Category Archives: nighttime drama

Apr26

April 25, 2018 – Luck or Fate, Another Hellish Dinner Party, Some Star, Some Serhant & the Weekend (Almost)

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Drew stops by Alexis’s place. She says they must have gotten their wires crossed, since she dropped off the kids at Monica’s. He asks how Sam is doing and where she is.

In Switzerland, back from their quest, Sam tells Jason, that was insane. The driving wasn’t bad, and she had a great time. He says, him too.

At the hospital, Kim asks Finn to hold the elevator. He doesn’t, but says he did her a favor; Lucy was in it. She says Lucy already hit her up about the Nurses’ Ball, but she told Lucy that she had no talent. Finn says that was the wrong thing to do. Lucy will have her on a trapeze, playing the accordion. He says he’s never attended it, and she tells him to give it a try this year. She already has a date.

At Kelly’s, Lucas is on the phone discussing the nursery with Brad. Julian hears him, and says, it’s really happening. Lucas is going to be a father.

Curtis gets down on one knee, and asks Jordan to marry him. She tells him to stand up. He asks her to hear him out. He wants them both to say the words, and commit to each other. Jordan says, till death do us part? She can’t marry him if the only reason he’s asking is that she might die.

Alexis tells Drew that Sam is in Switzerland with Jason. Spinelli was arrested, and they went to help get him out. The three of them decided to stay and work on the investigation. He thanks her, and leaves. Alexis hopes Sam knows what she’s doing.

Sam is liking Switzerland, and remarks that she got Jason to wear a helmet. He says they just robbed a bank, but she corrects him, saying they infiltrated it. The banker should have never have let her behind his desk. Jason says he didn’t have a chance. She wonders if the wire transfer Henrik sent ever came through. Jason finds a letter from Spinelli, saying he was able to secure passage to Seattle, and confirmed two seats to Port Charles (direct from Switzerland?) on Friday. He says they should enjoy the remainder of their stay, and includes a list of restaurants. Sam says Spinelli stranded them there on purpose.

Julian tells Lucas that he didn’t mean to snoop. Lucas says it’s official; they’ve been chosen to adopt. Julian is happy for them, and knows they’ll make wonderful parents. Lucas says they’re thrilled and grateful. it wouldn’t have happened without him.

Curtis doesn’t accept Jordan’s non-acceptance, but he’s on his feet so they can talk about it. She knows he means well. He says he means to marry his woman. Not because she’s sick, but because they love each other. He can’t deny the timing is suspicious, but her health scare is a wake-up call. It’s a reminder that life can change in an instant. The only guarantee is here and now. He hopes they’ll have fifty years, but will take five years or five hours.

Sam calls the airline, and tells Jason the soonest available flight isn’t until Friday. Whether Spinelli knew that or not, she needs to have a talk with him. There are too many coincidences, like them being in the same hotel. Jason admits Spinelli knew where she was staying. She asks how, and he says Spinelli was monitoring her in case of an emergency. She says that’s really good to know, and they’ll need to have another conversation about privacy. She asks how Jason ended up there, and Jason tells her that Anna had a research trip scheduled, and booked the hotel. Sam says Spinelli set them up. Jason says Spinelli told him there were 400+ rooms, and the odds of them running into each other were slim to none. If they did, it would be fate. Sam says he matched everything in the direction he wanted, but Jason says he won’t do it again. He respects her, and respects if she wants to be on her own.

Lucas is grateful to Julian. It made all the difference when he agreed not be part of the baby’s life. Julian doesn’t want his past mistakes to jeopardize his son’s happiness. Lucas says happy doesn’t begin to cover it. Julian says a child will bring boundless joy; it changed his life. Lucas says, just not soon enough.

Josslyn tells Oscar the coach is thinking about moving her up in the rotation. That’s almost as cool as his editorial in the school paper. He says it wasn’t that great, and she wonders if he can’t accept praise or is he afraid to show it to someone whose opinion he values?

Kim tells Drew about Oscar’s piece in the school paper. She says he’s probably embarrassed to show it to Drew. Drew doesn’t want to throw her under bus by asking Oscar about it, but if Oscar doesn’t show him tonight, he will. He has an idea, and Kim suggests she tell him over lunch.

Jordan reminds Curtis that she was married to his brother. She broke her vows, and broke his heart, and it ultimately led to his death. Curtis says some of that is on him; he should have stayed out of their business. Jordan says she created the situation. When it was over and done with, and had fallen apart, she felt guilty and angry, with herself mostly, but took out on him. Curtis says it’s all in the past. They know each other inside and out. They’re not perfect, but they’re smart, and learn from their mistakes. They know enough not to repeat them. She says that’s exactly why she’s hesitant to marry him.

Finn comes by Alexis’s place. She tells him about Drew’s visit, saying even if it’s not true, he perceives that Sam is with Jason. Finn says no one wants to be the odd man out in a triangle. She tells him it’s easier to worry about her children than herself. He asks if she’s worried, but she says she’s more worried about them together.

Lucas tells Julian that he’s been reading parenting books. No one is perfect. No matter what, despite the best intent, everyone screws up, but you put your kid first. Julian did that for him with the adoption; he came through as a father. Julian wishes he could change the past, but he just trying to do better to prove himself. In the meantime, is there anything else Lucas needs to tell him?

Jordan asks Curtis, what if it doesn’t work out? She’s thought about the pain she’s caused TJ. He’s been disappointed too many times, and don’t get her started about Aunt Stella. Curtis says it’s not about Aunt Stella or TJ. TJ is a grown-ass man, and it doesn’t affect Stella either way. They’re the only ones who it matters to, is them. Can she see herself forever with him? She wants to say yes, and take a leap of faith. He tells her to just go for it, and her phone rings. It’s the doctor.

Kim says she promised Drew chili, but her feelings won’t be hurt if likes Kelly’s chili better. They go inside, and see Julian. Julian invites them to join him, but Kim says she invited Drew. He asks if they have the latest on Sam, and if she’s back yet.

Jason tells Sam that they couldn’t have gained access without her. At least they know the letters are gone, and don’t have to waste time on that. They’re also closer to Henrik. Sam says he probably bounced the money through a bunch of corporations. Jason says maybe they should go back to the book. Sam says he told her that he thought Anna knew more than she was saying. Maybe they should retrace her steps. Go to the schools, and pick up the files she was looking at. Jason asks if she’s sure she wants to stay with the investigation. He loves working with her – she’s one of the best – but she said she wanted distance. Sam says she did say that, and this isn’t it.

Jason tells Sam when he got out of the clinic, he had no idea how much time had gone by; he thought it was six months. He was worried about her and Danny, but not afraid anything happened to them. He stowed away on a freighter, and saw a newspaper from another stowaway. When he saw the date, he realized five years had passed. Then he was afraid all the way back, praying they were still alive and okay. He could take whatever happened as long as they were okay. She is, so whatever happens next, whatever she decides, he’s good.

Drew tells Julian, as far as he knows, Sam is in Switzerland. Drew starts to leave, and Kim asks where he’s going; they’re supposed to have lunch. Julian asks if he and Kim are still on for the Nurses’ Ball, and she tells him nothing’s changed. She explains to Drew that she’s seeing Julian casually. She knows his past is far from spotless. Drew says Julian isn’t his favorite guy, but Kim says, up until now, he’s been pretty great. Drew says it’s his least favorite subject, and suggests they talk about their son.

Josslyn tells Oscar that his dad will be proud and call his mom, then parental bonding sparks fly. He says, now she’s reaching. She says he’ll never know unless he makes the first move.

Jordan thanks the doctor, and tells Curtis she’s fine. The spot hasn’t changed, and they think it’s from an infection she had as a kid. Her cough is probably from the earthquake dust. They’re going to do a follow-up, but there’s no cause for concern. He says thank God he’s not losing her, and she says he’s off the hook. He can take back his proposal.

Alexis likes that Finn is smart, funny, and cynical. She likes him, and thinks he’s a softy underneath. He tells her that he’s offended. She doesn’t think they should be each other’s rebound relationship, but he says he didn’t have a relationship with Anna. Alexis points out that she didn’t have to tell him who she was referring to. He admits to having feelings for Anna, and Alexis gets it; he’s going through it or close enough. They talk a good game, but deep down, they’re both… Finn says, weird? Alexis says that wasn’t the word she was going for. They’re vulnerable, damaged, and emotionally raw. Finn is like, great, and she says maybe they’re overthinking it. They should just take the journey. Finn thinks he’s good with that. He’s missed her. Not just at meetings, but in general. It’s been a long time since they were close. She asks if he’s talking about sex. He says it was unplanned and spontaneous. She asks if he wants to do it again.

Josslyn suggests Oscar send Drew the article. He’ll probably be proud and come by the house, then his mom can make dinner. Oscar gets a text from Drew, asking if he wants to go hiking.

Drew tells Kim, hopefully, Oscar will accept the invitation. Kim says he will, and Drew will be proud of what he wrote. It’s about the outsiders and the kids they stood up for. Drew remembers Oscar punching out the kid with the paintball, and Kim says at one point, she would have blamed Drew’s influence, but Oscar isn’t the pacifist angel she thought. She’s not in favor of settling things with violence, but sometimes it’s appropriate. She tells Drew not to tell Oscar she said that. Drew’s phone dings. Oscar accepted his invitation. Kim knows he’ll be proud of their boy.

Sam tells Jason she never heard the whole story about after he broke out of the clinic. He says he had no money, no ID, and was barefoot. He had a safe deposit box in Zurich, and was making his way to the train station, when a Russian priest found him – Father Stanislav. The priest gave him clothes and food, and arranged for him to be smuggled out. He met a few good people, even the other stowaway, Huxley. Sam asks if he means Huxley Lynch, a fussy, weird British guy. Jason says, that’s him. He won Huxley’s watch in a card game, and Sam says, that was him?

Finn and Alexis get busy. Julian comes onto the porch.

Jordan tells Curtis that she wants to work on herself. She wants to be a better wife to him than she was to his brother. They need to nurture the relationship they have; no pressure. If it comes up again when they’re both ready, then they’ll talk about it. They have all the time in the world. Curtis says, no rush. They’ll work something out. She tells him it was a beautiful gesture, and meant the world to her.

Oscar can’t believe Josslyn talked him into sending the article. Drew told him that after the hike and dinner with his mom, to be warned that he has a few miles worth of compliments on Oscar’s editorial. Not because he’s Drew’s son, but a great writer. Josslyn says, see? It wasn’t that hard. He tells her that she made it easy.

Drew is shocked that Oscar is such a good writer, an Kim says he’s always been a special kid. Drew says he’s perceptive and insightful; he must have gotten it from her. She says he has a lot of Drew’s qualities, and they made an extraordinary kid.

Sam asks Jason about the watch. He says Huxley was on the run from a Russian gang he owed money to. He talked so much, Jason stopped paying attention. He seemed more concerned with losing his home than about the Russians. He was keyed up, and Jason didn’t want to talk, so they played cards. Huxley was trying to cheat him, but Jason cleaned him out. Huxley told him it was his lucky watch; whenever he wagered it, he won. He lost again, but Jason gave him the money back. Huxley insisted he keep the watch. The luck was broken for him, but maybe it would be lucky for Jason. When they got to New York, Jason went to a bar to get his bearings. The guys chasing him picked up his trail, but the bartender covered for him, so he gave her the watch. Sam tells him about her and Drew going to NYC to celebrate buying Aurora, and seeing the watch. She asks when he was there, and realizes it was the same day. The airline calls. There’s been a cancellation, and they have two hours before the next flight. Jason tells Sam to meet him in the lobby. Sam says they were apart for five years, and wound up in the same bar holding the same watch within hours of each other. Huxley was right. The watch is lucky. Or Spinelli was right, and it was fate. They soap stare at each other.

Tomorrow, Nina tells Curtis it’s the perfect opportunity, Maxie wants to talk about Peter, and Alexis asks Anna about her search for Henrik.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Still at LuAnn’s for lunch, Ramona asks if they can’t be more considerate of each other’s feelings. Sonja says she’s very sensitive. Dorinda says she buried a husband, and Sonja’s husband left her because she was screwing around in the south of France. One’s a tragedy and the other’s a choice. Dorinda no longer wants to go to dinner with her. Sonja says she doesn’t understand. In her interview, Sonja claims she didn’t cheat and had a beautiful marriage. Ramona says divorce is like a death, but she crossed the line. LuAnn tells Dorinda that Sonja isn’t in her right mind. She’s been on meds, so have compassion. In her interview, LuAnn says Sonja and Dorinda are like dogs in heat; she needs a garden hose to separate them. Ramona tries to keep the peace, and asks Sonja to apologize. Sonja calls Dorinda an insensitive bitch, and doesn’t feel she has to explain the pain of her loss. Dorinda tells LuAnn sorry to ruin the meal, and LuAnn says she’s sorry Dorinda is upset. In her interview, Dorinda is insulted by the audacity of Sonja’s narcissism. Ramona is freaked, and wonders what she’s going to do about the dinner she’s planned.

Bethenny, Carole, and Tinsley walk over to Bethenny’s investment property. It’s an eight-bedroom rental home that she got for a steal at $2 million. We flash back to Ramona saying she’d never buy anything on the highway. In her interview, Bethenny says she looks for properties that have potential. She’s spending $350K to add $1.5 million to the value. She shows the girls around, and tells them she plans on renovating the attic into a livable space. Dorinda texts Carole, and asks her to call. On the phone, Dorinda says Sonja isn’t a nice person and went too far. She tells Carole about Sonja comparing her divorce to Dorinda’s husband’s death. In her interview, Bethenny says she understands both sides. The girls tell Dorinda to try and relax.

Ramona and Dorinda discuss real estate. Ramona says it always goes up in value, and she’d rather invest in that than stocks. She explains that she can rent the house out for two weeks tax free, which is news to Dorinda. In her interview, Ramona says she came from nothing and isn’t a dummy. Well, maybe not about real estate.

Ramona gets ready for her dinner. She loves entertaining, and I have no idea what crazy crap she’s wearing. It looks like some weird thing from the 70s that she bedazzled. Dorinda kibitzes the chef in the kitchen. She’s interested in meeting Kirk, who she thinks is having an effect on Ramona. Ramona tells a couple of the guests that the group can get heated. John wanders in, followed by Tinsley and Carole. In her interview, Tinsley thought it was a party for Carole, but it seems like all of Ramona’s friends. Bethenny arrives with Dennis. Carole is wearing a tattoo bodysuit, which provokes many comments. In her interview, she says it’s a major fashion moment and everyone is jealous, but Bethenny wonders if she joined a motorcycle gang. Dennis talks about Bethenny hiding his sweaters when she doesn’t like them. Bethenny says he likes to wear loud clothing, but Dorinda thinks it shows confidence.

LuAnn and Sonja walk in. Sonja has no plan of action; she’s just going to be herself. In her interview, Bethenny wonders what the eff they’re all wearing, including herself. It’s like a bad bar. Sonja says she had a nice cry today. Dorinda wasn’t sympathetic with her, because she didn’t bury a husband. Ramona asks wtf? and Sonja wonders why Ramona didn’t stick up for her. Tinsley is hearing yelling, and doesn’t want to get involved. In her interview, Dorinda admits to wanting to stoke the fire between Tinsley and Sonja. Ramona tells Sonja she’s learned if she upsets someone, just apologize and move on.

Carole is confused. She thought it was a marathon party, but it’s a family-style buffet with no marathon memorabilia to be seen. Ramona toasts to Carole, saying Carole had never exercised in her life, and while she works out all the time, she could never accomplish what Carole has done. In her interview, Carole says Ramona had the party to have an excuse to flirt with Kirk. Dorinda asks when Dennis lost his hair, and he talks about being on a team in college who shaved their heads, and it never grew back. She mentions that Richard was bald. We see clips of how much Dorinda hearkens back. It’s agreed Dennis has a good-shaped head. LuAnn asks when Dennis and Bethenny met, and Bethenny thought she knew. We flash back to the last reunion, and LuAnn saying he was married when Bethenny started seeing him. Bethenny points this out. In her interview, Dorinda tries to explain the look on LuAnn’s face and can’t, because she’s laughing so hard. Bethenny suggests an apology, and LuAnn says she’s sorry. In her interview, LuAnn doesn’t get it, since she was just making pleasantries.

Sonja says she’s been relegated to the end of the table; why not just put a muzzle on her? Actually, that sounds like a brilliant idea. Sonja claims that Rocco is talking serious, and Dorinda says there is no Rocco; she’s not dating him. In her interview, Sonja says everyone is throwing accusations about her personal life, when they know nothing. Dorinda says liar, liar, ho on fire. Sonja says she doesn’t lie. Tinsley says she lies all the time, and stop talking about her. Dorinda asks if Sonja thinks Tinsley paid for the gift card she gave her for her birthday, and Sonja says no. Tinsley whips out her checkbook, and says she’ll write her a check, adding that Sonja should close her mouth and her effing legs. Alrighty then. In her interview, Dorinda says she told Tinsley to speak up, not lose her sh*t. Bethenny says Tinsley donated a lot to her charity, and Sonja asks where the money came from, adding, who cares? and answering her own question. Bethenny finds it hard to defend her. Tinsley gives Sonja a check, but Sonja doesn’t want her money; she wants Tinsley’s love. The check is flipped back and forth, until Bethenny finally sets it on fire. LuAnn says it’s a laughable moment, and Bethenny just gave it a punchline. Ramona tells Sonja again to just say sorry, and Sonja calls her a fake apologizer. In her interview, Sonja says Ramona puts up a wall when she doesn’t want to get involved. Sonja wanders off, and a cake with candles appears for Carole, since Ramona has the marathon mixed up with a birthday. Everyone applauds. In her interview, Carole says the cake is a nice try, but as far as a themed party goes, she gives it an F.

Dorinda is afraid to talk to Sonja in private, thinking she’ll go off on a tangent. They go into the kitchen, and Sonja tells her that they’ve both suffered great losses, and both have no fathers for their daughters. Dorinda suggests that she move on, since she recognizes that Sonja is never going to understand why she’s wrong here. Sonja says she’s not holding on, but won’t forget. She doesn’t want to let go of the memories. She says she’s having an off day; she’s coming off anti-depressants and not taking hormones anymore. In her interview, Dorinda doesn’t know if Sonja is talking to her or telling herself. She could put a mannequin in her place, and Sonja would never notice. She tells Sonja they’ll talk tomorrow. Bethenny says they’ve destroyed another night in the Hamptons – the gift that keeps on giving.

Ramona says when they met, she thought John was rough around the edges. We see a clip of her reaming him out. She says he’s grown on her. He has a warm heart, and adores Dorinda. In her interview, Dorinda says their relationship is good, but she feels like she’s grown so much and wants to keep growing. She’s feeling tense with him. Ramona asks how her discussion with Sonja went. She thinks something is going on with Sonja, but doesn’t want to deal with it anymore’ it’s not worth it to be involved. She reads Dorinda a text from Sonja, calling her a bitch because Ramona didn’t stand up for her. She rambles about how she never cheated, loved her husband, but couldn’t stay because it was difficult. Dorinda says she has present-day grief from twelve years ago. She wants to talk about today. Ramona continues, with Sonja telling her that she needs help, and saying she wasted her time bonding with an unfeeling POS. In her interview, Ramona says Sonja isn’t a two-year-old, and she doesn’t think she needs to defend her. She tells Dorinda that she’s not saying she’s done, but she can’t relate anymore. Sonja doesn’t listen, and likes to hide behind her texts. Yoda Dorinda says, say it, forget it; write it, regret it.

Carole and Tinsley meet before brunch. Tinsley tells Carole about locking herself out, and Carole jokes that she’s a bad houseguest. Tinsley says she’s had a lot going on, and Sonja needs to be quiet about her; she can’t deal. In her interview, Tinsley doesn’t know how to resolve it. To avoid conflict, she and Carole make place cards. The others trickle in, and Dorinda says the place cards are super fancy. Sonja wants to go home. but can’t say no to an expensive brunch. Not knowing what went on, Carole and Tinsley put Ramona across from Sonja. In her interview, Sonja says she’s always defended Ramona, but she couldn’t return the favor. It’s the kiss of death. She’s done.

Ramona tells Carole about Sonja’s text. Ramona wants to change seats, and Carole says there will be no one at the end of the table. In her interview, Carole says she didn’t know about the tension between Ramona and Sonja, but at this point, there’s tension between everyone and Sonja. Ramona moves down by Dorinda, and tells her to play along. She pretends to be asking Dorinda’s opinion about decorating. In her interview, Sonja says the text worked. Ramona knows she’s a loser, so she’s doing what she thinks will look good with the group. Okay… Bethenny has no idea what’s going on, but sees Ramona jumped the Sonja ship. LuAnn thinks Ramona is being rude. Sonja says LuAnn knows everything about her miscommunication with Dorinda. She harps again on how Ramona could have defended her. Ramona asks when she’s going to stop talking and start listening. She doesn’t know who Sonja is anymore. Sonja says she’s the fun one at parties, then has to go back to the trenches. I guess that’s what she calls a beautiful townhouse in Manhattan. She says she lost everything, and Bethenny says it was a long time ago; they have to get current. Sonja accuses everyone of being judgmental, and asks who brought up Rocco? Ramona says Sonja did, and wonders if she just listens to herself. Sounds to me like Sonja doesn’t listen to herself either. Tinsley says Sonja is like a broken record, and Dorinda says, here we go again.

LuAnn says, check, please.

Next time, Carole says Adam is not her boyfriend, Missy (Tom’s ex) shows up, and Ramona and Sonja create another scene.

