglected to report this deep-sea fishing trip on his tax filings or any other gifts or accommodations he received from this very influential friend. Is she right in that assumption? The judge gets up and says he agreed to be interviewed on his judicial philosophy, not to answer questions about where or with whom he chooses to vacation. Although he shouldn’t be surprised by this blatant ambush. He remembers her reputation as an attorney. That is, when she could still practice law. Cheap tricks and judicial violations. No wonder she was disbarred. Gregory says, so far, they haven’t heard a denial.

Diane says, for Robert’s information, she’s often here at this time of day. It’s the only time the studio offers this particular class. And might she remind him, she works for herself, unlike him. So no matter how demanding her clients are, her life is her own to schedule. But him, a public servant taking a three-hour lunch break to pump some iron? She wonders what The Invader would have to say about that.

Doc joins Esme, and Spencer says, it just that the first he heard about Ace’s appointment with his pediatrician was this morning when he got a confirmation text from the doctor’s office, so a heads up would have been nice. Esme says, it’s really not a big deal. The pediatrician had a cancellation this morning and offered the spot to Ace, so she took it. Doc was nice enough to offer them a ride to the hospital. Spencer says he appreciates Doc doing that; he’s sorry that Doc had to. Doc says, it was no trouble, and Spencer says he would have taken them himself had he known. Esme says, it’s just as well. Spencer was with Trina, and she didn’t want to interrupt that. Spencer says, they’ve talked about this multiple times, including in that parenting class she suggested they take with one another. He wants to be at all of Ace’s medical appointments, even the small ones. She says, and what for? and he says he’s Ace’s older brother. She tells him, and she’s his mother and she’s perfectly capable of looking after her own son.

Charlotte says she’s missed Laura so much, and Laura says she missed Charlotte too. And she’s sorry she was away so long. Charlotte asks if she found Uncle Nikolas, and Laura says she didn’t actually see Uncle Nikolas. Charlotte says, that’s too bad, but Laura says, that’s okay. She does know he’s all right. She thinks he’s traveling right now. He needs a little time to himself. Charlotte asks if she knows when he’ll be back in Port Charles, and Laura says she’s not sure, but she didn’t want to wait to see Charlotte any longer. She wants to hear everything about Charlotte’s life. She wants to hear about school and her friends and her classes. Valentin says, this third wheel is going to let them catch up. He has some errands to run. He’ll be back later. He kisses the top of Charlotte’s head and leaves. Charlotte watches him go, and Laura asks if she’s worried about her father.

Gregory tells Judge Kim, with all due respect, a simple denial of this fishing trip would clear up any misunderstanding. He denies he took the trip; he denies he was a passenger on Alexander’s jet? Kim says, this interview is over, but Alexis says, he agreed to this interview on the record, which means she’s free to publish anything and everything that was said here today, which in the end, could prove very embarrassing to him. It might also stall his rise to the Federal Circuit. Kim says, she lured him here under false pretenses, and she says, all he has to do is commute the sentence, the unfair, harsh sentence he imposed on Drew Cain, to time served and set him free. Then this interview will never see the light of day. Kim says, so that’s what this is all about. Blackmail? She belongs in a prison cell next to Drew Cain. He walks out. Um… That didn’t go well. Maybe she played that hand too quickly.

Robert asks if Diane is questioning his work ethic, and she says, he’s questioning hers. He says he’s just happy to see her, and she says, that’s how he shows it? He says, yeah, and she laughs. She says she thinks they’re so used to sparring with each other in court, that’s become their default M.O. He says he’s thinking maybe they should change that, and she says, then what would they do for fun?

Dante tells Cody, Sasha went through a pretty big ordeal. Maybe her leaving town isn’t a bad idea. Cody says, it’s a terrible idea and he told her so. Sasha wouldn’t listen to him. Dante asks what he said to her, and Cody says, he told her, moving to Austin without a job or friends or family would be a mistake. Dante says, and? and Cody says, and what? Dante asks what else he said to her, and Cody says, nothing. Dante says, he didn’t tell Sasha that he wanted her to stay? and Cody says, no. Dante asks, why not?

