Category Archives: Fear the Walking Dead

Sep23

September 22, 2023 – Drew Gets a Nasty Surprise, Blazing Again, In His Memory, Influenced, She’s In, Surviving, Lego Rick, Best In Dead, Almost Fear, Senior Swimmer, Pets (!) For the Win, 10 Quotes Plus Mine & Last

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Curtis wheels himself into the hospital, and Portia says she didn’t expect to see him here. She was just about to head home. He says he had a follow-up appointment and was hoping to catch her. She asks what she can do for him… Is it that bad? He says, no, but it is important. It’s about their daughter.

Trina works on a paper in her dorm room, when there’s a knock at the door. She says she’s busy; go away. The knocking continues, and she says, go away. Spencer asks if she’s too busy for her boyfriend, and begins drumming on the door. She says, okay, okay, and opens the door. She says, yes, she’s even too busy for him, and he makes a pouty face.

Jordan comes out of the hospital elevator, and TJ runs over and hugs her. He asks what she’s doing here, and she says her neighbor had surgery. She thought she’d stop by and visit her. He says, that’s nice of her, although he’d expect nothing less from his amazing mother, and she says, someone’s in a good mood. He says he’s pumped. Dr. Chang asked him to assist in surgery this morning. She says she’s guessing that’s a big deal, and he says, she has no idea. Dr. Chang is the best in his field, and there he was, right by his side. The doctor even asked TJ to join him in his next surgery. Jordan says, that’s great. She’s so proud of him. He thanks her and says, now he has to do even more research because he has to be at the top of his game for the next surgery. She says, luckily, he has time to study now. When a baby comes into the picture, things are going to change.

On the phone outside the courtroom, Molly tells a women that they’ll have to set up a meeting with DA Scorpio. Alexis comes along, and Molly tells the woman that they’ll talk later. Alexis says she knew Molly was in court today and wanted to see how she did. Did she win? Molly says, no. The judge sided with the defendant, and DA Scorpio is going to want to hear a play-by-play of what went wrong. Alexis says, nothing went wrong. Molly’s perfect. She’s sure it was the judge… bias. Look what happened to Drew. Molly’s phone rings, and she sees it’s Andrea. She tells Andrea that she’s kind of in the middle of something… Why does Andrea need to see her right away?

Blaze walks into Charlie’s, when her phone rings. She says she just got to Charlie’s… Don’t worry. Not a problem. She’ll just answer some emails on her phone… Blaze will see her when she gets here. Kristina says, oh my God. Blaze.

Carly thanks Diane for coming back to Sonny’s old kitchen the house with her, and Diane says she goes where Carly needs her. She stares longingly at the moss bowl🎍, and Carly says she didn’t want to have this conversation in public. The last thing they need is for anybody to hear what they’re saying. Diane said she had some information on the judge, but most important, is it enough to get Drew out of Pentenville?

Drew goes into the shower and gets nakey, camera angles and set pieces strategically blocking his lower half. He runs the shower, and two inmates walk in. Drew doesn’t see them because he’s facing the wall instead of the doorway, like anyone would be likely to do that when they’re by themselves in a prison.

Molly says she’s in the courthouse… Okay, that works. She’ll wait for Andrea here. Alexis asks if there’s a problem, but Molly says she’s not sure. Andrea was having breakfast next door and wants to see her in person. Alexis asks if she said what it was about, but Molly says, no, which means it’s bad news, right? If it was good news, Andrea would have told her what it was. Alexis says, they don’t know that, and Molly says, she didn’t sound happy. She seemed nervous. Alexis tells her, just relax. Andrea will be here any second. In the meantime, does Molly want her to wait? Molly asks if she has time, and Alexis says she always has time for her. She suggests they sit down, and Molly asks if she’s sure. Alexis says, she’ll just text Gregory and tell him that she’s going to be a little late this morning. Molly says, Alexis is spending a lot of time with him. Did she and Diane have an argument or something? Alexis says, the only thing she and Diane argue about is exercise. Is she not allowed to have more than one friend? There. She’s available to Molly for the rest of the morning. Molly asks her to thank Gregory for her, and Alexis says she will. She has to admit he was a great hire, and for a stuffy professor, he’s actually a lot of fun. He has great stories. Molly says she’s glad to hear that. She really likes him and hopes he stays around a long time.

Blaze says she’s sorry. Does she know Kristina? Kristina says, yes… no. Blaze doesn’t know her, but she knows Blaze. She loves Blaze’s music. Blaze thanks her, and Kristina says, her latest single is amazing. It’s on all of her playlists all the time; her cooking playlist, her running playlist, her productivity playlist. Her fangirl moment is going to come to an end now. Can she get Blaze a table? Blaze says she’s meeting someone here, but they’re running late. She thinks she’ll just wait at the bar. Kristina says, the first round’s on her; she insists. What can she get Blaze? A Bloody Mary? A mimosa? Blaze says, just some sparkling water. She’s here for a business meeting.

Trina says she’s working on her essay for her art seminar, and Spencer asks if she didn’t say her goal was to have more of a work/life balance at PCU. She says she did, but not if she wants her essay to be good, and she does. He says, she just started her junior year at PCU. If he has to guess, he bets she has two more weeks for this at least. Is he right? She says she’ll take him up on that bet, because he’ll lose in a heartbeat. It’s due on Tuesday. He says, oh, Tuesday, pulling her into his lap. In other words, she has plenty of time for a little bit of fun. He kisses her.

Portia asks, what’s going on with their daughter? and Curtis says, while they were playing video games last night… She says, the ones they said she wasn’t very good at, and he says he doesn’t think she’s figured out the buttons just yet. She says, he has to teach her. She wants to be down with them, and wants it to be a family affair. He says, of course (🍷). They’re getting a little off topic. While they were playing video games, Trina told him that she was planning a trip. He wondered if she mentioned that to Portia. Portia says, Trina hasn’t, but she’s certainly not surprised. Trina’s been pretty busy; moving back into the dorm, working part time at the gallery, and plus that huge class schedule she still has. She’s sure Trina just hasn’t told her yet. So where’s she going? Another art gallery probably. He says, no. It’s not art or school related. She’s taking a trip to Manhattan… with Spencer.

Diane says, as Carly knows, she just had breakfast with Robert Scorpio, and Carly says, Diane told her that he might have some insight as to why the judge gave Drew such a ridiculous sentence. Diane says, Robert told her that Judge Kim has career aspirations well beyond his current seat on the bench, and Carly says, like what? Diane says, like the Second Circuit Court of Appeals. The Second Circuit Court could be a huge steppingstone to the Supreme Court. For that you need an impressive judicial record, friends in the Justice Department… Carly says she gets all that. What does this have to do with Drew?

For a guy with a short haircut, Drew spends an inordinate amount of time washing his hair. One of the inmates nods to the other, and they approach. Drew feels their presence, turns around, and the fight starts. Drew slams one of them to the ground, but the other grabs Drew’s neck, and pushes him up against the wall, shoving his face under the shower stream.

Andrea finds Molly, who asks, what’s going on?

Drew finally gets the better of the inmate trying to strangle him under the water, but the other one gets up and jumps back into the fray. He gets Drew down, and they kick the crap out of him. Looking at these two goons, I find it hard to believe they could get the best of Drew, even nakey and wet, but he lies unconscious. We see blood go down the drain with the water.

Diane says, Judge Kim appears to be, could be, paving the way for the Justice Department to offer Carly a deal. Judge Kim hands Drew an overly harsh sentence. The Feds are well aware Carly is frantic to get Drew out of Pentenville. That’s their leverage. They offer to release him from prison in exchange for… Carly says, in exchange for information on Sonny, and Diane says, there you go.

Portia says, Trina and Spencer are going to New York City, and Curtis says he doesn’t want to betray her trust, but that’s what Trina told him. And he got the feeling Trina expected her to tell Portia. She asks, when is this happening? For how long? He says, this weekend, a couple of days. That’s the way he understands it. She says, okay, and he says he knows Spencer is a tricky subject for her and Trina, and he’s sorry if he upset her. She says, Trina’s a junior in college. If she wants to go away for the weekend, she has every right to, and she certainly doesn’t have to tell her mother about it in advance. He says, that’s not how he expected her to react. Is she really as calm about this as she seems?

Kristina asks if she can get Blaze a refill, and Blaze says, sure. Kristina says she understands this is totally none of her business, so feel free to say so, but does this meeting Blaze is having possibly have anything to do with her next album? Blaze says, no. She’s looking for new management because her last manager was a total creep. Thank God that’s over. Kristina says she remembers that whole thing blew up at the Nurses Ball. She’s sure everyone wants to sign Blaze though. Blaze says, they do, but after Linc, she realizes she needs more control over her career. It’s hard to find people with vision. Most just want you to churn out the same songs year after year; the old, shut up and sing. They don’t want to hear she plays four instruments and writes as well. She has a voice, and it’s her fault she stayed with Linc for as long as she did, because he wouldn’t listen to it. She won’t make that mistake again.

TJ tells Jordan that he’s fully prepared for their lives to change, if and when a baby comes along. He understands he won’t be able to devote as much time to medicine, and that’s not a problem. Everything will take a backseat to the baby. He shouldn’t even be talking like this. They don’t even know if the IVF was successful. Jordan asks how long before they find out if it worked, and he says, Andrea should know in a few days. But he and Molly are trying to give her space. They’re trying to resist the urge to text her every morning asking if she’s pregnant. Jordan says she knows it can’t be easy, and he says, it’s not. Molly’s been through so much disappointment since they started trying to have a baby. He doesn’t want her hopes up if it doesn’t happen this time. She says, but it could.

Molly says, before Andrea tells her why she needed to see her, she needs to say something first. This whole surrogate experience has been hard on her and TJ, but she’s also tried to put herself in Andrea’s shoes. She must feel so much responsibility to make this happen for them, and she just wants Andrea to know, if she has bad news, and it didn’t take… Andrea tries to interrupt, but Molly keeps on going. And if she doesn’t want to be their surrogate anymore, Molly completely understands. Alexis says, Molly is just so smart. Sometimes she overthinks things. Andrea says she’s not here with bad news; just the opposite in fact. She’s pregnant. Molly says, really? and Andrea says, they should have Dr. Navarro confirm, but the home test says she’s pregnant. She and Molly hug.

One of the inmates gives Drew another kick, but his cohort says, that’s enough. The job’s done. They leave, and we see more blood go down the drain.

Portia tells Curtis, is she thrilled that Trina is going away for the weekend to Manhattan with Spencer? Of course (🍷) not, but what is she supposed to do? March over to her dorm and forbid her to go? Curtis says he knows how much she doesn’t trust Spencer, so the idea did occur to him, and she says, if she thought for a second that would work, she’d be at Trina’s dorm in a heartbeat. But she knows better. She’s learned by now that she can’t pressure their daughter. She learned the hard way. Trina is a lot like Curtis in that way. He says, and she’s not stubborn at all, and she says, okay. Trina inherited her streak from both her parents. He says he should probably get to his check-up, so they’ll talk tonight.

Trina tells Spencer, stop, and he asks, what’s wrong? Is she not having fun? She says, that’s not the point. He’s distracting her and she needs to finish this paper before they go to the city. He says he knows it’s hard, but it’s going to be okay. She’s such a perfectionist, and he knows she’s such a good student, but they’re going to be back from their trip on Monday and she’ll be able to turn in her paper on Tuesday. He admires how smart she is. This all looks very impressive. She probably doubled the amount of research she needed for this paper, but she’s going to have time to finish this when they get back from their trip. She says, he’s probably right, and he says he is right. She says, but if she doesn’t finish  this paper before they go, she’ll be thinking about it all weekend, and she wants this weekend to be about them. All she wants to be thinking about is him, and her, and them being together.

TJ asks if Jordan really thinks it could happen. He’s been trying not to let himself go there, thinking he’ll somehow jinx it, but what if it worked and Andrea is pregnant? She says, then it will be the best news in the world. He says, wow. That means in nine months, Baby Ashford-Davis could be here? What if they’re not ready? Or if they don’t know what they’re doing? Or if… Jordan says, no one knows how to do this the first time around, and he says, in medical school, he’d just open a book and study and have the answers. There’s no book to tell him how to be a good dad. What if he can’t do it?

Andrea says, when she took the test and found out she was pregnant, all she could think about was telling Molly. And yes, it’s incredibly premature, and they should schedule an appointment with Dr. Navarro, but when she saw the result, it made her so incredibly happy, she figured Molly would feel the same way. Molly says she is; she does. And Andrea 100% made the right call in telling her because they’re in this together. Oh my God. She’s got to tell TJ. He has a really busy day at the hospital. Maybe she should wait to tell him tonight. Andrea says she’ll let Molly make that call, and Molly says, if Andrea is pregnant, she needs to eat something. Andrea says she just had breakfast, but if Molly hasn’t eaten, she could maybe have a juice or something. It does feel like they should celebrate, right? Molly says, absolutely, and asks if Alexis would like to join them, but Alexis tells them to go celebrate together. As they’re about to leave, Alexis calls Molly over, and says she’s very happy for them. She doesn’t want to be a Debbie Downer, but she just wants Molly to remember it’s early. Things happen. She’s not saying they will, but she doesn’t want Molly to get ahead of herself. Molly says she knows. Alexis is right and Molly hears what she’s saying, but this is the first good news she’s had in a really long time, and she wants to really celebrate. Alexis hugs her.

Kristina says, Blaze and Chase were so good at the Nurses Ball this year, and Blaze thanks her. She says she loved Danielle Ponder, and Kristina says, her little sister’s obsessed with her. Blaze asks how many sisters she has, and Kristina says, two brothers and four sisters. Blaze says, wow, and Kristina says, that’s a lot, right? She and her sisters have performed a few times at the Nurses Ball. Blaze says, Kristina sings? She needs to hear more about that.

Carly tells Diane, so we’re doing this again. The only way to get Drew out of Pentenville is if she gives the Feds information on Sonny? Diane says, this is all still pure speculation on her part. And Robert’s part. They have no proof that the Feds, the Justice Department, are involved in any way. There’s no firm deal on the table. This could just be a political stunt by Judge Kim to move him up the ladder. It could also be the reason he gave Drew this insane sentence. Carly tells Diane that she doesn’t know what to say, and Diane says, say nothing. It’s only her obligation to present Carly with all the options. Carly says, it’s not an option. If the Feds came to her and offered her a deal, she’s not going to take it. Diane knows that. She knows Sonny’s not her husband anymore, but he’s still her family, and she’s not going to be the one who puts him in prison. Diane says, not even if it means saving Drew? and Carly says, not even if it means saving Drew. Diane says, atta girl.

Cyrus walks into the shower area, and sees Drew lying unconscious, the shower running. He checks Drew’s pulse, and yells for the guard. He shouts, a prisoner’s been attacked! Come quick!

Blaze says, what Kristina is telling her is that she’s more than a bartender, that she has hidden talent. Kristina says she is in fact more than just a bartender. She manages this place. Blaze says, good for her, and Kristina thanks her and says, clearly between the two of them, Blaze is the professional singer here; she’s just having fun. Blaze says, that’s all that really matters, because if she’s not having fun, neither is the audience. Kristina says she doesn’t know how Blaze does it. She gets terrified standing onstage. Once she’s there and in the moment, she can enjoy herself, but it’s a worthy cause and they raised some money, so that’s all that counts. Kristina’s phone rings, and she tells Blaze that she’ll be right back.

Jordan tells TJ, there are tons of books on parenting, and numerous websites with advice on infant care, but the bottom line? There’s no roadmap for raising a child. It’s on the job training. He says, what if he fails? There’s no trick to changing a diaper, but how does he make his child feel comfortable? How does he make them feel safe and secure? Jordan says she’s not the best person to be giving parenting advice. She missed a lot of his upbringing, and it’s something she’ll regret for the rest of her life. But what she does know is, he’s an amazing person with an incredible partner. He and Molly will figure this out together. He thanks her and says, for the record, she’s an amazing mom and she’ll make an incredible grandma. She says she’s still rethinking that name. She’s too young to be called grandma. Doesn’t he think? He says, absolutely, and they laugh.

Alexis says, speaking of celebrating, would it be all right with Molly if she told Sam and Kristina that Andrea is pregnant? Molly asks, what happened to her saying it’s still too early? and Alexis says she knows what she said. If Molly lets her tell them, she’ll make sure they’re cautiously optimistic. She just wants to make sure all the Davis girls are on the same page with Molly and TJ. And whatever happens, let’s all be supportive. Molly asks if this is where Alexis tries to get her and Kristina talking, and Alexis says, absolutely. Is it so wrong for a mother to want her children to talk to each other? Molly says she guesses they’re going to find out sooner or later. Go for it. She gives Alexis a kiss on the cheek and says she loves her. Alexis says she loves Molly, and Molly leaves to join Andrea.

Spencer says, Trina has no idea the fantastic weekend he has planned for her. There’s no way she would even be able to think about, even for a second, some silly paper she has to write. Trina says, first of all, her paper isn’t silly. Art is going to be her career. She takes her work very seriously. He says he knows, and she says, she doesn’t want to be thinking about her paper when they go on their trip. Which is why she needs him to go. She pushes him toward the door, and he says, but even if she didn’t finish her paper, he doubts she’d be able to think about school while she’s there, because… Never mind. That’s okay. She says, what? and he says, never mind, opening the door. She says, what is it? Tell her. He asks if she really wants to know, and she says she does. He closes the door and says, he got them tickets to see Moulin Rouge. She says she listens to the original cast album all the time, and he says he knows. It’s almost like they’re dating and he knows these things about her. They have amazing seats; they’re going to be in the third row, center stage. (Those are good. Never sit in the first row. You’ll be looking up their noses.) And he got them dinner reservations, at Essence. She says, that place is supposed to be the hardest place to get reservations at, and he says he has great connections. She says, maybe he’s right. It will be amazing. She can’t wait. She hugs him, and he says, she doesn’t have to wait. He’s already packed, so why don’t they get her packed and get out of here?

Esme comes out of the hospital elevator, toting Ace, and Portia asks if everything is all right with him. Esme says, he’s fine. He had his normal pediatrician appointment this morning, and she tried to make it as early as possible, so she doesn’t miss too much work. Portia says, that’s commendable of her, and she seems to be doing a wonderful job with Ace. That’s a happy baby. Esme says she can’t take all the credit. Spencer’s actually been a really big help. She appreciates Portia suggesting that parenting class they took together. It was really helpful to get them on the same page. Portia says, that’s great, but her expression doesn’t look like it’s great.

Spencer says, what he knows of late September in Manhattan is that it could be anything weatherwise, so Trina will want to be prepared for hot and cold. She’s going to want to bring something fancy for the theatre, and he thinks she should pack something casual in case they want to go for a walk around Central Park. So where does she want to start? She’s going to look amazing no matter what she wears, so don’t give him that look. She thanks him for the compliment, but she doesn’t need his help packing. He says, this is to speed things up, not slow them down. The sooner they get on the road, the sooner they get to New York, the sooner they have some fun. She tells him that she’s going to keep saying this until it sinks into his thick skull. She’s not packing until she finishes her essay. And she can’t finish her essay until he leaves. What part of that is confusing? He says he completely understands. He just has a different goal, because he knows her, and if he had to guess, he’d say that essay is probably finished. He’s thinking she has to do a little bit of proof reading and editing. She smiles, and he says, she’s so busted. That’s exactly what it is, and she can do all of that on Monday when they get back from their trip. Let’s go. She says, he’s wrong, but he says he doesn’t believe her. She says, he can believe her or not, but if he really wants to speed up this departure, he’ll go. The door’s over there.

Esme says she’s surprised at how good Portia’s been to her, as a doctor, and almost as a friend. Portia says she’s sure Esme’s heard of the oath the doctor’s take; first do no harm. For her, she took that to mean, be of service and help people. Esme says she’s not surprised Portia is kind and caring as a person. She’s just a little surprised Portia is extending that kindness to her, especially considering the awful things she did to Portia’s daughter. Portia says, but Esme’s a different person than when she did those things to Trina and her friends, right? Esme says she’s really just trying to be a better person for her son, and Portia says, that’s the person she’s reacting to. She’s reacting to Esme, the mom of beautiful Baby Ace. Esme thanks her and says she really can’t tell Portia how much that means to her that she can come to Portia for advice about Ace. Portia says she was a young mother too, so she gets it. She knows how hard it can be, and sometimes you just need some help. And with Laura and Doc out of the country, she just thought Esme might need some extra support. So if Esme needs anything else, she knows where Portia is. Esme says, sounds good, and thanks her.

Carly tells Diane that she hates that Drew is being used as a pawn by this judge for his career. Not to mention, this wouldn’t be happening to Drew if it wasn’t for his involvement with her. But not turning evidence to free Drew is less about Sonny and more about her kids. If Sonny goes to prison, they’re in danger. They’d all have targets on their backs, and Drew wouldn’t want that. Diane says, now she’s not understanding. Is Carly saying she’s regretting being involved with Drew? Carly says, no. She regrets what her world has done to Drew. Diane says, but Drew is not new to Port Charles. He’s been around the block. He was aware of how complicated Carly’s life is, and he chose to be involved with her anyway. Carly says, that’s not making her feel any better, and Diane tells her that she’s just saying, don’t torture herself with gratuitous guilt. And certainly don’t blame herself for the bad conduct of this overambitious judge. Carly says, but can they prove that conduct? Can they prove that judge gave Drew a ridiculous sentence just for political gain? Because right now, that’s the only chance they’ve got.

Cyrus turns off the shower, and covers Drew with a towel. A guard walks in, and Cyrus says he found Drew like this. He’s barely breathing. He needs a hospital now. The guard runs back out.

Spencer asks how much time Trina thinks she’ll need, and I wish he would stop shouting. He talks fast and loud. She says she doesn’t exactly know, but he added about an hour for interrupting her. He asks if she’s really saying she’s sorry he showed up, and she kisses him. He says, that’s the last things she should do if she wants him to leave, and she says, go. He says, she can’t kiss him like that and expect him to go. No. She says, yes – she pushes him out the door – because she needs to finish her paper if he wants her to kiss him like that in New York. He says she doesn’t play fair, and she says, no, she doesn’t, kissing him one more time and closing the door. He yells, type fast, Trina Robinson. New York City awaits.

Esme says, Ace did good today, and Portia says, he’s a pro. Such a big guy. Esme says it was nice to see Portia, and Portia says, it was nice to see her too. Take care. She tickles Ace’s tummy, and Esme leaves. Curtis comes out of the elevator, and Portia asks how his check-up went. He says he’s still in a wheelchair, but aside from that, all good. She says she wanted to tell him that she really appreciates him. She thanks him for filling her in on Trina’s trip. He says, we are Trina’s parents. We’re in this together.

Blaze is enjoying watching something on her phone, and Kristina asks what she’s watching. Blaze says, you. At the Nurses Ball a few years back. Kristina was singing Sara Bareilles song, and she’s good. Kristina says, Blaze did not look her up, but Blaze says, of course (🍷) she did. It took her all of 30 seconds to find it online. It’s hazy, but Kristina totally misrepresented this. First of all, it’s not an easy song to sing, and this choreography is really good. She hopes if the Nurses Ball ever asks Kristina to perform again, she’ll do it. Kristina says she absolutely will not, and Blaze says, who’s the professional singer here? Kristina says, that would be Blaze, and Blaze says, exactly. So just take the compliment. Kristina says, okay, she will. If Blaze stops watching that. Blaze says, deal, taking out her earbuds, and Kristina thanks her for the compliment.

Alexis calls Gregory, and says she just got some really great news, and she thinks she made a breakthrough with Kristina and Molly… Right? The reason she’s calling is that she’s in such a good mood, she doesn’t feel like going to work today. So she was wondering, after she runs a few errands, what does he say to them crossing something off his bucket list?

Diane tells Carly that she thinks if there were evidence against Judge Kim for unfairly sentencing people to advance his own career, some reporter would have already dug it up. She’s just saying she’s here to present all options. Of course (🍷) she’s going to try. Of course (🍷). But they need to have realistic expectations. It’s a long shot. Carly says, a long shot is better than no shot at all. Where do they start? Diane says she needs to see if there’s a precedent for a judge delivering a politically motivated sentence (I can’t imagine there isn’t), and if that sentence was then overturned. Because that could go a long way in getting Drew’s case seen before another judge. Carly thanks her, and Diane’s phone rings. She answers, and says, yes… Yes. She’s going to command a full explanation… That’s right. Bye. Carly asks, who was that? What’s going on? Is it bad? Diane says, yes. It’s very bad. Drew was attacked in Pentenville. Carly says, how bad is it? and Diane says, he’s in an ambulance on his way to General Hospital. Carly says she has to get to him right now.

On Monday, Brook says she wants to sign Blaze as her first client; Jake says he has to talk to Elizabeth about Charlotte; Valentin tells Nina that he has a plan to make them all move right past it; and Carly says, Sonny promised to protect Drew.

🎤 We Noticed…

Next stop, The Savoy.

Jacqueline Grace Lopez Returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL!

🥀 Hats Off To Billy…

I don’t remember him being in AMC, but then again, I remember very little about AMC at this point. Except for Susan Lucci waiting on getting that Emmy. He must have been pretty young.

THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS’ Special Tribute to Billy Miller

In related news.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/maurice-benards-emotional-message-to-fans

🍊 Not Her Finest Hour…

No surprise, everyone has an opinion.

https://people.com/housewives-respond-to-shannon-beador-alleged-dui-hit-and-run-7971761

https://pagesix.com/2023/09/19/shannon-beador-dui-hit-and-run-video-shows-crash-into-home/

https://www.eonline.com/news/1386192/rhocs-emily-simpson-speaks-out-on-shannon-beadors-dui-arrest

👠 She’s On Board…

My guilty pleasure. I saw them twice when they last got together, and they put on an amazing show. I can’t imagine what the ticket prices would be for it now though.

https://extratv.com/2023/09/21/mel-b-says-victoria-beckham-is-on-board-for-spice-girls-reunion-exclusive/

🌴 In Case You Wondered…

What it takes to outwit, outplay, and outlast. I used to think Jeff Probst was the antichrist until Andy Cohen came along.

https://ew.com/tv/survivor-45-behind-the-scenes-casting-cover-story/

🎉 He Finally Made It…

They definitely captured Rick’s worried expression.

https://screenrant.com/walking-dead-rick-grimes-lego-project/

🏹 Simply the Best…

Dead City was impressive, but Daryl is definitely the one to beat right now.

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-walking-dead-daryl-dixon-fans-best-franchise-has-been-in-years-reddit/

⚰️ Just Around the Corner…

October 22 – be there or be dead.

