Category Archives: real housewives

Jan9

January 8, 2020 – Alexis Sees Nikolas, Dallas Concludes Its Painful Reunion, an Opinion, Marge Gets Her Ponytail Pulled, Eva Makes Me Laugh & Don’t Mess With It

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

On the phone, Sonny says he wants private security riding with them. He tells Carly not to worry, and Carly says it could have been Gladys eavesdropping. She needs Gladys gone. Sonny says he’s already arranged it. Gladys comes in, and asks where they keep the extra blankets; her room was kind of cold last night. Sonny tells her, never mind that. Grab her coat. He has a surprise for her.

Ava wakes, and looks around. Nikolas stands by the bed, and asks if she’s looking for this. He holds out a gun.

Martin goes to Lulu’s place, saying he’s there on behalf of his client, Valentin. Lulu says she knows who his client is. He says he’s there to see Charlotte, and make sure she’s okay. Lulu says, she’s fine. No thanks to her father.

Robert joins Valentin in the interrogation room, and Valentin asks if he’s there to drop the charges. Robert asks what he thinks, and Valentin says he thinks Robert has some unsubstantiated accusations from unreliable witnesses. He’s teetering on the brink of unlawful arrest, and Valentin will sue him into an early retirement. He thinks Robert is going to let him go.

In Sonny’s kitchen, Carly tells Jason she thinks Sam’s parole restrictions are ridiculous. Jason says Diane was clear, and Carly asks if that isn’t why they pay her – to get around the law. She says, the situation with Jax is over, and Jason asks, what situation? Carly says the big secret Jax was keeping. Nikolas Cassadine is alive.

Valentin says he thinks Robert is going to stretch this out as long as he can. The case will be dismissed, and he’ll be left empty-handed. Robert says, speaking of empty-handed, he heard about Valentin being disinherited. Valentin says, not yet, but it brings up an interesting point. Why wasn’t Nikolas in the cell next to his? Isn’t faking his own death and framing an innocent man still a crime?

Martin says Valentin will be relieved to know that Nina is with Charlotte. He saw Valentin in jail, and he made it clear that Charlotte’s well-being is his first priority. Lulu says Charlotte has been traumatized by last night, and Laura says she finally fell asleep out of sheer exhaustion. Lulu adds that they’re not waking her up. She’s surrounded by women who love her, and she’s safe, far from Valentin. Martin says he’ll convey the message, and leaves. Lulu says, unbelievable. Valentin was caught in the act of kidnapping, and sends his lawyer to check on Charlotte. Maxie says, technically, it wasn’t kidnapping, since they share custody. As messed up as it is, Valentin had the right to take Charlotte. Lulu asks if he had the right to attack Peter, and try to kill Ava. Maxie says she’s not defending him, but Lulu says it sounds like she is. Laura says, Valentin is still Charlotte’s father, and in the eyes of the law, he has parental rights. Lulu says, fine. She’ll take him to court. She’ll do whatever it takes. Valentin is never getting anywhere near Charlotte ever again.

Ava tells Nikolas, good morning to you too. She hopes this isn’t a new wake up call. She says her wifely duties are limited, and he says there’s only one wifely duty he’s interested in. He wants the codicil that proves he’s the rightful heir. She says, true; without it, his claim amounts to nothing. He says he married her as they agreed. Now it’s her turn. Where’s the codicil? She asks if he doesn’t get the value of please and thank you. She holds out her hand, and he gives her the gun. She puts it in the nightstand, and he says, give him the codicil please. She says, that’s better, but it occurred to her that she needs it as leverage. They didn’t have time to draw up a prenup, and he could annul the marriage or divorce her, and she’ll be left with nothing. He says he won’t go back on his word. He promises to share, and he won’t divorce her or annul the marriage. Ava says he could kill her, but he says he doesn’t want her dead; he saved her life. She says, because he wants the codicil, but he’ll never find where it’s hidden. He can only reclaim his inheritance with her by his side.

Sam arrives at Carly’s, and meets Jason. Carly asks if anyone saw her, but Sam says, no. Carly tells them, the guards know what do if a cop or Sam’s parole officer show up. She’s going upstairs to check on Donna. When she’s gone, Jason and Sam kiss.

At the café, Gladys tells Sonny that she didn’t expect breakfast. He says she’s been good to his dad, and Mike likes her. She says that’s important to her; she likes Mike too. She’s glad Mike called, and she decided to come and see him. She can’t tell him how much it meant to spend the holidays with his beautiful family. It’s been like a dream for her. Sonny can be intimidating, but his house is full of life. Donna is a joy to behold, and she loves how Avery likes to play hide and seek. And sometimes with Dev, it feels like she’s really his grandma. Sonny says, but she’s not, and Gladys says, it feels good to pretend. Brando didn’t give her any grandkids, and it makes her feel like his spirit lives on; like losing him counts for something. Sonny is sorry she lost her son, and appreciates what she’s done for his dad. She says she can continue to visit, but the trip is long. Sonny says, that’s why he bought her a new car, to make the trip easier.

Ava calls for Obrecht.

Jason asks if Sam is okay, and she says she’s tired. She’s not sleeping well without him. She can’t believe this happened just as they were getting their family together. Alexis walks in, saying she has the documents, and stops short. She says, are they kidding her? What are Jason and Sam doing, meeting in Sonny’s house in secret? Who’s absurd, reckless, really bad idea was this? Carly says it was hers.

Obrecht says, Ava called? and Ava asks if she’ll kindly escort Nikolas to the sitting room for coffee. And would she call a locksmith to change the locks on her bedroom door? Obrecht is sure Ava is capable of contacting a locksmith on her own. Ava says she’d think Obrecht would be more helpful, since she’s staying there for free. Obrecht says she took the precaution of retaining her residence in town. She stayed last night because she didn’t see the point in traveling over the freezing water so late. Ava asks if she’s leaving, and Obrecht says, it depends. It occurs to her that if Ava wants her presence as chaperone, she’s not on the best terms with Nikolas. She knows Nikolas has a murderous streak; his last wife can attest to that. Nikolas assures her that Ava is safe, and Obrecht asks if she should pack. Ava says, no. She can stay if she wants to. Obrecht says she accepts Ava’s invitation – for the time being. Her long term plans depend on her beloved niece. In the meantime, Ava should emulate Nina’s behavior as an exemplary lady of Windymere. Nikolas is sure Ava will get the hang of it. She just needs to practice. Ava says she’ll see him in the sitting room, and tells Obrecht not to let Nikolas out of her sight. Nikolas goes on ahead, and Obrecht says she doesn’t believe he poses a threat to Ava in any way.

Alexis asks if Carly knows the parameters of her daughter’s parole, and tells Sam and Jason that they agreed to abide by those parameters. This is crazy. Sam isn’t allowed to associate with felons, which Jason is, and so is Sonny. Carly says, Sonny’s not there, and she needs to trust them. Alexis says she brought over papers for the trust that Sonny needs to sign. Carly takes them, saying she’ll let him know, but Alexis says she’s not leaving without Sam. She’s not allowing Carly to compromise her daughter’s freedom. Carly says she didn’t. She guesses they don’t know, and Alexis says, know what? Carly says, Nikolas is alive. Sam says, what?! and Carly says, he didn’t die in Greece. He’s alive and well in Port Charles. He surfaced last night at Windymere.

Laura says she never had a chance to ask Nina; did she know Nikolas was alive? Nina says Valentin realized the codicil was in the portrait, and she went to Shadybrook to talk to Ava. She found Nikolas’s ring in Ava’s room. Ava was in bad shape; terrorized by Nikolas’s ghost. She put two and two together, and realized Nikolas had to be alive. Maxie gets that Nina didn’t know Nikolas, and she doesn’t know if he’s really a bad guy, but she knew his family was grieving for three years. Why didn’t she tell them that he was alive?

Martin says he’s dismayed that DA Scorpio is infringing on his client’s rights by questioning him without the benefit of counsel. Robert says he was just leaving, and goes. Martin says he assumes doesn’t want to sue for harassment. Valentin asks if he saw Charlotte, and Martin says, no. He was  told she was sleeping, but he’s confident she’s fine. She’s with her mother, grandmother, Maxie, and Nina, and he’s sure she’s in good care. Valentin says, good; Charlotte loves Nina. He asks if Martin talked to Nina, and Martin says, briefly. There wasn’t much to say. He wonders why Valentin is still asking about Nina after she double-crossed him. She conspired with someone dedicated to his ruin. He can’t still be in love with her. Valentin says he is, and she’s in love with him. There’s a thin line between love and hate. He lied about Sasha, and she gave him the opportunity to tell the truth, but he didn’t. Whatever she needs to feel whole again, he loves her.

Nina says Maxie is right. She’s sorry. She should have told Laura that Nikolas was alive. Whatever game he’s playing, none of it matters, compared to the fact Laura is getting her son back. Laura gets up, and Lulu says they’re thankful he’s alive, but he’s no saint in this. All of this deception surprised them too. Laura says he left them to grieve for three years. He terrorized Ava, then married her. Nina says, whatever happened last night, her son knew what he was doing.

Obrecht asks Nikolas how his coffee is, and he tells her not to feel that she needs to wait on him. She assures him that she doesn’t. He says she would probably be more comfortable in her own place. She says, and Ava would be more comfortable with her staying. She advises him to use restraint. If Ava meets with an unfortunate accident, his triumphant return will turn into a humiliating debacle. Even so, that might be inevitable. Valentin is a formidable enemy. He got rid of Nikolas once. Don’t be surprised if he does it again, in a more permanent fashion. He says it sounds like she’s rooting for Valentin, and she says, perhaps she is. He says, after what Valentin did to Nina? and she says, it’s not a matter of wanting Valentin’s success, but wanting Nikolas to fail. He asks, why? and she says he pressed charges against Britt for endangering a child, when all she did was help Spencer with a harmless prank. She was made a fugitive, then sent to prison. Britt had to betray her to cut a deal, and because of Nikolas, she’s not there. He’s a prince, all right; the prince of hypocrites. Look how he treated his family, and his own son. What happened to him?

Alexis says, Nikolas has been alive all this time? Carly says, he’s been in Port Charles for months, working with Jax on finding a codicil that will restore him as rightful heir. Alexis says she’d like to see that codicil. She doesn’t know whether she wants to hug Nikolas or slap him, and Sam says she feels the same way. Jason asks where he is now, and Carly assumes at Windymere. Alexis says she’s going over there. She reminds Carly to have Sonny sign the documents, and tells Sam and Jason to wrap up whatever it is they’re doing, and don’t let it happen again. She leaves, and Sam says she knows Alexis is all over the place, but she has a point. Why did Carly call them there, and was it worth jeopardizing her parole?

Gladys tells Sonny the car is so fancy and high tech. How is she going to figure it out? It practically parks itself. He says it’s paid for, including the taxes. She’s good to go. She says she knows he’s buying her off. She knows he wants her gone. So does Carly; she gets it. She overstepped by sticking her nose in his business. She’s sorry. She just felt so at home, she forgot herself. Donna’s christening is coming up. They have to bring her into God’s graces. Sonny says they’re taking care of that; Carly is arranging it. Gladys asks if he can find it in his heart to let her stay until then.

Sam tells Jason, they’ve been there before. When she was taking Shiloh down, the pretended to be separated. Last time, they were only risking a DoD member finding out, but if they’re caught this time, she’ll go to prison to serve out the rest of her sentence. She can’t do that to her kids, him, or herself. Jason says, maybe things will change, but they should do what Diane said. Carly wonders why they’re not mad as hell, and Sam asks what good that would be. Carly says it will make them think. She brought them there to strategize, and figure a way out of this.

Sonny tells Gladys, sorry; she can’t stay until the christening. She says, what about Mike? He responds to her, and trusts her. He says that’s why he gave her a car, so she can make the drive in comfort. He called the staff, and she can visit as often as she wants, but as far as this goes, she needs to clear out. She says, fair enough. He’s been more than generous. Maybe she can repay him a little. She digs in her bag, and says she’s been doing research. She hands Sonny some papers, and says she found this article. It’s too technical for her to understand, but it’s about magnetic waves in the brain, and sounds promising. He thanks her.

Nikolas tells Obrecht that he’s never been perfect. He has a dark side; it’s in his DNA. He and Britt understood that about each other. It wasn’t just Britt. It was a dark tangle of very bad decisions. Obrecht says, he was spiteful. Standing in the doorway, Alexis says, so it is true. Nikolas walks to her, and she hugs him.

Valentin asks what the strategy is to get him out. His inheritance needs protection. Martin says he’s working on it. As for his inheritance, the language in the codicil is very straightforward; assuming it’s authentic, and assuming Valentin submits to the DNA test. If he passes, Nikolas gets nothing. Valentin says, that’s not happening, and Martin says Nikolas will have to produce the actual codicil, and there are ways to block the request for the DNA test. He asks if there’s any truth to the accusation that Valentin is Helena’s son. Valentin says he hated that woman, and she hated him. The whole thing stinks of Helena. One last chance to taunt him from beyond the grave.

Nina says, regardless of what happened, she’s happy for them. Tell Charlotte she loves her. Lulu says Charlotte needs that now more than ever. Nina leaves, and Laura says they had no chance to talk, but she’s pretty sure Nikolas told Charlotte that he was her secret bodyguard. Lulu says, Charlotte jumped into the harbor, thinking he’d rescue her. If she and Dustin hadn’t been there, Charlotte would have drowned. Maxie says Nikolas didn’t think she’d do something like that, and Lulu says, he didn’t even consider how the potential consequences. Poor Spencer. She asks if anyone has spoken to him, and Laura doesn’t want him to hear it over the phone. She’s flying to France. Lulu says, Nikolas has to be the one to do it, and Laura says she still thinks she should be there. She believes Spencer is going to be very hurt when he finds out what his father has done.

Obrecht tells Alexis and Nikolas that she’ll be in town if anyone needs her. She leaves, and Alexis says she missed him. How could he do this to them? He says if Valentin knew he was alive, he’d have never stopped looking. Valentin would have used them to flush him out, especially Spencer. Alexis says Spencer has thought he was an orphan for three years, and went after Valentin. She asks if he’s talked to Spencer, and he says his mother didn’t want him to reach out without her paving the way, and Alexis says, at least someone is looking out for Spencer’s well-being. He says he has to make Spencer believe everything he did was for him. Ava breezes in and tells Alexis, welcome. She’s sure Alexis is there to wish them well. Don’t worry. Etiquette says she has a whole year to give them a wedding gift.

Carly tells Sam and Jason, whatever they come up with, she just wants to help. Jason says, they have no plan; they’re still trying to process. Carly says, at least they know they can use one of Sonny’s houses, but Jason says they only need to be caught one time. Carly tells them to find leverage; go over the parole officer’s head to someone with more authority. Sam says, like who? and Jason says he thinks he knows someone.

Alexis says Nikolas married Ava? When? Ava says, last night, and Alexis says, what the hell? Ava is sure Alexis recalls when she and Nikolas encountered one another years ago. They were on Cassadine Island together, and share a special connection. When he came back, he tried to reach out to her, but she was unstable. In her grief, she thought she was hallucinating. Imagine her joy when she found out it was really true; Nikolas is back, strong and vital. They’ve been blissfully reunited, and decided not to spend one more moment apart. Alexis tells her, save the star-crossed lover crap. What’s going on?

Laura says it would be good if Charlotte had somebody to talk to, and Lulu says she’s all for that. She’ll do anything to make sure Charlotte gets through this. She’s been through enough. She’s already contacted Diane to get the ball rolling to sue for full custody. Maxie says, for Nina’s sake, she should let things settle before she goes to family court. If Valentin is convicted, he’ll go to prison, and it’s a non-issue. Laura says, Valentin has a talent for evading the law. When Charlotte almost got blown up, he was ready to go to court to get full custody. Lulu is sure any judge would see that Valentin brings danger into Charlotte’s life. She knows Charlotte belongs there, surrounded by good people. She wants to make certain Charlotte doesn’t turn out anything like her father. He can’t make a move now when he’s behind bars; he can’t strike back.

Martin tells Valentin that he’ll do an investigation, starting with Nikolas’s whereabouts when he was dead, and he’ll push to reopen his fake murder, and blaming Drew. Ava accused Valentin of pushing her off the parapet. It didn’t happen, did it? Valentin says, she was drunk, and it was dark and icy. Martin says, as he thought. She’d just been released from Shadybrook, she was drinking heavily, and she has a checkered past. Valentin says he should be able to do something to get him out before Lulu makes a move on his daughter.

Nina and Obrecht sit at the café. Obrecht says she knows Nina is in terrible pain, and Nina says, a lot of people are in pain. Obrecht hopes she’s not thinking of Valentin, but Nina says, Valentin is in pain, and Charlotte is in pain, but she and Valentin are adults. They inflict pain on themselves and each other, but Charlotte is a sweet little girl. She doesn’t deserve it. Obrecht says Charlotte is resilient, and knows Nina and Valentin love her. Nina says, they took her from Valentin. He brought her over from Windymere, and they stopped him in Rice Plaza. He was treated like a kidnapper, when he had every right to have her. He tried to make it okay for Charlotte, and told her to go with Lulu. It must have killed him. Charlotte was acting brave, but Nina could tell her heart was breaking. None of it had to happen. If she’d made a different choice, they’d be in the living room, reading another chapter of Little Women. Obrecht says, believe her when she says the most dangerous words in any language are, if only. She made her choice, and others made theirs. They can only take responsibility for their choice, and move on. Nina takes her hand, and nods.

Ava tells Alexis, what’s going on is, she and Nikolas are setting up housekeeping. They’re keeping Obrecht on as an unofficial maid. Alexis says, right. As if marrying Ava wasn’t purgatory enough, he’s not adding Obrecht. Nikolas tells Ava, they’ll discuss it further later, and Ava says she’d be happy to. She’s sure he’ll see things her way. Alexis says she’s out. They can negotiate themselves. She congratulates them on the first day of wedded bliss, and says, good luck. Nikolas tells Ava, there is no way Obrecht is staying, but Ava says he needs to understand. If he wants the codicil, he’ll have to reconsider.

Maxie says she’d like to stay, but needs to get to work. Lulu asks if she can she thank Nina for checking on Charlotte, and tell her that she’s always welcome there. Maxie says she will, and she’s sure it means a lot. One more thing, as a friend and mom. Just consider holding off on the petition for custody until she knows it’s necessary. Lulu says she’ll think about it. Maxie leaves, and Lulu asks if Laura thinks she’s wrong to push for custody right now. Laura says it has to be Lulu’s choice, but she knows whatever Lulu chooses, she’ll put Charlotte’s interests first, because she’s a good mom. They exchange I love yous, and hug.

Nikolas says, Ava won this round. He’ll allow Obrecht to stay a bit longer. In turn, she has to give him what he wants. She says she will, as soon as the post-nup is signed. He didn’t expect her to leave herself wide open, did he? In the unfortunate event that they split up, she can’t be left empty-handed.

Carly tells Sonny that he just missed Sam and Jason. He asks how they are, and she says, better since they came up with a plan. She asks how it went with Gladys, and he says he bought her a car, so she can see his dad whenever she wants. Carly hopes Gladys doesn’t use it as an excuse to stop over and spend the night there. Sonny says he did the best he could, and she says it’s all she can hope for. He looks at the article, and she asks what he’s reading. He says they’ll talk about it later, but she wants to talk now. He says it’s an article on a medical trial in New York on Alzheimer’s. He thinks it might help his dad.

At the station, Robert sees Jason, and says, clearly he’s not there to confess to a crime. Sam comes in and joins Jason, asking if Robert has a minute. Robert says, oh yeah. The two of them together, yet they don’t seem surprised to see each other. To what does he owe the pleasure? Sam says they have a proposal for him.

Tomorrow, Jax tells Finn that he’ll do everything he can to bring Hayden home, Ava tells Julian that she’s going to have the sweetest revenge, and Sonny tells Carly that it’s the first steps toward a cure.

The Real Housewives of Dallas – The Reunion – Part Two

Brandi drinks from a flask. LeeAnne says, let the hanging begin.

Andy says it was a Housewives vacation miracle in Thailand, until D’Andra stepped out in LeeAnne’s Infinity Dress, and showed them 175 ways to unravel a friendship. We see clips from Thailand, Thailand, where everyone gets a baby elephant. Andy starts gently, asking about the temple and the fortune teller. Since Stephanie was relieved that being murdered wasn’t in her future, a viewer asks who Stephanie was afraid would murder her, and LeeAnne nominates herself. Viewers chime in about the dress. D’Andra insists supposed to be funny, and also give LeeAnne a taste of her own medicine, because, who knows? LeeAnne has never come out wearing D’Andra’s face cream or whatever. D’Andra says everyone is terrified of LeeAnne, but she isn’t. She tells LeeAnne that she missed her big moment as a salesperson, and should have shown her how to wear it. If it had been her, everyone in the restaurant would have been wearing the dress when she was done. LeeAnne says she’s not D’Andra. A viewer asks if this is the same woman who made fun of two-faced Stephanie. LeeAnne says she apologized, and that’s rehashed a little, LeeAnne saying it’s like comparing a goldfish and a shark.  Andy says viewers thought D’Andra and Kary looked like mean girls, and Kary says it wasn’t their intention to offend LeeAnne’s business, but watching it back, she realized it was too much. Brandi says she loves a good joke, but their delivery was off. LeeAnne says, it could have been funny, and Stephanie agrees it was wrong. D’Andra apologizes, and says, it wasn’t intended to be that bad. Kary says LeeAnne should have said it was hurting her feelings, but LeeAnne says it took everything she had to sit quiet. She knew if she said one word, she would blow. Kary wishes she would have, and they could have fixed it, but I think that’s doubtful.

Andy asks what a lady boy show is, and Kameron says, it’s a drag show. He asks if the performers were actually having sex. D’Andra says she and LeeAnne were in the first row, and could see they had condoms on. Kameron says she didn’t know what they were going to see, and wasn’t sure if it was real. LeeAnne says, when the sarongs came off, it was time to leave. They discuss the red light district, and how, after getting hit with more balls than anticipated, LeeAnne lobbed harsh words at Kameron. We flash back to Kameron’s graphics about the ping-pong show, and I die laughing all over again. That was the funniest thing all season. They should just let Kameron handle the whole show. We flash back to LeeAnne giving Kameron the business about sex workers, and the aftermath. Kameron says she didn’t realize they’d be naked and coming at them with the ping-pong balls. She thought there would be costumes, but didn’t think they’d show where the ping-pong balls were coming out of. Everyone seems skeptical, and she asks what’s wrong with her being naïve? Why are they calling her out? Stephanie says she didn’t think the location was dangerous.

Andy says LeeAnne seemed fine after coming out of the lady boy show, but freaked out after the ping-pong show. LeeAnne says, when the performers started having sex, they were all like, whoa. It wasn’t okay when the wieners came out. She thinks it was a lot. Kameron wishes she’d been more aware. She googled it when she got home, and says it’s true they were supporting the sex trafficking industry, which takes advantage of women. Brandi says she’s turning it into something it’s not, but Kameron tells her to google it. D’Andra says, it’s like a strip club, and LeeAnne says she’s never been to one. Brandi says the performers were older, and had made the choice to work there, but Kameron says they’re being naïve. Andy brings up LeeAnne implying that Kary put Kameron in an unsafe environment, and LeeAnne says, looking back, she shouldn’t have blamed Kary. Stephanie thought it was about jealousy when Kameron didn’t want leave, and Kameron says at that moment, she thought it was anxiety. Andy says LeeAnne hadn’t wanted Brandi hanging out with D’Andra a while back, and LeeAnne says she was concerned about them getting drunk. D’Andra asks how many times LeeAnne has talked about being drunk, and we flash back to that. Kary says if the same actions are anyone else’s, they’re an alcoholic. Andy doesn’t understand why Dallas society is a big deal, and D’Andra says it’s not how LeeAnne is presenting it. They stand on their own with their accomplishments.

Andy asks if D’Andra expected Kameron to confront LeeAnne at dinner. D’Andra says she did, and Kameron says she was planning to, but they all started going at her before the appetizers. When she sees one person get beat up by a group, she feels for them. Remember, they’re human. She says she was upset because she wanted her moment, and everyone stole it. Brandi calls her chicksh*t, and Andy asks Kameron why she said LeeAnne should be afraid of her. Kameron says there is a hierarchy in Dallas society, and things happen that piss people off. LeeAnne says, don’t f*** with Dallas royals. Stephanie thinks it’s bullsh*t. Just live your lif,e and who cares? LeeAnne says Kameron’s life revolves around society, and Kameron says she hates that word. Andy says she hates elitist too, but it sounds like what she’s saying. Kameron says she doesn’t go by those credos, but it’s truth. D’Andra doesn’t believe you can knock someone out of society, but Kameron says, it’s reality.

We move on to D’Andra’s company. It was on the verge of collapse, D’Andra had no access to her trust, and a mother she doesn’t trust. We flash back to all the company stuff, and how D’Andra had to suck it up and regroup. Mama Dee’s wig is discussed, and Andy requests one for the clubhouse. (Which he ended up having that evening on Watch What Happens Live.) Andy asks if Dee had remorse when she saw herself, and D’Andra thinks she was shocked. She said she prayed about it, and God told her to pay off the office lease, since she’d pretty much forced D’Andra to sign it in the first place. D’Andra says, in the last few years, their relationship has been an unhealthy competition, and she wants it to change. She wanted the business to separate from the relationship, since it was the biggest impediment. A viewer asks how she can be fifty years old, and not have access to her trust fund, and she says she gets access when Dee passes away. Andy assumes Jeremy understood D’Andra’s stress better when he came to work there, and she says he had more respect for her. A viewer asks why Jeremy doesn’t get a real job, if his art isn’t paying the bills. D’Andra says he’s served in war five times, and gets veteran’s disability pay. She just got her first paycheck from the revamped company, and they’re doing amazing. She has a deal with HSN and Dillard’s.

Andy says there was no love lost between Kary and LeeAnne. The only thing they could agree on is the fact that they didn’t like each other. We flash back to all that. A viewer asks why LeeAnne expected to be invited to Kary’s girls night, and LeeAnne says she just went along with Kameron. Kary snaps at LeeAnne, asking if she always does what Kameron tells her to do. This is starting off well. A viewer thinks it was classless for Kary to call LeeAnne stupid for not having traveled outside the country. Kary says it wasn’t right, but she’d had it, and LeeAnne points out that she has traveled. She says she loves when Kary’s bitch-light shines. Andy asks why Kary called LeeAnne a bully, and Kary says, it’s a strong word. I don’t know when it became that. The definition is pretty straightforward – someone lording their power over another with less power – so it could be used in many situations. I don’t know when it became some stupendous insult. Kary says LeeAnne is aggressive, and her wedding planner dragged Kary on social media, saying she was an alcoholic. This apparently all started with Kary saying he should lick an a-hole, because that’s what he’s good at. The discussion degenerates into who likes what, and TMI, but IMO it was a pretty immature insult. I’m not surprised Steve responded in kind, since he’s a wedding planner and probably moody.

Here it comes…

We flash back to the question of LeeAnne being racist posed to the cast members in their interviews. Stephanie says, she doesn’t think so. LeeAnne just says dumb sh*t. That’s what gets my vote. She does basically latch on to things as well, and seemed more to be making fun of what Kary had said, not her nationality. Brandi suddenly disappears, and everyone is wondering wtf? She comes back with a folding chair, sets it up facing the cast, and tells LeeAnne to sit there. She says watching this, she’s disappointed, and doesn’t want to associate with LeeAnne; she’s ashamed, and it’s not okay. I’m (almost) dumbfounded. This is the stupidest, rudest thing ever. Not that she’s mad at LeeAnne, but it’s overboard and grandstanding to the max. LeeAnne agrees it’s not okay. The use of a term like that over and over is racism. She can’t imagine how Kary feels. Is she kidding? I don’t think Kary feels much of anything except self-righteousness. LeeAnne says, it doesn’t feel good. She doesn’t believe in discrimination; she’s all about inclusion. Brandi says, that’s not the way it appears, and LeeAnne says, let her finish. Kary starts crying, sort of, and I’m once again confused, since it didn’t seem to bother her before. It was just more ammunition. LeeAnne says she never understood calling someone by their nationality was using a label. She didn’t use her words well, and wasn’t present mentally. She agrees it was a mistake. Andy says, it was a series of mistakes. LeeAnne says she said things shouldn’t have. Andy asks Kary if she heard from Kameron after the show aired, and how does she feel? Kary tells him to give her a second. I’ll save what I have to say about all this for a separate paragraph later.

Brandi says, no one should ever feel less than, and LeeAnne says it was her mistake; she apologizes. Kary says her kids are from Mexico… her family. She can’t even look at LeeAnne. LeeAnne never apologized. LeeAnne says she did, at the finale party, and Kary says she just made excuses. Looking back, she wonders why LeeAnne didn’t even send her a text when it aired. LeeAnne apologized to everyone else, but not to her. LeeAnne says, it’s obvious Kary hated her, and she was told not to reach out by production, but Andy says, that’s not true. LeeAnne says she can show him the email, but he and Kary both say that was only two days ago. He says she’s had four months. LeeAnne says, it’s just airing now. Andy says she doubled down on attacks in the interviews. I’d always wondered when those were done, and that kind of answers my question. Apparently, after the footage is edited, it’s shown to the cast member, and they comment on it. LeeAnne says she often doesn’t remember what she says in a heated moment. He says, social media is lighting up. D’Andra insists that LeeAnne knew what she was saying was wrong, and LeeAnne says D’Andra doesn’t know her. D’Andra says her conscience must have told her, but maybe she doesn’t have one. Andy points out that she said, not affected, when she was walking out of the party. We see a clip of that, and he says, it’s interesting that she didn’t reach out. LeeAnne says she feels the hatred from Kary, it makes her uncomfortable, and that’s how she reacts. Stephanie feels the things LeeAnne said are racist, and she’s a better person than that, but just ignorant. Andy asks if LeeAnne understands the difference between Kary calling herself Mexican and LeeAnne calling her Mexican. LeeAnne explains that if Kary had called herself a turtle, that’s the word she would have used. She was ignorant, and didn’t understand the power of the difference between Kary referring to herself and her doing it. Andy asks if she know Julio Iglesias is Spanish, and she says she does now. I definitely believe this, since I didn’t know either, although I never sat in his lap. I probably couldn’t name one of his songs. LeeAnne says she didn’t know how to talk to the other ladies. She was unhappy with herself. She spent hours crying, but didn’t express it to the others. She says she’s not good at that. Kary says LeeAnne claims she has to get better at so many things, and LeeAnne says that’s why she won’t reach out. No matter what she says, it’s never good enough, correct enough, or right enough. Kary says, it’s not real, and LeeAnne says that’s Kary’s perspective of her. Kameron says she loves LeeAnne. She’s made mistakes that she can’t take back, and she’s going to learn from them, but it will take time. Remember that she’s human, and humans make bad mistakes. LeeAnne says she really effed up. She went in a hole, and she’s upset and disappointed at herself. Kary feels that LeeAnne didn’t care about hurting her, but LeeAnne says she did care. Kary reminds LeeAnne about how she said actions are the important thing. What has LeeAnne done? LeeAnne admits she’s done nothing. She made a mistake, she was ignorant, and she’s educating herself. D’Andra doesn’t think LeeAnne is ignorant, and LeeAnne says, that’s the saddest part; D’Andra doesn’t know her. A viewer asks if Stephanie shouldn’t have called LeeAnne out. Stephanie says she was too chickensh*t, and it was her bad.

Andy says there’s something else. They all thought those parts were never going to air. Why? Brandi says, LeeAnne is a strong person, who’s brought a lot to the show. They thought she’d be protected. Kary asks if they never would have told her if it hadn’t aired. Kameron says she 100% would have. She didn’t want to give light to that, but automatically knew she didn’t want it to continue. That’s why she brought it to Kary’s attention. Stephanie says she told Kameron it was coming out before Kameron told Kary. Kameron says she would have told Kary anyway, but D’Andra doesn’t believe it. Kameron says don’t tell her about her own intentions. Andy says they don’t editorialize the show; they just let it play out. Brandi asks if Kary thinks Kameron would have done nothing, and Andy asks if Kary is upset that Kameron waited. Kary says she’s disappointed in Stephanie and Kameron for not saying anything. She knows it’s an uncomfortable position to be in, but wishes they hadn’t waited. Kameron apologizes. Andy says they’ve been doing interviews over the past few months, and doesn’t understand how LeeAnne hasn’t changed her tone. LeeAnne says the interviews were done before the show aired, and she’s been having conversations with the audience. People who weren’t upset, explained to her. Hispanic people told her how they felt, and that’s where she found answers. Brandi says it wasn’t a slip-up; she articulated her words. Kary says she can’t imagine LeeAnne not knowing what she was saying behind her back constantly. She knew what she was doing. D’Andra says she thinks LeeAnne is duplicitous. She says one thing, and does another. Andy asks if she’s racist. D’Andra believes she is, and he asks Brandi, reminding her that she never answered during the interviews. Brandi says her nieces and nephews are Hispanic. She says, yes, and Kameron says LeeAnne just didn’t use her words properly. She made an extreme racial comment, and said bad things about Kary, but she thinks LeeAnne is human. Brandi says, answer the question, and Kameron asks if she can talk. Brandi says she’s making excuses, and Kameron says, it’s not about her. She’s not stereotyping LeeAnne as racist. Andy asks Kary for a final thought, and Kary says, it’s very sad and disappointing. Just very sad. LeeAnne tries not to cry, and D’Andra smirks; a smirk I desperately want to wipe off her face. Kary says they’re in 2020, and it’s not okay. LeeAnne says she’s sorry. She really is.