🌟 On Star, Cassie told someone on the phone that she wanted her $200K, but didn’t want her mom to know. Maurice brought in old friend Natalie, who got Take 3 a college gig, telling them they needed to establish a fan base. Andy sabotaged the gig by cutting the sound, and got himself cut from the tour when he was found out. Take 3 saved the show by singing acapella with Noah. Alex had enough with Noah’s groupies, but he insisted she was the only one for him. Simone also fought with Angel, thinking he was in on Andy’s interference, but they made up by the end of the episode. Cotton’s ex said she didn’t know how complicated a baby daddy would be, and Cotton told her to try being one with double-Ds. Natalie came on to Maurice, who said he was seeing someone, and she told him she could get him whatever he wanted. The real star of the show, Queen Latifah’s hair, went from a shaggy bob with beachy waves and highlights (loved this look on her!) to a swirly short ‘do that was half magenta. Next time, Miss Lawrence takes the mic, and Noah is getting down with the wrong person when Alex walks in.

💰 This week, on Sell It Like Serhant, Ryan helped Staten Island kitchen cabinet salesman, Frank. Poor Frank, whose wife had passed away from leukemia, was a week away from the unemployment line, since he couldn’t sell ice in hell. While putting Frank through his paces at the gym, Ryan also taught him how to sell a kitchen with an intro/compliment/hook strategy. At the end, Frank went from selling literally zero to $37K a month. Next time, hot tubs.

🏇 The Homestretch…

weekend

Weekend99Problems

Apr23

April 22, 2018 – Madison Meets New People, Quite the Hat, Film Talk & More Than One Random Thought

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

 

Fear the Walking Dead

Before

Everyone is sleeping like things are normal; like it used to be. Luci makes coffee for Nick, and everybody gets dressed, and ready for the day. All kinds of activities are going on.

Madison asks a little girl about her family, but she doesn’t want to talk. She asks the girl about some of her favorite things instead. Madison says it takes getting used to, but this is home now. She’ll do what she can to make it happen, but needs help. The girl nods. Madison asks where the girl was coming from, and she points. Madison looks out to see zombies wandering around outside the baseball stadium they call home.

Over a loudspeaker, we hear it’s been 365 days. Victor says they’re celebrating, and pours maple syrup over everyone’s breakfast. Madison hammers away at something, and Alicia brings her some food. She tells Madison that they’re leaving in twenty minutes.

The girl talks to Nick about a story that sounds like Faust; a guy selling his soul to the devil. The turnip crop isn’t doing so great, and the girl, whose name is Charlie, asks about food running out. Nick says they’re almost growing enough not to need scavenging.

Madison tells the others where she thinks Charlie is from, but it’s outside the range. Madison says they have to look for her family anyway.

The group gets ready to leave. Nick asks Luci to find Charlie a new book. If she’s reading Faust, hopefully Luci understands to bring back something at a higher reading level than My Little Pony. Luci says Nick should come, but he has a turnip situation. He asks her to make sure Madison comes back this time. Luci tells Madison that Nick has to come out at some point. Madison says he needs to feel safe right now, but he will. Nick finds out it’s weevils causing the crops to fail, and radios the car. They get out of range before he can finish the conversation.

Madison parks, and tells them eyes open, stay close, keep talking. Victor and Luci go through a building that’s been picked clean; even the lightbulbs are gone. Alicia and Madison find a mess and a burned-out car. Madison says it’s lucky Charlie got out alive. Victor realizes the place isn’t just void of survivors, but also the dead. It’s a ghost town without ghosts. (I said that, not him.) Madison sees half-eaten food, and tells Victor that they’ll be there in a minute.

Luci says Madison won’t stop until she looks under every rock. Victor says she wouldn’t stop until she found him. He still hasn’t asked why she helped him after what he did. Luci suggests he does.

Charlie messes with the radio, and Nick tells her it’s okay, they haven’t been gone that long. Charlie knows it’s not a regular run. Nick says if her family is out there, they’ll find them. He asks if she’ll help with the turnips. What is it with turnips? They grow them on The Walking Dead too. Considering my gardening skills lean more toward enthusiasm than actual talent, maybe I should try growing them.

Madison and Alicia look around, but there’s nothing. A woman comes up behind Madison with a gun, and asks for her keys. Madison tells her that she doesn’t have to do this, but the woman keeps a bead on her. Madison signals Victor on the radio. He says, sh*t! and takes off. Madison tells the woman about the settlement. She says they have strong walls, plenty of food, and good people. She says they took in a little girl named Charlie, and asks if the woman knows her, but she says she doesn’t have a kid, and tells Madison to stop. She takes the keys from Madison’s pouch, but runs up against Alicia, with Victor and Luci now behind her. The woman dashes past them. Madison follows.

The woman runs up some steps leading to an oil tank. Alicia asks her to put the gun down, and puts her own down. Alicia tells her to trust them; they’ll give her the car. The woman backs up, and falls into the tank. Lots of falling through roofs going around. It’s dark, and full of oily water. Zombies pop up everywhere. Madison tells Victor to get the hatch open, and jumps down. Victor and Alicia struggle to get it open, but finally do, and oil, water, and zombies flow out. They kill the zombies, and Alicia gets Madison out.

Luci finds a copy of The Little Prince. Well, it’s no Dostoevsky, but better than My Little Pony. Victor wonders why they’re bothering, and Madison says, no one is gone until they’re gone. The woman introduces herself as Naomie. She says she’s sorry; she wasn’t going to hurt her. Madison asks if she has any idea who let the zombies into the tank, but she just got there. Madison asks where she’s from, and Naomie says it’s been a long time since she’s been from anywhere. We hear zombie noises, and Luci says they should leave – now.

Nick burns the turnip crop. A zombie sticks its dead fingers through the fence. Suddenly, music is playing, then fades. Nick wonders if it’s a signal, and he and the others wait to hear it again. There’s just silence, and Nick asks Charlie to open the gate. He gets in a car, takes a deep breath, and rolls out.

Nick remembers being behind a fence, and blowing up the reservoir. Zombies grapple at the car, and Nick runs into something, hitting his head on the dashboard. A sniper from the settlement shoots at the zombies, and radios him to get back. He gets out, and starts walking toward the gate. A zombie starts to come up on him from behind, and in perfect timing, Madison returns and creams it with her car. Luci asks what happened, and Nick says he was out for a stroll. She tells him get in.

Madison wants to talk to Charlie. Charlie says it’s okay; she knows Madison didn’t find them. Madison  tells Charlie that she has to ask another question; not an easy one. What happened at the camp? Who did that? Charlie says nothing, and Madison says they’ll talk later.

Nick gets his wounds dressed by Naomie, who was a nurse, at the ER, then the ICU. Madison doesn’t think it was a surprise to Charlie that they didn’t find her family. Nick leaves, and Naomie says Madison didn’t tell her it was a baseball stadium. Madison says Naomie didn’t believe she had a camp. Naomie asks how many, and Madison says forty-seven; forty-eight if she decides to stay. Naomie says she pulled a gun, but Madison says they’ve all done worse. She thought she’d lost her kids, but found them and found this place. They built it up together. They are who they are because of it. Naomie says they don’t know her. Madison says she doesn’t know them. They’re both taking a chance. She suggests Naomie take a shower, and Naomie is astounded they have one – with hot water.

Victor pushes the car Nick was driving, while another guy steers. Luci radios them to get inside now; ditch the car. They look behind them, where there’s a convoy of large vehicles driving in. They run in, and lock the gate. This doesn’t look good.

A dude rides around on a bicycle, music coming from the boombox on the handlebars. Another guy opens a boxcar, and takes out a ramp. Biking dude leads the zombies up the ramp, and goes out the other side, while the ramp guy locks the zombies in. He puts a flag up that says 12. (In last week’s episode, Al found a flag that said 51, and said she’d seen a lot of those.) A third guy gets out a lawn chair, sits in it, and cracks a beer. Everyone watches. Okay, they have me. I have no clue what’s going on, but obviously these numbers mean something.

Madison walks over to guy sitting down, and asks what he’s doing. He says, having a drink. She asks if there’s a problem, and he says, we’re good, and asks if she wants a drink. She says they have people inside with guns, and he says, that’s a helluva welcome. She tells him that she saw the camp, and the tanks. He asks if she thinks they did that, and she says she saw their flag. He tells her that they had to clean up the mess. The people never thought of what would happen if the bleeder valve got jammed. He warned them, but they didn’t listen. Madison asks what he wants. He wants them to listen. They have a mess of their own. He knows they had a bad batch of turnips, and says to tell Nick to check the other crops; weevils are a bitch to get rid of. Madison asks how he knows Nick’s name. He calls out for Chito, and Charlie walks over.

He tells Charlie, sorry he’s late, but he got her some new records. She smiles, and he tells her to get in the bus. He tells Madison that she’s a good kid. They found her a while back; she has a knack for finding good stuff, and they hit the jackpot here. Madison says they’re not taking anything. He tells her people often say that. They don’t take anything from anyone; not anyone alive anyway. He knows they’re good people, and how many guns they have. He says there’s a natural cycle to a place like this, and they’re due for something to go wrong. They can either give them their stuff and live, or join them. Become one of them, or they wait for them to die, trying to make things work. Either way, he ends up with what he wants. It’s not a threat; it’s the way it goes. He tells Madison that his name is Mel, and holds out his hand. She doesn’t reciprocate, and says they’re not going anywhere. Mel says he’s heard that too. She says they’ve been like them, moving from place to place, and they’re not going back to that life; they’ve found a better way. Mel says they just haven’t been tested yet, but they’re about to be. If she changes her mind, they’ll be waiting. I’m wondering where the women are in this merry band.

Nick toils in the fields. Mel and his friends play more music, country this time. The weevils still rule the turnips. Madison continues to hammer. The others put down their guns, and join her. Takeaway point: Country music makes people do carpentry.

Luci goes out to the bus. Charlie watches from the window as she leaves the book outside. Luci goes back, and joins in on the hammering. Nick remembers working on Jeremiah’s house.

Now

Morgan and John are on their knees, with Madison and her group around them. Morgan says, we’re not who you think we are. Nick rifles through Morgan’s knapsack, and Morgan tells him to help himself. Luci says they must be with them, and holds up the numbered flag. Al asks, who? Victor says, the Vultures. Al has no idea what he’s talking about, and says, if you a-holes would put your guns down, we can help each other. Madison asks who put the flag up, and Al asks what is it to them? Alicia tells Al that she’s going to answer their questions. Al says they found it, and Alicia says show them where.

They get into Al’s truck, and move out.

Next time, Morgan and Nick tussle, Alicia fights zombies, and Morgan says it’s not going to work out how they think. And in case you didn’t know, Naomie is being played by Jenna Elfman.

😸 Ha-Ha!

On Talking Dead, when they say goodbye to those we’ve lost this week, they included Nick’s crop, calling them tur-nopes.

🍸 I barely glanced at The Real Housewives of Potomac, but I did see Robyn trying to have some serious words with Ashley about respect. Ashley was wearing a hat – a fascinator no less – the size of Potomac, and I wondered how Robyn could even keep a straight face, much less discuss anything important. This was during a garden party Gizelle had for a book she was writing (via ghostwriter) about pastor’s wives in the Black church, who are called First Ladies. It’s fiction, but loosely based on her own experiences. I’d definitely read that.

🏯 I was watching a mini-marathon of Abandoned episodes on Viceland this morning (I love that show!), and it led to my leaving the TV on when the original 1980 film of The Shining followed. I’ve never thought it was as good as the book, and thought Jack Nicholson seemed crazy from the jump. I would never let him babysit my hotel over the winter. And Shelley Duvall… well, she was Shelley Duvall. The remake (1997) had more of a sporting chance, since it was a mini-series and had more hours to tell the story. Sadly, although I finally got the topiary animals I wanted to see (Stanley Kubrick couldn’t get them to look right on film in the original, so they were scrapped for the maze), it was somewhat tepid, and lacked the intensity of the original Danny (Danny Lloyd) and Dick Halloran (Scatman Crothers). Which brings me to my point. It was pretty much background noise until Scatman was on the screen. While I love looking at the hotel – sometimes the setting can be one of the stars of the film for me – my favorite scene is when Dick connects telepathically with Danny in the pantry, then explains the shining to him. They just seem so real. That it still captivates me after all these years is a testament to their acting skills. SPOILER – if you’re the one person who hasn’t seen this film. That’s what made it even worse that they killed him off, totally changing the end of the story, where he saves the day. I heard there was supposed to be a third time, again for the big screen. Whether that’s the charm or not, remains to be seen.

🎷🚬 The second episode of Southern Charm New Orleans was on tonight. While Charleston is your upscale country cousin, NOLA is your sultry, mysterious maiden aunt, who never ages, but has a portrait upstairs.

🔌 I saw a commercial for Amazon Echo, and it was a father telling Alexa to announce “ready or not” to his kids during a game of hide-and-seek. How lazy can you get????  Unplug now. Save yourself.

🔮 Danny Learns About His Gift…

🌎 Happy Earth Day! 🌍

Apr22

April 21, 2018 – Double the Dead with Catch-up & a Side of Random Thoughts

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What I Watched Today

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

 

I couldn’t do this last week because the wind blew my internet away. But now, I’m all caught up, and if you weren’t, you will be too. Sorry for the different tenses between shows. It just came out that way.

The Walking Dead

Rick wondered how it happened that Carl got bit. Siddiq explained that his mom believed the dead’s souls were trapped. Carl wanted to honor her to gain Siddiq’s trust, and died paying respects to a woman he never knew. Siddiq had a brainfart, and forgot it was dangerous. Which didn’t exactly answer the question.

Ezekiel told Jerry to justify what they’ve lost, be prepared to lose everything. but they weren’t going to lose sh*t. Daryl still thought Dwight could be setting them up. Morgan got weird, thinking that something was happening, and nearly skewered Henry with his pokey stick. Maggie wouldn’t let the stray Saviors come along for the battle. Morgan insisted on coming, even though Rick was skeptical. Morgan said they were worse than they were, and it was wrong for Rick to have given his word, then double-cross the renegade Saviors. They lost everything good, and can’t go back. Morgan wanted to finish it.

Negan told Dwight that he had nothing, and told his guys to load Dwight up. Eugene personally checked and quality controlled all of the ammunition, and Negan tested it on an effigy of Rick. Eugene suggested a one-fell swooper. Negan decided Gabriel should tag along; he had things to confess.

Negan set up a roadblock, using his own people as bait. He told Gabriel that Rick thought he got the real story. Now he’ll find the map with the time and place, and believe it, because he’s going to kill everyone who could have told him otherwise. Sure enough, Rick kills them all, even the last guy begging for his life. Morgan saw Jared in a vision, and he told Morgan that he should try dying sometime. Ezekiel found the map on one of the dead Saviors, and Carol figured they could get to Negan before he knew what happened.

Gabriel was surprised that Negan wanted to kill everyone; he’d thought Negan didn’t want that to happen. Negan told him it wasn’t about want; it never was. Gabriel bounced out of the moving car, but Eugene helped hunt him down. Negan remembered Gabriel saying he didn’t want to die a fruitless death, and told him you can’t always get what you want, while I got a Rolling Stones earworm. He told Eugene to put Gabriel back in the car.

Jesus tried to explain the conundrum of safety to Morgan, and proposed the pokey end of his stick for the dead, and the blunt end for the living. When Rick and company came out into the open, they heard whistling. It looked like the Saviors had Rick’s people outnumbered by about 300%. Negan said he met Rick’s ambush with a bigger one, and to come out and face them. He wanted to make it fun, so he brought some old friends. He told them that Eugene made today possible; the same with Dwight. He told Dwight he was going to watch them die, and live with that. He was going to clean house, starting with Gabriel. He told Rick there never had to be a fight, if he’d just accepted how things are. Negan started to count down, and they looked like the Jun horde from The Beastmaster coming over the top of the mountain.

They joke was on them, because Eugene had quality controlled the bullets to shoot backward, and they shot themselves. Pretty good trick. Rick announced the charge, and there was lots of shooting, but Negan took off. The ex-Saviors Maggie didn’t want there came anyway. A bunch of Saviors who came out of nowhere, nearly nailed the group, but got blown up by the Oceansiders, who’d decided to join in too. The remaining Saviors kneeled in front of Maggie, and said, it’s over.

Rick went after Negan on his own, but ran out of bullets. They kicked each other’s asses for a while, by the tree where Carl is buried. During a break, Negan told Rick he was bullsh*tting with the eenie, meenie, minie, mo business in the beginning. He just didn’t want to kill a kid’s dad in front of him, but if he had, the kid might still be alive. Negan always makes good points. He told Rick he’s bigger, badder, and has a bat. Rick wanted to talk about the future. He told Negan that Carl said there didn’t have to be a fight. Despite looking somewhat weepy, Negan said Carl was wrong, and Rick slit his throat. Surprising the hell out of me, and probably everyone else, although somehow, it seemed anti-climactic and rude.

Everyone was like, whoa, and then, now what? Rick said Negan was still alive, and told Siddiq to save him. Maggie freaked out, saying they had to end it, and it wasn’t over until Negan was dead. Rick said they were all going home. Negan might be alive, but his way of doing things was over. Anyone who couldn’t live with it would pay the price. He said they were going to live in peace and fairness, and find common ground. The world was theirs, but others would come for them unless they stood together. The new world was going to begin, and there had to be something after. Rosita gave props to Eugene for the sabotage, but punched him in the face anyway for the puke.

Morgan gave Carol his pseudo armor for Henry, and walked off. Rick got teary, as Rick is wont to do these days, and said, mercy prevails over the land. He sat where Carl was buried, and cried.

The ex-Saviors decided to go back to the Sanctuary, hoping to get something out of it.  The guy whose name I can never remember told Maggie that he’d been reading the book, and could make some things. He has a passion for building things, and said she gave him his life.

Daryl took Dwight to the woods. Dwight started crying and saying he knew what he did, and knew he’d have to face it and pay. He was ready; it was enough to see Negan taken down. He cried, saying how sorry he was, and Daryl told him to shut up. He tossed Dwight some car keys, and said to keep going. If he saw Dwight again, he’d kill him. As Dwight walked away, Daryl told him to find her. I assumed he meant Sherry.

Gymboree Jadis was reading at the trash heap when Morgan showed up. He told her that Rick said she could come back if she wanted. He explained that Rick wanted to show people that things can change, and needed all the hands he could get. He told her that she didn’t want to be alone, and everything in life worth a damn, is people. She told him her name is Ann, which was kind of a let-down. He told her he needed to be alone, and go back without him, which made perfect sense considering what he’d just said.

Dwight went back home to the cabin in the woods (no, not that one), where he found a note. it just said honeymoon, with an infinity symbol below it.

In Maggie’s office, she told Jesus that he was right. She had no regrets, but he and Rick were right. Rick wasn’t right about Negan though. She said they had to make it thrive for the people who live there. They needed strength, and the ability to defend themselves better, but RIck was wrong; Michonne too. She said they were going to bide their time, wait for the right moment, and then show him. Daryl came out of the shadows, and said, yeah, they will. I don’t like this.

Negan woke up, his neck bandaged, handcuffed to a bed. Michonne said she needed to tell him some things. They planned on making him watch what happens. Rick said it wasn’t about who he killed, but what he did to so many, making them live for him and putting them under the boot. Negan struggled to say, he saves people, and Michonne put her hand on his throat. Rick suggested they could open his stitches for a while. Rick said Carl pitched something better; working together for something bigger than all of them. Michonne added, being an example. They weren’t going to kill or hurt him, but his fate was to rot in a cell for the rest of his life, evidence that they’re making and getting back a civilization like they had. He’ll get to see how wrong he was about what people and life can be. They’ll show people things changed by keeping him breathing. Michonne said after all this, he’s good for something.

Gabriel went to the burned out church and thanked God. He said he understood, and knew now. He’s been given so much, and now he can see.

Rick wrote to Carl. As he wrote, we saw them in the old days, walking down a road. He told Carl that he forgot who he was, and Carl made him remember. He remembered walking with him, and knew who he was for the first time. They were walking side by side, but Carl was bringing him somewhere. To the new world. He made it real. Rick sees it and remembers. Officer Rick and little Carl continued to walk down the road.

Moving right into…

Fear the Walking Dead

Out in the middle of nowhere, a man stands by a truck. He hears something, and asks if anyone is there. He longs to hear someone else’s voice, and suggests they come out and have something to eat. He talks about his life before, and says he can make popcorn. He also has books. He says, since no one is there, before he goes quiet again for another year, he has a story. He talked to a woman who showed up. He let her stay. They had feelings for each other, and one day, they allowed it. He hoped by saying it, he would see it. He did. It was nice, and there hasn’t been a lot of nice. We hear a zombie. The man shoots it, and we see Morgan just behind. The man introduces himself as John Dory, like the fish. He asks Morgan what’s his story?

Morgan is at the trash heap. Jesus knocks at the entrance. He thought they could continue their acquaintance. He insists Morgan cares about people, and tries to get him to come back.

Morgan is alone again. There’s another knock at the entrance, and this time it’s Carol. She asks him to come back. He helped her, so let her help him. She’s not going to tell him what to do, but he belongs with people who care about him.

Again, Morgan is alone. Rick shows up, and says he can hide, but he can’t run. He wouldn’t be alive if not for Morgan. Rick was hurt, and Morgan brought him in. Morgan wasn’t shot, but he’s been hurt. He asks Morgan to come back, and not to waste another second. He’s alive and part of the world. A lot of people are there because he helped them. Morgan says that’s not him anymore. Rick disagrees, saying he’ll end up with people one way or another. He’s part of the world already, so just come back. Rick leaves.

Morgan packs up his stuff, and gets his stick. He takes a long last look at the trash, and moves on down the road. He thinks about Rick’s words, and starts to run. He hotwires a car, and the gas tank is miraculously full. He walks some more. He sees a group of people, and avoids them. He finds another car, and drives again. He goes into a town and sees a cluster of zombies.