“Fear the Walking Dead” Final Season Trailer – The Last Six Episodes Premiere on October 22

https://comicbook.com/tv-shows/news/fear-the-walking-dead-trailer-season-8-the-walking-dead-sanctuary-dwight-sherry/

🐟 Oldest In the Tank…

I hear he has a seeing eye crab. It almost seems cruel to keep him in an aquarium, but then again, it would be the worst to see him get set free and immediately get eaten by a shark.

https://people.com/worlds-oldest-aquarium-fish-older-than-scientists-thought-7971807

🐩 The Real Award…

Grammy winners loved pets too.

https://celebritypets.net/grammy-award-winners-2023-meet-their-celebrity-pets/

📰 Quotes of the Week…

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

We do not learn from experience. We learn from reflecting on experience. – John Dewey

Success is the sum of small efforts repeated day in and day out. – Robert Collier

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. – Plato

Do one thing every day that scares you. – Mary Schmich

Rather than love, than money, than fame, give me truth. – Henry David Thoreau

It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation. – Herman Melville

Success only comes to those who dare to attempt. – Mallika Tripathi

Nothing can bring you peace but yourself. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Your wife is well educated and well mannered, and you’re just, oh well. – Carl McMillan (Reno Wilson), Mike & Molly

Integrity: Don’t leave home without it. – me

🍁 Equinoxing Autumn…

Meet me on Monday really Tuesday for soap and tea tidbits. Until then, stay safe, stay never taking the last piece of pizza without asking first (especially if it’s mine), and stay keeping in mind a long shot is better than no shot at all.

Aug19

August 18, 2023 – Anna Discovers the Truth, PS, Back Again, Drama Chat, Ultimate Legacy, Sharing, VanderMash, The Con, From Dead To Flowers, Tasty, Unusually Cute, An Eighter Of Quotes & Never Gonna

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sonny shows up at his old Carly’s place late at night, and she says, please tell her everyone’s okay. He says, everyone is okay, and she tells him that Donna’s been asleep for a while. He says he figured, and she says, yet here he is. He must want a favor.

Tracy sits in the nook with her head on the table and a towel over it. Eddie/Ned puts on the light, and she groans and says, whoever you are, go away. She pulls the towel off her head and ha-ha-ha! It’s Tracy with a hangover looking more disheveled than we’ve ever seen her.

Kristina says she was under the impression that things were good between her and Molly, and Molly says, they were… They are. Kristina says, but not good enough for Molly to invite her to a family gathering, but Molly says, it wasn’t a family gathering. Kristina says, except for one sister it was, and Molly says, it’s getting late and TJ’s going to be getting back… Kristina says, TJ is the one who told her about Kristina’s sushi party; the one she had for their mother, their sister, and her mother-in-law. She guesses her invitation got lost in the mail.

Getting ready for bed, Dante says his terrible day is over, and Sam says, he wouldn’t believe what happened to her tonight. He says, try him, when his phone rings. He says, Detective Falconari… You checked the surrounding areas too?… So Valentin Cassadine’s car never entered the ELQ parking garage the night Anna Devane’s townhouse burned down… Okay. He hangs up and says, why are you lying to Anna?

Anna and Valentin go into a room at the MetroCourt, and he says, it’s a lot nicer than the place she stayed last night. The MetroCourt was booked, but it’s available now. She can have it as long as she wants to. She says she guesses this is home, but he says, it’s not home; it’s just temporary. As far as hotels go, it’s pretty comfortable. She’s always liked staying in hotels. She says, but she had a home to come back to and now she doesn’t.

Gregory tries to sweep the beads from the table into his hand, but some of them end up on the floor. Finn comes in and says he’ll get that. He picks up the beads and sits next to Gregory on the couch. He asks if Gregory is okay, and Gregory says, he’s fine. He’s just tired… and clumsy. Finn asks if that’s why he fell, or is it something else? After a pause, Gregory says, it’s something else… something awful, and Finn asks if he’s sick. Gregory nods, and Finn asks if he’s been diagnosed. Gregory says, yes, and Finn says, maybe he can help. Will Gregory tell him what it is? Gregory says, ALS.

Eddie/Ned says, good evening, and Tracy says, it would have to be him. He says he never took her for someone who was a hard partier, and she holds up her hand, saying, stop talking and just leave. She reaches for a bottle of aspirin and knocks it on the floor. She groans and puts her head in her hands. Ned picks it up and says, she’s drunk as a skunk, but she says, no. She’s not drunk. She just wishes the room would stop spinning.

Anna looks through some shopping bags and tells Valentin that she doesn’t even know what she bought. What’s wrong with her? He says, her house burned down, and she says she’s been through worse. He says, that’s true, and she says she wasn’t in any danger. She was out running. Thank God Charlotte wasn’t there. She was with Dante and Sam, and Valentin was at ELQ. She needs to get it into her head that she has a lot to be thankful for, and she needs to just move on. They sit down, and Valentin says, she’s not a machine. She lost her house. It was a violation, and they can be thankful no one was killed, but she doesn’t have to pretend it doesn’t hurt. She says, it really does, and he says he’s with her. She’s going to get through this. They’re going to get through this together, and they’ll find who did this to her and stop them from doing it again. Does she trust him?

Carly says, if this is about Avery having another sleepover, she’s welcome here anytime, but Sonny says, the Avery situation is under control. Carly says she’s glad to hear that. Ava must be relieved. She was really worried about… something. He says he’s not here for a favor. Actually, he’s in a position to do her a favor. She says, no thank you.

Sam wonders what’s up, but Dante says, it’s nothing that can’t wait. But there is something that can’t wait. Sam asks, what? and he says, this, and kisses her. No matter what kind of day he has, he knows when he gets to see her, everything’s going to be okay. She says, he stole her line, and he says, it’s his line because he just said it. She tells him that she was going to say, when she has a day where she thinks she won’t be able to sleep at night, she thinks about coming in here and getting into bed with him and turning out the lights, and everything else just melts away. They kiss, and he says, maybe the should talk a little bit before they turn out the lights. Her first. She says, he can go first, but he says, she knows how rock-paper-scissors work. She says, since she was twelve, and they play. She picks rock and he picks scissors, and rock beats scissors. She says, her crazy day. Where does she start? Molly and Kristina are headed for World War III.

Molly says, this is so typical, and Kristina says, Molly not inviting her to something? She agrees. Molly says, no. Kristina’s reaction. Is she not allowed to have a dinner party and invite who she wants? Kristina says, Molly invited everyone in the family but her, and Molly says, fine, she’ll say it; Kristina wasn’t invited. But despite what Kristina always thinks, it wasn’t about her. It was about Molly and TJ. She wanted to share the good news with mom and Sam and Jordan that they found a surrogate.

Finn says, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Gregory says, yeah. Finn says, there are other conditions that have the same early symptoms. Is he certain? Gregory says, yes. When he told Finn he was going to Milwaukee for a seminar, he was actually in Rochester at the Mayo Clinic. They did extensive testing and the results were conclusive. Finn says, that trip was over six months ago. He’s known all this time? Gregory says he’s sorry. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Finn. Finn asks, why not?

Anna comes out from her shower, and sees Valentin pouring some wine. She says, he read her mind, and he asks what they’re going to toast to, handing her a glass. She says she has no idea, and he says, then to us. To our future together, which can only get less complicated and less dangerous. She says she’d like to believe that, and they clink glasses. He says, she may not believe it now, but they have a lot to be grateful for, and she promises not to keep wallowing in self-pity. He says, it’s not self-pity. She’s been traumatized and she’s dealing with some very powerful emotions. She’ll work through them. She says, and they’re going to find out who’s behind this, and he says, yes, but in the meantime, he has something to talk to her about. It’s something important. He’s going to buy season tickets to the ballet in New York. Charlotte still loves dance, and he knows she does too, so why doesn’t he buy three tickets? She can join them. She says her house just burned to the ground, and someone is trying to kill her, and he’s talking about Swan Lake. He says he can’t think of anything he’d rather do than spend time with the two women he loves most in this world. And he likes Swan Lake. She says she likes it too, and he’s about to kiss her, when there’s a knock at the door. Anna wonders who it is, and he opens it to Martin. Anna says, it’s a bit late for a business call, and Valentin says, whatever this is, he’ll deal with it quickly. He goes out into the hall with Martin and closes the door.

Tracy tosses a couple of pills in her mouth and drinks some water. Ned says, Leo told him that a guy like him needs 15½ cups of water a day, and she says, Leo’s a very smart kid. She can’t tell him how grateful she is Leo’s not here now. She holds her head, and Ned says, she doesn’t seem very experienced at this sort of thing. She says, if by that he means she doesn’t look like someone who gets drunk all the time, she didn’t get drunk this time. He says, she didn’t? and she says, no, she did not. Well, she did, but it wasn’t her fault. Somebody insisted on putting too much alcohol in those Mai Tais at the MetroCourt pool… ugh. He asks if some old bartender was trying to loosen her up for her dough, but she says, no. Actually, it was not some old bartender trying to loosen her up; it was Ned’s daughter. Not that he even acknowledges that he has one. She rubs her forehead.

Finn says he doesn’t understand. Gregory didn’t think he could handle it? Gregory says, it wasn’t Finn; it was him. After all these years, they were finally getting to spend time together as a family; Finn, his brother, Violet, and him. It was so special. Finn says, it is, and Gregory says, the big stuff, Christmas and Halloween with Violet; and the little things, him bringing over muffins from Eckert’s or showing Violet videos of Uncle Chase singing. Finn says, it wouldn’t have changed, but Gregory says, of course (🍷) it would. It will. It already has. When he looks at Finn, he can see it in Finn’s eyes, he knows what this disease does. Finn knows he’s dying.

Sonny says, Carly’s not even going to listen to him? and she asks if he can’t listen to her. Did he not hear her down at the police station? He says, that was different. He was there to help Ned and she was there, so he thought he’d help her. She says, he decided she needed help. He didn’t listen to her. He says, and when she turned him down, she spent the night there. She says, and she was fine with that. She can take care of herself. He says he’s sure she can, and she says, it’s taken a while, but they’re both moving on. They respect each other and want each other to be happy. And as he can see, there’s no For Sale sign in the front yard because Kelly’s is doing great. She’s going to take care of herself on her own, so whatever his favor is, no thank you; she doesn’t want it.

Dante asks why Molly didn’t invite Kristina, and Sam says, because she was revealing her big news that she and TJ had found a surrogate who was perfect. She thinks Molly didn’t want to hurt Kristina’s feelings. He says he understands that. It is Molly’s decision. Sam says she understands that too. She also understands Kristina being hurt. She’s sorry. She shouldn’t be going on like this. He asks, why? and she says, because of the situation he and Lulu had with Maxie. He says, that’s okay. It was a long time ago. TJ and Molly have to realize this is a big decision. You can’t take this lightly. She asks if he thinks Molly’s making the right choice by not having Kristina be the surrogate.

Kristina says, that’s great. She hadn’t realized Molly and TJ were even interviewing surrogates yet. Molly says, they wanted to keep it quiet, and Kristina says she gets that. She’s sure mom, Sam, and Jordan were thrilled to hear the news. Molly says, they were very happy for her and TJ. This is what they want. Kristina says she knows, and Molly says, the woman they found is perfect, and she’s willing to go through the process right away. Kristina says, that’s very exciting, and Kristina says, it is. After everything they’ve gone through, there’s still a good chance she and TJ could have a child within the next year. Kristina says she’s happy Molly is so happy, and Molly says she planned on telling her first thing tomorrow. Kristina says, just not tonight with the rest of the family, and Molly says she wanted it to be a happy occasion. She knew mom, Sam, and Jordan would be happy for them. Kristina says, and she wouldn’t? She would have spoiled all that? Molly says she doesn’t know. They’ve been getting along so well, but she didn’t want to take the chance that tonight would turn into a discussion about why they turned to a surrogate instead of Kristina. Kristina says, now that everyone is gone and Molly brought it up, why are they paying a stranger to have their baby when she was willing to do it?

Finn says, six months. They could have done so many things. Gregory says, the last six months have been perfect. What he didn’t want was to be a burden to Finn, or have Finn spend time with him out of some sense of obligation. Finn says, that wouldn’t have happened, but Gregory says, of course (🍷) it would. He knows Finn and Chase. He’s so proud of both of them, and he and Finn finally got the time to know each other. Finn says, that’s meant everything to him. He’s the one who’s sorry. He’s sorry for costing them all that time. Gregory says, there’s no need to rehash that now. Getting to know Finn and getting to understand and appreciate his incredible accomplishments over the years has been so rewarding for him. Finn and his brother make it almost impossible for him not to be one of those obnoxious bragging fathers. Finn says he’s one of those too, when it comes to Violet, and Gregory says, Violet, what a gift she is. Every single moment he spends with his granddaughter is even better than he imagined. Finn says, she pretty much thinks her grandfather’s the greatest guy in the world, and Gregory asks how she’s going to feel when all he can do is sit and stare at her, when he can’t even speak her name?

Ned asks, why would Brook give Tracy too much booze? and Tracy says, Brook’s up to something and she should have known the minute she saw the fire eater. He says, fire eater? and she says, it was a luau, with tiki torches and leis. He says, sounds like fun, and she says, he would think so. She should have gone right back down to the lobby and ordered a car. He says, it sounds like maybe she had a lot of fun. What’s wrong with that? She rubs her temples, and says, that’s all he ever thinks of; having fun and being Eddie Maine. Anything to avoid facing the reality of his life.

Valentin says, Martin understands this is critical, and Martin says he does. Valentin asks if he’d act like it, and Martin says, his fee, as exorbitant as it is, grants him 24-hour access, but doesn’t give him or any other client the right to abuse him. Valentin says, point taken. He has a lot on his mind. Martin says he understands, and yes, it’s hot off the wire. He gives Valentin an envelope, and Valentin checks out some paperwork inside. He says, looks good, and thanks Martin, opening the door. Martin says, he’s welcome. Although why he insisted on doing this tonight instead of first thing tomorrow morning makes no sense to him. Anna hears that part, and Valentin goes inside and sets down the envelope. Anna asks if it’s important, but he says, not really. Why Martin insisted on coming by in the middle of the night makes no sense to him.

Ned says, Tracy wants him to face the reality of his life, which means she wants him to ride around in limousines and pretend to be some hotshot tax dodging executive. She says, it’s a start. Or he could just stop singing on street corners, and running around all night to sleazy bars, and getting arrested for fighting. He asks if it’s embarrassing to her somehow, and she says, it’s embarrassing to the whole family. He says, so it’s best to just shut Eddie up? and she says, he’s not Eddie. He says, and she wants to prove that by having someone strap him to a table and have electricity shot through his head. She says, what? and he says, I’m on to you, lady. He overheard her tell Olivia that she wants him committed.

Carly says she doesn’t know if Sonny knows this, but Drew is in solitary confinement. Sonny says he knows, and Carly says, of course (🍷) he knows; he’s protecting Drew. She’s really worried about him. She knows he went through worse in Crete, but still. Sonny says, he’s been through a lot. He’ll get through this. She asks if Sonny thinks he can get a message to Drew, and he says he might be able to do better than that.

Finn says, Gregory has to give Violet more credit. She constantly surprises him by how much she understands. Gregory says he hopes Finn is right, and Finn asks what the doctors told him in terms of prognosis. Gregory says, luckily, he was still in the first stage when he went to the Mayo Clinic; muscle cramps and occasional difficulty walking. Finn says, and now? and Gregory says, it’s progressed. His hands cramp more frequently than before. Finn asks, what happened tonight? and Gregory says he was trying to help Violet make some bracelets. He could barely hold on to the thread. He doesn’t think she noticed, but then she got up to get some clasps from her bedroom and he tried to stand up to shake out his hands, and that’s when he fell. Thank God she wasn’t here to see it. Finn says, but she came back in, and Gregory says he told her he tripped over the coffee table (he did not; he said it was probably a bead on the floor). She had to watch him struggle to get back up on the couch. He knows he can’t hide his disease any longer, and he’s so ashamed about tonight.

Molly says she’s so glad she didn’t invite Kristina tonight, and Kristina says, she’s made that perfectly clear. Just answer the question. Why would she rather a stranger have her baby as a surrogate, when her own sister offered to do it for her months ago? Molly says, with a surrogate, they sign a legal, binding document, and Kristina says she knows how it works; she rents out her womb and throws in her egg at a discount. Molly says, both sides benefit. She gets money she needs for her family, and they get the child they want. Kristina says, the child they want; there it is. As opposed to the child she’s offering to give them that they clearly do not want. Molly says, the surrogate is performing a service, not racing around town working on some pie-in-the-sky project, and letting everyone know she’s saving her poor sister from her own infertility. Kristina says, if Molly has some stranger as her surrogate, she’s not even going to be related to the baby.

Sam says she’s sorry. She shouldn’t have put Dante on the spot like that. It’s a really confusing situation. He says he gets it, and stop apologizing. They’ll be playing rock-paper-scissors all night long. It’s a personal thing for Molly and TJ, that’s all. He’s sure Kristina had the best of intentions when she offered to be their surrogate. Sam says she understands that, but Kristina and Molly haven’t been close lately. He says he knows she loves her sisters and wants to fix all kinds of things for them, but maybe this one… She says she should let them work it out for themselves. He says, maybe, and she says, he’s right. Now it’s his turn. Spill. He says, it was just kind of a regular weird day, and Cody shows up at the station while Gladys is there, filing a restraining order against Cody on Sasha’s behalf. Cody loses his mind completely in the middle of the squad room, saying, Gladys is the one having Sasha drugged. He lost it. He went crazy, and Dante and Mac had to restrain him. She asks if he had to arrest Cody, but he says, not this time. Those two hate each other. She says, Cody and Gladys? Definitely. He says, and the whole time this is happening, he’s investigating Anna’s townhouse burning down.

Valentin asks if Anna left him some hot water, but she says she feels like the MetroCourt has an unlimited supply. He says, give him five minutes, and goes to the shower. She’s about to look at the envelope, when her phone rings. Dante says, sorry to call so late, but there’s something he thought she should know. He had one of their tech guys look at the ELQ security footage from the night her house burned. Valentin’s car never exited or entered the ELQ parking garage. He had them check the surrounding area to see if the car was parked somewhere else too, but they got nothing. She says she sees, and he says, Valentin told her the reason he went to ELQ was, there was a water main break and he was concerned about the mainframe computer? She says, that’s right, and he says, there was no water main break. She says, thanks for that information, and listens to hear if the shower is still running. She takes the envelope, and looks at the papers inside. It’s an invoice or something with Pikeman’s letterhead.

Tracy says she did ask Olivia to commit Ned, and he says, because he embarrasses her? She says, because this can’t go on. She thought just maybe if he was in a hospital, they could help him stop faking this ridiculous… He says he’s not faking anything. He is Eddie Maine. And by the way, he didn’t ask to be in this house. They all want him here. So he’s trying to make them understand he can’t choose to be who he is. He’s Eddie Maine and there’s nothing he can do about it. She says, okay. He’s Eddie Maine, but she’s Ned Quartermaine’s mother, and she’s never going to stop fighting for her son.

Finn says, Gregory has nothing to be ashamed of, but Gregory says he does. He’s so selfish to put his daughter at risk. Finn says, that’s okay, but Gregory says, no. He shouldn’t have agreed to watch her alone tonight. Somehow, he convinced himself he’d be okay. Finn says, it turned out okay, but Gregory says he had no right to take that risk. The other night, he went to one of those hatchet throwing places and he did it. Maybe it’s human nature, but he thinks he’s been trying to convince himself that he can beat this thing, or at least hold it off, but that’s just denial. He needs to stop that before he puts someone else in danger like he did Violet. Finn says, it’s happening to Gregory and he has to figure it out on his own, and Gregory says he needs to stop driving. He shouldn’t have been driving this long. Finn says, so stop driving. No one’s going to judge him for how he’s handled this so far. No one’s going to judge him. Finn wishes he’d had someone to talk to besides his doctor. Doing this all on his own all this time must have been hell. Gregory says, Alexis knows. She was snooping around and they got in a big argument, and he collapsed. He had to tell her. He couldn’t bring himself to tell Finn. He didn’t want to see the look on Finn’s face that he’s seeing right now.

Carly asks if this is the favor Sonny came over here to talk to her about, and he says, before she turns him down, hear him out. She says she’s listening, and he says, when he got news of Drew’s situation, he did some digging and he has a connection with someone who could arrange for Drew to get out of solitary early. So when he’s released, she’ll be able to go see him. She asks if Drew is going to owe anybody anything, but he says, absolutely not. She asks what it’s costing him, and he says, from the look on her face, it means everything to him. She sits next to him on the sofa and says, Drew’s going to wonder why the sudden change. He says, when she talks to him, just tell him no strings attached. It’s just a gift from him. She says, he knows Sonny is protecting him. She doesn’t know how he’s going to feel about this. Sonny says, it’s not a gift to him; it’s a gift to her. She asks if there are any stipulations for her if she accepts.

Sam comes back in the bedroom and says, it looks like Dante’s rotten day is still with him. He says, it’s just hitting close to home this one, and she says, and he can’t get into specifics. He says he can tell her that Valentin is being dishonest with Anna, and she laughs, saying, when has Valentin ever been honest? He says, she’s right, but it’s weird. Valentin really cared about Anna, and she cares about him. He told her all this pretty surprising stuff, then he lies about where he was the other night. Sam says she’s not that surprised about it. She knows he lives a complicated life. Who knows what he’s got going on? Dante says, he wants to know what Valentin’s got going on because his daughter’s in the room down the hall.

Anna lies awake, but pretends to sleep when Valentin gets into bed. He turns out the light, and she opens her eyes. She says, he lied to her.

Gregory says he understands. Finn’s a doctor; one of the best. He knows all about this hideous disease. Finn knows what it’s going to do to him. Finn says he looks at Gregory now, and he looks fine; he looks good. Gregory says, that’s what’s so hard to grasp. He looks in the mirror, he feels good, but he knows this thing is in there somewhere. Finn says he also sees the man he grew up with. The man who used to toss him so high in the air, and he was never once afraid Gregory wouldn’t catch him. Gregory says he remembers that guy too. As you get older, try to hang on to that self-image as long as you can. The thought that he’ll be less than that for Finn, for Violet… Finn says, never less. He’s still that man, and he will always be that man, no matter what happens. Gregory thanks him for that, and Finn says, he knows what Gregory is facing, so there’s no point in trying to tell him no, because he’ll be by Gregory’s side every step of the way from here on out. Gregory tells him, do what you have to do, but he has one favor to ask, and Finn says, anything. Gregory says, help me tell your brother. Because he’s afraid it’s going to crush Chase. Finn says, it will, and they’ll be there for him. He tells Gregory that he loves him and starts to cry. Gregory says he loves Finn too, and they hug.

Ned asks if loving her son means locking him away somewhere, and Tracy says, stop being so dramatic. If he overheard her saying that, he also overheard Olivia refuse. And she’s his… She has final say. He says, but he’s watched Tracy. She can be very persuasive. What’s to stop her from changing Olivia’s mind about putting him away? She says, answer her something. If he’s so worried about them having him put away, why is he still here? Why isn’t he at Sonny’s? He says, Sonny is a nice enough guy, but too many goombahs around. Tracy says, there it is. She knew it. You are in there, Ned. Somewhere.

Sonny says, there’s no strings attached in there for Carly either, but he’s sure Drew is going to be happy to get out of that little cell. He wants to be clear, this is for her – or not. It’s her decision. She says, he’s unbelievable, and he says, yes. She says, he came to the police station the other night and he was so offended when she said he couldn’t help her. He came up with a favor he knew she couldn’t turn down. He says, maybe he’s just being nice, and she says, yeah, he is, but he still wins. He asks if that’s a yes, and she says, yes, please get Drew out of solitary. He says, all right, and gets up. He’ll let her know when it’s done. He heads for the door, and she says, thank you. He says, you’re welcome, and leaves.

Molly says, that was mean, even for Kristina, and Kristina says, that came out wrong. Molly says she thinks Kristina said exactly what she meant, and Kristina says, fine. If they’re saying what they really mean, why doesn’t Molly say what she really means. She would rather have a baby from a stranger than one from her own sister. Molly says, yes, and it’s true she might not be biologically related to the baby, but TJ will be, and that baby is going to be created for them as a result of their love for each other. Kristina says, if she had the baby for Molly… Molly says, if she did, it would be a gift for my sister, and no one would ever be allowed to forget it. Kristina says, wow. She guesses she never realized how selfish and insecure Molly is. She leaves.

Sam says, Charlotte is Rocco’s sister, so she and Dante need to find a way to get along with Valentin. Dante says he knows, and he’s glad she’s here with them, especially with a threat to Anna. She says, burning down someone’s house is definitely a threat. Any theory on why Valentin would lie to Anna? He says, not yet. He never really trusted that guy. She says, as much as they don’t trust him, she really does believe Valentin loves Charlotte, and she doesn’t think he’d ever do anything to hurt her. Dante says he agrees. Intentionally, he wouldn’t hurt her, and he probably loves Anna. She says, but he doesn’t think Anna trusts him, and he says, no, and neither can they.

Valentin asks what Anna said, and she glances at the Pikeman envelope as she turns to him and says, he lied to her. He said he was going to be five minutes, and he was way closer to fifteen. He says he’s sorry; the water felt good. He kisses her, and she says she’s so exhausted. He says, so sleep, and kisses her forehead. They turn back to back, but their eyes stay open.

Tomorrow, Carly tells someone that she’ll be there; Anna tells Valentin, it’s unsettling when someone you know is acting strangely; Sonny says, maybe we should just call this off; and Cyrus tells someone, we meet again.

💣 GH FYI: Mason did say the boss was a woman. So I’m not crazy. Well, maybe I am, but I didn’t imagine that. The theory is that there are already enough female villains on the canvas – i.e. Selina and Gladys – so they changed the boss to a man. Still, just a wee bit insulting to viewers’ intelligence.

👨‍👧‍👧 One Of the Boys…

Jake pops back before they can excuse his absence with back to school.

Hudson West Returns to GENERAL HOSPITAL!

🗽 Discuss Amongst Yourselves…

The new RHONY cast talks about their favorite subject – themselves.

Real Housewives of New York Open Up About Season 14 Reboot

🦕 Old New York…

Well, if the Countess says it’s cool, it can’t possibly be uncool. But did they get the yacht?

Luann de Lesseps Promises ‘Good Drama’ on Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip

🦘 Not Down Under…

More on the Deck drama that rocked the franchise. I actually tried to catch this episode the other night, but came in too late. And I’m not desperate enough to hunt it down on Peacock. Not yet anyway. João ended up as one of the replacements, much to the mini distress of Aesha.

Aesha Scott Shares What Didn’t Air on Below Deck as Producer Addresses Luke & Laura’s Firings and Reveals Team’s “Valiant Effort” to Intervene, Plus Captain Jason Speaks

🍸 VanderBreak Is Officially Over…

I couldn’t figure out how Graham was bait here, but we know she’s prone to flights of fantasy.

Raquel Leviss Accuses LVP of Not Genuinely Caring, Claims James Taught Dog Graham to Bite, & Dog Was Used as “Bait” for Vanderpump Rules Return, Slams “Villain Narrative,” Plus Talks Family & Podcast Plans, & Death Threats

I’ll definitely be getting Ariana’s new book. I requested and got Fancy AF Cocktails for Christmas after it came out, but this looks a whole lot juicier better. I dunno about Scheana’s music, although I have to admit Good As Gold is on one of my playlists.