In closing, Andy asks for one thing they’d like to apologize for. LeeAnne says, just one? and he says, just one, and to whom. D’Andra says she’d apologize to LeeAnne for the whole dress thing, and to her mother as well. FYI, that’s two. She gets a U in following instructions. Brandi says she’d probably apologize to Kary. It’s not like her go bed early, and she disappointed Kary in Mexico. Kary says she’d apologize to LeeAnne for the dress business, and for calling her stupid. LeeAnne thanks her. Kameron says she’d apologize to Kary for not telling her sooner, and Kary thanks her. Stephanie says her apology is twofold; for not telling LeeAnne what she was doing was wrong, and not coming to Kary with it. LeeAnne says she apologizes to Kary 100%, and all of the audience. LeeAnne struggles to talk through her tears. She says there are words to say she’s sorry, and she promises that it will never happen again. I’d say this is genuine, and sad. Andy asks if Kary takes what LeeAnne is saying, and Kary says she’s hearing it, but thinks it’s actions that mean the most at the end of the day. LeeAnne says, 100%.

Andy says, Kameron told them that when everyone goes to Thailand, they get… he looks at Kameron and says, what? She says, a baby elephant, and Andy says he has one for everyone. It’s a very cute stuffed elephant, with their name embroidered on one ear, and RHOD S4 on the other. Even Andy gets an elephant, which he says he’ll probably give to his son. He asks Kameron to lead them in song, and she does.

♫ Thailand! Thailand! Where everyone gets a baby elephant! ♫

The crew starts to break it down. LeeAnne walks up the stairs alone, while the others take pictures. She says she can’t change what happened. She can only do better in the future. A producer says, a work in progress.

💰 My two cents. I doubt this is the popular opinion, but if nothing else, I’m a fair person. My friends can sometimes hate this about me, because they’re like, but I’m your friend, and I say, you are, but you’re still wrong. I think a couple of things LeeAnne said are right on. If Kary had called herself a turtle, she would have latched on to that. However, like Otter says in Animal House – only we can do that to our pledges. It’s different for Kary to be referring to herself. But although LeeAnne often fabricates and embellishes, I believe she wasn’t thinking that way, and possibly wasn’t thinking at all. I also believe she’s sincerely sorry, but has a hard time saying it. Of course she shouldn’t have said that about Kary, and should know better, but beating her down isn’t going to set an example for change. And unfortunately, there are bigger fish to fry out there; real racists. Like Stephanie said in her interview, LeeAnne just says dumb sh*t.

🍷 On The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Marge had dumped water on Danielle and her Versace. Danielle sucker pulled Marge’s ponytail until security separated them. Dolores said it was old school stripper fighting, and I wondered how she knows this. Teresa left with Danielle, but went back. She pointed out that Marge went first, but Marge considered that defending Danielle, and wasn’t having it. Outside, Teresa also pointed out that Marge had pushed Marty in the pool, but Marge said it’s either her or Danielle. I’m not saying Danielle should have hair pulled, but why did Marge think she could do that and there would be no retaliation, especially from Danielle? Dolores and Teresa both admitted might have reacted the same way, and we got a nice table flip flash back. Teresa told Dolores that her fight with Joe #1 started over her spending money, even though she’d paid off all the debts. Dolores was concerned that Teresa had signed a prenup, but it might have had no provision for her if she became the breadwinner. Of course Teresa had no idea what was in it, since she hasn’t totally learned her lesson. Gia convinced Teresa to smile and agree when her dad called from the clink. Melissa was having a fashion show for her new men’s line, and Frankie Jr. was modeling. Melissa was concerned, since whenever there’s a fashion show, Teresa causes a scene. Kim D anyone? Jackie gave her kids nutrition lessons which I appreciated. At the show, Jennifer told her husband that shots get the job done, making a comparison between some people wanting the foreplay, while others just want the finishing line. Joe #2 said he may have been late to the party, and didn’t like to be proved wrong, but Melissa proved him wrong, and he was proud of her. Aww! Marge said Teresa was an embarrassment for not having her back. Since Jennifer told Teresa that Marge dumping water on Danielle was no big deal, Teresa dumped some on Jennifer, albeit not over her head. So she’s already working on Melissa’s prediction. Coming up is a trip to the Shore, and a trip to Italy.

🍑 I took a peek at The Real Housewives of Atlanta. The women did some trust exercise where they hung from the side of a tower, something I’d never do in a million years. I wasn’t paying attention, but I know they were in Toronto, and I’m pretty sure I’ve been to that tower, and gone to the restaurant at the top. Both NeNe and Eva opted out. Eva because she’s pregnant, and NeNe because she said Black people don’t do that. But the best moment of all was when Eva and NeNe were in the restaurant while the others braved the height. NeNe was blooping away about herself, and Eva looked past her at a tower of seafood going by. You just knew she was no longer hearing NeNe. It was the best.

🍸 For Those Doing Dry January…

This is from my annual Christmas movie. Don’t ask me why it became a Christmas movie for me, since there’s only one scene where it’s Christmas.

 

 

Jan7

January 6, 2020 – Nikolas Explains, the Captain Steps In, Returns, Past Cast, a Tease, a Transformation, Facetious Deck & Is It Something I Said?

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Before Nina can say her vows, the door bursts open. Nicolas walks in with Ava in his arms. He puts her on the couch where Jax tends to her. Laura says, oh my God, and touches his face, then hugs him.

Josslyn lights a 2020 candle, and tells Dev, happy New Year in Turkish. He says something back, but she says she only knows those two words, and he says, same to you. She gives him a gift bag, saying she learned that small presents were customary on New Year’s Day in Turkey. He says it’s cool of her, and takes something out. She says, before he asks, she didn’t buy them herself. Michael helped her. He says Michael must have done his research. A lottery ticket brings prosperity. She says, that makes sense, but explain the next one. He takes out a pair of boxers.

Cameron looks at the Christmas tree in Rice Plaza. Trina tells him, happy New Year. He mumbles something, and she asks what his problem is. At midnight, his probation officially ends, and he’ll be a free man. How does he want to celebrate?

Valentin asks Maxie and Peter to take Charlotte upstairs. Maxie tells her, it’s going to be boring grown-up stuff, and Valentin says, everything is going to be all right. Laura weeps, and says, it’s really him. Nikolas says it is, and moves on to Lulu, hugging her. She says, he’s alive, and Valentin looks at Nina. Lulu says she doesn’t understand. How is this happening? Nikolas says they have a lot to catch up on, and Lulu asks where was he? She turns to Valentin, and says Valentin was holding him prisoner. Valentin was behind this, wasn’t he?

Valentin says, no; he hasn’t been holding Nikolas captive. For three years, Lulu has been hounding him about Nikolas’s supposed murder, but he looks healthy. And Ava survived. Nikolas says, no thanks to Valentin. Valentin shot him and tried to kill Ava. Valentin pushed her over the edge of the parapet, but Nikolas was there to save her. Valentin says she’s drunk, and probably tripped. Nikolas says he saw Valentin. Valentin is always armed with an explanation, but not anymore. This time, there’s no way out. He loses everything.

Coming back from the skating rink, Trina says Cameron was impressive out there. He says she was too – by the third lap – but she says she fell on her face. He says, it was only once, and asks if she’s heard from Josslyn. She says Josslyn and Dev will be there at some point, and he wonders what they’re doing together. Trina tells him, admit it, and he asks, what? She says he’s totally into Josslyn, but he says he’s not. He’s known her forever. She says that doesn’t mean he can’t have feelings for her. He insists he doesn’t, and she tells him to prepare himself. Josslyn and Dev might be a thing. Dev is definitely into Josslyn, and Josslyn might be into him too.

Dev tells Josslyn, the boxers are awesome. He wants to wear them over his clothes. She says, that’s the custom in Turkey; to receive red underwear? He says, if it is, he hasn’t heard about it. Josslyn looks surprised, and he tells her that he’s kidding. It’s a New Year custom. He thanks her, and says when he was little, his parents would buy him funny red ones, saying if they laugh at midnight, they’ll laugh through the whole year. She asks if he misses them, and he says he bought her something too. He gives her a gift bag, saying, he can carry the Turkish traditions on in America. She opens a box containing a beautiful pen, and he says, for her journal. She says she loves it, and thanks him. He tells her, there’s more, and she takes out a pomegranate. He says, another Turkish ritual. If you smash a pomegranate on the threshold of your home on New Year’s Eve, you’ll have good luck. Josslyn suggests they go find a hammer.

Nikolas tells everyone, Mikkos made a codicil, and it was concealed in Helena’s portrait. Valentin says the portrait was destroyed, and Nikolas says, except it wasn’t. He has the codicil. He asks if Valentin can guess what it says, but then says he’ll do the honors. It says Valentin is disinterested. The entire Cassadine estate belongs to – wait for it – him.

Peter hands Charlotte her stuffed horse, saying, she was right. Electra was in the trophy room. Maxie says, PJs, check; teeth brushed, check. They could read her a story, but it’s so late, Charlotte must be exhausted. Charlotte asks if Peter can go downstairs to see what’s happening. Peter says he doesn’t know what’s happening, but he does know this. When he was a kid, big confusing things happened all the time around him, and he developed a bad habit of listening in. He found a really great hiding spot off the backstairs, in the hall closet. No one ever knew he was there. Looking back, he realizes that he was hearing only half of the conversations, making it much worse. Charlotte says, bad things happen, and Peter says, they do sometimes, but a lot of times, there’s nothing you can do about it. One of the best things he ever learned is that people are going to do what they’re going to do, and the best thing she can do, is let them. He knows she wants her papa and Nina to get married tonight, but whether or not that happens, he can tell her that they still love her the same, no matter what. That doesn’t mean the wedding’s not important. It means their love for her, and hers for them, is more important. He promises that everything will be better in the morning. Charlotte is already asleep, hugging Electra, which seriously chokes me up.

Valentin says Nikolas can produce any paper he likes, but he’s the rightful heir. Nikolas says, not so much, and Valentin says, it’s obviously forged. Nikolas wishes he could take credit for it, but it’s nothing he came up with. He can explain it though. The reason Mikkos amended his will to cut out Valentin is because Valentin isn’t his son. He’s Helena’s, which means he’s not a Cassadine at all. Everyone is like, wow.

Cameron and Trina sit on a bench. Cameron says he thought Trina was into Dev, and she says she was. He asks, what happened? and she says, nothing good. She tried to kiss Dev at the Halloween dance, and he gave her a polite, thanks, but no thanks. Cameron says he knows at least five people on his team who would kill to go out with her. She’s smart, cool, and funny. She thanks him, and says, but unfortunately, Dev isn’t into her. She senses he’s into Josslyn. He doesn’t talk to any other girls. Cameron says, maybe Dev is afraid he’ll slip up, and they’ll figure out who he is, but Trina doesn’t think that’s it. He says, what about Josslyn? If Dev hasn’t said anything, how does she know Dev is into her? Trina says she told Josslyn, and Cameron gets up.

Dev tells Josslyn that he had no idea the pomegranate would explode all over them. She asks if they don’t explode in Turkey, and he says he’s never actually done himself. There must be a trick to it. Josslyn says, there’s probably a how-to video online, and he says they’ll have to watch it for next year. He asks if he’s clean, but she says, no, and wipes his cheek with her hand. She asks if this means she doesn’t get good luck if they made a mess. He says, the mess has nothing to do with it. Smashing a pomegranate means she’ll be happy. He promises this year will be better for her, and she says, it already is, and she kisses him.

Josslyn asks, what’s wrong? and Dev says, nothing. She says, it’s obviously something. Was she out of line? He says, no; he just… She says he doesn’t feel that way about her, and he says he’s sorry. She says, don’t be, and he says, it’s just that… She tells him, he doesn’t need to explain. She got her signals crossed. He asks if she’s mad, and she says, no, embarrassed. He says she shouldn’t be; she’s amazing. She asks if they can not talk about it anymore, and he says Sonny and her family have been so good to him. He doesn’t want disrespect them. She says she gets it, and tells him, Cameron and Trina are waiting. I can totally get why he would want to keep his distance from her that way – she’s Sonny’s almost daughter. I’m surprised she didn’t think about that.

Cameron asks why Trina told Josslyn, and Trina says, because it’s the truth. Cameron says Dev wasn’t even on Josslyn’s radar before. Trina thinks it’s awesome, but he asks why she couldn’t have stayed out of it. She says she hates subtext; people not saying what they want because they’re scared. And Josslyn needs a number two to transition, and get her mind off Oscar. She’s not saying Josslyn is falling in love, but she’s moving on, and it’s a good thing. Dev is a nice guy. He’s not a player, and won’t hurt Josslyn. Cameron says if Trina wants to give advice, and go to college to get a degree in counseling, go for it. She says, if he wants to tell Josslyn himself that he disagrees, do that. Cameron doesn’t say anything, and she says that’s what she thought.

Valentin says, he’s Helena’s son? That’s rich, considering she hated him more than anyone. Nikolas says, that’s because he’s hers. He’s smart, evil, and calculating, and Helena was afraid of him. That’s why Mikkos wrote the codicil. He knew Valentin was a bastard, and didn’t want him to end up with the Cassadine fortune. Helena, with her endless games, made it a test for Nikolas. She had to overcome her own hatred and bitterness toward him, and look past it. Guess what? He’s a Cassadine, and Valentin isn’t. Valentin says Nikolas is spinning fairytales, and Nikolas says, they have happy endings. Lulu says, happy doesn’t cover it, but why was Valentin originally in the will? Nikolas says, it makes perfect sense, considering who his mother was. She passed him off, tricking Mikkos into taking care of him his entire life. It’s classic Helena. Valentin suggests Nikolas crawl back under whatever rock he’s been under. His mother and son fought his battles because Nikolas wasn’t man enough to face him. Now he’s made up a fake codicil. Laura says she needs to talk to Nikolas alone.

Maxie tells Peter, she can’t believe that just happened. He says, her and him both. She says she’s thrilled that Nikolas is alive, and Peter says she’s known Nikolas her whole life. Lulu must be beyond relieved. She says he sounds less than convincing, and she’s asking the same question. Where has Nikolas been? He doesn’t look like he just escaped a prison camp, wearing a nice suit. Peter agrees Nikolas’s suit is fabulous, and Maxie says Nikolas faked his death once before. Not that he’s worse than Valentin, but obviously, he’s not the sweet prince he used to be. Peter is the only person she can say that to. There’s no way she could say it to Lulu.

Nikolas tells Valentin, all of his lies are in ashes at his feet. If Valentin doesn’t believe him, ask Nina. Nikolas walks out with Lulu and Laura. Valentin says he noticed Nina isn’t surprised, and Nina says Nikolas is right. She knew.

Valentin says, now it comes together; why Nina invited these people who have no interest in watching them exchange vows. They all want her as far away from him as possible. It seemed off, but he was hoping he was wrong. Obviously, he wasn’t. You’d think he would have learned to follow his gut, not his heart, but he’ll always follow his heart when it comes to her. She’s put a lot of work into hurting him as much as possible. Is she done, or is there something she wants to say? She tosses her bouquet aside, and says she knew it was him all along. He nods and cries a little.

Maxie asks if Peter remembers a weird moment with Obrecht, and he tells her, be more specific. She says, when Obrecht brought up Valentin’s sordid history, she said something weird. She hoped Nina chose happiness. Maxie thinks Obrecht knew something was up. There’s the guest list too. Nobody there wants to see Nina marry Valentin; just the opposite. She thinks Nina invited them to watch her blow this up. She doesn’t think Nina intended to marry Valentin. Peter agrees, and she says, how awful to love someone and have them say they love you. To have them look you in the eye, and be lying about everything else. She can’t imagine anything worse, but Peter says, that’s the thing. Rotten people love too. That doesn’t mean Valentin is lying about loving Nina. Maxie says, Valentin is going to lose her, and Peter says, he knows.

Nina tells Valentin that when Sasha admitted she wasn’t Nina’s daughter, she knew he had to be responsible. She admits she loves him. She knows him, and he knows her. He’s the only person who would be able to find someone perfect enough to be her daughter, and get her and Curtis to believe it. She couldn’t figure out the DNA test, but Obrecht provided the missing piece. Obrecht says she regrets nothing, and Nina says Valentin took a swab from her mother’s corpse, then gave it to Sasha to give to Curtis, who he made sure came calling. When the test came back, he didn’t have to doctor the result, since it was from Nina and her mother. Valentin says, Nina… and she says, stop. Obrecht told her everything that she saw, and Nina believes her. All of this was a set-up; a way to ambush him, and make him understand. She can’t get through to him. If he’d told her the truth, he could have stopped all of this.

Nikolas tells Laura, Lulu, and Doc that Valentin shot him, and he flew out a window into the sea. Lulu says, thank God. Not the shooting part, but that he fell in the water. He says, it wasn’t fatal, and he started to swim. Laura says, it must have been painful, and he says, it didn’t feel great. A ship going to Pyrenees picked him up, and the crew got him medical attention. He realized how dangerous Valentin was, and knew he needed to be strong enough. He was almost fully recovered, when he found out Mikkos had amended the will, and Valentin would be inheriting everything. He couldn’t just come back and reveal that. He had to be meticulous; find a weakness, and a way to stop Valentin and reclaim what was his. He wanted to come back every day, and tell them how much he missed them. He hated what was going on. He asks Laura to tell him that she understands why had to stay away. Laura cracks him a good one across the face.

Valentin asks, may he tell Nina the truth? and she asks if he’s capable of it. He says, the truth is, he loves her. The truth is, his life is better with her in it. The truth is, on top of everything tonight, he thinks it’s just a problem he needed to fix. And the truth is, no matter what she does, no matter how badly she hurt him, she’ll never be the antagonist in his story. She’ll always be his love. And the truth might be, that no matter what he does, he might not have the skill to love her the way she wants him to. That might be the awful truth. Another truth is that he never manipulated her; not one time. She thinks Nikolas is more trustworthy than him, and Jax has obviously manipulated her since the beginning. Obrecht has known for months, and he’s the bad guy. He asks her to do something for him; one last thing. Think about who’s been using her. He walks out, and Ava says, that bastard just tried to kill her tonight. Why are they letting him walk away?

Trina tells Cameron, Josslyn just texted; they’re on their way. Cameron apologizes, and she says, for what? He says he knows she’s into Dev. It must be hard for her that Dev likes Josslyn and not her. She says she’s over it; Cameron said she can have her pick. She suggests if they’re still single when it’s time for the winter formal, they go together as friends, and he says, sounds like a plan. Dev and Josslyn arrive, and Trina asks where they’ve been. Josslyn says they got caught up at home, and they wish each other, happy New Year. Trina asks if they want to get their skate on, and Josslyn tells Cameron to show Dev where the rentals are. After they’re gone, Trina says, getting caught up at home is code for…? Josslyn says, the most mortifying moment of her life, and Trina asks, what happened? Josslyn says she kissed Dev because Trina said he was into her. Trina says, he is, and…? Josslyn says, he wasn’t.

Ava asks if Jordan isn’t hearing this. Valentin shot Nikolas, tampered with a corpse, defrauded Nina, and tried to kill her tonight. Martin says she’s a rambling drunk woman, saying, Ava’s vodka consumption earlier was quite impressive. He says, the accusation of corpse tampering, as weird as it sounds, came from Obrecht, who has a rap sheet a mile long. Obrecht says she knows what she saw, but Martin says, due diligence would be prudent here. Ava suggests he seek out somebody else for a retainer, because Valentin is going down. She tells them, there’s somewhere else she needs to be, and excuses herself. Curtis and Jordan exchange a look.

Laura says Nikolas could have come home. Spencer spent the last three years grieving. Never mind her, Lulu, and Alexis; they’re adults. Spencer is a child who has already lost so much. He let Spencer sit there and watch, while the man Spencer thought killed him, took his home and everything he loved about it. Where was Nikolas? Off plotting revenge? Really? She asks if he knows who else was plotting revenge; his son. Spencer goaded Valentin over and over; it became an obsession. Valentin came to her, and threatened that if she didn’t take care of Spencer, he would, so she put him in boarding school on another continent, because Spencer believed it was his duty to avenge his father’s death. She hates Valentin, and what he did to Nikolas and Spencer, but it pales in comparison to what Nikolas did to his own son. Spencer needed him. Spencer needed a father, and where was he? Plotting revenge for three years? How could he?

Josslyn tells Trina, it was so embarrassing. She kissed him, and he turned her down. So awkward. Trina says she knows, and Josslyn asks, when? but Cameron and Dev return. Trina says, no more probation, and Josslyn says she’s going to miss the orange vest. Trina agrees that it’s Cameron’s color. Cameron says, hilarious, and Dev says, the reflector was the best. Cameron thinks he needs new friends, but Josslyn says he’d be lost without them. He admits he would, and Trina suggests they get their skate on. They leave for the rink.

Curtis tells Jordan that he knows Ava can be a little extra, but don’t tell him that she’s falling for that lawyer and his BS.

Jax approaches Nina, and she tells him not to ask if she’s okay. He says he was going to ask if there was anything he could do to help.

Nikolas tells Laura that he’s sorry. He hated it as much as they did. Laura says she doesn’t think so. He knew they were alive; it’s not remotely the same. She says, the Halloween party. The man in the mask was him, wasn’t it? Why didn’t he reach out to her? He says he wanted to, and she says, but he didn’t. He followed Ava to the gallery, and took off his mask. Ava told her that she saw him, but she didn’t believe Ava. She thought Ava was having a nervous breakdown. Ava’s brother convinced her to commit herself when she was perfectly sane. Doesn’t he see the affect he’s had on everyone? He says, maybe what he did was wrong… She says, maybe? He says, he did it for Spencer. Laura claims she knows how dangerous Valentin is, but she doesn’t. The only way to secure the estate, and keep Spencer safe, was to take down Valentin. Laura says, it was worth anything, and he says, a temporary sacrifice. He won. It’s finally over, and now the damage can be repaired.

Maxie asks if Peter believes what he said, that everything will be better in the morning. Valentin walks in, and wakes Charlotte, telling her that they have to go right now. He picks Charlotte up, but Maxie says he’s not going anywhere. Not with her.

Jordan tells Curtis, they’ve been yanked around by a lot of people for a lot of different reasons. Clearly, a crime has been committed, and they need to bring Valentin in for questioning.

Nina tells Jax that she’s surprised how much she liked the dress. She was torn whether or not to get such a lovely dress. It turned out to be a revenge dress. It’s a pity, but he warned her. Jax says, it’s a beautiful dress, and Nina says she should change. She heads upstairs.

Laura tells Nikolas, she honestly doesn’t know what to say. He thinks she’ll eventually understand, but Laura says, right now, it feels unfathomable. Lulu says, what matters is Nikolas is home, and they’re grateful. They’ll figure out the rest later. Ava comes in and tells Nikolas, she’s sorry to cut the reunion short, but it’s time. Doc says, for what? and she says Nikolas didn’t tell them the happy news? She and Nikolas are getting married tonight. Everyone is in shock. I’m in shock that she negotiated that so quickly.

Tomorrow, Ava asks Laura to stay for the wedding, Nina just wants to get away from Windymere, Valentin punches Peter, and Anna won’t be satisfied until she gets all the answers.

Below Deck

Kevin flashes back to Justine telling him, chef to chef, he needs to go more upscale. The guests are talking about his cooking behind his back. She’s just looking out for him. Nicole and Zak are happy, but the other guests aren’t. Kevin tells her that he doesn’t need her to look after him. In his interview, Kevin says he’s pretty sure she flips burgers and takes pictures. Justine goes back to her girl crew, and says repeats what Kevin said. She tells them, If she was working on a boat, she wouldn’t want the guests not liking her food.

Ashton has a meeting with the deckhands to go over the schedule, and says they’re aiming for a 2 o’clock beach picnic. Kevin tells Courtney, Justine told him that he needs to step up his game. In Kevin’s interview, he says he works hard, and what he puts out contains a bit of him, and he takes it extremely personally. He asks Courtney if he thinks they like cream cheese in their sushi, and she reminds him that they have guests who don’t like dairy. He says, screw these people.

Simone gets drinks for the guests, and Kate tells them about the beach picnic. She asks Rhylee about the fishing trip, and tells her about Ashton going to the captain, and blaming her for going to the wrong spot. He said, since Rhylee was in charge, she should have researched it more, and it annoyed her. Kate thinks since Ashton is the head of the department, it should fall on him. In Rhylee’s interview, she says she’s not surprised Ashton threw her under the bus; she’s an easy scapegoat. She was technically leading the expedition – we see a clip of her and Ashton looking at a map – but to put the blame solely on her is infuriating.

Captain Lee tells Courtney about giving up his room to Lauren. Courtney thinks it’s weird that she accepted, but he says he doesn’t blame her for not wanting to sleep on the sofa, and she paid money for that. In the captain’s interview, he says, it’s her vacation. He couldn’t believe Jamie’s attitude, she was a spoiled brat. If he’d been the primary, he’d have told her to take what she got or got the eff off the boat. Kevin makes sushi.

The guests talk about the weather. Jamie says she’s overheated – probably from the 99 mimosas she’s had before breakfast – and goes to her room. Rhylee and Brian set up the pool, and Brian tries to find fault where there is none. She dared ask him where to place it, telling him she hasn’t been there when they did this before. In his interview, he says, when it comes to Rhylee, he tries, but she’s stubborn. We flash back to some so-called altercations, which are really a lot of nothing, and he says he doesn’t understand why it has to be that way. They put the pool in the water.

The captain advises Ashton on places to scout for the picnic. In Kate’s interview, she says she doesn’t hate Ashton, but she doesn’t respect him. She’s never had a bosun try to punch out a window in a fit of anger and rage. If she couldn’t do a job every time she worked with someone she didn’t like, she’d be unemployed. Kate tells Courtney that she’s going on ahead, and to send Simone with anything they’ve forgotten.

They unload the supplies at the beach, while the guests jump off the boat, and play in the water. Kevin asks where Katie Boo-Boo is, and Courtney says, she’s at the beach. Simone is going over with the food, which is news to Simone. In Simone’s interview, she says communication is bad on the boat, but she’s happy to do something different. Ashton says someone will have to sit next to him, and no surprise, Molly volunteers. Captain Lee tells Ashton that he’s subtle. In Ashton’s interview, he says, working on  yacht, there are always beautiful people. Molly is an absolute cracker, but he’s not going to cross the line, just possibly brush the line. He wonders if that’s a thing.

Kate tells the guests that they have sushi and salad for lunch, and Simone pours champagne. Justine tells Lauren that she just had a short conversation with Kevin, and thinks she scared him. Back on the yacht, Brian tells Ashton that Rhylee doesn’t listen. It’s her way or no way. Ashton says it frustrates him, since they have a cool vibe with Tanner. Rhylee tells Courtney about Ashton talking to the captain, and saying she should have known where fishing was legal. Brian says Rhylee comments here and there, and she’s not even lead deckhand. In Ashton’s interview, he says he can’t fault Brian for speaking to him. It’s draining, having to keep the peace. Now other crew members are saying they’re affected by it. Something has to change. Ashton asks if anyone wants to go snorkeling, but he has no takers. This is a lazy bunch.

The guests return, and are met with watermelon popsicles. Kevin goes over the evening’s menu, and Kate tells him that he’s doing a great job. Kevin wants to make ceviche, but he doesn’t get where the guests are coming from. Some want a cheese course, some don’t want cooking in Teflon pans, some are vegetarian. There are too many options; he doesn’t know where to start. For whatever reason, some of the women want to take posed photos with Ashton; Molly, who is a model, and it looks like Justine, who’s confusing me now. In his interview, he says, so far, he’s had to do a striptease and a lap dance. Now he’s doing a photo shoot with professional models. The Ashton sandwich will have good flavor. They take photos, while the captain watches from the bridge, and Nicole says, it’s like the cover of a romance novel. In his interview, Ashton says he’d expected the models to be stuck up, but they’re the kind of girls he could mix with. Brian and Courtney have a quick kiss in passing.

Rhylee tells Kate that she’s frustrated, but Kate tells her, don’t take everything so personal. Rhylee says she’s literally treated like nothing on deck, and Kate says, it’s like they want to have a girl who sucks. Abbi was bad at her job, so they were nice to her. She tells Rhylee that she’s better at her job than the rest of them. In Kate’s interview, she says, Rhylee has a temper, but works hard, and is very good at her job. If Ashton can’t manage Rhylee, she could use her in interior. She’s probably a better stew than Simone.

The guests get ready for dinner, and the captain sighs in the Sky Lounge, digging through his bags. Kate tells Tanner, G-V-O, and he responds by singing, good vibes only. Lauren tells Courtney that Jamie is in her cabin, but they don’t want to go to dinner without informing her. Courtney is it. Captain Lee gets dressed, and Courtney knocks on Jamie’s door. In Courtney’s interview, she says she doesn’t like getting involved in guest drama, but they all hate Jamie. What’s pettier than refusing to share a room, and making another guest sleep in the communal area? She tells the others that she called Jamie’s name, but there was no answer. Rhylee asks if Ashton wants to talk quietly. Captain Lee checks himself out in the mirror, and guesses it will work. It’s all he’s got.

Rhylee asks Ashton about throwing her under the bus. He says Kate told her about what he discussed with the captain. She says she constantly feels dismissed, and if he can take a second and understand what it’s like in her shoes. This is the second year she’s been dealing with this, and she’s been calm and quiet. Ashton disagrees, and wonders if it’s her insecurities. He says he’s on her side, but she says the problem is, she gets no support from him, even in this conversation, and it sucks. Ashton says maybe she should check how much of it is her insecurities, and how much is the rest of the crew. She says he’s not even listening. She’d like for him as bosun to figure out a resolution. He hasn’t even looked at her once during the conversation. He says he’s been tolerant of her, and she asks what that means. He says her attitude, her behavior, and body language. The way she does things gives off a negative vibe, and the other crew members see it. She says, it’s not her insecurities. It’s 100% the way of the vibe on the boat. He says, so it’s everyone else? and she says she told him, it’s the way of the vibe. He starts pointing at her with his finger, and she tells him not to do that. He says, the conversation is done. He’s her superior. She asks if he just dismissed her. He points his finger some more, and says the captain warned her. She tells him to quit pointing his finger at her, and he says she doesn’t give a f*** anyway. She says he’s right, and he tells her, go to bed. She says she’ll go to her quarters. I hate Ashton at this moment. He is dismissive of her, certainly isn’t like that with the dudes, and I can’t stand when someone doesn’t look at me while I’m talking. It can mean a lot of things, but regardless, it’s disrespectful. That’s his problem. He has more respect for the guys than he does for the women.

Kevin makes beautiful starter plates, and Kate calls the guests for dinner. He says, the plates are pretty, and waiting for the Gram. The captain joins the guests for dinner, and thanks them for inviting him. Kevin says, Justine will probably say there are maggots on her plate, but she declares it good. Molly says, the plating is fantastic, and Kate tells Kevin the guests are loving it. Nicole asks if Captain Lee if he ever goes to Charleston, and he says it’s one of his favorite places. She invites him to look them up when he’s there, and he says he looks forward to it. Kate serves scallops as the second course, and everyone agrees it’s great. Kate lets Kevin know the guests are super happy, and asks if he is. He ignores the question, since he’s busy charring something with a blowtorch, and Kate goes up with the dessert; crème brulee and deconstructed cheesecake. Lauran says, clearly, Justine put a fire under Kevin’s butt. Courtney makes up the Sky Lounge for the captain, who excuses himself, saying he has work to finish. Tanner asks Brian if he should make a move on Kate tomorrow, and Brian says, why not? Tanner says he’s going to roll the dice.

Rhylee tells Kate that she’s on early tomorrow, but was told to go to bed in a demeaning way. Ashton said he tolerated her, and she’s insecure. In Rhylee’s interview, she says she is who she is. She was seven when her mother married her stepfather. They moved from Alaska to Florida to open a bed and breakfast. Nobody goes on vacation to see and hear kids, who should be seen and not heard. In their case, they weren’t even seen, and would be forgotten. If she has to defend herself about something, she’ll do it, no matter what. She tells Kate, it’s humiliating. Captain Lee asks the deckhands to turn the bridge lights off. He can’t sleep with it lit up like a football field. The guests go to bed. At 4:03 am, Tanner has a nightmare, and screams his head off. Brian asks if he’s okay, and says Tanner nearly gave him a heart attack.

In her interview, Rhylee says, the situation with Ashton is not going to fix itself, but no matter what, she’s going to do her job as best she can. The captain talks to himself, saying, travel the world; it will be fun. Now he’s homeless, living out of blue bags. Tanner helps Simone wipe down the tables. In her interview, she says she’s hooked up with him and seen him naked, but wants to be mature about things working out. Ain’t no man going to distract her from her job. Ashton asks to talk to Captain Lee, who says he feels like he was rolled up in a bedsheet and beaten with baseball bat. Ashton says they have the same issues as last year. He’s tried to address Rhylee’s attitude. She works hard, but that’s only one aspect of the job. The crew has to get along. He would never speak to the captain the way Rhylee speaks to him. He’d rather do the last two charters a man down. Captain Lee says, it’s only six days. He really doesn’t want to make a radical change this late in season, but he’ll talk to her one on one. In his interview, the captain says he has two people bumping heads. That means he has to get involved, and no one will like it. It’s his responsibility to make sure things run smoothly. If you’re acting like a d*ck, I’m going to tell you. He radios Rhylee, and asks her to see him in his new office.