He opens a car to find someone who’s sick and shaky. He starts to leave some supplies, but the guy doesn’t want them. Morgan says, sorry. He thought the guy was on his own. The guy says, we all are. Morgan moves along, and it starts to rain.

Morgan comes up behind a zombie in the woods. A shot rings out, the zombie falls, and we’re back to the beginning. John tells Morgan he’d like company, but Morgan is hesitant. John asks if he’s seen a woman with a pistol like his; he’s looking for her. Morgan says he hasn’t, and starts to leave, but John suggests he stay the night; he can take the back of the truck. Morgan sees the wisdom in a good night’s rest. He slips out later while John is snoring.

Morgan finds a tent with a lantern lighting the inside. He sets down his stick and gets whacked in the head. I jump a mile.

Dude tells Morgan, whatever he’s thinking, don’t. Morgan says keep the food, and he’ll go. Dude doesn’t want him telling no one. Morgan says he has no one to tell, and doesn’t want to know anyone. John is suddenly there, and shoots dude in the arm. He says he’s looking out for his friend, and dude says he has friends too. They’re surrounded, and John says now he got himself captured. He’s reminiscent of Eugene in how he speaks.

A big ass truck drives into the tent city, or whatever it is. The woman behind the wheel asks what’s going on, and remarks they have new people. She likes new people. She has a cake and some Cup O’Noodles, the good kind, and she’ll throw in some Pall Malls. Apparently, dude likes Pall Malls. She opens the hatch of the truck to reveal a couple of machine guns. She tells dude, there’s always a choice, and this is an easy one. Morgan and John get in the truck.

The woman’s name is Althea; Al for short. John asks if she’s an officer of the law, and she says, not exactly. She tells them that they owe her. She didn’t save them out of the goodness of her heart. John draws his gun, but she says she just wants to ask them questions. What they’ve seen, who they’ve met, where they’ve been, and where they’re going. She tells them that she’s a journalist, pulls over, and picks up a video camera.

Al interviews John, who talks about Laura. Al asks how they got split up. He says it’s not a happy story, and gets vague. Morgan asks why it matters; there are no news stations anymore. She says he owes her. He tries to give her some food instead, but she only wants his story. He just wants to go. John gives him some clean socks for the road.

Dude comes back with his friends to hassle Al. They want the truck. Dude asks for Morgan’s stick. Morgan slams him with it, and he and john get the better of dude and several of his guys. John gets his gun back. Morgan jumps onto a truck, and John inadvertently lets a bunch of zombies loose. Dude tries to steal Al’s truck, but doesn’t have the keys. Al flings them away, and dude tries to run for them, but a zombie goes after him. Morgan gets shot in the leg by a sniper, who’s been a bad shot up until now. Morgan knocks him around on the roof. The sniper falls off, but hangs onto the ledge, dangling above a gaggle of zombies. Morgan holds out his hand, and pulls him back up. As thanks, the sniper punches Morgan. This is a good example of no good deed going unpunished. They both tumble through the roof. No surprise, Morgan does not help a second time, and gets the hell out. He throws a grenade or something, ducks, and the room blows up. He goes back outside.

John and Morgan shoot and pike zombies. Dude harasses Al for the keys until John finally shoots him, and leaves him for zombie food. Al gets in her truck, opens up the guns, and kills the rest of the zombies. And they all lived happily ever after. Not quite, but they lived.

Al says Morgan still owes her. He tells her to pull over. She films as he talks about Alexandria and the Kingdom. He says there was a big fight, but he left before he left. She asks why he left, but he thinks she should talk. He asks why it’s important, but she doesn’t want to return the favor. She says one real thing, and they’re even. Why did he leave? He tells her that he loses people, then he loses himself. He starts walking down the road again.

Morgan sees the station wagon the sick guy was in, and sees someone walking in the distance. He follows them, but some zombies, feeding by the side of the road, decide to follow Morgan. Since his leg was injured in the fight, he can’t go too fast, and he falls. They’re on him, but John appears once again, and pikes them in the heads.

Morgan needs to know who it is walking up the road. I guess he’s hoping the guy made it, but that’s a no, and he ends up spearing now-zombie guy in the head with his stick. He says he’ll travel with them until his leg heals, and no asking questions. Al says she’s not going to stop, and he says, no answers then. John says she’s taking him to look for Laura in exchange for more story.

Al sees someone in the middle of the road. Both Morgan and John inform her that they don’t kill. She tells them it’s a great moment to share that information. It’s a girl, hunched over. Al asks if she’s injured, and tells Morgan to get the first aid kit. The girl says there are bad people there, then grabs Al in a headlock. It’s Alicia. Victor, Madison, ♫ and the rest ♫, come out from the forest. Al asks what Alicia’s story is.

And there we have it. Until tomorrow night.

🔎 An Observation…

Andrew Lincoln always looks like a businessman on an interview when he’s a guest on Talking Dead.

🎬 Another Thing I Watched…

Mourning Son is a 2015 documentary about the murder of Dave Navarro’s mother, and how it’s affected him throughout his life. It’s also a glimpse into what an incredible artist he is. I had no idea about his background, but always thought he was a very honest and kind man. When Bill Maher was hosting Politically Incorrect – before he fully turned into a mean curmudgeon, and was just working on it – I saw Dave put him in his place when he was talking out of his ass. I’ve admired him ever since. Even more so after seeing this excellent film.

🎆 Right now, I’m (finally) watching Girl’s Trip, and between this and Star, can confirm that Queen Latifah wears more fabulous wigs than the entire cast of The Real Housewives of Atlanta put together.

🛀 Enjoy the Remaining Weekend Like…

Minions

Apr19

April 18, 2018 – Emma the Budding Operative, NYC in the Hamptons, An Observation, Some Star, Serhant Sells Wax & Late

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

In Bern, Anna checks out schools with Emma. Robert shows up, saying sorry he’s late.

Franco sleeps restlessly. Elizabeth wakes him, and tells him, it’s just a dream.

Curtis brings Jordan breakfast at the station. She says she’s been working all night. He asks if she’s had any luck finding Avery or Mike, but she’s had no leads. Since Ava called the FBI, they’ve been working with them, but it’s clearly not a kidnapping. She gets it though. She’s a mom, and thinking your child might be in danger is unbearable.

TJ tells Kiki he posted flyers, and she thanks him. She wants to do something, but doesn’t know what. She’s scared for Avery. She and Mike have been gone all night; anything could have happened.

Maxie meets Nina at Charlie’s. Maxie isn’t sleeping, because it leads to dreaming and fresh heartbreak. Nina wanted to discuss something privately – Peter. Peter walks in, and Maxie says what a coincidence. She wanted to talk to Nina about Peter. He joins them.

Anna asks what Robert is doing there, and he says, helping? She says they’re managing superbly without him. They’ve been to three other schools without a hitch, and oddly, he wasn’t there. He says she can’t be too careful. He assumes they’ve had no luck. Anna says they had a promising lead, but it didn’t pan out, and this is the last school. Emma thinks it’s fun, especially helping Anna to spy. Robert says she’s quite the operative. It sounds like it’s Anna’s last hope, and he asks if she’s giving it up if they don’t find anything.

Anna tells Robert to quit trying to control her with his faux concern. He says the only thing that needs controlling is her obsession with Henrik, and she says she just has loose ends to tie up. If wants to help, stop criticizing, and assist. She tells him that he and Emma are to keep the headmistress busy while she hacks into the system. Standing in front of the laptop on the desk, Emma says it’s already open. The headmistress comes back, and asks Emma what she’s doing at the computer.

Maxie wanted both Nina and Peter to be there; she wants them to get along. Peter says they have a cordial working relationship, and Nina says they’re professionals. Maxie thinks they’re smiling through gritted teeth because of her. Peter says this is a little awkward. Maxie thinks if they get to know each other, it will be easier. They can at least try. They’re both important to her, and she asks them to do it for her and the baby.

TJ tells Kiki that his mom has been working with the FBI all night. Kiki says her mom is probably driving them insane. TJ asks if it’s not supposed to be Kiki’s first day in the Shadow Program. She says she’s supposed to shadow Dr. Bensch, but wishes TJ could take her place.

Jordan tells Curtis that the two most vulnerable types are missing; a child and an aging man with Alzheimer’s. Curtis says after finding out about Jim, his awareness has been heightened. He doesn’t want to miss anything else. He tells her that he’s investigating Peter, and Jordan asks, why? He says maybe Peter isn’t what he seems.

Franco cuddles with Elizabeth. She saw the boys off to school, and came back to bed. Franco says they could stay here all day, but Elizabeth wants to know about his dream. Once again, their cheap sheets are so loud when they’re moving around, it’s hard to hear the dialogue. Does no one check this stuff? Although nothing was worse than when construction was being done near the One Life to Live set. But I digress. Elizabeth says Franco can’t go on like everything is fine. He can’t just keep going like nothing happened. He says he’s put it behind him. She knows he wants it to be over, but it’s not. She adds that it will be, and asks about the nightmare. He dreamed he heard a boy calling for help. She asks if it Drew, but he says it was just a kid, like he was.

Emma tells the headmistress that she’s a fan of the operating system. The headmistress is impressed that she’s familiar with the European system, and apologizes for being short. She takes the students’ privacy seriously. Robert makes introductions, and says “Emelia” is exceptional. They’ve been researching schools, and it’s this is one of the highest rated. The headmistress mentions the theater program, and Emma says she’s also a theater geek. Anna thinks they could make a sizeable contribution to a new theater wing. The headmistress asks Emma if she’s truly ready to go to boarding school. Emma says she’d miss her family, thinks it would be fun; she’s already been to camp. She asks to see the dorm, and the headmistress says it will be on the tour. Her recruit coordinator will be taking them around. Anna says she thought the headmistress would be doing that, but she says she’s busy.

Jordan tells Curtis that Peter has been nothing but cooperative. He says Nina had some suspicions. He thought she was overreacting, but he found some discrepancies in Peter’s background check. Jordan asks why he’s so concerned about Nina, but he says it has more to do with Maxie.

Maxie tells Nina and Peter that she’s close to both of them on a personal and professional level. Maybe if they knew each other better on a personal level, it wouldn’t be so awkward. Peter says he’s game, and would be happy to dispel any doubts Nina has. He doesn’t usually talk about himself; he’s more of a listener. Nina says that’s admirable; most people love to talk about themselves. She’d love to hear about his life.

TJ tells Kiki if they wanted him for the Shadow Program, he’d jump at the chance. She apologizes for being insensitive. She’d thought he had it locked down; his test scores and grades are better than her. she was shocked when she was chosen. He says, no disrespect, but so was he. The committee saw something that made a difference, and asks if she knows why they chose her. She flashes back to David saying he has the deciding vote.

Franco tells Elizabeth that when he cornered Jim at the studio, he forced him to write down all the names of the kids he abused. He shows Elizabeth the list, and she asks if he’s sure it’s real. Jim was afraid for his life; maybe he made it up. Franco says he watched Jim write it, and he knew them by heart.

Anna tells the headmistress that “Emelia” obviously has her choice of other schools, and they were shown around by the headmistress at the others. Emma says they should just go, suggesting she be enrolled in one of the others. The headmistress says she’ll have her meeting postponed, and escort them herself. Anna pretends to feel dizzy, and explains she has a rare blood disorder. She tells them go on ahead while she rests. The headmistress tells her to make herself comfortable. As soon as they leave, Anna gets on the laptop.

Peter says he was never good at first dates, and Maxie tells him at least it’s not a blind date; they know each other. Peter says he knows as little about Nina as she knows about him. Maxie ask her to share, but Nina says there’s not much to share. When she was pregnant, her mother told her that her husband was having an affair. She fell apart, and was in a coma for twenty years. When she woke up, she kidnapped a baby, and was institutionalized. She tells him about her other two marriages, and says Crimson fell into her lap. She and Maxie turned it around, and now she has a man who loves her, and a daughter, and a pending niece or nephew who Nathan would have adored, had he not been shot by his father.

Kiki tells TJ it didn’t feel right. She would have turned it down, but was told she would look angry and unprofessional. TJ says he wouldn’t expect her to turn it down. They must have been looking for something else. She works there, and the doctors see her all the time. He thinks he should volunteer more. Kiki says, maybe. He tells her not to worry; he’s happy for her. She says under other circumstances, she’d be happy too, but with a missing sister, she wishes she could take the day off. TJ doesn’t think she’d be faulted if she did.

Elizabeth says there are so many boys on the list; their innocence destroyed and scarred for life. She wonders how it’s affected their thinking, their choices, and hearts, and how they can trust anyone. Franco says maybe they got lucky; he did. Maybe they have someone like her in their lives. She says he’s the one who remembered and confronted Jim, but he says not soon enough. Elizabeth says maybe they’re grown and got help and healed. Franco says maybe they’re still haunted and suffering, the way he is. She asks what he’s doing with the list.

Anna finds a match in the school records. She hears them coming back.

Peter says he didn’t have a normal, happy childhood. His mother wasn’t around, and his dad shipped him to boarding school. He attended several, but came to. He talks about living in Milan, but Nina catches him when he claims to have lived in the center of the city, since she’s more familiar with it than he is.

Curtis tells Jordan that there should be a living situation on record, but it’s like Peter didn’t exist before he turned twenty-one. Jordan suggests he came from a wealthy family who was protecting him against publicity, but Curtis thinks no internet presence is odd. He thinks maybe the records of the offshore companies he worked for were doctored, and Jordan says even big companies do it to protect people. Curtis says there’s no birth record. He asks if she can check to see if Peter is in the witness protection program.

David (aka Dr.Bensch) asks if Kiki is ready. She explains her little sister is missing, and wonder if they could postpone.

Franco doesn’t know what he’s going to do with the list yet. She asks if he thinks they don’t deserve to know Jim is dead; they might be relieved. He says he doesn’t know how to track them down, but she says there are plenty of ways. He asks what if they don’t want to be found or reminded? What if they’re like him, and tried to bury everything. She says then they’ll deal like he did, but it’s up to them. Franco thinks then he’d be the bad guy, dumping everything in their laps. Elizabeth thinks maybe he doesn’t want to talk about it. He says he didn’t remember because didn’t want to give words to something that shouldn’t be spoken. He couldn’t even tell himself. How can he be the voice for all these people?

The headmistress says the tour isn’t over not yet, but she wanted to know if Anna has recovered enough to go with them. Anna says she hasn’t, but feel free to continue. Emma says she’s good, and got what she wanted; they can go. She looks pointedly at Anna.

Jordan asks Curtis, why? He says, for him. It’s a paid job, but concerns someone he cares about. Peter works for Drew, who’s going through hell. He’d hate to see Drew lose his business. Should he keep digging or will she help him?  She makes a call. She tells someone they told her to call if she needed a favor. She just needs a yes or no.

Elizabeth understands the shame and shock. It took a while for her to recover from being raped. She was afraid and angry, and shut down. People helped her through it, like she’s there to help him. She tells him there’s no rush getting through it; it takes time. He needs to take care of himself and heal, then decide about the list. She says he needs to remember he’s far from evil. He didn’t try to kill Drew; he tried to protect him. He was lied to and manipulated, and the one person who should have protected him, failed him. None of it is his fault. He’s free of all of it. He tells her he loves her, and someday, this will be behind them. She knows and will be right there – always – whatever he needs. He says all he needs is her.

David tells Kiki that he heard about it on the news. She says they’re extraordinary circumstances, or she wouldn’t ask. He says it’s too bad she’s having a personal conflict on the first day, but in order to be an effective physician, she can’t let it get in the way of treating patients. She’s learning this on her first day. Kiki wants to be there for her mother, but David asks if she’s essential, or if there’s anything she can do to locate her sister. She admits there isn’t, and he says then her career comes first. They have trained people looking, and she can’t do more to help. The only thing she could do, is hold her mother’s hand. He tells her they’re late for rounds. She asks if he’s doing this because she rejected him.

Peter says where he was, was the center of the city for him, since his office was there. As for love interests, he never stayed any place long enough to find anyone. Maybe if he stays in Port Charles, there will be. Maxie asks why he wouldn’t be staying. What opportunity might lure him away? Nina gets a text, and has to go. Maxie asks if they’re copacetic. Peter says he’s good, and Nina says she has no problem with Peter except for his stinginess with the budget. Nina leaves, and Maxie says that didn’t go as expected. Peter says it was a kind gesture, and appreciated.

Outside of the office, Anna tells Emma that she needs more time. Emma says when they were in the library, Robert was a decoy for her, and she found the school’s production of Julius Caesar. There was an Henri Francoise in the cast, and she thinks it might be Henrik. Robert says Emma is cunning and can get out of a tight spot. She says it’s in her DNA; she comes from long line of spies.

Franco and Elizabeth get busy. There’s a song part. I try to get my email, which is messed up today. The cherry on my internet cake for the week.

David tells Kiki that he’s set their misunderstanding aside, and expects her to show maturity. Not everything is about her. He tells her not to squander the opportunity. They have work to do – unless she wants to wallow in her personal problems.

Curtis tells Nina there’s no record of Peter before he was twenty-one, and his professional records are superficial. There could be a legit reason, but there are also illegitimate reasons. He says to act natural, and don’t tip him off. Keep her suspicions to herself, and don’t tell Maxie; just be there for her. He repeats not to tell Peter anything, and Nina says she just kind of did that.

Maxie insists on picking up the check. She asks what Peter meant about a better offer, and if he wants to leave Port Charles. He says he’s never put down roots or made friends anywhere. He came to do a job, but he might be getting a life too.

Anna says Emma is right; all the dates match up. Emma tells her that all students are encouraged to take part in the theater program. She thought it sounded like something Henrik would be in, because his father’s name was Cesar. Robert thinks Emma’s powers of deduction are frightening. They look at the cast picture. Anna says she can’t tell anything yet, but she will. She swears she’ll find him.

Tomorrow, Drew asks about Franco, Kim is where she wants to be, and Carly asks Griff what’s going on.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Sonja packs for the Hamptons. She remarks to ex-assistant Lulu that everyone her age is going to jail. She doesn’t want to be photographed dancing on tables, and have her daughter see it on Instagram.

Carole usually stays at Bethenny’s, but her house is full, so she’s staying with Tinsley.

Bethenny puts Groucho Marx nose/glasses on her dogs. She calls her brand manager, making sure things are in order for the weekend. In her interview, she says Carole and Tinsley are thick as thieves.

Sonja hasn’t even gotten on the bus – a Jitney, whatever that is – and she’s exhausted.

Dorinda almost runs over a Con Ed guy. Which most New Yorkers probably want to do. Carole says Ramona is throwing her a marathon party. She tells them it’s like a blur to her; she was in so much pain. Carole says she heard Sonja called Tinsley a whore. In her interview, Tinsley says it’s news to her that a guy is paying her way. It’s upsetting, and making her angry. She tells them it’s defamatory and ridiculous. Dorinda says she was blindsided. Sonja is nasty-nice, cutting your throat while smiling; then you see blood on you. Carole tells them to forget she’s mean. Tinsley talks about confronting her, but not right away, and Carole says, it’s going to be a fun weekend.

LuAnn always had cars for the children, and is thrilled to be driving a Mercedes. She goes to a gourmet store to get a gift basket for Bethenny, and picks up some stuff for brunch. Sonja calls, saying she’s in South Hampton. She’s going to pick up her car that she leaves there. LuAnn says Sonja’s laundry list is crazy. She can’t imagine calling a hostess with a list that long. She wants to blend her own smoothies, so LuAnn picks up a blender as well.

Ramona thinks her car is like her – sexy and powerful, with a lot of energy. Is it annoying too? A friend has recommended an artist to her, and she has him bring over some paintings, since she’s redoing her house. She makes him move some furniture while he’s there. And set up her TV.  Wtf is with these spoiled women?

Sonja arrives with her dog. A dog whose hair has been dyed. LuAnn presents the Ninja blender. Sonja says normally, it would be a case of wine and a twenty-year-old, now it’s juices and a blender. They talk about the trip to Mexico, and we flash back to LuAnn drunkenly falling in the bushes. Sonja says she’s not hearing from Tinsley. In her interview, LuAnn says Sonja can be irritating, but Tinsley can be like a spoiled brat. Sonja thinks that Tinsley reacts like she would with her mother, and hides. She doesn’t want Sonja in her business. LuAnn talks about the marathon party. Sonja says she texted Carole after the marathon, and got a THX a few days later. LuAnn says same with her, but hers was spelled out.

Ramona picks paintings, and Tinsley, Carole, and Dorinda arrive. In her interview, Dorinda says Ramona is doing the right thing by getting rid of the man stuff in the house after the divorce. You shouldn’t smell, hear, see, or touch it. Ramona talks about getting the wrong bed because she clicked on the wrong style online. Translation: She was too lazy to actually look at what she was buying.

Bethenny is ten minutes late for the 8:30 dinner, but no one else is there. She’s worried no one is showing for her party, and sits alone at the table, the other restaurant patrons looking at her. At nine, the ladies begin to trickle in, and not one of them says sorry. Tinsley doesn’t want to sit next to Sonja, and in her interview, Bethenny says the table is the size of a postage stamp. Everyone is sitting next to Sonja. Tinsley totally ignores Sonja. In her interview, Bethenny says Sonja didn’t get the memo. Tinsley is clearly pissed about something. Dorinda tells LuAnn that Sonja is harmful, and fills her in on what she said about Tinsley. She tells LuAnn that Sonja says it with a smile. In her interview, LuAnn doesn’t know who’s supporting Tinsley, but she doesn’t ask those questions.