Brock Davies Fires Back at Raquel’s Podcast Interview as Ariana Madix Announces New Book Will Cover ‘Scandoval’ Drama & Relationship With Tom Sandoval, Plus Scheana Releases Music About Scandal

The minutiae.

Kristen Doute Claims Raquel Leviss Was “Telling Some Truths” After She Alleges James is “Violent,” Denies Being Silenced With Pump Rules Spinoff as Raquel Reacts to Kristen’s Shocking Comments

🎪 More Bravo Than You Can Shake a Stick At…

All the guests at BravoCon 2023.

Full List of BravoCon 2023 Bravolebs Revealed

💐 Not Those Flowers, Lizzie…

This looks suspiciously like a V.C. Andrews book.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/08/04/alycia-debnam-carey-lost-flowers-alice-hart/

🌍 Padma Is the New Waldo…

Where in the world is she?

https://www.padmalakshmi.com/taste-the-nation

🐙 Behold the Unusual…

I want them all.

https://www.alwayspets.com/s/cutest-unusual-pets-754c25d1fa0043c2

🐚 Quotes of the Week

Immature love says, I love you because I need you. Mature love says, I need you because I love you. – Erich Fromm

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything. I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes. – John Wooden

What we fear of doing most is usually what we most need to do. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power or our will. – Epictetus

Intellectual growth should commence at birth and cease only at death. – Albert Einstein

You can’t make somebody your number one if you’re always their number two. – Judge Star Jones, Divorce Court

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream. – C.S. Lewis

It’s not easy having a good time. Even smiling makes my face ache. – Frank-N-Furter (Tim Curry), The Rocky Horror Picture Show

🧋 Drinking the Milkshakes In My Yard…

Let’s reconvene on Monday really Tuesday for soap and whatever tea I can pull out of a hat. Until then, stay safe, stay living your best life as your best self, even if it’s only in your mind, and stay never judging how someone is handling their illness.

Jul29

July 28, 2023 – Sonny Turns the Tables, Reject Dress, The Loud Woman, VanderStatus, Roadblock, Not Barbie, About Those Dead, Kitty Cooper, Funny Pets (!), Quotes of Eight & Rain

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Chechnya, Russia. Valentin and Laura walk into a mansion that’s obviously unoccupied. He says, there’s no car in the driveway and no lights on, and she says, it’s deserted. He says, none of the Cassadines have been here in years, when a man runs down the stairs, holding a gun and yelling in Russian.

Dante brings Charlotte to see Lulu in a hospital that looks suspiciously like GH. Charlotte says she wants to see her mom, but she’s worried about her grandmother too. Is it safe for her to be in Russia? Papa knows his way around, but she’s nervous about grandma. Dante says, she’s going to be okay. Charlotte’s dad is with her and Doc is with her; she’s in good hands. Is she ready? Charlotte nods, and they go inside Lulu’s room.

Spencer thinks about calling Trina, and Esme asks if he’s heard from his grandmother. He says, nothing, and Esme says she hasn’t heard anything either. Not that she’s family, but she’s worried. Does he think it’s a bad sign he hasn’t heard from her? He says he doesn’t know, and she asks if he thinks she’s in trouble. He says he doesn’t know, but even if she was, there isn’t a damn thing he can do about it. Just leave it alone.

Kristina lets herself in to Molly’s apartment and says, it’s her favorite sister. Molly says she’s not surprised to see Kristina since she texted, but she’s surprised because that wasn’t very Kristina-like. Kristina says she’s working on being much more sisterlike. How is she doing? Molly says, A for effort. How does Kristina think she’s doing? Kristina says, there’s a definite learning curve, but whenever she’s in doubt, she asks herself, what would her younger, wiser, more beautiful sister do?

In his office, Michael discusses the budget with someone on the phone, when there’s a knock at the door. Carly comes in, and Michael says he’s got to go. Send him the accurate numbers by the end of the day. She says she’s sorry she just barged in. His assistant said she could come. She’s so happy to see him back in the office. He says, it’s not exactly by choice, and she says, he hasn’t left Willow’s side for months, but this must mean she’s continuing to get better. He says he’s very grateful her strength is coming back. When she tells him to stop hovering, he guesses it’s a good thing, but it means he has to give her some space. So he decided to come back to the office. Now that Drew is… She says, in prison. He can say it. She didn’t come here to talk about Drew, but she does have something she needs to talk to him about. He says, what about? and she says, his father.

Sonny does some work in his office, when his phone rings. It’s Nina, and he asks where she is. She says she’s at the MetroCourt. She’s trying to get some work done, but can’t keep her mind off the situation with Willow. He says he thought she told him things were better, but she says, Willow’s not the problem. It’s Michael. Ava walks into Sonny’s office, and says, they need to talk. Sonny tells Nina that he has to go. He has to take care of something. He asks Ava, what’s the problem? and she says, the problem is him. He told her that he was going to take care of that woman. This is how he takes care of it? He sends Avery off with that psychopath? She shows him a picture of Betty and Avery on her phone.

Avery swims in the pool, and Betty tells her, it’s time to go, but she says, just one more. Please. She swims off and Josslyn walks in. Avery calls to her, and Josslyn asks what she’s doing. Avery says she had swim class today and learned this. She floats on her back, and Josslyn says, amazing. Avery is better than she is. She could go to the Olympics with that. Dex stands near the entrance, and Trina sees him. She tells him, if he’s looking for Joss, she’s right over there. He says he’s not. He’s actually working. Avery tells Josslyn that she has a new nanny. Her name is Betty. Betty and Josslyn smile at each other.

Ava says she stopped by Sonny’s apartment to see Avery, and the guard said she’s out with that Mary Poppins from hell. Sonny says, relax. Betty took Avery to the MetroCourt pool for her swimming lessons. Ava says, don’t tell her to relax. The woman is violent. Betty smacked her face. What if she hurts Avery? What if she kidnaps Avery? What was he thinking? He says, Betty is their best bet to lead them to whoever blackmailed Ava, but she says she already told him. It’s that creep Mason. He says, Mason is taking orders from somebody else. They have to find out who it is and Betty’s going to steer them right to his boss.

Josslyn says she didn’t realize Avery had a new nanny. What happened to Pilar? Betty says she has no idea. She interviewed with Ava Jerome, Avery’s mother. Josslyn says she knows Ava, and Betty says, Mr. Corinthos joined them and asked her to start today. Josslyn says, she must have really impressed him, and Betty says, who is Josslyn again? Josslyn tells her that she’s Josslyn Jax, Avery’s older sister, but Betty says she’s confused. Miss Jerome told her that Avery has a half-sister, but she’s younger than Avery. Either Josslyn is big for her age, or she’s not really Avery’s sister.

Michael asks if something is up with Sonny, and Carly says she was hoping he could tell her. Has he heard anything from Dex? Michael says, so far, he’s sticking to the agreement. He’s keeping tabs on Sonny and letting Michael know if there are any big deals in the works. Carly says, so what’s the latest? and Michael says, last night, Dex found a dead body. Carly asks if he knows who it was, and Michael says, apparently, it’s a guy with a connection to Dr. Gatlin-Holt. Carly asks if Austin isn’t seeing Ava. She saw them together at the Nurses Ball. He says he doesn’t know, but Dex called Sonny and told him that he found a dead body near a dumpster, and surprisingly, Sonny told him to call the police. She says, that doesn’t make any sense. Why would Sonny have Dex call the police? I’m not sure why everyone is so shocked. Sonny didn’t know Gordon and has nothing to do with him, so why wouldn’t he be a good citizen?

Kristina says she’s not here for Molly’s sage advice; she’s here to serve her sister. What can she get Kristina? She sees Kristina has water and snacks. She knows – a smoothie. Molly says, Sam beat her to it, and Kristina says, Sam the good sister. She knows one thing she doesn’t think Sam got for Kristina, and takes a stuffed horse out of her bag. Kristina says, Valiant, and takes the horse. This is exactly what she needed.

Esme asks if her concern for Spencer’s grandmother is bothering him. For all they know, she could be locked up in some Russian prison, but clearly he’s not worried, so she’ll keep it to herself from now on. He says he’s sorry he snapped at her. He’s very worried and concerned about his grandmother, but right now, he’s far more worried about Trina. Her father was shot and he could also be paralyzed, and he has no idea how to help her. Esme says, getting upset with her isn’t going to fix anything, but why doesn’t he call Trina and tell her that he’s thinking about her?

The man asks in Russian what Valentin and Laura are doing here, and Valentin answers in Russian, they mean no harm. They’re looking for someone. He tells them, get out, and in Russian, Laura says, we come in peace. The man says he speaks English. They’re trespassing. Now get out. Laura says, they don’t want to hurt anyone. All they want is information. They’re looking for someone. He asks who they’re looking for, and Valentin says, Nikolas Cassadine. The man says, Cassadines are evil, and spits. They’re all gone. What is that American expression? Good riddance. They’re very dangerous people. Stay away from that family. Laura says, he doesn’t understand. Nikolas Cassadine is her son, and they’ve got to find him. The man asks why they’re looking in Chechnya. Has he been kidnapped? Or is he running from authorities? Valentin says, they don’t know. That’s what they’re trying to find out. Laura says, he disappeared from his home in the United States five months ago and they have no idea what happened to him. The man says, if he’s a Cassadine, nothing good.

Charlotte tells Lulu (who we never really see) about winning a ribbon in her equestrian show. Dante says, she was amazing. Rocco’s doing amazing as well. He doesn’t know how, but Rocco’s got straight As. He’s always talking about every girl in his class; he’s got a crush every week. Charlotte says, Lulu is missing so much. She’s starting high school in the fall. She spent so many years at boarding school, but she’s happier staying in Port Charles and being close to her family. But Lulu isn’t there. She has to wake up and come back to them. Dante says he’ll give Charlotte time with her mom, and gets up. He says, they’ll see Lulu soon. They miss her. He leaves, and Charlotte says, Dante’s right. They really, really miss her, but she misses Lulu more.

Ava says, Sonny can follow any lead he wants, just please don’t involve their daughter. He says, does she really think he’d put his daughter at risk? Ava says, that’s what he’s doing right now, but he says, she’s not at risk. He’s going to take care of this like he said he was. She’s going to have to trust him.

Avery gets out of the pool, and Josslyn puts a towel around her. She asks Avery to do her a favor and tell her new nanny who she is, and Avery says, Josslyn’s her big sister. Josslyn says, the branches of their family are very complicated. She’d be happy to draw Betty a diagram. Betty says, that won’t be necessary, but thanks for the offer. They’re both smiling, but I don’t think they’re smiling in their heads. Josslyn says, Betty’s probably right. She’ll be gone before she can memorize any names. Betty tells Avery, time to go, and Josslyn says, nice meeting you. Betty says nothing, and leaves with Avery. Dex watches, then follows. Trina asks Josslyn what that was all about, and Josslyn says she has no idea, but she needs to find out. She has to call Sonny. What the hell is he thinking letting that girl look after Avery? Trina says, don’t call Sonny, and Josslyn asks, why? Trina says she has the feeling something else is going on. When she got here, Josslyn’s boyfriend was over there, but it didn’t look like he was soaking up rays. He was keeping a low profile watching Avery and the nanny. He never took his eyes off them. That’s got to mean something, right? Josslyn says, but what?

Michael tells Carly that he’s not sure how all this fits together, but Dex will get more information soon. He really needs to thank her. Carly says, for what? and he says, she’s the one who encouraged this arrangement with Dex. It’s nice to know they have somebody they can trust in Sonny’s organization. It works out for both of them, since Sonny thinks he has a trustworthy lieutenant, and they don’t get blindsided by his illegal dealings. She says she thinks this is about more than getting information from Dex. She thinks a part of him wants Dex to protect his father. He says he’s not saying he can forgive or even wants to forgive Sonny, but a part of him still cares about Sonny. Carly says she’ll take that as a plan and hugs him.

Kristina kisses the stuffed horse, and says she’s missed him. Where has he been hiding all these years? She thought she lost him. Kristina says, he was in some mislabeled box. She was in mom’s attic looking for pieces to sell at the community fundraiser, and she saw this box labeled law books. She opened it up, and there was Valiant, right there on top of the New York Penal Code. Molly says she’s so grateful Kristina found him. She knows it must sound silly, but this little guy meant so much to her. Kristina says, Molly was the only four-year-old on this planet who would name their stuffed animal Valiant and actually knew what it was. Kristina had stuffed animals named like the rest of them; Fluffy, Stuffy, Coco. Molly says, one time when she was six or seven, she had friends over and showed them Valiant, and they all made fun of his name. Kristina came storming in the room, saying they were all stupid, and if they didn’t stop making fun of Molly, she was going to pour maple syrup in their hair. Kristina says she remembers that. Then they ran out the door so fast. She thinks it’s the last time they came over to their house. She thinks she made life a lot harder for Kristina than it needed to be. Sorry. Kristina says she’s not. She was proud of her big sister then, and she still is.

Laura says, this is about her son, and asks the man if he has any children. He says, da. Two daughters. She says, then he must understand what she’s going through now. Is there anything he can tell her? He says he’s sorry he was harsh with her. He would help her if he could, but he has no idea where this Nikolas Cassadine is. Valentin asks if this is his house, and the man says he bought it for his family. But it was all done through lawyers. He never saw the previous owner. Valentin says, lucky him.

Spencer says he wants to be there for Trina, but it’s complicated, and Esme asks, why? He says, Trina’s mother isn’t a fan of any Cassadine, particularly him, and he does understand why she doesn’t like him. His father has done a lot of damage, but even he pales in comparison to his Uncle Victor. To make matters worse, she’s holding the other side of his family accountable for her husband’s shooting. Esme says, what? and he says he told her it was complicated. Curtis Ashford was shot, and Dr. Robinson thinks the bullet was meant for his Uncle Sonny. She says, so Trina’s mom pretty much hates everyone related to him? and he says, yeah, with the exception of his grandmother and Ace, and one of them is a baby and the other isn’t even in this country.

Josslyn tells Trina that she’s happy Dex is looking out for Avery, but she gets bad vibes from that girl. Trina is absorbed with her phone, and Josslyn asks if she’s there. Trina says she’s sorry. She was hoping there would be a message from Spencer. Josslyn asks why she doesn’t text him, and Trina says she would, but it wouldn’t be right. Josslyn asks what that means, and Trina says her mom is dealing with so much since Curtis was shot, and she never liked Spencer, so she’s trying to keep her distance from him. She doesn’t want to add more stress. Josslyn says, but she misses him, and Trina says, yeah. Josslyn says she understands Trina’s mom needs support, but Trina needs support too. She bets the only reason Spencer isn’t reaching out is because he doesn’t want to put pressure on Trina. But if Trina needs him, let him know. She won’t regret it.

Molly says she appreciates Kristina looking out for her, and Kristina says, it’s usually the other way around. She was always jumping from one thing to the next, getting herself in these difficult situations, and leaving an absolute mess in her wake. But there she was, her Molly, cleaning up her messes. Molly says she just never wanted Kristina to get in trouble, and Kristina asks if Molly remembers doing her homework for her. Molly was like three grades below her and would do her homework. She covered for Kristina when she was in trouble with mom, and comforted her when she cried or was upset. Molly always took care of her. Molly says, not always. She didn’t take care of Kristina when her abusive boyfriend Kiefer Bauer was beating her up.

Betty comes into Pozzulo’s with Avery, who runs to Ava, hugging her. Avery tells Ava that she can float on her back, and Ava says she’s so proud of Avery. Betty says, Avery had a terrific lesson. She could barely get Avery out of the water when it was time to go. Sonny says he wants to hear all about it, but right now he wants Avery to stay with Frank. He and Betty need to have a conversation. Maybe Frank can give Avery some biscotti. Frank says, sounds good, and Sonny, Ava, and Betty go into Sonny’s office. Sonny says he knows it’s Betty’s first day and Avery seems to like her a lot. That’s important to him. Betty says, he has a wonderful daughter, and he says, anybody who can make his daughter that happy, is okay by him. Betty asks if he’d like her to take Avery to his place, but he says, no. She can pick Avery up there tomorrow morning. They’re not going to need her for the rest of the day. He gives her some cash, she thanks him, and she leaves. Avery and Frank are playing cards while they have biscotti, and Betty tells Avery, see you tomorrow. Ava comes out, and Sonny says he has a phone call to make, closing his office door.

The man says, Laura seems like a nice woman, but it’s obvious her son has left her. It must be painful. She says she doesn’t believe her son would just leave her. He has kids and she doesn’t believe he’d abandon them. Maybe he was forced to leave. The man says he’s sorry. He wishes he could help her, but there’s nothing he can do. Please show themselves out. He leaves, and Valentin says, where do they go from here?

Charlotte tells Lulu that the other girls talk about doing things with their mothers; shopping, getting manicures, going away for the weekend. She just smiles and pretends it’s okay. Sam and Grandmother take her out, but it’s just not the same. She never actually told her friends what really happened to Lulu. If she doesn’t tell them where Lulu is, she can believe it isn’t real; that she’s just away for a little while, and she’ll be back soon. So she has to wake up. Charlotte puts her head down on the bed and cries.

Esme says, it’s such a beautiful day. As soon as Ace wakes up, why don’t she and Spencer take him to the park? He says he has a better idea. Why don’t they take him to the MetroCourt pool, and they can dip his feet in the water. He’ll love it. She says, yes, absolutely. She just got him a bathing suit and he has a matching hat. He’ll look adorable. She goes into the other room, and Spencer opens the front door. Trina is there, and he says he’s surprised to see her… in the best way. She says she’s sorry for just showing up without calling, but he says, don’t apologize. Come in. She’s always welcome here. She says she’s glad to hear him say that. These last few days have just been really hard, and she’s missed him. He hugs her, and Esme watches.

Carly goes into Sonny’s office, and Ava asks, what brings her here? Carly says she came to pick up Avery. Avery is coming with her for a sleepover with Donna and Josslyn. Sonny says he appreciates her doing this on short notice, and Ava says, how short? When did Sonny set this up? Carly says, he called her just a few minutes ago. What’s going on here?

Kristina asks why Molly would bring up Kiefer. She hasn’t thought about him in years. Molly says, really? and Kristina says, no. That’s not true. She just doesn’t like to admit how often she does think about that time in her life, but she does. Especially now, working with troubled teens. So many of them are in abusive relationships, and it just brings her back to Kiefer. She tries to help them, but she can’t even help herself. Molly says she should have helped Kristina. She knew something was wrong and she should have said something. She could hear Kristina crying in her room every night, and she knew something was wrong. Every time she asked Kristina, Kristina got upset and said to leave her alone. So she did. She’s so sorry. She should have pushed harder to get Kristina to open up. Kristina takes Molly’s hand, and says, she has nothing to be sorry for. It’s on her. She couldn’t find a way to get herself out of that hole. Sometimes she wonders if that’s when everything started. Molly says, when what started? and Kristina says, her life just derailed when she was with Kiefer. Ever since then, she tries, but she’s never been able to get it back on track.

Michael opens his office door to Nina, who thanks him for seeing her. She knows she’s not his favorite person right now. He asks what he can do for her, and she asks if they can make peace for Willow’s sake.

Sonny says he just thought Avery would like to spend some time with her sisters, and Carly says, whatever. The girls will be thrilled to have Avery. They walk out, and Carly tells Avery, let’s get this sleepover started. Avery heads for the door, and Carly looks at Sonny and Ava. She says, whatever, and follows.

Nina says she and Willow had a wonderful visit the other day, but Michael says he doesn’t quite remember it that way. She says, if he remembers correctly, she was at the hospital checking on Sasha, he stepped outside, and she and Willow made significant progress. He asks, what exactly does that mean? and she says, it means she and Willow communicate better when he’s not in the room. He says he’s pretty busy, so can she get to the point? and she says her point is, at best, he just tolerates her and wishes she wasn’t in Willow’s life, but she’s Willow’s mother. Michael says she’s mentioned that once or twice, and she says she now knows Willow is open to the idea of them having a relationship. And she’s wondering, is he open to that too?

Molly says, Kristina has gotten her life back on track. Look what she’s doing with the youth center. She’s going to make a difference in these kids’ lives. She thought that made Kristina happy. Kristina says, it does, but she doesn’t know if she’s enough for them. These kids are so desperate for help, and she doesn’t know if she has the skills or the tools to adequately help them. Soon her center is going to be up and running, and her name is going to be on that building, but it’s not going to be hers. She thinks she’s been fooling herself this whole time, thinking she can make a difference and help these kids, but she doesn’t know if she can. Molly tells her, don’t say that. She knows Kristina can. Kristina says, stop. Molly is here with an injured leg and she’s doing it again; she’s comforting Kristina. Molly says, because that’s what she does when she loves someone. And before Kristina talks herself out of being useful to these kids, take the time to educate herself. No one knows how to take on a project like that without experience. So take some classes. Study management. Talk to people who’ve done this before. She can do this. Kristina asks why she’s so sure, and Molly says, because she believes in Kristina. She’s just got to believe in herself.

Esme says, Spencer told her about Trina’s dad. She’s so sorry. It must be so scary thinking he could be paralyzed. Trina says, it’s been awful, and Esme says she’s going to check on Ace. He’s about to get up from his nap and she’s going to take him to the park. She leaves, and Spencer says he’s so sorry for what Trina’s going through. How is she holding up? She says she’s so worried for Curtis. She’s trying to stay strong for her mom, but she doesn’t know what to do to make her feel better. He says he does. Stay away from him.

Laura asks if Valentin think the owner would mind if they had a look around the house, and he says, she could ask him, but he doesn’t think they’re going to find any clues around here. She says she guesses he’s probably right, but she did get the feeling he was telling them the truth. He says, they need to regroup; think of somewhere else Nikolas could be hiding. She says, what if he’s not hiding? What if he’s being held against his will? Victor could have turned on him just like he turned on Valentin and Spencer. Valentin says, Victor’s dead. Nikolas could be anywhere. Doc is probably back at the hotel by now. Let’s get the hell out of here.

Dante says it’s tough for Charlotte to see her mom like that, but the doctors say maybe she can hear them, so it’s important they’re here as much as they can be. Charlotte says she knows. She just wants her mom to come home – their home. She went by there the other day and looked in the window. It made her sad. Everything was covered in sheets and so quiet. Not like it used to be. He says, they had some really good memories there, didn’t they? and she says she just doesn’t like seeing it so empty. She bets mom would want someone to live there.

Trina says, the last thing she wants is to stay away from Spencer. She needs him more than ever. He’s the thing that gives her strength to hang on right now. He says he thinks she’s the first person who’s ever said that to him, and she says she doesn’t care what people say. They don’t know him like she does. She needs him. He says he’s always here for her, but he thinks it’s going to add a lot of stress to her mom’s life right now if she knows he’s spending time with her. She says she hates to admit it, but she thinks he might be right. She doesn’t want to stay away from him, but it would probably be best to keep their relationship low key for now. He says, yeah, he gets it. He’s the last person her mom wants to see, so he’ll steer clear of her, and if Trina needs him, he’ll be here whenever. She says, now would be a good time, and they kiss.

In the bedroom, Esme tells Ace, sorry, buddy. She wanted to take him to the pool today, but his big brother has other plans. She guesses that means Trina is more important than they are. It’s just her and him; they’ve only got each other. Unless she takes steps to change that situation.

Michael says he’ll support any decision his wife makes. If she wants to have a relationship with Nina, he has no problem with that. She tells him that his attitude says otherwise, and he asks what she’s trying to say. She says, while he’s polite to her somewhat in front of Willow, it’s clear he wants nothing to do with her and just wants her to go away. Willow knows that, and it’s just a matter of time before Wiley and Amelia feel it as well. She knows she’s made mistakes. She just wants to rectify them and make peace. Kristina barges in and asks if she’s interrupting something, but Michael says, no. Nina was just leaving. Nina says she guesses she was just leaving, and asks Michael to please give her a second chance. That’s all she’s asking. Whether he likes it or not, they’re family and she’s not giving up. She gives Kristina a quick kiss as she goes by, and when she’s gone, Kristina asks why Michael is being such a bastard to Nina.

Dex goes over to Josslyn, who’s lying on a chaise lounge, and she says she wanted to ask him something. Trina said she saw him earlier, and it looked like he was doing surveillance on Avery and her nanny. Does he want to tell her what that’s about? He says, Sonny asked him to keep an eye on Avery and the new nanny, so he was tailing her. Josslyn says, Avery’s her sister, so she kind of has a right to know, and he says he’d tell her if he knew, but Sonny hasn’t shared the details. But he thinks it has something to do with Ava Jerome.

Ava says, please tell her that he’s not bringing Carly into this. Sonny has to promise her that he’s not going to tell Carly what she did to Nikolas. He says, that she killed him? and she says, it was an accident. She didn’t mean to do it. He says he won’t tell Carly about Nikolas unless he has to, and she asks what that means. He says, the good thing is, Betty bought his act. She thinks she’s spying on him, but it’s the other way around. She’s going to lead them to whoever’s behind this. And when he finds them, they’re not going to know what hit them.

On Monday, Sonny asks if Anna is still planning to use herself as bait; Kristina says she thought someone would never ask; Tracy says, Gregory is surprisingly charming; Martin says, it must be his lucky night; and Drew tells someone, get the hell away from him.

👧🏼 New Kid On the Block…

The latest in Georgies.

Eden Harker Is the New Georgie on GENERAL HOSPITAL!

👗 The Right Choice…

Jen dishes on the wedding of the century and her rejected Reunion dress.

https://pagesix.com/video/jennifer-fessler-reveals-rejected-rhonj-reunion-dress-best-pic-from-teresa-giudices-wedding/

🍊 Don’t Say It…

It really doesn’t sound like all that big a deal, but oh yeah, it’s Shannon.

VIDEO: Tamra Judge Reveals What Heather Told Her About Shannon’s Relationship as Shannon Calls Heather a “Mother-F**ker” in RHOC Sneak Peek, Plus Tamra Accuses Jennifer and Ryan of “Threatening” Heather Amin

Was she kicked out or just looking for her Uber? I want to know what the argument was about.

https://pagesix.com/2023/07/27/wasted-shannon-beador-kicked-out-of-bar-after-screaming-at-ex-john-janssens-daughter/

🍸 Good Luck With This…

Who will and won’t film with the undesirable Tom.

Where Does Tom Sandoval Stand With the Rest of the Vanderpump Rules Cast?

🥪 Something About Them…

I thought it was open already, they’ve had so many soft launches.