The captain tells Rhylee to have a seat. He says she and Ashton have a bit of an issue, and Rhylee says Aston told her that he tolerates her, whether he wants her there or not. It’s a totally different dynamic than with the guys and their banter. On deck, Tanner tells Brian there’s built up negative energy, and they compare Rhylee to cancer. Rhylee says she offers her opinions and tries to help, and Captain Lee says, sometimes when she offers an opinion, it comes off as criticizing people. People in general often don’t see how the way they express themselves is taken. He’s not saying it’s a one-way street. That’s where he thinks the real issue lies. They should confront problems head on, not run away from them. He’s going to talk to other members of the crew, and see what they think is going on. In Rhylee’s interview, she says, it’s a scary situation. If he’s going to talk to everybody, their opinions will be bias, and against her.

At breakfast, Zak asks Simone if they’re serving real maple syrup from Canada. (I’ll let it go that most people would think Vermont first.) She says she doesn’t know if it’s from Canada, but it’s the real deal. He says he doesn’t care where it’s from, as long as it’s not corn syrup. I can’t say as I blame him there; that stuff is crap. Simone assures him it’s not corn syrup, and brings in muffins. Captain Lee calls Tanner and Brian to the bridge. He says he’s going to ask them some questions, and he’s not interested in bullsh*t; he wants the truth. Ashton and Rhylee are going at it like a burlap bag of bobcats trying to get loose. Give him the skinny about what’s going on. Tanner says, it’s tense, and Rhylee doesn’t make it easy. Brian thinks she’s not right for the crew. She doesn’t like to listen, has a temper, and she’s disrespectful. Tanner says she’s difficult, and Brian says she’s mean and doesn’t respect any of them. Tanner says, it builds up until it explodes. The captain asks if they can’t tolerate it for another six days, but Brian says he’d rather deal with the last two charters a man down. Tanner says the energy transfers like a cancer. Captain Lee thanks them for their candor. He doesn’t know what he’s going to do, but he has to do something.

Zak tells the other guests that his bedroom smells a little funky, and it’s not from the bathroom; the bathroom smelled better. Courtney tells Kevin that he’s taking everything too personal, and he says Justine called his food sh*t. Justine slides into the galley, and says she apologizes for making him uncomfortable. Dinner was great, and everyone was impressed. He thanks her, and after she leaves, Courtney says he didn’t even look her in the eye. In Courtney’s interview, she says, look her in the eye, and say you appreciate the apology. She meant it. It’s their job to be nice to guests, but it’s also common courtesy. I doubt Kevin knows what that is, but nice try.

Captain Lee radios Kate, asking if he can impose on her for a bowl of Cheerios. Kate brings the cereal, and asks if he wants to eat in the breakfast lounge – i.e. another couch. He tells her about talking to Brian and Tanner, and she says it’s three against one. He says Rhylee seems difficult to get along with, but Kate says she thinks Rhylee is lovely, and asks what Rhylee had to say. He tells her that Rhylee accepts none of the responsibility, and thinks she’s getting picked on. Kate doesn’t feel that’s the bigger issue, and thinks everyone is wrong, but the responsibility falls on Ashton. Why give him the responsibility of being bosun, if he doesn’t want to be responsible for his team? Being a department head means helping the team work together. In her interview, Kate says, Ashton is a big time d*ck. If he wants to play the game where we talk bad about each other, let’s play. No one is putting Ashton in check, and it’s time someone does. He’s an ego tripping power cocky d*ck. On deck, Tanner tells Brian that Ashton has been patient with Rhylee, and Brian says more patient than he would be. He thinks Rhylee knows she’s leaving, and Tanner says she has a radio. She knows who’s being called to the bridge. In Tanner’s interview, he says, Rhylee has to go; they can’t all be miserable. They have to get rid of her. Brian says, it’s not fair. The anchor is pulled into the pocket.

Kate asks Ashton how his morning was, and Ashton says, there’s a lot to be thought about. The situation was aggravated when it didn’t need to be. She’s not in the position to discuss what he said to Captain Lee with Rhylee. Rhylee walks past, and all three of them are quiet. Ashton doesn’t think it’s right for Kate to get involved in the management of his team, and she tells him, don’t say anything in the presence of another crew member that he wouldn’t want repeated. He says he expects privacy and confidence. In Ashton’s interview, he says he’d never tell Courtney or Simone what Kate said, which I find hard to believe. He says, anybody with a sane mind would know this, but the rules don’t apply to her. We flash back to Kate complaining about Ben and Kevin getting involved in her management. Ashton says, it’s not her team, and Kate says the only reason she brought up the issue is that it needed to be addressed. He says he knows how to manage his team, but she says she doesn’t think he does. He wants to fire Rhylee, and that’s management; it’s quitting. He thinks she should apologize for getting involved in his management, but she tells him to feel free to bring up anything she says out loud. She has no secrets. He goes to his bunk, and calls her a bitch. The captain calls for the crew to get into their whites.

They dock, and Captain Lee calls the crew to the aft deck. In his interview, Kevin says this has been his favorite charter so far. He’s kidding. He hopes he never sees Justine again. Nicole says they had a fabulous time. She can’t thank the chef enough for making her favorite foods. She gives Captain Lee the tip envelope, and Zak says look them up if they’re ever in Charleston. The captain tells everyone, back to work, and Kevin sings about boiling water

Brian calls his daughter, and tells her that he’ll be coming in one week. In his interview, he says he hasn’t gotten to the stage of introducing anyone to his daughter. He’s going through it in his head, wondering about him and Courtney in the long term. They’re coming to the end of the season, and he doesn’t know what’s going to happen. Ashton tells Tanner that Kate pushes his buttons. She feels the needs to give her two cents about what happened with Rhylee. Tanner says, it’s not her business, and Ashton says she’s adding fuel to the fire, and causing more problems. Kate tells Rhylee that Ashton told the captain to fire her, and Rhylee says, for what? In Rhylee’s interview, she says, this is their leader? Instead of bringing her up or helping her, he’d prefer her to be fired. If she’s fired over something like this, her career in yachting might be in jeopardy. Where does she go from here? The captain calls everyone to meet in the crew mess.

Captain Lee says he thinks it was a good charter. The chef nailed it, and the girls did good. The tip was $17,700; $1600 each. He thinks it was appropriate, and he’s happy with it. In Kate’s interview, Kate says a lot of people don’t realize, she’s not a chief stew because the job is fulfilling. The money is fantastic. The captain says, the exterior had a lot stuff going on. Needless to say, he wasn’t pleased. He’s not sure yet how he’s addressing it. You can’t kick sh*t down the road, and think it’s going away, because it don’t. That, they can take to the bank. In his interview, Captain Lee says, the deck crew is behaving like little effing kids. Unfortunately for them, he doesn’t babysit. He’s fed up with the whining and bitching, and has to make a decision. This closely resembles a clusterf***. It’s a sh*t show.

Next time, the captain tells Rhylee they have a situation, and it’s a yacht, not Alaska; Alexis Bellino celebrates her divorce with a charter; and Tanner hooks up with Justine from this charter.

📡 News Flash: Gordon Ramsay’s 24 Hours To Hell and Back premieres tomorrow at 9 pm. The Haves and the Have Nots, and Vanderpump Rules are also premiering at 9, and I would think the universe hates me, were it not for the fact Gordon’s show will repeat on Saturday at 8 pm.

📺 And heard on Bravo: The Shahs of Sunset is coming soon. A date would have been nice.

💭 Like the Corners Of My Mind…

The cast of All My Children over the years.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/amc-all-my-children-cast-photos-114501?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8624&recip_id=5057&list_id=9

🍸 Sad Stassi…

Not much info here. It’s more like a tease for Vanderpump Rules.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1108815/stassi-schroeder-teases-really-sad-falling-out-with-vanderpump-rules-co-star-kristen-doute?source=email&medium=emn-content-5&cmpid=evening&content=emn-news

💋 From When She Began…

Lala, from start to wherever we are now.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1106363/lala-kent-shares-her-10-year-transformation-and-it-s-not-what-you-d-expect-to-see?source=email&medium=emn-content-4&cmpid=morning-a&content=emn-news

🚤 With a Side of Sarcasm…

Some fun Below Deck recaps from Vulture.

Kate gets drunk.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/below-deck-recap-season-7-episode-11.html

Master Pearson returns.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/below-deck-recap-season-7-episode-12-yacht-pocalypse-now.html

Kate leaves the boat.

https://www.vulture.com/2019/12/below-deck-recap-season-7-episode-13.html

😥 Where’d You Go…?

Readership has become like eBay sales. Is it me?

Jan4

January 3, 2020 – A Reveal Before the Vows, the New Q Manse, Stanbury Split, Change Brews In the OC, The Countess Moves On, a Reminder & Wrong Year

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Nina tells Jax, she’s sorry, but she has no time to talk. He tells her, just listen. Whatever she’s planning, don’t. The only option that will leave any of them standing is for her to walk away – now.

In bed with Chase, Willow says she can’t believe he got a hotel room. They have a perfectly good bed. He asks if it’s a complaint, and says they can go, but she pulls him back, and says, don’t you dare. She likes the hotel and the bed, and loves the guy in the bed. Chase says that guy loves her too.

Sam tells Jason that this is the last time she can see him, and he asks, what happened? She says the only way she can stay free, is if she stays away from him.

Ned and Brook sit with Diane at the MetroCourt. Brook says she knows Diane is a master. If anyone can find a way out of her contract, it’s Diane. Diane asks if Brook consulted an attorney before signing it, and Brook says, no. Diane says she should have.

Michael asks if he’s told Sasha how good she looks. She says when she got there, and when they took their first drink, and he says, it’s not enough. He tells her to hit him with her New Year’s resolution, and she says she’s so excited to start over. She’ll be leaving Nina and Charlotte behind, but she’s grateful to have him. He says she’s stuck with him, and she says, promise? They kiss.

Maxie tells Obrecht that she looks beautiful; Maxie loves her dress. Obrecht thanks her, and drains her glass. Maxie asks if everything is okay, and Obrecht says she’s anticipating the festivities, whatever they may be. Peter says he thinks it’s called a wedding. Obrecht tells them that despite her sordid history with Valentin, he makes her niece happy. She hopes Nina chooses happy, and Maxie asks if that isn’t why they’re there. Obrecht says, from her lips, and moves on. Peter asks, is it him, or is Obrecht stranger than usual? Maxie says she’s not and never will be a Valentin fan, but obviously, Nina loves him. If a liar like Valentin can turn things around, maybe there’s hope for the rest of them.

Up on the tower balcony, Valentin tells Ava that he doesn’t change plans. He acts with precision, and she gave him an opportunity he can’t pass up. She asks, what opportunity? and he says she’s been drinking heavily, she’s in a fragile emotional state, and it’s icy up there. He pushes her over the parapet, and Charlotte appears. She asks what he’s doing out there. I am so angry about the turn this took. Why must Valentin continue to be a jerk?

Valentin asks Charlotte what she’s doing out there, and from behind her, Lulu says they came to look at the moon. Valentin says, it’s cold. Why don’t they look from the conservatory inside? Lulu says, that’s not a bad idea, and Valentin says he has a job for Charlotte. He tells Lulu that he’s glad she came, and asks Charlotte to check on the bride. He’ll see Lulu downstairs. Charlotte tries to look over the edge, but Valentin pulls her along.

Laura tells Doc, she tried to convince Charlotte that her bodyguard wasn’t real, but Charlotte insisted she saw him, and he was wearing the Cassadine crest ring. She compared it to her father’s tattoo, and described it perfectly. Doc asks if she’s certain it was a ring, and if there’s any chance Charlotte had seen it before. Laura says she’s never seen Valentin near one, and Nikolas was dead long before Charlotte came to town. None of it makes sense.

Sam tells Jason, it’s all her fault. If only she hadn’t gone undercover to take Shiloh down. Look what it’s done to them. Jason says, back it up for a second, and asks the officer’s name. Sam gives him Delores’s card, and he asks if she came in hostile at all. Sam says Delores was definitely expecting her to make a mistake. Jason says Sam didn’t do that. She just showed Delores the house. Sam says, yeah, but Delores got fixated on the stockings. She asked about Danny, and knew Jason was his father. Then she asked if Jason was living there. Jason says, first, Sam needs to understand it’s not her fault. Nothing could have been done to stop it. The officer saw his file, and knew he was Danny’s father. She came to the house gunning for him, not her. Sam asks if there’s any way to fight it.

Willow tells Chase, it’s been an amazing year, and Chase says, except for going to jail. She says, apart from that, she met him, they fell in love, and moved in together. He says, it’s been a pretty good year, and Willow says, she has the feeling 2020 will be even better. Chase thinks they both have that feeling, and they kiss.

Diane tells Brook, the contract is tightly written, and gives little wiggle room. Brook asks if it isn’t Diane’s job; she’s gotten Sonny out of worse. Diane says, not really. All of her clients are well-advised not to sign anything unless it’s been reviewed by her or another competent attorney, which Brook neglected to do. Her manager has exclusive rights to everything, until she provides her obligation. Ned asks if they have any options, and Diane says, if it was anyone else, she’d say there are none, but since they’re Quartermaines, the only straightforward solution would be to buy him out. Her phone dings, and she says she has to run, telling them, happy New Year. Brook says they’re in the middle of something, but Diane says she got a call to consult with a client who has her on retainer. As she leaves, Brook says, it was a text; not a call.

Sasha tells Michael that she keeps telling herself that Lucy is a good businesswoman, and she made the right choice. Is she boring him? He says, no; he’s interested. She says, if he’s so interested, why has he been looking over there the whole time? He apologizes, saying he’s close to his cousin Ned, who’s hands down the most Quartermaine of all of them; whatever good and bad that entails. Ned was distracted before, when he was mayor, but now that Ned’s daughter is back, Michael has the feeling they’re gearing up for some Quartermaine infighting. Sasha asks if that’s a thing, and he says, it is in their family. If he’s right, he could use favor from her. She says, anything, and he says he needs help keeping his perspective. He needs to appreciate the good things around him, and once in a while, she can make him smile. She kisses him, and says, like that? He says, yeah; just like that.

Jax tells Nina that she has two options; marry Valentin or destroy him, and neither is worth it. She says he doesn’t know that, but he says he does. Valentin is dangerous. He’s lied so many times already, does she want to marry into a dysfunctional situation because Valentin is a good father, and there have been a few moments he made her feel good? To be honest, plan B, her big revenge, is probably worse. Charlotte will get caught in the middle. Nina says she thinks about that constantly, and Jax says she should. Charlotte is on cloud nine about Nina marrying her father. If she takes Valentin down, she’ll take Charlotte too, and she doesn’t want to do that. She says, no, she doesn’t.

😠 There was a brief interruption here for remarks about the airstrike in Iraq. Sorry, I just didn’t have time to backtrack later, but I didn’t miss much.

Laura tells Lulu that Charlotte could end up resenting her, and Lulu says, true, but it’s hard. Laura gets it. She knows, no matter what else Valentin has done, he’s the father of someone they love. She’s not saying they should turn a blind eye to it, but Lulu needs to let go of some of the rage, at least around Charlotte. Not long ago, Charlotte blurted out that she knew they hated each other. Lulu says she hasn’t done a good job of hiding it, and Laura tells her to do better, for Charlotte’s sake. Inch toward the middle. She’d like to think, if Nikolas lived, it’s what he would want them do. I laugh, knowing how wrong that is.

Charlotte asks what Jax is doing in Nina’s room, and he says he came to talk to his friend. It’s an exciting night for her, so he’ll leave them to it. Nina tells Charlotte how beautiful she looks, but Charlotte says there’s no one prettier than Nina. She’s excited for Nina to be her forever stepmother. They hug, and Charlotte says she needs Nina. Papa needs her. It will be his happily ever after once Nina marries him.

Jason says he’s never been convicted, but Diane says, one nolo contendere is all that’s needed. He knew when he took the plea bargain, that it was going to follow him, and someone might use it as ammunition. He says, they let him out, and Diane says, because the police needed his help to apprehend Franco. In the eyes of the law, he’s a felon, and the officer is within her rights to make it a condition of Sam’s parole. Sam says, it’s fine. It’s nothing they haven’t dealt with before. They’ll deal with it again.

Martin tells Valentin, it’s almost midnight. Is he ready? Valentin says he never thought he’d be getting married in a room of his enemies. Martin says, it’s a humdinger, and Valentin says, if anyone had made the guest list other than Nina, he’d be worried. Charlotte runs in, and Jax isn’t far behind. They both sit.

Brook asks if Ned heard what Diane said about the option they have. Ned asks if she wants him to pay the guy off, and she says, yes. He says, no, and she asks, why not? He says she had a manager; her mother. It was her choice to leave, and go out on her own, signing with a supposed brilliant producer. Brook says he hit on her. After she signed. She realized it was less about her being a recording artist than arm candy. Ned asks if the producer forced himself on her, and she says, no, but he made it clear there were terms not specified in the contract that he wanted met. Ned calls him a pig, and Brook says, now he understands why she needs him to give the producer the money. He says, sorry. His answer is still no.

Sasha asks Willow what it’s like having someone head over heels in love with her. Chase is obsessed with her, in the most sincere way. She has the feeling when the time it right, they’re going to make the best parents.

Chase says Michael and Sasha seem good. Michael says it’s crazy, after all that happened, and Chase says he’s relieved that he didn’t have to testify in the fraud thing. Michael must be glad it’s over. Michael says, the lies are done, and Sasha has the Deception thing going on. The sky’s the limit for Sasha, and it’s all he wants for her.

No Nina yet. Martin looks at his watch. Everyone waits. Nina stands outside the door for a moment, and walks in. She and Valentin smile at each other.

Diane says she’s speaking not only as an attorney, but someone who has a vested interest in Sam and Jason’s happiness, and that of their children. In all these years, it hasn’t sat well with her that Sonny’s children have paid in a million different ways for the choices he made. If they’re going to do this, sneak around, and try to circumvent the stipulations of parole, Sam could be locked away for the full two years, possibly more. She has to ask if that’s a risk they’re willing to take.

Michael, Sasha, Willow, and Chase clink glasses at the MetroCourt, saying, happy New Year. Michael says, it really is, and kisses Sasha. Chase says, get a room, and Sasha says, like they did? Michael says Chase is making him look bad. Sasha asks what he and Chase were talking about, and Michael says, lies. He’s happy the drama is behind them. They clink glasses again, and Sasha says she has enjoyed so much of her time there though. She obviously fell in love with Nina as a maternal figure; she’s an amazing mom to Charlotte. But the whole time, she kept thinking, it’s not real; she can’t trust it. Willow says she gets it. Giving up Wiley was hard, but the second hardest thing was the lying and covering up, especially with Michael. When they would meet at the grief group, and she wasn’t telling him the truth, she hated every minute. They all turn to Chase, and he says, don’t look at him. He’s a cop; honesty is always the best policy. Michael says neither one of them would last in his families. The Corinthoses lie about facts, and the Quartermaines lie about everything, but the love is real.

Ned tells Brook and Olivia, happy New Year to the two most important women in his life. Brook says the countdown isn’t going to make her forget. She asks if he doesn’t believe that the guy was inappropriate with her, but he says he does. She can’t work with him again, but he doesn’t think throwing money at him is the solution. Now, he has the leverage, and can set the price, if he knows she’s desperate to get out. If she’d just read the fine print. Brook says it sounds like he thinks she asked for it, and Ned says, of course (🍷) he doesn’t think she wanted sexual harassment by a loser. She says, why not then? and he says if thought she was in danger, they’d figure something out. What happened was inexcusable, but she can stay there and regroup. Brook asks why she should give up her dream, but Ned says, the contract will eventually expire. Brook says, years from now, when she’s dead, or worse, married. Ned says the uncomfortable truth is, they’re Quartermaines, and there’s a world full of people who want to take advantage of them. If they give in just once, everyone knows they can be taken advantage of. Brook asks if he can’t just do it one time, but he says, that’s not how it works. Sorry. She leaves, and Olivia looks at Ned.

The Wedding March plays, as Nina walks down the aisle, which doesn’t take long since they’re in the living room.

Diane says she doesn’t want to know how good Sam and Jason are at avoiding surveillance. They only need to be caught one time. The parole officer is gunning for Sam, probably to get at Jason. The best option is to get Spinelli involved. Have him do a deep dive on the parole officer, and see if he can come up with something, like a conflict of interest. Get Sam assigned to someone new. It has to be done behind-the-scenes, or the officer could get more combative, or make a worse report. Sam says, so Diane is telling them the officer has total control. Diane says, for the moment, and Jason says, the best way to beat her, is to make her think she’s winning.

Ned asks Olivia what she thinks, and Olivia says, it was an amazing speech, but not one word landed. Ned asks, why? and she says, because Brook may have a tough exterior like Lois, but the Quartermaine who Brook is most like is Ned’s mother.

Martin officiates, but Valentin tells him, before the official stuff, he’d like to say a few words. He tells Nina, in this world, two things changed his life forever. First, his beautiful daughter, and then there’s her. He wasn’t certain she and Charlotte would ever meet; he thought they’d be separate parts of his life always. But then Charlotte came to live with him, and the most remarkable thing happened. He met the side of Nina that loved his daughter. She introduced him to a new level of happiness. She’s a wonderful mother, and he can’t imagine sharing his daughter with anyone else; like he can’t imagine sharing his life with anyone else. She’s it. She’s the one.

Ned says, it’s amazing how clearly Olivia sees his family. Does she want out? Olivia asks if he thinks his family drama is going to scare her away. He hugs her, and says she’s still getting her feet wet when it comes to the Quartermaines, but Olivia says she thinks she’s waist deep. Ned says they have a lot of flaws, but the one virtue in the midst of the chaos and backstabbing, is that they can take a moment to enjoy themselves, and see the big picture. He’s glad Brook is back in his life, and he can spend time with her. And he has Olivia, her love and acceptance, and her kicking him in the ass when he needs it. Olivia tells him, don’t ever forget it, and they kiss.

Jason asks how Diane got there, and Diane says, an Uber. Jason tells her, they’ll openly leave together. Sam says, it’s the last time, and Diane agrees. She says they can’t come face to face unless accompanied by their attorneys. Sam says, it’s not fair. This is how they’re supposed to bring in the New Year? He’s Danny’s father. Jason says, if there’s a fix, Diane will find it. He hates it, but they can deal with it. What they can’t deal with, is the kids missing her. He’d go prison for her, but they can’t risk her going back. They’re parents, and what’s right for Scout and Danny is to be with her, which means… He kisses her, and tells her that he loves her so much. She says she loves him too, and they hug. He leaves with Diane, gesturing to Sam with his index finger and pinky on his way out the door, which I assume means he loves her, and not that he loves heavy metal. Sam cries. In the hallway, Diane asks if Jason is okay, but he says, no.

Nina guesses she’ll say something too. Valentin has made her happier than anyone else in her life. She didn’t know what love was until she fell into it with him. What they learn when they’re kids, they think love is a fairytale. A happily ever after, permanent state of bliss, but that’s not love. Love has its ups and downs; beautiful transcendent moments alongside heart wrenching ones. But the happiness is worth the pain. On thing she’s learned, and knows for sure, happiness with him is so sweet. So no more secrets between them, right? He says, no, and I feel sick. Martin says, on that note, and reads the vows.

Just as Nina is about to say, I do, the door is kicked open. Nikolas stands there with Ava in his arms. Everyone is shocked, including me. I have to admit, that was good.

On Monday, Cameron says Trina should have stayed out of it, Lulu accuses Jax of being behind everything, and Nikolas tells Valentin that he loses everything.

🏰 To The Mansion Reborn…

To be honest, I didn’t even notice until Tracy mentioned it. I just thought it was a different part of the house.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital-quartermaine-mansion-remodel-174316?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8191

👒 A Shame… I Guess…

They seem amicable, but who knows? I’m still waiting on Ladies of London to come back. I loved Caroline.

https://extratv.com/2019/12/26/reality-couple-caroline-stanbury-and-cem-habib-split/?adid=extra_eme_27326_2019-12-28_rightnow1

🍊 But I Like Braunwyn…

At least she makes it so one of these things is not like the others.

https://radaronline.com/photos/in-the-doghouse-kelly-dodd-walks-pups-amid-talk-rhoc-stars-could-be-axed/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

Oddly enough, in this article, she sounds like the only one not on her way out.

https://radaronline.com/photos/rhoc-bravo-may-fire-entire-cast-vicki-gunvalson-tamra-judge-kelly-dodd/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

🍹 Not That There’s Anything Wrong With That…

Hey, as long as they’re not nasty or sloppy, if someone wants to drink to excess, that’s their business. Although LuAnn seems to be both. Just sayin’. I was surprised when she got brought back to court after outing herself about those two mimosas. I’ll bet she was surprised too.

https://pagesix.com/2020/01/02/luann-de-lesseps-leaked-drinking-admission-to-people-to-dodge-other-outlets/

https://pagesix.com/2020/01/02/luann-de-lesseps-says-shes-drinking-alcohol-again-after-completing-probation/

❗ Don’t Forget…

The Haves and the Have Nots begins a new season this Tuesday, January 7th. As does Vanderpump Rules. I’ll have to see how I’m going to finagle that, since they’re both on at 9 pm. I’ll be glad to see HAHN again, and just as glad to stop seeing the ad for it on OWN every five minutes.

👂 A Yearworm…

I know it’s way off, but every time I hear 2020, this song pops into my head. Somebody make it stop.

Jan3

January 2, 2020 – An Uninvited Guest, a Question Answered, Dallas Reunites, Marge Drenches Danielle, Laverne Judges the Runway, NYE Celebrations, Daytime Roll Call, Shocking Roll Call & Starting Right

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

At the MetroCourt, Sam tells Jason that she doesn’t have much time. Her parole officer is doing a home visit. It will be a good opportunity for her to show she’s an excellent mother and a responsible citizen. Jason asks why she’s nervous, and she says she’s not. But she does think it’s weird that the parole officer wants to meet, and on top of it, she got the creepy invitation to Shiloh’s memorial. If anyone needs to stay dead and buried…

Obrecht answers the door at Windymere, and lets Jax in. She tells him to help himself to some champagne. He asks if she’ll be joining him, and she says, of course (🍷). Why not raise a glass to the bride and groom? He says speaking of the bride, he’d like a word with Nina before the ceremony. Obrecht says she’s not there, and Jax asks if she’s decided to bolt already.

In the hospital elevator, Nina looks at the test results. It says a probable match as mother and daughter. She gets out, and almost runs into Sasha. Nina says the moment is almost too perfect, and Sasha says it’s a complete surprise. Isn’t it her wedding day?

Valentin stands outside in the snow on the balcony of a tower. Martin asks if they must meet up there, and Valentin says he likes the view. Martin says, a sheer drop into icy water; to each his own. Martin asks if Valentin is going to clue him in on his wishes. He’d love to get back inside. Valentin says he wants the woman he loves, and the future they deserve with the family they’ve created. What he doesn’t want is to lose any of it.

Obrecht opens the door to Jordan and Curtis, and leads them to the bar. Jordan asks when Curtis is planning on telling her who the missing person is that Jax hired him to find. And don’t tell her, the less she knows, the better. He says he doesn’t have to; she just did. Laura comes in, and tells Jax that Doc is on the way. Jax says there are a lot of important people there, except the bride. Ava makes a toast, to the happy bride. Happy is the bride sunshine falls on, and happy the corpse the rain falls on. Or is it the other way around? (I looked it up; she’s correct the first time.)

Carly says when she tells Sonny what she’s been keeping secret, he’ll want to do something. Please don’t; don’t react. Lashing out just makes things worse. He asks what the big secret is, and she says, Nikolas Cassadine is alive and well, and here in Port Charles.

Sonny says, Nikolas is alive and well. She saw him? She says, saw and spoke to him. Sonny asks, when and where? and she says, Jax’s house after Halloween. She asked him why Josslyn couldn’t stay there, and he started making excuses. Nikolas walked in, and the reason was clear. Sonny asks what Nikolas said, and she tells him, that he’d been in hiding; waiting for the opportunity to take back the Cassadine estate from Valentin. He recruited Jax to help. Sonny says, last he checked, Nikolas was a fugitive, and Jax is helping him. That’s a crime.

Ava asks if Jax and Laura don’t love weddings. She wouldn’t miss this for the world. Jax asks why that is, and Laura says it’s not like Ava and Nina are best friends. Ava says, it’s water under the bridge. The water is toxic and flammable, and all the fish are dead, but it’s under the bridge. Laura says Ava’s enthusiasm has peaked her curiosity, and Ava says she doesn’t know what’s going to happen, but she promises it will be memorable. Obrecht asks to see Ava’s invitation, and Ava says, no. Obrecht asks if she wants to leave on her own, or should she force Ava? Please tell her the second one. Jax says, Ava is his plus one, and Obrecht says she admires his compassion. She knows what it’s like to be the town something-in-German. Ava says that had better not mean what she thinks, and Obrecht asks if she thought it was pariah, or was she expecting a more appropriate insult? Jax asks Ava for a word, and Ava asks what Obrecht’s problem is. Jax says she’s probably being protective of Nina, as is he. Ava says all he’s missing is a suit of armor, a horse, and big, round table. He says he’s got his eye on her. Charlotte comes out, and Laura admires her dress. Charlotte says, it’s new. She didn’t want to wear the dress she wore last time; it might be bad luck. Laura knows Charlotte was disappointed last time, and she hopes it goes the way Charlotte wants this time.

Michael arrives at the MetroCourt, and says Sam got the best Christmas gift, spending Christmas with the kids. Jason says they couldn’t ask for more. He asks where Michel is going, and Michael says he’s going to ring in the New Year with Sasha. They’re having drinks with friends, and then taking off, but Jason said he wanted to see him. What’s up? Jason shows him the invitation to Shiloh’s memorial, and asks if Michael got one. Sam says she got one too, and Michael says he doesn’t know what make less sense, her getting invited or him. He pulls out his phone and shows them. Sam says Kristina was invited too, and Willow and Harmony. Michael says, two that escaped, the people who betrayed Shiloh, and Sam killed him. They were all invited. He asks if they have any idea who’s behind this. His connection is indirect, through Kristina. Sam says Michael took the DoD house from them, and he’s Wiley’s godfather. The Dawnies know that Shiloh is Wiley’s biological father. Michael says, they could still think Wiley is one of their own. 

Nina tells Sasha that she’s on her way to her wedding, and asks why Sasha is there. She didn’t have a relapse? Sasha says she’s fine; it was just a follow-up. She thanks Nina for asking, and Nina says she’s glad, but she should get going. She drops her papers, and helping to pick them up, Sasha sees the DNA test results. Nina says it’s clearly not about Sasha.

Valentin tells Martin, Ava might be a problem. Martin says, she burned the painting. Why doesn’t Valentin declare victory, and be done with it? Valentin says he has reason to believe the codicil still exists. If that’s the case, he needs to defend his position.

Laura sees Charlotte looking around, and asks if she lost something. Charlotte says, someone. Her bodyguard should be there. Like he should have been on the pier. She doesn’t understand why he disappeared. Laura says she thinks she understands why he’s so important. A lot of scary things have happened to Charlotte lately. It makes sense that she’d want someone to protect her. Charlotte asks if Laura believes he’s real. She showed Laura his picture. Laura says, yes, he’s somebody Charlotte’s mom and Laura cared about. Charlotte asks if they don’t care about him anymore, but Laura says, of course (🍷) they do. She asks if when she and Lulu were talking, Charlotte didn’t pick up the phone and decide he was her secret bodyguard. Charlotte says she didn’t decide. Her papa hired him. She knows because of the ring. Laura asks, what ring? and Charlotte says, he wears a ring like papa’s tattoo.

Laura asks if Charlotte can describe the ring, and Charlotte says Laura has seen it all around the house. It’s on shields and in the trophy room. Two dragons, back to back, with claws for feet. In the middle, there’s a shield with the letter C. She tells Laura that she wants to ask Obrecht to make her a Shirley Temple; hers are the best. Charlotte goes to the bar, and Curtis asks if Laura is okay, but Laura says, she’s fine. Jax thinks Ava is up to something, and she’s working with Nina. Ava says they’re mortal enemies, but called a temporary truce. Jax says the last time these same people were all in the same room, the portrait burst into flames. He hopes there are no fireworks tonight. He doesn’t want Nina to get hurt. Charlotte tells Obrecht that her Shirley Temples are the best, and Obrecht says it’s one of her more useful talents. She gives Charlotte her drink, and steps away to use her phone.

Martin asks if Valentin is suggesting that Ava staged the burning of a painting she could have made a quarter million dollars on, just so she could hang on to the addendum? Valentin says, Ava has a penchant for sloppy vengeance, and could use the codicil to bring him down. Martin says he’s not thinking of breaking into the gallery again? Valentin’s phone dings, and he says he won’t have to. Ava is there. Martin says, she’s crashing the wedding? Does Valentin want him to show her the door? Valentin says he has another task in mind. Something Martin might enjoy; it’s low risk.

Sasha walks into an examining room with the test results, and Nina follows her. Sasha asks how long Nina has known, and Nina says her life is no longer Sasha’s concern; it never was. Sasha asks how long Nina has known she wasn’t acting alone? Nina says since the last wedding, when Sasha stood up and admitted she’d scammed Nina. That’s when she knew. There was only one person who could pull it off. It had to be Valentin. Sasha says, if she knows, why is she marrying him?

Michael tells Jason and Sam that he doesn’t care how many memorials they throw for Shiloh. No Dawnie is ever going to come near Wiley again. Sam asks if Jason is going to stop by for New Year’s, and he says, of course (🍷). She kisses him, and calls him an incredible romantic. He tells her, good luck, and she leaves.

