Category Archives: horror

March 27, 2016 — A Mutiny, a Debate, a Reunion, the Dead & the Wives

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

Once Upon A Time
Henry takes off with Cruella in the coolest car ever. Her license plate says DeVIL and I feel really, really stupid because in all these years, I never realized her last name spells devil. Henry makes her stop near a forest. Cruella isn’t interested in tromping around in her heels, so she tells Henry to go ahead. The Sorcerer’s Apprentice stops Henry. He tells Henry it would be a mistake to resurrect Cruella. He says Henry should only record the stories, not create them. The sorcerer says the quill is protected by a powerful spell and the sheriff has the key. He tells Henry he trusts him to make the right choice.

Emma tends to Hook’s wounds. He says she went into the darkness for love, but he did it for revenge and doesn’t measure up to her. She asks if he wants to stay in the Underworld. There’s a knock at the door. It’s Hook’s older brother, Liam.

We flash back to Hook and his brother working as indentured servants on a ship. Liam suggests they join the Royal Navy when they’re finished. The captain comes by and kicks some crap onto the deck that they have to clean up. He tells them only Liam can go collect their money, which will be paid to him. Liam says he’ll be back and they’ll be free by sunrise.

Hook says the only way out of the Underworld is to defeat Hades. He asks Liam if he has any knowledge from being there so long. Liam says he’s heard about a book from people who have tried to overthrow Hades. He says he’s in on the mutiny.

Snow and David look for the book. Liam asks to talk to Emma. He tells her Hook blames himself for being there, but Liam thinks it’s Emma’s fault. He says Hook had the chance to die a hero and she took it from him. She asks if he was this self-righteous while he was alive. He says when it comes to his brother, yes, and if she really loves him, she’ll let him go.

Hook and Emma start looking for the book. Henry says he thinks he knows where it is, but they need the key from the sheriff, who is also David’s evil twin, James.

Back on the old ship, Liam returns and the captain says only he can leave. Hook took the captain up on his offer of a drink and ended up gambling his half of the money away. The captain says Liam should just leave the dead weight behind him. Hook says he can’t be the brother that Liam deserves. Liam says come hell or high water, he can’t leave his brother.

Hades is in the bar where Liam is bartender. Hades says he knows about the mutiny. Liam asks what he wants. Hades says he wants the book destroyed, or at least the pages he’s on. He says the sorcerer’s house doesn’t like him very much, so he needs Liam to get it.

Snow and David break into the sheriff’s office. They get the key, but hear Cruella coming in. Snow jets out and David pretends to be his brother. Cruella has brought champagne and says momma has had a long day.

Emma asks Regina what she thinks of Liam. Regina realizes Liam doesn’t like Emma. Emma says he doesn’t think she’s good enough for Hook. Regina says he the type who doesn’t forgive himself.

Henry, Hook. Liam and Emma take the key to the sorcerer’s house.

On the old ship, a storm is brewing and the ship is going right into it. Hook tries to tell the captain they should change course, or they’ll face a hurricane. The captain says there’s a reward for the ship that goes inside the hurricane, so too bad, they’re staying on course. Liam and Hook stage a mutiny. Hook asks if it’s going to be the easy way or the bloody way and the captain surrenders. Liam tells Hook to tie them up while he goes to get the captain’s maps and whatever.

The sorcerer isn’t a very good housekeeper. There are cobwebs everywhere. Emma tells Henry to be the lookout while they look for the book.

Liam finds the book. While alone, he turns to the pages with Hades in them, and rips them out, saying he’s sorry to his brother.

Cruella is sitting on David’s lap, trying to ply him with champagne. Finally he has enough and asks her if his brother really goes for this nonsense. Cruella says she’d hoped he’d pretended a while longer. She says she knew he wasn’t James because although he looks like James, he doesn’t have James’s “delicious damage,” the damage David is responsible for.

The Storybrooke gang realizes the pages with Hades are gone. Regina says she took her pages out when she didn’t want Henry to know she was the evil queen. Liam pretends like he didn’t know the pages were missing and says maybe they fell out somewhere. They go off to look.

Emma tells Hook something is up with Liam, but he blows her off, thinking it’s just because of Liam’s attitude toward Emma.

Hades shows up in the midst of the storm. Liam is in the captain’s quarters and Hades says he can help him. He says Liam’s dreams of the King’s Navy are over. Liam asks how he would know about that and Hades shows his blue, fiery hair. Liam says he’s a demon. Hades says technically he’s a god, but a lot of people make that mistake. Liam draws his sword. Hades promises if Liam allows the ship to be sunk, he’ll spare Liam and his brother. He says he’ll also give him a rare gem stone. Hades says it will fulfill all of Liam’s dreams.

Liam ditches the pages in a well. Emma comes by and he claims he’s getting some air. Emma tells him that he’s Hook’s hero and wonders why he lied to Hook. Hook comes by and Emma says Liam has the pages. She says he’s been hiding his hands since she got there and tells Liam to show Hook his hands. Hook says he doesn’t care. His fate isn’t in Storybrooke, it should be determined there. Emma says no matter how many times people tell him he’s good enough, he doesn’t listen. She leaves.

Liam shows Hook his hands and they have ink on them. Hook asks why Liam lied. The ship’s crew comes out of the woods and the captain says that Liam has to pay for what he did to them.

Back on the old ship, they’re in the middle of the storm. Liam gives Hook his lucky ring, saying that’s how sure he is, and takes the wheel. Hook makes a speech about trusting Liam with his life.

In the Underworld, Hook asks what this has to do with the missing pages. The captain says Liam isn’t the hero he pretends to be. He says he saw Hades visiting him at the bar and says he traded their souls for the eye of the storm. The guys take Hook and Liam to the edge of the precipice above the Lake of Fire, and the captain tells them to walk the plank. Liam asks them to spare Hook, but that’s a no. Liam tells Hook sorry he failed.

Hades shows up asking if someone decided to have a party without inviting him. Bye, captain! Hades says only one of them kept the bargain with him. Liam tells him to spare Hook and that he had nothing to do with it. Hades says too bad and over the edge Liam goes. Hook grabs his hand, but Liam says to forgive him and lets go. Hades says Liam will pay for this and disappears poof! in a cloud of blue smoke. I guess his sacrifice spared Hook.

Liam is in a little boat and drifts up to Hook. Liam says this is what he should have done in the first place. Hook tells all the men they’re free now and to get in the boat. He says his unfinished business isn’t done yet. Liam says to tell Emma he was wrong and that she does want what’s best for Hook. The brothers say good-by and Liam sails away.

In the old days, Liam and Hook wash up on shore. Some soldiers from the Royal Navy find them. The captain says if they went into the storm, they deserve what they got. Liam produces the stone and the captain sings a different tune, saying he’s a hero. His ship will take them to the king. Liam says he’s going to ask the king about a Navy position and the captain says they can do that right there.

Hook tells Emma what happened, and how she was right about Liam, but he sacrificed himself. Hook says he saw the truth that he is good enough for Emma. They kiss.

Henry pokes around the sorcerer’s place. He finds the quill and some ink. The others are still combing the book, but the pages with Hades are gone. David finds Henry upstairs and asks what’s up. Henry says he doesn’t want to talk about it. David says he learned that his twin brother resented him his whole life. He says he wanted what David had, a family and tells Henry that his family is pretty great. Henry asks him not to make it a lesson.

Henry shows the others the quill. He tells them about Cruella and how he almost helped her with it. He says he realized how much power he has and wanted to be the hero rather than the one rescued. He says he knows better now and is going to write the stories as they are. They wonder what Hades is trying to hide from them.

Hades finds the pages from the book and looks through them. He comes to a picture of him and Celena. He says their secret is safe.

Next week, Celena visits Hades and a reckless romance must be stopped.

The Walking Dead

Strange beginning. It’s either raining or dripping blood and there are voices in the background. Then we go right to the credits and an ad for Fear the Walking Dead which tricks us into thinking the show started.

Carol sews her jacket and packs her bag. Tobin comes upstairs. Carol hides her bag under the bed. He talks about Denise and Carol spaces out. Carol says she’s concerned about when Tara finds out. Tobin says everything will be okay and kisses her. When he’s asleep, Carol slips out while a Johnny Cash song, It’s All Over, plays.

The song continues as we see what everyone is doing. Glenn and Maggie are taking a shower together; Daryl sits on his bike, Denise’s key ring in his hand; Sasha gives Abe a cigar; Rosita guards the gate.

Rick and Michonne are in bed. She takes a bite of an apple and gives it to him. This is so they can get cozy and not have morning breath. It’s an old French trick. They talk about how ultimately, everything went pretty well. Michonne has to leave for her shift. She says Maggie is worried about an attack. Rick says it won’t be like before and everyone knows what to do. He says the world is theirs and they’re not losing anybody again. Don’t get cocky, Rick.

Michonne, Glen and Maggie see Daryl leaving Alexandria on his bike. Glenn says they have to stop him. Abe pops out of nowhere and Rosita tells him to cover her shift because she’s going with them. She gets in the car with Michonne and Glenn.

Rick asks Tobin when Carol left, but he doesn’t know. Abe comes up and tells them that Daryl just took off. Tobin notices there’s a car missing. Abe says he’s going to find them and Rick tells him to wait. He says not to let anyone else leave and to be ready for a fight. He leaves with Morgan.

Commercial break. Fear 462. The oxygen masks drop and it looks like the plane is dropping too.

Carol is driving a car with giant spikes sticking out of it. A car comes from the other direction and some guys shoot out the tires. They sit in the back of their pickup and wait. Carol tucks her rosary in her sleeve. A guy says hands up and she asks them not to hurt her. What the blip has happened to Carol? She gets out of the car.

The guy asks where she’s from and where she’s going. He says he’s Hugh. She says she’s Nancy and she’s bounced around a lot, that she’s not from anywhere or going anywehre. He says they agree on one thing, she’s not going anywhere, but she seems like she is from somewhere. He says Alexandria has cars out front like the one she’s driving. He says she shouldn’t be out there alone and they can give her a ride back, since it’s where they were headed. Carol hyperventilates.

She says they could turn around and no one needs to get hurt. They start to come for her and a gun from somewhere shoots them all. A gun from carol’s sleeve. Apparently, part of her sewing project. One of the guys who is still alive comes after her, but she stabs him with one of the car spikes.

She tells another survivor to come out. He says he’ll pass. Blood is dripping from everywhere (like in the opening scene) and he comes out in attack mode with a knife.

Enid tells Maggie to put her feet up and eat some pickles while she takes Maggie’s shift.

Morgan says he thinks Carol went east. Rick says he doesn’t even know her. Morgan says there is no right, just wrong that hasn’t pulled you down.

One of the guys Carol shot is wounded. He stumbles out of the truck, surveying the damage.

Rick and Morgan drive up. They see Carol’s car, but no Carol. Rick grabs a guy who’s still breathing and asks where she is. He just gurgles, so Rick puts him out of his misery. He and Morgan look around cautiously. Rick says the men were Saviors. Rick says Carol took four of them down and she’s a force of nature. Morgan sees a blood trail going into the woods. Rick notices the guns are gone.

They follow the trail through a field. The wounded guy comes out of the woods and picks up Carol’s rosary. He follows Rick and Morgan.

Rosita and Glen go to the train tracks where Denise died. Glen asks her which way Dwight ran.

Daryl is also going through the field and nearly hits Rosita with an arrow. Daryl says they shouldn’t have come and Glenn says he shouldn’t have left. Daryl says he’s going to do what he should have done. Glenn says they need to figure it out from home and that everyone there needs them right now. He says it’s going to go wrong out there. Michonne asks Daryl to come back, but he says he can’t . He walks into the woods. Rosita says she can’t either and follows him. Glenn and Michonne go back.

Glenn says they need to find out more and Michonne agrees. Glen says after everything they did, he thought they would figure it out together. They hear a whistle type signal. A bunch of guys with guns surround them. Dwight is one of them.

Rick and Morgan see more blood. Morgan asks Rick id he’s there because Carol is his friend. Rick says Carol is his family. Morgan asks Rick about when he kicked Carol out of the prison and what he would do if that happened today. He adds that she came back and saved them. They see someone stumbling along, but it’s not Carol, it’s a zombie.

They go to a farmhouse, where there are a couple of dead people outside. They see a guy attack a zombie. The guy runs into the barn. He says he’s looking for his horse and Rick says they’re looking for a friend. The guy runs out and away, but Rick and Morgan can’t go after him because a slew of zombies come out that they have to deal with. Rick says maybe he’s from Hilltop. Morgan says he could be from anywhere.

Morgan says he found a Wolf who had attacked him once before. He found him hiding in one of the brownstones in Alexandria. He says he could have killed him, but he kept him in a cell instead. He says when Carol found out, they fought about it. He says when the Wolf escaped, he ended up saving Denise’s life, who in turn saved Carl. He says it’s a circle. He tells Rick to take the car home and that he shouldn’t be taking any more chances because he’s needed there. He says somehow, he’ll find Carol.

Rick asks if he’s coming back. Morgan says yes, but if he doesn’t, don’t come looking. Rick makes him take a gun. Before he leaves, he tells Morgan that Michonne did steal the protein bar (something I don’t even remember, but it sounds like something from Survivor). Morgan says he knew that.

Rick gets back and asks if Michonne is there, but she’s still out with Glenn. Abe asks Rick if he’s afraid to get close to anyone and he says yes. Abe says him too, but he’s ready to rip the world a new one.

Maggie tells Enid she needs some more help. She wants Enid to cut her hair. She says she has to keep going and doesn’t want anything to get in her way. Like shoulder-length hair? Enid does a pretty good job, but then Maggie goes into labor.

Glenn and Michonne are bound and gagged. Daryl sees them from behind a tree. Dwight comes up behind him and I say “oh no!” out loud. We hear a shot, Daryl pitches forward, and Dwight says, “You’ll be all right.”

Next week, it’s the 90-minute finale, Rick wants to make a deal, and a humongous war happens.

I Am Cait

The girls go for mani-pedis. The next stop is Dubuque, then Des Moines for the debates and then Graceland University where Cait went to school. They will be giving a talk there. She says the school is religiously affiliated and she wants to allow the student body to ask questions. Ella is kind of nervous about that, since she knows a couple of guys who go to school there.

They go to a fund raiser for Chicago House and Cait gives a talk. Cait visited one of their homes that houses people from the trans community. There is a protest outside where the protesters say that Cait has no clue about the real trans community issues. One of the protesters says that Cait doesn’t speak for them, and Cait explains that she isn’t trying to speak for everyone, only herself. Like there isn’t enough pressure, I guess she’s supposed to be a role model for every person who’s ever had gender reassignment surgery. Non-conformists unite!

Back in the limo, Chandi is like, that person isn’t even showing their face, how are they helping the community. Jenny says it’s the first time Cait has seen some people’s reservations about her. Jenny says she’s a public figure, but also a problematic figure and she needs to pay attention.

I just want to interject my two cents here. Why is it that just because Cait transitioned, she is supposed to be a totally different person inside as well? I thought the whole point was to put your body in sync with your mind. Not the other way around.

They pick up Candis’s sister, Mimi, and head to Dubuque. The first stop is a lingerie store. Cait says she thinks there’s some wild things going on in Dubuque. They go out to eat and Cait suggests sampling “mountain oysters” (i.e. bull testicles), but that idea is vetoed.

A local trans representative sits down with them and they discuss the evening’s casino event. The girls are going to be dealers for the night. Kate says this is a good way for people to experience meeting their first transgender person and see that they’re sweet.

A 13-year-old girl tells Cait she’s having trouble coming out and Cait gives some wise advice that’s probably true for everyone. Surround yourself with positive people who want the best for you and if anyone gives you trouble, tell them to get the hell out.

Back on the bus, Kate says they’ll be going to the Democratic debates, and says she doesn’t want the firestorm they had before. She says there will be a lot of young people of both parties there and they want to set a good example. She says “God bless America” will be the “safe” word and if someone hears it, they should check themselves for being too aggressive. Candis is afraid that Cait won’t be able to meet in the middle about her political debates and is afraid she’ll go off on a rant’

The ladies go to Drake University where the debate is being held. It’s also where Cait ran her first decathlon as Bruce. It must be weird, going back to the old places. Zackary says Cait’s conservative politics are of concern to all of them, irritating me. Because everyone has to think the same. There are surprisingly few people at the debate. Cait tries to talk to Kate about Bernie Sander’s policies and Kate God bless Americas the crap out of her. Kate gives her a B+ for listening and communication.

Afterwards. the moderator asks for opinions and points out Cait in particular. She says that transitioning was a cakewalk until people found out she was a Republican. Aren’t we even getting to meet Hilary? Oh, here she is. Caitlyn comes up to Hilary to say hello and introduces the group. Zachary says all of them were star struck, but I dunno about that. Cait says she thought Hilary was “sweet.” That’s probably the only time we’ll ever hear that word in connection with her. Bill Clinton comes in behind, where Hilary makes him walk, and takes a picture with the girls.

The girls go out for dessert. Ella texted a football player she knows from the school, who she wants to get together with. Cait says that she treated Hilary with respect and wants the girls to treat the people at the school with the same respect.

Here’s something else I think. Obviously, Cait has a celebrity status the majority of the population, trans or otherwise, doesn’t, so maybe she’s not the greatest example for the trans community. However, if those same things make people more comfortable with the issues and more willing to be open-minded, why fight that? Erin Brochovich wasn’t afraid to use her femininity to get to the bottom of that drinking water case. Amirite?

Cait says she never wore heels at Graceland, and she’s kind of nervous. She meets her old coaches. She wondered what they’re reaction was going to be and it looks like it’s pretty normal and they’re still proud of her. Ella says she’s not going to be able to talk on stage. She meets her friend, Michael, from high school. The other guy who was supposed to come is AWOL. Candis is bummed, but gives full kudos for Michael. He joins Ella and the girls for lunch. The ladies ask Michael how he felt when he first saw Ella after her transition and he answers appropriately that he was in awe of her gorgeousity.

It’s time for the assembly and the ladies take their places on stage. The professor moderating says there are no wrong questions. The first one is about balancing religion with being a trans person. There is mic drop silence from the girls and Chandi says she’ll take it.

Chandi says that she was told her life was an abomination and lost touch with God. She says she realized that God knew who she was going to be before she was born and she reconnected and now will never let that connection go. Kate says look for the heart of the doctrine you’re following, and if it’s mean, think twice about following it. Sadly, her daughter is high up in the Church of Scientology and she hasn’t seen her daughter since she was nine, because she’s considered evil. They talk about things like pronouns and what it means to be a woman. Ella says she’s the same person she was before the transition, and I go, ahem, thinking about them not allowing Cait that same grace.

One of the kids asks how happy they are. Cait talks about not knowing who she was. Now she’s excited about life, but there was a lot of struggle first. Jenny says it was Cait’s turn to be worried about what they would say, but everyone was respectful and eloquent. I agree. Everyone is proud of everyone.

Cait says that no matter what your situation is, you can live an authentic life. It’s about dealing with all of our stuff, not just trans issues. Candis apologizes for being too hard on Cait and says she’ll be more open to her conservative views. Cait says they’ll have plenty of time.

Next week, Candis flirts with her trainer, and Cait meets with Scott.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta — The Reunion, Part Two

Because some new shows started tonight, I couldn’t watch my line-up without something overlapping. I chose to miss the first half of this one, since Once Upon A Time doesn’t repeat and I didn’t want to lose any of I Am Cait. I think those girls have more important things to say than these girls. So we join our program already in progress.

Dylan is there, but gets the bum’s rush before he gets a chance to say much. Andy asks Phaedra about getting her groove back after Apollo going to prison. We flash back to various Phaedra scenes, many with the kids, and of course the visit to the prison. Andy asks about the visit part we didn’t see. Phaedra says she thought it would be more emotional with the kids, but it really wasn’t. She talks about Apollo not wanting the divorce. Andy asks about them going back and Phaedra isn’t too keen on it and talks about some weirdness in the room during the visit and also that the kids got pretty bored after about an hour and it wasn’t like they could just leave.

Phaedra says she’s glad that’s over with, so people can mind their own business. Andy stirs the pot by asking is it anyone in particular. She throws some shade at Kandi, but Kandi says that she just finds it sad that Dylan doesn’t know his dad and one day Apollo will be out of prison, so they need a relationship. Kandi says she has to be honest about the pros and cons as a friend. Phaedra says none of the guys who were his friends have ever checked on the kids seeing if they need a male role model. Cynthia says that she’s told Phaedra she’ll be there if she needs her. It looks to me like Phaedra freezes people out and then gets pissed when they’re not asking if she needs help all the time.

They talk about Phaedra’s boys and it is a little sad. Phaedra talks about them always being her babies and when Aiden said he was afraid, it broke her heart.

Porsha is asked about her strange on-camera relationships. Porsha says she’s not in a relationship with Oliver (the latest), but they speak every day. They move on to the Miami trip. We go back to Kenya asking that weird guy to leave. They talk again about how Porsha and Phaedra acted like Kenya was labeling him as a Black man. It turns out even the president of Black Lives Matter tweeted Porsha and told her to knock it off. Kenya says that the dude had an aggressive and threatening manner toward women, so it wasn’t exactly an example to be setting. Kim said it was more awkward than aggressive and wonders why Kenya didn’t ask security to remove him. Kenya says she went to Tammy first. She says that it turns out the guy also had been involved in unsavory activities.

It’s brought up that it was Kenya who invited him back to the house. She says yes, but with Tammy. Phaedra says it was a case of Kenya wanting him, but him not being receptive. I disagree. The tape shows how aggressive he was and if he hadn’t been and Kenya was interested, she would have just not taken no for an answer, not asked him to leave.

Kandi comes to Kenya’s defense, saying the guy had no right to behave the way he did. She said Kenya did nothing wrong and she can’t believe they all think it was okay. Cynthia admits that had it been anyone else, it wouldn’t have been a big deal. Kandi says at the end of the day, Kenya does some crazy stuff, but regardless of whether you like her or not or what she said was right or not, the guy shouldn’t have behaved the way he did.

Next week, The Reunion, Part Three, Nene shows up in a barely there outfit, Porsha’s violence is called out, and the men join the ladies.

The Real Housewives of Potomac

No reunion yet? How is this show is still on???

Robyn meets Gizelle for lunch. Gizelle toasts to new beginnings. She asks if Juan told Robyn about their conversation. She thinks they should figure out what the end result of their relationship is going to be. Robyn says the “ingredients” are there, but she’s not sure if she wants to be open again. She says if Juan takes an out-of-state job, it will force them to make a decision. Gizelle thinks it’s important for the children as well.

Katie meets with her friend Tia. They talk about Andrew a little and Katie moves on to Karen’s “gala.” Katie says it was more like a cocktail party. Agreed.

At Karen’s house, a family cookout is being planned. Karen says it’s the first time in 19 years that they’ll be alone. She and Ray talk about the gala that wasn’t. Ray asks her about the altercation at the end. Karen says Ashley tried to out-queen her and that wasn’t going to happen. Talk about exaggeration. Jealous much?

Katie and Tia talk about Gizelle. Katie says other than dressing like a prostitute and acting bitchy, Gizelle is a nice person. Better duck. That shade is being pulled down.

Ashley picks up her mother, Sheila, for lunch. Sheila bought a house and had to sue the previous owner. She won the suit, but the amount wasn’t enough to cover everything, so she had to declare bankruptcy. Ashley and Michael want to buy Sheila a new home, but Sheila thinks it’s too big of a gift. Ashley says she’s in the position to do it and she wants to. Sheila says she never wants to be her burden. Ashley says that’s not the case. I say, geez, they have a skabillion dollars, take the house. And pick out a nice house. In her individual interview, Ashley says it’s bizarre that Karen doesn’t want Ashley around her daughter, since she actually makes a pretty good role model.

Charrisse is turning 50 and she says it’s going to be a new Charrisse. She’s going to have a slide show of her pictures during her party. Not too egotistical. Katie comes over to give her modeling tips for her birthday photo shoot. Charrisse says she’s having the party at the Carnegie Library. Her husband can’t make the party, but I don’t think she cares a whole lot.

It’s Rayvin’s going away party and Karen is getting ready with last minute stuff. She’s about to put her feet up for a second, when the bartender shows up, who Karen had no idea was hired by her husband. Spousal communication is a universal problem. She tells Ray he made her look like an idiot and he tells her not to sweat the small stuff.

All the relatives and friends gather in Karen’s backyard for some barbecue. Karen cries on Ray’s shoulder in the kitchen because she’s having a hard time letting go.

Gizelle sits her girls down for a family meeting. She says she’s been dating a little and she wants to talk to them about it. She asks them how they feel about her dating. I suppose the chant of “get a boyfriend” answers that question. Charrisse drops by with her dogs. They chat in the kitchen. Gizelle asks if Eddie is coming to the birthday party. Charrisse says she’d love for him to be there, but it is what it is. She also says the party is totaling around 80 grand, so maybe it’s good he’s not around.

Robyn meets Juan for lunch. Juan wants to be a head coach, but has to work his way up. Robyn asks about the out-of-state job. He says nothing is going on with that yet, and Robyn is relieved.

