What I Watched Today

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

General Hospital

Sasha finds Willow at the hospital, and hugs her. Willow says, don’t tell Chase she was crying, but Sasha says, he probably figured it out; he’s a sharp guy. Willow says she knows she’s too close to this, and has to get emotional perspective. Sasha says she’s learned something about stress while developing spa products for Deception. The body doesn’t differentiate between physical, mental, and emotional stress. It doesn’t know the difference, and emotional stress is often the toughest to deal with. Willow says, okay. So she’s a wreck. Sasha says, the next part is just her theory, but she thinks Willow’s body can’t tell the difference between her love for Wiley when Willow thought he was her son, and now.

Chase tells Michael, he realizes Wiley is a priority, and Michael says, Willow is too. She’s more than a friend, and important in Wiley’s life. He can see what this is doing to her, and if it helps, she doesn’t have to testify in the custody hearing. Chase says, that will just make it worse. Willow needs to feel like she’s doing something positive for Wiley. If her getting on the stand will tip the scale, even a little bit, she’ll be thrilled. She’d do anything for that little boy. We flash back to Willow in court against Shiloh when he thought Wiley was his son. She says she had a baby, but Shiloh will never find him. He’s evil and vile. Diane tells her, stop talking, but she continues to go off on Shiloh. She says the only thing Shiloh cares about is himself. He’ll never, ever find her child. The judge tells Diane to handle her client, and Diane tells Willow to sit down. The judge says Willow admitted to having a baby, and has to turn the records over to the court. Willow says she won’t, and he cites her for being in contempt. Chase cuffs her, and reads her rights.

Nina tells Jax, after the disaster that was Sasha, she accepted the fact that she miscarried, and moved on. But she’s still holding on to that stupid necklace. Jax says he’s seen her holding it, and she says her mother gave it to her. Her mother hated her, and tried to kill her twice, once by accident, and once on purpose, because she wanted to get her hands on Nina’s money. She left the necklace in a box of things she’d bequeathed to Nina, along with a cryptic note. Two halves come together to mend a broken heart. Nina couldn’t help thinking maybe the baby survived.

Nelle says Carly should have known her, and welcomed her as a sister. Carly says, they’re not… related. Nelle says she can’t even say the word – sisters. That’s how much she hates it, and wishes it wasn’t true. They have the same father, and that makes them sisters. Carly says Frank wasn’t her father. He was a loser her adoptive mother married, and he ghosted them before she had a chance to know him. They only met once. She tracked him down in a crap apartment in Miami, trying to get a fraction of the child support he owed her mother. Nelle says he wasn’t Carly’s father until she wanted money, and Carly says she didn’t get one dime. She didn’t know Nelle was Josslyn’s kidney donor, or that Frank even had a daughter. Nelle says, she knew. Carly saw her.

Miami, 1995. Young Carly goes to an apartment. Frank opens the door (James Patrick Stuart, Valentin), and asks if he can help her. She says, Frank Benson? and he says, who’s asking? She says, Caroline Benson, and he says, Virginia’s little girl? How did she find him? She says, Ken Richardson knew someone who knew someone who knew his address. He says she’s lucky. They’re leaving soon. He has a business opportunity that’s a pretty sweet deal. She wonders if he’s even going to ask about her mom, and he says, how’s her mother? Still the same? Carly says she’s doing well, and he asks if they’re still in the same house, but Carly says they moved when she was in first grade for a neighborhood with better schools. He says she’s all grown up, and asks what she wants from him. She says he owes her mother fourteen years of unpaid child support. She’s there to collect. He says she must have her wires crossed. Virginia was the one who wanted to adopt her. Carly says, he didn’t want her, so he shouldn’t have pay? He says, if she wants to put it like that. A little girl comes out, and asks who she is.