Carly tells Sonny that Jax and Nikolas had a plan where Nikolas would reunite with his family, and Valentin would be history. Sonny asks why it didn’t happen, and she says, before Christmas, the whole thing literally went up in smoke. He asks what she means, and she says, Mikkos left a codicil disinheriting Valentin, and returning the estate to Nikolas and Spencer. He hid the codicil in the painting. That’s the theory, but no one will ever know because it went up in smoke. He wishes he could have been there to see Jax’s face when he came up empty. Jax is an accomplice, which means Jax could be in legal trouble. Carly says, no he can’t, because no one is ever going to know.

Curtis tells Jordan, if she’s not feeling this, they can leave. She asks if it’s that obvious, and he says, only to people who know her – and every passerby. She says, sorry, but he says, don’t be. She lost a friend, and she needs to feel how she feels. She thanks him for understanding, and he says, as her husband, it’s literally his job. She says she broke her resolution not to think about it until after New Year’s, but he says it doesn’t count, since resolutions start on New Year’s Day. She’s good. He says if there’s anything she needs to get off her chest, he’s there for her, and holds her.

Martin asks Ava for a word (phrase of the day), and introduces himself. She asks if he’s there for the bride or groom, and he says, a little of both. He’s a great admirer of her gallery. He’s popped in, but was shy about saying hello. She asks if anything in particular caught his eye, and he says, several pieces, including the J. Garrin, but that doesn’t matter anymore. It’s a shame. She says she can’t think of a more suitable ending. He says Windymere is filled with fantastic work, and she says, no doubt pillaged from churches and orphanages. He says there’s one he’d like her opinion on. He’d like to show her; it will just take a moment. He leads her out, as Obrecht watches suspiciously.

Carly tells Sonny not to turn Jax into immigration, and not to call in any favors. Sonny says, Jax clearly broke the law, and Carly says, so has he. Jax knows it, and if he turns Jax in, it will rip their family apart. Josslyn hated Sonny, and it took months for her to forgive him. It would be worse if he did it again. It’s not worth it. None of it is worth it. Sonny asks why she didn’t tell him the night she found out Nikolas was alive? Why couldn’t she trust him with the truth?

Jason asks Michael how things with Sasha are, and Michael says it was a rough year, but they’re looking forward to a fresh start. No secrets; everything is on the table. He says Jason is heading for a fresh start as well. Sam is out, and his family is back together. Jason says, that’s the plan; he’s lucky. Michael says Sam shouldn’t have been there in the first place, and Jason says, no argument from him. Michael tells him, go home and celebrate Sam’s freedom. Jason tells Michael, happy New Year, and Michael says, may 2020 be happy and uneventful.

Sam nervously straightens up. There’s a knock at the door, and parole officer Delores introduces herself. Sam says she’s been expecting Delores. Delores asks if there are people there tonight in the house, but Sam says, no. Her children are spending New Year’s with their grandmother, and her partner is out for the night. Delores says they’ll talk more about that after she conducts her inspection. Sam asks if there’s anything in particular she needs to know, and Delores says she needs to make sure there are no violations; no firearms, drugs, or alcohol. Sam says she’s never done drugs, has no firearms, and the alcohol has been removed from the house. It’s sparkling cider for tonight; the instructions were clear. Delores suggests they start with the kitchen.

Nina asks if that isn’t what Sasha wanted. Didn’t she hide Valentin’s involvement in the first place so Nina could have the family she dreamed about? Sasha doesn’t understand why Nina ran the test again, and Nina says it proves Valentin orchestrated the first test. He used the swab he took from her mother’s casket to prove Sasha was hers. Whether Sasha knew it or not, it’s what she went along with. Sasha says, obviously Valentin went to extremes. Does Nina know why he did?

Heading up to the turret, Ava says she doesn’t climb that many stairs for just anybody. What artifact does Martin want to show her up there? Valentin comes out, and says Martin is afraid of heights, but she’s made of sterner stuff, isn’t she?

Carly tells Sonny that she didn’t want to argue. If the plan worked, Nikolas would come forward, and if not, no one would be the wiser. He has to stay out of it. Sonny asks, who else is in it? and she says, as far as she knows, it’s just them; her, Jax, and now him. Sonny says Ava saw Nikolas’s ghost, and Carly says Ava thought she did on Halloween. She checked herself into Shadybrook, then checked out. Sonny says when she came by, she said she didn’t see what’s not there. Carly says, Ava realized, and Sonny says Carly knew the truth, and still didn’t tell him. He shakes his head.

Delores says, Sam is a P.I., and owns a registered handgun. Sam says, not anymore, but when she did, she kept it in a safe, far away from her children. Delores says, speaking of her children… She looks at the stockings hanging up, and says, Scout is her daughter, and her son is Danny. Does their father, Jason, reside with her?

Nina tells Sasha that she knows why. Valentin loves her. Sasha says Nina loves him too. Nina says, God help her, she does, but maybe she loves the person she thought he was or the person she wanted him to be. That guy is great. Sasha says, maybe Valentin can be that guy, with no more lies in the way. Nina says, when it comes to Valentin, she doesn’t know if that’s possible. She holds her hand out, and Sasha gives her back the test results. Sasha tells Nina that she’s a good person. She’s an honest person, so whatever she’s thinking of doing, does she think can go through with it? Nina tells Sasha, happy New Year, and leaves.

On the phone with Lulu, Laura says the wedding hasn’t started, and they still need a bride. She asks Lulu to send her the photo of Nikolas that she has on her phone. The most recent one, in her favorites. She’s just feeling sentimental. Martin comes back, and says he senses Obrecht is a talented mixologist. She guesses his drink of choice is a Manhattan. He says, that would be perfect, but hold the vermouth, and nix the cherry. (In case you didn’t know, that would make it straight whiskey.)

Valentin asks what Ava thinks of the view. She says, it’s beautiful and remote, but she seriously doubts he lured her up there to show her the skyline. He says, that, and to talk with her about something before the wedding. He wants to tie up some loose ends that any respectable groom would want to tie up. It was quite a trick she pulled. Auctioning off the portrait, then setting it on fire. Ava says that remains a mystery, and he says, like any good illusionist, she’s not going to tell him, is she? He asks where the codicil is, and she wonders who even uses that word anymore. He says that’s what Julian said at the MetroCourt, and she asks if he was eavesdropping. He says he was, and tells her not to waste his time. Tell him what she wants for it, and he’ll give it to her. She says she neither wants or needs anything from him.

Sonny tells someone on the phone that he wants all eyes on Spencer, 24/7. And look out for Nikolas. He’s alive, and may come for Spencer. They need to find him first. Carly says he’s not taking any chances, and Sonny says, if Valentin figures it out, he may go after Spencer. She says she gets it, and he says he’s glad she approves. She says she’s told him everything. Where does that leave them?

Wearing a sparkly, sexy dress, Sasha meets Michael, who says, wow. She says, look who’s talking, and they sit. He asks if she’s okay, and she says she’s fine. She asks what time Chase and Willow are getting there, but he says he knows something is wrong. She says she ran into Nina. Nina knows Valentin is behind the agreement for her to be Nina’s daughter. Michael says, good. Did Sasha tell Nina that Valentin’s not just her partner, and the whole thing was his idea? She says, Nina has the DNA result that proves Valentin used the sample he got from Nina’s mother. She left for the wedding. Michael says, she’s still getting married? and Sasha says, who knows? Nina is heading for a world of hurt, and needs all of their support. Michael says she’s not thinking of going to the wedding, is she?

Laura gets the picture, and tells Charlotte there’s no way she would be able to tell he was wearing a ring. Charlotte says, maybe he wasn’t wearing it then, but he was when she saw him. Nina flies in, apologizing for being late. Obrecht says she was about to tie a little barrel to a St. Bernard, and send it out to find her. Jax says they have to talk, but Nina says she’s talked out. She’s sorry she’s late, but it’s a long story, and not worth telling. She won’t be long. Charlotte says she’s glad Nina is there; she was worried. Nina is sorry she made Charlotte worry, but Charlotte says once Nina marries her papa, everything will be okay. Nina hugs Charlotte, and says she loves her; never forget that. She dashes upstairs. Jax calls after her, but gets no response.

Ava drains her glass, telling Valentin that she’s going inside to get herself another martini. Should she send up a footman in case his bride decided to show up? He says he’s not done negotiating, but she says she is. He says if she doesn’t take the deal he’s offering, he’ll find other means to get what he wants. She suggests he go get himself hitched, and he says he will, once she turns over the codicil. She tells him to get married, and go on his honeymoon. Make it a long one, and don’t be surprised if when he comes back, someone else is living there who deserves it more. She starts to go past him, but he grabs her arm, and says she’s not going anywhere.

Sonny tells Carly, he thinks it comes down to trust. She didn’t trust him. She says, after what happened last time. Sonny lashes out in anger, and when he’s done, he regrets the hell his family has been put through. She didn’t want another blow up, so she chose not to tell him. He says, that’s what gets him. She chose to trust Jax. IMO, that’s an unfair statement, since it’s Jax’s secret, not Carly’s.

Obrecht calls to Jax. She says she was just about to share her medical research ideas with him. He says he’d love that, but wants to check on Nina. Obrecht assures him that Nina is fine. Martin tells Jordan that she’s a vision; bonsoir. She asks if he’s okay, and he says, weddings make him uneasy. He’s handled his fair share of divorces. It’s optimism and love versus bitterness and regret. He’ll feel better when the night is over.

Curtis asks Laura, what’s up? and don’t tell him that she’s okay; he knows her talents. She asks if he remembers her late son, and he says, when her son was married to Hayden; sure. She says, Charlotte swears she’s seen him. Not just his face, but his signet ring, and it doesn’t appear in the photo Lulu sent of him. How can it be?

Jason gets home, and asks Sam, what happened? What did the parole officer say? She tells him, the parole officer said that this is the last time she’s going to see him.

Sasha tells Michael that she wants to be there for Nina, but knows the best thing to do is stay as far away as possible. Michael hopes in the new year, she washes her hands of Nina and Valentin. She says, Valentin for sure, but part of her will always hope she and Nina will make amends. She’s worried Nina is headed for more heartache before the year is out.

Nina looks at herself in her dress. There’s a knock at the door. It’s Jax.

Valentin tells Ava that he acts with precision when given an opportunity that he shouldn’t pass on. She’s been drinking heavily, and with her fragile emotions, she slipped. He pushes her over the edge of the parapet. And I’m very disappointed.

Tomorrow, Ned says Brook made her bed, and now has to lie in it; Laura is afraid if Valentin gets taken down, Charlotte will be taken down too; and Charlotte finds Valentin at the tower.

❓ Because I tend to get curious about accuracy on certain points, I looked up whether a parole officer could tell you that your spouse has to go. It hardly seems fair, and really should depend on the circumstances, but apparently, they can. I got this from a legal answers site:

Probation officers are given a lot of authority and even if it’s questionable whether they can do something , in many cases they usually get their way with individuals who are unrepresented. At the very least, an attorney can bring a motion before a Judge and challenge the probation officer’s actions/decisions.

🐮 Even though my level of concentration was nil on New Year’s Day, I still checked out Part One of The Real Housewives of Dallas Reunion. The first thing we found out was that 4.7% of mail gets lost, not 30% as LeeAnne had suggested. I still say it’s a good possibility that Kary’s wedding invite could have gotten lost, although admittedly, there’s an equal possibility one was never sent. The main focus was criticism of LeeAnne’s wedding – from the lack of food to the vows, which the women claimed were a dig at her mother. Kameron thought they were nitpicking stupid small things, and was like, wtf? It’s LeeAnne’s wedding. I couldn’t agree more. Especially since I had people argue with me over some of my own choices. My maid of honor told me that I couldn’t possibly have a chocolate cake with chocolate frosting. I said, watch me, and I did, which was what I told everyone who said I couldn’t do whatever. Rich was also criticized for looking at other women, even though LeeAnne was okay with it.

They touched on Eduardo’s financial hold over Kary, who said things remained the same, but she was happy. I have my doubts about that. You don’t go from that much concern over a situation to none whatsoever. Kameron’s trash comment to Brandi had a moment, and Kameron reminded Brandi that she had just said F-U and to go s*ck a d*ck. She was criticizing Brandi’s behavior, not her character, and probably would have used another word, but it was in her mind since Stephanie had wondered if peeing behind the trailer was trashy. Andy said viewers loved that Kameron had gone out of her comfort zone with her bathroom habits. A viewer asked if D’Andra was drinking any less, since the fortune teller had said she was going to die if she didn’t stop. D’Andra insisted she’s just a social drinker, and didn’t drink during the week. I guess that means it couldn’t possibly be harmful if she’s socializing to excess every weekend.

The episode ended the way it began, with the women being critical of LeeAnne, who once again got dragged on for bringing up her childhood so much. The main gripe seemed to be that she uses it as an excuse for bad behavior, but she maintained that she’s only pointing out the reason she reacts the way she does. I say, maybe it’s both. God forbid any of these women should see both sides. Like Dr. Phil says, no matter how flat you make a pancake, it’s still got two sides. Kameron probably comes closest. It looks like there’s no let-up on LeeAnne in Part Two, when the racism question is brought into play. I still think she was using that adjective because Kary kept harping on it as her strength. Poor choice of words? Most definitely, but I don’t get a racist vibe from her. And really, they’re all annoying this season. Next time, Kameron also calls Brandi a liar.

💭 What’s interesting is how much these women are all triggered, yet they seem to start with opening the door to it themselves.

👠 On The Real Housewives of New Jersey, Teresa argued with Juicy Joe on the phone, while Gia tried on prom dresses. I mean at the same time. They were in one of those bridal shops, and Teresa sat screaming at her husband in the waiting (viewing?) area, mortifying Gia, who just wanted to get her damn dress. Jennifer, per Turkish tradition, served a whole lamb on Easter that her mom cooked, and the kids practically ran from the room screaming when the head was brought out. Daughter Gaby brought up Jennifer’s brother being gay, which apparently, their mom is in denial about, and Jennifer was proud it was all handled so well. We also got TMI about Jennifer’s sex life.

Marge, Jackie, and Melissa went to lunch, and Marge had an abysmal batting average as far as rumors go this week. First, she wondered if Teresa and Danielle were swimming in the lady pond. Really, Marge? Highly doubtful. She also said Marty would neither confirm or deny, but said he was at peace with Danielle. Since they still live together, I find it hard to believe they haven’t slept together since the break-up. I think Marge just wants to believe it’s not happening because she hates Danielle. Teresa hosted a private shopping event, inviting everyone. Jennifer said Danielle scared the eff out of her, although I think she could hold her own in a hair-pulling. Danielle and Teresa chatted, while the others obviously talked about and made fun of Danielle; Marge saying some pretty rude things, like comparing Danielle to the sushi. Danielle told Teresa that Marge and her minions were after her, and that included Melissa. She reminded Teresa that she’d promised to have Danielle’s back. Teresa said she did, and would set those bitches straight. Marge suggested they talk about the Versace clad elephant in the room, and Teresa accused Marge of breaking Danielle and Marty up. Marge said Danielle had alleged Marty was abusive – with both her and her daughter. In her interview, Melissa said there were two realities; the one Teresa sees and the one everyone else sees. She’d been at this rodeo before with Teresa and Kim D. Marge said Danielle was sick, and a pathological liar. Throughout this insanity and the shouting, the boutique owner went through a lot of changes, from unhappy to fearful to amused. Danielle and Marge almost came to blows, but Melissa stepped in between them. Then for some ungodly reason, Marge dumped water over Danielle’s head. Danielle dumped all the stuff out of Marge’s purse and threw it around, saying, Marge started it, and she was going to finish it. Melissa said this behavior was unacceptable – like this has stopped anyone before – and it ended with Danielle grabbing Marge’s ponytail.

Apparently, this fight carries into next week, when no doubt the owner will look fearful and then angry.

👗  On Project Runway tonight, stylist Karla Welch was a mentor, and the challenge was to design an outfit for Karlie to wear to a CFDA event in Paris. Karla told them if they don’t make the stylist happy, their work won’t get to the talent, so I guess a stylist is sort of a style bouncer as well. The designers were told to make their work original and wearable, and think American in Paris. The twist was that they would be upcycling; reconstructing discarded clothes to make something new. In his interview, Sergio told us that he always uses that method, so he’s not a burden to the environment, Instead of going to Mood, they had $150 and 45 minutes to go Goodwill. Hey, I have my best pair of jeans from them. It was a one-day challenge, and Karla told them to sketch their designs on the way there. I just need to say it. Why do stylists always dress in black and look like hell? Karla was wearing what looked like an oversized boy’s black suit. Not that I have anything against a boy’s suit on a woman, but it was boring and looked like she was wearing her big brother’s clothes. At two hours to runway, so much seemed so unfinished. Shavi was pissed and flustered, having found a hole in his garment, and needing to compensate quickly.

Laverne Cox (love her!) was the guest judge. They used models that were Karlie’s size, but I thought they should have forced her to try on everything. The designs were most pretty cool, until they got to Melanie’s outfit, where I said, God no. It looked like it was made out of scraps, and the model’s boobs were falling out. Marquise had a good idea, with a cold-shoulder suit jacket, but made a mess of the back, which was very ill-fitted, and had to be held together with tape. Shavi’s model could hardly walk, her pencil skirt was so tight. Geez. He should have cut a slit in that thing the second he realized. It did not work in his favor.

Chelsey, who created a high-waisted trouser with a matching crop top, using twelve pairs of jeans, was at the top. Karlie said Chelsey’s outfit had the American in Paris vibe she’d love to rock, and Chelsey said she liked to dress the everyday woman in not-so-everyday clothes. Nancy was also at the top, with a jazzed up pink shirt worn backwards, and a black skirt Karlie said she’d love to twirl in, also made out of jeans. Nancy had quite an emotional moment, where she said she wasn’t just the oldest on this particular show, but the first designer in their 60s, being 64. Brandon said her design was light and fresh, and she’d arrived at 64. He gave the world hope, and gave Nancy a hug. Victoria rounded out the top three, with an asymmetrical (thank you, Nina – that’s the word I was looking for last time) mini dress with a cut-out on the side. She also had a moment, remembering watching the show with her mother in Russia. Laverne told her that dreams can come true, and Victoria’s did, since she was the winner for the third time in a row.

On the flipside, no surprise, Shavi was in the bottom three, along with Marquise, who was told it was obvious the integrity of the garment was held together by tape. Tyler was once again in the forefront, but not in a good way. His outfit wasn’t bad – a black skirt with a white insert, and a white sleeveless top with a tuxedo ruffle – but it didn’t meet the criteria of the challenge. Brandon said out of the three requirements, all he got right was wearable. But like this wasn’t bad enough, when Brandon said he couldn’t see Karlie wearing it, Tyler said, not even to dinner with the Kushner’s? (Karlie is married to Joshua.) This went over like a lead balloon, and there were crickets for days. Backstage, everyone shook their heads, and Sergio thought he was going to be sick. Recovering, Karlie told him the challenge was to design something for Paris, and it wasn’t what she’d asked for. I’m not so sure that remark didn’t help him out the door, although Karlie said she wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing any of the bottom three outfits to the event – or anywhere. Before his exit, Tyler told Karlie that he really wasn’t a jerk, and had no hidden agenda in what he’d said. In his goodbye interview, he said he was still in the anger stage of the five stages of grief, but he would stand by his look to the death. He loved it so much, he intended to make a copy for his drag persona. Since Christian gets to save a designer, he hoped it would be him, but I think that’s doubtful. He said he was walking out proud and more motivated.

Next time, Cyndi Lauper is a guest judge, and the designers will form teams to create her iconic 80s style.

🎉 Stars Celebrate…

Celebrities. They’re not just like us.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1106816/see-how-your-favorite-stars-are-bidding-farewell-to-2019-on-new-year-s-eve?source=email&medium=emn-content-3&cmpid=evening&content=emn-news

😥 Stars We’ll Miss…

A daytime roll call of the dead.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc-daytime-soap-stars-died-2019-174354?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8346&recip_id=5057&list_id=9

😮 Stars Who Shocked…

A surprising roll call.

https://extratv.com/photos/most-shocking-celebrity-deaths-of-2019/?adid=extra_eme_27323_2019-12-24_rightnow6

🌞 A New Decade Starts…

But since there’s nothing for 2020, I’ll just stick with a classic.

Dec28

December 27, 2019 – Port Charles Celebrates Christmas, Teresa Teams Up, Uncoupling, True Prediction, Tori Wants In, Trying Too Hard, a Loss, Ringing In 14 Quotes & This One Is It

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Curtis plays Santa in Rice Plaza. Jordan tells him the traditional drink is hot cocoa, but he says he could use something stronger. She says she’ll have everything he needs after his shift, and he ho-ho-hos back to work.

Gladys wants to pack up some cookies at Turning Woods, but Sonny says they’re for the residents. She says, Mike is a resident, but he didn’t eat any, and Sonny pays them to keep Mike there. Carly arrives, and Sonny asks how Lucas is. She says, he’s just lying there. He looks like he’s asleep, but it’s not the same. It’s like how Michael was; you can just tell. Michael woke up, so they have to believe Lucas will. It’s Christmas, so it’s the right time. The time when they’re supposed to believe good things happen.

Josslyn tells Dev, if he liked Thanksgiving, he’s going to lose his mind over Christmas. Santa comes down the chimney, and leaves presents for all the good boys and girls. Dev says, Santa was born in Turkey, and has been dropping money down chimney’s since the 1400s. They celebrate Christmas in Turkey, just not like they do in America. She says, the first thing America kids learn is that Christmas isn’t something you can buy. The presents are great, but the true meaning of Christmas is in your heart. It’s about being a little kinder, and having more patience, and if you’re lucky enough to have people in your life who love you, taking the time to let them know you love them back.

Cameron tells Trina that she can stop with the pictures. Trina says he looks handsome. What’s wrong with him? He should be in a good mood. Franco is home. Cameron says, he’d like to be home, but instead he’s there finishing his community service in a Christmas tie. Trina tells him to embrace it and own it, but he just wants to get it done.

Leo sits on Curtis’s lap, and Curtis tells him that he’ll get his crew on it. Right, crew? Cameron hands Curtis a candy cane, and says, right. Curtis tells Leo, don’t ever forget the true spirit of Christmas. It’s better to give than receive. Leo hugs Curtis and says he loves him. Jason asks Scout (who’s made a bit of an age jump) if she’s ready to talk to Santa. He wonders what she’s asking for, and she says it’s a secret she’s only telling Santa.

Nelle tells the guard she should be in the infirmary, but the guard says she’ll be fine, and puts her back in with Sam. She asks if Sam missed her, and sees that Sam got cards from her kids. She bets Sam misses them like crazy. She knows what that’s like.

Tracy asks Monica what possessed her to obliterate years of memories? Monica says they still have them, but Brook says, granny is having difficulty with hers. Maybe Monica could prescribe something. Tracy tells Brook to call her Tracy. She wasn’t advised that Monica was redecorating. When she left, Monica said it was her house too. Monica tells Tracy, she said because Tracy was leaving, and she was in the grips of sentiment. Of course (🍷) the house is all hers. Alan gave it to her. Tracy says that’s because her brother was an idiot, and Brook says, ouch.

Brook and Monica look at the tree. Brook likes it, and Monica agrees. Tracy says, it’s better than the rest of the room, and Brook says, resistance to change is a precursor to dementia. Monica says it’s just Tracy’s personality, and asks if Brook thinks Olivia will be disappointed. Tracy asks why she cares, and Brook says, they have a deal. Monica says Olivia gets all of the other holidays, including Arbor Day. The house was filled with flowers. Tracy says she’s wandering from the subject, and Monica says she gets Christmas. It’s her house; her tree. Olivia decorates the nursery, and it’s a gingerbread fantasy, but the kids love it. She’s sure Olivia would prefer a shiny silver tree, but don’t they think, in the spirit of Christmas… Both Brook and Tracy say, absolutely not. Monica says they agreed on something. It’s a Christmas miracle. Michael and Sasha come in. Michael ho-ho-hos, and stops when he sees Tracy. He says he didn’t know she was coming, and she says she’s questioning the wisdom of her visit.

Scout sits on Santa Curtis’s lap. He says he knows her; Scout. What can he give her for Christmas? She says she wants her mommy to come home.

Nelle asks if Sam heard about her brush with death. Ryan nearly plunged a scalpel in her one remaining kidney. It was just a millimeter away. Sam says, amazing, and Nelle says she could have died. She wonders how Josslyn would feel. She’d have to live with the guilt. She got lucky. Sam wonders how Ryan got a scalpel, and says if he’d wanted Nelle dead, she’d be dead. Nelle says, too bad she didn’t run into Josslyn at GH; she ran into everyone else. Michael was there with Wiley. She guesses he was watching Wiley after the accident. Poor Lucas. He’s not doing so hot. Too bad Sam is in there for killing Shiloh; she could be helping. Nelle is sure Christmas will be melancholy for Sam’s kids. She imagines how Christmas would have been with Michael if their little boy had lived. They’d all be gathered around the Quartermaine Christmas tree. But sadly, Jonah is gone. Her baby is dead, but Sam still has hers, even if can’t see them until who knows when.

Curtis tells Scout that Santa might not be able to bring her mommy home, but he can give her some magic. Cameron gives Curtis a candy cane, and he gives it to Scout. He says he knows it looks like every other candy cane, but this one is magic. Whenever she when licks it, it will remind her of every happy and fun time she had with her mommy. At the same time, her mommy will remember too, and it will make them both feel better until her mommy comes home. Danny suggests they finish up, so they can wrap mommy’s presents. Jason thanks Cameron for assisting, and Cameron says he’s just doing his job. Curtis asks Jason to tell Sam that Santa says hi.

Trina asks Josslyn if Cameron doesn’t look great, and Josslyn says she loves it. It’s very Christmas choir boy. Trina says, it’s part of his community service. Just one more week, and he’s a free man. Dev says they should celebrate; drinks are on him. Trina wants an espresso, and Dev says she’d love Turkish coffee. He knows to get a hot cider for Josslyn. Cameron says he has to get back, and he’ll see them later. Dev goes to get the drinks, and Trina asks if Josslyn is going to make Dev’s Christmas wish come true. Josslyn says she got him a wireless speaker, and Trina asks if she’s blind. Can’t she see Dev is crushing on her?

Carly hopes Sonny doesn’t mind that she invited Brad for Christmas dinner. Whatever his faults, no one can deny he loves Lucas. Sonny says, technically, Brad is on her side of the family, so he’s putting up with Brad for her sake. She guesses so; why? He says that means he can ask her to put up with a guest from his side. Gladys tells Carly, merry Christmas, and Carly asks if she came to visit Mike. Gladys says she did, but Sonny was kind enough to invite her to stay for Christmas.

Michael asks if Brook knew her grandmother was coming to visit, but she says she had no clue. He explains to Sasha that Tracy was living in Amsterdam, and swore she was never coming back. Yet here she is. Brook says, Tracy does nothing without an ulterior motive. Either she screwed up in Amsterdam, and has to lie low, or she’s planning some shenanigans; a double-cross or a takeover. She tells Michael, watch his back.

Tracy tells Monica that she heard they lost Oscar and his father. It’s a lot to handle; she’s sorry. Monica says she takes consolation in that they got to know and love each other. Oscar also left a wonderful legacy to the Kilimanjaro Foundation. Tracy says she heard there was a problem with probate, but Monica says, Ned and Michael are taking care of it. The good news is, the foundation has been funded, and kids are already making their way up the mountain. Ned comes in with Olivia and Leo, and says, merry Christmas, every… Hello, mother. Olivia says, merry Christmas, and Tracy says, this must be Leo. She introduces herself, and Olivia says it’s nice to have her home for the holiday. Ned says, it is indeed. What is she doing there? Tracy says, Amsterdam was too tranquil. She needed a good dose of family. Monica says, lucky them.

Nelle tells Sam, you’d think they’d let her recuperate in the infirmary. She nearly paid with her life to prevent Ryan from escaping. Her lawyer says they’re calling her a hero. What if she gets pardoned, and sent home? She’d get out before Sam, but she’d be happy to help Jason. Sam’s children must be missing her. Scout is too young to know what’s going on, but Danny is old enough. Sam tells Nelle to shut her mouth before she shuts it for her.

Jason thanks Santa’s assistant for watching the kids while he got hot chocolate. He tells them that they’re grandma is going to be there shortly, then they’ll decorate the tree and hang their stockings.  He’s going to need help, since he’s terrible at both. Danny laughs, and says Jason does so many cool things. Why is he so awful at decorating? Jason says he just is, but he’s good at following directions.

Alexis tells Jordan that she doesn’t feel merry, and doesn’t think she can be happy, but she’s hanging on. Jordan is sorry Sam is still in Pentenville. They took the case out of her jurisdiction. Alexis says she’s sorry about all of it. Between Sam’s situation and hers, it’s been quite a year. Jordan says, there are some things to be grateful for, and Alexis says they had an exceptional blessing, but it was at the expense of Lucas, who’s still in a coma.

Josslyn asks if Trina thinks Dev is into her because he knows she likes hot cider. Trina says she asked him, and Josslyn asks what he said. Trina says, something lame and incoherent, like boys do when you call them out on their feelings.

Cameron tells Dev that his family got their Christmas wish; he shouldn’t complain. Dev says his happy family is complete, and Cameron asks about Dev’s home in Turkey, and Dev says Christmas came for him too. Sonny welcomed him into the family, and he became friends with them, but Cameron says, what about back home? Dev says everything he needs is there. He has no complaints. Trina and Josslyn join them, and Josslyn tells Dev that her mom is expecting them. Trina says she’ll stay and be moral support for Santa’s assistant. Josslyn tells them, merry Christmas, and Trina says watch out for the mistletoe. Dev asks what that is, and Josslyn tells him, come on.

Sonny tells Carly that Gladys was keeping his father company, and at the end of the visit, his dad wanted him to ask her to stay over. Gladys says, Sonny was kind enough to make it an official invite. Sonny says he couldn’t say no, and Carly says looks like Gladys is joining them for Christmas. Gladys asks if Carly wants a cookie.

Monica wants to try a new Quartermaine tradition – wassailing. Sasha says she’s read about it. It was a medieval precursor to caroling. Monica says, absolutely right (soon to become my new drinking game phrase, along with absolutely not). Alan always wanted do it. Tracy says, Alan was too sentimental for his own good. Monica says, in spite of the tragedies that have befallen them, they’re all together, some from near and far. It’s the perfect time. She passes out the wassail, saying, Alan would want to wish them good health; that’s what wassail means, and what their family needs. Tracy says, Monica didn’t poison it, did she? and Monica says Tracy’s visit was unexpected. She didn’t have time. Maybe next year. They toast to a merry Christmas. A friend of mine brought wassail over one Christmas Eve. It’s pretty tasty.

Alexis tells Jordan that she has to get going. She and Jason are wrapping presents once the kids are asleep. Jordan says she remembers those days. Alexis goes over to Jason and the kids, and Danny tells her about the magic candy cane. She says they’ll have to put it in a place of honor. Jason says he needs to take off, and asks if Alexis minds taking the kids home. She says, even Sonny takes Christmas off, and he says, everything he’s doing, he’s doing for the kids.

Gladys admires the decorations at Sonny’s house, and Carly asks Sonny if there are any other surprise guests. He says, Michael and Sasha, and Gladys says she’d love an Old Fashioned. Carly says she’s going to check on Donna and Avery. Gladys asks who they are, and Carly says, their children. She goes upstairs, and Gladys says, isn’t it wonderful to have a house full of kids? Sonny says, bourbon or rye? And she says they’re both from the old school. If it’s not rye, it’s not an Old Fashioned. Sonny laughs, but says they’re not both from anything. He pays her for a service. Dev and Josslyn arrive, and Gladys tells Dev, look what Santa brought; his nana. She hugs him.

Jason tells Danny to get started, and he’ll be there in a while. Be good. Danny asks if Jason will be home before his bedtime, and Jason says, definitely, and before Santa gets there.

Nelle tells the guard that Sam attacked her, and could have busted open her stitches. The guard calls Sam to come out. Nelle says, what about her? but he says only Sam. Under her breath, Sam calls Nelle a bitch as she goes past.

Brook asks how Leo’s visit to Santa was, and he says he asked for everything from his list. Brook says Santa might not bring everything he asked for, so he should ask for more than he’ll get. Sasha says negotiating seems to be a Quartermaine family trait. Michael is a master and was kind enough to handle a negotiation for her today. Brook asks if he’s becoming an agent, but he says he was just doing Sasha a favor. Leo suggests Michael negotiate for him, so he can get everything on his list, and Brook says, spoken like a true Quartermaine. Tracy asks Michael how things are going at ELQ.

Curtis continues to ho-ho-ho, and Jordan says, it’s almost over. He says things are winding down. He’s thinking of saying to all a good night. Would she care to take a ride on his sleigh? She says, gladly, but they see another kid waiting. Jordan’s phone rings, and he asks if it’s police business. She says, no, but she has to take it, and steps away.

Trina tells Cameron that she has some cocoa for Santa’s personal assistant, per North Pole etiquette. They clink paper cups.