REPORT: Ariana Madix and Katie’s Sandwich Shop Faces “Six-Figure” Road Block Before They Can Open, Plus Ariana Refuses to Film One-on-One With Tom Sandoval for Vanderpump Rules

👶 Comes With Accessory Baby…

This is actually a pretty funny idea.

https://pagesix.com/2023/07/27/kathryn-dennis-reclaims-her-salacious-pregnancies-with-midge-costume/

⚰️ Let’s Talk About Dead…

FWD, coming to your TV in October.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/07/24/fear-walking-dead-season-8-part-2-release-date/

Obviously not a real New Yorker.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/07/28/walking-dead-city-jeffrey-dean-morgan-leave/

I’m hoping it goes on forever.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/07/27/walking-dead-dead-city-limited-series/

The name isn’t what you thought it was.

https://ew.com/events/comic-con/rick-and-michonne-walking-dead-title-teaser-explained-ones-who-live/

We are from France.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/07/28/walking-dead-daryl-dixon-hope-france/

🐱 He Is Not a Cat…

Although he does kind of look like one.

https://ew.com/tv/anderson-cooper-compared-dog-cat-live-with-kelly-mark/

🐕 Comedic Companions…

These are great! How come I never catch my pets doing this stuff? By the time I get the camera, they get bored and walk away or they’ve moved on to something else. I have a lot of pictures of tails.

https://people.com/finalists-announced-of-the-2023-comedy-pet-photography-awards-see-photos-7561437

🪶 Quotes of the Week

Moderation is the feebleness and sloth of the soul, whereas ambition is the warmth and activity of it. – François de La Rochefoucauld

It is the greatest of all mistakes to do nothing because you can only do little; do something. – Sydney Smith

You are always free to change your mind and choose a different future, or a different past. – Richard Bach (I’m not too sure about that past thing… maybe a different viewpoint of the past.)

Real difficulties can be overcome; it is only the imaginary ones that are unconquerable. – Theodore Vail

Everything that irritates us about others can lead us to an understanding of ourselves. – Carl Jung

Everyone must choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. – Jim Rohn

I don’t do anything in order to cause trouble. It just so happens that what I do naturally causes trouble. I’m proud to be a troublemaker. – Sinead O’Connor

So let me get this hetero-straight. So you’s a vampire, that can come out in the daytime? … Oh there goes the damn neighborhood. – Lafayette Reynolds (Nelsan Ellis), True Blood

🔮 I Ain’t Got No Crystal Ball…

Come back for more soap and tea on Monday really Tuesday. FYI, Below Deck Down Under is airing a new season on Mondays, but I’m Decked out. Until then, stay safe, stay always being polite to waitstaff, and stay talking to people who’ve done it before when you take on a big project without experience.

Jun24

June 23, 2023 – Judge Kim Overrides Drew’s Sentence, Sketchy, Memorable, VanderFilming, Ranks On Deck, Next Fear, Back In, Other Gigs, Shark Boss, Super Rescue, Twice Three Quotes & Out

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Judge Kim sentences Drew to three years, and Carly jumps up, saying, no! You can’t do that.

Ned says, Deanna seems like a really nice person. Trust him. He doesn’t belong here. He feels fantastic. Ask the shrink. Deanna says she just needs to check his vitals, and she’ll be out of his hair, calling him Mr. Quartermaine. He says, Eddie. It’s Eddie Maine.

Doc goes over to the waiting area, and Olivia asks if she’s getting her husband back. Brook asks if her dad is going to be okay, and Doc says, those are all valid questions. He’s afraid he doesn’t know how to say this… Brook says, no. Her father really believes he’s Eddie Maine? Doc says, he doesn’t just believe it. He is Eddie Maine.

Tracy says, so Brook’s solution to rid her son of his delusions is to lean into them? and Alexis tells her, she’s simply saying, if Tracy would let Ned try to work this out on his own, in his own time without constant opposition from her – Gregory comes down the hall and ducks behind the corner, listening – it might help him get better a little faster. Tracy asks when Alexis got her therapist certification. Did they hand it out with her last sobriety chip? Alexis says, you’re impossible, and Tracy says, you’re an idiot. Alexis says, charming, and Tracy says, and by the way, you’d think Alexis’s twelve steps would teach her not to impose her neuroses on Tracy’s son. Gregory comes out, and tells Tracy, he was too much of a gentleman to say it last time, but back the hell off.

Lucy tells Sasha that she wants to apologize for bringing up all that Cody stuff earlier. She was bad, and promises to never do it again. Sasha thanks her, and Lucy says, except it would be great if… Sasha says, Lucy… and Lucy says, Cody could be just snapped up like that by somebody else. Sasha says, don’t be greedy; she has a guy. Lucy says she does, and she wouldn’t trade Marty for anything. At the beginning, it’s kind of delicious, when you’re wondering, not knowing… Sasha says she always found it torturous, but Lucy says, not her. Even as a little girl, she’d get a daisy and do that old petal pluck thing. He loves me, he loves me not… Martin shows up with a bouquet of daisies, and says, he definitely loves you, kissing her.

At The Savoy, Sonny says, nothing’s too good for the woman he’s going to marry, and he and Nina clink champagne glasses. She says, he’s making her blush; no easy task. He tells her, get used to it, when Dex walks in with Josslyn. They come over to Sonny’s table, and Dex says, it looks like they had the same idea. Josslyn asks if Sonny knows how it’s going for Drew and her mom.

Judge Kim says, one more outburst and he’ll have Carly removed, and Carly says she’s sorry, but there must be some kind of mistake. There was a deal on the table. They agreed six months in Spring Ridge, not three years. The judge says, there was a deal in place, however, sentencing is up to the court; not just duration, but location. Due to the gravity of the charges, the court has decided Andrew Cain will serve out those three years in Pentenville Penitentiary.

Tracy says, Gregory has a habit of sticking his nose in other people’s conversations, and Alexis thanks him, but says she doesn’t need defending from Tracy. She’s had years of practice. She sees Gregory has had some experience with her too. Gregory says, they just met the other day, when she was berating his son Chase, and Tracy asks if he means when she was reminding Chase of everything her granddaughter did to get him reinstated as a cop. And they’re back together, so you’re welcome. Feel free to apologize any time. He says he was hoping to clear the air when he saw her again, but after seeing how she treated his friend here, he thinks she’s entitled to something else from him. Tracy asks what that would be, and he says, a lesson in etiquette. He’d be happy to teach her free of charge. Alexis smiles.

Brook says, it’s only temporary, right? Her dad will be her dad again. Olivia says, of course (🍷) he will. He’ll be back to being impossible and lovable as ever… Right? Doc says he wishes he could tell them everything will be back to normal in no time, but he can’t. As she knows, Dr. Ashford ordered a battery of neurological tests, and the team has gone over the results. They’re dealing with a traumatic brain injury. But the neurological indicators and the behavior of the patient himself would indicate something else, something more than a simple case of memory loss. Olivia asks him to break it down, and Doc says, for everything they’ve learned about the human brain, it’s still a mystery. For some reason, Ned’s brain has superimposed over the thoughts and feelings of Ned Quartermaine, with the thoughts and feelings of…

Ned tells Deanna, Eddie Maine. M-A-I-N-E, like the state. He’s telling her, there’s nothing wrong with him – Deanna reaches into her pocket for a syringe – that some fresh air and a room of his own won’t cure. So please, get him out of here. She says, of course (🍷) she will, and injects him. He asks what she gave him, and immediately conks out.

Lucy asks how Martin knew she was thinking about daisies, and he says, it’s a lucky coincidence. He’s using her favorite flower to apologize for being so incredibly busy lately. After today, he promises his clients are going to be breathing a whole lot easier, and he can spend time on them. She says, he is a winner. He’s definitely the best lawyer in town. He says, it’s not his client’s case, but they definitely have a stake in the outcome, and Sasha asks who they are; anyone she knows? Martin flashes back to telling Nina that he’ll do everything in his power to make sure no one knows it was her who tipped off the SEC about Drew and Carly, and tells Sasha that he’s sorry. Attorney/client privilege, and he’s already said too much. What are they up to? Lucy says, Deception and more Deception, but specifically, The Deceptor. Sasha says, sales are through the roof. It seems their clients really appreciate a product that does what it promises to do. Lucy agrees, and says, she promises The Deceptor is going to change the lives of women, men, and human beings everywhere, especially the three humans sitting at this table. And to think she owes it all to him.

Sonny says he hasn’t heard anything from the courthouse, and Josslyn says she’s just glad her mom isn’t facing prison time, thanks to Drew. Nina says, it was very noble of Drew, and Josslyn says, some people know how to put aside their needs for the sake of others. Sonny asks if he can talk to Josslyn a second, and she says, sure. They step away, and Dex sits down. Nina says, they really haven’t had a chance to get to know each other. Now that she and Sonny are… Why don’t they start at the beginning. Please call her Nina. Despite what he might have heard about her, they want the same thing.

Carly asks why the judge would sentence Drew to Pentenville. He hasn’t committed a violent crime; he hasn’t committed a crime at all. This is one big mistake. Judge Kim tells Carly, sit down before I knock you down he holds her in contempt, and Drew asks her to sit. She does, and Zeke says, Miss Spencer may be out of order, but the point she made is valid. His client has admitted to insider trading. He’s taken responsibility for his actions, and the US Attorney has agreed to sentence him to a minimum-security facility; standard practice for a non-violent crime. Judge Kim says, standard practice is subject to circumstance and interpretation by the presiding judge. Zeke says, Mr. Cain is not a common criminal. He’s a respected member of the community. He’s a decorated Navy SEAL. Recently, he even worked with the government to save hostages taken by Victor Cassadine. Are all these things just going to be ignored and forgotten? The judge says, on the contrary. It’s actually because of all those things that he can’t look the other way. There aren’t two sets of laws in this community. One for the privileged – yes, that includes heroes – and one for the rest. No one is above the law. That’s why he’s having Mr. Cain taken from this courthouse and remanded to Pentenville immediately.

Zeke asks the judge to give Mr. Cain time to get his affairs in order. Mr. Cain has a family, including a young daughter, in addition to all the people at his business, Aurora Media, who depend on him. He’s not a flight risk. The SEC lawyer says, the government has no objection to counsel’s request, and Zeke says he agrees with the judge; no one is above the law. The days of privilege superseding accountability are rightly numbered. With that being said, he also believes justice without mercy is hollow and meaningless. Wouldn’t Judge Kim agree?

Martin says, Lucy is giving him way too much credit. The Deceptor is 100% her baby. The credit is 100% hers. Sasha says, Lucy just walked into the office that morning and started spinning this new idea. Could Martin have had something to do with it? Martin says he didn’t, but Lucy says, he did. Stop it. She loves the fact they did this together. Sasha says she wants details, and Lucy says, as she probably knows, every good story begins in bed. Isn’t that right, my magic man?

Tracy says, if anyone needs an etiquette class, it’s Gregory. Maybe he could get his other son to give him lessons, because Finn knows how to… Alexis says, all right. That’s enough. Take a breath. Everyone to their neutral corner. Tracy says she’ll leave Alexis to her friend, because she has real issues to deal with; her son and her family. Real issues that need real compassion. Something Gregory wouldn’t understand. Gregory says he understands a lot more than Tracy thinks. Do them both a favor and stay away from Chase. Tracy says, if he’s as smart as his son – and she means Finn, not the other one – he will stay the hell away from her. She walks off, and Gregory asks Alexis, friend of hers?

Brook says, her father’s brain wants him to be Eddie Maine? and Chase says he doesn’t understand. Ned has everything a man could want; a lobing family, a successful job, standing in the community. Why would he want to give up all that just to relive his glory days? Olivia says, this is all her fault, and Tracy joins them. Olivia says, if she’d just believed Ned about turning in Carly and Drew to the SEC. If she’d only believed him sooner… Tracy says, please. Leave it to Olivia to make this all about herself. Brook tells Olivia not to listen to her. She’s just as scared as the rest of them, but granny’s fear comes out as mean. Tracy says, scared? Her? What Ned needs is a cold splash of water and a good talking to. Olivia says, that is the last thing he needs right now, and Doc says he understands emotions are running high, but turning on each other won’t help anything. Brook says, no wonder dad wants to be Eddie Maine. Can they blame him for wanting a break from this family? She leaves, and Chase follows her.

Brook and Chase go into Ned’s room, and Brook asks if he’s okay. Deanna says she had to give him a sedative to calm him down. Deanna leaves, and Brook says, poor daddy. This whole thing started when they thought he blew the whistle on Carly and Drew. If someone else is to blame, why won’t they come forward?

Nina says she and Dex both care about Sonny. And don’t tell her it’s just a job when Dex took a bullet for him. Thank you for that, by the way. He says, boss dies, he loses his health plan, and Nina says, Dex likes him, she loves him. That makes them both Team Sonny. Now that she and Sonny are getting married, she hopes he keeps an open mind, despite what others say about her. He says, by others she means Josslyn? and she says, all she’s asking is that he reserve judgement until he realizes she wants to keep Sonny safe and happy even more than he does. He says, and she wants him to convince Joss to give her a chance.

Sonny says he’s surprised Josslyn and Dex are still together, and she asks, why? He says, she came to his office and wanted him to fire Dex. She didn’t like Dex working for him. She says, Sonny told her it was up to Dex to ask him that, and Sonny says, it was, but Dex wants to stay in the organization. He wants more than a paycheck; he wants to belong. Dex made peace with him. How about her?

Judge Kim says he’s granting Mr. Cain one week to get his affairs in order. However, he must surrender his passport and remain within the city limits of Port Charles until he turns himself in to the authorities for transport to Pentenville. Zeke thanks the judge, and Judge Kim says, should Zeke’s client not appear, he will be treated as a fugitive, and those three years in Pentenville will seem like a long weekend. This hearing is adjourned. The bailiff says, all rise, and the judge leaves. Zeke gives over Drew’s passport, and Carly hugs Drew.

Carly asks, what happened? It was supposed to be six months in Spring Ridge. Zeke says, this isn’t over. He knows with Drew’s skill set, it’s tempting to disappear, but Drew says, when he gives his word, he keeps it. Zeke leaves, and Drew says he’s going to be around here for a while, so why doesn’t Michael take his mother… Carly says she’s not leaving, but Drew says, it’s going to be a while. She says, they have seven days, and hugs him. Michael says, whatever Drew needs. If there are any resources he can provide, he’s here. Just like Drew has been for him and Willow. Michael leaves, and Carly and Drew hug some more.

Lucy says she remembers there was a half-moon shining through the window, and she was lying in Marty’s arms. It was almost like the moon was winking at her; like it knew something. She remembers thinking, this is so yummy, and maybe a little sad because they missed out on time together when they were apart. She wished they could just stop the clock. It was so interesting. All of a sudden, she guesses Martin heard her because he was awake. He said, what if there was a formula or product that could just stop time? Martin says, for heaven’s sake. He was just thinking out loud. She says, he’s being modest again. He was buzzing with so many ideas, and she fell asleep with all that going on in her head. Sasha says, and then? and Lucy says, and then, that’s the best part. Because when she woke up, she knew it wasn’t a dream. It was a product that could actually conquer time, or at least delay it. That was when The Deceptor was born, and Marty was her magic muse. Sasha says, wow, but Martin tells her, don’t dare believe what Lucy is telling her. He swears it was Lucy Coe who took a raw idea, a concept, and perfected it. She’s the one. She made it her own. She’s one sexy genius. He kisses Lucy, and she says, and he’s a handsome, sexy, gallant muse. Sasha says, all this story needs is a fairytale ending. How about it? When are they getting married? They both look at her and say, never.

Gregory says, Finn warned him that Tracy can be quite the dragon, but as Alexis can see, Tracy barely laid a claw on him. She asks if he’s okay. What Tracy said about him not dealing with any real issues was awful. She has a heart of stone, but even she wouldn’t have said that if she actually knew… He says, there’s no reason Tracy should know anything about him. But what he doesn’t understand is why Tracy came down so hard on Alexis. There’s obviously history there. What did Alexis do to her? (I literally lol.) Alexis says, it’s what Tracy did to her. Did he ever hear the expression, first hurt, then hate? That’s Tracy to a T. That’s her M.O. He says, go on. How did Tracy hurt her?

Tracy says she’s going to see her son, but Olivia says, no, she is not. Now sit down and shut up. Tracy says she’s his mother, and Olivia says she’s his wife. What he needs is love and understanding right now; the kind he can get from his daughter, not some horrendous, bitchy monologue from Tracy. Doc says he thinks they may have just gotten a window into why Ned might prefer to be Eddie Maine, and Olivia says, to get away from his mother? Tracy says, or his marriage? Doc says, let’s not look at it as an escape, but rather a journey to find his true self. Tracy rolls her eyes.

Brook says, he looks so peaceful, like all his problems are a things of the past, when Ned grabs her wrist. He says, she wants to solve his problems? Bust him out of here – now.

Drew says, seven days is like a lifetime. They just have to put it in perspective, and think about everything Willow and Michael have been through and how they live day by day. She kisses him, and says she wants more time. He says, they’ll just have to live every day, every minute like it’s their last, and create enough memories until he comes back. She says, what about Scout? and he says he’ll spend time with Scout. When he’s not with her, he’ll be with Carly. He kisses her, and she says she can’t believe this is happening. He says, let’s not think about it like three years. They’ll think about it like 36 car payments. She says she’s so sorry, but he says, it’s going to be okay. She hugs him.

Nina asks if a good relationship between her and Josslyn isn’t good for Sonny as well, and Dex says, no disrespect, but while he’s loyal to Sonny, he’s also loyal to Josslyn. and she gets to make up her own mind. Nina says, but they’re talking about peace, and that’s always a good thing. She wouldn’t even suggest for him to intervene if she didn’t think it would be helpful to everyone, including him. He says he’ll think about it, but just to be clear, he’d never let anyone hurt Mr. Corinthos or Josslyn. Nina says, or Sonny’s wife, I trust, and he says, that goes without saying. As long as she’s important to Mr. Corinthos, she’s important to him.

Josslyn tells Sonny, Dex had this job before she knew him. It’s his life and his decision. She was wrong to go behind his back to Sonny and ask Sonny to fire him. And Sonny was right to turn her down. So yeah, she has made peace with Dex working for Sonny. He says he’s glad to hear it, but that’s not the question he asked. Has she made her peace with him?

Sasha asks, what’s wrong with marriage? and Martin says, nothing, says half the population. It just so happens, he fell into the other half. Over and over again. Know what they say about baseball? Three strikes you’re out? He’s out. He asks if Lucy understands, and she says, I do. I have a history of saying I do when I wish I didn’t. What she and Marty have… He says, is perfect. Why spoil it with a prenup and a trip to Reno? He says he has a conference call, and has to leave. After that, he’s going to relax by the pool. In the meantime, Lucy should put the daisies in water. He leaves, and Sasha says she thought Lucy was the marrying kind. What changed? Lucy says, nothing. She was hoping when she said no, Marty would talk her into saying yes.

Alexis tells Gregory, then wouldn’t you know it? Chase was the arresting officer. He says he can’t believe what he’s hearing; that’s diabolical. Alexis says, Tracy thought she was saving Ned from her evil clutches. She and Ned almost got married a long time ago, and then a couple of years ago, he was married, and she was drunk, and they had a regrettable evening. Two lost souls. He says, say no more. He hopes Chase was smart enough to see through Tracy’s scheme and clear Alexis’s name. She says, it took a village, but in some way, Tracy did her a favor. She didn’t do any of the things Tracy was framing her for, but she was out of control. From that moment, she turned her life around. He says he admires her for rising from the ashes, but Tracy’s frame up could have had a very different ending. Alexis says, let it go; she’s not worth it. He says he agrees, but his son is.

Chase tells Ned that he’s a police officer, and he’s asking Ned to let go of Brook’s wrist. Brook says, he’s not hurting her, but Chase says, let her go. Ned releases her, and she says she promises, as soon as the doctors release him, she’ll take him home. He says, to Vegas? but she says he has a home in Port Charles too. He says he needs to get to Vegas, and she says she understands the need to perform; getting love back from the audience. He says, there’s nothing like it, is there? and she says she can think of some things. Like the love of the people who know you best. Your family.

Tracy says, the only journey she wants Ned taking is the one back to his senses, and Doc asks if she’s considered the possibility that in Ned’s mind, he’s being sensible. Olivia asks if he’s saying Ned being Eddie Maine is a good thing, but Tracy says, Eddie Maine isn’t real; it’s a stage name. Doc says, to her, but to Ned, Eddie Maine represents freedom, gratification, simplicity. And maybe just a touch of the fantasy he needs. Olivia says she needs Ned. She knows it might be selfish, but she just wants her husband back, warts and all, and Leo needs his father. Isn’t there any way they can coax him back? Tracy says, coax him? He needs another bump on the head.

Zeke comes back to the courtroom, and tells Drew that he’s requested a meeting with the judge. Carly asks if the judge is willing to listen to reason, and Zeke says, he is willing to listen, but only after Drew is remanded to Pentenville. Drew says, okay. As long as he’s being held accountable, and not above the law. Carly says, that could take months, or even a year, and the whole time he’ll be locked up in Pentenville. Drew says he’s been in Afghanistan. He’s a Navy SEAL. He’s not worried about Pentenville. Zeke says, the minute Drew goes to prison, he’ll be lobbying for that meeting, and Drew says, anything to expedite this, please. Zeke says, got it. He’d offer Drew a ride, but he has the feeling Drew has better things to do with his time. Drew thanks him, and Zeke says, this isn’t over. This is a significant setback. They’ll talk soon. He leaves, and Drew tells Carly, enough about him. She’s about to face a very stiff financial penalty. She says, that’s her problem, but he says, it’s their problem, and he knows how they’re going to solve it.

Josslyn says she’s working toward acceptance. Sonny is who he is, and he did what he did, and she doesn’t have the power to change that. When she’s angry at him, she hurts some of the people she loves, who also happen to love him. So she doesn’t know if that counts as making peace, but that’s the best she can do right now. He says he hopes someday they can both do better, but for now, he’ll take that. Michael comes in, and Sonny asks, what’s going on? Michael says, Josslyn texted him and said she’d be here with Dex. He wants them all to know, he just came from Drew’s hearing, and the judge gave him three years in Pentenville. Sonny says, son of a bitch, and Nina says, it wasn’t supposed to be that way. Josslyn says, oh really? How was it supposed to be?

Sasha says, it’s her fault for bringing up marriage in the first place, but Lucy tells her, don’t feel bad. She can’t believe Marty said, never. She thought if she said, never, Marty would say, my little snookums, never say never, but he didn’t say that. Sasha says, with three marriages and divorces, you can’t blame the guy for being a little gun-shy. Lucy says, maybe. According to Marty, those wives made his life a living hell, but she wishes she could exorcise it out of his head, and he’d be open to the idea of marriage again. Sasha says, Martin loves her. He’s not going anywhere. Not every guy would stay up late encouraging their partner to follow their dream, then help make that dream a reality. Lucy says, she’s right. He hasn’t asked for any share of the profit; not one single penny. Sasha says, that’s true love for you.

A text says, An electronic deposit of $50, 000 was credited to your account, and sitting with his feet in the pool, drink in hand, Martin says, every month, like clockwork. Trust me, Lucy. Marriage would only spoil everything.

Ned tells Brook, no offense, but the more he hears about her father, the less he envies him. Family life is nice and all, and he can tell she really loves the guy, but corporate life and all the ulcers that go with it, not his style. He has the feeling it’s not hers either.

Doc tells Tracy that he’s not aware of any traumatic brain injury being cured by another traumatic brain injury, and Olivia says, if Tracy is even thinking of taking a hammer to her husband… Tracy tells them, calm down. She was kidding. Olivia says, there’s nothing funny about this situation, and Tracy says, money is no object; whatever it takes. Doc says he’s in unchartered territory as well, but he knows a few experts. He’ll consult with them, and draw on every resource and database he can find. In the meantime, he does think Ned should start therapy. Tracy says, Ned or Eddie, because they’re supposed to be calling him Eddie now, right? How long do they have to buy into this fantasy? Doc says, and there’s the disconnect. Not Ned’s, hers. She can call it a fantasy, but to Ned, it’s his life. Whatever they do, don’t deny his reality. Give him space. Brook and Chase join them, and Brook says, he wants more than space. Olivia asks what he wants. Tell her. Brook says, a one-way ticket to Vegas.

Nina says, there was supposed to be a deal in place, wasn’t there? and Michael says, there was, but the judge overrode it. Josslyn says, mom must be devastated, and Sonny says he’ll reach out to Drew and help in any way he can. Michael says he already did. The US Attorney was as shocked as the rest of them. This is completely on the judge. Nina’s phone rings, and she goes to the table to answer it. She says, Ava heard… She just did… She knows. It’s awful, isn’t it?

Drew says he’s just going to get his affairs in order, and he’s going to put Aurora Media up for sale. They’ll use the proceeds to pay for Carly’s financial… She says, absolutely not. Aurora is his creation. It’s his legacy for Scout. He says, Scout is too young to care about that. She’s going to be fine; she’s got ELQ shares. He’s made other investments… Carly says she’s not going to let him give Aurora away. He’ll need it when he comes back. Whatever the penalty is, she’ll figure it out. He says he doesn’t like that, but she says she doesn’t want to think about this right now. She wants to make the most of whatever time they have left. He kisses her.

Lucy tells Sasha, okay. She’s thinking, you know how Marty planted the idea for The Deceptor in her head? Why can’t she plant the idea of wedding bells in his? Sasha says, why not? and Lucy says, okay. To the future, and may all those ex-wives and the damage they’ve done, be a thing of the past. They clink glasses.

Martin’s phone dings, and he says a text from Ex #3: You’ve been avoiding me. That’s a serious mistake. He says, oh God. He swears, the only thing worse than number two at the swimming pool is number three. He rolls over a little too far, and into the pool with his phone.

Alexis tells Gregory, don’t faint, but she’s going to the gym. Maybe they could meet for dinner afterwards. She’s thinking Thai food. He asks if she’s worried he’s going to track Tracy down and put the fear of God in her, but she says, first of all, he’s assuming Tracy fears God. Second of all, he’s too civilized for this… right? He says, Chase can hold his own, but what after she and Finn have told him, it’s clear that woman fights dirty. Alexis tells him not to sink to Tracy’s level. He has more important things to worry about. He says, there’s nothing more important than his sons.

Tracy says, her son thinks he’s a Vegas lounge lizard. This has gone on long enough. Doc can keep his therapy. She’s going old school. She starts to walk, and Brook asks where she’s going. She says, to knock some sense into Brook’s father.

Carly asks how Drew can be so calm, and he says, after weeks of uncertainty, now he knows what he’s facing. He can prioritize. He can do what means most in the time he has left. She says, they have to be strong, and he says, they will be. Seven precious days before he turns himself in. Let’s not spend another second in this courtroom. He kisses her hand, and suggests they get out of here. She looks like she might cry, and nods.

Tracy busts into Ned’s room, Brook, Chase, and Olivia following her. The bed is empty except for Ned’s pressure cuff and the links to the other medical equipment.

Josslyn says, her mom’s not responding to anything. Her phone must be off. Dex suggests they find her, and they leave. Sonny asks Michael how Carly is handling this, and Michael says, how does she think? She’s ready to go to war for Drew. Sonny says, war with who? Even if Ned’s responsible, he doesn’t even know who he is. Michael says, that’s convenient for Ned, and the worst possible outcome for Drew.