Jason tells Josslyn, he doesn’t think Nelle can do or say anything that outweighs the facts. She asks if he thinks Michael will win, and he says, the facts are on Michael’s side. She says it’s cool how he sees things so clearly, and he says, not always. She says, more than the others do. She wishes he’d been there when Nelle first got to Port Charles. He would have seen right through her. We flash back to Nelle seeing Josslyn in the MetroCourt. She says it’s been a while, and Josslyn says, things have been tense between Nelle and her family. Nelle agrees, but they’re cool, right? Besides, they’re kind of family now. Josslyn is going to be the baby’s aunt. Is she ready for that? We move to Nelle asking if Josslyn is okay with her marrying Michael. Josslyn says she thought Nelle and Michael belonged together. It’s just that right now… Nelle says, Josslyn is thinking about her mom. She’s been thinking about Carly too. Sonny says he bets she has, and Nelle says she’s hoping Carly gets better, comes home, and accepts the baby, and her along with it. Josslyn hopes she’s right, and Nelle says she has one favor to ask. Will Josslyn be her maid of honor? Josslyn hesitates, but says, yes, of course (🍷). We move to Josslyn giving Nelle a beautiful hair clip on the day of the wedding. Josslyn says it belonged to her grandmother. She gave it to Josslyn’s mom, and her mom gave it to her. She’s loaning it to Nelle. It can be her old, borrowed, and blue, but she needs it back. Nelle says, of course (🍷). Josslyn says she thought Nelle should have something that tied everything together, other than Michael and the baby. Nelle suggests they take a photo to send to Josslyn’s mom, so she can see something that will tie her to the wedding, even if she can’t be there. In the present, Jason tells Josslyn, if Nelle never came, there would be no Wiley. Josslyn says, maybe not. Wiley is worth everything.

Nelle tells Carly, she came to see them just before they moved to Tampa. Her father was excited; he’d missed Carly. Her father asked Carly to stay and spend time with the family. Carly says, that didn’t happen, but Nelle says, she heard the whole thing. Carly says, oh my God. She was there. The little blond girl was her. Nelle says, Frank wanted them to be sisters, and asked her to stay. Why didn’t she? Everything would have been different. Carly could have taken care of her, but Carly was too selfish. She didn’t care that they traveled around and moved all the time, chasing deals that never closed. They were always poor, but Carly just wanted to come to Port Charles and have a fabulous life, and that’s what she did. She left Nelle. In 1995, Frank tells Nelle to go to the kitchen and have some cereal; he’s busy. Nelle says they don’t have any, and he says, then have a cookie. Carly says she guesses Frank wanted Nelle, but has no money for her. He says, not a dime, and she says, okay. Then tell her about her birth parents.

Nina tells Jax that Valentin visited her mother in prison before she died. Her mother told him that Nina had carried the baby to term; a little girl who was given up for adoption. Jax wonders if Valentin was lying to set the groundwork for Sasha. Nina doesn’t think he did, but her mother could have been lying out of spite. She was very jealous of Nina, and the money she’d inherited. Maybe it was one last dig at her. He says she doesn’t sound convinced, and Nina says, no. She just has a feeling she can’t shake. An instinct that she has a daughter out there somewhere.

Nelle tells Carly, everything that happened was because Carly couldn’t be bothered to take care of her. What Frank said was the truth. Carly says, it’s not true. Frank never asked her to stay. He sent Nelle into the other room, and said he didn’t have any money and never wanted to adopt her. He didn’t consider Carly a daughter. He knew her mother was Barbara Jean Spencer, and knew she’d moved to Port Charles. Later, he found out Carly had moved there and had money. That’s when he began calling her his daughter. Nelle says, he kept Carly’s baby rattle, but Carly says he was probably going to pawn it, but forgot. He gave Nelle a story, twisting things so he’d look good. He sold Nelle’s kidney. He was a weak selfish man who exploited Nelle, but she doesn’t have to be like him. She can go in a different direction. Carly did. After she had Michael, she realized she could be better. Not perfect, but she could give Michael what he needed, and put him first. When she did, her life was better. Nelle can do that; put Wiley first. Nelle says, by handing him over to Michael, and Carly says, let Michael have full custody, and she’ll have visitation rights. She can build a relationship with Wiley, while Wiley stays in a home that he knows, and where he’s happy. Nelle says, happier than he’d be with her, because she can never be good enough. Carly says Nelle has a chance prove she’s good enough, and give up what she wants, so Wiley can have what he needs. Nelle says Carly wants her to give up the suit too. If Carly thinks she’s going to let get Monica and Bobbie get away with malpractice, think again. She’s going to leave the hospital bankrupt, and it’s Carly’s fault. All of it is Carly’s fault. Nelle never did anything Carly didn’t do. We flash back to Nelle telling Carly that she has an idea everyone is going to love. Whether the baby is a boy or girl, she’s going to name it Morgan. We move on to Nelle planting a scarf like Morgan’s in Carly’s office, saying, let the haunting begin, and Carly finding it, making the connection. We move to Nelle leaving Carly the note that says, find me where you left me tonight, and spraying Morgan’s cologne in the graveyard. Carly arrives there, and says she knows that smell, and calls out to Morgan. We see Nelle and Carly struggle over the baby blanket, and Nelle falling down the stairs. We move to Nelle telling Carly that Michael proposed, and saying she can call Carly mom.