A nurse tells Esme that the doctor is ready to see Ace now, and Spencer picks up the diaper bag, but Esme says she’s got it, taking it from him. She says she’d prefer to speak to the pediatrician alone, and follows the nurse. Spencer says, what the hell was that about? and Doc says, that was Esme exerting her parental rights, which Spencer does not share.

Charlotte say she thinks papa is worried about her, and Laura says, most parents do worry about their kids. Is there something specific she thinks her dad’s worried about? Charlotte says, he’s never pulled her out of school early to see Laura. She knows Laura was gone, but she could have just seen her tonight, so why did he pick her up early from school? Laura says she thinks she can solve this mystery. She requested this special meeting because Charlotte is her number one priority ahead of everything else, and she wanted to have this time together before she had to go back and assume her mayoral duties. Charlotte says, now that Laura’s back, she doesn’t feel so alone now, and they hug.

Valentin asks if Anna has been sitting alone in the dining room since her meeting with Jordan, and she says she has. He asks, why? and kisses her. He could have just as easily met her in her room. She says she doesn’t like being alone in her suite, but he says, she’s not alone, is she? She has Sonny’s bodyguard watching over her. She says she just feels trapped… vulnerable, and isolated from the rest of the world. Like a sitting duck, waiting for whoever’s after her to strike again.

Cody tells Dante that he didn’t let Sasha know he wanted her to stay in Port Charles because he did what he always does; he made it about himself. Dante asks, how so? and Cody says he doesn’t even know how it happened. He started talking about people making mistakes and how everyone does it, and the next thing he knows, he’s confessing to her that Mac Scorpio is his biological father and he lied to Mac about it. Dante asks what he was thinking, and Cody says he wasn’t. Dante says, he really did make it all about himself, and Cody says he knows. He was desperate. He really doesn’t want her to go.

Valentin says, Anna doesn’t have to stay here alone if she doesn’t feel safe. She has other alternatives. She says she’s not staying with him, because he has Charlotte to consider, and she’s not about to bring whatever danger is after her down on Charlotte. He says she’s right. He’s going to have to get along with his daughter right now and it’s not a good time, but he did buy that house for the two of them. She says, regardless of what she just said, she is fine here, but he says he disagrees. She doesn’t have to stay here alone. She has plenty of friends In Port Charles she can turn to.

Robert says, you want to have fun with moi? and Diane says, if it hasn’t been made clear, she does. She enjoys spending time with him. What she doesn’t enjoy is being made to think she’s an afterthought or a default friend. He says, wait a minute. He’d like them not to be just friends, and she says, meaning? He says, why don’t they pick up where they left off? She says, absolutely not.

Alexis tells Gregory, what difference does it make? She just let that guy leave with the upper hand. What was she thinking? That she was going to hammer him so hard, he would admit he’s corrupt in taking gifts from special interests? Gregory says, she doesn’t know what he was thinking when he left, and she says, that guy is scum, but he has an excellent legal mind, and he did what he should have done. He walked out. And her? She’s left with half an interview where he didn’t admit to doing anything wrong and zero leverage to help Drew.

Drew asks, who’s the lucky girl? and Elizabeth says, Charlotte Cassadine. He says, good for them. He loves hearing all this good news. She says, Charlotte wasn’t her favorite person when she was little, but she’s grown up a lot. She thinks Charlotte might actually be good for Jake. He says, in what ways? and she says, her boy is so shy and reserved, and Charlotte is very confident, and it seems to be rubbing off on him. It’s the first time since Franco’s death that Jake doesn’t seem down all the time. He says he’s really glad to hear that, and she says, and Charlotte is the most popular girl in the class, so dating her has really boosted his self-esteem. He says, that’s great. He loves Jake like Jake was his own son. She says she knows. Jake loves Drew too. Drew means a lot to all of them. A guard comes in and says, the transfer paperwork’s been approved. He’ll be taking Drew to Pentenville.