Dev says if he’d known Gladys was coming, he’d have gotten her a present. He goes upstairs, and Carly says she made up the guest room. Sonny tells Carly that after Christmas, he’ll send Gladys away. Josslyn calls Gladys Mrs. Corbin, and she says to call her Aunt Gladys, since they’re practically family. Josslyn says, they’re not. She knows Gladys is part of the deal to keep Dev in the country. Gladys says, still, she appreciates them sharing their home. Otherwise, she’d be all alone, looking at old photos of her son. She remembers it like yesterday, how excited Brando was, thinking he heard Santa’s sleigh. She tears up, and says she needs some air. She goes out on the terrace, and Sonny tells Josslyn, a word of advice; the less she says to Gladys, the better. Josslyn says she can’t stand the phony acting, but Sonny says they don’t want Gladys to know how much they’re protecting Dev. Carly says, it gives her too much power. Josslyn says she’s sorry; she hates this. Carly says, her too, but it’s temporary. Out on the terrace, Gladys is on the phone. She says she can’t tell them how much she misses them. She said terrible things she regrets. Now, at this time of year, she can’t stop thinking about them, and wishing it was all different. Sonny comes out, and asks who she’s talking to. She says, Brando.

Nelle asks the guard if Sam is in solitary, and he says, not exactly.

Alexis gives Danny and Scout their stockings to hang up. Danny picks up one that says mom, and wonders if they should hang it up. Jason comes in, and Danny asks where he went. Jason says he was working on a Christmas surprise. Sam is behind him, and asks, who wants a merry Christmas? She hugs the kids, and everyone is all happy.

Trina tells Cameron that he does look handsome. Once she posts his picture, every girl in school is going to show up. He says she’s not posting that, and chases her. On the phone, Jordan says she appreciates it, and thanks them for letting her know. Curtis asks if everything is okay, and she says, an old friend just passed. He asks if it’s someone from their Baltimore days, but she says it’s no one he knows. He asks if she’s okay, and she says, just shocked, but she’s not dwelling on it. It’s Christmas, and she’s going to cherish what’s in front of her; starting with Santa. He hugs her.

The guard tells Nelle that Sam made parole. She’s surprised, and he says he is too.

Sam says she’ll have to give Santa a thank you note, and Alexis says, her too. She got her gift. She tells Sam, welcome home. Sam tells her, merry Christmas, and thanks her. They hug, and Alexis says she’s going home and letting Sam be with her family. She loves them – even Jason. She won’t question him about his errands again. Sam asks who’s going to help mom find her stocking, and Danny gives it to her.

Nelle takes a big piece of cardboard out from under her mattress. It says, Nelle’s Aspirations 2020, and is covered with pictures cut from magazines, most of them of little boys.

Brook says she can tell Tracy that ELQ is doing great. She read the shareholder report, and they’re in the black. Michael says it’s nice to make money, and be kind to the environment. Tracy thinks they should care less about the environment, and more about the bottom line. Michael says they’re doing great. Ned thinks they need to table the discussion for today, but Tracy says Brook needs to be more realistic. She’ll never get rich singing, and needs to look to her stock in ELQ. Couldn’t the family company use another junior executive? Michael says his mom and dad are expecting them, and asks them to film the caroling. They jet, and Olivia tells Ned to get his guitar. Ned calls Jason, and asks if he’s coming by to wassail and carol, but Jason says staying there with Sam. He thanks Ned for that, but Ned says, all he did was tell them that Sam was an excellent candidate for parole. He’s glad they agreed. He tells Jason, merry Christmas to you and yours. Hold them close tonight. Tracy says Ned isn’t doing a favor for Jason, is he?

Jason picks up Scout, so she can hang up her stocking. Danny tells Scout, she did it. She told Santa that she wanted mom home, and he did it. He doesn’t want another present. He tells Sam that they have to help Jason decorate the tree, since he’s terrible at it. Sam and Jason kiss.

Carly brings out cookies, and asks if Josslyn is okay. Josslyn say she’s just writing her thoughts, and Carly says maybe she should try that. Dev comes down with some presents, saying, he’s not the best at wrapping, but he tried. He puts them under the tree, and asks how the carolers get past the guards. Carly says they don’t have those, and Dev says, another iconic American myth shot down. Josslyn says, at least Santa will make it.

Gladys tells Sonny, it’s pathetic really. She’s been paying phone bill since Brando died, so she can hear his voice on the message. Sonny probably thinks she’s a sentimental kook, and maybe she is, but she misses him so much. He died thinking she was mad at him. Sonny tells her, come inside. He’ll make her another Old Fashioned with rye.

Tracy tells Ned, Jason made it clear he doesn’t consider himself a Quartermaine. Dealing with him will only get Ned into trouble. Ned says a lot has happened since she’s been gone. He’ll leave it at that. He suggests they get on with Christmas, and she says, by the looks of things, she got there just in time. Ned brings his guitar into the sitting room, and Olivia thinks they could all use some tidings of comfort and joy.

Brook, Ned, Olivia and Leo sing The First Noel. Monica gives Tracy a drink, and they touch glasses. Tracy hugs Monica.

Finally out of his Santa suit, Curtis takes Jordan’s hand, and they kiss.

Cameron tells Trina, his picture can’t get out. She says she’s deleting it. She already posted it… Psyche! She says she’d never do that. She’s always got his back. They leave the plaza.

Josslyn and Dev go out on the terrace, and Josslyn says, there he is. Dev asks, who? and she says, Santa, pointing to the sky. Doesn’t Dev see him? He looks up, and says, she’s right. He sees him too. He tells her, wait. Something is moving, and Josslyn says, oh my God. You’re right.

Michael and Sasha get to Sonny’s, and Carly tells them, merry Christmas. Josslyn and Dev run in, and Josslyn says they saw the sleigh. Carly tells her, the kids are asleep, but she says she’s serious. There’s a light moving through the sky. They all go out, and gather on the terrace, Gladys hanging back a little. Dev points, and everyone looks up. Sonny says, merry Christmas.

The tree is finished, and Sam watches her family, dabbing at her eyes. Jason puts the lights on. He puts his arms around Sam and the kids, and they all look at the tree.

On Monday, Carly asks Sonny if it’s another interrogation, Sonny says he wants the truth, and Carly says it’s time to tell him exactly what’s going on. It’s looks like it will be a new episode on Monday, Tuesday (New Year’s Eve) is a repeat encore episode, and Wednesday (New Year’s Day) is football.

👯 Super Frenemies…

This article wasn’t exactly a font of information, so I’m skeptical. What could these two possibly be advertising?

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/12/teresa-giudice-and-caroline-manzo-film-super-bowl-commercial/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

😴 No Surprise…

In case you were living under a rock.

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/12/rhony-teresa-giudice-joe-giudice-separate-20-years-marriage-divorce-rumors/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

👍 I Haven’t Heard Anyone Say It Yet…

Vicki was right.

https://radaronline.com/videos/jim-edmonds-daughter-hayley-says-meghan-king-ruined-family-divorce/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

🌴 Better Than Brandi…

I would love to see Tori Spelling on RHOBH. I don’t see how her money situation has anything to do with it. Bethenny Frankel couldn’t pay her rent when she started on RHONY.

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/12/tori-spelling-begs-real-housewives-90210-flop/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

🍹 I Thought He Was In Jail…

Frankly, I think the show is doing just fine without him.

https://radaronline.com/photos/southern-charm-thomas-ravenel-kids-thriving-custody-battle-kathryn-dennis-filming-delayed-photos/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

🎭 A Light Goes Out On Broadway…

He composed several of my favorite musicals – Mame, Mack & Mabel, and La Cage aux Folles. He was also a true man of the theater, evidenced by this quote:

I said, I can absolutely do it. I know all about Israel, recalled the composer much later. And I knew nothing about Israel.

http://www.playbill.com/article/jerry-herman-composer-of-tuneful-broadway-hits-dies-at-88

🎊  Quotes of the Week

I never worry about being driven to drink; I just worry about being driven home. – W. C. Fields

Ring out the false, ring in the true. – Alfred Lord Tennyson

An optimist stays up until midnight to see the New Year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves. – William E. Vaughn

Be at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let every new year find you a better man. – Benjamin Franklin

Come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness. – William Shakespeare

Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right. – Oprah Winfrey

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

It is never too late to be what you might have been. – George Eliot

Never underestimate the power you have to take your life in a new direction. – Germany Kent

Life’s not about expecting, hoping and wishing, it’s about doing, being and becoming. – Mike Dooley

Many years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to never make new year’s resolutions. Hell, it’s been the only resolution I’ve ever kept! – D.S. Mixell

Although no one can go back and make a brand new start, anyone can start from now and make a brand new ending. – Carl Bard

Tomorrow is the first blank page of a 365-page book. Write a good one. – Brad Paisley

Get the f*** out of my house, Kenny G. – Amy (Mila Kunis), Bad Moms Christmas

🎈 We Can Hope…

Still waiting on that Christmas miracle too.

 

Dec27

December 26, 2019 – Anna Makes a Connection, Vicki Screeches To the End, Soap Holidays, Behind GH’s Carol, No Joes Here, Unreal Reality, Social Media Moments, Roll Calls Begin & Abba New Year

Posted on by
Standard

What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

At Turning Woods, Sonny sees Mike in his coat, and asks where he’s going. Mike says, out; he has to get out. Sonny tells him, it’s cold outside, and suggests they stay in. He asks if Mike wants a cookie, but Mike says he has to go. Sonny asks, where? and Gladys comes in, saying she’s got Mike’s hat and they should hit the road. Sonny asks what she’s doing there, and she says she was about to take Mike out.

Franco tells Elizabeth, it’s not possible. She says he had no control over his body, but he says he’d remember if he slept with Kim. He wouldn’t… He couldn’t… She says he thought he was Drew, and had no control over what was happening. He says in his right mind, he would never, and Elizabeth says she had the utmost faith in their love. He didn’t sleep with Kim; Drew did.

At Rice Plaza, Cameron and Aiden bring coats for the coat drive. Cameron tells Maxie and Peter that they just got new coats, and Peter says their old ones will go to kids who need them and will love them. Aiden says they feel blessed because they have Franco back. Maxie says they have Peter to thank for that.

Anna looks at Peter’s resumé, and says, Eurotech. She picks up another folder, and says, Peter was there at the same time; the same DVX front company when the gunman was there. She looks at some pictures, and throws up her hands. Finn comes in, and tells her, Violet said the cutest thing. She says, what’s that? and he says when they were cleaning up, Violet noticed all the gingerbread cookies were all men, and said… Is she okay? He asks if she found something out about Peter.

Brad asks Michael where Wiley is, and Michael says, he’s with Willow. They’re waiting for Brad, but if now isn’t the time… Brad says, it’s totally fine.

Nelle tells Willow that the baby is adorable. He’s so cute; what’s his name? Willow says, Wiley, and Nelle asks if Wiley is hers. Willow says, no, but Nelle says she doesn’t seem so sure. Willow says, it’s a long story, but Nelle says she’s got time. Willow says, probably not that much, and starts to leave. Nelle says she doesn’t mean to be intrusive, but she lost her baby. Does Willow think she could possible see Wiley for a moment longer?

Gladys gives Mike his hat. Sonny asks if she’s taking his dad out, and Gladys says they’re cousins. She was told by the staff that she’s allowed. Sonny says they’re not the ones she should be asking, but Gladys says Mike was asking for her, and she thought it was a good way to reconnect with family. She asks Mike, they’re cousins, right? Mike says, right, and she says, and Dev, who lives with Sonny, is her grandchild. Sonny says this isn’t part of the agreement, and she says she’s been getting the payments on time. Sonny asks Mike what they’re planning on doing, and Mike says, go to the track, and play the ponies. Does Sonny want to come? Sonny says Gladys is taking Mike to the track? Gladys says, he wanted to see his wife, but he can’t. She needed to distract him, and remembered he liked playing the ponies. Problem solved. Sonny says, not really. He asks where Yvonne is, and Mike says they took his wife.

Finn asks what Anna found, and Anna says she was cross-checking the histories of Drew, Faison, Shiloh, Brice, and the would-be assassin David Black.  It was right there, staring her in the face on Peter’s resumé. She cross-checked the bank records on David Black, and discovered they were at Eurotech at the same time. Finn says, it can’t be a coincidence, and Anna says, it would be next to impossible. He says, for what it’s worth, he was hoping she’d find proof of Peter’s innocence. She says, so was she, and he says, now that she knows, what is she going to do about it?

Cameron doesn’t think they need to go into details, but Aiden says he likes details. Cameron says, there was some crazy stuff going on at the hospital, and Peter saved the doctor who saved Franco. Aiden asks what Peter did, and Cameron says it’s too long to go into, and they have to get home. They leave, and Maxie tells Peter, sorry it was awkward. She can’t help that she wants to shout that her boyfriend is a hero. Peter says he’s not proud of taking a man’s life, but Maxie says the man was going to kill Andre, and possibly Franco. Peter says he was probably just doing his job, and she says no doubt his boss is someone worse and bigger. The guy should be ratted out and sent to prison for the rest of his life.

Elizabeth tells Franco that Kim kept trying to convince her to let him go. If she said, Franco is gone, once, she said it a thousand times. He says they need to confront her, but she says they can’t. Kim left town. He asks if Julian had anything to say about this, and she says, they broke up. He says, because of him.

Brook sees Julian at Rice Plaza, and asks how Lucas is. He says Lucas hasn’t woken up, and is being transferred to long term care. Brook says, that doesn’t mean he’s not going to get better. Lucas is tough, and they can’t give up hope. Sometimes it helps to focus on the good things. It’s Christmas, and Julian’s got Wiley and Leo. He says that’s why he’s there; he’s getting presents. Brook says she can’t figure it out. Leo looks like a Falconari. The family resemblance can be seen a mile away. Their DNA is powerful, but how did he and Olivia happen?

Michael tells Brad, no rush. He and Willow have Wiley covered if he needs time. Brad says it might help for him to see his son. He needs that little guy. A nurse tells Brad that he needs to finish signing Lucas’s transfer to Turning Woods. Brad asks if it can’t wait, and Michael says he’ll bring Wiley to Brad.

Willow tells Nelle that she’s sorry about Nelle’s baby. Nelle thanks her, and says it almost would been easier if he’d been stillborn, but he passed away in her arms. As much as it hurt to lose him, she doesn’t think she’d give those few minutes back for anything. She held him, and felt his heartbeat against her chest; saw him looking up at her. She doesn’t suppose Willow would let her hold Wiley for a moment? Willow looks skeptical.

Willow asks if it’s safe for Nelle. She’s injured, and babies are heavier than they look. She doesn’t want to make anything worse. Nelle doesn’t think that’s possible, and tells Willow, just place him in her lap. It’s super easy. Just as Willow is about to hand Wiley over, Michael stops her. He says, that’s Nelle, and Nelle shows them that she’s handcuffed to the chair.

Julian tells Brook that they were having a bad night, and Brook says she’s been there. He says they got Leo out of it, and Brook says Olivia didn’t want Leo to know he existed. He says they worked it out, but she says, not until he missed out on the first few precious months of Leo’s life. She has a gazillion pictures and videos from back then. Does he want to see them? She wasn’t such a screw up when her family wanted to hide Leo from his gangster father.

Maxie is sure that Helena was somehow involved, and Peter asks if all roads lead back to Helena. She says, and Faison. They’ve both been dead a while, but it’s possible they have a henchman out there who tried to kill Drew and Andre. He won’t get away with it though. Jason is Drew’s brother, and he won’t rest until he finds out who the bad guy is.

Anna tells Finn that she has to figure it out. He says she has evidence, but she says it’s a hazy theory. She doesn’t even know the whole story yet. Finn thinks she should tell Robert, and the police need to know. She says they can connect David Black to the second attempt on Andre’s life, but what about the plane crash? Andre ID’d Brice in the first attempt on his life, but there’s no connection so far between Peter and Brice. Finn says Andre was targeted twice, and Peter has one connection to that. Is she looking for a smoking gun? She says, it would help, and he says, help Robert’s case or help her make up her mind? She says, both, and he says, what if someone else gets hurt in the meantime? Violet comes in, and asks if her mommy is going to be back in time for Christmas.

Marcus walks in, and Mike yells that Marcus took his wife. Sonny says, it’s Marcus, and he’s their friend, but Mike says Marcus is no friend of his. Marcus says he and Mike talked about this, but Mike yells, liar! Marcus stole his wife. Sonny tells him to sit, and guides Mike to a chair, saying, just wait for him. Marcus says he would have called Sonny, but the last time he was there, Mike must have been having a good day. He thought Mike would fill Sonny in. He hadn’t realized Mike had gotten so bad. Sonny says, it hit Mike hard, and Marcus says, it was no different with Yvonne. It’s been a month since she could feed herself. It happens to a lot of people like her and Mike. Sonny says he’s got to ask. Did Marcus put her in a hospice? Marcus says, she’s not nearly ready for that. She’s in the hospital, and he’s having a feeding tube put in. Gladys tells him to please listen to her. He’s making a terrible mistake.

Mike asks if Sonny found out where Yvonne is, and Sonny says, she’s a little sick, and she’s in the hospital. Mike asks if she’s coming back, and Sonny says she is. Marcus says he doesn’t know who Gladys is, but this is none of her business. Gladys says he must love Yvonne, and needs to talk to the doctors. They’ll tell him that Yvonne stopped eating for a reason. It’s called de-set, voluntarily giving up eating and drinking. Also known as death with dignity. Marcus insists it’s not voluntary, and says he doesn’t need this woman’s opinion; he needs to get Yvonne’s things. Sonny asks what Gladys is doing, lecturing Marcus about something she doesn’t know anything about. She says she does.

Anna tells Violet that Finn was about to tell her what Violet said about the gingerbread men. Violet says, there should be gingergirls too. Anna agrees, and shows Violet her Christmas stocking, pointing out that Violet’s name is on it. She tells Violet, if she hangs it, Santa will come and fill it. Violet asks if there’s one for mommy too.

Maxie has something to show Peter. She brings out a stocking with his name on it, and says now that he’s moved in, he’s officially family, and they love him. He says he never had one, which kind of breaks my heart. She asks if he’s okay, and he says, funny how the smallest things can get you. She says, like a stocking? He says he loves it, and loves her and James.

Julian looks through Brook’s phone, and she says she’ll put the pictures in an album and send it to him. He thanks her, and says next to Lucas waking up, it’s the best present he can get. She says she can’t figure him out. He’s sappy and sentimental when it comes to Leo, but he was dark, brooding, and pissed off when they met.

Nelle tells Michael that he didn’t have to send Willow and Wiley away. What does he think she was going to do? He says he has no intention of finding out. She thanks him for being concerned about her health. Ryan almost nicked her good kidney. He says she seems all right, and asks when they’re taking her back. The guard approaches, and he asks why Nelle was left unsupervised. The guard says she could see Nelle from where she was, and he says he assumes they’re taking her back. She says there was engine trouble, but the guy will be there in twenty minutes. Nelle wishes Michael a merry Christmas. She’s sure he’ll be surrounded by loved ones while she’s rotting in her cell, thinking about Jonah. How much does he think Jonah would have loved Christmas? He walks away, and Willow tells him that she’s sorry. He tells her, it’s okay. Nelle is going back to Pentenville where she can’t hurt anyone.

Elizabeth says Franco knows she’s not the kind of wife who would look the other way if her husband cheated. Franco says, under normal circumstances… and she says, they weren’t normal circumstances. He’s not to blame. The fault lies with Cabot and Shiloh. He can’t beat himself up. Cameron and Aiden come in, saying, ho-ho-ho! and carrying a tree. Aiden hugs Franco, who says he’s bigger. His shoulders are big enough to hold the weight of the whole Port Charles art scene. Aiden says he missed Franco, and Franco says he missed Aiden too. Franco goes over to Cameron, and asks how he is. Cameron says he’s good, and asks if Franco likes the tree. Franco says he loves it. It’s the best tree in the whole world ever. Aiden says he made Franco a picture every day while he was gone. Franco says, that’s a lot of art. Aiden shows him some pictures, and says, it was more like therapy; it made him feel better. Franco looks through the pictures, and Aiden says, it’s just some of them. He’s giving Franco the rest on Christmas. Cameron says they didn’t want Christmas unless Franco came home, and Franco says he single-handedly saved the entire holiday. He hugs them.

Anna tells Violet that mommy asked them to look after her for Christmas, and she let Santa know Violet was there. Violet says she misses mommy, and doesn’t know why she’s gone so long. Anna knows it’s hard, but says Violet has to be brave. It’s what mommy would want. Violet doesn’t care what Mommy wants. She wants mommy back now. Finn says mommy loves her more than anything. He sits on the couch with Violet in his lap, and says, mommy had to go away for a good reason. Violet asks, what reason? but he says he doesn’t know. She didn’t tell him. For mommy to keep that kind of secret from her, it must be an important secret. So when mommy comes home, Violet will be happy and mommy will tell her why she went away. Violet asks when she’ll be back, and he says, really soon. Anna says they love having her, and don’t want her to be sad. Finn says he knows mommy misses Violet. He knows that because mommy sent this for her. He gives her a wrapped package. He looks at Anna over Violet’s head, and Anna smiles.

Sonny asks if Gladys knows Marcus’s wife, and she says, of course (🍷) not. He tells her, then keep her mouth shut. She says it might surprise him, but she does have friends in Bridgeport. Her best friend died, and she had Alzheimer’s too. They don’t cure it, do they? Sonny says he’s sorry. She says her friend stopped eating, and her husband and kids were beside themselves, but she could tell something more was happening. When they were alone, she asked, why are you doing this, Dot? and Dottie said clear as day, because I’m done. She could barely sit up anymore, had no privacy, no life, and no dignity. Funny thing about dignity, you might not know where or who you are, but you know when your dignity has been stolen. As gone as Dot was, deep down, she knew she couldn’t live that way. Sonny says he’s sure she wasn’t shy about telling them, and she says she fought with Dot’s kids, and begged their father to take Dot to hospice, so she could die with a tiny shred of dignity, but no. They got the feeding tube. She sits down, and says, it was a miserable death. Nobody should have to leave this world that way. When Dot finally died, Gladys was relieved. She was at peace, and Gladys misses her so damn much.

Willow tells Michael that she can’t believe she almost fell into Nelle’s trap. She thought after Shiloh, she could recognize a manipulator. Michael says, Nelle is good at what she does. Willow says Nelle totally played her; she felt sorry for Nelle. Now she knows what he and Chase were up against. Brad joins them, and says, there’s his boy. He knows Wiley misses Daddy Lucas, and is sure Lucas misses him too. Michael asks if Brad knew Nelle was there.

Brad tells Michael, Ryan attacked Nelle. He didn’t mention it because he knows how Michael and his family feel about his friendship with her. Michael says his mom knew. Brad says he can’t think about Nelle at the moment. He has to figure out how he’s going to take care of Wiley without Lucas. He can’t wrap his head around it. Michael says he and Willow can take care of Wiley if he’s not ready, but Brad says, it’s okay. He’s taking Wiley home.

Brook says Julian thought she was a hooker. He had no way to realize that she took care of his baby, and hung out with his other son in high school. He says now that he knows, he’s grateful for the role she played in his children’s lives. She says he thought she was someone he could pay to go away and shut up. He thought wrong. She goes over to the coat table, and Maxie says Brook’s still in town? She thought Brook would be at the recording studio. Brook makes up something about the studio people taking the month off to go to the latest hot spot. Maxie says she’s glad she ran into Brook, and introduces her to Peter. She says Peter just moved in with her and her son. Peter flashes his Christmas stocking, and Maxie says, Georgie is also coming in from Portland. Things at Crimson have been so busy, she’s happy to have the holidays off. They’re gearing up for February’s fashion week. Brook says she gets it. Maxie’s life is perfect. Maxie says, of course (🍷) not. Except wait… it is perfect. It’s amazing how you can have a great relationship if you grow up and stop making stupid mistakes. Brook tells her, merry Christmas, and tells Peter, God help him. When she’s gone, Peter says, what was that about?

Violet opens the gift. It’s a bead crafting set, and Finn tells her that she can make necklaces with it. He puts her in Anna’s desk chair with her gift, and tells her that he needs to talk to Anna for a moment. Anna asks how he knew what to get, and he says, Hayden mentioned Violet loves to make things. Anna says they’ll have to figure out what to tell Violet if Hayden isn’t back before New Year’s. Finn says he has no idea where Hayden is or when she’s coming back.

Franco says he’s happy he came back before Christmas. If he’d come back after Christmas, they wouldn’t get anything and that would make him sad. He’s truly sorry he went away. Aiden says he didn’t mean to. He did it so they could keep Cameron. Cameron thanks him, and Aiden says, it was so weird. Franco looked like himself, but he wasn’t him. Franco says he’s still trying to get used to the idea himself. Elizabeth says they’re running out of time, and the boys have to make their Christmas lists. Franco says if they don’t, then Santa has to improvise, and it will be socks for everyone. Aiden says they got what they wanted, and Cameron tells Franco, that means him coming home. The day is perfect, except for one little thing. He couldn’t get out of community service tonight.

Mike asks Marcus where Yvonne is, and Marcus says, she’s still in the hospital. Mike asks if he can visit, but Marcus says, she can’t see anyone right now and promises to bring her back soon. Mike asks him to tell Yvonne that he loves her, and Marcus says he will. Marcus leaves, and Mike asks Sonny to take him to the hospital. Sonny doesn’t think the doctors would like that, but Yvonne would love to hear about the Christmas festivities there. He suggests Mike rest up so he can sing carols later. Mike says, that would be good to get into the spirit of the holidays.

Cameron comes downstairs in a suit and tie. Elizabeth likes it, and says she could get used to it. Cameron says he’s only wearing it because of community service. Franco says he’s filled with the holiday spirit, and Elizabeth takes a picture of Cameron. Cameron is like, thanks a lot. Franco tells Elizabeth that he’ll see his father tomorrow. Cameron takes a picture of them kissing, and Franco thinks they should put the top on their Tannenbaum.

Gladys tells Mike, she’s sorry they didn’t make it to the track. Mike says, in this cold? Is she crazy? She tells Sonny that she didn’t know how bad Mike was, and he says she should have called him. She says it’s good for her to get out. Dot just died a few weeks ago. Sonny says he’s sorry, and she says, ever since Brando died, she celebrated Christmas with Dot and her family, but they’re not up to it this year. What’s the big deal? It’s just a holiday. Mike says, no one should be alone on Christmas, and asks if Sonny isn’t going to invite her. Gladys says, it’s all right, but Mike says, for him? Sonny asks if she wants to come over.

Michael tells Brad, if he needs anything, give him a call. Willow says, either one of them, and Michael says, they’ll do in a pinch. They adore Wiley. Willow tells Wiley, merry Christmas, and says they’re here if Brad needs anything.

Finn asks Anna how he’s supposed to explain Hayden’s absence when he doesn’t understand it himself? Anna says he needs to assure Violet that he loves her, and he’s not going anywhere. He says, that part is absolutely true. Anna says he’s luckier than he knows. He can be honest with Violet. Their situations aren’t remotely the same. Finn says the difference is, him telling the truth saves Violet from feeling abandoned. Anna telling the truth might save lives. Anna asks him to give her a day or so to think it through. He says he would if he thought that’s what she was really going to do. Is she thinking, or holding onto information? She says he sounds like Robert. It’s her son. What is she supposed to do? Just turn him in? Finn says she has evidence that suggests he shot a hitman he might have hired. She can’t keep it to herself. Anna says she thought he was on her side when comes to Peter, and he says he’s always on her side. She says, okay, and he asks what she’s going to do.

Maxie tells Peter that Brook is a troublemaker from way back. She tried to break up Lulu and Dante. It didn’t work, but she never apologized. Peter says it doesn’t sound like Maxie is letting bygones be bygones, and she says, Brook isn’t really sorry. If she was, it might take Maxie a while to forgive her, but look at them. When she forgives, she forgives all the way. They kiss.

Tracy brings her suitcase into the Quartermain mansion. She looks around, and says, you didn’t… You couldn’t… No, no, no. She calls out for Ned, Olivia, and Monica. Brook comes downstairs and asks, what’s the racket? Is something on fire? Tracy says, Brooklyn? Brook says, granny, and Tracy says, call her Tracy. What happened to this house? Brook says, it’s great, isn’t it? but by the look on her face, I don’t think Tracy agrees.

Tomorrow, Trina asks if Josslyn is going to make Dev’s Christmas wish come true, Jason says everything he’s doing is for the kids, Gladys tells Carly that Sonny invited her for Christmas, and Sam tells Nelle to shut her mouth before Sam does it for her.

The Real Housewives of Orange County – The Reunion: Part Three

Sorry. I missed Part Two. It was on Christmas Eve, so no. Although I doubt I missed anything really, since it’s all flashbacks, and rehashing of old arguments. Here are the highlights.

Vicki got all over Braunwyn for being nakey… with Tamra. After Vicki insisted that somehow Braunwyn ruined the show (i.e. took her place), Andy informed her that nothing had changed on the show. Vicki announced she’s a grandmother now, and wanted to be respected, but I think that ship sailed a long time ago. Andy was happy to prove that point by showing us flashbacks of Vicki, including her involvement in getting Gretchen naked wasted. Everyone else thought this was a laugh riot. For once, Tamra made sense, saying she didn’t think any of them were on the show to be role models. When it was time for Vicki to make her exist, she kvetched all the way back to the dressing room, and beyond. She said she didn’t think she was just a friend, stated several times that she hated Braunwyn, and told the camera man to eff off. The funniest thing was, it never seemed like her role on the show had changed any, and I’m guessing her paycheck just got smaller.

Threesomes and rumors about Kelly were discussed, as well as Kelly’s relationship with Brian, which is no more, and her new engagement. Shane joined the ladies for a while, and I had to laugh when Andy asked how it felt to be a hated househusband, and he said at least he’d accomplished something. Gina talked about Matt getting hauled in for domestic abuse, and IMO, it sounded like she was making excuses for him. He apologized and sent her flowers. Get rid of him.

At the end, Andy asked what each of the women wanted to let go from their lives, and what they wanted to bring in. Kelly wanted to let go of negativity, and bring in Rick Leventhal, her new fiancé. After only three months. Emily wanted to let go of the hurt and the things she’s felt toward Gina, and let in a new beginning for them. Gina told Emily that she felt the same way, and loved her. Braunwyn said she was letting go of always caring what everyone thinks, and trying to please everyone. She was letting in badass Braunwyn. Gina thought she’d let go of a lot already, but was adding risky beauty choices. She would continue to welcome in a new positive brave future. Whatever that means. Tamra claimed she was going to let go of loose lips – highly doubtful – and bring in health and wellness for her family. I’m not sure what that means either. Does she have a new product line coming out? Shannon decided to let go of her past, and let in continued happiness and growth for her family and the new person in her life. Andy said it was all awesome, and the reunion had been fairly therapeutic.

He told the women that he thought they’d toast with wheatgrass. The reaction was swift and negative, and then he added they brought in tequila instead. Braunwyn toasted to sisterhood, and Tamra said, to season 14. May they never relive it.

🎄 A Soapy Christmas…

Spend the holidays in Soapland.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/abc-daytime-soap-family-holidays-146865?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8097&recip_id=5057&list_id=9

🎭 Breaking Scrooge’s Fourth Wall…

It looks like they had a blast. I’ll bet they were all excited, like how you feel before performing in your high school play.

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital-christmas-carol-behind-the-scenes-174293?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8097

⛅ At Least His Name’s Not Joe…

Good for her. She’s got a life to live too.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1105238/teresa-giudice-looks-cozy-with-ex-tony-after-joe-giudice-split?source=email&medium=emn-content-1&cmpid=evening&content=emn-news

https://extratv.com/2019/12/26/rekindled-romance-teresa-giudice-celebrates-christmas-eve-with-ex-bf/?adid=extra_eme_27324_2019-12-26_rightnow2

🙇 What Is Real Really…?

A few moments that reality TV had.

https://www.eonline.com/shows/daily_pop/videos/300072/3-most-unreal-reality-tv-moments-of-2019?source=email&medium=emn-content-5&cmpid=evening&content=emn-video

🏃 Gangnam Style This…

Lots of fun stuff on this list.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1103804/the-best-social-media-moments-of-the-decade?source=email&medium=emn-content-5&cmpid=morning-a&content=emn-news#photo-1056560

😥 To All the Stars We’ve Loved Before…

Roll calls of the dead. I always think, poor Ric Ocasek got lost in the shuffle.

https://pagesix.com/video/in-memoriam-all-the-celebrities-we-lost-this-year/

https://www.aol.com/article/entertainment/2019/12/16/celebrity-deaths-of-2019-all-of-the-stars-who-died-this-year/23879780/

🎉 Switching Holiday Gears…

Hoping your Christmas was merry and bright, and Santa brought you everything you wanted. Moving on to 2020. It seems like only yesterday, everyone was talking about Y2K and planes falling out of the air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec24

December 23, 2019 – Finn Becomes Scrooge, Vegas Meets Spring Break, Upcoming, OC Rehashing, Tinsley Opts Out, Wasted Trips, Cynthia Shares, Non-News, Real News & Christmas Wish

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

Monica reads to the kids in the hospital, finishing The Night Before Christmas. Finn tells Anna that he doesn’t want to get stuck on the road, but Anna says, the party isn’t over. She’d like to say hello to some of their friends, and spend time with Maxie and Peter. Violet is also enjoying herself. Violet runs up and says she’s loving this party, and asks if she can play with her friends. Finn tells her to stay where he can see her. Chase comes by, and tells Finn, it’s once a year. Can’t he get into the spirit?

Tracy (yay!) says they’ve made their contribution, and Monica has read the story. It’s time to eat turkey and open presents. Monica says it’s about Edward and Lila’s legacy. Maxie tells Peter that James loved the story, but he’s getting tired, and they still have to go to grandma and grandpa’s.