Carly says Nelle sounds like Frank, and Nelle says, see you in court, sister. She leaves, and we go back to young Carly. Carly tells Frank, her mom said he handled the adoption. Who were they? He says, who knows? and she says, he does. She knows the adoption agency rejected them, but he told Virginia he could still find her a baby. He had connections; who was it? He tells her not to ask questions she doesn’t want the answer to, and she says, they can’t be worse than him. Tell her. He says he doesn’t know who her father is, and doubts her mother would know, given her profession. She was a hooker, and Carly’s father was one of her many johns. Her madam said they could adopt her for a fee. It was more than he was willing to spend, but Virginia had to have a baby. Carly asks for a name, and Frank says, what does it matter? He tells her it was Ruby Anderson’s house. Her mother was Ruby’s niece, Barbara Jean Spencer. Carly asks if he knows what happened to her, but he doesn’t. He says, given her choice of profession, he hopes Carly isn’t looking for a warm and fuzzy reunion. She tells him, go to hell, and he says don’t blame him if she doesn’t like the answers to her questions. Give his regards to Virginia. Maybe he’ll look her up. Carly says, try it, and she’ll kill him.

Michael tells Chase, Nelle is a nightmare, but she did do good. Chase says, Wiley? and Michael says, all of it. Willow loved Wiley for a year and a half when she thought he was her child, but when she found out he wasn’t hers, her love wasn’t wasted. She’s part of Wiley’s life, and that wouldn’t have happened without Nelle. We flash back to Willow sitting with Wiley in Kelly’s, and telling him that she wants to be his mother, but that’s what she wants. She knows he wants to be with the family he has; Brad and Lucas. She’d never take him away from the daddies he loves. She prays they have their own relationship, and someday when he’s old enough, and comes to her with questions, he’ll understand why she chose to leave him, because she wants his happiness more than her own. She is his mommy, and loves him with all her heart. We move to Willow asking Chase if they’re at the point where she has to check in with him to say yes to being her own son’s guardian. He asks if there’s not an app for that. He’s not surprised; she deserves to be his guardian. She obviously loves him.

Sasha says, Willow went to jail rather than admit Shiloh was Wiley’s father. Willow says, he wasn’t, but Sasha says, that’s not the point. Her instinct as a mom was to protect at any cost, and that didn’t change when she found out Wiley wasn’t her biological child. Willow says he’s at risk from a vile, selfish woman who wants to use him as a weapon. Of course (🍷) she wants to protect him. But it’s not enough to be protective. She has to do something. We flash back to Willow telling Chase that Wiley isn’t her child by birth, but she’s part of his life. He’s not Michael’s child, but Michael loves him anyway, and she doesn’t love him any less. Chase says she didn’t feel that way before; it was the exact opposite. She says she misses him so much, and Chase says, before she makes a decision, take a breath. He knows Michael is thinking about what’s best for Wiley, but he’s thinking about what’s best for her. At the hospital in the present, Sasha says Willow is the closest thing Wiley has to a mother; Nelle doesn’t count. Willow says, Wiley needs her, and she’s got to stand up for him.

Nina tells Jax, it’s not irrefutable, but it’s a custom piece, so there’s no way to trace it. He says he knows a good security firm who could retrace her mother’s movement after Nina went into the coma. She says, Valentin already did that, and Jax says just because Valentin failed, doesn’t mean he will. She appreciates it, but she’s not sure she wants to set herself up for disappointment. It’s a deep dark rabbit hole she’s already been down, and she’s not sure she wants to risk it again. Josslyn comes in, and Jax asks what she’s doing on the loose. She says she was going stir crazy at Sonny’s. One of the bodyguards drove her over. If he’s busy… Nina says, no. Josslyn’s father is distracting her from what she needs to do. Josslyn would be doing her a favor to get him out. Jax asks if he can take Josslyn to lunch, but she says she has volleyball practice. He can drive her though; the bodyguard can follow them. He says he’ll see Nina later. As they leave, he says, maybe Josslyn should drive. She says, in that case, let’s take the Porsche.

Carly goes to see Jason, who says, she just missed Josslyn. Carly asks what she was doing there, and Jason says Josslyn wanted him to promise Nelle won’t get Wiley. She asks what Jason told her, and he says he told her it was too soon for promises. They have to see how it plays out. Carly wishes he’d said tomorrow Nelle was going to magically disappear, and then made that happen.