Having moved to the back of the club with the phone, Nina tells Ava that she didn’t plan for this. But now that it’s happened, there’s a tiny part of her that almost feels sorry for Carly. Ned comes into the club, and Nina says, what is Carly going to do without Drew for three long years?… She knows. She just feels awkward. Ned sees her, and comes toward her.

On Monday, Esme is afraid this is all going to fall apart; Felicia tells Robert, no matter what, don’t take no for an answer; Anna doesn’t believe her work is done; and Ned says, just the person he’s been looking for.

🚩 Flags Flying High…

Everything that makes Luis sketchy is… everything.

Everything That Makes Luis Ruelas Seem So Sketchy

💎 Beverly Hills Memory Lane…

If you want to relive this sort of thing. Although the dinner party from hell is pretty entertaining. It did not benefit that psychic’s reputation.

Most Memorable Episodes of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills

🍸 Moving On…

You didn’t think I could let it go yet, did you? I’ve got the feeling Sandoval didn’t cancel shows because of filming. Not when he’s been giving twofers.

Vanderpump Rules Season 11 Filming Begins as Sandoval Cancels Show and Jax Reschedules Event With James, Plus Ariana’s New Man Boards Flight Ahead of Her Birthday

⛴ Who’s Your Boat Daddy…?

Captain Lee will always be my Stud of the Sea, but I have to admit, Captain Jason is quite easy on the eyes. Interesting how the Med lost viewers after the Hannah debacle.

Below Deck Shows Ranked From Worst To Best

💣 Fearsome Villain Afoot…

I wasn’t thrilled about how they made Victor so awful. Hopefully he doesn’t get eaten to even things out.

https://movieweb.com/fear-the-walking-deads-latest-trailer-reveals-the-return-of-an-old-villain/

⚰️ She’s On Again…

Carol is apparently back in the game.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan Says Melissa McBride Will Appear In ‘The Walking Dead’ Spinoff After All

🤹🏾‍♂️ Busy Guy…

And I swear he’s the voiceover on that Twizzlers ad where the guy on the beach ponders wearing white after Labor Day.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/06/19/fear-walking-deads-colman-domingo-host-amc-seres/
https://undeadwalking.com/2023/06/23/check-colman-domingo-trailer-drive-away-dolls/

🦈 His Domain…

After zombies and the internet is evil, my third horror sub-genre favorite is giant sharks.

https://comicbook.com/horror/news/shark-week-jason-momoa-trailer-2023-streaming-details-discovery/

🐶 Real Life Superhero…

From Batman to Dogfather.

https://people.com/batman-actor-burt-ward-went-from-robin-to-dog-rescue-7547542

🧘🏽‍♀️ Quotes of the Week

People who are trying don’t vocalize it; they just do it. – John, Extreme Sisters

Hope is the destination that we seek. Love is the road that leads to hope. Courage is the motor that drives us. We travel out of darkness into faith. – Dean Koontz

A well-developed sense of humor is the pole that adds balance to your steps as you walk the tightrope of life. – William Arthur Ward

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. – Henry David Thoreau

A room hung with pictures is a room hung with thoughts. – Joshua Reynolds

I got a lot more respect when I was dead. – Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring), General Hospital

💃🏽 Blaming It On the Bossa Nova…

Since Fear the Walking Dead is on a break, so am I, although I’ll be watching Dead City. Judging from the first episode, it looks extremely promising. But I’ll be here on Monday really Tuesday, dishing out soap and a double dose of Deck. Why does Bravo insist on being a pita? One episode a week is quite enough. Until then, stay safe, stay treating what you borrow as if it were your own, and when given the choice, stay going with love and understanding, rather than a horrendous, bitchy monologue.

Jun19

June 18, 2023 – Morgan Sees Red, Dead In the City & New World

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

There’s a mishmash of images in Morgan’s head; chaos, bloodshed, Grace and Mo. Madison snaps him out of it, and tells him that she heard about Grace and came to see if he was okay. When she got here, he was killing them. There are fallen dead all around him, and he says he doesn’t remember killing them. She says he attacked her too, but he doesn’t remember, and he tells her that Mo is at the shipyard. He’s got to stop her. He screams for his ax like Joan Crawford/Faye Dunaway in Mommie Dearest. He’s graffitied the train car, and says she needs to get away from him. In losing Grace like he lost Jenny, he’s afraid of losing Mo too. He thought he was past seeing red. When he does, all he does is kill; until he’s cleared. Walkers and people; it doesn’t make a difference. It’s a cycle and it’s starting again. He swung his ax at her, and doesn’t remember. Who knows what else he might do? She says she’s not leaving him. She’d lost herself when they met, and he helped her back. Whatever happens now, she’s with him. She’ll make sure he doesn’t lose himself. He says he has to come back and bury Grace right. He can’t lose Mo. He doesn’t think he’ll survive it. She says, then let’s not lose her. She leaves, and he looks at his bloody hands.

They go to the shipyard, and there are dead zombies all over the place. Some are still up and moving though, and Morgan does his clearing thing, seeing red. Madison calls to him, and says she tried to stop him; they helped. He sees Daniel is there, along with the rest of the army. He asks if he hurt her, but she says she managed to stay out of the way. Only the prefects were here, and they got out. As they trudge through the water, Daniel tells Morgan that June is monitoring PADRE from the repeater station. The dead overwhelmed the prefects and pushed them back to the water. Mo led them out. The island’s been evacuated. Morgan radios Mo, and says, a friend once told him, you can hide, but you can’t run. The only thing that will ease the hurt is the people she has left; the same thing she’s running from. He starts to see red again and tells Madison about the settlements PADRE wants to build. He’s afraid if Mo goes with them, he’ll never see her again. Madison says she’ll go after Mo. Mo ended up at PADRE because of her; let her make it right. June radios Daniel, and says, it sounds like the prefects are surrounded by walkers on a couple sides. They’re going to a houseboat. Morgan is worried about it sinking, but Madison tells him that they’ll get to it before it sinks. Morgan says, it’s overgrown. She’ll never find it. Daniel says, then he’ll have to be the tour guide. He gives her his ax.

Crane and Shrike land on shore. Crane tells Shrike that he got rid of any trace of their files, but he couldn’t find the coordinates. Shrike says, they must be somewhere they haven’t looked. Brilliant deduction, Sherlock.

Mo sees the houseboat, and a flare goes up. She radios PADRE One, and Shrike tells her to double back. They’re not on the houseboat. PADRE is moving ahead with the expansion, but they need the coordinates to launch it; that’s what it’s always been about. Mo wonders why they can’t decide on their own coordinates, but Shrike says, these were developed to provide the perfect conditions for community. The coordinates are hidden in a pair of binoculars on a Carrion named Krennick. Kill as many as they can until they find him. Morgan radios Mo, saying, don’t listen. Get to the houseboat. Keep herself safe until he gets there. Shrike will get her killed. Shrike says, no, Morgan will get her killed, but Morgan says he’s not going to lose his kid. Mo says, he already has. Don’t make it harder than it already is. Daniel says, they can do this, and Madison says, they’ll have to fight their way toward Mo. Morgan sees red, along with the images of death and angst in his head, and tries to get his ax. He sees himself fighting Madison, but the next thing he knows, he’s in quicksand along with his ax. Mo tells the prefects that they’re going to split up to cover more ground, and Morgan radios her. He says, what she saw at the house on the walls is happening again. He doesn’t know what he’s done or might do. Promise him to forget what he told her. If she sees him, run from him.

Dwight loads a gun, while Sherry nurses Finch. June comes in and asks where Dwight is going. He says, Shrike’s going to the swamp, and he’s making sure she doesn’t come out. He’s going to stop Shrike from doing to the kids what she did to his. June asks him to let her do it. She wasn’t there for her daughter and should have been. Finch needs him. So does Sherry. Let her do this. He gives her the gun and goes to Finch and Sherry.

Morgan is in the swamp, seeing red. Mo stabs him in the collarbone, and says, he thought she was Carrion. She’s sorry, but she had to stop him. Madison radios, and Morgan says, she needs to help Mo at the houseboat. Gasping for oxygen, Madison says she’ll try, but she doesn’t know if she can find it without him. Morgan tells Mo, turn around and walk away.

He wakes up in the sinking houseboat, one arm chained to a railing. Mo says, he passed out, and it was the only place she could bring him. It’s the safest one. Zombies are starting to get uncomfortably close, and he tells her, cut him loose, and he’ll kill the zombies. She needs to get as far away from him as she can. She says, why couldn’t he just let her go? Now they’re trapped like before, because of him. She was trying to run away. He asks why she didn’t, and she says she didn’t want to watch him die like Grace, but now there’s no way out. He tells her that they’re breaking the cycle, as zombies break through the hull of the boat. He sends up a flare with one hand, and Madison sees it. She radios that she’s on her way, but Shrike pops out of the woods, and says, no, she’s not. Madison says she needs to get to the houseboat, and Shrike says, so is she. She should have just killed Madison. Shrike is about to shoot Madison, but Daniel shoots a warning shot at her first. He says, the next one will be in her head. His army comes out, and he says, meet the parents of the children she stole. She says, rescued, but he assures her that they don’t see it that way. Dove says, they’re stuck trying to live a life that’s been dead a long time, and Daniel tells Madison to get in the boat. He’s going to try to get through to them. Madison takes off, and there’s a gun battle as Madison paddles away.

Zombies are closer to the boat, and Morgan asks for his ax, but it’s still a hard no. Mo stabs the zombies in the head, and says she’d rather fight them than him. He tries to get loose, and begins to see red as more zombies break through. He radios Madison, who says she’s coming as fast as she can, but she’s not sure it will be enough. He says, it has to be. Mo needs her. Madison says, and she needs oxygen. He wouldn’t let her save Mo before. He says, she still can. He gives Mo a scuba tank, and tells her that she’s going to swim right under. She refuses to leave him, but he says he’ll find a way out. He’s not going to make the same mistake he made 7 years ago. They were surrounded by walkers, and the boat was sinking. Mo was just a baby, and he thought it was all over. He saw red, and when he came to, his hands were covered in blood, and he was standing over her. He called PADRE to get her because he didn’t trust himself to care for her. Swim until she’s clear of this place. Mo takes the tank, and dives, and Morgan radios Madison. He says, Mo is going to be okay. She says, what about him? but he says, just find her. Make sure she doesn’t get on the ship. Shrike gets on the radio and says, if she finds the coordinates, he’ll never see Mo again, but he says he doesn’t think so. The walker they’re looking for with the binoculars is in front of him. He’s going to bury the coordinates at the bottom of the swamp, where they’ll never find them or him. He reaches for a rifle nearby, and sees red, along with images of Mo in distress. We jump to Madison fishing him out of the water. She tells him, the houseboat went under, and she had to pull him out. He asks, where’s Mo? He has to stop her. Madison says, he’s going to get himself killed, but he says he can’t lose her. Madison says, when PADRE first got its hooks in her, it was with her kids, and her kids were the only thing that kept her going. Even when Alicia thought she was dead, Alicia kept Madison with her. Shrike comes flying out, asking, where is he? She’s freaking out for the first time, and losing control, and Morgan says, he went down with the ship. Then, of all the zombies in all the towns, Shrike’s dad comes through the water. Shrike falls to her knees and cries, remembering him. He comes out of the water, clutching at her, and tears her neck out with his teeth. Madison kicks him off of Shrike, and brings down the ax. She tells Shrike that she’s sorry, and takes the binoculars, as we all would. She takes out the coordinates, and Shrike says, dad, I’m sorry. Madison says, he was always with her.

Crane has Daniel and the others on their knees, and tells the prefects, guns up. He shoves Daniel, saying, don’t look at him. Mo runs joins them, and asks, what’s going on? Dove says, the army is stopping them from finding Carrion, but didn’t have what it takes, and Crane says, you know what comes next. This is what they’re trained for – shoot them. That doesn’t happen, and Dove says, they’ve been given an order – fire. Daniel says, they won’t do it. Making a child kill for the first time is harder than you think. Dove says, he’s wrong. They heard Crane; pull the trigger. Daniel says, don’t listen to them. When he was young, he was in the same position. He wishes someone had stopped him. It will haunt them for the rest of their lives. Dove says, enough. This ends now. Guns up. Pull the trigger. Nope. Crane says, pull the trigger now, and he and Dove hassle Hawk, but he won’t shoot. Morgan runs up, and says, hold your fire. Mo asks why he’s here, and Dove tells her not to speak to him. He tried to kill her. Morgan says he’s not here to hurt anyone, and Madison says, they’ve got the coordinates, holding them up. Crane asks what they want for them, and she says, nothing. Morgan says, they’re going to give the coordinates to them, and Crane says, it’s a trick. Morgan says, it’s not a trick, and Daniel starts to protest, but Morgan says, if that’s what it takes to end all this, let them have it. He’s letting Mo go. If she thinks this is what she needs, he won’t stand in her way. Mo says, he told her that he didn’t want to lose her, and he says he doesn’t. Dove says, he’s just messing with their heads, and Morgan says, it started when he lost his wife and son; he lost himself. When Dove’s mom died, it started again, but he thinks he can break free of the cycle. Madison led him to it. She said, you never lose the people who matter. Crane says, enough, and Madison says, his sister couldn’t kill them. She saw their father, and remembered what he wanted PADRE to be; what he died for. Morgan says, part of him was still alive; Crane’s sister saw it. They’re a part of the people they love. Go to the ship and see where it leads them, but remember the people they’ve left behind who will remember them. They might not know today or tomorrow how important it is, but the day will come.

Mo puts her hand on Crane’s arm, and he lowers his gun. She tells Morgan that she wants to be with him, and they hug. Everyone is like, aww, except for Crane, who cowers like the big baby he is.

Shrike wakes up on an operating table, June watching as Shrike sees a snapping zombie head above her. Shrike cries out, but June says, no one is going to hear her. Morgan and Madison told her where Shrike was, and she brought Shrike here. Shrike says, there’s still time. Give her a dose of radiation. Please. June radios Dwight and Sherry, asking what to do, but Finch stops Dwight from answering for a moment. He says, don’t make her feel this, and Dwight tells June, make it quick and painless, and June tells Shrike, it’s less than she deserves. June stabs the head, when Crane walks in. She points her gun at him, but he says he just wants to see Shrike. June says, either he does it or she will. He blubbers and shows her that he’s unarmed. June tells him, bury her deep, and find another place to live. She leaves, and Crane and Shrike cry, but I have little sympathy.

At the shore, Morgan thanks Madison for helping him find his daughter and himself. But there is something else. Whatever comes next for her and the kids, they don’t need him to get it done. He’s been thinking about the people he ran away from when he arrived. He has to find them; see if they’re still there. Right his mistake, and make sure they’re okay. He wouldn’t do this if he didn’t believe the rest were safe with her. She says she thinks they only see her as a woman who took their kids away, but Morgan says, she’ll give them good reason not to. Mo says, Madison gave her a reason, and hands Madison her old jacket back. She thanks Madison, and hugs her. Morgan hugs Madison and says, they’ll always be with her. Mo and Morgan get in the boat, Mo leaving her prefect mask behind, and they row away.

Sherry and Dwight bury Finch, marking his grave with a wooden name plaque. Dwight asks if PADRE didn’t give him the name, but Sherry says, he made it his own and no one can take it away from him. She asks what they’re supposed to do now, and Dwight says he thinks it’s got to be the end of them. No matter where they go, or what they do, it stays the same. Sherry says, it never stops, and he says, it just seems to get worse. Maybe it’s not because of a-holes like Negan and Shrike. Maybe they’re not meant to be together. Sherry tears up and asks where he’s going. He says, back home. He thinks he can start over. She says she doesn’t want to hurt him, and he says he doesn’t want to hurt her either, but it seems to be what they do to each other. Sherry says, then let’s put an end to it, and he says he’s sorry. They hug. Pfft! Why is Dwight doing this?

Dove asks Madison if they’re getting on the ship, and Madison tells the group that there are files on the island that tell them where they came from and who their parents are. Some of them could still be out there. They’ll find them and bring them here. They’ll make PADRE what it was meant to be in the first place.

Morgan buries Grace in a large makeshift graveyard. Mo comes along in normal clothes, having ditched her uniform. He hugs her and gives her a not-pokey stick to practice with. She goes to wait for him, and Morgan goes to the grave of E. Eastman. He says, as much as his weapon has changed since Eastman gave it to him, he supposes he has too. Eastman made that all possible with everything he gave to Morgan and taught him. Morgan has realized all life is precious, but it’s not about killing or not killing. It’s about what you do with the time that you have and the people you have. Morgan needs him to look after Grace. Mo practices in the background, and Morgan tells her, every swing has a reason. Either strike or block. He asks her to show him, and she makes some moves. He says, they need to get going, and she asks, where? He says, remember the friend he mentioned; the one who told him not to run? He thought they’d look for him. Mo asks if he thinks they’ll find him, and Morgan says, it wouldn’t be the first time they found their way back to each other. He gets on the walkie, and says, this message is for Rick Grimes from Morgan Jones. He’s going to look for Rick, whether he’s at Alexandria or not. He’ll leave this message every day at dawn and leave the walkie on for a few minutes. Who knows? Maybe Rick will even be listening. He looks at Grace’s name plaque, kisses his palm, and places it on the ground where she’s buried, thinking of everyone he’s lost. He picks up his ax, and says, let’s go. They start to walk, and they both turn for a second, like they heard something, then keep walking.

A message comes over the radio. This is Madison Clark. If you can hear this message, you are in a territory PADRE has patrolled. PADRE has fallen. They are no longer a threat to you or your children. She gives some coordinates to come find any children, and someone listening writes them down. Madison says, if they can’t get there, send an SOS to this channel, and they’ll find them. They’ll do their best to reunite them with their children and make up for the damage PADRE did. The listener packs a bag with a bunch of weird weapons, including a mechanical hand.  

The final season returns this fall.

🗽 Dead Spoilers…

While the first episode was more of a set-up than anything else, I don’t think this show is going to disappoint. I’m thrilled that we’re finally getting out of Georgia, but even better, NYC is a phenomenal backdrop for zombies. Okay, maybe I’m a little biased, having spent a good portion of my life there, but it’s definitely fun new territory. I didn’t recap, since this week I dealt a laptop death, a dog stepping on a bee, and pulling a hamstring during a workout. I was like, isn’t Vanderpump Rules and that incessant ad with the woman singing about her A1C enough? Anyway, I just wanted to enjoy it, but I did jot down some highlights. If you haven’t watched it yet, don’t read them.

Maggie is looking for her son, and while she still holds a grudge against Negan, she needs his help to find Herschel. She hunts Negan down, then they follow a lead she has to NYC. They travel through New Babylon, a capital city where marshals keep order. One in particular, Perlie Armstrong, is out to get Negan. Zombies are called chompers in this one, and among the many new dangers the city holds, they get bombarded by zombies falling from rooftops. On the plus side, a little ice cream type truck tours the streets, playing crooner tunes, and luring zombies. Like gossip columnist Cindy Adams always says, only in New York, kids. Only in New York. Herschel, now a young man, is being held captive by The Croat who reminds me a little of Teddy. He wants information, but Herschel isn’t giving it, and it looks like he’s the type to show no mercy.  

🗯 Best quote, from The Croat, talking about the city after the zombie apocalypse: The irony is that in death, the city is so much more alive than it ever was. Because the struggle, it galvanizes you. Shows you the strength you had inside all along.

Oh yeah, and there’s cockroaches.

⚰️ Dead Tired…

Come on back on Monday really Tuesday for soap and what’s on Deck. It looks like another double episode, but I have no clue why this is a thing now. Until then, stay safe, stay having a Happy Father’s Day, even if you just father a plant, and stay remembering it’s about what you do with the time that you have and the people you have.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfrIqRoPWo8
Jun12

June 11, 2023 – Grace Gets the Radiation Treatment & Nightlife

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Grace asks where they are, and Mo says, on a boat. She asks, what happened? and Morgan says, she got bit. It’s going to be okay. June has a way of treating bites that stops the infection and the fever. They’re going to spend some time together; her, him, and Mo. Some guards in a boat behind then start shooting, and Dwight says he’s pushing the boat as fast as he can. Morgan gets June on the radio, and tells her that Grace has been bit, but they can’t amputate. He asks if her treatment might work, and she says, maybe. He says, they’ll take that, and she explains that the equipment they need is on a train car. He says, Grace is burning up, and asks, where the last place was June saw the train car? Shrike comes on the radio, and says, it’s not there. Why do they think she put it on wheels? To keep people like them from messing with it. She’ll tell them where the train car is, and even give them an escort. She’ll allow June to administer treatment. Morgan asks what she wants in return, and Shrike says she paid a little trip to King County. She saw how many walkers he killed single-handedly… except for the one that bit Grace. There’s a trainyard nearby with containers that have thousands of Carrion inside. She needs them all cleared. She doesn’t care if he gets help; she just wants it cleared. She was going to have the prefects do it, but why, when she has him? That’s how Grace gets a shot at living.

Grace wakes up on a moving truck, and asks where they’re going. Morgan says, they’re going to a shipyard, and then she’s being taken to meet June. Grace asks how he knows they’ll do what they say, but he says, they’re not clearing the shipyard until she’s with June. He radios Daniel, who says, they’re armed and ready, but need assurances they’re not walking into a trap. Shrike assures him the Carrion are real and she wants them dead. The contents of the containers are valuable to her. Morgan says, they’re going to clear. She just has to tell them where the train is. Shrike says, no guns; it has to be done by hand. There are supplies they need to rebuild the world in the containers; supplies and munitions. One stray bullet, and PADRE’s entire legacy goes up in smoke. He asks why she didn’t tell them that before, and she says she knew they had an army, but not an armory. Daniel says, Morgan already told her too much. It’s too dangerous now. He can’t ask his soldiers to do this. Morgan says, he can’t back out now, but Grace takes the walkie and tells Daniel, it’s okay. She doesn’t want anyone to die for her. Daniel says he’s sorry, and Morgan says, they can do it without them, but Grace says he has to be there for Mo; and Dwight and Sherry need to be there for Finch. Morgan says he had to watch Jenny die from a bite. He can’t do it again. She says, he can’t save her. It’s not like she had much time anyway. Mo asks what she’s talking about, and Grace says, before the bite, she was sick. It’s cancer. Mo asks if June can’t help, but she says, no. She’s been running away from it for a long time, and it’s finally catching up. She has months, maybe a year, left. Mo says, that’s a lot more than a day, and the truck stops. Morgan asks Shrike, what’s going on? and she says, if he’s not going to help, they have to make sure Grace doesn’t hurt Mo or Finch when she turns. Grace is dragged from the truck, and Morgan says he’ll do whatever Shrike wants. Grace says, don’t let Mo watch, but Mo surprises everyone by jumping one of the guards, pushing their gun out of the way. Dwight, Sherry, and Morgan knock out the rest of the guards, and Shrike asks if they copy. What’s their ETA? Mo says, Red Kite taught her well. She’s going to fight for every minute she can get with Grace. Shrike tells them, if it’s done, move on to Nightingale, Red Kite, and Starling, but Dwight says he’s afraid the guards won’t be able to comply with those orders. Shrike says, no one’s ever stolen a child from PADRE before, but Dwight says he thinks Finch and Mo are going to be the first of many. Morgan suggests they see if the map in the truck has the train location, but Grace says, they’ll never make it there in time. She hands him a paper and says she wants to spend the time she has left with him and Mo there. They look at the map, and Mo points out the train tracks, saying, it has to be further down the line. Morgan wants to know what the coordinates are that Grace gave him, and Dwight says, it’s a repeater station, like the one Grace serviced for PADRE, and Mo says, she’s sick; she doesn’t know what she’s saying. Mo just got them both back, and doesn’t want to lose them again. Morgan says, they’re going to get Grace to the train car, and tells Sherry to raise June. Tell her to do everything she can to meet them there. Shrike isn’t going to make this easy. Mo says, they’re fighting for someone they love, and they’re going to win.

Back on the boat, Grace hears Shrike on the radio, but Mo says, it’s not them being talked about. Morgan says, Dwight and Sherry are acting as decoys, and Grace says, the coordinates were inland. Where are they taking her? Mo says, to the train car, and Morgan says, June is going to try and meet them there. They’re going to try and give her more time. Grace says, trying is going to get both of them killed. He asks why she wanted to go to the repeater station, when they hear shots in the distance. Morgan asks Mo to get Dwight on the radio, and asks if Dwight is okay. Dwight, Sherry, and Finch run into an abandoned house, and Dwight says, they’re pinned. Sherry says, they can’t stay long; the guards can flank them. Dwight says, they know they’re following the wrong people, and tells Morgan that they may have company soon. Morgan says, if Shrike is listening, it’s him she wants. Let Dwight and Sherry take Finch and go. Sherry wonders if Shrike will listen, but Dwight says, not after what they’ve done. They sent prefects; she knows they won’t kill them. I wonder why, and Dwight says he’ll lay down suppressive fire. If they do what he taught them, they’ll fall back and regroup. Sherry takes off with Finch.

Morgan asks again why Grace wanted to go to the repeater station, and she says, it’s their future. Over the years, she’s been scavenging things for PADRE and collected other things too. Things to make a home. Things to make Mo feel safe. Morgan says he thought they agreed PADRE was the best thing for Mo, but Grace says, that doesn’t mean it’s what she wanted. She should have said something sooner. Maybe they would have changed their minds. She waited until it was too late, like always. She wanted a moment for Mo to see what it was like. Morgan says, they can still do that. June can stop the infection. A flare goes up, and Mo says, they know we’re here.

Dwight finds Sherry with Finch under a bridge, and Finch says he had to stop and catch his breath. Dwight asks if he got shot, but Sherry says, no. He’s burning up though. Finch says he can still keep going, but Dwight tells Sherry to call June. Sherry tells June that Finch is burning up, and June asks what the bite looks like. Dwight takes a look, and it’s not good. Finch asks if he’s going to be okay, and Sherry says, June will figure it out. June asks if the bite is red and inflamed, and Sherry says, it is. June asks about the skin around it; is it hot? Dwight says, yeah, and June says, the infection could be back, but she really needs to see them. She asks where they are, and Sherry says, Grace’s repeater station; it’s close by. Dwight says he’ll send the coordinates, and June asks if Morgan was listening. He says he was, and tells her to go to Finch. She says she’ll meet him at the train car, or walk him through it if she has to. Mo says, they can’t give up, but Grace says she can’t have them risking their lives for a treatment that doesn’t work. She wants to spend the time she has left with Mo and Morgan. Morgan asks if Mo remembers the place the walked through with Madison. If they block the entrances, they can stay there for as much time as they have. Mo says, they can’t give up, but Grace says, it’s not giving up; it’s accepting how things are. Another flare goes up, and Morgan says, Dwight was right. They’re getting close. He’ll lead them away and take the long way to the carnival. He’ll meet them both there. He gets out of the boat, and Grace thanks him for understanding. He promises he’ll see her soon, and kisses her hand. He tells Mo to look after her mother, and they row away.