Charrisse’s birthday is upon us. I’m speechless. I don’t even know what to say about the slide show, giant cake and a billion balloons. Katie says Karen should take note on event planning and I have to agree with that. She also says it’s kind of like a wedding and I have to agree there too. A sad wedding. With just a bride.

Ashley says hello to Karen, who can’t brush her off fast enough. She asks the girls how she became the bad guy all of a sudden. In a moment of the pot calling the kettle black, Gizelle says Ashley can be a bit of a dum-dum. Karen says she doesn’t have time for Ashley’s shenanigans tonight. Gizelle wants them to talk, but doesn’t get anywhere. Ashley catches Karen in the hall and asks if they can talk, but Karen says no, she’s there to enjoy the evening with her husband. In her individual interview, Karen says Ashley doesn’t belong in this world. Does anyone? Ashley is kind of like a persistent puppy and somewhat annoying, but on the other hand, I just don’t see what the big deal is here. I usually don’t when it comes to Karen, who makes it up as she goes along.

Charrisse makes a costume change. Her daughter makes a little speech and it’s very sweet. A reasonably sized cake comes out. Charrisse does some rapping and her father looks less than impressed.

Michael grabs Andrew’s behind. Why? Who knows. Ashley says he’s just being silly. What’s really weird is, Michael and Andrew are talking and having a drink, while the ladies are discussing it. Gizelle asks if butt-grabbing is a white thing. For whatever reason Ashley thought Robyn and Gizelle were bi-racial and they get all offended. Then they go back to more butt-grabbing talk. Zzzzz….

Katie tells Andrew about the discussion. Katie says Robyn and Gizelle seem fixated about how Black they are, and are the most obsessed with race.

Ashley says something to Michael about the butt-grabbing being a white thing and jokes that it is. Ashley says she’s grabbed everyone’s butt except Karen’s. I don’t think I’ve ever grabbed a friend’s butt. Charrisse is happy with her $80,000 party, so that’s all that really matters.

Perhaps Michael has had too much to drink because he gets teary-eyed over how lucky he is to be married to Ashley.

Next week, we still can’t get rid of them, the girls go horseback riding, Ashley wants a baby, and Andrew goes on a golf trip without Katie.

March 20, 2016 — An Exhausting Night of TV

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

Once Upon A Time

When we last left him, Hook had to decide which of his friends would be staying in the Underworld. He refuses. Hades says he’s disappointed…and angry. He sends Hook to solitary. He tells Hook if he touches the River of Lost Souls, he’ll be lost, so he’d better keep his hands inside the boat.

Gold finds a note from Peter saying that the shop is his to do what he wants. He cooks up some eye of newt stuff in a cauldron. He looks into a crystal ball and sees Belle. He drops the ball, smashing it.

The others are planning on springing Hook. Gold comes in to discourage them from their plan. He has an aura of a dead person that he can give himself and Emma to get through. He knows someone who will give them their aura.

Back in the old days, a snake has bitten Gold’s son.

Gold sees his wife as a crossing guard in the Underworld. He tells her he’s not dead, just visiting. He says her job is ironic, keeping children safe. He asks her if she wants to go on a romantic adventure and says they need to get Hook. She says she’s responsible for the children, and he says, um… they’re dead already. He asks if she’ll help him if it means saving Hook. Hmm….

Hook is being held by Hades above the River of Lost Souls. Hades tells Hook that they brought contraband into his world, which is forbidden, and he still sees hope in Hook’s eyes. He wants it to be gone before Hook reaches the water. He tells Hook to feel free to go mad.

Gold introduces Mila, his ex-wife (and Hook’s ex), to Emma. Mila is like, you’ve been with my ex-lover and son (Neil). Gold says they’ll laugh about it one day.

Regina approaches Cruella. She wants to know how to find someone in the graveyard. Cruella says let’s sit down and be civilized.

Gold, Mila and Emma join hands to get through a barrier to the low place of the Underworld. The Under Underworld, if you will. The door slams shut behind them.

Olden days Gold and his wife approach a witch doctor for a snake bite cure. He says the potion is very rare and will cost 100 gold pieces. They don’t have it and leave, but Mila says they’ll come back and take it.

Emma thanks Mila and tells her that she’s had a vision of Neil and he’s moved on and is happy. Whatever he had to resolve, is done. They’re at the River of Lost Souls where there’s a boat. Mila says they can take it to Hook. She has her reasons to want to come with them.

Regina asks if she finds a headstone if that means the person is in “Underbrooke.” Cruella says no, it might mean they’re just passing through. Cruella happens to have a cemetery plot map on her, which is pretty convenient. One color means they’re there, another they’re just passing through and another means they’ve moved on.

Emma, Gold and Mila take the boat to where Hook is. Gold tells Emma he’s staying in the boat and she’ll be fine on her own. Mila stays with him.

Olden days Mila buys a dagger with their last gold coin for Gold/Rumpel to kill the witch doctor. She tells him to do something brave for once. He leaves and some brute tries to pick Mila up. Hook intervenes. He introduces himself. Mila asks him if it’s wonderful to travel the ocean. He says it’s pretty amazing and asks her if she’d like to see it. She says she has responsibilities of a husband and child. I’m guessing they “hooked” up later? Hahahahaha!

Hook dangles over the water and drops further down when Emma comes in. She walks out onto a platform above the water toward him. I love the sets in this show! She manages to grab Hook and get him onto something stable. He tells her she should leave. Of course she won’t. Like she traveled all that way just to leave him there.

Mila talks to Gold while they’re waiting. She tells him her unfinished business wasn’t Hook, it was their son. She should have been there for him instead of punishing him because she hated Rumpel. She wants to move on so she can see him and apologize. Gold says he betrayed him as well and was forgiven, and he’ll forgive Mila.

Rumpel sneaks into the witch doctor’s tent. The doctor wakes up and says he cold kill Rumpel with a single spell, but does nothing because he knows Rumpel doesn’t have the guts to kill him. He asks how much Rumpel’s son means to him. Rumpel says everything. He says Rumpel can leave with the cure and they can make a deal. He says he would trade anything to save his son.

Hades shows up, but tells Gold he’s not there to fight. He wants to make a deal.

Snow meets Regina in the graveyard. They find Daniel Colter’s grave. Regina knows he’s not there and happy. She says he was her first love and will always live in her heart.

Gold has a drink with Hades who says he’s a fan. He says he’s been a good supplier of souls. He wants Gold to sink the boat so that his friends don’t have a way out. Gold says he can do it himself. Hades says he could, but he wants Gold to do it. Gold says Mila already saw Hades, but Hades says Gold can figure that one out.

Rumpel brings the cure back and says he didn’t even have to steal it. He says he didn’t want his son to grow up with a monster as a father, so he signed a paper saying he’d give the witch doctor his second child. Mila says he sold their future. He says the son they already have is all the future they need. Mila says thanks for deciding her future for her. Typical man. She says she’s going to the tavern.

Gold destroys the boat and tells Mila, congratulations, he’s finally become the man she wanted him to be — the one who takes what he needs. He dumps her into the river.

Emma and Hook appear, and Gold tells them Hades blew his magic back at him and that’s how Mila disappeared.

Regina and Snow come upon a hurt horse. Regina cures it and it gives her a thank you look. Snow is surprised that Regina’s magic worked.

Hook, Emma and Gold join the others. Hook says they lost the boat and a friend though. He tells Gold he should kill him, but he did help him get out, so they’re even for now. Gold says he just wants to get home and you’re welcome. Regina tells them her magic is working and as soon as they find an exit, they can get out. All of a sudden her magic won’t work though.

Regina, Snow and Emma are stuck in the Underworld.

Gold pops back to where the witch doctor lives, in full Rumpel regalia. He says the doctor took advantage of him and he admires that, but he wants to dissolve the contract. He says he can’t owe a debt to a dead man and takes his heart, saying he loves a loophole.

Gold comes to see Hades. He says he destroyed the boat, now send him home. Hades says things have changed. He’ll send him home, but not today. He says Gold tried to hide something from him and looks into the crystal ball to see Belle. He says he did a little digging and thinking, and knows Gold was trying to figure out where his son went. He says Belle is an image of his next child because Belle is pregnant. He produces the witch doctor. He says death doesn’t nullify a contract in the Underworld and the doctor signed it over to him. He says at any time he can cash the debt in and take Gold’s baby.

All magic comes with a price. The price is that Gold works for Hades. And there’s something he needs Gold to do that only he can do.

Next week, Hook begins a mutiny, Hook’s brother shows up, and Hook wants to move on from Emma.

The Walking Dead

All seems calm in Alexandria. Carol is back and on the porch having a smoke. Morgan is practicing free masonry. Rick comes by to see Morgan. Morgan is building a jail cell to give him some choices next time.

Why are we seeing the same scene we just saw? Different perspectives? Yes. Carol examines her rosary and Rosita gets dressed.

Daryl takes a toy soldier out of a pouch and tosses it aside. Carol comes by and he asks for a smoke. They’d better start growing tobacco if they want to keep this up. She asks about the people who stole his bike after he saved them. He says he should have killed them.

Daryl asks what the Saviors did to Carol and Maggie. She says they didn’t do anything.

Spencer asks Rosita what they’re doing. She says dinner, but I think he means about their relationship.

Denise shows Daryl where an apothecary is and asks to go on the next run. He asks how much time she’s spent on the outside. She says none, but she can identify the drugs there. She says she’ll go alone if she has to.

Daryl, Denise and Rosita go on a run. Daryl is having a hard time driving a stick (something I find more unbelievable than zombies existing) and Denise tells him she can drive one. He stops the car and he and Rosita get out. Rosita dispatches a zombie and goes through his pockets.

They get Denise and decide to walk. Rosita wants to take the railroad tracks and separates from Daryl and Denise.

Eugene and Abe discuss being a man. Eugene says, the key to survival is allowing oneself to be shaped by the environment. He says he’s changed and adapted and he’s a survivor. Abe says keep telling yourself that.

Denise and Daryl meet Rosita at the crossroad. Denise asks Rosita who taught her to fight. She says a lot of people taught her a lot of things. Everyone is a font of information tonight. They approach the apothecary and Daryl opens the door with a crowbar.

Abe and Eugene enter a building. Abe asks what they’re doing. Eugene says they’re going to manufacture bullets, using spent casings. I’m not sure why someone hasn’t suggested this before, even though Abe acts like it’s “outside the box” thinking. A zombie comes in and Eugene wants to be the one to kill it, but it has metal over it’s head and Abe steps in. Eugene says he had dibs and Abe says he’d have better luck picking up a turd by the clean end. Eugene says killing zombies is in his skill set and Abe says manufacturing bullets is in his skill set. Eugene says he doesn’t need Abe or his protection anymore. Abe tells Eugene to find his own way back. Why did Eugene act like such a d-bag there?

Commercial break. Fear 462. Potential zombie dispatched. Obrecht freaking out. Plane window cracked.

Rosita, Daryl and Denise enter the apothecary. They find the pharmacy area. Rosita breaks open the gate. Daryl says they’re going to take everything. They probably should. They’ll need it sooner or later. They hear some noises and Denise decides she’s going to kill whatever it is. What is up with the minor characters proving their bravery tonight?

Denise opens a door to an empty crib and a bunch of garbage. There’s a zombie wearing a cast on the floor and a sink full of blood with a little sneaker floating in it. WTF? Denise runs out of the room and goes outside. She sits on the sidewalk and is bummed by everything.

Daryl and Rosita come out. Daryl tells her she did good finding the place. Rosia says she tried to tell Denise she wasn’t ready. They walk back to the car.

Denise tells Daryl about her brother Denis. She says he was brave and angry, a dangerous combination. Daryl says it sounds like they had the same brother. Denise approaches a car and a zombie pops up making us both jump. She thinks there’s a cooler in the car they can use. Daryl tells her forget it, but she decides to try anyway. The zombie grabs her and they tumble to the ground. Denise makes her first zombie kill. Guess she was a little ready. She throws up. Okay, maybe not so much ready. She lost her glasses in the frey and finds soda in the cooler. Daryl says she could have died. She says if you want to live, you take chances. He says, for a couple of sodas? She says, no, just his one

Rosita asks if she’s that’s stupid. Denise asks her if she is. Denise says she’s training for this, and not making it up to go along. She says she asked them to be with her because Daryl is brave and Rosita is stronger than she thinks she is, giving Denise hope. She says she cold have gone with Tara and told her she loved her, but she was afraid. She says she needed to do this and can’t believe they’re not being supportive. She says they’re strong and they’re smart and —

Hole m-f-ing-f! Denise gets an arrow though the eye while she’s talking and a huge group of guys come out of the woods. They have Eugene. I think I’ve stopped breathing forever.

Dwight, on of the people who stole Daryl’s bike, asks Daryl if he has something to say. Nope. A couple of the men pat Rosita and Daryl down on the ground. Daryl says he should have killed him. Dwight says yeah, he probably should have, and asks who brought this on who? He says she wasn’t who he was aiming for. He says it’s not how they like to start new business arrangements, but he didn’t start this. By the way, he used Daryl’s crossbow to kill Denise.

Rosita asks what they want. He says they’re going to let them into Alexandria and take whatever or whoever they want, or they’re going to blow all three of their brains out. Eugene tells them to start with whoever is hiding behind the barrels and that he deserves it more than they do.

One of the guys goes to check it out and Eugene bites Dwight in the man parts. Chaos ensues with everybody shooting and then zombies joining the mix. I still haven’t started breathing again. Dwight manages to escape getting shot and those who are left flee into the woods. Daryl starts to follow, but Rosita stops him.

Wow. This sux. Eugene is wounded too. Rosita says the f-word, even though we don’t hear it. Denise lies dead on the railroad tracks.

The rest make it back to Alexandria. Eugene tells Abe he wasn’t trying to kill him and asks for an apology for trashing his skills. Abe apologizes and says welcome to stage two. Abe goes to see Sasha. She asks if he’s okay. He says she told him he has choices and that she does too. He says it could be 30 years for them there. She asks him to come inside.

Daryl and Carol bury Denise. Carol tells Daryl he was right.

Carol leaves a note for Tobin. She says she didn’t want it to end this way. They have everything they need and other people want it. She says she loves them all and would have to kill for them and she can’t. She says she wound up staying, but can’t anymore. She can’t love anyone because she can’t kill for anyone and asks that they not come after her. It’s thar same beginning scene again and Morgan sees Carol’s empty swing.

Next week, Rick gets a message, Daryl goes off on his motorcycle (presumably not to find himself), and Rick tells everyone to get ready for a fight.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta — The Reunion — Part One

Kandi is looking awesome and says baby Ace is doing well. Kim looks the best I’ve seen her like she’s channeling Marilyn Monroe. We take a trip down Memory Lane with some flashbacks from the season.

Andy asks why gave the best shade, and called Phaedra “Shadera.” Ha-ha! We go over some insults from the past season. Kenya gets into it with Phaedra pretty quickly. Go for it, Kenya, because I’ve started to dislike Phaedra intensely.

Andy asks Porsha about trashing Kenya’s new product and she says it was fun. Either she didn’t understand the question or she’s even more stupid than I thought. Next up is Kandi’s baby and family drama. After the flashbacks, Todd joins the group. Baby Ace has over 100K Instagram followers. And they haven’t even shown a picture of him yet. I’m speechless.

They talk about the restaurant venture. They’re hoping to open on Kandi’s birthday. They follow with TMI about Kandi’s breast milk.

Andy asks Sheree how it’s been being back on the show. Sheree says it was all good. They talk about Kim’s first season. Are there more flashbacks than usual? Andy asks Kim if she thinks the show is a good fit for her. She says it was entertaining. Andy asks the other women what they think. It’s a no for Kenya. She says Kim is pretty condescending. Kandi says Kim doesn’t want to deal with confrontation and a that’s what a lot of the show is about. Phaedra and Porsha kind of say the same thing, that she doesn’t engage and is judgmental. Porsha says she expected her to be “the aunt” of the group. Kim says she’s more opinionated than judgmental. Cynthia says she didn’t really hang out with the group and Kim says most people don’t know she’s shy.

They talk about the trip to Washington. Kim says it was presented as an educational tool. Sheree asks why she thought it wasn’t appropriate for the kids then. Sheree says it was a good experience for her son, however, he is nineteen and Kim’s kids are still pretty small. Personally, I think Kim is a compelling choice for the show, but she did seem like she didn’t want to be a part of it a lot of the time. I understand wanting some free travel and a weekly paycheck, but still.

The topic of Phaedra not paying Todd for the exercise video comes up. Well, Andy brings it up as Chief Pot Stirrer. Phaedra says she’s made every step to move toward a better place. Kandi says they both want things to be better. Kandi brings up several idiotic remarks Phaedra made. Phaedra says again that she’s done what she can and she was annoyed about Apollo’s stuff being at their house without her knowledge.

Phaedra says that Kandi claimed she was trying to get sympathy, but that wasn’t the case, and she’s not fake, she’s just trying to be polite. They talk about Apollo’s stuff again. Kandi says she didn’t think it was any kind of secret. The Todd thing comes up again and we are caught in a loop. Phaedra says she’s paid up now, as of last week. Convenient timing.

Andy asks if Kandi’s “team” overstepped their boundaries. Kandi doesn’t think so, and neither do I. Phaedra says it’s unprofessional for employees to act like friends. They are friends, so how should they behave? Porsha puts in her two cents. If she had half a brain, she’d be dangerous.

The topic of physical violence comes up. Porsha talks about Kenya’s big mouth, but Kenya says she’s never actually put her hands on anyone, unlike Porsha. Andy catches Kenya texting Matt about the dog. Flashbacks about Kim and Kenya’s continuous altercation.

Kim does give Kenya compliments on Kenya’s flair for comedy, and that she’s not afraid to be a pretty girl who’s not playing “pretty.” That’s a nice compliment, although Kenya says that Kim threw shade when she watched Kenya’s pilot with her husband. Kim says her problem isn’t with Kenya’s acting, but with her personally. Sheree wonders where this Kim has been all year.

They talk about the commercial for Cynthia’s eye wear. More talk about Kenya and Kim, and Kenya apologizing to Kim. Porsha, who can’t stand that it’s not about her, talks about her own apology to Kenya for going crazy on her at the last reunion, and says it’s wasn’t accepted. Kenya says that’s because she never apologized. Cynthia tells Porsha she needs to cool down and we see Porsha’s attack on Cynthia. I heard we’re going to see some footage regarding Porsha’s attack on one of her assistants. A budding Naomi Campbell. If she was better looking and had a brain.

Kim is talking about something when Kenya interrupts, then Porsha interrupts Kenya, so I have no idea what anyone just said. Andy asks if Kenya is jealous of Kim. Kenya says Kim was a child star and she can’t compare that, but Kim is in her playing field now and is low man on the totem pole. She talks about Kim acting more high and mighty than she should. She says she’s not personally offended, but thinks Kim is arrogant.

Kandi says she enjoys seeing Kim “boss up,” since she’s usually quiet. Kim gets excited over the support. Kenya talks about Kim and her husband belittling her. Kim interrupts about Kenya interrupting. I’m lost. Kim says interruption is a form of bullying. Kenya says she’s the one who’s been bullied on the show.

Next week, part two, Apollo won’t let go, a revisit to Sheree’s wig pull, Peter joins the group, and Porsha accuses Kenta of dating a married one-eyed African. Is he rich?

I Am Cait

It’s snowing in New Mexico. The ladies meet for breakfast. Candis has a date. Candis says she’s not that excited, since her online dating experience so far as been dismal.

Cait’s new driver’s license arrives. The photo is great, but both Kim and Kourtney helped her get ready, so that’s cheatinh. Cait says it’s kind of like throwing old Bruce out the door. Cait says he was a good person who did a lot of good things, and in some ways didn’t deserve to disappear, but she had to move forward. It’s not that she wanted to throw him away; he just wasn’t her. It’s a huge moment and she gives a mini eulogy.

Cait is gong to NY to receive Glamour’s Woman of the Year award and says it’s for all of them.

Candis is about to meet her date. Cait says she sees what the other women go through and thinks the rejection is difficult. While the ladies have drinks at one of the bar’s tables, Candis waits at another table for her date. Who doesn’t show. Zackary and Cait join her. Candis goes back to the table with everyone. Geez.

The ladies go to a farm that has animal therapy to pet Silkie chickens. They’re pretty cute. The producer asks Candis if she can relate the chicken experience to her dating situation and she makes a cock joke. The therapist says that it’s hard to tell whether Silkies are male or female. The irony isn’t lost.

Next is a Salsa class. The dancing, not the dip. Cait says she’s not comfortable dancing with guys. She’s afraid that the tabloids will get pictures as well. Candis says Cait hasn’t embraced that part of her feminine side yet and says she’ll be her dancing partner. I can totally understand why Cait would be uncomfortable here.

It’s time for Cait to leave for NYC. The rest of the group is going on to Tulsa. Candis talks about a friend of hers who works a drag show in Chicago. She wants to do a number with her and Chandi. Chandi says she misses the old days when she used to perform.

They stop at a restaurant and aren’t allowed to eat there. The restaurant owner didn’t want them there when he found out what show was being filmed. Kind of sad. Next is a rock climbing gym. These girls have more energy than I could ever hope to have. I would have been totally bummed after the restaurant scene too. Chandi breaks a nail and she’s done. They’ve also joined up with two male trans models who they invite to dinner.

They reconvene at a place called Legends that has a mechanical bull. What vitamins do they take? Candis considers dating a trans guy.

Cait is getting her makeup done. She talks about how her greatest fear was once being thought of as a freak, and how everyone has been so accepting. She gets to the red carpet. Kylie is supposed to be her date, but she’s late, so Cait has to go on by herself.

Kylie meets Cait at the hotel later. She says her dressed totally ripped, but Cait says they could have worked around it. Cait says she’s disappointed, but at least Kylie made it for the actual award show, which I guess we don’t get to see.

The rest of the gang heads for Chicago. I’m exhausted just watching this episode. Cait meets them there. Candis tells Cait about the drag show. Debbie Downer Jenny says that some come from a showbiz universe and some don’t, but she looks at things from a different perspective. Instead of seeing life as a performance, she wants to see it in reality. (Can’t it be both?) Chandi talks about how those were the roots and the saving grace of many a trans person, and while she gets where Jenny is coming from, she’s surprised she doesn’t understand the other side of it as well.

Chandi talks to Candis about how Jenny feels about drag. Candis says that Jenny and Cait come from a different place, and they hid things differently. Chandi says drag helped save her from being a gay boy in a closet. She talks about her parents, who sound like good people. She starts to cry and Candis hugs her. She works with young people and takes a lot of their problems to heart, even though she comes off as happy-go-lucky most of the time.

Out to the bar at the hotel. Cait is wearing a really cool graphic sweater that has a tape measure across it. The girls are mingling. Candis says Cait doesn’t know how to flirt with men and wants to leave. Cait goes back to her room.

She and Candis get together for some girl talk before bed. Candis says she’s hoping Cait will be open to new dating situations. Cait says she sees the struggle of going out with someone and then them not wanting to be seen together and says she couldn’t handle it. Candis asks what her main fear is, and Cait says she hasn’t even been able to approach the subject with a man yet.

Cait says she thought about bringing up the possibility of her dating to Kylie, and she couldn’t even think about it. Cait says her dating a man might be confusing for the kids. Candis says she’s allowed to go out and have fun and experiment. Cait says maybe it will help thinking of it as an experiment. Candis says they both need to broaden their horizons.

Jenny and Zackary talk about the show. Jenny says she wants to celebrate everyone’s way of being, but also celebrate her own. Zackary says the trans community is split on the issue, but friends should support each other. She says embracing differences is Jenny’s challenge. Jenny says she understands that the drag world saved Chandi’s life.

It’s been a long time since Chandi performed and she’s nervous. Candis does a performance with another performer and they introduce Chandi — now Chandelier. Of course she’s fabulous.

Cait says everyone is taking risks on the trip, and even Jenny is shoving dollar bills in Chandi’s bra. Chandi says it was a reconnecting moment with yourself. She says no matter who you are you can enjoy drag.

Next week, a protest, public speaking and the democratic debate.

The Real Housewives of Potomac

Is it over yet? Where did these women come from anyway? I actually like the Australian guy the best.

Gizelle is meeting with a skin chemist. She’s starting a makeup an skincare line. The chemist says they need a focus group and Gizelle knows just the women.

It’s Katie’s twins’ birthday. She and Andrew have the same couch pillow I do. It’s in a Southwestern design with a buffalo on it. Katie tells Andrew she needs a vacation from her vacation. I’ll bet. She tells him about the sister circle and how it was a downer. She leaves out the part about Gizelle being an idiot. She’s also decided to put casino night on the back burner for a few months because she has other things that need her attention. And one of them isn’t going to be Gizelle’s focus group either.

Karen is planning an event in memory of her mother-in-law to fight against Altzheimers. She wants it to be a magical evening, as well as an informative one. Karen’s husband joins them and Karen asks for entertainment suggestions. Karen’s assistant gives him some options, but he wants to scale it down. He asks for time alone with Karen and they discuss it. He feels his mother’s death is still too raw for such a huge event.

Gizelle has rented a bar to do the focus groups. I’ve done focus groups and this is pretty swanky. Usually, you just sit around a table and discuss. Ashley approaches Gizelle about the incident at the beach. Gizelle says it wasn’t so much that her husband showed up, but that some of the girls (i.e. Karen) felt disrespected. Charrisse has decided she wants to let go of petty things.