Laura says she knows Charlotte doesn’t know very much about her or her childhood, but to tell her the truth, she was very alone as a kid. And it was really painful. She guesses she just wanted Charlotte to know that she’s not alone because Charlotte has her, and she also has her dad. Charlotte says, Laura is right. She does have her and papa, but that’s it. She doesn’t have any friends at school. Laura says she’s so sorry and asks if Charlotte is having trouble making friends. Charlotte says, yes and no. She thinks she’s just been away from Port Charles for too long. All her old friends are into different things now. They just keep their distance from her. (I’m confused. Didn’t Elizabeth just say she was the most popular girl in class?) Laura says, Elizabeth told her that Charlotte and Jake have become friends. Sometimes all you need is one good friend. Charlotte says she and Jake are friends, and he’s really nice, but he’s a boy. That’s a lot different when you don’t have another girl to talk about things with. Laura says, Charlotte’s got her, and Charlotte says, yeah, but Laura’s her grandma. It’s not the same. She just doesn’t have someone to hang out with. And papa’s never around; he’s always busy. Laura says, yeah. He spends an awful lot of time with Anna, doesn’t he?

Anna tells Valentin that she’s not going to impose herself on Jordan like that. Or Mac and Felicia. That’s just too much to ask. He says he doesn’t think any of them would feel like it was an imposition. Mac and Jordan have law enforcement training, so if whoever’s targeting her is… She says, the solution is not for her to hole up with her friends and bring danger to their door. The solution is for her to go after whoever’s trying to dismantle her life and shut them down.

Spencer tells Doc, there’s really no need for people to keep reminding him that he’s not Ace’s father. He gets that. But Ace’s father, who is also his father, is missing in action because he doesn’t care that he has  two sons. Doc says, Spencer doesn’t know what’s going on in Nikolas’s head any more than he does. Benefit of the doubt is always the healthiest approach until you know the facts. (Not according to Dr. Phil.) Spencer says, his grandmother, who is the kindest, sweetest, most determined person on the planet, has finally had to admit to herself that his father isn’t coming back. And someone needs to fill that void. Someone needs to be there for him. Someone who’s not Esme. To be honest, Spencer doesn’t much care what the official title is, be it father or brother, he’s going to step up and take care of his baby brother. He’s going to do it. Doc says, he should care. His love and commitment to Ace is commendable, but he doesn’t have any actual parental rights where Ace is concerned. He understands that, yeah? Spencer says he understands that, and he’d really like to stop hearing that from people like Doc and everybody else. Doc says, he’s heard this before? and Spencer says, yes. He gets it. From a legal standpoint, Esme has the final say. Doc says, that’s right, and Spencer says, fortunately, with the exception of this… he guesses they’ll chalk it up to a miscommunication, he and Esme have been able to work together to take care of Ace, and he’s not expecting that’s going to change any time soon.

Robert tells Diane that he’s a little confused. He thinks he’s getting mixed signals. She says, nope. She doesn’t send mixed signals. Picking up where they left off would leave such a bad taste in her mouth. It would just remind her of how she was used for Holly’s agenda and how she was treated when Holly was around. He says he’s sorry, and she thanks him, but asks him to let her finish. She’s been back and forth in her head about him. The moment she starts to think, even for a second, about what a great guy he is – funny, charming – she’s blindsided again by yet another revelation about something, anything in his past. So he wants to know where she is right now with this? He says, definitely, and she says, good. She’ll tell him.

Cody says he’s been going on and on about his troubles when Dante, his best friend, is under investigation at work for shooting someone. Dante says, it’s nothing. This is just police procedure. It’s easier than doing math homework with Rocco. Dante sucks at math. Cody thanks him, and Dante says, for what? Cody says, for everything he’s done. Not just for him since he got here to Port Charles, but for Sasha too. He doesn’t know if they could have pulled this off without Dante and Sam. He’s a good friend. So is Sam. Dante says, she came around, huh? and Cody says he knew that was going to happen; he’s irresistible. Dante says he doesn’t know if Sasha thinks so. He’s sorry all this stuff is happening with Sasha. He knows she’s come to mean a lot to Cody.