Luann tells Carole the marathon was a great accomplishment. Sonja complains about Carole’s reply to her text. Bethenny says she never got a reply, but didn’t take it personally. She and Carole get in a disagreement about if and when Bethenny’s text was sent. In her interview, Ramona says it’s a whole new Carole, and she’s found her voice. She’s usually the only one who will contradict Bethenny.  Bethenny pulls out her phone. Carole says she was wrong about the time, but she did reply. In her interview, Bethenny says that it’s hard for Carole to take criticism, even when you’re just making a comment. Tinsley says none of them even showed up at the marathon.

Bethenny says LuAnn isn’t doing badly. LuAnn says she should have heeded Bethenny’s warning, but she couldn’t see. We flash back to the Countess of Denial. I pick myself up off the floor, since she seems truly humbled. She says she was in love and was blind. Bethenny doesn’t want her to feel like she has to say anything, but LuAnn wants to say she was right. In her interview, Bethenny says she didn’t know this moment was coming. Let her get ready. In her interview, LuAnn says, in retrospect, she realizes she didn’t see clearly. She stood by her man, and he watched her fall. She says it’s like a Greek tragedy. In her interview, Bethenny says, farce, satire, and a lot of words fit, but tragedy isn’t one of them. LuAnn says Tom couldn’t handle being married. In her interview, LuAnn says she doesn’t regret anything. We learn and grow from our mistakes. Dorinda says good thing she cut her losses and got out. LuAnn says she just wants to move on. Sonja whines about her not bringing it up, and LuAnn repeats that she wants to move on. Ramona says sometimes it’s good to talk to people who care, but respects her not talking about it. Tinsley says she wasn’t being mean, just trying to help. She talks about Scott, and says he didn’t offer her the option to move, but now he’s willing to jump back in. In her interview, she says they’ve been talking. Not full-on back together, but she thinks it’s a step toward it. Somehow, Tinsley has taken her bra off from underneath her large sweater. Most of us know these tricks, and I applaud. In her interview, Bethenny says, cue the music.

LuAnn sings Happy Birthday. In her interview, Bethenny says not everyone gets a Marilyn Monroe birthday performance, but I’m not sure what that was. A plate of several different desserts like brownies and blondies comes out, with a candle in the middle of it. In her interview, Bethenny says no one is taking the evening too seriously; it’s her type of birthday. They put on Groucho glasses, and dance around.

Carole doesn’t believe anything bad will happen, so she doesn’t lock her door. Now everyone knows that. I’m starting to rethink Carole. She and Tinsley meet Bethenny for lunch. They discuss egg freezing. In her interview, Bethenny says Carole isn’t as excited to see her as she used to be. She’s not Carole’s plus one right now. Tinsley says her mom wanted her to freeze eggs that were younger then forty, and basically forced her to do it. Bethenny says people tolerate Ramona, and Carole says LuAnn is a dark cloud and an ominous presence. Wow. I thought she was just a drunk ex-Countess. In her interview, Bethenny says Carole can’t stand LuAnn.

LuAnn bakes pies. Sonja wears LuAnn’s slippers, and is glad she’s not like Dorinda, who was not happy when Sonja raided her closet. Dorinda and Ramona arrive. They talk about Tinsley ignoring Sonja at dinner.

Bethenny asks what Tinsley is mad about, and Tinsley fills her in about what Sonja said. In her interview, Bethenny says kept woman is the next step after socialite, although I don’t think that’s true. Tinsley says Sonja makes it sound like she’s an escort.

LuAnn and the others sit to eat. Sonja talks about taking antidepressants because she’s high strung. In her interview, Dorinda says everything there is to be suffered, Sonja owns it. She’s the only one who’s done anything of worth. Ramona remarks about how defensive Carole and Bethenny were. LuAnn thinks there’s been a change in the dynamic. Dorinda says Carole has changed, and LuAnn says marathons will do that. They give you a sense of empowerment.

Carole says she wasn’t angry at Bethenny, just correcting her. In her interview, Bethenny is excited about the house she bought. It’s not far from the restaurant, and they’re walking over.

Ramona whines about renovations, and Sonja says something about Ramona being involved with the contractor. Ramona doesn’t like it when Sonja makes up stuff. Dorinda asks how Sonja would like it if they just made things up? In her interview, Sonja says Ramona makes fast friends when she needs something, then dumps them. Dorinda goes on a tear, chattering away nonsensically the way Sonja does. In her interview, Dorinda says she wants Sonja to be present. Sonja says she’s not making it up, and Ramona says she is. In her interview, Ramona says Sonja has been missing in action, and she’s not making sense. Ramona suggests they make a pact to be more considerate of each other’s feelings. I laugh. Sonja says she doesn’t express her feelings well; she’s sensitive. LuAnn says Sonja has been through a lot. Dorinda says, stop with the baloney. She buried a husband, and Sonja acts like the world came to an end because hers left her eleven years ago. She tells Sonja not to compare the two. He left her. She was screwing around in the south of France, and he married her friend.

To be continued…

Next time, Bethenny visits the new house, Dorinda and Ramona both demand an apology from Sonja, and Tinsley screeches at Sonja.

🌴 Because I have nothing better to do, and The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills was on in the background, I was thinking about how LVP didn’t use Dorit in the photo shoot for the jewelry in Beverly Hills Lifestyle. LisaR tried to stir the pot, by asking was it the photographer or really LVP who didn’t want to use Dorit? The photographer definitely said he did not want to use Dorit because she’d badmouthed the photos. And she did. She said they were terrible, and she didn’t like anything about them. You might think, who cares, as long as he likes them, and the magazine is happy about them, but I thought of something else. It could be the photographer is just a temperamental artist, but the magazine might be concerned she’d give them bad press, especially since her comments were shown on the program. Dorit needs to quit being offensive, and then being offended when there are repercussions. Yep, this is the kind of thing I think about.

⭐ On Star, Carlotta told Star and Alex they were both messed up, and the common denominator was Noah. Alex realized she couldn’t live next door to Derek and focus on the tour, and Carlotta told her to do what she had to. Carlotta told Maurice that Take 3 needed a hot track, and she’d found an old one for them to use. He decided to have the group and Noah both do demos, and Maurice picked Noah to do the track.

Simone suggested Angel come live at the salon. Carlotta agreed, but later found them getting busy in her new wig room. They weren’t the only ones getting busy, since Angel walked in on his mom and Jahil revisiting their history in more ways than one. Paola decided to go back to her husband, telling Jahil that he was her first love, but can’t be her last.

At the reopening party for the salon, Star and Miss Ruby nearly had a throw down, after which Star got seriously drunk. Jackson took her to a bar, but called Maurice to come and get her. She told Maurice that she’d killed her mother, but didn’t remember it the next day. Maurice offered her another song, but she said she didn’t want a pity track. Alex had seen Derek with someone else at the party, and also saw that he could move. Noah had apologized for coming between them, but since that wasn’t a problem anymore, Alex and Noah got busy in the RV. Lots of that going around tonight.

Simone told Star that she can’t help it if she’s white, and to ignore Miss Ruby. During the party clean-up, Miss Ruby said she could handle Star’s ass, having survived abuse at the hands of white people. She’s not so sure Star is white anyway. So, I guess that was a truce.

A woman knocked at the salon door, looking for her son’s father, Arnold. Cotton told her he’s not there anymore. Next time, Cotton deals with being a father. Throughout the episode, Queen Latifah wore a modern version of a 50s bob, with the subtlest, most beautiful, purple highlights.

💲 This week on Sell It Like Serhant, Ryan helped sell waxing memberships to hairy New Yorkers. He told us that Mariel had sparkle, but no self-confidence. That was putting it mildly, since she could barely get through a sales pitch. The owner said she was opening a new spot, and if Mariel wasn’t up to speed by the time she did, she was going to let her go. Mariel told Ryan that waxing freaks her out. Ryan thought it was the weirdest thing ever after talking to a potential client himself (and selling a membership), but weirder for the person walking in. After she almost gave up passing out flyers, Ryan had a heart-to-heart with Mariel, who said she’d moved to NYC from LA with her boyfriend. Then whined that she had no one. Her parents told her that she had to make it on her own (much like Mary Tyler Moore, but without the spunk). Planning on managing the salon when the boss went to the new location, she told Ryan that her goal was to be an entrepreneur – a term thrown around so much, I don’t even know what it means anymore. Even though she wasn’t that enthusiastic about the business, she didn’t want to switch lanes when she’s halfway there. Her parents sounded sensible, but she struck me as spoiled as far as her expectations of life in the city went. She made it sound like life was lonely and torturous. Her apartment was a million times nicer than my first one, and after living with roommates I didn’t know well, I lived by myself. Somehow, Muriel got it together at a sales event. Ryan wanted to settle for three subscriptions, but the boss wanted five. The takeaway sales point was to never take no for an answer. Muriel’s sales have increased by 60%, so there you go. Next time, it looks like Ryan helps out a cabin salesman, although clips of a gym and some lumberjacking confused me.

🎶 An Appropriate Song Title…

 

 

 

Apr16

April 15, 2018 – My Day Sux Big Time

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What I watched today was, unfortunately, not much of anything. Sadly, thanks to Verizon, I have no internet, TV, or phone (borrowed this one). While it’s been fun watching the DVD of The Beastmaster with commententary, and several extra features from my set of Downton Abbey DVDs, it’s killing me that I won’t be able to see The Walking Dead/Fear the Walking Dead crossover, much less recap them. Quell disappointment! Hopefully, I’ll be back in business tomorrow and will be able to catch  up On Demand. If I can, I’ll do a mini-cap. Until then, enjoy your TV watching without me.

<SOB!>

 

Apr12

April 11, 2018 – Franco’s Okay You’re Okay, The Day After the Party, Some Star, Some Serhant, a Puzzlement & Pet Day

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Jason visits Anna. He has news about their search, and wanted to tell her in person.

Peter finds Valentin in his office with his feet us on the desk. Valentin says Peter hasn’t been returning his calls. If he didn’t know better, he’d think Peter was avoiding him.

Nina calls Curtis, and asks what’s going on? She says he had time to cash the check, and tells him patience isn’t her strong suit, but she’ll hang on. Maxie comes by. She thought something terrible happened, and asks what the hell?

Elizabeth sees Franco at the hospital. He says he’s feeling sore, and she tells him it will probably take a while. He asks what about the rest of him, and she thinks even longer. He asks how Jake is, and she says, fine, considering. She’s glad Jim is dead. Franco was a little boy, and should have been focusing on Lego. Star Wars, and playing with his brother. Jim was a disgusting excuse for a human being, but didn’t break Franco; Franco won. Franco says it doesn’t feel like it, but she tells him it will. He just needs to get there. She tells him he’s being released. The boys are on break, and are excited to have him home; so is she. Franco says he wants that more than anything, but can’t.

Elizabeth thought after getting answers, Franco would be ready. He thought so too. He knows for certain that he’s not the despicable person Jim tried to convince him that he was; he’s not evil. He wasn’t trying to hurt Drew. Elizabeth says he was trying to protect him, so why? He tells her that he has things he needs to sort out before he’s comfortable in her home. It’s hard to explain, but he doesn’t feel like he knows his place. She says his place is with her and the boys; they miss him. He misses them too. Elizabeth says the man he was trying to be and scared he wasn’t, was him. She always believe it, and he has proof now. He was good when he was little, and he’s good now. Franco pinky swears that he’ll do everything he can to heal. She says he can heal at home, but he asks her to trust him on this one. She says she’s always trusted him. They exchange I love yous.

Maxie wants to know why Nina didn’t show up for their appointment. When she wasn’t in the office, Maxie thought Nina was meeting her at the hospital, but she wasn’t there either. She didn’t get any messages, and asks why Nina was a no show. Nina says because Maxie broke up with her. She says that Maxie said there was too much Nathan between them, but Peter has no connection. Maxie says he kind of does.

Valentin asks why Peter hasn’t returned his calls. Peter says he’s been busy; he’s still busy. Valentin says he’s been busy too, listening to Lulu. She came by, saying she’s trying to unearth Henrik aka Peter. Peter says it’s her stab at apologizing to Maxie, and thinks it’s a waste of time. It’s not going to happen; he’s on it. He’s her boss, and if she gets too close, he’ll throw her off. Valentin tells him Lulu is the least of their problems.

Jason tells Anna about talking to the publishing company. They don’t know PK Sinclair’s real identity, but the money is going to a bank account in Zurich. Anna say that’s near where she thinks Henrik went to school. She says she’ll pursue that avenue, while he follows the money. She asks about him looking for Henrik’s mother. Jason says Anna is clearly uncomfortable about that; why?

Doc tells Franco that he heard about last night. Franco says, good times. Doc says it was quite the roller coaster, and Franco thanks him for helping Jake through the trauma. Doc says Jake is a remarkable, resilient child. He says Jim is dead; Drew shot him, and Franco says, that’s the short of it. Doc asks, what’s the long? Franco tells Doc he put Jim in the trunk of a car and took him to the studio. He relived what happened that night, and it all came back to him in horrible, vivid detail. Doc asks what he remembers, and Franco says, everything. Jim came to his room, night after night, saying he was a good boy, but only if he kept his mouth shut. His mom had a lot to deal with, and it was their little secret. Doc says Jim sexually abused Franco. Franco says Jim told him that he loved him. He was fatherless and needed a man in his life. Maybe he was right; maybe he encouraged it. He didn’t stop him, and could have told someone. Doc says he was a child; a small, helpless, defenseless child. He had no way to process it. Franco says he knew it was wrong. Doc says, of course it felt wrong. Jim knew what he was doing, and how to keep him quiet. He’s to blame, not Franco; never him.

Nina says Maxie gave her a whole speech about how she didn’t want to be near people connected to Nathan. She was hurt, but understood. Now Nathan has a connection to Peter? Maxie says maybe it’s the wrong word; it’s more like, reminiscent. Nina asks if Peter reminds Maxie of Nathan. Maxie says in the way he moves, and sometimes his gestures; maybe it’s a thirty-something-year-old guy thing. Nina asks if she’s attracted to him, but Maxie says she just sees similarities. Nina asks why Peter didn’t go to the appointment, and Maxie says she didn’t ask; she thought she was going with Nina. Nina says she asked him to sleep on her couch. She doesn’t know him. The problem is, no one does. Maxie insists she does.

Peter says Anna and Jason will get nowhere; he’s thoroughly covered his tracks. Valentin says he doesn’t know that. They’re well-trained, and with the manuscript, he might as well have left a trail of bread crumbs. They know what they’re doing, and he’s playing with fire. Peter says he’s the only one who stands to get burned. Valentin says if Peter thinks he won’t be affected, think again.

Anna thinks she and Jason should respect Henrik’s mother’s privacy. She probably has a whole other life and family. Why drag her out? She asks if he’s sending Spinelli, but Jason says he’s working a different angle. He’s dealing with this himself. Anna says she’s going with him.

Franco explains that when he pushed Drew, he wanted Drew to hide, but Drew didn’t want to go by himself. Franco couldn’t go because of Jim, and Drew wouldn’t go down the stairs, so he pushed him. Doc says he was trying to help Drew, not hurt him, and Franco says he wanted to make sure Jim couldn’t do to Drew what he’d done to him. Doc says he protected his best friend; it’s incredible for a child that age. He says it’s a lot to process, but they’ll work through it. He can rest easy that he’s not damaged in the way he thought. He’s good and decent. Franco says, what if he’s not? What if what Jim did took a lasting toll? What if he’s a danger to Elizabeth’s boys?

Franco tells Doc he went online, and Doc says that was his first mistake. Franco says children who are abused grow up to be abusers. Doc says they can, but the majority don’t. Franco asks what if he’s in the almost category. Doc says he told Franco about his twin who was abused by their mom. He grew up to be a violent criminal, but he wasn’t the only one who suffered. Franco says he’s sorry, adding that Doc seems pretty normal. Doc doesn’t know about that, but a lot of work and therapy put the trauma in the past where it belongs. Franco asks what if he’s not so lucky, and Doc asks if he’s ever looked at Elizabeth’s sons inappropriately. He’s not going to suddenly morph into a predator. Franco says he already has.

Nina asks Maxie, who is Peter? Where did he grow up? Who is his family? Is he vegan? Besides being a gym rat and a bean counter, he’s a mystery. Maxie says they have similar backgrounds with parents who were absent. Outside of work, he eats alone and watches old sitcoms because he wishes he had a family like that. He’s an unexpected friend, and for whatever reason, brings her comfort. Shouldn’t that be a good thing?

Valentin says Peter has known him long time, but he’s changed a lot. He’s a father now, and married. He likes his life, and doesn’t want Peter to mess it up. If Nina finds out he’s been protecting Peter, he’ll lose her forever. Peter asks when this became about him, and Valentin says every time he’s had Peter’s back over and over again. Staying focused on Peter, he’s risking his life. Jason will find him. Peter says he doesn’t know that. Valentin asks why Peter let him live? He was the perfect candidate to kill Peter’s father, and he did. Now, he’s looking for Peter. Every day he digs the hole deeper with Maxie, and it’s going to end badly.

Jason tells Anna that she has Emma. She asks if he can’t wait a week, but he says he’s not putting it off. He can’t get back the five years, but he needs to know why. Anna says they know he was raised by a terrible man, but they also know he has the potential for good. He kept Jason alive. Jason says that means nothing, but Anna thinks it does. Henrik has the right to know that he might have inherited a fatal disease. Jason says he’ll tell him when he finds him, and Anna asks if that will be after he shoots him. Jason says he won’t shoot him on sight, but Anna says he will if he thinks Henrik is a threat, and their definitions of that are distinctly different. She knows he’ll find Henrik, and all she asks is that she’s with him when he does.

Franco tells Doc to look at the heinous things he did. People have been calling him a predator for years. Doc says what he did when he had the tumor is in no way related. Franco thinks it’s a large coincidence, but Doc says his behavior was medically explained, and since the tumor was removed, he’s been a model citizen. He’s committed to Elizabeth and her kids, and they feel safe with him. That’s indicative of who he is now; actions speak louder than words. That he was molested is a horrible and heartbreaking fact, but in no way means he’s be bad as an adult. Doc tells him to ask Elizabeth or her boys. They would say just the opposite, and for what it’s worth, so would he.

Jason says Anna wants to be there so he doesn’t kill Henrik. She agrees, and he asks what makes her think she could stop him? She says he holds her opinion in high enough regard to consider it. She doesn’t think he’s a mindless killing machine; he has a conscience. They’ve often been on opposite sides, but he respects her, maybe because of Robin. He says it’s not just Robin. She says she didn’t think so, and suggests they find Henrik together and deal with him. Jason says he does respect her, but asks that she respect him enough to tell him what’s really going on. She says whatever she can’t disclose, she has her reasons. He understands, but wants to be honest with her. When he finds Henrik, if it looks like he’s picking up where Faison left off, he’s going to shut him down. Emma comes downstairs.

Maxie tells Nina that she didn’t mean to hurt her feelings. Nina says she didn’t, and Maxie’s comfort is her top priority. Maxie says, just not with Peter; Nina wants it to be with her. Nina apologizes if she’s being selfish. Maxie says it’s not, and she is with her most of the time; it just can’t be all the time. Peter isn’t as invested; it’s easier to breathe around him. Nina gets it. It’s like her and Valentin.

Valentin tells Peter that sooner or later, someone will ask why Faison was at Crimson. He wasn’t there for Maxie; he was there for Peter. He knew Peter had double-crossed him, and wanted to kill him. The whole chain of events falls on him, and his issues with his father. Peter says he thinks about his part in this all the time. He wishes Nathan was still alive, but all he can do is help his widow and child. Valentin says then he needs to get out of Port Charles as soon as possible.

Nina tells Maxie that she’s an emotional, volatile person. Maxie says she’s noticed. Nina says since Nathan died, she vacillates wildly between okay and losing her you-know-what all over, usually with Valentin. His response is always something amazing. Maxie says she’s lucky, and Nina says he wouldn’t be able to be that way if he was grieving too. He’s sad and empathetic, but it’s not a personal loss. Peter is probably the same way. Maxie is glad she understands. Nina is still her birthing coach, but Maxie asks if she could ease up on Peter a little.

Peter tells Valentin that he’s not going anywhere. Valentin says, if he stays, there are two alternatives; get caught and killed or exposed. Peter says it’s his risk to take. He likes his life too, and he’s not giving it up because Valentin thinks he should. Valentin says it’s worse than he thought. This is all about Maxie. Peter has fallen for her.

Emma asks what Anna and Jason are talking about, and Jason says they’re planning a trip to Switzerland. Anna tells her that they’re working on a project, but it’s going to have to wait a few days. Emma says she’d like to go along. In class, everyone was assigned to research a country and give an oral report, and she got Switzerland. She tells them some facts about the country, and Anna says it’s a good start. Emma says how cool would it be to actually go there> Anna says it’s a working trip, but Emma says she loves helping her spy. She leaves to get a snack, and Jason asks Anna if she’s really thinking about it. Anna makes a maybe-I-am face.

Elizabeth is waiting for Franco. She knows it’s scary to have been through what he was, but she knows he’s not one of those people. He would never hurt the boys. He tells her that’s what Doc said. She asks if he believes Doc, and he does. She asks if he has any doubts, and he says he has no fears or hesitations. She and the boys are the best hing that’s happened to him. She says he’s made their family complete. He kisses her, and she asks if he’s coming home. He says, yes, and they hug. Everyone is happy, including me.

Maxie tells Nina that Peter isn’t trying to replace Nathan; no one can do that. Nina says Nathan is irreplaceable. Maxie says Peter seems genuine in wanting to know about Nathan. Maybe Nina could tel him some stories. He’d like that, and it might help her too. Nina says, Maxie wins; she’ll give him a chance. Maxie says she won’t regret it. They can make up the class this afternoon. Maxie leaves, and Nina calls Curtis again. She tells him that he’s right; there’s nothing there. She starts to tell him to call off the investigation, and listens. She says, he found dirt on Peter?