Gizelle, who is light-skinned with green eyes, says when she was growing up, people pegged her as mean or stuck up because of the way she looked. She says she didn’t come into her own beautywise until she was in her 40s.

Karen says it’s similar to Bare Minerals, but she’s supportive. Katie is a no-show, which Karen finds rude.

Katie is busy with the Rost Foundation, or as she says, real work. I have news for her, at my age, makeup is real work.

After the focus group, there’s food and drink for the ladies. Ashley decides to approach Karen. Karen feels it was rude of Michael to just show up the way he did. She says immaturity wrecked the weekend. Gizelle suggests they agree to disagree and let the men settle any beef. Ashley wonders what the men might do. Duel?

Robyn and Juan are still in limbo over whether or not he got an out-of-state coaching job. Robyn tells him about the beach trip. She tells him about how she had to room with Gizelle, but it made her feel nostalgic. They talk about when they met. Juan remembers that they talked about The Young and the Restless. They’re putting together some kind of storage cabinet. Robyn says the reason she doesn’t want to get back together with him totally is because of his cheating in the past.

Karen and Ashley meet for golf with their husbands. Karen is hoping the men can iron (no pun intended) things out about the beach incident. Why anything needs to be ironed out is beyond me and I think Ashley feels the same way.

Karen tells Ray that she and Ashley have come to an impasse. Michael feels he did nothing wrong, but is open to hearing what the problem was. Ray says he doesn’t need Michael seeing his wife in skimpy outfits as girls are wont to wear at these things. The guys make jokes and they move to the next hole. Karen feels like she was finally heard, and Ashley is glad to be back in Karen’s good graces, but this all seems ridiculous to me. While I understand what Karen’s gripe is, to go on about it at this level is insane.

Charrisse is about to turn 50. She says water is a sign of new beginnings, so she’s going to learn to swim. She had a bad experience with snorkeling when she was younger, and didn’t get back in the water again. I can’t imagine not taking every opportunity possible to get in the water.

Karen is flower shopping for her event. She’s looking for cherry blossoms, but they’re only available in the spring. Karen won’t believe it, but you’d think that’s something she would know living in the DC area. They get some kind of roses instead.

Everyone is getting ready for Karen’s event. Katie is actually going to two different events and is going to change in the car. Karen has turned this into a launching party for a bigger gala later.

I hate to say this, but this looks like anybody else’s party. Katie is a little startled too, so at least I know it’s not me. Don’t get me wrong, she’s got an amazing house, but the decor is basically little tables with rose centerpieces scattered throughout the dining room. Gizelle says something to Katie about not showing up for the focus group, and Katie pretends to be sorry.

Karen tells the girls all about how Ray gave Michael “the business” at the golf course. Really? Ray gives the floor to Karen. Ashley and Michael are at the door and the bell repeatedly rings as she’s speaking. The jazz musicians hired for the event finally answer the door. Of course Karen is appalled by this behavior.

Ashley tells Gizelle there was no business to give and wonders what Karen has been telling people. At this point, she says Karen isn’t approaching her efforts or respecting her. Ashley tells the other girls that Karen doesn’t want her daughter around them. Karen comes by and says she never said that; she said she didn’t want her daughter hanging out with Ashley specifically.

Karen says she’s done with Ashley. She says the last straw for her was Ashley saying something about her daughter. Charrisse says she has to apologize to Karen. Ashley tells Michael that Karen is upset with her. Michael says apparently they’re not wanted there. Karen makes sure to let the others know that she only meant her daughter is not to be around Ashley, who is closer to her age. For some reason it’s this huge deal that Ashley spoke her daughter’s name and it seems to have turned Karen into Maleficent.

Next week, we continue to be tortured, Gizelle’s kids want her to get a boyfriend, Karen and Ray are empty nesters, Juan has to make a job decision, and Charrisse has a birthday.

March 6, 2016 — The Underworld, the Undead, Cait & Two Wives

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

OMG — this has been one busy night for TV! Both Once Upon A Time and I Am Cait are back, The Walking Dead soldiers on intensely, and The Real Housewives of Atlanta and Potomac will never end.

Once Upon A Time

Emma opens her eyes and finds Neil in her car He says to think of it as a long distance call from a friend. They talk about their son. Emma tells him she’s on her way to the Underworld. Neil tells her it’s a bad idea and it won’t end the way she thinks it will. She asks Neil for help. but he says the Underworld is for people with unfinished business and that’s not him. He tells her to stop what she’s doing, but of course she’s not going to. He wishes her well and disappears.

Emma finds herself back on the boat going to the Underworld.

The passengers debark the boat. The Underworld looks like Storybrooke — if it had been hit by a tornado. Regina says they’re not in Maine anymore. I hadn’t known they were in Maine to begin with. Emma sees someone she knows. Gold/Rumpelstiltskin tells them people are trapped here because of unfinished business and likely some of them are there because of them. Regina says the sooner they get out, the better.

Evil Queen Regina is berating her subjects. It’s her birthday and she wants Snow White’s heart on a plate. A dude tells her he knows where Snow White is, but he wants something in return. She says she’ll return the favor by killing him quickly. Snow comes up behind her with a bow and arrow and tells her to knock it off. Regina says they’re lucky she’s in a good mood and disappears, poof! in a cloud of purple smoke.

Regina’s father tells her not to let her merciless mother, Cora, win and control her. Regina says she banished her mother to Wonderland, but he says as long as she’s on this quest, she’s being controlled.

Apparently Cora is in hell too, because the message is sent to her that Regina is there.

Snow/Mary goes in the Underworld diner. The waitress is excited to see her. Snow says she’s looking for someone and describes Hook. David enters the diner and kisses her. What up wit dat? It turns out he’s David’s brother. He says to let David know there’s a new sheriff in town. He leaves ad the others enter. Henry brings her a room key. I have no idea what just went on there.

Regina sees a guy whose been following them. She calls him out and he says someone wants to see them.

Evil Queen Regina just wants her birthday to be over. I love the costumes on this show and she always gets the best ones. Her father, Henry, asks the Magic Mirror to summon…her. The mirror says he doesn’t have a death wish, but the father insists. Henry sees Cora in the mirror. He tells her to tell Regina to let go over the feud. She says no way, and that they should help her. Cora appears in a full length mirror and Henry says he doesn’t need her help and leaves. She says Regina does and comes out of the mirror.

In the Underworld, Regina meets Cora. They hug. Cora says she has unfinished business, meaning Regina. She says she wants Regina to be happy. Regina asks for help finding Hook. Cora says Regina’s friends and family are holding her back, and she has to do what’s best for her. She’s arranged for a boat in an hour and wants Regina to leave with Henry.

Cora reminds Regina of her last words, that Regina would have been enough. She says sometimes a mother has to do whatever for her daughter even if it’s reprehensible. Regina asks if she’s threatening her. She says no, she has to show her something.

They’re at a cliff and the messenger dude is on the precipice of a cliff with flames leaping below. Cora throws him off into the flames. Cora tells Regina that the Underworld can be left in two ways, to better place of worse one. Cora gives her another option, go home or there will be a cost and someone will suffer — her father.

Gold goes to his Underworld shop. He thinks about how he told Belle he had to go to the Underwold because he’s the only one who’s been there before. She tells him to come back to her and he says he always does. He goes to a safe in the shop and Peter Pan comes in asking if he’s looking for something. Gold says just because Peter sired him, doesn’t make him his father. He says Gold won’t find anything Peter doesn’t want him to find, and gives him a potion. Peter wants to make nice because he wants to go back, but Gold tells him it’s not going to happen. Peter suggests swapping himself for one of the others going back. He gives Gold the potion as a gesture of good will.

Regina tells the others she can’t let her father suffer because of her. She says after she killed him, she thought he went to a better place, but no. They argue, but Gold interrupts with the potion. He says it will allow them to talk to the dead and if they pour it over Hook’s grave, he can tell them where he is. He says he’s leaving on the next boat and they’ll have to handle this themselves. Bye, Felicia!

Snow meets Regina’s father in the woods. He says if the feud continues Regina will lose her soul and the kingdom will be destroyed. Snow hears another voice, and turns. Henry rips her heart out from behind because he’s really Cora. The real Henry, who had called her name, is like, wth? and Cora says, come on, Regina needs her birthday present.

The group goes to the graveyard and uses the potion. Hook appears, but the vision of him is all shaky and he disappears again.

Emma says Hook is in pain and suffering, and they still don’t know where he is. She tells the others to take the boat home, but David says they’re staying to back her up. She tells Regina to them and herself out of there.

The Evil Queen continues to celebrate her birthday by killing a jester. I’ll bet they don’t last long in this kingdom. Cora arrives at her birthday party. Regina asks how she got out of Wonderland and where’s her father. Cora says she lost track of him and gives her Snow’s beating heart. Regina is able to see Snow in the Magic Mirror and crushes her heart. Snow starts to clutch at her chest and panic. Regina is delighted until Jiminy Cricket pops out of Snow’s bodice and Regina realizes it’s not the right heart. Cora says someone must have switched them.

It was Henry. Henry says if Regina crushes Snow’s heart, she’ll be dark forever just like her mother and just what her mother wants. Regina says Henry betrayed her. He says as long as Snow lives, she has a chance, so whatever she does to him is worth it. She makes him disappear, poof! in a puff of blue smoke, and puts him in the box that held the heart. It reminds me of I Dream of Jeanie.

At the Underworld graveyard, Regina visits her father’s grave. He appears and she apologizes. He forgives her and tells her it’s okay. He says he loves her no matter what because that’s what fathers do. She says she doesn’t understand how he can be so good. He says her mother is using him to get her to leave, but he wants her to stay. He’s happy that she finally put vengeance aside. Regina says Cora is going to send him somewhere worse, and she can’t let that happen. He says if she stays, she’ll spread hope and to let him see her doing the right thing. He disappears, poof! in cloud of grey and orange smoke.

Cora asks Regina where her father ran off to and she shows Cora the box. Cora says she’s impressed. Regina says Henry might have been wrong about the revenge, but right about Cora. She says she wants it to be her victory. The Magic Mirror pulls Cora in. Cora says without her, Regina will fail and be alone. Regina says being alone is fine with her and Cora grabs the box, taking it into the mirror with her.

Henry stands on the edge of the cliff. Regina tells Cora to stop. Regina says she’s going to help her friends and her father. Cora says to do what she says and not force her hand. Regina says she doesn’t have to do it and Cora makes the flames swallow Henry. Whoa, wait, the flames disappear, and an extension goes out from the cliff. A heavenly light shows from above and Henry says it’s where he belongs. His unfinished business was with Regina. He let Cora get in the way of their relationship, but now Regina is free of her. Regina introduces Henry to his grandson and namesake. He tells young Henry to take good care of Regina and tells Regina not to forget who she really is.

He leaves and goes into the light. That was all pretty touching. If I wasn’t typing, I might have shed a tear or two.

Regina and Henry join the others. Gold (hasn’t he left yet?) says that the people here are not the dearly departed, just wretched souls not worth helping. He says he’s not sticking around, because no one heard him the first time. Henry dubs their quest Operation Firebird. The clock in the fallen clock tower ticks and Regina smiles.

Cora isn’t gone. She goes inside a building and into an elevator. Ha-ha! Where does an elevator in the Underworld go? The Under Underworld? Cora goes into a cavern to a weird library where some dude is having a pedicure. Dude wants Regina gone. Each clock tick means a soul has left his domain. I guess he’s the devil? He says Regina is going to regret her decision. Cora says don’t threaten either one of them and she wants what he promised her.

He puts Cora in rags and says she’s a miller’s daughter again and to go tote bags of grain. Cora says he promised to save them and he says she promised not to fail and that’s something to think about for eternity. She takes a wheelbarrow full of sacks and goes. Dude’s hair turns into blue flames.

Next week, Hercules joins the cast and they fight Cerberus, the three-headed dog. I can’t wait!

The Walking Dead

Carol (where’s she been?) is in the pantry picking out ingredients. Carol is in the woods, offing a zombie. Carol is getting dressed in her mom sweater. Carol is taking roasted chestnuts out of the oven and baking cookies. Carol is passing out cookies to the neighbors. Is this a day in the life of Carol?

Carol brings Tobin some cookies. He says they’re pink, and she says beets make them sweet. He says they’re the best beet and acorn cookies he’s ever tasted. I don’t totally trust Carol and wonder if she’s flirting with him or going to poison him.

Rick is back and wants everyone to meet at the church. He tells Carol they’re going to have to fight. He drives off and Carol ponders her remaining cookie container.

Morgan sees Carol and says it’s been a while since they talked. He wonders why she didn’t tell Rick. He says she didn’t want to tell anyone because it’s kind of like she did it too. She says it’s not that way and I have no clue what they’re talking about.

Rick says Maggie hammered out a deal with Hilltop for food and supplies. He says they’re not giving it away though. He tells them about the Saviors and that the Saviors would have found them eventually. He says If they were low on food, it would be the end of them. He says if they fight the Saviors for Hilltop, they can keep Alexandria. He asks if anyone has anything to say. Morgan asks if he’s sure they can beat the Saviors.

Morgan wants to give the Saviors a choice of compromise. Rick says if they talk to them first, they’re sunk. Morgan says life means possibilities. Rick thinks it would be a mistake, and asks who else feels that way. That would be nobody, so Rick says they’ll kill them all. He says not everybody has to be involved, but if they stay behind, they have to accept it.

Carol can’t sleep. She writes some weird stuff in a journal. The number 18 is significant. Carol looks like she has a headache.

Maggie tells Glenn about the deal. She says she has to go with them.

Carol is out having a smoke. She sees Tobin on the steps of his house. They sit together. Tobin says he’s worried about her going to fight the Saviors. He says she can do things that terrify him. She asks how. He says she’s a mom. It’s not the cookies and smiles, but it’s the hard scary stuff that takes strength that makes her a mom to people there. Amen, dude. She’s definitely like a scary mom. She asks if she’s a mom to him, but he says no, she’s something else and kisses her. Lots of nookie this season.

Abe is packing. He tells Rosita he’s leaving after the raid. She asks why and he says it’s just the way shit is. She says he’s not leaving unless he can tell her why. He says she’s not the last woman on earth and she starts to cry. He leaves. Eugene comes by and offers her a cookie, but she slams the door in his face. Poor Eugene. He’s just trying to help.

Andy says he’s been inside the Savior camp. He’s makes a map and explains where things are.

Tara tells Denise she loves her. She’s going with the others and asks if Denise wants to come. Denise says she’s needed in Alexandria, even though she wants to go. She says she’ll tell Tara when she comes back. They kiss and hug.

Andy goes over the layout. Rick and company plan the raid. Rick says they’re going to let them walk in. He says they want Gregory’s head and they’re going to give it to them.

A caravan, headed by the Winnebago, heads toward the Savior camp. They get out. It’s on foot from there. Rick asks Father Gabriel why he still wears his minister duds. Gabriel says that’s who he still is, he thinks, and they also can’t see him in the dark.

Rosita bitches to Carol about Morgan, but says she won’t tell anyone. Dammit, what?

Cool zombies in the woods, like with half-arms and stuff. Glenn and Heath kill them. Heath says he’s been lucky, he hasn’t had to kill any of the living before. Glenn says he’s been lucky too. Glenn asks if Heath has ever seen something he can’t unsee. Heath says yeah. I think all of us have, Glenn. Glenn says him too, but killing someone has to be worse than that and he’s nervous.

Rick tells the group they’re going to scout the place and if everything looks good, they’re going in a few hours before dawn when the guards are tired and everyone is sleeping. If it doesn’t look good, they go back and make a new plan. They roll out at midnight.

Carol asks why Maggie is there. Rick says it’s her choice. Carol says she shouldn’t be there and Rick says okay.

Apparently Jesus had a job with a special effects department. He’s worked with the heads of the zombies that were killed to make them look like Gregory. He gives Rick three to chose from.Andy says the Saviors are scary, but and Negan has nothing on Rick.

Commercial break. Fear 462 gets their first real zombie. Doesn’t everyone know to shoot one in the head though? Oooh! I can’t wait for The Purge: Election Year. I thought the first Purge movie was a little ridiculous, but I loved The Purge: Anarchy.

Andy drives to the Hilltop gate and says it’s done. Someone calls from inside to bring it in. Two guards come out and he pulls a fake Gregory head out of a bag. His hand is bandaged and he says he broke his hand on Gregory’s nose to cover why the head doesn’t look perfect. After the head is thoroughly examined, it passes inspection. The guard says he can take his guy home and he can bring them more stuff next week.

When the guard goes inside, Daryl slashes the other one’s throat. The others hide the body. The guard comes out with the other Hilltopper and he gets killed. The guard, I mean. Rick and company go inside. Rick tells them to find the arsenal and they spread out a little.

Rick sees a sleeping guy and kills him. Glenn and Heath go into a room where a couple of other guys are sleeping. Glenn kills one and freaks a little. Heath hesitates with the second and Glenn takes over. I have the feeling Heath shouldn’t have come on this trip. Glenn sees a bulletin board with Polaroids of dead zombies, which is an oxymoron.

Tara asks if Gabriel is still a priest. He says he is. She says she lied to her girlfriend this morning. Denise caught her covering something up, so Sara said “I love you.” She says she told Denise that she’d done something like this before. I’m not sure if she’s talking about the raid or a same sex relationship. Gabriel asks if she loves Denise and she says yes. He says she knows what she’s fighting for then.

Sasha and Abe try to kill a guy, but he sounds an alarm.

Maggie starts to run toward the camp and Carol stops her saying she should be somewhere else. Maggie says they need their help. Carol says Maggie is staying there. Yeah, better listen to Carol She can be tough in the discipline department.

Sasha tells Jesus to get his people back to Hilltop. He says Rick needs his help, so no.

Inside, chaos is ensuing. Lots of shooting and stabbing and running. I know we’re bound to lose someone. Heath? He and Glenn throw themselves into a room. A room that happens to be the arsenal. They shoot through the door at the people who were chasing them, then cautiously open it. All dead. Except one and Jesus shoots him from behind before he can shoot.

Gabriel sees one of the guys in the woods. He tells him to drop his gun. The guy says Gabriel is just as dead as he is, along with some other cheerful tidings. Gabriel gives him some Bible verses and shoots him, saying “amen.”

Rick and the gang move outside. Heath leaves in the Winnebago.

Back in Alexandria, Morgan is doing some welding.

The rest of the group is getting ready to wrap things up. Michonne wonders which one was Negan. Suddenly, a guy comes hurtling out on a motorcycle. Oops, missed a spot. Daryl knocks him off the bike. They hear a loudspeaker with a female voice telling them to lower their weapons. Oops, missed a lot of spots. Rick says come out and let’s talk. The voice says they’re not coming out, but they will talk. They have Carol and Maggie.

Next week, a deal is struck.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Kandi, who feels about to pop, is seeing Dr. Jackie (from Married to Medicine — reality crossover!) and has a sonogram. All is well. Jackie tells her she’s been a fantastic pregnant woman. She talks about how they can still have sex and even I’m embarrassed because Mama Joyce is in the room. Next, she asks about names. Kandi likes Ace Wells Tucker. Jackie likes it and so do I. Jackie asks Todd if he has a push gift. Mama Joyce says if Kandi doesn’t like it, she’ll take it. Apparently she and Todd are getting along a lot better these days.

Kim leaves the kids with a sitter to go out on the deck and work. She’s having a video conference with her collaborator, Art, who sounds like he does what an agent does plus more. They discuss various projects and she shelves the one with Kenya. Kim says they’re like oil and water and just can’t work together, even though she had a lot of positive things to say about her project. Kim says she takes her work and reputation seriously.

Phaedra sets a beautiful table Her divorce attorney comes by and they have a drink. The divorce has been filed. The lawyer explains about how Apollo will have to be served in prison. They discuss the boys visiting. Phaedra says she doesn’t want her sons to be exposed to the grittiness of the prison and the attorney says Fort Dix is the best possible scenario as prisons go. She asks what Phaedra is going to tell them. Phaedra says very little, because if for some reason they can’t get in to visit, she doesn’t want them to be confused or bummed out. She says the attorney is like a second mom to her.

Kenya and Matt are meeting Aunt Lori at Kenya’s new house, which is coming along beautifully. Kenya says Matt wants a parking spot at the house, but he needs to put a ring on it first. She introduces him to her aunt, and gives her a tour. Kenya had to fire people along the way, and Lori tells Matt to be careful he doesn’t get fired, but he says he’s expecting a promotion. Go, Matt!

When Lori is alone with Kenya, she asks how it’s going with Matt. Kenya says she’s approaching things differently than in the past, taking it a step at a time. Lori says Kenya hasn’t said much about Matt, and she knows Kenya usually dates rich guys. Kenya says her only concern is the age difference. It sounds like Matt is a good guy and understands Kenya. She says she’s scared he’s the right one. Lori says it’s always a crap shoot with love.

Even though Porsha is a fool, she does have cute dogs. Dogs are the great leveler in this world. No matter how much money you have, they still poop on the floor. Her sister comes by and asks how the Jamaica trip was. She says Oliver surprised her and it went well. Lauren says they need to do a photo shoot for her new “Naked Lingerie” line. Porsha’s “Naked Hair” line has taken off, so she’s expanding. They go over the labels for the clothing and phone the creative director about the shoot. Porsha struggles with words that have more than one syllable and the director tells her she has the brains of a paper cup. I concur. (That means I agree, Porsha.)

Cynthia goes to Kim’s office where Kim is going over the commercial they shot in Jamaica. It’s pretty cute and Cynthia is happy. Cynthia feels badly about the Kenya nonsense. She talks to Kim about what was said about Kim’s husband and Kim says the both of them just laughed it off.

Phaedra visits Kandi bearing a gift. She says their relationship has changed, but they always make it work in the end. Kandi says she’s feeling uncomfortable and ready to have the baby. This is Phaedra’s cue to present Kandi with the gift of nipple conditioner.

They talk about the trip to Jamaica and Phaedra says Nene was there. Kandi is a little surprised since usually Nene wants to distance herself. She tells Kandi about how Cynthia said she and Kenya weren’t such great friends and that Sheree and Nene seemed to have mended fences. Kandi says she wouldn’t be so quick to get back into the friendship if she was Sheree. Kandi asks about the kids in regard to Apollo. Phaedra says Aidan understands somewhat. They talk about the boys a little.

It’s time for the lingerie photo shoot. Cynthia is also going to model. Cynthia says she and Porsha’s friendship is a work in progress. They do hair and make-up, and the pictures begin. I have to admit, this is some nice stuff. They spend so much time getting ready, they lose the light outside, so the operation is moved indoors.

Phaedra and the boys fly to Philadelphia and her mom meets them there. She hasn’t told the boys that they’re there to visit Apollo, just in case they can’t get in. She tells her mother that she’ll tell them when they get to the facility. Her mother says they’ll have to think about how to handle things after they see him. Phaedra doesn’t want them to be traumatized when they have to leave.

Matt and Kenya go out for dinner. She says that usually, a guy Matt’s age is a “drive by” for her, but after Jamaica, she thinks he could be what she’s been looking for. She says even though her clock is ticking, she doesn’t want to pressure him, but wants to know that they’re on the same page. She asks Matt if he’s still a party boy or is he ready to settle down. They make cute banter and the food comes. She asks if he wants children and he says within the next year or so. She admits to not being a spring chicken and thinking about freezing eggs already. When the dessert fondue comes, they get cuddly on one side of the table together.

Phaedra tells the boys they’re going on a surprise visit. I can’t stand Phaedra and think Apollo is a lowlife, but these kids are way cute. She says they haven’t seen Apollo in a year and Dylan might not have much recollection of him, having still been in diapers when Apollo went to prison. Apollo must have done all right as a dad though, because we flash back and they obviously love him. Phaedra is concerned what will happen when they see their father. We flash back to everyone’s opinion on the visitation, but Phaedra says hers is the only opinion that counts because they’re not walking in her shoes. As much as I hate saying it, she’s got a point.

In the car, the kids are adorable again. Phaedra says she’s getting more nervous as the time gets closer. Cameras aren’t allowed inside Fort Dix, so we don’t see the visit.

They go straight to the airport afterward. Phaedra says that Apollo was happy to see them, but the boys got antsy because they’re little and have no attention span. She says it was a lot and she’s not sure about a second visit. Phaedra is glad it’s over with. She says when she brought up the divorce, Apollo was against it, but she’s ready to move on.

Next week — the finale — Cynthia gives Peter a massage (my eyes!), Porsha is late (wink, wink), and it’s Christmastime with Kenya playing The Grinch.

I Am Cait

Yay! Cait is back!

Jenny and the gang come by Cait’s house. The girls are taking a road trip. Cait wants to find out more about other transgenders and immerse herself in trans issues. Kendall and Kylie are there and Cait talks about how difficult it was to tell them she was transitioning. Kendall and/or Kylie says they come from a very open-minded family.

They discuss at what point in time they each discovered when they knew what gender they were. They talk about how difficult it is with being called “dad” in a public place. When Cait’s daughters leave, she says she’ll call them from the road.

Candis says there’s been backlash about Cait in the transgender community and Cait needs a reality check. Cait talks about being the only conservative on the bus during an election year, and how it should be interesting. Probably not the word I’d use.