Laura says, when Charlotte first got back from camp, she went to live with Dante and Sam, and her dad lived with Anna. What did she think about that? Charlotte says, that was just temporary while papa was buying this house for them, so she didn’t try to think about it. She asks what Laura thinks about the house papa bought for her, and Laura says her opinion isn’t as important as Charlotte’s is, so what does she think about the house? Charlotte flashes back to Valentin telling Anna that he bought the house for them, so they could move in with Charlotte and start a life together. She tells Laura, it’s all she wanted, and Laura says, a house like this? but Charlotte says, a home for her and papa. All to themselves.

Valentin says he’s sorry this is happening to Anna. She doesn’t deserve this at all. Anna says she disagrees, because they both know she brought this down on herself. She was a double agent. She betrayed the WSB and betrayed her country. And she has to accept the fallout from that. She wipes some tears away, and he says, no. Nothing could be further from the truth. She’s being targeted. She’s having her entire life dismantled by someone’s twisted idea of vengeance. She asks why he’d say that. Why does he think it’s revenge instead of justice?

Cody says he’s just being selfish, and Dante asks, how so? Cody says, wanting Sasha to stay here in Port Charles, but Dante says he doesn’t think it’s selfish. Cody likes her and wants what’s best for her. Cody says, if he does, maybe he needs to realize this is going to be really hard for her. These reminders of Brando and Liam, and that nightmare Gladys. Dante says, they’re never going to have to worry about Gladys again. She’s not going to show up in Port Charles. Cody says, Sam told him that Dante’s dad made sure of that, and Dante says, Sonny can be persuasive. Cody laughs and says he bets.

Robert asks why he feels he’s about to get hit by the infamous Killer Miller atom bomb, and Diane says, buck up, soldier. She has the feeling Robert Scorpio can handle what she’s about to say. Besides, this a golden opportunity for someone, who shall remain nameless, but who is him, to become a better human being. He says, okay. Lay it on him. She says, no. They’re not going to pick up where they left off. There’s too much hurt and confusion and betrayal and dishonesty down that road. He asks what she’s suggesting, and she says, they wipe the slate clean. They clear the chessboard as it were. And this is great. He gets to put his paw in anywhere he wants to, because he’s starting at square one.

Alexis tells Gregory, that might have been their only chance to get Drew released and she fumbled it. He says, she didn’t fumble it. She got to him. She says she should have approached this like in negotiations where each party gets what they want. A subtle warning to Judge Kim about a potentially embarrassing career decision and then he gets a chance to clean it up before the dam breaks, and then an early, quiet release for Drew. Nothing said overtly, only implied. This is how deals are done every day, but she had to go for the jugular. She had to grandstand. Does he know why she did that? He says he thinks she’s about to tell him, and she says, because that’s what lawyers do and she’s a lawyer. Or she wants to be one and she misses it. She wanted to win and she lost big; not for her, but for Drew.

Elizabeth tells Drew, maybe they can delay this. Dr. Ashford is on duty. She could speak to him, and he could say there are more tests that need to be done tomorrow, and he can stay here an extra night. Drew says, there’s not point in delaying the inevitable. Honestly, it would probably make it more torturous. They both know he’s going to end up in prison eventually. She says, then let her call Carly for him, but he says, no. She says, why not? and he says, because he doesn’t want her to see him literally hauled out of here in chains. It would be better if she just finds out about it once he’s gone.

Dante gets up, and Cody says, he’s leaving? He thought Dante could sit around all day and listen to him sulk. Dante says, that sounds like a lot of fun, but he has to get this stuff to Mac. Seeing that Cody’s told Sasha that Mac is his father, doesn’t Cody think he should tell Mac the truth too? He thinks Mac deserves to know he’s got a son. Cody says, no way. He lied to Mac’s face about being his son. There’s no way he could look at Mac’s face and see the disappointment and hurt when he found out. Dante says he’s not going to push it, but think about what he’s keeping from Mac. This isn’t a minor thing. Cody not telling Mac that he’s his son, makes his life a lot more complicated. Dante leaves.