Jason asks if Carly thinks Michael could live with that. We flash back to Carly telling Sonny that Michael will never retaliate against Nelle; not in any real way that makes a difference. That’s why they have to make the decision for him. They have to remove that psycho bitch from their lives, once and for all. We move to Carly telling Michael to let Diane crush Nelle; no backing off. No convincing himself to compromise for Wiley’s sake. Michael says, there is no compromising with Nelle. He has to win sole custody, for Wiley’s sake. In the present, Carly tells Jason that Michael is a better person than she is, and he says he thinks they’re both good people.

Jacksonville, 1996. Carly is ready to leave, when Virginia comes in. She says, good; Carly is still there. Carly says she wanted to say goodbye, and Virginia asks if she’s supposed to thank Carly; she’s still leaving. Carly says wish her good luck, and Virginia says, luck is a lie. Carly says she’d rather take the lie than be stuck there. Virginia says, thanks. She doesn’t want to fight. She loves Carly. Carly says she knows, and loves Virginia too. Virginia hopes Carly finds what she’s looking for – which isn’t money. Carly says, maybe not, but it wouldn’t hurt. Virginia says what Carly is looking for is love, and to be valued and accepted. She hopes Carly finds that, and hopes she finds someone who believes in her. Carly says she believes in herself, and Virginia says she believes in Carly, but Carly doesn’t want to hear that from her. She wants to figure it out on her own, and she will. They hug, and Carly picks up her bags. She says, here goes nothing, and leaves. In 2020, Carly tells Jason, she went to see Nelle at Crimson. It’s okay, but they had it out. Nelle unloaded her grudges, and said what she blames Carly for. At one point, Carly tried to explain how she turned her life around. How she’d been a liar, but managed to change into a halfway decent person. Jason says, more than halfway. Carly says, she told Nelle it was because of Michael, but it was also because of Jason.

Carly tells Jason, the night she showed up on his doorstep, she had nowhere else to go. he let her in, and it changed everything. She’d never had that. She should feel sorry for Nelle, and she almost does, but she’s mostly grateful to have Jason. We flash back to Carly hugging Jason, and says she can’t believe he’s there. He’s alive. She missed him so much. There’s so much she wants to tell him, and say to him. He tells her, take a deep breath, and count to ten. We move on to Carly visiting Jason in the hospital, and telling him about being pregnant with Donna. She says he has to do whatever she wants for the next seven months. He says, if that’s what she needs, they’ll figure it out. Tell him about the baby. She says she’s scared, nervous, and surprised. She never thought she’d be having another baby, but now that she knows, she’s excited. He says he’s excited for her. We move to Jason telling Carly that he would have done anything to get her out of that place; even team up with Franco. He’s sorry she got taken to Ferncliff. She says she knew he’d get her out, and he says he should have that night, but he let himself be talked into waiting. Carly says, she let herself be talked into pleading insanity. They both messed up. From now on, they trust their own instincts, especially when it comes to each other. Deal? He says, deal. She says she knew he’d come to get her, and he did. In the present, Jason says, the night Carly showed up was the best thing that ever happened to him. They hug.

Nina looks at the necklace for the 47,506^th time. She flashes back to giving the other half to Sasha at Windymere. Sasha says she can’t, and Nina says, of course (🍷) she can. Obrecht says, it’s a significant gift, but Sasha says, it’s too much. Nina says there’s no such thing when it comes to Sasha. It’s not the original, but she had it made, and it fits her piece. She puts the necklace on Sasha, and says, it’s a perfect fit, just like them. We move on to Nina’s wedding, and Nina telling Sasha, all she needs to do is tell everyone she’s Nina’s daughter. Sasha says she’s sorry, but she’s not. Nina says Sasha lied to her with every beat of her heart. She doesn’t have a heart; she’s nothing. Nina pulls the necklace off of her.

Nelle goes through her trinket box, flipping through letters that were returned, and looking at Carly’s baby rattle. We see the other half of the necklace still in the box, and then a split-screen with Nina looking at it.

On Monday, Nina says, maybe she’s more like Nelle than she wants to admit; Laura meets with Valentin; and Lulu says she’s come to say goodbye to someone in jail. In Port Charles, this could be anyone.