After picking up more people, they’re off to the Grand Canyon. Lots of banter and jokes and suitcases on the bus. It’s a pretty amazing bus. Not quite like the bus in Spiceworld, but it’s definitely glam. At lunchtime, Cait suggests the stop somewhere in the middle of nowhere and take over a restaurant.

Well, it’s not very crowded. I think they might be the only ones there. So much for a Priscilla, Queen of the Desert moment. There is some comedy though when Shandie gets locked behind on the bus until someone comes to her rescue. The lunch is uneventful and drinks are poured on the bus. Jenny says the trip is about more than having fun, and some of Cait’s hardest work is ahead.

Jenny broaches the subject of Cait saying she thinks of herself as heterosexual. She asks if when Cait was a man, if she thought about men as romantic partners. Jenny says her view changed after she transitioned. Cait says no, she hadn’t ever thought about them that way. Shandie asks if Cait dated women, if she’d consider herself a lesbian. Cait says she can’t see herself dating a woman in the future. She says she’s been there, done that, and has three ex-wives. Jenny says now she can have an ex-husband. Ha-ha! Cait says she doesn’t think women would be attracted to her and the girls beg to differ. They talk about attraction and how it differs with people.

They get to the hotel. Cait says now that she’s said what everyone wants to hear, that she’d date a man, maybe they’ll leave her alone for a while. Fat chance. Welcome to the world of women, where no one can let anything go. Some of the girls go out for a meal and discuss Cait’s openness on the bus. Jenny says that Cait often avoids certain topics, but she can’t run away from them now.

Candis and Cait talk about going on a double date. Cait asks if they’re affair would be over then, referring to the tabloid stories that always have them dating one another.

On the bus, Jenny reads an article about a win in a transgender issue case. At lunch, one of the girls — the youngest, at 18 — talks about going to college, and the rest of the women discuss their experiences as transgenders in school. Jenny says a lot of life experiences depend on the community they live in.

Candis suggests talking to Hilary Clinton. Cait says she’s open to hearing both sides and if Hilary becomes President, they’ll need her on their side. Although Cait says Hilary isn’t on anybody’s side but her own. The ladies disagree and ask which Republican candidate would be on the side of transgender issues. Cait says all of them and they scoff at that.

Cait is out and about meeting people. The ladies go to a gift shop and look at the tchotchkes with names on them. I understand when they get excited to see their names. I rarely see anything that has Theresa with an “h’ in it.

They take a helicopter ride over the Grand Canyon. It’s amazing. I saw it from an airplane window once and that was pretty cool too. They go out for dinner. Lots of eating on this trip. I’m in. They discuss when they used to wear women’s clothing as males. Cait talks about going out once, dressed as a woman, and being mistaken for a transgender by a “chaser.” It’s discussed how men who really love a transgender should step up and show that it’s not just a fetish. Cait says everything is complicated by the media for her. More boyfriend talk.

Jenny says in Houston an ordinance protecting the LGBT community has been repealed. I think she spends most of her life on her iPad, checking news items. The tagline for the opposing viewpoint was “No men in women’s bathrooms.” Jenny says the religious right and conservatives are fear-mongering, and it only takes one group to say something like, transgenders are also molesters, and it creates fear.

Jenny asks how Cait feels as a conservative. She says she thinks it’s the way being a transgender is presented to the public. Jenny says it was the Republicans, which begins a debate. Cait says people keep pressuring her to suddenly become a liberal, but her views aren’t going to change. She doesn’t think it’s a question of being conservative or liberal. I agree, there are a-holes in every group and I think most politicians are out for themselves instead of serving the people. And that’s as political as you’ll ever see me get in public. I do agree with Cait though, that it’s unfair to pressure her into thinking in a way she doesn’t think just because she transitioned. I mean, isn’t part of being accepted showing that a particular segment of people is just the same as everyone else?

Cait says Republicans believe in the Constitution which supports equal rights. One of the ladies talks about an ad that perpetuates fear. Candis says there’s never been a Republican who’s stuck their neck out for transgender issues. Cait says the economy is a bigger issue. Cait says she doesn’t think they’re out to get transgenders. Jenny says being a woman is more than hair and make-up. Cait says that conservatives look at it differently and feel the economic issues are more important and if that mess isn’t taken care of, the rest of it won’t matter. Candis worries that if Cait doesn’t change her viewpoint, she’ll find herself ostracized.

Cait says the economy is going to collapse. Zachary says advocating for her trans brothers and sisters is the most important, and she sees the Democrats promoting their issues. Cait says again that they don’t realize how free programs could contribute to an economic downfall.

This season, some of the LGBT community protest Cait; Kris makes an appearance; the girls try on wedding dresses; Kim helps Cait with a new DMV photo; and Cait meets Hilary.

The Real Housewives of Potomac

Please tell me this is the finale. No? Oh, come on.

Katie, Ashley, Robyn and Gizelle meet for lunch. Katie is going to ask them about the being involved with Rost Foundation. They talk about Ashley’s husband wanting to go swimming off the yacht. Ashley says she feels like everyone is just waiting for her to mess up. Well, yeah.

Katie talks about casino night. Katie wants to raise 100K in three weeks and doesn’t even have a venue yet, but she seems to think she can handle it. She says she hasn’t had an event that’s failed yet. Robyn is like if it doesn’t work out, it’s not on us. Katie says if they don’t want to be on the host committee, they don’t have to be and basically fires them ten seconds after hiring them.

Ashley is hosting a weekend at her beach house. She says she feels like she’s the freshman in the group. Her friend tells her to teach them how it’s done.

Katie tells Andrew about the lunch. She says everyone’s egos are too inflated to be supportive. She’s not exactly in the mood for a beach holiday with them, but she’s sucking it up because she likes Ashley.

Karen’s husband wonders if she has bricks in her suitcase and I understand. My father used to ask that about my purse.

Ashley frets about being one of the group. Since Karen is helping her, she’s offered to be her driver. They go in a two-seater, along with Ashley’s dog. Despite their issues, the rest of the girls go with Katie, whose car actually looks like a normal car. Karen asks if Ashley is nervous. Ashley says she wants to be a part of the group and feels like an outsider. Karen says she and her husband built their own life and she once felt that way. She says as Black women, they should embrace each other. The other girls play “Marry, Shag, Kill,” which I think is the stupidest game in the world.

Ashley tells Karen her room plan. Karen gives it the thumbs up. The other girls talk about Katie’s dating life, including Russell Simmons. Katie once blogged about catching him cheating. Gizelle is all tsk-tsk, but in her individual interview, Katie says she’s a fine one to talk, since her husband is all over the blogs. No blogs that I read.

Three hours later — an hour longer than I like to be in a car — they arrive at Ashley’s beach house, which is of course incredible. Ashley has hired a chef and breaks out the drinks. The girls think the cocktails are too sweet and demand ask for champagne. They talk about Ashley’s sex life and I go ♫ LA-LA-LA! ♫ For whatever reason, Ashley says she can tell the women don’t like the food. I have the feeling they probably don’t like much of anything they don’t control themselves.

Ashley shows them their rooms. She says she assigned rooms according to friendships. Robyn finds it all hysterical that she’s staying with Gizelle. It’s obviously a kid’s room and Gizelle is offended. Some girl who I don’t know is rooming with Charrisse, whose name was spelled wrong on the little cards Ashley made, so she claims that’s not her bed.

Gizelle starts Googling hotels and says you don’t put a grown woman in a kiddie bed. It’s a twin bed. Robyn thinks they should get a grip. Gizelle says if Karen had her room, she’d be losing her wig. All the hotels are filled, and Ashley is made to feel like a lowlife. What a bunch of jerks these women are. Is it the finale yet?

Commercial break. Yay! The Shahs of Sunset is back April 10. It’s one of my favorites.

It’s breakfast time and everyone is pitching in except Gizelle. Robyn says she didn’t hear the end of it all night. Worst. Guest. Ever. Ashley says they’re going surfing and those who don’t want to have the option of lounging on the beach. Ashley cops to the fact that had she been up front about the accommodations, some of them might not have come. Charrisse admits that she almost left, but she’s going to stick it out. Oh, gee, congratulations. What I wouldn’t give for a few days at Ashley’s beach house. Even rooming with whoever that extra woman is.

Gizelle says there are sharks in the water, so surfing is dangerous, but I think it’s more a hair and make-up issue. Karen and Charrisse sit it out with her. The girls go out on the water and Ashley’s tattoo is discussed. Ashley thinks everyone is having a good time. Karen thinks there should have been a safer option like a boating expedition. I think Ashley is a real pita, but she’s fun. I’d definitely hang out with her, especially if she’s buying.

Katie tells Charrisse about her lunch and how the girls weren’t supportive of her endeavors. They’re out at the market buying crabs for the grill. In the meantime, Robyn is preparing the grill and Ashley has sweated through her dress because she’s not wearing underwear. This is the most TMI episode ever. The crabs get grilled. Ashley starts to discuss bathroom habits and I agree with Karen that this should be a conversation for another time, not while we’re eating.

Charrisse is all kumbaya and suggests they go around the table, saying something good about one of the others. Gizelle says something about Katie being brilliant, which Katie takes as Gizelle saying she’s stupid, and I’m totally lost on that. In her individual interview though, Gizelle does say that she thinks something is wrong with Katie. Please, is this show over yet?

Still in the throes of bonding, after going inside, Charrisse suggests they say whatever is on their hearts. Gizelle talks about a tea that makes you go to the bathroom and we’re back at that conversation. Robyn asks Charrisse how she’s feeling about divorce. Charrisse tears up and says material things don’t matter. Gizelle says they don’t matter to her either and I wonder if I’ve changed channels.

Karen talks about her mother having early dementia and says she’d give up everything to change that. Okay, that one I would believe. Robyn starts to talk about how a best friend stole money from her and her husband, and starts to cry.

Next week, hopefully we finish that thought; Katie’s behavior at Ashley’s birthday party is discussed (again); Gizelle says Karen is doing well with Ashley, but by the end of the day Karen is done.

Whew!

February 28, 2016 — The Dead & Nothing But the Dead

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

The only show with enough guts to air a new episode opposite The Who-Cares-What-Number-It-Is Academy Awards. AMC’s Walking Dead, we salute you!

The Walking Dead

Abe is telling camel stories to Sasha, while they check out the perimeter of Alexandria. They talk about Maggie having a baby. I’m thinking maybe Abe wants to have one with Sasha. When he says he’ll see her tomorrow, she says she’s taking a new shift. She says Eugene wants to help more, so he’s going to be walking with Abe. He changes it to see you around.

Abe is in bed with Rosita. I’m confused. Was he dreaming or was that a memory? Rosita tosses him a necklace that she made for him. He tells her she’s damn near perfection. Why not total perfection? Something in the necklace makes him think of giving the victory sign to Sasha.

Maggie and Glenn are doing something with the garden. Someone is sneaking around and they follow.

Paul is in Rick’s house and Carl draws a gun on him. Paul (introducing himself as Jesus, so I guess we’ll go with that now) says he’s waiting for Carl And Michonne. Two seconds later, everyone is there for a meeting. Jesus gives them a scorecard of Alexandria and what they’ve got going on as far as supplies and other assets. He says they got off to a bad start, but they’re on the same side. He says he’s from a place like Alexandria and he scouts for others. He admits he misjudged them, thinking they weren’t good people and he wants to make amends now. He talks about the settlement where he’s from, Hilltop, and says they’ve started breeding livestock.

Maggie asks if they’ve thrown in with other groups, and Jesus says their world is about to get a whole lot bigger. Cool! I’m excited to see new people.

Rick and the gang are going with Jesus to Hilltop. Denise gives Daryl an oatcake for the road. Carl wonders what’s up with Rick and Michonne. Rick says he was going to tell him, but it just happened. Carl says it’s cool. Carl is staying behind this time and says he’ll keep an eye on Baby Judith.

Abe asks Glenn something about Bisquick and pancakes. What he’s really asking about is Maggie’s pregnancy. Abe tells Glenn that if he sees rain coming, he wears galoshes. Can’t this guy speak English? Dr. Phil would probably understand him.

Rick sees a crashed RV. It’s some of Jesus’s group. There’s blood everywhere and the crash victims have turned into zombies. At first, Rick thinks Jesus set them up, but Jesus says they don’t have many fighters in their group and whoever else was in the RV is in trouble. Rick says he’ll look for them, but Jesus is staying behind with Maggie, who has orders to shoot him if he gets weird.

Rick and company go into a totally dark building where you can hear zombies lurking about. They tell the live people to hang tight. Abe nearly kills one of them because it’s really hard to tells who’s who in the dark.

Back in the RV, one of the rescued guys introduces himself as Harlan. It turns out he’s an obstetrician, which is good news for Maggie and Glenn. Jesus’s friend Freddy, the guy Abe almost killed, is still freaked out. His wife had been killed and she came back as a zombie.

Uh-oh, the RV is stuck in the mud. Jesus is like, it’s okay, we’re close enough. They get out and see the compound on the hilltop. Apparently, they’re not too original with names.

Jesus tells the lookout to open the gates. The lookout says to drop the weapons, but Jesus tells him the group saved them and he trusts them. He asks Rick to trust his group in return. Lookout guy opens the gates.

Harlan says see you on the flipside and takes Freddy for a look-see. Ha-ha! Jesus says a lot of people came from a FEMA camp. I’ll bet that was scarier than the zombie apocalypse. At the center of the settlement is a Colonial mansion. Jesus says it was a historical site that kids visited on field trips back in the day. It’s some house.

Ha-ha! again. When they go inside, a guy comes out and says “Jesus, you’re back,” a sentence you could take more then one way. His name is Gregory and he says he’s the boss. He suggests Rick and friends tidy up and they’ll meet after.

Abe asks Daryl how long Rick and Michonne have been together (5 minutes?) and if he’s thought of settling down.

Rick sends Maggie to Gregory’s office to negotiate. Gregory says he had visited the place when it was a museum and little did he know one day it would be his. Well, sort of. He thanks her for saving the doctor. She asks how they’ve survived at Hilltop. He says they’re good at it and they don’t sweat the details. They talk about gardens and Maggie brings up a trade. Gregory says he’s happy to help, but he can’t give things away for free. He says they can work there for their share.

Um…I think he’s making a pass at her. Yes he is. Maggie tells him to knock it off. She says hilltop is low on medication and their communities can help each other.

Jesus tells Rick and Daryl that Gregory is going to want the best deal possible. Rick says they need food and they didn’t come all this way not to get it. Jesus says he’ll talk to Gregory. He says right now Hilltop is going well, but tomorrow it could be Alexandria. He asks for a few days.

Some guy comes in and says “they’re back.” A negotiation with Negan has gone wrong with people getting killed and being held hostage. A hostage’s brother (who is wearing a man bun — no, just no) has been returned along with a message from Negan in the form of said brother stabbing Gregory in the stomach. Everything goes nuts, Abe is being strangled, Daryl breaks the guy’s arm, man bun holds a knife to Rick’s throat. Rick turns the tables on him though, slicing man bun’s jugular vein.

Some woman knocks Rick in the head and Michonee knocks her down. Jesus says Negan was their friend, but now he’s nothing except a coward attacking them. Gregory is still just lying there bleeding. Geez. Jesus tells Rick things aren’t as simple as they seem and to give him some time.

The doctor is able to patch Gregory up. Negan is head of a group called The Saviors. They made demands and threats to Hilltop, and beat one of the children to death in front of everyone because Negan wanted them to understand where he was coming from. Gregory isn’t the best at confrontation and agreed to give Negan half of everything in exchange for Hilltop not being slaughtered. Daryl asks how many people Negan has. Jesus says they don’t know, but they’ve seen groups with as many as twenty. Daryl says they can take him out, but he wants an exchange. Jesus says he’ll take it to Gregory.

Rick says Gregory’s people have food, they don’t, and they need to trade their services in exchange. Jesus says Gregory wants to talk to Maggie.

Maggie goes to Gregory’s room where he’s recuperating. She says he’s lucky they were there. She asks if Jesus told him about the deal and says in exchange for supplies, they’ll get rid of Negan and The Saviors. Will work for food. Gregory says Jesus will make the arrangements. He also says it’s fun and exciting because he doesn’t get out much. Maggie says if they continue with Negan, pretty soon they won’t have anything. She wants half of what he has right now or the deal is off.

Gregory tells her she has a deal. He asks if she wants anything else and she says yes. She wants some of the Hilltop people to go with them.

Rick loads the RV with supplies. He asks one of the Hilltoppers (Hilltopites?) to come with them because he needs someone who knows Negan’s layout. Jesus is coming along too, just for the hell of it.

Maggie gets an ultrasound.

The RV leaves the compound. Glenn passes around the sonogram photo.

Next week, Rick decides on a strategy to come for The Saviors before The Saviors come for them.

February 14, 2016 — Potomac, Atlanta & Alexandria

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What I Watched Today
(rambling, random thoughts & recaps from today’s real time TV watching)

The Real Housewives of Potomac

I started this and I’m going to see the season through if it kills me.

Karen has an appointment to look at planes for flight lessons and Gizelle is along for the meeting. Karen and Gizelle talk about Ashley. Karen thinks she needs guidance and Karen is just the one to give it to her.

Ashley meets Katie at the park. She wants to spend time with Katie’s kids to get used to having her own. Ashley tells Katie how the whiskey tasting party went.

Karen picks out a plane and prays over it.

Ashley and Katie push the kids on the swings. Ashley tells Katie about a birthday party she’s having for herself. She’s going to be 27 and says she wants a baby yesterday. Katie wants to have a baby with boyfriend Andrew, but says not being married first isn’t a good look.

Ashley tells Katie about how she googled everyone and tells her that Robyn and her ex-husband only have 25 bucks in their bank account and are declaring bankruptcy. in her individual interview, Ashley says she googles everyone because today you don’t know what people are up to. Just ask Teresa Giudice about that one. I’m actually kind of surprised that she needs to google other members of a reality show she’s on.

Charrisse is entertaining a friend and talks about how difficult life is because her husband is married to his job and she seems like the mistress. She longs for the good old days when they were poor. I’m sure it sounds good, but I’ll bet she’d be crying if she lost all that money. She’s actually crying now, but she’d be crying a lot harder if she couldn’t pay for that Louis Vuitton.

Her friend asks if she wants to keep fighting for her marriage. Charrisse says that she wants to keep her family together, but she’ll see.

Gizelle and her daughters are meeting her ex-husband, Jamal. Gizelle says they’re still family despite his cheating ways and the divorce. He’s been on TV, being a well-known pastor in the Baltimore area who’s active in civil disobedience. Gizelle isn’t interested in getting back together, but they seem to have worked things out pretty well as far as the kids are concerned.

Karen shows up for her first flight lesson and is a little freaked that they’re changing planes on her. That prayer doesn’t count now. Her husband and daughter are there for moral support. Karen gets the plane off the ground, although I’m sure the real pilot does most of the driving the first time out. Karen says the next thing on her bucket list is the mile high club. I don’t suggest she join it while piloting the plane though.

Katie says that during her divorce, she was overwhelmed and Andrew helped make peace with all the parties involved. Katie’s nanny, Mae, is a lesbian and she says she loves that because she loves her energy. What? What does that mean? They’ve all recently moved into Andrew’s house. Some design changes were needed, so Katie took charge. Boy, is he going to be surprised when he gets home and finds out his old bedroom is a walk-in closet.

Robyn is giving her kids dinner. She has to get to work and they’re all, eww! and I hate this food, like typical kids. The sitter comes and she dashes to some PR event.

Karen calls Charrisse whose kids are in New Jersey with their dad. Karen offers to come over to keep her company since she hates being alone. While they’re having champagne, Gizelle and Katie decide to surprise them. Charrisse says Gizelle is welcome as long as she doesn’t act like she did at her crab boil. If I hear the words “crab boil” one more time, I’m going to scream. Especially since they don’t evoke anything close to what Charrisse had.

The girls compare shoes and talk about Ashley’s upcoming birthday party. Gizelle tells them about how one of the first things Ashley talked about to her was how big her man’s doodad was. Then they get into a conversation about doodads. Katie tells them about Ashley googling everybody. For once I agree with Karen when she wonders what anyone needs to do that for.

Katie tells them about how Ashley brought up people’s finances. Karen says maybe Ashley doesn’t know any better, that she’s a diamond in the rough that needs buffing. This leeds Charrisse to start talking about how she’s having a difficult time in her marriage. Gizelle asks how she’s feeling about it, but Charrisse is on the fence. Charrisse starts to cry. Gizelle says not to be afraid to share because they’re all in her corner. She’s pretty nice for someone who was on the wrong side of this hard-on just five minutes ago.

Ashley is having her birthday party in the same place where she used to bartend, and her husband is part owner. The party’s them is “Big Kitty Bash.” I guess everyone is dressing up as a cat?

Andrew comes home to his newly designed place, including a new room added for the nanny. Katie says if he’s going on trips where he doesn’t invite her, he’s going to have to get used to this kind of thing. My husband used to say every time he went away, he came back to a different furniture arrangement, so I can identify with this. Andrew is pretty startled. He says he’s not a fan, and maybe they could have discussed it first, but he’ll accept it.

Everyone is getting ready for Ashley’s party. Gizelle has Robyn on the phone and tells her about Ashley’s googling. She tells Robyn how Ashley gossiped about Robyn’s financial situation. Robyn wonders if she should go to the party. Gizelle says of course, since she wants Robyn to stir the pot.

Karen thinks Ashley needs to be schooled in he etiquette of googling. Charrisse is under the mistaken impression that someone might hit on her at the party. I don’t see cat outfits, but there’s a lot of animal prints, and there are some kind of nakey servers wearing only cat body paint.

Robyn says happy birthday or not, she’s going to deal with this googling business. Katie and Andrew are making out. How old are these two? OMG — it’s a cash bar! Gizelle tells Robyn to question Ashley on her googleability and I laugh, even though I’m still stuck on the fact there is a cash bar at a rich person’s birthday party. the worst wedding I ever went to had a cash bar.

Hey here’s a first. I think Katie is wearing a Betsey Johnson leopard print dress that I have. If it’s not that same dress, it’s awfully close. One time, a General Hospital character wore the same sweater I own. Unfortunately, I hadn’t worn it yet and then I was afraid that I would be seen as copying them when it was really the other way around.

Robyn approaches Ashley. Ashley says Robyn seemed standoffish, so she thought something might be going on in Robyn’s life. When she googled Robyn, stuff about Juan’s bankruptcy came up. Ashley says maybe it has something to do with that, maybe Robyn just does’t like her. Robyn says it’s neither — which Ashley would know if she’d actually asked Robyn rather than going to the internet for answers. Robyn says that because of past experiences, she proceeds with caution when it comes to new people. I’m sure this didn’t help her trust issues any. Ashley has the nerve to say Robyn should have gotten to know her before making any decisions because Ashley isn’t out to hurt her.

Gizelle is like how can she say that when she’s out there googling stuff and talking about it to other people? Ashley says again that she didn’t mean anything by it. Everything is suddenly cool, which seems to be how it works with this group, but Robyn is still miffed. I would be too. Not that Ashley checked Robyn out, but hat she said something to Katie. She had no business gossiping about Robyn’s financial situation.

Katie and Andrew won’t stop making out and Gizelle says it’s like he just came back from war. Ashley says 27 is a big year for some stupid reason and gets a Porshe as a gift. It has one of those big bows on it. Ho-hum.

Next time. Gizelle’s date feeds her oysters, Ashley’ mother has a problem and Ashley’s husband is lookin’ like a fool with his pants on the ground.

The Real Housewives of Atlanta

Honestly, these are some of the worst Housewives taglines ever. I cringe every time I hear them.

Peter is taking everyone on a bus tour to Kingston. Jamaica is his homeland and he wants everyone to see everything. Malorie shows up on the bus, but Kenya has decided to go to a spa with Matt instead, so it’s like an in and out item.

Cynthia tells everyone that someone told Kenya that Cynthia denied their friendship. Sheree says it was her and that’s not what she said. Cynthia says that it got heated before she could explain how she felt. Cynthia starts weeping about friendship and Nene and I don’t know what. Sheree suggests she and Kenya have a talk when things have calmed down. Kim starts yelling about how she got left off of the friend list and to stop the bus immediately. It’s pretty funny and breaks the tension.

While they’re in the bubble bath (!), Kenya tells Matt her side of the Cynthia friendship. Like I’m sure he cares.

Nene says when they get back, she’ll invite Kenya for a cocktail and try to straighten things out. Peter is taking the group to some barbecue place and Phaedra gets overly excited about eating barbecued goat, which gives me a picture of her on a spit with an apple in her mouth. She’s really gotten obnoxious in the past couple of seasons.

Peter’s relatives meet them at the restaurant. This is the first time Cynthia is meeting the ones who live in Jamaica. The food looks fantastic and it’s all farm/sea to table. Peter tells a pointless story. Kim announces the call time for the commercial as 10 am. She seems pretty organized. It’s time to say good-by to the relatives.

The girls are back at the hotel and there’s a buffet by the swimming pool. I’m gaining weight just watching this trip. The guys go to a nearby martini bar.