Robert says, as an ex-spy, he’s strategic and an excellent chess player, and Diane asks what he’s saying. He says he accepts the challenge and the conditions, and she says, excellent. She’s just going to give him a warning. He says, wait a minute. A warning. A strategic advantage to him. She says, sometimes a warning is just a warning. This is a game between her and him. If he invites anyone else to play, or even watch, then she’s going to take her queen and go home. He says, just her and him. and she says, those are her terms. He says he’s liking how this sounds already. Just them; Robert and Diane. She says, more like Diane and Robert, but here’s one more thing. Not only will she take her queen and go home, she will take the entire chessboard, and there won’t be a rematch. She leaves, and he half-smiles.

Doc says he gets it. Ace is Spencer’s little brother, and Spencer wants only the best for him. But he really doesn’t help Ace if he denies the reality of the situation. Spencer says, the reality is that he’s going to do what he can for Ace, but Doc says, the reality is, Spencer and Esme no longer have anything in common except Ace. And as their lives diverge, and they will, Spencer may have to accept a reduced role in Ace’s life. Spencer says, no. He doesn’t accept that. Esme comes back with Ace, and Spencer asks, how’d it go? Esme says, Ace is once again in the 99 percentile, and Spencer tells Ace, way to go. That’s what he’s talking about. This calls for a celebration. Why don’t they go to Kelly’s and celebrate? He thanks Doc for his help, and says he appreciates it. He’ll take it from here. He leaves with Esme, who tells Ace, a cup of hot cocoa from Kelly’s does sound good, doesn’t it?

Laura say she knows how close Charlotte is with her father, but as much as he loves her, he was never a teenage girl. But Laura was and she remembers what it felt like. And it was really, really hard sometimes, just to be yourself. She felt like no one understood her. She never knew how she fit in, in her family. She didn’t feel like she fit in at school at all, or with her friends. And she had two really successful doctor parents and that was kind of hard. She didn’t always believe everything they told her. Did she take the advice they gave her? No, she didn’t. It was a very hard time. Painful. Confusing. Can Charlotte keep a secret? Charlotte says, sure, and Laura says, when she was Charlotte’s age, she made some really big mistakes. Charlotte says, really? and Laura says, yes, she did. She takes Charlotte’s hand and says, and it was Charlotte’s great-grandmother Leslie who saved her really. She was like Laura’s rock, and Laura wants to be there for Charlotte now, the way Leslie was there for her. She wants that more than anything and wouldn’t have it any other way. So if there’s something Charlotte needs to say to someone, something that maybe she needs to share, she’s here to listen to Charlotte. Charlotte says, grandma… Laura says, yes, dear? and Charlotte says she’s really glad Laura is back. She missed her. Laura says she missed Charlotte too, and they hug.  

Valentin says, this all started at the reading of Victor’s will and Anna’s WSB file being released to the press. She says, his father’s final act of revenge on her, and he says, no doubt. He thinks there’s someone else targeting her on Victor’s behalf.

Gregory asks if Alexis has always been this hard on herself, and she says, yes, especially when she screws up like she did today, and the screw up affects somebody she cares about. He says he’s sorry. He doesn’t see it that way. He was here, and saw and heard her in action. She was great. And if anything significant happened today, it was that she made a sacrifice. She says, what sacrifice? and he says, every instinct she had was, is still, screaming to publish an exposé on Kim’s corruption, barbecue him in The Invader. But she pulled back for Drew’s sake and offered him a deal. Alexis says she came on too strong, but Gregory says, there’s no guarantee that a softer approach would have been any more effective. She says, the point is, she went after Judge Kim because she wanted to, and it was stupid and unprofessional. Alexis’s phone rings, and she thanks them for letting her know. Keep her posted. She tells Gregory, that was a friend of hers from the Federal building. She said that Judge Kim asked his clerk to pull Drew Cain’s file. Gregory says, and? and she says, apparently, he may be reconsidering Drew’s sentence. Gregory says, see? Nice work, counselor.