👍🏽 This is amazingly clever. Not only are they stretching out the episodes with these flashbacks, anyone who’s home and just beginning to watch, or watching after a long time of not seeing the show, is filled in. And those of us who’ve kept up are still getting a new backstory. To top it off, we’ve gotten a possible reveal as to who Nina’s daughter is, or another layer in that mystery. I’m beyond impressed. Good job, GH!

The Real Housewives of New York City

As Sonja and Tinsley walk to a rooftop for lunch, Sonja says, guys keep trying to pick them up; ignore them. They sit down with their food, and Tinsley says Sonja was jumping on the Dorinda bandwagon. She’s acting like she doesn’t know Tinsley, and she’s not open and honest. Sonja tells her, she said Dorinda didn’t know Tinsley, and Tinsley says, Dorinda is calling her a liar. She’s saying Tinsley was still with Scott when she wasn’t. Sonja says Tinsley went on a trip with him, and Tinsley says, when they were broken up, there was no arrangement for her to get money from him. In Sonja’s interview, she says she’s heard that Tinsley and Scott have been together since they broke up. Tinsley is the only woman she knows who’s gotten clothes and bling after a break-up. Leah joins them, and Sonja says they were talking about Dorinda claiming Tinsley isn’t being truthful. Tinsley tells her, she can only say it so many times. Dorinda turned on her when she’s always been a friend. In Leah’s interview, she says, maybe Tinsley confides in her and Sonja because they don’t call her a hooker. If Dorinda treated her that way, she wouldn’t tell the bitch what she had for lunch. Tinsley says Dorinda was implying she’s not being truthful, but she’s allowed to go back and forth in a relationship. It’s her effing life. In Tinsley’s interview, she says she didn’t know she had to share every detail of her relationship with Dorinda. Leah tells them, Ramona called her, and wants her to come to the Hamptons. Sonja asks if Leah has any tattoos, and Leah says she has several, but she’s having the tramp stamp of her name removed. It was her first tattoo. Sonja asks if she had her name put there, so when she’s having sex, the guy can remember her name. In Sonja’s interview, she says she thinks tattoos are a negative thing. You’re defecating you’re body. She realizes what defecating means, and settles on defaming. And actually, I think what she really meant to say is defacing. Read a book once in a while, Sonja. She tells Leah that she never has sex with men who have tattoo. In her interview, Leah says she’s sure Sonja wouldn’t kick a young, hot guy out of bed for having an anchor tattoo.

Dorinda’s housekeeper Len helps her pack. Dorinda says, it’s a weird time for the Hamptons, since it’s hot/cold. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, it’s good to hear that Ramona is going to be the lady of the manor, and overseeing the group. She hopes her bedroom is way upstairs, and Tinsley’s is way downstairs. I liked Dorinda in the beginning, but with each season, she works my last nerve harder.

In the Hamptons, LuAnn meets Ramona at a restaurant. While LuAnn waits at the table, Ramona stops by the bar to give a dude her phone number. In Ramona’s interview, she says she’s a born flirt. The day she doesn’t flirt, she’ll be dead. She tells LuAnn that she has a storyboard. She’d like to have a commitment, but not be married. LuAnn thinks she sounds like a serial killer. In LuAnn’s interview, she says she can’t imagine what’s on Ramona’s board. D*ck pics? LuAnn thinks the slumber party will be fun, and Ramona says she wants to bond. She has a room for LuAnn that has a separate bathroom. LuAnn says she doesn’t want to be favored. Like I believe that. In Ramona’s interview, she says she doesn’t want a repeat of the fish room, and we flash back to LuAnn’s tantrum. She tells LuAnn she made sure to give her a nice room where it’s quiet, so if Tinsley and Sonja are going crazy, she doesn’t have to hear it. She also invited Leah, and wants Dorinda to get to know her. LuAnn says she likes Leah. The first thing Leah told her is that she’d been arrested. Ramona asks, for what? and LuAnn says, assaulting a police officer; she was nineteen. Ramona says she’s sure that broke the ice and took down the barriers. In her interview, Ramona says, how many of them have gotten arrested? Of course they bonded. She’s hoping they can all come together as a group.

At Tinsley’s hotel apartment, she feeds Strawberry and Shortcake. She tells them, they were vegan at the shelter, but aren’t now. In her interview, she says she went to China to help with rescues, and had to come home with them. They speak Chinese, and she has to learn it to communicate with them. She uses a translator app to tell them, good girl. I understand this, since I once walked a dog who only understood Russian, and I had to learn several phrases.