Nene knocks on Kenya’s door. Kenya says she ordered a chicken sandwich, but Nene doesn’t look like one. Ha-ha, Kenya! Nene asks Kenya to come down for a nightcap. Kenya says Cynthia hurt her feelings. Nene says Cynthia never bashed her and that Cynthia was crying about it. Kenya relents and joins the group.

Cynthia say she cherishes Kenya’s friendship and loves her, and she’s sorry if it didn’t come off that way. Nene asks if Kenya is going to come to the commercial shoot and she says she’ll be supportive.

Peter asks Matt what he does. He’s a personal trainer and also a veteran. The guys make fun of Matt’s age — which is 28, so he’s not a baby and he certainly doesn’t act as immature as these idiots — and then Peter wonders why he’s not super sociable. Peter continues to act like a jerk and Matt finally gets up and walks away. Peter says something about him walking a girl walk and makes fun of him. I hate Peter.

Kim isn’t with the ladies and they start talking about her husband. They all agree he has a lot of personality. Kenya brings up that there are rumors that he’s gay and he’s called Chrissie behind the scenes, and they’re also called Tootie and Fruitie. Cynthia wants no part of this and I don’t blame her. Nene says, well he does tap dance. So I guess that must mean he’s gay. Another what? I’m in agreement with Sheree (another first) when she says they shouldn’t be talking about Kim and her husband when neither one of them is there to defend themselves. Geez. I don’t know which group is more childish, the men or the women.

Chris has left Jamaica because he has to get back to work, so Kim leaves the kids with their nanny. All of the pre-production has been done, so all they have to do is shoot. Kim gets to the location first. Everyone marvels at what a beautiful day it is and they’re right. The water and the sky are incredibly blue. Cynthia is wearing a blue flowing caftan and looks amazing in the shots.

On the bus to the shoot, Phaedra asks about Matt and Kenya’s spa date. It was some kind of couples thing, so of course Phaedra has to talk nasty. She tries to put Matt on the spot. Why?

Cynthia and Malorie are doing some shots of putting on and taking off the glasses. The premise is that life is better with the glasses on. Totally unoriginal and I’d rather watch John Carpenter’s They Live. Rain clouds start to come up. They get the shot before it starts to get dark.

Kim says it’s going to pass. The bus arrives with the rest of the girls. There are some kind of little paddle boats and Kenya goes out on one with Matt. Nene passes out a bunch of accessories to the girls that are going to be in the commercial. I guess Kenya took a pass. Kim directs everyone in a scene where they pretend to be fans of Cynthia. Lightening starts to happen way out on the water.

Kenya and Matt come back. Cynthia is annoyed because Kenya isn’t acting like much of a friend for all her whining. Matt tells Kenya about Peter and the others causing him grief.

Peter says let’s have a wrap party. A rainbow happens and everyone takes it as a sign.

Porsha’s whatever, Oliver, shows up. They’d met on the Miami trip, but she hasn’t seen him since. He pretends to be interested in what she has to say. He asks what the plans are and she tells him about the wrap party. She shows him his room and they flirt.

Porsha introduces Oliver at the party, which is in some bar. They have champagne and appetizers. Kenya shows up, and she and Matt order drinks at the bar. Peter talks smack about Matt’s age. Phaedra acts like being by herself is tough. Kenya joins the ladies.

Phaedra asks why Matt is sitting alone and Kenya says the guys kind of hazed him the night before and it got old quickly. Suddenly, Matt is playing pool with the guys and all is good. It’s like Potomac deja vu.

Cynthia thanks everyone and says she wishes Chris could have been there. Everyone talks about how cool, talented and hilarious Chris is until Sheree puts the kibosh on that and tells Kim the girls were talking gay talk about Chris.

Next time, gay rumors continue, Aunt Bertha is back and the girls climb a waterfall.

The Walking Dead

When we last left, the church tower had fallen, the zombies had busted in and Alexandria was a mess.

Daryl is driving back to Alexandria with Abe and Sasha in the back seat. They’re waylayed by a motorcycle gang. The leader tells them to drop their weapons because their weapons are Negan’s weapons. They’re outnumbered and turn over the guns.

Sasha asks who they are. The leader (is he Negan?) says they have questions too and they’ll be asking them when they drive Daryl and crew back where they belong. First, he wants to know about what else they have, since there’s always more. Abe asks who Negan is. The leader gets defensive and weird, and says they’ll drive them back to where they came from, but don’t ask questions in the meantime.

The leader cocks his gun and Sasha tells him he doesn’t have to shoot them. He says he’s not going to kill them, then says he is, then everything blows up. It’s Daryl with a serious weapon and he’s just blown the whole lot of the motorcycle guys away. Daryl gets back in the truck with Abe and Sasha. It looks like those motorcycle guys are dead, but I have the feeling we haven’t seen the last of them.

Alexandria is total chaos.. The core group led by Rick has put entrails and blood on themselves so they can wander among the zombies.

Rick gathers the group and gives them instructions on splitting up and reconvening. Jessie doesn’t think they can make it with Judith, but Father Gabriel promises to keep her safe. Oh yeah, that’s just the guy I’d leave my baby with. Jessie tries to palm Sam off on Gabriel too, but Sam swears he can deal. Gabriel goes off to the church with Judith and Jessie reassures Rick that it will be okay.

Carol, Morgan, Eugene and Rosita are holed up in a brownstone. The Wolf and Denise watch the zombies from behind a wrought iron fence in a stairwell. Glenn is looking for guns and ammo at the church. Enid tells him that he’d said if you run, that’s how you lose people, even the ones who are already gone and asks him what it means. He says the people you love are always inside of you, and if you lose yourself, you lose them. They tell each other who the important people in their lives were and waste valuable time.

The Wolf tells Denise he needs her. She says she’ll just slow him down.

Enid says she wants to help Glenn get Maggie over the wall to safety. She finds the gun that Glenn has been looking for.

The Wolf says Denise was right, he wasn’t born this way, he changed. Lady Gaga’s song plays in my head. He says he wants to help her change. He says she’ll see one day that they’ve been given a gift.

It’s nighttime. Rick and company are still wandering about with the zombies. The worst thing about all of it is how I have to try and remember the minor characters names again. Sam isn’t being as cool as he thought he was going to be and starts to freak. Jessie tells him to come on. Great. He’s frozen and starting to cry and he’s going to get everyone killed. Nope, he just got himself killed. Good riddance. You were just a hindrance anyway. Carl pulls Jessie away, but it doesn’t work and she gets eaten too. Good. That will teach you to slow everyone down. She’s still hanging onto Carl and Rick hacks her arm off. Okay. That was a good one.

He and Carl get the blip out of there. That other crummy kid (Ron?) holds a gun on them but Michonne machetes him from behind. Are all the losers gone now. Carl keels over. Geez. Michonne hacks their way to safety.

Eugene ponders a very large knife. He says sooner or later, they’re fighting their way out. Rosita basically calls him a chicken and says they will, but he won’t.

The Wolf gives hindsight suggestions about fighting the zombies. He tells Denise they’re going to find a gap and go over the wall. He says it’s safer out there than where they are and to start moving and not stop. The go. The Wolf does some excellent head stabbing. Denise tells him if they can get to the infirmary, she can save his life. They change direction.

Morgan asks Carol about her child and husband. He says he had to stop her and she says she should have killed him. He says she can’t, but I dunno, I’ve seen her do it.

Denise and the Wolf book it to the infirmary. They don’t make it though, since Carol shoots the Wolf from a rooftop. Great timing, Carol. Denise goes running into the brownstone. Rick comes in next with Carl in his arms and Michonne following. I think Carl has lost an eye. Denise yells for supplies.

Rick parts the curtain and sees the place is surrounded by zombies. Since he’s out of his mind, he takes an ax and goes outside.

Commercial break. 10 Cloverfield Lane looks well worth seeing. It looks like John Goodman does some good work in it.

Rick is going crazy on the zombies. This is really going to help Carl tremendously if Rick gets himself killed. Good thing these zombies only come after you one at a time. Michonne goes out and starts machete-ing zombies. Others who are holed up in various places come out and start killing zombies too.

Father Gabriel, who is with a small band of people at the church, says God will save Alexandria because God has given them the courage to save it themselves.

Carol and company head out. Rosita tells Eugene he doesn’t have to go, and he makes a mini-speech about how no one gets to clock out today and this is the story people are going to tell.

Everyone gets to zombie killing, even Morgan.

Maggie is still stuck up in that cage, but the base is getting shaky from the zombies screwing with it. Glenn fights off the zombies while Enid goes up to get Maggie. Oops! Glenn is overpowered and both girls are stuck. Abe and Sasha come to the rescue with machine guns. Miraculously, all the bullets miss Glenn.

Glenn gets into the gasoline truck with Daryl. Daryl gets out of the truck and starts pouring the gas out. I hope he gives the live people a heads up before he sets that on fire. He sets a pond ablaze and the zombies seems drawn to it, although why is a good question, since as far as I know, this has never happened before.

Everyone is beating the crap out of the zombies, including Eugene, while other zombies walk into the flaming water.

The streets of Alexandria are full of the dead walking dead. The live survivors survey the damage, while Denise tends to their wounds. Rick says, “that was rough,” and I literally lol.

Rick is all proud of what they can do if they work together. He says they’ll rebuild the walls and expand them. He gives unconscious Carl a big speech about having a feeling of being able to make a new world. He begs Carl to come back.

Carl’s fingers close over Rick’s hand.

Next time, more zombie trouble with some Negan on the side.

January 29, 2016 — GH x 2 + Chefs x 2 + 1 Unfriend + 3 Quotes

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital – Thursday

Sam comes into the hospital. Franco is at the desk and asks her if she’d like to go for coffee.

Elizabeth is trying to get Jake to do something normal, but since he’s gone to the darkside, he doesn’t want to. Jason stops by. Elizabeth says it was an uneventful night.

Morgan wants to move out of the friend zone with Kiki, but she says she’s working and doesn’t want to talk about it right now.

The hospital commissioner tells Anna and Robert she’s never met the couple who was scheduled. She tells them the fake names that Carrrlos and Sabrrrina gave the hospital. Since they weren’t too creative, the last name is Rivera and Anna and Robert know it’s them immediately. They ask for any information the commissioner has.

Sabrrrina says that after what happened to Gabriel, she’s not getting in a car. Carrrlos has to take a call. It’s Paul, who tells him that he’d best not call, write or send smoke signals, because if Anna doesn’t catch him, Sonny will.

The commissioner says she can’t give out patient information or the clinic can get into trouble. Anna and Robert tell her that Carrrlos is a murdering fugitive who has Sabrrrina as a hostage.

Paul says Carrrlos needs to disappear now. Carrrlos says Sabrrrina can’t travel and he’s not going without her. He says that Paul had better hope Anna doesn’t catch him, or he won’t be the only one going to prison.

Sonny’s steps weren’t exactly legit. He was just holding himself up. He gets all stupid and feeling sorry for himself. Carly says she knows he’s impatient, but it’s still fantastic that he can stand. Sonny tells Carly not to tell anyone, especially the kids.

Morgan says he and Kiki share a bond. She says they do, but it’s better as friends. He says he’s dug deep in therapy and he knows what he wants and it’s her. That’s right. What it takes most people years to do, he’s done in only two sessions. Now I want to ask him if he’s taking his meds.

Sam says the courts might have given Franco a free pass, but she never will. She says she has bigger problems than him, and he says yeah, like Elizabeth.

Jake gives Jason a picture he drew and says Jason should hang it above where he and mom sleep. Jason is like, we’ve been over this already, and Jake asks him if he’s moving back in.

Sonny makes Carly promise not to tell what she thinks she saw. He says she takes something she wants to happen and makes it a reality in her head. He says a whole bunch of ridiculous things about people encouraging him because he’s weak. He tells Carly she has to respect his choice.

Jason once again tells Jake that he loves him, but he and Elizabeth aren’t getting married and he’s not moving in. Jake wants to know the details, but Elizabeth says it’s a grown-up thing.

Franco says Sam should be more gracious in her victory and cut Elizabeth some slack. He also tells her that she doesn’t have a monopoly on redemption. He says he’s trying to help Elizabeth. Sam suggests he’s the one breaking in.

The commissioner says all they have is the couple’s name. She says the appointment was made through their online booking system. Anna says she needs the IP address and Robert wants to talk to the clinic’s IT guy. Anna’s phone rings and it’s Paul asking if she misses him.

Carrrlos says Sabrrrina is his hero. He admires how she left everything to go with him and says they’re going to have an amazing life. He says he’s put away some money over the years in a Grand Keys account. He says they can go there and make a personal withdrawal. He says it’s warm, tropical and beautiful and they can stay there as long as she wants. I’m totally ready to go.

Anna asks if everything is ok. Paul says, you tell me. He asks if she’s in Berkeley right now and she says yes.

Sabrrrina says she realizes love is all that matters.

Carly says she won’t tell anyone on one condition. She wants to know if his pride is keeping him from accepting help. She doesn’t want his progress impeded because he wants to do it himself. He says Epiphany is up to speed.

Morgan says he’s just poured his heart out and deserves an explanation as to why Kiki is blowing him off. She says she doesn’t know him anymore. She says whenever she sees him, she has to wonder which Morgan she’s getting that day.  She says she has enough uncertainty in her life and can’t be with a stranger. Is he going to get stupid now? He takes disappointment about as well as Sonny does.

Jason asks Elizabeth if therapy is helping Jake at all. She says it seems to be and he asks if he should come in for the next session. Elizabeth says not until the doctor thinks it’s time. Jason says he’ll just concentrate on his own therapy right now then.  He says he’s about to start hypnosis. Elizabeth asks why, and Jason tells her he had another memory. She’s pretty disappointed to find out it was about him and Sam.

Franco doesn’t know what Sam is talking about. Sam tells him about Jake’s New Year’s Eve scare and the break-in. He says that kind of stuff is beneath him and Sam says maybe Elizabeth was behind him doing it.

Franco asks exactly what she’s accusing him of. He says he likes his life and doesn’t want Jason or anyone else to screw with it. He adds that Elizabeth wouldn’t terrorize her own children and Jake has enough problems.

Elizabeth gets nosy about Jason’s memory. He tells her about it and she says it sounds like he’s making progress. He says he hopes the hypnosis will push him through. She says even though she didn’t want him to remember before, but she does now. Not for his sake of course, but she wants him to know that she’s not all bad. She says despite what’s happened, she’s his friend. With friends like that, etc.

Sonny says he has to do things on his own terms. Carly says she won’t tell anyone. She says that he’s too arrogant for her to pity him. He says thanks for believing in him and Carly says she always has. Max has to talk to Sonny, so Carly leaves. Sonny tells Max he lied to Carly about not getting his legs back, when he is.

Paul tells Anna that they need to talk about her future. She says she realizes she took some personal time, but is she doing that badly at her job? He says it doesn’t seem to be working for either one of them, but he wants to arrange it so it does. When Anna hangs up, she tells Robert that Paul is on to her.

Sabrrrina says Carrrlos must want a boy, but he says wrong, he’s just hoping for a healthy baby, but if he had his wish it would be a daughter. He could love and spoil her and she’d never have to be lonely or afraid and would never know the mistakes he made. Sabrrrina says it will be fine until she’s a teenager and they make some silly things up about the boys she’d date. Carrrlos says maybe when she’s in her 30s, she’ll meet someone who’s almost good enough for her. Sabrrrina asks what if it’s a boy? Carrrlos says he’ll learn that character is the most important thing and his life will mean something. Sabrrrina says she thinks it’s time to push.

Morgan says Kiki is right and that he doesn’t even know himself. He says he’s learning to live with his illness day by day and is starting to feel like a normal person. He says they can be friends, but he thinks they’re just hiding their true feelings.

Sam asks Franco what’s up with Jake. He says if Jakes parents want to tell her, that’s one thing, but he’s not telling her anything. He says she has issues to work out but making a scapegoat of Elizabeth isn’t going to help

Elizabeth says she’s really not a terrible person and she doesn’t want Jason to hate her. He says he doesn’t; she’s the mother of his son and that’s who they need to focus on right now. Elizabeth has to go to work, but the sitter is late. Jake says he’ll stay until she gets there.

Boom! The baby’s here. Sabrrrina asks if it’s a boy or a girl, and Carrrlos doesn’t say anything. She asks for the baby and when he still doesn’t respond, she knows something is wrong.

Anna says she knows what Paul is implying and she has to go back and do damage control. Robert says the phone was traced to a hotel and they’re getting Carrrlos once and for all.

Sonny says the only ones who know are Max and Epiphany. Max says that’s not fair to Carly. Sonny says he doesn’t want his enemies to know he’s improving. He says he doesn’t want Carly involved in the business, even in keeping secrets. Max asks what the plan is. Sonny says when he’s on his feet, he’s taking back the city and getting rid of the unsavory elements, which sounds funny coming from him. He says to let them think he’s helpless, weak and trapped in the chair, and one day they’ll be in for a surprise.

Kiki says she’s proud of Morgan and can’t wait to see which Morgan he becomes. She says she’s not ready for a relationship, but she’ll go on a date with him. No expectations.

Max tells Sonny about that the guns Raj is moving are high grade military weapons.  Sonny wonders why Ava is involved. He says she’s putting Avery in danger and he’s not letting his baby girl get hurt.

Anna and Robert bust into the hotel room, but Sabrrrina and Carrrlos are gone.  As they’re about to leave, two cops barrel in with their guns drawn.

Jason looks at Jake’s drawings. They all seem normal until he gets to the last one, which is the drawing of Sam. Franco is also looking through Jakes drawings in his medical folder. They’re all weird. Jason trips down Memory Lane in his head and realizes the drawing is of Sam. Jake asks if he likes the pictures.

Tomorrow, Jason questions Jake about the picture and Lulu asks for help getting Dante back.

Random Thought

I don’t know what it is, but I’m just not into American Idol this time around. Did it start happening when we lost Simon? Randy? Stephen Tyler? Did it happen when they stopped showing us the worst of the worst? That was actually the best. Was it that they just couldn’t top season 10? Scotty McCreery for the win, Haley Reinhart who I loved to hate, and Lady Gaga playing at the part where they bring in the celebrities. Maybe it was all downhill from there. Or maybe since I know it’s the final go around, I just don’t want to invest any more time.

Regardless, although I’m only half-watching, it’s always hard to say good-bye to an institution. Idols, we salute you.

Unfriended

Occasionally, I’ll write about a movie I’ve seen that’s exceptional. This is one of them.

The title is somewhat unfortunate. When I first heard it, I figured the movie would be some kind of cheap stalker film like Swimfan. Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. I’d previously read that it was better than its title, and had been shown at Sundance under the title Cybernatural.

This is a real ghost story in every sense of the word. What makes the film unique is that It all takes place on a computer screen, there’s no action outside of that. For some reason, this makes it even more frightening. Maybe because I spend so much time on here.

A group of friends is video chatting and a stranger joins them. A stranger with only an icon for a face. Our POV is that of the main character, Blaire, and we go through her discovery that the stranger is a dead friend, one that committed suicide because of cyber-bullying.  It’s eventually revealed that this ghost is going to pick them off one by one.

What I really loved about this film was how real the computer screen seemed. It’s totally plausible how Blaire is going through her social media — Facebook, video chat, YouTube and text chat – as well as clicking on links she receives through them. No Twitter is used. I’m guessing because that’s such a public forum, and we’re made to feel that the characters are trapped in their private world. Even the way Blaire’s cursor moves around is incredibly real, and the way she writes messages, changing her mind about what she’s going to say and hesitating to hit send.

There’s a minimal amount of gore, again seen only on the computer screen. It’s made all the more creepy because we rarely see anything clearly with pixels breaking up.

So much better than I thought it would be, Unfriended captured and held my attention all the way through. The premise is unique, the story is intense and the acting is superb. It’s on HBO rotation now, and I highly recommend giving it a look. Although you might not want to get online for a while afterwards.

 General Hospital – Friday

Dante is about to sign the divorce papers, when Mayor Lomax knocks on the door. She wants to have a conversation away from the public. She insists on Dante getting Olivia to drop the lawsuit.

Alexis is going over the case with Olivia. She says she expects a lot of supporters, and she hopes the mayor doesn’t fill the audience with her lackeys. Olivia is surprised that people watch a trial because she lives at the MetroCourt and has no clue as to how the outside world works.

Lulu asks Maxie to help her get Dante back.

Christina is packing her suitcase to fake going back to school. Sam tells her she should tell Alexis she’s been suspended and that she isn’t going to be able to keep it up forever. Christina says she’ll get an apartment and a job and go back next semester. Sam tells Christina she had a distressing conversation with Franco. Christina asks why she’s even speaking to Franco, and Sam says she had to talk to him because of Jake.

Franco tells Elizabeth that art therapy might help Jake with his feelings. He suggests they start today. Elizabeth asks why it’s so urgent.

Jason asks Jake who the woman in his drawing is supposed to be, although he has a pretty good idea already that it’s Sam.

Dante tells the mayor he knows all about what happened and he supports Olivia 100%. She says that she’s had her mind on budget cuts. He asks if she’s threatening him with his job. She says that would be unethical, but she was looking over his folder and sees that he’s involved with the Big Brother program. The one for kids, not the reality show. She says a lot of the funding comes from the city, and that protecting the program would be quid pro quo. He says she can’t buy him and to get out before he reports her. She wonders how his wife stays with him. How is she totally out of that loop?

Lulu says Dante thinks there’s no way back because of what they’ve discovered about themselves – he cheated and she sought revenge – and doesn’t want it spilling over on Rocco. Lulu tells Maxie about how Valerie called it quits before the whole Johnny debacle happened. She says she came to realize that one act doesn’t define their marriage. Lulu tells Maxie she has a plan to surprise Dante at the loft, but she stupidly threw away her key when she got mad.  Maxie says she’s on thin ice with Nathan , but she would still borrow the key if she knew where it was. She says she knows someone else with a key though.

Olivia says everyone is staring at her and they are. She says they’re not looking at her face either. She says when she gets a cancelation, she wonders if it’s because of the lawsuit. She thinks maybe she didn’t think things through and that she s not sure if she wants to be the poster child for public breastfeeding.

A woman, who obviously recognizes Olivia, approaches their table. Alexis tries to stop her from speaking, but she says Olivia needs to know something from her.

Franco tells Elizabeth that someone else was concerned about Jake’s artwork. She asks who and if he spoke to the therapist.  After hemming & hawing, Franco tells Elizabeth he talked to Sam about the drawings.

Christina asks why Sam was discussing Jake with Franco. She says she thought maybe Franco was in cahoots with Elizabeth, but they ended up talking about Jake. Franco let slip Jake is in therapy, but wouldn’t tell her why. Christina tells Sam to mind her own business and not get involved with Elizabeth’s kid drama.

Jake waffles on who the woman in the drawing is and settles on it’s just a bad woman he made up. Jason says Jake can always tell him anything and asks again who it is.

The stranger says what Olivia is doing is wonderful. She says she would have liked to do the same in her day and thanks Olivia for standing up for a basic right for all mothers. The entire place applauds, and we see where Dante got his jumping to conclusions from. Alexis says they’ll get support, but there will also be antagonists. Olivia realizes the lawsuit isn’t just for her, because she lives in the same bubble that Glinda the Good Witch of the North lives in. Alexis says they’ll win, assuming Olivia is still on board and Olivia says hell yes.

Alexis leaves and Lulu sits down. She tells Olivia she needs help in saving her marriage. Olivia says she’s disappointed in her.

Dante says he knows what the mayor is doing and that she’d like him to do something stupid, but his mother’s lawsuit is going to take care of everything. He tells her again to get out and she’s says he’s a lousy husband and a rotten son, because she doesn’t know he’s really a cheating, waffling loser.

Jason asks again about the picture. Jake now insists it’s a bad woman from a video game. Jason asks to see the game and Jake says he doesn’t remember which one it is. Jason says again that Jake can tell him anything and asks if he can take the picture. Jake asks if he’s mad. Jason says no, the picture is just interesting and if Jake remembers more, to tell him. Someone is at the door. It’s the sitter, and of course Jake whines for Jason to stay.

Elizabeth asks if Sam told him she suspects that Elizabeth broke into her own house. Franco tells her she suspected him too. Franco keeps trying to tell her something about Jake, but she won’t hear it. She says she’s not discussing Jake with him and he’d better not discuss her son with anyone else.

Christina says Sam is just going to make trouble for herself. Sam asks if Christina thought she was treated unfairly with being suspended and is there something she’s not talking about. Christina says Sam knows everything , and repeats what happened to catch everyone up. Sam isn’t buying it that’s all there is to the story.

Olivia says she tried to tell Dante that they should work things out. Lulu tells her about the key. She says if Olivia wants to help save their marriage, she needs the loft key.

Sam tells Christina to call her if she needs anything and that Sam has her back. She adds she’s going to take Christina’s advice. She says Elizabeth is so manipulative, it will backfire; she’ll hold it against Sam and try to get Jason to do the same. Christina says Elizabeth is the type of woman who acts all helpless when they’re really yanking the guy’s chain. Sam says she’s going to talk to Elizabeth. Like that’s ever helped before.

The sitter is covered with silly string. She goes to the bathroom to clean up and Jake examines a marble coaster carefully.