Peter tells Valentin not to be ridiculous; Maxie is his brother’s widow. Her child is his only family. Valentin says he’s lived his whole life without one, but Peter says maybe he’s ready for that to change. Valentin says she doesn’t even know who he is, and Peter says it’s better than nothing. Valentin hopes it doesn’t blow up in their faces. Peter says, him too, and remembers Maxie saying he has a unique connection to Nathan, having been there when Nathan was shot, and saying she doesn’t know why he was there that day.

Anna tells Jason to think about it. With a child along, they’ll be less conspicuous. He doesn’t know why she thinks Robin would be okay with it. Anna says where else could Emma be safer than with the two of them? I don’t know. Maybe anywhere?

Tomorrow, Griff plans to destroy the test, Lulu is dropping the investigation, and Carly has a change in plans.

The Real Housewives of New York City

Tinsley meets Ramona and Carole for drinks. Carole is hung over. They talk about the Halloween party. Carole insists LuAnn darkened her skin for her Diana Ross costume, although no one seems to care. I don’t care. I think LuAnn is pretty much clueless about everything, so why bother?

Bethenny gets a snowman cake plate from Dorinda, and says Dorinda is destined to make her a hoarder. In her interview, Dorinda says she and Bethenny got together in the summer; she was intrigued by what Bethenny was doing in Puerto Rico. Bethenny tells Dorinda that she and LuAnn hung out until the wee hours after the party. Dorinda says now that she unloaded the baggage, LuAnn can be herself.

Ramona wonders why LuAnn didn’t talk more about Tom, but Carole is sick of it. In her interview, Carole says LuAnn holds her friends to a higher standard than herself. Ramona says Bethenny attacked her over her opinion about Bethenny’s investment property. Like she’s entitled to one. We flash back to that.

In her interview, Bethenny says Ramona needs an imbecile-ectomy. Ha-ha! As long as she can feel like she’s better than everyone else, she’s happy. Dorinda says she’s staying with Ramona in the Hamptons. Bethenny says she just wants to have a nice dinner there for her birthday. They talk about Sonja, and how antisocial she was at the party.

Ramona is going to have a party for Carole after the marathon. She’s impressed, since Carole never worked out once in fifty years. I agree. My Nikes are off to her. Ramona gets a call from Kirk, her restaurant owner friend, who did her daughter’s graduation party. She asks him to help her on Saturday night.

Sonja meets Dorinda for a walk. Sonja is surprised Dorinda remembered, since they’d made plans at the party and she was pretty hammered. Dorinda likes Sonja, but they get off track, so she’s going to try not to let Sonja trigger her. Sonja talks about being in Costa Rica; resting, juicing, and doing yoga. She tells Dorinda about taking an antidepressant for a while. In her interview, Dorinda thinks Sonja shouldn’t be on anything but vegetables and rest. They discuss the party. Sonja says she thinks Tinsley felt like Sonja shadowed her when they lived together. Dorinda says Sonja was too critical. Sonja says they text. She doesn’t want to tell Tinsley, I told you so, now that she’s living in a hotel. Dorinda thinks Tinsley is happy at the hotel. In her interview, Sonja says it doesn’t make sense. She complains that Tinsley never gave her anything until Scott came around. She says Tinsley likes to be with a guy who picks up the tab, but she isn’t like that. Dorinda tries to keep her cool, and tells Sonja they’ll see each other in the Hamptons. She suggests to Sonja, when in doubt, don’t shout it out.

LuAnn meets Tinsley for dinner. Tinsley ordered wine already, because she was having a texting war with Scott. In her interview, she hopes Scott misses her enough to want her back. LuAnn talks about a time when she dressed like a Moroccan princess and surprised her husband in Morocco. I assume she’s referring to the Count. In her interview, Tinsley doesn’t think LuAnn should be giving her dating advice. LuAnn says the beginning shouldn’t be like this, and Tinsley says LuAnn’s beginning came to an end fast. She tells LuAnn that the others think she’s not sharing that much. In her interview, Tinsley says LuAnn kept talking about it, and now that it’s over, she’s not talking. It seems disingenuous. LuAnn says she’s done with Tom, and Tinsley says she brought him into their lives. In her interview, LuAnn says she feels too vulnerable to share with the other women. Tinsley says she’s using “the Countess wall,” and in her interview, LuAnn says this isn’t coming from place of love, but a place of mean. Tinsley says she’s going to the marathon, and LuAnn says she wasn’t invited. Tinsley remembers that LuAnn and Carole had a fight, but LuAnn calls it a discussion. Tinsley says Adam will be there, and LuAnn calls him Carole’s joy boy. Tinsley remarks that they lasted longer than LuAnn’s marriage. Tinsley says Carole likes LuAnn when she’s being real, and LuAnn asks if Carole is the judge of authentic now. In her interview, Tinsley says she’s just trying to help, not be mean. The Countess LuAnn orders some rosé.

Dorinda and Carole take a walk by the Hudson River. Carole says she runs there, and Dorinda says, two days. Carole says she’s been scared, but finally woke up excited. Dorinda suggests Carole wear a Walkman, and Carole tells her the 80s are calling. In her interview, Carole says her younger self wouldn’t have believed she was running in the marathon. They sit on a bench, and Dorinda says Sonja is nuts. At the party, she wanted to start fresh. Carole tells Dorinda that Sonja said she looked fat in her costume. Dorinda asks if she did, and Carole says she looked adorable. In her interview, Dorinda says that’s not the way to build a friendship, especially after their bad history. Carole pretends to be offended that Dorinda isn’t watching her run, and spending time with her daughter instead. Dorinda suggests throwing a party, but Carole tells her that Ramona beat her to it. Dorinda says she’s supposed to stay with Ramona in the Hamptons. Carole isn’t sure where she’s staying yet.

At Sonja’s townhouse, she goes over bar instructions with her housekeeper. She’s been throwing gay parties on Wednesdays for twelve years. Her designer friend Marc arrives with his boyfriend, and it gets crowded pretty quickly. Sonja is feeling on the outs with the girls, and looks forward to not being judged. It’s no women allowed, because women have an agenda. Sonja tells us that she’s a gay man trapped in a woman’s body. There’s probably an app for that. She spends the night gossiping about the other women, and then shouts, let’s turn this up! The music gets louder.

Bethenny goes to her new apartment. She has six properties now, and is doing four renovations. She says this is next level, and she might stay there a while. She’s also moving into a new corporate space next to the apartment. She hasn’t been feeling the business lately, since she’s been knee-deep in Puerto Rico. She’s hired a president to run things for her, and says everything is up in the air. In her interview, she says show her a woman who is rich, tan, thin, having sex, and getting sleep, and she’ll show you a unicorn.

Dorinda meets Tinsley for lunch. Lots of eating this week. She wanted to meet before they left for the Hamptons. They laugh over ordering wine at 11:30 am. Tinsley says she hasn’t seen Dorinda since the Halloween party, when she was bubbled out. Dorinda says, when Sonja said she looked fat. She says she’s a forgiver, and likes to keep it moving. She went in unprepared, and tells Tinsley to be prepared for the weekend. Sonja has been talking horribly about her, saying she gets men to pay for everything like a kept woman. In her interview, Tinsley thought they were in a better place, and it’s making her angry. She tells Dorinda that she didn’t know what she was walking into, living with Sonja. Dorinda calls Sonja a bully, saying she acts like she has a Candyland mentality, but she’s waiting with a knife. In her interview, Dorinda says she was discouraged. Sonja takes jabs, and you don’t feel it until it’s over. She’s going to be supportive of Tinsley.

LuAnn meets Sonja for tea. Everything is all autumned up at the restaurant, and I love it. In her interview, LuAnn says Sonja drives her nuts, but what are friends for? Sonja calls her The Countess, and LuAnn says it annoys some people, but it will always be a part of her. She has her own Pandora station with that name. Sonja says her financial advisor suggested she rent out the townhouse. It’s too much work for her alone. LuAnn says she’s looking for an apartment. They talk about when they lived together. LuAnn says she met with Tinsley, who felt she should open up more. Sonja says she’s really hurt for LuAnn. LuAnn says she feels sensitive; Tom just wasn’t changing. Seriously, did she really think he would? At his age? In her interview, LuAnn says at least Sonja didn’t say, I told you so. They toast to good friends.

It’s marathon day. This is the moment Carole has spent the last four months thinking about. She didn’t get much sleep, but feels great. Her husband used to run the marathon, and she looked at his stats, feeling melancholy and proud. She wishes she’d made more of a celebration. She and Adam are still in each other’s lives, and they’ve reached equilibrium. The marathon has something to do with it. Her goal is to be finished before the sweeper bus comes. #Goals  Ex-Housewife Heather Thomson and her husband John are also running. Carole says it’s scarier than covering the Middle East. The starting line is the scariest place she’s ever been. She says it’s different than the other challenges she’s had. There’s no support. It’s all on her.

At mile eight, Carole start doesn’t know if she’ll finish, but it’s a mental game, and she can only think one mile at a time. Some of her friends cheer her on, Tinsley among them. In her interview, she says her legs were paralyzed, but she just kept going, and thought the finish line was a mirage. She makes it! She remembers hearing her parents and friends cheering her name, and seeing the guy holding the medal. She says, it’s isolating and lonely; just you and the road. At the end, seeing everyone cheering you on, you remember you’re not really alone.

Carole says, people called her husband Anthony a hero when he battled cancer, and it bothered her, but he was a hero after all. She feels like she’s honoring him the way she should have when he talked obsessively about running.

Next time, the Hamptons, LuAnn thinks there’s a change in the dynamic, and Dorinda goes off on Sonja – finger in her face and all.

🌟 On tonight’s Star, everyone in neighborhood helped to rebuild Carlotta’s place. Simone admitted she married Angel to stay out of juvie, but said they’re getting a divorce when she’s eighteen. I have the feeling they’ll end up really falling in love. Arlene’s twin sister, Charlene (their parents weren’t very creative), showed up looking for Star, and information on who might have killed Arlene. Star didn’t say anything, but told Cotton that she was fairly certain that Brody did it, since he showed up with blood on him, saying Arlene would never bother her again.

Ms. Desmond thought Noah was a risk, and without guaranteed success, there was no tour. Quavo was recruited by Midtown, and Star suggested he headline. Quavo agreed after an introduction to Alex, but Noah was less than thrilled. Carlotta stopped Noah from hitting the bottle, telling him it wasn’t the answer to his insecurities. He still stepped on everyone’s dreams by punching Quavo, who pulled a gun. Since Carlotta is everyone’s mom, she squashed the beef quickly, but Quavo walked. Everyone was like, thanks Noah. Noah ended up thanking Carlotta, and asked her to be his manager.

Star confronted Brody, who said he did what he had to for her protection. She asked if that’s why he killed her mother. He insisted it was an OD, but Star wanted to know what their little secret was, and why she didn’t speak for two weeks afterward. He wouldn’t talk, and she ended up calling him a coward, saying she never wanted to see him again. Angel’s mom showed up, and told him ICE was looking for him because she’d overstayed her work visa when he was little and lied about who his father was. I don’t think that’s how it works, and now he’s married to Simone anyway, but okay. Brody left Star a message that she was right and he was leaving, but a dude slammed into his room, and bounced him through a glass table. After Take 3 sold out a local show, Ms. Desmond agreed to another tour, but without Noah. Star flashed back to her mother’s OD. Brody had found Star with the needle in her hand (she picked it up after her mother used it), and when he asked what happened, she told him that she’d given mommy her medicine. That was the secret. Star called Brody, and told him she remembered, but he said she was right, and he killed Arlene. He told Star he loved her and hung up. It turned out he was calling from a bathtub where twinnie Charlene told him he’d killed her sister for no good reason. He said Arlene was an awful person, and Charlene electrocuted him by dropping a live wire into the water.

Queen Latifah’s best hair tonight was a toss-up between a braid that circled her head and went down her back, and a Veronica Lake fall with sweeping side bangs that had highlights. Next time, Simone feels guilty about Derek (as she should), another tragedy happens, and Queen Latifah sports purple streaks.

💰 Sell It Like Serhant premiered toight, and Ryan helped struggling wine salesman Tim. Tim, who had been addicted to heroin at a young age, served in Afghanistan, and graduated from culinary school, was now riding the “struggle bus,” and not doing well with sales. Ryan strikes me as a really nice guy, which isn’t a huge surprise, since he used to be a soap actor. They’re an acting breed unto themselves, much more appreciative of their audience than your average celebrity. Second only to country singers in understanding where they came from and who put them where they are now. We learned about the selling process, asking questions, listening to customers, and steering them to the right product. Ryan sent a spy to a wine tasting that Tim was working, and they communicated secretly. I don’t think I would have been a hard sell here, since Tim had me at dry Riesling. Ryan felt part of the problem was Tim’s guilt about putting his parents through the wringer, so he flew them out for a visit. After a rough start to his last stand, where he disappeared to make a cheese plate, Tim got on the “awesome bus.” The boss seemed like a bit of a hard-on – Tim only sold seven bottles out of the goal of ten – but decided to keep Tim in the end. Hopefully, Tim keeps riding that bus. Next time, a wax club. Ouch.

❓ Pondering…

Wtf, Jeff Goldblum? Why is he suddenly in so many commercials? Does he have a balloon payment coming up on something?

🐶🐱🐰🐹🐠 Happy National Pet Day! 🐣🐷🐕🐁

GroupShot

Apr9

April 8, 2018 – The Battle of Negan & Simon, a Little Atlanta, a Dash of Potomac & Bye-Bye Weekend

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What I Watched Today

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

 

The Walking Dead

Rick reads Carl’s letter and gazes out the window. Carl talks about his eighth birthday, and other things he remembers from how it used to be. Tears rolls down Rick’s cheeks. It’s not just the stuff that happened, but how Carl felt, special and safe. He thought growing up would mean a family and a job, but it means keeping those you love safe. He wants Rick to feel safe, like he did when Rick held his hand on walks. He doesn’t think the Saviors will surrender, but there’s regular people in there. They’re close to starting over, and have friends now – there have to be more places and people; a chance to make changes and have a real life. If they won’t end it, he has to. He has to find peace and move forward; not forget, but make it so it won’t happen again. Show them they can be safe again without killing, and maybe one day they’ll have birthdays, schools, jobs, and pizza on Friday night, like they used to. Carl tells Rick to take Judith on walks like they had, because she’ll remember. He tells Rick that he loves him. Rick sees Michonne walking hand-in-hand with Judith.

Michonne lies on the bed, pondering. She checks the nightstand. There’s a letter for Negan in the drawer. I’m hoping somehow, Rick and Negan can work together as frenemies. Not just because I think Jeffrey Dean Morgan is nearly everything on this show, but there’s a tremendous amount of story potential there. Please, Walking Dead, don’t blow another opportunity.

Gregory tells Simon that he came back to make amends. Simon is pissed because Gregory made him look like an ass. Gregory says his intel wasn’t current. Juice and momentum can give you a chance in the game. He had it, and did it. Maggie had Hilltop by the nut, and he didn’t know it. He wants to make it right with Negan. Simon tells him that he’s Negan, and not in the collective sense, but he’s assumed control. Negan no longer in the field of play. Gregory calls Simon, the man, and says he knew he could do it. Negan had a big personality, but was too unconventional. Simon is a leader. Simon tells Gregory that’s why he can’t be seen going easy on him. He has the juice and momentum, and wants to keep it. Ergo, Gregory goes. Gregory says the stupid troglodytes at the Sanctuary can’t advise him in community affairs and politics. Simon tells him, it’s ended. Gregory says he’s achieved, survived, and suffered too much. He’s been reborn as a certified sh*t-kicker. It’s not going to end with him wandering into the wilderness with his d*ck in his hand. Gregory says, he is the juice. Simon throws him to the ground. He says he wasn’t going to send Gregory away; he was going to kill him. He asks if Gregory can make coffee, and Gregory says, the best in the land. Simon tells him they’ll start with coffee, and see where it goes. Is this a date?

The Oceanside people go through the woods. Still trying to convince them to fight, Aaron is there, and is so dehydrated and weak, he can barely fight off a zombie. Cyndie says they made their choice. If wants to die in the woods, that’s his.

Eugene shows the Savior ladies the dish he’s made – mac and cheese with sardines – a staple from his college days. It’s a lasting energy source. He eats some, and says it takes him back. It’s all that’s on the menu until the order is complete. He reminds everyone that their lives are on lock. Negan is MIA, and Simon has taken over. They need to be lickety-quick, but he thinks the best they can hope for, is to squeeze out the bare minimum needed to stop Simon from finding out how short they are. Gabriel coughs up a lung, and Eugene tells him to keep his mask on. He either has influenza or cocca-something. Either way, it’s airborne or he would be dead.

He brings a bullet over to Gabriel, and asks him to feel it. Morgan says the imperfection was intentional. He wanted to make it so didn’t work. He doesn’t want anyone to die. Eugene asks if he wants to die, and Gabriel says he doesn’t want to hep him, but does fear death. He thinks maybe it’s God’s way of showing he’s still the same person who locked his parishioners out. He’s still the same scared animal, doing what he can to survive. Eugene tells him to find an unobtrusive corner; he’s off the line. He tells Gabriel to try not to cry too loud. He’s going outside to test rounds not compromised by Gabriel’s chicanery.

Eugene goes outside, and is ambushed by Daryl and Rosita. They spirit him away.

Dwight goes out for a smoke, and hears Negan’s whistle. Negan asks him if he’s surprised. He shouldn’t be. Dwight says they found his car, and Simon thought – Negan cuts him off, telling him it was a real punch in the d*ck (his second favorite word). Rick cornered him with those decomposed a-holes, and Dwight and Simon never showed. He knows what they were thinking, and wants to know if Dwight remembers who he is. He tells Dwight the conversation is just between them. Dwight says, Simon is his number two, and he thought Negan would want him to go by Simon’s call. Dwight says, he’s Negan. Negan says, good; that’s what he likes to hear. He tells Dwight that when time comes, and it will, to remember this talk. Remember what they’ve done, and can still do together. Dwight looks relieved.

In the boardroom, Simon tells Negan that he thought Negan had been killed, and he was gone. Negan polishes Lucille. Simon admits he lacks discipline, and made it personal. That’s why he moved it from infection to extermination at Hilltop. Things went bad, but he owns it, and asks for a pass. He’ll make it up to Negan; he promises. Negan smiles, and ask if Simon remembers when he took this place; when Simon helped him? He wasn’t sure he wanted to keep Simon on board before he had a system in place. Simon had killed all those people in a settlement long ago. People think that’s psychotic sh*t from a demented, broken ghoul. That’s someone you don’t want to work with, let alone stand next to. He figured he’d figure keep an eye on Simon, and everything seemed to work out until this point. He tells Simon he needs him on his knees. Simon gets ready for a bat in the head, but Negan says, all is forgiven. Get his ass up; they’re good. Simon tells Negan that he won’t let him down. Negan says he appreciates the hell out of that.

Negan has a board meeting, and a Savior takes out a map. Negan points, saying this is where they start. They don’t have to take Hilltop, but they’re going to make sure the farmers can’t leave. If they poke their heads out, the Saviors will clip their asses. They’re going to have teams 24/7, sniping them one by one, until they have full contrition. Simon is happy to have Negan back, and Negan says it’s good to be back. Negan tells them clear out, except for Dwight. He wants to kick around some things. I’m sure Dwight thinks one of those things is his head.

Negan tells Dwight he’s smart as hell. No matter what, he didn’t stew or do anything stupid. He just went about the business of getting his. Nothing shook him. He kept his eyes on what could keep him alive and well. He tells Dwight to keep on keeping that sh*t clear. Dwight nods, and Negan smiles.

Eugene suspects he’s alive because they have a nostalgia for comradery, but he’ll give them space until they’re ready to break the ice. Daryl pulls out a large knife, telling Eugene to shut his mouth or he’ll cut Eugene’s tongue out. Rosita tells Daryl to keep on moving; they’re going to be looking for him. Eugene thanks her, and she tells him to shut up. He tells her that she’s the one who told him making bullets would save lives. He thought the crack of a bat would be the last thing he’d hear, and then thought Negan would torture him, but he didn’t. He gave Eugene a chance to live. Rosita says everyone who has died since then is on him. He says Rick pushed to take the Savior’s home. Rosita pulls out her gun, calling him a selfish coward and a traitor. He turned his back on the friends he had, and didn’t give a rat’s ass about them. They’re going to stick him in the darkest hole, and the only time he’ll come out is when need him to teach them something. He’ll get his wish and live, but they’ll be forcing him to do something useful with his pathetic life.

Dwight writes things on the map. There’s a knock at the door, and he hides everything. It’s Simon, who says, it went well. The status quo has been re-achieved. He asks why Dwight was held back, and Dwight says, for a pep talk. Simon tells him they need to have a serious talk with others who are less than thrilled with the current management. It saddens him, but the time has come to gather like-minded individuals to gather strength, and do what need to do. He tells Dwight to think about what Negan has done to him. Everything he’s extracted; every indignity. He knows what he has to do. They’re meeting in the courtyard after rounds, and going to begin what’s next. Dwight says, all right, and Simon grabs his shoulders, and says, yes, my boy. Well, if it was a tossup I don’t think I’d pick Simon.

Daryl shoots some zombies with arrows.  While the zombies are being a distraction, Eugene sticks his fingers down his throat, and makes himself throw up on Rosita. Considering what he ate, that’s pretty disgusting, but she barely flinches. He takes off, and she shoots at him, but he gets through a hole in a fence. She and Daryl follow. Rosita says they can’t let him get back, and suggests they blow his head off. As soon as they pass, Eugene comes out from under a pile of ashes and mess.