Grace hears Morgan over the radio, saying, he’s where they said they’d meet, but they’re not here. He thinks he knows where they are, and he’ll find them. Mo tells Grace that he’ll understand when she’s better. Grace tells her to stop, but Mo says, they don’t have time. Every minute counts. We see Mo is pumping a handcar down the railroad tracks, and she says she doesn’t know why Grace and Morgan can’t see it, but she can. They’re going to save Grace’s life. Grace says, even if they get to the train car, it won’t work, but Mo says she’s going to show Grace that she’s wrong. Grace says, the prefects are going to take Mo back to PADRE, and Mo stops. She says, they found us, and Grace tells her to call her dad, but Mo says, he’ll make them go back. The tracks are blocked by a group of people, and Grace begs Mo to walkie Morgan.

Going into a little building, Sherry wonders why Grace wanted to come here, but Dwight says he doesn’t know. June is on her way. He carries Finch inside, and puts him on a bed. It looks like a somewhat normal house, and Sherry says, Grace must have been preparing for life after PADRE. She tells Finch to stay strong, and June arrives. June comes in with Daniel, and tells them that Madison is standing guard.

Dove tells Mo, stop right there, and Grace says, do what they say. Mo says, Dove wouldn’t hurt her, but Dove says, don’t be so sure. Mo asks if they know the truth about PADRE. There is no PADRE. He’s been dead a long time. And Shrike and Crane are full of sh*t. They’re doing all this all because they lost their dad. Dove says, PADRE isn’t a person. PADRE is an idea. The right one. Mo moves forward a bit, but Dove stops her and says, don’t make her do this. Grace tells Mo, no, and Mo says she knows how angry Dove was when she found out her mom was dead. She doesn’t think Dove wants her to feel that too. She moves forward, and Dove steps out of the way. Mo tells Grace that they’re going to save her.

Mo gets Grace to the train car, and flares explode in the distance. Mo says, they’re going to have more company; they’re drawing Carrion. She blocks the connecting door, and Grace asks how Mo knew the prefects wouldn’t hurt her, but Mo says she didn’t; she took a chance. She radios June to say they made it. She asks if June can help her, and June says she thinks so. Mo asks, what made Finch sick? and June says, it’s not the radiation; the infection’s back. She didn’t give him a high enough dose to kill it. She was afraid any more of the radiation would kill him, but thinks she has it now. And if Grace already has cancer… Mo says, they don’t have to worry about how much radiation she gets. June says, it might buy her the time she wants, and Mo asks how Finch is. June says, they’re working on it. Whatever Mo does, don’t let them destroy that equipment. Is she ready? Mo says, tell her exactly what to do.

June gives Mo instructions, and Mo gives Grace the radiation. treatment. She asks Grace if it worked, and Grace says she hopes so. Mo asks June how long it takes to work, and June says, it could take a while. If her temperature falls, that’s a good sign. If it goes up, they’ll deal with it. Dwight asks what that means for Finch, and June says, Grace had the infection longer than Finch did before she treated him. If this dose works for Grace, it might work for Finch too. Dwight asks what she means by might, and Mo asks for final instructions. June tells her to power down the machine and turn off the generator. She doesn’t want Mo exposed to more than she needs to be. Mo does as June told her, and zombies clamor outside. She says, they’re not going to be able to get out of here, and Grace says, her dad is on his way. Where are the prefects? Mo is sure there around somewhere. They’re going to try and stop dad from getting to them. Grace says, she was so brave back there when they tried to stop her, and Mo says, losing Grace seemed scarier. Grace says, when she was Mo’s age, she didn’t even have the courage to pick up the telephone, and Mo asks what a telephone is. Grace laughs weakly, saying, she forgets how different it is for kids like Mo now. That’s what she was trying to do at the repeater station. Show Mo how things were; how they could be. Mo says she can still do that, and Grace groans. Mo says, she’s getting hotter, and radios June. June asks her temperature, and Mo says, 106. What’s happening? June says she’s sorry. The radiation therapy didn’t get to her in time. Mo says she got there as fast as she could, but June says, it’s not her fault. Even if she’d gotten it immediately, it might not have worked; it hasn’t on anybody else. Mo says, tell her how much to give Grace, but June says, she won’t survive any more. Mo says, she won’t survive anyway. Tell her how much. Grace tells Mo that she did everything she could, and Mo says, how much? but June says she can’t help Mo any more. Enjoy the time she has. Morgan radios Mo as he runs, and says he’s on his way. Mo says she tried, and he says he heard it all. She says she’s sorry, but he says, she has nothing to be sorry about. She tells him, be careful. There are prefects in the woods. He says, if they’re smart, they’ll listen to him. he knows they can hear. Don’t you try to stop me. He yells it again, don’t you try and stop me! He asks to talk to Grace, and Grace says, it wasn’t mean to be. He says he should have listened to her before, but she says, it’s okay. She understands why he didn’t. He says he doesn’t think he’s going to make it before… She says she’s so sorry, and he says, if he can’t make it, Mo’s got to leave. Grace says, she can’t; there’s walkers outside. He says she knows what she has to do right? and she says she knows. She loves him. I love you so much, my darling. And nothing… nothing will ever change that. He says he loves her. He’s not ready to let her go. She says, neither is she, and he keeps moving. Grace says she doesn’t want to hurt Mo. She’s going to go before he comes. She asks Mo to pick up a scalpel, and says, if she can’t hold out, Mo has to promise she’ll do it before she comes back. Mo promises, and says, all Grace wanted to do was spend more time together, and she took that from her and dad, but Grace says, Mo gave them more time. Mo says, no. She wasted it. All the time they had left. Grace says she’s not talking about today. There was a time things were really bleak… We flash back, and she says, she and Mo’s father were thinking of ending things. They came so close to doing it. Does she know why they didn’t? We flash back to baby Mo interrupting their suicide attempt, and Grace says, they heard her crying. She gave them a reason to live. We see them with baby Mo, and Grace says she gave them more time than she knows. Mo cries, and Grace closes her eyes. She’s gone. Mo says, mom? and shakes her, but there’s no response. She stands there looking at the scalpel, and we hear the zombies outside. She says she’s sorry. She can’t do it. Grace opens her eyes and snarls. (Sad as it is, I can’t help thinking, cool.) She comes after Mo, who drops the scalpel. She gets Mo up against the wall, and tries to bite her. Mo pushes Grace into some equipment, and tries to move the cart from in front of the door, but Grace grabs her. She screams, and reaches for the scalpel, but it’s too far away. Morgan gets there just in time, and pokey sticks grace in the back of the head. He grabs Mo putting her face against him.

Morgan closes Grace’s eyes. Outside, Shrike says, they need to talk. Morgan tells Mo, it’s going to be all right, but she just stares straight ahead. He picks up his stick and says, it’s a promise. He goes outside, where Shrike stands with a group of prefects. She says, he’s a brave man. She thought they’d have to come in and get him. He wonders why no one killed him along the way, and she says, they know what Heron would have… He says, her name was Grace, and Shrike says, they dug this out of storage, showing him a battle ax. She asks if he remembers what he did with it seven years ago. It’s a shame he didn’t use the same skills today. He asks if she can’t leave them alone to bury Grace properly, but she says she’s sorry. She can’t. He can still make things right. He asks her again to leave them, and she says, he’s not going to hurt her prefects, but they don’t have the same hang up about him. He puts his pokey stick to her throat, and the prefects aim their pokey sticks. Shrike tells him to listen carefully. She could kill him right now. but she doesn’t want to. She knows the pain Wren is in. The whole reason for PADRE was to prevent anyone from feeling that kind of pain. She pushes his stick down, and says, she already lost one parent today. Don’t make her lose a second one. Mo comes out, and Morgan tells her to go back inside. She says, Shrike’s right. She doesn’t want to feel like this. He says, there’s nothing Shrike can do to make the feeling go away, and Mo asks why they need the containers in the shipyard. Shrike says, so they can build a new settlements all over the country, and make sure no one feels the way she’s feeling right now. Morgan says, you can’t run away from your feelings (and he ought to know), but Shrike says, she won’t be running from anything. She’ll be running toward a bright future. He says, what future? Shrike can’t even get to the containers. Mo says she can do it, if they help her. It’s what PADRE’s been training them to do for years. Morgan says, the walkers will kill her, but Mo says, not if they’re smart; not if they use their training. Who’s with her? Dove says, all right; let’s do it. Morgan says, don’t do this, as the guards hold him back. He says he can’t lose her, and Shrike says, there they have it. It’s not about what she wants; it’s about what you want. He says, she’s going to get his daughter killed, and she says she told him, she doesn’t want to kill him. He stops struggling, and she says, smart man. But not so fast. He uses his pokey stick for some swordplay, and knocks the guards down and out. He runs past Shrike, calling to Mo, but she trips him with the ax. She says she warned him, and the guards pop back up. Morgan says, she’s not going to kill him and she asks, why? He says, because he doesn’t die. Everybody else does, but he doesn’t. She says, maybe he’s right. Maybe he needs to think about why that keeps happening. The guards hustle him back to the train car, and she says, make sure he can’t get out. They put a chain on the door, and send up a flare. She  tosses down the ax, and they leave. We see Morgan through the window as zombies toddle toward the car.

Next time, Madison finds Morgan, who says, all he does is kill; Morgan goes to the shipyard; and Daniel and Shrike face off.

🤯 More Brains…

Join me tomorrow for soap and double the Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay unplugging once in a while, and stay knowing that accepting how things are is not necessarily giving up.

Jun10

June 9, 2023 – No Soap For You, 2 Mollys, Jersey Mess, Vandermath, VanderNew, Sink It, Dead Dates, A Farewell, Star Releases, Sharks, Cuteness, Double 4 Quotes & Love

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Well there was this:

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/general-hospital-preempted-nationally-today-june-9-2023

So I did this:

💼 Ups and Downs…

She’s doing a good job so far. She’s not straying too far from the already established character.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/kate-mansi-opens-up-about-taking-over-as-kristina-on-gh

She’s lucky she didn’t kill someone.

https://www.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital/ghs-haley-pullos-faces-lawsuit-over-dui-crash

👠 Jersey Devils…

They still don’t totally explain it. So like, what happened the next time Frankie and Louie spoke? Or haven’t they?

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/frank-catania-shares-why-frankie-stopped-working-for-luis-ruelas

Where they are now.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/rhonj-season-13-finale-recap-cast-updates

This one doesn’t live in the real world with the rest of us. I don’t blame Andy for losing his sh*t. It was like, STFU already.

RHONJ’s Jennifer Aydin Shades Andy Cohen for Being “Rude” to Her and Blasts Troll Who Accuses Her of ‘Deflecting’

About that text.

RHONJ: Melissa Gorga Leaks Text From Jacqueline Laurita That Blasts Teresa Giudice & Pokes Fun at Her Appearance, See the Shocking Message Plus When It Was Sent

And the rest.

Joe Giudice Addresses the Gorgas’ Alleged Involvement in FBI Case, Blames RHONJ for Deportation, & Gives Update on Relationship With Rosie, Kathy and Richie

🍸 Trying To Recover…

I don’t think there is a future for her on the show. At least, I hope not.

Raquel Leviss Addresses Future on Vanderpump Rules After Death Threats Over Affair With Tom Sandoval as Karlee Hale Breaks Silence Amid Tom Dating Rumors

I guess, but I can’t imagine she didn’t want to smack Rachel’s bobblehead face. I thought she was restrained.

https://people.com/lala-kent-regrets-attacking-raquel-leviss-at-vanderpump-rules-reunion-7510310

Giving you more Lala.

https://www.bravotv.com/the-daily-dish/raquels-big-secret-on-vanderpump-rules-reunion-lala-reacts

She’ll be fine. She dodged a narcissistic bullet.

https://extratv.com/2023/06/08/ariana-madix-reveals-plans-for-the-future-and-thoughts-on-marriage-after-scandoval/

She was so funny on WWHL.

Amy Schumer Doesn’t Have ‘Raquel Rage’ but Bashes ‘Narcissist’ Tom Sandoval

🎁 Just What We Need…

I still want more episodes of Overserved, but I’ll take what I can get. After I take a million showers to get the smell of the Reunion off.

Lisa Vanderpump Lands a New Spinoff Show Called “Vanderpump Villa” on Hulu! Get the Details, Plus Vanderpump Rules is Renewed for Season 11

⛵️ Aye, Aye, Captain…

She’s right. That boat needs to die. I’m sure Glenn and Colin are having a grand old time holding it together with duct tape and bubble gum, but it almost tanked the season.

‘Parsifal Needs To Die At The Bottom Of The Ocean’ Daisy Kelliher Calls For Yacht’s Retirement

⚰️ Moving Dead…

Updates on both Dead City’s premiere and Fear the Walking Dead’s mid-season finale.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/05/30/walking-dead-city-updated-premiere-timing-amc/

https://screenrant.com/fear-the-walking-dead-season-8-episode-6-airtime-change/

🥀 She’ll Be Missed…

I love this show, and was so sad to hear this.

https://people.com/bling-empire-anna-shay-dead-7508300

👽 When the Force Will Be With You…

Updates on Star Wars releases.

https://ew.com/movies/star-wars-movie-tv-show-release-dates/

🦈 Doo-Doo Doo-Doo-Doo-Doo…

Cue the music.

https://people.com/sharkfest-2023-how-to-watch-sharkfest-7509679

🦙 Take a Deep Breath…

Some relief from all the nasty, awful reality this week.

https://paradepets.com/pet-news/cute-animals

☄️ Quotes of the Week

Some people think only intellect counts: knowing how to solve problems, knowing how to get by, knowing how to identify an advantage and seize it. But the functions of intellect are insufficient without courage, love, friendship, compassion and empathy. – Dean Koontz

The only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing.  — John Powell

The border to eternity is never ahead of us. It runs parallel to life and can be crossed over at any moment by old and young. – Reinhard Bonnke

A mathematical formula for happiness: Reality divided by Expectations. There were two ways to be happy: improve your reality or lower your expectations. – Jodi Picoult (I vote for lowering expectations.)

Even while we kill and punish we must try to feel about the enemy as we feel about ourselves—to wish that he were not bad, to hope that he may, in this world or another, be cured: in fact, to wish his good. That is what is meant in the Bible by loving him: wishing his good, not feeling fond of him nor saying he is nice when he is not. – C.S. Lewis, from Mere Christianity

I can tell you, without diversity, creativity remains stagnant. – Edward Enninful

We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light. – Plato

That wasn’t karaoke. It was you, a jukebox, and a bar full of angry people. – Mike Biggs (Billy Gardell), Mike & Molly

🕺🏽 Curly Shuffling Away…

Tune in for a chance of Fear on Sunday, and on Monday really Tuesday for soap and double the Deck. Until then, stay safe, stay respecting your elders no matter how old you are, and stay making sure that when you’re singing karaoke, you’re really at karaoke.

Jun5

June 4, 2023 – Morgan Hunts For Duane & Survive

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Morgan goes to King County, and sees zombies feeding on some skunks. He walks to his old house, and says he’s here, calling out for Duane. He hears zombies growling inside, and runs. He kills the feeding zombies, and says he can kill them, but he can’t kill Duane. He doesn’t know why, but he can’t.

Grace shows up, and Morgan wonders how she knew he was here. She says, he sent her an SOS using their code, but he says he didn’t. No one knows he’s here. She asks what the smell is, and he says he killed some walkers feeding on skunks. She suggests they get him cleaned up, and asks what he’s doing so far inland. He hears something in the truck bed, and Mo comes out from under a tarp. She says she’s the one who sent the message, and tells Morgan that Madison got away. He wonders how she knew where he was headed, and she says she knew the graffiti on the boat meant something, even though he told her it didn’t. He says, she’s smarter than she has any right to be, and she asks about Jenny and Duane; their names were on the wall too. He tells Grace to get Mo out of here, and Grace tells Mo, those were his wife and son. Morgan says he came to put his boy to rest, and asks how Mo knew their code, Dock of the Bay. She says she knew the song meant something to him and mom, and asks if it’s okay she calls Grace that. Grace says, of course, and Mo asks if this is what getting in trouble with your parents is like. Morgan says, they’re not the ones she needs to worry about, and asks how she got away from PADRE. She says, Madison’s friend Daniel helped her. He’s building an army to take PADRE down. They can help him. Morgan says he has to do what he came here to do first, and Grace asks where Duane is. Morgan says, they were looking for food, and he told Duane to stay in the kitchen while he went to the basement. Maybe the door was ajar, because when he came up, Duane’s mother was standing opposite him, but she wasn’t his mother anymore. Before he could get his gun up, Jenny was on top of him. He finally did what he should have done weeks before, and fired, but it was too late. Grace says she’s sorry, and he says, the blood and the teeth… He just ran. He didn’t know what else to do. He ran and left his boy to become one of them. Mo asks where he went, but he says he doesn’t know. It’s a blur. It comes back to him in pieces. He started killing anything that moved, whether it was alive or dead. He thinks he should go inside by himself, but Mo says, they want to help him, and he really needs some new clothes.

They see a flare go up, and Morgan asks if Grace was followed, but she says she was careful. He suggests they get out of here, and they run, but Sherry rides up. They start to run in the other direction, but see Dwight, and duck behind a truck. Dwight says, there’s nowhere to go, and Morgan tells Mo and Grace to stay where they are. Mo asks how he knows Red Kite, and Morgan says, he’s the reason Dwight is at PADRE. He comes out, and asks how they found him. Dwight says, they’re here to take Morgan back to PADRE, and Sherry says, they heard the message he sent Grace. Coordinates and Dock of the Bay. Did he really think they wouldn’t figure it out? She smells Morgan, and says, he’s going on the back of Dwight’s horse. Morgan says, PADRE’s got their son, doesn’t he? He’s using their son against them. Sherry says, damn right, but if they bring Morgan back, he’s giving them their son and the freedom to go where they want. Morgan says, they can’t believe that, but Dwight says, they’ll take their chances. If they don’t bring Morgan back, worse will happen to Finch than has already happened. Morgan sold them out seven years ago to rescue his own kid; they’re just returning the favor.  A zombie toddles toward where Mo and Grace are hiding, and Dwight gives it an ax to the head. He sees Mo and Grace, and they come out. Sherry asks if Morgan brought them, but Mo says, technically, they came without his permission. Shrike radios Dwight, and he tells Sherry that PADRE will hurt Mo if they bring her back, but she says, they won’t see their kid if they don’t. Shrike radios again, asking if they need assistance, and Dwight says, if Morgan runs with Mo and Grace now, they’ll find some walkers and mess up their faces like they did with Virginia. Morgan says, they got lucky that time, and Sherry agrees. Dwight asks if she wants Finch to know what they traded for his freedom, and tells Morgan that there are two guards babysitting them. They rode ahead to sweep the town, and he suggests Morgan make his decision before they catch up. A guard radios that they’re approaching, and asks their status. Morgan says, there’s something he has to do first, but Grace tells him, let it go. He says he’s sorry, but he can’t, and tells them to run, grabbing his pokey stick to hold Dwight and Sherry at bay. He takes off, and Dwight tells Sherry to cut them off at the entrance.

Zombies start to come out, and Morgan leads Grace and Mo to a house. They go inside, and he says, it’s clear, after banging on the wall. He tells Grace where there are supplies, and that there’s a rifle upstairs. They’re going to need it. The walkers will find them before Dwight and Sherry do. She asks how he knows where everything is, and he says he lived here with Duane before he died. She asks if this is a good idea, and he asks if she has a better one.

Morgan uses tomato soup to get rid of the smell, but he thinks it just masks it. Mo asks how he knew it would work, and he says Duane had a dog when he was little who got on the wrong side of a skunk. They bathed her in it, and then she smelled like a mix of wet dog and bad ketchup. There was still soup there because Duane refused to eat it. She asks if the way things used to be was nice, and he says, it wasn’t bad. She wonders if it will ever be like that again and he says he thinks if they do things right, it could be even better. People can get the second chances they wanted. He apologizes for telling Mo they weren’t her parents. They are in every way that matters, but Isaac and Rachel were her real parents. They sacrificed everything so that she would survive. They hear zombies outside, and he tells Mo to go upstairs. Grace says, the walkers are going to lead Dwight and Sherry to them, and he says he wants her to take Mo and go as far north as her truck will take her. He has to take care of Duane, then he’ll catch up with them and they can regroup with Madison and Daniel. Grace says, he needs to leave now, but he says he has to put his boy to rest. She says, when they met, she was sacrificing herself for people who were already dead. It’s Mo’s life. He says, Mo needs to know he won’t let her down, , and she says, they’re trapped in this house now because he brought them here. Dwight radios Morgan, and says, we’re here. He tells Morgan to look out the window, and Morgan peeks out, seeing zombies clawing at the house, as well as Dwight, Sherry, and the guards. Dwight tells him to be smart about this, and Grace says, whatever happened in this house with Duane doesn’t have to happen with them. He tells Dwight that he’s listening, and Dwight tells him not to make it any harder. Grace says, maybe they can still make that deal, and Dwight says, we’re waiting. Morgan tells him, they can keep waiting. The walkers are a bigger problem for him and Sherry than they are for them. Sherry says, maybe they can help Morgan do what he came here for. PADRE thinks he came for a reason; weapons, more soldiers, to plan an attack. But Morgan says, it’s not like that. His boy died in one of the houses close by. He came back to bury him. Sherry says, they have their son to worry about too, and a guard sends up a flare. Dwight says, every walker within ten miles will be here soon, and Mo calls to Grace and Morgan. They go upstairs into a bedroom covered in graffiti, and Grace asks if Morgan did this. He says he doesn’t remember coming here after Duane died, and picks up the rifle. He tells her, Jenny was always outside. She came there most nights, and he’d wait. He wanted to put her to rest, and didn’t want Duane to see his mother like that. A man named Rick Grimes gave him the rifle to put her to rest, but he couldn’t. He looks at the walls, and says he must have come back here after Duane died. He wasn’t right for a long time afterward. Mo asks what clear means, and he says, that was when he was killing anyone or anything that came near him. Mo picks up a photo album, flips through it, and says she likes it when he smiles. Grace says she does too, and wonders what they’ve been doing the last seven years. He says, they were doing what they thought they had to, and Mo asks if they ever saw each other. Morgan says, now and then. If PADRE knew what they meant to each other… Mo says, PADRE would have used it against them. Another flare is shot, and Dwight says, maybe this will hurry them up. Morgan looks out and sees Jenny, as well as a zombie whose arm is on fire. Dwight says, they’ll save him a bullet; this one’s a courtesy kill – a guard gives the burning zombie a whack in the head – but the next one, they’re letting go. Morgan says, they’re going to get Mo killed, but Dwight says, no. Morgan will. They’re giving him five minutes, and then sending a zombie onto the porch. Morgan says he should have taken the deal, but Mo says, he made the right choice. Grace says they have to get back to her truck, and Mo says, he just has to clear for them. He says, it’s not that simple, but she says, this is his second chance. Grace says, maybe this is what he needs to show himself that things can be different this time, but Morgan says, PADRE will hurt Sherry and Dwight’s son. Mo says, not if they can help Daniel take the island first, and Grace says, Rick gave him the gun for a reason. Use it.

Morgan says, he’ll cover them, but when he says, take a hard right, go for the truck, and don’t stop. Grace says she meant what she said; she’s sorry they wasted so much time. She kisses Morgan, and Mo makes that face you make when you’re a kid and see your parents kiss. She asks, what’s that for? and Morgan asks if she’s never seen anyone kissing before. She says, no, and she doesn’t need to again. Grace kisses Mo’s cheek, and Mo asks if they can just start killing Carrion please. Grace opens the door, and Morgan comes out shooting. He kills a bunch of zombies, but then sees Jenny and can’t shoot. Grace whacks some zombies in the head, but one breaks through the porch railing and they get close to Mo. Grace tells her to go back in the house, and Mo goes in, slamming the door shut. While Morgan is still being weird about Jenny, Grace tells him that one is on fire. He’s still faltering, when a guard shoots the blazing zombie. Dwight asks why Morgan is really here, and Morgan says he told Dwight; he’s here for his boy. Dwight says, the only way PADRE is going to believe Morgan is if he shows them.

They go into Morgan’s old house, and he says, after they find his boy, they can take him back to PADRE, but they need to get Mo out of that house. Sherry says, they’ll make sure she’s okay, and they hear a zombie growling behind a door. Morgan asks to be the one to do it, and promises not to try anything. Dwight gives him a cross peen hammer, and opens the door. Morgan kills the zombie, but says, it’s not him. Morgan calls out for Duane, insisting he has to be here. He freaks out, and Sherry says, Duane must have gotten out. Morgan says he waited too long, and Grace says, it’s okay. He says, it’s not, sinking to the floor. He should have put his boy to rest then, and he can’t now. He put her and Mo in danger for nothing. The guard tells him, on his feet, and radios Shrike that he’s lying; his kid’s not here. Shrike says, if Morgan won’t tell him why he’s there, kill him, and the guard cocks her gun. Grace says, he needs to tell them about Duane, and the guard says, last chance. Grace says, he needs to tell them what happened here, but Morgan says, it’s already over. If they’re going to do it – he grabs the gun barrel and puts it against his forehead – then do it. Grace says, no, and Morgan pushes the gun barrel away. Dwight and Sherry knock the guards out, while Grace shields Morgan. Morgan says, they shouldn’t have done that, but Dwight says he’s not going to watch Morgan get killed in cold blood. Sherry says, he’s not the only one trying to escape his past, and Dwight says, what PADRE is making them do is like living at the Sanctuary all over again. Morgan says, their boy is going to end up just like his. He can’t have that on him. Shrike radios, and Morgan says, they’re going to kill Finch, but Dwight says, not if they have something to do with it. He answers the call, and Shrike says she wants to talk to Oriole. Dwight says, she can talk to Oriole after he talks to his son. He wants to know Finch is okay. Shrike tells Finch to go ahead, and Dwight asks how he’s feeling. Finch says he thinks the treatment worked. What’s going on? Dwight asks if Finch remembers that thing he taught him in class before he got sick; the Chimney Sweep. Do it now. Finch swipes a chair across Shrike’s legs, and she hits her head on the table going down. Finch says, she’s out. Now what? They’re going to find her. Dwight tells him that there’s a supply boat leaving in 20 minutes, and to hide on it. They’ll meet him on the dock where the boat lands. Finch says, okay, and Sherry says they have to get going. Dwight tells Morgan, whatever happened here, he has a chance to make things different with Mo. Don’t forget that. They leave.

Grace radios Mo and says, they’re coming to drive the walkers away. Mo tells her to hurry, and Morgan tells Grace that she’s Mo’s best shot. She saw what happened to him outside that house. She tells him that he has to put it behind him, but he says he can’t. She says, neither can she. She didn’t want him to hear what she was listening to in the truck. The book was on double speed. The radiation’s caught up with her, and she’s sick. He has to get Mo out of that house. He asks how long she’s known, and she says, a few months. She found a hospital and did a scan. She’s paying the price for chasing the dead, and he can’t do the same. He says he’ll get Mo out, and the three of them will spend time together. He radios Mo, and she says, one of the flares hit the house, and the fire is spreading. He tells her to get to the attic; he’s coming to get her.