Jason comes to the hospital and says he needs to talk to Elizabeth. He shows her the drawing. He says Jake told him at first it was a real person, and then said it was a video game character. He thinks Jake lying to him is cause for concern and they need to get him help right away. Franco hears him and seconds the motion.

Dante tells Olivia that she and Alexis must be doing a good job, because the mayor tried to get him to talk her out of the lawsuit. He also wants to know if she’s been bothering Olivia. Olivia says no, and asks what else is up. Dante asks if she’s seen Lulu.

Lulu and Maxie go to the loft. Lulu asks Maxie to set a romantic stage. Maxie says she could do that herself, so why is she really there? Lulu wants her opinion about a red slip dress she has on under her coat. Maxie says it’s beautiful even if it isn’t this season. Lulu says it’s the dress she was wearing when she told Dante she was pregnant. She says they went through a lot of heartache trying to have a baby, but finally got Rocco. She wants to remind him of the good in their lives and how they achieved something when they worked together. Maxie says Lulu definitely has a chance. They start getting the candles out.

Maxie opens a drawer and the divorce papers are there.

Alexis gets home before Christina leaves. She says it makes her sad when Christina to see her go. She says she wishes it was like when Christina was little and they were close. Alexis tells Christina she can always tell her anything

Jason asks Franco if he’s been eavesdropping. Franco says he knows Jake needs help. Jason tells him to butt out and he says fine, he tried. Elizabeth stops him from leaving and the three of them go into a private room. She asks Franco what he was trying to tell her. Franco shows them the folder with the morbid drawings.

Jake is looking out a broken window. I assume he used the coaster. He deliberately (?) cuts himself on the jagged glass. Or maybe he’s just stupid and wanted to check how sharp it was. There’s a knock at the door and it’s Sam. She asks him what happened to his hand.

Olivia tells Dante that Lulu was there with Maxie earlier. She asks if he has any thoughts on what they’d discussed earlier. He says he had the divorce papers drawn up. Olivia says she meant for him to think about it for more than 10 minutes. He says he didn’t do anything with them yet and Olivia says give it time.

Lulu says Dante hasn’t signed the papers, so there’s still a chance for him to change his mind. She tells Maxie to work her magic on the atmosphere.

Christina tells Alexis some baloney about how she supports Alexis’s marriage to Julian and she’s happy for her even if her dad isn’t. Alexis says she knows something else is going on. Christina says no, that’s it, and she hopes Alexis’s good luck rubs off on her in the love department. Alexis tells her she can bring a date to the wedding.

Jake says someone threw a rock through the window. Sam asks if he saw someone throw the rock. He says yes, but Sam says there’s no rock and there’s no glass on the floor, so it came from inside the house.

Franco says it doesn’t take an expert to see Jake is upset about something. Jason says he’s not a doctor. Franco says no, but he’s an artist and he knows that Jake is in distress. He says pictures that show this much anxiety and rage mean he’s already acting out.

Sam tries to talk to Jake and he runs downstairs to the basement.

The mayor approaches Olivia and Olivia asks how she dare shake Dante down. The mayor says she was merely visiting a city employee, and by the way, all city functions in the hotel are canceled until the lawsuit is settled. Olivia is like, you can’t do that, and the mayor says, you want a war, you got one.

Dante comes in to the loft. Lulu, standing there in her red dress, asks him if he remembers that night in August. He says yes, he does, and what is she doing there. She tells him trying to save their marriage.

Alexis says good-bye to Christina and leaves. As Christina opens the door, a woman is standing there. She addresses the woman as Parker and I go, oooh.

Jason says there’s never been an intruder; it’s Jake. He says Franco is right and that Jake needs a lot of help. I’m impressed that he got it this quickly. He’s no dummy.

Sam follows Jake, saying that no one will be mad at him. She falls down the stairs and lies unconscious at the bottom.

On Monday, Nina wants to help Olivia and Jake looms over Sam’s unconscious body. As much as a kid can loom anyway.

MasterChef Junior

It’s the finale and we’re down to 9-year-old Addison (Addy, who’s won more challenges than anyone else) and 9-year-old Avery. Family and friends are there to cheer the girls on. Brava, young ladies!

The first challenge is to make a 3-course dinner. I take a last, longing look at the pantry. Addy is going the pan Asian seafood route and Avery has chosen a Creole creation. They have 90 minutes. The heartland versus the bayou.

Uh-oh, Addy gets cut. I mean cut with a knife, not cut from the competition. She’s cool though. She falls a little behind, but sucks it up and soldiers on. When the girls get to creating their desserts, I almost go out of my mind because everything looks so fresh and delicious. OMG – Avery is “elevating” a strawberry rhubarb shortcake. I wouldn’t even know what to do with the rhubarb. These kids are just amazing, especially since the people in the gallery cheering them on are really boisterous.

Of course all the dishes are fabulous – even more so for 9-year-olds – and Gordon says it’s the closest it’s ever been.  Once again, it’s down to details I wouldn’t have a clue about. The judges switch places with the girls so that they can get some well deserved applause. I love how they never talk down to the kids and treat them with respect. They made the show fun for the junior contestants, but the challenges were just as tough as with the adult MasterChef.

MY GIRL ADDY WINS!!! I feel so proud. She gives props to Avery and says that either one of them would have deserved it today. I hope Avery takes that to heart. I’m sure she’s disappointed, but she’s already further ahead in her culinary skills than most of us could ever hope to be, even if we lived forever.

Well played, junior chefs!

Quotes of the Week from The People’s Couch

This whole thing is a nerdgasm. Blake referring to the return of The X-Files.

It’s never good when a guy’s holding his junk walking in. Joe Resnick, referring to an episode of Sex Sent Me to the ER.

Think of every great person on the planet. If they didn’t get yelled at they’d be average as hell. Lamont Zeno, referring to a contestant on Pitch Slapped.

 

January 13, 2016 — Adios, Sabrrrina, Carrrlos & the Hotal Cortez

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital

Nathan meets Maxie at the MetroCourt/Floating Rib/whatever it is.  He asks her what’s going on and she flashes back to seeing Johnny.

Johnny startles Lulu In the park, grabbing her from behind while wearing a ski mask. He’s such a laugh riot!

Dante is beating the crap out of a punching bag at the gym.

Carrrlos calls Sabrrrina back.

Jordan meets with Anna and Paul. Jordan says he needs to come up to speed and passes the ball to Anna.

Valerie is applying for a job at the MetroCourt and Olivia comes by to discourage that. Valerie asks what it will take to make things right and Olivia tells her a time machine and suggests she go back to PA. Now tell us how you really feel.

Michael tells Dante that he should aim higher if he’s thinking of Dillon. Dante says that he doesn’t like Dillon, but he’s the one who ruined his own marriage. Because he gives up easy, when Michael suggests counseling, he brushes it off. He also insists Lulu slept with someone else on New Year’s Eve, even though he has absolutely no real evidence of this. Please, Lulu, run off with Johnny while you can.

Lulu tells Johnny he shouldn’t be goofing around like that because someone could see. She says he shouldn’t take chances because both Dillon and Maxie know he’s around. She says Maxie can’t keep a secret for long and Johnny says he knows Maxie almost as well as he knows Lulu and she won’t tell. If he knows her that well, he should know she always ends up telling.

Nathan tells Maxie he’s been keeping up with her fashion stuff online, which shows once again what a great guy he is. Nina comes by and gives him a copy of the green Crimson issue. Nina says it’s their fashion revolution and I think of Little Edie Beale. Nina says she bought all the local copies and is giving them out for free.

Anna says she’s never been convinced that Carrrlos shot Sonny, so she investigated on her own. Jordan says as far as the PCPD is concerned it’s a closed case, along with Carrrlos’s death.

Not so dead Carrrlos tells Sabrrrina he missed her and she pretends to be talking to her dad while Felix is there. When Felix leaves, she tells Carrrlos she thinks Anna is on to him and not to come back to Port Charles. He tells her he never left, and doesn’t want to leave without her.

Maxie says they can’t get an accurate read on the sales if only one person buys the magazine. Nina says there are plenty of places where it’s still for sale and that when the bloggers and cool kids find out about it, it’s going to take off. Nina tells Maxie she needs to have faith in her ideas. Nina runs off and Maxie says she needs to tell Nathan something, but he has to jet.

Lulu tells Johnny the last time Maxie covered for him, she almost lost the best relationship she had. Lulu says she’s bound to tell Nathan. Johnny says his Valerie plan is almost done and pretty soon Valerie won’t be able to show her face anywhere in Port Charles.

Valerie asks if the answer to everything is her moving out of town. Yes. Olivia says this is Lulu and Dante’s home and they’ll find their way back to each other, and Valerie should get out and stay out. Valerie says Olivia is taking out her own failings with Dante out on her. She says too bad, so sad, she’s not going anywhere and she’d rather shovel snow than work for such a hypocrite. I still can’t figure out how Port Charles has snow when nowhere else in the area does IRL.

Dante says that when the newness of a relationship wears off, that’s when you have to work on it. He says he and Lulu didn’t mean to hurt each other, but they did and are paying the price now along with Rocco. God forbid he should take his own advice. What a jerk. Michael says he has to go.

Sabrrrina asks why Carrrlos is still in Port Charles. He says he couldn’t leave her and the baby, and he’s made arrangements for both of them to leave. She says she’s broken up with Michael, but she still can’t go. She asks why he didn’t go when he said he was going to and he says because he loves her now more than ever. He says if she won’t go with him, he’s turning himself in to Anna and she’s going to kill him like she tried before. Sabrrrina is like, what? because she didn’t know about that, but he doesn’t really explain. He says know that he loves her forever and to tell their child he’s sorry he couldn’t be a father.

Anna says she’s willing to drop the whole thing. Paul says it’s a minor discretion in the grand scheme of things. He says she’s a valuable asset and he’s sure they can work things out, but he has to go. When he’s gone, Jordan asks why Anna lied to him. Anna tells her the mole is Paul.

Lulu tells Johnny time isn’t on his side. Now I have an earworm of Time Is on My Side by The Rolling Stones. He tells her to relax because he’s wrapping it up tonight. He says Valerie will be there soon, so Lulu needs to scoot.

Valerie tells Dante she appreciated his offer of help, but she thinks it’s better for them to keep their distance. She leaves for a run and Nathan gives Dante the eye.

Carrrlos meets Paul at the docks. Paul says he thinks someone is on to them.

Jordan asks what motive Paul would have to help Carrrlos. Anna says she’s not sure, but they need to bring Carrrlos in for interrogation. Anna says they need to focus on Sabrrrina and she wants 24-hours for surveillance and phone tapping.

Michael goes to Sabrrrina’s apartment. Felix answers the door and says he’ll let him in if Michael hears him out. Felix says he thought Sabrrrina would never smile again after losing Gabriel, and Michael had brought joy back into her life. He says obviously Sabrrrina lied, but Michael should have cut her some slack. Michael says he wants to get back together with her, but Felix says it’s too late since she’s gone.

Paul says Carrrlos needs to stay dead to the rest of the world, that it’s the only way to keep him and those he loves safe. He says Carrrlos needs to get on the boat now. Carrrlos says it’s smooth sailing ahead for both of them and that he’s no danger to Paul and neither is anyone he cares about.

When Paul leaves, Sabrrrina shows up at the docks. Sabrrrina says no one knows where she is. Carrrlos says their boat leaves soon and wonders why she doesn’t have a bag. Sabrrrina asks why he was talking to Paul.

Michael leaves a message for Sabrrrina to call him and insists Felix tell him where she is. Felix says that’s not his job and if Sabrrrina doesn’t want to hear from him, he’ll have to live with that.

Jordan tells Anna no way are they tailing Sabrrrina.

Dante tells Nathan that what was between him and Valerie is over and they’re not even friends anymore. And adds that should make everyone happy because he’s such a whiner.

Nina shows Olivia the magazine. Olivia says that her cousin started the magazine and it’s practically a fashion institution. Nina says they need to save the magazine and that they can’t keep doing everything the same old way. Olivia starts to say something critical, but then says who is she to judge.

Johnny pretends to be talking on the phone with someone in the park when Valerie comes by.

Maxie is trying to give out copies of the magazines, but she’s distracted by the secret she’s keeping from Nathan. When Nina asks why she still has magazines left, Maxie kinda sorta tells her about it without telling her. Nina talks about how she has her own background of lies, but they eventually led her to Franco.

Nathan asks if Dante will be able to work with Valerie when she graduates. I don’t get why this is even an issue. Why would Jordan ever schedule them even near each other? Nathan says maybe Dante and Lulu can patch things up and that he should at least try. As if on cue, Lulu comes in.

Valerie asks Johnny what’s up. He says he’s not seeing eye to eye with a tow company. He says he’s got a dead car and they’re telling him it’s an hour wait and he needs to be somewhere. Valerie says she’ll drive him.

Jordan says as soon as she sends a request to the judge, it will tip Paul off. She suggests they work on their own.

Michael says he can’t let Sabrrrina go without telling her he wants to make a family with her. Felix says he doesn’t know where she is. Michael is about to hunt her down, but Felix has an envelope for him. He says Sabrrrina told him to give it to Michael if he came by.

Carrrlos tells Sabrrrina he made a deal with Paul about turning state’s evidence. Sabrrrina asks why he didn’t tell her. He says he was only buying time and that he’d be dead if he testified against Julian. He asks her to please disappear with him. He says Port Charles holds too much pain for the both of them and they should start a new life somewhere else as a family. If she doesn’t want to, I totally volunteer.

Olivia looks through the magazine and tells Nina it’s not bad. Nina gets a call from the circulation manager. She asks if Crimson is a success and from the look on her face, it is. Ha! I knew it.

Lulu tells Dante it’s not a good night for him to pick up Rocco because he has a bug. Dante acts like she must be lying and that she, Dillon and Rocco are cozying up together.  Dante acts like such a freaking idiot, Lulu can’t get out of there fast enough. While Nathan starts to talk to Dante, Maxie comes running in and drags him into the interrogation room. She says she has to tell him something. Nathan says that what he’s been working on has something to do with her. He says Johnny might try to contact her. Funny you should say that, replies Maxie.

Johnny says he doesn’t want to be a bother. Valerie says she owes him one for fixing her car.

Anna knocks on Sabrrrina’s door and there’s no answer. She and Jordan bust in with their guns drawn. The place is empty.

Michael takes the letter to the park to read it. The letter says that the time they spent together was the happiest of her life and he didn’t deserve her lying to him.

Carrrlos tells Sabrrrina the choice is hers and asks if she’s coming. She says yes, and goes with him. All right!

The letter continues about how grateful Sabrrrina is, and that Michael will find someone he deserves. She says she’ll always love him, but she’ll do it from a distance. She says that Port Charles is his home, but not hers, and says good-by.

Tomorrow, Maxie tells on Johnny, and Alexis and Julian make faces at something they’ve discovered.

American Horror Story: Hotel – Random Thoughts

This was a nice finale. It hasn’t been my favorite season – that was Freak Show – nor has it been my least favorite – that was Coven because I thought it was too busy – but Hotel was well crafted and the acting was fabulous. I thought the story was a little repetitive at times, and that if I wanted to watch True Blood, I’d watch True Blood, but it had glorious moments. I loved the serial killers’ dinner, used again in the finale.

Denis O’Hare was wonderful and Lady Gaga was a joy to watch. There was recently some Twitter brouhaha about her getting a Golden Globe and that she lacked acting talent. I didn’t understand that at all. Did we see the same show? I also recently saw her in Machete Kills and she was totally on point. It bothers me that the anonymity of the internet allows people to say appalling things about someone that they would never say to their face. And a total stranger no less. But I digress.

What makes this show great is that whether it’s the best season or the worst, it’s always reborn in the next. So while we bid adieu to the Hotel Cortez, we look forward to whatever wild ride the horror story takes us on next.

December 18, 2015 — GH, No GH, Mini Chefs & Friday Night Zombies

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital — Thursday

Alexis asks Molly to try and be nice to Julian when they’re at the Nutcracker Gala. Molly tries to get out of going by saying she needs to look after Sam. Alexis says Sam can look after herself just fine.  Mystery occasional daughter Christina arrives.

There’s something wrong with the mic system at the gala. Tracy is worried that no one will hear Paul’s speech. Little hearts pop out of her eyes like in the Pepe LePew cartoons.

Franco sees Elizabeth at the hospital and he ducks. Then he asks if she’d go to the gala with him.

Robin tells nice dude Henrico that he’s the first guard who’s ever been nice to her and maybe she can return the favor. Wet blanket Jerry Jax comes in the room.

Anna tells Patrick that they might be on a wild goose chase. He says he doesn’t think so because of the necklace. She says maybe the Cassadines planted it on purpose just to throw them off.

Tracy asks Nina if she’s seen Dillon. Nina says no, but he’s supposed to be working the gala for Crimson.

Dillon sees Maxie outside. They start reminiscing about Georgie.

Elizabeth says she’s not going to the gala with or without Franco. He says he’s not asking her out on a date. He needs to be there for work. He asks if she’s afraid she’ll run into Jason and she says he’d hardly be at a function like that.

Carly checks Jason into the hotel and says let’s get a drink.

Robert says that the WSB has been monitoring the Cassadines. Patrick asks what they know and who has Robin. Anna asks if it’s Jerry Jax.

Henrico tells Jerry he was just about to kill her and Jerry says hurry up then. Jerry also says both Patrick and Anna aren’t far away. Jerry tells Henrico to execute the plan and Robin and don’t make a mess. Robin tries to get Jerry to change his mind to no avail.

Henrico says there’s nothing he can do, so don’t ask. Robin says he’s wrong. There is one last thing.

Christina asks Sam prying questions about her love life. Christina says exams ended early and Alexis says good, she can go to the gala too. Sam gets her jacket on and says she has a quick errand to run, but hopes everyone has a good time.

Christina asks Molly about their mother’s password. She says she doesn’t want to, but she has to hack into Alexis’s account.

Maxie and Dillon think about Georgie as they look up at the stars. Dillon gives Maxie and envelope. We don’t see it, but I assume a picture of Georgie is inside.

Franco tells Elizabeth that he knows she’s feeling all alone in the world right now and does she have a dress?

Carly asks if Jason wants a martini, but he says scotch will do the trick. She says she thinks she’ll join him. They drink to friendship. Jason tells her to go ahead and say she told him so. She says she had no idea Elizabeth knew all that time. He asks if she thinks it’s for the best, and she says Elizabeth always tried to turn him into the person she needed and he’s not that person. Jason says he wasn’t ready to listen before, but who’s he supposed to be? Carly says he has to figure it out for himself.

Henrico is listening to opera and Robin makes chitchat about it. She says her family traveled all the way to Pars and she can’t bear for them not to know what happened. Henrico says there’s nothing he can do. She asks if he was named for the guy in the opera who was a hero and tells him he needs to do the right thing.

Patrick says the last time Emma and Robin talked, it wasn’t their regular time and he thinks Robin was trying to tell them something.

Christina is working the laptop like a boss and thinks up a password I never would have. She looks at Alexis’s email and Molly reads something about disciplinary action with Christina at school. Christina deletes it before she can finish and says why ruin Christmas?

Maxie says she was going to visit Georgie’s memorial stone, but this is better. She asks if Dillon ever talks to Georgie. She says she does and it helps and hurts at the same time. Dillon says he thinks of both the high and low points of their relationship and it was everything. Maxie says she used to love the holidays, but now, not so much. Dillon identifies and so do I. Maxie says this year she has to work and they’d better get going before Nina sends out a search party.

Sam wants to leave something for Patrick at the hospital, but is told he’s on a leave of absence. Elizabeth pops out asking what does she expect, since she turned everyone’s lives upside down. Boo! Hiss!

Carly says normally she likes to interfere, but Jason should trust himself and that he has good instincts. Jason balks and Carly points out instances in the past seven months when he’s used them.

Patrick’s phone rings and it’s Robin. She says her neighbor told her he was looking for her. She finds out that Emma is there too. Robin says good-by and says she’s off to Elysium.

Alexis asks what’s going on and Christina says something about needing the computer for school work. When she goes back upstairs, Molly asks what kind of trouble Christina is in. Christina avoids the question.

Carly asks Jason to come to the gala. She says neither Elizabeth nor Sam will be there. She says he and Sonny can be miserable together. He says he only has a duffel bag of jeans and T-shirts, but Carly says she can set him up with one phone call.

Elizabeth, who apparently has no idea why Patrick is away, gives Sam a humongous lecture on how it’s her fault. Sam says for 7 months, she kept Jason’s identity while everyone else suffered. Elizabeth says that Sam is worse, pretending to love Patrick while really wanting Jason.

Robin tells Patrick she loves him and Henrico takes the phone. Impatient Jerry pops in again and says if you want a job done right, do it yourself. Henrico says he doesn’t know what to do about the lab. Jerry says he’ll do that part and Henrico takes Robin out of the lab. She says now they can escape and he needs to live up to his name as a hero. He says endings aren’t always happy and grabs her arm to take her down the hallway.

Patrick asks if Elysium is code for something. Robert says maybe, but Anna says it means “heaven.”

Sam goes home to Alexis’s, who looks absolutely amazing in a navy blue formal gown. Alexis says Sam looks like she wants to punch something and Sam tells her about running into Elizabeth. She also tells Alexis about Patrick and says she can’t figure it out. The ladies all leave for the gala.  Sam sees that Alexis forgot her check, but it’s too late, she’s gone. Fastest pulling out of a driveway ever.

Nina explains how she wants the guests’ pictures taken (in a bower of white branches) to Dillon. She chastises Dillon and Maxie for being late. Maxie says they’re here now and has Dillon take Nina’s photo.

Carly shows up at the gala with Jason. Monica says it’s great to see them. Carly says she left her phone at the bar and Jason goes back to get it. Monica thanks Carly for getting him there.

Franco and Elizabeth arrive. Franco says he’s proud of her for facing her challenges. He rambles and she tells him to stop talking.

Anna wonders if Robin knows they’re here. Robert says she isn’t in the compound anymore but is on the island and they’re going to have to hurry. Patrick wants to go with them. Robert says it’s dangerous, but there really isn’t much argument. Oh, yay, a hero moment for the lip gloss king.

Monica asks where Paul is and Tracy says he must have gotten tied up, but he’ll be there. Monica says she has to admit, the artwork from Ava is top-notch, but she still didn’t invite her. Alexis gets there and realizes she forgot the check. While she runs out, Christina makes sure her phone doesn’t have the message from the school

Maxie says Nina is really getting the hang of things. Franco shows up and says that Nina looks more beautiful every time he sees her. He says he brought a colleague.

Sam shows up with the check and sees Elizabeth. Jason sees the both of them. Soap opera faces all around.

The Scorpios get their old moves back and bust into the lab. With Anna and Robert’s guns drawn on Jerry, Patrick backs him up against the wall. Jerry says they’re too late, Robin is dead.

Monday – the Nutcracker Gala and more Scorpio fun!

General Hospital — Friday

I started typing until I realized they’re repeating the Thanksgiving episode. What ? Why? My only guess is that they got scared. When I turned it on, George Stephanopoulos was talking. I have no idea about what, since I was cursing him and my life at that moment, but then he went away. Whatever it was must have scared ABC into showing a repeat because they feared the viewers’ wrath should there have been  a total preemption. Better to just put the show off totally.

Master Chef Junior

I always preface this with how I don’t say much about this show because I’m snarky and mocking children isn’t my thing. I do love this show though, and Gordon Ramsey rocks. It’s nice to see his kinder, gentler side.

Tonight, the kids have to recreate a dish that they’ll be tasting while blindfolded. This is tough when the adults do it, never mind someone whose palate hasn’t been around the world yet. Oh, and they have 60 minutes to do it.

The team challenge, with the captains being the winners of the taste challenge, is to run a restaurant. Again this is similar to the adult version of either Master Chef or Hell’s Kitchen. They both blend in together after a while.  One team has ingredients from New England and the other, New Mexico.  I always feel bad for whoever’s picked last when it’s a team challenge.

A whole bunch of grandmas – and I mean that literally – are the judges, so I’m thinking maybe they’ll go easy on the kids, but then again, maybe not. It all looks good to me.

Speaking of Hell’s Kitchen, it’s premiering January 15.

The blue team wins, with Addy heading them once again. I predict her for the win.

Don’t worry kids who went home – one of whom was a surprise to me – I can barely get a buffet for 15 catered, never mind cook for an entire restaurant. Job more than well done!

Next week, Graham dresses like a chicken  and eggs are involved.

Z Nation

Citizen Z is trying to contact Addy. Or anybody for that matter. He’s down to his last battery. He’s desperate to tell them to abort the mission because the location has been compromised. The battery runs out and he throws the laptop away.

Vasquez and Roberta have gone inside the renegade diner. Roberta takes some tea from the woman behind the counter. Vasquez passes, but they signal for the others to come in. The counter lady talks about the diner and asks what it’s like out there.

Doc says all Zs. She asks if there’s anywhere safe, and Roberta says a few places, but not many. A car pulls up and it’s nothing good. It’s a bunch of guys from Deliverance and they ask for liquor. They ask if the woman’s name is Annie and when she says yes, the head guy says she’s the one who knows about The Murphy. They want the bounty.