Aaron is sleeping in the woods. It starts to rain, and he gets some water from a can nearby. He hears zombie sounds, and takes out his knife. It’s a mean-looking one, and he pikes it in the head. If we were in a 42nd Street movie theatre, I’d yell, look out behind you! Another zombie grabs him, and they fall together. Aaron loses the knife, and the zombie grabs at his legs. He manages to kick its brain out of its head, but here comes another one. The knife is lost, but he grabs a pokey stick, and skewers it. Yet one more comes, knocking him down, and it’s inches from his face only separated from him by the stick. He gets the upper hand, and beats the non-living crap out of it with the stick. He lies there, rain pouring down, surrounded by the now dead undead.

Someone asks if he’s dead. It’s the Oceansiders. He says they left him. It’s what the Saviors turned them into. They lie, they don’t trust, and don’t live the way they want because of the Saviors. The Saviors hurt them, and will keep on hurting them, unless they do one thing – fight. They just look at him vacantly, and I’m thinking this group seriously lacks personality. Give them a personality or get rid of them.

Commercial break. Red Machete is still not happening for me.

Dwight waits in the courtyard. The others come out, Gregory among them. Simon tells them that if they’re here right now, they’re in. They can talk about approaches and finesses, but they’re in; no take backs. They need to make it quick, quiet, and respectful. Negan has done a lot for them, and deserves it. He says Dwight has legit personal issues with Negan, so the kill is his if he wants it. Something quiet – not a knife, that’s too personal. Maybe a silencer. Then they’ll set a break to start healing. The destruction of Hilltop and its people, and then get on with their lives. He says, right, Dwight?

We hear whistling, and I literally lol. Negan says he’ll take it from here. He says, three… two… one… There are gunshots, and the renegade Saviors drop, save for Gregory, Simon, and Dwight. Two Saviors come out for Simon. Simon lunges at Negan, who says there’s the Simon he knows. He’s coming at him, instead of doing that backstabbing bullsh*t. He asks, why? After everything he did for Simon. He killed the garbage people, when Negan specifically told him not to do that. He pounds on one of the dead Saviors with Lucille. He says after all this, him being him, he’s still going to give Simon his share. If you want to be the man, you got to beat the man. If he can do that, then hell, he should be the man.

Inside everyone gathers. Simon blathers about how they have to get to work when this is done, and how he didn’t want this, but the Sanctuary must stand. As he’s talking, he catches Negan off-guard with a punch. He gets his bearings, and they fight. I’m just a little worried, since Negan is wearing his leather jacket, which probably isn’t a good idea. Negan gives Simon a head-butt. Simon goes down, and Negan kicks him in the face. Gregory inches away. Dwight grabs him, and tells him to get out now. He gives Gregory a map, telling him to give it to Rick. It’s about tomorrow, and the only move they’ve got. He hands Gregory some car keys. Hopefully, he won’t just keep driving.

Negan straddles Simon, strangling him. Finally, he lies still. Negan gets up, and says, what an a-hole. I realize my mouth is open. The crowd was certainly quiet about it. I have to admit, I’ll be glad I won’t have to work around writing Simon says anymore.

Gregory is shoved into the pen at Hilltop. Maggie gives the map to Rick. End Negan, end the risk, is written on it, along with something about where they’ll be. Maggie asks what they’re going to do.

Negan tells Dwight that Simon was a d*ckless worm. What else could he do but crush his throat? But what was bad for Simon, is good for him. They’ve had their ups and downs, but he’s always been able to count on Dwight. He’d like Dwight to be his right-hand man, if he’ll accept the promotion. Dwight agrees. He wants to help Negan finish things with Rick. Negan tells him not to sell himself short. He already has.

Laura, who knew Dwight was a traitor, is in his room. Negan says he found her on the side of the road. She says in Alexandria, he killed their team. She ran and kept running. She wanted to expose him for the scum weasel he is. Negan says it makes sense. He told RIck when to attack, and how to get to the outpost. He’s been slipping workers guns, and maybe even lied about Shari. He thinks he’s some sort of hero, but he’s a nobody and way over his head. When he said Dwight comes through when he’s needed, he meant it. He knew he could count on him delivering the plan to Rick – the brilliant fake-ass plan. He used Gregory. Negan thought he’d take a field trip, but he got a delivery boy; good for him. All that intel will lead them directly into the line of fire. They won’t know what hit them, all thanks to his new right-hand man. He’d thought about killing him, but that was too dignified for a backstabbing, double-crossing dirtbag. Negan says he has plans for Dwight, and laughs.

Looking all angry and rumpled, Eugene tells the workers that they have to prepare to protect the Sanctuary. Negan is back, and they’re going to finish Hilltop. A messenger tells him Negan needs the bullet order by tomorrow. He says to give Negan his personal congratulations on his return. His request will be filled in its entirety, and on time. If he needs bullets, he’s going to get them. All of them. They’re going to rise to the occasion, and will change Savior history forever. He tells Gabriel, all hands on deck. He’s going to be sorting shells. Follow his lead, or cry and die. He says, here we go. He quotes Rosita, saying, time to do something useful with their pathetic lives.

Yay! Simon is a zombie chained to the fence. He’s a good one too; a snapping maniac. Negan is on the deck, and Michonne radios him from a rooftop nearby. He asks if Rick is with her, and to put him on. She says this isn’t about Rick; it’s about Carl. Carl wrote him a letter, and she’s delivering it because that’s what he wanted. Negan says he can’t promise not to kill the messenger, and she tells him, shut up and listen. She reads.

Carl tells Negan that he was helping someone, and got bit. Now he’s gone. Negan might be gone, but he doesn’t think so. He wonders if Negan is working on a way out. Maybe got out. Maybe he thinks it’s a lost cause, and wants to kill them all. He wishes he could have asked if Negan feels that he has to be who he is. If this is what he wanted or wished he could have. The way out is forgiveness. There doesn’t have to be a fight. He hopes his dad offers peace, and he takes it. He hopes things can change. It did for him. He can still start over. Negan listens to every word so thoughtfully, I want to cry.

Negan says, there is no getting out of it now. He wouldn’t accept surrender if they were on their knees. Winning isn’t about beating them, but killing every last one of them. That is starting over. He never wanted this. Rick made it happen. Tell him that. No more talk. He throws the radio down and stomps on it, along with my storyline dreams.

Next week – both the finale of The Walking Dead (at 9 pm), and the premiere of Fear the Walking Dead (at 10 pm). Morgan tells Rick to finish it, the Saviors attack, and Dwight is sent to Jaundice Jadis. I can’t wait to see Fear, since they’re setting up camp in an amusement park. Abandoned amusement parks are creepy all on their own. Add zombies, and you can’t lose.

🍹 A Quick Wives Note…

🍑 The Real Housewives of Atlanta know how to pour on the glam. It was part one of their reunion, and Porsha went full-on princess with a tiara, mammoth jeweled earrings, and a blue velvet gown. Although she claimed to be a goddess because she’s grown. The earrings were all huge, sparkly, and fabulous. Only Kandi was slightly lower key with the accessories, but made up for it with the bling on her gown. NeNe was in red lace and fringe. Kenya was in a frilly yellow explosion. She confirmed her pregnancy, but she never did actually say, I’m pregnant, which made me wonder if the bun is in someone else’s oven. Cynthia had the most glamorous, Rapunzel-like side ponytail ever, and was wearing a red gown fit for a quinceañera. Marlo joined them swathed in lavender cotton candy. Only Sheree was a bit of a disappointment. Her gigantic emerald earrings passed, but she was covered all the way to her chin in a gown of silken material that did not look good on film. She said it was Gucci. Was it his nun period? I wondered if her new felon man doesn’t want her showing any skin. A viewer even pointed out that she seemed unusually covered up this season.

🏰 The Real Housewives of Potomac has mostly centered around Karen’s tax issues, since apparently her husband owes the government. They moved out of the neighborhood, although her idea of downsizing isn’t like the average person’s idea. I guess now they only have 6000 square feet and one pool. What blew my mind though, were the rest of them demanding answers from her like it was their right to know. I’m not a huge fan of Karen’s, but they were like a pack of vultures.

WeekendOver

WeekendGoodby

 

 

 

 

 

 

Apr5

April 4, 2018 – Lots of Sneaking Around, an NYC Halloween Party, Cotton is Merciful, a Barbie Comment & Bubbles

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Doc startles Franco, who says he has stealthy feet. Doc says he had a cancellation, and there’s no time like the present. The sooner he recovers his memories, the sooner he can get on with his life – unless he’s having second thoughts.

Ava thanks Nelle for bringing some contracts by. Ava is weeding Julian’s stuff out of the bathroom, and finds Morgan’s cologne.

At the MetroCourt, Bobbie tells Carly that after days of browbeating, cajoling, and fake crying, she finally got an inspector to look at the house. Carly is busy thinking about the scarf that was left on her desk, and Bobbie asks where she is.

Mike tells Sonny and Michael a story about the bar fight of the ages that didn’t happen. Sonny tells him to keep going, and Mike says he knows what they did. They thought if they recreated one of his old haunts, he could piece together some of his past. Michael says it seems like it’s working. Mike says a little, for now, but he needs them to know that he knows it’s not going to last. Sooner or later, he’ll have a bad day, and after a while, the bad days will outnumber the good until there are no good days anymore. Sonny says they’ll cross that bridge when they come to it. Michael says, until then, they’ll take any good day they can. Mike apologizes, saying by the time his great-grandchildren are old enough, he won’t be able to share his stories or infinite wisdom. Michael says maybe he still can.

Jason sits next to Anna at the bar. She says it’s not a coincidence; he wants something. She hopes they’re not at a crossroads. He says he needs to know if she’s keeping something from him about the night Faison died.

Peter comes to Griff’s office. He says he can’t do this. Griff violated his privacy. He wants to know if Griff is going to keep his identity a secret, or sign his death warrant.

Carly tells Bobbie she’s been thinking about BJ. Bobbie says the anniversary is coming up; she’ll be gone for twenty-four years. Every once in a while, she forgets BJ isn’t there. For the longest time, Bobbie imagined her everywhere. She would hear her, but it would turn out to be some other child’s voice. Sometimes, no one was there. It’s just what her heart needed; the laugh or the the image. As much as she wanted BJ to be there, she wasn’t. She asks why Morgan is hitting Carly so hard right now.

Ava tells Nelle that she always loved Morgan’s cologne. She’s surprised he wore it. In some ways, he was naïve, but in others, he was sophisticated. Nelle offers to take the stuff out, and we don’t need to be rocket scientists to guess why. Ava tells her it’s not necessary. She looks through the contracts, and says Nell is very thorough. She asks if Nelle has given any thought to her advice. Nelle says there’s no way she can back off Carly. Ava says it’s simple; just do it. Walk away from the table before she wagers what she can’t afford to lose – Michael. Nelle says there’s no way she and Michael can happen unless Carly is out of the way. Ava tells her to make sure he has no reason to take Carly’s side. Nelle says it’s not that simple, but Ava insists it is. She has the ideal situation with Michael around her all the time. Soon, his feelings for the baby will be overwhelming, and he won’t be able to separate them from how he feels about her. Kill them with kindness. Nelle says he’s already moving on. She has to act or she’ll lose him forever.

Michael shows Mike a new prototype of a phone that allows recording of HD video and audio. Mike is worried that the kids won’t get a chance to know him, so he can record anything he wants to say to them, and it will last forever. Mike doesn’t know what to say. He doesn’t have much in the way of good life advice – just do the opposite of what he did. Michael says tell them about his life. Start with a good day. When and where did he hit his first homerun?

Griff tells Peter that his identity will remain between them. Peter wonders how he’s supposed to believe that, and Griff says it would be a breach of ethics. Apparently, he can’t make up his mind about that. He says the only way he’d be justified is if the harm doesn’t stay confined to the past. He has no reason to believe Peter will harm someone else, but if that changes – if he has reason to believe Peter is going after Jason or someone else – he’ll be ethically bound to out him. Maxie doesn’t deserve to have her trust betrayed. Peter says he wouldn’t do that; it’s his only shot at survival. Griff says his father killed her husband, who happens to be Peter’s brother. If she finds out he knew… Peter says he’ll think about it, but Griff tells him not to take too long. He needs to get ahead before someone else figures it out on their own.

Anna tells Jason that she wants Henrik alive. He slides the book over to her, saying Aurora had an advance copy, complete with the ending. She reaches for it, but he takes it back, and says, first, he needs to know what happened to Faison’s personal effects.

Franco asks Doc what if he finds out something he doesn’t want to? You can’t unknow something. Doc says either he pushed Drew or didn’t, and he wanted to know which was true. The best way is to do this. His mother is in no condition to share. Franco says Jim tried to bury them alive. He sees no reason Jim would come back to town. We see Jim looking at an article about Franco on his phone.

Franco says it has nothing to do with Jim’s fracking or whatever. Why would he take Betsy? It has to do with what happened when he was a kid. Doc can’t promise happy answers, and Franco says none of this is headed toward a happy ending. Doc says it won’t take hold unless he’s 100% on board; maybe they should reschedule. Franco says, no. He has to do this. He needs answers, mostly for Elizabeth. He tells Doc, let’s do it.

Griff tells Peter that Anna, Jason, and he WSB know he’s out there, and they’re searching. He needs to make sure they don’t find him. Peter thanks Griff for his time and discretion. Griff tells him it’s only a matter of time. His best chance for mercy is to come forward on his own.

Carly tells Bobbie about the scarf. Bobbie wants to see it, but Carly explains it’s gone. Bobbie says she had something like that happen, thinking she saw BJ’s costume. Carly says this is different. She held it in her hand. She tells Bobbie about the phone calls, and how they traced them to a phone booth on Angel’s Bluff. Bobbie says grief can play tricks on your mind and heart, but Carly says she’s not imagining any of this.

Mike records a story about a cousin with fast sucker punch, saying not everyone in the family are brutes. The cousin actually started working hard, did well, and became a doctor. His parents had nothing but love for him. He suddenly looks at the clock, and says he has to go. He has to catch the bus and get home. Sonny says he’s not going to Brooklyn tonight, but Mike says his parents will be worried sick.

Mike says he can’t miss the bus, and Sonny says, there is no bus. Mike tells Sonny that he has to go, but Sonny insists he’s staying; they agreed. He says Mike is confused, and Mike says he doesn’t understand. His parents will be worried. Sonny harshly says his parents are dead, stabbing me in the heart once again.

Ava tells Nelle to do what she needs to do when it comes to Carly, but be careful. Actions can have unintended consequences. Nelle is grateful for her advice, but says everything is working out for her. She hopes it continues, and Ava says that makes two of them. Nelle says it’s wonderful that Griff trusts her, and as time moves on, he’ll trust her more. She and the baby don’t stand a chance until Carly is out of the way. Nelle opens the door to leave, and Griff is standing there.  chain collar – earrings diamond with straight dangle

Anna tells Jason that she offered Faison’s things to Obrecht for Britt. She didn’t want them, so she gave them to the WSB. I’m wondering why the WSB didn’t take them after the “autopsy.” Jason points out the passage that mentions the lighter. Anna wonders why she didn’t notice it was missing, and he says now they know who took it.

Franco asks if Doc has a pocket watch. Doc tells him hypnosis is very effective in helping remove memory blocks, but second thoughts hinder the process. He has to be ready, and mean it. Franco says he is. Doc tells Franco to close his eyes, and focus on sound of his voice.

Mike asks how Sonny can say something like that about his parents? Sonny says they passed away before he was born. Mike tells him to shut his mouth. Michael steps in, saying he knows Mike is worried. Sonny is confused, and his parents are fine; they know he’s staying with them a while. Mike offers to call and remind them. He tells Mike to sit while he does that. Michael puts his hand on Sonny’s shoulder.

Carly tells Bobbie if the calls weren’t real, she wouldn’t have been able to trace them. Bobbie says she thought Carly was questioning things. Carly says if it was just phone calls, she could write it off, but a scarf like Morgan used to wear? Someone put it there and took it away.

Griff asks Ava if he’s interrupting gallery business. Ava says he lives there; he can come and go as he please. She tells Nelle that she’ll see her tomorrow, and to remember what she said. Nelle says, her too. After she leaves, Griff asks if it’s anything he should know about, but she says just advice for the lovelorn. Just asks what she would do, and do the opposite (that makes two people who said that today). Griff thinks she’s doing okay in that department, and she says she has no complaints. He feels the same way, but had an exhausting day. Ava asks if he’s still thinking about the test results. He says he is, and asks where the envelope is. She takes it out of the cupboard, telling him that she didn’t open it. He didn’t think she had, but says thanks. He tells her that he trusts her, and she says, just not enough to tell her what it’s about.

Doc tells Franco to slowly open his eyes, and focus on an object in his direct line of vision. Franco picks a sculpture on the desk. Doc says his eyes are getting heavier. Franco gives him a look, but closes them. Doc says he feels contentment, and is alone with his thoughts and mind. Doc tells him to feel himself go into a state of relaxation as he counts down, saying deeper and deeper between each number. He’s now in a deep trance, and will remain there until Doc counts down again. Doc asks where he is, and Franco says, in his house, playing with Andy. Doc tells him to find the door to the basement, open it, and stand at the top of the stairs. He tells Franco to go to the night of accident. Franco says, Andy is standing with him. Doc asks what’s going on? What happens next? What does he see?

Sonny tells Michael he thought Luke’s would pay off, and Michael says it’s called sundowning. Alzheimer’s patients often get riled up and confused when the sun goes down. it doesn’t mean there won’t be good days. Sonny asks how Michael knew what to do. Michael says it’s not uncommon for people with Alzheimer’s and dementia to think they’re parents are alive. It’s going to happen over and over, and they have to just try and keep him calm. Sonny says, the exact opposite of what he did, but Michael says he didn’t know and not to beat himself up. Mike seems agitated, and Michael says he talked to Mike’s parents. They send their love, but want him to get some rest. Mike says he can’t rest. He remembered something he needs to tell someone. Honestly, this storyline is killing me.

Griff tells Ava if he could share, she’d be the first. Ava says he’s entitled to his life with its thoughts, secrets, and wishes, but when something bothers him, she wishes he could share it with her. He says it’ not his secret to share. She doesn’t like it, but understands. Griff says the only thing he has left to do is destroy the document first thing in the morning. Ava asks my question, why not now? He says he’s already made a rash decision, and doesn’t want to make the same mistake. Meanwhile, he needs to was the day off of himself.

Anna says, Henrik stole the lighter, and is keeping it as a souvenir. If they find the lighter, they find him. Jason says it won’t be easy. Finn wasn’t even sure what was there. Anna says maybe he took it when Faison was shot, or it dropped during the struggle at Crimson. She’ll talk to Peter. She’d rather not bring Maxie into it, but there’s also Finn. She tells Jason about an epigraph at the front of the book; something that resonates with the work, or gives the reader a sense of theme or purpose. She reads, Rot comes from both ends; together, the branches must be severed.

Doc tells Franco to stay in the moment. Andy is at the top of the stairs; what happens next? Franco says, Jim. He remembers Jim calling him Bobby, and asking what he did. He says, Andy is at the bottom, and Uncle Jim is next to him. Doc says he went too far back. Go forward a few seconds; he’s almost there. Franco remembers Jim saying nobody going to believe him. He tells Doc that he can’t because he’s scared. Doc asks why? Because of what he did? Franco says, no. He’s scared of him.

Mike says, a field in Croton. Sonny says, he knows, and not to worry; he’s taken care of it. Mike says, he has? Michael says he has nothing to worry about. He tells Mike to lie down and rest, and he’ll check on him later. Mike goes upstairs, and Michael asks if Sonny has any idea what he’s talking about. Sonny says, not a clue, but I have the feeling he’s lying.

Bobbie wonders why someone would deliberately put a scarf in Carly’s office just to take it away. Carly says to mess with her, and Bobbie tells her not to give them what they want. The hospital calls Bobbie, and Nelle spies from around the corner. Bobbie tells Carly there aren’t enough nurses to cover the shift, and she has to go in. Carly says she’ll meet with the inspector; she’ll be fine by herself.

Ava stares at Griff’s back as he walks into the other room. She takes the envelope out, and holds it up to the light. Since that’s good for nothing, she opens it, and reads it.

Jason says he’ll have Spinelli do some research to find out where the original quote came from. Anna thinks it’s something original, and that Henrik is also gunning for his mother. Peter walks in.

Doc says Franco is perfectly safe; no one can hurt him anymore. Franco starts to cry, saying, he can. Doc  tells Franco to help him stop them, and asks who it is he’s so afraid of. Franco says, it’s Harvey. It’s Uncle Jim. He’s scared of Uncle Jim. Doc says he’s very brave. Now tell him why.

Jim walks into the hospital looking sneaky.

Tomorrow, Kiki tells David that she never sent out signals, Jake wants Franco to come home, and Betsy screams no in her hospital bed. How much you want to bet she’s getting a visit from Jim?

The Real Housewives of New York City

Ramona helps some workers lay a carpet. Sonja tell us that you never know when you might need a Marie Antoinette costume. Did I just see a red poodle go by? And I mean red, not like an Irish Setter. Bethenny is getting ready for an event. Tinsley’s dog makes weewee on the floor. Celebrities! Their dogs are just like ours! Carole is on a run.

So begins season ten of my favorite Wives, with the exception of Lisa Vanderpump, who can do no wrong.

Dorinda opens a package containing a Lady Gaga bubble dress. In her interview, she says she’s having a Halloween party to get the girls together, and show she’s an equal holiday opportunist. The theme is famous people, alive or dead. Her costume turns out to be a kit, which is what she gets for drunk shopping, so she calls the designer of the original dress. Must. Be. Nice.