Sonja picks up Dorinda, who’s bringing flowers and vibrators, but only three of the latter. I guess some of them will have to share? LuAnn tells housekeeper Alice that she’s headed to Ramona’s for the night. Alice asks, why? and LuAnn says, that’s a good question. Ramona prepares some food, and gives Coco a carrot. In her interview, she says Coco is all she’s got, and the dog is going deaf. This is probably a blessing for Coco. Or maybe she’s just faking Ramona out. Leah picks up Tinsley, who has some kind of throat issue, and can barely talk. Leah says Dorinda said some wild-ass sh*t about Tinsley at the party. In Leah’s interview, she says she survived an all-girls Catholic school on the Upper East Side. But this is on their turf, so she’s going to be on high alert. Tinsley croaks out that she’ll have to write things like, yeah, bitch.

In Dorinda’s interview, she says she didn’t give Leah a fair chance. Since she’s Tinsley’s friend, it’s harder not to be judgmental. There’s guilt by association. Sonja tells Ramona that Leah has tattoos everywhere. She has her name on her backside. Ramona says, this girl is gangster. Dorinda and Sonja get to Ramona’s place first, and Dorinda gifts Ramona with a frozé (frozen rosé) maker. In Ramona’s interview, she says, Dorinda gives good presents. Last year, she brought mermaid outfits; this year, a frozé machine. Dorinda says she’s excited about having a glass or nine of pinot. LuAnn arrives, and Coco pees on the hydrangeas. I’m not sure if that’s a statement.

Tinsley and Leah join the women. In Dorinda’s interview, she says, when it comes to Tinsley, it’s see no evil, hear no evil, but she can’t say speak no evil. Ramona tells Leah that she’s a guest, and has free access to everything if she’s at Ramona’s house, so make herself at home. Ramona shows LuAnn to her room, which is basically the entire finished basement. Ramona calls it the lower level, and in her interview, LuAnn says, that’s like putting her in the attic and calling it the penthouse. She’s always lowest on the totem pole when comes to rooms on vacations. The lack of consideration is mind blowing. Good Lord, it’s not that bad, and she has her own bathroom and a TV. She asks Ramona, what happened to the nicest room in the house? and Ramona tells her that she said LuAnn would have privacy. LuAnn wonders how to adjust the air conditioning, since she’s freezing, but Ramona says she can’t. She suggests a blanket, but LuAnn says she doesn’t want to sleep with air conditioning, and Ramona promises to figure it out. Ramona says she’s not surprised LuAnn and Leah bonded, since neither one of them drink, and they were both arrested. Lu Ann tries to work the TV remote in her basement private room.

On the phone, Dorinda deals with a contractor for Bluestone Manor. In her interview, she says the heating, electrical, and duct systems had to be ripped out. She’s overwhelmed, and still has to live her normal life. It seems like it never ends. Sonja asks Dorinda what’s going on, and Dorinda says she’s overwhelmed, and has to get her sh*t together. Sonja says Dorinda has a lot on her plate with the Berkshires house being flooded, and Dorinda says every day it’s another $15K. She doesn’t want to cry, but she’s doing everything, and none of it well. She wishes someone could step in and make it all better. Me too, Dorinda. me too. She says there’s nothing carefree about her anymore, and she’s not nice to anybody. Her mother said she’s wound too tight, and it’s not healthy. In her interview, Dorinda says she feels like she did after Richard died. She doesn’t know who to turn to. Sonja says, it doesn’t make John and less of a man, and Dorinda says, he’s just different. In her Dorinda’s interview, she says, John wants to be as helpful as he can, but he never had responsibilities like this. The only person she can discuss things with is herself. Sonja says Dorinda has too many balls in the air. How can she catch them all? In Sonja’s interview, she says, when Dorinda blows up, she can really rip you a new one, and she’s admitting it. LuAnn sits with them, and Dorinda says she’s having a cry. LuAnn asks, what’s the matter? and Sonja says Dorinda is spread too thin.

Leah gives Ramona a candle from Joe Malone, and Ramona loves it. She questions the sheer bucket hat Leah is wearing, as do I, although she’s surprisingly diplomatic, saying she doesn’t know if she could pull it off. She tells Leah that she was a buyer for Macy’s, and started her own company at thirty, after being on her own at sixteen. Leah says her parents threw her out at seventeen, but she deserved it. They told her to go figure herself out. She became rebellious when they moved from NYC to Connecticut when she was thirteen. She says, in hindsight, she learned perseverance, and how to deal with adversity. They join the others outside.