Main dude buys a round of drinks for everyone. (Does anyone use money? What do they use?) The guy says they have The Murphy sedated and show them a zombie on a leash. Obviously not Murphy. Murphy is dressed like a woman with a scarf over his face. When head dude asks for a dance he pretends to be shy. Head dude throws something at Murphy and all the guns come out.

He says he’s noticed the real Murphy and his Murphy move at the same time. He’s getting suspicious about Murphy and while he’s talking his own zombie takes a bite out of him. There’s a mini shoot out and Annie stops it with her own gun. She sees that Muphy is the real deal

10K has been shot. Annie goes outside and fires a flare to contact Dr. Merch and what’s left of the CDC lab. 10K is losing a lot of blood. Murphy asks questions about where Dr. Merch has been hiding, but Annie says it’s classified.

Citizen Z packs up a sled, along with Pup, and says they’re not coming back.

A military team approaches the diner. Roberta asks Murphy if he’s ready. He says no, but when has that ever mattered? Roberta tells the lieutenant that Murphy is there. The Lt calls him “The Murphy” and Murphy says he doesn’t know where the “The” came in.  10K is taken out on a stretcher. Roberta tells the lieutenant to treat Murphy humanely. He say’s they’ll treat him like the celebrity he’s about to become. Addy says don’t forget the little people. Doc wants to go with 10K, but there isn’t enough room.

I don’t like this one bit.

Murphy tells Vasquez he’s sorry about Vasquez’s family. Doc says no good-by? Murphy holds out his hand, but Doc hugs him. Murphy gives Doc an Ace playing card and Doc gives Murphy a z-weed joint.  Murphy says good-by to Roberta. He says who knows, maybe he’ll actually do something good and she says they’re counting on him.

The caravan leaves. They start to clean up, but as Doc is removing a body, a shot hits it. Operation Bite Mark duck for cover. It’s the Zeros shooting up the place. We hear La Reina calling Roberta to come and get some mercy.

She’s looking pretty jacked up, hair all crazy and fire in her eyes. A gun battle ensues and La Reina tells her troops to advance. Annie, who’s pretty mean with a gun herself, calls everyone inside. La Reina has Dr. Kurian’s head in a box. When he starts being annoying, she closes the box. She looks through the site of her gun for Roberta.

Annie shows OBM her arsenal. She says she’s low on ammo, but they can give them hell in the meantime. It’s suddenly quiet, which Roberta says worries her more.

Murphy is on a submarine along with 10K, who is wheeled into surgery. They tell Murphy 10K is in good hands and he continues with Dr. Merch and the lieutenant. The doctor asks if Murphy has had any side effects, and Murphy says he is a walking side effect. The lieutenant talks about the development of a whole new world and tells Murphy that Zona (a reference to another episode) is not only real, it’s the future. At the beginning of the apocalypse, some businessmen and scientists created a new world on a zombie free island. Murphy notices that some of the crew have funny eyes. He says if they’re going to save the human race, they’d better get to it.

La Reina says she just wants Murphy. Roberta says too late, he’s gone. Vasquez tries to shoot La Reina, but misses. The back row of troops runs swords through the front row and uses them as shields like Uma Thurman in whichever Kill Bill movie that was.

Annie  gets shot and turns into a zombie. After a small tussle, Doc gives her mercy.

The Zeros are getting in.

Back at the sub, the doctor is preparing Murphy for giving some blood samples for tests. He asks her what the deal is with the crews’ eyes. She said it was a side effect of one of the early vaccines given to people on Zona . She says that some of the earliest people are losing their immunity and turning. She says that’s why they need him, especially the founder of Zona. He says he thought the vaccine was for everybody, and the doctor is a little vague in that it sounds like maybe when they get around to it, the peons will get a turn. Dr. Merch asks questions about childhood diseases and the usual medical background. When she asks id he has children, Murphy says that’s kind of personal and doesn’t answer.

Murphy asks for privacy, and Dr. Merch asks the guards to leave. When they’re gone, Murphy turns on her. He says he doesn’t want to be a blood bag for some billionaires when he traveled all that way and went through so much to save all of humanity.

It doesn’t look good for OBM. A big Zero dude is swinging around a mean looking weapon. Roberta shoots, but she’s out of bullets and the gun just makes that clicking sound. We both say, oh sh*t. Addy tries to fight him, but he breaks her weapon and hits her with his. While she’s down, she still has enough strength to hit him where it counts. In the meantime Roberta has reloaded and shoots him.

La Reina come drags her sorry self over to Roberta. She says it’s good to see her and can they talk like sisters. She says she’s unarmed and it’s not too late for Roberta to  be her right hand. She asks Roberta to help her find Murphy. Roberta says the CDC has him. La Reina says that was a big mistake.  They go head to head and it’s a pretty good fight scene. Again very Tarantino.

Finally Roberta is down and La Reina is standing over her, but Escorpion runs her through with a sword. What?

Citizen Z is pulling the sled with Pup in it through the snow. He doesn’t look too good. I’m always worried about him and Pup.

Roberta comes too and can’t believe Escorpion is there. Vasquez knocks him in the head and Roberta says he saved her life. Addy is surprised he’d kill his queen. He says she wasn’t human anymore. He says he won’t rob Vasquez of his revenge and he’s not afraid to die. He apologizes for killing Vasquez’s family and says he realized it was the worst thing he ever did and he wanted to die too. The rest of OBM leave the room so Vasquez can make his decision. They hear a gunshot and Escorpion comes out. They run in and Vasquez is sitting at the bar. He says he couldn’t do it and Roberta says she’s glad for him.

He’s looking at a picture of his wife and daughter. He says his mission is over. Roberta says it’s time to say good-by. Oh come on. Say something. She leaves and tells the others that Vasquez is alive, but he’s not coming with them. Doc asks what they’re doing now and Roberta says she doesn’t know.

An alarm is sounding on the sub. 10K is alone and gets off of the examining table.

Escorpion pulls up alongside OBM he asks if they need a ride. He says he’s got enough food, ammo and z-weed for a month. Addy tells Roberta they can always kill him and steal the truck. She’s kidding. I hope.

Vasquez is just sitting by himself looking at the picture. He rolls his bandana and puts it around his head. He leaves the diner to face a crowd of zombies and begins shooting and running.

Doc says he hates to admit it but he misses Murphy. Escorpion says he didn’t know him long, but Murphy seemed like kind of a dick.

They get to a cliff and look out to the ocean. The sub is burning. A small boat is jetting across the water from it. Doc looks through binoculars, and sees Murphy, but not 10K. The sub blows up. Addy starts to freak.

Some military planes fly overhead and Doc says they don’t look American. Roberta says, they’re not, and a bunch of military guys with guns pop out of the woods.

We get closer to the boat. Murphy is controlling it, as he’s bitten the lieutenant and Dr. Merch. 10K is playing the part of a soldier in a helmet.

Nooo! Citizen Z is conscious, but frozen in his tracks. He sees someone coming toward him, but does he really?

In the final reel, we see Murphy’s daughter who, no surprise, is growing like a weed. She’s controlling her foster parents who have now been turned into hybrid zombies.

While Z Nation will be back next year (they didn’t exactly say when), why must we have these hiatuses? I wish we could just go back to normal TV seasons where we were on a school year schedule and we had the summer off.

December 11, 2015 — GH, Little Chefs & Zombies

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital – Thursday

Dillon finds Johnny behind the bar. He says he’s going to call the cops, but Lulu tells him to chill.

Olivia asks where Dante is. Valerie says he’s out getting baby aspirin.

Bad dude tells Robin that Helena is dead. He says she has explanations to make. She says to who? And Jerry Jax pops in.

Patrick tells Sam it’s over. She says her love for him hasn’t changed.

As our early Christmas gift, Elizabeth tells Jason she lied to everyone. Woohoo! He asks how long she’s known who he is and she says since the Nurses Ball in May.

Olivia says she resents Valerie sabotaging Dante and Lulu’s marriage. She says that Valerie’s presence is making things worse and she obviously doesn’t care that she’s breaking up a family. Dante walks in and asks what’s going on.

Johnny says technically Lulu is an accessory to his fugitiveness. Lulu suggests Dillon act like he never saw Johnny.

Jason says he felt wonderful that Elizabeth was willing to take a chance on him when there were so many unknowns, but it turns out that she knew everything. He asks if Nicholas was the one who told her and she says yes. She says she had every intention of saying something at the Nurses Ball, but when she saw how happy Sam and Patrick were, she couldn’t. Jason finally has a clue and says she didn’t do it for them, she did it for herself.

Patrick says that Sam wants to prove Elizabeth is lying because she wants him to choose between them. He asks who she loves more. She doesn’t want to answer, and he says Jason is the love of her life, and it’s not fair to anyone if they stay together. Sam asks if he can’t give her more time to adjust to things.

Jerry says now that Helena has passed, he has to take up where she left off, and Robin is his first priority. She says she’s making progress. Jerry says she’s not moving fast enough. She was supposed to keep Helena alive. Apparently, he thinks science can be rushed.

Lulu says Johnny helped her through difficult times and she wants to help him now. Dillon runs down the list of all his crimes, but Johnny has an answer for everything.

Olivia says Valerie is trying to take Lulu’s place. Dante says that’s not true and Lulu said it was over. Dante says Olivia is taking Sonny’s cheating out on Valerie.

Jason asks if Elizabeth was going to lie to him for the rest of his life. He asks if she was going to keep him from Danny and Sam. And what about poor confused Jake? Elizabeth said she knew everything would be okay, because she lives in a dream world and thinks words can fix this.

Emma is on her way home. Patrick says it will be better if they don’t drag things out. He wishes they could go back to when things were easier, but it’s not going to happen. He says Jason coming back has changed everything, including what they meant to each other. He doesn’t want things to turn bitter. Sam tells him she loves him, but she understands that he deserves more than just part of her heart. She gives him back the ring. Patrick says he doesn’t blame her and she shouldn’t blame herself.

Jerry says imagine the profit margin on immortality. He says Robin’s research has hit a dead end and ergo she has too. Robin says she’s developing something new, but she needs Helena’s body. Hmmm…is she going to bring Helena back to life? Remember Stavros?

Emma pops in the door and asks when Patrick and Sam are getting married. Um…never?

Olivia says Dante and Lulu owe it to Rocco to put their differences aside. She raised Dante as a single mother and doesn’t want Rocco to have the same upbringing.

Dillon asks why he should cover for Johnny since he doesn’t owe him any favors. Lulu says he owes her a favor though.

Elizabeth says she’s sorry and Jason says she’s sorry she got caught. Ha-ha! She says she didn’t want any of this to happen, but he says oh yes she did. He says she got in between him and anyone who wanted to tell him the truth. He says she had him kick the mother of his child out. Elizabeth says she’s also the mother of his child, and Jason says that doesn’t give her the right to dictate who else is in his life.

Jerry says if he can’t shoot it, fight it or make money off of it, it’s of no interest.  It’s good to have a credo.

Emma says she stayed away for as long as possible so they could be romantic and when’s the wedding date? Sam tells her that it’s not going to happen. She says they decided it would be best if they split up. Emma starts to cry and says no it’s not. Patrick tries to explain that what Sam and Jason have is too strong, even though they tried. Sam says it’s better for Emma and Patrick if she and Danny leave. Emma begs her to stay. Geez, this is almost making me cry, even though I couldn’t care less about Patrick.

Lulu says Dillon wanted her to find out about Dante so she’d turn to him. She says he can redeem himself by keeping his mouth shut. He says it’s emotional blackmail and she asks if it’s working. He says he’ll stay quiet, but if anything happens to Lulu, all bets are off.

Dante brings up the separation papers. Olivia says Lulu was hurt and just lashing out. Olivia says if Valerie really cares about Dante, she’ll back off. Dante says that’s not her call. Olivia says if he continues down this path, he’ll be throwing his life away and eventually regret it. She leaves.

Emma gets a little hysterical and tells Sam if she’s going to leave, get out now. She starts crying that she misses her mommy and I tear up.

Robin says Jerry doesn’t have to kill her, and she won’t say anything if he just sends her home. Sure, that will work. He says he needs to eliminate the uncertainty by eliminating her. She says if he can’t let her go, at least let her keep working.

Elizabeth says she was afraid if she told Jason the truth, he would leave her. Jason says, so she took away his choices. She says she was afraid if Sam knew the truth, she would take him away. Jason says all he’s done is push Sam away since he found out who he was. Elizabeth says he must know she did the wrong things for the right reasons and they can still be together. What an ass.

Lulu tells Johnny as much as she would like him to remove Valerie from her life, too much could go wrong. She says it’s a shame it can’t be retroactive, but what’s done is done. Johnny is leaving in the morning. I like Johnny and wish Lulu would run off with him. He goes to bed and Olivia shows up. She says she knows how hurt Lulu is and that she needs time, but…and she doesn’t finish.

Lulu says that Olivia is clearly upset by something with Dante. Olivia says she found Valerie looking after Rocco and she’s afraid if someone doesn’t take action, things will get out of hand. I think maybe it’s too late for that.

Dante tells Valerie that none of it is her fault. She asks if Dante would rather be alone.

Robin’s phone rings. It’s Emma and Robin asks to talk to her since Jerry is going to kill her anyway. Emma begs her to come home. She says she doesn’t understand why people who love each other don’t stay together. Robin says one day she’ll understand that Emma kept her alive and she loves her. Emma asks why she can’t come home then. Robin says she just can’t, but remember she loves her and says good-by. Emma is killing me here.

Elizabeth says Jason doesn’t remember his past, but he remembers the love they’ve recently shared and they can work it out. He says she didn’t trust him enough to tell him the truth and manipulated him; therefore, she doesn’t really love him. He says admitting everything now is too late.

Johnny finds Lulu drinking and asks if he can join her. He asks what happened to going home and she says Olivia stopped by, so there was a change of plans. She says she wants him to make Valerie go away. Me too.

Valerie leaves Dante’s. He asks himself what the hell he’s doing.

Jerry says he’s more or less inherited Robin and has to bring things to a satisfactory close. She says he has nothing to lose and everything to gain by letting her continue working. He says she has 48 hours. Where is Eddie Murphy when you need him?

I’m going to need some aspirin before this episode is over. Emma is crying her eyes out and Sam tells Patrick it is for the best, and he deserves to be loved the way he loved her. Patrick hopes that things work out with Jason. It’s okay, Sam, Patrick would only hog the mirror. When Sam leaves, Emma tells Patrick she wants her mommy and collapses in his arms crying. Honestly, this kid should get an award. Patrick says they’ll find mommy.

Elizabeth says she and Jason can be happy. He says living a lie isn’t his idea of happiness. He says it turned out the woman he loved is no more real than Jake Doe and that she broke his heart. He leaves on his motorcycle, leaving Elizabeth going wah-wah-wah, and me saying, good.

Tomorrow, will Jason seek Sam out?

Commercial break during The Big – It’s about time Sheldon and Amy got back together – Bang Theory. Angel from Hell will be premiering in January. It’s been so long since they announced the new shows, I’d forgotten all about it. September to May television seasons are now nothing but a dim memory.

General Hospital – Friday

Curtis meets Hayden at The Floating Rib. He says he found the stray bullet at the garage.

Carly is being a helicopter mom to Morgan. He says he know she and Sonny are worried, but he’s taking his meds and they don’t need to be. Kiki is now waitressing and thanks Carly for dropping the charges and giving her a job. Kiki asks the lady at the next table what she can get for her and it’s Ava who says, a conversation with her mother.

Sam is staying in the guest room at Alexis’s house. She tells Alexis and Julian that she and Patrick aren’t together anymore.

Elizabeth is sniffing Jason’s jacket when Nicholas shows up. I’m not kidding. She was really sniffing his jacket.

Sonny is working the punching bag at the gym. Jason comes in and asks what the bag ever did to him. Ha-ha! Sonny says he wasn’t expecting to see Jason and Jason replies that he wasn’t expecting a lot of things. Well, sorry, but he should have seen them coming. Sonny asks how Jason got in because he had the doors locked. Jason says he told the guard that he was Sonny’s best friend and Sonny says, fair enough. Jason says he wants to punch something out.

Elizabeth tells Nicholas that Jason is gone and not coming back. She says that Sam told him that Elizabeth knew who he really was and when confronted, she confessed. More like he had to drag it out of her.

Sam tells Alexis and Julian what happened.

Kiki asks if Ava wants coffee. Ava says she doesn’t have to treat her like a stranger and Kiki says that’s what she is. Ava asks for two minutes.

Carly says every day they’re making advances in drug therapy. She says that both Morgan and Sonny are bi-polar, but experience it differently, and that being healthy doesn’t have to mean life is boring, although Morgan isn’t so sure about that. She asks if he’s taking his meds. He says he already told her he was, but he doesn’t like the way they’re making him feel.

Hayden tells Curtis she’s impressed, especially since he doesn’t have a car. He gives her a bill for an SUV rental. She asks why he couldn’t have gotten a sub-compact. He says the garage is a front and most criminals drive SUVs. You learn something new every day.

Morgan says he just feels different and that maybe he isn’t used to the meds yet. Carly tells him that Sonny would be a good sounding board, but Morgan says Sonny has enough going on and that he needs some trust right now.

Kiki screams at Ava to leave her alone and breaks a glass.

Jason asks Sonny if there’s been any change in his condition. Sonny says not yet, but if Jason hadn’t stepped in, he wouldn’t have made it. Jason starts punching the crap out of the bag. He tells Sonny about Elizabeth lying to him.

Elizabeth says Laura predicted correctly. She tells Nicholas about Jason kicking Sam out, but then going to her. She says she told him Sam was just jealous, but Jason kept hammering at her until she confessed. She says it ended up costing her everything just like Nicholas had said it would. I’ll bet Nicholas isn’t too happy about this on a couple of levels.

Curtis says he can’t prove the bullet did or didn’t come from Shawn’s gun without the gun, which is in possession of the PCPD. HE says he has friends in high places though.

Carly tells Ava blindsiding Kiki on her first day is no way to build a relationship. She tells Ava it’s her restaurant and to get out. Ava asks what she thinks family court will feel about that. Carly leaves. Kiki asks Ava what she wants and Ava says for the arctic chill between them to end. She asks Kiki to give her a chance to fix things, but Kiki says that will never happen.

Elizabeth says it’s her own fault and blah-blah-blah sorry she’ll be taking Nicholas down with her because Jason is mighty pissed. She says she not only wrecked her life, she’ll be wrecking his too. Despite my loathing Elizabeth, I give a nod to both the black and grey sweater she’s rocking and her hair color.

Alexis says Sam should try explaining things to Patrick. Julian says Elizabeth’s lies have nothing to do with her, but Sam says they do.

Jason tells Sonny the whole story and how Elizabeth knew since May. He says Carly was also telling him the truth, even though she didn’t know everything. Sonny says Carly’s instincts are usually spot on. Jason says everyone thought he was dead and Elizabeth just let them continue grieving.

Ava tells Kiki she’s breaking her heart. Kiki says look on the bright side, at least she isn’t screwing Ava’s boyfriend. She tells Ava that as a mother, she was supposed to protect her. Ava says she just wants to be sure Kiki is okay and Kiki says she’s fine and leaves the table. Carly tells Ava time’s up. Ava says that if she wants visitation, she’ll let her stay and take her order. Morgan tells her to get lost.

Alexis tells Sam she made a mature decision, but Sam says it was really Patrick. Julian says she and Jason can get back together now, but Sam says that’s up to Jason.

Sonny and Jason are passing a bottle of whiskey back and forth. Sonny tells Jason about how he and Carly always found their way back to each other, and that when they used to fight, Jason would always play middleman. He says in the end, he always forgave Carly because he’d rather accept what she did than live without her. Jason asks if that’s what Sonny thinks he should do with Elizabeth. Hell to the no on that one.

Ava says she’ll leave, but Carly can’t tell her when she can and can’t see Kiki. On the other hand, she has control over when Carly and Sonny can see Avery. Carly says she’d better not violate the court order. Morgan says blah-blah-blah and Ava leaves.  Kiki and Morgan chat about their respective mothers while picking up the glass. Kiki asks how he’s doing and he says fine for someone whose mental health revolves around a prescription bottle. He says he feels flattened out, like a balloon with the air taken out.

Curtis tells Hayden that if she wants him to continue, he needs a little more time and a lot more money. He asks if she wants to prove someone other than Shawn wanted her dead.

Nicholas says that maybe Jason will realize Elizabeth did what she did for love. She thanks Nicholas for standing by her. He says all the people lining up to judge her don’t walk in her shoes and she doesn’t owe anybody any explanations. She says sooner or later Jason is going to be knocking on his door and to be careful.

Sonny tells Jason that a lot of people tried to talk him out of working for Sonny, but he made his own decisions. Sonny says that Elizabeth wanted him for herself and didn’t care how anyone else suffered. He wouldn’t forgive her, but he says Jason isn’t him. Carly comes in. Jason says he has something to do. He tells her she was right and that she really knew him better than he knew himself.

Sam asks if she and Danny can spend Christmas with Alexis and Julian. They both say, of course, and Alexis adds that they’re her parents and will support her no matter what. Sam reminisces about the previous Christmas with Patrick. She leaves the room and Julian tells Alexis that he feels Sam with Jason is a bad idea because of how often he put her in danger.

Hayden says of course she wants proof, that’s why she’s going broke paying him. Nicholas comes into the restaurant and sees them talking.

Sonny tells Carly about Elizabeth lying. She says thank God, and he says that’s not exactly the reaction he expected. Carly says she didn’t mean it that way, but she’s glad she wasn’t wrong. She says the best part is that Elizabeth did it to herself and Carly had nothing to do with it. He says Jason can probably forgive Elizabeth for what she did to him, but not what she did to everyone else. Sonny advises Carly not to talk to Jason about it right now. He asks about Morgan and Carly says they had a good talk and Morgan is taking his meds.

Morgan shows Kiki his pills. Why isn’t he taking them? Kiki says he seems good, but he still has to adjust. Morgan says he wants to be friends. Kiki says seeing her mom brought back a lot of stuff and she thinks they should stay only friends, and is that what he wants. He says no and I laugh. He says that he’s okay with it though. He gets a call from Darby, who I guess is only on the show when needed for Morgan’s rebounds.

Julian asks if there’s a chance that Sam will get back with Jason. Sam comes down the stairs and she says don’t worry, they’re just friends. She says she’ll have to accept it if he goes back to Elizabeth.

Elizabeth sees Jason on the porch. He’s getting a call from Sam. Elizabeth comes outside and asks if he’s home. He looks at the phone.

Lulu and Johnny plot about Valerie and hopefully Elizabeth gets bad news.

Master Chef Junior

Tonight, the kids have to make the perfect lemonade. In the Nickelodeon moment of the night, the losing team gets drenched in the stuff. Luckily, Christina’s team wins, so she gets her wish not to get her hair wet.

In the challenge segment, each judge is dressed from the decade they were born. Gordon is dressed like a hippie (60s), Graham looks like he’s from Saturday Night Fever (70s), and Christina is a roller girl in workout wear (80s). While the lemonade winners don’t have to do the challenge, the others have to prepare signature dishes of each decade. Duck a l’Orange for the 60s (something I have never eaten, nor do I want to); Chicken Kiev for the 70s; and for the 80s, surf & turf, which I would have thought was also from the 70s, but okay.

Tip for tonight from Gordon – put a little flower on a metal pot/pan handle so you’ll know not to touch it when it’s hot.

Observation for tonight from me — vegetarians have it rough in these competitions.

Uh-oh, Gordon tells one kid he’d fire him. My father would have too. He put a mayo sriraccha sauce over the lobster and filet mignon.

These kids are probably just as cutthroat as the adults, but they genuinely cheer each other on and I imagine must have real sadness when one of their friends leaves.

It’s okay, kids who went home, I wouldn’t have made it past the lemonade.

Z Nation

Washington DC pre-Z – Citizen Z (Simon in this segment) has been arrested. His lawyer says he won’t take a plea bargain. The DA says if he loses they’ll peruse espionage charges and he’ll spend his life in prison. He says he’s a citizen, not a spy. An NSA officer, the leader of the team that hunted him down, says he has a best and final offer. He says if CZ comes to work for the NSA, they’ll drop all the charges. He says he needs an answer immediately and CZ will be stationed at the Camp Northern Light in the North Pole.

The agent gives him a paper and says he can’t even show it to his lawyer. CZ looks at it and laughs. He asks if it’s code for something. It says “zombies.” The agent isn’t laughing.

Flash forward to CZ right now. (And Pup!) His laptop says file locked and password denied. He’s been hacked.

Operation Bite Mark’s El Camino is dead. Roberta says they’ll have to travel on foot. No surprise Murphy isn’t thrilled.

Vasquez says everything looks the same and Doc says 4 years of a zombie apocalypse will do that. Robert asks how it came to this.

Pre-Z Roberta is back at her military training base. There’s been a change in deployment. She tells the soldiers they have to scratch Philly and they’re going to Trenton. She says she doesn’t ask questions, her job is to move vehicles. An ambulance siren is going off and she goes outside to investigate. She turns it off and sees a trail of blood. She opens the back of the ambulance to see someone under a sheet. She removes the sheet and it’s a zombie, but she thinks it’s just someone who’s really sick. Luckily he’s tied down. She goes to get help.