At the Museum of Natural History, Bethenny is the keynote speaker for Delivering Good, a New York charity partner of her company. They started Hurricane Harvey in Texas, then Puerto Rico happened, and it got real. She began by chartering a plane, and ended up with a warehouse. She doesn’t know how they did it, but they did, and they’re still doing it. She invited Tinsley and Ramona because they donated a lot of money. Ramona thinks it’s strange that Carole isn’t there.

Bethenny says it’s her first award ever. She’s grateful, but didn’t do it to be recognized. She did it because it’s something she’s good at, and it changed her life in an incredible way.

The Countess Tom’s wife LuAnn visits Dorinda. She never thought she be there, but here she is, divorced. She was in love with Tom, and it was a whirlwind. We flash back to that. She says she did everything she could to make it work, but sometimes love isn’t enough. Dorinda thinks Tom got worse after they got married. LuAnn says she had blinders on (really?), and when she looks back at the warning signs, what Bethenny said hunts her. She didn’t want to believe it, but what the girls were saying was true. It was ultimately a lack of respect. Meeting with his ex-girlfriends, being caught kissing, going out all night; she couldn’t breathe and was drowning. Dorinda asks if she hears from him, and LuAnn says they text. but at end of the day, a leopard can’t change his spots. Dorinda doesn’t think he’s a bad guy, but shouldn’t be a married guy.

LuAnn says she’s in the Hamptons for the most part, but looking for an apartment in NYC. She tells Dorinda that Sonja has been telling people she’s dating, and Carole is the only one who didn’t reach out – not one word. Dorinda says they’re not really friends, but LuAnn thought they were in a good place. In her interview, Carole says the reasons LuAnn got divorced are understood, but she never understood the reasons LuAnn got married. We flash back to everyone warning her about him. In her interview, Sonja compares the relationship to LuAnn’s camel ride, and we see the camel ride fail. She says maybe it was something LuAnn was supposed to experience, and get right back on the next camel. Pondering this… LuAnn says she’s keeping an open heart and mind.

Carole visits Tinsley. She tells us they spent week in Spain together with Adam and Scott. A room service waitress brings a charcuterie tray to the hotel room, and Tinsley says she’s Eloise all grown up. She’s happy to be in a hotel room all her own, and is feeling like herself again. A tiny Chihuahua comes in, and we’re introduced to Tinsley’s dog, Bambi. Bambi! Carole says she talked to Scott. In her interview, Tinsley says she and Scott were inseparable from the moment they met, and had dated for eight months, but he lives in Chicago. They broke up, but it wasn’t that anything specific happened. Carole says she feels like Adam is a person in her life, but not a boyfriend. In her interview, she says a lot of words when what she means is they’re now friends with benefits. She says people tell her that Adam is having his cake and eating it too, but she also likes cake. Tinsley wants to be with Scott, but it’s just too far.

At the Abracadabra costume store, Sonja meets Ramona. In her interview, Ramona says they had a great time in Mexico, but Sonja hasn’t wanted to get together. It’s sad because they’d been close at one point. Sonja says now that her daughter is in boarding school, she’s been on the go. She needed summer for herself. She’d been taking antidepressants for her anxiety (hmm…), and sat around eating croissants. After that she went to Cost Rica, and got into herself. Now, she’s happy again. They talk about LuAnn. Ramona thinks she and Tom loved each other, but Tom doesn’t understand commitment. Sonja says he was never more than great time, and you can’t turn a party playboy into a husband.

Carol goes to the gym. She says she never exercised a day in her life, and at fifty-four, felt scrawny. She needed to have a goal, or she wasn’t going to continue, so she chose the New York City Marathon. Everyone is telling her she’s crazy, and she tells herself that she can’t do it, but when someone says she can’t do it, that’s all she wants to do. The trainer puts her through her paces. She says her longest run has been twenty-one miles, and she’d never even run across the street to get a cab. Every hat I’ve ever owned is off to her. I had a two-year flirtation with running years ago, but I never really enjoyed it – I’m still waiting for the endorphins to kick in – and the longest I’ve run is 5k.

Bethenny’s driver brings in her dogs, Biggy and Smallz. She asks Kevin if he thinks they miss Cookie, who passed away. He says her spirit is there. He believes in the hereafter, and they probably miss stealing her food. I start to tear up when they show clips of Cookie throughout the years. Bethenny is weeping through an Instagram post after having put Cookie to sleep. She says it’s rough and she’s drained, and I want to bawl with her, since I have an old girl here who is my best girl forever. Bethenny says Cookie had a great run, and was much loved. She had Cookie longer than her child, her homes, or her business. Cookie was her family. She says people tell her about the Rainbow Bridge, and she wants to go there. If I was by myself, I’d be totally losing it.

Pre-party, Carole gets her makeup done with Dorinda. She’s dressed as Amelia Earhart, with a red teddy underneath her flight clothes. In her interview, Carole says Halloween is when all women dress like sluts and feel good about themselves, at least in New York. I think back on my costumes, and I’m not so sure about that. Dorinda says no one has seen Sonja, and it’s like Where’s Waldo? She says that LuAnn was surprised she didn’t hear from Carole, and Carole says everything she does is wrong in LuAnn’s eyes. In her interview, Carole says she half-expected a call from LuAnn apologizing for calling them all jealous bitches for the past two years. She’s still waiting. Dorinda’s dress arrives, and she squishes into it. I don’t remember exactly what that dress looked like, but I don’t think this is quite it.

The venue is the Dream Hotel, and no surprise, the décor is amazing, and everyone made a huge effort to get dressed up. Sonja comes with Rocco as Lucy and Ricky Riccardo. In her interview, Sonja says that Frenchie was fun, but Rocco is consistent and playing the long game. Tinsley arrives as Madonna during her Boy Toy phase. Ramona is Britney Spears, in a skintight red catsuit and sparkly boots, wearing a headset and holding a mic. Sonja and Rocco head immediately to the bar, ignoring everyone. She claims she needs to entertain Rocco, who has to leave early for work, then she’ll deal with the bitches. I have to confess, I have never once called one of my friends a bitch or a ho as an endearment. Tinsley wonders if it’s something she did, thinking it’s strange Sonja hasn’t stopped by to say hello.  LuAnn appears as Diana Ross, with the biggest afro ever. Huge. Ten times taller than Kid’s (Christopher Reid, Kid ‘n Play) in his heyday. I can also tell you right now, she is going to make Twitter mad over cultural appropriation. Carole thinks it’s a little off, which is being charitable for Carole. Luann says she’s feeling liberated without Tom in tow. It’s been a while since she’s felt her girl power. In her interview, Carole says LuAnn is disrespectful. She’s being tone deaf to a cultural stereotype, and is just plain tone deaf. Now there’s the Carole I know. Bethenny thinks Sonja is at the next level of strangeness, and Dorinda says she didn’t just wander in; she was invited. Why isn’t she saying hello? Passive aggressive maybe?

Dorinda is getting more riled about Sonja ignoring them, saying she’s supposed to be a woman of etiquette, and she’s not greeting the host. Sonja comes over, and Dorinda says, finally. She says Sonja has been clinging to Rocco, and Sonja says he had to leave early. In her interview, Dorinda wonders if Rocco is afraid to be polite. LuAnn tells Sonja to stop talking about her to their friends. She talks as if she knows what’s going on, when they haven’t even talked to her. It’s like a bad game of telephone, and it’s not cool.

Bethenny walks in wearing what she calls, a Barbie costume gone awry. She had two drag queens doing her glam and hair, and ended up as a drag queen/Texas prostitute Barbie. She sees LuAnn and says she has to hand it to her for giving zero effs. On the other hand, she does. She thinks Carole’s aviator costume is a retread of the zookeeper outfit she wore to their gangster dinner. And if Ramona can show her boobs and camel toe, she’s happy. Carole says Amelia was a chain-smoker, and smokes without inhaling. Dorinda, who is already slurring her words, says that after the marathon, she and Carole can chill together. She’ll roast some chickens and get wine, and they can share secrets and have a sleepover. Carols is like, okay… In her interview, says on a scale of one to drunk, Dorinda is an eight. Dorinda says the orange bubbly drink was not nice. She leaves early without her wig and losing bubbles.

LuAnn wants to do karaoke. She gripes about two years of defending Tom. In her interview, Bethenny says LuAnn married the disgusting pig she told her was a disgusting pig. LuAnn says Carole didn’t even text, and she was upset. Carole says it’s not like LuAnn called when she and Adam broke up. She respected LuAnn by not saying I told you so. It’s not her business, and she’s happy to be in a club of one. In her interview, Carole thinks it would have been insincere, and she doesn’t do that. She wishes she could be insincere; her life would be easier. I hear her on that one. LuAnn says Carole could have been a woman with a heart and soul. In her interview, Carole says she knows should have reached out, but didn’t. They were friends, and then they weren’t. She wants it to go away. She doesn’t want to live in the past. She wants to be moving forward.

Bethenny talks about an investment property she bought in South Hampton. Since she has to turn down her nose at something, Ramona says she’d never buy on the highway, but she’s not being negative. Bethenny says she’ll be sure to consult her next time. Sonja says, get the boxing gloves ready. Bethenny says Ramona can’t help being unkind. She knows real estate, and has five properties (plus, she worked with Fredrik!). Ramona babbles about the highway, and Bethenny says when Ramona is successful, ro call her back. In her interview, Bethenny says Ramona can’t help herself, and they just wait for next stupid thing she does. Ramona would wear a meat suit in front of a tiger cage. Ramona insists she believes in and empowers women, and Bethenny has enough, saying she doesn’t. Ramona says she’s being crucified for no reason, and Bethenny says there’s every reason. No one believes her bullsh*t.

This season, Dorinda drives like a maniac, Adam goes on a date, Bethenny goes to Puerto Rico, Carole runs the Marathon, another costume party, Jill Zarin’s husband dies, LuAnn gets arrested and goes to rehab, and Dorinda purposely faceplants in a cake.

🌟 On Star, Charles said he owned the girls, and Alex was going on tour with Noah. Jahil wanted Andy and Angel to go, so Charles suggested a sing-off, like in the old days. This prompted Simone to marry Angel on the sly, telling him it was the only way to keep her from going back to foster care. Star was singing her mother’s song in a club, and flashed back to a murder. She got sick and ran out. Later, the guy playing the keyboards (Jackson) tracked her down, telling her there was pain in her voice and he was looking for a lead singer. She said that’s why he doesn’t want to know her. Noah also confessed to Alex that he’s the reason their song was on the radio.

Carlotta told Ayanna that she was fighting for her girls against Ayanna’s father. Ayanna was a mess, but got it together, and they toasted to payback. Ayanna told her father that that she knows the CEO of his sponsoring company. She was one of the women he ass-grabbed back in the day. She told him that he’d be taking the girls on tour, or face a P.R. nightmare. Omari – who I thought was dead – cornered Cotton, asking her to leave town with him, telling her nobody else needs to get hurt. This came back to bite him later, when he really almost died. A bunch of guys jumped him and put a plastic bag over his head, but Cotton called it off after watching him struggle. She told him he might have saved her life in prison, but she doesn’t belong to him. And Miss Lawrence told him not to come back. This was fun, but the real treat was the trio of Queen Latifah, Patti LaBelle, and Brandi, singing in an empty church.

The best of Queen Latifah’s hair this week was a dark magenta, nearly purple, modern twist on the shag, with long bangs. Next time, Arlene’s body is found, Brody tells Jahil that they have a problem, and Take 3 is going on tour.

🔊 Jackie Hoffman – whom I love – was a guest on Watch What Happens Live tonight. I’d seen her in Hairspray on Broadway, and she’s always a delight. Although I often find him annoying, Andy accurately pointed out that Bethenny was not on theme at the Halloween party. Barbie might be famous, but she’s not a person, alive or dead. Next week, the show is going to LA.

🛀 Bubblemania

LadyGagaBubbleDress

The Real

LadyGagaBubbleDressInstructables

The Kit

LadyGagaBubbleDressDorinda

And the I Don’t Know What

 

Apr2

April 1, 2018 – Everyone is Looking for Something, Wrong Lane Legend, Some Ramble & My Neighbor’s Brother

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What I Watched Today

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

 

The Walking Dead

At the trash heap, Tardis Jadis hears shooting, and covers Negan with a bunch of material. She plays dead, and several people run past. A guy stops and spits on her. Lucky for her, he keeps moving. When it’s over, she removes her boots and coat, and is in the nightgown she wore when she killed the other Heapsters.

Wearing normal clothing – a plaid flannel shirt and jeans – Jadis retreats to a long, narrow bedroom that’s in amazingly pristine condition, and even has a skylight.  She picks up a now clean Lucille, and checks her watch. She goes to the container. She goes to the container. Negan says, what the sh*t?  He’s tied up, and she pulls him out on a dolly.

Carol chops wood. Ezekiel wants to look for Henry, but she says Maggie needs her. He tells her that she’s choosing not to leave; why? Does she believe Henry is already dead? She told him to pretend until it’s so, yet she can’t. He thought she was the bravest person he’d met, but no. She’s being stopped by cowardice.

Tara tells Daryl it’s been over a day, and she’s still not sick. He says she got lucky. She says Dwight shot her with clean arrow. Everyone else who got hit, got sick. It can’t be an accident. Daryl asks if Dwight gets a pass. Tara reminds Daryl about telling her that they might need Dwight. If she’d killed him, now she’d be dead. She thinks it’s personal with Daryl, and he’s not looking at the whole picture.

Michonne asks Rick if he wants to read it. He gets his coat, and says they need food. She asks what he wrote to Rick. Rick doesn’t know; he can’t. Michonne says he has too. Someone stopped her, and now she’s stopping him. Carl wrote it because he wanted Rick to read it. It was one of his last wishes. She tells Rick that he’s staying. She takes his coat and bag, and leaves the room. Rick looks like he has a headache, and takes out the letter.

Morgan sees Carol, and she asks if he’s looking for him for the Saviors. She says he doesn’t have to, but he says he does. He was supposed to do it before. Carol says fine, but she’s coming with him.

In Maggie’s office, Rosita says if the Saviors come back, they can’t defend a sizeable attack. Daryl thinks hand-to-hand combat is the way to go. Maggie asks if he thinks they’re running out of ammo, but Rosita says they have their bullet-maker; they’ll never run out, but she knows where to find him.

Negan tells Jaundice Jadis that whatever happened, he can smell it. He told her that he thinks people are a resource; he doesn’t throw that away. He’s confident that most people can be put on the right path; his own path. He wouldn’t have done this. It’s the work of someone not following the program, but it’s his mistake; he’ll own this. He took a chance, and thought he was doing the right thing, and punched himself in the d*ck. He’s sorry. He really is sorry. Jadis says she lost all she had. He tells her that he can help get it back. She brings Lucille down about an inch from his face.

Carol tells Morgan it makes sense that they stayed near the road. She finds a partially eaten turnip, and says, they were here. Morgan sees something and runs, calling Henry’s name. Carol follows. Morgan sees Henry, who turns around. He looks like death, and says, you know where it is; you were supposed to. Morgan says he’s not there, and tells Henry he’s not there. He tells Carol that Henry is dead. Carol says she didn’t come to look for Henry, but keep an eye on Morgan. She saves people, but she can’t save the dead. Morgan says he’s not dead. He doesn’t die; he just sees them – again and again. Even when he looks away, he still sees them. They continue to walk, Morgan in the lead. He sees a zombie whose head was cracked open with a rock. He says they came through here. Maybe it was a shortcut.

Rick watches Judith play. A single tear rolls down his face. He goes out with his gun, and asks Alden where they went. Alden says his best and only guess is the Sanctuary. He says they talked about getting out, but he hadn’t given their plans too much credit. Rick asks how he would do it, and Alden tells him about an old dive bar Negan talked about turning into an outpost. He asks Rick to do him a favor, and if Rick finds them, not to kill more than he has to. He says it went bad last night. They made a wrong choice, but it probably hasn’t hit some of them yet. He says Rick could bring them back and show them. Rick says he could.

Jadis’s watch beeps. She tosses Lucille, and walks off. Negan says, let’s talk about this. He had nothing to do with it. He moves himself along on the dolly with his feet. Jadis slides out a luggage cart with a zombie attached to it. It’s super weird, like the zombie is part of the cart. Negan says if she really wanted to harm him, she wouldn’t have left him near a bag full of guns, along with pictures of her nearest and dearest. She looks out, and he has a gun in one hand, and a lit flare in the other. Nearby are several photos. He suggests they have a chat.

Down the road, Carol and Morgan see a herd of zombies crossing. Carol thinks they should wait, and let it pass. Morgan says they could lose the trail, but Carol is afraid of losing more than that. A zombie stumbles toward them, and Morgan pikes it in the head. He starts to walk down the road, and Carol says maybe they can find them by another road. Morgan says he knows what they’ll find. She says he won’t know unless they keep going, and she won’t know unless she tries. He can try too. Morgan says he can’t. She saves people; he watches them die. He’s supposed to. Carol says he found her. He saved her. He knew she could come back, and he can too. He says it wasn’t him. He’s not strong like her. He was there watching them, knowing something would happen, and then it did. He has to kill him. He walks off. Carol calls to him, and then walks in the opposite direction.

Gimcrack Jadis tells Negan to leave the pictures alone. He says he figured they meant something to her. Considering the way things are, she can’t just pop around corner and order friends. He’s asking her one more time, what the sh*t is this? Is this how she kills people? Jadis mimics him, saying people are a resource. She asks him to put the flare away. It’s all she has left. He took her world; her everything. He tells her that his wife’s name was Lucille. She got him through. He didn’t give her sh*t, and she got him through regular life. The bat got him through this. He named the bat after her. It’s the last piece of what he has of her life, like Jadis’s photos. Jadis says, yes, and her watch beeps. She pushes the cart toward him, jumping around it. She knocks the gun out of one hand, and tries to grab the flare, but it falls into a puddle. A helicopter comes by, and she runs inside. Negan says, what the sh*t? for the fifteenth time. Jadis runs back out with a lit flare, but it’s too late. She walks over to where Lucille is, amid a pile of kindling, and is about to light it on fire. Negan says he didn’t burn her pictures. What will she have after she burns Lucille? Just a pile of ashes. She says she gets to hurt him, and he says he didn’t do it, but he can settle it. She puts the flare down, and cries.

Rick runs through the woods. He and Morgan see each other. Morgan is about to whack Rick with his staff, and Rick says Morgan knows him. Morgan says he’s not right, and Rick says out here for them and they’ll finish it. He and Morgan go out to the road, and see a car with fresh body parts next to it. The screen goes to black, and we hear shots.

In the dive bar, the Saviors are talking about two guys who are lying there. Jared wants to get rid of them, saying they don’t look too good. Another Savior says maybe that’s because they hacked part of them off. I guess these are the guys who belong to the body parts. Jared says, even if they make it, who’s waiting? They need to make their own way. If they deliver Rick to Negan, they’ll win big and be recognized. He asks if Rick is ready to walk. They’re ditching the dead weight and moving on. Jared is about to kill the two wounded men, and one Savior says they can get them to the doctor at Hilltop. Rick suggests they come back with him. He says they chose wrong, but it’s not too late. Cut them free, cooperate, make a fresh start, and become part of a community. He’s giving his word. There’s not a lot worth much anymore, but a man’s word means something. Jared looks skeptical. He asks if Rick thinks they’re dumb enough to believe him. He asks Jared to hear him out. They don’t have much time. They’re headed this way. They need to make a choice now.

The Saviors start to get nervous, and Jared says, there’s no herd, and there’s no deal at Hilltop. Rick didn’t come to save them. He came for blood. He says, this one here, indicating Morgan, strangled one of his own men with his bare hands. Jared accuses Rick of saying bullsh*t. Morgan says he came here to do what he was supposed to; kill every last one of them. Jared holds a gun to Morgan’s head. Morgan smiles, and tells him to save his bullets. He’s going to need them. The herd is coming, and after, when he’s just torn skin, loose teeth, and blood – stuff the zombies didn’t eat – it will be a damn shame, because there will be none of them left to kill. Now tell us how you really feel, Morgan. Jared tells the Saviors, let’s dump and bounce. Morgan says it never changes. He doesn’t die. No one does. Everybody turns. Jared is about to shoot Morgan, when another Savior stops him.

They hear the herd. Zombies begin to flow in. Jared is like, WTF?! and shoots at them. Rick yells for someone to cut them loose. Someone knocks Jared down, but it backfires, and they get eaten. Jared takes off. Morgan and Rick get loose, and get their weapons. Rick shoots, and Morgan uses his big stick. There are several Saviors helping them dispatch the zombies, and they kill them too. I’m like, he-e-ey. Rick throws the last one to a zombie. Wow. He’s harsh. Morgan looks around in the rooms behind the bar. He sees Henry by the pool table. But not for long. Jared pops out, and attacks Morgan with some pointy thing that looks pretty dangerous. He almost stabs Morgan in the throat, but Morgan throws him off and out, closing a metal gate that separates the rooms. It’s a kind of chain link, so Morgan watches Jared trying to grab through the openings. Jared screams as zombies tear his flesh from him. Morgan shows no emotion.

A dying Savior tells Rick this isn’t what he said, and Rick says, he lied. He shoots the guy in the head. Hmm… I don’t know how I feel about this. Morgan says, everybody turns, and walks out. Rick says Morgan saved him; he would have died. Maybe on the street in front of Morgan’s house. Morgan didn’t know him; why did he do it? Morgan says they should go. Rick says, just tell him. He had his son then. Morgan says, because his son was there. I forgot all about that.