The house is on fire, and zombies surround it. Morgan starts shooting them, and Mo hears something in the attic. Morgan sees Jenny, and once again can’t shoot. Mo sees a zombie chained to the wall, and says, Duane? like he might answer. Morgan says, you’re not her; none of you are her. He shoots several zombies, Jenny among them. A beam falls on Mo, and she gets trapped. Morgan gets in the house, and Mo yells that she’s stuck. Help her. He realizes he brought Duane there, but hesitates to shoot him. Mo says she knows he can do it, and he remembers Duane as a child. Recognizing that Duane is no longer that child, Morgan shoots him. He asks if Mo is okay, and she says, he did it. It’s going to be okay.

Morgan buries Duane and Jenny, and says, there are a few things he has to do, but he’ll be back. And it won’t take ten years; he promises. The three of them hug. Grace says, it’s over. He didn’t let it happen again and that’s what matters. He says, they’ll help Madison and Daniel with PADRE. They’ll reunite every child with a their parents who are still out there, then they’ll do what they said and spend time together. Grace says, he once told her that they can handle anything that comes, and that’s what they’re going to do. When do they tell Mo? He says, they were just reunited, and he doesn’t want to take that away from Mo just yet. Mo holds up the photo album, saying, look what she found. She sits to look through it, when a zombie pops out of the rubble and grabs her. Morgan and Grace run over to her, pulling the zombie off and killing it. Morgan asks if she got bit, and Mo says she didn’t, but she thinks the zombie was skunked. He says, forget the photos. They need to look for cans of tomato soup for her. Grace shows Morgan that she got bit during the struggle.

Sherry and Dwight wait at the dock in a shelter, and Sherry worries that Finch hasn’t gotten off the boat yet. Finch comes up behind them. They nearly shoot him, and he runs to them. Dwight suggests he never sneak up on them, when a truck pulls up. Sherry wonders if they’ve been seen, but Morgan gets out, shooting the boat guards. He tells them that he needs their help with Grace, and asks if Finch’s treatment worked. Sherry says, it looks that way, and he says, then they’ve got to get Grace to June. It’s her only chance.

Dwight drives the boat, and Morgan tells Grace to hang on. June can fix this. She says, he doesn’t know that, but he says, no matter what’s coming, they have to live. Grace says she promises they will.

Next time, the boat is attacked; Morgan tells Grace that June has a way to treat bites Shrike asks, why do they think she put the train car on wheels; and Morgan says, they can’t stop him.

🐞 Snug As a Bug In a Rug…

Stop by tomorrow for soap, sailing, and awful Summer people. Until then, stay safe, stay sensible, and stay not sneaking up on anyone during a zombie apocalypse.

May29

May 28, 2023 – The Truth About PADRE & Dreaming

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What I Watched Today

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

Fear the Walking Dead

Madison opens her eyes to a zombie head wrapped in a burlap sack and cinched in a vise above her. She struggles to get up, but realizes she’s tied up and strapped down. A guard comes in and tells her, sorry about the sedative, but it was easier that way. Madison asks if they haven’t taken enough blood, but the guard says, they’ve moved beyond studying her blood. It will be easier if Blue Jay explains. June comes in, and Madison says, Naomi, but June says, that was a long time ago. So long, I forgot she was ever called that. The guard says, PADRE wants her back on the island, and to get Madison ready. Madison asks if June is one of them, but June says, not by choice. Madison wonders if June has been the one drawing her blood, but June says she didn’t even know Madison was alive. She’s done everything she can to put Shrike off. Madison asks, from what? What is Shrike going to do to her? June says, Shrike has ideas on how to cure Carrion bites based on Alicia surviving as long as she did. It’s probably why Shrike was collecting Madison’s blood. It might be something besides radiation, something hereditary. Madison asks if Shrike is right, but June thinks it’s too soon to tell. There’s a boy who’s been responding to the radiation, but it hasn’t even been a week. Madison looks at the head moving around in the bag, and wonders if she can ask June a favor. June says, anything, and Madison says, there’s a file with the names of the children she took; their real names, not the names PADRE gave them. She promised Mo that she’d track down the kids’ parents, but June says, everything she’s tried to do since being at PADRE has blown up in her face. Shrike radios, asking if Madison is ready, and June nods. The guard tells Shrike that she is, and June reminds Madison of how she saved them all when she was left at the stadium. She won’t leave Madison now. She’ll be with her until the end. Madison looks again at the zombie head.

12 years ago. A teenage girl (obviously Shrike when she was younger) and boy walk into a room, and the girl says, they shouldn’t be here. They check out a two-way mirror, when a voice on the loudspeaker asks what they’re doing in here. They’re about to run, when a man in uniform comes in. It’s their dad, and he says, they should have seen their faces. The boy says, the mirror is creepy, and the soldier says, it helps him with meetings. The girl says, he needs to get the mic fixed too, but the soldier says, Sergeant Brenner says it’s probably just a faulty wire. The girl asks if he really has to go today, and the soldier says he wants to show them something.

The girl looks through binoculars and the soldier tells her, it’s a middle-spotted woodpecker. When their mom gave him the binoculars, she said, it was so he’d always see what’s coming. When he saw that bird this morning, he felt like she was trying to tell him that they’d be okay here. These birds live in families, and cooperate to raise their young. If the birds can do it, so can they. A soldier asks if they should load up, calling the man General Kreddick. The general asks for a minute, and his daughter says she hates when he leaves the island, but he says, that’s the way they’re going to help people rebuild; the same way they did this place. Each shipping container is filled with supplies to rebuild. The boy says, it’s dangerous out there. LA and Atlanta were bombed. Kreddick says, they need to seed new communities, calling the boy Ben. The young woman asks how they even know there’s still people out there, and Kreddick asks if they remember Elias and Senator Vasquez. They made contact with Vasquez yesterday. He and his staff are beneath the Franklin Hotel in Galveston. They’re safe. Ben asks why Kreddick can’t stay on the island until it’s safer, but Kreddick says, they’ll never survive here cut off from the world. What will happen when their supplies run out if they don’t have trading partners; other communities to rely on? He promises they’ll be safe here, and tells them to use the code names he gave them if they communicate by radio; it’s for their safety. The boy says he’s Crane, right? and the girl asks why she has to be Shrike. Kreddick says, the shrike may be small, but it’s brutal when it needs to be. Doesn’t hesitate to take care of its family. He tells her to take care of her brother while he’s gone, and she salutes him. He hugs them, says he’ll see them soon, and leaves.

Shrike removes the burlap, revealing the zombie head, which is pretty disgusting, and says, after everything PADRE gave Madison, she betrayed him. This is how she’s going to make it up to him. And she won’t be alone. Nightingale is going to next to her, as soon as they can find him. Madison asks why PADRE is doing this, and Shrike says, for the same reason he does everything. To ensure what he’s built endures.

Running along some railroad tracks, Mo whacks a zombie, and Dove asks if she realizes how far they are from the rest of the group. Mo says she has to do this. They need to see what’s in the railroad car.

Shrike tells Madison, years from now, when people talk about how PADRE was able to stop infections from Carrion bites killing, they’ll remember today. Madison will be a hero.

Mo thinks Finch might be inside. He never came back from his surgery. Dove says, he’s recovering from his surgery, but Mo says, after Finch’s boat got attacked, PADRE sent guards after him. She checked the logs, and it said they went to an old railroad museum, but nothing is there. She thinks someone moved the train car here. Maybe PADRE isn’t telling them the truth. What if something bad happened in there? What if it’s still happening?

June asks to sedate Madison, but Shrike says, she brought PADRE plenty of pain. It’s time she felt a little herself. The head moves closer.

Mo bangs on the tracks with a sledgehammer, and tells Dove that they have to know what’s going on in there. A guard asks what they’re doing, and comes toward them, but they run off.

Madison yells as the head comes closer, when Mo pulls the plug. Shrike tells the guards to get her out of here. Now. As the guards come for Mo, June grabs Shrike’s gun and knocks her out with the butt. Mo yells for June to help, and June stabs the head, then cuts Madison’s bonds, saying, she owes Madison one. June shoots one of the guards, and Madison gets herself free, grabbing Mo, and ducking down with her behind a cabinet. She asks what Mo is doing here, and Mo says they have to get out of here so they can do what they said, but Madison tells her that she’ll never be able to get near the island after this. Mo says her dad can help, but Madison says, until he’s back, they’re on their own. June has a gun battle with the remaining guard, and finally shoots him in the head. Mo tells Madison that they just have to find the prefects, and get through to them the way Madison got through to her. If they do that, the other kids will follow. June gives Madison some oxygen, and Hawk radios Shrike, saying,  they’re done for the day. Shrike reaches for the radio, but Madison kicks it away. Dove comes in, aiming her gun, and tells them not to move. Shrike tells her to call the prefects and tell them to get more guards, but Mo says, don’t. She was going to kill Lark. Dove says, Lark deserves it, and Mo asks if Finch did. Shrike tells Dove not to listen to Mo, and Mo says, Shrike killed him, didn’t she? Shrike says she saved him, but June says, that is a lie. Mo asks where he is, and Shrike says, somewhere his parents can’t do him anymore harm. June says, Shrike is the reason Finch got bit, and Dove asks, what the hell is going on here? Shrike says, she’s ensuring what PADRE built, and ensuring they have a future. Madison asks if that’s what this looks like to Dove, when Hawk radios Dove, asking her location. Shrike tells her to let them know and tell them to get over here, but Madison says, don’t do it. PADRE lied to her about this. Think of what else he’s lied about. Her parents could still be out there and she can help find them. Dove says, they abandoned her because they couldn’t take care of her, but Madison says, that’s not true. Dove asks how she knows, and Madison says she’s the one who took Dove away from her parents. Dove asks their names and where Madison took her from, but Madison says she doesn’t know, but knows Dove’s face. The only one tricking her is PADRE. June says, that’s why PADRE kept this a secret, but they can change that. Madison says she just needs to get to the island. There’s a file there with the names of all the kids she took, and where she took them from. That’s how she can help Dove. That’s how she can help all the kids. Hawk radios again for Dove’s location, but she turns the radio off. She says she’ll help Madison get back to the island. She doesn’t care what’s in the file, but she cares about the truth, and wants to hear it from PADRE. Shrike asks how she’ll do that, and Dove says she can if Shrike helps her. Shrike asks why she would, and Dove holds her gun to Shrike’s head. Shrike says, if Dove kills her, he’ll do worse than she planned to do to Lark today. Dove asks, why is that? and Shrike says, because she’s PADRE’s daughter. They hear something outside.

Kreddick tells the other soldiers, let’s move out, and Shrike peaks out from her hiding place, telling Ben the coast is clear. She says, he shouldn’t be here, but he says he just wants to make sure she’s safe. He sees that their dad forgot his binoculars, and wants to take them to him; he won’t be able to see what’s coming without them. Shrike says, it’s just a superstition. He’ll be fine. Ben says, that’s what they said about mom, and tells her to get out of his way, but she says, no. He shoves her out of the way, and locks her in, using a tool to brace the door shut. He runs after their father.

As they leave the train car, Shrike says, Dove is making a big mistake. Whatever answer she’s looking for, it’s not that. A group comes out of the woods with guns, and a man tells them, hands up. A woman (Diane) says, tell them what they want and no one gets hurt, and Madison says, she knows them. They’re all parents, aren’t they? Diane looks at Dove, who asks what she’s looking at. Diane asks where their kids are. Where’s Adrian? Madison says she doesn’t know any Adrian, but June says, he was here, he’s dead. Diane says, he just wanted to find his daughter, and June says, he did, but she’s dead too. She died a long time ago. Shrike says, because of June, but June says, because of what Shrike made her do. Mo says, if they want to find their kids, Madison can help, but Diane says, she’s with PADRE. Mo says, not anymore. She’s changed. Dove says, PADRE lied to all of them. Shrike is his daughter. Maybe they can find out what else he’s lied about – together. Diane says they’ll wait for the Commander, and Dove asks who that is, when a man tells them, turn around. Madison says, Daniel? and he says, Madison… and June. June says, he’s alive. Diane says, he knows these people? and he says, give them back their weapons. It seems they all have nine lives. Madison says, they’re going to need them.

Walking through the woods, Madison takes more oxygen, Daniel says he often considered the possibility of Madison being alive, but not like this. Madison says she’s not proud of what she did. She just wants a chance to make it right. He says, you and me both. Maybe they can help each other. He’s been looking for that damn island for years. If what she’s telling them is correct, she may be the best and only shot for these folks to get their children back from PADRE. She asks how he wound up with them, and he says, seven years ago, Morgan told PADRE they were out here, and PADRE found them. They brought everyone to a ship to assess them before deciding where they were going to be sent according to their skills and usefulness. Some went to the mainland, some went to the island; others, he doesn’t know where they went. PADRE thought he was too old to be of any use, so they dumped him in the swamp. Madison says she’s sorry, and Daniel says, PADRE was right about one thing, he is old. But PADRE was wrong about everything else. Being old doesn’t mean to be useless. He could take care of himself. So could everyone in the group, except for Charlie. She asks, what happened to Charlie? and he says, Morgan didn’t tell her? She says, Morgan didn’t get to tell her much before PADRE figured out what they were up to and separated them. He says, Charlie became very sick. She was like a daughter to him by then, and he promised he’d stay with her to the end, so she didn’t have to die alone. Like Ofelia. He broke his promise. He wasn’t there for her. He wasn’t there for Luciana either. She says she’s sorry, and knows Morgan would be too, and he says he had no purpose. Then he found these folks; this angry, desperate group of people in search of their kidnapped children. It gave him a purpose. He organized and trained them, and made them into an army. They’re strong and getting stronger, because there’s more of them out there. He lost his family, but he’s going to fight to help them get back theirs. She says, maybe he hasn’t lost all of his family. The files. There’s not just the kids in there. Luciana, Charlie, maybe he can find out what happened to them.

Dove says, maybe they can use the transport boat to get back to the island, and Shrike asks if she’s sure she wants to go down this road. Daniel suggests Shrike stop asking questions and start answering some, and Madison says, like who else knows she’s PADRE’s daughter? Shrike says, not many, and Daniel asks why her father separates children from their parents, but doesn’t do the same to himself. Shrike says, they don’t get it, but Madison says, they do. He’s an a-hole, like every other a-hole who runs places like this. Shrike says, he’s not. PADRE believes in the way the place is run and how they do things; he has for a very long time. Madison says, that makes no sense, and June says, she’s right. Why are they killing people for an experiment that will never pay off? Shrike says, it will pay off. Look at Finch. Madison asks, what happened to Shrike’s father? Why’d he build a place like this? Dove says, they’ve got to go, and Diane asks where Dove came from before PADRE, but Dove doesn’t know. Why does she care? Diane asks if Dove knows her, but Dove says she’s never seen the woman before. A bunch of guys from PADRE come out with guns, and one says, move away from the boat now. Madison says, they don’t understand. Shrike is PADRE’s daughter. They’ve been lied to. Daniel says, PADRE has been ripping families apart, yet kept his daughter by his side all this time. Mo says, it’s true, calling the guy Hawk. PADRE’s been lying to them all this time. Shrike suggests they focus more on getting her out of there, and Hawk says, Mo and Dove don’t have to go along with this anymore. Dove says, they’re going to the island, and Mo says, they’re going to get some answers from PADRE. Hawk asks who they are to question PADRE, and Dove says, it’s not just her. She’s seen some sh*t today. On the train. PADRE has a lot to explain. He says, she’s not thinking straight, and Daniel tells Hawk, the same could be said for him. All these people have lost children to PADRE. Maybe they could find Hawk’s parents. Hawk says, their parents abandoned them, but Diane says, we didn’t. We’ve been fighting this whole time. Daniel suggests Hawk’s group join them; fight alongside them. Hawk tells Dove to just hand her over, but Dove says, no. He says, maybe she’ll listen to PADRE, and takes out his radio, but Madison goes behind Shrike (who I keep wanting to call Shrek) and grabs her, holding a knife to her throat. She says, they can’t wait any longer. If PADRE knows they’re coming, they’ll destroy the files. Hawk asks, what files? and Madison says, the ones that say where Dove came from; who her parents are. Who all their parents are. Hawk says, they’ll make sure she never gets it. They’re not getting on that boat. Daniel says, they’re going to have to go through them, but Hawk asks if Daniel doesn’t think he’d shoot an old man. Mo stands in front of Daniel, and says, he might, but would he shoot her? Daniel says, they’ll hold them off, and tells Madison to go, but she says she’s not leaving Mo. Mo tells her, get that file. If Madison can show Dove the truth, the rest of the kids will follow. Go. June, Dove, Shrike, and Madison get on the boat, and Madison drives it away.

Ben runs through a container yard, yelling for his dad, while Sam/Shrike frees herself from the boat. She runs after him, calling his name, but it’s like a container maze, and she hits a dead end. She sees a container with DEAD HERE spray painted on it, reminiscent of the DEAD INSIDE sign Rick saw in the first Walking Dead episode. She hears Ben yelling for help, and zombies growling. A couple of them have cornered Ben, and more come and surround him. Shrike calls his name.

Finch sits in an interrogation room, and over the intercom, PADRE says he thinks it’s time Finch told them where he’s been. Finch asks what he means, and PADRE says, he was bit, but he’s still here. Healthy. Thriving. Finch asks where Red Kite is, and Starling, and PADRE says, they’ve been reassigned. Somewhere they can’t cause him any more harm. Finch says, they saved him, but PADRE says, they saved him. Over the radio, a man says, they have a situation, and the guard asks, what kind of situation? Madison says, they have his daughter. How about telling their guards to stand aside so they can have a chat? Shrike tells Madison not to do this, but Madison says, time to stop hiding behind the mirror and tell the truth. Shrike says, he doesn’t have to answer for anything, but Madison says, yes, he does. Every kid wants to know why they were ripped away from their parents, but he wouldn’t do the same with his own daughter. Over the radio, Daniel tells Madison that they got away and asks if Dove is still with her. One of their people thinks she might be Dove’s mother. He hands the radio to Diane, who says she didn’t think it was possible, but a mother knows. Shrike says, don’t fall for this crap, and Diane says, Dove’s name is Alex, and she was taken outside Baton Rouge years ago. She thinks it was that woman, Lark. She searched for so long. She sang You Are My Sunshine as they took Alex away. She never stopped looking. Shrike says, this woman is just trying to get into Dove’s head, but Madison says, stop lying to her. Shrike says she’s not lying, and Madison says, there’s one way to find out. Dove’s file. They want it. Shrike says she’s making a mistake, but Madison says, do it, or she tells everyone here who Shrike really is. PADRE says, give her what she wants, and Madison tells Dove that she’s about to get the answers she came here for.

Inside, a guard plops a box on the table, and Shrike says, there’s something Dove needs to understand before she sees that file. Madison asks, what’s that? They already know this place is built on a lie. Shrike says, it’s not what they think. It’s the only way to protect them from what happened here before. Madison asks PADRE, what happened before? but he says he doesn’t answer to her. She tells him, he always says he never lost a kid, but she doesn’t know if that’s true. Who did they lose?

Ben is totally hemmed in, whimpering, as Sam watches. There’s gunshots, and the zombies drop. Kreddick asks what they’re doing here, and Ben throws his arms around his father. Ben gives him the binoculars, saying, he forgot these, and Kreddick says, he has to get them out of here. The shipyard’s a pool of the dead. More zombies show up, and Kreddick shoots, but runs out of ammunition. The three of them take off.

Madison asks again, what happened here?

Kreddick says, they have to get back to the boat, but zombies are coming out of everywhere, and they’re completely trapped.

Shrike says, Madison is never going to get her father to admit to anything. Madison says, why is that? and picks up a sledgehammer she conveniently found on the way in.

Kreddick shoves the closest zombie away, and gives Shrike a boost to the top of a container. He shoves more zombies, and boosts Ben up.

Madison asks why he won’t answer them.

Ben reaches down, and Kreddick takes his hand, but they slip apart. The zombies start to feed on Kreddick, and he tells Ben, don’t let this die. It’s too important.

Madison smashes the two-way mirror with the sledgehammer.

Kreddick – who, to his credit, is taking this like a champ – says he loves them both. Ben and Shrike watch as the zombies envelop him, and a single tear rolls down Shrike’s cheek.

Madison sees Ben behind the mirror.

Kreddick goes down in a sea of zombies, as Ben cries.

Shrike says, her father can’t answer Madison because her father is dead. She and her brother lost him a long time ago. Dove wanted to ask PADRE for the truth. Go ahead. Ask them. They are PADRE.

Shrike watches the zombies mill around, her father now one of them.

Madison asks how this went from what their father was doing to what they’re doing now. Shrike says, they didn’t know how to go on.

Still on top of a container, Ben brings out a gun and says he found it inside. Shrike takes it, and in a voiceover, she says, what did they even have to go on for? In the past, a guy over the radio Shrike is holding asks if PADRE 1 copies.

Shrike says, but then the universe answered, and Ben says, it was one of the kids from the island. He wanted to know what happened to his parents. They all did. Shrike says, they knew what it would do to the kids if they knew their parents died; how it would break them. Madison says, so they lied, and Shrike says, they told them that their parents abandoned them. Their parents knew they couldn’t take care of them, so they fled. Madison says, and they believed it? and Ben says, their parents left and never came back. What else were they supposed to think? Shrike says, they told the kids that they’d face this new world together without their parents; that they’d be better for it. Madison says, and the shipyard? Those containers? Shrike says, their father died protecting what was inside. They made sure it stayed that way. Madison asks, how? but Ben says, it doesn’t concern her. June asks how they recruited adults. They were just a bunch of kids. Ben says, it was easy. They made them believe he was still here, and they kept on believing it. Dove asks why they lied, and Shrike says, to protect them. Dove asks, from what? and Shrike says, open it. It’s what she wanted. Madison looks through the files until she finds the one for Dove. Shrike says, go on. Tell Dove who she is. Madison sees that her name was Odessa and her mother was Ava Sanderson. She flashes back to Ava saying, she cried when Madison pulled Odessa away from her on the beach. Madison says, no, and Dove asks, what’s wrong? Shrike says, go on. She deserves the truth. Madison says, her name is Odessa, and Dove says, her parents? Madison says she knew Dove’s mother. Her name was Ava. Shrike asks, what happened to Ava? and Madison flashes back to killing zombie Ava. Madison says, she died, and Shrike asks, how? Madison says, she was trying to take Dove back from PADRE, and Shrike asks, who made her believe that was possible? Madison flashes back to telling Ava that they can help her and her baby, and Dove says, her mother is dead because of Madison? She slams Madison up against the wall, and June tells her, no. Dove says, Madison made her believe in something more, and puts her gun to Madison’s head. Shrike says, let her go, but Dove says, she needs to pay for this. Shrike says, she will, but not this way, and Ben radios the guards, telling Dove to stand down. The guards come in, and Madison asks what Shrike is going to do now. Shrike says, they’re going to continue what they started on the train, and June says, like hell they are, but Ben says she doesn’t have a choice. She says, he’s a monster, but Shrike says, she and her brother are protecting these kids from the worst pain of all; the pain of losing a parent. Madison asks what that has to do with the train. The experiments? Ben says, as long as the world is the way it is, children will continue to experience unimaginable loss, but if there’s a cure, that would change everything. Seriously? No one has thought of that before this? Shrike says, they can go back to family, to connection. But in the meantime, they’re going to protect these kids the way they always have. She holds out the microphone to Madison and asks if she wants to tell the kids she rescued the truth. Go ahead. Let the whole island hear… That’s what she thought. The guard takes Madison and June, and Dove leaves with Shrike.

June, Madison, and Dove are on a boat with two guards, Shrike driving. Madison asks what Nick and Alicia were like, and June says she doesn’t think Madison would have recognized them. The boat stops, and Dove says, let’s go. They start to walk through the woods, when Daniel, Mo, and company come out. Daniel says, they’ve got to stop meeting like this. The guards draw their guns, but Daniel says, let their people go, and they’ll walk away. No one has to get hurt. They’ve got another 12 soldiers deep in the woods, and they’ve got their prefects. Shrike says, they wouldn’t, but Daniel asks if she wants to take that chance. Shrike signals the guards, who lower their weapons, and some of Daniel’s group disarm everyone. Diane says, Alex? but Dove says, that’s not her name, and Diane isn’t her mother. Her mother’s dead. Because of Madison. June says, Dove can still have a family, even if it’s not who she thought. She said Madison made her believe in something more. That’s still there. Come with them. Dove doesn’t say anything, and Shrike says, looks like she made her choice. And every other kid on that island is going to make the same one. Remember that. Mo says, no, they won’t, and Madison tells Daniel that she’s sorry. Diane says, this was a mistake; she can’t help them. Daniel says, yes, she can, but Madison says, she’s right. Those kids are never going to follow her; not after everything she’s done. Diane says, not just them, and Madison says she’s not the leader they need. But she thinks she knows who might be. Mo asks, who’s that? and Madison says, your father. They walk off, leaving Shrike and Dove on the path.

Zombies growl behind a metal fence, as Shrike watches them. She asks if Crane copies. He says he does, and she says, he was supposed to meet her. Ben says, after what happened, being out in the open doesn’t seem like a good idea, but she says, they’ve got a bigger problem. The parents know where the island is, which means it’s only a matter of time until they get here. Ben looks at an old photo of him, Shrike, and their father, and says, they’ll destroy everything they’ve built. She says, not if they’re not here. It doesn’t matter if they know who they are. What matters is that what they’ve built survives. He asks how they’re going to do that, and she says, by expanding. They’re going to do what dad said. Ben says, there are thousands of Carrion in that shipyard. Carrion they put there to protect what’s inside. She says, they taught the kids to fight for a reason. It’s time the kids showed them what they’ve learned.

We see tons of zombies in the shipyard.

Next time, Dwight tells Morgan that there’s nowhere to go; Morgan says, they’re trying to burn them out; Mo calls to her dad for help; and Grace says, they’ll kill him if he doesn’t tell them what happened.

🧟‍♀️ Don’t Be a Stranger…

Stop by tomorrow for what’s on Deck, and smack talk about awful people reuniting and talking smack about each other. Until then, stay safe, stay remembering those we’ve lost in service to our country on Memorial Day, and stay knowing that if you ask for the truth, it might not be what you think it is, or what you want to hear.

May27

May 26, 2023 – Willow’s Transplant Begins, B&B Reunion, OC Coming Up, VanderNatter, Begging, Revelations, Who Is It, Fashion Cat, Half a Dozen Quotes Plus One & We Gotta

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What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Carly tells Sonny that Donna wants pancakes tomorrow, and he says, there’s plenty in the freezer. Carly tells him that Donna also wants to save some for Willow, and he says, it’s a great kid they’ve got. Carly’s phone rings, and she steps out to take it, leaving Sonny alone with the moss bowl🎍. Drew asks if there’s any word from the hospital, but Carly says, no, but they’re about to head over there because she wants to be there when Willow has her procedure. He says, of course (🍷). He’s sending good thoughts. She says, he’s not coming? and he says he thought he should stick around to see if he can dig up any dirt on Tracy to leverage Ned to use his influence on the SEC. She says, they’re going ahead with Plan A, huh? and he says, absolutely. There’s one way out of this, and they’re going to find it. She goes back in the kitchen, and Sonny tosses her a towel, and hands her a bowl to dry.