Everyone has disappeared and the phone line isn’t working. A TV announcement says to wait for important information. Suddenly, one of the soldiers who is zombified runs out and attacks Roberta. She shoots him in the head. Others follow and she continues to shoot while the TV announcer says not to panic.

OBM trudges forward. Murphy says he’s not feeling so good and wonders how much further. Addy finds a plaque and realizes they’re in Disneyland. “It’s a world of laughter; it’s a word of tears,” Doc says.

Pre-Z Doc is a therapist in his office talking to his patient, Larry. They’re both recovering addicts – Doc five years, and Larry 6 days. Doc asks if Larry is going to meetings and Larry says nobody is, it’s hard to get through the roadblocks. Doc says he has 15 more minutes. They hear something out in the hall and Doc goes to investigate. Another therapist is being attacked by patient Bernie who just found out his wife is leaving him. Doc tells Bernie he has the best therapist and it will be okay. Doc talks him down and they hug it out.

This is way cool seeing OBM pre-Z.

Doc opens the door to his office and thinks he sees Larry with “his gay lover” on the couch. He suddenly realizes it’s a zombie and pulls him off of Larry. Too late though. Larry’s been turned and that’s not a gay reference. Doc shoves Larry out the door and locks the office. He hears a scream, takes a golf club, and goes out into the hall. There’s a bloody zombie mess and Doc gets sick. He tries the exit door and sees panic in the streets. He downs a couple of oxys, says “here we go,” and goes outside.

Citizen Z says the servers have been powered down since the nuclear blast, and he can’t figure out how he was hacked. He sees something plugged into the server, says “well played,” and gets back online to see who’s been “sleeping in [his] bed.”

Pre-Z Addy is at a hockey game.  (I was at a fight once and a hockey game broke out. Ha-ha!) All of a sudden, there’s a zombie in the stands and everyone goes running. A couple of the players use their skates to crack zombies in the head in the hallway, but they become outnumbered. Addy is trying to get out and comes into the room where the players are fighting the zombies. One of the players saves her from getting bitten. She runs toward the rink with the player left standing and they get to another hallway. There are zombies pretty much everywhere and they have to fight them off as they go.

Addy says she has to get home because her mom and brother are alone. The two go out the exit to the street.

Murphy says, “Even for us, this sucks.”

Pre-Z 10K is watching as a flock of birds goes by. He’s fishing in a creek.  He takes his catch and is going through the woods. He sees the back of someone and asks if they’re okay. It’s a female ranger zombie with arrows stuck in her. 10K thinks she’s just hurt until she tries to attack him. More zombies come toward him and he runs. Whoa, they’re close. Now a crowd is after him and he slams into a tree. Luckily, he tumbles down a hill, but the zombies keep going

When he comes to, he calls for his dad. A zombie is coming toward him and it’s suddenly shot in the head. His father comes out with a gun and we learn 10K’s name is Tommy. His dad tells him sh*t’s going down and to grab a weapon and run.

Citizen Z hears an alarm from the computer. He’s following the path back to the hacker.

Pre-Z Vasquez is in a funeral parlor. The funeral director comes in and tells him he’s sorry for Vasquez’s loss. Vasquez approaches the coffins of his wife and daughter. The caskets are closed and he begins to cry looking at their pictures. He hears a scratching noise and asks if the funeral home has rats. Then he realizes the noises are coming from the coffin. The funeral director comes back in – as a zombie.

Vasquez is like wtf? and the director attacks him. Vasquez pulls a gun out of his sock, but because he’s not shooting the zombie in the head, his efforts are futile. Finally, Vasquez beats his head to a pulp with the butt of the gun. He hears more noise and runs to find the coffins overturned and his wife and child crawling around on the floor zombiefied. Wow. Tense scene. And a little depressing.

Commercial break. Oooh, The Forest looks good!

OBM are holed up in an underground building while zombies go past them above. Murphy asks himself what they want and does he care. He does but doesn’t know why. He says he doesn’t want to be the savior of the human race or the zombie messiah. He just wants to curl up and die. He wants to know where his mercy is.

Pre-Z Murphy is in the prison yard, where he and some other inmates are playing cards for cigarettes. Murphy folds. The guy next to him asks why he folded and wants to see his cards. There’s a fight, and an inmate gets stabbed. He turns into a zombie and attacks a guard. Murphy runs out and locks the gate behind him, leaving the card player who questioned him to fend for himself and get bitten.

Roberta asks Murphy if he can’t sleep. He says he can’t dream either. He says he doesn’t think he can do this. He asks Roberta to just take some pints of his blood and let him slip out. He says if she was his friend, she would help him. She says she’s not his friend, and she promised to get him to California. He’s afraid they’re going to hurt him and she says she won’t let that happen. Murphy says she can’t do that if she’s not there. She says there isn’t going to be a happy ending for any of them, but he has the chance to save them. Murphy says the zombies will be gone soon and she should wake the others.

Citizen Z traces the hacker. The final connection is in Hawaii. He hacks into the hacker’s computer. He looks into the files to find out they’ve been using him to track Murphy. He destroys the server.

OBM are hiking up a hill. Murphy asks, “Are we there yet?” Addy says they’re close, like just past the trees. The come out of the forest and see the Pacific Ocean. They also see what looks like a rest stop with cars in the parking lot, but it could be an underground lab. Roberta says she doesn’t want them walking into a trap, so she and Vasquez will check things out first. Roberta says if they’re not out in ten minutes, GTFO.

Roberta and Vasquez proceed with caution. Music is coming from the diner. They enter, guns drawn, and there’s an old lady behind the counter. She asks if they’d like tea and ginger sandwiches. I’m wondering if she means sandwiches made out of real fingers. Vasquez tells her to put her weapon on the counter. She does, but under the counter, there’s something that looks like a bazooka. And I don’t mean the bubblegum.

This was an awesome show! The explained each character’s backstory, but also showed the progression of the apocalypse.

Next week is the finale <SOB!>. The Zeros are back along with La Riena, and what’s left of the CDC.

 

December 4, 2015 — Two GHs, 16 Chefs & Lots of Mexican Zombies

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What I Watched Today

(random, rambling thoughts on today’s TV)

 

General Hospital — Thursday

Ewww! Dante and Valerie are flirting at work. Please tell me on what planet they would even allow this at a police station?

Lulu and Maxie discuss the whole Dante/Valerie thing. Lulu says they insisted they weren’t sleeping together the whole time, just on Thanksgiving when she walked in on them. Even though I know this is true, if I was Lulu, I’d be saying, yeah, right.

Tracy and Monica are discussing a Toys for Tots fundraiser. Monica thinks Tracy’s idea of the name “Winter Gala” is too boring. Monica suggests “Nutcracker Gala” and Tracy says it’s not horrible.

Paul and Ava are making out in the gallery. I guess it really is guns that Paul is smuggling because they talk about it. Ava wants to be apprised of everything that’s happening.

Anna is down at the docks and runs into Dr. Andre, who is running. Apparently, Andre told her that the medal isn’t absolute proof of Carrrlos being alive. Anna has stopped going to therapy and gets all defensive. She had the medal tested and it shows positive for Carrrlos’s DNA.

Geez, I missed a lot yesterday. Carrrlos is the father of Sabrrrina’s baby. She doesn’t want Michael to find out, so she wants to talk to the tech about avoiding discussion of the due date. Ha-ha! She goes in to talk to the tech and it’s Carrrlos in scrubs and a mask. Man, I just love this guy. He pops up everywhere.

Tracy tells Monica she’s in charge of the silent auction. Monica challenges Tracy to see who can drum up more bucks.

Ava tells Paul she wants to be more involved in the business. She wants to take Sonny down and tells Paul she wants him to see what she’s capable of. She’s capable of some other things too, but Tracy calls in the middle of it.

Ewww again! Valerie asks Dante if he wants to go on a date. These two are making me sick. They agree to keep things discreet at work. Fat chance in Port Charles. Valerie leaves and Nathan asks if he just heard what he heard.

Sabrrrina tells Carrrlos he’d better get lost since Michael will be there any minute. She also insists it’s not his baby. Felix tries to stall Michael by saying how well-received his green bean casserole was on Thanksgiving. Sabrrrina says she’ll meet Carrrlos in an hour if he goes now. The revolving door twirls, Carrrlos leaves and Michael and the tech walk in.

Andre tells Anna she still needs some therapy. She says their business is concluded, but Andre says if she doesn’t continue therapy, he’ll be forced to go to the police with what he knows.

Sabrrrina has a sonogram. Michael thinks the baby looks bigger than it should be. Because he’s had so much experience with this. I worked for two years at a gyn clinic and still don’t know what’s what with one of those. The tech says sometimes the baby can look bigger on screen. Okay.

Andre tells Anna that the shooting is still tearing her up inside. Anna says Carrrlos isn’t dead, and asks if Andre is trying to build a case against her. Andre says no, but this isn’t helping. She says it’s not going to help even more if he turns her in.

Paul tells Tracy he’ll meet her at the Metrocourt. He tells Ava he’ll call her later and his associate will pick up the guns.

Nathan is like, Dante, you need to calm down because everyone is noticing. He says Dante still loves Lulu, but Dante says Lulu told him it was over and he doesn’t want to drag it out.

Lulu is going on and on about what a witch Valerie is and how she tried to blame Lulu for everything. Maxie isn’t hearing a word though, because she’s working her cell phone like a boss, wheeling and dealing for the magazine. Lulu leaves.

In the hallway, Felix tells Angie (the tech) that he’ll take the sono over to the doctor. He tells Sabrina and Michael that Dr. Lee got called away and asked him to give them the details. He says the baby is about 20 weeks and everything is cool. He gives them a copy of the sono. Michael has a meeting, so he leaves.

Andre says technically he’s still Anna’s therapist, so what’s up? She tells him that she thinks Paul is involved. She says the body was cremated before she got a chance to see it, per Paul’s orders, and that the autopsy report was inaccurate. I’m guessing either Andre is into her or he really wanted to be a detective when he grew up.

Paul meets Tracy at the Metrocourt. Tracy tells him about the gala. She says it will get more attention if the DA is involved and it will give him good publicity. He says she has a point, since the position of DA has been a revolving door. I have news for Paul; there are many revolving doors in Port Charles. He asks what she needs him to do and she says be her date.

Monica goes to the gallery. She tells Ava she needs some art, and Ava asks what her price range is. Monica says “free.” She tells Ava it’s only fair since she’s responsible for the death of her son. (What? What happened?)

Valerie comes into the interrogation room where Nathan and Dante are talking. He leaves and Lulu shows up at the station, saying she wants to make a report of fraternization between Dante and Valerie. Nathan says that’s a pretty big deal. She says she doesn’t care and starts to get louder. Maxie comes running in behind her and says she doesn’t want to do this. Why not? I would. Maxie says she’s there to save Lulu from herself. She says that the result could be the loss of two cops and it’s not fair to the department. She asks Lulu to come to Kelly’s with her to ease her pain. With a BLT?

Michael shows up at the Metrocourt and yaps about the baby. He shows them the sono picture. Please don’t tell me that Tracy will figure out it’s not his baby just from looking at that.

Sabrrrina thanks Felix for his help. He tells her to be careful because her “bambino” is huge and at least 26 weeks. Sabrrrina leaves and Carrrlos emerges from his eavesdropping position.

Ava says she knows what will bring in the most money. Monica says she doesn’t need help, but says she’s not seeing anything that she thinks her donors will be crazy about. Then she points to the gun crate and asks what’s in it. Because we always do stuff like that at a gallery.

Nathan tells Dante he’s a lucky guy and that Lulu almost outed the both of them.

Maxie tells Lulu they’re getting fries because the situation calls for carbs. She says it would be a mistake to get Rocco’s father fired and Valerie would have gotten a slap on the wrist. She says the need to strategize and think of something big.

Andre tells Anna she’d best be careful. She leaves to go do whatever sneaky thing she has in mind.

Ava tells Monica the crate has artwork from a touchy artist, so hands off. Monica says she’ll be expecting two significant pieces of work, which just begs for one of the many sarcastic replies at the tip of my fingers.

Carrrlos meets Sabrrrina at the docks. He tells her he knows she’s carrying his baby and he’s mega excited. She tells him to do the right thing for once and leave Port Charles and not look back. He says, no way he’s going without her.

Tomorrow, Sam and Jason move forward with the divorce – maybe.

General Hospital – Friday

Paul shows up at the station looking for Anna. But Anna’s not at the station. She’s busy breaking into an apartment. Oops! She got caught.

Sabrrrina tells Carrrlos to do the right thing for once and get out of town. He says he’s not going anywhere without her, but she says she’s not going anywhere with him.

Blah-blah-blah, romantic stuff with Jason and Elizabeth. She says she’s worried about Jake. I’d be worried too, since he spent his formative years with Helena. Jason tells Elizabeth he saw Laura at Sam’s, but he doesn’t know what they were talking about. Elizabeth has a voicemail from Nicholas saying they have to talk.

Curtis calls Hayden and asks her to meet him outside of Kelly’s. She makes up some baloney story for Nicholas. For whatever reason, Nicholas tells Laura that Sam must have dropped her suspicions about who knew what. Laura says au contraire.

Sam meets with Alexis. Sam tells her that she has information that can break Elizabeth and Jason up. She wants a divorce pronto, so she’s not tempted to use it. Oh, come on, use it. Make me happy.

OMG – it’s Mac sneaking up behind Anna! I think the last time we saw him was like 2002. He says he’s been tailing her because he and Felicia haven’t been able to get ahold of her. She tells him she’s being accused of a murder she doesn’t think she committed and she’s breaking into Sloan’s apartment to try and find evidence.

All of a sudden, Elizabeth has errands to run and tells Jake she has to go.

Nicholas tells Laura she doesn’t know what Sam is thinking or what she’s going to do and neither does he. He says she might be asking questions, but that means she doesn’t have answers. Laura tells him to be prepared for things to blow up.

Sam says she’s convinced that Elizabeth is lying to Jason and she doesn’t want to put her life on hold because of it, and what difference does it make anyway? Alexis says that it obviously makes a difference to Sam.

Jordan tells Paul she doesn’t keep tabs on people who don’t work for her. Paul tells her they both have the same goal, but their working styles are different. He asks if she sees Anna to let her know he’s looking for her.

Anna explains what’s going on to Mac. He wonders whose body was pulled out of the river. She says that’s why she’s there, to find out. (Oh, duh, it was probably Sloan.) Mac says she’s rusty at breaking and entering, and takes the tools from her.

Carrrlos says no way he’s walking away from Sabrrrina and his child. Not gonna happen.

Sam says she reevaluated the consequences after Patrick pointed them out. Alexis says that eventually Jason is going to find out what’s going on, and when he does, is this going to affect things between her and Patrick?

Carrrlos asks what Sabrrrina has going on besides idiot Michael? She says she doesn’t love Carrrlos anymore and she’s not a kid anymore. She reminds him of the St. Christopher’s medal that she gave him. He says he lost it and she says, good. She says they started off with him being older, but now he’s like the child. She tries to leave but Carrrlos grabs her. Paul is lurking in the shadows.

Elizabeth walks in on Laura and Nicholas. Having heard the tail end of Laura’s conversation with Nicholas, she gets all stupid with Laura, thinking Laura told Sam something. Laura says she didn’t say anything, but Sam suspects everything.

Diane shows up at Elizabeth’s. She says she never met Jason as “Jake Doe,” but she’s pleased to meet him now. She says she’s prepared a statement and that he had a will in place, leaving a huge amount to Sam, but pretty much taking care of everyone else too.  She says his estate is intact and he just needs to sign something saying he’s not dead and he’ll have access to it. I won’t mention that someone seemed to have access of it when he went to Greece, since the trip was paid for out of it.

Diane says she thinks he shouldn’t make any huge decisions until he fully grasps his situation. He says he wants a divorce now. She asks if it will be uncontested and he says he and Sam are on the same page.

Curtis meets with Hayden. He says there are too many familiar people inside Kelly’s for them to go in, so they’ll have to freeze outside. It’s colder in Port Charles than it is here.

Oh for God’s sake! They’ve decided to break in about discoveries in the San Bernadino shooting. Why? Why can’t this wait a whole 25 minutes?

Oh, thank you, great and powerful ABC, for giving me the last ten minutes. I think. We’ll see.

Alexis says Sam needs to make the choice that’s best for her and not anybody else. Sam asks what Alexis would do, and Alexis says Sam already knows the answer. I don’t. What is it?

Jason says he wants to make sure Sam and Danny are taken care of, as well as Elizabeth and the boys.

Elizabeth whines that she’s cursed. What an idiot! Laura says all three of them are victims of their own bad decisions and have to deal with it. Nicholas acts like everything is all cool, and says that Sam can ask all the questions she wants, but the only way things will go wrong is if Elizabeth panics and outs herself. Elizabeth leaves, and Nicholas asks Laura if they can give it a rest now.

Hayden returns. She says the meeting was nothing that couldn’t have been done through an email. She says everything is good, verging on perfect, and he asks why she seems so lost in thought. She says because she’s all wrapped up in how lucky she is.

Jordan sees Curtis at Kelly’s and it’s obvious she knows him.

Paul tells Carrrlos to leave Sabrrrina alone (she must have disappeared during the news break) and stay away from Anna. Carrrlos says he has no intention of bothering Anna again.

Anna calls a number she found at Sloan’s and Paul answers from his cell phone.

Jason goes to Kelly’s and Alexis asks how it’s going. She says she was just going over things with Sam. They both agree that everything should go smoothly, but I see something else in Alexis’s eyes.

Elizabeth gets home, but Jason isn’t there. She finds a love note form him and thinks everything is okay. There’s a knock at the door and it’s Sam.

Monday, Sam tells Elizabeth she knows everything. Whether she does or not.

Master Chef Junior

This week, it’s kids cooking for other kids in a carnival atmosphere.  It’s a birthday party for kids from 8 to 12, the same ages as the contestants. There are two teams of eight, with the winners to be voted on by the guests.  Gordon and Graham’s kids will also be in attendance, but not voting. One kid says they’re probably used to sophisticated food, and I say they’re probably begging for McDonald’s. I feel badly for the last kid picked.

I was hoping for corn dogs and curly fries, but the kids make fish tacos, turkey burgers and chicken wings. One girl is wearing a Ramones shirt and I laugh because most of the Ramones were probably dead before she was born.

The blue team wins and the pressure test is to make a croquembouche.  You’ve probably seen this pastry, it looks like a tree of little balls of cake, which are profiteroles, something like cream puffs.

That’s okay, kids who went home. I can barely pronounce croquembouche and couldn’t make a profiterole to save my life.

My money is on Addie

They’re having auditions for the next season. Go to Fox.com/masterchefjunior

Z Nation

When last we left Operation Bite Mark, Dr. Kurian was about to inject Vasquez with the vaccine. Roberta tells La Reina that she doesn’t trust the doctor. La Reina says that the doctor should have the honor of taking the first dose and he’s like, no, no, you must have the honor. She says if she thought that, she would have said it. He injects himself.

And keels over. I think Murphy is eating popcorn. Yes, I believe he is. La Reina says to kill Kurian, thinking he’s going to turn into a zombie, but he says, no, I’m good (reminding me of, “I’m not dead yet,” from Monty Python and the Holy Grail. ). La Reina says to test him. Escorpion brings out a zombie head and it bites the doctor’s hand. They wait and nothing happens. Dr. Kurian says he can’t believe it actually worked. Me too.

The queen isn’t looking too good. She sort of swoons, but it seems to be out of happiness. She praises Roberta. She says because of Roberta, there is hope because she brought Murphy to them. La Reina says Roberta must be next. Murphy steps in and asks if he can have the honor of saving her life the way she’s saved his many times. I think he’s not buying that the vaccine is good and is going to pull a fast one.

And I’m right. He just pretends to inject her. Escorpion (who only La Reina seems to call “Hector”) says these are outsiders and not to be trusted. He asks to “question” Vasquez some more. While pummeling Vasquez, who is hanging from the ceiling, Escorpion asks him why he was trying to kill La Reina. He says he wasn’t.

Everyone is getting injections. Murphy has kept OBM from actually getting the vaccine. La Reina says she’s feeling strong and calls Roberta to come drink with her. I love Gina Gershon in this role. You can tell she’s having fun.

Murphy is in Kurian’s office and says it’s a priceless turn of events. “Not if I can help it,” the doctor tells him.

Vasquez says he was trying to kill Escorpion, and reveals who he is and says that Escorpion killed his wife and daughter. Escorpion actually seems to be having the feels when Vasquez describes how his daughter died. Escorpion says he should have killed Vasquez too. He says that explains Vasquez, but what about the others. He wants to know what Roberta wants with the queen. He orders Vasquez to be put into “the maiden.”

La Reina and Roberta are bonding over drinks. La Reina has been saving some $2000 wine for a special occasion and this is it. La Reina toasts to new beginnings and also to her true love, because if he hadn’t died during the apocalypse, she wouldn’t be where she is today.

Kurian mixes up something to reverse the effects of the serum. Too late. Murphy does his mind meld thing on the doctor and makes him drop the antidote. Murphy says, “Oops! Did I do that?” a la Urkel.

Roberta walks in. Murphy demonstrates his control over Kurian. Roberta realizes that what was in the needles wasn’t a vaccine. Murphy tells her that Kurian is building him an army of zombie blends. She asks if he’s still going to California and he says maybe, but it will be with his army that he can control. Roberta reminds him that he didn’t control Cassandra very well. Murphy tells her the bright side is, she didn’t get injected because he likes her just the way she is.

Vasquez is put into a box with a chained zombie. Escorpion says they’re more alike than he realizes.

Roberta tells Doc, Addy and 10K that the vaccine is really just turning people into zombie slaves for Murphy. She says they’re going to California regardless, even if they have to take Murphy by force. She says that there’s an incubation period, but they need to move fast.

Escorpion tells a story about his son being shot in a drive-by and dying in his arms. He says Vasquez thinks the apocalypse gave him a reason to kill, but they all have their own apocalypse going on. The queen asks for his presence and he leaves Vasquez with the zombie two inches from his face.

Escorpion tells La Reina that Roberta is head of an assassination team that wants to take over their operation. Everybody just stares at everybody for a second, and then Roberta says he’s lying. She says all she wanted to do was bring Murphy to California so they could make a vaccine and that Vasquez wanted revenge on Escorpion. Escorpion draws a gun on Roberta.

Murphy has control over La Reina and suddenly she’s saying Escorpion is a trash bag and to take him away. He’s about to be dragged away and vows to kill Roberta. La Reina tells Roberta to kill Escorpion. Roberta tells Murphy it’s done and to knock it off. La Reina then tells them to do with Escorpion what they will. Roberta tells Murphy she doesn’t want any part of it, and he tells her if she isn’t part of the solution, she’s part of the problem. She tells Escorpion to take her to Vasquez.

Kurian comes in and Murphy asks what’s up. Kurian tries to attack him, but La Reina pushes him away. The court starts to circle Murphy. Murphy takes a knife and slices his own hand so that blood drips on the floor. The zombie blends start lapping it up. Murphy grabs the doctor and backs out of the room.

Roberta finds that the rest of OBM is trying to free Vasquez. Addy holds Escorpion at knife point and they get Vasquez out of the box – and put Escorpion in.

Murphy throws Kurian into an examining room, where he tries to bite at Murphy. Murphy calls him a zombie quack and Roberta comes up behind Kurian and takes his head off. She asks Murphy if he’s ready to go to California. Murphy puts on his spiffy traveling outfit and they leave, with Kurian’s head calling after them.

La Reina finds the doctor’s head and asks where Murphy is. She and her court start to follow OBM. Doc says they’re going to need something to slow them down. He says what better idea to fight half zombies than full zombies. They start to look for where Escorpion was keeping zombies for compost. They decide to let the zombies loose. Roberta tells Murphy to let his people go.

Murphy does magic trick hands, and bibbidy bobbidy boo the doors open and zombies pour out. Murphy sends them in the direction of La Reina while OBM goes the other way. It’s quick and unmerciful.

Roberta tells the others to keep going, but she’s going to wait for Murphy. Addy waits at the door while the others go out into the sunlight.

Murphy has some angst about leaving, but Roberta says they were given a chance and there’s nothing more he can do. They run to join the others. OBM just makes it up the stairs before the mass of zombies gets there.

When OBM gets outside, they see a real mess. Dead bodies, burned up cars, rubble where buildings were. And freaking Escorpion! He says no one disrespects him and lives. Roberta is about to shoot him, but Vasquez stops her. He’s going mano a mano with Escorpion.

Vasquez must be pretty tough because Escorpion is beating the crap out of him and it takes him a while to fall. He gets his memories going about his family and rises up. Now it’s his turn to beat the crap out of Escorpion. He ends it with throwing him down the stairs and into the zombie crowd at the bottom. Escorpion goes down cursing them out.

Doc and 10K see an El Camino dealership and are ready to rock and roll and get a new car. And you get a car! And you get a car! Everyone drives off in their own vehicle. 10K sees a drone following them, which is how they got into this mess, and shoots it with a slingshot.

At the border, where it says “Welcome to the United States,” someone has crossed out “United States” and written “Z Nation.”

The doctor’s head says, “It’s you. You’re alive,” and someone picks the head up. It looks like La Reina to me.

Only two more episodes left. ☹ Next week, Citizen Z is back!