Negan has Lucille back. Anthrax Jadis looks at the pictures. Negan asks what happened there; what was that was all about? He tells her to come with him and he’ll follow a new path. She’s not interested, but he says, the offer stands. Maybe he’ll swing by again. Who knows? Maybe she’ll want to share. He leaves, and I’m disappointed she didn’t go with him. And it seems Negan is better at keeping his word than Rick is.

Carol annihilates some zombies, after seeing Henry is trapped in a tangle of roots along a swamp. She pulls him out, and he says he’s sorry. She hugs him, and he cries. She says she was wrong; he can survive.

The wall guards at Alexandria bang on the sheet metal, and hoot and holler. Jerry runs to get Ezekiel. Carol and Henry walk in. Henry runs to Ezekiel. Carol nods, and keeps walking. Henry and Ezekiel hug. Nice welcome, but way to draw a crowd of zombies.

Carol tells Ezekiel that he was right, she was afraid. He says, but she’s no coward. Carol says she had a daughter. After she lost her, Carol was nothing. The people she was with saw a better version of her, but it doesn’t mean she doesn’t find herself down at times.

A wind blows through Alexandria. Morgan and Rick come in. Morgan touches Henry, making sure he’s real. He tells Henry that he killed the man who killed his brother. He smiles, And Henry says he’s sorry, putting his hand on Morgan’s shoulder. Morgan tells him, don’t ever be sorry. Rick walks past everyone, and goes inside. Michonne sees Morgan crying.

Matrix Jadis brings her rolling suitcase to the bedroom. This must be her safe space. Her clean place too. She lies down on the bed.

Negan drives. He pulls over, and opens the passenger door. He says, if sh*t could sh*t, it wouldn’t look as sh*tty as you. Get in. I think this is probably his record number of sh*ts in one episode. Definitely in one sentence.

He drives to the Sanctuary. The guard says he knew Negan was alive. Negan says, hell yes, but not a word. Daddy is home, but it’s going to be a surprise. Hell, he has all sorts to roll out. We hear zombie noises from the car. See? He’s fun. He brings some life to this show. I know that sounds oxymoronish, but it needs some fun.

Daryl and Rosita watch Eugene through binoculars. They make a plan to take him out.

Rick changes into a comfortable t-shirt, and takes out the letter from Carl. Michonne comes in, and he thanks. Her he says he’s sorry, and she tells him that he doesn’t have to be. He says he loves her. She loves him too. They kiss. She leaves the room. He sits on the bed and reads. He cries a little.

Next time, Negan surprises Dwight, Simon wants to gather the like-minded, and the Saviors plan to take the Hilltop.

✝ My Late Slip

Tonight, I hate Walking Dead even more than usual, since they screwed up my entire evening by being on at all. Bravo decided to show new episodes as well, but not for any Wives who are important to me, so I’ll catch up with Atlanta and Potomac later. So how did they screw up my night, do you ask? (Or maybe not.) I’m going to be up half the night watching the late rerun, since I wanted to see Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert. I mostly wanted to see it because, Alice Cooper. Alice was my first real concert that my sister took me to. An hour in, I still mostly wanted to see it for the same reason. Did Chrissy Teigen fund this production? I have nothing against John Legend, but no. He looked like he was having difficulty getting through the score and moving around at the same time. I’m sure he moves around during his concerts, but this is a different kind of moving around. I don’t know if he wasn’t used to it or wasn’t up to it or what, but next to Brandon Victor Dixon (Judas), who knows his way around a Broadway stage, he was a total lightweight. Like vinyl, the concert format of this musical was touted as something new, but isn’t. That’s how the show was first presented. I saw the original on tour. Quite young at the time, I thought they were just really loose with their staging. Especially when Jesus came out and started slapping hands with everyone. At first, I thought he was an actor who showed up late.

It’s always annoyed me that the two most lackluster songs were given to Mary Magdalene. Although I did love her dress, an orange ombre maxi sheath number. The audience was apparently made up of 12-year-olds and/or Legend fans, since they cheered every time he actually made it through a difficult note. Thankfully, they did change some of he score to suit his vocal range. Except for one they forgot. He thought he’s sad and tired? He should have been me watching this. Every once in a while, they also changed a word or line, leaving me with a question mark over my head, because it did nothing to improve on the lyrics or make them more relevant. The lighting was also a problem, most likely looking abstract and cool from the audience, but it wasn’t made for television viewing. During Peter’s Denial, some dude was taking his pic with a cell phone, which also left me wondering. If they were modernizing this, why wasn’t the rest of it like that? Was that supposed to be ironic or something?

Alice gave me a thrill and a smile. Not bad for a seventy-year-old. Thank God (heh-heh) the audience obviously knew who he was. His costume rocked. If a suit could be called psychedelic, this one would be it, again in an orange pallet. (The color scheme in general was in the brown-yellow-orange family.) He also held a walking stick/scepter topped by a small skull. I’ve seen several different Herods – from an Ohio summer theatre Herod, who was downright frightening, taking the apple he was eating and smushing it into Jesus’s face, to the silly film version with my old NYC neighbor Toby’s brother, Josh Mostel (both, sons of the late, great Zero Mostel). Alice was enjoyable and milked it well. I also loved his harem of dancing girls. The choreography as a whole was good.

Oh yeah. Could We Start Again. The third Mary Magdalene song. There’s a reason this one wasn’t even on the soundtrack.

I always feel a little sorry for Pilate, who was really a little fish in a big, Roman political pond. Ben Daniels worked for me here. I love how he seemed like he got a migraine when Herod dropkicked Jesus back to him.

The biggest hit out of the show – the title song, Superstar – was spot-on, again Dixon knocking it out of the park, in the appropriate sparkly outfit, the backup dancing reminiscent of Janet Jackson in the 90s, with some obvious freestylin’ at the end. The crowd went wild.

John Legend is probably a really nice guy and a good singer, but this was out of his whatever. I don’t want to say league, because he’s just in a different one. Lane perhaps? This role was not for him, not at this time anyway. Legend, maybe; Superstar, no. He got lucky though, with a solid supporting cast, winning choreography, and interesting direction.

👠 The Real Housewives of Potomac has a new girl – Candiace. What is wrong with parents?

🎭 I also checked out Your Husband Is Cheating On Us. Multi-talented, JD Lawrence, brings his urban theater circuit play of the same title to NYC. Besides being let in on the rehearsal process, we follow the actors living in the same house. It’s a worth-watching show within a show, and definitely something different.

🏅 Quote of the Night

Rick and Morgan walk into a bar… there is no punchline… just death. – Talking Dead

🎶 My Neighbor’s Brother

 

Mar29

March 28, 2018 – Sam Needs Distance, a Returning Star, a Surprise Curtis & a Thought

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Maxie thanks Peter for helping lug her stuff to the apartment. She’s never been accused of being a light packer. She tells him that he doesn’t have to stay, but he doesn’t mind. She finds a package outside, and opens it way easier than any package you or I will ever receive. The note inside says, To the love of my life and mother of our child – now our baby will be wrapped in our love – Nathan.

Kiki is wandering around the hospital, and David asks how it’s going. She says she’s just looking for friend. He asks if she’s on the night shift, and she says she rearranged her schedule. He hopes it has nothing to do with him.

Franco tells Elizabeth that he’s sorry. She asks for what, and he has no idea. She says whatever happened to him was kept hidden all this time. What if he never gets answers? How is he going to heal? Kim comes by, and says she’s glad Elizabeth found him; she was going out of her mind. Neither one of them says anything, and Kim knows something is up.

At Kim’s apartment, Josslyn tells Oscar he saved her life. They need some ice, and Oscar says he’ll get it. He never wants her near a freezer again.

Carly goes to Kim’s apartment to pick up Josslyn, and sees Drew outside. She asks what happened. He says she has some nerve. Sam admitted she’s still in love with Jason. She got her wish. Now she can go celebrate. You tell her, Drew.

Jason and Sam sit on a bench at the station. He knows it’s tough on her, and the last thing he wants to do is make it worse. She’s not sure that’s possible at this point.

Kiki tells David that working nights and studying during the day is a better plan. He says as long as she’s not avoiding him. He noticed she was put off by his attempt to get her to relax. She says she’s just weird about massages, and she’s sorry she overreacted. He feels badly, and wants to make it up to her. He asks her to come by his office. She tells him that she studies during her breaks, and he says he has something that will make it easier. He guarantees she won’t regret it. Well, he’s said that before. Dude needs a new repertoire.

Elizabeth asks Kim why she’s at the hospital so late. She’s waiting on a delivery – the baby kind – and wanted to access something on the computer, but her password isn’t working. Franco says he’ll be in the art therapy room. Kim says she definitely interrupted, and asks Elizabeth what’s going on with her and Franco.

Maxie reads the date on the note, and says Nathan must have ordered it before. It’s so unfair. When Nathan was planning for their future, Faison was plotting to end it. How could a father and son be so different? Peter says they’re opposite ends of the spectrum. Maxie wonders how it would have been if Nathan was raised by his father; everything Faison touched was evil. She says it’s a hand knit baby blanket. Now she has something to remember him by. Peter says she must have reminders everywhere, but she says she’s pretty sure she mentioned her brilliant idea. She got rid of all traces of Nathan, thinking she wouldn’t miss him so much. Sam tied to talk out of it, but she didn’t listen. Peter asks if it made her feel better, but she says not even a little. She’s been debating about getting her photos out of the cloud, and putting them back in frames, but it would be weird. Peter says there are no rules when it  comes to grief. You get through how you get through. Maxie hugs the blanket, saying it will help.

Carly tells Drew that she’s sorry. Drew isn’t buying it, since she pushed Sam to Jason. Carly says she did it to help them, not hurt him, but he says it’s the same thing. She says at least now he knows, and isn’t living in denial. He can move on. He says he can’t do this now. Carly gets that he’s in a world of pain, but this isn’t the way to make it better.

Sam tells Jason that she doesn’t blame him; it’s not fair to either of them. Jason says she’s acting like she made it happen, and she didn’t. She says she should have dealt with it, but didn’t, and here they are. He tells her that she’s being too tough on herself. She says she tried to explain it to Drew. The only thing she can think of to make it better is figuring out who she is. Jason asks how she’s feeling, and she says, lost and really scared, but confident she’s making the right decision. The reality is that she could end up without either one of them, and that’s something she’ll have to live with.

Peter tells Maxie the nursery is beautiful; he loves the color. She says Nathan painted it on their anniversary. You’d think she’d have been gracious, but she was too furious at Lulu for outing Nathan as Faison’s son. Peter says she was scared, but she says, no; she was an idiot. What she wouldn’t give to go back in time to see Nathan smile. He wanted to protect them, and did, to the bitter end. Peter says it’s not Lulu’s fault. He gave her green light, so he could sell papers. Maxie says he didn’t know Faison like she did. He couldn’t imagine Faison would come back to kill his own son. He says he did research. She says she knows what he’s trying to do, and it’s not going to work.

Kiki sees Franco, and asks where he was. He says it’s a long story, but let’s say he’s been through hell physically and emotionally. Kiki asks if he’ll be okay, and he says he will, if Elizabeth will forgive him.

Elizabeth tells Kim that Franco is trying to recover a time in his childhood that’s been buried for decades. Bits and pieces came back, but he can’t piece them together. Kim asks if he just found out, and Elizabeth says he’s been struggling a while. She should have left it alone, but kept pushing that she wanted the truth. Having a secret between them made her question trusting him. Kim asks if he found out after all that, but Elizabeth says he still doesn’t remember. Kim asks if she believes him.

Carly asks Drew if he’s sure he wants his son to see him in that shape. He says he just lost his family, but she suggests he clean up a little. She gives him some tissues and an Altoid. She lets him use her compact mirror, and says she really is sorry he got hurt.

Oscar tells Josslyn that she makes him feel better. They almost kiss, but there’s a knock at the door. Oscar wonders if it’s another fruit basket, and Josslyn says she’ll get it. Carly and Drew walk in. Carly asks if Josslyn is ready to go home, and Drew hopes Oscar is up for a visitor.

Sam tells Jason her husband is going to hate her forever. Jason says Drew doesn’t hate her, but she says he’s certainly not happy with her. If that never changes, she’ll have to accept it. Jason says acceptance is a tough place to get to. She says he gets there fast. He tells her that on some level in his head, he just says, this is it, but it’s not that easy. It doesn’t mean the feelings aren’t there; he wanted to be with her. Sam says he’s able to accept it, and he says just like he’s able to accept what comes next, even if they’re not together. It’s not about him; it’s about her. She has to figure out what she wants and needs. She tells him that she needs some distance, and to get away from Port Charles, Drew – and him. STOP PLAYING THAT MUSIC SO LOUD. Holy! Every time these two are in the middle of a conversation, their “theme music” gets overpowering.

Maxie asks if Peter wants her to forgive Lulu so she has more people to lean on. Maybe he’s sick of her leaning on him. He says, not at all. She says their friendship came out of nowhere, and is 9.5 on the intensity level. If he needs a breather, she’ll understand, but he says he doesn’t. She tells him, strange as sounds, it’s comforting to be around him. She has to tell him something, and if he freaks out, she won’t be offended. She says sometimes way he talks and moves, even his gestures, remind her of Nathan.

Kiki tells Franco to focus on himself. Figure out what happened, and then can focus on Elizabeth. She asks if he’s scared of what he might find out, but he says there’s nothing scarier than losing Elizabeth, and it’s not an option. She tells him then face his past or screw up his future.

Elizabeth tells Kim that she believes Franco doesn’t remember and wants to know the truth, but it’s not just about her. Kim says, she has her boys, and Elizabeth asks, what kind of life it would be, waiting for the other shoe to drop? It’s not the environment to raise kids. She loves him, but the kids are her priority, and need a stable environment. If he’s not stable, he obviously can’t be part of it. Kim tells her that she’s the only one who can make the right decision, but if she’s lucky enough to have found love, she should think long and hard before letting it go. It may not come back around.

Josslyn tells Oscar she’ll see him tomorrow, and she and Carly leave. Drew apologizes for not having come by a lot. A lot has gone down since the earthquake. Oscar tells him, no offense, but he doesn’t look too good. Does he want to talk about it?

Jason asks what Sam is going to do. She says she has to get out of there. She just needs to calm the noise down and think. She’s hoping Drew will be okay with her bringing Scout, and asks if Jason is all right with her bringing Danny. He’s okay with whatever she needs. Of course he is. She wishes she could tell him what he wants to hear, but she can’t make that promise. It’s not fair to be with someone when you’re thinking about someone else. He says she doesn’t have to explain, but she tells him that she does. What she just did to Drew and herself was awful; she can’t imagine doing it again with him. He asks if she wants some coffee, and she says that sounds good. She wonders why he isn’t getting up, and thinks he’s afraid she won’t be there when he gets back. She promises not to go anywhere yet, and he leaves to get the coffee. As soon as he’s gone, she runs out the door. Just kidding.

Elizabeth comes to the art therapy room, and Kiki tells Franco, good luck. Kiki is glad Elizabeth found him, and Elizabeth says she’s glad she found him in one piece. Franco says that makes two of them. He asks Elizabeth what they’re doing, and she says, what’s next depends on him.

Drew tells Oscar that they’re both new to this father/son thing, but thinks he’s supposed to be the one asking Oscar if he wants to talk. Oscar says he’s shockingly problem free. Drew says Oscar just got out of the hospital, and Oscar says he’s better now that he got to spend the day with Josslyn. He has a mom who loves him, a father – finally – and a baby sister who’s crazy cute. It’s not a traditional family, but it’s a family. He wishes he could make it better for Drew, and Drew says he just did.

Jason wants Sam to be okay, and to trust and know herself. He says he knows she’s not used to him talking this much, but if finding herself – or whatever she calls it – means they don’t end up together, he’ll miss her every day. He’ll be okay though, because she is. She asks what he wants for himself, and he says he wants her and has from the beginning. That will never change. She said the worst thing was to go through what happened with Drew again with him. He feels the same way. He doesn’t want to look across the table and see her feeling sadness like she’s trapped and can’t get out. He hurt her once, and will always regret it, but he never wants to do it again.

Elizabeth tells Franco they can’t go on with him promising no more secrets. He gets it; it’s not fair. She’s the best thing that ever happened to him, but he knows how it goes. He sets himself up to lose her. He loves and needs her, so he self-sabotages. He keeps things to himself, knowing they might even drive her away, so he has some measure of control over how he loses her. He understands; she wants and expects more. She deserves more. She deserves him whole, brave, and fully committed. He’s going to get there, but all he can do is pray she’ll be waiting.

Carly messes with her phone, and Josslyn asks if she wants to go back in. She asks what’s going on, and Carly thinks about the scarf on her desk. She tells Josslyn that the fire alarm went off at the MetroCourt, and she’s checking to see if everything’s okay. Kim arrives, and thanks Josslyn for keeping Oscar company. She asks how the patient is, and Josslyn says, itching to get out. Josslyn says he has a new visitor, and she asks, who?

Oscar is glad he has more time to get to know Drew. Drew says, him too. Oscar tells Drew that he likes hanging out with Scout, and would love to come over, but Drew says things are complicated right now. Kim walks in, and asks if Drew is okay. She heard he had quite a day yesterday. He says she’ll hear it eventually, but he and Sam split up.

Sam says it’s really awful, and Jason says, it really is. I roll my eyes. He asks if he should walk her out, but she says no. He gets it, and she thanks him for understanding. Once she leaves this room, the conversation is over, and so is this part of her life; a chapter is closing. It’s a huge chapter, but she has to let it go; it’s time. Jason says it’s her life, and her choice. She should go for it at her own pace. She wants to sit there longer, saying they still need to finish their coffee. Jason shows her his empty cup, which I have to point out is totally clean on the inside. Note to the prop department: people do not lick their coffee cups clean. Not for police station coffee anyway. He says sometimes you have to force yourself to do things you don’t want to. Sam says, five more minutes, and he tells her, deal.

Maxie tells Peter not to think she’s projecting or has some bizarre attachment. She just notices it sometimes. Peter asks how it feels being back. She says, surreal, but that’s kind of like her whole life right now. She tells him that she’s excited to be waiting for Georgie, who’s incredible and so smart, but didn’t get that from her. Peter asks what she did get, and Maxie says the shop till you drop gene. She’s worried about this baby. How is she going to encourage her to be herself and not what Maxie thinks she should be? What if she wants to go into chemistry?  She’s completely clueless. Peter says Maxie will do six months of research, and the baby will be an expert. Maxie says she’s starving. Peter says he’ll let her eat, and she says she doesn’t take eating for two that literally. He decides to stay.

Kiki asks David if it will take long. He says just a minute, and tells her the Shadow position is hers. He had the deciding vote, and she made it. She asks if that’s because she deserves it or because of him. He says she’ll be a huge asset to the hospital. He wasn’t expecting her to pop champagne, but thought a little celebration might be in order. She says she’s surprised and thrilled. She thanks him, and he says that’s all he gets? He thinks she can do better, and kisses her. I go, oh! I’d been thinking this was a running joke, like the one where it sounds like two people are having sex, but it’s really a woman at the dentist. I’m kind of disappointed.

She pushes him away, and asks what he’s doing. He says, what’s wrong? She says he’s been telling her that she’s smart, special, and talented, but he was really just trying to get in her pants. She calls him disgusting, and runs out. She goes to the supply room, hyperventilating, and cries. Double disappointment. Fine if she isn’t interested, but I would have thought she was a little more sophisticated than that. She’s not a kid, and it’s not like he’s married.

Elizabeth tells Franco that she supports him 100%, but can’t be a part of the process. He says he wouldn’t ask her to. It’s something he has to do. She’s proud of him, and she’s going to miss him. She tells him to find out what happened; who he was back then, and most important, who he is now. Then come home. He kisses her.

Maxie says sorry she’s taking Peter away from whatever he does when he’s not at work. What does he do? He says she’ll laugh. He orders room service, and watches late 50’s/early 60’s sitcoms. Life was perfect in them. She takes it he didn’t grow up like that, and he says, no. She says she didn’t either. He tells her watching them makes him feel better about eating alone. She says he’s not eating alone tonight.

Drew and Oscar talk and laugh, while Kim feeds them.

Sam gently puts the cups in the trash because that’s how we all throw things away. Jason says he’ll leave first if it’s easier. She says, omg, she just had a memory. This is the first place they met. Jason says, it is? She says he was in the interrogation room – she doesn’t remember why – and she was waiting for her lawyer. We flash back to when we were all children, and them introducing themselves. Little did she know it was the luckiest day of her life. He says, really? since it’s a mess now. She gets up and walks out. He almost says something, but decides not to.

Tomorrow, Lulu accepts that Maxie might not forgive her, Mike toasts to Morgan, and Griff figures out that Peter is Henrik.

🌟 Star is back, along with Queen Latifah’s hair. Sadly, both Kevin, and Carlotta’s wigs, perished in the salon fire. To help set things right, Patti Labelle and Brandy Norwood showed up, and started ordering everyone around. Miss Lawrence has apparently been de-fired, and was also back on the scene. Derek got love advice from his grandmother, who also discovered he’s not as immobile as he’s been pretending. Carlotta told Cotton that she knew Omari killed Elliot and asked if Omari threatened her. Little does she know that Cotton killed Omari. There was the usual tug-of-war with Noah, and the squeaky wheel got the oil when the girls heard themselves being played on the radio, thanks to GiGi. Next time, the Queen’s hair returns.

💸 I was watching reruns of 2 Broke Girls, as I often do, and I caught Donnell Turner (Curtis, GH) in a bit part as a hot cop. It was a wonder I recognized him, since he was wearing a helmet that covered too much of his face. It was the one where the girls hunt down Martha Stewart in the bathroom and ask her to taste their cupcake. And that’s not a euphemism for anything.

💡 A Thought…

Remember

🚴 Almost…

ThursdayMinions