Elizabeth watches as Drew is wheeled out wearing leg irons, since he might make a sprint from the wheelchair. They lock eyes for a moment, and she watches as he’s wheeled into the elevator. She stands in front of the elevator, and they look at each other with sad faces as the elevator doors close.

On Monday, Brook asks, since when does granny’s opinion hold any weight with Lois; Cody says he had his chance and threw it away; and Sonny tells someone, the next thing they say could have lasting repercussions.

🎄 Nathan Rushes the Season…

I swear this guy is in every other holiday movie.

Preview Ryan Paevey’s Magical New Christmas Movie!

🧂 Salting the Lake…

This week’s shenanigans.

Real Housewives of Salt Lake City Season 4, Episode 7 Recap: Tempers Rise at Angie’s Easter Brunch

It says something about you when your own son wants to hide his marriage.

https://people.com/rhoslc-recap-mary-cosby-son-robert-jr-was-secretly-married-for-a-year-8362974

🗽 Gorgeous Is Gonna Devour Cute…

Tiffany is awful, but I like her, and God help me, I might have to take Jax off the awful list. I’m surprised at how good this show is.

Tiffany Pollard Discusses Making Jax Taylor Cry and Omarosa Feud on House of Villains

https://www.bustle.com/entertainment/tiffany-pollard-a-hero-in-the-villain-house

🍸 SURish Secrets…

It’s not really all that interesting, mostly about Bravo being cheap, but keeping the Pump rolling until the new season begins.

Ariana Madix Reveals Vanderpump Rules Secrets

⚰️ One Fear Coming Up…

Sunday, October 22nd, 9 pm EST. Be dead or be there. Of course the finale is in two parts. It’s a thing now.

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-series-finale/

https://screenrant.com/fear-walking-dead-season-8-two-part-finale/

🧹 Extra Extra…

Wow. It’s all pretty tame by today’s standards.

https://ew.com/movies/hocus-pocus-deleted-scene-grocery-store-mary-steals-child/

🎃 Today’s Lesson…

More Halloween lore.

https://www.countryliving.com/entertaining/a40250/heres-why-we-really-celebrate-halloween/

🐶 Will Do a Trick a Treat…

I love this dog.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/pug-latte-costume

Come on. You know you want to dress your dogs up. You probably want to dress up your cats too, but we all know how that can go.

https://people.com/best-dog-halloween-costumes-8362521

https://www.etonline.com/the-best-last-minute-dog-halloween-costume-ideas-to-put-a-spell-on-everyone-hocus-pocus-baby-yoda

🐝 Quotes of the Week

Whatever we believe about ourselves and our ability comes true for us. – Susan L. Taylor

The purpose of life is to discover your gift. The work of life is to develop it. The meaning of life is to give your gift away. – David Viscott

One man alone can be pretty dumb sometimes, but for real bona fide stupidity, there ain’t nothin’ can beat teamwork. – Edward Abbey

Our most significant opportunities will be found in times of greatest difficulty. – Thomas S. Monson

To improve is to change, so to be perfect is to change often. – Winston Churchill

Once you start recognizing the truth of your story, finish the story. It happened but you’re still here, you’re still capable, powerful, you’re not your circumstance. It happened and you made it through. You’re still fully equipped with every single tool you need to fulfill your purpose. – Steve Maraboli (Or as Sweet Pea said in Sucker Punch: You’ve got your weapons. Now fight.)

For better or worse, Beanies were like crack. – Rich Kelley, The Beanie Bubble

🫦 My Real Housewives tagline: Sometimes going commando really does mean you’re carrying a machine gun. Holla!

🕸 Being Altogether Ooky…

Meet me here on Sunday for a Fear quickie. Until then, stay safe, stay bringing the appropriate hostess gift to a Halloween party – you know, like a coffin – and stay remembering, sometimes all you need is one good friend.