Anna tells Finn that Violet is happy playing with the children, and Felicia’s party is still going on. Finn thinks the party will be a distraction. He’s all for good will and cheer, but not for shrugging off telling kids the lie about a chubby stranger coming down the chimney to give them presents. Anna hopes he didn’t tell that to Violet, and suddenly Violet is there. Anna tells her that Finn is in poor spirits, since he got coal in his stocking last year because he was naughty. She takes Violet with her, and Robert says Finn is a real Scrooge, hooking a candy cane on Finn’s pocket and walking on.

Curtis announces that the storm has taken a turn for the worse. The roads are closed, except for emergency vehicles. Tracy wonders if they can hijack a snowplow. Monica says there are plenty of activities, and treats, and  tells the kids to have fun. She gathers them for another story. Anna tells Finn that she hopes Violet didn’t hear what he said. She took the precaution of reinforcing that Santa only comes to children who believe in him and love him, but Finn has to open his heart to the Christmas season.

Michael tells Monica that he found a classic. Monica takes the book from him, and says, A Christmas Carol. Some of it is a little scary. Are the kids okay with that? They all yell, yeah, and she begins to read. Marley was dead to begin with. There was no doubt whatsoever about that.

A clock strikes midnight. Finn as Scrooge sits up.

Monica reads, Oh! But he was a tight-fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Anna asks Finn if it sounds familiar, and he says, subtle. He gets it. He’s not brimming with Christmas cheer. Tracy says he’s a man after her own heart. He says that’s why she’s his favorite patient, and they hug. He asks what brings her back to town? and she asks if it can’t just be family. Anna says, see? She’s not all bad, but Tracy says, the true meaning of Christmas is long gone. It’s turned into a retail bonanza. Anna tells them that they deserve each other. Finn says they could do worse. Tracy asks, which one is his? and he points out Violet. She says Violet is beautiful, like her mother, and Finn says, she is.

Monica continues to read how Scrooge liked to edge his way along the crowded paths of life, warning all human sympathy to keep its distance, was what the knowing ones call “nuts” to Scrooge. liked to edge his way along the path of life. Once upon a time—of all the good days in the year, on Christmas Eve—old Scrooge sat busy in his counting-house…

Scrooge hands Bob Cratchit (Franco) some paperwork. Scrooge’s nephew Fred (Peter) comes in, and tells Scrooge, merry Christmas. Scrooge says, humbug, and Fred says he doesn’t mean that. Scrooge says, he does. What reason does Fred have to be merry? Fred asks him to dine with them tomorrow, and Scrooge says, ugh. Fred asks, why? and Scrooge asks why he got married. Fred says he fell in love. Scrooge makes fun of him, and says, good day. Fred is sorry Scrooge is so resolute, but he’s going to keep his Christmas cheer to the last. Merry Christmas and happy New Year. He tells Cratchit, Merry Christmas, and Cratchit returns the sentiment. Fred leaves, and Scrooge tells Cratchit, another sound from him, and he’ll celebrate by losing his situation.

A man asking for a charitable contribution (Curtis) comes by the office. He tells Scrooge, At this festive season of the year, Mr. Scrooge, is more than usually desirable that we should make some slight provision for the Poor and destitute, who suffer greatly at the present time. Many thousands are in want of common necessaries; hundreds of thousands are in want of common comforts. Scrooge asks if there are no prisons, and if the work houses are still in order. The man says they are; he wishes he could say they were not. Scrooge is happy to hear it. He supports those establishments, and they cost more than enough. The man says, many can’t go there, and many would rather die. Scrooge says, if they would rather die, than they’d better do it, and decrease the surplus population. He bids the man good day. The clock strikes, and Scrooge says the man wasted what was left of the workday. It’s time to close. He supposes Cratchit is hoping for tomorrow off. Cratchit says, it is customary, and Scrooge says he supposes Cratchit will want the whole day, but be here all the earlier the following morning. Cratchit thanks him, and tells him, merry Christmas.

Scrooge heads home. A couple of children ask for a penny, but he tells them, to the poorhouse with you. Go! At home, Scrooge has a dinner of what looks like wine and ribs, not the usual Dickens fare. His housekeeper Mrs. Dilber (Monica) says he’s eating in bed again. Perhaps the house is too big and empty for him. He tells her, that will be all, and she takes his tray.

The clock strikes midnight. Scrooge wakes. Marley’s ghost (Tracy) floats through the door and glides in. Scrooge quakes, pulling up the covers

At the hospital, Anna asks Chase if Finn has always been wound up so tight. He had a family, and she wonders what’s to blame for his lack of Christmas cheer. Chase says their father went overboard. They had actual sleigh bells that chimed throughout the season. She says, that might be it, and Finn says, you think? Violet finds Finn, and says, the story is getting scary. She asks if he’ll sit with her, and they go back together. Monica reads that Scrooge fought against his senses.

Scrooge asks who the ghost is, and the ghost tells Scrooge to ask who he was. In life, the ghost was his partner in business, Marley. Scrooge doesn’t believe it, thinking it’s just a dream brought on by indigestion. Marley tells him, hear me. His time is nearly gone. Marley explains that he wore the chain he forged in life, link by link and yard by yard, having made it of his own free will. He’s there to warn Scrooge; Scrooge has yet a chance and hope of escaping the same fate. Scrooge asks, how? and Marley says he will be visited by three spirits, each arriving at the stroke of midnight. Without them, he has no hope of escaping the same fate. Marley starts to fade, and Scrooge calls for him to come back, as he fades away. Scrooge wakes up, and laughs, saying, it was just a dream.

The clock strikes midnight, and The Ghost of Christmas Past (Josslyn) arrives. He asks if she’s the spirit whose coming was foretold to him, and she says she is. He asks who or what she is, and she explains she’s the Ghost of Christmas Past. He says, long past? and she says, no. Your past. She tells him to rise and walk with her. He puts on his robe, and she tells him to take her hand. Reluctantly, he does.

The ghost and Scrooge appear at an outdoor party in the park. Fezziwig (Ned) tells everyone a holiday party couldn’t be more welcome. He tells them to eat, drink, and be merry. Scrooge says, it’s old Fezziwig alive again. He was Fezziwig’s apprentice; Fezziwig taught him everything. Young Scrooge (Chase) is approached by another man (Michael), and Scrooge says, it’s him with Dick Wilkins. They were in business together. Fezziwig says, no more work tonight. It’s Christmas Eve. Time to enjoy themselves. Wilkins asks young Scrooge, what’s wrong? and young Scrooge says he has no interest in a celebration. Wilkins tells him to suit himself. Scrooge tells the ghost that Fezziwig threw the grandest parties. The ghost says, a small matter, to make these silly folks so full of gratitude. He’s merely spent a few pounds of their mortal money. Is that so much that he deserves praise? Scrooge says, it’s not about money. He has the power to render them happy or unhappy; to make their service light or burdensome. The happiness he gives, is quite as great as if it cost a fortune. Belle (Willow) kisses young Scrooge’s cheek. Scrooge tells the ghost, it’s Belle, the love of his life

At GH, Violet asks Finn, what next? and he says they’ll find out together. Monica reads, he was not alone, but sat by the side of a fair young girl in a mourning-dress: in whose eyes there were tears, which sparkled in the light that shone out of the Ghost of Christmas Past.

The ghost says Scrooge and Belle were engaged. What happened? Belle asks if young Scrooge can’t stop working for one night and dance. He says, Christmas Eve is not a holiday in and of itself. Wilkins says Scrooge isn’t interested in having fun, since he’s just standing there. Can he steal Scrooge’s lady for a dance? Belle says she’d be delighted, and they dance. Young Scrooge starts to leave, and Fezziwig asks where he’s going. He says he has figures to review, but Fezziwig says, it can wait. Take a moment and enjoy life. Otherwise, it will pass by him. Young Scrooge leaves anyway.

Now in Scrooge’s office, Belle tells young Scrooge that he’ll never stop loving anything more than money. It’s not a marriage she wishes to be part of. He asks what she means, and she says she’s sorry, but she cannot marry him. She leaves, and Scrooge tells the ghost, show him no more. Let him home now. But the ghost says she has one more thing to show him.

An older Belle (Anna) and an older Dick Wilkins (Robert) are on a stroll. Scrooge says, Belle. Wilkins says he ran into an old friend; Scrooge. He went by the office. Belle says, he was working on Christmas? and Wilkins asks if it surprises her. She supposes not. She says, poor Scrooge. He’s all alone in the world. Scrooge tells the ghost, please take him back. She takes his hand, and they disappear. Scrooge wakes, and says, it was but a dream. The clock strikes, and he says, no. It can’t be twelve again. Surely the clock is broken. He hears laughter, and a voice says, hello, Scrooge. The Ghost of Christmas Present (Obrecht), reclines on his couch. She says, just in time. Look upon me.

Reading to the children, Monica says, I am the Ghost of Christmas Present, said the Spirit. Look upon me! Scrooge reverently did so. It was clothed in one simple green robe, or mantle, bordered with white fur.

Scrooge says, I learnt a lesson which is working now. To-night, if you have aught to teach me, let me profit by it. The ghost tells him to touch her gown, and when he does, they disappear. Scrooge asks where they are, and she says, it’s Christmas day, this very year. Doesn’t he recognize his own nephew’s home? He says he’s never been there. Fred and his wife Clara (Maxie) are entertaining the charity man and his wife (Jordan). Fred tells them, then his uncle called Christmas a humbug. They laugh, and the man says he’ll spare them what Scrooge said when he asked him to give. His wife says Scrooge is rich, but it does him little good, and the man suggests they don’t bother with Scrooge anymore, and carry on with the game. Fred does a pantomime, and the man’s wife says, an animal. Fred says she’s correct. The man asks if he roams the streets, and Fred says he does. The man asks if he travels alone or in a pack, and Clara says, Scrooge! Fred says, right you are, and they toast to Scrooge. The ghost holds out her arm, and Scrooge touches her robe.

Scrooge and the ghost look into a window. The Cratchit’s eldest son, Peter (Cameron) tells his mother (Elizabeth), Tiny Tim (Aiden) sang the sweetest of all. Cratchit says she should have been there, but Emily wonders who would cook dinner then. Scrooge says he knows these people. It’s Bob Cratchit’s house. They look so happy with so little. Cratchit toasts to Scrooge, the founder of their feast. Emily says, Scrooge is a hard, silly man, and Cratchit says, it’s Christmas day. She says she’ll drink for the sake of her husband and the day, but not for Scrooge. They toast, and Cratchit suggests they say grace. Merry Christmas and may God bless them. Tiny Tim says, God bless us, every one, and starts to cough. The ghost turns away, and Scrooge asks if Tiny Tim will live. She says she sees a vacant seat at the chimney corner, and a crutch without an owner. Scrooge says, tell him Tiny Tim is not going to die, but she says, if these shadows remain unaltered by the future, he will die, but if he has to die, he’d better do it, and decrease the surplus population. She holds out her arm.

Back at his house, Scrooge asks if the ghost is okay, and she says she exists only for a brief time. The present is waiting. He’d do well to remember that. She fades away leaving only her holly crown. The clock strikes midnight again, and Scrooge holds his head. The wind blows through the house, and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come stands before him.

In the real world, Monica says, for in the very air through which this Spirit moved, it seemed to scatter gloom and mystery. Ned asks if it’s not too scary, but Anna says, they’re loving it. Monica continues, it was shrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night, and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.

The ghost reveals its face, and it’s Ava. Scrooge asks if she’s the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come, and she nods. He says she is about to show him shadows of the things that have not happened, but will happen in the time before us. He fears her more than all the others, but knows her purpose is to go him good, and he’s prepared. He goes with her.

They appear in a graveyard. Fred says he doesn’t know what he expected, and Clara says, the people who showed up, did so for a free lunch. He says, some might yet arrive, but she says, he was a miser, poor soul. Good riddance. Fred repeats, good riddance, and they leave. Scrooge wonders why they’d says such a thing, and the ghost pounds the ground with her cycle. Mrs. Dilber and another servant (Brook) go through some belongings. The servant says, if wanted to keep them after he was dead, he would have been more natural in life. He would have had someone there instead of gasping his last alone by himself. Scrooge says he sees the case of this unhappy man might be his own cycle.

At the Cratchit’s house, Peter says, cheer up mother. The man to whom they were in debt to has passed. He saw the man’s servants gathering his possessions. It will give them time to get back on their feet. It’s the one piece of good news they’ve had this Christmas season. Cratchit comes in, and Emily asks where he was. He says he was at Tiny Tim’s grave. He wanted to make sure to wish him a merry Christmas. He holds his wife, and his son comes along the other side. Scrooge sees the crutch next to the fireplace, and says, no. It can’t be. Tiny Tim dead? Surely the future can be changed; can it not? The ghost looks at him, and turns away.

Scrooge and the spirit stand in the graveyard once more. Scrooge asks why bring him back to show him this man’s grave again? The ghost points, and he sees his own grave stone.

Scrooge says the spirit’s nature has interceded for him, and taken pity on him. Assure me that I yet may change these shadows you have shown me, by an altered life. The ghost walks toward him, and he falls into the grave.

Mrs. Dilber draws back the drapes, and Scrooge asks, what day is it? She says, Christmas day, sir. He asks her to say it again, and she does. He says he hasn’t missed it. The spirits did it all in one night. Surprising the hell out of her, he kisses her, and runs out. Outside, he sees the same kids who asked him for a penny. He says, sweet children, do you know the poulter on the next corner; the one with the prize turkey in the window? Buy it. He gives them each a crown, and tells them, run like the wind.

His next stop is Fred’s house. He bursts in, and says, merry Christmas to his nephew, his nephew’s wife, and guests. Clara says they weren’t expecting him, but he says he can’t stay. However, he would be remiss not to wish them a merry Christmas. It’s high time they settle the question of Fred’s inheritance. He’s family, and should be regarded as such by the court. He asks Fred to pardon his previous unkindness, and to stop by after the holidays. They’ll make arrangements. He says he must go, and jets. They’re all like, wha-a-at?

Scrooge goes to the Cratchit house, and Peter answers the door. Scrooge gives him the turkey, and tells him to take it to the kitchen. He asks Cratchit to accept it as a sincere apology. It’s come to his attention that Cratchit is long overdue for a significant raise, and his salary is going to be doubled. He doesn’t want to keep them from their Christmas feast, and says he doesn’t expect to see Cratchit in the office until after the New Year. Tiny Tim says he doesn’t have to leave. They’d be honored if he joined them. Scrooge says he’d like that very much.

They hold hands around the table, and Tiny Tim says, God bless us every one.

Monica reads, Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. Ever afterwards; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! Everyone applauds.

Curtis tells everyone, the roads are cleared. They’re good to go. Brook bets Tracy can’t wait to get back to her house, and away from the riff-raff. Tracy says she thinks she’ll stay and help out. Ned shrugs at Michael and Brook, and follows her. Anna tells Finn, it worked out. They’ll be on their way soon. Finn suggests they go by Felicia’s Christmas party, and Anna asks, why the change of heart? He says it’s the first time he’s experienced Christmas as a father, and for a moment, he saw it through Violet’s eyes. Violet tells Finn, it was the best story ever. He says he thought so. And it was a nice reminder that Christmas isn’t just about the presents. It teaches us to love, be charitable, share the joy, and all that good stuff. Anna thinks it’s not a bad idea to keep it in their hearts all year.

Violet says, God bless us, every one. Snow falls, and the camera pans out to show the scene is inside a snow globe.

On Christmas Eve, there will be a repeat encore episode, GH is preempted on Christmas for football, and on Thursday, Nelle asks to hold Wiley, and Mike says someone took his wife.

Below Deck

Smoke inundates the galley. In her interview, Kate knows it’s not Kevin’s fault the exhaust fan is broken, but why is he using the grill? If she didn’t have a blender, she wouldn’t push margaritas. She tells Courtney, some of the signs of the apocalypse are smoke, children, in-laws, and diarrhea. The deckhands bring in the water toys. In Ashton’s interview, he compares Rhylee’s knots to a child learning to tie their shoe laces for the first time. The way she’s doing it is dangerous and frustrating. He needs everyone to rush and get everything done, and they’re wasting time trying to untie her knots. Kevin prepares lunch, and Kate asks for all available deck crew. Kevin thinks the grandparents will be happy with his Greek style lunch. As lunch is served, Albert says there must be two of Kevin. There’s no way one person cranked all this out. Everyone is happy. Kate says it’s the first time family style has worked out.

Captain Lee calls engineer Darrian to the bridge – a rarity! Darrian says the exhaust fan is a mystery, and the captain says, the hits just keep coming. Still at lunch, Albert says they nailed it, except for the beach excursion. Scott – who seems to be the whiner of the group – says he’s not sure it was really treacherous, and thinks they would have been fine. Because he’s a boat captain? An engineer? A map reader? He’s an asshat for sure. In Brian’s interview, he says he always has fun with Courtney until someone else arrives. Then she puts her guard up. He likes her, and wants to spend more time with her.

Master Pearson is hesitant about the slide, and Rhylee says, you know what they say about the slide?. When in Thailand… I don’t think anyone says that, but it works, and Pearson goes down the slide, giving his dad a high-five afterward. Captain Lee tells Kate that the ride back for the grandparents is going to be there in fifteen minutes. Kate says it’s a genius way to deal with the in-laws; just have them for lunch. Kate tells him the primary wants him to join them for dinner; it’s a roaring 20s theme. The captain asks if there’s going to be bathtub gin. The boat comes, and the grandparents leave. Ashton doesn’t want Rhylee doing anything, and she says, nice team work. He tells her to take a break.

The captain puts on his tux, admiring his reflection, and saying, looking GQ. In his interview, he says, when things don’t go as planned, they have to pull out all the stops. Tonight, he’s going to dress up, and help get the guests in a good mood. A gentleman doesn’t leave home without his tux. It’s just good taste. The guests get ready for dinner. Kate says the deckhands are going to hate them, since there will be feathers everywhere. In Kate’s interview, she says she used to love theme parties, and was good at costume parties in her 20s. Darrian gets the fan going, and creates a record of us seeing an off camera crew member twice in one show. Kate says she loves him, calling him a superhero and a legend.

Captain Lee joins the guests, telling them it’s his best Titanic Halloween costume. Kevin is making steak and broccoli soup, with crème brulee for dessert. He says the guests haven’t had the best experience, so he’s knocking it out of the park. Pearson says the soup is laaaaame. Kate tells Kevin the three words she heard were delicious, wonderful, and really good, which is really four words. Ashton radios Rhylee to meet him and Tanner on the bow. He gives them lines, and asks them to practice the bowline knot. In Ashton’s interview, he says it’s a knot that’s easily loosened. Even if they only gain an extra five seconds, he knows from personal experience that five seconds can cost a lot. Ashton says Rhylee seems to have an issue, and she says it’s not something she’s used a lot. She doesn’t know what to say, Ashton says the less she says, the better. In this situation, he’s her superior. Geez. While I can understand that Rhylee should learn the way things are done on that particular boat, that was a little aggressive. In Rhylee’s interview, she says Ashton doesn’t respect her as a co-worker or a person. Ashton tells her not to come there with her attitude again. Rhylee says she’ll just keep taking his. They’re her issue now.

Kevin sings that his steak is the best steak in world. Albert thanks Captain Lee for bringing out all the water toys, and the captain asks if Pearson wore the slide out. Pearson says he did. Aston says he’s watched Tanner struggle with knots, and Rhylee needs to learn. Tanner ties one satisfactorily, and Ashton says Rhylee takes everything he asks as a personal attack. Elsewhere, Rhylee says she’ll stick to polishing. In her interview, she says, it’s not the only kind of knot. Ashton is being a classic child, and she thinks it’s BS. It’s not fair to her. She helps serve dinner. Pearson whines, and mom Torrie thinks it’s bedtime. She tells Pearson that he’s making a scene. Kate tells Kevin, Master Pearson is having a tantrum. Torrie comes into the galley, and tells them no dessert for Pearson since he’s not behaving. She tells Pearson, next time, listen to mommy, and takes him off to bed. Kevin gives Kate some crème brulee, which she appreciates. The captain tells the guests that he has to finish some work, and they thank him for joining them. Ashton tells Kate that Rhylee is up if she’s needed. Kate goes to bed, and Simone tells Courtney that Tanner keeps coming to her, saying he just wants to make sure they’re one the same page, and that it’s casual. It’s making her uncomfortable. Courtney says, it’s awkward, and Simone says she’s not acting like she’s in love. That’s not the case.

Rhylee tells Kate that she’s tired of Ashton acting like she’s not there or does poorly. Kate says, as long as things are safe. In Kate’s interview, she says she commiserates. Ashton isn’t easy to deal with, but at the same time, Rhylee has to learn to take direction. She doesn’t feel like she’s dealing with mature individuals. She tells Rhylee that Ashton is an a-hole.

Final day of charter. Tanner tells Brian about Ashton taking a power stance with Rhylee. You don’t talk to your superior that way. Brian is glad Ashton is finally standing up. It gets hectic. Tanner says, Rhylee is never wrong, and Brian says, you should just do your job. Tanner says, it’s all you can do. The guests are up, and coffee is made. Albert is surprised that Kate remembered he likes honey. Kevin asks Tanner, what’s going on? and Tanner says he was telling Simone about keeping it casual. In her interview, Kate says Tanner wants it done, but this must be his first boatmance. Boatmances don’t end. You have to ship out

Ashton tells Brian that Tanner filled him in on their conversation about Rhylee. Brian says he’s just putting it out there, but he’s in for the last two charters. In Ashton’s interview, he says he thought maybe it was just him, but if another crew member is saying the same thing, it’s probably not going to change.

Kevin makes pancakes, and tells them, rise, baby, rise. He checks out how the guests are doing, and Albert says, the experience has been great. The captain calls Kate to the wheelhouse. He explains that a tender is going to pick up the guests, since they have to take on fuel from a barge. He says he’ll knock out the tip meeting while they’re fueling, then tie up, and knock over their flip. In his interview, he says every country has different rules and regulations. Instead of going straight to the dock, they have to tie to a barge for fuel. Kate tells Albert that they’ll be departing on the tender.

Brian asks Courtney if she wants to go for a drink before the crew goes out, and she says okay. It’s time for the crew to change into their whites, and Captain Lee calls everyone to the aft deck, where there are hugs and goodbyes. Pearson says his favorite part was the slide. Albert says, it was a wonderful vacation, and Kevin knocked it out of the park. Torrie says they were great with the kids. Her only bummer was that they couldn’t go to the beach. Other than that, they had a great time, and they were happy they were able to come. She’s an idiot. Pearson wants to be a captain when he grows up.

The crew gets excited about a dog riding on the fuel barge. The captain calls the crew to the crew mess. He says he thought it went well. The interior was great, and the guests were happy, and Kevin nailed it. The tip is $16,500; $1500 and change each. In her interview, Kate says it’s not the tip she was expecting or hoping for. There were children and several itinerary requests. She admits there was a day filled with smoke, and Ashton canceled the beach party. They were probably docked a grand for that. They’re living and working together, and being stressed out for one reason; to make as much money as possible. She’s tired of doing all the work there. The captain says they’re heading to the dock, where they’re going to get as much done as they can. The boat docks.

Brian asks if Ashton minds if he leaves early to take Courtney for a drink. Courtney tells Kate that she’s grumpy because she has to leave at 5. In her interview, she says she needs at least two business days’ notice for a date, but she likes Brian, so she’ll suck it up and go. She complains that she has nothing to wear, and Kate says she’s never seen this side of Courtney. Tanner says he’s going to have a heat stroke. Tanner wants to go out, but he’s afraid if he talks to another girl, he’ll be hearing about how Simone is jealous. I’m like, wtf? She just said she wanted him to be respectful. I don’t think she was jealous at all. Ashton calls his mom, and says it’s different being in the leadership role. She’s just glad he had no accidents. In Ashton’s interview, he says he’s had issues in the past with his parents. They divorced when he was five years old, but in the last few years, they’ve become extremely close. His mom asks if the other lady is okay, and he says, Kate is Kate. You never know what you’re going to get. She tells him to laugh or make a joke. In his interview, he says it was hard to let his mom know when he went into yachting. He knew she’d be sad not to see him. It effects all of them in that way; they’re not with their families as much as they want to be.

In her interview, Courtney says she’s anxious. She hasn’t been on that many dates, and dates are weird. You want to be emotionally prepared. Emotionally prepared? What kind of dates has she been on? Tanner asks Simone if she wants to have a drink on the sundeck, and Courtney and Brian leave. At the restaurant, they sit outside, and Brian asks if Courtney wants champagne. She says she doesn’t think it exists in Thailand. She tells him that she’s super grumpy, and he says he’s trying to cheer her up. In Brian’s interview, he says, Courtney is hard to please, but hopefully, she’ll come around eventually. He wishes he had a puppy. He suggests he and Courtney have a drink, go back to the boat and relax, and have a good time tonight.

Tanner says Simone kept asking about them, and he wants to be honest. He wonders if they’re on different mindwaves, but Simone thinks they’re on the same one. He says they have two weeks left, and it would be unfair of him to lead her on. He doesn’t want to be an a-hole. She says when he said he just wanted to have fun, she knew what he was saying. He says he doesn’t want to hurt her, and she laughs. He says she’s a cool chick, and in her interview, she says, what the hell? He’s the definition of a f***boy. She’ll just smile and leave. She tells him that she appreciates it, and thinks he’s great. They’re good.

Courtney tells Brian she’s slowly getting lower in her chair. She doesn’t really want to go out tonight either. In Brian’s interview, he says, it’s disappointing. All the time and effort he put into arranging the date, and it feels like he’s taking her to the dentist. It was supposed to be fun. She should have just said she didn’t want to go. They go back to the boat, and Courtney says, tonight is going to seriously suck. I think Courtney seriously sucks. She’s acting like a brat.

The crew gets ready go out. In Simone’s interview, she says she’s not that girl who wants to make a guy upset by looking good, but she does want to try to punish Tanner a little. When she looks sufficiently hot, they leave for shore. Ashton says, Smashton is coming out, and tells Brian that Courtney is a keeper. Kate asks if Courtney is playing it aloof. Courtney says she’s not. She just doesn’t know him well. She’s never going to either, if she keeps behaving the way she is.

Bangla Road, Phuket. It’s like some kind of circus. Almost like the end of the original mini-series of The Stand when they’re in Vegas. Ashton says, this place is alive. In Kate’s interview, she says, Bangla Road is the most wild place on the planet. It’s like Vegas meets spring break. You can see a ping pong show, get a piercing, a tattoo, and an STD all at the same time. Where else is there a Starbuck’s next to a donkey show? They go to a club, where they get bottle service. No surprise, Courtney doesn’t want to be there. Ashton yells at Courtney to wake up. She tells Brian that she feels sweating and gross, but he says she looks amazing and wonderful. In Courtney’s interview, she says she wants to go, but the thought of being alone in a taxi in Thailand for an hour is unbearable. The club might be scary, but outside, it might be scarier. Brian says, Smashton is out of his cage. In Ashton’s interview, he says, it’s been a hard few days’ work, and this is the perfect playground for Smashton. He can feel Smashton wanting to come out and have fun. Kate asks Tanner about his talk with Simone, and he says, she was cool about it. Kate says, Simone is the hottest girl on the dance floor; she’s looking good. Tanner says he’s always wanted to hook up with Kate, and she says he’s twenty-five; he’s a kid. She tells him, calm down. He says, this is his song, and goes out on the dance floor. He ends up dancing, along with Smashton, on some kind of stage thing. Courtney looks sick. Kate tries get her up, but she won’t budge. Courtney and Brian leave, and Courtney gives him a kiss in the taxi. Rhylee and Simone get in with them, and the others get in another one.

Ashton kisses Kate, who wipes her mouth. In her interview, she says she hasn’t given any signs that she would want this opportunity. She doesn’t care how drunk she is – even blackout drunk – she doesn’t make out with someone accidentally twice. She moves to the back seat next to Tanner. Ashton keeps trying to reach back and touch her, and she tells him to stop. He says if she gets drunk, maybe she’ll get lucky, and she says she’s never been that drunk, and he’ll never get that lucky. In the other taxi, Brian gives Rhylee and Simone roses out of a bouquet he bought, and gives the rest to Courtney. Courtney says he’s cute.

Ashton says Tanner’s mom is cool, and Kate asks what’s going on with Ashton’s mom. For whatever drunk reason, Ashton takes offense to this, and says, that was a weak blow. She says they were just talking about Tanner’s mom, and she asked how his mom is. He asks if she thinks she’s a better person for calling his mom out, He turns around in his seat, and tells her to get TF over herself. He tells Kevin, that’s his family, and Kevin tells him, it’s all right. Kevin wisely asks the driver to pull the van over. Ashton gets stupid, and Kevin tells him, calm down. Ashton punches the car door. Seriously, wtf?

Kevin tells Ashton, calm down, bro. Ashton says she has no right to bring his family into it. What gives her the right? In her interview, Kate says, this is not okay. It’s like Ashton morphed into the Incredible Hulk, but it’s not incredible being stuck in a small space with him, and being the target of his anger. Brian kisses Courtney, and Rhylee and Simone tell each other how beautiful they are, and talk about how much fun they had dancing. Tanner tells Ashton, they’re heading back; let’s chill. It doesn’t matter. Ashton quiets down, and Tanner leans back in his seat. Kate says he did very good, and she gives him a peck. He clearly wants more, and knocks over a bunch of beer cans, saying, Jiminy Cricket.

Brian tells Courtney that she looks beautiful, and she thanks him. Tanner says he’s effed up. Kate wonders where Rhylee is. When she finds Rhylee, she says, Ashton is a psycho. He showed it. Ashton and Tanner go to the galley. They make toasties and get the galley full of smoke. Kate says smoke is the least of her concerns. She’s concerned about Ashton’s behavior. Simone asks Courtney if she wants to eavesdrop. Ashton says, it’s his crew, and he’ll manage them as he sees fit. He’ll tell her when he needs advice. She says she didn’t know making fun of Tanner’s mother was a management issue. He says she needs to be put in her place. She’s disrespected his deck crew. Kate says they were talking about Tanner’s mother, and she complimented Ashton’s mother. Ashton says Kate knows less than she thinks. She thinks she knows everything, and he’s sick of her and her attitude. She thinks she’s better than the rest of the crew. He asks Tanner what he thinks, and Tanner says Kate gets away with more than other people do. Ashton is like, ah-ha! and says Tanner is supporting his viewpoint, although not quite. Courtney tells Simone, this is going to be awkward tomorrow. Kate says they can find another chief stew. She quits.

Rhylee follows Kate to her bunk, Ashton says, Kate attacked his family, and he got emotional. Where is he even getting this? Kate says she’d like to gracefully get off the boat. Rhylee says, right now? and Kate says she can’t stay in this environment. Rhylee gets that, and Kate says, then don’t argue with her. She has enough money; she can get a hotel room and a plane ticket. She wants to gather her things, and looks for her phone and passport. She tells the cameraman to tell his friends in the control room that she’d like to go. They can figure it out. Just get her off this boat.

Next time, Rhylee asks if Kate wants to talk to Captain Lee, a producer asks where Kate is going, and Kate says don’t follow her.

📺 Project Runway will be back on January 2nd, 2020, at 9 pm, and Laverne Cox will be guest judge.. This Thursday, December 26th, Part Three of The Real Housewives of Orange County: Reunion will air at 10 pm. The Real Housewives of New Jersey and The Real Housewives of Dallas will be back on January 1st at 8 pm and 9 pm, respectively. Sure. I’ll be spending my holiday evening watching that. Like I’ll tear myself away from my personal annual Downton Abbey marathon. American Idol will premiere its new season on February 16th, at 8 PM.

🍊 A real quickie on The Real Housewives of Orange County: Reunion, Part Two. If you think about it, they should really just call it what it is, a rehash. Not much happens, except a stroll down the show’s Memory Lane with tons of clips, and the women yelling at each other over issues they’ve finally managed to forget about. So basically, same sh*t, different day. Which was exactly what we saw tonight. One of my personal highlights was finding out that Braunwyn spends $4000 to $5000 a month on groceries. She said this included, gluten-free, vegetarian, and vegan diets, like it would make a huge difference at that price point. I also enjoyed the misuse of words, like when Tamra mistook free range for free reign. There was a big discussion on accountability, or as Housewives lingo would put it, owning it. Kelly and Vicki hugged it out, with Vicki saying she was over the pig thing, and Kelly sort of apologizing, but adding that she’d felt backed into a corner. We’ll see how long that lasts. The show ended with Vicki screeching at Braunwyn for her display of nakedness, yelling that they don’t do that on her show, and totally ignoring Kelly, who suggested she tell Tamra the same thing. Vicki also made sure that we again knew She. Started. The. Show. Next time, we can look forward to Vicki telling the show to eff off.

🗽 Now That She’s Free From Egg Pressure…

And she’ll never have to swing on a trapeze again either. At least not in public.

https://betches.com/why-tinsley-mortimer-has-stopped-filming-rhony/

✈ Who Could Forget…?