In Ramona’s interview, she says Leah is okay, but that hat, not so much. Leah doesn’t mind anyone criticizing her hat, as long as they don’t criticize her character. Ramona tells the women that they’re leaving for dinner at seven. She wonders how she can agree with a woman who has tattoo. In Leah’s interview, she says, it’s not like she has a penis tattooed across her forehead, or a gun tattooed on her neck. I’m kind of surprised that a bunch of New York City women are this weird about it myself. In Ramona’s interview, she says she doesn’t know what a tramp stamp is, but it doesn’t sound nice. Dorinda says if she forgets Leah’s name, she can just tell her to turn around. In her interview, Leah wonders if Dorinda ever leaves her 1% Upper East Side bubble. Dorinda says she needs a nap. When she leaves, Leah asks how Dorinda knew her name was on her back, and Sonja says she told her. Leah says she’s not having the comments. Get over it; everybody has tattoos nowadays. Sonja goes upstairs, and Ramona whines that no one is helping to clean up, so Leah and Tinsley do it, as Ramona sits with her bottle of vodka.

Leah calls her daughter, who’s had a bad first day of school. She says it’s not the same, and she hates everyone in her class. Leah tells her that she’ll have to make the best of it.  In her interview, Leah says she understands not fitting in. In school, she was the weird girl who lived downtown. That’s what she is again. She tells her daughter, it’s just the first day. See how it goes. Tinsley asks Sonja why she told Dorinda about Leah’s tramp stamp, and Sonja says she thought it was shocking and funny. Tinsley says, Dorinda is being mean, but Sonja says, Dorinda has a lot on her plate. She’s angry, and taking it out on people. Tinsley says Sonja can’t make excuses for her, but Sonja says, Dorinda is going through a rough time. Leah joins them, and says the only person making her uncomfortable is Dorinda. Sonja says, Dorinda is in a bad place, but Leah says she is too. She misses her kid, who had a bad day at school, and she’s dealing with sh*t too. In Sonja’s interview, she says she wants to be there for Dorinda. She’s in a tough place, and Sonja wants to protect her. Tinsley tells Leah to be careful talking about how she feels to Sonja, since she’ll run with it to Dorinda.

Ramona tells everyone to hurry up. Sonja relays Leah’s comments to Dorinda, and when they gather to leave, Dorinda tells Leah that she thought she was being funny. Leah says it’s her delivery, and she senses a lot of hostility. Dorinda informs her that none of them have a tattoo. In Dorinda’s interview, she says that her mother told her that people with tattoos were potential kidnappers, and she believed it. Um… my father got a tattoo in the Navy. What is wrong with these people? LuAnn joins them, and says she missed whatever was going on, and Sonja fills her in. In Tinsley’s interview, she says, good try, Sonja, but you’re not helping. Leah says she and Dorinda haven’t even talked, and Dorinda is making generalizations. Dorinda says she doesn’t know Leah, and Leah says she gets the feeling Dorinda doesn’t want to, but hopes she’s wrong. They get in the limo.

The women go to a restaurant in Sag Harbor. Sonja thinks Ramona should move to LA, since she can’t stop socializing. This is New York; act like a New Yorker. Leah orders a mocktail, and in LuAnn’s interview, she says it’s nice to have a wingman who’s confident to order a mocktail. It can be tough to be around the ladies while they’re drinking. Tinsley hopes a martini heals her voice. LuAnn makes a toast, saying this year was her roughest ever. It was like a volcano erupted, and the ashes came out. She was so busy taking care herself, she didn’t realize the ashes fell on them too. She didn’t know what to do, or how to react, and didn’t realize how much it weighed on them. It’s tough going through recovery, healing, and renewal, and she wants to make amends. She tells them how much she loves them, and says it hasn’t been easy. She thanks them, and in Sonja’s interview, she says, it’s the new and improved LuAnn. Something had to be said, since it was the elephant in the room. She’s glad LuAnn had respect enough for them to do it. They share an octopus dish, and I think about how I used to like octopus until I saw a diver playing with one, and it’s now off my things-to-eat list.