On the phone, Nina says, the patient’s name is Willow Corinthos… She is family. Nina Reeves. She’s Willow’s mother… Her daughter was scheduled to do a bone marrow transplant, and she just wants to see how she’s doing… She knows they can’t… There’s a knock at the door, and she says she’ll call them back. She tells them, thanks – she hangs up the phone – for nothing. She lets Diane in and says, Diane’s a lawyer. Diane agrees that she is, and Nina asks if there’s any way she can sue the hospital to get information on her daughter. Diane says she never – almost never – gives out free advice, but in this instance she will for the good of everyone involved. If Nina would like to find out about her daughter, ask her. Now will Nina tell Sonny that she’s here; he’s expecting her. Nina says, he’s not here. He had to share some news with Carly. Diane says, that’s right. May I? She says she heard congratulations are in order, and looks at Nina’s ring, adding, for the jeweler.

Anna meets Robert at the MetroCourt, and thanks him for making time in his busy schedule. He says, she made it sound important. Is it a business proposal? She says, personal. Holly. She’s trying to reach Holly, but she’s gone radio silent. Given their last conversation, she’s a little bit concerned something’s happened. Robert says, something has happened, and it’s all his fault.

Tracy says, that’s gratitude for you. After all she went through to get Brook and Chase back together. Olivia says, that explains the serenade on the terrace, and hugs Brook. She says she’s happy for Brook, and Ned says he’s glad Chase finally let Brook out of the doghouse. If only they could all be that lucky. Olivia says, it’s neither the time nor the place, and Brook says, Olivia still can’t think Ned is the one who blew the whistle on Carly and Drew, but Tracy says, of course (🍷) he did, and he deserves a medal. Ned says, no he doesn’t because he didn’t. Brook believes him. Why can’t his own wife? Drew comes in, and Olivia says she’d like to believe Ned. Drew says he’d like to believe Ned too. Just give him one good reason.

Sonny asks how the SEC situation with Carly and Drew is going (didn’t they just have this conversation?), and she says, they’re not going down without a fight. Sonny says his offer still stands. If she wants to turn him in to the Feds, she can. Just let him know what she’s going to do beforehand. She thanks him, but says, it’s too big of a risk, and he says, let him be the judge of that. She says, if the situations were reversed, would he turn her in? He asks what she thinks, when Josslyn walks in and asks, what’s he doing here?

TJ tells Willow that it’s not going to hurt. The donating was the hard part. The transplant itself isn’t that different from a blood transfusion. So all Willow needs to do is sit back and relax. Wiley knocks at the window, and says, hi mommy. Michael calls, and Willow asks, who is this, and how did you get my number? He says, her fan club misses her, but she says, not as much as she misses them. Wiley says he loves her, and she says, her too.

Ned asks how he could do this to Drew and Carly when Willow is so sick. The answer is simple; he couldn’t, and he didn’t. Drew says he would believe Ned, if he hadn’t threatened to do just that, and Olivia says, he’s right. Ned said he was going to do this. Ned tells her, he said he might consider it, which was an empty threat, but even if he had considered it, he never followed through with it. Brook says, that’s enough. Get back to their corners. Shame on Ned. And shame on Drew for focusing on the SEC and that whole mess. None of that matters compared to what Willow is facing today. Tracy says, exactly, and thanks Brook for reminding this family of what’s really important. Why can’t they come together instead of pulling each other apart? Olivia can’t believe this is what it’s come to, and Tracy says, when Brook is the voice of reason, no one is more surprised than she is. Olivia says, and Tracy being the voice of family unity, but Tracy says she’s always advocated for family unity. Drew asks if she didn’t withhold medication from Edward when he was having a heart attack (ha-ha!), and Brook says, she sure did. Ned says, famously, and Tracy says, if there was one person who could attest to her devotion to the well-being and the happiness and the harmony of this family, it would be her granddaughter. Olivia laughs, and says she gets it. Tracy got Brook and Chase back together, and now she wants Brook to feel like she owes her something. Tracy says, it’s not always quid pro quo. There are such things as altruism and sacrifice. Ned asks if Tracy is feeling well, but Olivia says, trust her. Tracy is feeling just fine. How exactly is doing right by her granddaughter’s heart a sacrifice? What exactly did she give up? Or by some chance did she stand to gain something. Brook says, of course (🍷) she’s grateful for her grandmother helping get her and Chase back together – Tracy says, Brook is more than welcome – but like her dad said, kindness in this house usually comes at a price. Ned says, whatever the price was, he hopes she can afford it, and Brook says, let’s just say she’s glad she’s back at work. Olivia asks, what work? and Brook says she’s back at Deception. Ned asks, what about her music? and she says, he knows she can’t sing anymore. He says he thought she was putting together a list of artists to manage. Things were going well, right? Why give that up?

Diane says, maybe she should just wait in the lobby until Sonny gets back, but Nina says, now that she and Sonny are engaged, she was hoping his friends can be her friends. Diane says she might just have to settle for cordial, and Nina says, in the spirit of cordiality, maybe they can get past their differences and try to get along. Diane says, their differences? Like the time she shredded Nina on the stand, and got a judge to deny her visitation to see her grandson? Nina says, Diane was doing her job; it wasn’t personal. Diane says, no, it wasn’t, and Nina says, the least she can do is admire Diane’s skill. Diane says, and she admires Nina’s, and Nina says she doesn’t think Diane is as cynical as she wants the world to believe. Diane says, Nina’s got her. She’s absolutely right. In fact, what Nina sees standing before her is the warm and fuzzy Diane. Nina says, let her just throw something out there. As one woman speaking to another… Diane says she’s going to be charging Sonny for this conversation, but Nina says, this isn’t legal advice. This is just a get to know ya thing. Diane says, now she’s charging him double, and I can totally see her in a Noel Coward play. Nina says she loves her job at Crimson, but it wasn’t until she was in Nixon Falls that she realized the magazine shouldn’t be her whole life. Diane asks if she’s considered a puppy, and Nina says she has a family, a small one; a daughter and two grandchildren who are in her thoughts. Is there someone in Diane’s? Is there anyone special in her life? If not, why? I’ve never thought of it before, but other than Max being a boyfriend for a time, we’ve never seen Diane’s family.

Carly says, Sonny stopped by to talk to Donna, and Donna insisted her daddy make her pancakes. I get distracted by the way they’re standing around the moss bowl🎍, and Josslyn asks if he told Carly that she stopped by his office. Carly says, he did; he did not tell her why. Sonny says, that’s because it was a private matter between Josslyn and him, and Josslyn says, she asked him for a favor, and he said no. Sonny says he told her to have her friend come to him, but they don’t need to rehash this. He’s got to go. He asks Carly to tell Michael and Willow that he’s praying for them, and she says she will. He leaves, and Josslyn says she thought there was a schedule for visitations. Carly says, there is, but some things need to be said face-to-face, and Josslyn says, like what? Carly says, like Sonny and Nina are engaged.

Wiley asks if Willow is coming home, and Willow says she’s going to do her best. TJ scraps his sterile jumpsuit, and Michael asks if there’s anything he can do to make things easier for Willow. TJ says, it looks like he’s already doing it. Seeing all of them is the best medicine she can get. Sasha joins them, and says, looks like a party. She takes the phone, and says, how’s the guest of honor? Willow says, just happy to see everybody, and Sasha suggests she keep the kids entertained so Michael can have some time with Willow. Michael asks if Wiley wants some playtime with Aunt Sasha, and Wiley says he’ll ask Amelia. He whispers to Amelia, then listens, and tells them, she says, yes. Sasha says, let’s do it, and TJ asks if he can join. Sasha says, the more, the merrier, and they leave. Willow thanks Michael for bringing them, and he says he didn’t have much of a choice; Wiley insisted. She says she’s so scared, and he says, him too. One thing he does know is, they didn’t make it this far, they didn’t go to hell and back just to lose each other now. She says she wishes she could kiss him one last time, and he says, she will, but it’s not going to be the last time. This is just the beginning.

Carly tells Josslyn that they need to get to the hospital. Willow’s procedure is starting soon, and she wants to be there for Michael. Josslyn says she doesn’t know if Michael wants to see her right now, and Carly asks, what’s going on? Josslyn says, they had a fight. And now Sonny wants to officially make Nina a member of the family that she set out to destroy? Carly says, first of all, this family is just fine, and Sonny and Nina being engaged is kind of a relief. Josslyn asks how Carly can say that, and Carly says, Sonny’s committed to Nina, and she’s committed to Drew. Josslyn says, so no harm, no foul? but Carly says, there was a lot of harm and a lot of foul, but it’s just like a clean break. Josslyn wonders why Sonny didn’t tell her when she was alone with him in his office, and Carly asks, why would he? He knows how she feels about Nina. Josslyn says she hasn’t made that a secret, and Carly says, the secret here is why Josslyn went to see Sonny in the first place. Josslyn says, she told Carly; she was asking him for a favor. Carly says, Dex, and Josslyn says, yes. She went to see him about Dex. Carly asks, why? Did she want Sonny to give Dex a raise? Josslyn says, no. She wanted Sonny to fire him.

Anna says, so Holly just left town without so much as a farewell, and Robert says, at least she didn’t have to fake an escape from the towering inferno, third degree burns, and hospitalization. This time it was just goodbye. Anna says, it never is just goodbye with the two of them though, is it? and Robert says, they decided you can’t recapture the past, no matter how much you might want to. And this time when they said their farewells, they really meant them. Anna takes his hand, and says, sorry. Did Holly tell him about Ethan? Robert says, yeah, and all the trouble he’s in, and she asks if Holly told him that she was willing to go back to the Bureau to pay off his debts. He says, apparently, she decided on a shortcut. A deal with the devil… Selina Wu. He told her there were alternatives; that he wanted to help. She doesn’t want him involved. Anna says, Holly’s protecting him, which proves she still does really care about him. He says, caring was never the issue, and she asks, what is the issue? Is her name Diane?

Diane tells Nina that she’s sorry. There seems to be some kind of confusion that she wants to dispel Nina of. They’re not friends, and as such, questions into her personal life and relationships are unwelcome. She knows Nina is going through a tough time, wanting to see Willow and not being able to do so. She feels for Nina. Nina say she gets it. She’s never been able to make friends very easily. Just so Diane knows, she’d be with Willow right now. She’d be in the hospital room if she didn’t owe Sonny so much. She didn’t want to run into Carly or Michael, and have another clash. She doesn’t want to make Sonny’s life more complicated than she already has. Diane says she admires that restraint, and just so Nina knows, she hopes Nina really does make him happy. Nina says she does, when Sonny walks in and asks if everything is okay. Diane says, yeah. Congratulations. Sonny says, thanks, and Nina asks how it went with Carly and Donna. He says he and Donna made pancakes, and Diane suggests they talk in private, but Sonny says he was going to tell Nina anyway. Diane says, there’s talk going around town, but Sonny already knows that, and Sonny says, it looks like the DOJ may have made Carly an offer. Nina asks if they’re pressuring Carly to turn on Drew, but Sonny says, no. They’re pressuring Carly to turn on him.

Drew says, it’s no secret how Brook feels about music. She must have had a compelling reason to go back to Deception. Brook says, after all the craziness with Linc, she was craving stability and a little less drama, and Ned says, but she really enjoyed being a manager, and she was damn good at it. Brook says she realized she wants to write music, not manage it, and working back at Deception allows her the freedom to do that. Drew says, she’s got romance, she’s got freedom, she’s got creativity. It’s almost like she has her own fairy godmother. He looks at Tracy, and Brook says, you could say that. Drew asks if Tracy doesn’t wish she had one. She could wish herself straight back to Amsterdam. Tracy says she could also buy a plane ticket, and everyone says, don’t let us stop you, in unison. Tracy says, wow. If she didn’t know better, she’d say her loving family couldn’t wait to get rid of her. Drew says, come on. They don’t feel that way… Do you? Everyone gives soap looks.

Tracy says, as much as she hates disappointing her loved ones, she has no plans on leaving any time soon. Don’t all cheer at once. Brook says she’s glad Tracy is here, and not just because Tracy helped get her and Chase back together. Tracy tells her that she’d say she did a little more than help, and Olivia says, and she has. Ned says, repeatedly, and Brook says, Tracy is always there when she needs her, even if it’s just to tell her no. Tracy asks when she’s ever denied Brook anything, and Ned says, this is all too much. Olivia says, on that happy note, she has to go. Big meeting at the MetroCourt. Tracy says, no words of reassurance for her mother-in-law? and Olivia says she has plenty of words for Tracy.

Ned follows Olivia out, and tells her that he’s not the one who turned them in. How can he convince her? Olivia says, as it happens, she ran into Carly at the MetroCourt last night. It was pretty tense. Carly was demanding to know why she didn’t kick him to the curb. He says, maybe because he’s her husband, and she says, and Carly’s her best friend. That’s not nothing. And asks much as she wants to believe him, the thing she can’t get out of her mind, he flat out accused Carly and Drew of insider trading, and the next thing anybody knows, somebody blows the whistle. He says, somebody, but not him.

Nina says, to think she felt sorry for Carly that she has to worry about Michael and Willow during all this, and now she’s going to throw Sonny under the bus to save herself? Sonny says, she won’t, but Nina asks how he can know that. Diane says she really thinks she and Sonny… but Sonny says, no. He wants Nina to hear it. It’s not the first time the Feds have come after him using someone who’s close to him. Nina says she knows Carly told him that she wouldn’t do it, but what else is she going to say? He’s making pancakes for the daughter he shares with her. She had to have been tempted. He says he told her that she should do it. The Feds come after him, he’s prepared. She made it clear she won’t do it. Nina says, what if the Feds come to Carly and make her choose between her children and him?

Michael tells Sasha that Willow’s asking for her, and she leaves. TJ says he should go check on the preparations. He’ll see Michael in a minute, and Michael sees Wiley coloring. He says he’s going to let Wiley in on a little secret. Color outside the lines. That hardly seems Michael type advice.

Carly asks if Dex wants out or does Josslyn want Dex out. Josslyn says, Dex wants out, and Carly says, then Dex can tell Sonny himself. Josslyn tells her, that’s what Sonny said, and Carly says, sounds like Sonny. What did Dex say? Josslyn says, he wasn’t happy about it at first, but… Carly says, he knew her heart was in the right place. Is this what’s going on with her and Michael? Josslyn says, Michael just doesn’t approve of her and Dex, and Carly says, overprotective big brother. Josslyn says, something like that, but if he needs them, that’s all that matters, and Carly says, he needs them. So let’s go.

Willow picks up the phone, and Sasha says, she rang? Willow says she did. She thought if anyone could understand, it was Sasha. She remembers when Sasha was in isolation. Sasha says she hated it, but she made it through, and so will Willow. Willow says, ever since she’s been in here, she’s felt like a soldier in a foxhole, and Sasha says, that just means Willow is a fighter, which they already knew. Willow says, it got her thinking. You hear about soldiers that with their last dying breath, call out for their mothers. If worse comes to worse, who does she call out for? The mother who raised her and turned out to be a fraud and a murderer, or the mother who gave birth to her and couldn’t stand her until she found out they were related? Sasha doesn’t need to answer that; she’s just being silly. Sasha says, it’s not silly. It’s just something she won’t know until it happens, and it’s not going to. Willow says, they don’t know that, but Sasha says, they know they’re in the homestretch. So don’t think about dying; think about living. Think about Michael and Wiley and Amelia. Think about all the people who love her so much, and need her. Today is just like any other day in her life, except she’s been given a great gift. Willow knows how precious life is, and how quickly it can disappear, so she can be the soldier who fights for every breath, for every second, and win. Willow says, no wonder Sasha was such a hit on TV. She can sell anything. Even hope.

Carly and Josslyn find Michael, and Carly asks if they missed the kids. Michael says, the nanny just took them home, but Wiley left him a crayon so he wouldn’t miss mommy. Carly says she loves Wiley, and she loves Michael so much. He says he loves her too, and they hug. He says, hi to Josslyn, and Carly says, everything is okay, right? Josslyn says, everything is fine. All that matters is that Willow gets better, right? Michael says, right.

Sonny says, Carly isn’t giving him up, and Nina says she’s sure he knows best. She has to go to the MetroCourt. She loves him. Just let her know how he is; let her know how Willow is. He says he’ll keep her posted. Willow is in good hands; so is he. Nina leaves, and Sonny tells Diane, go ahead. Tell him what she knows that he doesn’t.

Robert says, Holly’s a friend, and Anna says, he comes barging into her house, when she’s jetlagged and exhausted, demanding they talk. He bites Valentin’s head off, all because, she thinks, he’s love torn. He says he had a moment of weakness, but she says, no, he was flummoxed about how two bright, beautiful women could be interested in him. He says he wasn’t flummoxed or love torn, and she says, conflicted, confused, whatever. She thinks maybe Holly did him a favor by bowing out. Because while it might be disappointing not to have two women vying for his affections, on the bright side, he still does have one.

Olivia says she’s doing her best to stand by Ned. She knows how much ELQ means to him, and she knows how hurt he was when he felt pushed aside. He says he sided with Valentin because it was the right thing to do for ELQ. Yes, he lashed out when he thought the company – their family legacy – was being threatened by a hostile takeover, but he’s not a snitch and he’s going to prove it to her. She asks what he’s going to do, and he says, show her once and for all that he’s the man she married; a man deserving of her love and her trust. He kisses her, and she asks him to promise her that he’s not going to do anything stupid. She leaves, and Tracy says, that’s touching, but if he asks her, he’s wasting his time.

Drew says he gets the impression Brook is less than thrilled having her grandmother back, and she says she loves her grandmother, and owes her big time. He says, for helping her and Chase get back together, and she asks where he heard about that. He says, the tenth or eleventh time it was said, he picked up on it, and Brook says, she can be very generous, and he says, but? She says, but her grandmother’s generosity usually comes with a price.

Olivia asks if she’s late or Nina is early, and Nina tells her, let’s just say, we’re both here at exactly the right moment. Olivia says she’ll take it. She sees Nina’s ring, and says, that’s quite a rock. She sees why Nina and Sonny were in such a good mood last night. Nina says, they’re engaged, and Olivia says, congratulations. She wishes them every happiness, and Nina thanks her. She says, in case Olivia was wondering, Sonny already told the news to Carly and Donna, and they all made pancakes together. Olivia says, so Carly’s taking it in stride, and Nina says, apparently. She’s sure Carly will tell Olivia how she really feels, given how close they are. Olivia says, not anymore. Carly can’t understand why she hasn’t kicked Ned to the curb for what he did to her and Drew. Nina asks, what did Ned say? and Olivia says, Ned swears up and down he didn’t turn them in to the SEC, and Nina asks if Olivia believes him. Olivia says she’d really like to, but she keeps asking herself; if Ned didn’t do it, who did?

Diane says, it’s just a rumor, but Sonny said himself, it’s not the first time the Feds have come after him using someone close to him, and who’s closer to him than Carly? Sonny asks if the rumors say who gave up Carly and Drew, and Diane says, no. The insider trading tip was anonymous, but there’s a strong suspicion that it was Ned Quartermaine. He tells her, that’s what Carly says, but why would Ned do that to Carly and Drew a year after the fact? Now that the Feds are involved, he thinks Carly and Drew are just a means to an end. Diane says, so he thinks the Feds have been monitoring him, and saw Drew and Carly mess up, and pointed the SEC in her direction in order to pressure her to flip on him? That would mean there was no insider tip, and this whole thing was just an excuse to get this investigation rolling. That means the SEC is doing the Justice Department a favor. Sonny says, maybe, but he’s not letting Ned off the hook just yet, because he’s more than capable of stabbing Drew and Carly in the back. Do him a favor. Find out how and why the Feds got involved. Anything she can come up with. She says she’s pretty much exhausted all her resources, and he says, what about the DA? She says, Robert Scorpio? Why would the District Attorney of Port Charles have any information as to the government’s investigation? He says, it’s no secret that Robert has strong ties to DC through the Bureau, and she asks, what makes him think Robert would tell her? He says, because she’s the best. She has a way of being persuasive. She says she has to go, and he says, to see Carly? She says, confidential. She can’t possibly tell him. And as for Robert Scorpio, she’ll think about it. Before she goes, he tells her, don’t think too long. She leaves, and Sonny tells the guard, bring the car around now.

Carly and Josslyn come to the window, and Michael says, more of Willow’s fan club. Carly takes the phone, and says, they just want to tell her how much they love her. Josslyn says, she’s the best sister-in-law ever. Willow says, back at her, and TJ says he’s sorry, but he means it this time. Everyone leaves except Michael, and he says he had a speech planned, all these things he was going to say, but right now all that matters is she knows how much he loves her. She says she loves him too, and he leaves. She hangs up the phone, and tells TJ that she’s ready.

Robert tells Anna that as far as he knows, Diane isn’t interested anymore, beyond them sparring in court. Diane comes in, and Anna says, why doesn’t he ask her? She’s going to take her cue. She leaves, and Diane and Robert look at each other.

Nina says, for what it’s worth (🍷), she’s sorry Olivia has cause to doubt Ned, and Olivia says, her too. Nina tells her, she can’t believe she’s saying this, but poor Carly and Drew to be put in this position, and Olivia says, what position? Nina says, it’s just rumors; she shouldn’t have said anything. Olivia says, where there’s smoke, there’s fire, and knowledge is power. Why doesn’t Nina tell her the rumors, and she’ll decide for herself if she wants to believe them. Nina tells her, like she said, it’s just talk, but it seems like the government is using Carly and Drew’s legal problems to get to Sonny.

In the foyer, Ned asks if Tracy is home to stay, and she asks if that would be a problem. He says, of course (🍷) not, but you know what they say about idle hands. She says, don’t worry. She knows how to stay busy. He says, that’s what he’s afraid of.

Brook says, what makes Drew think he owes Tracy anything? and he says, maybe because she was trying so hard to sell everybody on the joys of being back at Deception. She says she loves her job; it’s steady and plays to her strengths. He says he knows what music means to her, writing it and managing artists, so if anything or anyone is making her choose… Tracy comes in and says she needs to borrow her granddaughter, and Drew leaves, turning to look at Brook before going out the door.

Sasha says, Willow may look fragile, but she’s tough as nails, and Michael thanks her for coming. She asks him to call her when Willow’s awake, and leaves. Josslyn says, Sasha’s right. Willow is unstoppable. Carly tells Michael that he and Willow love each other like crazy. Now there’s Wiley and Amelia, and their love is stronger than ever. Don’t forget that. She hugs him, and Sonny walks in.

TJ asks if Willow is ready, and she says she can’t wait. He tells her, like he said before, all she needs to do is sit back and relax. Let the bone marrow do its thing. If all goes well, she’ll have nothing but healthy cells in her body, and a whole new lease on life. The transplant begins, and Willow flashes back to bringing Amelia home, and telling Wiley that Amelia will need his help.

On (presumably) Tuesday, Curtis says he has two choices, give up or give in; Portia says she has other options; Spencer says, it’s funny how your life can change in an instant; and Drew says, the less someone knows, the better.

🕺🏻 Still Duke To Me…

He’s allowed in the clubhouse since he was once on GH.

Ian Buchanan Enjoys a Bold and Beautiful Reunion in Italy!

🍊 What Happens In the OC…

Frankly, I was glad to see Tamra go. Now we have to watch her very lit throughout the season. Cringing at the thought.

Heather Dubrow Dishes on ‘Very Difficult’ Real Housewives of Orange County Season 17
Gina Kirschenheiter Reveals Tamra Judge Was ‘Very Lit’ During RHOC Season 17

🍸 Welcome To the Cheap Seats…

He’s not just the most awful human being on earth, a title once only held by Jax, he’s also an idiot.

Tom Sandoval Attacks Female Journalist for Daring To Have an Opinion

Another genius and more tidbits.

Ariana Madix and Katie Shade “Rude” Liev Schreiber After He Apologizes for Questioning Ariana’s Media Attention, Plus Ariana Says Raquel is Still Sending Mail to Tom, and Kristen Weighs in

About that open relationship thing.

Unaired Vanderpump Rules Clip Exposes New Timeline of When Tom Sandoval Pursued Raquel as Ariana Shuts Down Claim Raquel Thought They Were in Open Relationship

Brittany deserves to be heard. Apparently she tamed the previously reigning king of awful people. Maybe. We’ll see.

Brittany Cartwright Shares What Angered Her Most About Vanderpump Rules Finale, Reacts to Tom and Raquel’s Split, and Talks Ariana’s Boyfriend Daniel Wai

🍑 Will Work For Hair Extensions…

I could definitely see her at the casino. It kind of bummed me out when the news of their divorce broke. Surprisingly, I liked their Don’t Be Tardy show with its kookie family vibe. Oh well.

‘Desperate’ Kim Zolciak Reportedly ‘Begging’ Bravo For Reality TV Job After Divorce News

👨🏻‍💼 Likes and Dislikes…

Andy reveals all. Well, some anyway.

Andy Cohen Reveals His Warning to Lisa Rinna, His Favorite and Least Favorite Housewives Husband, and Talks Shahs of Sunset Cast

⚰️ Guessing Game…

Something to ponder.

https://undeadwalking.com/2023/05/24/padre-fear-walking-dead-3/

🐈‍⬛ Karl’s Furry Muse…

It’s not always about the dog… although it should be. (Just kidding. Kind of.)

https://nypost.com/2023/05/01/karl-lagerfelds-choupette-reveals-if-she-will-attend-met-gala/

🐡 Quotes of the Week

Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don’t really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren’t really an ending; some things are never-ending. – C. JoyBell C.

When you’re through changing, you’re through. – Martha Stewart

The reading of all good books is like a conversation with the finest minds of past centuries. – René Descartes

If we command our wealth, we shall be rich and free; if our wealth commands us, we are poor indeed. – Edmund Burke

Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. – Albert Einstein

Animals are such agreeable friends — they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. – George Eliot

🪦 By hero, we tend to mean a heightened man who, more than other men, possesses qualities of courage, loyalty, resourcefulness, charisma, above all, selflessness. He is an example of right behavior; the sort of man who risks his life to protect his society’s values, sacrificing his personal needs for those of the community. – Paul Zweig

🙃 And In Confusion…

Enjoy your long weekend if weekends are on your agenda in this new world. If not, enjoy whatever you want to call it. Join me on Monday really Tuesday for what’s on Deck and a reunion of awful Summer people – GH will be a rerun. Until then, stay safe, stay not chewing with your mouth open, and stay remembering, it’s not always quid pro quo. There are such things as altruism and sacrifice.