She cooked, she cleaned, she made it nice.

https://betches.com/ranking-the-10-most-iconic-real-housewives-trips/

🎄 Thanks For Sharing…

Cynthia proves she’s just like us.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1105161/real-housewives-cynthia-bailey-shares-her-go-to-holiday-recipe-and-traditions

🔜 Really a Whole Lot Of Nothing…

A feud possibly ends…

https://radaronline.com/exclusives/2019/12/teresa-giudice-ends-feud-with-caroline-manzo-amid-joe-split/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

…as another possibly begins.

https://pagesix.com/2019/12/18/joe-giudice-posts-cryptic-message-after-teresa-giudice-split/?utm_source=maropost&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=pagesixdaily&utm_content=20191219&tpcc=pagesix_daily&mpweb=755-8472404-711673032

🔥 News You Can Use…

And I’d feel guilty if I didn’t include it.

https://www.inverse.com/article/61848-why-do-christmas-trees-burn-so-quickly?link_uid=26&utm_campaign=sunday-edition-2019-12-22&utm_medium=sunday-edition&utm_source=newsletter

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MerryChristmasHat (2)

🎁 Wishing You a Merry…

Hoping all your Christmas wishes and dreams come true.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dec21

December 20, 2019 – Franco Learns About Drew, Close Call, Re-engagement, Wayne Revealed, Dog Tantrums, Ten Holiday Quotes Plus a Long One & Eight Crazy Nights

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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

I miss the first millisecond. Nothing important, except Lucas is now breathing on his own. Elizabeth tells Julian that they’re all pulling for Lucas. Franco says he’s ready to go home. Elizabeth says she missed Franco, and he says if he’d known he was away, he would have missed her too. She gives him back his wedding ring, he puts it on, and they kiss.

Michael opens the door to Willow, who asks if everything is okay. His text was vague. He says he has some fun things planned for today, and thought she might want to join in.

Anna looks over some folders at her desk. Finn tells her that he just put Violet down for a nap, and he wants one too. Anna says it will take time, and he says he’s never second guessed himself so much. He wants to do things right. Are cartoons good or bad? Anna says the answers will change with his mood. Wait until the first time he hears himself say, because I said so. He says he’s looking forward to that. He asks what all that is on her desk, and she says, research. He says, on? and she says, her son.

Sporting an elf hat, Maxie tells Peter it breaks her heart to see so many kids in the hospital at Christmas. Peter says GH does its best to make it special, and she made them smile. Maxie wishes Lucas was awake to make fun of her hat. Peter says they should have a progress report soon, and it is the time of year for miracles. She asks if he’s ready for their next stop, and he asks if she’s sure they’re not intruding. Maxie says, she’ll love it. She sees the guard outside Nelle’s door, and says, someone’s been naughty.

Martin tells Nelle that she’s looking well. She says hospital gowns have always suited her. He asks if this was her big plan, to get stabbed? and she says, of course (🍷) not. He asks, what happened? and she says, a serial killer happened.

Brad tells Lucas that he doesn’t know what to do. That’s a lie. He at least knows what Lucas would want him to do. Send Wiley back to his true father, but what if he can’t? If he hadn’t come across Nelle that awful night, and taken a baby that wasn’t his, Lucas wouldn’t be there. He wants to make it right, but doesn’t know what to do. Julian comes in, and tells Brad, the test results are in. Brad kisses Lucas’s forehead, and follows Julian.

Michael says he’s taking a personal day, and knows how Willow loves spending time with Wiley, but it’s awkward with Wiley’s dads around. He asks if it’s still hard on her, and she says, no. She was just thinking of Lucas, and how horrible it all is. Michael says, hopefully, Lucas will get better. In the meantime, they can keep Wiley laughing. Willow says Michael has been great taking care of Wiley, and Michael says, of course (🍷). He’s family.

Martin says, Nelle wanted to be released, and this is how she engineered it? If she’d gotten killed, he would have gotten bupkis for his hard work. She’s unreliable. He has one question; why is she doing this?

Anna tells Finn that she can’t get the conversation with Jason out of her head. The list of crimes he believes Peter orchestrated is unbelievable. At the same time, considering Peter’s recent behavior, she can’t dismiss it out of hand. She’s pulled everything she can find, and is trying to make a connection to Brice and the gunman’s deaths. The gunman spent a lot of time in Pentenville, but up until about a week ago, he was in Europe, where he has no arrest record. He worked security for two companies, Eurotech and another one I don’t catch, before and after his stint in prison. Finn thinks the company names should mean something to him, and Anna says they’re known by the WSB to be DVX companies. Finn says, shell companies. Peter lived in Germany, so that would be the connection. Anna says Andre also has connections in Europe, and Brice spent time there. Finn asks if there’s nothing to single Peter out, and she says, no.

Amy tells Elizabeth the paperwork will be ready shortly. Jordan asks Franco to look at a photo of his assailant, but when he does, he says he’s got nothing. But they weren’t really after him. They were after Drew. He’s not telling her how to do her job, but maybe she should be speaking to Drew. Elizabeth asks if Jordan needs anything else, but Jordan says, that’s it. Amy tells Franco that his walking papers are in. Enjoy his homecoming. Elizabeth says, they will, and Franco asks her, what’s going on with Drew? She says they have a lot to talk about, but they’ll do it at home.

Anna says, neither Brice, nor the assassin were in Afghanistan, and Finn says, that implicates Shiloh. She says, exactly, but Shiloh has no known connection to Faison. Finn says, that implicates Peter, but she says, there’s no implication anywhere. Finn says she wants to exonerate him, and she says she wants to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that he’s not guilty. Finn says, that’s impossible. It comes down to what she feels. She says, nothing contradicts Jason’s version of the events, but Finn says, Jason has his own bias. In the absence of real evidence, it comes down to who or what she believes. The doorbell rings, and Finn goes to get it. He brings back Maxie and Peter.

Michael and Willow roll a ball back and forth with Wiley, and discuss a ball rolling Olympics event. Willow asks how Michael got to be so great with kids. Being a big brother? He says, that’s part of it. There was actually a time where he had custody of his sister Avery. It’s a long story, and not complementary of him. Willow doesn’t believe it, but he says, believe it. It was a very complicated, messy, human situation, where everyone acted badly. Willow says she’ll reserve judgment on that. Michael says his biological father was AJ Quartermaine. AJ and his mom didn’t get along, and she left him for Sonny when Michael was two years old. Sonny was the only father he knew. AJ wanted him back, so there was an ugly custody fight. Flash forward to five years ago. AJ and Sonny hated each other, and Ava got thrown in the mix. AJ attacked Ava, and Sonny shot him. He died, but Michael didn’t know it was Sonny who shot him until a month later, and he went a little crazy. It was pretty bad, and he trumped up a legal excuse to get custody of Avery. He wanted to hurt his father, and knew nothing would hurt him more than taking Avery away.

Nelle says maybe she doesn’t need Martin. She got herself out; she can find a way to stay out. Martin says he’s her only prayer to get out before her 60th birthday. If she does exactly what he tells her, and sticks with the program; be a model prisoner. She asks why she should trust him, and he says it’s his only chance of getting paid. Jordan comes in, and asks how the prisoner is. Nelle gives her two thumbs up.

The doctor asks Julian and Brad if they’re waiting for Lucas’s mother, but Julian says they convinced her to get some rest, so go ahead. The doctor says Lucas’s brain swelling is down, but he slipped into a coma. Julian says he’s been in a coma since he got there, but the doctor says it was medically induced to help his body heal. Even after they reduced the sedatives, he’s not waking up. Brad asks, what happens now? and the doctor says Lucas can’t stay there indefinitely. He’ll have to be relocated. They think Turning Woods is the best option; they have long term care. They’ll transfer him as soon as Brad signs off. Julian asks, what’s the rush? and Brad says, they need the bed. Lucas isn’t healing fast enough, so they’re kicking him out. He walks off, leans against the wall, and slides down.

Elizabeth brings Franco in, and says, ta-da! Franco says, check it out, and looks at the huge Welcome Home sign. He asks if Aiden did that, and she says, of course (🍷). Look at what else he did. Franco sees  a cake on the table, and says, chocolate ganache; his favorite. He asks where Aiden is, and Elizabeth says he was invited to spend Christmas in Ireland. He was torn; He wanted to go, but wanted to be there to welcome Franco home. Cameron convinced him that Franco would want him to experience new places, and they took him to the airport this morning. He’s come a long way from the uncertain withdrawn little boy, and it has a lot to do with Franco. Franco says he just followed her lead. She says they can still have a celebration. Cameron and Jake will be home soon. He has no idea how much the boys missed him. And how scared they were, although they tried not show it. He says he can imagine, and he’s sorry he put them through it. She says they’re sorry he went through it. He says he didn’t. It’s a matter of perspective. To him, no time passed. She got the raw end of the deal. She says she’s glad he’s home; that’s all that matters. She asks how it feels, and he says, safe and warm, and familiar and new at the same time. It’s weird that he hasn’t seen Drew. He must be busy. Elizbeth says, it’s worse than that. There’s a lot they need to deal with, and in time he’ll adjust. Drew handled it wonderfully, and was determined to get him back. Franco asks where Drew is, and she says, he’s missing, and presumed dead.

Julian tells Lucas, take more time to rest. Don’t worry about Wiley. He’ll fix this thing. By the time Lucas wakes up, everything will be back on track. He’s going to wake up. He has to.

Amy finds Brad, and sits next to him on the floor. She says, it’s not the end. Lucas probably just needs more time. Brad says it’s his fault, and she tells him, don’t say that. He says, it’s true. Between the two of them, everyone knows Brad is the bad one. Lucas doesn’t lie, cheat, or break the law. He’s perfect. Amy says Brad is no angel, but what everyone knows is how much Brad loves Lucas, and how much Lucas loves him. She asks if some gossip would cheer him up. Guess who traded their cellblock for a hospital bed? Nelle. That wacko is back in Port Charles. Brad says he has to do something, and jets. Amy wonders if it’s something she said.

Nelle tells Jordan, they can’t make her go back. Jordan says they can, and Nelle asks how heartless can they be? Ryan nearly carved out her one kidney. Jordan says she’s exaggerating, but Martin says her release is premature, given her medical history. She’ll need more extensive tests. Jordan says, if the doctor says she needs them, she’ll get them. Otherwise, it’s back to prison. Martin says, let’s find out. As he follows Jordan out the door, he turns back to look at Nelle, and she mouths, do something.

Anna quickly clears her desk, and Maxie says they brought gifts. Anna says they shouldn’t have, and Maxie says they’re not for her. She’s been going through Georgie’s old clothes, and thought Violet could use some of them. They’re out in the car. Anna asks Finn to help Peter get them. Anna tells Maxie that she’s glowing. Peter has an effect on her. Maxie says he’s made her happy. She didn’t think it was possible. After Nathan died, she thought that was it. How many chances does one person get? But in walks Peter, now they’re building a life together, and a family. Anna says she’s thrilled for Maxie, and they hug.

Willow asks how long Michael kept Avery, and he says, three or four months. He realized his revenge was tearing his family apart and hurting the people he loved, especially Avery. The only solution was to give Avery back, and forgive his father. Avery was the easy part; forgiving his father, not so much. Eventually, he got there. Willow says, remarkable, but he says, not really. It was a shift in perspective. Avery wasn’t a trophy; she was just a little girl. After he focused on that, everything else fell into place. The point he’s making is, he played dad for a minute. He laughs, remembering when he brought Avery to work, and a big investor came in. He found Michael on the floor, playing blocks with Avery. He already looked young, and  needless to say, Michael didn’t close the deal. Willow says, that investor was short-sighted. Anyone playing blocks is engaging, thoughtful, and committed. If it had been her, she would have totally invested with him. Michael’s phone rings. It’s Amy, who says she was just with Brad. Lucas is still in a coma, and being transferred to long term care at Turning Woods. Brad is taking it hard, so she was wondering if Michael could bring Wiley to the hospital. Brad needs to see his son.

Brad walks into Nelle’s room, and she says, nice work, talking his way in there, especially considering what he’s going through. He says his husband being in a coma, and his son without his fathers? All of it is her fault.

Franco asks Elizabeth if there was no body, and she says the plane was found in the water. When it was determined there were no possible survivors, the search was called off. Franco says, it was because of him, but Elizabeth says, Drew was on the plane because he felt it was the right thing to do. Franco says, it’s not fair.

Brad tells Nelle, none of this would have happened if he hadn’t gotten involved with her. All of it happened because he didn’t have the guts to stand up and do what he should have done all along. What Lucas would want him to do – what’s best for Wiley.

Michael and Willow come into the hospital through the loudest sliding door ever. Michael gives Wiley to Willow, and says he wants to give Brad a heads up. Willow tells Wiley that someone is going to be happy to see him.

Anna tells Maxie, she’s happy to hear she and Peter are moving in together. She was a bit surprised though. She thought Peter was getting his own place. Maxie says, he was, but the deal fell through. That’s why he was on the pier the night he helped Dev and Wiley. Anna says, everything happens for a reason, and Maxie says she thinks so. Peter is great for her and James. They’ve finally moved past the baggage. Finn and Peter come back in, and Finn thanks Peter for the stuff. Peter says he didn’t have much to do with it. Finn asks how it’s going since the excitement at the hospital. Peter says he feels horrible that a man lost his life, but Franco is back to himself. It must be liberating, not being bogged down with Drew’s memories. Finn says, it must be.

Elizabeth tells Franco that she’s sorry. Franco wishes he could have tried to save Drew, and she says he did. He got Drew out of the house, and away from that horrible man. Franco says Drew died as a direct result of what was going on with him. Elizabeth says what Franco did changed everything. He, as Drew, chose to give Franco back his life because of what he did all those years ago.

She says she dreaded this moment, telling him about Drew. She knew how hard to would be. He holds her, and says Drew is the closest thing he’ll ever have to a brother. She says he can’t bring Drew back. The only way to honor him is to learn from his own life. Be happy and make the people he loves around him happy. He says he’s an expert at being whiny and bitchy. She says, he is not. Maybe a little. He says he’s so grateful for her. From now on, he’s grateful for everything. She says he has no idea how unbearable it was to see him, and it not really be him. Not just the lack of recognition – that was painful enough – but everything. The way he carried himself, the way he spoke, the way he said her name. He wouldn’t make inappropriate comments, or make her laugh with his terrible jokes. He says, they’re funny because they’re terrible. She says she would look in his eyes and search, but she wouldn’t see it. She sees it now, and she’s so happy. he says, if he makes her happy, that’s the single greatest achievement of his life. She says she loves him so much, and they kiss.

Jordan sees Julian, and says she heard Lucas was being moved. He says he just got off the phone with Lucas’s mother, and told her about Turning Woods. She says they’ve received the final report about Brad’s car.

Michael looks at his phone; Brad called. Martin comes by, and introduces himself, saying he has the honor and privilege of being Nelle’s attorney. Michael isn’t sure that’s an honor, and Martin says, Nelle is a remarkable young woman whose gone out of her way to turn her life around. Michael says, Nelle destroys anyone who crosses her path. Stay away. He walks, and Martin says, tough crowd.

Michael sees Amy, and tells her that Wiley is waiting with Willow. Where can he find Brad?

Anna asks if Maxie and Peter can’t stay longer, but Maxie says, it’s Christmaspalooza. They have the coat drive at Rice Plaza next. Anna asks if they’re going to  be there for Christmas, and Finn says, that’s the day that’s merry not happy. Anna looks at him, and he says she lives in America now. Maxie and Peter leave, and Finn says, they seem good. Anna says, better than good, and he asks what she’s thinking. She says she’s thinking of taking his advice. She’s going to give Peter the benefit of the doubt. He says she’s taking his advice? and he tells her, enjoy it while it lasts. He goes upstairs to check on Violet, and she straightens her desk. She flips through a folder on Peter, and says, no.

Franco and Elizabeth kiss. She pulls away, and he asks, what going on? She says, you know how it is when your head and your body are feeling two different things? That’s how she’s feeling. She knows she shouldn’t be upset… He asks, what’s going on? Just tell him; they’ll get through it. She says, when Drew was in his body, he had sex with Kim.

Jordan tells Julian, they were unable to determine the cause of the crash. There was too much damage to the undercarriage, and they can’t pinpoint how the brakes failed. He asks if they’re closing the investigation, and she says they have nothing further to learn. She tells him, good luck with Lucas’s transfer. She hopes he comes out of it.

Anna says, Eurotech, and looks in the gunman’s folder. She says, ugh; no. Peter was there at the same company at the same time the gunman worked there. She looks through pictures of Peter, obviously taken without his knowledge.

Michael looks in on Lucas. He tells Brad, sorry. He knows it wasn’t the news Brad wanted to hear. None of them did. Brad says, it was a lot to take in, and Michael says he brought someone to cheer Brad up, if he’s up to it. Wiley is here.

In the hallway, Willow holds Wiley, and Nelle rolls up in her wheelchair. She says, what a beautiful baby boy.

On Monday, Monica reads A Christmas Carol to the kids at the hospital, Robert calls Finn a Scrooge, Obrecht says Christmas is the time put aside their differences and spread good will, and Finn becomes Scrooge. I’m really looking forward to that.

🏥 Her Choice of Friends Scares Me…

I love Denise, but her being good friends with Brandi is scarier than any medical emergency.

https://extratv.com/2019/12/18/denise-richards-reveals-emergency-medical-scare/?adid=extra_eme_27315_2019-12-18_rightnow4

💍 Congratulations, I Guess…

Since they were divorced, but never really apart, it’s hard to get excited.

https://extratv.com/2019/12/17/reality-stars-robyn-and-juan-dixon-engaged-again-after-2012-divorce/?adid=extra_eme_27314_2019-12-17_rightnow1

🎭 Whose Mask Is It Anyway…

I’ve loved Wayne Brady forever. I was blessed to see him in Chicago on Broadway, and hung out afterward, to ask him to sign my program. There were quite a few of us waiting, and every time the stage door opened, you could feel everyone get ready. Then, when it wasn’t him, there was a collective feeling of disappointment. Now we call every letdown after anticipatory feels, a Wayne Brady moment. He did eventually come out and sign programs just in case you were wondering.

https://www.soapoperadigest.com/content/bbs-wayne-brady-wins-the-masked-singer/?utm_source=email&em_hash=72048a93bc8188334dc1071a32fe8f3b

🐕 God’s Best Invention…

Dogs are the best! If you keep watching, there’s a whole sequence of videos of dogs throwing tantrums for various reasons. This first one is annoyed by a cat in her bed. It reminds me of when our cat used to deliberately sit in the middle of the doorway because the dogs were too afraid to go past him. The cartoons have it backward.

https://digg.com/video/dog-throws-a-temper-tantrum-when-she-catches-cat-sleeping-in-her-bed?utm_source=digg&utm_medium=email

🔔 Quotes of the Week

Probably the reason we all go so haywire at Christmas time with the endless unrestrained and often silly buying of gifts is that we don’t quite know how to put our love into words. – Harlan Miller

A good conscience is a continual Christmas. – Benjamin Franklin

Hanukkah is about the spark of the divine in all of us made in God’s image. – Suzanne Fields

We’re not doing anything that hasn’t been done better by Burl Ives, God rest his soul. Possibly. I don’t know whether he’s dead or alive. – Arthur Spooner (Jerry Stiller), King of Queens

Nothing ever seems too bad, too hard, or too sad when you’ve got a Christmas tree in the living room. – Nora Roberts

Just as Hanukkah candles are lighted one by one from a single flame, so the tale of the miracle is passed from one man to another, from one house to another, and to the whole House of Israel throughout the generations. – Judah L. Magnes

And that, of course, is the message of Christmas. We are never alone. Not when the night is darkest, the wind coldest, the world seemingly most indifferent… –  Taylor Caldwell

Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see. – The Polar Express

Christmas may be a day of feasting, or of prayer, but always it will be a day of remembrance—a day in which we think of everything we have ever loved. – Augusta E. Handel

Ho-ho-ho! – Santa Claus

🎁 And One More…

Scrooge was better than his word.  He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did NOT die, he was a second father.

He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, town, or borough, in the good old world.  Some people laughed to see the alteration in him, but his own heart laughed: and that was quite enough for him.

He had no further intercourse with Spirits; and it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge.

May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One! – Charles Dickens, A Christmas Carol

HappyHanukkah5

🎇 It’s a Mitzvah…

Have a happy, happy, happy, happy Hanukkah!

Dec20

December 19, 2019 – See Yesterday’s GH, GH Holiday Schedule, Christmas On the Runway, Somebody Stop This, Inevitable, Sailing Preview, Vacay Andy, a Prank & Santa Beached

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

 

General Hospital

In the US, today’s GH was the same one I magically saw yesterday that had been preempted. Because the video ended so abruptly, I wondered if it had cut off a few seconds early, but no, the end was the end. If you didn’t read yesterday, and want to check it out, go here:

https://tvwiththeresa.wordpress.com/2019/12/19/december-18-2019-early-gh-for-you-kameron-comes-clean-the-oc-reunites-easter-in-jersey-north-pole-catch/

Tomorrow, Franco asks Elizabeth about Drew, Anna talks to Finn about Peter, and Brad says it’s all Nelle’s fault.

🏥 News You Can Use…

Next week’s holiday schedule, and a bit of what’s happening next week on GH. A Christmas Carol starring Finn as Scrooge? I can’t wait!

https://www.abc.soapsindepth.com/posts/general-hospital-not-on-today-preemted-134558?utm_source=postup&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=7855&recip_id=5057&list_id=9

Project Runway

Tonight, the designers awoke to the sound of jingle bells and, as one contestant put it, Christmas having thrown up in their living room, which was wall-to-wall decorations. Christian was there with news of glad tidings. They were having an unconventional materials challenge, and had to make a fabulous holiday cocktail party dress using whatever they could grab in ten minutes from the décor. This time, the challenge itself was two days. As everyone went into Tasmanian Devil mode and seized whatever they could lay their hands on, Alan said it was crazier than a Kmart on Black Friday in Ohio. Delvin said he didn’t want this, but didn’t know what he did want, and I felt his pain. I didn’t sympathize so much with him saying he didn’t like the challenge, and felt like he was in arts and crafts. He ended up scrapping his first design, and whining that he’d wasted his time.

For the most part, the designs were impressive. Serio made a masterpiece, using part of a giant basket as a hoop skirt, and magically crafting wrapping paper – which I can barely get around a box – around it to make an incredible strapless piece. Guest judge Kiernan Shipka said she’d definitely wear it, and if I was thinner, I would too. I definitely noticed Tyler this week, but for all the wrong reasons. I’m not sure what happened (okay, I was writing out cards while watching), but he ended up creating something that was both terrible, and terribly short. I wish I’d been paying more attention, because he actually started off strong, having made a beautiful bodice out of silver snowflakes. When that changed to some gold snowflakes that blended into the neckline, and a dress that barely covered his model’s who-ha, I have no idea. Poor Brittany got a nosebleed during the mad dash for materials, and ended up with wrapping paper and some leftover faux cranberries. She was unhappy with her design, which looked more like how I wrap packages, with the skirt showing a lot of crinkles, and being obviously uncomfortable. The cascade of cranberries on one side was a bone of contention between the judges, who either loved it or hated it, although everyone hated the dress. Karlie said she thought Brittany’s mentality of being defeated with the challenge might have factored in.

Along with Brittany and Tyler, Alan was also in the bottom three, being told, unfortunately, Burning Man wasn’t in December. I don’t know what he was doing, but it looked more like it belonged to Christmas in space. Nina also thought he made a lot of excuses. On the winning side, along with Sergio, was Victoria, who’d put a cranberry wreath and lots of faux jewel ornaments to good use, and Shavi, who made a garland into a gorgeous 3-D floral number, and another dress Kiernan said she would wear. The top three were told they’d embraced the holidays, and Sergio walked away the big winner. Alan was out, but Brandon thought with his bold persona and work, they’d be seeing more of him. He admitted to coming in super confident, with the belief that he was ready, even though he wasn’t. He felt the competition had changed him for the better, and he was a good designer, but had more to learn and needed more time to learn it. In my words, he got the wind knocked out of his sails, and found out he’s not too cool for school.

Next time, the designers use Goodwill to create the perfect event look for Karlie.

👠  I Just Can’t…

Gee, maybe Brandi will smack somebody again. She’s already talking about wanting to hit someone in the article. No. Just no. Especially with LVP gone. Although it’s like when someone passes away. You miss them, but you’re glad they’re not around to see some things.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1101796/brandi-glanville-teases-juicy-and-violent-real-housewives-of-beverly-hills-return?source=email&medium=emn-content-2&cmpid=evening&content=emn-news

👋  We All Saw It Coming…

I doubt Teresa will remarry anytime soon, but it might be fun to see her go on a date.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1033932/joe-and-teresa-giudice-split-after-20-years-of-marriage?source=email&medium=emn-cta-1&cmpid=breaking&content=emn-full-details

⛵  Yo-Ho-Ho and a Bottle Of Deck…

A look at the latest in the franchise. Chef Adam is the familiar face in the crew.

https://www.eonline.com/news/1104213/get-to-know-bravo-s-below-deck-sailing-yacht-crew-in-this-drama-filled-first-look?source=email&medium=emn-content-6&cmpid=evening&content=emn-news

🌴  Watch What Happens Live is going on hiatus until January 5th, 2020. When isn’t Andy Cohen on vacation? He’ll also be hosting New Year’s Eve again with the effervescent Anderson Cooper.

🃏 Best I’ve Seen All Day…

I love how Ellen is having the best time during this prank.

🎅 Keeping In the Spirit…

And because I’m feeling beachy.

Dec19

December 18, 2019 – Early GH For You, Kameron Comes Clean, the OC Reunites, Easter in Jersey & North Pole Catch

Posted on by
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What I Watched Today

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

 

⚠ SPOILER ALERT: This show was not on today in the US, and will be shown tomorrow. So if you don’t want to know yet, skip down to all the Wives.

General Hospital

Jason tells Sonny, they got everything out, and Sonny tells him to check the routes again. He wants everything covered. Jason asks if Sonny is being pressured, but Sonny says, people get sloppy, and he just wants to double-check. One more thing. What the hell is going on with Carly?

At the hospital, Jax gives Carly a blueberry smoothie. She asks if there’s kelp in it, and he says, of course (🍷) not. She tastes it, and admits it’s pretty good. Jax says, when this is over, he has a bottle of Bordeaux with her name on it. She says she thought it was going to be over tonight.

Obrecht asks how Charlotte is, and Valentin says, warm, dry and safe. Nina says Charlotte wanted to read another chapter of Little Women, but her eyes were closed by the time they started. Obrecht tells them, hypothermia can be exhausting, but Nina says Charlotte wouldn’t be home if she had hypothermia. The doctors say she’s fine. Obrecht no thanks to that poor excuse of a mother. What was Lulu thinking, letting Charlotte fall into the harbor? Valentin says, she didn’t fall; she jumped.

Curtis meets Laura, Doc, and Lulu at Charlie’s. He asks how Lulu is holding up, and she says she’s still in shock. All of a sudden, Charlotte took a running jump off the pier. She was sure her bodyguard was going to save her. Curtis says, what about a bodyguard? Doc says, imaginary. Apparently, Charlotte was willing to risk her life to prove he was real.

Alone at the gallery, Ava pours herself a martini. She says, here’s to you, Helena Cassadine. You made one hell of an exit. What more can a gal ask? She hears footsteps behind her, and says she knew he’d show up. He’s awful predictable – she picks up her gun and turns around – for a dead man. It’s Nikolas, and she says she’d offer to fix him a martini, but her hands are full. He says she doesn’t need the gun. She says she needed the last time he broke in, when she asked him to take off his mask. He was so real, she could have touched him. So real, she could have pulled the trigger, if she hadn’t fainted dead away. Fortunately, she’s feeling much steadier tonight.

At the MetroCourt, Lucy explains to potential investor Alyssa that the relaunch of Deception is going to include spas and the whole wellness movement, but they also have a new signature line of cosmetics; strictly organic. Alyssa says let her stop Lucy there, but Lucy says at least let her show the power point presentation. Alyssa says she loved Deception in the early 90s, but can’t make a serious investment in nostalgia, unless she has… Lucy sees Sasha walk in with Michael, and says, she does. Hold that thought. She goes over to Sasha, and asks her to please go along with whatever she does. She brings Sasha to the table, and tells Alyssa that Sasha is a dear friend who is going to help make her vision happen. May she present the new face of Deception, Sasha Gilmore.

Valentin says he’s going to check on Charlotte. He wants to be there if she wakes up. Obrecht tells Nina, for such a cold-blooded manipulator, he certainly loves that child. Nina says, Obrecht is telling her Valentin is a manipulator? Obrecht says, a leopard doesn’t change its spots, and Nina says, neither does a leopardess. She knows Obrecht helped Valentin pass Sasha off as her daughter, and she’s giving Obrecht one last chance to tell her how and why.

Curtis says he’s there to help any way he can, but he’s not sure why he’s there. Laura says they may need him to dig up some dirt on Valentin. Something they could use against him in a custody battle. Curtis thought the custody was already settled, but Lulu says, not anymore. He says it’s her fault since she wasn’t watching Charlotte closely enough. Laura says, of course (🍷) she was, and Doc says, no one could doubt that. Lulu says, Valentin does. He wants to go back to family court, and amend the custody order. Laura says, he’s going to fail. She’s sure there are enough witnesses who will testify for Lulu. Curtis says he’s sure he can dig up something they can use. Curtis wants to hear more about the bodyguard, and Lulu says she thought it was part of a game. Charlotte has been talking about him non-stop. Doc thinks it’s important they figure out why Charlotte invented him in the first place.

Ava asks why Nikolas is there. He says she must know, but she says tell her anyway. He says, when the painting burned, did the codicil burn with it? She says he’ll have to do better than that, and he asks what she wants. She says, an apology to start. On second thought, anything he says would be a lie. Just like his supposed death. His second supposed death. Not the first one he staged in Port Charles; the one she witnessed in Greece. He says he almost died that day, and she says, but he didn’t. He just let her believe he did. That’s a pattern with him, isn’t it? His mother, his sister, his son. Nikolas let them all grieve for him, twice. Why should she be the exception? Because they had a few nice chats, an unexpected connection, and shared a kiss? She’d never kissed a prince. Sounds like a fairytale, but in her case, the prince turned out to be a liar and a user. Now she gets to decide how the fairytale ends.

Jax tells Carly, just as the gavel came down, the painting burst into flames. Now Helena’s portrait is just a pile of ashes. Carly says, Ava rigged the painting to burn? Jax says, Ava claimed she didn’t, and that it was either Helena or the artist, playing a practical joke from beyond the grave. Carly hopes he’s not on the hook for the money, but he says, the painting was never delivered, so the sale is null and void. That’s the good news. The bad news is, the codicil either burned with the painting, or Ava has it.

Sonny tells Jason, Carly is hiding something. Does he know what? Jason says, no, and Sonny asks if she said she was worried about anything or asked for his help. Jason says she didn’t, and Sonny says, then she’s doing this alone, which makes it worse. Jason asks when it started, and Sonny says, it was after Halloween, when Josslyn wanted to move in with Jax part time. He thought Jax would be all over that, but he turned it down. Sonny asked Carly why, and she picked a fight with him. She’s trying to distract him, and when he asks why, she picks another fight with him. He thinks Jax is into something he shouldn’t be, and Carly is protecting him.

Nikolas tells Ava, it doesn’t have to be this way, but she says, it does. Start at the beginning. Nikolas and Valentin were fighting. The gun went off… He says, Valentin shot him, and Ava says she hasn’t told anyone this, but she saw him and Valentin struggling over the gun. From Valentin’s perspective, he was acting in self-defense. He says she told Spencer that Valentin murdered him. Ava says, which clearly, he did not. He says she told Spencer that she’d help him prove it was wrongful death, and she sold out to Valentin. She says she was horribly scarred and wanted her face back. All she had to do was betray his memory, but it turns out there was nothing to betray because he’s been alive the whole time. He says she makes it sound like he was on vacation, and she says, where has he been? And what payoff justified the hell he’s put them all through?

Carly tells Jax, none of this is going to turn out the way Nikolas wants. He’s not going to reclaim the Cassadine fortune or sell Jax the shipping company. Spencer is away at boarding school, and well taken care of. On the other hand, Josslyn will be devastated if he gets deported again. Make sure that doesn’t happen. Call the cops and turn Nikolas in.

Jason asks if Sonny and Carly have been fighting about anything real, and Sonny says, his dad. Sonny still thinks there’s a way to help him, but Carly doesn’t agree. He did have a bad spell on Thanksgiving, and Griff was in town, so Sonny had him look at Mike’s chart. He said Mike’s Alzheimer’s is progressing. Jason says he’s sorry, but Sonny says, it’s not over. Griff is checking into something in Sweden and maybe even the US. He asks what Jason thinks, but Jason says it’s not his call. Sonny wants to know anyway, and Jason tells him to put himself in Mike’s place. If it was Sonny’s kids making the decisions, what would he want? Sonny says he’d want them to make a choice they can live with. He’s already lived his life. He’d want them to be at peace. Jason thinks Mike would want that for him.

Doc says, recently, Charlotte’s life has been filled with uncertainty. Dante’s absence, his brief tumultuous return, Nina and Valentin’s aborted wedding. She’s a little girl, whose world has been in constant upheaval. Laura says, and that was before she was kidnapped by Cassandra. Lulu says, Charlotte knows Cassandra has a grudge against her father. Some part of her must know it’s Valentin’s fault, and she doesn’t want to blame him. Doc says, the bodyguard is a manifestation of Charlotte’s need to feel secure and safe. Laura says, and jumping into the harbor when she knows he’s not real? and Doc says, a cry for help. Lulu says she has to speak with Valentin now; tonight. She gets up, and Laura says, Valentin might not be receptive right now, but Lulu doesn’t care. Right now, Charlotte needs stability, not another tug-of-war custody battle. Curtis says he’s going with her, for moral support and back-up. Laura thinks it’s a good idea, and Lulu says she appreciates the offer, but Charlotte is her daughter. It’s on her to settle this.