Ramona’s friend Lori calls her from inside the restaurant, and Ramona suggests she come over. Dorinda asks if Ramona is with them or elsewhere tonight. They were supposed to have dinner together, and she thinks Ramona is being rude, and should be present. LuAnn points out that Ramona’s chair is facing out, so she can look around. Ramona says it’s not like she’s an alcoholic; she just likes to be social. In her interview, she says how can she socialize too much? She’s a single woman, with no man. She needs to be social. Sonia reminds Ramona that she’d said she wanted younger friends. Dorinda says Sonja was stirring the pot this afternoon, and Sonja says Leah misunderstood her, and she wants to get to know Leah. Leah says next time, she’ll speak to Dorinda directly. In her interview, Leah says she’s not that offended. It’s not the worst thing anyone’s ever said to her, but she’s got her eye on Dorinda now. She tells them to enjoy her tramp stamp while they can, since it’s going to be gone soon, and Dorinda says, Sonja is the one who started talking about it. Sonja says that’s because she knows what it’s like to be a tramp. In Dorinda’s interview, she admits to making an unfair judgment about Leah. She holds her own, which Dorinda likes, tramp stamp and all. Ramona says she’s going to do a lap, and scope the room. In LuAnn’s interview, she thinks the whole town must have Ramona’s digits by now. Ramona is in costume; boobs out, going to war. Sonja says Ramona needs to lay up the shot, and LuAnn says, God help those men in there.

Next time, Dorinda says, only 24 hours and they got Leah to drink; Sonja says she was never a trophy wife; and LuAnn leaves Ramona’s.

👨🏽‍🍳 On Top Chef, Kelly Clarkson was introduced as guest judge. Everyone was thrilled, and she said she always gets worried about what the reaction will be when she’s a surprise. She gave the chefs a sneak peek at The Trolls World Tour, telling them the plot involves six Trolls heading musical genres, who all want to take over. The theme is inclusivity, and that everyone should be heard. She’s the voice of the head of the country Trolls. A table was set up with ingredients grouped by color, representing the six musical Troll worlds. For the Quickfire challenge, the chefs were to take an ingredient from each color, and make one cohesive dish. The winner would not only get immunity, but would also go to the red carpet premiere of the movie.

Gregory said he’d slayed the Quickfire challenges his last time around, but hadn’t gotten his momentum. Brian didn’t know what to do with the cotton candy he chose, and was eating it. When he tried to make ice cream, it exploded out of the machine. When the judges did their tasting, Padma asked if he meant for he ice cream to be curd-like, and he said that’s exactly what he was going for. No wonder his last name is Malarkey. Apparently, Gregory got his momentum, since he won for his shrimp dish. He said he was going to be taking Nini, since she’d let him use her can opener.

For the elimination challenge, the chefs would be shopping at the Santa Monica farmer’s market, where there are over 75 organic farmers selling produce. They would be split into two teams of six, and make a six-course progressive menu, each being responsible for one course, including dessert. They were being given $1200 and 45 minutes to shop, but wouldn’t know what they’d have to work with until they got to the market. Their entire menu also had to be vegetarian, and they’d be serving 40 diners at Jeremy Fox’s restaurant Birdie Gs. They were reminded that Jeremy literally wrote the book on vegetables.

A basket of trolls, courtesy of Kelly, waited for them at the house. Melissa thought it would be a challenge to be flexible, and that communication and being able to pivot were key. The market was very impressive, and while the chefs didn’t seem to have a hard time deciding what to make, there were a few monkey wrenches along the way, like Jennifer burning her cashew butter, and Lisa discovering her Brussels sprouts were inconsistently cooked.

Padma said the blue team was clearly the winner with progression, and Tom thought everything was solid all the way through. The plating was beautiful, and the menu well-executed. Melissa was the winner within the winners, and said in her interview that she was there to show she was a force to be reckoned with. The red team didn’t fare so well, the judges finding the first two courses being too raw. Brian’s mozzarella and tomato dish was something they’d felt had been seen before, and he and Leeann played the blame game over Lee Anne’s dish, as Brian had helped plate it. Lisa’s Brussels sprouts weren’t well-received either, but she tried to justify them by saying her cooking was more rustic. Tom said she could still be true to herself, yet be thoughtful and complex. He said it all depended on how far they were willing to push themselves, and they didn’t want to walk out second guessing what they’d done. In the end, Lisa packed her knives and went to Last Chance Kitchen. She said it sucked, since she had made the finale in her season, and it was something she hadn’t heard before. This was a whole other level of chefs, and hadn’t been easy.

Next time, the chefs’ loved ones join them, and they’re going to be responsible for creating their own product, which their guests will test. It also looks like an ambulance has to be called for Lee Anne’s mom.

🌈 Connecting…

Hope all is well, and you’re being productive. Or at least catching up on your TV watching. Stay safe, and see you on Sunset tomorrow.