Nina tells Obrecht that she’s lost so many people she loves; she can’t lose Obrecht too. Tell her the truth. Obrecht asks if she’s sure she wants to know. Ignorance really can be bliss. She has a man who loves her, and a stepdaughter who adores her. Is the truth really more important than the family she’s always wanted? Nina says she wants the truth, and then she’ll decide for herself. Did Obrecht help Valentin fake the original DNA test? Obrecht says, no, but she knows how he did it.

Lucy says it’s lovely for Michael to join them, and asks if Alyssa has met him. Alyssa says, not personally, but Chad Bailey speaks highly of him. Michael says Chad swears Alyssa has the uncanny ability to spot the next big thing. Alyssa doesn’t know if she’d go that far, but she’s curious as to why he’s there. Is ELQ in the beauty market? and he says they’re in a lot of markets. He sees Sonny come in, and excuses himself, saying his father doesn’t like to be kept waiting. When he’s gone, Alyssa asks if that’s the Sonny Corinthos, the… and Sasha says, coffee importer and noted philanthropist; that’s him.

At the bar, Michael asks if Sonny was looking for him. Sonny says if Michael was in his place, and he had Alzheimer’s that had progressed to the point where he didn’t recognize Michael, would he still look for a cure, even if it was a long shot? Or would he just let Sonny go?

Obrecht says she attended Nina’s mother’s funeral. She was a fugitive at the time, but disguised herself as a homeless woman, and kept to the back of the church. When the service was over, and everyone was gone, Valentin returned with a DNA kit. She watched him take a swab from her mother’s body. Nina says, so from the moment she found Sasha, Obrecht knew she was fake. Obrecht says, she was reasonably certain Sasha was working for Valentin. Nina says she thought Obrecht loved her. Why wouldn’t she say something?

Lulu goes to Windymere, and Valentin asks what she’s doing there. She says she’s there to see him. Charlotte almost drowned tonight, and they have to do better for her.

Curtis says, if Valentin is going to compromise, it would definitely be for Charlotte’s sake, but if he opts for a custody fight, Curtis promises to bring them all the dirt he can find. Laura says they’re lucky to have him on their side. Curtis heads to the bar for a real drink. Laura tells Doc, there’s something else she didn’t want Lulu to know right away, but it might mean something. He says, lucky for her, she’s married to a highly-skilled psychiatrist who knows how to keep a secret. She says, Charlotte showed her a picture of her secret bodyguard. It was picture of Nikolas.

Nikolas tells Ava, he was in shock and bleeding. It was a miracle someone found him and pulled him out. It was a yacht crew who’d just dropped off their owner, and were en route home to Athens. He was able to get medical attention. She says, so while they were there grieving his watery death, he was warm and dry and recuperating in Athens. He says he was still considered a fugitive, and she says, criminal charges from faking his death the first time. The story isn’t doing him any favors. He says he was waiting for Valentin to stake his claim, using the papers he forced Nikolas to sign, while she was being held at gunpoint. He guesses they’ve come full circle, and she says, yes. He was very chivalrous – then. Not so much when he was telling her Kiki was damned. He says he’s not proud of that, and she says either he’s truly ashamed or good at faking it. Either way, it’s of no consequence. So he was waiting for Valentin to use the papers… Nikolas says, he never did. He didn’t need to. Mikkos left him everything. But Mikkos had one last surprise; a codicil disinheriting Valentin and returning everything to him, and it was hidden in Helena’s portrait. The one she destroyed.

Jax tells Carly, they have to let this play out until New Year’s. He has reason to believe Valentin is going to be suffering a reversal of fortune very soon, and it will give Nikolas an opening. She asks, what kind of opening? And what’s going on with Valentin? He says, sorry, but she doesn’t want him sorry. She wants him to answer her questions. Jason shows up, and asks if everything is okay.

Ava tells Nikolas, if he didn’t want the painting destroyed, he should have told her it was important instead of gaslighting her. How long was he having her watched? He says, less than a month, and it was his mother who he was having watched. She says, so he never thought about her at all, but he says he did. He thought of everything there. The wife he missed, the people he loved; he thought about coming forward, but knew if he did, he’d be handing everything to Valentin. She asks if the codicil was supposed to fix all that, and he says, it would have fixed everything. It would have given back everything that was rightfully his. She says, too bad it’s nothing but ashes, and he says, is it? which is exactly what I’ve been thinking.

Laura tells Doc, Charlotte was disappointed that her bodyguard didn’t rescue her. He says, in her mind, her bodyguard is real, and Laura says, absolutely. She offered to show Laura a picture of him, then showed her the picture of Nikolas on Lulu’s phone. Doc asks how much Charlotte knows about Nikolas, and Laura says, she doesn’t know. She’s sure Charlotte has heard her and Lulu talking about him, but could that be enough for her to make him her secret bodyguard? Doc says, it’s possible. He thinks it’s more likely she recognized Nikolas, and chose him for a reason.

Lulu tells Valentin that Doc said Charlotte jumping in the harbor was a cry for help. She’s had so much turmoil. She must have made up the bodyguard because she doesn’t trust them to make her world safe. He says it sounds like she’s admitting she’s part of the problem.

Obrecht tells Nina, she needed leverage over Valentin. She told him what she’d witnessed, and blackmailed him. Nina asks if Obrecht didn’t care that she was falling in love with her daughter, and Obrecht says, it was already too late. Nina was already in love with her daughter, and to Valentin’s credit, the more time she spent with Sasha, the more she was convinced that Sasha was a good daughter to her. Sasha wasn’t trying to take advantage, and Nina was happy. If that little snoop Lulu hadn’t eavesdropped, and made it her business to interrupt the wedding, Nina could still be happy. Nina asks if Obrecht isn’t the least bit sorry, and Obrecht says, sorrier than she can say, but she might have a way to make amends.

Sasha tells Alyssa, classic isn’t the same as old. They’re going to use the history of Deception’s glamour and style to target the current generation. Alyssa says, tell her more.

Michael tells Sonny that he’d have to weigh his need to keep Sonny against his quality of life. Would it be worth putting him through treatment that might cause him to suffer or get worse, or refuse the treatment, and later find out it could have saved him? Sonny says he asked himself that, but he’s not getting an answer. Michael asks what Carly thinks, and Sonny says, they’re having problems right now. She probably thinks part of it is his dad; part of it is, they just don’t agree. Michael says, talk to her anyway. Even if she thinks he’s dead wrong, she’ll always have his back.

Jax tells Jason that he was just trying to convince Carly to drink her smoothie. Carly says, he swears there’s no kelp in it. She’s choosing to trust him. Jax says she won’t be disappointed, and leaves. Jason says, what happened? and Carly says, Jax is in trouble.

Ava laughs, saying Nikolas went through all that trouble, breaking and entering, only to find out Valentin beat him to it, but neither of them found the painting. He asks where it was, and she says, hiding in plain sight. She left it in the original frame, and covered it with a rather pedestrian abstract. He asks if she found the codicil, and she says she has to thank him. For a while, she was concerned that Valentin would find the portrait, but then he showed up, and created the perfect diversion. From then on, all she had to worry about was checking herself out of a mental hospital, and searching the painting. Once she knew what she was looking for, it wasn’t difficult to find. He says she has the codicil, and she says, of course (🍷) she does.

Obrecht gives Nina an envelope, and tells her to see for herself. After Valentin left the church, she took a few strands of her sister’s hair. Nina can run her own test. It should yield the same results as the one Valentin ran; mother and daughter.

Lulu tells Valentin, she’s not the one who got Charlotte kidnapped. Cassandra went after Charlotte because of him. He says Charlotte was with Lulu when Cassandra took her, and was with Lulu when she jumped into the harbor. It sounds like Lulu is the one not keeping their daughter safe. She asks him to please not drag their daughter into a custody fight, and he says he was just hoping she’d be a good mother. She says she loves Charlotte. He’s the one who’s selfish. He spoils Charlotte, and indulges her worst impulses. He says he treats Charlotte like she’s Charlotte. Lulu treats Charlotte like she’s an extension of herself, proving she’s perfect. She calls him a bastard, and he says she despises him and he despises her back. Why don’t they let the family court decide? She says, let’s do that, and she’s going to prove he’s unfit to be anywhere near Charlotte. She walks out, and Valentin joins Nina and Obrecht. Nina says, Lulu sounded upset, and he says, it’s been an upsetting evening. Obrecht says, it’s been quite stressful, and excuses herself to go to bed. Valentin asks if Nina is all right. She says, no, and he says, him neither, and they hug.

Alyssa says her COO will contact Lucy directly about financial arrangements. Lucy says they’ll talk soon. Ta! Alyssa goes down in the elevator, and Lucy squeals, saying, Deception is back, baby!

Jax sees Curtis at Charlie’s, and Curtis asks if there’s a next step in Jax’s plan against Valentin. Or is he cutting his losses now that the painting has been destroyed? Jax says, the plan is still in place, but he thinks it’s time for a change in tactics.

Jason tells Carly, the getaway van was a rental, and it was charged to Jax’s credit card. The same night, he went to question Jax, and it was obvious he was covering something up. He’ll tell her what he told Jax. He’ll do anything for her and Josslyn, even if it means helping Jax, but she has to tell him what’s gong on. Carly says, Jax is into something illegal, and if Sonny finds out, he’ll have Jax deported. So Sonny can’t find out. Her family could be ripped apart before Donna is six months old. She won’t do that to her kids or Sonny. He’s grieving over Mike, and he’ll lash out in anger. Before he realizes what he’s done, it will be too late. Jason says, let him fix it. Sonny comes out of the elevator, sees them talking, and walks the other way. Carly says she can’t ask Jason to get involved, but he says he’s offering. She says she loves him for it, but Jax said he’d have everything handled by New Year’s Eve. If he doesn’t, she’ll tell Jason everything. She promises.

On the phone, Sonny says he needs help. Carly’s in trouble.

Lucy says they did it. They locked down Alyssa, and it’s all due to Sasha. Sasha says Lucy wants her to be the face of Deception, but it doesn’t appeal to her unless she has a stake in the company; an equity partnership. Lucy says, no, but Sasha says it’s going to be her face out there. She wants a say in the product. Lucy says she has a point, so she’ll generously give Sasha point five percent. Sasha asks Michael to be her agent, and he says, fifty percent. Lucy laughs, and says, no, no, no, no, no. Two. Michael says she clearly doesn’t want Sasha as much as she claims. Lucy says she does. Can they just make it a realistic, reasonable number? Michael says, thirty percent; take it or leave it. Lucy says, that’s grand larceny, and Michael says she started the day with a business plan, and thanks to Sasha, she has an investor and a face of the brand. She deserves her fair share. Lucy says, it’s not fair. It’s highway robbery. Michael says Lucy will still be the controlling partner, and Sasha will be very motivated to see that Deception succeeds. Lucy says, fine. Thirty percent. Michael says he’ll have his attorney draw up the papers, and Lucy says he’s nothing but a baby-faced shark. He says Lucy is the owner of a viable company, and Lucy tells Sasha, welcome to Deception. They shake hands, and Sasha says they’re going to do great things together.

Doc tells Laura, Charlotte could think of Nikolas as some kind of hero; a flawed prince. Who better to imagine as her rescuer? If Nikolas were still alive, the source of tension between Lulu and Valentin would be gone. It’s possible Charlotte just wants her parents to stop hating each other. Who better to conjure up than the person Charlotte believes could make that happen?

Curtis tells Jax, there’s a custody battle brewing between Valentin and Lulu. If the change in tactics digs up dirt they can use, he’d like to tell Laura. Jax is fine with that. The more trouble for Valentin, the better. Curtis asks what he’s got, and Jax says, at this point, just a name. Charlotte was carried by a surrogate, Claudette Beaulieu. He gives Curtis a picture of Claudette, and says he wants Curtis to find her.

Ava says she doesn’t really need the gun. She knows he’s not going to hurt her. Not as long as she knows where the codicil is. He asks what she wants, and she says he can start by thanking her for not burning the codicil along with the portrait, or handing it over to Valentin. She says, Valentin is a bit of a bastard, but then, so is Nikolas. Spencer is a different story. Since he has a right to the Cassadine fortune, she’d like him to get it. Nikolas asks if the codicil is there, and can she give it to him now? She asks if he really thinks she’s going to make it that easy.

Valentin tells Nina there’s one thing he’s not getting. Charlotte insists this bodyguard is real. He doesn’t know why. All he knows is that Charlotte needs Nina now more than ever, just as he does. Nina suggests he check on Charlotte, to make sure she didn’t overhear anything. He asks her to come with him, and she says she has a phone call to make, and she’ll be right up. He kisses her and goes upstairs.

Nina takes out the plastic bag with Madeline’s hair in it, and scrunches it a little.

ℹ This is where the video ended abruptly, but I think it was the actual end. If there’s anything extra, like if she tosses it in the fire, I’ll let you know tomorrow. There were no previews, so you’ll get those tomorrow too. Unless there’s some other earth shattering news.

The Real Housewives of Dallas

Sadly, we’re back in Dallas, where nobody gets a baby elephant.

LeeAnne visits Stephanie, and asks how Viet Nam was. Stephanie says they got massages every day, since they were so reasonable. She tells LeeAnne that Travis’s dad is weak, but he’s been that way for a while. In her interview, she says they got him into the hospital where he got his medicine. Then Travis’s sister took him back to the US. She asks how LeeAnne is; she seems sad. LeeAnne says she doesn’t want to be the person who’s targeted all the time. It’s not fair or fun. She had an incident with Kameron in private, and now everyone is in on it. Stephanie says LeeAnne has every reason to feel how she does, but she has to watch how she reacts after she’s hurt. In her interview, Stephanie says LeeAnne can be mad without making insensitive comments. She doesn’t want LeeAnne to get into trouble when she has reason to feel the way she does.

Kameron and Kary go out to eat. Kary tells Kameron that they were all upset when Kameron kind of defended LeeAnne at the table. We flash back to that, and Kameron says everyone was destroying LeeAnne. She can’t let LeeAnne get attacked like that. Kary says she was mad that LeeAnne made Kameron cry.

Leeanne tells Stephanie that Kameron was upset when she realized how bad the district was; not about her yelling. Stephanie says D’Andra expressed to her that Kameron was hurt and upset about LeeAnne screaming and manipulating her. LeeAnne says D’Andra wasn’t there, and Stephanie says if LeeAnne hadn’t felt so protective of Kameron, it wouldn’t have been as heated.

Kameron tells Kary that she thinks LeeAnne had had so much anxiety because she was losing control, since Kameron has been hanging out with Kary. Kary thinks LeeAnne is trying to make Kameron feel guilty, and Kameron agrees 100%. She feels horrible about it. Kary wants to move forward in their friendship and doesn’t want LeeAnne in Kameron’s ear. In Kameron’s interview, she says she wants to tell Kary what LeeAnne said, but part of her is holding back. Kary says Kameron loves her, and she’s Kary’s friend, but she also loves LeeAnne, and Kary wants to respect that.

LeeAnne tells Stephanie, has she been wrong about people? Look at her and D’Andra.

Brandi asks if Brooklyn is nervous about tryouts. Brooklyn says, no, and Brandi thinks she’s more nervous than Brooklyn. In Brandi’s interview, she says each girl makes a team, but there are different teams for different skill sets. The team Brooklyn is looking at were national champion for several years. The tryouts are important, and Brooklyn has been working her little bootie off. Brandi has been slipping over the furniture, and it’s exhausting. She’s also been kicked a few times. Brandi watches as the coaches put Brooklyn through all the moves. In her interview, Brandi says they’re having struggles with Brooklyn going into her preteen years, and it’s hard. Cheerleading is an opportunity for them to pull together. One of the coaches films Brooklyn, and Brooklyn messes up a back flip. In Brandi’s interview, she says she’s not a perfect parent, but her children are loved beyond words. She chooses her battles, and she still has two more to go.

While out for dinner, Kary shows Eduardo her website. He likes it, and she says it’s important to her to have her own independence. In her interview, she says Eduardo can’t appreciate her situation because he’s never had to be vulnerable, and always been in control of the money situation. He’s not an empathetic person, and it makes her feel frustrated. They speak in Spanish about speaking Spanish at home, so the kids will learn. Kary wants Eduardo to hear her out. She’s frustrated, and wants financial independence and security. He gets her concern, and says he’s supportive, asks if she’s doing it because she wants independence, or to be fulfilled. She thinks it’s a combination. She doesn’t want to feel so vulnerable; it’s a bad place to be when you don’t have security. He says it bothers him because he thinks he’s been generous. When they got married, he went from zero to four kids in one year. Kary says he’s great with the kids, but when there are issues, he makes it clear that it’s his house and his money. How would he feel if she had it all, and they had a fight, and divorced? He wouldn’t want to be in that position either. They want to move, and she asks if he’d consider putting the house in both their names for her peace of mind. He says it’s in the trust, so he can’t. In Kary’s interview, she says he always says it’s in the trust, and claims it’s out of his hands, but she thinks that’s BS. He suggests getting a different investment property. He’d wants to feel like they’re working together, not against each other. Kary agrees, and they kiss. In her interview, the producer asks Kary if she believes she and Eduardo will spend the rest of their lives together. She hopes so, but has no idea. If he doesn’t give her some security, she’ll have to move on. Eduardo asks if she wants to pick up the check.

D’Andra meets Mama Dee for lunch. Dee asks if Thailand was good, and D’Andra says she had fun, but she and LeeAnne didn’t end on a good note. Dee doesn’t think they’re going to rekindle their relationship. It’s like a bad marriage. In D’Andra’s interview, she doesn’t think any apology or action will help. Like her father would say, it’s time to fish or cut bait. She tells Dee that she showed Travis the new website. We see clip of that, and she shows it to Dee. Dee says, it’s much more updated. In her interview, D’Andra says Travis is a great mentor. As much as she could, she took his advice to heart, and made changes. The improvements have been because she took his advice. Dee thinks the company is moving in the right direction, and D’Andra says it will probably take a turn for the better, but she’s not there yet. She says she was angry, and it was hard to get over. She was hurt, wondering why her mother set her up to fail. Dee says D’Andra knows how she feels, and why she won’t give her a loan from the trust. We flash back to that conversation, and Dee saying D’Andra spends whatever she makes. Dee tells D’Andra that she’s almost 79, and might need care eventually. It’s expensive, especially care at home. D’Andra says there’s plenty of money for Dee’s care and a loan. In D’Andra’s interview, she wonders what Dee is talking about. She pivots, and there’s a new excuse, but she really just doesn’t want to give D’Andra the money. D’Andra says she wants Dee to be proud, and not come back saying I told you so. Dee swears she would never do that, and I choke on my coffee. She says they’ve been through a lot, and she’s proud of D’Andra. She’s gone above and beyond what Dee expected. She wouldn’t change anything about her. Well, maybe not eating so many doughnuts. In her interview, D’Andra says her mother doesn’t want to say made a mistake or she’s sorry. What’s important is salvaging their mother/daughter relationship. She hasn’t gotten where she wants to yet, but when she’s a self-made millionaire, and Dee comes to her for a loan, enjoy social security, bitch. Dee says she wants to travel; she has the assets to do it. D’Andra says, then she has the assets to give her daughter a loan. Maybe she’d better reconsider the travel. She might need the assets for future care.

Court asks if Kameron is excited about tonight, but she says she’s nervous. They haven’t been together since Thailand. She thinks LeeAnne got anxious about not having control, and it got the best of her. That’s why she ended up freaking out. Court asks where LeeAnne’s anxiety is coming from, and Kameron thinks LeeAnne is afraid she’ll lose Kameron as a friend. She’s never liked Kary and when LeeAnne comments on Kary, she pretends not to hear. LeeAnne called Kary the c-word once, and when she got worked up, she called Kary a chirpy Mexican. It borders on racism. Kameron doesn’t want to blurt something out without thinking. In Kameron’s interview, she says she wants to tell Kary, but she’ll be hurt. At same time, if she doesn’t tell Kary, she’ll be the worst friend on the planet. She tells Court that she has years of history with LeeAnne, but she loves Kary. Court says she needs to be honest. If she thinks a wrong has been done, she needs to come clean.

Brandi gets ready for Bruin’s party. The venue is a beautiful rooftop, and all of the decorations are blue. Bryan says he hadn’t realized they were supposed to wear blue, and Brandi says she sent him an invitation and it was on there. In Brandi’s interview, she says she thinks it’s important to celebrate Bruin’s adoption day, since they’re his forever family. Whether he likes it or not, he’s stuck with them. She tears up, and says it makes her sad that she wasn’t there for his actual birthday, but she can be there for this day. Bringing in Bruin’s sibling would be double the trouble, but also double the love. The guests start to arrive. LeeAnne, Stephanie, and Brandi toast to one year. There’s a band, and an excellent family-style spread. At the bar, Jeremy asks if Brooklyn is getting vodka, and D’Andra tells him, don’t encourage bad things.

Kameron and Court pick Kary and Eduardo up in a limo. Kary asks how Kameron is, and Kameron says she’s good, but she has something hanging over her head. She hasn’t been completely honest, and needs to be. When Kary asked if LeeAnne had talked bad about her, she didn’t want Kary to get hurt, but LeeAnne called her the c-word. Kameron isn’t okay with that word, and didn’t want to repeat it. She’s turning herself in because they’re good friends, and she owes it to Kary. Kary thanks her, but Court butts in where it’s none of his business, and says, that’s not the whole story. Kameron says LeeAnne did say something else; she called Kary a chirpy Mexican. She also did an impression of Kary, saying she was a big powerful Mexican. In Kary’s interview, she says she doesn’t like or connect with LeeAnne, but that’s being racist. If LeeAnne had a big heart, she wouldn’t be prejudiced. Eduardo says he has one comment – remember the Alamo. Kameron asks, what’s the Alamo? and Kary says when you mess with one Mexican, you mess with them all. Court says Kameron can’t be a pushover, and Kameron says she doesn’t know what’s gotten into LeeAnne, but it’s out of control.

The bandleader asks everyone to gather around the stage. Brandi has a few words to say. She thanks everyone for coming, and says it’s been an incredible journey. They’re blessed to have Bruin, and family and friends who support and love them. They went through a year of tears and laughter, and having Bruin is really a miracle. In her interview, she says Bruin is one of the biggest blessings in the family. He’s brought love and joy, and was a piece of the family they never knew was missing until he became a part of it. We flash back to when Brandi first held Bruin. She wants tonight to be special, and tells everyone to party. In Brandi’s interview, she says, you never know what’s out there in life until you open yourself up to it. It’s the biggest blessing that Bruin has given them. LeeAnne looks for Kameron, and suggests they sit and talk.

Kary tells Stephanie and Brandi about what LeeAnne said. She says LeeAnne is showing her true colors. She clearly feels strongly about Kary being Mexican. Stephanie says LeeAnne also said something to her about Kary being Mexican, but she thought it was in the heat of the moment.

Kameron tells LeeAnne that sometimes she doesn’t always talk about Kary in a positive way. She asks LeeAnne to explain why she said Kary was a chirpy Mexican. LeeAnne says she doesn’t remember calling her chirpy, but Kary does talk a lot. Kameron says she also referred to Kary as a big powerful Mexican, but LeeAnne says she doesn’t remember that either. If she used the word Mexican, she didn’t mean it to be offensive. LeeAnne asks Kameron what Kary has said about her, and Kameron tells her, Kary said she’s controlling and manipulating. Kameron thinks LeeAnne is uneasy, knowing she’s close with Kary, but LeeAnne says it genuinely doesn’t bother her, which I find doubtful. We flash back to LeeAnne saying that Kary has muted Kameron’s empathy button toward her, and it’s a lonely place to be.

D’Andra asks Stephanie and Kary if Kameron had LeeAnne’s back, but they say she didn’t. Stephanie says, they’re talking right now. LeeAnne asks if Kameron thinks she manipulates her, but Kameron doesn’t think so. She’s not afraid of LeeAnne. If anything, LeeAnne should be afraid of her. LeeAnne wonders what’s happening to Kameron. In her interview, LeeAnne says she doesn’t know who this Kameron is. Does someone have their hand up her ass moving her mouth? She doesn’t sound like herself. Kameron tells LeeAnne that she felt horrible keeping it to herself, and had to get it off her chest. She didn’t want to be fake. She wanted to be a good friend, like she’s being to LeeAnne.

Kary joins them, and says she thinks she’s heard enough tonight. LeeAnne says she heard Kary said she was controlling, and Kary says she’s said that to LeeAnne’s face. LeeAnne didn’t call her the c-word or call her Mexican to her face. LeeAnne says she grew up with a Mexican family, and Kary says LeeAnne is again making it about herself. In LeeAnne’s interview, she says she doesn’t care if someone is Mexican. She’s slept with plenty of Mexicans. It’s not a negative. She’s been there. She sat in Julio Iglesias’s lap. Alrighty then. By now, the others have sidled over, and Kary says LeeAnne isn’t owning it. LeeAnne says, she just did. Kary says she said it to Stephanie too. D’Andra says LeeAnne always preaches equal rights, and LeeAnne tells her, Kary said she has super powers because she’s Mexican. Kary says there’s always a reason or excuse for everything. Brandi asks if anyone wants a shot. Kameron says Kary can say it, but LeeAnne can’t. D’Andra tells LeeAnne, in today’s climate, you can’t say stuff like that. LeeAnne says, in today’s climate, you shouldn’t say a husband is cheating without evidence. Kary says she’s going to get a drink. It’s not worth it.

Brandi asks if Kary is okay, and Kary says she is. D’Andra tells LeeAnne that she thought it was derogatory, but LeeAnne insists it wasn’t. It’s not bad; that’s D’Andra’s opinion. D’Andra says, it’s everyone in the country’s opinion. Kary says LeeAnne didn’t even apologize. D’Andra joins the others, saying she got sucked in the rabbit hole again. LeeAnne Tells Kameron that she didn’t mean it in a derogatory way. In Brandi’s interview, the producer asks if Brandi thinks LeeAnne is racist. Brandi is like, hmm… In their interviews, Stephanie says, no. She thinks LeeAnne just does really dumb sh*t. Brandi doesn’t know if she wants to answer that question. Kary says, LeeAnne isn’t that ignorant. She has to be racist. D’Andra says, what we say is who we are. Kameron says, no. LeeAnne isn’t racist, but she didn’t use her words properly, and she has to fix that. LeeAnne says it’s ridiculous to say she’s racist. Court comes over to Kameron, and says Rachel wants to talk to her about something. LeeAnne says she’s going to apologize to Kary. Court tells Kameron to stay away from LeeAnne because of the racist sh*t she said. Kameron asks where Rachel is, and Court says he was just trying to get Kameron away. In Kameron’s interview, she says instead of being concerned about her reputation, LeeAnne should be concerned about her own.

LeeAnne tells Kary, if that word offends her, she won’t use it again. She didn’t mean it in a derogatory way, and apologizes if she hurt Kary. Kary thanks her for the apology, but says it feels forced. LeeAnne tells her, she wouldn’t have said it if she didn’t mean it. She didn’t think it was offensive. Kary says she’s not going in circles about this with LeeAnne. LeeAnne says she and Kary aren’t close, and she’s good with that, but she’s saying she’s sorry. It’s Kary’s choice to accept it or not. In her interview, Kary doesn’t see how she can get over LeeAnne being racist. Kameron says she’s not afraid of LeeAnne, and if she hears anyone says that, she’ll call them out. LeeAnne says she wants to be clear that she apologized, and Kary says, actions speak louder. LeeAnne says, actions can’t happen tonight. She’s going to go home. Kary says, an apology doesn’t cure everything.

In LeeAnne’s interview, she says she’s not racist. She never has been. She does bad things, but she’s not a bad person. There is a difference. The finale text says, LeeAnne hasn’t seen her mother since the wedding. She and Rich finally went on a honeymoon, but it wasn’t in Mexico.

D’Andra tells the others, her friendship with LeeAnne has been very one-sided. We read that she’s signed a contract with HSN, and paid the remainder of her office lease. God spoke to Mama Dee, and told her to give D’Andra the money.

In her interview, Kameron says people assume she’s a Highland Park blonde who married for money, but when they actually get to know her, they realize she’s more than that. I, for one, never thought Kameron was stupid, and I think Sparkle Dog Food was a stroke of genius. Her postscript says Kameron is struggling to maintain with her friendship with LeeAnne, but her friendship with Kary is going strong. They’re more than surface friends.

D’Andra says Kary is her favorite Mexican, and Kary says she’s excited to share more memories with the women. In parting, it says that Kary is still waiting for a house with both her and Eduardo’s name on it. She’s been selling her jewelry at trunk shows, and has yet to get LeeAnne a wedding gift. Hmm… I wonder what Kameron would say about that.

Brandi’s goodbye words say that she and Bryan still haven’t made a decision about adopting Bruin’s sibling, Brooklyn made the cheer team (which one, it doesn’t say), and Brandi is missing her glory days. She’s considering joining an adult cheer squad.

In Stephanie’s interview, she says, it’s been a hard year emotionally, but she’s stronger, and she knows who she is. For the first time, she’s okay with who she sees in the mirror. Her season ending says she’s continuing therapy, and still taking medication for her depression. There’s also been a new addition to the family – a dog named Teddy.

Court takes a group photo, minus LeeAnne. Is that prophetic?

She might be a lot of things, but I don’t think LeeAnne is racist. I think she latched on the Mexican adjective because Kary keeps harping on Mexico this and Mexican that, and how it applies in whatever situation she’s in, as though being Mexican makes her smarter, better, faster, whatever. It’s actually kind of annoying, and I think that’s why LeeAnne started focusing on it. Just my two cents.

Next time – The Reunion: Part One.

The Real Housewives of Orange County – The Reunion: Part One

This wasn’t the world’s most interesting reunion, but they’re just warming up. There was still enough screeching to last a lifetime. Andy said the OC Wives were still bringing the drama freshly squeezed, but I don’t know how fresh it is at this point.

Shannon started off well, with forgetting her Spanx, and having to go back home to get them.

It was established, now that the divorce has been finalized, Shannon is fun, single, and free, and Fun Shannon was discussed. Andy asked if it was true Shannon got $1.4 million in the settlement, as well as $10K a month. Shannon feigned ignorance about the final figure, only saying that seemed to high, but she did admit she was getting $10K a month. However, she’d expected more based on the lifestyle they’d had. They moved on to Shannon’s new boyfriend, and she said she met someone when she wasn’t looking, and he’s everything she’s looking for. They haven’t talked about the marriage question, but they have talked about the future.

In the dressing room, Vicki was annoyed that she’d been kept waiting. Drama queen told the producer, if they didn’t want her, just let her go.

Gina got stupid with Emily, saying she needed to be selfish this year, and needed Emily to be there for her. Emily said she could say the same thing. Gina wasn’t there for her, and was judgmental behind her back. When Gina came to talk to Emily about her DUI, her judgement level was zero. Gina says she thought Emily was disappointed, and had asked if Gina was drinking more than usual. Emily asked if she should have said, great job, or good for you? What was really annoying was Tamra and Kelly sniping at each other throughout the whole thing, so no one could be clearly understood.

Still not on stage yet, Vicki whined that the show had gone down since she’s not the leader anymore. She felt like a bottom feeder. She finally shut up when Steve suggested they go home. Vicki did look the best I’ve ever seen her, in a mustard-colored gown with sparkly trim. Andy asked Emily if there had been a change in Gina since hanging out with the tres amigas, and Emily said she felt a distance between them. Gina didn’t want to talk as much, although they did lots of talking among themselves. Andy says Tamra insisted Emily knew that Shane’s cousin had a girlfriend, when Emily swore she didn’t. Tamra said someone told her. Emily said she told Tamra different, and Tamra said maybe she didn’t believe Emily. Gina and Emily eventually declared themselves like sisters, and hugged it out. Gina being the one to get up, since Emily is still recovering from hip surgery.

At last, Vicki was brought out, Andy introducing her as Jane Row, before her actual name. She immediately started bitching about him making her wait, and he explained that the OG of the OC is also Jane Row, using the name in a lawsuit against Bravo, and the producers of a show called Evolution, the crux of which is the lawsuit Kelly brought up. Vicki said she’s had her own business for 31 years, and anyone who insinuates she’s a con-woman is getting sued. Apparently she had also filed for a restraining order against Kelly, but it was denied.

This led to the next screaming match, between Vicki and Kelly, about who is a real businesswoman. Vicki ended up shrieking, get off my show! and when Braunwyn pointed out it’s not her show, Vicki said none of them would be there if it hadn’t been for her starting it all years ago.

If she says so, but I had no idea it had started as a one-woman show. 😕 Next time – The Reunion: Part Two.

🍝 On The Real Housewives of New Jersey, it was Easter, so there was a lot of family stuff. Jennifer had her gay brother over for a visit, and explained that she was raised in a family that didn’t talk about things, but doesn’t want the same for her kids. While watching this show, I almost liked Jennifer, but I’m sure she’ll change my opinion back in no time.

Danielle met with Teresa, who said she’d had too much cabernet. When Danielle asked about Jailbird Joe, Teresa gave us the quote of the night: Do you think I don’t feel like drinking a bottle of tequila every night? That pretty much said it all. For us too.

At Easter dinner, David was bugged by Dolores’s entire family about making a commitment to Dolores, embarrassing them both. It was bittersweet at Teresa’s house. While the family was all together, the girls were missing Joe #1, and there was some concern over Papa Gorga’s health. He wasn’t looking too good. Joe #1 called, and everyone ended up crying. At the end, Joe #2 told everyone they had to eat the sprinkle cookies, because they were symbolic of never letting the little things affect them again.

🎅 I’m Wived Out…

But Santa is on his way soon, so it’s all good.